When you customize your Twitter profile you have to do it on two levels. First you customize the appearance on your Twitter profile page. Then you take care of the internal personalization of your Twitter profile.

The appearance of your Twitter profile relates to the background of your profile page, the image and photo and the text editing.

Customize your Twitter profile step 1: the Appearance

The first step to take when you customize your Twitter profile is to adjust the background. You have different possibilities to do this.
First your background and side bar should have your company’s colors and be personalized to represent your company. Don’t use the set background given by Twitter. Personalize your profile to brand your company. You can have your logo tile all over the page, which in most cases looks just horrible, or have your logo just once in left hand corner, or you can even have a photo representing your company (eg. if you sell a certain product with your company’s name on it, a photo of that product would work too). If you do not use it as your background it is important to add your logo somewhere. For branding purposes you should make sure your logo always appears on your Twitter profile. However, to give your profile a personal touch, I would suggest to use an image of yourself for the profile picture and upload the logo on your page as part of the background image. Here is an example, how I did it on my MarketUrStartup profile on Twitter! While you are there, remember to follow us! You just need to make sure it is not too overwhelming and hard to read for your readers.

But how do you change the color of your Twitter background etc?

Just log into your account, go to Settings and click on Design. There you can upload a background image and also change the colors of your background, sidebar, links and font. I would suggest to copy the exact color of your logo or Corporate Identity to match exactly and not “hand pick” them. If you want to be very creative, different types of software are available to help you design your own background. There are however certain “rules” to follow to be able to upload your creative background. You can find a few technical tips here. But when being creative remember, you want your background to match your company, and the message you try to pass to your audience. So don’t be overly creative and confuse your followers about who your Twitter profile really represents.

Customize your Twitter profile Step 2: Internal Personalization

Now there is more to your Twitter profile than just the look! Therefore you have more customization to work on. It is important for your audience, to keep its attention and to gain its trust that you show you have put time and effort to introduce your company through your Social Media site. It’s important to share valuable information. Don’t link back to your website or blog, but also to other interesting resources. Share what you are working on, communicate with customers etc.  Here you can learn more about what your business should tweet about!

Customize your Twitter profile Step 3: Give it a human touch

When you create your Twitter profile it is important to not just create a profile representing a business entity, but also include the person behind the scene. Use your personal name as the Name of your Twitter profile, and use your company’s name as the User name of your Twitter profile. This underline that a person, with , passion and attention is behind it all and is involved. Also use your picture as your profile picture. Readers like to know who they are talking to or who’s tweets they are reading. It is important that you chose the same image for all your profiles though to show consistency but also so that readers recognize you. It is another way to strengthen your branding and your online presence.

Customize your Twitter profile step 4: Write a Bio

Twitter gives you the opportunity to present yourself and your company in the Bio section. Use it! What a better way to personalize you twitter profile than by telling your audience about who you are and what you do, and maybe what motivates you? Be concise but clear. Sell yourself but don’t spam. You must inform your readers in a few words who you are and give them an insight on why they should follow you.

Customize your Twitter profile step 5: Behind the scenes

All those previously mentioned steps are quite obvious. There is one more step that is essential in the customization process your Twitter profile, but unfortunately often overlooked. The personality of a person is more than his/her look, clothes, attitude… it is also the way he/she express him/herself. Customizing your Twitter profile to represent your company is like showing the personality of you and your business. Therefore, the way you express yourself through your tweets, how you interact with your followers and who you follow, is also part of the process of customizing your Twitter profile. You must show you are involved, that you are willing to interact with your audience and that you listen. You must prove your audience you are everything your profile setup says you are. Your tweets, your answers and your involvement will truly customize your Twitter profile, because they will show your personality, they will show the human side of your business.

Remember a well customized Twitter profile can help you gain attention, show dedication and help will give you a great first impression with your Twitter Followers. It is important to take advantage of all the tools available to you to make your Twitter profile an efficient Social Media Marketing tool to promote your company and develop your network.

Did you personalize your Twitter profile? How did you do it and did it affect your Twitter success? Tell us about it!

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It is easy to find more general Social Networks, such as Facebook, Twitter or even linkedIn. But for your internet marketing business you need to use sites that are more focused on your industry and will help you target the right audience while letting you use the most efficient tools. What is important today is not how many readers or followers you can get but who exactly your reach, readers of quality, who will be interested in your profile because they are interested in your industry, in your business. That’s why you need to focus working on the Social Networks that bring

Mashable

Eventhough it is more considered the “Daily News of Social Media”, Mashable can be an interesting tool for you to share the latest news on the Internet Marketing industry. Mashable allows you to apply as a guest blogger, but you cannot post promotional posts. However it gives writers the chance to create a promotional page about the author in return for your posts and quite some exposure. Mashable checks, if you are an expert in your field and wants writing samples, but you if you made it, this could be a great breakthrough for your company!

Gooruze

Gooruze is a Social Media site dedicated to the Marketing Community.It allows people and businesses in the marketing niche to interact through 4 platforms : forum, blogging, article and answers. They can exchange and share ideas, post articles and communicate easily. For your Internet Marketing Business, Gooruze let you link back to your blog but you shouldn’t use this network only for promoting your business, but to make connections and share information.

Sphinn

Sphinn is a great social network for your internet marketing business. It was created to help online marketers share ideas on web related topics. It offers forums to share opinions and create discussions. You can post blog posts and articles as long as they are presenting online marketing topics. Sphinn also has some interesting SEO discussions going on. You can set up your business profile and receive personal emails. Before posting articles and such, remember to review the terms of use: Sphinn is for non commercial purpose only. You can link to other site, such as your business blog, as long as it is not the only one you link to. But do not overdo it! Sphinn is very touchy about this issue, so make sure that the majority of the posts you submit are not your own.

Blogengage

Blogengage is a blogging community, where you are encouraged to submit your own blog posts, but only after you created a profile and uploaded an image. You can also vote on other people’s blog posts, discuss questions in a forum and they also accept guest blog posts, which will give you a nice backlink. Market Your Startup placed first of the Top 10 Blog posts of October!

You can of course use other more general network sites to promote your internet marketing business. But remember that targeting the right audience and using the social networks suitable for your niche is more efficient.

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Creating a business blog is not so complicated, as you might think. The hard part is to create an efficient blog, and dedicate time and efforts to develop it, being committed to it, is not always easy to do while managing all the other aspects of your business. Outsourcing your business blog can be a great way to have your business blog set and going without worrying whether things are done right. Here are the reasons why you should consider outsourcing your business blog.

Outsourcing your business blog enables you to stay efficient in you Business.

Unfortunately for you ( and the rest of the population), there are so many hours in one day, and only so much you can do during that day. So instead of doing it all half way, why not focus on what you do best and outsource your business blog? It gives you the chance to have everything done in the best way possible. By outsourcing your business blog you can spend the time you need to do what you do best. Stay efficient where you need to be efficient. Whether you are a startup or a grown business, do you  have time and dedication that it needs to make your business blog a success? Stay focused on what you do best: Run your company, find clients, develop new products and the thousand other things you need to do to keep you business running. Your business blog is important, don’t get me wrong,  it can improve your customer service, inform prospects about your company and much more, but it most likely not give you a 50% increase in Sales. Outsource your business blog and stay focused on running your business. This way, you will have a efficient and interesting blog, taken care by experts; and keep running your business effectively. Even though you might enjoy writing about your business and know a thing or two about blogging yourself: Leverage the time in your hands to keep your business growing and get things done.it

Experts know best, let them take care of your business blog.

- If you outsource your business blog, it means your blog will be between the hands of experts who know exactly what to do. They know the technical terms, and all the tools to make your posts successful and you blog efficient. One of the most important steps in writing a post for your blog is the keyword research. Experts know how to find them, where to place them and the pitfalls of using the wrong ones. They are trained for this, just like you know how to manage you business, they know how to take care of your blog. Therefore, they can analyze the impact of Social Media Marketing better and use all the tools to your advantage. They have references you may not know about and they also have a great deal of experience.
- Thanks to this experience, the expert taking care of your blog also knows how to adapt the language of your post to your audience. He knows how to target the right audience. This will save you time and research. Outsourcing can help you achieve your blog goals faster and better. Don’t be scared to give your blog and your business the tools it needs: trust that experts will be more efficient in finding the right readers, the right niche and make your business blog an important asset of your Social Media Marketing plan.
- Also, ask yourself, who is going to take care of your business blog, multiple times per week and with a lot of dedication? Do you have someone within your organization that has a talent to write, knows about blogging and marketing, SEO and keyword research and also has the time to take on a time consuming project like a business blog? Let the pro do it. You need to make sure you have  topics on your blog that spark interest in readers to check it out and convince them to come back regularly. Remember that the topics you choose for your blog are a very important factor in the success of your blog. Also your blog, in a way, is the face of your company online, so you want it to represent your business in the best possible way. You want to make sure your business blog is taken as seriously as any other aspect of your business. It is the experts’ job to develop the topics and make sure to present all the information. If you don’t have time to spend on writing, your posts will be too short, or not well constructed. Experts will feed you blog with a strong content.

The importance of being consistent is another good reason to outsource your business blog.

- More than the number of articles on your blog, the consistency is even more important. You must be able to really commit to filling it with posts on a regular basis. And if you don’t have time, outsourcing is your best option. Even if you think you have time, you should not just put your business blog on hold when something comes up; it will affect your image and your readership. People want to know what to expect, how often a blog is updated and how long your blog posts are. Humans are creatures of habit and this is also true for reading blogs. Many readers develop a routine about the blogs they read: Monday before work they read blog A, Tuesday for lunch blog B and so on. If you cannot “deliver” your content on a regular basis, you will not meet their expectations. By outsourcing your business blog, you assure a constant stream of fresh content. You make sure that your readers keep getting the information they ask for without you worrying out how to do it. Experts also know how to research for good topics and good content to match your business blog needs. So the content will be consistent and the posts regular. This allows you to show your readers a stable and organized process, and create a strong impact with your business blog.
- But with only writing your blog post, you are not done yet. What about promotion and marketing of your blog? Do you know your way around Digg, Yigg, Stumble, Reddit, Technorati, monitor Twitter and all the other promotion tools that can get your blog spikes in traffic? When outsourcing, you let an expert take care of all of that. You keep the communication flow going and growing. You show you are active and involved, which is what the customers, readers want. Remember that finding readers for your blog and keeping them is an important process in the success of your blog. Communicating and keeping an active involvement really effects your business blog. Outsourcing your business blog helps you to create a growing reader base, have their questions answered and shows that you are present on the Social Media Networks in a consistent manner.

Thinks about outsourcing your business blog, to promote your business online with the greatest tools without taking away from your business what it needs: your time and knowledge. Let trained professionals take care of your blog and be successful in every single aspect of your business.

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Your Business Blog Content

Keywords let your readers find your business blog

Before you start searching readers, make sure you started your blog the right way. If you know how to start you blog it will be easier to target readers.

The first thing to do when you start a blog, is to find keywords for every blog post topic that you want to write about. Keyword Optimization will tell you which words or phrases people are looking for. Google Keyword Tool is a great tool to help you find the most efficient words to use in your post. Dedicate time to your keyword research, it’s a strong tool to bring you more readers for your business blog in the long term. If you want to learn more about keywords, read our blog post on keyword optimization tips for your business blog. Also make sure you use appropriate tags search engines love them and so will your readers.

Great Content keeps your readers coming back to your blog

Good content is essential that a reader that finds your blog will come back regularly and talk about it to others. If you give useful information, are helpful and present your industry and company’s news, and on top have a great way of presenting and writing this information, readers will keep on visiting your blog for updates. Solve a problem that they have or answer their question through your blog posts. This will also establish a trust relationship between your company and your reader. And a regular reader that comes back is also more likely to convert into a customer, talk about your blog or company or tweet about it. As you might already know, word of mouth advertising is the most efficient form of advertisement. Good content is based on interesting topics. Remember to use a catchy headline that includes your keywords. Think about your topics carefully. If you have problems finding topics to write about on your business blog, check out this blog post that gives you ideas how to find blog post topics for your business blog.

Promote your Business Blog

Find and remind readers to visit your business blog

Once you have set up your business blog you must let people know about it. How do you do that? Well you can start by including the link to your blog on you business card, so that your potential customers, clients, partners receiving your card can also become potential readers. You can also include it in your email signature, your letterhead, and company’s invoice forms. Any print version with you company’s information is a good place to start.

Have a link to your business blog on your company’s website, if it is not included on your company’s website so that people visiting your company’s website can find out about it.
Inform the readers you already have about your blog. First: Who are they? Your first readers are your current customers, your employees, vendors, companies you have relationships with… anyone linked some way or another to your company. Second: How do you inform them? A great effective way is a press release introducing your blog, the link to your blog and what you blog about. If you have a mailing list, here is a good time to use it. If you already have a Social Media page add the link there and present the information to your current followers. If you send out monthly or quarterly newsletters, have a special section about your blog. Make it easy for people to find your blog.

Use Social Media Tools to promote your business blog

You can bring more traffic and therefore find more readers for you business blog by submitting your blog posts to good Social Media and bookmarking sites such as Google, Technorati, Twitter, Forums, Social Media Networking sites, Facebook and other industry specific platforms.

Participate on other business blogs

Another great tool to find readers are Guest Blog posts. It allows you to show your presence and make people aware of your writing style and content and give them an insight on what you write about. You can catch their attention and make them interested  to come check out your blog. See if your vendors or customers have blogs that are related to your blog and would be interested in a guest blog post. What is important to remember in the use of Social Media in general is that you must give something to get something (such as readers) in return. You must participate on other people’s blogs first to get people to participate on your and have their readers and followers be aware of you and become your readers as well. It is a long process, but you can do it! Just remember that you have to start small, because you focus  on quality rather that quantity. It is much more efficient on the long run to find quality readers of for your business blog, rather than have a lot of readers who don’t give you any feedback or that were not well targeted.

Catch your readers on Facebook, Twitter and Co.

Another important point is to be active on your Social Media Networking sites: answer tweets and questions, be consistent in your posts and comments, use all the resources available to you to show you are involved and spend time using and developing you Social Media Marketing campaign. Participate in forums and answer questions. Market Your Startup gets most of its traffic from forums, guest blog posts and Social Media Networks like Facebook or Twitter. Show that you are an expert in your field and that you are there to help, not to promote. Remember that Social Media relies mostly on the relationship you develop with your readers. Gaining their trust will bring you more readers. Remember, it’s all about making connections.

Understand Your Readers to keep them coming back

Once you have finally reach a certain numbers of readers it is important to understand what they look for and what keeps them coming back to your blog, so that you can feed them with the right content, keep their attention and reach out to other readers with similar interests. When you study your readers, you can see where else they read, or post. You can follow their example and participate where they do and find readers for your blog there. Ask them, communicate with them. This is the great advantage about Social Media, you can ask questions, there always will be people to answer you.
Remember it is important to target your readers well, and to focus on your niche. If you are using twitter already, it will help you find targeted readers for your business blog, since you already found targeted twitters followers.

Follow those tips and be committed to your blog. Remember to be patient. Social Media takes time, but is a very powerful tool over time. If you follow the advices you find here, you should have no problems having  good  traffic on your business blog. The more you participate in Social Media, the more readers you will find for your business blog.

What do you think? What is the most effective way to drive traffic to your business blog?

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Best Social Networks for your Travel Business

As mentioned previously in The 5 Best Social Media Sites for Marketing your Business Online, it is important to find the best Social Media Sites for your specific industry to promote your business efficiently. Facebook and Twitter are great tools but for your business in general, but in addition to that you need to target your audience more specifically to promote your Travel Business. The easiest way to do that is by going where they already are: Travel related Social Media networks and communities, all sites that focus on the travel industry, actually. Whereas your reach on Twitter and Facebook might be bigger, your conversion rate might be smaller, as people are generally interested in travel and like to look around, but are not in “booking-mode” yet. So here is a list of Social Networks that are best adapted to you Travel Business.

Real Travel

Real Travel is a Social Network where you can post travel reviews. Your can give travel advice, present travel guides about different locations promoting your business. However, be aware Real Travel’s policy does not allow you to use the site for commercial practices. If you have a tour operator site, you should not promote your business on this site.

Dopplr

Dopplr is another great Social Network for the travel niche. There you can share your travel tips about different cities, you can present the best attractions people should visit and make lodging and dining recommendations. Make sure you never post spammy comments or they will be taken off. You do not want to be to pushy on your travel post and forum comments anyway; remember that pushy talk breaks the trust relationship you are trying to develop with your readers.

Business Travel Connexion

Business Travel Connexion is a Social Network created by American Express for the Travel Industry, rather than the travelers themselves. This Social Network is built around the idea to put travel managers in contact to facilitate networking and idea exchange. You will also find a discussion forum to let you and other industry leaders share your knowledge and establish beneficial relationships.

Skylounge

Skylounge targets business travelers and expats to connect and share experiences they gained from various business trips. They have travel tips, events and a good forum. As with all other forums, follow the following principles: Listen -> Share ->Inform -> Introduce. Skylounge is very concerned about spammers so become a trusted source of information first is essential.

Ezine Articles

Ezine Articles is an article directory, where you can create an account and upload articles to be published about a certain topic. If you are an expert on Travel to Nepal, great, write about it. You get exposure and a high quality back link, when they publish your submission. Although Ezine Articles is not specifically focused on the travel niche, but has thousands of different niches, it helps you to built credibility and you reach your target audience easily.

TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor is another great forum to share you expertise and complete the work of other writers with your knowledge. However, as great as TripAdvisor is, it is important to know that if you link back to your business page or company blog, they will most likely take them off. Although it seems that it depends on who reviews your contribution, it is important to know that your posts linking to your company blog, even if there is no commercial comments on it, might be erased. So before putting time and effort on completing their site to hope for more traffic to your blog, read  their policy carefully!

Of course, there are a lot more sites that might also be suitable social networks for your travel business. This list is to help you get started and direct you on the right path. Remember that those tools are a way for you to built a relationship with your readers, to make them aware of your business and to inform them. So make sure to keep your sales talk out of your post and forums. Share information, build trust and most importantly: Listen! These forums are run by the people that you want to sell to, so they might give you the next hot destination, so listen carefully!

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How to find Interesting Blog Posts Topics for Your Business Blog

Interesting content is your key to success, which in plain English means: To get targeted readers to keep coming back to your business blog and reading what you write about, you have to write what is interesting to your readers. It is important to find interesting blog posts topics for your business blog on a constant basis. Your posts must be thought through, well written and relevant to your business and your audience. But this is easier said than done! So we will give you some ideas where you can get some inspiration for your business blog!

Brainstorming for blog post topics

The most important step to find interesting blog posts topics for your business blog is to brainstorm. Finding a subject that is interesting, but that you can also write a post about is not always easy. You must really think about what you want your readers to know about, but you also must find something that you know they want to read about. Don’t hesitate to use tools to help you brainstorm. Here are a few ideas to help you in this process:
- You can use forums in your niche to get ideas, and see what are the most popular topics in the industry. Just because other people already wrote about a topic doesn’t mean you can’t. Your writing style, your experience and your knowledge can bring something different to the table, and complete the information given by other writers. It is really important that you chose your topics carefully.
- You can also use the Google Keyword tool to search for related keywords. This might spark an idea in you and you can also see what people are looking for.
- Check out comments posted on your previous posts, or on other posts. It can give you an idea about what your readers want to know, what questions they want answered, and what recurrent topics come out, and need to be developed.
- When you already covered a broad topic, it is also a good idea to try to find other blog post topics that explain certain aspects in more detail. For this you can use a Mind Mapping software to help you broaden your ideas. A few different software are available, for free, online; or you can use the old paper and pen version. One is not better than the other, it just depends of your preferences.
- If you run out of ideas, don’t be afraid to ask your readers what they want to learn about, what topics they would like you to cover. It can help you get a list of ideas started and direct you toward a new topics.

Company news are great blog post topics

Company news are always a good topic. As your blog is an informative tool to enable your readers to be updated on the industry and your business ->use it! Possible blog posts topics for your business blog can be :
- Your company’s participation at a social event. You can talk about event in general and why your company chose to participate. Show some pictures and make it engaging.

- Your employee of the month. This is a great way to give a human aspect to your blog. Don’t forget to refer to people and not only write about abstract topics, like sales and numbers. Present your employee’s background and what he or she represents for your company.

- Did one of your employees accomplish something great outside of the office, like run a marathon, finish his or her degree or published a book? Write about it! This will not only give your employee a feeling of recognition, but also shows that you care about the people that work for you from a different aspect. Show them, that they are more than just a payroll number for you.

- Social effort and engagement. It is important to let your readers know what you do for the community and how you do it. You show them your involvement and a caring side that nowadays every readers is looking for…. Plus you might also teach something to your readers and inspire them to get socially more engaged.

- Training methods. A blog post about your training methods lets your readers know more about your business. It allows them to understand the business in general better and how it functions.

- You can also find inspiration in the daily news. Use Google Alerts to keep you up to date with what people are writing about your keywords. If you find a topic that relates to your business you can develop a certain point of that information to explain your readers more specifically how this affects your industry and your business.

And if you are not sure if your company news is relevant or how to present it to make it interesting, check out other niches and other industry blogs and read how they present themselves. It might direct you on a topic or help you get an feel for what kind of information to share and how to present this information.

Share your Experience in your business blog

Your readers are interested in you. Don’t be afraid to share your experience. You can give your opinion on a certain product supporting it by evidence and your personal experience using it. You can also write about yourself to give a human touch to your blog. It solidifies that trust relationship you try to develop with your readers. It helps them feel more important knowing you are comfortable sharing a little about yourself. Use this once in a while to show a little about the person behind the blog, but remember to keep your business and what it represents the center of interest. Sharing your experience can also mean sharing what problems your company faced and how you resolved them (such as customers complaints, or a not so successful service or product, or today’s effects of the economic situation on your company).

Blog readers also like to read about the development of new products, so this should be included in your list of ideas! Keep them updated on what you are working on and share your progress, ask them for ideas and what features you should concentrate on! It will not only give you something to write about, but also helps you to make a winning product! It is important to show your personal growth as well as your business growth to underline the strong points of your business and let your readers know you can handle challenges.

Point of Focus

It is also important when searching for interesting blog posts topics for your business blog to follow a pattern. Write about topics that are related. For example, you can chose a broad topic and then get into more details in following posts. For example, write  one blog post with a broad description the Social Media Sites available to companies, and then write different post explaining which Social Media Site is most appropriate for a more particular type of business. Then you can interlink these blog posts and make your blog “sticky”. You can also pick a topic about the industry and then apply it to your business more specifically…

If you really have a writing block and find no inspiration, read your older posts. It can help you find a topic to expand or update. The importance is to follow a certain logic so that you don’t get off track and lose your readers attention. A good way to do this is to follow a pattern in your writing. Maybe make a list of how to organize your posts: first a post on the industry, then a post on company news, then a post reviewing products, then an answer to customers, then a personal experience, and back to the industry… and so on.

These steps will help you to find interesting blog posts topics for your business blog. Find a way that works for you and that you are comfortable with so that you never run out of ideas. Remember brainstorming is the major step to take, and company news are always good information to present, but don’t forget to ask yourself, if  your audience is interested in this topic, and if you as a reader would want to read it!

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How to Create an Online Corporate Identity for your Company?

Brand Recognition, or what is CI?

An important point about creating an online Corporate Identity for your company, is to make your brand recognizable. You want readers, followers to find and recognize you. But how do you do that? Well, that is why you need a Corporate Identity for. It includes your logo, domain, your company font, company colors and also your tone of voice  By following all the tips below, you do everything for readers, customers, followers to know who you are, what you do, and how you do it. Your online CI defines your company, and let your customers recognize you through different tools.

Your Corporate Identity defines your company. You need to choose it carefully and establish it strongly because it is attached to your company for its life time. It is what represents who and what you are on the web. Whether it is online or on the market your CI must have strong impact on your target market and be appealing. There are a few things to know on how to create an Online Corporate Identity for your Company to make the impact desired.

Avatar

To  create an online CI for your company, you need to create an avatar with your logo, preferably a customized logo for each profile, as the image sizes differ from profile to profile. You want to create a great first impression and not have a fuzzy or distorted profile picture ruin your grand introduction to potential customers. Make sure you create your avatar the way you want it, and take time to do it. Changing it will make your online CI weak and confuse your followers.

User Name and Logo

Select only one user name for different forums or when putting comment. An exeption might be when the Username is limited, so create a “short” version of your company and stick to that one as your alternative. Always write your username exactly the same way. Keep your logo the same. Don’t change the colors, the font nor the style. By keeping a steady image representation of your company, fraud is less likely to be possible, and you underline the cohesion and determination of your business.

Tone of Voice

When writing it is important to be consistent. You also establish an online CI for your company through your writing style and the tone of voice you use. Make sure to pick one that is appropriate with the image of your company you try to depict and adapted to the target market you go after. You can’t write very technical posts and then switch the way you explain things to a ” for dummies” style. If you keep one writing style and one tone of voice, your readers will always know you are the one writing , and you do know what you’re talking about. You want to make sure that every subject seems as important as the other ones.

Backlinks – Domain

Remember that the domain name you choose is the name that will represent your business. It is, after your logo,  the far most important part of your company’s CI  because it states who you are, what you do, and how you will be identified and recognized. When you state  your domain in backlinks, make sure once again to be consistent. Always use www.yourdomainname.com or yourdomainname.com – pick one and stick to it. You want to make it easy for people to remember it and recognize it. Also if you decide to use uppercase letters, make sure to always use them to write your domain the same way every single time. Your online CI will be stronger if you always use the same format and style – choose from www.yourdomainname.com or www.YourDomainName.com, and never change it. Show stability.

Remember in what ever you do, constancy in how you do it is very important to establish an Online CI for your company. Brainstorm, choose, and don’t change the tools you use to create it.

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What should Your Business Tweet about?

So you took the first step and decided to use Social Media for your business. It is a great step, however you do need to know what to do with it. After you found out what Social Media Sites to use, and you personalized your profile it, it is time to use Twitter and get that cycle going. So what should you tweet about?

Tweet about: Industry News

One important topic your business should tweet about is what’s going on in your industry. To inform, update, and keep your followers interested, it is important to regularly post a tweet about the latest industry news. It shows your involvement and that you keep your business up to date and on top of things. Let your readers know what is the latest great innovation in the industry, and how the industry is going. This helps your readers understand more about your business in the broader picture.

Tweet about: Company News

Of course, another very important topic is your own business. You ought to inform your followers constantly about what is going with your business. You need to tweet about your companies news. Tweet about a new product or service, but not only that. Tweet about how your company will be/ was social involved. Let your readers know about your business evolution in the industry and on the market. You want them to be aware of what your company does and how it is done. This is part of building a trust relationship with your readers. You keep them constantly informed so they can follow you. By tweeting about your company news you give your followers a reason to keep following you. Also, Twitter is a good opportunity to inform customers about special offers. But remember to avoid pushy talk when using Social Media: the ultimate goal is to inform, gain attention of readers, and keep your followers!

Tweet about: Customer Complaints

Twitter is a great Social Media tool to communicate with your customers. This means, if your customers have complaints it is a great way for them to communicate any problems to you and for you to answer them. Don’t be scared to receive complaints, no one is perfect, and it is by answering and fixing your customers complaints that you will improve your business. When you tweet a complaint answer to your customers you make them feel important and show them their satisfaction matters. You allow your followers to give you feedback to improve your business on different levels. Give different answers in your tweet, not the same typical complaints answer. Customized your tweet to the customer and the situation. Show them they are one entity and their personal satisfaction is important.

Tweet about: Sharing Ideas/Asking Advice

Your business should also tweet about new ideas. You can then engage your readers, to get their feedback and have them share their ideas as well. One of the goals of social media is to make your followers involved, and allow more communication. Other businesses from the industry following you can also benefit fro your tweets and help you get ideas on different topics. You can tweet about an idea you have, to share it. But you can also tweet about doubts or questions and ask for advice. Social Media allows you to get opinion more directly. So take advantage of it. don’t be afraid to present your ideas and ask questions. Twitter helps you getting the information to your followers, but it also is a great tool for you to get the information you need from your followers. It is a give-and-take virtual relationship between customers and businesses, to enhance communication and take share ideas faster and more efficiently.

Tweet about: Company Blog

When you tweet for your business, you have in your hands a great way to present your blog. Tweet about your latest posts. Let your followers know where to find the information and what new topic you presents. But make sure you do not only tweet about your business. Include tweets about other blog post as well. Use links to blog posts that are relevant to your business (not from your competitors obviously) or posts about your industry, the market, the economy, and so on… It is important to show your readers you care more than just about your little bubble and that you get inform, read other people’s thoughts and share them. It makes you look involved, informed, curious and willing to always improve and bring your readers along. Plus, by tweeting about posts that are not yours you might be able to reach other possible followers that didn’t know about you. The posts writers might tweet about you as well, and allow more people to be aware of your presence in the Social Media community.

Tweet about:Yourself

An important point to remember when you tweet for your business it to be human. Do not just tweet about your company in general, or other companies, tweet about people. Have names behind ideas and topics to show your readers it is real and not just a computerized message that wasn’t thought through. Be clear and tweet about what interest your readers. Have a purpose in your tweets. Don’t just post something to post something. Remember you want to keep your followers interested. So show them that you understand them.

To put it in a nutshell: business should tweet about the company and the industry news, use tweets to share ideas and ask for advice, present interesting blogs – not just their business blog, but also others from the industry, and take advantage of twitter to answer their customers complaints and improve their satisfaction.

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Your Social Media profile is the way to give your business an identity online, to create an image in the heads of your customers and in the long haul, to create a brand. It is therefore important to personalize your Social Media Profile to make sure it is recognizable, to make it attractive for readers and not plain like any other profile. Remember Your Social Media Profile is the representation of your business online. Here is a “How to Guide” to personalize your Social Media Profile.

The Human Touch

Your Social Media Profile will have a better impact on people if there is a face and a name attached to it. Don’t be afraid to associate your name to your business, after all you are the reason why it exist. You deserve the credit! If you even put a picture, readers can get the human feel behind your Social Media Profile. You are then not just a web page, not an entity, but so much more. Edit a biography about your business, and also write about yourself. Your readers want to learn about your business. By personalizing your Social Media profile you allow your reader to learn more about you, to see who you are and what you do. So let your profile show that you are human! You can even give your profile a certain tone in your writing, use humor – but don’t not overboard!

The Caring Touch

Your profile is a great tool to show your reader your involvement in society, the topics that are important to you and so on. You can personalize your Social Media profile by showing how your company cares about its employees and the community. Talk about events in which your company participated: you can put comments about blog post you wrote on the event, or you can create and attach  a photo album of your employees at the events to your profile . Share about events within the company: present your employee of the month, make a comment about your company’s Christmas party. Show that you care! And you can also ask your readers to give you feedback on events they know about and organization that need sponsors, so that they can participate in your profile personalization.

The Visual Touch

Make sure you filled in everything you can to inform your visitors, fans or followers about your business. Don’t leave a blank section. If there is nothing to say in this section fill it with a short video about your business or a specific product; or make a slide show of pictures presenting different aspect of your business. Another very important advice: Customized the profile itself to fit your overall Corporate Identity. Change the colors so that they represent your company’s colors. Add your logo as a background or at the top of the page. Modify the set up to show you put effort into it, to have a profile that makes people interested in your business. You don’t want readers to skip your profile because they can’t read what you wrote, or because it is just another black and white page. Make sure you choose colors, font style and size that allow a good visualization of your profile. You want the information to get to your readers, so make it easy for them to find it and read it!

Answer!

Give your customers feedback an answer as promptly as possible. Don’t be scared of complaints, the way you answer them will show other readers that you care and will give your profile the interactive communication feel that it is supposed to have. Also update your profile regularly. You don’t want to have a presentation on a product/service you don’t offer anymore, or numbers that are not accurate with your current situation. It is important to keep your profile “living” to show your constant presence and evolution. Answer to customer responses, whether positive and negative and show that you listen! Remember that Social Media helps you develop a trust relationship between your customers and your business. This step in personalizing your Social Media Profile help you strengthen this relationship and keep it going.

After you set up, customize, and personalize your business Social Media profile: Ask yourself: Does my profile create an positive and inviting image in the head of my customers and is my brand recognizable? A well personalized Social Media Profile will attract the right followers as they will be able to directly see who you are and if you match what they are looking for. And keep in mind to have a good balance between the social and business aspect of your profile. Oh, and don’t forget to add your business URL!!

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The True ROI of Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing is not FREE! You are investing your time and therefore money in Social Media Marketing, and as any business investments you want to know what Return On Investments you can gain from it? Legitimate question! You should wonder, and you should know, because understanding and learning about the ROI of Social Media Marketing allows you to use it efficiently and really promote your business in the most effective way. So what is the ROI of Social Media Marketing? Keep reading to find out!

The quick answer: The ROI of Social Media Marketing is what you want it to be. Do you want to focus on better customer service? Or attract side markets to your business? Or may be you want to develop a loyal and trusting relationship with your customer? Well, then concentrate on those numbers. For some  metric examples and numbers on how to measure your Social Media Marketing check the end of the article!

Useful information

One of the first goal of Social Media Marketing is to inform. Your Social Media tools enable you to provide useful information about your business to educate your customers, and inspire potential customers that they need your product or service. The R.O.I. of Social Media Marketing then, is shown by analyzing how many of your current customers you have been able to keep and turn them into a loyal customer base and how many of new potential clients you have been able to turn into real customers. Another goal of Social Media Marketing is to teach your customers how you differ from your competition, explain what makes your product or service unique and the best solution for their problem or need, and also why there is a advantage for them and the rest of the society to follow you. The ROI of Social Media Marketing here is to see how many of your customers have started following you instead of your competitors.

Branding

Social Media Marketing helps your business gain an identity online. You establish a reputation for your business through Social Media tools, which allows targeted readers, customers and other businesses in your industry to recognize your brand, to recognize who you are and what your business represents. On the long term, the loyalty from your customers gained is the ROI of Social Media Marketing efforts. On shorter term, your ROI is the increasing number of customers and potential customers aware of your business existence on the market, and your presence online.

Customer Support and Product/Service Improvement

With Social Media tools you can reach more customers, but most of all you incite them to engage in improving what your business needs to change. You can make them feel involved, create communication and have them generate new ideas for your business – new ideas, innovation, or improvements or product differentiation, all of them will help you to stay ahead of the competition. This helps you understanding the need of your targeted readers and answer those needs the most efficiently possible. The ROI of Social Media Marketing is the feedback you receive from your customers and see how you are able to provide a better response to your customers.

Trust and a Trusting Network

Social Media Marketing has been proven to help businesses create a whole new relationship with their customers and business partners. The customer support ( as describe previously) enabled through the use of such tools enables you to drive a connection between your business and your customers. The constant attention given to your customers and your ability to keep their attention as well, gives your business the great opportunity to create, develop and strengthen a strong trust relationship with your customers. You, therefore, grow your network, on strong basis, for a long term commitment.

The ROI of Social Media Marketing can’t really be measured as a financial result, at least not initially. But it is measured through an analysis of your business, its online presence, the awareness you were able to develop, and quantity and quality of the followers you were able to gain and keep, and the identity you created for your business.

Social Media Marketing ROI Metrics

Here are a couple of numbers and metrics that you should keep an eye on to measure your Social Media Marketing ROI. But always remember to gather these information before you start with your Social Media Campaign, so you can compare the before and after results !

• Search Engine results and website traffic
• Brand recognition
• Customer complaints
• Customer complaints response rate
• Product returns
• Negative comments/positive comments about your company online
• One-time vs. returning customers
• Backlinks
• Time savings (for example, when you refer your customers to helpful blog articles rather than answering them all over and over again!)

These are just a few metrics that will help you determine the profitability of Social Media Marketing, but there are many more. It depends very much on where you want to focus on. Building a Social Media Marketing campaign is more than just setting up a Facebook page and following random people on Twitter. Focusing on specific aspects of Social Media will bring you more targeted results, so establish a strategy first and monitor the results!

Social Media Marketing is a long term process, where data analysis, and not dollars amount, tells you how successful you are.

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