Archive for September, 2010

Online Marketing Blog: Twtqpon for Ecommerce Retailers (& Others too?)

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

TwtQpon allows  you to create online coupons and distribute them through Social Media.  Basically if you are looking to increase  your sales through Twitter, you'll like this application.
It also allows  you to add value to your followers.

So how do you create your TwtQpon?

Go to TwtQpon.com, click on the "Create a Coupon" button and fill out the following information:

  • Your Twitter account name, coupon title, and coupon details (in 140 characters or less)
  • Include a 700 x 300 pixel image of your logo or whatever image you want
  • Specify a coupon code or leave it blank
  • Add a redirect URL (your promotion landing page or ecommerce site URL)
  • Include an expiration date for the coupon

 
That's it!  Once you create the TwtQpon, you can share it on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other sites. Your network will see an update with the information you filled out above. When people click the link, they will be taken to the coupon on TwtQpon.com & then redirected to the URL you included.
 
And the latest release of TwtQpon allows you to brand your TwtQpons….

There are no fixed costs, you can decide how much you want to pay for creating the TwtQpon.  So you pay a one-time fee using paypal (sweet how they lead you right to pay pal and say this money will help support their development and hosting)
and then create your branded TwtQpon. Since your profile travels with your twtQpon, you get additional brand visibility.

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Posted in Tools for Business | 1 Comment »

Online Marketing Blog: Financial Analysts CAN leverage Social Networks

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

Financial advisors always tell me that social networking sites are not for them. They of course refer to the federal guidelines for financial planners that they have to abide by.

But given that social networks are so popular, is there no easy way for Financial Analysts to leverage them?

I think there is. I think that three simple strategies could allow Financial Analysts to leverage social networks without getting into trouble with the law.

Just throw your name in the hat – the hat in this case the social websites. Once you are online, let people get to know you as  a person without going into what you do and how. Connect with other financial advisors to see what they are doing online. And stay away from dicussing financial stuff online.

Post generic information on the social networks, news items, interesting happenings in your field and even outside your field. Don't make any individual recommendations of any sort and you'll be fine.

Combine your networking with your newsletter and email campaigns. Include your Twitter and FB links on all communication that you send out.

Lastly, be sure to comply with SEC and FINRA regulations. FINRA regulations differentiate between static and interactive content. Social networking content is interactive and therefore no prior approval is needed for them.

Also, FINRA and the SEC require that all tweets be archived or save. To do so, just copy and paste all your tweets in a pdf file every night or week and store these pdf's somewhere. No need to buy new software for this purpose.

Directives from the SEC and FINRA stipulate that all tweets must be archived and be able to be exported, in case regulatory bodies want to rifle through them. To do that, you can manually copy and paste the tweets into a PDF, like Jean Keener of Keener Financial Planning in Keller, Texas does, or like the people who operate the Raymond James' Twitterfeed do.

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Posted in facebook, Linkedin, Social Media Marketing, twitter | No Comments »

Online Marketing Blog: Using LinkedIn Effectively

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

LinkedIn is one of the most professional business networks you'll find online. It is older than Facebook and is made up of professionals located across the globe. Although it doesn't have as many users as Facebook, if you wish to build your professional network with contacts, LinkedIn is the best platform to do so.
 
LinkedIn's biggest advantage to you is showcasing your profile with as much detail as possible. Your profile should be an impressive presentation of you, your skills, and your achievements. A captivating profile is bound to attract others who may be looking to do business with you, looking for a job, or looking for a partner.

You should study other profiles in your field and outside your field to find ideas to make your profile more comprehensive and interesting. Also, it is well worth it to review corporate profiles and create one that showcases your company as the company to retain, work with, or buy should the interest be there. Include testimonials from clients (present and current), employees (present and current), and peers or colleagues who can tell others why you and your company are worth a second and third look.
 
Building your network on LinkedIn is easy. Start with the people  you already know. Offer your contacts to others and vice versa ask to connect with contacts of your contacts. But be careful and curb the overwhelming desire to add everyone you see and want to add. Also keep an eye on the LinkedIn database which provides suggestions about the people you might want to add depending on the interest fields you have filled out in your profile. Update your profile as often as you can, post your opinions, make use of the Answers section to answer other people's questions and post some of your own.

Include your website, blogs, and interests in your profile so people can see your professional background but also get to know a little bit about your personal likes and dislikes.

So don't let Facebook and Twitter be the only networks you play on. Take a second look at LinkedIn and make it work for you.

 

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Posted in Linkedin, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »

Online Marketing Blog: Advantages of Social Networks for Business

Monday, September 6th, 2010

Social networking provides personal and professional advantages. The biggest advantage being communication. Social networks allow companies to reach wider audiences without ever leaving their office. Pre-social networks days, a lot more money was being spent on advertisements, travel, and business development to reach audiences outside the local area in which the business resides in.

Promoting a product or service has never been easier than through social networks. Companies can do beta launches or product demos within hours receiving valuable feedback that can be taken into factor before launching the actual product.

Social networks like LinkedIN provide an amazingly easy manner to connect with decision makers at companies across the globe. There is no need to buy lists or contact information anymore, most of that information is readily available and easily accessible. 
 
Social networks are also an excellent way to create self-promotion or brand awareness. The best way to do this is by engaging with others on social networks in a way such that people want to dialog with you and to make people curious enough to ask you more about what you do. Finding an employee, evaluating an employee, finding someone who knows someone, etc. are all easier in the age of social networks than even two years ago.
 
If businesses can stay focused on their goals and reasons for being on social networks, they can leverage the various benefits without falling prey to the disadvantages that are also presented by social networks.

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Posted in Social Media Marketing | No Comments »

Online Marketing Blog: Big Dog Google vs Yahoo + Bing. Has the playing field leveled?

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Now that the dust has settled after the big announcement about Yahoo and Bing joining hands, I wonder if the two brands will be able to take on Google and change the competitive landscape of "Search" just a little bit.

Yahoo had announced that it had begun transitioning Bing results into Yahoo results – a product of the Search Alliance between Yahoo and Microsoft. Yahoo search experiences are now powered by the Microsoft platform in the US and Canada (English), with more markets to come. The speed in which this was completed is a testament to the great work and partnership between Yahoo and Microsoft employees.
 
To minimize the effect of the merge on marketing dollars, Yahoo will be displaying mainly organic results from Bing. Currently Yahoo only delivers English-language searches via Bing but that’ll change over time. Yahoo searches will switch over to Bing in other countries throughout 2011 and 2012.

The big question in all of our minds is whether the competitive landscape will change. I mean, come on, Google is still the big dog and it still dominates the search market with almost 66 percent usage share.

 By combining Yahoo’s and Bing's search shares, however, Microsoft will get control of more advertising dollars. Maybe this will allow them to invest in more better search technologies?
 

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Posted in BING, Google, Yahoo | 1 Comment »