Which Social Media Sites Should I Join? - Internet Business

Facebook

Don’t have a Facebook page? You’re not totally alone, but if for some reason you don’t yet have a Facebook page, you’re not taking advantage of a very important marketing opportunity. Some people think of social sites for young people to chat, but it’s much, much more. Facebook can be a strong marketing tool and it reaches a world-wide audience. It’s also really easy even for beginners who may be “technologically challenged” to use.

Your Facebook Page

Your Facebook page is where you can grow your business. It can help you build your brand and establish relationships with potential customers. It is free to set up, and can be done quickly. The basic steps of setting up a page are:

Go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/create/ to create your page.
Select a category and Page name for your business
Select a logo or image can be associated with your business and use it as your profile picture.
Let people know about your business and what you do by writing a sentence about it.
Create a web address for your page that is memorable and can be used on your marketing material. This will help you promote your Facebook presence.
The first thing people will see when they go to your Facebook page is your cover photo. Select one or create one that best represents your business.

Once you’ve developed your page, you can reach out to not only your current customers but also to other users on Facebook. You want to keep your posts as high quality and post regularly.

Posting

Posting quality, relevant content regularly, keeps viewers interested in your business and what’s going on. If they are interested, you’ll know, because they’ll “like” your site.

Quality information will keep them returning to your site and sharing it with others. Writing quality posts really isn’t difficult. Here are a few tips to help you:

Keep them relevant to your business and your audience. They come to you for a reason. If you start posting things that aren’t relevant, you may lose them.
Be concise, sociable and write in a conversational manner. This will help you build a relationship with your customers.
People like to see photos and videos. If you share these with your viewers, they seem to be more appealing. It gives your customers a face-to-face meeting with you and lets them see who you are. It makes them feel closer to you.
Ask questions from your viewers and request that they give you input. If they think you value their input, they will give it to you. Be prepared…not all of it will be good. If it isn’t, you can use the negative comments to learn what is wrong and correct it.
If you want your viewers to feel special, it pays to let them know information those who don’t view your page won’t know. You can also offer them special deals and/or discounts. They will want to share the offer with their friends.
Post your events in the appropriate time period. Be current and up-to-date with your postings.

You can organize your posts to help your viewers identify the ones that are most important. Here are three ways to do that:

Pin—You can use this to take your most important posts and cause them to remain at the top of your page for a week. This will be sure all your viewers get to see it and don’t miss it.
Star—By using this, you can highlight stories you post. It will make them larger, so they will be more easily seen by your viewers. Sometimes, regular posts may be missed for some reason. This will increase your chances of being seen.
Hide—Once your posts aren’t relevant any longer, or if they aren’t engaging your audience, you can hide them so they don’t show on your site. It doesn’t do anyone any good to have posts up that no one is reading. By hiding them, you keep the posts that your viewers like in the limelight.

To keep your posts current and make your viewers want to return to your page, it is generally a good practice to post at least one to two times per week. It is also a good practice to do it on the same days each week so your viewers will know when the best time to look for your post will be. Things like, “See you next Friday with more on…” let them know when they’ll get your next post.

It is easy to promote your posts, and promoting them is important. When you do promote them, it will bump your post higher in your viewer’s news feed than it normally would appear. This can be very beneficial, because you can increase the chance that more people will see your posts, and learn about your business. It will also cause them to want to take action on your page by responding to any offers you have on your page or leave comments for you. These things all help you in the rankings of the major search engines.

Page insights will help you see an overview of who is linked to your business through social media. They also let you know which of your posts are effective. By knowing which ones are effective, you can give them more posts like that. This will keep the current viewers happy, and help draw in more traffic. All you have to have is 30 people to click “like” on your page and the insights will be available for you. Through Page Insights you can check:

Likes—This will tell you who likes your Facebook page and how those people found your page. When you know where they found it, you’ll know where to focus your areas.
Reach—This is the demographic information regarding your page. It tells you location, age, gender, and more.
Talking about this—This lets you know who has created a story about your page. It includes posts, likes, comments and/or shares of the posts on your page. It gives you a good idea of who likes/dislikes your posts and what is being said about it.
Performance metrics—This is the size of your Facebook audience, and the engagement of the audience. Remember, your audience will engage with you the more you engage with them or ask them to engage. By asking them questions or making them feel free to comment, you can build your metrics.

Responding to your audience keeps them your audience. You always want to respond to your comments/messages sent to your page. This helps you build that relationship that is so important on social media sites. Maybe a lot of people comment. If so, and you want to address one, just tag them by typing @ in front of their name. Responding to comments and messages let your audience know you are paying attention to them. It makes them feel special. Everyone likes to feel special now and then. This will help your business grow.

Create a Facebook Fan Page

In the world of online work, social media marketing has exploded due to the demand for search engine optimization, and internet marketing skills. Because of the internet, there is a low-cost way to get information about your company to the public worldwide. You can also do it in many different formats such as: still images, videos, audio, interactive games, text, etc.
One of the great examples of this type of marketing ability is the Facebook Fan Page. These pages have been redesigned and are easier than ever to use, because they are designed to be close to the design of user profile pages. They are similar in both look and the way they function. Like profile pages, they have a wall that has a news feed. It also lists user comments, it has an info tab, a photos tab, and many other tabs that are self-explanatory and easy to use. There are also custom application tabs you can set up yourself and customize the way you want them. This can help make your tabs unique and stand out from the tabs of other companies.

The majority of businesses and services have Fan Pages now. If you don’t have a Fan Page yet, you should definitely be making the move to establish one. If you take the time to develop a good specialized Fan Page, it can give you many awesome qualities that would be a benefit of any entrepreneur, large business or even corporation. Here are a few of the benefits you can get from creating a Facebook Fan Page:

Building a community—The word “social” in social media lets you know how important community is. Building a community is important. It’s a place where your followers can come together using this platform for your product/service. They can do this by utilizing the Wall feature or other applications they can find available on the Fan Page. Users increase and support the growth of your community by submitting testimonials, posting pictures, creating videos, or by having discussions online with each other. Having a relationship with your customers is crucial for your social media sites, and there’s no better way to begin to build one than by having a Facebook Fan Page.

Search Engine Optimization—Search engine rankings can be greatly boosted by creating a Fan Page. You can receive bonus points in search engine optimization by having a Facebook Fan Page that has your business name in the title and by publishing back links to your business pages. Every link, post, or comment made about your company will increase its chances of being ranked higher in search engines. By using a few keywords that people use to search for things online in your posts, you can help direct traffic from search engines to your website.
Viewer Insights—When you become a Facebook Fan Page owner, you will be able to access a lot of really good analytic tools. They can give you valuable insight into your viewers. You can track how many interactions your page has with your fans. In addition, you’ll be able to know the demographics of your fans. You can learn their e sex, age, and location, and many more important facts. This will help you be better prepared to meet their needs.

Communicating with your fan base—You can communicate with your fans by using a variety of customization options. Using the information you gained from the viewer insights, you can target information to match the specific age, gender, and location of your fan base. That way when you send update notifications on your homepages, you will get a better response. It is important to remember that you’ll be able to publish into the “stream.” This makes it possible for you to communicate directly into the homepages of your fans by using messages and posts. Don’t forget to encourage them to communicate back in some way, because the more they communicate with you, the closer they will feel to you, and you will increase the chance of having them as a customer.

Cost effective—A lot of advertising is expensive, but you can save your company a lot of money by using a Facebook Fan Page. The cost is perfect for even the smallest business or service, because it is absolutely FREE! I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want something valuable for free. When it comes to value, social media marketing is the best deal on the market. In a matter of minutes, you can up a Fan Page, and get off to a great start in the world of social media marketing with very little effort.

No matter what your business or service is, it is clear that you can benefit from creating a Facebook Fan Page. You can build awareness for important causes, you can promote your company, or even help to build fans for your band or act. Creating a Facebook Fan Page is fast and easy if you follow a few simple steps:

Go Facebook and log in to your Facebook account—If you haven’t yet set up a Facebook account, it will be necessary for you to do so if you want to have a Facebook Fan Page. If you do have an account, it will be very helpful. You’ll already know about Facebook, you’ll understand how it works, and know about friends you can ask to be fans on your Fan Page.

Find the settings gear and click on it—It is located in the top of the page in the right corner. After you click on it, you will see “Advertising.” You need to click on it and look for the first step which will be labeled “Build Your Facebook Page.” You can find it in the middle of the screen. Just click on “Create a Page.”

You will see six categories to select from. They include:

Local business or place: Under this choice, you’ll select which category your business is and type in the business address.
Company, organization or institution: Under this choice you select which category your business is, institution or organization and then simply type in your company’s name.
Brand or product: For this choice, you’ll select the category of product and then type in the name of the product.
Artist, band, or public figure: Under this choice, simply select the type that best describes you and that you wish to promote and then type in their name.
Entertainment: Here, just type in the type entertainment you are and then the name of the entertainer.
Cause or community name: Just type in the community or cause name.

For each category above, you need to click on the “Agree to Facebook Pages Terms” before you’ll be able to move on and continue setting up the page.

Once you’ve selected the correct category and given all of the basic information, you’ll be able to begin adding information to your page. You simply need to find “Get Started” and click on it to begin

Now you need to select a profile picture to upload. You can select a photo from either your computer or your website to upload. When you are choosing your picture to upload, you’ll want to find one that represents the person/place you want to promote. Once you select it, simply click on the tab that says “Save Photo.”

The next section is labeled “About”—You need to give information about your company or information about your cause. You’ll want to include both a description of your business/cause and a website. This will help people learn about you, and increase your search rankings.

Then you should provide additional links such as: Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc, for your business/organization. Indicate on the page if it represents a famous person/celebrity. Then simply click on “Save Info.”

Enabling Ads—You need to choose if you want to allow ads on your page. This can sometimes be a difficult decision. Advertising will allow you get in touch with many people. It does, however, cost and you’ll have to give them the information from your credit card to pay for it. When you decide, either click on “Enable Ads” or “Skip” to go to the next step.

After your page is set up, there are several things you can do to help improve your age:

Give additional information—Once your page is created, you want to add as much information as you can on the page. This will help you to build a lot of support. Here are a few things you can do that will build support on your page:

Click “Like” on your page
Prepare a status update and post it. This will give your followers more knowledge of you. Just type your comment in the box. When you’re finished, post it by clicking “Post.”
A picture speaks a thousand words. You can give people a lot more information about your company by upload more photos. To do this, just click on “Photos” and then “Add Photos.” Select the photos you want to upload from your computer.
Select a cover photo—To upload a cover photo, you need to click on “Add a Cover.” You’ll find it on the right-hand side. Look for “Upload Photo” and click on it. Then simply select the picture you want to upload as your cover page.

The next thing you’ll want to do is to find the admin panel. You can use it to edit your page, build your audience, and seek help. Here’s what each involves:

Edit Page—This allows you to update your page, manage permissions and notifications, add administrators, use the activity log, or see banned users.
Build Audience—This tab allows you to invite both email contacts and Facebook friends to your page. You can also use it to share the page or prepare an ad to advertise your page.

You should only use this option once you’ve filled out the basic information and are familiar with how everything works. Knowing how everything works will impress your audience, so you’ll want to be familiar with everything before you try to build an audience.

Help—Help is provided if you have any difficulty preparing your page. By clicking “Help” you can go to the help center and find tips for starting your page

Maintain your Facebook Fan Page—Managing your page means that you have to be active on the page. You’ll want to keep your friends interested in you by providing current information about your organization and what it’s doing. To manage the page, you should:

Post information to your timeline every time there is something new about your company to let your fans know. Posting a few times a week keeps your fans interested.
When you have new photos that let your fans know what your business is doing, upload them and post them to your Facebook Fan Page.
Invite all of your new Facebook friends to follow your page.
Adding your Facebook Fan Page link to your business card is also a good idea.

Twitter

Twitter is another popular social media site that is growing quickly. Twitter uses 140 character length messages that are called Tweets on its information network. You determine what shows up on your Twitter by who you choose to follow. It’s an excellent way to keep up on current news and learn about topics you find interesting in real time.

Research has shown that half of people who use it will make their purchases from businesses they’re connected to on Twitter. Setting up your business on Twitter is free and easy. Here’s how you can set up your business on Twitter:

Choose a Twitter Name—Go to the sign up page and fill in the email address you wish to use and select a password. When you do, you’ll be asked to select a Twitter username.
Click on “Create my Account”—Simply click it after you select your name, and you can begin using Twitter.

Bear in mind that selecting the right username is not as easy as it may sound. There are over 350 million users on Twitter. This means that what you want to use is probably already taken, so you need to be creative. You want people to remember the name, yet you want it to reveal your business. Make it easy for your followers to repeat your comments. You can’t change the name, so select it carefully.

It’s a good idea to include a profile picture. If you have a logo, that is a good picture to use. Unlike your name, you can change it if you want to.

On Twitter you should:

Find and Follow—On Twitter your goal is to create and keep followers. The more followers you have, the greater your chance of your being seen, talked about, and followed. In order to keep followers, you need to be informative, useful, or humorous. If you have a new product to promote, or are having discounted products, people like to receive Tweets about them.

When choosing whether or not to follow your followers, a good tip is to just follow those you find useful. If you try to follow them all, it can cause you a lot of work.

Twitter is a conversation and should go both ways. This is especially true if your business gets a complaint. Ignoring it won’t make it go away. Comments on Twitter how up in Google searches, so you want to address the problem immediately to keep it from getting out of hand.

Keep up on Things—When you follow people, it show up on your homepage. You should be aware of what’s happening with your followers. You can check things they’ve linked to and view other tweets to learn about the topics.
Titter on the Go—Twitter is portable and available for your phone. All you have to do is download a Twitter app to start receiving Tweets on the go.

Twitter Tips

You need to build a voice—You can use the information in other Tweets to build a voice. You want to let people know what’s important to you. You can either retweet messages or use @reply to give a reaction to a tweet you’ve read and liked.
It is good to include/mention other people in the content you Tweet—You can use others in your Tweets using their Twitter username. It often helps start new conversations.
Master advanced features on Twitter—Once you’ve got the basics mastered, try out some of the advanced features. You can even ad pictures or videos in your Tweets. Then you can link your Twitter to your website or Facebook

Google+

Google has tried before to jump on the social media band wagon, but this time, it got it right. Although Google+ is relatively new, it has already reached over 100 million.

Google+ Profiles

One of the best reasons for having your business create a Google+ profile is that it’s owned by Google. Since Google is the top search engine, Google+ profiles have a greater chance at being ranked by Google.

Google+ users use “+1” ratings that are similar to Facebook “likes.” The greater number +1’s you have, the better your chances. Your Google+ profile and pages can have a great effect on your search rankings.

Here are a few ways you can use Google+ for your business:

Use the “About” section—This section gives you a chance to write a little about your business. Tell people what products/services you have to offer and what your business is all about. Google will use the introduction portion of this section in search results
Link other accounts—You can add links for your other social media profiles like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. This is a good way to gain authority.
Circles—You can create circles on your Google+ account. For each circle, you want to add people based on your interests. Usually, if you add people to your circle, they will follow back. This way, when you start sharing your content, you increase the chances of exposure.
Share content with others—Here you can share your content with the world. In addition, you can share the content of others that you like. By sharing, you get your context indexed, no matter what you share.
Engage with others—Sharing is great, but if you want to move it up a notch, it’s great to comment on what others are sharing. You can leave a comment or +1 what they’ve shared. It will make people want to add you to their circle. This, in turn, increases your chances of having your content shared.
Employee Google+ accounts—You can have your employees make their own profiles. That way, they can take a few minutes a day to post to your site, share your posts, or maybe even +1 your business.

If your business doesn’t have a Google+ account, you will find definite search and social advantages to having one for your company.

LinkedIn is a professional network that has over 100 million members. Since it is a professional network, it makes sense to make it part of your social media plan. Here’s how you get started:

Personal Account—The first thing you need to do is create a personal account on LinkedIn. To make a company account, you have to also have a personal one. To begin, just go to linkedIn.com and enter the basic information. When you complete it, just click “Create My Profile.”
LinkedIn Profile—Before you complete your profile, a confirmation email will be sent to your email account. It will have a link in it you need to confirm your account. It will take you to the sign-in page where you enter your email and password.

Linked in offers two services—a basic “free” one and a premium “paid” one. After you choose the type you want, you’ll be ready to click “Profile” and begin to edit your profile.

Create both your personal and company profiles. For your LinkedIn profiles, it is recommended that you add a lot of information. All the information you enter is searchable, so the more you have, the better it is for your business, and the easier it is to be found.

When you’re finish preparing them, you can link your personal to your company profile. Add a detailed description of your business.

Company website—You’ll see a field for your company’s site and the type of industry. When you put your site, use the format: http://mywebsite.com. This will automatically become a hyperlink to your company from your personal profile. All the members of your staff can use this hyperlink to link back to your company. It’s a great way to be seen.

Your industry field is searchable, so think before you choose. It will be a very good way to find potential clients and for them to interact with you.

Get involved—LinkedIn is the same as any social media site. If you want to be seen, you have to get involved. Make connections and contacts to start building your network. The exposure will help lead you to a bigger audience.

After you get set up on LinkedIn, there are several features that it has that can be useful to help build your business.

Here are a few:

LinkedIn Search—Search for others in your industry and/or for potential customers. The more you connect the bigger audience you will have.
Ads—You can look at several of the ads for businesses in your industry. This will let you see how they use LinkedIn Ads for paid advertising.
Import your email contacts—On LinkedIn you can import your email contacts from other email applications. This way you can begin to add LinkedIn connections to your existing email accounts.
Post Updates—Like Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn ha a status update field. You can begin a conversation or post a link to an article you’ve written.
LinkedIn Groups—Like Google+ circles, LinkedIn ha groups. They are members who share a common interest in a specific topic. They help you build a community. This is great for your brand.
Reply to Updates–You can see all updates posted to LinkedIn. Begin conversations yourself or reply to someone else’s update. If you choose, you can elect to only see message from your connections or even set your own criteria.
Banners—You can add up to three custom banners to your company page for free. You can use them to:

Take customer testimonials, highlight them, and link them to your page.
Link to and promote an upcoming event or webinar.
Improve your target market by highlighting and linking to your blog posts.
Promote a video you’ve posted about your business.
Let others know of the various social channels so they can reach you there.

Post company updates each day—Post updates during the time of day you get the most traffic. For most, it’s in the morning. You can try different times to see what works best with your audience.

Send messages to your target market—Linked in has a Sponsored Inmail feature that works like email. You don’t need them on your email list. It just works from your LinkedIn. This isn’t a free service, but it can be worth it.

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