The world today has come a long way after those days.

Often people ask the question, “what exactly is social networking”. Is it merely having a web presence complimented by a Facebook page?

Here’s a video that explains “in plain english” what social networking is:

To tell you the truth, it’s actually much more than that mentioned above and in the video. A Facebook page and a website are only the starting points for a successful social media marketing strategy.

Nowadays people have a lot of choice for absorbing information. The different media available for dissemination of information have made advertising, as a component of spreading awareness, lowest in credibility.

So how do you build credibility, while remaining true to your brand ?

The new way to achieve this is social networking.

Social networking encompasses all the people who used and loved your product, read about your product, thought about your product or asked about your product. These are the millions that you need to cash in on. Use them to market your product.

So where are you going to meet all these people?

Step 1 – Locate your audience and settle in

In the physical world you would find out where your potentials like to hang out. Book a premium suite for yourself at the same place.

In simpler terms, if you are a B2C a proven touch point is Facebook. For the B2B, Linked In has been quite successful. Building a viable, engaging and accessible presence in these channels is as strategic as scoring low cost overheads for your business model.

Step 2 – Relate to your audience and interact

Find out what your audience, community and customers want to talk about. Unfortunately it can’t all be about your product, but the conversation would revolve around the category in which you operate. In most cases people would be seeking solutions for the same product category. Your role would be to engage in those conversations.

Step 3 – Measure, analyze and measure again

And last but not the least, to realize the full potential of your social media marketing strategy you must be brave enough to measure the success of these tools.

Even though you may be performing all the tasks, and ticking all the boxes, that alone is not a guarantee to your success.  Measure the results of the conversation and see which topics catch fire and which ones don’t.

So learn, rectify and move on. A good way to measure the success of this strategy is to see how many “likes”, “fans” “retweets” and “comments” your conversations generated. Pick the topics which worked, give them a new tune and keep your audiences engaged.

This will ultimately transform into clients, sales and improve your overall conversion rates.

So can we even ask the question if websites are important any more? Is it necessary to have your own presence on the internet? Are companies still promoting their own www or are they saying:

• Become our fan on FB “like” us now
• Follow us on Twitter

in their regular advertising.

What’s the verdict?

Websites still contribute to provide a more cohesive space to dole out relevant, authoritative and timely information.

The social mediums offer a place for the brands and corporates to hang out together with their audience. It gives them a chance to get to know them better, their likes and dislikes can all be collectively collated in one place. Great!

But they cannot take the place of a true brand experience. Your website serves as the place for that. A website is the place you can provide accurate and up to date information on your brand, provide 3D image portfolios of your products, upload testimonials and give the user a more holistic message to take away.

Big brands today are effectively exploiting their websites as influencers, advocacy and customization hubs. Websites are the venues to appeal to audiences through smart sampling, online couponing and robust Q&A involving experts, users and peers.

Furthermore websites provide a direct connect to the audiences through an Ecommerce platform. Customers no longer have to “head out” to buy and get overloaded with information at the stores.

So the final answer is yes! Yes we need them and we need them very much. So if you  do have a website “you’ve made a great decision”. Just make sure you’re constantly improving it and taking advantage of it’s full potential.

And for all of those who don’t have a website, I think it’s about time you give us a call. =)

Have you ever wondered why keywords are the life and blood of any content strategy? Keywords define what your audience is talking about, thinking about, wanting to gather information about. Keywords help you get into the brains of your customers, helps you understand them, relate to them, associate with them.

SEO simply cannot be achieved without the use of keywords placed strategically throughout your content. So what are the key things to remember to decode the top ranking keywords for your SEO based content?

What are People Searching For?

The ideal content strategy begins with a search of keywords or phrases which potential clients are using to find products and services like yours.

There are a number of tools and softwares available to decipher which keywords are ringing true with your audience. Some of them are

• Google Adwords
• Word Tracker Labs

Simply type in the keyword, and the site will return with what questions people are asking about that particular keyword. These questions could then become the topic of your next blog.

Both these resources are free to use. Besides these, there are other paid for options also available for a more optimized search.

How to Optimize the SEO Search

Your keyword search will return a long list of words and phrases. It’s best to focus on 1-2 areas rather than spreading your wings too wide. After all you cannot provide a service in all areas of the category you serve. For example if you operate an online sporting goods store, focus on sports goods, rather than fitness equipment. Serving a niche is always better.

Get to Know Your Audience

Get to know who are the people who are typing in these keywords. This will help you make a better connect between your audience and what you have on offer.

There are multiple websites that offer tools to break down audience by demo graphics. You may want to make use of these tools.

Other means of getting to know your audience is by using

• Google Alerts
• Tweetdeck, and
• Google referrers. This helps you see which sites are sending the most traffic to your website.

A combination of these tools will help you develop a superior content strategy, rich with keywords, and top of the page in terms of SEO and ranking.

It’s the year 1995; Amazon has just opened its virtual doors to the world inviting them to shop, shop and shop. The product lines are limited, main focus is on functionality, price comparisons, product descriptions and getting the shoppers quickly through to checkout.

The year 2011 has evolved the whole concept of Ecommerce and shopping via the internet. Research has shown changes in demographics of the shoppers, product preferences, pricing patterns, and the latest insight which is browsing.

All of these have helped to evolve new standards of Ecommerce set to be rolled out in 2011.

Here is a list of just some of the upcoming trends in Ecommerce and internet marketing in 2011:

Demographics

Increase of women in the internet shopping arena, and the increase in teenagers loaded with credit cards has changed the game for the Ecommerce industry. In line with the new demographics, a new line of products and services have come forth. Now literally everything and anything can be sold online.

The other change is the way in which people shop. They have more time, they like to browse and gather information before they make a purchase. In general shopping is equated as fun rather than a chore.

Discounts

Where before shopping was limited to a few products, and those too sold at a tad bit of a higher price than the in store tag, now internet shopping is all about the bargains. People have time to look around for bargains and there are enough portals offering them discounted deals. Aside from these sites, people also sign-up to receive discount and coupons more frequently.

Rare Wares

People are using the internet to find products which they cannot easily find in stores. It’s the era of the discovery shopper where items are displayed in limited supply, and selections are constantly changing. This creates a sense of urgency that has users coming back frequently to see what’s new and to make sure they don’t miss out.

Mobile Shopping

The age of Smartphones have transformed the use of the internet. No longer do people need to be at home or in the office to surf the net. People now find time to browse wares on the subway, share ideas over lunch and buy the product before dinner. It is being predicted that Apps will drive $5 billion in revenue in 2011.

Gaming Enters the Social Arena

Gaming will not be restricted to 1-10 players playing together at one time, or what was called the gaming dates. Now people can play social games with each other at their own convenience.  For those interested in this, social gaming is predicted to be huge in 2011. And if you’re wondering… yes, there is lot’s of $$$ in this industry, just check out how Zynga (creators of Farmville) is doing right now: Zynga Blog, How Social Games Make Money

Here’s a 6 minute video I found a couple years ago on the net about the history of ecommerce. It features how it all started and provides some testimonials from real businesses owners who took advantage of it and became the pioneers of all of this. Enjoy!

Just like you merchandise your traditional store to pull customers you also need to do the same with an online store. The design of your website plays a major role in making your online store appeal to customers. When visitors get to your site, it’s the home page they see first. This is your chance to attract your visitor or anyone who is just navigating through your site. A poorly merchandised online store can turn away your potential sales, whereas an attractive one can make even a casual visitor turn into a potential sale.

Here are some important tips that can help with your online store. You will be amazed at the way it influences your revenue and return customers.

1-Review your website

Take a close look at your own website, from the user/visitor perspective. Does it look all cluttered up? Remove all the unnecessary items from your websites that take the focus away from your own products. This clutter could be due to excessive links and broken links, too many banners and affiliate ads. Also, remove the several photos that have nothing much to do with the site and the products/ services you offer.

2-Give your website a professional look

When you run an online business, your website speaks for you. Improve your design and give it a revamped professional look. Don’t use colorful and funky backgrounds that are more suited for the social networking site profiles. You would of course not want to represent your business with flowers and blinking stars. For better effect, use a solid background color and put your business logo on the top.

3-Make information visible

When a visitor comes to your site, he looks for information. Don’t design your website in a way that a visitor has to hunt for the information. The price points and other important information should be clearly reflected and made visible throughout the site.

4-Create an attractive home page

If you are an online retailer then don’t use your home page as the ‘About Us’ page. You must create different pages directed for this type of information. To properly leverage your type of business we always recommend showcasing some of your products on the main page and make it look interesting.

5-Don’t overuse flash/ animation effects

I have come across several retail websites that use so much of flash/ animation effects that customers loose focus on the product that is being sold. Hence, it is recommended that you use flash animation sparingly, only wherever necessary. This will help the potential customers to focus on your merchandise.

6-Make your website easy to navigate

This is really important because not all visitors are tech savvy. You must organize your website in a simple format so that visitors can find any info in 1 to 2 clicks max. The information should all be properly organized under intuitive categories. This will help visitors find your contact information, privacy policies, shipping and returns, newsletter sign-up and consequently increase conversions.

7-Make your site appealing to customers

No matter what type of business you have, step into the shoes of the customer and view your online store. Think of the things you would like to see and implement those changes. Of course everyone wants to see “FREE FREE FREE” or some type of incredible discount. Without going bankrupt, give your customers what they want and offer some type of attractive discount but ensure that it is clearly visible to everyone.

8-Sell cross-merchandise items and seasonal products

Customers usually have the tendency to make more purchase when you offer cross merchandise items in your retail store. You can also boost your sales by being seasonal in your offerings. Sell merchandise on Valentines Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving and for Christmas.

If you follow the tips mentioned above, you will soon find that more visitors will turn into sales. Believe us, we do it all the time.

Need help with all of this? Contact DoDynamic.com to help you maximize your online sales.