So, let me continue our conversation on creating an effective Internet Marketing campaign for your business. Have you spent any time on YouTube? Did you know that YouTube is one of the largest search engines on the Internet? Have you seen how easy it is to share videos on the web, as well as on your mobile phone? Will, if you have not started using videos to promote your business, it is time to start thinking about how you can begin using this very effective marketing channel.

YouTube is the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos locally and worldwide through a web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.youtube.com and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs and emails.

Everyone can watch videos on YouTube. People can see first-hand accounts of current events, find videos about their hobbies and interests, and discover the quirky and unusual. As more people capture special moments on video, YouTube is empowering them to become broadcasters of tomorrow.

So, how does it work? Like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, YouTube is free to use. All you need is to register with the site and create a profile if you want to post videos or comments (you can view videos if you don't have an account). The videos you publish - which include tags, a category, and a brief description - can be made public or restricted to members of specified contact lists. YouTube also allows videos hosted on its site to be embedded in other web pages, such as blogs or websites.

When it comes to using YouTube to promote your company, here are some ideas on videos you can create and upload to YouTube and also your company YouTube channel.

• Existing company webmercials
• video version of company blog posts
• videos on your products or services
• videos of company events
• video of customer testimonials

Next we will take a look the 4 steps you can take to get your video ranked higher.

Ok, have you started using Facebook yet as an Internet Marketing tool? If you have you now need to think about that classic marketing topic of “promoting your business”. In this case, let’s talk about promoting your Facebook Fan Page. To keep it simple, let’s discuss the 5 best practices. These practices are: 

1. Create an Engaging Page. Give users a reason to become fans of your Fan Page (special offers, inside information, etc. only available to Fans). You should also use the Facebook applications like the discussion board and YouTube video box to add more interesting and engaging content to your page. 
2. Leverage the Viral Nature of Facebook (the News Feed). An added benefit of creating an engaging page is that every time a fan engages with your page (from becoming a fan, to posting a comment, to attending an event) that activity is published to their “news feed”, which is seen by all of their friends on Facebook. 
3. Draw on Your Existing Network. If you already have email subscribers and blog readers, make sure you let them know they can become a fan of your company on Facebook. Publicize your fan page on your blog, website, email, etc. 
4. Make Your Page Publicly Searchable. By default, your page will be public so that it can be indexed by search engines, which gives you the opportunity to drive organic search traffic to your page. 
5. Use Facebook Ads for an Extra Push. Facebook ads allow you to advertise a website or something on Facebook, including pages, groups, and events.

Once you start using your Facebook Fan Page, you will see that it is a great tool with a lot of potential for expanding your Internet Marketing campaigns. If you are in the Sacramento or Northern California region and have any questions or want help with your Facebook campaigns, please give us a call. If you are simply looking to get some questions answered, make a comment or send us an email.

So, what is Internet Marketing and is it really important to a business today? The answer is very simply, it is important to not only understand what Internet Marketing entails, but to develop a successful capability for conducting and managing an Internet Marketing program. Whether you build your internal staff or create an effective alliance with a knowledgeable expert, a successful business must be fully engaged with the Internet in order to effectively complete. And this is not just for large business, but small businesses as well.

In its simplest form,  Internet Marketing is about creating an effective presence online where your business can present the appropriate information for your targeted customers. It is creating the right content, and placing that content in the appropriate online venues in such a manner that the search engines determine you are a very relevant match for individuals seeking the content found on your website or blog or any number of other content providing systems. How do you determine what is the right content? WSI suggests you conduct a thorough assessment of the Internet so you can determine what content your customers are searching for through the search engines. Once you have completed the assessment, you need to create the right content, based upon those all important keywords. Once the content is ready, you can begin to create an effective Search Engine Optimization or Search Engine Marketing program to attract and maintain the attention of the search engines. Now, it might seem you are finished, but as in all marketing it is now time to start the cycle all over again.

In a nutshell, you just went thorugh Internet Marketing 101. if you need more help in understanding or determining if your existing staff or web provider is adequately supporting your business, please feel free to call and discuss your situation with a WSI staff member.

Just returned from an awesome training seminar in Toronto where the top 60 WSI Internet Consultants from around the world  were gathered together to learn about best practices for Internet Marketing. At the end of a very intensive two days, I received my Digital Marketing Certification. Wow, how the Internet has evolved over the past 7 years is amazing. There was also a fantastic opportunity to network with the very best from many different countries!

This seminar provided exceptional insights and "how-to training" about effective Internet Marketing Strategies using cutting edge tools and programs. A focus on the development of a content marketing blueprint based upon a detailed Competitive Assessment Report was the centerpiece of the seminar. This new concept does not replace the use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Search Engine Marketing (SEM), but integrates these strategies with email marketing, effective use of Paid Online Advertising and traditional marketing concepts of understanding your target market. For those businesses serious about competing and winning on the Internet, a Digital Marketing Strategy is critical to success. This weekend added valuable tools for those businesses that want to achieve the very best possible results from their online business strategies.