The (Real) Secrets of Online Marketing By Joel Leyden

The (Real) Secrets of Online Marketing

By Joel Leyden

Many an article has been written about how to attract more business through the effective use of the Internet. But not many have been written addressing the many professional elements of PR, branding, advertising and integrating them with SEO - search engine optimization and Web 2.0.

1. Be Prepared To Spend Many Hours Online

There are no real shortcuts to success.

One needs at least two basics to succeed. Time and creativity.

From the time perspective, you need to be out there in the morning, in the afternoon and at night. You need to address different issues in different time zones. You need to drink coffee and smile. But do so with some balance in place. If you have children, turn off the computer, the iPhone and Blackberry for at least a few hours!

2. Talk To People - Share

Anyone can throw links up in Facebook or Twitter. But nothing replaces the human touch!

Facebook is the largest watering hole on Planet Earth for the human animal. You need to be there. Get to meet the other animals. See where they have been and share stories - yours, theirs and the worlds.

As for Twitter, great for real time information when a disaster strikes or a baseball or football team take to the field. This is online news where you will get it first as the news networks do!

LinkedIn.com is where you will meet professional contacts. And YouTube provides the entertainment, in color whenever and where ever you want it.

You need to work all of these different forests and integrate them to get the best results.

3. Honesty

Be honest with those you talk to and share with. Your credibility is worth everything. And being honest means being sincere. People like that. If you are having a bad day, say so. We all have bad days, and everyone reading what you post will be able to identify with you and know that you are for real. If you are having a great day, spread the cheer!

4. Make People Smile

Next to food and sex, is there anything else as important in life?

People have a natural desire to like and to be liked. It's how we survive. And the most important signal between humans is the smile. It means "I accept you" "you're OK" and "let's move forward together." How do you make people smile online? Provide short jokes, cartoons and links to positive, good news. Compliment people.

When they do well - tell them. Click on the Like button both in Facebook and in your mind.

Smiling begins with one smile - yours. If you are down, depressed, having a difficult day, just place a smile on your face and laugh at life. You will find it will laugh back!

5. Avoid Spam

Never solicit products and or services to people that you don't know. Not only is it illegal, it is just not nice to push stuff into people's faces. Now if these people are in the business of marketing or sales - go for it, as they just might learn from your technique!

6. Use Your Passion

Find issues that turn you on and create groups and rooms that address these issues. Whether it be politics, the economy, pets, sports or cars, go for it. If you find something interesting that no one else is getting the word out on, then push hard and do your best to get as many people to join. People like numbers. Go from strength to strength. Show your leadership and creative qualities.

7. Push The Envelope

Don't be shy. Shy people stay in closets and accumulate dust. Go out there and leave your mark. Grab people's interest by posting breaking news, a weather update, a sexy joke and share job opportunities. Give to people and they will give back.

8. Use Google News

There is perhaps no more powerful tool on the Net to reach millions of people in minutes than Google News. Over 4,500 of the world's leading news outlets are indexed by Google News. If you can't get your story on one of these news organizations - then go for a news release on PRWeb, or one the many online news release organizations. Prices may vary from free to up to 700 USD for placement on Google News.

9. Use Google Adwords

Paid advertising on the Net works. You can create a small campaign for your business or passion by paying for Google Adwords - paying Google to advertise your Website, Blog or YouTube video. The ROI is excellent especially when the Google Adwords campaign is effectively mixed into organic or natural marketing on the Net.

10. Be Optimized!

Make sure that your Website is optimized for the search engines - Google, AOL and Yahoo. People will not search for you but rather what you offer. Make sure to place your keywords in the page title, META tags and throughout the copy of your Web content.

11. Blog, blog and blog!

Blogging is easy and its reach is unlimited. As every day passes, Blogs and their content equal that of Websites and in many cases transcend them. The only difference between the Blog and the Website is that you own the Website, you can say and do as you please, where the Blog is rented space, you are a guest on someone else's Website. As such, follow the guidelines of the Blog and your content will stick like sweet glue!

12. Be Visual!

Post photos and videos. The graphic image can say more than words. And when the words are accompanied by graphics, they took on a stronger potency. When using photos, make sure to color correct them. Make them easy and interesting to view!

13. Testimonials And Guarantees

List who your present and past clients are. If they have something good to say about you let them say it on your Website or Blog. Customer testimonials are the most powerful way to sell your product or service. When consumers hear from those who have purchased and used your product or service, they gain a certain level of trust and comfort in what you have to offer.

14. Retain an Experienced Public Relations Professional Who Understands SEO, Web 2.0

About 80 percent of the people you will see advertising themselves as Web marketing pros - are not. Most of these people have found a niche for themselves and that niche is your ignorance and wallet. That you have no idea of how professional marketing and digital PR work on the Net. Nor should you - you have your own skill set for which you earn your living as you rely on doctors for medical, attorneys for legal and Net professionals to integrate PR with HTML.

How do you find a real, honest digital PR professional?

You need to ask three questions: how long have you worked in professional PR?
How long have you worked in SEO and Web 2.0?
Can you name a few clients you have worked for?
The most important answer will be the number of years he or she has been working. If it is less than ten years as a professional PR / Web 2.0 consultant move on.

Lastly, perform a search for their work on the Web.
If you search for "Israel PR" my organization will come up number one on Google Web!
Perform the same search for those in your area, i.e. - San Fransisco PR, Leeds PR, Tokyo PR. Also how many friends do they have on Facebook? If they can't market themselves don't expect them to market you!

.................. Lastly have fun!

If you are enjoying yourself, your readers will feel it and enjoy as well!