Social Media Marketing - Reliable Web Designs [Flagstaff, Arizona]

Social Media Marketing
Return to Marketing Your Site on the Internet

The latest wave of marketing on the Internet is called "Social Media" or "Viral Marketing". It has sprung up out of nowhere and millions of people have latched onto it because it is much more personal and can have extremely wide reaching results. It is spreading like wildfire and fast becoming one of those "have to" items to succeed on the net. The idea of this form of internet marketing is to become "friends" with hundreds and thousands of people across the world.

Here's a list of some of the more popular Social Media sites: FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Plaxo, Orkut (run by Google), Google Groups, Digg (social news), YouTube (video sharing), Flickr (photos sharing), and Yelp (product reviews).

There are many websites that offer this type of service and almost all of them are completely free to sign up. Some of them are generalized about any topic you wish, while others are focused on a specific type of group or genre. We can help you decide which will most effectively meet your needs.

We have found that our clients are a bit reluctant to jump into it themselves, so we now offering help in setting up and maintaining these accounts to maximize your marketing potential. We are focusing on what we call the "top 3" social media sites (FaceBook, Twitter, and LinkedIn), but we are also available to help with setting up other accounts.

FaceBook

FaceBook is a wonderful way to communicate with friends, family, and associates. By its very nature you will hook up with people you haven't heard from in a long time, and reach new people with very little effort. It allows you to post announcements, comments, photos, videos, and do many other useful applications. It can easily be used for both personal and business!

Description: This entails working with you to get you signed up with a standard personal FaceBook account. We will walk through all the steps with you (typically while you are on the phone) to describe who you are so that we can created a professional looking account. We will help you post your picture on to your account and make sure all the settings are in good order. We can also give you a 30 minute instructional walk through so you know where things are and how to use them. The cost of this is done simply by the hour based on how much help you need.

Business Suggestions: Using the basic FaceBook account tends to be more for personal usage. Thus, if you want to market your business there are some available options you can use within your account that are great for getting the word out about what you do.

~	Create a Fan Account: This is when you enter your "business" or "organization" and ask people to become "fans" of it. It's a great way for to show yourself as being successful and to create a following!

~	Create a Group Account: This is when you create a group by "topic" or "genre". You run the group so you moderate what others post to it, choose the sections that people can post to, and can also put your business information within the description of what the group is about.

~	Create a Cause: If you are a non-profit organization than you can create a "cause" that will allow other people to join and support you. They also allow you to accept donations through this element as well.

Maintenance Plan: We understand that using these accounts successfully can be a little difficult over time. Thus, we've created a maintenance plan to help you. What this plan does is help you continue to expand your friends, fans, and group members each month. We also help you if you have questions about functions within your account. We WILL NOT be posting content to your account as a part of this plan. We feel strongly that you should be posting your own information to personally control how you are represented. What we will do, is help you do this successfully! The cost of a maintenance plan is $50 per month.

Twitter

Twitter is a great way to get out quick blurbs of information about what you are doing. You get to post 140 character announcements, and can do them as often as you wish. These "Tweets" will then instantly go to all of your followers and can even be posted as text messages to someone's cell phone if they wish. It is quick and easy to use.

Description: This entails working with you to get you signed up with a standard Twitter account. We will walk through all the steps with you (typically while you are on the phone) to get you signed up, post a basic bio, and put up your website link so that you have a professional looking account. We will help you post your picture on to your account, do some basic customization of colors and content, and make sure all the settings are in good order. We can also give you a 30 minute instructional walk through so you know where things are and how to use them. The cost of this is done simply by the hour based on how much help you need.

Maintenance Plan: We understand that using these accounts successfully can be a little difficult over time. Thus, we've created a maintenance plan to help you. The main focus of this plan is help you continue to expand your "followers" each month, so you get more and more exposure. We also help you if you have questions about functions within your account. We WILL NOT be posting content to your account as a part of this plan. We feel strongly that you should be posting your own information to personally control how you are represented. What we will do, is help you do this successfully! The cost of a maintenance plan is $50 per month.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional social network. It is designed more for people wishing to focus on their business interests including networking, job searches, and business promotions. Each account is set up to display your "resume" and then there are also Groups that you can start or become involved with to further market yourself.

Description: This entails working with you to get you signed up with a standard LinkedIn account. We will walk through all the steps with you (typically while you are on the phone) to enter your complete "resume" describing thoroughly who you are so that we can created a professional looking account. We will help you post your picture on to your account, show you how to request recommendations, and make sure all the settings are in good order. We can also give you a 30 minute instructional walk through so you know where things are and how to use them. The cost of this is done simply by the hour based on how much help you need.

Business Suggestions: Using a basic LinkedIn account has a direct focus on "you" because you are posting your resume. If you wish to concentrate on a business or genre, then you should create a "Group". You would become the moderator of the Group and thereby decide what is posted and who can post to your group. This would allow you to focus on direct promotion for your business with others within your market. We simply charge for our time to help you create the account and show you how you should be using it.

We'd like to encourage you to join our Flagstaff Central group: click here.

Maintenance Plan: We understand that using these accounts successfully can be a little difficult over time. Thus, we've created maintenance plans to help you.

1) Basic Plan: The main focus of this plan is to help you continue to expand your "connections" each month, so you get more and more exposure. Due to the nature of LinkedIn you can only invite people "you know" or "who know someone you know" by request. In order to accomplish this, we will spend 15 minutes on the phone with you each month trying to find people to connect with. We also help you if you have questions about functions within your account. The cost of a maintenance plan is $50 per month.

2) Group Maintenance Plan: This plan is focused on those that have created a "group" and need help expanding the membership and organizing the information. We WILL NOT be posting content to your group as a part of this plan. We feel strongly that you should be posting your own information to personally control how your group is represented. What we will do, is help you do this successfully! The cost of a maintenance plan is $50 per month.

If you wish to have help with both of the above LinkedIn Plans, then we offer a 25% discount (i.e. $75 per month).

With all of the above "Social Media" sites, we strongly recommend that you post your own content. You are your best representative, and thus will know what to post and what to respond when others ask questions or post comments. Some of our clients have expressed reservations about the time it will take to do this, but we wish to express to you that you can post as much or as little as you wish. There are no deadlines or rules to how much you must post. As with anything, the more involved you are the more successful it tends to be... Never feel pressured by having to post information. One posting a month with good content is far more effective than daily postings that don't say anything and become junk to the reader.

It is our goal to help you get started into the world of "Social Media" so that you have true success marketing yourself in this new universe.

[Please Note: All of the above account set up and maintenance plans are priced for a standard client with a basic allotment of time allowed for each. If you need a specialized plan to fit your needs or the time involved helping you ends up to be far more than anticipated, we reserve the right to discuss alternative pricing or to deny service when necessary. If you also need help with your "content" then we can help especially if it's moving over old articles or announcements, but there will be an additional hourly charge for this service. All prices are subject to change.]

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