In the early days of the web, the only ways a marketer could build a connection with customers was either through email or through their website. Then came Web 2.0.

With the advent of social media, the potential depth and breadth of your connection with your customers has become virtually limitless. That is, if you know how to leverage social media properly.

Social media presents an incredible opportunity for the shrewd marketer. How can you use social media to deepen existing connections and attract new customers?

==> Build Relationships with People Who Don’t Give Email

It takes a lot for someone to give you their email address. Even top marketers rarely get more than 20% of the people who land on an email capture page to actually give them their email address.

Contrast that with what it takes for someone to “Like” or follow you.

In order to like you, people just need to see a piece of your content that they connect with anywhere on the web, or through their friend’s feed. It doesn’t take much and can be just a passing thought.

The same goes for tweets. If someone sees one tweet of yours that they like, they can decide to follow you.

You can reach a lot of people who wouldn’t have otherwise got in your funnel through social media.

==> Social Media Is a Two-Way Street

Email marketing and (most) website marketing is a one way street. That means that you’re the one who’s providing the content, while your customers consume the content. You put out emails, they read the emails.

While this can be an effective way to market a product, it’s nowhere near as effective as having a real connection with your customers.

Social media allows you to have a two-way conversation. They can comment on your stories, tweet back, answer polls, like, post on your wall and express their opinions however they like.

This gets people much more invested in your brand and in your product. Someone who just reads your emails versus someone who’s in active discussion with you are two completely different kinds of customers. The latter will vehemently recommend your products, buy from you regularly and share your content, while the former may only purchase every once in a while.

==> Access to People’s Friends

Finally, social media gives you access to other people’s social networks.

With email marketing, you only get access to one person. On social media, if you make a post or a tweet that someone strongly agrees with, your content will immediately be shared with hundreds of other people. Among those people are more people who might re-share your content.

Social media is a powerful tool for building two-way connections and reaching friends of your customers. If you don’t have a solid social media strategy yet, now’s the time to create one.

Starting a new WordPress blog? Getting your WordPress optimization right will help you get ranked in the search engines, as well as make your site easier to use overall.

These are the most important things to pay attention to when you’re optimizing your WordPress SEO.

==> Set the Title Format

By default, WordPress has your site name in front of the post title. For example:

*Your Site Name Here* | *Post Title Here*

However, for search engine purposes, it’s much better to have your title first. This puts your keywords closer to the beginning. It also makes it easier for people to see what the post is about in a search query result listing.

==> Set Your Permalink Structure

Your permalinks structure determines how WordPress sets your URLs. WordPress out of the box uses the date and post ID number, which means nothing to people and nothing to search engines.

Instead, it’s best to use your post title or a shortened version of your post title. This allows you to get your keywords in your URL. It’s also more user friendly for humans.

==> NoFollow Archives and Tags

The archive pages and tags pages should be NoFollowed. Why?

Because each of these pages contains only duplicate content from the rest of your site. They really don’t add any value to your website and could be perceived by Google as duplicate content.

While it probably won’t do major damage, it’s better policy to NoFollow these pages.

Category pages might also be NoFollowed, depending on whether or not you’ve made real pages out of categories. If your category page is just like the archive page, then NoFollow it. If your category page is actually a useful page, then don’t.

==> Use a Caching System

WordPress is a system that dynamically generates web content every time a page loads. That means that every time someone visits your site, WordPress “builds” the website from scratch on the server then sends it to the user.

This takes a lot of time, especially since the user has to download all the content again every time they load your website.

Caching helps get around this. By caching content, small amounts of your site are stored on their hard drive. Next time your site loads, they load it in part from your server and in part from their computer.

This helps SEO as well, because faster loading pages get a boost from Google.

==> Interlink Your Content

Don’t let your content stand alone. Instead, try to embed links in every single one of your articles pointing to other pieces of content.

You can do this within the actual article itself, or you can do a “related posts” at the bottom of the article. For maximum effectiveness, do both.

These are some of the most powerful ways to set up your WordPress blog to achieve maximum rankings. Setting up WordPress SEO optimization can be done in a couple hours.

SEO is often a game of data and information. The more information you have at your fingertips, the more likely you are to make a decision that’ll result in higher rankings. Having the right tools can give you that kind of information.

Here are a few of the tools every small business must have for SEO.

==> Google Keyword Tool

The Google Keyword Tool is one of the most fundamentally important tools of internet marketing.

It gives you data directly from Google about how many people are searching for each search term. Use this tool to identify the right keywords to target.

==> Majestic SEO, Open Site Explorer

These two tools make it easy for you to see who’s linking to your website and to your competitors. The data comes from internet indexes that they build themselves.

The data is more accurate than Google’s because Google deliberately hides information, and more accurate than Yahoo’s because Yahoo’s is out of date.

In addition to checking backlinks, it’ll also give you an overall sense of the authority of each page and/or domain.

==> Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a powerhouse when it comes to SEO. It can give you all kinds of information that can help you improve your rankings.

For example, it’ll give you up to the minute referrer data. You can figure out exactly where you’re getting traffic. Once you know, you’ll be able to improve what’s already working to turn a trickle into a torrent.

You can also figure out what pages on your site are getting attention, when people are staying and leaving, what countries people come from and more.

==> SEO Quake

SEO Quake is a plug-in for Firefox and Google Chrome. It layers on a multitude of useful information over the rest of your browsing experience.

It’ll tell you instantly what the PageRank and Alexa ranking of any site you’re browsing is. It can tell you what sites are linking with DoFollow and NoFollow links.

It can even tell you all kinds of information like the number of backlinks a site has or its PageRank, and overlay it onto a page of Google search results.

As a research tool, SEO Quake is unmatched.

==> Ping.fm

If you’re using social media as part of your SEO strategy, Ping.fm can save you a lot of time. Instead of having to log into each of your networks individually, Ping will just update all of them for you.

From Facebook to Google+ to LinkedIn to Twitter to the dozens of other networks out there, Ping.fm can log into the systems and post your update(s) with the click of a button. You can turn an hour of work into three minutes of work.

These are a few must-have SEO tools for small businesses. These tools can help give you information, help you make smart backlink decisions and improve your rankings.

Pinterest is the latest social networking craze to take over the country. The concept behind Pinterest is to share photos and images. Users create boards with themes and categories and then “pin” images to their board. It’s a fun site for personal use and also a great way to build your business.

As a business owner you can create a Pinterest account and use it to drive traffic, build awareness, and connect with potential customers. Once you have a Pinterest business profile, it also makes good business sense to integrate Pinterest into your blog or website. That’s as easy as adding a Pinterest button to your website. Here’s how:

Step One: Sign Up for a Pinterest Account

This may actually be the most challenging step because you cannot simply go to Pinterest and sign up. They’re still in Beta, which means that membership is limited. You can sign up in one of two ways. You can get an invitation from someone who is already a member. Once you have that invitation you can sign up immediately. You can also request an invitation from Pinterest. Simply visit Pinterest.com and request a membership.

Sign up with your business email address and create a username that reflects you and/or your business.

Step Two: Add a “Follow” Button

Once you’re logged into Pinterest, click on “About” in the upper right hand corner. You’ll see a drop down menu. Choose “Pin It button”.

You now have a few choices. You can add a “Follow” button to your website. There are three button choices. Choose the one that you like the best, then simply copy the html code and paste it where you want the button to appear on your website.

If you’re adding a “Follow” button to a WordPress blog, get into your editor and add it to the code. Alternatively, if you use widgets then you can simply add a text widget into your sidebar and then cut and paste the code.

Step Three: Add a “Pin This” Button

You can also add a “Pin This” button to your website. This encourages people to add images from your website to their Pinterest boards. It’s a fantastic way to drive traffic and potentially boost your SEO.

There are also some truly wonderful plug-ins for WordPress that allow you to integrate Pinterest into your blog. And as Pinterest continues to grow in popularity, you can bet that there will be more developers creating ways to capitalize on Pinterest.

Pinterest also links to your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Each time you post a pin on Pinterest you can also link that post to your other networking sites. It can be a very powerful tool to grow and build your business.

see also How to integrate Pinterest into your small business marketing strategy

Pinterest is the fastest growing social networking site. Launched in March 2010, it’s a photo sharing site that now boasts 11.7 million unique users. It is a fun site for personal use; creating boards and pinning images is both useful and entertaining.

Pinterest can also be a useful tool to build your business. Before you sign onto the site and start pinning, take a look at your existing marketing strategy and plan your actions strategically. Here are a few tips and steps to take to integrate Pinterest into your small business marketing strategy.

#1 Create Separate Accounts

There’s little doubt you’ll want to have your own Pinterest account for personal uses. Create a separate business account for marketing purposes.

#2 Add Pinterest to Your Blog and/or Website

Take a look at your website or blog. Are they Pinterest friendly? That is to say, do they contain lovely images and perhaps even infographics (visual representations of information, data or knowledge)? If your blog or website contains a lot of visual elements that people can add to Pinterest, consider adding a “Pin This” button on your site. If your blog or website isn’t Pinterest friendly, consider how you might add more visual interest.

#3 Creating Content

Content is always the foundation of your marketing strategy because content is how you communicate with your prospects and audience. Consider how your content can become more visually interesting. One of the things you can do on Pinterest is strategically pin images on your own website or blog.

Of course you don’t want to be heavy handed with this. Pinterest is a social networking site, not an advertising directory. Post your own images selectively. For example, if you just released a new report or product then that’s the perfect time to create content and images to pin. Each Pin from your site can be linked back to your site to drive traffic to that page.

#4 Creating Boards

Before you start creating boards, spend some time planning what you want them to achieve and how they’ll provide interest and value to your followers. For example, if you have a fitness blog you might create a board dedicated to performing specific exercises.

#5 Interacting and Community

Pinterest doesn’t have to be a stand-alone social site. You can link your activities to Twitter and Facebook too. This means it can work strategically within your social networking marketing plan and other tactics. It’s also a networking community which means the more you interact with other Pinners, the more value you’re likely to receive from the site. Plan and schedule time to interact.

When your marketing tactics work together you generally receive a better return on your investment. Create a Pinterest strategy that includes goals and steps to achieve those goals, and integrate them with your existing tactics for maximum benefit.

In order to get search engine optimization right, you need to be well versed in both the on-page and the off-page optimization techniques.

On-page optimization is like the foundations of a building. Without good foundations, the building cannot stand. However, it’s really what’s on top of the foundations that make the biggest difference.

If you have good foundations in the form of on-page SEO, then the rest of the game comes in the form of off-page SEO. Off-page SEO is what will really put you ahead of your competition.

==> On-Page SEO Techniques

On-page SEO techniques can more or less be split into “basics” and “advanced.”

On the basic level are all the fundamental on-page SEO practices. For example, put your keyword in your title tag, use your ALT tags to tag your images, and use meta description tags to help create your search engine rankings.

On a more advanced level you have techniques like creating silo interlinking structures to spread PageRank and relevance throughout your web pages. You have to stay on top of things like Schema.org, Google and Bing’s new system for keeping track of what different types of content are about.

You also need to be watching your site metrics more carefully to lower your bounce rate, increase your return rate and increase the time spent on site.

==> Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO consists primarily of link building.

The goal is to build backlinks from as many different types of backlinks as possible. Ideally you’ll have a combination of high quality, relevant backlinks, along with some lower quality, easy to obtain backlinks.

Building backlinks is a highly manual process. Of course, you can outsource a lot of the work once you have the systems down, but in the beginning you’ll have to do a lot of the work yourself.

Off-page optimization techniques include guest blogging, getting featured in news articles, article marketing, creating forum profile links, signature links, buying links, blog commenting, creating custom web apps and more.

==> The Best Way to Choose a Strategy

In some markets, you need to use fairly complex and difficult strategies to get ranked. In other markets, simple strategies are all you need to break ahead of your competition.

The best way to choose which techniques to use, is to start by figuring out what your competition is doing. Use backlink analysis tools to build a link profile of how your competitors got to where they are.

Once you know how they got there, all you need to do is follow their strategy better than them to get ahead.

To make a long story short, getting ranked in search engines involves getting both the on-page and the off-page optimization right. Do both the basic and the advanced on-page SEO, then choose a handful of off-page strategies and execute them well.

LinkedIn is the premier social site for business professionals on the Web. If you are not a part of it, get involved today. One effective tool is LinkedIn Groups.

You may be familiar with LinkedIn but don’t really know how it can help you. Being a business professional, it can be hard to connect with other professionals. Running an online business or holding a pivotal position in a company can consume most of your time.

LinkedIn takes the guesswork and legwork out of networking with others in your field. This site allows you to search for, connect with and get needed advice from professionals with a few clicks. There are no face-to-face meetings unless you want them. Even so, you can get to know people through their profiles and interacting in groups and discussions.

LinkedIn Groups: Increase Your Visibility and Expert Status

This brings us to LinkedIn Groups. What are they? These groups are like small gatherings of professionals with similar business niches or interests. The entire site is available to you, but concentrated groups help you to target those professionals with whom you need to network.

Groups help you do many things:

* Discover other professionals to meet quickly
* Actively participate in discussions relevant to your interests and needs
* Zero in on the most influential people on LinkedIn within your professional sphere
* Know which profiles to view and which people to “follow” in discussions
* Begin your own discussions to help establish yourself as a leader in your field

These are also excellent reasons to begin your own LinkedIn Group. Before you do, though, get a feel for the process by joining a group or two. You can search for relevant groups using different parameters.

Once you find one that you like, introduce yourself. Do this by posting a new discussion question and then leaving a comment. Let people get to know you.

LinkedIn Groups can also increase your visibility and popularity on the site. While you are leading discussions, don’t forget to leave meaningful comments on other discussion topics. It will look pretty suspicious if you only post questions and never join in the discussions of others.

Build up a presence and a following. When you are ready, create your own group. If you work for a large company, creating a group for your co-workers gives them a place to connect with others inside the company. Post about new job openings; get advice on job advancement and the like.

Ask your new business contacts to join your group. Don’t forget business contacts on other social sites like Facebook and Twitter. Invite LinkedIn members with similar interests as a way of connecting with new faces.

Why should you create a LinkedIn group? You can increase your visibility, ranking, popularity, network and credibility in the business world.

Credibility is one of the rarest yet most powerful commodities online. If you have credibility, you’ll be able to get people on email lists, get joint venture partners and get others to buy with ease. Without credibility, nobody will give you their credit card.

So how do you go about establishing your online credibility? You can do so in a few easy steps.

==> Come Up with Your Story

You need to have a compelling “where I came from” story.

Have you ever noticed how just about every product ever invented has a story? Weight loss products tell the story of someone who was perpetually overweight finally losing the fat. Real estate gurus talk about how they went from rags to riches.

Stories are compelling. Figure out an attention-catching, respect-inspiring story to base your online identity around.

==> What Results Have You Personally Gotten?

Don’t be afraid to share the results that you’ve personally gotten.

If you’re giving advice about how to make money, share exactly how you are making money. If you’re giving advice about losing weight, share your exact measurements.

People want to be able to relate to you. They want to be able to feel that you’re one of them, you know what they’re going through, and that if you can do it so can they.

==> Proof Elements on Your Page

You should have several proof elements readily visible on your web page.

For example, if you’ve appeared on radio stations, put the logos of the radio stations on your page under “as seen on.”

If you have before and after photos, put those on your page as well.

The idea is to give people bite-sized chunks of credibility. They might not even consciously look at it, but just having them there makes a difference.

==> Credibility in the First Impression

The first impression is very important. Though you can’t tell your whole story in the first impression, it’s important that you have one or two proof elements here.

Have a before and after picture above the fold. Or have a killer testimonials prominently displayed on the front page. Or have your most spectacular achievement showcased upfront.

==> Get Social Proof

Social proof is one of the most powerful ways of building credibility. Why? Because it doesn’t come from you.

Social proof means that other people who have no financial gain from endorsing you like your product enough to go out of their way to help you. It sends a strong message.

Social proof includes comments on blog posts, testimonials on other people’s blogs or word of mouth endorsements from friend to friend.

These are a few of the most powerful ways to establish your credibility online. In the beginning, this process takes quite a bit of thought, as you have to plan out your story and discover your proof elements. Once you’ve got it down, however, your proof elements will keep working for you again and again, without you having to do much work.

If you are a business professional, then you want to network with other like-minded professionals. One place where you can make that happen is LinkedIn. Join today and get noticed with a strong profile showing.

What Is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the premier site on the Web for business professionals. Here you can find and network with others in your field as well as meet new people. You can also share business tips and techniques while offering some of your own to assist others. Make a strong online presence here to help grow your business.

If you are not on LinkedIn, you might want to reconsider. The site is free to sign up. They offer plenty of site support for you to get started. Learn what you need to know about navigating the site through the LinkedIn Learning Center.

Now that you know what it is, it’s time to get going.

Creating a Profile

The first thing you will want to do once you sign up is complete your profile. On LinkedIn, there are searchable areas in the profile that can increase your ranking on the site and by association, your business website(s). It is best to complete your profile 100 percent but as long as you are above 75 percent you will get ranked and noticed.

So, what needs to go into your profile? On the page, several fields are required, but like we said, filling them all in is your best strategy for attracting other business professionals.

* Name and tagline – If you own an online business, what is that catch phrase that helps to complete your brand? Enter that after your name as your tagline. If you don’t have one, then don’t worry. Remember, your email address doesn’t qualify.

* Resume – Who are you professionally? If you have a recent copy of your resume handy (most professionals do), then it will be easy to populate the required fields. Since this is online, make every word count. Shorten lengthy phrases to simple but effective keywords that imply a directed action that you have taken. For instance, type “managed five marketing teams” instead of “responsible for five marketing teams.” The second is more ambiguous. Let everyone know what your qualities are.

* Add a Photo – The internet can seem like a cold place. Posting a photo gives others a face to put with the personality you are trying to create here. Choose a professional print that highlights your best features. For the sake of continuity, use the same photo on your other social networking profile pages.

* Affiliations – What awards have you won? How about prestigious societies or boards you belong to? Here is the place to let your accomplishments speak for you.

* Websites – Include your professional business website that you own, or your company’s site. Include any other sites you may be affiliated with, along with active links.

* Recommendations – Even if you aren’t looking for a job on this site, you can increase your credibility with varied recommendations from other professionals with whom you have worked.

There are other fields but we have highlighted a few. Your LinkedIn profile is the first glimpse others will get of you. Put your best foot forward.