The Importance Of The Social Media In Internet Marketing

The social media is a phenomenon that has taken the world by storm in the recent years. Various social media sites are some of the most popular and most frequented online sites today.  More and more people are finding their way to different social media sites to connect with one another, especially with the advent of portable computers and smartphones that made connecting to the Internet a lot easier.  Consequently, more and more business organizations are also maintaining their presence on these sites because these are where their target markets are.

Aside from attracting millions of people from all over the world to its folds, the social media has also changed the way many things are done.  This is especially true as far as internet marketing is concerned.  After all, the social media provides low cost, even free, marketing tools that are very effective.  

The importance of the social media in internet marketing can never be underestimated.  In fact, the use of the many marketing opportunities given by the social media is an important component of every online marketing plan.  So, how can the social media benefit any organization’s internet marketing efforts?  Let us count the ways:

Branding.  Having social media presence and improving it can greatly help the branding efforts of any business organization.  These sites give voice to a company so that it can communicate with others, specifically with its target market.  There are many tools made available on these sites that can be used by a company to establish its unique brand and for it communicate its message in a conversational and relaxed way. 

Build Relationship With Target Market.  With the help of the social media, a company becomes “real” to its target market since the mode of communication on these sites is on a very personal level.  Engaging the prospective customers and interacting with them will certainly do wonders for any business.  When done right, a business can make new customers while retaining its existing consumer base. This way, a company can build it reputation, improve its brand credibility, and enjoy brisk business.

Traffic.  A company can also increase the traffic to its business website with the help of social media sites.  Links can be included in social media content like articles, pictures, posts, tweets, status updates, and the like.  These links can generate organic and quality traffic to any business website.

Lead Generation.  As we all know, lead generation is very important in the success of any business.  The social media is a great way to generate leads for a company.  After all, these sites are where a business’ target market can be found and easily tapped.  Remember, it is a lot easier to gather important market data and to reach out to prospective clients if they congregate en masse in a single place.

Customer Feedback.  A business can also readily get feedback from its consumers via the various social media sites.  After all, consumers can easily post comments on these sites and companies can readily read them.  This way, a company can get the pulse of its target market and can act accordingly at the right time. 

Return Of Investment.  Aside from letting a business reach, tap, and interact with its prospective clients, the social media also offers free marketing and advertising potentials that can greatly lower marketing costs. 

In traditional advertising, serious money needs to be spent on ad placements but these ads may not reach its intended audience.  On the other hand, most of the advertising that can be done via the various social media sites are free and are more effective.  Many companies have reaped great benefits when their social media marketing and advertising campaigns went viral.  For them, lower marketing and advertising costs meant higher return of investments.   

How To Find A Legitimate Home Based Business

Legitimate home based business opportunities are now easily within the reach of many people from anywhere in the world because of internet technology. But the same technology that makes these business opportunities possible is the very same one also being used by unscrupulous individuals to scam those who only want to have a legitimate home based business. This is a major reason why many people do not try out the various opportunities available on the internet even if they would have wanted to a legitimate home based business.  In this article, let us take a look into the matter of home based businesses and on how to find legitimate ones.

The Beauty of A Home Based Business.  There are many legitimate home based business opportunities on the internet and you only need to choose right so that you can have your very own legitimate home based business. The income potential in such ventures is limitless because it would depend on the amount of time and work you put in into your legitimate home based business. Aside from this, your legitimate home based business can allow you to work at times convenient to you since you’re already the boss of your very own business.

Various earning opportunities are available online and you just have to find the right one suited for you.  It can be quite tedious and wearying to determine for sure whether an opportunity is a legitimate home based business opportunity or not. But this task is an indispensable one if you want to make sure that an opportunity is really a legitimate home based business opportunity. You also need to have a lot of patience to find one that is according to your qualifications, abilities, and interest.

Steering Clear of Online Scams.  Doing research is one necessary step that you need to go through to make sure that you get yourself a legitimate home based business. Search engines are valuable tools if you want to look for more information on any home based business opportunity that you are interested in.  

You can use the keywords “business opportunity/company + scam” and “company + complaints” in search engines so that you will know whether it is a legitimate home based business opportunity or not. There are websites that expose such scams and if a business opportunity is indeed a scam, the search engines will usually have a lot of hits using the said keywords.  Looking into relevant forums can also bring you helpful information.

To be sure that you have a legitimate home based business at hand, you absolutely need to research on it before you make your decision. When you find the right legitimate home based business for you, you can work on a schedule you are comfortable in since you are already your own boss and you can earn a lot of money with it. 

Common Sense.  In determining whether an opportunity is a legitimate home based business opportunity or not, you need to listen to your common sense. Be wary of business opportunities advertising that you can earn loads of money without you needing to do ANY work is not a legitimate home based business opportunity. A legitimate home based business also need not cost you an arm and a leg just to have one. Also, a legitimate company usually has its contact information indicated in the company website.

Legitimate Opportunities.  You can find various kinds of legitimate home based business opportunities online if you only search on it. You can do selling of your own product or those of others or you can choose to do freelance work. Whatever kind of home based business you decide on, you need to work on it earnestly for you to succeed and make it work. To be sure that you will enjoy working on your legitimate home based business, it would be wise to choose one that is well suited to your capabilities and interest.

Helpful Pointers.  To help you find a legitimate home based business, keep in mind the following pointers: 

• First, ones that are legitimate usually are around for at least a few years.  Scams and other fly-by-night schemes are there for only a limited time because they usually vanish after scamming many people. 
• Second, a valuable and real product is usually offered by a legitimate home based business.
• Third, affordability and the presence of a reliable support system are some of the most common characteristic of a legitimate home based business.  
• Last, but certainly not the least, is that a legitimate home based business needs for you to do some work on it and not just sit down and wait for money to pour in.

Make Work-From-Home Ideas Work For You

Of course, everybody needs money to be able to survive in this world. Every way you turn, it seems that you have to shell out some money to pay for something. There are your essential needs to spend for and a lot of other things to be able to live even the most basic of what a decent life is. But money is not the end-all and be-all of life. 

Much more than money, life is about happiness and fulfillment. Life is empty without the latter. The ideal scenario would be being able to earn while being able to pursue your passions and living the kind of life you want. Though skeptics would often dismiss the possibility of having the best of both worlds, the experience of many people who were able to do it are living testaments of such possibilities.

Many people who were able to get the very best of both worlds have done it by working from home. There are many work from home ideas to explore if you seriously consider this option. At first, they were at the crossroads seriously thinking about various work from home ideas and what will work for them. And then, they took the chance.

The Juggle.  Juggling family life, work, and personal happiness can be tough, especially if you still haven’t found your rightful place under the sun. Work from home ideas have worked out well for many people and they found what they have been searching for for so long. And work from home ideas are not that scant nowadays. The best thing about these work from home opportunities is being able to work from the comfort of your home and at your own pace, making juggling various responsibilities and interests easier to manage. You just need to start brainstorming now on the various possible work from home ideas that will fit into your overall plan of how you want your life to be.

Doing Some Research. Many people want to earn more but not everyone wants to research for work from home ideas. Whether you like it or not, research is needed for you to create a sound business plan based on the option you chose from the various work from home ideas that you have. Without research for work from home ideas and a business plan, you will only find yourself following aimlessly a program of action that you are not well prepared for. And do not be afraid to take the first step to bring your work from home ideas to fruition.

Creating Shortlist.  Sifting through all the work from home ideas can be a headache. There are so many possibilities and so many different things that you can do if you think about various work from home ideas.  All you need to do is narrow down the work from home ideas available to you by taking into consideration your interests, resources, and capabilities. Having a shortlist of work from home ideas is necessary to organize your thoughts and options so that you can view your position from the proper perspective.

Marketing Your Own Products.  One of the most popular work from home ideas is selling your own product or service. If you don’t have a product, the next best option among the popular work from home ideas is joining a network company. When you opt for this, make sure that the network company you will be joining is a reputable one. 

Networking Marketing Perhaps?  People are always on the lookout for good products. And network marketing companies always have great products to offer. As this is one of the best options among the work from home ideas today, it may be the right place for you to start turning your life around. 

Aside from the kind and the quality if the product offered, it would be wise to choose a network company that provides good training and good mentoring in the package. You will need to learn how to generate leads as these are your potential customers. You need to choose the right people and the right company if you want to succeed in the business.

Network marketing, as one of the proven successful work from home ideas, is not that hard to get into. If you are in the right line of business and with the right team to train and mentor you, the process is so much easier and you’ll find that the road to success is not that arduous after all.

Chris Hughes: From Facebook to The New Republic

As one of the original co-founders of Facebook, Chris Hughes was catapulted into the elite group of young millionaires who made it big with the help of the Internet.  However, Chris went beyond the distinction of being a Facebook co-founder and spokesperson and went on to carve his very own niche in history and society.  

After successfully orchestrating Barack Obama’s online presidential campaign in 2008 and founding Jumo in 2010,  Chris Hughes is now more identified with his political causes and as the new Editor-in-Chief and publisher of The New Republic magazine, which he bought in 2012.  Interestingly, Chris used his wealth from the new media to invest in the traditional media.

Family and Educational Background

Born in November 26, 1983, Chris is the only child of Ray and Brenda Hughes, a sales manager and a math teacher respectively.  Chris was raised in the small town of Hickory, North Carolina as an evangelical Lutheran.  When he was 15 years old, he got accepted to the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts on scholarship.  After excelling academically at Andover, Chris clinched a scholarship to Harvard, where he spent perhaps the most life-changing years of his life.  

Harvard and Facebook

At Harvard, Chris majored in History and Literature.  During his sophomore year, he became roommates with Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, and Dustin Moskovitz.  They later became the four original co-founders of the worldwide phenomenon called Facebook.  Though Chris was not that proficient in computer programming and coding, he became interested in what his roommates were developing and offered suggestions.  Since he is outgoing and articulate, he became their group’s salesman and spokesperson during the early days of Facebook.

Like Eduardo Saverin, Chris refused to drop out from Harvard and move to Palo Alto when Facebook started to gain ground.  He finished his Bachelor of Arts in History and Literature degree from Harvard in 2006 as magna cum laude before working fulltime in Facebook’s product team.  A few months after, he left Facebook.  As Facebook co-founder, Chris Hughes earned around 1% of the company’s stocks, which is estimated to worth at $850 million, making him one of the youngest millionaires in the world when he was barely 23 years old.

MyBarackObama.com, Jumo, and Beyond

Before the 2008 US Presidential Election, then-senator Obama’s personal aide, Reggie Love, asked Chris for help in putting up Obama’s Facebook page.  After leaving Facebook, Chris worked as the director of the presidential campaign’s online organizing for Obama.  He developed and ran the social media operations of Obama’s campaign.  He came up with MyBarackObama.com, the online social networking site for Obama’s presidential campaign, which was Chris’ personal project that he incorporated into Obama’s official site. 

 MyBarackObama was a kind of Facebook network for Obama’s donors, canvassers, and grassroots organizers.  Aside from engaging the young supporters for Obama, this site also helped raise around $30 million for Obama’s campaign.  In April 2009, the Fast Company magazine featured Chris and his work in the Obama campaign with its "The Kid Who Made Obama President: How Facebook Cofounder Chris Hughes Unleashed Barack's Base - and Changed Politics and Marketing Forever" headline.  Chris Hughes was 24 years old when he helped his boss into the White House.

In March 2009, the General Catalyst Partners, a venture capital firm based in Cambridge, Massachusets, named Chris as its Entrepreneur in Residence.  He also worked as Managing Director of MondayCall Solutions, as VP for Marketing of Medivo, and as Board Member of Fancy.

In 2010, he put his social media and political expertise to work by founding Jumo and working as its Executive Director.  Jumo was a non-profit social networking organization that aimed to maximize the social media to help organizations and individuals who want to change the world for the better.  In April 2011, Kerry Dolan of Forbes negotiated with Chris about Jumo and talked about helping small and medium nonprofit organizations to establish interactive online presence.  In August 2011, Jumo merged with GOOD.

Political Causes and The New Republic

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS or UNAIDS appointed Chris Hughes to its High Level Commission, which is composed of 17 members who are renowned politicians, human rights activists, scientists, and business leaders.  In 2011, he went to St. Moritz, Switzerland to attend the Bilderberg Conference, the annual, invitation-only, and very exclusive conference attended by around 120 powerful people from around the world.

Being openly gay, he has also supported the various causes of the LGBT community. He attended the first state dinner hosted by President Barack Obama with his boyfriend Sean Eldridge, who was Freedom To Marry’s Political Director that time.  He married Sean on June 30, 2012.

In March 2012, Chris bought the majority stocks of The New Republic, a highly regarded, albeit struggling, arts and politics magazine with liberal inclination based in Washington DC.  As the Editor-in-Chief and publisher of the magazine, he promised to keep The New Republic up with the latest information technologies while upholding serious journalism.  With Chris, the guy who set off to make a better mark in the world, at the helm, The New Republic has more to celebrate in its forthcoming centennial year.

Brian Solis: Blazing Along The Social Media and Internet Marketing Trail

As one of the trailblazers in the realm of social media and internet marketing, Brian Solis has indeed come a long way.  Currently recognized as one of important and most prominent leaders in the new media industry, he is also an award-winning author, internet marketing guru, digital analyst, futurist, and aspiring social scientist.  Brian Solis is also a leading blogger via his BrianSolis.com blog, which is in Technocrati’s Top 100 business blogs and in AdAge Power 150’s Top 10 marketing blogs, and the host of Revolution, his very popular online video interview series.  He also hosts and curates the yearly Pivot Conference.

After establishing FutureWorks Labs and propelling it to the top, Brian Solis remains as its advisor while serving as one of the principal analysts of the Altimeter Group, a Silicon Valley research-based advisory company.  As he continues to study how new technologies affect human behavior and how the future of the popular culture can present opportunities to improve the relationship and experience of consumers with companies, Brian confesses to find himself assuming the student role once in a while.

CAREER

Early Beginnings.  As a kid, Brian Solis confessed that he was really fascinated with technology and anything related to it.  He learned programming early on and started his career in a Southern Californian technology marketing agency as a database programmer.   Eventually, he found himself switching his interest and focus to advertising and marketing. 

In 1991, he officially entered the field of technology public relations when he worked in the Dodge and Mansfield firm, an agency based in Ventura, California.  He also became Director of Silicon Valley’s The Benjamin Group from 1993 to 1996.  During the 90s, Brian Solis began to become involved in early blogs, message boards, and communities.

Unlike most other marketing strategists, Brian did not believe in fluff, hype, or buzz words.  Instead, he believed in transforming specifications, capabilities, and benefits into timely solutions for the problems and opportunities in the real world.  It was during the mid-90s when he experimented with direct customer/consumer engagement via dedicated technology boards and forums.  From this, he developed new methods to engage people in a more informed and social way while marketing a product. 

FutureWorks Labs.  This eventually led him to start FutureWorks Labs, an agency dedicated to doing interactive marketing, in 1999.  FutureWorks eventually specialized in branding, business strategy, and new media marketing.  Through this company, Brian led the social and interactive programs for notable celebrities, Fortune 500 companies, Web 2.0 startups, and many leading brands. 

Altimeter Group.  In March 2011, Brian Solis joined the Altimeter Group as a principal analyst.  He works on new media frameworks and strategies with businesses in order to connect the companies with consumers, employees, and the other stakeholders. He also specializes in organizational transformation in order to help businesses introduce and implement new media resources, management layers, and systems and processes that respond to the needs of the social consumer.

PUBLISHED WORKS

Brian’s first book, Engage: The Complete Guide for Brands and Business to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web, was published in 2010.  It became helpful guide for effective social media practices and strategies and an important reference for organizations on how to conduct business and assess their success in the new media.

His latest book that was published in 2011, The End of Business As Usual: Rewire the Way You Work to Succeed in the Consumer Revolution, examines how top companies find success with their connected customers or the Generation C.  Aside from exploring the emergence of the connected customers, the book also looks into how businesses can compete effectively for the consumers’ attention and loyalty, build relationships with them, and improve a business’ relationship with its employees and consumers.

Brian also worked with Deirdre Breakenridge to publish Putting the Public Back in Public Relations, which became one of the communications industry’s important bestsellers.  He also partnered with Geoff Livingston in 2007 to do Now is Gone, a critically-acclaimed book that helped companies know why, how, and where to start in the new Social Media.

He contributed forewords to other published works, including Vincenzo Cosenza’s Social Media ROI, Michael Brito’s Smart Business, Social Business, Becky Carroll’s The Hidden Power of Your Customers, Deirdre Breakenridge’s PR 2.0, Jacob Morgan’s Twittfaced, and Sean Percival’s MySpace Marketing.  He also contributed to BusinessWeek, Fast Company, Mashable, AdAge, and Harvard Business Review.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND INTERNET MARKETING CONTRIBUTIONS

During the early 2000s, Brian realized that big changes were unraveling and that many others like him were finding success with the internet, which was becoming a more social and democratic form of media.  He spent time to share everything he knew and learned via the articles, blog posts, and books he wrote.  He actively wrote about new marketing and businesses, emerging business models, and disruptive technology. 

Brian was also one of the leaders who worked to define and organize the “Social Media” movement, which significantly helped in establishing it as a definite media category.  He also wrote “The Social Media Manifesto” in 2007, a certified worldwide hit that detailed why organizations should rethink their business, service, and marketing strategies in the face of the developments in the social media. 

In 2008, Brian designed an infographic that depicts the various social media categories and called it The Conversation Prism.  In 2011, he came up with another infographic that depicts how brands propagate on the transmedia or digital media landscape.  His admirable work in the emerging social enterprise earned him accolades like the CRM Magazine’s 2010 Influential Leader and SoftwareAdvice’s 2011 Authority of the Year awards.

Articles Marketing – Is This Dying?

The written form has been considered as one of the most effective forms of communication. Ever since humankind has devised a way of writing, it has been used to impart virtually all kinds of information. The importance of the written word can never be underestimated in whatever realm of human existence.

In this modern world where the internet technology has changed the world and how we do a lot of things, the written word still dominate as most people who use the internet are in search for information. One way by which formation is imparted is through online articles. Businesses that operate in the online realm use the article marketing technique to make their online presence more felt.

With the developments in technology, more and more possibilities are realized on the online realm. One alternative to imparting information is through videos. YouTube and other similar sites are becoming more popular than ever because they present information audio-visually. One only needs to watch and listen about the information being given by a video.

In the field of internet marketing, there are also many ways, other than by article marketing, by which internet marketers can reach their target audience. The developments in technology have opened up for many possibilities and have triggered some people to ask whether articles marketing is indeed dying and whether it can be rendered passé by technology.

While some internet marketers are getting fidgety about the continued effectiveness of article marketing, there are still many who are confident that the importance of articles in the online realm will remain. Let us go back to the basic reason why most people surf the Net. It is because they are in search for certain information and they want it fast. Though videos may deliver information faster than an article, there are many people who cannot retain information just from a single watching of a video.

Also, although many countries of the world can be reached by the internet, many people still don’t have access to high speed internet and this makes video streaming difficult for them. Moreover, for people who want to have their own copy of the resource or of the information they need, it is much easier to access and download articles than videos. Furthermore, videos require a script and many scripts are based on articles.

It is also worthy to mention that there are certain information that can be best conveyed through a text-based format like an article. For example, it would be too cumbersome to use a video if you only want to convey a simple message or a set of simple tips. The bottom line here is there are information that can be best conveyed using the video format while there are those that are best imparted in a text-based format.

As to the question whether article marketing is dying, it certainly is not nor will it be replaced by video marketing. Both videos and articles are best used side by side to complement one another, rather than against each other, and provide web users the kind of information that they need.

Easy Ways To Make Money Online

Many people are discovering that they can make money online to be able to earn and even achieve financial independence in the future so that they can live the kind of life they have been dreaming of. There are many different ways to make money online and people of various talents, skills, capabilities, and interests will find an earning opportunity and make money online that is perfect for them.

With the recent innovations in internet technology and with the fact that more and more people are getting online everyday, many easy ways to make money online has emerged and has become possible. Anybody interested and dedicated enough can learn to make money online. With the many opportunities and good ways to make money online available nowadays, the road to achieving financial independence need not be a long and arduous one.

If you want to make money online, remember to choose the online earning opportunities that are legitimate and those that have a good earning potential. You have to be cautious because there are a lot of scams online that victimizes people who want to make money online. If indeed you were able to find a legitimate opportunity that allows you to make money online, you need to put your heart on it and make it work for you.

It would be wise to make money online on something that interests you so that you will enjoy working on it. With passion, dedication, and hard work, you will not only make money online but will also feel fulfilled and have the self satisfaction of being able to do something you love while earning at the same time. All you need to do is take that first step to make money online and to realize the kind of life you have always dreamed of.