Archive for 2009

Internet Marketing Basics for Business In The Digital Age

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

Does Internet marketing for business really work?  And how do you make sure that your products and your website get the best customers who have the money to buy?

Marketing articles are the best way to sell your product on the internet. That means you may have a website or a blog of your own but unless you are totally familiar with SEO and link building; your maiden venture into internet marketing for business is going to fail miserably. SEO means Search Engine Optimization and it is one of the core rules to draw customers and relevant traffic to your website. One of the simplest explanations of SEO is that if you want to sell handbags, you better make sure that your website content is filled with the correct number of words all talking about handbags! Search engines like Google and Yahoo trawl the internet daily searching for new content and then indexing the content in their archives according to the most number of words (keywords) in the content. If you have more than 10% of words in the content about handbags, then you get indexed in the search for handbags. The more the amount of words and relevant links about handbags the higher you go on the search results pages of Google. Of course, it isn’t as simple as I’ve said it but the gist is the same. A few more tips you can try out to optimize your content are-

1. Put your keywords high up. That’s very important. The higher your keywords come in the content and the title, the more traffic and page rating on Google you get! Keep your title within 200 characters and with a description of about 20 words.

2. Stick to a 10% density of keywords. Any more and the search engines automatically list your site as spam or worthless content.

3. Place relevant links to authority sites and get them to link to your website for internet marketing. Ask other blogger friends to link to your site and post about your product and you can post about them in reverse.

4. Try using simple paid post networks like PAYPERPOST and SOCIALSPARKS that take up paid and free posting for a nominal fee. You have to pay the sites a minimal amount to put up your product for bidding. Bloggers pick up the product and write about them on the blogs for a small fee.

I am still writing an E-Book on Social Networking and Internet Marketing basics for Business so be on the look out!

cheers- twitterholic justinrfrench

Twitter finally going mainstream – is your business on board yet?

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

All of the followers of Social Networking San Diego know we support the awareness, education and assistance to the business community on the power of social networking for business purposed by building your product or personal brand on-line. Successful hip hop icon P-Diddy (Sean Combs) who is a VERY SUCCESSFUL business person I have admired for quite some time on his accomplishments explains it best for those non-savvy and non-teccy business people.

Check out the video of P-Diddy on the Ellen Show here:

If your business is ready to jump on board and formulate an internet marketing strategy around your business model- then click above on the FREE website evaluation so we can see where you at in the whole “internet” puzzle. I look forward to hearing from other business professionals, entrepreneurs, and small business owners! Basically put- Social Networking San Diego functions as your virtual marketing department

twitterholic justinrfrench (follow me)

Need more help? Contact me on linked in-

Top 5 Ways To Properly Do Business in the Digital Age

Monday, March 9th, 2009

pi-ad
By now, if you are a business professional, have a linked-in account, and know what “twitter” is, then I applaud you. I would even be willing to give you a gold star for excellence if you have an actual internet marketing “plan” of some sort. Or maybe you’re marketing budget (though limited right now, just like trying to get a small business loan) which may or may not include some internet or social media sites, you are still ahead of the majority of your competitors.

Most small to mid-sized businesses (even some fortune 500’s) actually don’t even know what “social networking” means let alone have some type of on-line marketing budget. Those baby-boomers however are just starting to see an actual business value in conducting business on the internet, or at least they see how popular social networking sites like myspace, facebook, or twitter have become part of the local evening news topics. You may want to even scroll down and read some of my previous posts on the importance of why your business should start doing some form of internet marketing. Some companies try to provide ad words or you tube videos, but have they proposed an over-all strategy that over-time becomes an “organic viral marketing campaign?” (Don’t know what that means- Google it)

Let me talk directly (no B.S.) to those firms who are still baffled with this new on-line business phenomenon- “strap on your seat belts because if you thought forming an OFF-line marketing strategy was tough, then you aint seen nothin yet!” Wait till you find out what REALLY goes on behind the scenes. And if you think for a SECOND there is an easy way or get rich quick scheme out there to marketing your business online that will work for $199, then just give ME the $199 and I’ll at least draw up a plan for you to execute and I’ll even email it to you!”

Allow me to give you 1 simple tip to add to your internet marketing strategy, or at least pointers on getting started because you will quickly learn just how overwhelming, tedious, complex, and time consuming this whole internet marketing thing really is. And the local “teen” might not be the right person fit to build your on-line brand. I have spent 8 years of training, business schooling, Microsoft & Cisco certifications, countless nights of research, and testing software to form this proven proprietary system. (those close to me can attest for those long nights of me researching) But time is money and If you think I am just going to give you a magic wand to wave over your business that will make your website appear #1 on Google the next day then we may not be a good fit in doing business together.

I would at LEAST suggest you sign up for a $99 1 hr. internet consulting strategy session with me to identify some foundations to get you going at the least. This might well be the BEST under $100 business and internet marketing consulting session you spend all year. But if you really appreciate value & TRUST in someone’s expertise, understand your business is lost and needs help, has a marketing budget, then I suggest we speak.

Business Owners- Remember, “He/ She who fails to plan, plans to fail.
If you don’t have an on-line marketing plan yet, then you are failing.”

Twitterholic- justinrfrench

Top 5 accomplishments businesses can achieve through twitter, social networking, and internet marketing

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

First – A BIG thank you to those leaving comments on my blog.  Some of the comments are very moving and I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to leave your insightful opinions. Sometimes you all just make me want to climb on top of a mountain for a fresh breadth of clean mountain air and enjoy a beautiful sky view as blue as the ocean and say thank you twitter followers! 🙂

justin-mtn-top2

Tonight’s post will be short and sweet- but as usual, motivating and educational on the importance of understanding how small businesses NEED desperately to form some type of internet marketing strategy to stay in business. But first and foremost, they MUST understand- what rewards will come if they put in the time to get educated on this growing trend in online marketing or inbound marketing. This is still such a new shift for business professionals to comprehend, but is slowly starting to catch on and gain the public’s’ attention.

Social Networking San Diego is a some-what of a pioneer or first-mover for training businesses how to use social networking to generate NEW business and handling this out-sourced service for them.

  1. Global Reach- Twitter has allowed Social Networking San Diego to form alliances in countries such as Canada, Spain, UK, India, etc. All from Twitter. If you need clarification on how to use twitter for business purposes contact us for a complimentary 20 minute training session from me- twitterholic justinrfrench.
  2. Put in the Time- I have heard some business people tell me “I don’t have time to network or “tweet.” Well this is why your business is not bringing in any new business because networking and building relationships is required all the time especially during these tough times. Only the strong will survive, and maybe you can identify other professionals struggling with similar issues in their businesses and possibly brainstorm on solutions together.
  3. Actual Results- our clients that signed up on packages with us last month are signing up again (video testimonials will be out soon I promise) because they recognize the VALUE, have been educated on what an OVER-ALL internet marketing strategy looks like, how complicated it is, and they have gotten a peek behind the scenes from our consultants.
  4. Staying the course- We let the clients know that this is an 8-12 month commitment we make to them, but once those months have been reached, they will be able to see sustained results much better than they used to see with direct mail (remember you must be in front of someone 7 or 8 times to finally get their attention.)
  5. Education- Constantly be reading, researching, and refining your message you want to portray about your company brand or personal brand. Sometimes this can be difficult for companies on-line, so maybe having a Chief Internet Marketing Strategist like justinrfrench come into your firm may be just what the doctor ordered. This is very important to stay in front of people, but make sure your message is clear on how you or your product or service will help solve that clients problem/ or pain.

i look forward to your comments on this posting, and would hope you could spend just 30 more seconds on sharing this to your DIGG account or Re-tweet.  All The Best- justinrfrench

Social Networking, Business, Twitter, and Internet Marketing Wrap Up

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

flowchart-snsd
This past month has been one of the busiest months I’ve experienced in years.  A little overwhelming and draining but in a good way. It all started from me paying it forward on twitter or (sharing my knowledge and expertise about business, technology, entrepreneurship, etc. with the fellow twitter professional community.)  It was as if twitter had finally enabled me to get my voice/ message heard around the country (even the world) that I had been preaching for the last seven years- “to help small businesses bridge the gap between business and technology.”

This online twitter community is as passionate about business as I am which makes me feel right at home in a virtual networking environment.   Instead of going to the local chamber, twitter is on demand and real-time.  I would suggest we still need both in today’s society.

It seems as if all my ten years of business experience and technical skills have been developed to test me for this moment.  Those close to me say I’m relentless which may be so, but I couldn’t be more passionate about helping businesses make sense of the power of the internet, technology, and how to properly apply these tools for best business practices.  Also who could forget the help of the Social Networking San Diego team and my close twitter followers.

By sharing my knowledge and expertise with the small business community locally in Southern California and globally on Linked-In and Twitter, things seemed to have come back to me ten fold; even to the point where I have had over 400 emails to catch up on, 50 linked-In invitations, and hundreds of twitter messages!  We have even managed to gain the eye of some larger corporations which excites me even more because they need help too just as small businesses.

Businesses large and small struggle to develop a proper internet marketing strategy because of the many puzzle pieces and complexities that exist with the world wide web.  That is where our team of professional internet consultants assist with a so-called
“corporate restructuring”  to help implement the proper solution  based on specific needs, industry, budgets, and department structure.

My question for my audience this evening is when you fall behind (in a good way) does your brain feel cluttered and if so could you offer some advice on how you re-focus and catch up? That’s how I have felt after this last month and now I’m trying to get back on track.  As professionals, we must sometimes fall behind and no matter how much project management, time management experience, or standard operating procedures we have in place, those feelings of being overwhelmed always come up.  It has been for good reason though because we were able to accomplish a lot though TEAM (together everyone achieves more) work and long hours at Social Networking San Diego.

Please give your thoughts/ advice it would be much appreciated.  Also, the next posting will be on the “Top 5 accomplishments businesses can achieve through twitter, social networking, and internet marketing”

– justinrfrench  Chief Internet Marketing Strategist of Social Networking San Diego

Does your business need help in forming an internet marketing strategy?  Here are some packages to look over

p.s. would you mind sharing this post? (see below) thanks

Social Marketing on the Cheap … Probably Not Prudent

Friday, February 27th, 2009

shelly

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a strategist. I like to think about things, come up with a plan, work within my clients’ budgets and create marketing strategies that not only make sense, but which will … um, well … actually work for them. Go figure. Ready, aim, fire. Don’t spend money, time, effort or energy until it makes sense as part of an integrated marketing plan. Totally makes sense, doesn’t it? You’d be amazed at how many people forge ahead without a plan, looking for the least expensive “solution,” without any first-hand knowledge about what they’re attempting to undertake and without any understanding at how much potential damage they could do to their brand and brand image as a result of poor execution.

Well, after sitting in one too many meetings, listening to small business owners talk about social media – trying to get their heads around email marketing, mobile marketing and, heaven forbid, something like Facebook or Twitter, it’s my head that’s beginning to spin. And these same business owners just don’t seem to get it. Their eyes glaze over and they shake their heads and say “I know I need to do an e-newsletter, or write a blog, or investigate Facebook, but I just don’t have time. But I have a website!” Well I say “Woo Hoo for you!” Having a website does not mean that you’re on top of your game when it comes to promoting your business. In fact, having a website without doing anything to advertise, promote or draw traffic to it is about as useless as having a billboard in the middle of a corn field. Social media, email marketing, mobile marketing …. all of those things are tools that marketers use to promote brands, products and actually drive sales. Imagine that – doing something that would actually sell your product.

Well, in tough economic times, the gloves come off and it’s time to talk tough love. Don’t cry hard times because your sales are down. Of course they’re down. And the time to do something about it, to allocate some marketing dollars and some savvy tactics and stop the bleeding is now.

Social marketing is and should be a part of any serious business’s marketing and communications plan – especially today. But, the interesting thing is, that so often people (read that “business owners”) think that it’s just the perfect project to sink little Jenni on – you know, the one who just graduated from Community College last year and who just loooooves surfing the ‘net. Or, maybe Johnnie, who’s in college and has a Facebook page – that’d be something he could do for us and we could pay him $200 and save a bunch of money.

People – you don’t get it!

Social marketing is serious stuff and is well on it’s way to replacing the traditional kinds of media that we’ve known and loved. Display ads are going the way of the dinosaur. Who reads magazines and newspapers when you can get instant news and any kind of content you would ever want online – through more sources than I can possibly articulate.

Traditional media, while still an important part of brand management and strategy, is no longer the only game in town.

People are online. They are talking, sharing, opining, recommending, blasting, learning, blogging, ReTweeting and moving at the speed of sound.

The question isn’t “should I embrace this social media stuff and use it as part of my marketing strategy” … the question should be “how quickly can I find the right people to help me integrate this so that I can start taking advantage of the brand awareness – (and sales) that I can generate as a result.”

And the answer is that they are out there. People like my friends, Justin French at Social Networking San Diego (all things social media) www.socialnetworkingsandiego.com and Jason Werner at Opus Media (all things email marketing) www.opusbywire.com are knee deep in what’s going in their respective worlds. And there are a myriad of others – those guys just happen to be great friends of mine, and people that I would trust with my own brand.

Bottom line – DO get involved in social media. DON’T try to do it yourself (especially if you don’t know what you’re doing – and most people don’t). DO hire someone to help you not only do it correctly so that it produces real results, but make sure that it’s integrated with and compliments the other elements of your marketing efforts. And, most importantly, DO it now! And, if you don’t have the resources or know where to look ask me – I’ll be glad to help and/or refer you.

shellyShelly DeMotte Kramer is a marketing strategist specializing in planning, branding, product launches, creating buzz and awareness through non-traditional methods and is, clearly, a social media enthusiast. shelly@kramerandcompany.com

Inbound Marketing, Twitter, Business, and Social Networking Quote Of The Day

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009


I know everyone is busy (as am i) but i wanted to answer 1 very important question I’m hearing everyday:

A small business customer quote:
“So Justin, what is social networking, internet marketing, and this whole twitter thing? How can it help my business? Do i need to look into it?”- prospect

My response: YES! if you want to be in business in the next couple of years you should!

Here’s the basic formula for those Math whizzes (im not a numbers guy so bear with me but its really fairly simple)

Internet marketing strategists = helping businesses build relationships on the Internet = building your brand (marketing your products and services online) appropriately – one tweet at a time”

Social Networking = More Search = More Business!

Then i direct them to my blog talk radio appearance which explains the paradigm shift here: Listen To My Radio Appearance

Or if your a client (or you know a client) who might be considering social networking for their business this video explains it fairly simple:

get tweeting today!
Follow me on Twitter!

Need Twitter Training? Contact us we are here to help support the business community

“What is Social Networking San Diego Justin?”
Social Networking San Diego supports and educates businesses on the value and growing trend in social networking, social media, and internet marketing for business. This trend in social networking and social media for business has been packaged together for local business to use as a proven internet marketing system and online advertising strategy to focus on lead generation and drive more pre-qualified traffic to company websites.

– cheers
JustinRFrench
Support the Movement- Pay It Forward on Twitter

10 Keys for Small Business Success Using Social Networking

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

1.    Always keep a Daily notebook log of all activities, call backs, to do items, follow ups, and related news and research items.
2.    Sign up on twitter right now!- just write a profile about who you are, your passions, and your experience and you will attract like-minded and highly influential people- it happened to me.
3.    Write down a list of all your passions.
4.    Choose 1 passion & Start a blog NOW talking about your passions, news about your passion, give your feedback, insights, and opinion.  Don’t worry about what other people think, if they don’t like your opinion, then they shouldn’t read your blog.
5.    Technology is your friend- start getting use to IT! (Information Technology)  Research what topic you’re interested in and learn IT!  We are doing business and living our lives in a constant connected digital age.
6.    Create a linked in account and start networking with other professionals.
7.    Set up a Google reader account for all your news and RSS feeds (this is KEY)
8.    Find a friend or follower to be your CONSTANT feedback mechanism (just ask me if you can’t find one- I’ll try to fit you in.
9.    Delegate what you can’t do to TRUSTED followers.  No one knows everything, so ask for help when you need it.  But be ready to give help when called upon. (it’s a two way street)
10.    Balance Work and Life- you only live once so work hard, do something you love (even if you’re not making millions yet like me) and you still feel good about yourself.

What is Social Networking San Diego Justin?

Social Networking San Diego supports and educates businesses on the value and growing trend in social networking, social media, and internet marketing for business.  This trend in social networking and social media for business has been packaged together for local business to use as a proven internet marketing system and online advertising strategy to focus on lead generation and drive more pre-qualified traffic to company websites.

Inbound Marketing Will Save Small Business

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

Is your business ready to join the revolution? Businesses large and small alike will have to formulate some form of internet marketing strategy in order to compete in the marketplace.

Inbound Marketing Will Save Small Business CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO

Or Watch Here:

The TRUE Power Of Your Social Network

Friday, February 13th, 2009

To all my Followers, Friends & Family,

I received an unexpected call last week. To my Amazement, I was selected as a Top 10 finalist for the Blackberry & AT&T’s small business owners contest! WOW! As many of you know, not only am I on a mission to re-define the business world by using social media/ social networking, but I actually want to win the contest!

Vote For Me HERE

I know you all are very busy, but I wouldn’t ask you to do anything unless you got something out of it of course, so here is an incentive to all of you in my network:

  • You all know how how hard I’ve been working at building my business & network up over the last 7 years, so if you vote for me and I win, I will raffle off and give away FREE 1 of the blackberry’s to a lucky person who is in my network!

I want to make a statement to the World- that social networking, building relationships, always having passion for what you do, and being transparent is the new way to conduct business.

So please help he win this contest and demonstrate the power of my network- built around you of course!

Thanks Everyone- cross your “twittering” fingers We win!

twitterholic justinrfrench

Vote For Me HERE

Vote For Me HERE