Making Money Online 101: make money with social media

If you didn’t already know, this week is National Small Business Week. This week celebrates all small businesses and what they do for consumers, the economy, and the country. And now that today’s consumers rely more on the Web to find and choose local businesses, online marketing has become a high priority on the list of things SMBs need to do.

But that list is often long and takes a while to sort through. So, here’s a roundup of some of our most popular blog posts with quick online marketing tips. From search advertising best practices to social media tactics, these are tips that any small business owner can use to help consumers find them online.

Tips for Great Search Advertising:

1. Know the Text Ad Format – All text ads aren’t created equal. Bing, Yahoo!, and Google all have slightly different text ad formats, so identify and follow the rules of each before running your search advertising campaign.

2. Optimize the URL in Your Search Ad – Text ads feature a URL along with the title of your ad, so make sure it’s relevant to the product or service you are promoting and that it doesn’t conflict with the publisher’s requirements.

3. Include Target Keywords in Your Ad – Use keywords in both your headline and text ad copy that match or are closely related to the keywords you bid in order to help your ad show up in search results for those terms.

4. Write a Strong Call to Action – Tell consumers who see your text ad what action you want them to take, like getting a free estimate or downloading a coupon, so they are more willing to click through to your site.

5. Use a Call Tracking Number – If you use a click-to-call extension in your ad, consider using a tracking number to identify the calls that come from your ads and to measure the results of your search advertising.

6. Don’t Include Your Business Name in the Ad’s Headline – Headlines have limited character space, so don’t waste it on your business name. You can include your business name in your optimized URL, and use your headline for more critical content.

7. Use Title Case – Capitalizing the first letter of major words is a text ad best practice. Just don’t go crazy with all caps. (NEVER go crazy with all caps.)

8. Include the Right Punctuation – Using correct punctuation in a text ad is mandatory at the end of your ad, but it can also be used within the rest of your ad to ask a question or make a point.

9. Don’t Use Trademarked Terms (Unless You Own Them) – This is just a no-no. You can bid on trademarked terms if they are relevant to your ad, but using terms you don’t own can go against the publisher’s requirements.

10. Don’t Use Unknown Abbreviations – Nobody will know that “WFWAM” means “We Fix Windows and More.” There are many ways to include your message in your text ad without using abbreviations that only you can decipher.

To see the full tips for search advertising, check out our search advertising 101 blog post.

Tips for a Better Business Website

11. Update Your Website – It’s 2014, so your business website shouldn’t look like it’s still stuck in the early 2000s. And it’s about more than just looks. Best practices and Web standards change often, so a refresh can help you make sure your website is at the top of its game.

12. Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly – The 2014 Local Search Study from Neustar Localeze found that nearly 80% of local searches on a mobile phone ended in a purchase. If you’re website isn’t mobile-friendly, you are missing out on these local consumers.

13. Complete and Optimize Your Site’s Metadata – Metadata on your website (like title tags, descriptions, and alt text) is a critical component of your website’s SEO. Leaving it out can negatively impact how you show up in search results.

14. Create and Use a Business Blog – Blogging and your business should be best friends. Maintaining a business blog can help boost your site’s SEO; plus, it can set you apart from the competition and demonstrate your knowledge and expertise. It’s a win-win situation.

15. Optimize Your Website for Local Search – If your law practice only handles cases in Albuquerque, New Mexico, then it doesn’t do much good to get it seen by consumers searching for legal consultations in Crawford County, New Hampshire. Make sure your business website includes local information, like a phone number, address, and geo-targeted keywords so that local consumers call you.

Get the full scoop on website best practices in our blog post about the 5 most common website mistakes.

Tips for Effective Search Engine Optimization:

16. Regularly Post Quality Content – Creating and promoting fresh, original, and sharable content on a business blog can help increase your visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) because these social shares signal to search engines that your site is knowledgeable and relevant in a particular topic.

17. Be Present on Maps – This is especially applicable to consumers searching for your business on the go using apps like Google Maps and Apple Maps. Make sure they not only find you by claiming your local listings and making sure information like your phone number and address are correct.

18. Claim Your Google+ Local Page – Claiming and optimizing a Google+ Local page is key to showing up in Google Maps and Google’s local search results. Plus, this page provides users with important information like your phone number, operating hours, and ratings and reviews that they use when deciding whether to use your business.

19. Engage Your Social Media Fans – Social media is a great way to build your brand and interact with potential and current customers. Post engaging content frequently to generate shares and connect with consumers, which can positively impact the number of those who see your content.

20. Use Local Keywords – Include geo-specific keywords in your website, blog, and even social media copy to drive visits and interest from consumers in your area.

21. Generate Backlinks – High-quality links, such as those from influencers, are great for building your authority. Plus, they tell search engines that your business is credible, therefore ranking your website or other sites higher in search engines.

22. Get Positive Reviews – What people say in reviews matters to consumers. In fact, one study determined that 79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust a personal recommendation. And as these reviews are visible in search results, having positive reviews with high rankings can help persuade interested consumers to give your business a chance.

23. Set Up Google Authorship – In addition to building your business brand, building your personal brand can be a great way to get new consumers. Google Authorship can help you do this.

See more about what gets your business found in Google in our blog post about what Google loves.

24. Complete Your Business Information – Yelp is a great hub to host all kinds of information about your small business. From operating hours to business type to payment options to parking information, it’s a great way to help consumers find you and your business.

25. Post Realistic Images – Images speak volumes, and Yelp features them loud and clear. Post inviting and realistic photos of what consumers can expect when visiting your business.

26. Promote Positive Reviews – Since Yelp reviews are featured in local search results on all major search engines, generating great reviews is more important that ever. Plus, you can promote these reviews in other places, like your website and social media sites.

Read more about how your small business can get the most out of a Yelp Business Page in our blog post featuring these tips.

Tips for a Glowing Social Media Presence:

27. Think Before You Post – It’s becoming more impossible to take back what you say in social media (hello, screenshots). In order to keep yourself from putting your foot in your mouth, make sure to think before you speak, er, post.

28. Have a Social Media Policy – Social profiles for your business aren’t the end-all and be-all of your brand. Your employees also represent your brand, both in person and online. Having a social media policy today is important so employees know the rules and expectations for posting online as well.

29. Be Careful when Newsjacking – Staying in the know is a great idea for generating timely social content. However, if you jump in a conversation online without knowing the origin of the topic, you could risk looking like a social media newbie and potentially coming off as insensitive.

30. Stay Alert – Social media is the place where consumers voice their opinions about you, good and bad. Having alerts set up to notify you of mentions, comments, or messages can help you make sure you address situations before they get out of hand.

Find out more about how your small business can use social media to build and promote your brand and tips to prevent social media mistakes.

How does your small business use online marketing to reach consumers? Let us know with a comment!

This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: 30 Simple Tips That Can Significantly Improve Your Online Marketing

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Turning a profit using social media, for some, is as elusive as a white rhino. But, it doesn’t have to be. Think of social networks as a big party and try to fit in — not be the life of the party.

My Infographic, courtesy of my partner, Ideas and Pixels, shows great tools for making money with social media — and other tools for making money online. Many of these tools fit together to create an integrated online marketing strategy to support your online marketing goals.

But, you need to go beyond these tools to know HOW to apply them to making money with social media.

Here are 10 tips for making money with social media (notice none of them involve hogging the microphone):

10. Be authentic

Social media isn’t like traditional advertising and it shouldn’t look and feel the same. Social media is a community designed to share comfort, support, information, expertise, and entertainment. You need to develop a voice in social media — one that talks like a real person, shares like a real person, and that people can relate to as a real person. Share your foibles, mistakes, sense of humor, and what’s going on in your life. Let people backstage.

9. Don’t interrupt

If folks are having fun sharing on social networks, join in. Don’t bring the party down by talking about yourself. Have fun with them or create your own fun.

8. Leave them with something to talk about

Share something interesting — something of value. Social media is definitely a pay-it-forward world and if you don’t get that, then hire someone who does. I give away tons of valuable stuff — like the first chapter of my new social media analytics book. Grab a copy today and let me know what you think. No strings attached. And, if you give me feedback or edit my work, I’ll send you a PDF of the book when it’s finished. What a deal!

7. Follow your target market

Don’t fish where your boat is, fish where the fish are. You’ll be more successful. If the fish aren’t biting, move your boat. For instance, I used to get a lot of traffic to my website from Twitter — now, not so much. I still use Twitter, but I now focus on social networks that bring in traffic, especially the kind that will buy from me — my target market. I find Facebook much more valuable, especially my group, which I call my social media marketing tribe. Feel free to join us and share your great content with the group.

6. Build trust

Trust is a big word… it’s important. And trust in marketing is low because for years we’ve made promises to consumers then failed to meet our obligations. Firms have a lot to do to make up for this.

5. Engage

Get your target audience involved with you. Ask questions on Facebook. End your blog posts by asking for feedback. Participate in Quora conversations. And, make it easy for your target audience to engage. For instance, I use a plugin allowing visitors to comment using their Facebook profile. The plugin also brings comments from Facebook back to my blog. This increases engagement.

4. Build your community

Don’t just pretend to care about your visitors — truly care about them. That means responding quickly when they post a question or concern. Remember, social media is always on, so plan for responses during the evening and on weekends. When visitors share your content or comment on a post, thank them and consider ways you can repay the compliment.

Building community means being a good member of that community and helping everybody out.

3. Give value

Don’t think about yourself — think about your community. Why are they engaged with you? What are their pains? How can you help?

I recently met with a client interested in using social media to connect with younger prospects. Yet, they were uncomfortable when I suggested we find out what types of posts might help these prospects, they only wanted to talk about themselves in their social media marketing. FAIL!

2. Plan, plan, plan

You can never plan too much. And, planning isn’t done — you need to constantly update your plan as things change. I commonly suggest to clients that we meet on a monthly basis to review results and plan for the next month’s campaign. Putting your social media marketing on autopilot isn’t going to optimize your opportunity to make money with social media.

Contingency planning should also be part of your social media marketing plan. Social media marketing is, by its nature, less predictable. You never know when someone is going to say something off the wall or where they’re going to choose to say it. You need a contingency plan so when something bad happens, you’re ready with a response.

Recently, Jesse from Jess3 behaved badly at a conference. I wasn’t there, so I don’t know the details. The important thing is he quickly responded and apologized for his poor behavior before others started complaining about it.

1. Measure, analyze, respond

Social media is great because there’s so much information available, but don’t get sidetracked with vanity metrics like # of Fans or Followers. These don’t translate well to conversion, so keep you eye on the ball. Assess things related to making money with social media — things like reach, SEO, and conversion. Be sure to assesses these metrics in a way that helps you focus your efforts on creating more content that performs well.

Don’t bury your head in the sand. Listen. It’s important, as mentioned above, the listen and respond to both positive and negative comments and answer questions quickly.