We discussed:

• Linux Hosting is preferred
•   Fantastico or Simple Scripts Installation
•   Posts and Pages – content Area
•   WordPress Themes – the template of the blog
•   Categories – categories for the blog posts
•   BlogRoll – links to other places
•   Widgets -  weather widget, banner, etc… a small application box on the blog which adds a function
•   Plugins -    an application or tool that adds functionality or performance to the blog

Contact us to find out when we are teaching our next round of classes: Houston Web Design

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Social media optimization describes the use of Social Web 2.0  techniques by a web site marketing agency to make a website or social media site popular across the internet. Of course we are all familiar with SEO, but SMO means more than that. It means:

• Making your content more shareable to people and to communities across the social networks of the internet
• Making your SMO site more easily linked to

What does this mean more specifically?
1. Buttons, Badges and Widgets. Adding a widget to your content allows people to more easily bookmark or tag. RSS feed icons on your blogs, AddThis buttons.
2. Content Sharing. Think Facebook’s “Share This” button. Twitter’s “Retweet” functionality. Also, downloadable PDFs, video or audio files help your content to travel and become popular.
3. Social Commenting. Commenting, Voting, Rating, approving, “Liking,” voting up in StumbleUpon.

Of course, anything posted on the internet can and should be optimized for the search engines. But now, it is as important to be “optimized” to be found across social networks and communities. This means, the voting and rating can help your content rise to the top of searches done on social sites. Sites like Technorati, StumbleUpon, YouTube and more. Now, going “viral” can be more powerful in getting visitors than showing up in search engine results.

What kind of internet sites can be optimized for Social Media?

• Facebook sites
• Blogs on your website or off your website
• Website content
• Videos on YouTube or other video sites
• Web 2.0 sites like Hubpages, Squidoo
• Blog aggregation sites like Technorati
• Article marketing sites
• and more…

It’s important to remember the difference in SEO and SMO is this:   SEO is about becoming highly visible according to a search engine’s “algorithm,” while SMO is about becoming highly visible from votes and interest shown by people and communities.

Social Media Optimization is an efficient tool for website marketing and promotion, and there are many tools and techniques to help you spread the word about your brand and offerings.  Learn more at Houston Web Site Internet Marketing Agency

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1. Facebook marketing requires communicating, not hard sell advertising.  Make yourself an authority to your followers, and they will stay with you and recommend you to others.
2. Your office staff can help market your business from their desks.  Your office staff members can use your Facebook business page to stay in touch and to promote your business to others. Train the office staff to provide great original content, or to republish useful content that is relevant to your target audience.
3. Ask your personal Facebook friends to fan/like your business page.  The warmer the connection to your business, the better the chance for success.
4. Advertise on Facebook.  Advertising on Facebook can be a great boost to your marketing effort.  You can select your ad to show up for particular locations, age groups, education levels, and even hobbies or interests.  You can link the ad to go out to your website, or to go right to your Facebook business page.  Also, you can set your daily budget and control how much you want to spend in a day for advertising.
5. Create an event.  Conduct a webinar, host a business network meeting in your office, create a contest, survey, quiz or other event for your target audience.  These strategies can put you in the middle of activities with people who need your product or service.
6. Create a custom business page which encourages people to take action.  Action to call you, to get a quote, to download your company brochure, or other specific actions.

Just as in relationship building and in-person marketing, Facebook marketing is not a once and done effort.  A Facebook business page is a lasting online asset, and the ongoing engagement you create is what will bring success to your business.

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When Facebook was opened to the general public, over 100 Million users joined within the first 9 months.  Today, there are over 300 Million users worldwide.

So, aside from the history lesson, what makes Facebook such an amazing platform?  It provides customization and network capability that is outstanding to use in business marketing.  The most used term nowadays is “Social Media Marketing.”

How?  Not everyone in an office likes to go out in the streets and network, or hit the phones and cold call.  But, most everyone likes to chat and interact in the comfort of their business or personal lives.

What are the steps?  At a high level, you start with these activities:

1. Create a Facebook Business page
2. Create a Custom Facebook Sales page
3. Request your contacts to “Like” or “Fan” your business site
4. Set a specific URL on Facebook, such as:  www.facebook.com/GBizBuilders
5. Begin growing your following, and start getting connected…and staying connected

Remember, that in getting people to connected, it’s important to be seen as someone that can be liked, trusted, and knowledgeable.  Information that shows you as an authority builds you as the “go to” person for your services.

Learn more by visiting Facebook Social Media Marketing and see how you can start using Social Media Marketing to generate leads for your business.

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