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Growing Your Social Media Network

Posted in: Blog, Facebook, Twitter by SpiderWriters on October 7, 2009 | No Comments

It’s not enough to set up a fan page on Facebook or a Twitter account and expect people to follow you in mass numbers. Granted, if you enjoy a strong following via a company blog or existing portfolio Web site, there’s a good chance visitors will migrate to your social networks for updates and interaction. You can place buttons on your main site, and post and tweet to your heart’s content to build your following, but what happens when you plateau and can’t quite reach a friendship goal?

Word of mouth is the strongest marketing tool out there, and often one has to mouth off quite a bit before people get the message. While recommendations may drive traffic to your fan pages and profiles, there has to be substance and activity to persuade them from clicking that ever-important “join” button.

The key to increasing fans and friends lies, naturally, in encouraging present friends to spread your gospel. Tell a friend, and they’ll tell two – but in this age of short attentions and instant gratification one will wonder what’s in it for them. You have already established your social media presence as a means of promoting your business and/or products, so now is the time to really make it work.

Incentive: You can set up Twitter to notify you when people follow your account, and if you check the fan member list of a Facebook page you’ll see the most recent fans at the top. Hold a membership drive where newly joined fans can receive a discount on products, maybe a freebie, or something equally attractive. For existing fans, offer an equivalent promotion if they write a blog to recruit fans or retweet your Twitter posts. Use the information you receive to reward their loyalty.

Partnership: Are there businesses or group in your area that can benefit from mutual promotion strategies? Maybe you are associated with a civic organization and have sponsored events in the past. Connect with others to devise a plan to cross-promote your social media endeavors. You might find fans at one network will join yours as well.

Expertise: Above all else use your networks to expand upon your experience and skills in your chosen area. People should follow your Twitter and Facebook because it provides a valuable resource of information in your field. This is your chance to prove just that.

Interact and inform – the more content you offer means a greater opportunity for people to share your wisdom.

Kathryn Lively specializes in professional social media services and Virginia web design.

Facebook Warns Members About Rise in '419' Scam – Business Center – PC World

Posted in: Blog, Facebook, Industry News by SpiderWriters on September 30, 2009 | No Comments

More and more fraudsters are harvesting the log-in data of Facebook members in order to impersonate them and ask their friends for money, according to the social-networking company.

The scammers use phishing techniques to trick Facebook members into providing log-in information. For example, fraudsters often send legitimate-looking e-mail messages purporting to be from Facebook that ask members to visit a Web page and enter their log-in credentials. They also post messages on members’ profile Walls with links to supposed video clips or photos that really lead to phishing Web sites.

Read more from PC World.

Facebook has come under fire more than once for accusations of breach in privacy. It’s always recommended to be careful what you offer online anywhere, not just on social media sites. Take care to note the e-mail alerts you receive connected to Facebook before you click through – not all may be legitimate.

Media Companies Embrace Social Networks

Posted in: Blog, Facebook, Industry News, Twitter by SpiderWriters on September 28, 2009 | No Comments

At the top of each article on this online resource for Web developers are prominent links inviting visitors to post the story to Facebook and the bookmark-sharing sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. Just in case readers don’t get the message, at the bottom of each article is a handful of other icons, leading to Twitter, Digg, Reddit and several other social sites, along with a little inducement in a bright red font that reads “Sharing Is Sexy.”

Because the blog is new and has few readers, “I need these buttons to encourage referrers to share my articles with their friends,” said its creator, Dicky Lim, who is based in Malaysia.

That’s not to pick on Mr. Lim. Many sites are now festooned with an abundance of ways for readers to post content to their favorite social networks. The Web site of The New York Times, for example, offers links to post articles to Twitter and seven other services, including LinkedIn and Yahoo Buzz. The site of The Wall Street Journal has links to share its stories on Facebook and nine other services, including MySpace and Fark.com.

Read more about “How Sharing Links Has Become Big Business” from The New York Times.

Does your business blog offer links to share material via social media? If you don’t have buttons to allow readers to post your data to Twitter, Digg, Facebook, or elsewhere, you’re missing out on the opportunity to broaden your audience. News is social now, with thousands of links distributed daily through viral means. The more you wait to go social with these sites, the more your competition will scoop up clients and customers.

Spider Writers is a premier Virginia Beach social media group dedicated to assisting Virginia Beach businesses and organizations with increasing visibility and Web traffic via social networking. Let us help put you at the top of Twitter, and give you a great “Face” to show the world. Contact us at 757-499-1990 today to learn more.

Integrating Social Media into E-Mail Marketing

Posted in: Blog, Facebook, Twitter by SpiderWriters on September 25, 2009 | No Comments

Despite the rise of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, where customer interaction becomes immediate and can build trust among companies and brands, e-mail marketing remains a powerful method of selling products and services. As your business grows and accepts opt-in e-mail addresses for notification of updates, you hold a captive audience. A potential customer or client who hands you an address sends a message of interest, one that mustn’t be ignored.

This begs the question: how much should one devote to e-mail marketing when there are so many other options of communicating your business online? Nobody wants to feel left out as new innovations in Web promotion take hold, and where social media and e-mail are concerned one might wonder if it’s better to be “retweeted” or forwarded in an e-mail to a friend or two. There is no reason, however, for social networking strategies and e-mail blasts to work separately. By marrying the two, you can create new goals within your marketing campaign to ensure the highest visibility of your message. Not all of your Twitter followers receive your e-mail, and not all of your e-mail subscribers follow your Twitter. Integrate your marketing, and help create a balance between both audiences.

Make Your Social Media Viral - Used to be the most important line in your e-mail signature was your URL. Look at messages now, and you’ll find people have added their Twitter and Facebook URLs, or perhaps Ning if they rely on their community-style of interaction. Evaluate your e-mail signature, the way you introduce yourself as you send information, and decide where you want readers to follow you.

Cross-Promote Your Efforts – Composing a spiffy monthly newsletter? Let your FB and Twitter friends know. Post the URL to opt-in into mails. Add graphic icons to your newsletter to point readers to your social profiles. Word of mouth is a huge promotional tool, but it won’t work unless you open your mouth first.

Preview What Non-Subscribers Are Missing – Use the Notes function on Facebook to share samples of your newsletter to friends, along with a special invitation to opt-in to e-mail. Offer a promotion (a discount or freebie) to anybody who signs in via Facebook.

Vice-Versa with Social Media – While it’s difficult to precisely track when people sign to follow your networks, you can receive notifications of Twitter followers. Hold a promotion to offer to people who follow your Twitter network on a specific day.

The more you work e-mail and social media in tandem, the more you build your brand and in turn your following. Experiment using both together and see what works for your company.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist specializing in professional social media services and professional travel SEO services.

Social Media For Authors: Connect With Your Readers

Posted in: Blog, Facebook, Twitter by SpiderWriters on September 16, 2009 | No Comments

With the popularity of Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader, and the ensuing mass marketing of similar devices from Sony, Cool-ER and other companies, authors will find they must rely more on the Internet to promote their works. When one considers how bookstore chains are slowing moving toward a different inventory model that involves holding fewer books – many of which enjoy a brief shelf life as it is – the need to keep readers appraised of eternal, virtual stores is fundamental. Social media, to this end, provides authors with a variety of option to reach book lovers and maintain good connections with fans.

Authors Must Give Good “Face”

As the executive editor of a small press and electronic book publisher, I have studied the submission guidelines of similar houses to discover acquisition editors wish to see a marketing plan in addition to the manuscript. It it true among small-scale businesses that can’t afford to send authors on a world tour that some leg work is expected of any author contracted. Ads and reviews make for good PR, but ultimately the best method of promotion remains word of mouth, and in this age social media is the catalyst. That any author interested in selling books should at least have a Facebook and Twitter account is a given. One need not post status updates with regular precision, but using these profiles to inform readers of new releases, booksignings, and writing updates is a good way to establish relationships with people who buy your books, and in turn recommend your works to friends. Because Twitter and Facebook can be integrated to work together, you only have to update one to see changes in both.

Go Where the Readers Are

One common drawback to social media for authors is that writers tend to friend other authors, which leads to an endless cycle of promotion within a small circle of like-minded people. Yes, authors do buy books, but you don’t want to ignore the important demographic that doesn’t write and who regularly purchase books in your genre. Presently there are four social media networks geared specifically toward people looking for a place to organize the books they have read, are reading, and hope to read. As an author, it’s important to have profiles established in these spots to make your work available to somebody who otherwise might not know of the book.

Goodreads – Goodreads allows users to add books via Amazon.com search or manual entry. Authors can integrate a blog into their accounts to update readers on new developments.

Shelfari – With Shelfari you can create widgets to place on blogs or other social networks to inform readers of books you’ve written and read. Sharing your personal library enhances a level of camaraderie with readers – you might find you share similar tastes.

LibraryThing – This network offers applications for cell phones and blog implementation. Online groups provide a forum for genre readers and authors to discuss works.

As you establish profiles on general and focused social networks, you set your author name as a brand, indelible in the mind of readers. Be social with book lovers and share what you write. You may find readers will share that information with others.

Kathryn Lively is  a freelance writer specializing in articles on professional social media services and SEO for travel companies.

E-mail Writing and Social Media: The Missing Link

Posted in: Blog, Facebook, Twitter by SpiderWriters on August 11, 2009 | 1 Comment

E-mailing is one of the single-most important forms of communication between businesses and their clients today. Whether you need to quickly correspond in a short, informal way or if you desire a large space to sort out your thoughts – e-mail writing is the perfect medium. However, e-mail is capable of working much harder to promote your business. Are you taking full advantage?

Even if you are simply responding to a client’s e-mail, you should have a preset signature at the bottom of your message. This will have your name and company, and perhaps a link to your company’s Web site. Don’t stop there, though. Use this opportunity to integrate your social media platforms into your message. Provide icons or links to your Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook accounts. (This doesn’t need to be anything fancy, just a simple, non-obtrusive link or icon.) This provides a great way for your current and future customers to get a broader scope of what you are about, as well as another option for communication.

Incorporating social media into your e-mail writing also allows your company to be remembered more easily. These days, most everyone is familiar with social media platforms. Remembering to visit a Facebook page may be easier to remember than someone’s e-mail address.

By putting your social networks in your e-mail signature, you are also showing your recipient that you are “in tune” with today’s trends. You can involve your e-mail recipient more in the entire scope of your business online, as well as having more media to post updates on your company.

Finally, letting your customers know you are on Facebook or Twitter will encourage them to add you to their social networks online. Long after your e-mail correspondence is finished, they will still have you in their networks online, allowing them to stay updated on what your business is doing.

Jessica Swink is a freelance writer specializing in articles about Social Media Optimization and SEO for travel Web sites.

Social Media: How Much is Too Much?

Posted in: Blog, Facebook, Industry News, Twitter by SpiderWriters on August 10, 2009 | 1 Comment

The latest trend seems to be making sure you have a presence on many social media Web sites. Web 2.0 elements can put businesses in the driver’s seat, making it easier than ever to communicate with customers and get connected to other professionals in your field. With all of the instant gratifications in social networking, it begs the question: Can you ever have too much social media?

Tuning into a plethora of different social media channels can not only drive you crazy, but it can keep you preoccupied with friend counts and tweets, not focused on the overall goal of putting your business in the spotlight.

Here are a few ways you can optimize your social media presence:

1. Stay social. The purpose of social media is to continuously stay connected. Don’t merely regenerate content on Facebook and Twitter – keep your tweets original and comment on your friends’ walls from time to time. If you use  social bookmarking to post your blog articles, take some time while you are logged into these sites to look around at related articles. Give them a Digg or Thumbs Up. This may direct users back to your articles, giving them more readers.
2. Don’t stretch yourself thin. Don’t register for 10 different social media accounts and let them sit around for a few weeks before logging on again because you are too busy to keep up. Social networking requires some work to keep your friend lists and followers growing. Pick one to three solid social media sites you want to join and focus your attention on those. If you feel like you can handle more, then add more networks.
3. Keep the focus on your business. Remember your main goal: promoting your business and attracting more visitors. This means focusing your social networks around your company’s Web site. Put your company’s logo as an avatar on each of your profiles and provide links to direct people to your business.

Jessica Swink is a freelance writer specializing in articles about Social Media Optimization and SEO for travel Web sites.

Using Social Networking for Your Business: Facebook

Posted in: Blog, Facebook by SpiderWriters on July 31, 2009 | No Comments

What is it?

Facebook is one of the front-line social networking sites on the Internet. With a few clicks of the mouse, users have the opportunity to create a profile online, listing as much or little information they desire including everything from political affiliations to favorite books, interests to work history. Keeping up with friends, coworkers and family has never been easier with direct messaging, photo sharing, status updates and “wall” postings.

Who uses it?

Facebook boasts more than 250 million users, more than 120 of which log in each day. The fastest growing demographic of Facebook are those 35 years an older, and more than 5 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day world wide. With these statistics, it’s easy to see why Facebook has become an integral part of most everyone’s personal and professional life.

Benefits in Internet marketing

This social networking site doesn’t just put people in touch with each other, but has the opportunity to put people in touch with your business. Having the opportunity to keep current and future clients up to speed on what you are doing for them, as well post your company’s profile in the social media market is one you shouldn’t pass up.

How to sign up

To register for Facebook, you must enter a first and last name, e-mail, password, gender and birthday. A confirmation e-mail is then sent to your inbox and you must click the link in the message to activate your account. After this short process, you can get to work on your profile by uploading a photo, joining a network and filling in your information.

If you don’t already have an active presence on hot social platforms, we’ll create them for you. As these sites gain popularity over various demographics, so their referral influence can help draw people to your main Web site. We emphasize the “social” in social networking, and will help build your audience. Whether your business is the tourism industry, non-profits or volunteering, health and diet or local/regional interest, we’ll do the research and craft articles for use on related third-party sites, blogs, and social networks – each of which links back to you as the main source of information. Contact us today for more information or to receive a free quote.

Jessica Swink is a freelance writer is specializing in articles about SEO for travel Web sites and social media optimization.

Social Media Marketing Brings In More Profit

Posted in: Blog, Facebook, Twitter by SpiderWriters on July 30, 2009 | No Comments

When it comes to social media marketing, if your business doesn’t at least have a presence in networking sites, you are already behind. According to a recent story, interactive marketing is forecasted to represent 21 percent of all marketing dollars spent in 2014, making it a $55 billion industry. Companies involved with social media in the past year have increased their revenues by 18 percent.

What’s so special about Facebook and Twitter? Well, traditional marketing and advertising just falls flat compared to the benefits of social media. Getting plugged into a variety of different networks targets different key demographics your company is trying to reach.  E-mail marketing and social networking pushes your brand into the homes and offices of your most valuable asset: your customers.

One size doesn’t fit all with social media, though. Knowing which social networks are most beneficial to you can be a little overwhelming. What works in Twitter doesn’t work on Linked In. Simply subscribing to social media doesn’t instantly reap results. You must know how to interact in each of these networks, and you must continuously update them and be social.

Keeping up with various social networking accounts can be a little tedious. At SpiderWriters, professional SEO writers can market articles from your Web site by using social media optimization. We can make suggestions to what social networking sites you should join, and monitor your accounts for you. Contact us for more information.

Jessica Swink is a freelance writer is specializing in articles about SEO for travel Web sites and social media optimization.

Using Facebook Applications to Promote and Socialize

Posted in: Blog, Facebook by SpiderWriters on July 9, 2009 | No Comments

It’s not uncommon to see how many businesses have an official Facebook page in addition their main website. As this social network grows in popularity, so people are likely to first come upon your Facebook presence before they realize you are set elsewhere on the Web. The more you socialize with friends and fans on the network increases the likelihood of traffic, and conversion of visitors to customers/clients. But can it be done without looking like you are using your profile to spam others?

A client once remarked on the limited capability of the Facebook fan page – one can only customize it so much. If you look at a standard fan page, there are options for sharing photos and links, and one can import an RSS feed for content and maintain a message board for people to chat. Certain applications may be used on a page – a weather gadget for travel related sites, YouTube plugins to display offsite videos – yet page owners run the risk of applications throwing fatal errors or not working correctly. The best method for winning fans to your page remains being social.

Like other social networks, Facebook promotes a viral method of connecting like-minded people. If you have fifty people committed as fans to your page or profile, it’s through these fifty people that you must attract more. Engaging fans in conversation, and sharing informative links and notes with corresponding commentary may ignite the interest you need to compel fans to share your page with others. Note, too, that users of Facebook enjoy the release of entertainment options the network provides. How often do you log on to find friends have taken a multitude of quizzes? You just may be able to use that sort of thing to you advantage.

Say you operate a retail shop or other business. Use the create a quiz application to manage one about your company – pose questions about when you were established, what products or services you provide, how many locations you have, and so forth. Invite friends to take the quiz and watch for a viral reaction.

Do you have friends who like to collect “flair” for their Pieces of Flair board? Create buttons with your logo and URL and send them to friends. Perhaps they will do the same and generate interest in your site. For every application or game making the rounds of Facebook, there just may be a way to incorporate your brand and get noticed. Give it a try and see far your name can go through the social channels.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on search engine optimization and professional SEO writing services.