Especially with a new business, you may build it – but they may not come. That’s how it works – online and offline.

It is also important to remember that marketing on the internet is different from traditional marketing. In fact, even the most experienced marketers in the brick and mortar world have a hard time marketing online. It is a new kind of marketing and it will require different strategies to make things sell.

While I highly recommend gearing your online marketing materials toward achieving high ranking in the search engines organically – that is, based on the merit of your content and its popularity, there is a time and place for paid advertising. You’ve probably seen Google Adwords, the ads above and beside search engine results. While it can be effective in certain situations, it’s not the easiest to use and has a steep learning curve for the casual advertiser.

Driving traffic through Facebook advertising is becoming a popular trend these days. And for good reason. Facebook is the most visited website online and is easily capable of sending you thousands of highly targeted visitors! Just to be clear, it has nowhere near the scale or robustness of Google Adwords, but it does provide some opportunities Adwords does not.

One caveat however, Facebook is about relationship marketing, not direct sales. That means it’s more important to build a relationship with a potential client or an existing customer rather than closing a sale right away. Facebook is first and foremost a social networking website where each member can build their own network of friends. With the ability to ‘Like’ your ad, viewers can quickly make it viral by spreading it amongst all of their friends.

A great feature of Facebook Ads is that it will let you target ad viewers according to interests, age, gender and other general information. This is extremely helpful if your best clients can be narrowed down by these factors. In one Facebook case study, a wedding photographer spent $600 on ads targeting women aged 20 – 34 with a relationship status of engaged to book over $40,000 in contracts.

As with any advertising, it’s critical to know your target market and know what you want them to do. Many small businesses (especially online businesses) fail because they don’t offer their market a clear objective.

For a direct sales goal, you want the visitor to buy something. With social media, the “buy now” strategy isn’t as effective as a softer, more relational approach. You may only want them to become a fan of your page, and let other fans extoll the virtues of your product or service. Offer free reports or downloads – just make sure they’re of value and not full of fluff.

About the Author:

Ken Ivey, aka “the Web Czar” – wants to help you leverage social media to reach your goals. His website www.midtntechnology.com

Keywords count

Just as with other types of search engine savvy, the keywords you use so that you are seen by real-time search engines have a big impact, too. Use relevant keywords in your titles and in your updates. For example, you could be writing content for your “Widget X” website and the latest and greatest product updates, so you can update what you’re doing on social networks like Twitter, too.

This real-time inclusion helps your subscribers and customers feel “in the know,” which is going to bring them closer to you and make them more likely to check you out and stay on top of things — and thus keeping them loyal to you, which also means more cash in your pocket.

What keywords should you use?

Just as with any search engine search, your Tweets or status updates should include those relevant keywords. That way, someone searching for content on those keywords is going to come up with your updates or your Tweets — which in turn will lead them to your site. Remember, if you want people to find your updates, you need to use the proper keywords so that they can keep finding and following you just because they’ve put those keywords into the real-time search engine.

What do you like about your favorite “Tweeter”?

If you follow someone on Facebook or Twitter, and just maybe they happen to be a little bit “famous” (even if they are simply an expert in their field and not a celebrity), what do you like about following them? You like the intimacy of being able to see up close what that person is doing, right? And just maybe, that makes you feel a little special, right?

You can use that to your advantage with your own followers. Even though yes, of course, the ultimate goal is to get people to go to your website and give you more business, it helps if your customers (and prospective customers) feel like they know you, too. So it’s okay to cultivate followers simply because you want them to follow you and not necessarily because they’ll become customers — although of course, they almost certainly will. And again, the best way to help these people find you is to use the proper keywords.

A learning curve?  Sure

As with “the good old days,” when we were learning about keyword optimization for regular search engines, so, too, is there going to be a learning curve when it comes to real-time searches. The thing is, though, if you get ahead of the curve, you’re also going to be the one to reap the benefits. So get in on real-time searches now by using the proper keywords in your updates. It’ll bring you a lot more visibility, a lot more traffic, and a lot more customers.

About the Author:

Ken Ivey, aka “the Web Czar” – wants to help you leverage technology to reach your goals.  Need to know what YOUR keywords REALLY are? Contact Ken for a free initial consultation to see how the web can work for you.

Then, there are those companies that may have concerns about social media networking and marketing. Their concerns center on the uncontrollable aspects of social media. In other words, they may not be able to control the comments of the site visitors. While this is a valid concern, it should not completely dissuade a business from venturing into the social media world. The reason for this is fairly obvious: there are millions of people who frequent these sites. That means they are a built in audience to promote a business to.

Many have figured out means of dealing with the less than helpful aspects of social media communities. They worry about the potential damage to the company’s reputation, but sometimes overlook the marketing value of dealing with a valid complaint in a satisfactory way. While these are concerns are important, they are not overwhelming. Understanding some of the steps they take will contribute to a business’ social media success.

The key to avoiding any potential embarrassing scenarios is to understand that you can’t.  They’ll find you eventually. Dealing with them head on from a standpoint of empathy with a desire to correct the issue if possible is the most effective strategy.  Admitting there was an issue will garner respect, and making an earnest attempt to right what was wrong will create loyal followers.

As for dealing with issues of content, employees should be assigned the duties of monitoring inappropriate comments or activity. Many social networking sites have control functions for internal comment review prior to publishing. Instituting this function can certainly help safeguard the reputation of the company from internal mischief, and is certainly a far better strategy than simply opting to bow out of the world of social media altogether.

Remember, social media also provides a tremendously valuable function in an extremely cost-effective manner. Social media and networking is a tremendous resource for those companies looking to receive feedback from their customers. By clearly understanding the likes, dislikes, wants, and needs of the customer base, a business can make effective decisions regarding its promotional strategies and what type of products and services it offers. And, once again, this is achieved with very little in terms of cost. There will be a reduced need to hire the expensive market research company.

One of the most important aspects of succeeding in business is to have a knack for forecasting. When it comes to social media, it is clear that such online communities will continue to grow and expand in popularity. That is why ignoring the benefits of becoming involved with social media would not be a wise move on the part of any business. Become involved with this media in an effective and proactive manner is certainly advised to any serious business that wishes to stay competitive.

About the Author:

Ken Ivey, aka “the Web Czar” – wants to help you leverage technology to reach your goals.  Contact Ken for a free initial consultation to see how the web can work for you.