Ways To Leverage Twitter For Online Success

admin    Twitter     Leverage, Online, Success, Twitter, Ways

Ways To Leverage Twitter For Online Success

Unless you’ve been living under a rock chances are high that you already know how effective Twitter is as a marketing tool. It is no exaggeration to say that people now use the internet in a whole new way because of Twitter. Even though you can only post 140 characters at a time with Twitter, creative users of this service are now meeting new people, starting new companies and services and marketing their products. Yet the Twitter phenomenon is still in its early stages, as its popularity continues to grow by the day. Because of this rapid growth, Twitter is an ideal resource if your goal is to get targeted website traffic. Online marketing demands that you use a variety of tools and strategies to succeed; Twitter has quickly become one of these “must have” tools. One of the most interesting qualities of Twitter is that it operates in real time, giving you the ability to instantly see how people respond to you. But unless you are sure about what you’re doing, this traffic flow might very well miss your website. It’s essential to get off the ground with the right strategy, and to learn now to keep your momentum going in the future. This article will give you some effective twitter strategies that you can use right away in your online marketing.

Gratitude is vital when attempting to market effectively on Twitter. Why is it important? The core idea behind exchanging tweets on Twitter is to offer value; if someone requires help from you and poses a question. It’s more of a psychological thing than marketing-related. You need to show the people who are following you that you have their best interests at heart and the extra attention and time you spend on them will only make them feel obligated towards you. It is the best way you can build relationships.

The effectiveness of your relationship building skills will dictate how efficient your Twitter marketing strategies are. When you succeed at this, you will find it easy to send traffic to your website and offers. By giving to the community first, you will receive from the community as well. You can send them addresses of sites that feature your articles and offers and people will gladly go to read them. The end result is worth the time it will take to reach this stage.

Producing a viral tweet is not impossible, but you’ll need to ask others for help. Just as with direct response advertising, you’ll need to ask people to spread the word. Readers typically need direction for doing something, so making a request will give that to them. And this will give you more exposure and traffic. This simple method can produce more traffic to your sites. This is how you work the system there, and you’ll discover that sometimes insignificant details do matter.

You really can experience a flood of targeted traffic. It’s important to establish a strong foundation and be sure to follow their simple policies. Initially the visitors flow will be slow and will climb up with time, but once you’re set, Twitter can prove to be an instant source of traffic that gives you immediate profits. Twitter can be the success story you’ve been waiting for, so be sure to take action now and don’t let it pass by.

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Leverage Social Media To Create Affinity Groups Online

admin    Social Media     Affinity, Create, Groups, Leverage, Media, Online, Social

Intelligent research is the first step to launching (or not launching) any new business venture. Thinking like the individuals you are most hoping to influence is the key to developing a successful business model.

I’ve saved clients millions of dollars over the years by identifying critical threats (competitive, legal, moral, etc.) to their proposed new venture, simply by putting myself in the shoes of their target audience, and behaving as they would when presented with the new option being offered. In some cases, I’ve identified far better business models to pursue and directed my clients accordingly. But in many case, I’ve advised existing or prospective clients not to pursue the new venture at all, for reasons discovered through my intensive due diligence process.

Around Y2K, a top cruise industry executive asked my opinion regarding how I might rebrand their primary cruise line to better articulate their marketing message. The first thing I did was search the web to see how all other brands were attempting to sell me on the idea of a cruise, and how they claimed to be different from every other option available of the eighteen or so to select from. I quickly discovered that virtually every brand was claiming to be just perfect for me, without knowing anything about me or other people like me.

Every brand was speaking to me from their own perspective (selling me on their brand), while my own personal concerns centered around whether I would even enjoy cruising at all, regardless of brand. I decided that I might be compelled to cruise if it were with a ship full of other people like me, who I might most enjoy partying with for a week. I also quickly noticed that no cruise line gave me the option to search for cruises based on the types of people I might like to cruise with enough to tip me off the fence to pull the trigger and actually book a cruise.

While every brand in the industry was touting their destinations, size of ship, amenities, service, price, etc., the one thing I was most interested in – cruising with a bunch of other people that I would actually enjoy spending a week with – was not a searchable option. When every brand in an industry tells you they are just perfect for everyone, the entire industry is actually telling you that they don’t know you or care about your wants and desires.

So there it was – the reason why more people weren’t cruising was staring me right in the face, and the ramifications of this revelation were not only significant for the single brand for whom I was consulting, but for the entire cruise industry. An industry that was accustom to broadcasting their marketing message in one direction was about to be confronted with a new paradigm, the requirement for a cultural shift toward two-way dialogue as a marketing necessity.

Under my guidance, the results of these early revelations led to a cultural transformation not only at this Fortune 500 cruise line, but across the entire industry as their competitors responded to our online initiatives. Consumers had found their voice through online social media, and began configuring their own cruises not around brands or itineraries per se, but around groups formed online by others like themselves. We eavesdropped on their conversations as the groups were forming online, anticipated their wants and desires, and delighted them once on board, by honoring their group with a party and memorializing their time together in pictures.

My theory went as follows: Once groups form, and vacations are enjoyed, they plan another cruise, together, with even more of their friends. As the trend develops over the years, groups will double in size each year, and eventually grow large enough to charter entire ships (saving the cruise line 15% on travel agent fees and 100% on marketing costs), and they won’t even care what brand name is on their ship.

As group leaders emerge and find their voice, they may select a different ship or different itinerary for the group’s next cruise, but it was highly unlikely they would opt to switch brands – as such a move is too disruptive to the group. Brand loyalty is a happy byproduct in this case – not as a result of the superior service delivered, but because the switching cost (disruption and angst within the group) is simply too high. As “the group becomes the brand,” the industry can spend less on brand marketing (reduce or eliminate television advertising), and more on delivering the experience at a better value to these devoted groups.

The world of information is at your fingertips, provided you bother to commit the time and effort, and ask the right questions. Before I embark on any new concept, whether for myself or my clients, I’ve been known to spend several days with as many as 15 Google tabs open at one time, in search of total information awareness on all aspects related to the target concept. Every Google search can open a door to new elements that may not previously have occurred to you, many of which are critical to understanding whether your new venture is actually going to be perceived by the market in the way that you think it will be.

Unless and until you are willing to step out of your own shoes and into those of the people you are most trying to influence (at every level of the value chain), you can’t really know whether your product/service, messaging, price point, delivery method, etc. is truly going to result in the only thing that matters, profit.

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7 Steps To Leverage Social Media For Increasing Web Site Traffic

admin    Social Media     Increasing, Leverage, Media, Site, Social, Steps, Traffic

Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace etc. have become popular among the internet marketers. Most marketers hawk their websites, blog, affiliate links, list building URLs, etc. all day long to drive traffic to their web sites. Not only it is annoying to the network members, but also the effectiveness of such a strategy is yet to be proven.

However, you cannot ignore this emerging medium. You need to embrace it using a different mindset. If you follow the seven guidelines discussed below, you will be able to increase traffic to your site from these social media sites without exposing yourself as a self-centered marketer who will do anything to cash in on every opportunity.

1. Create a profile page at each site and detail your interests, expertise, blogs, and websites in your profile. In Twitter, you are limited by text space and the number of URLs you can use in your bio. Facebook has more flexibility and you can pull your blog RSS into the Facebook notes.

Social network sites are pull medium where the old push marketing fails miserably. Your goal should be to pull people to your profile page by regularly posting valuable and interesting contents from other sites. You can post your blog article in Twitter occasionally but don’t submit every blog post your create.

2. The old school marketing relies on four Ps – price, product, placement, and promotion. The social media adds another dimension and one more P to the marketing philosophy and it is the participation.

You need to participate in the conversion and at the same time encourage others to participate. If you want to build a community that will trust you, you need to participate by providing expert opinions and valuable information. You need to help others when somebody has a question. Even if don’t know the answer, find it out by spending sometime on the Web.

You also need to draw others in the discussions by asking questions, giving controversial opinions, raising interesting issues that affect your niche. Passively posting your URL all over the place will not bring traffic to your site. Only concerted efforts to position yourself as a knowledgeable person in your niche will result in more visitors to your site.

3. To position yourself as an expert in your niche, you need to create contents that are fresh, interesting, and valuable to your readers. You also have to discover high quality contents in your niche for sharing with others. Subscribe to a few dozen blogs and scan them everyday for high quality contents so that you can share it with others in your network.

4. You cannot hide yourself in the social media world. If you are a fake, people will discover it fast and you will lose trust and traffic. So, be authentic, transparent and humble in all your conversations. If you make a mistake, admit it and move on.

5. To establish your credibility and expertise, you should read a wide variety of topics in your niche and explain them to others in the form of blog post, ebooks, white papers, etc. Give it all for free without any strings attached. Encourage others to distribute your materials.

If you are not sharing some valuable information, somebody else will share it. You cannot hide any information. It is better to be the first mover than wondering how did everybody find it out.

6. Be prepared to change your mind set. The old school mindset for driving traffic is posting you site links everywhere. The social media mind set is establishing yourself as an expert and sharing your knowledge. Once people know that you are a good resource for solutions to their problems, they will come to your site and you can monetize your site in different ways.

If you are wondering how you are going to make money if you give every thing for free than you need to understand this new medium before you jump into the bandwagon by posting your URLs every hour. Your goal is to drive traffic to your site. Your site may monetize using a variety of methods like, third party advertisement, selling tutorials, affiliate marketing, selling memberships, etc.

7. Social media is a marketing tool set that you leverage to drive traffic to your web site. For leveraging this new medium, you need to establish yourself as a good community member first. Don’t be farcical like Walmart who paid to Jim and Laura to blog around the country in Walmart parking lots capturing stories of Walmart employees and how they loved to work at Walmart.

You may enjoy a short-lived traffic boost to your site, but it will not last longer. When the truth is exposed, it will be a public relation nightmare for you or your brand. Build your brand by telling the truth. There is nothing wrong if you are sponsored by a corporation, just reveal the truth.