Marketing Success with Social Media, Blogs and Groups
Published December 7, 2011 | 
Proven Market Strategies
Proven market strategies are vitally important when targeting your market niche through social media networks and linking to blogs that are popular within the market niche.
Tweet, Mention and Link to Blog Posts and Social Networking Posts — It can be a great strategy to recognize through tweets, mentions and links to posts you find made by other individuals if you determine what they’ve written is something that would be of interest to your audience. And, if your goals are to win social media friends, expansion of your network, and get your name and expertise known, providing good fresh content for your followers is one of the best ways to achieve the results you want.
Build an email list and send informative mailings to it on a regular basis – Add a “Join My E-mail List” sign-up box on your website and the good news is that Constant Contact and other e-mail marketing service providers make it easy for you to do this. 
The first place people look when they want information about you is your website. So don’t ignore the chance to begin building a relationship with them when they visit your website.
Ask your customers for their e-mail addresses and permission – No matter the method of communication, tell customers about your e-mail communications and ask if you can add them to your list. Put out a sign-up book if you have a physical location. If what you do is internet-based, send a follow-up e-mail after an order and ask if they want to join your list.
Ask those you meet at networking events and at trade shows – Networking events and trade shows are great places to meet and find people that would like to join your list.
Join and participate in local business groups – You also may consider participating in leads groups as well, many times a great source of business for many small service businesses is referrals.
Small business is now the most trusted group in America and globally. According to studies prepared by different research organizations (i.e. Pew Research Center, etc.) small business is the most trusted institution in the global economy. Believe it or not, more than churches, colleges, and technology companies. And most certainly more than either labor unions or large corporations.
The Big Deal About Social Media: Over 500 Million Users
Published August 21, 2009 | 
If you are an Entrepreneur in business, or getting ready to start your business and still wondering what the big deal about social media is, and why you should consider using it as part of your marketing strategies, you have to look first at who your target market is, and determine how to most effectively and with the least cost, get your message in front of them.
In today’s global market, social media technology has revolutionized how people communicate with each other, and created a “virtual conversation” that takes place 24 hours a day across multiple platforms designed for social networking and sharing information including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and YouTube to name a few, and as with any target market, the more you know and learn about the trends, tendencies and habits of the market, the more focus and precision you can bring to both your message and delivery mechanisms and channels.
Before deciding if you need to integrate social media technology into your businesses marketing strategies, you need to determine the market demographics of the social media users, along with what they’re doing and what they’re going to do. Keep in mind while you are gathering information to help you make your decision, that you can learn a lot about your target market by listening to the 
“virtual conversation” taking place, and remember the single most important factor in reaching your market with the most effective message is your ability to “listen and learn,” and what better way to obtain real-time information that used to be cost prohibitive to all but the largest companies, than through a social media presence that is “free” in comparison.
Not only will you learn vital information about the market and what it is “thinking” at any given time, but you will learn what it “thinks” about your business, both good and bad, and here are some statistics to consider:
Worldwide Internet users: 1.2 Billion
Worldwide social networking site users: 506 Million
% of Internet users registered on at least one social networking site: 42%
Worldwide online advertising spending: $40 Billion
2008 Worldwide social networking advertising spending: $2.0 Billion
2009 Worldwide social networking advertising spending: $2.4 Billion
% of online advertising dollars spent on social networking sites: 6.00%
Advertising spending has started to increase as businesses increase awareness of the benefits from developing and maintaining a social networking presence.
Research Results: They are young and affluent and active consumers
Social Media Networking Revolution: Facebook
Published August 19, 2009 | Team Altman Interesting Social Media and Facebook Video:
Here is an interesting video that gives a visual history of the evolution Facebook and its revolutionary effect on Social Media and Networking, and increases your awareness about the Facebook phenomena, and how Facebook can be a great platform to enhance Social Media Marketing strategies to reach your market.
As always enjoy, share and understand Facebook:
Flash Mob: Social Media and Networking Phenomena
Published August 16, 2009 | 
Team Altman Interesting “Flash Mob” Video:
To illustrate the power of Social Media and Social Networking, Check out this “Flash Mob” very recently (3 days ago) organized by BouncE Sweden, which shows the power of the Social Media Revolution in giving innovators the platforms to plan and create such events to seemingly occur spontaneously, and become part of the phenomenon made possible with Social Media Technology.
As always enjoy, share and create ideas for “Flash Mob” events:
Social Media: Revolutionizing the World as We Know It
Published August 15, 2009 | 
Team Altman Social Media Technology News and Awesome Video:
Unless they have been completely cut off, most people by now have heard something about the term “Social Media,” even though they might still classify it as a “foreign sounding term,” with very little understanding of what it is, and an extremely high level of curiosity and wonderment about why they should be interested in it, and the importance Social Media might play in the future of their personal lives, as well as their businesses and organizations they belong too.
Is Social Media quickly becoming the biggest shift in the way people live and conduct their personal, business and organizational lives, since the Industrial Revolution? Many studies indicate a revolution quickly in the making, as organizations and people adapt the available 
Social Media tools (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, etc.), starting with individuals connecting through social networking (250 Million Facebook members) and quickly moving to the business world.
It is important to note, that it is not the applications creating the Social Media Revolution, but people using innovative ideas to collectively determine best uses for the Social Media platforms and tools rapid evolution, to meet the growing demand for the communication connectivity their innate human nature drives them to continue to seek on many levels.
As always enjoy, share and welcome to the Revolution: