5 Signs Your Social Media Strategy Needs A Status Update

Anyone who has a business, product or service to market in today's world definitely needs to focus on a social media strategy aimed at generating followers, and, in turn, generating sales and conversions. With the majority of today's consumers, regardless of age or socio-economic background, accessing multiple social media websites hourly, it is of utmost importance to find your digital voice and incorporate a succinct online message into a digitally visible brand. For many people new to the world of online marketing, delving into social media can be a daunting and stressful task. Fortunately, there are some sure-tell signs that you are not quite mastering social media:

1. You haven't conducted an in-depth branding review lately.

A brand is everything to a company, business or product. The brand explains the message and the values of your company. Research shows that consumers and customers want to feel an emotional connection with a business. They want their commercial transactions to mean something. To understand how you can emotionally connect with a potential customer, it is important to align your social media strategy with your brand. You should constantly check your analytics and check your research. This should give you an indication of what your brand should be and how it should reach your best customer. An in-depth brand review should be conducted periodically and regularly to maintain the biggest edge.

2. You're not telling a story.

Again, customers want to make an emotional connection. In today's world, people are constantly looking for meaning in every part of their lives, and this includes in the products they purchase and the services in which they engage. Telling a story in an online presence should involve many photographs and many videos. You need to give your customers something and/or someone with whom they can connect. If you do not have a cohesive story to tell, chances  are strong that you are not doing it right.

3. You aren't basing your content on your research.

Research and analytics are vital to a successful marketing campaign. Accurate data will reflect your buying trends. A strong program that is able to analyze the data is even more important. These analytics can present a concise picture of who your best customer or patient is. These programs go beyond the basics of age, sex, and location and instead give you a window into the lives of the people most likely to engage in your business. Good research should tell you which social media platforms your clients utilize and how often.

4. You aren't updating correctly.

This may seem basic, but it is surprising how many users do not update correctly. You should be posting updates a certain amount of times a day to maintain an interesting and catchy platform. If you post too often, however, you run the risk of alienating your loyal followers. Your social media strategy should have a succinct plan for updates based on your analytics from the data and research you have hopefully collected.

5. You aren't utilizing multiple platforms.

Research shows that the majority of people who engage in one form of social media generally engage in a secondary format. This just means that most people are tapping into and connecting with multiple sites daily. This can be a combination of both Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and other sites. Again, in order to effectively focus your social media strategy, you should base the media platforms upon your research of your best client.

Looking to update your social media strategy? Visit MindEcology.com today for more information!

SOURCE

Why Is Building An Email List So Important?

An email list is the bread and butter of an online business. It's a collected list of email addresses of customers and prospects that have filled out a form to receive your messages. These email addresses are collected into a database that allows you to easily send out messages both immediately and automated to all the people on your list, or specific ones that you choose.

So why is building an email list so important?

1. You Get Permission

When you get someone to join your email list, you are basically getting permission to communicate and continue marketing to them via email. By subscribing, they are telling you that they want to hear from you and what you have to offer.

2. You Own Your Email List

You don't own your Facebook Page - Facebook does. You don't own your Twitter profile - Twitter does. And it's the same with all your other social media accounts that have followers. The point is, when you're building an email list of people who are interested in what you have to offer, you actually own that list of people. It's an asset you can use to build your online business.

3. You Control Traffic

Building an email list building is the best way to get people to come back to your website. Once you've successfully gotten people to subscribe to your email list, all you have to do is send an email out to your subscribers with a link back to your latest post or information product.

4. It's The Professional Way To Contact Customers

Today most consumers are used to giving their email address to a business, or understand that when they make a purchase the business will need their email address. Email is a common way to communicate and contact customers and is very accepted by most people.

5. Email Marketing Increases Conversion Rates

There's no question that email marketing is one of the most, if not the most, effective forms of marketing that has ever existed. By using email to teach prospects about your business and offerings, you can increase conversions.

6. Email Let's You To Add Value

When you use email to contact people who have signed up to receive your messages, you're connected to them in a very intimate way. This affords you the opportunity, if you plan for it, to add extreme value to your customers' lives by sending them information that solves their problems.

7. Email Keeps You Super Close To Your Customers

You're always with your customers due to smartphones and the ability to send messages to your customers any time of the day. You can contact them at anytime easily with just a click of a button. Just think about how often you check your email.

You're not going to build your email list very fast with a bland opt in offer. If you're offering a boring, "seen it all before" report that doesn't address your visitor's problems with any urgency, they won't be enticed to give you their email details.To learn how you can build your email list with an opt in offer that your audience can't resist go to: http://jonallo.com/build-your-email-list-fast/

SOURCE

Step-By-Step How To Make Money Online

Are You Starting A Small Business?

Here are 3 directions that can help you succeed in today's digital business world. An online business can open the doors to a brave new world of creativity and marketing and provide you the ability to promote products at little startup cost and large potential for reward.

1. Affiliate Marketing: is a simple marketing arrangement by which an online business pays you the affiliate a commission for traffic or sales generated from its referrals, depending on the terms of the particular program. There are many types of online affiliate programs and the terms can be different from program, to program. The affiliate marketing concept can be applied to most any product from retail type consumer products that require shipping, to digital products that can be mostly automated.

Like anything there is work involved and nothing comes easy. Here are the pros and cons to take into account when thinking about starting an affiliate marketing business;

PROS: Affiliate marketing is simple to setup and you can become a reseller instantly with most affiliate programs. With low startup costs, you can earn a profit by selling just a few affiliate products in many cases. With affiliate marketing you have a very low operating cost and usually just occur domain name and hosting charges. Marketing costs should also be taken into consideration. With the ability to get started with limited-to-no-capital your risk is very low with affiliate marketing.

CONS: Affiliate marketing can be a lot of work, and in most cases you will face a lot of competition so you're not going to be bringing in money instantly, it can take time. Like any online business you need to build an online presence including your social media, content writing and basic search engine optimization. Simply said, affiliate marketing like any business, requires hard work, you can't just sit back to reap the benefits without the work.

2. Sell your Own Products: Choosing to sell your own products online can be very profitable and a smart decision. One of the first things you will require is a credit card merchant account to accept online payments and have the money deposited into your bank account. The products you sell are anything you create under your own steam. You can sell your art creations, paintings, writing skills, handmade items, and just about anything you have an interest in creating. Do some research and make sure you have a marketplace for your unique skill.

Here are some pros and cons to take into consideration when selling your own products online as a business;

PROS: Selling your own products and creations, if you enjoy creating the products you will be selling then typically you're going to enjoy the business you will be building. This might be the most important point factor to consider overall. Another benefit is low overhead because you yourself are the artist and creator of the product being sold. This can be an excellent side business to grow over time and one you can thoroughly enjoy.

CONS: Something that you put work into and enjoy creating really doesn't have much downside. One problem with selling your homemade creations is you can only produce so much. However that may be a good problem to have and you can then increase your prices to meet the new demand.

3. Virtual Assist Jobs: VA jobs or, freelance work. If you have any skills to offer like programming, writing, consulting, proofreading, language translation, bookkeeping, appointment management, record keeping, email marketing, client or customer follow up, telephone sales, tech support, customer service, research, social media management, social media setup, manage WordPress blogs, support ticket help, live chat assistant, data management and more.

These types of skills can start making you money quickly and using websites like freelancer.com your money is held in escrow so you always get paid. Freelancing websites like these also provide a vast network of eager companies and individuals that are actively searching for your specific services.

PROS: VA jobs, are easy to get started with freelancing websites if you're ready to offer your skills. Get paid easily for your service and you can set the rate you charge. Enjoy working at your own pace and build repeat clients and ongoing relationships. This is an excellent way to get paid for your time now, and not have to take the risks involved in growing a startup or online business.

CONS: There is much global competition for VA's and it can be difficult to be competitive with your hourly rates against someone in a country like India or Cambodia. Don't let this discourage you as many companies and individuals like working within their country for many reasons and be firm from the start on your work value and hourly rate.

Starting A Business Is Not Always Easy..

However;

Big satisfaction in being able to act upon your hunches, make guesses, and to simply - just do it. If you want to succeed in business you first must take some risk and spend money. Many business owners talk about owning a business as the key to job satisfaction. It's true, when you're the boss, you do own it. Not having to ask anybody can mean a great difference in the satisfaction you can achieve for your success. The first step is getting started with your merchant account then create a product page. Best of success!

Do you have a small business or product that you need to generate instant awareness for? Do you like to be in control of your marketing and message? Get a free consumer email list, and demo the powerful email marketing software platform today:

SOURCE

Direct Selling - Should I Get Involved With Direct Selling?

Should you get involved with direct selling? Allow me to explain what direct selling even is and then I'm going to list a few questions you need to ask yourself before getting involved in any way with the direct selling industry. First, direct selling is essentially cutting out the middle man. For example, big retail stores carry thousands of products made by millions of companies, this would be normal selling. Direct selling involves one company selling their products to consumers instead of giant corporations.

Questions To Ask

1. Can I Really Be My Own Boss? - Be honest. Can you really be in charge of your own work? Can you really stick to the game-plan day in and day out? Do you have enough self-control to wake up each morning and get the ball rolling? Are you prepared to accept the daily hits that every business owner to ever exist has experienced? For many people, the answer to all of these questions is a capital NO. Look, do not get involved in direct selling if you are not able to do these things. You will end up wasting your time, money, and most importantly you could potentially lose your business building confidence! If the answer is yes, continue on with this article.

2. What Do I Really Want? - What do you really want? Write down a list of the top 3 things you really want! Take your time and think about it thoroughly. If you just want money and to be rich, you are getting involved in direct selling for the wrong reasons! I've never, in my life, heard a medical doctor say they only became a doctor because of the money! Doctors became what they are because they wanted to help people and the money for doing it isn't nothing to laugh at it either. It was a win-win situation! Look at direct selling the same way!

3. Do I Like The Product? - If you don't like the product itself that you will be selling, stop immediately! I understand this industry has high payouts, however, you will never see a glimpse of those payouts if you don't even like or enjoy what you will be trying to get others to buy. Let's think about it this way, if you are constantly informing people of a product that you are trying to sell although you personally dislike the product, you're a joke! You can either lie and say you love the product or tell the truth and say you dislike the product. Regardless of if you lie or tell the truth you are not going to get very many sells! Don't get involved because you want to be rich, get involved because you desire to make a great income level from helping others!

Conclusion

So, is direct selling for you? Do not rush this decision! Take your time, breathe and relax. This industry is not going anywhere anytime soon, far from it. Take each question one-by-one and focus on answering them thoroughly. The direct selling industry isn't easy, don't allow anyone to tell you otherwise! However, it's not very difficult either. Direct selling simply requires work and this shouldn't be a shocker to you but a lot of people don't want to do any more work than they have to... even to be rich.

SOURCE

Key Marketing Strategies Proven To Work

Marketing has come a long way from ads in the newspaper. Now, it seems every company is competing on the web to get their products in front of the right audience.

There are several different ways to do this, and all these will help increase sales and raise brand awareness.

Pay per click management

Having a good relationship with the right pay per click management company will take a business to the next level. Pay per click management companies help to put an ad in front of the right audience. Blog writers and other companies will allow certain companies to post ads on their page. However, they also want for the ads to be relevant to the website.

This is where a good pay per click management company will come in. They can take the time to make sure that the ads get placed on relevant pages. A pay per click management company will use the best analysis tools to guarantee that their clients see the results that they want.

Hiring a pay per click management company can cost as little or as much as a business can afford. Most businesses have different packages that are available.

Utilizing social media

There are thousands of articles available about the best ways to engage customers on social media, and they work. In today's modern world, social media has taken the place of reading magazines and newspapers. While people sit at a red light, they are checking their notifications instead of noticing the billboard perched beside them.

When companies take the time to learn valuable social media strategies or hire a marketing company to take over their social media accounts, they will see their followers increase and their profit slowly rise.

Research

Marketing companies are known for conducting research. There are even websites that pay people to take surveys so that marketing companies can get a better idea of who their target audience is. This research is one of the most important aspects of marketing.

When companies take the time to do their own research or spend money on a company to do it for them, they will learn who their target audience is. This will be the basis for their social media posts, ad campaigns and more.

It is not possible to reach out to customers without knowing who the customer is. That is where research comes in.

Quality products

Marketing used to mean the same thing as advertising, but not anymore. Now, marketing means anything that brings in more clients, like quality products. When businesses make sure that they have a quality product, more people will want to buy something from them again.

For example, if a customer purchases a dresser from a company, but the dresser is cheaply made, does not come with a warranty, and falls apart, they will not want to purchase another dresser from the same company. Instead, they will take their business elsewhere.

Marketing is the key to the success of any business. Instead of marketing being the same thing as advertising, it is important for businesses to understand the difference. Marketing is anything that promotes a product, whether it is a social media account or a high-quality product.

To effectively market any business or product, companies need to take the time to learn who their target audience is and how to reach them. For example, millennial will respond better to ads on the internet and social media. After discovering who the target audience is, it is up to the company to hire the perfect marketing company and start to develop a strategy using proven marketing techniques that have worked in the past.

SOURCE

Insight

The post below is a trifle long but it is so full of useful info that I decided to keep it in. There are many tips that I resonate with that are straight out of the bible of many a top level marketer, on mindset, time management and personal 'bad' habits. Well worth persisting with right to the end.
Ray

The UAE Business Directory - A Goldmine for Marketers

The UAE business directory is truly a goldmine for online marketers, as it is a targeted list for direct marketing communication via email, SMS and/ or phone. This database is so well structured and so simple to use, that it will suit all your wants.

It will make it 100x easier for you to reach out to a large number of companies and individuals with just one click.

A comprehensive list of businesses and companies in the GCC, the Dubai Marketing Database includes all possible sectors, from automobile and fashion to engineering and tourism.

The email marketing databases are of different types:

1. Emirates wise firm database: So you can choose according to your preferred geographical location.
2. Sector wise UAE database: You can see companies only from your aimed sector in the UAE.
3. GCC sector wise database: You can see companies only from your aimed sector in the GCC.
4. Dubai Healthcare Directory: All hospital and clinic contact information is combined in this database.
5. UAE malls: All the malls from biggest to smallest are present in this list.
6. Nationality wise database: based on the nationality of the owner of the company. You can select according to your nationality so you don't feel like a fish out of water in your workplace.

The information in the databases include:

• Names of the companies/ people
• HR email ID's
• Vacancy page URL
• Registration page URL
• Website URL, etc

How this database will help you:

For Candidates Searching For Jobs- it will give you a direct list of all the companies you want. This is time saving because the contact information is right in front of you.

Businesses can use it for marketing of products as well as services and gain clients.

Considering UAE has amongst the highest disposable incomes in the world, luxury products and services can be marketed to companies as well as individuals.

B2B (business-to-business) marketing is marketing of products to businesses or other companies for raw materials to use in the production of goods, for other general purposes like direct use, or for resale to the final consumers (wholesalers to retailers). Even services can be marketed to other businesses.

B2B marketing can be done by companies in the UAE to companies in the UAE or by companies in the other parts of the world to companies in the UAE.

B2C (business-to-consumer) marketing is done by companies dealing directly with the end user or consumer of the product or service.

The UAE Business Directory Is The Only Resource You Will Ever Need For Your Email Marketing in UAE. Being continuously updated, it is always fresh and accurate. Quality data provided to you by the best Professional CV Writers in Dubai.

SOURCE