Browsing all articles tagged with Media
Mar
20

From Social Media Network To Business Relationship, How To Start?

In social media network (SMN) site, you get to know someone you think they will be your business partners. First of all, you profile and experience must be well prepared in SMN site. If you could get the recommendations from your working or business partners, that’s nice. It makes you more positive and let other people feel more confident when communicate with you. Secondly you have to do, searching the keywords, e.g Corporate Gifts, “e-Books”, e-Commerce Development”, and etc. If the location is crucial, you should also input the location name into keyword box.  After obtained the search result, you have 3 methods to link with them:
1.Leave them the message directly and state your reason of contact
2.Get someone you know already in the SMN site who can introduce you to the target
3.List what you are buying or selling on SMN site. Let the other people contact you

Contact and Send the Message
I would suggest first 2 methods because you need to contact the potential clients proactively and show your sincerity of doing business with them. The following example is the message you write to the target:

Dear Mr. ABC,

How are you?

This is Mr. Johnson Harry from ABC<a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=http://company.easytrade.com/kf/home_en.asp?showroomid=1&companyid=1>Crystal Gifts</a> Ptv. Company. I come across your profile in the XXXX.com and would like to build up the business relationship with you. We are a<a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=http://www.crystal88.com/>crystal gift manufacturer</a>based in Hong Kong. We supply the wide range of crystal products to our clients in Europe and United States, e.g. wedding gifts, corporate gifts, desktop items, house decorations, and so on. Currently we are offering the big discount sale on our products. Most items are 50% off at its original price. Please see the our<a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=http://company.easytrade.com/kf/home_en.asp?showroomid=1&companyid=1>online showroom</a> in EasyTrade.com and ask for quote directly their. I will respond you within 24 hours. Thanks for your attention!  

Yours sincerely,

Johnson Harry

Follow Up
Send the message to them and wait for the response. If your target does not respond you within 2 weeks, he might not be interested in your products. However you should make it clear and send another gentle reminder. For example,
 
Dear Mr. ABC,
 
Following up my last message to you, are you interest in our products and big discount offer? If you have any special requirements or need additional services from us, please let me know and I will try my best to meet your requirements. Your early response is appreciate. Thanks!
 
Reegards,
 
John Harry

No matter you send the message to the target directly or post your offer on SMN site, you have to show your products online and the e-Commerce features with online catalog is highly recommended. 

Mar
19

From Social Media Network to Business Relationship,How to Start?

In social media network (SMN) site, you get to know someone you think they will be your business partners. First of all, you profile and experience must be well prepared in SMN site. If you could get the recommendations from your working or business partners, that’s nice. It makes you more positive and let other people feel more confident when communicate with you. Secondly you have to do, searching the keywords, e.g. Corporate Gifts, “e-Books”, e-Commerce Development”, and etc. If the location is crucial, you should also input the location name into keyword box.  After obtained the search result, you have 3 methods to link with them:

Leave them the message directly and state your reason of contact Get someone you know already in the SMN site who can introduce you to the target List what you are buying or selling on SMN site. Let the other people contact you

 

Contact and Send the Message

I would suggest first 2 methods because you need to contact the potential clients proactively and show your sincerity of doing business with them. The following example is the message you write to the target:

 

Dear Mr. ABC, 

How are you?

This is Mr. Johnson Harry from ABC  Crystal Gifts Ptv. Company. I come across your profile in the XXXX.com and would like to build up the business relationship with you. We are a crystal gift manufacturer based in Hong Kong. We supply the wide range of crystal products to our clients in Europe and United States, e.g. wedding gifts, corporate gifts, desktop items, house decorations, and so on. Currently we are offering the big discount sale on our products. Most items are 50% off at its original price. Please see the our online showroom in EasyTrade.com and ask for quote directly their. I will respond you within 24 hours. Thanks for your attention!  

 

Yours sincerely,

 Johnson Harry

Follow Up

Send the message to them and wait for the response. If your target does not respond you within 2 weeks, he might not be interested in your products. However you should make it clear and send another gentle reminder. For example,

 

Dear Mr. ABC, 

Following up my last message to you, are you interest in our products and big discount offer? If you have any special requirements or need additional services from us, please let me know and I will try my best to meet your requirements. Your early response is appreciate. Thanks!

 

Reegards,

John Harry

No matter you send the message to the target directly or post your offer on SMN site, you have to show your products online and the e-Commerce features with online catalog is highly recommended.  

 

 

 

 

Mar
19

Leverage Social Media To Create Affinity Groups Online

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.

http://newventurestrategies.com

Mar
18

Using Social Media for Business – Beginner’s Guide

On the topic of social media applications, there seem to be three types of people: the super users, the avoiders, and the people that say, “I know I need to, but which ones and why?” Most business people probably fall into the last group: the ocean of people who lie between the early-adopter ?-geeks and those mind-boggling creatures who only check their email once a week or so. Yes, there’s potential there for good things to happen…if you’re actively using the right applications.


The number of applications and communities is overwhelming. Many of the most popular ones, like MySpace and YouTube, aren’t going to be all that helpful for professional interaction. That’s not true for every industry, though, so it’s worth asking around and seeing what your communities are using. If your colleagues, contacts, and customers are all using some other method of connecting, by all means go participate there. The point of this is for you to be able to make useful, meaningful connections and interact.


LinkedIn is a simple, useful tool for any professional. This is the business networking equivalent of being listed in the phone book. It doesn’t require very much attention and can provide a great deal of benefit. Spending half an hour building your profile lets you put your CV out there, easily find your network of contacts, and be visible for the sort of notice you want to receive. If you want to do more, there are great community features. People can recommend you and your work. You can ask questions through LinkedIn Answers and get answers from people who actually know what they’re talking about. If you need to hire someone or are looking for a job, it’s an ideal place to put out feelers. You won’t get clobbered with email from LinkedIn




Using Social Media for Business – Beginner’s Guide




Posted: Apr 17, 2008 |
Comments: 0 |
Views: 43 |
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On the topic of social media applications, there seem to be three types of people: the super users, the avoiders, and the people that say, “I know I need to, but which ones and why?” Most business people probably fall into the last group: the ocean of people who lie between the early-adopter ?-geeks and those mind-boggling creatures who only check their email once a week or so. Yes, there’s potential there for good things to happen…if you’re actively using the right applications.


The number of applications and communities is overwhelming. Many of the most popular ones, like MySpace and YouTube, aren’t going to be all that helpful for professional interaction. That’s not true for every industry, though, so it’s worth asking around and seeing what your communities are using. If your colleagues, contacts, and customers are all using some other method of connecting, by all means go participate there. The point of this is for you to be able to make useful, meaningful connections and interact.


LinkedIn is a simple, useful tool for any professional. This is the business networking equivalent of being listed in the phone book. It doesn’t require very much attention and can provide a great deal of benefit. Spending half an hour building your profile lets you put your CV out there, easily find your network of contacts, and be visible for the sort of notice you want to receive. If you want to do more, there are great community features. People can recommend you and your work. You can ask questions through LinkedIn Answers and get answers from people who actually know what they’re talking about. If you need to hire someone or are looking for a job, it’s an ideal place to put out feelers. You won’t get clobbered with email from LinkedIn

Mar
18

Using Social Media to Build Out Inbound Links

There are many creative ways referred to as link-baiting to get people to link to you without you even having to ask. The easiest way to sum that up is engaging, original content. And there it is again, that word. Content. In the context of social networking, use a combination of a blog, article directories, press releases, Squidoo, Wet Paint, Hubpages, paid links and online charity donations. If you are surprised about the last item on that shopping list, you’re not alone. But it’s true: The “.org” status of charity sites is highly regarded by Google — and thus gets an almost immediate indexing to the search pages.

Here is a little insight into how a campaign is constructed and what results can be generated. Let’s assume you are trying to attract attention to your site and build dozens of relevant links in the process. Creating hundreds of new links is the whole point of a link-bait campaign. These campaigns are similar to PR campaigns where the quality of the content and the distribution list are the critical success elements.

Step 1: Research your market and develop content that is relevant to this audience. In many cases these articles launch on Digg.com, which is visited primarily by young tech-savvy males. The choice of a catchy title that would immediately appeal to that target market is critical. Step 2: Create a page on the main site that looks like an ordinary article page. Use images where appropriate. Step 3: Invite all your friends and colleagues, individually – not in a spammy email, to Digg the article. Start with our own personal and business networks and then expand to other acquaintances and friends-of-friends as much as possible. This is the hardest and most laborious part of the link-bait campaign. It can take hours to send out all the individual emails and chat notifications with the link embedded. Step 4: Be patient and watch the Diggs grow and the traffic swell.

As you write your next blog posting, comment, article or press release, heed the words of the experts and don’t get too greedy. Follow a rule of thumb that you need only to optimize for one phrase per content item in these socially connected sites, and never have more than two outgoing links. It is generally agreed that the more outgoing links a web page or a press release has, the more diluted the effect becomes. With the second generation of websites, or “Web 2.0? social media, like MySpace and Facebook, are only relevant or applicable to some marketing strategies, and even then require startling creativity in order to make any difference. Choose your off-site content pages carefully. Not only could they be a misplaced marketing effort, but also the cost of maintaining such a site with up-to-date and relevant content can be exhausting.

Mar
17

Social Media – a New Marketing Hot Spot?

In the last few months community websites or blogs became increasingly popular. Everyone wanted to share his or her thoughts or experiences with the world by posting blogs, comments, pictures or even videos. The best known websites are such as YouTube, MySpace or Flickr.

Due to the high attention those pages get, companies got the idea to use them as a part of their online marketing mix. They post news articles linking back to their website or even submit short ad movies on YouTube.

To make it easier to integrate a website in these Social Media services, it needs to be optimised (Social Media Optimisation = SMO), which includes the offer of RSS-feeds or the integration of flickr-galleries or YouTube videos. The result of those marketing strategies is to achieve a higher brand visibility and to increase the traffic on your website. However the kind of users who will click on your website might not necessarily be 100 percent the right target group. SMO on its own is not enough to raise your business to the next level – but combined with other classic marketing activities, SEO and/or Pay Per Click campaigns you will soon be able to see the rewards of your work.

Read your Do’s & Don’ts list to ensure that your SMO campaign will be successful:

Do’s

* Participate in the community and build a good reputation

* Build friendships within the community

* Spread outlinks ; people might link back

* Choose the right time of the day to submit your article; it is said that mid-day during the week is the best time

Don’ts

* Don’t publish biased information

* Don’t cheat by buying votes; in the long term it won’t work and you will loose credibility and your reputation

* Don’t break any rules in the community

* Don’t publish irrelevant content

Contact Tetridia on +44 (0)20 8144 6655 for more information on how to raise your marketing to the next level using Search Engine Marketing.

Mar
17

Twitter And Other Social Media Is Transferring Control Of Your Brand To Consumers

For years I have talked about how so many companies invest hundreds of thousands of dollars on really beautiful web sites. When I ask these companies why, I’m usually told the web site has to be great because a web site is, and I quote “the first impression a company makes online.”

I’ve always disagreed.

Statistically, the SEO crowd will tell you that 40% of everything typed into that box on Google is a company name or URL.. the so-called “navigational search.” We all do it. We want to visit Technology Innovation International’s web site. Is that “techinnovationintl.com” or is it “technologyinnovation.com” or is it.. ah heck with it, let Google tell me. Still don’t believe me? Take a look at your web site traffic statistics. I’ll bet a pound of bacon that the top five terms referring traffic to your web site include your company name and URL.

Here’s the catch, when you search Google, about 25% of all the results returned is content created by consumers. Blog posts, Tweets, forum discussions, YouTube videos and more. My argument: search Google on your company name, URL, product name, executive name, phone number and address – that is the first impression consumers have of you online, not your web site. Smart companies spend as much time and resources on influencing that Google search results page as they do on their web site homepage.

At least, that was the drum I was beating until yesterday. See, first I thought it was just me. My Blackberry is on the fritz. Five years ago, (assuming that Blackberrys had existed then) I would have gone to the Blackberry web site and looked at FAQs. A year ago I would have searched Google for a solution. Yesterday, I searched Twitter.

In fact, when I have any tech support or customer service issue, I search Twitter for an answer. When a person applies for a job at the WM I search for them on Twitter. When a new prospect calls, I search for them on Twitter. When I want to know if the new pizza place is any good, if my son’s new teacher is well liked or if my new neighbor is a creep, I search Twitter for them.

It turns out, I’m not alone. Yesterday I was training a client on social media and we started digging into the company Twitter presence. In turns out the Twitter community was using Twitter as a means to ask and answer each other’s questions about the client’s products. In fact, one of the products was being Tweeted about every 15 minutes.  When I checked the followers of the Twitter folks talking, I started seeing that members of this community tended to be connected to one another. They all lived in different parts of the world and had very little in common…except for the use of this product.

Putting on my Sherlock Holmes hat and smoking jacket, I can safely conclude that something like this happened: Consumer A says, “Hmmm… I have a question about this product, wonder what the Twitterverse is saying about that?” She searches Twitter and says, “Wow, people are Tweeting about this product about once every 15 minutes. Just look at Consumer B – G.” Consumer A starts following Consumers B-G.  Consumers B-G follow her back. A conversation ensues. All this happens in minutes. Then Consumer H says, “Hmmm… I have a question about this product, wonder what the Twitterverse is saying about that?”

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

All this happens without the corporate customer service folks ever getting a phone call.

So, do I still think your search results page on Google is one of the first impressions you make online? Yes! But your Twitter search results page is pretty darn important, too. Oh, and don’t forget it changes much faster than your Google search page ever does and those Tweets are not only showing up in Twitter search…they’re also being indexed in Google.

Mar
16

How You Can Make Social Media Work For You–Part 2 Of 3

I\’ll bet that your to-do list is looking more like an entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica these days than a few bullet points on a Post-It note. Catching up after the holidays and a tough economic environment mean we\’re all probably working harder and longer. Here are the top five ways I think using Social Media can save you time and take tasks off your plate.

Networking. You already know that business networking is a marketing method by which business opportunities are created through networks of like-minded business people. When you participate in a business network, you\’re able to build new business relationships and generate business opportunities at the same time. Save time and expand your reach by networking online with twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, by writing and commenting on blogs, and by joining affiliate groups. Spend as little as 15 minutes a day updating your profiles with relevant posts or comments, and you are marketing yourself to a self-selecting group of like-minded people who will be more inclined to buy what you offer.

Collaborating. Tired of trying to do it all yourself? Then use your network of friends/followers/connections to brainstorm, get some new ideas or get much-needed feedback on your own ideas. Who in your network is doing something (workshop, sale, community service event, etc.) that you could be a part of? Wouldn\’t you both benefit by supporting each other? In the Social Media world, it is both acceptable and expected that you \”butt in\” to a discussion you find interesting and offer your advice or ask for support. How much faster could you accomplish one of your goals if you got some help from your huge Social Network? Learning. I used to Google something when I needed to know more. Now, I twitter. While Google gives me gazillions (my four-year-old\’s word) of websites that match my search criteria, I still have to sift through a bunch of them in hopes of finding an answer to my problem or question. With twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, I can ask a question like: \”What criteria should I consider when hiring a VA (Virtual Assistant)?\” In a few minutes (or even seconds), I get several replies from my networks that directly answer my question. The answers come to me, rather than my having to sniff them out. This saves me a ton of time! Finding new clients. We\’re all in business to make money, so we\’ve got to find new clients/customers who are willing to give us their money in return for our valuable products and services. If you have a new product, class, service or huge sale going on, why not invite a gazillion of your network buddies to come buy something from you? With a quick tweet like: \”Check out our holiday sale: 25% off and free shipping @ www.yourwebsite.com,\” you\’ve just given a bunch of new people the chance to become your adoring new customers. How fast can you type? Getting support. Like I mentioned above, I was stuck for a couple of weeks and couldn\’t make myself get this newsletter done. Well, I\’m almost finished with 45 minutes to spare before my self-imposed deadline of 2:30pm. I reached out to my network and asked for help, and I got it. Sometimes I need to vent, or I want to find out if anyone else has ever experienced a situation that I have, etc. I use my network to get the inspiration, encouragement, \”atta-girl\’s\” and \”me too\’s\” when I need them. Sometimes this is the exact thing I need to get back on track and do what must be done.

Mar
16

President Obama – How He Used Social Media To Win His Election

We all know how historic the 2008 US Elections have been, President Barack Obama has a lot of ‘first’ in history now, one of them being the 1st presidential candidate who owes a big portion of his ‘thanks for helping me win’ to the Internet!

Social Media Networking played a massive role in Obama’s campaign, he has MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, his website and even an SMS opt in. What are the factors that made all the difference for Obama’s campaign? It wasn’t anything new, they didn’t invent anything special, rather they combined different social networking applications that had a huge impact on people all over the net and they managed to raise money, organize locally for different states, they had more power in fighting smear campaigns and eventually gain the vote of the people.

Lets compare some numbers starting with blogs. Mc Cain had about 150 million mentions in blogs, President Obama had close to 500 million! That’s a huge difference. President Obama has close to a million friends and got 10,000 more around Election Day. McCain has a little over 200,000 friends and gained 964 more on Election Day. Obama is also leading in twitter with about 12,000 followers while McCain didn’t reach 5000. Then we have YouTube with 134,000 Obama followers and more than 3 million on Facebook!

Thomas Jefferson used newspapers to help him earn his seat, John F. Kennedy used TV, and Howard Dean used the web for raising money, President Obama on the other hand took the web and used it to lower the cost of building a political brand and with it get closer to more people. This is a day and age where people’s identities are hooked online and that’s simply a fact. How many people can you count that you know who doesn’t have a PC, a laptop, a blueberry or a cellular phone? People want to be informed now and President Obama can get to them.

So all this Social Media networking was more on campaigning and viral marketing, what’s going to happen now that he’s president? For starters, it will now cost the white house close to $0 to get in touch with millions of Americans via all the different means they have used during the campaign. Now, President Obama has millions of names and email addresses of supporters all over the country and it doesn’t stop here, hello supporters do you smell the 2012 elections?

Mar
15

The Social Media Craze – What’S Working, What’S Lost Luster And What Is Flying Under The Radar

Social Media, Networking, Blogging and Uploading Videos, what won’t people do today to get more clients? Even the President of the United States of America is on these sites and they are doing him a lot of good! But what really works? What’s doing better than others? Lets go over some of the sites.

Facebook and Myspace. In the beginning they seemed to be more of the friendly young crowd sites you use to meet someone and make friend with. But now it’s become a great place to meet like-minded people and that can be for business or pleasure. The only thing about these kinds of sites is that they were not made for the purpose of social networking in from a business point of view. Facebook for example has about 1% of the world’s population on it but you and I can’t see that since a members list is not available. So you only get to add people to know by name or who are friends of friends.

With blogging sites, you need the time to put up posts on a regular basis. In twitter, it’s great for sort of getting a fan base for your self and for meeting other people like yourself doing what you’re trying to do. There are many different Blog sites so depending on where you’re from and what you do it’s best you pick a site that can benefit you the most, or join many sites and keep them running as long as they are working out for you.

Video Posting is another great social media gig that, yes, President Obama does so well. No need to say you have to be able to act or project in the video! If you’re selling something you don’t want people think you’re a lunatic, so this gig is not meant for everyone. For those of you, who can do it, by all means get your face in you tube and get people watching you and listening to what you have to say. Reading something on someone’s blog is far different from watching a video of him or her whether it’s a good or a bad thing is up toy you.

Other sites such as Linkedin or Ecademy are also great sites but are more standard in other countries. So many sites are in, some are flying under the radar, but what matters to you would depend on what you do and what you sell. It’s not a bad idea to try out a few of your top picks and see, which grows for you more, and stick to it. But don’t expect a sudden rush of adds or views because on the web, half of the world is competing with you.