Social media is quickly changing the way that companies do business and interact with potential customers. Even though social media is a relatively new medium, lots of companies have developed very effective social media strategies to harness the power of the social web. For a company just implementing internet marketing knowing where to start can be daunting task. Start with the larget social networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter, before going to smaller niche sites. Below are some helpful pointers to help you hit the ground running.

Source: HubSpot

The 7 steps below work for internet marketing, ecommerce, B2B and even publishers. I’m also going to share some examples from each as well. However before we get to each of the steps, I’d like to make sure you can manage and impact your Facebook Fan conversion rate. I urge you add Google analytics to your Facebook page so that you can get better insights into who is visiting the page and how they are getting there.

1. Offer a Custom Welcome Page

Many of the most highly engaged Facebook fan pages have leveraged the ability to take non-fans to a custom welcome page instead of taking them directly to their wall. If you don’t know how to do that my friend Mari Smith can walk you through adding this custom landing tab to your Facebook fan page.

2. Remind Them Why

I am hoping you have built a customer experience that is truly remarkable much the way Zappos has. People really do love Zappos. Notice how they not only remind them of that on their welcome tab but how they also remind them that by Liking them on Facebook they get access to exclusive content. If you are truly a fan then you’ll really want access to something exclusive. Zappos also does another brilliant tactic by highlighting their Fan of the Week in their banner. People might kill for money but they’ll more likely die for recognition. So don’t forget to recognize your top fans.

3. Offer Them an Incentive

People may need a little more to get them to click the Like button than just being reminded how awesome you are. So once they see your custom landing tab, you’ll want to offer them a powerful reason to Like you. What I love about the way HubSpot does this is that the offer regularly changes and that they promote it through their various channels as a seamless experience. Who doesn’t like getting something of value just for clicking a button?

4. You Don’t Get What You Don’t Ask For

If you don’t ask them to take an action with a good call-to-action then your visitors won’t take that action. Notice how L’Occitane combines an offer to win a free trip to Provence on their custom landing tab with an arrow pointing to the Like button and asking you to Like them.

5. Make it Interactive

The biggest advantage a Facebook Fan page offers is the ability to interact with your customers - the opportunity to dialogue. Make sure to highlight this interactivity on the welcome tab. Notice how BMW shows a video that features two of their fans. I also like the design of their call-to-action. Another way you can make your page interactive is by adding a bit of personalization to your Facebook Fan page and adding your visitors name to the page.

6. Tease Them

Depending on your brand and on what you are offering on your Facebook fan page you may not want to open your kimono all at once. I have seen many pages like Red Bull use a graphic that teases their visitors to like them first before they engage with your content. A note of caution here: A. people must have some really strong reasons to like your brand in the first place B. the content you offer after the tease better not disappoint them.

7. Give Them All the Info

Ultimately, people like to connect to people and Smashing magazine does a great job highlighting the staff behind their fabulous publication. I highly suggest you have an additional tab to talk about the people behind your company and don’t forget to fill out all the information on your info tab (including several links) and on your about us section.

Source: HubSpot

Being introduced to the world of social networking can be overwhelming at first. Questions may arise such as: How do I go about using this for my personal use or in my company? Many will wonder if internet marketing is as efficient as people say. You will not become rich overnight and you certainly will not have a positive impression of social media if you do not know how to properly utilize it. Below is a list of the 6 C’s of social networking that will help you understand the way that the social world works on the internet.

Source: The 6 C’s of Social Networking

1. Connecting

Connecting/friending/following etc is the starting point. A key thing to think about when you start out using social media is what you are trying to achieve and focus your networking activity on that. And remember that you would not go into a real life networking event, march up to someone you have not met before, give them your card and say that you want to connect – so don’t do that using sites like LinkedIn – take a moment to personalize your invitation!

2. Conversation

…which is where the development of a relationship happens. Just like it always has been. You can comment on a Facebook wall, or add an @ response on Twitter or send an email using LinkedIn. The additional benefit to doing this publicly is that others notice you too. It still holds that you should be cautious about butting in on somebody’s conversation in a social event or on the train but in the social media world it’s fine – as long as you have something interesting and relevant to say of course which brings us to…

3. Content

A few interesting posts/tweets/comments trumps a series of drivel any time. Talk about things that you think others might find interesting. Test out ideas, look at what others do and experiment until you find what works for you and your company. Always use your own “voice” because if you are aiming to eventually meet people in real life that you have built a relationship with online you want to continue on from what you have started.

4. Credibility

When people are getting to know you online they will look for social proof to back that up. Who do you mix/have conversations with? What kind of links do you share? Who do you follow/like? Statements about your strength/skills/knowledge in an area should be backed up by some evidence. This of course has always been the case but Google etc makes it much easier for potential buyers/clients to check what you say for themselves.

5. Collaboration

An early concern about using social networking for business was that your competitors can see what you are doing and who you are speaking to. Of course that is the case but on the flip side it can mean that they see an opportunity for working together that would be more appealing to a potential client. Collaborative working has huge possibilities!

6. Clients (and Customers)

Without this what is the point? Remember that all of the previous activity – how you approach it, how you commit to it and what you put into it – if done well will lead you to people who will pay for your product or service. This means of course that social media activity is WORK . It might feel like play – and indeed some employers consider that it only has that function – but to really do it well you should give it the same focus as any other part of your job.

For the full article click here.

Social media has become so important in our daily lives that we have given ourselves an entire day to celebrate it, and rightfully so. Social media is a crucial part of everything we do from connecting with family, making new friends, marketing businesses online and beyond. It gives us so many things everyday, it is only fair for us to dedicate one of our days specifically to it.

Source: Mashable

Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, was the first to proclaim June 30 as Social Media Day last year. Vancouver, B.C., followed suit shortly after with an official proclamation. Both the state of Arizona and the city of San Carlos, California, have officially designated June 30 as Social Media Day.

How Are You Celebrating?

Social Media Day is a day to celebrate the revolution of media becoming a social dialouge. There are currently 1,342 registered Social Media Day Meetups throughout the world with thousands of participants. You don’t need to register a Social Media meetup, your friends or co-workers could just arrange some sort of gathering strictly through social networking platforms. There are plenty of tools available for creating such an event. Facebook allows you to create private and public events and invite your friends. Twitter has tools like Tweetvite to tweet invitations at your friends and followers. Or tag your event with a unique hashtag, the official hashtag of the day is #SMday.

Arizona has a buzzing social media and technology scene with companies like Go Daddy and Limelight Networks based in the Phoenix area. As a National Technology Award winner with a socially-engaged local government, San Carlos is one of the Bay Area’s leaders in innovation. We’re excited both these places have officially recognized June 30 as a celebration of the tools that empower their citizens to communicate, connect and engage. Large technologically savvy cities all over the country and world like San Francisco, Seattle, New York, London have all planned events to celebrate Social Media Day. Smaller cities and towns have also arranged meet ups too. It should be an exciting day throughout the social media universe. How do you plan to celebrate it?

About Social Media Day

Social Media Day is a global celebration of the technological advancements that enable everyone to connect with real-time information, communicate from miles apart and have their voices be heard. We invite you to connect with fellow web enthusiasts by hosting a Social Media Day Meetup in your area. There’s no better way to celebrate the revolution of media becoming a social dialogue than by socializing with your online community offline.

Ways You Can Participate

• Sign up to attend or organize your own event on the Mashable Meetup Everywhere page.
• Share what you’re doing for your Meetup or leave suggestions for others in the comments below.
• Use the #SMday hashtag on Twitter.

Source: Mashable

We all want to do well on Twitter, we all want to reach out to as many people out there as possible. Developing a higher influence when it comes to internet marketing can help you in ways more than one. It can improve traffic to your website, help you gain publicity, get you noticed and make an impact – there are few things it can’t do. In social media, numbers of followers don’t equal influence, influence is built by how you interact and form your social circles. Here are the top 10 things found in all the influential tweeters.

Source: The Top 10 Blog

1. Share interesting and useful information

To put it bluntly, no one cares if you only tweet about yourself all day. Twitter isn’t built for people to rant about themselves. All influential tweeters share killer content – be it links, amazing photos, great blog posts, or inspiring quotes. Share something which will make a difference. Find something valuable and share!

2. Be grateful

Thank people – it doesn’t make you smaller in any way. There are many ways to thank and express gratitude. You can retweet them, list them, or just send them a ‘thank you’ tweet. Also a great way is to give them a Follow Friday mention.

3. Respond and reciprocate

Why reciprocate? Because it is important to give back. Because it is Twitter Etiquette. It’s not the “I scratch your back and you scratch my back”, but instead it is the “Thanks for doing this for me, I’d love to help you too”. See the difference?

4. Tweet regularly

This is essential because you have to stay in your followers’ minds and not be forgotten. Of course, short breaks are okay. But a long hiatus can hinder your influence. Your Klout score (which is a measure of your social media influence) can go down if you don’t tweet and interact for a long time.

5. Tweet at the right time

Find good stuff and deliver it – at the right time. Find out when Twitter is more active and buzzing with tweets, and tweet at that time. If you want to reach out to people from different timezones, schedule your tweets.

6. Be original

Create content that stands out. Something that people haven’t read before. Don’t be scared to put forth your point of view – but be careful when you do so. Original content always gains the spotlight and has the ability to go viral.

7. Don’t spam/Auto DM

This doesn’t need further explanation, does it? All of us have had experiences with automated DMs and spambots. The most common one I’ve read is – “Thanks for following me – now let’s connect on Facebook as well [Link]”. Umm, I just followed you on Twitter, and you want us to be connected on Facebook so soon? Not cool. *unfollowed*. See? Auto DM doesn’t work.

8. Reach out

Engage. Don’t wait for people to come to you, go out to people. Tweeters don’t become influential just by making a Twitter account and tweeting away. You have to *find* people to follow and engage with them. Learn from them, give them something to learn.

For the full article click here.

As an Internet Marketing Company, good social media strategy is a crucial part of everyday life. Social media is the cool kid on the inbound marketing block right now. Most members of the marketing community are obsessed with the topic and are moving fast to develop new social media strategies. The problem with many social media strategies though, is that they are blown up and overstuffed with “social media junk.”

Source: 7 Tactics to Delete From Your Social Media Strategy Now

1. A Bloated Strategy Doc

Having a clear policy is important for any aspect of marketing (or business for that matter). The problem is, some businesses use bloated, 50-page strategy documents as a way to evade actually doing anything or accomplishing real results. Stop this today. Set a deadline for the review and approval of the strategy document and be ready to move forward. The web moves at a fast pace, and being agile is more important than having a manuscript that outlines every “What if?” situation.

2. Product-Centric Content

Social media can provide value in all stages of the buying cycle. That being said, many marketers primarily use it as a tool to establish reach and generate leads at the tip-top of the funnel. At this stage of social media strategy, product-focused content should be avoided. Social media connections are often only just beginning to learn about your business. Therefore, use social media as a tool for building trust and credibility early in the buying cycle.

3. Guessing

The goal of using social media is not just to get your feet wet. Instead, it is about achieving meaningful business result in a defined period of time. A great social media strategy has clear and quantitative objectives. Another key aspect is to prepare for data collection and analytics. How will you gather the data to know if you’ve met your objectives?

4. Multiple Social Media Profiles on One Network

Social media marketing isn’t easy. Adding several social media profiles for your business on one social network makes your job exponentially more difficult. For example, don’t create a different Twitter account for each of your products and services. Instead create one, single account for your business so you can consolidate your reach and influence in one, centralized place. It is much easier to construct a community on one profile instead of 10. By this same token, it is unnecessary to make a profile on every social media platform. You will be wasting your time on an audience that isn’t listening, or worse, no audience at all. Test the waters on a few main profiles and see how the community responds to you.

For the full article and more tips, click here.

What else would you add to this list? What makes a great social media strategy? Let us know in the comments!