November 22nd, 2009

Social Media Marketing


by Bianca Gubalke

Social Media Marketing

With the powerful impact of Social Networks – especially Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Picasa – in terms of  Traffic Generation and in that sense as an increasing competition for the Internet giant Google, Social Media Marketing can no longer be ignored when it comes to Branding ourselves and our Websites or Blogs and harvesting Traffic where the Traffic really is, meaning where people hang out today and are approachable in one way or another.

Bianca Gubalke Images

Social Media Marketing

Bearing in mind the enormous amount of websites and blogs out there . . . the question then is: what can Social Media Marketing do for us – meaning for our Business?

The answer to this and the strategy we apply from there depends on what we determined in our “Secret Garden”, meaning what our Business is:

> Is it an Affiliate Program?
> An MLM?
> A product or a range of products of our own we want to sell or a Service we offer?
> Or a combination of various income-generating Business Opportunities?

What can Social Networks actually do to serve my Purpose and increase my Google ranking, Visibility and Traffic – not their’s… as we discussed earlier?

What are the Benefits of Social Networks for my Business?

Social Networks are established by people who wish to share, communicate, chat and exchange in a relaxed, rather private and entertaining ambiente. Fun and Entertainment away from all the stress related to business is the motto. Of course, Social Networks are heavily targeted by sales forces and hungry business opportunity seekers, but this was not their initial purpose and on the surface it still isn’t. In fact, what applies to Email Marketing counts here as well: what’s not permitted is SPAM. I should be able to decide who I wish to talk to and whose information I want to see; I wish to be in control of my personal environment.

But am I?

Whether rules on the Internet are meant to be kept – and by whom – is another story and illustruous material for this topic abounds, but it’s not my topic today.

What we learned at the Ycademy Seminar (November 2009, day 1) amongst others is that we can benefit from Social Networks in terms of:

1.  Support
We can use them for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) on one hand and also for keeping in touch with our private relationships in a more closed environment. However, here’s a warning: never put on the Internet what should not be seen by others; there are always leaks and the Internet is open and transparent -  that’s just as it is, so adapt and keep privte matters off the net alltogether.

2.
We can publicize
As explained above, this is a perfect environment to freely share things of interest with anyone or with special groups – which gives us a possibility to attain visibility with what we do or have to offer without being intrusive. If my business is Pink Flamingos and I share my intrinsic knowledge about say… how to increase birthrates of this dying species in a Pink Flamingo Forum to bird lovers and ornithologues, then those people may be drawn towards me, may be convinced of my knowledge and good intentions… from where follows Trust and… Sales. It’s just normal and the way it has been working offline and will continue to do so.

3.
We expand our marketing efforts
By integrating Social Networks into your Google Top 10 targeted marketing campaigns – say by embedding a Picasa Slideshow or Flickr pictures -, your business will immediately have a broader Marketing impact and better results..

4.
Control
As discussed above, there is a certain amount of control through wise handling of the Privacy Settings, but don’t fully depend on them. One can detect and prevent leaks and disclosures but don’t put on the Internet what should not get into the wrong hands. Discretion does not seem to exist online.
5.
Build your name, Authority – your Reputation
We keep emphasizing the importance of being in control of our own names by firstly acquiring the corresponding domain name, but within this Internet oriented society we are living in you wish to build your name yourself – and thus actively avoid someone else doing it with your consent or without it. A Social Network can quickly create a buzz you may not be too happy with for one or another reason – and it has happened in the past with desastrous results – so approach this issue in a serious way. We have to continuously watch and take an active stand on what’s happening with the awareness that we are playing with a dangerous tool.

It appears that the importance of controlling one’s name will even increase in the future.

Your Profile on Social Networks

Bottom line: it is important to have a professional and trustworthy presence and profile on Social Networks where we are in control of our name, where we Brand ourselves, where we are in charge of our personal reputation.
It’s that Image that sells. Just as is the case on say Ebay with its simple yet decisive rating system, the longer the more people who wish to enter into a business relation with us will look us up – it better be positive … as remember: the first look can be decisive and we often only get one chance!

Your Profile on Social Networks counts!


Author: Bianca Gubalke, Art, Media, Publishing.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 8:04 am and is filed under Bianca, Communication, Development, Dubli, Dubli Networking Business, Dublicator, Facebook, Generation, Gubalke, Herbert Brown, Herbert Brown jr, Herbert L Brown Jr, Marketing, Media, Nestoridis, Network, Networks, Personal, Publishing, Social, Traffic, Vision, YORGOO, Yorgo, online, services, twitter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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