Social Networking

Examples of social networking sites:

• Facebook
• Myspace
• Twitter
• Bebo
• Orkut

Social Bookmarking is the same as bookmarking a site on your browser except you bookmark it on social bookmarking sites so others can see. The idea is that you will be exposed to sites that have been bookmarked by people in your circle that you otherwise might not have seen. Unlike just surfing the web and having to separate the garbage from the worthwhile content, on bookmarking sites it’s all content that people have deemed worthy of adding. As you start to bookmark your favorite sites people with similar interests will join your network to follow what you’re posting. You can also engage your network in conversations the way you would on a social networking site via posting comments on the bookmarks.

While social bookmarking is yet another great way to grow your network of friends, the biggest advantage is that your bookmark can actually rank in search engines. So instead of your site taking up one position on the search engines it will take up two. One is your main site and the other the bookmark that points back to your main site.

Examples of social bookmarking sites:

• StumbleUpon
• Digg
• Del.icio.us
• Technorati
• Propeller

With both social networking and bookmarking you should use a universal username on all your accounts. Being that the basic principal of social media marketing is people getting to know you, your username should be easily identifiable as being you. It’s best to use your real name. If it’s not available then use a variation of it. (This is a great site to check username availability.)

Social media marketing takes some finesse.  It is not about pushing what you have to offer in someone’s face.  It is first and foremost about marketing yourself and your product second.  Your goal should be establishing yourself as an authority through social sites by giving your audience information they can use.  Spamming the internet with “buy my stuff” posts isn’t going to get you anything but a bad reputation for you and your company. You should make people want to visit your site, not try and force them to.

The key to getting people to want to go to your site is establishing a relationship them.  (Note the keyword relationship.)  You have to give people the opportunity to get to know the real you.  If people feel like they know you they will be more likely to listen to you.  Don’t always talk about “me, me, me” and this is what I do.  Social media is about making friends that you otherwise wouldn’t have the outreach to make so treat them like friends.  Don’t be that obnoxious person that is constantly peddling something.  You wouldn’t walk up to everyone on the street and ask them to buy your product so why would on the internet?  Get to know them, let them know you and when that person is ready to buy they will feel like they have made the decision based on what they know of your character and your business and not what you’ve told them to think.

While social media marketing has given business owners a powerful way to connect with their audience and humanize their business, it has also given consumers a voice.  Now more than ever businesses need to be sure they deliver what they promise.  Feedback on your product or service, good and bad, will travel faster and further than it ever has because of social media so be sure to stay committed to your customer satisfaction.

There are as many ways to get customers from a promotional web video as there are products that are advertised by them, and the path to web video success will take some specifics depending on what you are selling and who you are selling it to. But regardless of your industry and even your market, there are a few universal guidelines to the most successful web videos to promote products.

The Internet is the Ultimate Playground for A.D.D.
The first is make a video that will hold web surfers’ focus.
And what better way to hold their focus than to not have to worry about holding their focus? Generally speaking, videos for most products and services should be kept under a minute in duration, ninety seconds if absolutely necessary. Basically, get all the information, as well as why your viewer can’t afford to not buy your product or service, out there clearly…before they click away from your video.

Say What You Need to Say.
That said, the way in which your information is given is vital to its ultimate result: the viewer either becoming a consumer of your product, or not. Needless to say, your information needs to be clear, concise and coherent. But it should also be interesting. You can use mystery to keep the viewer glued to their screen, or flashy text and exclaimed words to make them wait to hear everything you have to say.
A virtually fail proof way to create and build interest is through comedy: while you will always need to be careful not to come off as offensive to potential customers, if you can make them laugh, they will almost feel a personal connection and link your product to one that has real people, who are in business for more than just insincerely feeding a bottom line, standing behind it…not to mention, it will make them keep watching, and is a sure fire way to get many of them to share it with people they know.

It’s What’s Inside That Counts.
Videos should stress content over aesthetic. That is to say, don’t worry about the green screen and the otherworldly sound effects at least until after you have made your video one that is sufficient alone.

Do it again. And again.
Producing a series of videos is a great way to get them noticed.

Tag, You’re It!
Tag videos appropriately. Make sure you know whether or not the site you post them to says to separate them with commas, or else you’ll end up with one giant tag that no one in their right mind would ever type in, and therefore your tags will fail to do their job. Find common ones.

Spread the Joy.
Some good ways to get your video out to the masses, besides tagging, are to add other channels as friends, subscribe to them, comment and favorite other videos. Post your videos on a blog, a website, and get any and every blogger you know to do the same. Use a syndication system to get your videos out there.

Nuts and Bolts.
The right software and hardware obviously means the difference between videos and no videos. Get a camera that works with your computer, a USB to connect it to your computer if necessary. Read the camera’s manual to learn how to use and care for it, and learn about the different types of video files. If you’re the worst videographer in the world (and there are many), or if you can’t hold the camera while appearing in your own videos (again, loads of people have trouble here) you might want a tripod. See if your computer has built in video editing software: if not, you can always purchase one or download an open source (free!) program.

Free Love.
Finally, a great way to get people to buy your real product is to get them to feel as though they gain from watching your videos. It could just be a laugh that you give them, a weather report or a daily living tip of some sort. Direct them to where they can download a wallpaper of your logo. It could be anything…But if they get this much out of just watching your video, imagine what benefits they’ll reap from owning your product!