Post about "Online"

Social Media Marketing – How to Use Free Online Tools For Site Promotion

Discussing, promoting and sharing information are some of the advantages in social media marketing. It includes social networking, social bookmarks, forums, wikis, and blogs. Facebook, MySpace, Plaxo and LinkedIn are few examples of websites used for social media marketing.

Small and big businesses are now using social sites as tools to spread brand awareness and discuss their products and services. The best part of these applications is that they are free of charge. It is a great advantage for small business operating on a low marketing budget.

Social media requires long term commitment and consistency. Business owners should also have done research on selecting the appropriate social applications in line with their company’s mission and goal. Here are some popular and successful social media tools for small business.

  • Create a Blog The sites that receive the most traffic are blogs. A blog is like a journal that is written by an individual and is regularly updated. Your company can use or create blogs to share multimedia, news and information about your business. Through the use of blogs, a small business can develop a specific image or personality and educate people about their products and services or the industry in general.
  • Use Twitter Twitter is a micro blogging and social networking service that allows users to read and send messages to the public. By using Twitter, you can promote your products and broaden brand awareness. Twitter is a fast-growing online community and its popularity is still on a rising trend.
  • Facebook Fan Page Most people are now using Facebook. Facebook is the most well-known social networking site in the world today. It is not only known for personal profiles but also for business profiles. This social media tool allows you to share your company’s videos, photos, event posts and concise wall posts. By replying to the fan’s questions on your wall post, your customer service will be enhanced.
  • Use LinkedIn LinkedIn launched in May 2003. It is a business-oriented social networking site and is usually used for professional networking. You can post your resumé and receive approval or recommendations from fellow employees, clients and business partners. This is also an efficient way of hiring competent employees and recognizing business opportunities. Users can make connections and interact through LinkedIn Polls, LinkedIn Groups and LinkedIn Answers.

Social media is now a fascinating tool in the world of business today and is modernized to meet the consumer’s demand. It is highly recommended to do research on the effective tools in social media to promote your company’s services, products and brands to your target market.

Home Based Business Opportunity and What You Need to Know Before Joining

It is a well known fact in this industry that 95 percent of the people who join a network marketing company and start a home business opportunity, fail. A large majority of people who start are unprepared, so naturally they fail. They are encouraged to join a company and start a home based business opportunity by other unskilled, untrained, unprofessional individuals. That is definitely a recipe for disaster and no surprise why most people are not successful in their business.Well, it simply doesn’t work very well when you have the blind leading the blind. Every business person knows that to achieve results they have to learn from someone. They need a mentor dedicated to advising and guiding them in the right direction.Most people are first introduced to a home based business opportunity by friends and associates. Before you join any opportunity that anyone recommends, check it out yourself.You need to do some serious research on any company’s opportunity you intend to join. Here are some questions you need to ask before joining a home business opportunity:o How long have they been in business?o Are they set up in a permanent place of business?o Is it easy to get questions answered by a company representative?o What is their pay plan and do you understand it?o Do the affiliates make most of the profits or does the company keep them?You must also consider the product the company is promoting.This is what will make or break your success in business. If you don’t have a good product no one will want to buy it.Ask yourself these questions:o Can you buy the very same product at a supermarket or your favorite shopping mall for less money? Many network marketing companies sell normal everyday store bought items and increase the cost in order to cover distributor payout.o Would you buy the product even if there is no financial gain?o Are you excited about the product?o Do you understand the product well enough to describe it to a customer?o Does the product offer benefits to your customers that can’t be found elsewhere?Your sponsor is an important factor to consider. He or she can be a great asset to your business or they can be like blood-sucking leeches that can destroy it. I suggest you get to know your future sponsor before signing under them.Training is paramount after joining a home based business opportunity. If they don’t have a training program, I would encourage you to look for a different sponsor or a new company.Since network marketing is all about duplication, successful network marketers with a home based business opportunity need to be able to show new recruits exactly what they did to become successful.Other training resources you should look for in training are teleconferences, training videos, and weekly business meetings. In order for these resources to be effective, you need to be responsible and do your part by reading, watching, or listening to them.

Legitimate Home Based Business Opportunities – Do They Exist?

Normally when people start looking thinking about creating a home based business, they are worried about scams and rip offs. Are there legitimate home based business opportunities out there that you can create an income from? Yes, but in order to create the best home based business you will need to do your due diligence and most importantly – Don’t think that a home based business is a free ride. Unfortunately you will still need to put in some work.So what are the advantages of having a home based business? Do you want to spend more time at home with your family, do you hate commuting into the city to work every day, do you want to increase your flexibility or do you simply want to earn more money? All of the above are great reasons to start a small business but how do you decide what business to start? Finding legitimate home based business opportunities can be harder than it sounds as there are a number of companies online that prey on people’s desire for riches. Let’s have a look at some hints for sifting through all of the home based business opportunities.1. Do your research. More and more people are starting their own home or online businesses on the Internet. You are not the first person to start on this journey, many people have tried and failed before you but many have also succeeded. When trying to succeed at anything is vital that you get good advice and training. Do the hard work and research and you will be rewarded with some great legitimate home based business opportunities.2. What Do you Want? It is vital to decide what you want to do and then find an opportunity to fulfill that dream. Too many people work the other way. They see an opportunity and think “mmm I could do that”. To be successful you need to love what you do and that is why this step is so vital.3. Use Your Experience: this step continues on from 2, think about your experience and expertise. What makes you happy and doesn’t? Don’t be limited by old beliefs, almost any job these days can be turned into a legitimate home business opportunity. The internet has changed the way we live so you might as well use this to your advantage. How many people are going to work in an office still when they could do their job perfectly well from home? In the near future more and more people will be working from home.4. Live in the Real World: Realistically some business ideas probably won’t work at home. I’m sure your partner wouldn’t be too happy if you decided that you are going to be circus master from home! There are enough legitimate home based business opportunities that you should have no trouble finding a niche that suits you perfectly. Remember that working from home often translates into get rich schemes. Steer clear from these unrealistic models, put in the hard work and you may be surprised at the results.