Harness the Power of Social Media for Your Business Online

<p>Social Media marketing has exploded in popularity and it’s easy to see why. Initially intended for social interaction, it’s now become a profitable alternative to paid advertising. With the state of the economy, more people are seeking inexpensive options for advertising their business online. Although paid advertising such as pay-per-click or PPC is still the preferred method for some, it’s not always easy to master and the competition for popular keywords can be fierce spelling bad news for your budget. Harness the power of these widely used social media methods to increase your presence online and boost your monthly revenue. <ol> <li><b>E-mail</b></li> If you subscribe to an autoresponder service, use you e-mail list to distribute a free weekly newsletter. Share valuable information with your reader. Offering coupons, and time limited discounts is also a great way to drive targeted traffic to your website. <li><b>Blog</b></li> Allow your community to engage with you online by using a blog. It’s important that people interact with you and get to know you better. Use it as the Hub of your social media network by sending them to your blog. The more engaged your audience is, the more likely they will develop into loyal customers. WordPress or Blogger are both easy to create blogs sites. <li><b>Social Sites</b></li> Social sites like Facebook and <a href=”http://twitter.com/lchernoff”>Twitter</a> are effective ways to make yourself available and provide exposure to your business online. Here you can post insightful quotes and useful information and interact with people. Find creative ways to “soft sell” without being obnoxious. Although these sites are no place to blatantly advertise your business online, you can post links to your blog posts, articles, videos, etc. This creates your continued visibility and makes it easier for your community to develop trust in you. Be yourself, people appreciate knowing there’s a real person behind the website. <li><b>Articles</b></li> Write articles to share your expertise, opinion or experience with others. You’ll need to write significant number of articles, but once posted on a few sites such as EzineArticles, GoArticles and Amazines, they will be enjoyed by viewers for a very long time. You can also provide links to your social sites and business in your articles. <li><b>Forums</b> Participate in forums in your area of expertise. Note that forums are for discussions and exchanging thoughts and advice. It’s inappropriate to sell or advertise your business to people on these social sites. Instead, include your website address in your signature. </li></ol> Take advantage of your social media sites to get to know your new customers and deliver exactly what they need. Continue to provide your best stuff and you’ll maintain loyal followers who will in turn recommend you as a go to person to others. To learn more about the system I personally use and recommend <a href=”http://www.gptsuccessvsmlm.com/?t=A12”>CLICK HERE</a> <p> Lydia Chernoff is a Network Marketer sharing her knowledge and experience gained from many years of experience in this industry with other entrepreneurs. <p> <p> <p></p>

Prepare Crisis Control

<p>A personal crisis doesn?t have to spell disaster for your business if you?re prepared. Every business occasionally endures a crisis, but what happens when your dilemma isn?t falling profits but personal. <p> Because we have no idea what type of personal crisis may await us ? an ugly divorce, debilitating disease, or ailing parent/child/spouse, we must be prepared. Just as you plan for advertising and promotions, you must plan for life?s surprises. <p> Paul Krasinski, founder of Lion Strategy Advisors, New York, suggests finding somebody NOW who can take over your responsibility and carry on for at least 20 days. He/she needs to be someone who can communicate well with staff and command respect, and may or may not be the person you feel closest to in the company. <p> Once a personal crisis hits, Krasinski recommends ?full disclosure? to your employees. This avoids the feeling of being hit by a bomb, and that business will go on as usual. In case you think this doesn?t work, let me give you a case history. <p> Dana Weidaw, 28 and president of her own PR firm had only been in business 1 year when she tested ?full disclosure? with her employees. She was diagnosed with an aneurysm which required a surgeon to drill through her skull. She had just landed her first major client and was publicizing a major hockey arena. If all didn?t go well with the project, this client could turn out to be her last. <p> Before missing 7 days of work, Weidaw prepped her full-time employee, another agency she was working with, and her client by sharing the nitty-gritty details of her crisis. She assured them everything would run according to plans and smoothly in her absence, and found that everybody was willing to work around her crisis. Weidaw found that, by nature, people are very sympathetic. <p> A word of caution though, you need to know when to talk. During and after a crisis ? full disclosure is great. If you?re ?contingency? planning though, it might be prudent not to advertise that if your personal life goes in the tanker good old Gary or Suzy will be in charge. Your employees may needlessly dwell on why they weren?t picked to run the show instead of them. Above all, you don?t want to cause widespread distress or distract your staff from day-to-day operation. <p> Just as surely as you plan for financial allocations for your business, always have a crisis plan in place. This may need adjustments from year to year as staff leaves and are replaced, so when planning for each year?s business needs include your crisis plan.Dennis P. Kenner is a writer for entrepreneur-support.com and the author of <a href=" http://www.entrepreneur-support.com/running-your-own-business.shtml"> Ten rules for Running Your Own Business </a> and <a href =http://www.entrepreneur-support.com/business-startup-tasks.shtml"> Business Startup tasks </a> Visit <a href="http://www.articlepool.com/prepare+crisis+control-115037">Prepare Crisis Control</a>. <p> <p></p>