Social networks should be in your marketing plan

Social networks are groups of interconnected individuals, organizations and businesses on the Internet.

Popular social networking Web sites include MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn. Also, blogs (like online diaries) and blogging services such as WordPress, Blogger and Twitter allow sharing of ideas and activities.

These sites are important marketing tools because they have many millions of members. Facebook, for example, has 200 million users, half of whom visit the site daily, according to the American Marketing Association. Membership is exploding, with women ages 35 to 54 the fastest-growing segment.

Your competition is almost certainly using these sites. Advertising on social networks is up 17 percent this year, and often with very good results. The American Marketing Association reports that, on average, companies with high levels of social media activity experienced an 18 percent increase in revenue in the last year.

As marketers, we try to advertise to our most likely customers for best effect, and social networks are a great way to do this by age, education and interests. MySpace tends to attract a teen and young adult crowd. Facebook started with college students and recent grads but has grown well past its college roots. LinkedIn is a site for professionals to network; it’s also a terrific place to find skilled employees. Marketers choose the sites that best fit their typical customer.

Finally, these sites are free. Optional ads may be purchased that are shown when a profile contains certain words. For example, a store selling canoes and kayaks may pay Facebook to show its ad when a profile contains the word “kayak.” Otherwise, your business or organization may have a page on these sites at no cost and then any number of fans may sign up to read about your business, events, ideas and more.

Social networks allow you to have meaningful contacts and conversations with your best customers, who will then introduce you to their friends — your next best customers! People overwhelmingly trust a referral from a friend over a communication directly from a company.

5 Steps On How To Start Every Morning With Energy That Will Carry On Throughout The Day

Let’s face it. Not everyone is a morning person. Least of all me. But we still drag ourselves out of our cozy beds each day to live our lives.

To be honest, I just woke up and feel like going back to bed but what’s a better time than now to write about having a great morning?

So I did some research, looked at the hardest parts of anyone’s morning, and came up with this quick 5-step guide to getting the best out of every morning so that the rest of your day is absolutely amazing.

Step 1: Get A Good Night’s Sleep

Probably the most important. You can do all the morning rituals you want but if you didn’t get enough quality sleep, then you’ll still be missing out on your full morning potential.

Now not everyone’s the same. Some people only need 6 whereas I need a good 9 hours. Figure out where you stand and make it your target to get that amount of sleep every night. Of course, a little late night partying is allowed every now and then, just don’t over do it.

Step 2: Spend Some Alone Me-Time

Set aside a block of time just for yourself. Even if it’s just for 20 minutes. We live in such a connected and busy world it’s often hard to remember to focus on just you. Not your family, not your pets, not your boss, your mortgage, etc. Just you.

If you ever get the feeling you don’t know yourself anymore then it’s time to take a break, do something you love alone, and take the time to focus on who you are. If you’re only always surrounded by people your personal growth may stagnate.

Step 3: Drink Plenty Of Water And Eat A Healthy Breakfast

Breakfast is the foundation of any nutritional diet. So eat up. Just make sure it’s healthy. Eating breakfast will energize you get your brain going faster. Don’t underestimate the importance of this meal.

Most people don’t get enough water. So make it part of your daily morning routine to drink one big glass of water. We often wake up dehydrated and don’t know it. So before you go for your coffee, have some water first.

Step 4: Be Productive From The Get-Go

When you get to work, don’t spend time procrastinating. We all do this at one point or another. We know we have Task A, B, and C to do but instead we check Twitter, Facebook, our emails, or surf the net.

This is extremely unproductive and will get you into a bad routine. Instead go straight into what you need to do. This’ll create momentum and encouragement for you to finish everything else on your To-Do list. But of course, we all need breaks.

So schedule 10 to 15 minute breaks in between tasks for you to relax and entertain your distractions for a while. But be disciplined. Once your scheduled break is up, go back to your goals for the day.

Step 5: Outline Your Top 3 Most Important Tasks (M.I.T.s) And Do These First

These are the tasks that you absolutely need to get done. And often they’re the ones that you want to do the least. Well, suck it up and do them. This gives you a great boost of accomplishment each morning and will make the rest of your day easier, happier, and smoother.

This also ingrains good habits within you. The next time you set out a huge goal for yourself you’ll be more likely to finish it as your mind is conditioned to take challenges straight on and finish them. You’ll end up with that “Yes, I can” attitude.

by Gabrielle Lim