According to Wikipedia, social media

…is the use of electronic and Internet tools for the purpose of sharing and discussing information and experiences with other human beings.

But what this really means in layman’s terms: Social media is about socializing; it’s about finding various ways to connect with other people for the sole purpose of sharing information and building lasting relationships.

You’re Probably Using it Without Even Knowing it…

If you’re a subscribed reader to Create Business Growth, you may already know what social media entails and are perhaps an avid participant. However, for those of you who are just getting started and may not know or are a little unsure about what social media looks like, chances are that you have seen it and are probably using it without even knowing it! When it comes to social media, there is a plethora of information, programs and sites that are available at no more than just the click of a button.

Some of the more popular social media networking sites include:

• Facebook | social networking site where friends can connect & reunite; also used for sharing photos and videos
• Myspace | originally started as a way to discover new music; now a place where you can reunite with old friends as well as make new ones
• Digg | social bookmarking site where users can submit their favorite web sites and rate it by giving it “diggs”; The more diggs a site has, the better ranked it is
• StumbleUpon | popular social bookmarking site similar to Digg where users can “thumb up” or “thumb down” sites that other users submit or sites that are discovered.
• Flickr | photo sharing site where users submit original photography for others users to view and comment on

The Changing Face of Social Media

If you’re just beginning to get your feet wet with social media, all of the information out there can seem overwhelming. Just take a deep breath and take things one step at a time. For starters, it helps to remember what the three W’s of the World Wide Web are:

1. Who is your target audience? What is your niche?
   
2. What is it you are trying to draw readers’ attention to? Are you selling a product or service? Are you just looking for feedback?
3. Where are the best places or social media areas to focus on building relationships?

Social media is constantly changing and evolving. And while the primary goal of social media still focuses on connecting and building lasting relationships with other people, it seems to have shifted slightly. Social media is no longer just about talking to your best friends on Myspace and Facebook. It goes far beyond that. Today, social media is more centered around making connections with others in order to promote your own ideas (or services) with the hopes that someone else will find it useful. As you may have already seen, social media can and will continue to be one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, tools for driving traffic to websites and blogs.

Tired of not being noticed? Get more exposure for your site by writing a guest post!

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When thinking about business, careers, self-improvement and the Internet, there are several sites that I personally enjoy perusing through on a daily basis which I thought I might share with you:

9 Blog Sites We Like:

1. TechCrunch: written by Michael Arrington, Techcrunch provides the latest news as well as profiles of companies, products and events as they relate to the Internet world. Today, there are over 20k subscribers!
2. Copyblogger: founded by Brian Clark in 2006, Copyblogger currently has over 40,000 subscribers and over 100,000 visitors to its site monthly. The site deals with issues related to online marketing strategies and techniques for businesses.
3. SEOmoz: founded by Rand Fishkin and Gillian Muessig, SEOmoz provides tools and educational resources for people and companies involved in Internet marketing and search engine optimization (SEO).
4. Work Happy Now: written by Karl Staib, this site provides great information, advice and posts dealing with happiness and the workplace. We all strive for careers where we can be happy doing whatever it is we do for a living. Karl’s site is a great resource and definitely bookmark-worthy.
5. ProBlogger: written by Darren Rowse, ProBlogger is a site dedicated to helping other bloggers acquire the skills necessary for successful blogging. The site currently has over 47k readers and is definitely worth checking out.
6. PickTheBrain: founded by John Wesley in 2006, PickTheBrain talks about issues pertaining to self improvement such as: personal productivity, motivation, self education, psychology and philosophy. Self-improvement is always tied into the workplace, and this is a site definitely worth reading through.
7. Marc and Angel Hack Life: Great site that shares practical advice and ideas on life, careers, productivity, health and self improvement.
8. The Positivity Blog: founded by Henrik Edberg in 2006, The Positivity Blog is focused on exploring new ways and possibilities of improving your life. The site averages over 10k subscribed readers and over 100k unique monthly visitors.
9. The Illuminated Mind: written by Jonathan Mead, this is a great site that deals with personal development and self improvement.

For information on how to become a guest blogger on Create Business Growth, simply click here.

Tags: Marketing by Janelle - 1 Comment »

Social media marketing has grown exponentially in the past few years and is continuing to change and evolve even as we speak. This is why it is so incredibly important to keep up with the latest techniques and happenings in the wonderful world of social media networking. It’s no longer just about Myspace or Facebook. Today, an increasing number of people have begun to realize the value of social media as it pertains to Internet marketing and overall business growth. Perhaps then, this is the reason that a man named John Reese has been so successful in helping hundreds (if not thousands) of entrepreneurs and business people alike generate tons of traffic to their sites with a little step-by-step program called Traffic Secrets 2.0.

Traffic Secrets 2.0 sells for $397 and is worth every penny.

There are so many social media sites out there as well as a plethora of information about social media programs, networking, etc. that if you’re just starting out in the social media world, all of this information can seem really daunting. The program consists of a total of 12 interactive cds, each of which provides in-depth explanations of how to create “maximum traffic results in minimum time”. The cds are broken down as follows:

1. CD#1: The Foundation
2. CD#2: Market Discovery
3. CD#3: Keyword Science
4. CD#4: SEO Dynamics
5. CD#5: Content Factory
6. CD#6: Video Marketing
7. CD#7: Social Strategy
8. CD#8: AdWords Mastery
9. CD#9: Advertising Methods
10. CD#10: Widgets & Software
11. CD#11: Affiliate Army
12. CD#12: The Master Plan

You can review more details on our static page Traffic Secrets 2.0 in our navigation.

The cds are just one part of the program. Also included in the course packet:

• a 377-page training guide
• a workbook for tracking your traffic
• 7 step-by-step action blueprints
• login for the community forum
• access to the first Traffic Secrets course that sold for $997
• TS2 Action Track & Resources
• & More… so it’s hard to beat for a ONE TIME $397 purchase

‘Social Strategy’ in Review

Being someone who utilizes social media A LOT, I spent some time with Traffic Secrets 2.0, specifically with Disc number 7, which deals with social media strategies and how to implement them. That being said, here is a breakdown of what I learned:

Social Media Marketing is Growing Fast!

Not only this, but Reese mentioned how 99% of marketers are using social media WRONG! Contrary to what most people think, social media is NOT for advertising your products, services or site. In fact, doing this might run you the risk of damaging your credibility. What social media IS for are things such as building relationships with other people, allowing yourself to be discovered as well as increasing the exposure of your business and services. Ideally, it’s about finding potential prospects in your niche market and then strengthening that bond with them.

Social media is typically used as a syndication and communications channel. Syndication simply refers to the process of creating content or information and then having it distributed, republished and reprinted all over the Internet. For example, you might make a blog post, and due to the process of syndication, as soon as your post goes live, it will automatically show up elsewhere- such as Twitter or your Facebook profile.

Hierarchy of Communication

There are three primary ways that readers subscribe to blogs. And as it turns out, e-mail marketing is at the top of the list. The common mistake that most bloggers make is that they rely more on RSS versus e-mail because most bloggers aren’t marketers. Part of the reason that e-mail is so popular is due to the sheer fact that is what most people spend time checking each day. Think about it!

Building Blog Relationships

When it comes to building blogging relationships, Reese suggests several things- some of which include the following:

• Find popular blogs in your niche
• Leave quality blog comments on other blogs
• Use your real name vs. a cryptic name because it will look more authentic = not spammy!
• Utilize trackbacks
• Start using Twitter
• Create a Facebook profile and start using it; it has value!

On Social Strategies

Using sites like Digg (and even StumbleUpon) is great for spiking traffic. However, it is way more valuable to target 1,000 readers who are more likely to subscribe to your blog versus the 200,000 people who check in and check out real quick. Writers should also take advantage of adding social networking widgets to their blogs. With regards to StumbleUpon (SU), this is an extremely POPULAR social networking site that tends to drive a lot of traffic to various sits that are “stumbled”. However, Reese strongly advises against stumbling your own stuff. If you do stumble your own sites, you should follow the 10:1 rule which says that for each site of yours that you stumble, you should be stumbling at least 10 other unrelated sites in the interim.

Review

In summation, here are some important things to keep in mind:

• Social media marketing is both important and valuable
• In order to increase traffic/sales, DON’T SELL
• Hierarchy of power in social media= E-mail–Twitter–RSS–Facebook
• Ask others to comment/Stumble/Digg your stuff- DON’T DO IT YOURSELF
• Look into syndication in order to put out new content in different places at once
• Always ask yourself, “What’s in it for the audience?” Why do people want to listen to you? The reason they listen is because of the value they feel they are getting from your content.
• Don’t be so one-minded to only think, “How Can I drive the most traffic to make the most money?”

Click here for more information about the program, Traffic Secrets 2.0.

Tags: Marketing by Janelle - 6 Comments »

Facebook Bumper Sticker

To the average 19 or 20-something year-old, Facebook is cool. It’s the more “grown up” version of Myspace. But for those of us who have been in the social media loop for a while, sites like these can tend to get a little dull if there’s not much else going on, which leads to the idea of sites like Facebook and Myspace becoming the perfect place for snooping around to see what your “friends” are up to.

If you’re like me, your typical login to Facebook goes something like this:

• Sign in.
• Check News Feed to see what friends are doing
• Click on “Friends” tab and then on “Recently Updated” to see who’s updated their profile
• Click on various updated profiles to see what comments have been left
• Go back to your page and change your status update
• Check out some other new applications to see if there’s anything new

Correct me if I’m wrong, but when it comes to your average user, this is pretty much the extent of what goes on each time. Now, there may be instances where you’ll sign in and perhaps upload pictures from a recent trip you took. There are also a bunch of neat Facebook applications such as the Bumper Sticker application, which allows you to put fun, sometimes humorous “bumper stickers” on your page for others to see. There are also games, and other interactive applications which may draw one or more people to your page.

But What is Facebook Really For?

The primary reason that most people in the college age group use Facebook is because of its intrinsic ability to bring people together. Why, I have found at least a dozen or so of my old elementary school friends via Facebook. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that I have added them, but at least it lets me know that they are out there. Sounds a bit crazy, doesn’t it? After speaking to a bunch of my friends who are on Facebook, most openly admit that all they do is check out other people’s profiles….just because they can. But is this what Facebook is really for - to add people to your friends list who you don’t even really talk to just so that you can see their profile and use it to somehow make yourself feel better? I thought that was what Myspace was for?

For more information about Internet Marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Marketing by Janelle - 1 Comment »

Is it ethical to steal a WiFi connection? Let’s begin by first defining what WiFi means. According to the WiFi Alliance, WiFi refers to:

A term developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to describe wireless local area network (WLAN) products that are based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) 802.11 standards.

And according to Wikipedia, the main aims of WiFi are:

• make access to information easier
• ensure compatibility and co-existence of devices
• eliminate cabling and wiring
• eliminate switches, adapters, plugs, pins and connectors.

But I always thought that WiFi was a free service? Earlier this year, Ars Technica featured a post that talked about the ethics behind using WiFi connections illegally. Some might remember the incident in May of 2007 when a Michigan man was arrested for “piggybacking” or using someone’s WiFi connection without their permission. According to the news story, customers would regularly go into a local coffee shop that had WiFi and check their email, etc. while they enjoyed their favorite coffee beverage. The article goes on:

Sam Peterson II did the same thing. “I knew that the Union Street had WiFi,” he told 24 Hour News 8. “I just went down and checked my e-mail and didn’t see a problem with that.”

The only difference is is that he would drive up to the parking lot of the coffee shop on a daily basis and surf the net from his car. A police officer figured out what he was doing, and the gentleman ended up having to pay a $400 fine in addition to completing 40 hours of community service. Seems a little harsh for someone who didn’t appear to be doing anything other than what the other patrons were doing: surfing the Internet and checking email.

So, now comes the question, “Is it really a crime to ’steal’ a WiFi connection?” What’s the difference if you go into a coffee shop that has a WiFi connection versus parking in the parking lot? If I parked in the parking lot of the library and used their free wireless Internet connection, would I be placing myself at risk for being arrested as well?

For more information about Internet Marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Marketing, Social Media, Social Media News, Social Networking by Janelle - 1 Comment »

People can be incredibly boring to talk to. Have you ever been immersed in a conversation with someone and then find yourself thinking about a million different things totally unrelated to what they are talking about? There’s something hypnotic, if not soothing, about someone who chooses to speak in the key of ‘C’ for the entire length of a conversation. You can feel your eyes sort of glossing over as you nod and struggle to appear as if you are still hanging on to their every word. You almost wish that they would come with you back to your home and sort of stand in the background as you nestle yourself under the covers and prepare to fall asleep.

The fact of the matter is that while people can be incredibly boring from a verbal standpoint; they can also be incredibly boring from a written one. On the Internet, writers have to work extremely hard to keep a reader’s attention. Often they are writing somewhat blindly. After all, you are not able to stand over the shoulders of every person that reads your blog or web site and calculate the exact moment at which they will suddenly click off of the page altogether because they are bored or indifferent. Therefore, it is our job to engage readers-not bore them!

Five ways to Bore People

1. Using Big Words: Unless you’re writing for some sort of clinician or medical-related web site, try to cut down on the big words. Picture your blog post or content as smooth, sandy beach. Big words are like throwing gigantic rocks onto the smooth, sandy shore. They only get in the way, leaving many readers frustrated.
2. Too Wordy: If you are overly verbose in your blog post, you’ll lose not only the point of what you’re trying to say, but you’ll lose your readers as well. Keep it simple; get to the point and you can’t go wrong.
3. Bad Design: If there’s one thing you might want to invest some time and money in, it’s the design of your blog or web site. When a potential reader lands on your page, that’s the first thing they see…the page! Readers don’t have all day to go on a scavenger hunt looking for things on your site. Therefore, if they can’t find it, they’ll leave. Make sure the layout of your page is easy enough for a five-year-old to navigate. If you can’t find it; you need to re-think the design.
4. No Pictures: It is highly recommended that pictures be included with any blog post that you do. You don’t want to go overboard, but depending on the length of your blog post, it’s always a good idea to include at least one small picture or even a video. This does two things: First, it helps to break up the text, giving readers’ eyes a break; and secondly, it keeps things interesting.
5. Same Style; Different Day: Readers like consistency when it comes to blog posts. They like knowing that if they subscribe to a particular blog, that the posts will almost always be good. So, what does that mean for you? Don’t always write in one type of style. Change it up a bit. See what sorts of different topics you can talk about. Maybe include a post from a guest writer one week. Introduce different styles of writing this way readers can still get the great quality- just in a different way.

For more information about Internet Marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Technorati Profile

Tags: Marketing by Janelle - 5 Comments »

There are a zillion social media tools out there to help you drive traffic to your blog or web site. However, one of my personal favorites happens to be StumbleUpon (SU). For all of you out there who absolutely love to surf the Internet (either because you have nothing better to do OR because you are interested in finding out what’s out there), StumbleUpon is dream come true.

Stumbling is Not Falling!

In my own experience as a writer, I find that StumbleUpon is a great tool to have because it allows you to discover other sites which you may have normally not come across. It’s a great way to help out with brainstorming for ideas or even for building personal relationships with other bloggers. That being said, here are a few things about this social media tool which I have found particularly helpful:

1. Variety is the Spice of Life! If you’re new to StumbleUpon and are trying to increase the traffic to your blog, DO NOT ONLY STUMBLE YOUR BLOG. When I come across someone’s SU profile, it can be really annoying to find that they have 3,000 stumbled web sites, 2,999 of which are theirs. Be fair and mix things up by checking out sites that actually interest you besides your own. These sites don’t necessarily have to be related to a specific topic.
2. Make Some Friends! The way to add variety to the sites that you actually “stumble” across is by way of what friends you have. If you only have one friend on SU, then you’re probably not going to discover a whole bunch of stuff. Having more friends means that there are more people who will see the sites that you stumble and vice versa.
3. Quality; Not Quantity! When it comes to stumbling, anyone can give a quick “thumbs up” to a site. However, the true way to become a top stumbler is to actually check out the site for longer than a nano second and give a quick review of what you thought about it. Reviewing a site for someone does two things: First, it gives the other person that warm and fuzzy feeling of feeling that their content is being appreciated; therefore, they’ll more than likely reciprocate the favor. Secondly, reviewing someone’s site gives you more credibility as a user and gains you more exposure. After all, how often do you look at the people who just give a “thumbs up” at the top of the reviewing pane? Sometimes, they don’t even fit in there, which would mean that you’d have to click to go to the next page. However, if you’re planning on reviewing the page, you’ll often see what users have reviewed that page before you. Depending on the person’s profile picture and/or comment that was left, you may feel inclined to contact them and/or check out their stumbles…See where I’m going with this?
4. Make it Personal! When you send a message to another Stumbler to review your blog post or site, make the message personal and appealing.  Often times, I will get stumble messages from other Stumblers and because of the message lacking relevance, I’ll ignore the stumble.  Your message should be short but should also include information about the site you are sending over as well as what you hope to achieve.  For example, “Check out this new blog post I wrote about pigs-please read, comment and/or subscribe. Thanks!”
5. Look for Active Stumblers! When you come across a stumbler’s profile and are thinking about adding them as a friend, make sure you check to see when they last logged on.  Adding someone as a friend who doesn’t use SU often is kinda’ like dragging a dead weight around.  Active stumblers are more likely to discover new things as well as respond more promptly to something you send them.

For more information about Internet Marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Marketing by Janelle - 1 Comment »

Social media marketing has quickly become another one of those household names when it comes to Internet marketing and business building. Social media helps to drive traffic to your site so that you can (maybe) peak the interest of your viewers and hopefully build lasting relationships. However, in order to achieve success with the wonderful world of social media, there are several things that you can do.

There’s a nifty site called Traffikd, which gives some great advice and information about social media. Some of these ideas are as follows:

1. Appearance: When a potential reader/consumer visits a web site, the last thing that they want to see is a web site that has no order to it and isn’t visually appealing. This is where it may be helpful to hire an independent web designer to help those of us who are visually challenged figure out the best way to appeal to a wide range of people.
2. Headlines/Titles: Perhaps one of the most important things that will draw readers into your web site are your titles. A catchy or clever title will almost always guarantee that you get at least one person who will read what you have to say out of mere curiosity. You’d just better make sure that you have something to back up that clever title.
3. News Break: There are alot of web sites with HUGE readership numbers simply based on the fact that they are usually the first to break the news to people. Examples of web sites that do this are sites such as TechCrunch and Gizmodo.
4. Location: Where things are located on your page will make a huge difference as to whether or not someone stays on your site for two hours or two seconds. Heck, they may stay on your site for two hours simply because they can’t figure it out; but more than likely, people aren’t going to stick around if you make it difficult for them to find things. Prioritize what information you want people to have easy access to and talk it over with whoever is designing your site. It’ll make a huge difference.
5. Credibility: Social networking is great for building credibility. If you want people to subscribe to your web site, subscribe to theirs first. Try to be good about it, going to sites that actually interest you [gasp!]. Leave quality comments and join a couple of social networking sites such as Digg or StumbleUpon. Build relationships with other bloggers and/or people in your niche. Most people don’t make the time or have the patience for things like this. You could always opt for PPC, but the organic approach is usually going to be much better for you in the long term.

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Marketing by Janelle - 4 Comments »

Google has worked hard to become the household name it is today. For example, if someone doesn’t know the definition of something or needs to find directions, you’ll often hear: “Just Google it!” And when it comes to businesses, it seems incredibly important to be able to proudly say, “I’m the number one searched person/business”. Regarding this, however, have we become to obsessed with page rankings?

Number One or Number Zero?

Getting to page one on Google is significant for most people because it seems to lend credibility to whomever acquires the coveted number 1 spot. Even cameo appearances on Page One are great. The whole point behind getting to page one of Google is so that you can drive traffic to your site; and depending on whether or not you’re a business owner or just a regular ‘Joe Shmoe’, the whole point will be so that some of the traffic you attract winds up buying into whatever product or service you’re selling, right? However, does getting to page one really mean anything these days?

So many businesses are focused on getting to page one that that’s all they see. What about the return on investment (ROI)? What does the ROI for people who are listed on page on of Google rankings look like? Instead of focusing so much on getting to page one of Google, perhaps companies should pay closer attention to what they’re trying to achieve as a result. After all, while it may look fabulous that you have the number 2 position on Google for your industry with a great readership; at the end of the day, it all seems null an void if you’re not seeing any return on your investment. Am I right?

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Marketing by Janelle - 2 Comments »

What is the most popular thing to do in China?  If you said “surfing,” you’d be correct, as long as you were referring to the Internet.  In recent news, it was reported that China is now the world’s largest Internet-using population.  According to statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) via BBC News,

More than 253 million people in the country are now online.

So, what gives?  How come the United States only managed a meager 223 million users this past June?  Are we slipping up somewhere?  Perhaps there are more people in the United States who actually have a life and don’t have the time it takes to sit down for hours on end clicking away at web sites.  Just kidding.

Apparently, the news that China is now the world’s largest Internet-using population is significant because up until this point, the United States had the bragging rights for having the largest net-using population since records of how many people used the Internet were kept.

So, is China somehow getting an edge over Americans?  As many of us know, there are ALWAYS new developments and press releases about new things that come out almost every hour on the Internet.  It almost seems that news travels faster and is more marketable if you’ve got a few hours and a high speed connection, which may indicate that people in China may discover things quicker than other countries.  As to whether or not any of this information holds any water…only time will tell.

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

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