The Beginner’s

Guide To Social Media

& Networks

Introduction to Social Media from a Business Perspective

Author :

Hussain Ali

1. Introduction of Social Media Marketing

A. What is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing is a part of the integrated marketing communications process carried out by or-

ganizations. Social media marketing involves producing attractive content that is shared via social net-

works on the internet. As people are using internet on a large scale, communicating about a brand or

product on the web has become very important. With the advent of Wi-Fi., internet access on cell phones

and hand held computers, spreading information speedily has become easier than it was before. With the

emergence of Web 2.0, advertising and social networking via Twitter, Facebook and using RSS feeds has

become a part of social media marketing campaigns of many organizations.

Articles

Tips for Social Media Marketing

It is important to analyze the perfect gap in the mar-

ket space, to be the most visible, and that is what

social media marketing does. Even if you have the

best of cards, you should be able to play a smart

game, and a smart game will need tactics and strate-

gies that will help you draw the game in your favor. It

is so in the case of social media marketing too. You

already have the weapon, all you need to do is to use

it strategically. The following list on social media

marketing tips will help you with them.

A little study and research on your target, short term and long term

goals and prospective customers, etc., will help a lot in framing the

basic strategies of target social media tools. Remember that there is a

pool out there, you will need to decide when would you fish in each

of them, whether targeting a single social media tool or more at a

single time. One cannot be a master in marketing in the first go, trial

and error with different tools of social media will eventually give you

the opening for profitable audience gain.

Building a healthy audience is the key role of social media marketing.

A healthy audience can be made by being ethical and acknowledging

them too. Keep updating information and news and do not ignore

social media conversations. Once you make the audience feel valued

and important, it will add to your brand image and enhance the

number of prospective sales, clients and audience.

Social media has got its sudden boom with the growth and popularity

of social networking sites. Facebook and Twitter are tools that are the

most effective platforms for an audience. With a business page of

your company, you can constantly update and share content, news,

and more about your business. For the short and direct messages to

create a following to your company website, Twitter makes an effec-

tive choice.

Learn the game with time and research. Do not stick to one plan for a

long time. You might want to consider multiple options along with in-

terlinking them for effective results. Use strategies like cross-linking

and cross-promoting. You might consider connecting your Twitter ac-

count to Facebook, or linking your blog to Twitter that will show a

follow button to your blog. This will also help the audience choose

the tool that suits them the most, to communicate back to you. This

works best for social media marketing for small businesses.

Keep track of the ups and downs in social media competitors. If there

exists a horse that races down the fences in no time, you don't what

to be riding the one that hardly makes it to the post. It is alright to be

picky when it comes to profit. Make strategically planned choices

when choosing the correct tool for marketing

Use tools like Linkedin, blogs and also other multimedia tools like

YouTube, which are also effective among the social media marketing

strategies. You may create your Flicker account to post customer or

product photos. YouTube can be effective for businesses that aim at

video marketing too.

B. Why Social Media Won’t Last as a Marketing tool ?

Since the beginning of online social networking, businesses have seen these novel outlets as potentially

powerful marketing tools. But, when people catch on to the schemes of marketing professionals, social

networking websites will be no more effective than magazines for marketing.

Social Networking as an Advertising Tool

The first characteristic of social media that makes them so amenable to advertising is their networking

capacity. On many social networking websites, individuals develop large networks of people they know or

would whose activity they would like to follow. These networks, from the point of view of marketing, form

self-created target markets that usually share interests and demographic characteristics. From a single

individual, social networks can branch out to include hundreds or thousands of people who can be easily

located and grouped by marketing professionals and software.

Online Interactivity for Marketing

Another characteristic of social media that seems tailor-made to cater to marketing is their interactive na-

ture. Although internet-based social networking began as a way for individuals to communicate with one

another, it was not long before organizations such as bands, entertainment outlets, and businesses were

creating their own profiles on social networks, allowing people to associate with them. An individual’s

profile on a social networking website might include a list of interests, and if that person’s friends can click

on an interest to navigate to a business’ "profile," the business has just gained the equivalent of a website

page load for free. This makes social media an attractive advertising outlet due to its cost-effectiveness,

particularly when compared to the number of people it has the capability to reach. For much, much

cheaper than a television advertisement, a page on a social networking website could reach nearly as

many people as the TV ad would.

Interacting with Products

The reason that social networking works as a marketing tool is, in short, that it gives people the feeling

that they are somehow really involved with the thing that’s being sold. Whether it’s a brand of shoes, a

television show, or a hot new band, being able to add a product to your list of "Friends" gives the impres-

sion that you and the product have something in common - an understanding or bond that goes beyond

just a 30-second TV spot. Ads on television, on billboards, and even banner ads on websites, can’t accom-

plish this sense of something real, something authentic. Social networking advertisements can, perhaps,

accomplish that sense, but in the end they are still ads and are therefore no more authentic than their tel-

evision counterparts.

The Case of Magazine Ads

In order to explain why this can’t last, a comparison with magazine advertisements is useful. Magazines

are good outlets for highly specified marketing campaigns because each magazine has a very specific au-

dience. For example, car magazines are generally only read by car enthusiasts. Businesses whose products

or services are automotive-related, therefore, can productively buy ad space in car magazines because

they’re sure that almost everyone who looks at the ad will be someone with a high probability of being

interested in the product. Soon, however, magazine readers will catch on to this scheme and stop looking

at the ads, skipping right past them without even registering their contents, because they know that they

are being targeted as car enthusiasts and are not interested in being sold to.

Meaningful Social Networking

Many people surmise that social media are eroding the concept of friendship. Once, friendship was an

important concept, and who you called your friends really mattered. Now, thanks to online social net-

working, your friends can be people you barely know or even companies who are only interested in your

money. However, living real, meaningful lives has always been and will always be important to people,

even if the novelty factor occasionally derails them from this pursuit. When people begin to understand

what’s really going on with marketing in social media, these outlets could become far less effective for

businesses.

C. 7 Questions for Integrating Social Media in Marketing Strategy for

Non-Profits.

Many people are using social media tools without clearly understanding why it is important

and how it contributes to the overall marketing strategy of the organization. This article lists

seven questions you need to ask when developing your social media strategy. You can use

social media to convey your authentic voice and build authentic relationships, if the social

media strategy is integrated with your marketing strategy.

Social media can be defined as all Internet and web based technologies that allow mass scale

communications among people. As oppose to broadcasts that went from one to many, this

reflects a many to many format where there can be a dialog among many people. Social me-

dia (SM) is definitely not a fad and is here to stay. Especially, if you are a non-profit or a small

business with a purpose, SM can be used very effectively to mobilize your cause, volunteers,

and even funds to support your work.

You can continue to create ripples by engaging people in online communities. But many

people are using it because everyone else is using it. Even though social media can be a pow-

erful tool, it can also be a waste of resources and ineffective if not integrated into the over all

marketing strategy. Here is a list of questions that you should ask yourself when you are de-

veloping your social media strategy.

1) What is the organization’s purpose?

Every marketing plan needs to start with the company's main purpose or the corporate mis-

sion. If you do not have a clear purpose or corporate mission, there is a lot written on the

subject, including suggestions in my article - translating inner purpose into a mission state-

ment.

2) What is the purpose of Social Media?

The next question to ask is how SM can further the organization’s goals? What are the specif-

ic goals and objectives of the SM plan in order to support the overall company plan? Goals

refer to the broader purpose of SM, which is typically ongoing and cannot be measured. Ob-

jectives are the measurable and specific outcomes you would like to achieve within the speci-

fied period.

You can define several goals that are consistent with the corporate mission. For example,

Mother Woman, a non profit with the mission of empowering mothers to bring positive per-

sonal and social change, can use SM to create a social network to support mothers by sharing

experiences, resources, and information to empower mothers and build a strong social pres-

ence using social media tools. Another goal can be to stay informed about changes in the en-

vironments in terms of new grants, new technologies, new research, etc.

The more specific objectives can be to connect with specific number of mothers during speci-

fied periods who can benefit from this program, to connect with new donors, increase web-

site and Blog traffic, increase participation of workshop mothers in online sharing, etc.

3) How will Social Media reach its goals?

I recommend what I call the L.I.P. Approach - Listen, Inform, and Participate.

a. Listen: Social media is a powerful tool because it allows a dialog among many people. An

essential aspect of dialog is listening. While traditional market research methods like focus

groups, surveys, and interviews are still important ways to listen, a more active and continu-

ous form of listening is possible using social media tools like Google Alerts, Facebook, and

Twitter. You can now listen to what your customers are saying, people who believe in your

cause are saying, learn from other organizations, and learn about changes in your environ-

ment. Make a list of people and organizations as well as topics of interest that you should be

following and then figure out the channels you will use to follow.

b. Inform: The second powerful use of social media is with respect to informing the relevant

stakeholders – like your benefactors, donors, and other organizations – about your services,

ideas, and beliefs. Instead of paying millions of dollars to celebrities who have no interest in

your product, to be in a ad that is very often blocked out by people, you can now speak from

a place of passion and authenticity to people who care. Tools like Twitter, Facebook, Blogs,

and YouTube are becoming very popular to get your message across to people in fun, crea-

tive, and yet meaningful ways. Make a list of things you need to get across to the relevant au-

diences, such as events, new service announcements, any media coverage, new ideas, and

volunteering opportunities. And then identify the right channels to communicate the same.

This will involve decisions like should you use Facebook Pages or Facebook Groups. Should

you be on LinkedIn or MySpace or both?

c. Participate: The third aspect of a good SM plan is to create effective ways to participate. An

important aspect of dialog is to reciprocate. If you find an interesting Blog, make comments.

If you find an interesting Tweet, make sure to Re-tweet giving credit to the original tweeter.

These are ways of recognizing and appreciating the contribution of people in your social net-

work.

4) To Whom is it targeted?

The choice of social media channels will depend upon where you think your target audience

will be. Where do you think your customers go to connect or learn about the kind of product

or service that you provide? Your choice of social media channels will depend upon where

you can find potential donors, benefactors/customers, collaborators, and information to help

you move towards your goals.

5) Who is responsible for implementing your Social Media strategy?

SM is time consuming but it can be integrated into your marketing strategy in a way that it

feels more organic and natural to the people involved. While they may be one person over-

seeing SM, there are ways to integrate other employees, guest bloggers, customers, commu-

nity members, and other people passionate about the product, cause, or service that your or-

ganization is promoting. Just ensure that you have clear rules around who and in what way

each person will be involved.

6. Measuring impact periodically

The good news about many of the social media tools is that you can track some aspects of

the impact you are making very easily. For example, in quantitative terms Twitter gives you

statistics related to your Tweets on certain applications; Facebook pages gives you statistics;

and the sheer number of followers and fans helps to some degree in telling about the re-

sponse to your efforts. Some applications like stats counter can be added to Blogs to assess

visitors. It is good to pay attention to the qualitative data related to your organization in

terms of what people are saying about you. Over longer periods of time you can correlate the

increase in SM statistics with increase in sales and traffic to better understand which channel

is most productive for your goals. Very often, it is a combination of SM tools that will pro-

mote your goals and it may be hard to separate the effects of each.

7. What is the opportunity cost?

SM does take time and perhaps money away from what you could be doing with those

Resources instead. Make sure that your benefits in the long run exceed your costs before

adopting a social media strategy. The key is to think long term.

2. Introduction of Internet Marketing.

A. What is Internet Marketing ?

Although the basic goals of advertising and marketing remain to gain exposure and maintain a

client base for the products and services of a business, doing so on the Internet requires a differ-

ent angle of approach to the task. Because promotion on the Internet is done online, newspaper

ads and other print media are not as useful as with offline firms. Web marketing and online adver-

tising consists of having the web site of your business ranked as high as possible in the Internet

search engines and using other means of virtual exposure. Posting to newsgroups and employing

direct e-mail campaigns are two of the more popular

forms of online advertising and marketing that are being

used by Internet businesses. Below are articles with online

marketing and internet advertising tips and information to

help you find online marketing services and advertising

solutions for marketing your business online.

Articles

Advantages of Internet Marketing

Marketing your business on the Internet gives you a wide access of your potential customers. It

has been estimated that a couple of billion people around the world use the Internet, and more

are becoming aware of Internet with each passing day. So, marketing your business to such a

large group of people is only possible through Internet.

Internet is the only medium that is able to cross geographic and na-

tional boundaries. You can put your advertisement on the Internet

and people from all countries of the world can see that advertise-

ment.

The cost of promoting your business on the Internet is cheaper than

other mediums of marketing. This makes it easy for small and mid-

sized businesses to advertise their products.

Internet allows you the ability to stay connected with your customers

on a real-time basis. If you have a discount going on, you can easily

send an email to your customers and they can buy the product in-

stantly. Internet also allows you to send multiple messages at the

same time, which means that you are saved the tedious task of send-

ing a newsletter to every client.

Internet marketing allows you to get an instant feedback from the

customers. Customers can let you know about their experience after

using the product and this allows you to know whether you need to

make any improvements to your service.

Internet marketing saves a lot of time and effort. Instead of having a

customer service representative to answer the queries of customers,

one can put all the information about the product or service on the

Internet so that customers can go through it. The most common way

of doing it is to have a section dedicated to frequently asked ques-

tions (FAQs) about the product so that customers get all the required

information about the product or the service.

Internet marketing allows your business to be available 24/7, which

means increased sales and profits.

Disadvantages of Internet Marketing

Although Internet marketing allows you a wider reach, the start-up

costs of a website can be high. This includes the cost of the required

software and hardware, and maintenance costs.

There are still a lot of customers who use the Internet just for having

more information about a product and prefer to buy it in person. For

example, Internet marketing allows a customer to view how a phone

looks like and its technical specifications, but customers prefer having

a look at the phone in the store to get a hands-on experience.

There are a lot of customers who are not proficient in using the Inter-

net and focusing solely on Internet marketing can cause you to lose

these customers.

The rules of the trade change rapidly in Internet marketing, and it re-

quires constant attention and monitoring to ensure that your market-

ing strategy does not look out-of-date.

The biggest disadvantage of Internet marketing is its vulnerability to

fraudulent activities. There are a lot of illegitimate websites out there

which look similar to original websites and rob the customers of their

money. Spamming is also one of the biggest challenges for Internet

marketing and confidential data can be easily stolen by hackers.

Internet marketing lacks the human touch that is involved when a

customer buys a product from a salesperson. This hampers the pro-

spects of relationship building which plays an important part in re-

peat sales and word-of mouth publicity.

Internet marketing depends heavily on technology, which is vulnera-

ble to technical faults. For example, if a customer clicks on your ad-

vertisement but due to a technical glitch, is unable to buy the prod-

uct, he may easily become irate and take his business somewhere

else.

A. Facebook Marketing Tips and Tricks

If you haven't tapped into the marketing potential of Facebook, it's time you did. With more than

600 million users, it's almost a crime if you didn't. Whatever be the nature of your business, de-

voting time in promoting your business on Facebook is definitely worth it. Here are some tips on

how to go about it.

Create a Business Page & Promote Your Brand

One of the first steps to promote your business on Facebook is creating your own business page

or 'Fan Page'. Fill in all the information about your business or brand, use the wall to post up-

dates, add photos of your brand and keep your fans updated about new offers and services.

Begin popularizing the page by sharing it with people in your own personal profile.

There is a feature called a 'Like' button on Facebook, that automatically shares any link in the

news feed of connected friends. It is unarguably the most potent feature of Facebook, that will

help your business gain popularity. If and when anybody 'likes' your business page, it will be vis-

ible as an update in the news feed of their friends, which is bound to bring in more fans. Voila!

Suddenly you have created a fan base in thousands for your business! Check out these tips on

how to create a fan page on Facebook.

Reach Out Through Targeted Ads on Facebook

Facebook has its own advertising programs like Google's Adsense, which you can use to display

ads on the profile pages of users. You can choose your budget and display a banner ad that can

attract traffic towards your website. These ads are placed contextually, according to user interest.

That's why, you are bound to get traffic and increased penetration into a targeted customer

base, through Facebook ads.

Popularize Events by Leveraging Friend and Fan Connections

Once you have a fan base for your business page, you can conduct contests and events which

can be popularized there. Contests and local events sponsored by your brand can be promoted

on your fan page, providing increased visibility for your brand.

Add the Facebook Like Button to Your Webpage

If you have a website, one of the best ways of promoting your web page content on Facebook, is

adding a Facebook 'Like' button at the bottom of every page. Any user who likes your page, is

bound to share it on his Facebook wall, automatically popularizing the page among his connect-

ing friends; driving more traffic towards the page, in the process.

Buy & Sell on Facebook Marketplace

Word is just spreading around about the Facebook Marketplace, which is an e-commerce plat-

form, integrated into Facebook, where you can buy and sell items. Local businesses can effective-

ly use this platform to promote the sale of their products and create one more sales Channel for

themselves. Check out the Facebook Marketplace to know more about it.

Hope these simple Facebook marketing tips and tricks help you out in widening your customer

base and gaining a bigger fan base for your brand or traffic for your website. As I said before,

the 'Like' button is the most powerful feature of Facebook, that can create an avalanche effect,

that can divert traffic towards any link shared or any brand advertised. Sign up into Facebook,

create your business fan page today and consistently update it to reach out to potential custom-

ers!

B. E-Marketing Strategy

In general terms, an e-marketing strategy consists of the steps taken and procedures followed

for marketing a brand through the web. The center of attraction in any e-marketing strategy is

the website of the company to which Internet users are to be attracted for increasing sales. But

firstly, the company's website needs to be in a proper design, format, attractive, and one that will

have a good impression on prospective buyers.

Components of a Good Internet Marketing Strategy

Search Engine Optimization

A study conducted shows that around 90% of Americans use the Internet daily, with over 2/3rd

of purchases being researched on the Internet. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a procedure

that relates to attracting Internet traffic to your website as much as possible. SEO is crucial for

online marketing success of your business. It includes optimizing your website in such a way that

your site would be ranked on the initial pages of the search, so that the web users can visit your

website for the contents they are in search of. This is done using keyword phrases that the users

generally put in the Internet search engines for searching a particular product or service.

Email Marketing Strategy

Another important component of an effective e-marketing strategy is email marketing which is

all about sending information of the product and services to the potential customers using

email. This is a proven effective method of using online marketing as an efficient tool for busi-

ness generation. It is also a very good business marketing technique for building good business

relations with potential customers, as well as prospective clients.

Online Advertising

Online advertising is a marketing method, that has a very substantial Return On Investment (ROI)

value. It consists of placing advertisements of products and services on the company website,

sites which are ranking on the first pages of the search engine, and sites which are getting a con-

siderable amount of traffic from Internet users. Internet affiliate marketing is a very good exam-

ple of online advertising, which relates to paying your company's product advertiser as per the

sales generation.

Online Newsletters

You can even think of online newsletters as a decent way to pass on product information for

promoting your product and services. Businesses generally issue online newsletters to regular

customers for letting them know what new introductory offers are available and which new

products are likely to be launched. Unlike email marketing, these online newsletters are issued at

regular time intervals.

Media News Rooms

A media news room is a facility on the web that includes most of the company blogs and infor-

mation which can be accessed by social media. If the company information reaches the social

media, it takes no time for the information and news to be transferred to the general public. The

information in media news rooms is usually available to journalists and bloggers, who are visitors

searching for specific news and facts of the products and not just general information. This is al-

so one of the most effective Internet marketing strategies.

C. How To Sell Stuff Online: Tips

Some of the tips on how to sell stuff online are mentioned below.

Look In For Websites That Rock!

There are a number of websites that have changed the dynamics of the internet marketing. The-

se websites give you can opportunity to advertise your products and services, so that they can

reach to a wider market. Google Ad words and Google Ad sense have ruled the internet market

by their brilliant strategies and amazing reach to the millions and millions of global audience.

Some others websites like EBay and Amazon have carved a niche on their own! If you wish to

sell your products targeting many customers, then you have got to formally register on these

sites and pay for the advertisements as per their plans. You can advertise your products on web-

sites that will help you link your products to other websites also.

Go For Email Marketing!

Email marketing techniques are a novel option, if you wish to advertise your products. There are

many email marketing best practices that can guide you through with a better business strategy,

if you are opting for email marketing.

Social Networking is the Order of The Day!

There is no doubt in the fact that the social networking sites are accessed by more than half of

the internet users. There are many social networking websites that can advertise the products by

linking them in their websites. However, online marketing on social networking sites should not

annoy the user by stuffing the site with advertisements only! The idea is to give relevant links

and products, instead of just stuffing the page with any advertisements. Try to link the adver-

tisements through games, graphics and interesting fun to do things on these sites!

Banner Advertising is The Perfect Idea!

The idea of banner advertising is a very creative approach, that aims to provide the users some

entertainment as well as help businesses advertise their products on a large scale. In banner ad-

vertising, the web developers embed an advertisement onto the webpage and hence advertise

the products. The users are provided with certain pop ups of games, video music and various

other features, that can entertain them and indirectly highlight the product of the firm.

And Of Course There's Blogging!

Blogging is the 'hip' thing nowadays! It's a real and widely popular means of business and per-

sonal communication. So, if you have to make your product reach maximum people, then blog-

ging is a bright idea.

D. Website Marketing Strategy

Effective web site marketing is the core of every online business strategy. Businesses around

the world now enjoy web presence that enables entrepreneurs to reach out to potential cus-

tomers beyond geographical constraints.

How is a customized web site business marketing strategy applied?

The internet technology is harnessed within business operations like marketing with the help

of the search engines. The optimization of this very potent component of online or web site

marketing does not lie in the adoption of tactics to ‘fool’ the search engines. The profession-

als who help an online businessman to adopt a customized web site business marketing

strategy apply strategies that are legitimate and techniques that are tried and tested. There

are special SEOP or Search Engine Optimization Professional discussion forums that are orga-

nized to educate the online businessman on web site marketing strategies and prepare him

to make the most of the exercise.

Why is a web site marketing strategy important to the online business?

The web presence of any company is via the content that appears online, at a click, and the

graphics and visuals presented. The businessman has a limited time frame in which he can ei-

ther make the viewer inquisitive about the company’s products and services or lose the cus-

tomer to a competitor with a better customized web site business marketing strategy. Search

engine marketing is quick and follows simple guidelines. On the web, content rules and the

website marketing strategy ensures that web site traffic steadily increases to the company’s

home page. Search engine optimization is a very important element of the robust internet

marketing strategy. The online business can grow by leaps and bounds with effective site

promotion, web development and e-business ethics.

The best website business marketing strategy:

The best way to market the business products and services is by ensuring its visibility in the

major search engines. A dedicated effort has to be made to ensure that the business gets

listed at the top of the SERP or Search Engine Page Ranking. Search Engine Optimization in-

volves a sincere and linear approach to keep in place the website and its content, business-

specific keywords, effective title and Meta tags and links etc. The website must be designed in

a way that it necessarily addresses specific traffic online. The On Page Optimization and Off

Page Optimization should be used in a way that the new and old web pages are both visible

at all times. This is real value for investment and a sure shot ‘hit’ on the target clientele.

Ways to ensure effective website marketing:

Website marketing strategies should be applied keeping in mind that marketing is the key

factor for the success for any business. Online marketing and web presence is not at all easy

to achieve, especially for freshers. However, with a good strategy in place and a lot of dedi-

cated work – nothing is impossible! Web marketing is nothing but a way to capitalize online,

using the internet approach. Since not every businessman has the time and commitment to

personally develop a website marketing strategy for the business, there are professionals who

step in and guide the process.

Effective website marketing is a ‘pointer’ that the businessman navigates. As the business en-

vironment changes, the objective of the marketing strategy adopted is also expected to direct

energies towards the best action plan. It is very important to adopt a website marketing strat-

egy to remain focused on your marketing efforts to generate only the best for your business.

The website marketing strategy should be aligned with the other online efforts made to

achieve overall company objectives. The web presence screams out through a consistent style

and message and the site's status. You need to effectively market the business products and

services using the existing website or creating one exclusively for the purpose.

Website enhancements work like magic in improving the business presence online. It is im-

portant to ensure that the business objectives, strategies, and adopted tactics and focus

change with time, according to the online market rules. A website marketing plan focuses on

internet extensive marketing strategies and programs to encompass the entire business. The

implementation of a website marketing program improves the business’ chances of success.

E. Increase Website Traffic for Free

To increase website traffic, you've to focus on several different options available on the Internet.

Now these methods required to increase web traffic can be costly and, in case you don't have

enough budget for that, you can focus on some simple methods to increase website traffic for

free.

How to Increase Website Traffic for Free

If you don't have sufficient budget to spend on some costly methods of boosting web traffic on

your website, then you needn't worry. There are several ways of getting free traffic using numer-

ous methods. Get some ideas on increasing web traffic without spending money, in the further

paragraphs.

Optimization Works Wonders

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can make a world of difference in the quality of your rankings.

Enlisting your websites on major Internet search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN submit your

website on less popular web directories. Larger the number of your listings, better will be your

rankings.

Keyword is the King

Only with awesome content on the Internet, you can't rank. With apt keywords and awesome

content, you can surely rank. Keywords are valuable. They can help you to garner huge traffic. If

you wish to know the biggest secret of 'how to increase website traffic for free, then you've to fo-

cus on keywords related to your content.

Online Directories Enhance Cyber Presence

If you think your website content is impressive and can provide quality information to people

searching for legitimate information on the Internet, then you can register on various online di-

rectories. Internet affiliate marketing strategists often pick up websites' from such directories, that

filter relevant websites for their usage.

Linking Attracts Traffic

Manage your website by properly using fundamentals of exchange links and link building. Share

or, rather trade links of other websites similar to the content provided on your website. Be cau-

tious not to trade links with those sites that are poor in content, as that questions the credibility

of information provided on your website.

Forums are to Discuss

Online forums are there to share valuable information regarding the presence of websites that

provide productive information on the Internet. These forums can help you to increase web traffic.

Exist on Blogs

Blogging has become a trend these days. While connecting to large human network, you can ex-

clude blogger. Some really popular blogs can provide you increased web traffic on the internet.

When you exist on blogs, users can reach out to your website and hence web traffic increases.

Why not create your website related to your blog, or stand alone blog and drive traffic to your

website.

Viral Marketing = Increased Web Traffic

Through numerous ways like flash games, video clips, word-of-mouth publicity, video games,

Ebooks, brochures, software, text messages, yellow pages, you can use viral marketing techniques

to enhance web traffic for free.

Be a Social Bee

Social networking is the order of the day. Where else to share information about your website

than on Facebook, Twitter etc.

Around the Globe Through Advertising

Internet advertising has gone from its nascent stage to being the next buzz on Internet. Spread

your presence around the globe by sharing information for audiences all across the globe, in dif-

ferent nations, and if possible in different languages. This generates web traffic and people with

knowledge about their particular language can find it easier to read information on your website.

Freebies are Effective

Distribute freebies like CDS, DVDs through your website. Just ask for a free sign up and give your

users an opportunity to get some information about your website and some other information.

Hopefully, through this write up, you must have become aware of some steps on 'how to increase

website traffic for free'. Use these methods to your advantage and drive web traffic on your web-

site. And definitely, these are not the only ways. There are various other ways on how to increase

web traffic for free. Just keep your eyes and ears open and you will find various effective ways of

driving web traffic without spending money.

F. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search engine marketing is an Internet marketing tool, which popularizes a website by optimizing

its results when searched. Use

this tool to make the most for

your website to carve your

niche in the market.

Importance of Pay Per Click in Search

Engine Optimization Service

Pay Per Click is used on search en-

gines, advertising networks, blogs,

where advertisers have to pay when a

user actually clicks on an ad to visit the advertiser's website.

SEM or search engine marketing is a form of Internet marketing that promotes websites by enhancing

their position in search engine result pages. Pay Per Click is one of the methods adopted in search engine

marketing.

Now one may ask, what is Pay Per Click? Many consider Pay Per Click as an easy method of reaching the

top rank on search engine results page. But it is not so. This method can however if used in a discreet

manner one it may help to improve the rank.

Pay Per Click (PPC) is used on search engines, advertising networks, blogs, where advertisers have to pay

when a user actually clicks on an ad to visit the advertiser's website. Advertisers make a bid on keywords,

which they consider as their target market may use as search terms while looking for a product or service.

When a keyword query, matching the advertiser's keyword list is typed by the advertiser, or views a page

with relevant content, the advertiser's ad is visible. These ads are known as "Sponsored link" or "spon-

sored ads" and appear above the "natural" results on search engine results pages.

Many customers may feel that PPC being a paid marketing strategy is an easy thing to handle, when it is

actually not so. The PPC advertising campaigns often face stiff competition when it comes to price bid-

ding and it is definitely not an easy task to manage a series of advertisements, keeping into mind the fi-

nancial aspect. One has to be very careful before engaging any Search Engine Placement Services.

Before engaging the Search Engine Optimization Service one should find out whether the SEO firm has

the experience and expertise in PPC advertising model so that they can work out the complete PPC cam-

paign for the client and can give assurance of its success. Moreover, the professionally qualified consult-

ants should be able to provide the best deals on PPC services for guaranteed increase in the business pro-

spects. The Search Engine Placement Service needs to be very competitive and cost effective, giving the

best guarantee for assured results.

G. Home Based Affiliate Business.

Home based affiliate businesses are slowly coming to prominence and there are several people who are

opting for such a side business, to make some extra cash. In the following article, a considerable explana-

tion to the features and business opportunities for home based affiliate businesses have been provided.

To know more about such home based businesses read on

If you are asking the question 'how to start a home based affiliate business', then you have reached the

perfect place on the web. Enhanced communication systems such as the Internet and telephones, has ex-

panded the horizons of work at home based business opportunities. Fifty years back such business oppor-

tunities were small in number and there were very few people who actually undertook such businesses

which were operated from home offices. Today however, many stay-at-home parents undertake such

businesses to earn some extra income. People who work on a full time basis, also tend to take up such

opportunities as side businesses. There are several advantages and some limited disadvantages of such

home based affiliate business schemes. Such businesses are also excellent avenues to start a business with

little or no money.

In the following paragraphs, some work at home business opportunities have been described. A round

about and brief job description and requirements for starting a business of this sort have also been in-

cluded. Have a look…

Internet Advertising and Marketing

The concept of Internet advertising and marketing is the best example of Internet home businesses. Such

businesses basically require a computer, Internet connection and a good language. In Internet advertising

the company will ask you to write reviews and feed back on different media, portals, blogs and in some

cases social networking sites. Employers of such businesses usually tend to pay you on the volume of

work that you have completed. Potential employer home based Internet affiliate business companies in-

clude, marketing, sales and advertising companies and also consumer goods manufacturing companies.

The best aspect of such a business is that there is no obligation regarding the volume of work that is to be

completed per week or month. You may also refer to business marketing, for further inputs. In some cases

such business is also known as a cash only survey. In such a business , you will have to participate in sev-

eral questionnaire and review surveys.

Multi level Marketing

A new kind of business model that is being adopted is that of Multi Level Marketing (MLM). In such a

marketing you become a customer, cum agent, of the company that provides some specific services and

you will have the power to recruit a specified number of people below you, who will further recruit people

beneath them. After every new recruit under your pyramid, the company will reward you. Such a kind of

business model is sometimes also known as network marketing. In the network marketing, the maximum

number of recruits that can be taken is larger than that of multi level marketing. This home based affiliate

business model is used by companies who provide services and, in some cases, take a monthly or yearly

subscription. Media companies, travel companies, software companies often take in such MLM models to

successfully market their products. You may refer to MLM leads for marketing ideas.

Direct Sales

The home based affiliate marketing business can sometimes also be used for direct sales. People in the

western world often demand goods and services from eastern countries and vice versa. Producer compa-

nies cannot afford to set up an office in some other country, hence, they appoint a sales agent who oper-

ates the sales and marketing operation as a home based affiliate business. This business is often consid-

ered to be a business franchise of the producer company. In some cases, to setup the business a special-

ized knowledge of the product and its market is also required. In some cases regionally produced com-

modities can also be sold by home based businesses. Some financial institutions also appoint insurance,

securities and credit agents for sales. Travel and home and lifestyle companies also, many a times include,

home based affiliate business for sales.

There are countless home based affiliate business opportunities and it is anticipated that they will go on

increasing, owing to the fact that companies find marketing, advertising and selling their products

through such home based affiliate businesses very convenient and also a lot cheaper. Some other oppor-

tunities include answering service jobs from home and assisted living business, which are some of the very

needed businesses in today's society. It must be however noted that such home based business income

opportunities should be taken up by stay-at-home parents or as passive income sources as the total yield

of the activity is good but not exactly over the top. Exercise caution while undertaking such an activity. I

hope that the elaboration on the home based affiliate business proves to be resourceful.

3. Introduction of Social Networking

What is Social Networking ?

Socializing on the web has attained an all new level, with millions of users continuously hooked on to this

addictive medium of social networking. Meeting new people, making new friends and staying in touch

with them, has become so easy, thanks to this interactive web medium of social networking. These social

networking websites have given us loads of fun stuff to do online.

Meeting New People Online: Tips

To make new friends online, you have to be very clear about your Intent. Why do you want to know

someone? It is fairly simple to go on adding

thousands of friends on any of your social

networking account but if you really wish to

learn how to meet people online, you must

know your intent of what you're doing. Your

intent may can be anything like you're bored

of being single and you're searching for a po-

tential soul mate, you're starting a new busi-

ness and so you need to contact people who

have done it before, you love poetry writing

and so you wish to join forums or websites

that promote poetry writing.

The reason why you wish to meet new people

completely depends on individual preferences

and needs. Once you're clear about why you wish to know new people, you can proceed to the next step;

to join relevant websites. If you wish to date someone, you can join reliable adult dating websites. If you

just wish to promote your business, you can add people working with same business ideas by joining a

social networking website like Facebook or twitter.

Apart from these options, you can start blogging and follow or invite numerous people who're active

bloggers. In fact, there are a large number of blogging networks that even conduct monthly and quarterly

meetings of bloggers by considering geographical locations. You can meet new people even there.

If you wish, you can use online chat rooms wherein you can talk to like minded people. So are you getting

how to meet people online? For effective people search, you have to use Internet search engines. Just

type the relevant keywords in Google search engine or Yahoo and go the desired websites, register your-

self (in some cases registration is free while in some, it is chargeable) and lo! You're there, with a profile in

the cyber world.

While it is fairly easy to make new friends online, as an Internet technology user, you must be aware about

Internet safety steps. Given the enormity of the cyberspace, it is one of the most vulnerable technologies.

There are whooping number of Internet dating scams that can leave you shattered if you're not joining

reliable sources or in case, you're being foolish by divulging more than necessary information about your-

self. An awareness of online dating advantages and disadvantages is essential to ensure that your privacy

is not infiltrated by people with nefarious pursuits. Even the latest social mania, facebook has several

threats. Facebook dangers can be controlled by limiting your information on this website and being aware

of safety settings.

The trick is to meet people online safely and that is the vital point to research when gathering information

about how to meet people online. Online users must understand that they must take all precautions while

meeting new people online, as their safety is more important that increasing friend's count.

About the Author Hussain Ali is the man behind a focal

point of his passion for Social Media,

Graphic Designing and IT. He is the principle Co-founder of Social Media

Kuwait & Founder of Software World Solutions India.

He has earned several qualifications,

Including a Bachelor of Arts Degree with honors in Graphic design, Network

Professional and Electronic Media.

Click the below Links & Follow me

Email : info.hussainobri@gmail.com

Acknowledgments

I would like to personally thank the following people for their contributions to inspiring me

for this book:

Abdulaziz Binhouhou

Ghadeer Al-Essa

Danah Alasfour

Abeer Al Abduljalil

© Copyright Software World Solutions 2009-2011. All rights reserved.

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