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May, 2009

Social Advertising Best Practices Released by IAB
Posted May 25th, 2009 By Mirna Bard in Social Media, Social Networking With | No Comments

Last week, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released a guide for social media best practices. The guide, available at their website (http://www.iab.net/socialads) covers both reasons to use social media as an advertising medium and base, as well as offering recommendations to define consumer permissions, protect the privacy of social media users and to help ensure advertising and data gathering transparency.

Defining Social Media Advertising

First up is a definition of a social media ad. The document defines this as:

“An online ad that incorporates user interactions that the consumer has agreed to display and be shared. The resulting ad displays these interactions along with the user’s persona (picture and/or name) within the ad content.”
This can include profile, social and interaction data and this type of ad is very frequently seen on sites like Facebook where a friend`s name might be used to catch the user`s attention and get them to sign up for a new application.

Protecting Privacy

Since social media is a medium that requires personal connections in order to function, it`s no surprise that privacy is an issue when it comes to ads that use data from social interactions. The IAB outlines what constitutes privacy in this setting, since it is an area that is not typically covered in the rules for regular online marketing.

It`s suggested that consumer data should only be incorporated into social ads if the person has already opted in and given permission for access to their profile data. Also, the consumer needs to know precisely which information is being used, how and what for. Transparency is the key here and is highly recommended in the social practices guide.

Other Guidelines

The IAB report also goes over the various types of social media ads and how they are used, including which personal data they would require. Another area that is looked at is how the advertiser should disclose their data usage and what is considered fair use.

For businesses interested in leveraging the power of social media in their marketing, this guide is a must read. It will give you an idea of how to go about things ethically and ensure you don`t run into problems with your ads.
Search Engine Marketing: Building Your Business Economically
Posted May 22nd, 2009 By Mirna Bard in Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) With | 1 Comment

One of the biggest advantages to promoting your business online, even if it`s a brick and mortar business, is the fact that it is affordable. You can literally spend tens of thousands of dollars for the same results that you`ll get for a fraction of the price online. Search engine marketing is one of the best methods of building your business without spending a fortune.

What is Search Engine Marketing?

Quite simply, search engines are always looking for relevant content to give their searchers and if you have optimized your business site or blog for your top keywords, then the search engines are will recognize you as an appropriate search result. The higher you are in the search results, the more people will see and click on your link.

Very few business owners have the time or energy, much less the know how to do their own search engine marketing, but that`s not an issue these days. Everything can be outsourced, from building your website to providing SEO content. An entire online marketing campaign can be worked up and executed by an expert in the field for far less than an offline endeavor would cost.

What does this mean for you? Search engine marketing is far too important to miss out on. It`s an affordable method of promotion for any business, no matter what the marketing budget. Without creating your site with search engines in mind, you are essentially dooming it to a life of hiding on page 55 of the search results, never to be found by those looking to buy your products and services.

Marketing to the search engines is something that can be done every time you add content to your site and over time it will pay off, particularly if you`ve chosen a knowledgeable expert to do the optimization for you.
How Visible is Your Website?
Posted May 19th, 2009 By Mirna Bard in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media With | No Comments

Everyone wants their website to be seen and with your business website, this is particularly important. If no one ever comes to your site, how will they learn about you to buy? Unfortunately, too many businesses set up shop and then leave their website to gather dust, frustrated that no one is showing up. Meanwhile, everyone is heading over to the competition`s site!

There are a number of factors in building a site that potential clients will see, but the main thing to keep in mind is visibility. How do people know you exist? A comprehensive social media plan is essential to ensure that your website gets the exposure it needs.

While search engine optimization is important and can drive a lot of traffic, there`s no reason not to go with a multi-pronged approach. Rather than relying on just one source of traffic, step it up a little and look at other methods of bringing in visitors. Social media, optimized content and social networking are all important pieces of the puzzle and will help get your business noticed, but only if they are done correctly.

Many people figure that if they`ve sent out a few links on Twitter and Facebook, they should be getting plenty of traffic. Unfortunately, it doesn`t work that way. You need a marketing strategy to begin with, a plan that can then be executed, making full use of all social media outlets. Visibility doesn`t happen overnight, it`s a process that requires a lot of work and a good idea of how search engines and social networking work. Without having a well-thought out plan and knowing your goals and objectives, how will you know where you are going?

Don`t let your business website languish in the dark . . . make sure people know how to find you!
Social Media: The End of Real World Relationships?
Posted May 12th, 2009 By Mirna Bard in Social Media, Social Networking With | 3 Comments

With sites like Facebook and Twitter making it easy to stay in touch with people without ever meeting face to face or even picking up the phone, some cynics are starting to wonder if social media could spell the end of real world relationships. And if you take the time to look at all the methods we use these days to connect with each other that don`t involve “real world” communication, you might wonder, too!

Rest assured that social media will never take over human contact completely. We might find it easier to update our status during the day by popping into Facebook, sending a message out on Twitter or leaving a note on Basecamp, but at the end of the day, we still need real human contact.

How does this relate to your business? Limiting yourself to one method of communication, be it Twitter or phone calls or direct mail, is limiting to your business. Social media allows you to reach a wider range of potential clients than you would otherwise be able to communicate with. Imagine the cost of a direct mail campaign around the world? It wouldn`t be a feasible for the majority of companies, but a social networking campaign that reaches hundreds of thousands of people around the world is affordable for just about every business, no matter what their budget.

It all comes down to communication. Businesses thrive on it and by utilizing more than one method of communication, you`ll be able to reach far more clients than you would otherwise. Take advantage of the booming world of Facebook, Twitter, & LinkedIn and other social media networks to create relationships with potential customers and embrace it. Real world communication isn`t going anywhere and we can still enjoy the best of both worlds.
Tips for Pay Per Click Advertising That Really Work
Posted May 12th, 2009 By Mirna Bard in Pay per Click (PPC) With | No Comments

Anyone who runs a business with an online presence knows that pay per click is considered the best way to gain targeted traffic through advertising. What they may not know, however, is just how to make it work.

Too many businesses try their hand at PPC advertising and fail miserably. Either they spend too much money or they end up with very low or even non-existent conversion rates and give up on the whole thing. That doesn`t mean pay per click doesn`t work, though, it just means it needs to be fine tuned.

Build a landing page. This is vital. If you are just sending people to your homepage, chances are they won`t see what they`re looking for immediately and will click away and bam, you`ve lost a sale. Instead tailor your landing page(s) to the people that are coming in through each ad.

Stick to search advertising. Contextual ads have poor conversion rates as a general rule of thumb, whereas people who are actively looking for something will be far more likely to click on your ad with the intention of purchasing a solution to their problem.

Offer something for free. Rather than try to sell to the client immediately, offer them something of value that will let them know just how great your product or service is. This technique has been used with great success by the most successful gurus online.

Get their email address. If you don`t capture that email, your potential client could vanish forever. Studies have proven that people need to be exposed to something an average of 7 times before they will act on it, so getting them on your email list will let you make the contact necessary.

Pay per click advertising doesn`t end with writing the ad copy and sending it out for the world to see. Make sure that you`ve set everything up to guarantee the best results and you`ll find that your campaigns are far more successful.

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