Category : Viral Marketing

  • I Have a Video! Now What?

    Posted Jun 27th, 2011 By in Video Marketing, Viral Marketing With | No Comments

    If you’ve taken the big leap and joined the ranks of the online video marketers, congratulations! The first video is always the most difficult.

    But now that you’ve produced your first video, what’s next? How do you not only maximize the marketing from that video, but also create new video marketing opportunities? Unless you want to succumb to the dreaded “one and done” syndrome, you’ll want to create a strategic marketing plan for using video regularly in your business.

    As with any plan, you must begin with the end in mind. What are your business objectives for video? Is it to grow your list? Build your brand? Drive more web traffic? Enhance your credibility? Your goals will determine your direction.

    If you said “all of the above” to the video goals we just listed, here are some ideas for maintaining your video momentum…

    1. Create an “expert tips” series to share your expertise. Short, 1 – 2 minute “how to” videos are a great way to increase your credibility and expand your influence.

    2. If you’ve got a blog, add a videoblog post every couple of weeks. The search engines love video, and your readers will be treated to a dynamic change of pace from your traditional blog posts. Extra bonus: Video is much more personal and compelling than print alone!

    3. Get some face time. Use a personal video message or video email to go “face to face” with your clients or prospects. Sending a video greeting, birthday wishes or a thank you video have much more impact than yet another regular email. If you want to stand out and be memorable, use video! (more…)

  • Is Social Media a ‘Get Rich’ Scheme or Competition?

    Posted Sep 8th, 2010 By in Social Media, Social Networking, Viral Marketing With | 7 Comments

    Do you want THOUSANDS of friends/followers within days/weeks?

    Please become a liker of my Facebook page because I need to reach 1000 likers!

    Make money FAST using social media…

    Let me show you how I made $100K in one day using social media…

    Learn how to grow followers FAST on Twitter…

    Anyone can make money using Twitter…Learn how NOW!
    Any of these sound familiar? I have lost count of how many of these messages I receive per day. I am sure you have too. Tired of them yet? I know I am!

    If you spend any time on any social media site, you will find that there appears to be a race to see who can have the most friends/followers or who can find the quickest and easiest way to get rich using social media. There are schemes that can help you get thousands of new people to follow you on sites like Twitter.

    There are even sites that sell friends by the thousands. If any of these come across your e-mail or your social media accounts, please IGNORE them. Two words: “Buyer Beware!” And, if you are sending out these messages, please STOP!

    Social media is not for people who want to get rich fast nor is it a competition. There is no short cut to using social media. Social media is another powerful tool to help you build genuine, quality, and long-term relationships. It is NOT about the quantity of friends or likers you have. If you are using social networking sites to increase the visibility of your business, the concept is very simple. Think of it as taking your offline networking online.

    When you are at a networking event, you connect with people and try to build relationships. Then once you establish credibility, you may try to introduce people to your products and services. And, if you have given enough value, you will automatically attract your ideal clients. Well, the same rules apply to social networking. It is truly as simple as that! No need to reinvent the wheel.

    When trying to build your likers and followers on social networking sites, you must think about your target audience and not how many followers you are going to have by the end of the month. For example, imagine you sell steaks. They might be the juiciest, tastiest steaks in the world, but if you try to sell them at a raw food convention where there are thousands of people, guess what? No one will buy! That’s what it’s like when you gather 20,000 people through random methods just to get followers on whatever social network you are targeting. I guarantee that this approach will not get you the results you are looking for and will not increase your business in any shape or form.

    Now, imagine you take these amazing steaks to a meat-lovers convention. Do you think these people might be interested in your food? I bet you’d sell out in no time! Keep this in mind when you are finding followers on Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon or any other social network. You need to focus on targeted followers — the ones who appreciate the value you provide and are interested in what you have to offer.

    In summary, social media isn’t a competition to see how popular you are . . . unless that happens to be your sole purpose (But, why would it be?). However, if you are there to increase the visibility of your business, you need to start looking at things differently. Quality follower or likers will make all the difference in your bottom line!

    Follow these 12 social media tips and see the difference it makes in your business:

    1. Have a strategy
    2. Use listening skills
    3. Provide value
    4. Build credibility/rapport
    5. Be genuine/honest
    6. Be conversational
    7. Be interesting/amusing
    8. Be creative (think outside the box)
    9. Be consistent
    10. Use proper etiquette
    11. Be patient
    12. Most importantly, have fun!

    Am I missing any schemes?  Please list any hype that you have seen or received in the comments section below .  This will help educate others and prevent them from making costly mistakes.

  • 10 Instant Blog Post Templates to Help You Write Articles in 30 Minutes or Less

    Posted Jul 29th, 2010 By in Article Marketing, Blogging, Viral Marketing With | 9 Comments

    I am a natural born writer, so writing has always come easy to me. But, when I had to start writing articles everyday for my blog, for my newsletter and for article submission – I quickly ran out of article topics.

    Then one day as I was reviewing all of my articles, I realized that there was a structure and a formula behind each article I wrote. By recognizing these formulas I’m able to write an unlimited amount of articles – and write them in record time. And, If you want to overcome writer’s block and start writing articles faster, then you want to model proven article writing formats.

    Here Are 10 Different Blog Post Templates That Will Help You Overcome Writer’s Block So You Can Write Articles Faster…

    1. Myth Buster Article Template — With this template, you crush your prospects’ preconceived thoughts and notions about a subject. Take 3 myths people have about your industry. Explain to people why it’s a myth. And, then show them what can happen if they clear this myth from their mind.

    2. Top 10 Article Template – Have you ever seen a Jay Leno, David Letterman or any other late night television show that doesn’t have a “Top 10″ segment? Well, neither have I! It’s because people love top 10 lists. So give readers and prospects what they want.

    3. How-To Article Template – It’s no secret that “how-to” articles and blog posts are some of the most sought after, linked to and bookmarked content online. People want useful information and they’ll reward you by promoting it to others when you provide it. It’s also one of the easiest articles to write.

    4. Step-by-Step Article Template – If you think writing a how-to article is easy especially if you’re using article templates, then you’ll think the step-by-step article template is a cinch. In how-to articles I start off with the problem or pain that my prospects are experiencing. Then I give them a solution and end with the results. In a step-by-step article, I like to sell the dream. I want to instantly connect with my prospects’ desires, wishes and needs. So, I explain the results up front that can happen if you follow my advice that I give in the article.

    5. Quiz Article Template – Why do you think magazines publish quizzes all the time? Why do you think the quizzes you find on Facebook are so popular? It’s because people love taking quizzes, unless it’s a pop quiz in school. So, why not use a quiz format for your articles that will enable you to do a soft, pre-sell for your products and services. When readers answer “NO” to your questions, you’re implanting thoughts of “Maybe, we should be doing this.”

    6. 3 Mistakes Article Template – When you mention mistakes within your title and throughout your article, you will automatically grab attention. People will think in their minds, “Am I doing this right? I better find out!”

    7. The Why Article Template – How-to articles are great. And, as I said before, it’s the most popular article template. But sometimes, when you give too much of the “HOW,” you give prospects no reason to go to your website for more information. So, why not write an article that focuses on the “WHY” and give prospects a reason to visit your website and join your list.

    8. Differentiate Yourself Article Template – I created an article entitled “How to Choose an Article Submission Service.” Within this article, I created 10 questions that prospects should ask. Now these questions were designed to show everything that my service includes that no one else offers. It educated prospects and at the same time, it pre-sold my article submission services.

    9. Failure to Success Article Template – Did you ever notice how speakers (especially those who sell from the stage) would always tell you about their hardships? Why do speakers do this? Because we want you to connect with us. We want to show you that if we can achieve success, so can you. By opening up and revealing your failures or your scars, you add realness to your written words. People will look up to you and they will want your guidance.

    10. What I Learned From Article Template — Through my years as the article marketing expert, I’ve learned that I can connect almost anything – no matter how unrelated it may seem – to various secrets that I teach my clients, subscribers and readers. For example, I’ve written articles such as “7 Article Marketing Lessons I Learned From Being a Martial Arts Champion,” 3 Lessons I Learned From the Mother of a Fearless PR LEADER,” and “5 Relationship Building Lessons I Learned From My Parents.”

    Guest Author: Article Marketing Expert Eric Gruber uses the power of articles to create online opportunities for Internet marketers, small business owners, authors, entrepreneurs and speakers who want more publicity, prospects and profits. Now, you can get 3 of his favorite his instant article writing templates that will help you overcome writer’s block and write your articles in 30 minutes or less. Get your free article templates now: http://www.TryMyFreeArticleTemplates.com

  • An Infograph – 20 Fascinating Facts About YouTube

    Posted Jul 19th, 2010 By in Social Media, Video Marketing, Viral Marketing, YouTube With | 1 Comment

    Infograph by GO-Gulf.com – Dubai Web Design Company

    20 Interesting Facts about Youtube

  • Ask Mirna: What’s Your Take on Facebook’s Privacy Concerns?

    Posted May 17th, 2010 By in Ask Mirna, Facebook, Social Media, Social Networking, Viral Marketing With | 5 Comments

    QUESTION:

    “Mirna, what’s your take on Facebook these days with the privacy concerns? I didn’t like seeing my FB photo, name, text box pop up online.” Pam W.

    questionmarkANSWER:

    Good question, Pam!  Several people asked me the same thing, since I did not react much to the changes.

    As briefly mentioned to you on Twitter, I think users should have the right to choose if they want to show others what sites they visited. However, I also see Facebook’s perspective on helping brands and other businesses boost their viral marketing efforts since this will also support the site’s growth.  To a certain extent, they were not thinking of the average Facebook user because they ended up causing a tremendous amount of confusion and commotion.

    Although I think Facebook and other social networks do a very poor job at educating and listening to their users, I do believe it is the users’ responsibility to protect their own privacy.  Everyone online should be focused on having fun, educating themselves about social media and working on their strategies, instead of wasting too much time worrying about the Facebook changes.

    We have to all remember that a huge part of using social media is transparency. It is our choice to make whether we want to use social media or not; and we decide what to share and how visible we want to be.

    As you know, I share a lot of content and consider myself to be very visible online. But, I am also a very private person and don’t like sharing my entire life with the world.  Although, I allow everyone to get to know my personality, I am very strategic and extremely cautious with what I post or discuss on social networking sites.

    If privacy is still a concern, here are a few tips when using any online tool or website:

    - Use common sense.  If you do not want your competitors or great great grandchildren to see something, do not post or discuss it.

    - Take the time to check the privacy policies before using a social media tool or application.

    - Be responsible and use privacy settings when joining social networking sites.

    - And last but not least, if you are using sites like Facebook for business, please remember to use them as supporting tools only.  Too many of us are concentrating way too much on these tools instead of focusing on what is truly important — our business strategy and our websites.

    If you still have concerns, questions, and comments regarding privacy, please post them below.

    If you would like to get your questions answered by Mirna, please visit the Ask Mirna page.

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