This is the ninth and last article covering my personal experiences in Internet Marketing.
This article will cover social networking, commenting, building an online profile and word of mouth promotion.
Social Networking Although we should not forget about our other avenues of marketing a website the future of online marketing is social networking.
With search engines moving towards the indexing of more upto date live date from social networks it's important to have a presence in these sites.
These days so many Social networks exist that it's almost impossible knowing where to start.
First of all though a warning.
Social Networks can seriously damage your health.
It's easy to spend days, weeks or even years getting lost in these online communities.
You have to remember you are using these sites to build an online presence and generate traffic to your websites.
This doesn't mean you can not make friends or acquaintances.
In fact to be successful you will need to.
Just don't over step the mark and ignore your over marketing avenues.
For any Social networks you participate on ensure you have an up to date profile with a description of who you are and a nice picture.
If possible add a url link to your website, blog etc.
Then check to see if you can import your rss feed to the site.
This can provide regular posts and content even if you are not active.
This can be effective in Facebook and twitter.
Remember these sites have rules, follow them, or you could be banned.
Posting to many identical comments can and will lead to warnings.
These sites are designed to build relationships and communities.
Start by searching for and adding your existing friends.
Social Network is a catch all name.
These sites can be very different from each other.
Twitter is a microblogging site which allows you to post short comments or thoughts.
You build follows if they are interested in your posts.
Look up popular keywords relevant to your website niche.
Include these keywords in your posts.
On a gradual basis invite relevant individuals to follow your tweets.
Hulu and twhirl are decent platforms to manage multiple tweet accounts.
Allowing you to monitor tweeters and choosing individuals whom you wish to follow.
Try not to post regular promotional material.
Use it as a platform to build relationships and chat with other tweeters.
I prefer twitter because you can have it running on your desktop whilst performing over internet marketing avenues.
Facebook is the other major Social Networking site.
In this you can build friendships, create or join existing communities.
But it can be time consuming with a lot of distractions.
It's best to limit yourself to visiting once a day for at most 30 minutes.
Post unique comments with links to existing communities and participate in the social life.
I would concentrate my time on the major social networks as they have sufficient traffic.
You might also obtain better success by joining a network dedicated to your own niche.
Commenting Part and parcel with Social networking is commenting.
But this can be applied across the internet.
Search for any website or blog relevant to your keyword.
Ensure you read and understand the content and post a response.
This will give you a backlink to your website and generate a small amount of traffic over a long period of time.
Profile Commenting is one avenue where you can increase your online profile and expert status.
If you are considered an expert in a niche then this can increase traffic and generated sales.
This takes time but will occur naturally as part of your online marketing strategy.
The important thing is to start by establishing one identity across all marketing avenues.
Using different usernames can dilute your profile.
Try not to be negative and antagonistic with your posts.
Be honest and truthful but offer advice or give praise where it is deserved.
Word of mouth This can be generated online simply by the gradual accumulation of your online marketing activies.
I know if i need to I can contact almost any member of my poetry website and they would vouch that I am an honest trustworthy person.
They even post comments on the site stating this and I didn't blackmail them to do it.
What it all comes down to with online marketing is honesty.
If you lie and cheat your way to sales then you will not succeed in the long term.
The internet is a democracy which will bring down any con artist looking to make a quick buck.
There really is no hiding place.
So be honest and straight forward, embrace the net, and in time you will be rewarded.