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There are now various tips on how you can utilize Twitter for marketing your business but basically, it all comes down to monitoring and getting the attention of influencers online. You will not only be able to find out what the needs and opinions of your target market, you can also grab their attention through networking as well. Twitter will enable you to enter the consciousness of interested users which will build up your brand and customer loyalty over the long run.

Obviously, Twitter is popular because it is a traffic generation tool; you can place links on profiles as well as conversations. However, Twitter can provide many other benefits as well including lead acquisition and personal branding. Below is the list of other ways you can use Twitter to your advantage:

Viral Marketing –Twitter will spread your message quickly if your friends and other users “tweet” about it.

Feedback – with the amount of people using Twitter, you can instantly get another perspective if you need feedback on your web design or for your business strategy. Although, you might not get 100% decent replies, the collective intelligence you will receive is bound to provide some benefits for you.

Hire People – if you need the services of a marketer, a programmer, or an SEO expert, Twitter can help. Just send out a message asking users for their recommendations and you will get a good response.

New Friends – similar to other social networking sites, Twitter has a feature that lets you befriend other people you find interesting. You will be able to tract their messages so you can become updated on the latest news and events. Make an effort to connect with users outside your circle of friends.

Customer Notification – you can set up a Twitter Feed which will allow customers to receive notifications for new products and services as they come in. The customers can subscribe to the feed though RSS or through mobile devices.

There are actually many other benefits of Twitter that are being utilized to a lesser extent. For example, this tool can help you manage your time better because you can keep track of your daily activities. Aside from this, you can even find prospective clients who are in the same line of business as you.

Social networking giants such as Facebook and MySpace might be the giants in the online world but other sites with unique concepts are fast catching up. The newest addition to the social networking family, Twitter.com, is a micro-blogging tool that enables its members to update friends, family, and strangers about the most important events of their lives while on the go.

Twitter describes itself as the “global community of friends and strangers answering one simple question: What are you doing?” With this simple concept, it has attracted users that range from average internet users to presidential candidates.

It is quite easy to become a member of this site. Members will get his own page on Twitter and he can update it daily through three different ways: through text messaging, through instant messaging, or through logging in on the site itself. Twitter will then automatically update the member page and send a message to your “friends”.

It is apparent that Twitter is the next giant in the social networking industry. However, it is not without its negative reviews. Some people think that Twitter will only make the online community more trivial while some believe that it will encourage cyber stalking. But whatever anyone’s opinion might be, there is no denying that Twitter has come to its own. And it is up to internet marketers how they will take advantage of the unique opportunity that is presented by Twitter.com.

What is StumbleUpon?

StumbleUpon is very much similar to social bookmarking sites such as Del.ico.us and Digg but it has a slight difference. This is because while other social bookmarking sites tend to send thousands, if not millions, of visitors your way in a span of several days if your story made the front page; StumbleUpon provides a lower amount of traffic in a more consistent rate. Using StumbleUpon is a good way to drive traffic to your site is a great way to build a loyal base of readers.

How to Use StumbleUpon

Basically, StumbleUpon works when a user downloads a toolbar that allows them to rate a particular website as thumbs up or thumbs down. To receive traffic from StumbleUpon, you must first submit one of your webpage. Then, you should browse your own website and select the thumps up symbol to be able to add it in StumbleUpon.

Increasing Traffic

You can increase your traffic using simple techniques in StumbleUpon. Some of the strategies you can try out include:

· Adding more friends. Having more friends will allow your site to be exposed to a greater number of users who will see the newly added pages on your site.

· Submit new pages. When you create new blog posts, for example, you should submit this URL to StumbleUpon using their toolbar. This technique will increase the number of pages you have in the database so the likelihood of users “stumbling” on your webpage is also improved.

· Categorizing pages property and adding multiple tags. These two techniques will allow you to attract relevant traffic to your site.

· Rate websites. Get involved in the community because it can definitely help your site appear to StumbleUpon users who share the same interest as you. This will increase the likelihood that they will rate your site with thumbs up as well.

I’m a huge fan of SMM (Social Media Marketing), and I think it’s an amazing way to get yourself noticed if you have the right content. One thing that does sort of get under my skin though is that there are so many people out there trying to game social media and social networking services in order to promote themselves or their product. I’m not going to directly call anyone out, but there’s a good chance that if you go to just about any SEO blog you’re going to find posts giving you “tips & tricks” on how to game social media.

Fortunately for you, you don’t have to read all of these other posts because I have the one (and only) secret to utilizing social media properly.

The Problem

The problem with SMM articles is that very few of them argue the value of social media and instead focus only on what you can get out of it. This is also the typical SEO mindset, but it is much more damaging in the social media world. They supply you with an arsenal of “tips & tricks” needed to game the system instead of showing you how to use it as it’s meant to be used.

We all remember Gary Ruplinger’s fantastic analysis of the SEO side of social media don’t we? That’s just one example of how people are trying to game social media. The idea of free high PR backlinks, instant exposure, and potential virility attract everyone looking for instant success overnight. The truth is if you set out to game social media people are going to catch on and you’re going to succeed in doing little more than smudging your reputation.

The Solution

If you really want to make use of social media marketing the one and only way you can do that is by registering and participating in the community, make real contributions, and use the service as it is meant to be used. That’s it. That’s the tip, that’s the trick, that’s the butter.

If you want a story to make it to the frontpage of Digg then build your reputation and submit good stories. If you want articles to be taken seriously on Reddit then build your reputation and submit good stories. If you want your videos to get noticed on YouTube then build your reputation and submit good videos. If you want your articles to rise through the ranks of Netscape then build your reputation and submit good stories. See a pattern here?

Trying to take little shortcuts just doesn’t cut it in social media like it did in the old web days or with SEO. The only way you can make social media work now is by actively engaging the community, immersing yourself in it, and yes actually becoming a user. If you try to game the system people will see through it and you’ll accomplish little more than a couple wimpy click throughs and a backlink. Social media is powered by users. Users are much more capable of seeing through scams than AI. If you act like some old fart trying to game the system to increase your PR then they’ll know it, and you’ll accomplish nothing.

But How Do I Make the Most of it?

I’m tired of hearing people say things like “Yes, I know I have to be active in the community to succeed, but how do I make the most of it?” Why does this annoy me? Because the answers are so damn simple.

For example:

Q: How do I get a good reputation on Digg so that people will take my stories seriously?
A: Submit good stories and vote on ones that you enjoy reading.

Q: How do I get people to go to my blog from MyBlogLog?
A: Visit other bloggers and if you like their articles let them know, add them to your contacts, and join their blog community.

How hard are these questions to answer? Most of them can be read on the homepages or FAQs of the sites themselves! The bottom line is that if you can’t answer these kinds of questions for yourself then you are not immersing yourself in these social media sites and are not learning how to properly utilize these services.

If you stay in the mindset of “what can I get out of social media?” then you’re going to fail at it. If, however, you go into it thinking “how can I go about making use of and enjoying this service?” then you will succeed in building a good reputation, earning new readers, and reaching the full potential of SMM.

Facebook Developers, Internet Marketers, Online Entrepreneurs get ready for some more traffic as MySpace is opening its doors to software developers allowing them to create games and media-sharing applications.

MySpace are going to formally launch their “Developer Platform” next week, but are already allowing Developers to sign up now. The tools have been developed with Google and will allow programmers to create programs similar to those used by millions on rival site Facebook.

The success of Facebook Apps has obviously got MySpace guys thinking its time to let Developers in, with nearly 15,000 applications already written for the site its got to be a positive move. Despite FaceBooks popularity it still lags behind MySpace in terms of overall users.

MySpace has around 200 million registered users, compared to 63 million who use Facebook. MySpace was bought by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp for $580m in 2005. Last October it announced that it would join OpenSocial, Google’s platform designed to allow developers to build applications that will work on any website. (Snippet courtesy of BBC NEWS)

The tools which should be available from 5 February 2008 will allow developers to build applications that make use of the MySpace member profile. Amit Kapur the CTO of MySpace has stated developers will also be able to make money out of their applications.

I should hope so too!

In the last two days, I’ve talked about social media. The first post was about how social media is trumping content. The second post was about the power of social media. Social media friendships are the key to leveraging social media sites, so today we’ll discuss practical ways to build these friendships.

1. Vote

Vote on other people’s submissions. This is the essence of social media friendship.

2. Comment

Most social media users don’t comment, so you’ll set yourself apart by following this tip. Be one of the first to comment. Also, comment on stories you think will make the front page. This will help you get noticed by the social media community.

3. Contact

Some users don’t check their comments, so this is a good way to interact with them. Write them about their submissions and the stories they voted on.

4. Submit

Don’t just sumbit content from your own site. Submit quality content from other sites. Do this so that the community won’t think you’re a spammer. Also, if you only submit your own stuff, you’re breaking the TOS. Your account could be deleted.

5. Notify Users Of Your Submissions

Use this step to get the votes needed to hit the front page. Again don’t just promote your own stuff.

By continually doing these 5 tips, you’ll be on your way to becoming a reputable user. You’ll have a great chance of making the front page. And by making the front page a couple times with content from different sites, you’ll gain a lot credibility from the community.

At that point, anything you submit will automatically get many votes. You can get instant traffic to your site whenever you want.

Miscellanous Tips

Don’t overdo the promotion of your own sites. If the community thinks your spamming them, they’ll stop voting for your sites.

Your story must be good quality. If you submit something mediocre, you may get voted down. Also, you’ll lose credibility. You don’t have to write the best resource known to man. Just write something your niche would find useful or interesting. Do some creative brainstorming. Look at your industry and find an untapped topic. Find humor in your niche. Hire a ghostwriter if you need to.

If people are submitting your content, by all means, contact them and thank them. These are the people that already like your stuff. Become friends with them.

Seek to build friendships with the popular users. These users are the ones that always seem to have a front page story. These users are active in the social media site. They’re more likely to vote. Also, I believe in some social media sites their votes have more weight.

Be patient. Like offline friendships, online friendships take time to develop. Stay motivated by focusing on the great reward.

Conclusion

All these tips have a common thread. The overarching principle is this: be an active participant in the social media community. Unlike other users who are borderline spamming, you want to engage the community. As you do this, people will respect and notice you. You’ll get more votes. Your site will be noticed more. And you’ll improve your site’s brand and your personal brand.

Do you have any other tips to add?

This is the power of social media: it allows you to bypass traditional SEO and link building. If you get on the front page of a social media site, you’ll get traffic. That traffic will lead to many links. And those links will lead to much better search rankings.

This means you won’t have to spend time emailing other webmasters for links. They’ll link to you when they see your content on Digg. You won’t have to buy links because the blogger who keeps seeing you on Netscape will put you on his blogroll.

Creating linkbait and promoting it on social media sites gives you the best ROI on your SEO efforts. Social media is the fastest and most cost-effective way to build links and get traffic. Here is a relevant quote from Andy Hagans of TropicalSEO. He’s hit the Digg front page over 100 times, so he knows the power of social media first hand.

From: Can You Compete with Industrial Strength Linkbaiting? (or, Why My Site Will Outrank Yours for [mortgage])

You may have great, relevant content. You may have 3 link ninjas working fulltime buying permanent links on trusted pages. You may have an authority domain from ‘99. You may have ranked for [mortgage] for the last 3 years and picked up a ton of ‘Filthy Linking Rich’ links just for being there.

But in the long run, you can’t compete with a solid link bait coming out every single waking day, 5 days a week, 51 weeks a year. Some baits flop. Many make the Reddit homepage or Delicious/Popular. One in 20 really hits it out of the ballpark and brings in 1,000+ links.

If you’re new to social media, it takes time to get a critical mass of friends who will vote for your sumbissions. But once you’ve built those friendships, you’ll have the best resource for getting traffic and links.

If you’ve been reading this blog in the last couple of days, you know I’ve been talking about the importance of having unique, quality, remarkable content. A well-known internet marketing slogan is “Content is king.” But is content being dethroned by social media?

Social media sites like Digg, Reddit, Netscape, Del.icio.us, and StumbleUpon are changing the online business game. These sites drive huge amounts of traffic. And all you need is good content and a lot of friends. Notice I did not say great content.

On Netscape I saw one blog hit the front page multiple times. Virtually every post on the blog made the front page. I read some of the posts. A few were great quality while the rest were merely good.

How did the blogger make the front page with his (or her) posts? Simple. He participated in the Netscape community. And through his participation, he made a lot of Netscape friends that voted for his posts.

This bring us to the key to social media marketing. Friends. The more, the merrier.

The growing popularity of social media is making the online world more like the offline world. It’s like high school all over again. The popular kids get noticed.

But there’s good news. You don’t have to be good looking to be popular online. You don’t have to be good at sports or be a cheerleader. You don’t even have to produce great content. Good is enough. You just have to work hard by participating with social media users. It’s these users that cause good content to have more traffic than non-marketed great content.

So, if you don’t want to lose to lower quality content, you need to add social media to your marketing arsenal. You need to start building friendships with social media users.

Will this add a time consuming task to your online business? Definitely. Just another reason to focus on fewer sites.

Your thoughts?

Some of you may have noticed the little “bump it” BUMPzee icons at the bottom of my posts and are wondering what the hell is BUMPzee? BUMPzee is a new social networking site (geared at bloggers) with a small but high quality userbase. It focuses on specific communities instead of just free-for-all networking; however, at the moment the site is only open to affiliate marketers. Unless I’m mistaken, they plan to add more groups as the site becomes more established.

BUMPzee is extremely new, but I’m already sold on it. I think it has all of the elements needed to seriously compete with MyBlogLog. It has a very user friendly profile management page, great blog integration, and good open discussion. BUMPzee also includes a recent visitor widget which is very similar to MyBlogLog’s. It has a “bump it” plugin that allows you to place a button in your blog posts (which are automatically indexed and displayed on BUMPzee) that let users “bump it” up - this works the same way as Digg. It also has a nifty little widget that displays the top posts within your community which is your range of contacts.

There’s still a lot of work to be done with the service, but it is going strong now and can easily become a serious competitor to MBL if it continues to grow and implement quality addons.

Anyone can sign up, but getting your blog’s RSS submitted to the site, which means it shows up on the entries and discussion pages, is a little trickier. Here’s what Scott, the owner of BUMPzee, had to say on blog RSS inclusion (currently for affiliate marketing only):

1. The blog must be at least partly about affiliate marketing. Usually the blogs are a mixture of Affiliate Marketing, PPC, SEO, blogging, etc. That’s great, but if it’s missing the affiliate part as a significant percentage, I usually pass. Or, if the non-affiliate stuff is too far off topic, I’ll usally pass on that too, sometimes reluctantly. Many times it’s a difficult decision.

2. The content should be unique, interesting, mostly non-self-promitional or sales-y, and built for readers and not for search engines. I like to see more than just the same old stuff regurgitated. Affiliate marketing news is fairly hard to come by and many people do end up writing about the same stuff. But I like to see unique perspective added. Plus, if you do this, you’ll have a more interesting blog.

3. The more interesting and unique the content is (as long as it’s online marketing related), the more I’ll relax the affiliate-specific requirement, though never completely.

If you decide to in join BUMPzee, be sure to check out NBB’s profile page.