Using Social Media for Business

Most of us have used social media at one time or another. Not only is it a good place to find old friends from school, but it can be used for online marketing strategy. You probably have heard of Facebook?, Twitter?, and LinkedIn?, with the latter being geared more towards business people in general. I am going to show you how to use these networks to benefit your business.

Here are some amazing statistics about Facebook? alone.

• In 2010 a 207% over 2009 in searches.
• It was the most searched term in 2010.
• A record-breaking 750 million photos were uploaded over New Years weekend.
• 71.2% of all U.S. internet users are on Facebook?.
• Ad revenue for Facebook will top $2.2 billion in 2011.
• 700 million active users on Facebook?.
• 175 million users on Twitter?.

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Using social media can be very advantageous for businesses worldwide. I know myself I use all of the above mentioned social media companies for my business. Your contacts that you acquire by finding someone you know or who might join your network can become a social media tool for you. What I do occasionally on my own Facebook? page is drop a link to one of my websites. I will either have someone give me a comment about the link which opens me up to extend conversation with that person more on a personal basis. Below I have listed what I consider the best free ways to use social media to improve your business.

• Be your self- What I mean by this is to engage in conversations online like you would in person. Tell the person a little about yourself and what your goals are. Build a relationship and later they could become your customer because you have gained their trust.
• Place a link to your website on social networks- My placing an occasional link to your website or an offer you may have that would benefit someone you can also receive comments back from people and tell them more about your business. Sites like Facebook? and Twitter? permit links as long as you keep from spamming. Do everything in moderation and you can be rewarded.
• Create a page for your business- Another free way to gain exposure for your business is to create a page on Facebook?. By creating your own business page you can reach thousands of people.

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We just covered a few free ways to get your business seen using social media, now let us look at paid advertising on these networks. As I told you currently 700 million people use Facebook? alone and another 175 million use Twitter?. It only makes sense to target your advertising campaigns on these social media networks. Using social media advertising you can target your audience my age, income, and demographics. Pin-pointing your advertising is more cost-effective and will give you a bigger piece of the pie.

My advice to you is not to overlook the power of social media. Indulge frequently with your contacts and reap the rewards of trust.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6578589

This is a great article I wanted to share with you . . .

I?ve recently made the switch to Google?s Chrome as my default web browser, almost out of necessity. Firefox had gotten to be a bit of a memory hog on my machine, and I began using Chrome ?to try and ease the pain. What I found was a browser experience I greatly enjoyed. Being a video junkie, I?ve recently discovered a few awesome Chrome extensions that most of you will find incredibly useful, whether you use YouTube for business or pleasure.

1) Chrome Extension to Force YouTube Videos in HD Automatically

I?m a huge fan of YouTube?s HD capabilities, and choose to view their videos that way whenever possible. In fact, I prefer YouTube in HD to YouTube in standard definition so much? I could use a browser extension that makes it happen automatically.

Enter Auto HD. Auto HD is a Chrome extension that plays every video you watch in HD automatically, whenever the video has that capability. I?ve been using it for several weeks now, and I simply couldn?t go back if I had to.

2) Download YouTube Videos With Chrome Extensions

There is a tremendous demand out there for the ability to download videos from YouTube. Traditionally, Google has been quick to squash downloading sites?their terms of service still states that videos are for streaming only. A year ago, I rounded up some of the best YouTube downloaders I could find (along with some legitimate reasons why one might wish to download a YouTube video), and some of those have since become unreliable.

But a new contender has arrived, in the form of a Chrome extension?one you can download right on the Chrome website. It?s called YouTube Downloader, which definitely has a nice ?obvious? ring to it. It places a ?download? button down below the video player next to the standard ?Share? button.

It?s entirely possible that this extension will have a short life, and it wouldn?t surprise me if Google shuts it down. But it?s been out for several months without an issue, and there are several more like it currently available.

3) Smart Video Enlarger Chrome Extension for?YouTube

Another new Chrome extension that should enhance your YouTube experience is the Smart Video Enlarger. The extension automatically enlarges YouTube videos to full-screen resolution. There?s also an ?Intelligent Scrolling? feature that allows for the maximum video size while the user explores the comments. Smart Video Enlarger is also compatible with the AutoHD extension.

Chrome users: did I miss any? What are your favorite Chrome extensions (or Firefox extensions) for enhancing the way you create, view, and market online videos?

More Web Video Industry Analysis ?> YouTube Chrome Extensions: 3 Great Chrome Extensions for YouTube Video
(via ReelSEO Video Marketing)?

http://www.reelseo.com/youtube-chrome-extensions/

Social Media can be a little overwhelming sometimes and time consuming. When you started your business or got into the industry you are in, did you start it to do Social Media? Probably not! Social Media has become so popular over the past couple years that every type of business is doing it. Now, there are companies like mine you can outsource your Social Media campaign to, but not everyone has the budget to do that yet.

Today I am going to share with you a couple tools you can use to make your life much simpler. With Social Media you need to have a plan behind your efforts or you WILL be sucked into the black hole of Facebook, you know what I?m talking about.

Here is a schedule you can go by:
Monday- Schedule your posts (using Hootsuite and Onlywire, read further down in blog for link)
Tuesday ? Follow 50 people on Twitter using www.Twellow.com and add 10 new friends on Facebook (add them to your business list to suggest your business page to them)
Wednesday ? Follow 50 people on Twitter using www.Twellow.com and add 20 connections on LinkedIn
Thursday ? Follow 50 people on Twitter using www.Twellow.com and add 10 10 new friends on Facebook (add them to your business list to suggest your business page to them)
Friday ? Add 20 connections and LinkedIn and 10 new friends on Facebook (add them to your business list to suggest your business page to them) Suggest your business page to your new friends

There are two tools I like to use that allows me to schedule my posts out to my networks weeks in advance and one that allows you to post to 40 different profiles.
The first one is called Hootsuite http://hootsuite.com/p_1748 this is a FREE service and an amazing tool. You can add you Twitter, Facebook, Business Page, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Mixi, and Wordpress to this service. Once you have all your profiles set up you can schedule your messages to go out.

The second one I like to use is OnlyWire http://www.OnlyWire.com now with this account you don?t need to post to Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn but you can post to Delicious, StumbleUpon, Reddit, FriendFeed, and much more. This is a great tool to reach out to all of those other Social Media profiles that Hootsuite does not post to.

I hope these are helpful tips, if you need help on how to use these tools please check out my YouTube videos http://www.YouTube.com/YourMarketingVoice

After doing some videos I realized that I was NOT posting them to my blog! I cannot believe I did not do that. So I wanted to share with you a few videos that I have done to help you with your Internet Marketing. If you need help in any of these areas or have questions please feel free to contact me. Enjoy!

This was a great post from HubSpot.com

Social media and blogs are a key part to any inbound marketing strategy. Here are 6 ways they help grow your business:

1. Quick to Start. You could launch a Facebook page today or get a blog going in a few days.
2. Low Cost. You can get started in social media and blogging for very little or no money. They are among the most cost-effective methods of reaching your audience.
3. Instant Interactivity. Both blogs and social media can give you nearly instant market feedback ? good or bad. We get all kinds of feedback through the comments on our blog; people also leave reviews and other comments for us on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media channels.
4. It?s the Search Engines, Silly. Surveys indicate that 90% or more of people begin their purchasing process in search engines. Blogs and social media make it more likely that your prospects will find you online when they search.
5. Inbound Marketing. If you read our blog, you know that we?re big fans of inbound marketing at HubSpot. Outbound marketing is telemarketing, direct mail, cold email blasts (not lovely nurturing emails like this one to you), TV and print ads ? all the things that buyers tend to block out more and more.? Social media and blogs are essential inbound marketing tools.
6. First Mover Advantage. For blogs and social media, there is an advantage to moving first. If you don?t jump into the conversation, your competitors will (if they have not already) and then you?re fighting an uphill battle to become influential in these online conversations. Start now to claim that first-mover advantage.

How are you using social media today? Learn how you can build a successful inbound marketing strategy that combines social media, blogging, lead conversion, and marketing analytics. Get a complimentary Inbound Marketing Assessment from HubSpot.

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Tagged as: Amber Irwin, social media for business, social media management, Social Media Tips

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