Twitter is everywhere.  New Twitter applications, additions, and syndication tools have made communicating your value and creating relationships amazingly simple.

Simple, but not necessarily easy. I’m sure that most of you already have a Twitter account, but are you leveraging it?  I only tweet a couple of times a day and I’m not a twitter fanatic, but certainly see the value in growing your followers.   Randy Gage, a colleague “@Randy_Gage” has really leveraged Twitter. He sent out a tweet and within an hour he had 150,000 people visit his Prosperity Blog.

Here are a few tips to help you leverage Twitter as a professional.

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I’d bet that many of you would classify your efforts with Social Networking as “social NOT working.”

It’s NOT working until you engage in conversations, spread your expertise, and most importantly “add value.” With hundreds of social media sites out there, it’s hard to maintain focus and really add value and stay active on every site.

So, start by focusing your efforts on these top five social media sites.  Here is a brief overview.

1. YouTube.com

This is the most popular video content sharing site. If you’re new to YouTube, go get your channel, which is to say go sign up for your account  – your account name is your channel name so select it wisely. It’s better to have a keyword phrase or your name than it is to have your name with a number or something obscure. For example, I have a few channels, but my main channel is www.youtube.com/primeconcepts (go subscribe now).   I also have www.youtube.com/fordsaeks, but too many people spell my name wrong so I send the traffic to the Prime Concepts channel. There are several other popular video sharing sites each with their own theme, but master YouTube first.  Then you can leverage your efforts on other video sharing sites, using sites such as www.TubeMogul.comfor starters. Share value-added content and watch your business grow.

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Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and LinkedIn are just a few of many Social Media Web sites that are quickly growing in size and popularity.  Most likely you or someone in your family has an account on one or all of these sites. But, just like in the real world, not everyone wants to be your friend online. I think this short shocking video makes my point…

Click to the link below to read more and post your comments

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500,000 million people on facebook… you, your friends and your prospects and clients.  Not only should you us caution with your Facebook profile, but you should make sure that you aren’t using the same passwords for all of your website access. Video makes the point…

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Keywords Drive Traffic.

If you ever attended one of my Internet Marketing Seminars then you know that “Keywords Drive Traffic” is my online marketing mantra.  This short blog post is focused around the importance of using your keywords (and keyword phrases) for social media marketing.

This starts with understanding that keywords drive traffic, but with social media marketing it’s not the typical usage of driving  traffic to get people to buy a product or service.

In fact, if that’s all you’re trying to do with social media networking than you are approaching social media with the wrong perspective and will waste a ton of time.

Social Media Markeing is all about relationships, adding value, joining the conversation and getting and giving feedback.

With Social Media the words you use in your profiles, account names, tags, blog titles & descriptions, user groups, and other posts all help you expand your digital footprint.

The top 5 Social Media sites that I recommend you focus your efforts are  Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn and Your Blog.  There are thousands of others and depending on your niche or focus area, there may be a few others that you want to leverage, but how many more in-boxes and accounts do you really need to manage?

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First, the buzz was all about having a website, then came email marketing, instant messaging and blogging followed by MySpace and now thousands of Social Media & Networking Sites.

With all of the Social Media Sites growing exponentially, I’m frequently asked if they can really help build a business… Yes, they can. Sure you have to take the time to learn the unique nuances of each site, their purpose and how the community interacts, but Social Networking is here to stay and is only going to get bigger.

I’ve focused more on Youtube, FaceBook, and LinkedIN, but lately, all of the buzz has been about www.Twitter.com

I set my account up months ago but didn’t Tweet (post) much at all. Today, after presenting for the Publicity Society of America (PRSA) at their national convention I was amazed how many people were talking about how they were using Twitter effectively. View it at www.Twitter.com/Prime_Concepts

So tonight I updated my Twitter profile, created a custom page background, posted a few Tweets, linked a few favorites and downloaded a small application to my Iphone.

I searched for my name “Ford Saeks” and found several people that had tweeted (sorry, I’m not used to that term yet) with quotes from my presentation. From there, I found more blog postings about me too. What a great way to stay connected to your customers and more importantly your “brand”. (watch Twitter Video >>)

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Using Relevant Keywords is the Most Important Element to Increase Your Site Traffic

Everyone I talk to as an Internet Marketing Consultant wants to know how to get more site visitors from search engines.  It starts with a basic understanding of how the search engines work-or rather what their responsibility is to their user-the searcher.

The search engine’s job is to provide the best and most relevant results to the person using their search engine to find solutions to their searches. To do that they need to catalog a site’s content and while there are every-changing algorithms for top rankings a critical element for search engine optimization (SEO) is the content, which of course is made of WORDS.

Those words when filled with your “keywords” make up your content.  Knowing which words to use and where to put them on your site is a huge element of SEO to get more traffic.   Keywords and keyword phrases are the same thing.

Here are a few tips for keyword success:

1. Make a list of the main types of prospects you want to attract.

Create a marketing profile for the typical prospect and customer for your business in a word doc. Get as specific as you can so you can put yourself in the “mindset” of the type of people you want to attract.  Ask yourself and evaluate what keywords you think they would type into a search engine to find you, your products or services.

2. Do your research.

Look at your website statistics because that will show you what words people are using now to find you. It doesn’t mean they are the best words, but your stats will show you what keyword phrases they are using now.  We use “Google Analytics” for sites. It’s a free service, easy to implement and offers a ton of benefits.

You want targeted traffic that will convert into customer leads and sales.  Many years ago I optimized my Internet Marketing Speaker website for my name “Ford Saeks” but because my first name Ford is also a major automotive company I was receiving tons of spill over traffic for people looking for Ford cars and Ford car parts, and not my professional services to help people improve their marketing results and profits.  The keywords we use now are related and relevant to what our prospects and customers are searching for to find our solutions.  The research results, our site statistics and usage of the popular keywords research tools all help us optimize our sites for top rankings.

Two of my favortite Keyword tools are:

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The real power of Social Media Marketing (SMM) is the “social” part meaning that anyone with the desire can now become a publisher, host or broadcaster of content. There are new SMM sites popping up daily.

Just visit www.Go2Web20.net and you’ll find thousands of sites on every topic imaginable. Eventually, there will be a few winners and a ton of losers. It’s easy to get carried away and jump at every new site, but before you waste a ton of your time — think about the purpose and outcome of your efforts.

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For you Social Media Marketing buffs… another day… another social media site… and they all need your profile information to help you benefit from the site and help you drive traffic to your other sites.

The SMM site of the day is http://www.naymz.com/ and it offers you the opportunity to tell the world why you are talented, valuable, and unique.  What I like about Naymz is that it allows information to be verified, and as such, should become a trusted resource.

Anybody can post information about themselves on the Internet.  This site allows the people who are closest to you to vouch for your reputation.  Through the power of the Naymz Reputation Network, you can now allow others to verify the information you claim about yourself.

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The rules are changing and business models are evolving fast!

As a marketer… the buzz, hype and hysteria about Web 2.0 is similar to the Dot Com explosion of the late 1990s.   Everyone was scrambling to claim their space.  Experts were everywhere and multiplied exponentially as everyone rushed to create their sites. They started off simple, then got crazy with colors and animated .gifs, and we’ve all watched as the web evolved into one of the best business-building and social mediums in the world.  

Why do I think you should pay attention to Web 2.0?  Because if you’re a savvy business owner, marketing professional, entrepreneur, or corporate executive you’ll miss the next big wave on the Internet that can help you build your business.

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