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Let’s face it-KEEPING customers loyal to you is much harder than FINDING them. You may simply have been the people they came in contact with when they needed your services but it doesn’t really mean that they will close their doors on using your competitors as well. How can you get your customers to be loyal to you and only you?

Social media can be a huge help in this area. You can use your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and all to make sure that  your customers stick to you.  Here’s why this will work.

1. If you have a brand on these sites and connect with your customers, they will likely share this with friends. In short, simply showing some appreciation and getting them to be connected will be all you need to get even more customers! It’ll be as good as ‘using’ them to market for you.
2. People will more likely choose their word over yours. Being a company, you will only sound like you are after more customers but from somebody who has tried your services, they are more likely to believe.

There you have it. With social media around, keeping your customers loyal to you doesn’t have to be  difficult. Simply create a page, get connected to keep them interested and even get them to share you with friends.

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It’s not only businesses that are finding it practical to promote their services on social media sites. A scary development has been reported on these sites-gangs are also using them to promote their ideas. Why should this be of concern?

Kids are online a lot of the time-we all know that. If they are leading ‘clean’ lives free from any ‘bad influence’ they may find themselves in the wrong crowd online. Parents therefore are advised to keep an eye on their children’s online lives.

Just what are these gangsters doing online? For one, they are posting videos on their activities such as beatings. They are using these social media sites to gain more members.

How can you know if your child has been influenced? One sign according to the experts is if your child starts wearing the same color for a long time. Gangs usually have color symbols so if your kid suddenly becomes a red or black fan-there might be something wrong.

ROCKVILLE, Md. (WUSA) – - Montgomery County Police say more local gangs are using social media to communicate with others, even coordinating criminal activity.

Officer Amy Daum said, “We used to see these kids flashing colors and gang signs in their neighborhood now we’re seeing them do the same thing on social media.”

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With the popularity of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites, many companies are finding it beneficial to create a profile on these sites. Marketing online with the help of social media has lead many to increase their revenue a lot. Would it be wise though to focus all efforts on these sites and forget about your website?

That would be a huge mistake! The fact is Websites and social media should work hand in hand to promote your business properly. If you simply use social media, there is very little that you will be able to accomplish.

Social media sites have a limit when it comes to the number of characters you can post. This means you can’t say much at once. Only on a website can you do this. You can give more information about your business if you have a website.

The key is  balance. Keep your website. In fact, upgrade it and do whatever you can to get its ranks up. Then use Social media to direct traffic to your site. This will be a far better strategy.

What companies should all keep in mind is that social media cannot stand alone. For you to be effective, you have to use other online marketing techniques and bring them together on your social media sites.

In other words, social media needs to support a company’s Web site, and a Web site needs to support a company’s social media efforts. They complement and work for each other as opposed to competing. It’s not an either/or proposition.

More information here.

ATHLETES competing at the London Olympics next year will be encouraged to use social media and blogging sites on the internet but only within strict limits imposed by the International Olympic Committee.

What’s the reason behind this policy? Basically, the Committee is trying to prevent careless comments about their partners who fund the games. Being part of the competition, they too should feel some responsibility in protecting the people  that made the games possible.

What are some things that athletes are to avoid? Quite a few:

• No comments about competitors, other participants performance or accredited persons during the games.
• No videos or audios that have been recorded during the games though personal photos are allowed.
• No use of the Olympic symbol of rings in any way

Do they have a right to set such guidelines? Or are they encroaching on athletes personal lives? Before entering the competition, all participants agree to follow any guidelines set before them. If the committee choose to include boundaries when it comes to social media, they have the right to. Athletes are obliged to comply.

Just how serious are they about following these social networking policies? Well, if you are guilty of breaking these rules, you can end up getting thrown out of the games! Yes, they really do mean business.

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