BUSINESS IDEALS

Many top blogs, including social news site Mashable.com, continue to focus on the effectiveness of pay-per-click advertising through Google's ever-popular search and content networks. But new advertising platforms are on the scene--from social sites like Facebook to high-traffic blogs--and they offer a more targeted advertising approach. Google is having a difficult time trying to compete.

The reason is social sites offer better targeting with keywords and demographic-specific ads. Think about the manner and type of information Facebook gathers. While Google knows you're in the market for a new home, Facebook knows what causes are important to you, which videos you like to share and how often you make recommendations to your friends. Social media advertising opportunities are yielding better-qualified, higher-ROI results compared to the Google ad network.

Additionally, Facebook recently announced that Bing is now the default search engine for its more than 400 million users worldwide, which puts the site in a position to enhance its advertising model even more. By offering search on the site, Facebook is now able to gather data that it can leverage immeasurably in the world of advertising: the way people think, what they care about and how this leads them to buying decisionGoogle's model is still effective, but this newer platform includes psychographic information--attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests and lifestyles (also known as IAO variables). This is putting the pressure on Google to provide a similar service. The bottom line is, if you can display your ads to a (more precisely) targeted demographic, your click-through ratios will improve.

Regardless of the pay-per-click advertising model you choose, there are three things you need to do before you invest:

1. Determine who you are targeting
With Facebook, you can get very specific with your keywords and filter by location, interest, age level and group or cause involvement. With Google, you have the ability to present an ad based on what someone is searching for right now, ready to buy.

2. Do a test campaign
If your budget allows, compare and test both platforms. As little as $100 each placed in PPC or CPM (cost-per-thousand) advertising on Facebook and Google is usually enough to reveal the difference in impact between specific and general targeting for your audience.

3. Determine which PPC model works best for your business
Just in case you need a refresher on the two "pay per" models:

* CPC: Cost-per-click advertising allows you to pay for each click your ad receives. If you agree to pay $1 for each click, five clicks will cost you $5.
* CPM: Cost-per-thousand (M is the Roman numeral for 1,000) advertising allows you to purchase a set amount of impressions. An impression is a single instance of an ad appearing on a web page. If your ad appears twice on one view of the page, that's two impressions.

Remember that click-throughs aren't everything. Even an unclicked (but viewed) ad can play an important role in promoting your company by way of exposure. Too many marketers overlook the potential of CPM-based advertising. Keep in mind that targeted advertising greatly increases the overall effectiveness of your ad.

Here's a quick comparison of the Facebook and Google m

 

We live in an era where information is king, and it's a professional businessperson's responsibility to know how to use information and technology to their advantage. This is critically important to internalize because the sooner you use the available technology to your advantage, the sooner you'll beat your competition in growing your business
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Let's begin with the simple things. If you do business outside your local calling area you need to at the very least have a toll-free phone service. If you only work within a small geographic area, a basic local phone line will suffice. You also need a fax machine and fast connection to the internet. Don't even waste your time or money on "economical" internet service; you need information coming and going as fast as possible.

Just as important as the technological equipment is the software you select. If you own a franchise, the appropriate software is probably provided or, at the very least, recommended. Take whatever classes are necessary to master it because not knowing how to use it effectively will only hold you back.If you must select your own software, get advice from someone already in business; don't just listen to your accountant here. I'm not saying they don't offer sound advice, but they'll most likely only tell you how to best set up your books. That's a necessary part of business, but if there's a software program that helps you make more sales, don't you think you could afford to hire someone to "do the books" for you? You need easy access to online, e-mail and snail-mail promotions. You need to get positive PR. Having software that helps you track existing clients and get the word out about your product or service is critical. You also need to be able to track your promotions to know which ones work well for you.

Face it: If you don't make sales, you're not in business. Keep abreast of the latest technology strictly from the standpoint of whether or not it could help you increase your business volume. This includes ideas for using existing technology to serve your clients better through customer service follow-up programs. Even if your product is something people will only invest in once in a lifetime, they may know others they can refer to you--if you keep in touch.

If you're what we call an "outside" sales representative, meaning you invest much of your time in your car or anywhere but a retail or home-office location, you need the best wireless communications plan possible. Before getting involved with one, ask others you know in the area which service they use. Find out which one has the best coverage in your particular area.

You may also need a wireless laptop computer, a portable printer and either a phone on your camera or a digital camera. Having a camera on hand is an easy way to impress clients. For example, imagine you're an interior designer and are at a client's home, and after they select new carpet or drapery fabric, you arrange a little display of their choices, take a photo and either print it out or e-mail it to them that day. How impressive is that? They don't have to keep your samples or wait until the items are delivered to shop for decorating accessories. They'll have something they can drop into their purse or pocket.

Another way to use technology to your advantage the day you close a sale is to follow up immediately. Every new client should receive an order confirmation and/or thank-you note sent on the day of purchase. Whether you send it via snail-mail or e-mail is up to you, but it makes you look so much more professional than the competition to have a technological system in place to make this happen.

To top it all off, invest some time in finding and mastering software for planning. This would be a calendar program of some sort. If you like the handheld versions, great! If you prefer something on your computer or to use the one on your wireless phone, that's great as well. The most important point is to use it well. Record appointments, time for prospecting, follow-up and personal time. Being truly successful in business means you're on top of your game. Effective use of today's technology gets you there and keeps you there!

 

You started a business blog, created a Twitter profile and developed a Facebook page--now what? Sure, you can start publishing updates and sending friend and follow requests, but those communications are just the preliminary steps to social media marketing success.

Here are five tips that anyone can apply to their social media marketing efforts today and start seeing positive results almost immediately.

1. Make it easy and non-threatening for your audience to participate.
   Not only does your content matter on the social web but your personality matters, too. In other words, you need to be accessible and approachable in all of your social media marketing communications. Don't talk at people, talk with them, and do so in a manner that makes it clear that you want them to join the conversation.
   
   This applies to your employees as well. Your employees are your best brand advocates. Make it easy and non-threatening for them to talk about your business on the social web by providing simple guidelines for them to follow. You can find an excellent directory of well-known company social media and blogging policies here, which you can benchmark in order to develop your own business' guidelines.
2. Write share-worthy content.
   The more amazing content that you publish online through your social media profiles and branded destinations, the more people will want to share it with their audiences. That leads to far more online exposure for you, your business and your brand than you can get on your own. Of course, not every piece of content that you publish on social sites has to be share-worthy, but you should try to publish as much amazing, share-worthy content as possible. Not just to broaden your exposure, but also to add value to the online conversation.
3. Acknowledge and recognize your audience.
   The power of social media marketing comes from the relationships you develop with your online audience (who will become brand advocates and will talk about your business, champion it, and defend it against naysayers). With that in mind, you must acknowledge people when they reach out to you.
   
   Would you ignore a person who walked up to you at a networking event and spoke to you? Hopefully, your answer to that question is, "no." No one likes to be ignored, and social media conversations shouldn't be treated differently from in-person conversations. Many of the most successful marketers make a point of responding to every e-mail, blog comment, tweet and so on that is directed at them. So recognize your audience, and make them feel important.
4. Integrate all of your marketing efforts.
   All of your marketing efforts should work together to present consistent brand messages and lead to your ultimate marketing goals. You should also cross-promote your various marketing efforts. For example, feed your blog content to your Twitter and Facebook profiles using a tool like www.Twitterfeed.com. Promote your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles by including "Follow Me" buttons in your blog's sidebar that link to your profiles. Include your Twitter ID in your printed ads and link to your blog and social media profiles in your e-mail signature.
   
   The key is to surround your audience with branded experiences and let them select how they want to interact with your business and brand. Give them options and make it easy for them to join the conversation in the way that they choose.
5. Don't try to keep up with the Jones'.
   Just because your competitor is doing something on the social web doesn't mean that you need to do the same. By blindly following your competitor's path, you're marketing scared and without purpose. Plus, it's probable that your competitor's initiatives won't help you meet your goals at all. While it's essential that you monitor your competitor's social media marketing activities, you should analyze them against your own goals before implementing any of them yourself.