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  • Working With Offline Companies: The Basics

    With the advent of the Internet over the past couple of decades, it seems as though everybody and their mother is on the Internet. Of course, the level of proficiency that individuals and companies have when working with the Internet is as varied as there are clouds in the sky. Some companies have really figured out how to use the Internet as a formidable marketing tool and are experts of the highest degree – others are still wondering what “www” happens to stand for.

    If you happen to be an online consulting company who works with businesses in order to help them better their online image, you’re likely familiar with working with clients who run the gamut when it comes to technical savvy and expertise. However, have you considered the vast untapped world of the offline business?

    It may seem as though everybody has a website, but the fact of the matter is that there are millions of businesses out there who don’t have an Internet footprint at all.

    This represents a significant portion of businesses in America and across the world. It can be more difficult to reach out to these companies since, well, if they don’t have an Internet presence and you’re an Internet consulting company, you need to be able to find an arena in which to promote your services and convince these offline businesses that it’s worth their time and money to go virtual.

    Of course, it shouldn’t be difficult to outline to a business why working on the Internet is a good idea. Remind an offline business about the huge amount of commerce that happens over the Internet and all of the potential clients who are looking over their business when they get on the Internet to search for companies to fit their needs and wants. Particularly with the younger generation, the first place that people look when they want to buy an item yet don’t know where to go is the Internet! Having a website is no guarantee that you’ll be able to get every single client that stops by, of course, but remind them that if they don’t have a presence on the Internet they’ll miss 100% of these potential leads!

    Remember that there are a great deal of businesses that are not on the Internet. If you’re a savvy consulting company, you’ll consider this untapped resource as a potential outlet for new business. After all, while the competition is zigging to keep up with the online crowd, you’ll be zagging and reaching out to a group of potential customers that are constantly overlooked.

    It may seem as though everybody is on the Internet, but there are millions who are not. Reach out to this group of people to both help their business while bettering yours at the same time!

  • Facebook for Individuals

    Video: Facebook for Individuals

  • The Offline SEO Approach: Step 1, Discovery

    One of the most important things that any offline business can do when it wants to enter the online realm of social medial marketing is research. Doubtless, no matter how obscure your store is or what kind of niche that you sell to, there is an online store doing exactly the same thing. With thousands (if not millions) of people doing their shopping online every day, it’s absolutely guaranteed that your offline store will have an online competitor. And it’s likely that the online competitor is doing quite well.

    While this may be exasperating to a certain degree, you can use this information to help propel your offline business into the fray and even put your offline business into a more favorable position. Be sure to look at your online competitors and see how they market their product and whom they are marketing to. Are they on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace? Do they have an RSS feed? Are they working with online directories? Do they have profiles on forums relating to the product being sold? What’s the tone of their website like, and how do they appear to interact with customers?

    One of the most important things to do for an offline business looking to work with the online world is creating an aura of discovery around their store. Since one of the major points for offline businesses when it comes to advertising is to entice the customer to visit the store, you need to foster a sense of discovery on the part of the potential customer. After all, you have to get them off of the computer and into the store.

    During the discovery part of your foray into the crazy world of social media marketing, you explore the groundwork that’s already been laid online for you. You look and see what your competitors are doing in terms of social media and figure out how you can do it better. Do they have out of date Twitter feeds? Does their Facebook profile look unprofessional? These are all things you can use to bolster the status of your own personal social media adventure and make yourself look better than your online competition.

    In addition, if you own a physical store you have the advantage of asking your customers what they would be interested in, regarding terms of social media advertising. Would they be interested in a Twitter feed, or a LinkedIn profile? Try asking some of your younger customers, should you have them. Most will probably be happy to talk your ear off in regards to social media platforms. After all, the younger group is the one most likely to be on Facebook constantly with their smartphones. Anybody older than thirty is likely to have a less informed opinion on it. At any rate, be sure to exploit the biggest advantage you have over online businesses – that is, the direct conversation with the customer!

  • Building Fan pages

    Video: Building Fanpages

  • Promoting Facebook

    Video: Promoting Facebook

  • Social Networking Into a Niche

    You’re probably well aware of how helpful social networking tools can be when it comes to getting attention for your business. In fact, social networking has become such a salient topic in recent years that it’s developed its own marketing acronym– just as Search Engine Optimization has SEO, social networking has Social Media Optimization, or SMO.

    Yes, it’s true – there are people who make their living by controlling the Twitter accounts and Facebook profiles of people and businesses. The good news is that if you’re a small operation, there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t manage your own social media optimization. There’s very little about the process that’s acutely difficult – the most annoying thing about it is that it can be time consuming, which is why some companies choose to outsource the work. Once your social media optimization reaches a certain point, you might deem it necessary to outsource it as well, but for people who are just starting on the path to social medial optimization, it’s recommended that you take control of it yourself.

    The reason why social networking is so pivotal when it comes to niche marketing is that the entire point of social networking in the first place is to find a niche. Think of it this way – when you create a personal profile on these sites, you’re seeking to find people who you can network and connect with. On personal profiles, these are likely friends that you know in real life, so you can build up your communication methods with them. In essence, you’re creating your own little niche where you can find others easily through social networking, and others can find you.

    Working through social networking with a business is the exact same thing. You’re putting your business out on the waves, looking for people who might be interested in your goods and services, or what you have to say. The art behind using Twitter and LinkedIn is the same as it would be with email advertising or working on forums. Post regularly enough so that your account is obviously an active account and people stay aware of your existence, but don’t spam the accounts of your friends and colleagues multiple times a day. To do so is to becoming annoying, and even though you’re looking to keep a steady stream of conversation going, if you become irritating, people will “defriend” your social network account.

    Good things to make your “friends” on social networking sites aware of are promotions, blog updates, sales, discrepancies in business (like if you will be away from the computer for a while or the business will be closing for a period of time), or tips and tricks. Keep your updates fun, interesting, and relevant. A good rule of thumb is that if you don’t have anything to say, don’t say it. However, you should have something to say about your business at least two times a month – should this not be the case, you need to work on making your business more dynamic!

  • 3 Perfectly Effective Ways to Lose Customers

    1. Let Them Procrastinate

    Yeah, procrastination has stolen millions of dollars from the pockets of business men and women just like yourself. The longer it works on the customer, the less likely they will be to open their wallet and hand over the dinero they’ve been hoarding there.

    Here’s how it works… First, the customer leaves your store without making the purchase. Second, time causes the desire for the product to fade, and distracts them from making their way back. Finally, your “almost customer” totally forgets about making the purchase, and you can kiss potential profits good-bye.

    Don’t let it happen to you! Make deals so irresistible they just can’t say no, and set an expiration date. Yes, put a little press on them to buy TODAY! Reward them for complying, and make sure they forfeit the deal if they don’t. Don’t be victimized by “almost sales” that could be turned into REAL profits!

    2. Stay Off The Top Of Their Priority List

    Hey, sometimes we need to be reminded of exactly what is and what isn’t important in life. Where we spend our money indicates its level of importance. Are your customers telling you that your product isn’t significant to them?

    Put them where you want them to be with a dramatic word picture that evokes the emotions that drive purchases. Let me say it this way… If you’re trying to sell them a home business… let them feel the freedom of being their own boss, and setting their own schedule. Are you selling water skis?

    Get them on the water in the hot summer sun with the wind blowing their hair and water spraying around them. Let them FEEL the importance of the decision.

    You CAN motivate buyers to put a high priority on your product!

    3. Don’t Build Trust

    Do your customers feel confident that your company will provide the services that it says it will? How many times have you raised an eyebrow at an offer that makes big promises? Yeah, if you don’t already know they are a reputable company, you’re likely to take claims with a grain of salt.

    Unconditional guarantees give credence to your desire to please customers. Testimonials are evidence that you have a proven track record. Put some facts in front of your “almost customers.” Let them know a little bit about you and your staff.

    It’s always easier to trust a person, than a business.

    Internet customers are at especially high risks for feeling a legitimate amount of distrust. After all, anyone can make grand claims, but who is responsible for upholding them? A personal photo, a little information, and a phone number where a contact can be reached go a long ways toward building trust on the Web.

    How many “almost customers” have slipped through your fingers? You can effectively turn them into loyal customers who regularly frequent your place of business with the business savvy insights we’ve talked about in this article.

  • What is Article Marketing?

    Video: Brad discusses article and press release marketing and shows the most effective ways to distribute your article and press releases.

  • How to Change Permalinks in WordPress

    Video: How to change your permalinks in WordPress.

  • Long-Term Customers into Affiliates

    So, let’s take a look at what you’re going to do with your long term customers in regards to turning them into affiliates. Understand that when we talk about this, it may not be suitable to do so depending on your product. Turning any one of these resources into affiliates is especially important in the world of online marketing software or info selling, because after all, affiliate marketing is at least 20% of the whole picture. That’s a huge chunk.

    Well, after telling you that I’m going to have to turn around now and tell you straight up that turning your long-term customers into affiliates, (or trying to) is a bad idea. Remember, these people have already spent their money with you, and have seen your affiliate offers several times. Many of them will be on your list receiving the ads for your affiliate program solely, as we talked about earlier. For this reason there is absolutely no need to hassle these people directly with anything unnecessary.

    Remember, this group has already spent a whole lot of money on your stuff, and if you want to keep them coming back, every time you contact them it has to be your best work. You need to be giving them something that they want, not just sending them ads, ads, ads. Also keep in mind, this particular list of yours should be the least numerous, but the biggest spenders.

    Some of these people may come along to you and buy two thousand dollar product after two thousand dollar product. You can immediately see how valuable they are.

    You can also see through a little math how much more devastating it is to annoy anyone on this list or cause them to leave for any reason. Granted, you may argue there’s plenty more out there, but this is where most of your advertising funds are going. Getting people to buy your products that are going to be bringing you in a mighty profit in the first place isn’t a short or easy task. Be very careful what you do with this list. This is going to be the long running theme in this section about your long term customers.