WSI Blog - Internet Marketing Tips and Strategies

Before you can market your website with tools such as social media marketing and PPC ads you need to make sure your site is doing the best job it can do. Here are 6 tips to ensure that your website is ready to be promoted.

1. Research Keywords
People are searching for your services and you need to find out what words they use. They may not use the proper words to describe your product but their words are the words you need. Put these keywords on your site thus making it easier for the consumer to find you because you'll show up on the search engine results page (SERP).

2. Be an Expert in Your Field
In order to trust you and your services a customer needs to view you as a resource in your field. Include content on your website that can help educate your consumer thus building their trust in a partnership with you.

3. Communicate With Your Target Audience
If you have a blog on your website open it up for public comments. Let your community converse with you and each other about products, services, trends and more. Communication builds a relationship on a more personal level.

4. Make Your Website Available
A website does not keep office hours. It needs to be open 24 hours a day. If you are an online retailer you need to be able to process orders at any hour, any day of the week.

5. Network
If you are an expert in your industry your consumer should see you around. Join professional organizations and participate in your professional community. Get your name and brand on other sites and social media networks.

6. Update, Update, Update
Keep your website new and fresh. Add new content frequently and keep up with current market trends.

LinkedIn has grown to include more than 55 million users in 200 countries worldwide. LinkedIn has grown on the principle that every person is connected to one another by no more than six degrees of separation. It’s amazing how many people we are connected to through other people we know. LinkedIn allows you to easily get introduced and make new contacts for your business (new prospects, vendors, suppliers, employers, employees, friends, networking, etc).

Surprisingly, when utilizing LinkedIn, it's not always your “strong” contacts that prove to be most valuable when looking for new job opportunities or business opportunities. They typically belong to your same circle, both professionally and socially, and don’t typically recommend a person or business outside of this network. Instead your “weak” contacts are the ones that can open up new doors and introduce you to new opportunities.

Using LinkedIn, you can quickly and easily increase your sphere of influence using your “weak” contacts. When used properly, you can use LinkedIn to generate leads, increase your credibility, increase your visibility, communicate more effectively, and manage your brand.

Make sure when getting started on LinkedIn you have a social media strategy, even if it’s a basic one.
Ask yourself – What are the needs of my business? What do I want to accomplish by using the site? Who am I trying to reach?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help you target the right LinkedIn Groups and LinkedIn users. LinkedIn Groups are a great way to make new contacts. Start by finding relevant, local, LinkedIn Groups that you can connect to. Join, monitor, engage (social media is a 2 way street, you need to respond and interact with other peoples post, don’t just push your posts to the discussion boards). Using a “Push” strategy on LinkedIn will probably fall on deaf ears. Make sure you make time to interact with what other people in your network are talking about.

Other Tips:
- Fill Out Your Profile Completely – a poorly thought out or 50% completed profile lacks professionalism and will turn others off from connection with you.
- Use the 1st Person – it has been found that using (I/We/us) is more effective at reaching people then the 3rd person (he/she/it).
- Use Keywords – similar to optimizing a website, optimize your posts with your targeted keywords.
- Get Personal, but Keep it Professional – let people know what you are interested (hobbies, activities, music, books, etc), but keep it professional. Showing you are human and not just a lead generation machine will help people connect with you.
- Join Groups - joining Groups on LinkedIn can be one of the most powerful ways to grow your sphere of influence. Most Groups allow you to post discussions - use this as an opportunity to introduce yourself, network, promote webinars, etc. Don't over self promote, make sure your reciprocate when you can by responding to other's posts. Also, by joining relevant groups, you can contact people in your groups for FREE on LinkedIn, even if they are not a connection.

Social Chatter: Online Brand Reputation Monitoring & Management

WSI IMC Gary Levine
Monday, November 30, 2009 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT

Gary Levine, WSI Internet marketing consultant and expert on monitoring online branding will share his insights with business owners and marketing professionals on how companies should be listening to online chatter and conversation about their brand, product or service. In today's social media rich world how can companies leverage various tools and free services to moderate the online conversations? Find out at this webinar.

REGISTER NOW!

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