• Theming Thursday – Creative WordPress Templates http://bit.ly/atJjb7 #
• RT @kikolani Fetching Friday – Resources, SEO Blogging Contest & Sheep LED Art – Kikolani http://bit.ly/dfQCcm #
• Online Reputation Management http://bit.ly/aa8zpx #
• RT @sewatch Google Building Search Turbo With Metaweb Buy @SEWatch http://bit.ly/bIWgsH #

Copyright I Do Web Marketing

Related posts:

1. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-07-18 Theming Thursday – Best Email Templates http://bit.ly/9OXY7p # RT @kikolani...
2. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-05-30 RT @kikolani Fetching Friday – Resources, iPad Contests & Third...
3. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-06-20 RT @kikolani Fetching Friday – Resources Mashup & Vacation Announcement...

The term viral marketing, though sometimes negatively viewed as cousin to the evil computer virus, has created its own niche on the online marketing world. At its core, viral marketing simply means creating a marketing idea that viewers will pass along to their friends and contacts, creating far-reaching potential for exposure. By taking advantage of social networks and media, businesses can spread their message using word of mouth with the goal of reaching far more viewers than possible otherwise.

Creating a Viral Message

Successful viral marketing depends on two key principles. The first is crafting a message that people will want to share. Your message needs to resonate with viewers and give people a reason to pass it along. Most marketing campaigns that have gone viral included one or more of the following elements:

• Humor
• Giveaways or freebies
• Controversy—political or otherwise
• Appeal to basic desires
• Ego boost
• Useful service or resource

Think about the chain emails that come to your inbox, probably on a daily basis. If you’re the type to pass things along, there’s probably a certain category of messages that capture your attention and entice you to send them to friends. Political messages, comic strips, funny videos, 101 uses for vinegar—all of these appeal to a niche group that will be most likely to share them with others. In order to create a successful viral marketing campaign, you’ll need to determine what will be the most likely to appeal to your target audience and capitalize on that appeal to help disperse your message.

Getting the Message Out

The second principle for a successful viral marketing campaign is creating exposure in the right circles. If you want your message to catch on, you’ve got to make sure the right people see it. Social media outlets like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, websites like Digg and StumbleUpon, and well-known bloggers all provide outlets for your message to be seen. Make use of communities that already exist such as your email contact list or your Facebook group to propagate your marketing idea and you’ll be well on your way to exponential growth. If your content resonates with your target audience, you’ve won half the battle. The other half will be won for you as readers hit the forward button on their email messages, post links on blogs and Facebook pages, and send out Tweets.

Copyright I Do Web Marketing

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Related posts:

1. Online Video Marketing for Businesses Online video marketing is one of the most effective and...
2. Incorporating Social Media into Email Marketing Email marketing has long been a staple of the online...
3. Small Business Marketing Trends for 2010 Small businesses need to make the most of every advertising...

• Theming Thursday – Best Email Templates http://bit.ly/9OXY7p #
• RT @kikolani Fetching Friday – Resources Mashup & Best YouTube Campaign Ever – Kikolani http://bit.ly/czWYf6 #
• RT @kikolani Why Your Blog Needs a Mailing List – Kikolani http://bit.ly/bKiF4o #
• Fast Blog Finder Review http://bit.ly/cdJfFy #
• @kikolani your website is up for me! #
• RT @mashable HOW TO: Optimize Your Site for Search Engine Mar.. http://bit.ly/aevVk5 #optimization #search #search engine #

Copyright I Do Web Marketing

Related posts:

1. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-04-04 Using email to nurture search leads – http://ow.ly/1tbZ7 # Combing...
2. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-06-20 RT @kikolani Fetching Friday – Resources Mashup & Vacation Announcement...
3. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-05-30 RT @kikolani Fetching Friday – Resources, iPad Contests & Third...

Social media has become the new bandwagon for businesses hoping to generate new sales leads. If you don’t have a Facebook page and a Twitter account, you may as well not exist in the minds of a large portion of your intended audience. For many, it’s just not worth the trouble of having to visit individual sites to check out sales promotions and blog posts. Instead, they want to hop on Facebook and see all the latest news collected neatly for them in their inboxes. But social media isn’t just convenient for consumers. It’s also a powerful tool for businesses to incorporate into their overall marketing strategies.

The Positives

Social media provides potential access to an audience of millions at the touch of a button. Want to build your contact list so more people see sales ads and promotional items? Host an ipod giveaway on Facebook and watch your list of contacts balloon. Social media also gives companies an opportunity to find out what customers really think about their products and services. By listening in on forum conversations and post comments, they can get an inside look at how people view the company and can then take steps to address those concerns.

The Negatives

The social media sphere isn’t all roses for businesses, however. The very thing that makes social media appealing to consumers—the ability to hear real life opinions and experiences with a particular company—can quickly destroy a company’s reputation if a negative experience becomes public. The potential for companies to lose control over marketing messages means that they need a strategy for addressing problems and concerns immediately in order to allay fears.

Putting it together

Remember the Domino’s pizza nightmare? It’s an excellent demonstration of how quickly word can spread in the social media environment. With nearly a million views of a disgruntled employee’s damaging video on the first day it was posted, Domino’s immediately had a marketing crisis to deal with. But the good news is that companies can use that same power to build brand loyalty and address concerns as they arise. Companies like Dell Computers have mastered the art of meeting people where they are and tactfully addressing concerns in a way that garners customer loyalty without engendering feelings of distrust or frustration. Stepping into social media conversations allows you to address specific concerns and needs at the customer’s level, especially when done in a way that doesn’t come across as a sales pitch, but rather as a genuine effort to provide benefit.

Social media will find you whether you have a strategy in place or not. People are already talking about you in blogs, on their Facebook pages, over their Twitter accounts, and in forums. By taking the initiative to define parameters of conversation, you can guide those conversations toward a positive interaction with your company and set yourself up to be viewed as a trusted entity rather than scary corporation.

Are you using a social media strategy in your business? Have you seen businesses that excel with their social media strategy? What about businesses that fail miserably? Share in the comments!

Copyright I Do Web Marketing

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Related posts:

1. Developing a Basic Social Media Strategy Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn—these are names that have become buzzwords not...
2. Incorporating Social Media into Email Marketing Email marketing has long been a staple of the online...
3. Small Business Marketing Trends for 2010 Small businesses need to make the most of every advertising...

• Why People Fail With Affiliate Marketing http://bit.ly/a3sFxb #
• RT @kikolani Fetching Friday – Resources Mashup, Blog World Expo Early Bird Deadline & #FBCLcontes . http://bit.ly/ciE44K #
• RT @andybeal Google Playing With Local SERP’s http://gri.ms/KSVp #
• 10 Places To Syndicate Your Blog For Better Web Marketing http://bit.ly/dhiG2F #
• SEOmoz | Using Google's Webmaster Tools Search Queries Report To Identify Low Hanging Fruit: http://bit.ly/cfseGS via @addthis #
• RT @kikolani Fetching Friday – Resources Mashup, First Newsletter & Tennis Street Magic – Kikolani http://bit.ly/9Wx5Cp #

Copyright I Do Web Marketing

Related posts:

1. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-06-20 RT @kikolani Fetching Friday – Resources Mashup & Vacation Announcement...
2. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-07-18 Theming Thursday – Best Email Templates http://bit.ly/9OXY7p # RT @kikolani...
3. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-07-04 PPC Search Engine Marketing: 9 Questions Before You Go Live...

In today’s business world, it can be very easy to ruin a company’s reputation. Sometimes all it takes is one scandal, but sometimes all it takes is one slanderous comment. That is why it is even more important than ever that companies focus on online reputation management.

Online reputation management is when a company assesses all of the information available online about their brand, service, product, or company. An important part of managing your online reputation is also having a plan for dealing with any negative comments that you might find about your company.

You may find that your competitors are trying to smear your company’s name or product in a variety of backhanded ways. They could do this through comments on blogs, through posting ghost blogs, or through creating websites that complain about your company. Previous customers can also be a problem. Sometimes all it takes is one bad experience for customers to decide that you are not a reputable business and they may decide to warn everyone else not to do business with you either.

You also may find problems with other companies’ bad reputations. If they have a similar name or website address or if your companies share the same initials, people might confuse your company with theirs. Online reputation management is very important in these circumstances to keep your company name clear.

How do you improve your online reputation? Ranking high on search engines and advertising on various respectable websites are two good ways. You need to make sure that people see plenty of positive information about your company when they search for it and not just negative information. Regularly updating content on your company website can be a great way to do this. It is also important to have articles and press releases written about your company. Try to gather up as much free publicity for your company as you can. Set up product or service reviews with various high ranking blogs. Make a Facebook or Twitter page for your company and offer people an incentive like a discount to like your page. Uploading promotional videos to YouTube and Google videos is also a good idea.

But how do you monitor your online reputation to make sure that it is not being damaged? Google Alerts will notify you with new Google results using your company or product name and positive or negative keyword phrases that you choose to have them search for. You can search Twitter to see if your company has been mentioned in tweets. Trackur and Brandseye are both services that monitor all the aspects of social media and keeps you informed. Knowing what others are saying about you on the internet gives you the opportunity to smooth over the bad and highlight the good.

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Related posts:

1. Online Reputation Management Online shopping is growing, and by the year 2010 it...
2. Developing a Basic Social Media Strategy Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn—these are names that have become buzzwords not...
3. Selling Products? Use Product Reviews to Increase Conversions! Favorable product reviews are very important in order to have...

• PPC Search Engine Marketing: 9 Questions Before You Go Live http://bit.ly/aMiaXb #
• RT @clickz Universal Search: Are Your Marketing Efforts Evolving With the Times? – ClickZ http://bit.ly/dnU96Y #
• RT @kikolani Fetching Friday – Resources Mashup, #FBCLContest Update & Funny Tennis – Kikolani http://bit.ly/b4J2Hl #
• RT @clickz Which SEO Prospect Are You? – ClickZ http://bit.ly/cXOEga #

Copyright I Do Web Marketing

Related posts:

1. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-06-20 RT @kikolani Fetching Friday – Resources Mashup & Vacation Announcement...
2. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-07-11 Why People Fail With Affiliate Marketing http://bit.ly/a3sFxb # RT @kikolani...
3. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-07-18 Theming Thursday – Best Email Templates http://bit.ly/9OXY7p # RT @kikolani...

Favorable product reviews are very important in order to have a successful business. Today’s consumers are not stupid, and they are tired of wasting money on useless products. They realize that businesses often do not live up to their advertising claims. So instead of listening to the ads that they see around them, more and more consumers are turning to product and service reviews on the internet to help them decide what they will buy.

Consumers want to know if your product is going to break easily or if there is a similar product that is better. You want them to stay on your website until they purchase your product, not leave it quickly to find other products or more information. Having product reviews on your website will give it the advantage over other websites with similar products by influencing the consumer and improving your conversion rates.

Having testimonials from happy customers on your website will help you to improve conversion rates. Customers want to know that your business has a reliable product or service and they appreciate seeing the feedback from other satisfied customers. Make it clear that you welcome the feedback of your customers and encourage your best customers to go online and post a product or service review. Many companies offer discount coupons to customers in exchange for their feedback. Customer reviews of your products can be spread throughout your website to attract the most attention and improve conversion rates. Besides having a specific page for these reviews, place some reviews on landing pages and even on the shopping cart pages to keep the satisfaction of your customers and the quality of your product in the consumer’s mind as they look through your website.

However, companies should be concerned with more than customer testimonials on their websites. Consumers know that some companies do not hesitate to post fake customer reviews in order to put their product in the best light possible. This is why it is important for products to be reviewed on blogs and newspaper articles. These sources give customers more objective feedback and make them feel more comfortable with their purchasing decision. Take full advantage of any product reviews that you receive in blogs and newspapers. Linking to these reviews or quoting the reviews on your website can be a great way to improve conversion rates.

Customers want to know that they will be happy with your product or service. If your business website provides them with this assurance, they will purchase your product and your conversion rate will soar.

Copyright I Do Web Marketing

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Related posts:

1. Online Reputation Management and Monitoring In today’s business world, it can be very easy to...
2. Set Yourself Apart from Other Affiliate Marketers The idea of affiliate marketing has been around for several...
3. Using Google Local Business Center Many business owners know that Google Local Business Center is...

• RT @clickz Do's and Don'ts for Your Search Campaigns – ClickZ http://bit.ly/9eYX7m #

Copyright I Do Web Marketing

Related posts:

1. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-06-20 RT @kikolani Fetching Friday – Resources Mashup & Vacation Announcement...
2. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-07-04 PPC Search Engine Marketing: 9 Questions Before You Go Live...
3. Helpful Marketing Discussion and Resources 2010-02-14 @InCliss Thanks for the RT. I think 2010 is going...

Many business owners know that Google Local Business Center is a great way for companies to reach potential customers. Google recently changed the name of this center to Google Places. The basic set up of Google Local Business Center has not changed, but there are several new features. Google Places has made improvements to their customer help by providing updated guides, information on new features, and more contact information for people having problems with the site. They are also offering webinars and a help forum.

Even if you don’t have a website for your small business, you can still use Google Local Business Center to help promote your business on the internet by claiming a listing. Listings provide basic information about businesses such as location, opening hours, reviews, payment methods, and special offers. Adding pictures and video of your business are also good options to increase your listing’s advertising power. Update as much of the information as you can in order to make your business stand out from the other companies that have very little information. It is very simple to claim your listing and to create one if one doesn’t exist yet. Just open a Google account and enter in the basic information of your business. Then you need to verify that you are the business owner and your listing will be posted.

Keywords are absolutely essential when using Google Local Business Center. Customers who are searching for your business’s products and services are going to use certain terms in search engines. You want your business to be one of the first ones named so it will attract the most attention, and the way to do this is through search engine optimization (SEO). You need to have a a listing that is optimized for keywords so that the search engines will rank it higher than other websites with less optimized descriptions.

After you’ve set up your listing at Google Places, move on to Yahoo!, Bing, Yelp, and Yellow Pages. Once you have all of these in place, be sure and ask your clients for reviews! Link them to your places page and make it as easy as possible for them to do. If you’re able to offer some type of a reward for doing so, even better! A keyword optimized listing that has several reviews will go a long ways towards improving your ranking in the localized results.

Need help with this? Visit www.googlemaplisting.com and SEORCHERS will be able to manage this listing for you at an affordable $50/mo.

Copyright I Do Web Marketing

Be sure and subscribe for the latest web marketing strategies and updates!

Related posts:

1. Local Ad Link Review: It’s a Scam People! Here’s Why… I am sure my stance on this Local Ad Link...
2. SEO Basics for Affiliate Marketers This day and age, having a website just isn’t enough....
3. Digital Asset Management/Optimization Digital Asset Management (DAM), or Digital Asset Optimization (DAO), has...