Promoting+Your+Business+by+Using+Web+2.0+Applications

Danielle Howard Prof. Gray CIS 125W: Web 2.0 1 September 2012

=Promoting Your Business by Using Web 2.0 Applications = There are many Web 2.0 applications that a business marketer can utilize for promoting services or goods online. With some research and a little time a business can thrive by using these various online tools. Cost can be kept at a minimum, as many of Web 2.0 tools are free. There are 6 Web 2.0 applications that every business should be using. They include the following: > This list is just a portion of the many resources available. Because so many resources are available it is a good idea to focus on the most popular and relevant sites. Social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter provide marketers direct access to their customers. Businesses of all sizes can reach their target audience quickly and effectively through these tools. Each of these applications has a variety of websites, as you can see in the following diagram.
 * 1) Blogging
 * 2) Wikis
 * 3) Social Networking
 * 4) Video Casting
 * 5) Micro-blogging
 * 6) Social Tagging



Creating a blog is a great start; however it takes more than just writing a few posts. The blog should be maintained by keeping the material fresh and current. Using key phrases throughout the blog will help drive specific traffic. An interesting title is a must to gain a potential readers attention, it must sound worthy of reading. Guest blogging on other sites and promoting on social networks helps with link building. A blog is a great place to insert pictures or videos of the products or services of the business. [i] Popular blogging sites include WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr.

Wikipedia and Wikispaces are popular wiki sites. They allow the user to share and contribute information. A Wiki is a great place for someone to offer expertise to the website visitors. The trick for promoting on wikis is to offer the visitor valuable and useful information that will lure them to visit your website. Of course staying within the wikis regulations and guideline is extremely important, especially when it comes down to spamming which should be avoided!

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Google+ can be a very beneficial tool for promoting business online. Here are five steps for promoting on a social network.[ii] > <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">media type="youtube" key="b3vvNz_CxK8" height="315" width="420"
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Create a profile; keep the information provided professional.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Make friends; to find friends who will be more likely interested in the product or service, look through the social networking site’s groups for that topic.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Make friends with friends.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Mass communications; post on those groups you found your new friends on. Send group messages to the friends you have.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Create a group of your own that will thrive by adding fresh content and keeping it current. Remember to invite your friends to join it.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Other ways to brand your company on Facebook include: creating a unique and interesting cover art for your, tag your Facebook photos, encourage your customers to check in with their Facebook as they physically visit your real place of business, and if any way possible creating a social media app that ties in to Facebook.[iii]

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">[iv]

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Video casting offers the business an opportunity to provide a tutorial or some type of visual. YouTube’s not just for posting silly videos of sleepwalking dogs and other embarrassing moments — it can also be used as a highly effective business tool. You can use it to show off your expertise, share knowledge, market your products and connect with customers, colleagues and prospects.[v] After posting a video there are ways to increase view of your video. They include: > <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Creating videos and placing them on YouTube is a great way to promote your business and your expertise, but if you don’t have the page views, you’re not going to find success in your video endeavors. [vi]
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Make it visible. Nobody will watch what they can’t see, so make sure that you’re placing links to your videos in high traffic areas, such as your website, blog and social networks.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Reply with it. Search for other videos that focus on your topic, and in the comments section at the bottom of the video, you can use a video response. Make sure that the video you’re choosing has a large number of viewers, and then post your video as a response to their video. The author of the video will need to authenticate your comment first before it can be seen by others, but once approved; anyone who lands on their page has the ability to see your video.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Use the best thumbnail. A thumbnail is the image capture that appears for your video. In order to increase views, you need to make sure that you choose the best possible thumbnail for your video. When visitors see an image of something that interests them, they’re more likely to watch the video to see what it’s truly about.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Provide great content. Ultimately, the way you’re going to increase your views is if your viewers decide to share your video with others. In order for them to share your piece, you need to provide the best possible content. Make sure that your video is entertaining or provides your audience with useful information. If they don’t get anything out of your video, they’re not going to share it. If they don’t share, then your video will be a flop.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Get people to comment. Another great way to increase your views is to get people to comment on your video. In order to earn comments, make sure you ask a question at the end of your video. Your viewers can then use the comment section to share their answers. Comments help you earn more views because comments increase the strength of your video for search. Search engines scan all content, and the more comments you earn, the more content your site has, which means the more keywords you have available.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Micro blogs are a great way for local businesses to share information and generate new leads. They allow for the opportunity to stay in front of your target audience and appeal to the short-term gratification focused customer base we have now gravitated towards as consumers. Micro blogs are also beneficial for a local business because they can provide a high return on investment. In addition, they're relatively low cost, and most micro blogging platforms are relatively easy-to-use, such as Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. Sites such as Hootsuite.com and LinksAlpha.com also provide an opportunity to post micro blogs to more than one social media platform at once.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Micro blogs are great tools for a local business, because they give the opportunity to share: > <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Social Bookmarking can be extremely beneficial, and a fantastic way of promoting your business, if you just take a little time to do it right. Choose high page rank Social bookmarking sites for submission. Some popular sites are Stumble Upon, Del.icio.us, Digg, and Reddit. Be sure to find a site that works with your niche.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Updates and promotions for their local business.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Links to important industry news and updates.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Upcoming events you'll be holding that others can attend.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Upcoming events that you will be attending.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Snippets of tips and how-to information for your target market.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Links and excerpts for your current blog posts and articles.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Awards and certifications received by employees or the business. [vii]
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Set up your account on each social bookmarking site.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Submit a URL link to the site and fill out the description box, tags, keywords and subject, if needed.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Recognize the articles, websites, and blogs that are bookmarked the most, with the highest rankings.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Continue submitting URLs through the system and categorizing them accordingly to build your list.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Vote for other stories and also comment on stories.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">[i] [|http://www.business2community.com/blogging/31-blogging-tips-0251414#lP8AOf7UTBrssudp.99]

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">[ii] []

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">[iii][]

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">[iv] []

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">[v] []

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">[vi] [|http://www.business2community.com/social-media/5-easy-ways-to-increase-views-on-youtube-0262436#MJAMV1gBVXtCuG0L.99]

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">[vii][|http://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog/local-business-microblogging.html#ixzz25HMCd6YZ]