Expanding On The Grapevine Method

communication with consumersThe small business world is collectively holding their breathe in anticipation for what could possibly happen with the health care reform bill.   Till that time comes to pass, it is all about communications.

All business sizes rely on the classic concept of communication. The aim of communicating that a business exists involves television, social media networking, Internet advertising, business websites, and a slew of other methods.   However, the old ways are still the best ways for small businesses.

The power of communicating, via electronic methods, are well-documented to hold new keys to success.   Businesses that have something to offer to the public have taken to the net and expanded mega empires.  …

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How Social Media Can Affect Your Business in 2010

social media in 2010Social media websites grew at exponential rates in 2009. According to a report where Twitter grew at a staggering rate of more than 1000%, Facebook also achieved a growth rate of 228%. 2009 was also a year when most businesses joined social media websites like Twitter and Facebook to promote their brand. It is a well known fact that social media would be one of the most important factors which will affect all business either online or offline. So here are some tips that businesses should follow in 2010 for their social marketing campaigns.

Web 2.0 Customer Support: – Since most of your target audience would be using these websites, you have to make sure that you provide information about your products and customer support to your clients on such websites.…

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10 Tips For Integrating Social Media Into Your Marketing Mix

social media marketingFor most small businesses, social media should be one weapon in your arsenal – not your entire marketing strategy. Look for smart ways to integrate social media into your current marketing efforts. Just like any other tactic, it has its own benefits, advantages and shortcomings – you can’t rely on it for everything, so play to its strengths. Here’s some tips for smart social media integration.

1. Always connect the dots – link back to your website from all your social media profiles.

2. Where possible back up the contacts you make on social networks. Myspace recently acquired and promptly killed Imeem leaving millions of users without access to the contacts they had developed on that network.…

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Event Marketing Tools For Your Small Business

event marketing toolsToday’s small businesses are adept at using online tools such as email newsletters and surveys to help develop strong relationships with their customers. While these tools can enable two-way communications, face-to-face interactions can be an effective way to build and instill trust in these relationships. It’s that sense of community and interaction that in-person events provide when communicating directly with customers.

Hosting events and promoting them through an online service is a great place to start. Small businesses and organizations have many options to consider when looking for the best way to promote their events. Free online RSVP services offer great ways to invite friends and relatives to a casual engagement, but businesses need a more professional service when marketing their events.…

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How To Engage Consumers This Holiday Season

engaging consumers during the holiday sales seasonAs we prepare for the height of the holiday season, one in which spending is predicted to be lukewarm at best, local businesses can get smart by planning and implementing thoughtful marketing campaigns that provide consumers relief where they need it most: their wallets. With Black Friday quickly approaching, time is of the essence to get a plan in place and begin implementing it.

While it can seem a bit overwhelming, there are plenty of low-cost options to keep a small business fully engaged with its customers and achieve a high return on investment.

To start, it’s smart to get into the heads of customers to glean their holiday shopping plans in order to provide them with what they need.…

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How To Set Up A Custom Landing Page For Your Business Facebook Fan Page

1. Login to your Facebook account.

2. At the bottom left of your screen – click on Applications (blue arrow pointing).

Facebook fan page landing page step 1

3. Click on Browse More Application.

4. Type in FBML in the search box.

custom Facebook fan page landing page

5. Add the app to your Page.

setting up a custom landing page for Facebook fan pages

6. A window will open up to select the Page you want the application to install to.

add FBML to your Facebook fan page

7. Go back to your Page and select Edit Page.

editing a Facebook fan page

8. Scroll down to the FBML settings and click on Edit.

custom business Facebook fan page

And then on this.

Facebook fan landing pages

9. Name your box. I named mine ” Download Report” . You can change it whenever you want.…

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8 Reasons Why I Made A Custom Landing Page For My Facebook Business Fan Page

customizing facebook business fan landing pages

1. Create a strong first impression on people who are not logged into Facebook but are finding me on Facebook.com/InternetStrategyClub via Google or via an email. Dropping them on my Fan Page Wall which is active and full of comments, links, and photos etc might be way too much for somebody who just found me.

2. Make my page stand apart from hundreds of thousands of Business Fan Pages to Facebook users who are not fans of the page yet but are finding me either via Facebook Ads or word of mouth mention from another fan.

3. I took some very popular blog content that I had written, assembled it by topic and put it in a free report to give away on the landing page, so no additional work and I could get it done and out on Facebook in two days.…

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The Mrs. Kravitz Effect

online brand monitoringIf you are a baby boomer like I am, you probably remember the 60s television show, Bewitched. Mrs. Kravitz was the busybody next-door neighbor of the sitcom’s main characters, Darren and Samantha Stevens. Mrs. Kravitz was extremely nosy; always peeking through the curtains to see what was going on at the Stevens’ home. If there was anything strange activity or unusual behavior, she knew about it (Samantha practiced witchcraft, so strange or unusual was an understatement.) The point is, she was extremely observant and clearly saw the goings-on where no one else did.

In today’s social media environment consumers have enormous control over what is said about your product or company.…

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7 Ways to More Effectively Use Twitter for Business

twitter for business tipsTwitter has not only received quite a bit of press in the past year, but it has also become an important tool for many trying to market their business, product or personal brand. Of course, people and businesses alike are doing this with a varying degree of success and some have a much better handle on the whole social media for marketing thing than others. Here are a few tips to improve your Twitter experience if you’re floundering or if you’re not seeing the results that you had hoped.

1. Read what your followers are saying. The point of social media is that it should be a two way street.…

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