The Complete Idiot S Guide To Social Media Marketing

Make your business stand out in the online crowd! If you're not taking advantage of the incredible resources available at your fingertips via social media, you're missing out on an inexpensive, effective, and far-reaching marketing opportunity to promote your product,\ service, or business. It's time to log on and get social! The next best thing to a personal marketing manger, this revised and updated guide gives you everything you need to know to utilize Facebook®, Twitter®, YouTube®, Linkedin®, Google+®, and other social media platforms to drum up new business. In it, you get- A primer on all the big names in social media outlets and how to get started with each. Easy tips for using social media to research who your customers are so you can better sell to them. Step-by-step guidelines on creating compelling and effective content for Facebook, Twitter, and more. Award-worthy advice on putting the world of Internet video to work for you, plus tips on making and uploading videos. Down-to-earth advice on which combination of social media is best for your product or service. Readers rave about The Complete Idoit's Guide® to Social Media Marketing-'Jennifer Abernethy is the Seth Godin of social media marketing.' 'Packed with great examples, inspiring, and direct 'how-to' advice that will help anyone.' 'Filled with timely tips, ideas, and how-to's!' 'Step-by-baby-step fpr the technologically impaired.'

The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Social Media Marketing, Second Edition, covers cutting-edge techniques for small and large businesses alike. Ask the Author Q: How has social media marketing changed business and personal lives? A: The playing field has been leveled for business. No longer do you need a 6 or 7 figure budget to reach people around the country or globe for that matter. Personally, many lives have been affected. Many people more connected, businesses have grown because of the connections, TV and singing careers have been launched, money has been raised for charity, books have been marketed and purchased, and so on. Q: What has been the most challenging part of utilizing social media? A: I think the learning curve. With all of these sites . . . they come with no directions and no LIVE phone number. Q: What has worked the best and worst thus far? A: Facebook because of it’s broad reach really has worked for me, but many would argue that YouTube works the best; particularly since it is the search engine of choice with the 11–34 age group. Q: How can a person searching for a job use social media marketing? A: So many ways. . . . They need to be on LinkedIn with a professional looking profile, photo, and contact information. They could also utilize video to begin sharing their expertise. Candidates need to stand out in a crowd of millions so if they say . . . sent in a video introducing themselves and a video follow up email . . . that would wow them! Q: What is the newest thing since Twitter? A: I believe companies and individuals are starting to utilize audio for creating their own iTunes channel, and also location-based social media like FourSquare. I personally, am not sold on location based services as of yet from a safety point of view, but for retailers it can be a good thing. I believe video is going to explode in popularity in 2011 for the 35+ market as well. They just need to get comfortable being on camera!

• Covers all aspects including Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Places, and Facebook Deals

Get connected The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Creating a Social Network takes reader through the technical aspects of creating a successful site-and addresses the responsibilities involved in running one. • Covers how to build and maintain a website through a white label service such as GroupSite or Ning, and by using customized software for creating one's own network • Addresses such issues as privacy, authenticity, fostering participation, quality versus quantity, moral and ethical guidelines, and much more • Americans now average more than six hours per month on social networks, with an active unique social network audience estimated to be from 149 million—up 29 percent from 2009 • Ad revenue taken in by social networking sites is growing rapidly, and many people and companies are looking for ways to get in on this growth

Pinterest is a social media site that enables users to create online pinboards of compelling images they find online by "pinning" the images and curating them into various categories. It has exploded into American consciousness with big media attention and exponential growth-most notably reaching 10 million unique monthly visitors more quickly than any social media site in history. The vast majority of early devotees have been women of higher income between the ages of 25 and 49, and the images they pin frequently fall into the categories of clothing, crafts, food, and home décor. This represents a significant opportunity for companies and brands whose products are targeted to this market; however, Pinterest has value far beyond its initial popular use. Companies large and small are hearing the hype and hoping to get an early start with a site that shows signs of continued growth and influence. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Pinterest Marketing helps small business owners as well as marketing experts at larger companies get on the Pinterest bandwagon and learn how to use this exciting new phenomenon to increase online exposure for their products, strengthen their online presence, and connect with customers in a place where they are now flocking. In it, readers learn how to: Use the basic features of Pinterest, including setting up an account, creating boards, and pinning images. Develop a Pinterest marketing strategy and integrate it with other online and offline presences. Project a brand voice onto Pinterest through strategic pinning and writing compelling pin copy. Create pins that get repinned. Grow a following organically and understand the importance of whom a brand follows. Engage an audience through contests, collaborative boards, and more. Determine who in the organization will pin, or whether to outsource it. Gauge and quantify the success of a brand's marketing efforts on Pinterest.

Twitter has tens of millions of users and its active "tweeters" and followers look to it to answer to the question, "What's happening?" Businesses both large and small can quickly and easily send out highly targeted messages to key customers using Twitter. However, simply grasping only the mechanics of Twitter and flogging a message nobody cares about isn't enough to make a measurable difference. Worse, using Twitter the wrong way can damage a company's brand. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Twitter Marketing blends an understanding of Twitter's powerful tools and reach with marketing savvy and the key to really engaging followers and converting them to customers. It also covers new features such as the increasing importance of search engine optimization.

Take advantage of the #1 blog publishing application. With more than 22 million users worldwide, WordPress is the #1 blog WordPress publishing application in the world. This guide provides users of both its hosted blogging service (WorldPress.com) and its self-hosted application (WordPress.org) with everything they need to know to create, customize, manage, and share their WordPress blogs with the world.

In today's business environment, many professionals are getting back to the basics of key topics such as marketing. In this new edition of the popular The Complete Idiot's Guide to Marketing, author Sarah White gives a comprehensive update on marketing today. She takes a firm foundation of the basics and adds to it accessible marketing techniques including guerrilla marketing, marketing to the Baby Boomer generation, online marketing, targeted affordable direct mail, and more! With all the formal material readers need for positioning products or services including marketing plans, distribution strategies, and more, this completely updated edition is the book readers need for today! New coverage includes sample marketing plans for several types of small business – and a couple of larger projects; practical do-it-yourself strategies and tactics; how to analyze business segments, trends, etc.