About Me 0114: 1 internet marketing

Now that you’ve started your business and told all your friends and family, you may be wondering, “how do I get more customers?” or “how do I branch out to other people?” Marketing your company and increasing your business presence are ongoing tasks throughout the life of a business that every entrepreneur faces. You can never have too many customers and putting some time into finding those customers is well worth the effort. The following are some helpful ideas for increasing your business presence.

1. Make Your Business Look Official. The first step to a successful marketing campaign is to make your business look official to the outside consumer. With the threat of identity theft ever present in the mind of the American consumer, the more official your business looks, the more likely a customer is to use you and then recommend you to a friend. Making your business look official can consist of filing it with the state, listing with the Better Business Bureau, or even just getting letterhead and a website. In today’s online-based economy, finding a company with a website or that is reputable is just a click away. You don’t want to lose consumers because you looked too much like a fake company.

2. Obtain Relevant Trademarks. After making your business official, keeping up the high standards of operation is important. Unfortunately, a great reputation can be ruined easily by a company with the same or similar name. Getting a trademark for your business or the product you make is important to protect against potential confusion of consumers and gives you recourse against those individuals who do steal your name. U.S. trademarks also protect you from someone stealing your name or ideas nationwide, providing you the opportunity to expand your business beyond your city and state. Applying for a trademark may sound difficult but in reality, many online business filing services will prepare the trademark application materials for you, saving you the hassle of hiring an expensive lawyer.

3. Create a Marketing Plan. Advertising and marketing is the biggest way to make consumers aware of your business, and creating a marketing plan will give you some direction. Think about what you do and who your targeted consumers are. That will often dictate how you focus your marketing and advertisements. For example, a company that offers in-home services to elderly people (a hot industry FYI) probably isn’t using their resources wisely if they use mostly internet advertising. On the other hand, a company that sells college textbooks would do well with almost all online marketing. The audience you sell to and the products or services you offer will help define where your advertising and marketing resources and efforts should go.

4. Different Media Options. Now that you’ve made yourself look professional and reputable and you’ve got your target audience in mind, here are some places you can start your publicity.

Social media is a great place to go for companies that appeal to the younger generation. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are widely popular in the under-30 crowd and even professionals in the 30 to 60 bracket are starting to get in on the action. Having accounts with these sites allows you to create a page where people can find out more information about you and “follow” you. Facebook also allows companies to do advertising with its site, further increasing your presence in the social media scene.

In addition to social media, there are other online techniques to gain and keep customers. Taking the website you created and making it as user-friendly as possible will encourage consumers to use you instead of going to another site. Also, applying search engine optimization techniques (commonly known as “SEO”) to your website will bring it up higher on search engines for certain terms, helping consumers find you. Lastly, listing yourself with trade associations and writing articles relating to your industry or field will help get your name out there and that will go a long way towards bringing in new customers.

For more traditional fields or older generation consumers, print marketing will be much more beneficial. Many trade associations continue to publish print newsletters and journals so look into publishing with them. Mailbox flyers or mailings are also good ways to reach out to consumers and make them aware of your business. Posting these flyers in places that your consumers might frequent will further increase your company’s presence.

Remember, marketing and advertising are only the first few steps on the road to running a successful and profitable business. Keep customers and provoking customers to recommend you are just as important as the initial publicity. Customers will be most likely to recommend you when they have a good experience so keep your standards high!

Research can sometimes be a bit of a chore, but when knowledge is wrapped up in charts, cartoons, or even some heart-holding robots, suddenly “information” isn’t such a scary word.

What do Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook’s 500 million users look like? Who’s suing whom in the mobile world? How does FarmVille stack up against actual farms? These questions and more are answered in the infographics below.

Have a look through the list and let us know which graphics you liked best (or learned the most from) in the comments below.

Time-Lapse Twitter Visualization Shows America’s Moods /> A group of researchers from Northeastern and Harvard universities have gathered enough data from class='blippr-nobr'>Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter to give us all a snapshot of how U.S. residents feel throughout a typical day or week.
Facebook’s 500 Million Members /> The illustration breaks down the demographics of Facebook’s burgeoning population (according to their own data on the service), and explores the international makeup of the site.
The Social Media Impact of “Jersey Shore” /> With the premiere of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” come and gone, we can now analyze the impact of the show on our favorite social media sites.
What Types of People Raise Money for Web Startups? /> Venture capital investment can be crucial for getting a company off the ground. But who are the entrepreneurs that receive funding for their startups?
The Rise of Text Messaging /> Did you know that 14-17 year-old girls in the U.S. send an average of 100 texts each day? Check out this infographic for more interesting SMS stats and facts.
Facebook Privacy: 6 Years of Controversy /> The release of Facebook Places raised serious privacy concerns for users of the social network. Check out this infographic that traces the history of Facebook’s privacy snafus.
“FarmVille” vs. Real Farms /> Have you ever wondered how virtual farming and actual farming stack up? Do humans produce more virtual crops than real ones? We’ve harvested all the interesting data for you here.
Social Good: Charity and Technology in the Online Universe /> How has social media giving changed over the last few years? How does it compare with traditional non-profit campaigns? Check out our infographic for some perspective.
What People Think About America’s Most Pressing Matters /> An infographic created by creative agency JESS3 asks, “What are the nation’s most pressing issues?” and displays the answers from 1,671,267 citizens.
Connected TV: The New Battle for Your Living Room /> Apple TV, the Boxee Box, and Roku are finally bringing web entertainment to the living room. How do these products stack up? Check out this detailed price and feature comparison chart.
The Tangled Web of Lawsuits in Mobile /> Who’s suing whom in the mobile industry? It can be a tough question to answer, even if you’re closely following all the lawsuits that have been thrown around.

Survey Shows the Internet Would Have Passed Prop 19/> Prop 19, California’s controversial bid to legalize marijuana, lost at the polls on Tuesday, but if that vote had been up to the wider web of Internetusers, Prop 19 would have passed.
Social Media’s Impact on the Midterm Elections /> Social media, especially Facebook, had a huge impact on how the U.S. midterm elections were perceived and decided. Here’s a breakdown by the numbers.
The State of B2B Social Media Marketing /> The vast majority (86%) of B2B businesses use social media for marketing. See how they’re using it, which tools they’re utilizing and what the future holds.
The Biggest Brands on Facebook /> In the past few years, big brands have started taking social media seriously, and Facebook marketing is a big part of the plan for many companies.
What Is the Web Thankful For? /> Thankfulfor.com has put together a (surprisingly long) report that details what things people say they are grateful for having in their lives.
How the World Is Using Cellphones /> The infographic illustrates the number of cellphones per capita in various countries, the rate of cellphone adoption in the U.S. over the past decade and the acceptability of certain behaviors regarding cellphone use.
Who Will Win the Mashable Awards? /> We’ve broken down a complete list of the finalists by category in one handy (and unicorn filled!) infographic. Make sure you get voting before it’s too late!
How Connected Devices and Consoles Compare /> As 2010 draws to a close, we’re finally starting to see new and improved connected devices for bringing streaming content to the living room hit the market.

For more Social Media coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Mediaclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Media channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad

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About Me 0114

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

1 internet marketing

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