internet marketing

It's A New World and Social Media is Here to Stay.

in Internet Marketing / Social Media  by iqmadmin 0 comments

At iQuarius Media, we speak and interact with company owners, as well as marketing and advertising professionals, on a daily basis about things such as social media, web marketing, online video marketing, email marketing, and even text message marketing. It’s an exciting field to be involved in. Without exception, every business owner wants to solve the same dilemma: how do I get the absolute most bang for the buck out of my advertising and marketing budget? It’s a tight economy today and maximizing resources is an important component of business if one wants to attain — and maintain — success in the marketplace.

Cue internet marketing and social media.

Where else does one tap a potential client base as large as the Internet for pennies on the dollar? Nowhere. If you’re not taking advantage of this precious opportunity to advance the growth of your business, you may want to move into the right lane because passing is in the left lane. If you’re not utilizing this cost-effective means of promoting your business and/or website, you risk losing your loyal clients, as well as a vast well of potential clients, to those entrepreneurs who have the foresight to understand that social media is not just a trend. Social media is a new way of life.

Before you get started…

Once a business owner has decided to make use of the social media platform to help their respective business progress, there are a few things they should keep in mind.

  1. Definitely do some research and ask some questions about the company you are considering hiring. Hire a reputable and well liked company that has some experience and tact. The company you decide on could make you or break you.
  2. Make certain to negotiate a contract before venturing into business together, so that both you and your social media company are legally protected.

Those are the basics. Now we  can move on to the main purpose of this article: to accentuate the benefits of having a social media presence to make your business more effective and far-reaching.

Social Media is global.

Building a social media campaign is THE most cost-effective method of online advertising and promoting. Think about it: Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter are free. In addition, there are literally hundreds of other less popular websites that can help your business get the exposure it deserves.

All of these networks have a reach that spans the globe. Why not attempt to reach out to this global market? A perfect example of this is Twitter, where one can log in at any time of the day or night and see real-time tweets from Japan, England, France, and India, to name a few.

Social Media is the new momentum.

Social media enables you to join groups of people with the same interests and goals. On LinkedIn and Facebook, one can join groups on yachting or interior design or web design. The possibilities are limitless. Think limitless when you think of all of the potential clients out there in this massive world of ours. The ability to have direct contact with people who have the same interests and hopes and dreams as yours is amazing. So get on board the greatest momentum shift to happen in eons. You have no excuse not to.

So Why Social Media Marketing? Why Bother?

in Internet Marketing / Social Media  by iqmadmin 0 comments

Based on a current Razorfish Consumer Experience Report, 49% of Internet users now buy something according to suggestions they acquired via a social media site. Yet, only 25% of companies employ a Facebook page. Is it just us, or are the numbers a little off here?

Social networking online communities are breeding grounds for connections. Consumers are discussing your products, your services, as well as your organization itself, on social media sites such as Facebook. It’s inescapable. Are they going to understand how to locate you? Social media networks are where the PEOPLE are.

Let’s say there was an expo taking place in which 300 million people would be attending, and we offered you a totally free presentation area. Would you accept it? Of course you would. Facebook, for instance, keeps growing at a rate of 600,000 new users a day. Attention spans continue to keep getting shorter and trust in advertising and marketing will continue to deteriorate. The only real option you’ve got is to take part in the already occurring conversation. You probably know this. We trust our friends a lot more than those overly pleasant folks in commercials. You could be the voice on television that gets ignored, or you can befriend your customers on Facebook, or Twitter, or the ever-expanding Google Plus. The call is yours.

8 Important Elements of a Great Web Presence

in Internet Marketing / Social Media  by iqmadmin 0 comments

8 strategies for web marketingA successful website is pretty to look at, to be sure. But when potential customers browse your site, there should be minimal effort and time on their part to get to the goods and services that you offer. And when it comes time for them to buy, there should be no obstacles in their way as they head to checkout. They need ease of use. Your website must be clear and concise without being overly simplistic, because that in itself sends the wrong message. There must be substance.

We can break this down into bite-size pieces like this.

  1. Balance. Of course your site needs to have a clean, attractive design. The Internet is a visual medium and an ugly website is often the kiss of death. But the look and feel needs to have balance.
  2. Graphics That Do Not Distract. Nothing should take attention away from your marketing message. If your site is an online video game or movie promotion, of course it’s OK to have a full-blown Flash intro and loads of cutting-edge animations, but if you are marketing a more traditional product or service, you should avoid going overboard on the visual presentation. Avoid making your page so wide that visitors have to side scroll to read it all. It makes it sluggish and annoying, or worse, it makes you look like you don’t know anything about browsers.
  3. The 60-Second Rule. It’s safe to assume the average user will give your site a maximum of 60 seconds of their time unless you actively compel them to stay longer. For this reason, the area above the fold is the most important part of any page your visitor might land on. That refers to anything that is visible before your prospect has to scroll down the page. You should use this area to relay your most important message. You might leverage a well-crafted header graphic, a killer headline, or an audio greeting that plays as soon as the page is loaded to pull your visitor into your marketing message.
  4. Easy Navigation.  Give your visitor clear navigational options so they don’t get lost. You can take this a step further by actually directing prospects where you want them to go.
  5. Quality Content!  A strong and informative message is not only what your target market is looking for as they scour the Web in search of your product or service, it’s what the major search engines will use when ranking your site in the search results. It’s a great idea to present yourself or your company in a personal and inviting manner. Most people want to do business with other people, and not some nameless entity.
  6. Pre-Qualification.  Your website should answer many of the common questions and overcome the most typical objections posed by your target market. When this is handled correctly, you are able to weed out potentially problematic customers and pull only the best-fit clients into your funnel of profit. This is obvious enough in the case of a direct response sales letter site. But even if your business is in the service arena (landscaping, home inspection, wedding planning, etc.), pre-qualification is a must. By providing detailed information on your scope of service, and even including a FAQ page on your site, you can begin the pre-sell product and “warm up” your prospects before a personal meeting or phone conversation ever takes place.
  7. A Lead Capture Device To Set The Stage For Follow-Up Marketing. Research shows the average prospect needs to see an offer up to seven times before deciding to take action. If you let a visitor leave your site without collecting their contact information for a follow-up campaign, it might be your competition that finally ends up closing the sale. –You might offer a monthly newsletter, an discount club subscription, a sample product, or a free course as the incentive for your prospects to opt-in to your mailing list. These are just a few examples. There are a slew of different ways to collect your visitors contact info in an ethical, mutually beneficial way. The key is to offer some real value in exchange for the subscription.
  8. Findability. It’s pretty hard to profit from a website that your target market can’t find. It takes a lot of active promotion to drive traffic to your site, and this should be viewed as an ongoing process.

While the above statement is abundantly obvious to website owners in the business opportunity niche, a lot of traditional business owners fall into the trap of thinking an active site will automatically be available to the citizens of cyberspace.

Article marketing, link building, blogging, e-zine ads, viral marketing strategies, displaying your domain in all of your offline advertising, and joint venture promotions are all examples of effective promotion strategies.

Make sure your site meets the entire above curriculum, and you will have yourself a great foundation for profitable web marketing.

Who We Work With | iQuarius Media

in Internet Marketing / Social Media / Web Development  by iqmadmin 0 comments

Whether you are an Ad Agency, Marketing Company, Design House, or Business Owner, we can compliment your efforts you already have in motion by extending your approach to the Internet.

  • Ad Agencies – If you are running a media blitz, let us execute the Internet campaign with PPC Advertising, Social Marketing, Email Campaigns, and online Press Releases. Inquire about our competitive agency rates.
  • Marketing Companies – So you’ve thought of the perfect brand and message for your client. Now let us help you get that message in front of your target market on the Internet with Website Development, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, and more! Inquire about our competitive agency rates.
  • Design Shops –  You do great design and everyone knows it! Which is why they want you to design their next website, email campaign, or e-newsletters. Let us program it for you and help make your creative vision a reality.
  • Business Owners – You signed up to be the “expert in your field” and have the freedom to run your business. Now you are expected to know everything about internet marketing and information technology. Let us help you take the mystery out of “new media” by assisting you in forging a well-defined Internet Strategy so you can get back to doing what you do best.

What We Are NOT

We are not an Ad Agency, Marketing Company, or Design House. We complement these types of businesses by extending your reach to the internet world. You are the experts in coming up with the best “message” — and we are the vessel to deliver it.

Use Web Analytics to Become a Top Notch Marketer

in Internet Marketing  by iqmadmin 0 comments

All online and offline marketing campaigns should be tracked and measured. Let’s say you just wrote a blurb that promoted your website and there was an increase to that specific page. Without marking this blurb as a campaign within your analytics, what would you attribute the increase in traffic to? IN addition, having clear tracking for offline marketing, like trade shows, is an important way to compare the results of your entire marketing strategy.

Measure Traffic Sources. Find out how your visitors are finding you. Finding out which sources are driving the most traffic to the website will allow you to determine how well the search engines index the content on your website. You can also get the information to know if social media is actually working and which email campaigns are driving traffic. With the sources data, you can drill down further to strategize on what types of calls-to-action you place on specific pages.

Measure Conversion Rates. Getting visitors to the  website is the first step; getting them to convert into a lead or business is the next. Offering compelling content and clear calls to action will help to convert more of this traffic into leads for the business. Variant or A/B testing with landing pages and calls-to-action allow you to test which are converting at a higher average. Determine which keywords are giving you the best top, middle, and bottom of the funnel leads.

Ensure the data is clear. Focus on one metric. For example, if you notice an increase in traffic one week, can you tell what the cause of this increase was? You may notice there was a large increase of traffic from the blog; then, after drilling down further, you find that it was a specific article. This shows you that this specific content is compelling to your audience, and it would be a great idea to create more content on this topic.

Close the Loop. Most marketers are concerned about their marketing ROI and knowing where to devote more time, energy, and resources are important. Closed loop marketing finds out which campaigns are driving the most traffic, leads, and most importantly, customers. You want to devote your valued resources to marketing campaigns that are driving actual customers and business.

Proper web analytics can help you attract and retain customers and to increase the dollar volume each one spends.

Tweet Lots of Links To Get Followers

in Social Media  by iqmadmin 0 comments

To get followers on Twitter isn’t about herding unicorns — that is, there’s nothing mythical about it.

Looking at the relationship between the number of followers a user has and the percentage of their Tweets that are “@” replies: Highly followed users are less conversational than those with few followers.

Looking at the relationship between follower count and the percentage of a user’s tweets that contain links and are not replies: Using a sample of random, recently active Twitter accounts, there is a strong correlation. As the amount of links a user tweets increases, the number of followers they have also increases. And users with more than 1,000 followers tend to tweet many more links than users with fewer than 1,000 followers.

The data is starting to mount to suggest that “engaging in the conversation” is a waste of time from a marketing and reach-building perspective, especially when compared to sharing content.

 

College Students Use Technology At A Frenzied Pace

in Social Media  by iqmadmin 0 comments

technologyAdmit it, you’re on the computer and Internet every day.  Studies have found that 53% of people believe they would be upset if they couldn’t get online while 40% believe they would feel lonely.

The use of technology continues to be a growing trend as new gadgets pop up every few months and college students lead the way in gadget use.

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project report “College Students and Technology”, 98% of undergraduate students use the Internet. 93% use broadband and 92% connect wirelessly using a laptop or cell phone.

Undergraduate students make up the largest percentage of students who use social networks, followed closely by graduate and community college students. However, the largest percentage of social network users were adults ages 18-24 who were not in school. Someone has to keep up with Farmville right?

The use of different technological devices has grown throughout the years. Years ago, it was rare to find someone who had a cell phone and an mp3 player. Now everyone has cell phones that function as mp3 players along with e-readers, laptops, and gaming consoles. Undergraduate students lead the way in owning e-readers and tablets. Undergrads are also more likely to own a laptop than a desktop computer.

Another unsurprising statistic is that 63% of undergrads admit to using their cell phones for the internet or email.

Technology use continues to rise and many higher education institutions are integrating its use into learning whether it is using an iPad for taking notes and using a laptop for distance learning.

 

World.Edu  (Natasha Bright)

Make The Most of YouTube Marketing

in Internet Marketing  by iqmadmin 0 comments

youtube marketingThe most recent statistics on online video and YouTube are mind-blowing: Nielsen reported that Americans streamed 15 billion videos in the most recently recorded month (May 2011). While traditional TV viewing was up only 0.2% over last year, Internet video viewing was up 35% and mobile video viewing went up 20%.

Before you throw all your marketing dollars into YouTube, however, you might want to consider this other statistic: 35 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube… every minute. In the time it takes you to read this article, about two weeks of fresh content will be posted. Watch the video below and add another three days.

In other words, there’s a lot of competition for those eyeballs. So, how do you maximize your YouTube marketing results?

  •  Create compelling videos.

  • Use YouTube Ads.

  • Make your video findable.
  • Brand your YouTube channel.

  • Post a bulletin and alert your friends and subscribers.

  • Review YouTube Insights for good insights.

  • Leverage other social media platforms.

 

Employers Use Social Networks to Screen Employees

in Social Media  by iqmadmin 0 comments

social mediaIn an increasingly digitized world, roughly 45 percent of employers now reportedly use social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to screen potential employees, according to Mindflash.com.

Not all Facebook-related employment decisions are necessarily negative, as Mindflash.com depicts in the below infographic. Indeed, 18 percent of employers have found information that has actually facilitated their decision to hire a job applicant.

Still, finding something unsettling is more common, as more employers used what they found on social networking sites to bar applicants from employment. Of those surveyed, 35 percent of employers were reported to have found content that cause them not to hire a candidate for an open position.

More than ever, already-hired employees are paying careful attention to what is on their Facebook. That would seem appropriate, seeing as the National Labor Relations Board recently decided to give employers a free hand in firing employees for inappropriate material found on social networks, as reported by the The Huffington Post.

Beyond the more obvious red flags of inappropriate photographs and comments, Mindflash also says a prime reason for potential employees being denied a job is their digitally badmouthing of ex-employers and patrons.

courtesy: Mindflash.com via Huffington Post

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