small business social networking Archives - Page 2 of 3

Twitter vs. Facebook, Which is Better?

March 31, 2010 By Joe Soto 1 Comment

A new comparison study of the Social Media marketing strategy benefits of Twitter verse Facebook was released. The goal was to determine which of these social media marketing platforms offers the best strategies for the specialized needs of businesses and online marketers.

The study was broken down into eight different categories comparing them as effective website traffic driving platforms, comparing their viral marketing benefits, the better overall platform for business to business marketing, the better overall platform for business to consumer marketing and more.

Would it surprise you that Twitter won the “Better overall platform for business to business marketing” category?

It didn’t surprise us.

Read the article here to learn more

Joe Soto

Joe Soto is the CEO of One Social Media. A leading expert in social media marketing, Joe has over 16 years of experience in all aspects of sales, marketing, online lead generation, and Internet marketing.

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Leaving Doubters in Your Dust: 3 New Studies Prove Social Media Marketing Growth

March 29, 2010 By Joe Soto Leave a Comment

Still wondering if social media is proven to be effective for your small businesses? There is a a new recent article entitled “3 New Studies Prove Social Media Marketing” published by Amy Porterfield of the Social Media Examiner.

The 3 new studies reveal the following:

Small Business doubles social media adoption. The study results show that “social media usage by small business owners increased from 12% to 24% in just the last year, and almost 1 out of 5 actively uses social media as part of his or her marketing strategy.” Read more here.
Nearly 20% of Marketing Dollars Will Go to Social Marketing in 5 Years. The articles states that “in February 2010, marketers reported that they plan to allocate one-fifth of their marketing budgets to social media marketing in the next 5 years.

Joe Soto
Joe Soto is the CEO of One Social Media. A leading expert in social media marketing, Joe has over 16 years of experience in all aspects of sales, marketing, online lead generation, and Internet marketing.
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Filed Under: Social Media for Small Business, social media marketing Tagged With: 2010 trends, blogging, facebook marketing, small business social media, small business social networking, social marketing, social marketing blog, social media, social media marketing, social media trends, web trends

To blog, or not to blog? That is the no longer the question.

March 26, 2010 By Joe Soto 3 Comments

Last month we blogged about how the fastest way to increase search engine rankings is to consistently provide fresh content through blogging. We titled that post “Is Blogging the New SEO?”

Now we have some back up: Hubspot released research based on their actual customers on how a blog impacts their business.

The study is taken from a sample size of 1,531 of their customers which are primarily small and mid-sized businesses. Roughly half (795) blog and half don

Joe Soto

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 2010 trends, blogging, business blogging, search engine marketing, search engine optimizaton, seo, small business social media, small business social networking, social marketing, social media, social media marketing, social media trends, web trends

6 Steps to Social Media For Small Businesses

March 25, 2010 By Joe Soto Leave a Comment

I really enjoyed an article I read recently called “Small Business Social Media…6 Steps to Success” by Christine Gallagher. The reason? Because she keeps it simple.

The steps in order are:

1. Understand what social media is and the benefits of using it.

2. Get a blog.

3. Build your social media profiles.

Joe Soto

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Filed Under: Social Media for Small Business, social media marketing Tagged With: blogging, business blogging, facebook, facebook marketing, small business social media, small business social networking, social marketing, social marketing blog, social media, social media marketing, social media trends, social media videos

New York Street Food Vendors "Tweet" Through the City (Video)

March 24, 2010 By Joe Soto 1 Comment

New York food vendors use social network Twitter to announce their whereabouts to customers in the city. See how they almost rely on Twitter to sustain their business each day.

So simple, yet so powerful.

Joe Soto

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Filed Under: Social Media for Small Business, social media marketing, twitter Tagged With: 2010 trends, micro blogging, small business social media, small business social networking, social marketing, social marketing blog, social media, social media blog, social media marketing, social media trends, social media videos, twitter, twitter marketing

Are More Small Businesses Using Social Media to Attract New Customers?

March 20, 2010 By Joe Soto 3 Comments

The answer (according to recent research) is yes.

In fact, nearly one in five small business owners are using social media at least partially. The new study shows social media use by small companies has doubled — and that more than half use it to attract new business. This was published in a March 19, 2010 article on Inc.com.

The article states that the most common social media sites used is Facebook and LinkedIn. A few (16%) are using Twitter and it goes down from there with other social media sites.

It goes on to mention, “Small business owners’ biggest hopes (and current use) for social media is for lead generation. Three out of five respondents use it to identify and attract new customers.”

While the article certainly reinforces the use of Social Media for small businesses, it’s important to note that putting up a Facebook page or setting up a LinkedIn account isn’t enough. It takes time and consistent effort to make social media work for you. The article backs this up by stating, “Half of small business social media users complain that the platforms take more time than they’d thought, but almost the same number believe it’s time well-spent — that their social media initiatives will pay off financially in a year or less.”

The article fails to mention the most effective way to maximize your social media influence, to generate more leads and attract the most customers, is with a “social media mix.” As a business owner, having a (social) media mix gives you the best chance at success. In the past this may have included advertising in the Yellow Pages, running an ad on the radio, having an ad placed in the local newspaper, or possibly also on T.V.

Today, the media mix is social. To maximize social media, you will want to have a Facebook page, a LinkedIn profile, a Twitter account (targeting your local area), a Youtube Channel (video is taking over the Internet), and you will want to start a blog (it’s proven to the be fastest way to boost organic search engine rankings), which allows you to build extended community and bring more content to your prospects and customers.

How engaged in social media are you? Waiting could cost you a lot of customers (and money).

Our advice? Go for it, give it time, and it will pay off for you and your business.

Joe Soto

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Filed Under: Social Media for Small Business Tagged With: 2010 trends, facebook marketing, small business social media, small business social networking, social marketing, social marketing blog, social media, social media marketing, social media trends, twitter, web trends

Be found, add value, find customers.

March 16, 2010 By Joe Soto Leave a Comment

This month’s March 2010 issue of Success Magazine, features an article entitled “Embracing Social Media”, written by John H. Ostdick. It’s a great article on how old school principles are being accelerated by social media.

Quoting the article, “People buy things from companies they like, trust, remember or that provide them with value. All this is happening in a new way as social media transforms how people make connections with businesses.”

All social media does is provide the tools (i.e. Facebook, Blogging, Twitter, etc.) to build “trust”, connect with customers, become more “memorable” or show value in new exciting ways online.

The article goes on to mention small businesses; “Small business owners want to reach as many people as possible while keeping costs down. That’s why it’s impossible to ignore social media – online communication platforms that cost little, if anything, while potentially offering access to more people than any traditional marketing approach.”

The article also points out something we share with our clients – that’s it’s not something that happens overnight. It often takes 6-24 months of using social media before seeing real results. But the results are long lasting and have a residual affect.

An ad in a newspaper or on the radio comes and goes. Your blog posts get archived, and never go away – the search engines can always find them.

It requires commitment and it’s the biggest stumbling block small business have. Many don’t have the time so they seek out outside consultants or resources to help them fulfill their commitment to implementing social media marketing in their business.

Click here to read the full article.

Joe Soto

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Filed Under: blogging, Social Media for Small Business, social media marketing Tagged With: 2010 trends, facebook, search engine marketing, small business social media, small business social networking, social marketing blog, social media blog, social media marketing, social media trends, twitter, web trends

Is Blogging the New SEO?

February 27, 2010 By Joe Soto 3 Comments

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was the buzz of the past few years. The elusive answer to the question, “How do I get my website to show up higher on the search engines?”

There are thousands of “SEO firms” or “SEO consultants” that will tell you they can help you. And that may cost you a lot of money. These firms usually aren’t cheap. When considering one’s that are cheap, just keep in mind you may get what you pay for.

In a recent article in Entrepreneur Magazine, entitled “What you Don’t Know About SEO”, there are several insights business owners should consider before making a (potentially unwise) decision to go with a SEO firm or consultant.

Probably the most insightful paragraph in the article is:

“What gets their (the search engines) attention? Good, fresh, focused content. Adding a blog is one of the easiest and most straightforward ways to bulk up on content. If you sell hair-removal devices, for instance, start a blog that explores all aspects of waxing, plucking, threading, electrolysis and so on. Over time, your site will accrue searchable heft.”

What’s this all mean? This means if you’re patient (and by patient it means 3-6 months) and you blog consistently over time, you will get results on the Search Engines. We know this first hand from testing this with real blogs, with real clients. It works.

It takes time and consistent effort. And that’s the real secret of social media – it doesn’t happen overnight.

But it will happen.

And it will be a lot more cost effective – particularly for the smaller company or business wanting to compete with the big dogs online.

Read the Entrepreneur article here for more information.

Joe Soto

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Filed Under: blogging, Social Media for Small Business Tagged With: blogging, business blogging, search engine marketing, search engine optimizaton, seo, small business social media, small business social networking, social marketing, social marketing blog, social media, social media blog, social media marketing, social media trends

I have a blog, now where's my traffic?

February 12, 2010 By Joe Soto 1 Comment

“I have a blog, now where’s my traffic?”

We wish it worked like that.

We all wish we could build a blog, optimize it and wake up the next day to see an increase of traffic made possible by the blog traffic fairy.

But it takes work. Almost daily work. (Sorry, someone has to tell you the truth.)

There are a lot of SEO companies out there with the great promise of helping you get more traffic. But the search engines love fresh, new and original content. The most effective way to post fresh, new and original content is freely through your blog. Every day if possible. Or at least every week.

It’s been reported there are more than 200 million blogs now worldwide, however the percentage of active blogs is of course considerably very low. Everyone and anyone can set up a blog for free and be posting online content overnight with blog sites like Blogger, Tumblr and WordPress.

Keeping it current, fresh and interesting on a consistent basis is a whole different story.

It takes time. It takes commitment. It takes patience. This is the most overlooked “factor” in successful blogging and generating traffic.

But if you are willing to persist and be consistent over time, you will be well on your way to generating traffic.

Of course time, commitment and patience isn’t enough. But it is the MOST important factor for successful blogging.

If you ready to commit the time and energy it takes, then you are ready to go. I invite you to read this exceptional article on the “7 Factors Generating Traffic to Your Blog.”

Joe Soto

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Filed Under: blogging, Social Media for Small Business Tagged With: blogging, business blogging, small business social media, small business social networking, social marketing blog, social media, social media blog, social media marketing

Has the Internet ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes?

February 8, 2010 By Joe Soto Leave a Comment

Here is a great short video with Seth Godin, one of most fun to read and most important marketers of our time.

In this video he argues the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change. He urges us to do so.

If you’re a business owner, and marketing is important to you – I recommend reading Seth’s books (start with Purple Cow). They are short, easy and fun to read and will make a difference in your business.