Blog, Blogger, Blogosphere

So what do these terms mean, and what can a blog do for my business?
 
New users to the social media world ask us all the time. "Just what is a Blog?"  Well, a Blog is a web site where you can post things about yourself or your business.  The word Blog is an acronym for Web Log. Take the last four letters and you have Blog. 


One of the more popular services that provides users with a free blog service is Google's Blogger. www.blogger.com With a little experience you can utilize some of the more advanced Blog features like posting pictures and links to other content sources. In fact, Blogs are designed to be easy-to-use by the non-programmer and the non-technical community.

Service your existing customers and find new ones

This is good advice and a simple common sense business strategy for success. In the process, it certainly can't hurt to tell your customers how much you appreciate their business. 

Fresh revenue from new customers is the fundamental cornerstone for the growth of any business. Acquiring new customers clearly needs to be a top priority in today's competitive business climate.  The trouble is, getting new customers is often a huge job in itself when you're focused on the day-to-day running of your business.

When it comes to communicating with potential customers, many small businesses simply don't have abundant time or technical resources to create sophisticated content or marketing campaigns. Moreover, hiring staff or an agency to do the work can be cost prohibitive. Today, small businesses are faced with huge advertising challenges that are seemingly insurmountable.

How to Link Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogger, Etc to Your OnFast Account

Once you've signed up for an OnFast account, in order to fully utilize the services OnFast has to offer, you will need to link your social network and blog accounts to OnFast. This enables our software to automatically schedule and post your coupons via social network and blog posts, saving you both time and money. 

To either link new accounts or view your already linked accounts, click the "Social Networks and Blogs" link on the "Home" screen. There will either be a manage or add button next to each social network and blog, depending on whether you've already linked the account. To add a new account, click on the "Add Link" button. This will take you to the social network/blog's setup screen . Once on that screen, click on the "Add Link" button (see below).

The Rationale for a Small Business to Blog and Blog Often

In these challenging economic times small businesses with limited advertising budgets need all the help they can muster.  Traditional legacy forms of advertising that utilize cumbersome ad agencies and media gatekeepers are not a cost effective answer.

Today, tech savvy businesses are turning to Internet based campaigns that seek to build trusted relationships by interacting with potential customers directly.

Surprisingly, one of the most effective ways to get noticed on the Internet is often overlooked.  Enter the Blog (a blend of the term "web" and log).  Basically, a Blog is a business or personal journal published on the Internet

A typical Blog combines text, images, links to Web pages and most importantly, social media sites.

Seeing the Future 5 Years Ago

As we move into 2012, it's interesting to look back in history at an event that was astonishing at the time and clearly prophetic.

The controversial event occurred on December 13, 2006 when Time magazine announced their annual choice for "Person of the Year."  Can you recall who it was? Most of you will not.

"You" were chosen in 2006, as Time magazine's Person of the Year. Time recognized the millions of people who contribute user-generated social media content to Wikipedia, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, and the multitudes of other websites featuring user contribution. If "You" were chosen today we would have to consider the contributions to countless new social network sites including such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.

Content Is The Key To Effective Blogs

Content Is The Key To Effective Blogs

If you are contemplating writing a blog for your business there is one factor that is paramount above all others. The content of your blog will determine how effective it is, ultimately, for your company. The blog you write about your company is going to become, at least to some extent, the company's face to your blog's audience. You need to grab the attention of readers and hold on to it. Relevant, compelling content, that is useful to the readers of the blog, will keep them coming back for more.

Your blog must be search engine friendly as well. The use of keywords is very important. If you present information that is relevant to your company's industry the keywords will be there. To make sure check https://adwords.google.com 

A Social Media Pep Talk for the Small Business Owner

Utilizing social media marketing is the way to go if you're a small business on a limited budget. There is no better way to reach thousands of amenable customers and prospects without spending a nickel on advertising.

Here are some quick pointers to get you in the game:

First and most important, there's no cost and very little time is required to get it up and running. Social media is a cost-effective business strategy that quickly outperforms any of the traditional forms of display advertising. The effort is well worth the results if you take the initiative.

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are the social media sites with the most traffic. To get the best results for your time, concentrate on these sites first. Your business will enjoy valuable exposure without overwhelming you. Implement all three at once or one at a time and monitor the results.