What is the place where people are more likely to share videos and sites? Facebook! you may answer but in the past few months there is another site that seems to have become extremely popular these days.

Two years ago, StumbleUpon was the main driver for social media traffic, but lost market share to Facebook  over the last 18 months. As of August, Facebook has fallen to about 38% of all U.S. traffic while sites like Twitter, Myspace, Digg, Reddit, YouTube and others are in a distant third. StumbleUpon has a relatively small user base (12 million) compared to Facebook (750 million), but the service is specifically designed to “stumble” between websites and continuing to check out new links.

Does this mean that Facebook is loosing it’s edge when it comes to being the number one social media site? Well, no. On an international level, Facebook is still on top with a user base of around 750M users in comparison with Stumbleupon which only has a mere 12M users. Still, it seems this site does have an edge over Facebook.

People are much more likely to share sites they’ve found on Stumble upon than on Facebook. This basically means that if you are planning to advertise a website, it is more likely to get noticed on Stumbleupon than on Facebook. Though the site may lack in terms of features, the site focuses on a single aspect that it has become good at-sharing websites and videos.

If you are using social media in your advertising campaigns, you would do well to look into using other social media sites that are good at what they do such as Stumbleupon.

More info here.

Social media has given the everybody in the world the chance to connect and keep connected. It’s a great place to meet friends, find old colleagues and develop new friendships. No matter how ‘free’ some people feel on these sites, the truth is, people you meet on them should be treated like they would if you met them in person.

Keeping good online etiquette when on these sites is extremely important. Here are some things to remember.

• Be clear and honest to avoid misinterpretation.  The thing with social media is that it’s so easy to be understood.  This isn’t something you would want to  happen since it can cause a lot of loss especially if you are a business using online marketing. Make sure everything you say on these sites is clear and true.
• Say please and Thank you. Whenever somebody shares something that is in your best interests, remember to thank them. People have to feel appreciated and a simple ‘thank you’ may be all they need. In addition, it shows that you notice and aren’t only after what you can get from them.
• Keep your fingers in check. Always think before you comment or say anything on these sites. It usually takes a single careless comment to ruin relationships for good. Try and avoid using these sites as your personal outlet and keep things professional.
• Expand your network. Do what you can to expand  your circle of friends. This will have a huge impact on your ratings and reputation.

Online social marketing is a very effective marketing method to employ but can also be used against you if you aren’t careful. In order to keep your online reputation up, you must keep good manners and maintain proper etiquette online.

Additional tips can be found here.

Social media has indeed become a very powerful tool being used by businesses both big and small businesses. Traditional marketing alone has become seldomly used by companies these days. Still, there are many ways in which traditional methods still have an edge. One of these is when it comes to regulation. Newspapers, TV and other sources of media can be controlled to some degree. Even when customers don’t like what is being advertised, their opinions can’t really have such huge effects.

When it comes to social media, there is no controlling what and how news is spread. This can be a good thing if it is in favor of your business. The problem arises when comments are negative. One unhappy client simply needs to post something negative on their site and in minutes, your ‘bad’ reputation is is spread. Shrugging off such a spread as ‘temporary’  can be dangerous. Companies must act so that they can control how this news is spread.

One very important thing to consider is how you talk to your customers on these social media sites. Talking ‘at’ them gives a selfish impression that won’t be good at all. Your customers will think of you as simply a company trying to get something from them. A better way to interact is to talk ‘with’ them instead. Try and direct these converstations to involve  youself but also be a good listener.

The way news spreads on social media isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, many defects have been identified because of customers’ complaints on these sites. The key here is to build your integrity online and get your customers to trust you.

Marketers must find creative ways of directing these conversations, involving themselves, and, most importantly, listening to what’s being said.  Using this information, adjustments can be made to more effectively serve buyers’ needs.

Read more here.

Credit: maximumpc.com

Internet rage has come to a totally new level thanks to social media. Comments that are full of obscene language, derogatory terms and all the foul speech you can think of.  If you are a company using social media to get clients and get those sales up, is internet rage good for your company? Here are some things to think about:

It’s more of a protest. When people express their disgust on something posted on your wall, it’s not like they’re just being bad. Usually, they do have valid reasons behind these comments. Social media has therefore become a place people can protest about anything they want without worrying about facing any consequences.  Is this good for your company then? Well, since many people who share the sentiments will ‘like’ or comment in the same manner, you’ll be able to determine if there is need to address their complaints.

It moves to action. Think of it-without social media, how would you know what your customers really feel about your product? How would you know if you have to change  your strategies or something?  You wouldn’t. You’d be in the dark just hoping your doing the right thing and chances are by the time you realize your unpopularity, you would  have had a lot of losses made.  With internet rage though, you get to change course before it’s too late.

What should y0u do about it? Blocking or banning people who tend to post ‘negative’ comments on  your wall really won’t get you anywhere. If you block them on your page, they simply might start a new page focused on ‘bringing you down’! Yep, a thousand ‘angry’ comments is far better and easier to deal with than a thousand ‘pages’. The truth is, internet rage can be used to  your benefit. You can address serious concerns as they come and change  your company’s direction with these comments.

Read more here.

First of all, is can and should you trust anyone when it comes to the internet? I mean, we all know whatever goes on there stays there so why bother? Well, the fact doesn’t change that Facebook and Google are two of the most effective marketing tools a company can use out there. Whether you find them safe or not- if you want to compete, YOU MUST USE THEM!

This being said, the question is which of the two deserves to be trusted more? Well, many would answer Google and I do agree with them. Think about these simple facts that really make you think twice before you trust Facebook.

• The man behind the book. When you compare the men behind Google and Facebook, it’s quite clear who deserves to be trusted more. I mean, how can you compare the ‘college guy’ Mark Zuckerburg to the two MEN who founded Google? It’s discriminating or anything, it’s just that it matters. Facebook is basically a ‘college project’ that happened to become popular. The only reason why businesses seem to flock to it is just because of the audience it’s been able to reach-nothing more.
• The trend in privacy settings. We all heard about the issue that came about because Facebook added the new face tagging thing without informing users first. Now if you ask me, someone who can do those things behind my back really is’t someone I’d like to trust. Compare that with Google, well let’s say they’ve never been any privacy issues.

Whatever happened to being fair, giving the benefit of the doubt and not judging you may ask? When it comes to privacy, you really have to take sides. Your reputation is at stake-that’s definitely not something you’d want to gamble with.

Read more here.

Credit: onlinebusiness.volusion.com

With the increased focus on social media marketing, you may ask if you still should put some effort into traditional marketing methods. How much focus should you put into each of these marketing strategies for you to have the best results?

It really depends. On what exactly? On your objectives, on your kind of business and on how much you can afford. If your business is more of a retail one for example, advertising your products online would be a great marketing tool. On the other hand, imagine you have some service you provide for a particular area, broadcasting that to the whole world really won’t be practical.

Is there place for traditional marketing methods? There definitely is. Before you really decide where to direct your marketing budget, you must be very familiar with your objective. Here are some don’ts when it comes to marketing your business:

• Don’t do ‘send to many’ vibes. Never use social media as you would your phone and text a single message to a whole group of friends. You won’t get much response from this. Always make sure it’s personalized.
• Don’t direct your attention to so many sites and leave it at that. You should sign up on sites that you know will be good for your business. Different social media sites are good for particular kinds of businesses.
• Don’t be rigid. You have to be extra flexible when it comes to the methods you choose for your marketing. Going with change is the only way to be successful. Always be willing to learn.

When you see chance to, also make room for traditional marketing which will also be what you  need to combine all your marketing efforts.  Traditional and social marketing should go hand in hand if you are to have success.

Read more tips here.

If you’ve already got all the social media sites that you think you need, you may not be quite interested in getting one more. Google +  currently has about 5M users in the short time it has been introduced. Is it just like the other social media sites though? There are a couple of features that make it quite unique.

Circles not Just Friends

With Facebook, we all know how it works- it’s either you’re friends or not. Though you can share specific things with specific people, the process of editing every one of these settings and customizing who gets to see them is really cumbersome.

Google + has come up with a really interesting and practical solution to this problem. You can create your own circles and share different things with each or your circles. With your High School friends, all those party pics would be something to share. For closer friends, you can share your updates, feelings or whatever. Only those in that circle get to see what you share with them!

This is a huge revolution when it comes to how you share stuff with. The good thing is they don’t get to know under what circle you’ve put them in so it really stays personal and is far more realistic.

Keeping Privacy up

With the way Google + works, you can really sift the groups of people you want to share stuff with. Down to  your updates! Instead of having a single status message, you can have several that can be seen by different circles. This will help you keep your ‘private’ information PRIVATE.

Updates with Spark

This is a feature that allows you to get information on whatever things interests you. It as good as brings the power of Google alerts into your site. This is definitely something other social media sites don’t have.

All in One

If you’re thinking Facebook still has an edge with the video thing it’s started-think again! You can both chat and video chat with friends using ‘Hangouts’. And so can you connect your Google+ account to your mobile phone just like all the other Social media sites.

You may have thought that Google+ is a super professional site that will be no fun at all but this isn’t at all the case! It’s everything all your social media sites have to offer and much more. It isn’t JUST another social media site.

Read more here.

With all the negative feedback about the dangers about social media, you may wonder if it’s really worth it. If you’ve already had an account on all the recent social networking sites for some time, without seeing anything happening. So is it really worth it? The time, the privacy issues and all. Just why should you bother with Social media anyway?

It’s with the way you can convert all those ‘followers’ into customers. This doesn’t come automatically though. You really have to work for it. In short, it will be waste of time and effort and all the other ‘negative’ things if you allow it to.

The key is coming up with strategies. Don’t expect that simply having a profile will be good enough for you to benefit from your social media. Know where to get an account, take care of your account, be interactive.

If you want to make sure that your followers don’t stay passive but really get engaged in your business is to make things fun. You can post for example some competition on your wall that will have some perk in store for them. Give them reason to want to get and keep connected to you.

It’s always about ‘what will this do for me’ so make it interesting.

Look at what your doing right now with your social media efforts and ask yourself this question – What could I do that would entice some percentage of my followers to willingly and joyfully give me their email address? – answer that and you’ll turn your social media efforts into a powerful lead generation machine.

Read more here.

Credit:geeksontime.com

No matter how ‘not so social’ you may think you are, you probably have a Facebook account. If you are a businessman, all your employees also probably have their own personal accounts as well. If  you have seen the advantage of allowing the use of Facebook while at work, what can you do to protect your company’s information?

We know how powerful social media has become so it really is a huge problem if you aren’t able to protect your company. Here are a few tips that will help.

• Keep applications up-to-date. The applications we are talking about here are those anti-virus and web protection programs that you obviously have. This will make sure no information leaks into the web from some bad software. Keeping these updated will protect your information and your employees from cyber criminals.
• Get your network secured. Though networking has a lot of benefits, the truth is it makes it easier for information to leak. Make sure you have an extremely secure network. Get hold of all the security applications you may need.
• Set limitations for your employees. Have clear guidelines as to what you will and will not allow to be done during office hours. Try and cultivate a feeling of responsibility in your employees so they know what is expected of them.

Boasting more than 500 million active users worldwide, the social networking site is now being targeted by cybercriminals. For example, last year spammers exploited two Facebook bugs in a week. The bugs allowed spammers to flood the service with messages promoting scams, such as links to a website where they could “win” an iPhone by filling in their personal information.

Read more here.

Credit:growmap.com

Well, do you care about your personal reputation first of all? Definitely yes! What people think about you really does matter. The old ‘I don’t care what people say’ doesn’t work at all especially when  it comes to your business. The fact is people will base a lot of their conclusions about you from your reputation. This is even without trying your services first. Yes, REPUTATION is the lifeline of your business.

With the increased popularity of online marketing, you have another problem at hand-how to manage your repuation online. If you are a brandname for example, being able to control your reputation should be top priority. Here are some things that online reputation companies can do for you:

• Protect your company from negative comments. When it comes to reputation online, the mechanics are simple: the more negative comments out there about your company, chances are people will choose your competitor instead.  What can be done about this? Countering the negative with positive. Logging into forums and the like and spreading ‘good’ things about your site.
• Higher ranks on the SERPS. With more positive things being said, more people visit your site, more people ‘like’ and ‘tweet’ about you and viola! You’re up on the SERPS.
• Creating the right face. Having a good reputation will create a trust in your target audience. They will then view you as a trustworthy source and will be more likely to support you.

Social media sites are great and easy platforms to use to market your business, but can quickly become detrimental if your accounts aren’t managed correctly. But managing numerous accounts, which is needed to obtain greater visibility, can be difficult, expensive, and time consuming ñ especially for smaller businesses. To alleviate the burden of maintaining social network accounts, blogging, and websites, many businesses are turning to firms offering online reputation management services.

Read more here.