This is a short introduction before you start the series Internet Marketing Basics that can be found here at Big Business Zoo.
The series will cover the basics of how to use facebook, twitter, flickr and a basic website to create an online presence that works like the Yellow Pages used to – only better! – for bringing customers to your business. If you’re reading this in 2010, the videos are out of sequence to get things going quickly for members of the Heart Link Network and TROVA Women Business Directory.
The principles are good for any business, especially if you have a local business in retail, direct sales or service. I’ve had over 25 years experience as an entrepreneur and my MBA studies and degree had an emphasis in franchise system development and marketing. This means that creating a practical, affordable, sustainable sequence that creates profits and opens new markets is the thought foundation. Solid is sexy. You enjoy it a lot longer and you don’t have to do anything risky or faddish to create something strong.
My main business currently is developing a couple new technologies for market, but I also do one on one consulting with entrepreneurs, authors, scientists and inventors, helping them create a business structure, team and plan that keeps them in their most productive, profitable and peaceful state. Part of this work is attracting capital through investors or cash flow from new and repeat customers, so creating initial marketing and branding with a limited budget and a practical amount of time invested is a premium goal.
Duplicating how to do the basics and the reasons behind it free up my schedule and accelerate this pace – so the videos and written content are tools my real clients use to reach the top of the search engines and increase profits, reduce overlapping expenses and get measurable results – lower employee turnover, more press coverage, increased satisfaction and better time management.
Why start with facebook?
The whole strategy for creating a local and/or global online presence that is easy to find and easy for customers and clients to share is unfolded in the initial video series “Internet Marketing Basics” – a sub-series “The World Is Your Oyster – Be the PEARL” focuses on really moving rapidly to the top of local search for your business category.
facebook is not only popular with millions of users that are familiar with the basics of how to use it, it creates a lot of interactivity – with comments, “likes”, messages, video postings and ways to tell groups of friends about something you find informative, helpful or entertaining. These can be linked back and forth with your website for a lot of Social Media power.
Episode 117 -“Introduction to facebook” is the place to start if you are wanting to jump right into facebook immediately.
Episode 101 – “The World Is Your Oyster – Be the Pearl”, encompasses other marketing channels besides facebook – the episodes are being done out of order, so after 101, you will skip ahead into facebook, but it’s good to have an overall idea of how things work together.
Episode 107 – Setting Up A facebook Personal Profile – This video starts from the beginning of setting up a facebook personal profile. It begins with step by step instructions for finding out if names are available, gathering information and images, then continues showing how to set up the profile and basic privacy settings.
Episode 108 – Setting Up A facebook Fan Page or Like Page – This video shows how facebook Fan pages and Like pages can be used to give more information, link to additional online material and websites, make specials offers, show videos and host opt-in forms to gather contact information.
Episode 109 – Customizing Your facebook Like Page – Customizing your facebook “Like” page can be done with fairly simple coding and graphic material you may already have on your website or in other promotional materials. This is a step by step tutorial on how to add an FBML tab, where to paste code, how to select the custom tab as the first place visitors reach when they come to the page for the first time and how to modify the code within facebook.
More video episodes and easy to use “cut and paste” helper files will be coming soon, but before the holiday weekend I wanted to get something that might be helpful if you have family or friends who are asking a lot of questions about facebook especially. Kathryn Booth