Online Assistant

• All +1′s come from people with a Google account that has been verified by phone (Phone Verified Accounts)
• All +1′s come from real people. No bots are being used!
• All +1′s are being given by manually going to your website and clicking the +1 button
• It’s untraceable because the +1′s are being given from different IP’s
• All +1′s are given dripped over a couple of days so it looks natural

Twitter is a wonderful business tool, not least because it's free. All it will cost is your time (and if that's in short supply, you can hire a social media marketer to manage it for you).

Used well, Twitter can provide good exposure for your business, but you can also damage your brand with social media marketing if you're not careful, so it's worth learning the biggest do's and don'ts before you start using Twitter.

The beauty of Twitter is that it's a huge global community of human beings (mostly; there are spammer accounts but they're easy to spot, block and report). So do show your human side, especially when using your business account. Talk about things that matter to you: funny things your children say, recent achievements, your favorite band or TV show, and so on. Join in with conversations that interest you - be friendly, show emotion, and use smileys if you want to.

On the other hand, don't be too human. Don't share anything you wouldn't share at a real-world business networking event; keep intimate health problems and controversial or potentially offensive opinions to yourself.

Some people write well, others don't - that's true in all areas of life, not just on Twitter. You don't need to be a bestselling novelist to use Twitter, but it helps if you have basic literacy skills (and if you use Twitter at the website instead of through a client, your Tweets will be spell checked as you type anyway - which helps).

However good (or bad) your writing skills are, with Twitter's 140-character limit you'll need to be creative with your Tweets. Your Tweets need to be concise yet informative, and often you'll be trying to squeeze in a URL too (URL shortening services like bit.ly and tinyurl.com are lifesavers).

One definite don't is using text speak. Text speak is fine if you're 13, but as a professional adult promoting your business you're just going to look silly, and won't communicate your messages efficiently - unless you're targeting 13 year olds.

If you have some good news - related to your business or your personal life - share it; everybody loves a good news story.

Do share links - to your website, your blog, your local news service, or anything else that interests your followers. This is a great way to get conversations going. But do remember to explain what the link's about, or your followers will feel less inclined to click it. And don't Tweet the same link over and over; people will quickly become bored and may stop following you.

Do retweet your friends' links, too. They'll be grateful, and so will your followers if the link is interesting and relevant. But here's a very big 'do' - DO make sure you click the link and read the content before sharing it with your followers, or you could end up sharing a page that's irrelevant or offensive, or which contradicts your usual position on the subject.

Don't treat Twitter as your personal billboard. It's not. It's a community, millions of members strong, and the community as a whole is not very tolerant of users who constantly advertise. Try to stick to the 80-20 rule when you use Twitter for business: no more than 20% of your Tweets should advertise or self-promote, and at least 80% should be non-promotional. If you can get the ratio down to 90-10 or 95-5, even better.

Listen to what people are saying, and join in. Twitter is a network of conversations, so it's good practice to listen and respond to parts of those conversations that interest you. Don't just stand in the middle of the room with a megaphone, shouting "I'm fabulous! I'm selling widgets at 20% off this week!" Again, if you wouldn't do it at a business networking event, don't do it on Twitter.

Do retweet your friends' requests for help (for example, charity appeals and sponsorship requests), and do introduce friends that are new to Twitter and could do with some followers. And again - do retweet useful, interesting links from people you follow, but always check links before sending.

Don't use offensive language when representing your business on Twitter; even mild swearwords can put sensitive souls off following you (and besides - cursing in public is hardly professional).

Use Twitter to answer customer questions and solve their problems by all means. Many organizations use Twitter as a customer services tool very effectively. But don't ever, ever use an impolite or impatient tone with a customer. On Twitter, everything you say is out there for everyone to see, so leave your followers with the best possible impression of your brand at all times... the Internet has a very long memory!

Finally - consider this a bonus tip, since it's not really connected to any of the previous ones. Try to enjoy yourself when you use Twitter. Try to embrace all that's good about Twitter - the new friendships and business contacts you'll make, the fun hash tags and trending topics, the strong community spirit - and before long you'll be singing (or is that Tweeting?) Twitter's praises to anyone who'll listen.

In less than five years, social media has revolutionized not only our communication culture but how we conduct business. The dizzying effect of endless and sometimes unfettered-24-hour access to people and information has transformed the various tools into a game changer.

There is a broad and increasing list of sites, including BlinkList, YouTube, Delicious, Flickr, Tumblr, BlogMarks.net, and the triumvirate of major sites: Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. These social destinations have become to business professionals and entrepreneurs what golf is to C-suite powerbrokers - a juncture to strategically network and close deals based on shared interests and personal engagement. But these sites do more by offering users valuable real estate to advertise products or services, create and expand brand recognition, solicit feedback, build relationships, and create community forums. Users also have unprecedented access to consumers, hiring managers, prospective clients, industry experts, and opportunities.

Moreover, social media levels the playing field by allowing anyone access without restrictions on time, location, or social status.

The most diligent and creative players are reaping huge benefits. According to a report from Forrester Research, 55.6 millíon U.S. adults - just shy of one-third of the population - visited social networks at least monthly in 2009, a jump from 18% in 2008. Recent Nielsen research says Americans spend nearly 25% of their time online on social networks and blogs, up from nearly 16% a year ago.

The initial foray into social media can be daunting and bewildering. Newcomers to the space might wonder: Who's reading? Will I be heard or noticed? Isn't it all just fun and games? Isn't it invasive? Making the effort worthwhile requires time, patience, and a work-smart-not-hard strategy. Whether you're an entrepreneur or a corporate professional, the success of marketing your products, businesses, or your personal brand will be determined by how well you engage interest on the varying platforms. In part one of a series on social media strategies, Black Enterprise offers some tips to get you connected.

Finding out who your customers are and how they like to be served is essential for the success of any business. Questions and surveys offered on social media platforms can help business owners quickly access that information. Jason Burton, social media strategist and marketing director of Lab 5702, a boutique marketing firm in Kansas City, Missouri, says such data can help you position your product to broader groups outside your initial base of contacts. "Put your product in front of the trendsetters or the next level of users," he suggests. "Targeted searches let you drill down beneath the surface to find followers and potential influencers that can use or promote your product or service."

Location-based social mapping services such as Foursquare, Google Latitude, Loopt, Facebook Places, and MyTown allow consumers to benefit from their influence. For example, if you visit your favorite flower shop in Tucson and tweet it to your followers, you get $2 off your purchase. The greater the network and influence, the bigger the discount. These services also enable users to find friends and events; share locations, updates, tips, photos, and comments; and share across online social networks and blogs. Loopt has more than 4 million registered users and partnerships with every major U.S. mobile phone carrier and is available on more than 100 smartphones, including the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android. Google Latitude and Foursquare boast more than 3 million users each. Greater social media interactivity has been facilitated by mobile apps such as ÜberTwitter, MobileLinked IM, and Nimbuzz. According to a Juniper Research report, the number of downloads from mobile application stores is expected to rise from fewer than 2.6 billion per year in 2009 to more than 25 billion in 2015.

Carmen Hudson, CEO of Tweetajob in Seattle, oversaw employer branding campaigns when she was senior manager of talent acquisition for Yahoo and has witnessed the shift in recruitment practices. "Companies are cultivating and marketing a brand that attracts and is attractive to certain types of candidates," she explains. For companies such as Yahoo, Starbucks, Apple, and Microsoft, social media is increasingly at the forefront of that strategy. Recruiters will, for instance, use LinkedIn to create a search stream of attributes to find precisely the type of candidates hiring managers are looking for with minimal time and fuss. Moreover, Hudson adds, "They're also looking at how many followers you have. Do you have a strong network? If you're an expert, friends and/or follower numbers are strong indicators of that."

A Jump Start Social Media survey of hiring managers indicates that 66% go to LinkedIn to find candidates for openings, 23% go to Facebook, and 16% to Twitter. "Job seekers who frequently post and update profiles are nimble and often get to job opportunities first," Hudson says. "Recruitment officers can execute a well-rounded and more diverse search, through a search stream of attributes because they now can meet candidates where they play," says Hudson. At the same time, companies can promote the brand and the company message, which gives the job seeker a more informed perspective on the companies as potential employers.

• A blogging platform such as WordPress or Blogspot is essential, advises Warren Laidler, webmaster and creative director of DeLite Multimedia in New York City. Blogs have greater potential for organic leads because their content-rich nature makes them more search engine friendly. Search engines love content-driven platforms and rank them higher than static websites. "Think of your blog as a launch pad or hub for your enterprise. Your social media efforts should lead back to your blog or website, which should be dynamic and informative, providing content and information that encourages visitors not only to return, but to distribute your content to their network."

• Blogs or websites should contain SEO, or search engine optimized, keywords and phrases that help visitors find the business when they search via Google, Yahoo, Bing, and others. Laidler also suggests pulling in RSS feeds and useful links into your blog. "RSS feeds allow you to import content from outside sources and are a great way to share information that visitors find interesting."

• Work on engagement and consistency. For example, your Twitter timeline should be a combination of original updates, retweets, or shares from other sources, replies from connections, inspirational quotes, and trending topics. A standard formula is two to four tweets per day. Positive activity can also blossom quickly and create buzz that reaches well beyond a businesses' core audience. In the virtual world, consumers and job seekers can become influencers and trendsetters by persuading their network to take action or purchase a product or service. Laidler suggests using tools like Klout or Twittergrader.com to measure your social media influence and find out the reach of your Twitter posts.

We hear many business owners ask the question, "Is there any real value in Social Media for my Business?" Whether you like it or not, today and in the future social media is, and will be, an important component for all businesses.

Whether you are a bricks and mortar business or an online Internet-based business, chances are your sales will go up if you are marketing your business. There are many offline businesses that can effectively leverage social media to strengthen and grow their businesses in creative and effective ways. It's about thinking outside the box.

Most importantly, your social media marketing must fit in with your overall business Marketing Plan. If you are ad-hoc in how you use social media to market your business then yes you will probably get ad-hoc results. Be sure to implement a Social Media Marketing Plan to ensure you get the most effective results for your business.

Many of the popular social media websites, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, all engage prospects and customers, grow the awareness and popularity of your business and inevitably boost your sales.

If you are serious about taking your business into the 21st century, then you will need to embrace social media. There are many ways that businesses can use social media to their advantage. Here are just a few:

The first step is to create your profiles on the various social media websites and then update them on a regular basis. You will need to check your accounts a couple of times a week to respond to comments from your followers. This a great way to build presence, to be seen as an expert and to build relationships with your followers. The more you update and are seen to be interactive with your followers, the stronger your business's reputation will be.

Social media is another way to build relationships with people, prospects and customers that you may not ever have otherwise been exposed to. So make the most of it. In today's market, consumers are getting smarter, plus we live a world of mass advertising. The last thing you want to do is sell your products and services on social media. It's about educating your fans. Every once in awhile you might promote a workshop or specíal deal. Educate more, Sell less. If people want to find out more about you and your products and services, they can visit your website.

If you have a staff, get them involved and task them to update your social media posts on a daily basis. This is an excellent morale booster and your staff's involvement will strengthen your marketing effort and grow your business's online exposure. A little suggestion - you might want to keep an eye on how much time your staff spends on social media and that it is for work and not personal purposes.

Ask people to "Like" your social media pages. You can promote social integration on your business receipts, signs, brochures and invoices so that your existing customers will want to jump on the social media train as well. You can also ask your customers to check in to Foursquare or one of the other geo-location sites once they arrive in the general proximity of your store, offering them special promotions to entice them to come in.

Social Media is a great medium to keep an eye on your competitors and stay ahead of the game. It is a great way to research whether your competitors are offering special promotions, how active they are on social media, who is following them and what they are saying. Always remember to stay on top of what your competition is doing by reading everything that they post. Remember that you and other businesses are always fighting to stay on top.

People want to feel like they belong to something i.e. a community. This is your job and social media provides a perfect platform for this. People are more likely to purchase from people They Know, They Like, and They Trust. The way to achieve this is by having live events at your store as well as events online. Promote unique deals, give advice and Be There for your community.

If you don't have any help in managing your social media accounts and you try to do it all by yourself, you may find that you aren't doing it well or at all. Start with one and get comfortable with that. Make sure that you go for quality over quantity.

Are you aware of what your existing customers and potential customers are saying about your business, products and services, and brand? Pay special attention to the comments that people are posting online. It is also a good idea to set up Google alerts and to immediately handle issues as they occur. This is your chance to show people how much you care about them. Help them to solve their problems and address whatever concerns they have. Generally people are okay if a mistake is made, as long as you resolve it.

It takes time to see significant results with social media when it comes to the success of your business. Remember that your hard work will definitely pay off and the more relationships you build and the more you interact with others, the more interested other people will be in connecting with you again and again. It's also important to remember that social media does provide a means for you to connect with people you might otherwise not ever have had the opportuníty to meet.

You can use social media to give away free products from your store. This is sure to attract attention. People will want to interact with you and will want to be the first to know when you introduce new products and services. Be careful, however, of not over doing the promotion and competitions.

Social Media is here. Many consumers are spending hours online, so it makes sense to have a presence as well for your business. The real results will come when you are strategic about your social media marketing. It's all about taking your business into the 21st century. If you are ready to embrace it, so will your clients. Then watch your business grow.

Here's a question for you? What do you need to be successful? What will it take for you to climb out of that deep, dark, dungeon of despair and mediocrity? What are you willing to do to be the best you can be?

Look around. Things are nuts, the economy stinks, politicians are goofy, people are addicted to cell phones, businesses are obsessed with Twitter and Google and Facebook; everything is made in China, and it's all CRAP! You're lucky if anything you purchase works the way its suppose to and god help you if you complain. You'll spend hours on the phone with some clown who doesn't know, doesn't care, and doesn't get paíd to really help you. They are the purveyors of frustration and creators of cynicism. Athletes pretentiously thank God for their base hits and million dollar contracts, and we watch in astonishment. Trust me, God doesn't give a damn about who wins the next Nascar race, or that you get an even bigger flat screen plasma for your birthday. He's got bigger fish to fry like global warming, child starvation, and deadly pandemics. You're on yóur own fella. So get use to it.

So what's a poor entrepreneur to do? Follow the big boys as if they were The Enlightened Ones. Right, how's that worked out so far? Do you really want to go down the same road as GM or Lehman Brothers? Nobody is going to bail your ass out of trouble; you can count on that.

People have stopped thinking. We educate our kids to be engineers and technicians, but they don't understand the world, they don't understand people. Unable to get into med school or law they become Web entrepreneurs because they think it's an easy way to make a buck. You don't ever have to see or hear from customers, they're not people they're just digital ghosts with bank cards. Well maybe that's the problem. Maybe that lack of communication skill is what's wrong? So how do you communicate, how do you serve your public, how do you become a success?

Do you really want to know, or do you want to keep doing the same thing with the same results you've been doing? Maybe it's good enough for you, but good enough isn't good enough anymore. Now you have to excel, now you have to be different to stand out. Now you have to be better, or at least as best as you can be. And all it takes is a fundamental understanding of how to communicate.

Are you ready to take the leap? Are you ready to communicate your message so people say, "I want that!" Don't get me wrong. There's no mystery, no secret, no great panacea for success. It's just a question of learning how and what to communicate, and that my friend is the why of it all.

That's right, words have meaning. Even in an era where language has been bastardized by text message lingo and meaningless business palaver dumped on us by consultants who don't run anything but their mouths, even today, words have meaning if you know what to say and how to say it.

Sure, sure, people are busy, I get that, but you know what frustrates them more than anything, it's when companies waste their time with bland, meaningless platitudes. People crave information. They demand to know more, be more, and achieve more. The potential is limitless. Are you filling that demand with meaningful, memorable content? Words are the foundation of persuasion. Words have meaning.

If you want to be the market leader you have to control the conversation and you do that with the language you use. If you can control the words you can dominate the market. The words you use make a difference. Use the right words in the right way, and you'll own the conversation, and put your competitors at a distinct disadvantage.

The Republican Party in the USA has controlled the political discourse for some time thanks to political consultant and pollster Frank Luntz. Luntz is the architect of the Republican Party's language policy. It's Luntz who was responsible for turning "inheritance tax" into "death tax," "global warming" into "climate change," and "eavesdropping" into "electronic intercepts." Control the words and you control the conversation no matter what side of the political fence you sit on.

People respond emotionally to the words used. The right language can spark an argument or an agreement; it can generate an order or a rejection. Words can move you. Move you to action. And that's what marketing is all about.

Words aren't much good if nobody hears them. Writing has to speak with a voice, an attitude, a point-of-view, and it has to be heard - out loud. The sound of the human voice delivers more meaning, more nuance, more depth of emotion and excitement than any other communication tool at your disposal. The proper use of tone, cadence, rhythm and phrasing creates something special, something more than just clever prose; it creates an experience and defines a brand.

Sound is by far the most complicated of communication tools and at the same time the most ignored and misunderstood. The wrong voice, the wrong music, and the wrong sound effects will kill any chance you have of delivering an effective marketing message.

Even the best words won't work if they aren't delivered properly. Creating a distinct identity demands a superior performance, one that delivers personality. Personality is the means by which you connect with your audience. After all, if you don't connect, nothing you say will be heard. Combine the right sound with the right words and the right personality, and you're on your way to getting where you want to be.

There's a reason we recommend video as the best way to convey your marketing message to your Web audience. Video can deliver your words, it can control the conversation, it can establish your brand, and it can present your message in the most meaningful, memorable manner if you do it right. You may have a great message, but if it's not delivered effectively, you are turning over your primary asset to your competitors.

Whether you like it or not technology is the way of the future. Everything you do and say will be online. If you decide it is all too hard, sorry to tell you but you are going to be left behind.

Social media provides a way to communicate to the masses, it means that you can expose your business to people that you wouldn't ever have had the ability to communicate and market to. It means that marketing your business all of a sudden becomes so much easier.

Facebook, being just one of the many social media communities, is an internet phenomenon which is currently sweeping the globe. Like instant messaging and sites such as YouTube, Facebook is a website which allows you to find and communicate with friends, share photographs, and compare your likes and dislikes.

Facebook has become so popular because it is uniquely viral in that you need to find 'friends' before you can communicate with anyone. People either have a love or hate relationship with Facebook since it gets to know an inordinate amount of information about you very quickly. However, you are in control of how much information you provide to the entire Facebook community or to your friends.

There is much debate as to whether Facebook is the place to be if you are in business. Is it worth your time and effort if the main users are consumers not businesses?

The answer to that is Yes. Marketing your business on any social media platform is not an arduous task, as much as many people think it is, it is about having a presence, building credibility, and educating your potential customers.

Remember, Facebook provides opportunities that you wouldn't ever have been exposed to, so make the most of it.

To be most effective when marketing your business via social media, you really need to be talking to your target market. How you get them to "Like" your page is all about building your following and providing education about what you do and how you can help them.

You should also have a strategy in place on how you will market your business through social media. It's like all your other marketing activities; it needs to be strategic not ad hoc for the best results.

Here are 10 key steps to help you get the most out of Facebook marketing:

1. Create a neat page. You don't have to fill out everything, but fill out at least the most important information in the profile section. Also, include a picture. People like seeing that they're dealing with an actual person or business and not just some faceless company.

2. Keep your business profile separate from your personal one. Don't go following your favorite bands or befriend your real life friends on Facebook with your business account. It's okay to have a bit of fun with your business profile, but don't forget its main purpose of marketing.

3. Make plans about what you're going to say. What are you trying to accomplish? How can you make your page unique? How can you get the right audience interested in your page? How will you respond to criticism? To praise? Be strategic!

4. Brand your identity. You can now brand and theme your Facebook page similar to that of your website. Use the same logos and graphics, although you shouldn't go overboard with them. Too many graphics will make your page difficult to load.

Create an Opt-in on your Facebook page to get followers contact details and all of a sudden you have another lead generation strategy for your business.

5. Interact with others. Participate in discussion and always give friendly, knowledgeable replies. Join clubs relating to your niche and provide suggestions and tips. Whenever somebody asks a question, provide a thoughtful answer.

If somebody says something you disagree with, let them know in a friendly manner, and provide a well-thought out reply as to why you do.

6. You'll probably have to deal with some negativity. People can question your intentions at any time. Always be patient with your critics and deal with them in a professional and friendly manner. Don't expect to always satisfy everybody. What you can do is maintain a positive image for your brand.

7. Try encouraging your fans to talk. Provide polls and surveys, asking your fans what they do and do not like about your niche. Try starting new topics such as 'top 10 reasons why' or 'learn how to' and then ask others to share their tips and ideas.

8. Keep everybody up-to-date with offers. Online communities need to be active, and one of the best ways to stay active on Facebook is to provide coupons and special deals on a regular basis. Also, having updates about discounts on your page will entice new visitors to follow you!

9. Hire a professional to create an app and provide it on your page. People really love apps, and your fans will even share them with their friends! Fun applications are a great way to attract attention on Facebook. You should be able to find a developer who charges fair rates.

10. Be consistent with your efforts. Log on every single day and post something! Even if you don't have any updates, log on and participate in discussion. If you don't get on Facebook every day and share tips, ideas, etc., people will forget about you. Also, don't forget to use important keywords in your posts!

Follow these 10 steps to get the best out of your Facebook marketing campaign!

Why not share your comments here on how you utilize Facebook to attract new business?

You may be at a point where your site has lots of usable and compelling content. Unfortunately this isn't always enough to gain new readers and revenue. It could be time to build a link strategy to boost your brand authority and site ranking. The way to begin is by making partnerships, starting conversations and trading links so more webmasters (and their readers) know who you are.

Why? The majority of computers and much of the media are now social, so it's time for you to break out of your bubble.

Getting your site optimized can be time consuming and often you won't see the results of the labor for a few weeks, if not months. A site that ranks well is the outcome of shrewd planning and lots of effort with few shortcuts. You have to make good decisions early in the process to gain a good amount of momentum. Basic SEO strategy is a lengthy process, and you can find out smart ways to begin here.

Similarly, incorporating social media into the public face of your business is a long process that will take time to reach its potential. Success in social media relies on cooperation and engagement with your clients and customers (and sometimes even your competitors). Where do you begin?

Basic Inbound Links: Inbound links are widely regarded as a necessity for high ranking in the search engine listings. Search engines view links to web sites as a vote in favor of their importance. If popular sites like your site, then search engines like your site. It resembles how high school cliques are formed. What this means is the more authoritative a site, the more powerful their link seems to search engines. If the link goes to your site, then search engines think your site also holds part of that authority. The authority of a site is gauged by its page rank (PR). This is a standard 1 to 10 scale Google assigns to pages based on hundreds of qualifications, 10 being the highest rank with most authority.

Part of best practices in building page rank and authority is submitting to directoríes and sites that point back to your site. But don't waste much time sending tons of random links out to directories with very low PR. Your time is better spent sending a few well-optimized links to popular sites that share context with content on your site. For example, if your business sells consumer electronics, then you want links from authoritative sites that review electronics brands you sell.

Other important aspects of in-bound links are:

* Don't do too much too fast. The rate of growth for incoming links should not ever be more than 20% per month. If too many inbound links pop up at once, search engines get nervous and your authority may suffer.

* The links should contain phrase-rich descriptors (page descriptions, alt tags for photo links, and/or your business name). The link structures should vary from site to site - they don't have to be wildly different, just dissimilar.

* Avoid lots of effort (but not all) directed at link building on sites that feature a "no follow" rule for back links. This eliminates most SEO value to your link. You can see which sites do this by investigating the source code, and no-follow commands are usually within a javascript applet.

* Social Media can be a powerful tool in building both traffic and PR for your website if you adhere to a few rules. More about that later.

Directional Links: These are standard links back to your site from a variety of web sites and directories that include a combination of title, short description, and/or a business logo.

Content Links: These are links to your site found within the body of content authored by you. The content is usually several paragraphs of text and infographics such as a press release, a blog post, research and white papers, or other information-based articles.

Social Media Links: Using social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and others are a great way to see who is saying something about you, but also a good way to tell others what you're doing. You can also provide your services as an industry resource or expert who gives advice to those who need it. The overall requirement is simple, but time-consuming: participate in conversations, don't just sell.

Social Sharing Links: These are referenced from media objects (e.g. videos, images, etc) that serve to indicate the author of the object. This strategy can include posting of "how to" videos on your related topics as well as creating a variety of directional links from bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon or De.licio.us.

In the next chapter, we'll discuss Directional Links and Content Links and where you can begin building them for inbound traffic boosts.