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… it really matters. Why? Because your results will be very different between the two. If you are always following the pack — you will always get the butt end of the stick. Period. Social Media, by its very nature, is very dynamic and ever-evolving. Tools that were effective last week, may change (in various ways…) that should cause you to change your marketing tool focus.

Let me illustrate, using examples of factors that should have affected your marketing strategy in the past months:

• When Scribd (a social media marketing website - was once a great tool), changed its linking structure - all links became not valid, making it useless as a search engine marketing tool. Most online marketers dropped off Scribd because of it. However, if they (and in turn you) had done a little investigating - it would be known that by using their new editing tool, all past links could be updated after the change AND new links could be used. Knowing this, kept my team ahead of the game - because we were able to capture a significant amount of traffic knowing what we knew.
• Squidoo. Huh? Yep. It’s likely you have no idea what this is about. Squidoo, another place to develop great conversations in your marketing efforts, has had its relationship with Google changed in the past months. Understanding how Google is treating Squidoo in indexing and ranking would really be helpful to understand the changes necessary in your Lenses to keep the traffic coming.

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… it’s a tough feat, but can actually be done.  With alittle planning, task work, and the right “know-how” — you can build a very good foundation of online “buzz” for your big product launch.  Here are some tips:

• Connect to the blogsphere before launch:  the concept here is to tap into their large network of traffic and abilities to create great viral marketing.  You’ll approach them from the angle of “seeking their expertise in providing an evaluation of the product or service.”  This serves two purposes - you get to tap into their expertise and get valuable feedback about what your offering.  You also, and more importantly, get to “feed” them content about your product or service; they will likely blog about their review.  Your hope here is that its good.  You can also use these reviews for marketing purposes.  Its a win-win if you can get some good evaluations.
  • Keep in mind here, you are likely to get a better response to your evaluation request, if you’ve formed relationships with your prospects.  I typically “follow” bloggers who are big in the sphere by reading and commenting in their blogs, forming relationships… even with these efforts, you’ll still only see a 20% acceptance rate… so put in alittle work here.  Get connected with who’s connected in  your industry. 
• Market your launch, with the good feedback already backing you in the blog community, using social media.  Social networking profiles, social bookmarking at such sites as Digg, StumbleUpon, and others.  Your basically leaving breadcrumbs across the Net with hopes that it catches on.  Some of this is planning and some happen purely out of luck, or the whim of users.  In any case, the link-backs to your site/product launch page, the potential residual traffic, and branding created are worth the effort.
• Interact with your market - go where they are.  Look, the days of “hard selling,” “infomercial” type marketing is over, my friend.  Most marketers still using using those techniques are building eternal funnels, not building relationships - which have a greater profitability growth potential.  Communicate in forums, locating areas of solution your product/service can solve.  Our team locates forums and networking sites where our products provide a solution to the users stated problem.  The point here is to go where your market goes and to communicate with them. 
• If you can afford a small paid marketing budget - say $500, you could use pay-per-click campaigns (geo-targeted in some cases), paid placement on social networking and bookmarking sites.  But don’t go crazy here, if your smart, you’ve planned ahead and have 2-3 months to market your launch.  Put in the right amount of work, and that is plenty of time to save you plenty of money.
• Audio and Video Campaigns?  Yep. Not what you think.  Online media is fast becoming the best and least expensive way to market, creating residual publicity that can create huge amounts of traffic.  Examples here include:
  • Google audio ads:  Creating product/brand awareness is half the battle online.  Google audio ads are a great way to do so (along with other providers).   Audio can be fairly inexpensive to create (especially with such programs as AudioAcrobat) - and can be distributed across a great network if submitted to the right place.
    • Video marketing:  Yep.  You really can do it.  Remember, some of the best viral video campaigns were not professionally filmed and scripted - not even close.  I’ve seen clients “home video” small snippets of programs, funny parodies showing a problem which product a solves, and a host of other ideas.  Take that same, simple, cheesy movie - tag is correctly, and submit to such places as YouTube, Google, and a long list of video hubs…. you’ve got a potentially explosive campaign.
• Issue press releases:  Get one great paid account at PRWeb.com - submit the rest to free and all-inclusive news directories (which often trickle through Google) and you’ve got a great way to generate even more traffic.  Do not ever underestimate the many free ways you can build online “buzz” for yourself. 
• Follow-up:  Make sure your using a cart system like 1ShoppingCart.com.  You want to make sure your communication with the incoming traffic is consistent and purposeful.  I can not stress enough, the effective use of technology that automates your processes.  The work it takes to set it up properly can save you hundreds of hours in maintianing and “running” the business your trying to grow.

The important thing to remember is plan ahead.  Give your product/service AND YOURSELF enough time to use the many creative opportunities available to really market.  I see too often failure after failure because of unrealistic expectations and last-minute efforts, that really short change the success you could have had

To Your Success,

Maria Reyes-McDavis

Your Web Success Diva

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Social media.  What does it sound like it would mean?  It is almost an old technology, advancing leaps and bounds in the past year… Yet, its lifespan is so ever-evolving, there is still much life left in this little known marketing art.  Those who know, use it as if it were the lifeline of their growth - those who don’t chalk it up to just another internet fad. 

Here’s all you need to know about social media marketing — it works.  Period.  It works in such a way that traditional forms of internet marketing pale in comparison.  Let’s look at the differences of each:

1. Traditional forms of online marketing require input for output.  In other words, ppc doesn’t work unless you pay for it.  eZine marketing does not work unless you religiously send out a jam-packed newsletter, taking plenty of time and effort, when you stop publishing it, you stop seeing results.  SEO requires constant nurturing to really reap continual benefits.  Social media marketing requires a foundation of work that could lead to years of residual traffic benefits.  Once you understand how it works and you implement it, you see just how great the residual rewards are from your social media campaign.  For example, one social media campaign could take 3 months to set-up, but bring in traffic for years to come.  This same campaign, if done right, can also benefit every and any other strategy you have in your online marketing arsenal.  Seriously.  This benefit alone makes it worth a look.
2. The old ways of marketing, have slowly - over time, lost their potency.  Clearly the days of when finding an eZine sign-up form on a website was considered ‘advanced technology’ were better days than now.   Now, every tom, dick, and mary is publishing an eZine and the opt-in boxes have become as common place as Viagra emails in your inbox.  Social media’s interactive and dynamic nature - makes it an entity that will only continue to grow.  Your investing now into a technology that will be around for a long time.  Your investing solely in older technology is a gamble on your company’s longevity online.
3. Old technology is limited in the relationship it forms with your market.  In other words, an eZine sent once a week, can only do so much to communicate to your market the messages you are trying to get across.  Your static website, again, can only take you so far into the psyche of your market.  Social media marketing has the incredible potential to create real “buzz,” and complete interaction with your market - creating an online publicity potential that all the old technology in the world could not rival.  The unique attribute that makes social media’s benefits so tremendous, is the way in which the technology lets the market determine its path - subtly, yet firmly, walking your market down the path to your product or service.  You engage them, in their environment - connecting at much deeper levels with them.  Your able to market to them, without really marketing to them.

Any person who is unwilling to at least look at the possibilities of social media marketing — should seriously consider their long-term future online.  Successful internet entrepreneurs are typically on the forefront of technology, able to spot opportunities and quickly act upon them.  Coaches, consultants, authors, & solopreneurs should be particularly sensitive to the opportunities available in emerging technologies.  With such competitive markets, this kind of knowledge could give you the competitive advantage you need to succeed. 

To Your Success,

Maria Reyes-McDavis

Your Web Success Diva

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