24
Jan
2008
Posted by Charles Heflin as Social Marketing
If you fail to plan then you plan to fail…
Social Marketing has become a huge trend in online marketing even though it has been around since the dawn of the Internet It has recently been popularized by many recognized sources and has become an extremely viable way to draw traffic and sales to your website or blog faster than any other form of Internet marketing.
A popular A List blogger and respected social marketer DoshDosh says:
“Social media marketing is the process of promoting your site or business through social media channels and it is a powerful strategy that will get you links, attention and massive amounts of traffic.
There is no other low-cost promotional method out there that will easily give you large numbers of visitors, some of whom may come back to your website again and again.”
There is a major problem though… there are so many social networks that it quickly becomes very confusing to determine a starting point, much less a complete strategy. To make matters worse the prospect of wasting time in the wrong networks paralyzes most marketers from taking the first step. The biggest fear that we (as marketers) share is the fear of wasting time and not seeing results from our efforts.
My upcoming report will address this problem and then provide you with an easy solution to remove the fear by giving you a guided step-by-step solution so that you can begin drawing targeted traffic to your website or blog within 24 hours.
There are thousands upon thousands of social networks out there and determining where to start is a big problem. Many people that attempt a social marketing campaign end up confused and bewildered because they can’t figure out how to tie their social network activity into a successful marketing campaign that yields new traffic, action and sales.
This is no small issue and the sheer overwhelming nature of all of these social networks is enough to send anyone into a state of paralysis. To make matters worse, it is extremely complicated to organize all the social networks into one “clear” pattern so you can create an action strategy for your business.
For most people, social media marketing (SMM) is like muddy water, they can’t see through the water to find a clear and discernible path. To make matters worse, it can take days, weeks or months to examine all the social networks to determine which ones are right for your business and which ones carry groups of people that are passionate about the subject matter that your business provides a solution for.
It is hard to justify the time spent dabbling in social media marketing and the reward as being a viable solution for traffic and sales. If you can swim your way through the murky waters then SMM is an extremely effective way to drive tons of laser targeted traffic to your website or blog very quickly.
If you have a clear road map then the pain will disappear and you will be able to filter the muddy water until it becomes drinkable. The purpose my upcoming report is to clear the muddy water for you by providing a filter.
One of my biggest worries is that my filter will be abused by spammers. I did not create this filter for spammers. Spammers don’t understand that social marketing is driven by the collaboration of real people. They just look at it as a way to “drop links” or build backlinks to their website(s). What they don’t understand is by utilizing social media properly they could yield better results faster than any measure of spam could ever dream.
I have created a formula that shows you how to build a step-by-step social media marketing blueprint that will clear up the fear, doubt and confusion when it comes to creating a vehicle through which you can start, maintain and profit from social media marketing.
This formula works by systematically categorizing all of the known social media websites into easy categories. Then it categorizes all Internet business types into easy categories. By answering 4 specific questions (that the formula poses) you can use my social media database to quickly create a step-by-step blueprint by following one simple worksheet.
I created this formula for myself to eliminate my own pains and confusions. It is my personal way to filter the muddy water and make it drinkable.
Download the formula now at no cost: The Social Marketing Blueprint Formula
- Charles Heflin
Learn how to apply Social Media and SEO 2.0 to your business click here.
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44 Responses
Lowell
January 24th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
1Charles,
Stumbled over here from being on your email list for 2020. Glad to see you are getting more personal and that there is a human being behind the excellent content you offer.
Lowell
Ray
January 24th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
2Which media is more relevant to specific areas i.e. - Twatter is best for business, finance, banking & recruitment…(example only)
Which media is more powerful in their respective areas(say) descending order (at time of listing) i.e. Twatter then Propelling then Low5 for example.
A system for uploading. Indicating how to send visitors from one media to another where your info could be placed and which ones to do first. That may not even be necessary but I’ve noticed some do it.
Is it worth creating syndicates of like minded webmasters for promotional reasons? i.e. to get an article or site off the ground per say….
Hope those suggestions make sense. I’m starting to confuse myself so I’ll stop there!
Michael Sheridan
January 24th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
3I agree with you, Charles, sorting out the most appropriate websites is a problem and I look forward to seeing your solution.
SEO Omaha
January 24th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
4Charles,
Interesting to see you taking on the SMM - without the high cost of that other program (they provide quality info - but eek! on the price tag).
Been waiting to see something since your last email touting your plan to take advantage of SMM. I’ll be watching my mailbox…
Andrew
January 24th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
5Charles
I just wanted to thank you for the “heads up” information.
I will be the first to admit that I know very little about how
to use these sites for gaining massive traffic to any website
or blog.
Thanks Again
Andrew
SEO Secrets by Jon
January 24th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
6Charles,
I agree that you can get FAST results with SM. I had multiple top 10 and even #1 rankings on Google using social media and guess what, it was in 24 hours. Yes, really. I had one top 10 in a matter of 5 hours. Social media has a bunch of different advantages.
Social media is great because:
- it levels the playing field and gives the little guy a good shot at traffic.
- it helps in organic rankings
- it, the SM sites, have instant authority, credibility or trust with Google.
- it is easy, once you test drive it.
- you can create your own network.
- you can connect with people that you would have never met before.
- expose your site and product/service to a new market or world.
- start a following
- it can get great content out fast.
and last (for now) it’s social.. who doesn’t like going out and having a good time!
Jon Muranko
http://www.SEOSecretsLive.com
-
Scott
January 24th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
7Charles,
Thanks so much. This sounds like just what I need. I am just like you describe at the beginning, paralyzed.
Like, say I have a site that sells eBooks(I know, who doesn’t?), but as an example, if I post a link to that in a social network, I would feel like a spammer because after all the site is made to sell stuff. Will your report help with this sort of thing?
Anyway, I can’t wait. Thanks!!
Scott
John O'Hara
January 24th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
8Hi Charles
The report you’re about to release could not have come at a more appropriate time for me. It was only yesterday that I was thinking to myself…where do I start with all this? this social media stuff!
I was saying to myself that I needed some kind of road map through this social media minefield…a blueprint that I could follow step-by-step. You must be a mind reader because I do feel totally confused about what to do and where to begin so I can’t wait to read your report. I’m an avid reader of your newsletter and materials…they are always ‘right on the money’ and you certainly can’t say that about many internet marketers these days can you?
Best Wishes
John O’Hara
Phil Parks
January 24th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
9Charles -
I too am looking forward to clearing up the murky water of SMM. I am using it somewhat successfully at this point and feel that I could do better. Traffic is important and targeted traffic is better. Learning how to hone in on my market with the SMM space will be very valuable.
andrew goulding
January 24th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
10Looking forward to your report, which will undoubtedly be up to your normal high standard.
ADG
Pay Per Play Information
January 24th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
11Hey Charles,
I am glad you are coming out with this report. I was just going to order Stompernet. But I notice that your stuff is valuable and hit right at the point of what I want. Between you and John Reese 2008 should be a very profitable year!
Michael MacDonell
January 24th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
12Yep I definitely need this. I am lagging way behind in the field of social networks. I’ll be looking forward to your report Charles.
Thanks
Mike
Thomas Zimmerman
January 24th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
13I have tried SMM with very little success. I definitely will be looking forward to this report.
Thanks Michael for the Opportunity.
Thomas Zimmerman
Minie
January 24th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
14Hi Charles,
I am at the “right place at the right time”? I have been shy promoting my “Affiliate Links” on my blog. Can I do this?
Could I put something like this or not? http://www.superaffiliatehanbook.com/cbae/?=FHZHKqq9 if not how do it?
Minie
Convert 100% of Your Traffic!
January 24th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
15Charles,
Looking forward to the report. You are right about the proliferation of Social Media sites leading to paralysis by analysis. Even though SMM takes some work, it is well worth the effort and the price for the traffic sure beats PPC! Number 1 rankings on Google in hours can not be argued with.
Thanks,
Ted
Guru Bob
January 24th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
16Many of the Social media sites start out very open but after time (particularly when the Internet Marketers get involved) thy begin to shutdown certain things like putting ‘no follow’ tags on outgoing links and being more restrictive with their Terms of Service.
It would be great to have a summary of the Social Media sites in relation to how open (and therefore how useful) they are.
Guru Bob
Davin Ogden
January 24th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
17Awesome Charles, can’t wait for the report!
Davin
IMKTS
January 25th, 2008 at 1:08 am
18Hey Charles,
I tried SMM with very little success. I will be looking forward to this report. Hope you should release it soon.
Susan Coils
January 25th, 2008 at 1:49 am
19Charles
This will be great. Social networking is a minefield at the moment. A lot of them simply get overun with spammers. Being able to sort out the ‘real’ from the ad farms will be a huge bonus.
thanks
Susan
Janna
January 25th, 2008 at 1:55 am
20Charles,
Your information is always extremely helpful. I receive newsletters from various marketing pros which I not often read because of lack of time. However, I always read yours as I do not like to miss your valuable tips. I have tried some SMM, but I am not sure how to go about really. I am looking forward to the release of your report.
Catalin- Prostate Health
January 25th, 2008 at 2:10 am
21Hey Charles
Indeed looking forward to your report and clear explanations.
I think your concepts are quite clear judging by what you explained in this article, basically we must
1st) Have a blue-print to allow to choose the right social sites for a spcific
-business &
-business model
2nd) A blue-print to allow to link the systems chosen in step 1 by different means (one can link to another and another and trigger a wave effect)
3rd) Create an activity plan to “make things happen”.
Also, one thing i’m curious about and noone seems to explain is:
-many people have yahoo.com mail accounts, and use yahoo messenger a lot.
-how can we use yahoo 360 to promote our business?
Thanks again Charles, looking forward to your report:)
SATANAND
January 25th, 2008 at 2:44 am
22I agree with when you say that newbies do not follow the true path to networking because to enter this market you lose many a thing. You just keep wandering here and there before you can settle. That’s why I believe that such a situation exists .
Franck Silvestre
January 25th, 2008 at 3:53 am
23You are right man, Social media bring traffic, but it’s very time consuming.
I am looking to outsource this part of traffic generation.
The Anti Hype
January 25th, 2008 at 8:25 am
24This will be a great resource Charles. Submitting to the “wrong” sites is a waste of effort but finding out which ones are best for each niche is just mind boggling.
Looking forward to your report. Thanks in advance
TrudyVan
January 25th, 2008 at 8:28 am
25Hello there Charles TrudyVan here.
I truly believe in social media marketing. It really works. In fact any sites that you can bookmark you site url is using your head. My traffic and sales has increase since I started to bookmark.
http://www.squidoo.com/bookmarkingsites
Rox
January 25th, 2008 at 9:27 am
26Excellent. These paint by numbers guides are huge timesavers and a welcome asset to an online marketers profitability.
I’m about to publish a step by step guide to publishing a SEO friendly niche Wordpress website. Available for free to all readers of my http://marketingdefined.com/blog
Robert
January 25th, 2008 at 10:31 am
27I am quite new to internet marketing. I am a 76 year old wrinkly who needs to boost his pension.I hav a lot to learn and I think I have just found the way to do it..
valentina
January 25th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
28I am just getting around to understanding that SMM (could there be a different acronmym I wonder) can be a valuable marketing venue for real business. Will you be addressing things like usernames etc. What prompts that question is that in one of my businesses I have developed a persona … a dog actually, who “writes” the bi-weekly newsletter and therefore is the Chief Barker, as well as I and my board of advisors have recently appointed him to the CEO position of the busines, thus making him Top Dog …. etc. I am having fun developing this and those who read the newsletters and blog seem to be enjoying it as well.
There seems to be some controvery about masking your name … i.e., you need to be a real person … yet how different is a user name from a persona? In the end, I am not trying to “mask” anything, just developing an online dog who is arguably the first spokesdog, dare I say the world?
I don’t want to break any rules and although I have had some people address this issue for me, I am still swimming that muddy river on this point with no clarity
Gary Cooper
January 26th, 2008 at 12:29 am
29Hi,
1. Charles I am very interested about SMM: as much as possible have been trying to keep those sites sites from mixing with my other sites?
separate & letting one feed of the other cause I waiting to see your stratigy this is kind of what I= directmatch,adlandpro,myspace,simply,quantcast,mysites,gothasmit,yuwie, scribd,nero,blogger.com,uvme?
2. Is it possible to have a meta tag, or sitemap on my affiliate site?
Jack
January 26th, 2008 at 10:38 am
30Hi Charles,
anything that will clear up the clutter of SMM will be great help.
I just can’t seem to get ionto it with any focus, so any help or suggestions for a plan of action would be a great help.
Jack
Chris Shouse
January 28th, 2008 at 11:31 am
31I am very new at network marketing. Glad forall the help I can get.
Chrid
EasyPPP
February 2nd, 2008 at 3:49 pm
32I’ve registered to receive the information. Looking forward to it! Thanks.
Paul
February 2nd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
33HI Charles as ever succinct and relevant, I look forward to this new report and we continue the Master Plan
Paul
EasyPPP
February 7th, 2008 at 3:23 am
34Where do you find time for all of this?
Václav Bárta
February 12th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
35Vůbec nechápu o co Vám přesně jde, Dal jsem si vaší reklamu na mé stránky ale nic bnefuguhe Carles Helfin
SocialBee's
February 19th, 2008 at 10:50 am
36SMM is tricky and no doubt the landscape is vast. I am looking forward to reading your report. Obviously, I haven’t read the report yet, but at first thought there isn’t any foolproof “formula” to ensure success. From my experience at working with some of the largest Socail Networks out there. Brands simply just don not dedicate the time or truly adopt all of the capabilities available to them to bring consumers into their world’s and take them behind the velvet rope. SMM is an opportunity for you to give some control to consumers and allow them to truly own your brand. This is scary for many brands so they don’t even dip their toe in the water and would prefer to stay “safe”.
SadieJane
February 26th, 2008 at 10:56 am
37Charles,
Definitely there is need to better identify and classify these sites. And determine specifically where webmasters’ time and energy will be productive, or wasted.
Looking forward to your report.
Sadie
Kovanda Mirek
February 26th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
38Zkus to ale nejde zvuk na stránkách jen šum
Václav Bárta
February 26th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
39Na stránkách mám již delší dobu váš kod ale nejde zvuk jen šum
Highwaystar
February 27th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
40Hey Charles, thanks for yet another informative read with excellent tips, could you possibly put together a check list of the best VA’s to outsource social networking projects…
Václav Bárta
February 28th, 2008 at 4:21 am
41Charles Helfin proč stále nefunguje audio reklama na mých stránkách ? Vložil jsem kod ale jde jen šum, jak je to možné. Můžete mě informovat o stavu vydělávání a funkčnosti systému. ?
Internet Marketing Joy
February 29th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
42I don’t know why but I don’t believe that there are methods that can get you fast results in social media marketing. You need to invest lots of time and effort on it not just an overnight night.
Sans Money Secret
April 24th, 2008 at 8:05 am
43Hi Charles
Had the report for a while now and just wanted to say to anyone reading this, it is amazing.
Thanks a million for taking the trouble to sort it all out.
Dan - Adwords PPC Expert
September 24th, 2008 at 3:51 am
44Hi Charles,
As a pay per click advertiser, I always recommend to begin there, my bias i’m sure.
But as far as attracting prospects to my site, I see the huge advantage of SMM, and I’m eager to learn more.
thanks,
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