I’VE GOT A GREAT WEBSITE… BUT I GET NO TRAFFIC!

So you are a business owner, and you are trying to increase your sales by offering your products or services on a website. You spent a pile of money paying a designer and a programmer to get your site up and running. The day finally came that your site went live, and after all of the fireworks fizzled, you discovered the fact that you have a little bit of a problem… YOU HAVE NO VISITORS!

The buildup and letdown described in this scenario is a common occurrence with brick-and-mortar business owners that are trying to increase their cash flow with web-based sales. Most will turn to SEO “expert” consultants or other marketing consultants and spend yet another considerable amount of hard-earned money to fix the problem and bring the much-needed traffic to their website. But the fact is, they are overlooking the most effective and cheapest solution to the problem… Twitter marketing.

Twitter just happens to be the fastest social media community on planet earth for attracting and retaining new potential clients within a specific geographical area. There is no other way to accomplish such a feat on any other platform on or off the internet. When properly implemented, a Twitter marketing campaign can start bringing in targeted customers within days of getting started. To tap into the ever expansive reservoir of potential clients dwelling within the Twitter community, follow these simple steps:

1. Create A Friendly Twitter Presence – If you don’t already have an account, get one now. Post your picture so people can identify with you as a person. Make several well thought-out tweets to introduce yourself to the community, and tell everyone about yourself and why you are there.

2. Create An Inviting Profile – Your profile should be clear about your business intent, but it should also let people know that you are a human being who likes to interact with others, have fun, and give back to the community.

3. Link To A Custom Landing Page – Create a special Twitter landing page just for your Twitter visitors. Focus on selling yourself before your products or services. By doing this, you will create long-lasting relationships that will translate into sales from life-long customers instead of one-time buyers.

4. Use Twellowhood.com To Find New Prospects – Use www.twellowhood.com to find people in your local target market to follow. Introduce yourself and get involved! This will create the bonds that you need to grow a loyal following of new clients for your business.

5. Post Every Day - Don’t let a day go by that you don’t post to Twitter. Give more to the Twitter community than you take by sharing meaningful information and interact with your followers. This will give you the best long-term return for your investment of time!

For advanced ideas on aggressive Twitter marketing, check out my Twitter Turbo program at my blog site, www.carltonzone.com!

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GETTING BACK TO THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF TWITTER MARKETING

In today’s podcast episode, I’ve decided that I need to get back to the basics of Twitter marketing for business owners and sales professionals. The night I recorded this podcast, I received about 25 new follows on Twitter from various marketers and business owners. 25 out of 25 of these new business followers were absolutely failing the test of grabbing my attention and engaging me. I saw so many basic violations of fundamental Twitter marketing, I decided I needed to devote an entire podcast to the basics of Twitter business marketing.

In this 10-minute podcast, I give several examples of some of the things you do NOT want to do if you are a business trying to make an impression on the Twitter community. When you violate some of these fundamental marketing rules, you turn people off. It can be hard, if not impossible, to reverse the effects of a negative first impression. With that in mind, it is very important for you to take heed to the advice given in this podcast if you are new to Twitter marketing. I hope you find this helpful, and as always, if you have any questions or would like to comment on the topic, you are welcomed to share your input and opinion on the blog post below!

For my local friends in Jefferson City and Columbia, Missouri, don’t forget about my free audio CD offer for February, 2010. I’m giving way copies of my social media marketing seminar CD entitled “The Seven Secrets of Revolutionizing Your Business Through Social Media Marketing” just for the asking. Contact me via Twitter or just give me a call to request your copy, and I will personally deliver it to your place of business. If you’d like, I will even shoot a video interview and feature your business on my blog!

Excited about your success in marketing,

Carlton Flowers
Marketing Strategist
(573) 893-9498

Play Now:

 Standard Podcast [10:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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ARE SOCIAL MEDIA & BLOGGING JUST A FAD, OR ARE THEY A REAL TREND?

In the past 3 years, we have seen the explosive growth of the social media scene. Facebook has garnered over 350,000,000 active users worldwide, Twitter has attained roughly 45,000,000 users, and there have been 130,000,000 blogs indexed by Technorati since the year 2002. In 24 hours alone, over 900,000 blog posts are created. But even with these staggering statistics, there are still those who believe that the social media explosion is a fad, not a paradigm shift.

I strongly believe that social media represents a paradigm shift in the way that we as a people communicate and interact with one another. When the fastest growing sector on Facebook is the 55+ age group, you don’t have a problem believing that this is a definite all-encompassing shift. But the sheer numbers of people participating in social media communities and blogs does not determine the long-term viability of the trend alone. What makes me boldly state that the social media trend is “boldly going where no man has gone before” and will show no sign of weakening is one thing… monetization.

Tech Trader Daily states that as of January 20th, 2010, Facebook is valued at roughly $14 billion. Twitpic is said to be worth more than $10 million.  MSNBC’s Motley Fool states that search monster Google could be worth $200 billion. The Tech Observer believes Twitter to be valued at around $1 billion. That’s just a sampling of a few of the major players on the social media scene. But this is not what made my mind up about the strength of this trend. What aspect of monetization makes me so confident, you ask? The local search market. Heres why…

In this day and age, nobody is reaching for the Yellow Book to find a pizza joint for dinner. They are using Google. Not only are people Googling restaurant ideas on their home computers, they are using their smart phones. The smart phone trend is getting bigger by the day, and people are becoming more accustomed to using their smart phone devices as their primary internet portholes. The use of Google for researching purchasing decisions on the local level has captured the attention of small businesses and professionals. Instead of relying solely on the radio, newspaper, and the declining television market, they must now “optimize” their presence on the internet to take advantage of local searchers by maximizing their online visibility. This has created a cottage industry that we call “Search Engine Optimization”, or SEO for short.

Now it’s time to tie it all in. What is the fastest way to optimize your business presence on the web in order to facilitate ease of indexing by search engine giant Google? It’s social media platforms and blogging. Using micro blogging sites and social media communities, business owners are able to conquer search terms related to their niche and achieve indexing for their local search market within hours, in some instances. People can pay consultants hefty fees to optimize their searchability (my new word), or they can do it organically by blogging, using targeted keywords, and interacting with people on a one-on-one basis within the most popular social media communities.

The fact remains that social media is a societal trend, not a fad, and the money tied up into this trend both on the national level and the local level is proof. So the next time you hear someone telling you that social media marketing is a farse, and the social media communities will be gone before long, just think about the hundreds of thousands of grandmas out there who are spending hours a day tending to their virtual farms on “Farmville”, and picture this obsessive activity disappearing. I don’t see this happening within my lifetime.

by Carlton Flowers
Social Media Strategist

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TWITTER LIST BUILDING – TAKE THE DIRTY SHORTCUTS, OR BUILD NATURALLY?

In today’s podcast presentation we’ll talk about building your following on Twitter. Do you prefer to ramp-up the speed of your follower list growth artificially, or do you prefer “organic” follower building methods? With artificial Twitter follower list building, people hire consultants to handle the grunt work of collecting masses of new followers. Others pay an outright fee for a bulk amount of followers. But with organic building, these Twitter citizens prefer to meet and connect with others based on common interest and 1-on-1 interaction.

We will discuss the difference between the two methods, along with the following topics:

• When Twitter becomes nothing more than the Chicago phone book
• What happens when cheaters, scammers, and con artists all get together in one community
• The advantages to organic Twitter follower list building
• Why trust is vital to Twitter marketing for businesses
• The “Instant Rock Star Bait-and-Switch” dirty Twitter tactic

As always, feel free to post your comments and questions below, or call our Google Voice line at (636) 377-0006 and leave a short message to voice your opinion!

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 Dirty Twitter Follower List Building Tactics [9:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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A WORKABLE TWITTER STRATEGY FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

I’ve seen this many a time… a local business owner signs up for Twitter to begin a new media marketing campaign with dreams of instant stardom, only to struggle with it for a month or two and then quit. What makes business owners give up on their Twitter efforts so easily? Lack of feedback. When the Twittering fails to bring people in the door who buy their stuff, they see it as a waste of time. However, armed with the right strategy and realistic expectations, Twitter marketing for local business owners can prove to be fruitful.

In today’s podcast, I give a step-by-step strategy for business marketing on Twitter that can lead to results, and even be multiplied exponentially by merging new media marketing efforts with traditional media advertising that not many people currently are pursuing. If done correctly, this marketing strategy will not only produce results, but it can actually be tracked and evaluated down to the detail.

Listen to the audio podcast and post your questions below, or chime in with your very own social media marketing tips that you have found to work for your small business or sales career!

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 Local Small Business Twitter Marketing Strategy [7:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Twitter Marketing Hits the Radar of Missouri Businesses

Since the fall of 2008, I’ve been doing a lot of my own social media marketing prognostication. But now it appears that the predictions of the social media experts are starting to materialize, albiet slowly. The corporate “groundhog” is finally peeking his head out the hole, looking for his social media shadow. The result? He didn’t see it, because the impending social media marketing boom is shining down so brightly. That means the arrival of the social media marketing revolution will come earlier than we thought.

In the corporate world, people are now talking at the water cooler. They are asking each other, “what in the world is this ‘Twitter’ thing all about? Don’t we need to be learning how it could affect or enhance our business?” Twitter has been in the news so much recently that you would have to be hiding your head under a rock not to realize that it has infiltrated corporate america and society as a whole.

But now that corporate employees and leaders are scratching their heads wondering what to do next about the fact that a social network like Twitter can mean the difference in dominating their market, the fun truly begins! Previously, talk about Twitter and social media marketing fell upon deaf ears, even though many Fortune 500 companies like Dell, Apple, and Amazon.com have long since proven its viability and positive impact. But that day has passed. Any competent business leader will have to admit that social media marketing is a must, even if they have very little knowledge of how to implement a workable campaign.

I have paid special attention to the local scene as this trend develops, particularly in Central Missouri. Among the Missouri corporations doing some serious head-scratching, for example, are companies like State Farm, and Shelter Insurance, neither of which have made the first move to conquer and corner the social media market for their sector.

I’ve recently been blogging about my very own creation, “Twitter Turbo”. Its a seminar product geared towards local businesses, corporations, and sales professionals on how to capitalize on the impending paradigm shift in marketing. Twitter Turbo is not only a grassroots fundamental social media marketing guide, but additionally gives highly advanced techniques that gives the trainee the ability to conquer their competition and own their market or sector.

We now see that phase one of the social media marketing revolution has passed, which is the general awareness of its existence by professionals and business owners. We now enter phase 2, where we will see the bold pioneers of each sector jump out to stake their claim in the social media frontier, thus leaving their competitors in the dust.

As I sit, I wonder, “which corporations will be the first to ring my phone for help?”

Only time will tell, but I already have a feeling who the leaders will be…

Stay tuned to find out!

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The Social Media revolution is completely out of control.  It seems like a new site is popping up every single day that hits a new niche, or a new way to put people in touch with each other over a common subject. How many new sites will we see over the next year? Is this a fad? Will most of these sites disappear, only to leave a couple of giants like Google or Yahoo are to search engines?

As crazy as it seems, I think not. The social media revolution is only in its infancy. I don’t see it slowing down any time soon, because there are just way too many niches left to be tapped. The possibilities are endless. And what makes me really think that the party hasn’t even gotten off the ground yet is the fact that the majority of friends and professionals that I talk to still don’t know what “Twitter” is.

That could only mean one of two things… First, that the social media explosion is a fad, and will not make a significant impact on our internet society. Or second, that we are on the front end of hitting critical mass, and the best is yet to come as social media sites become household names.

It’s like the social media phenomenon is a rocket on the launch pad that has just ignited, and has barely lifted off.  What’s even more intereting is the fact that we don’t even know what the possible uses and applications of social media will be once the rocket has entered into full orbit.  The only question is how high will it go, and how fast will it happen?

In my home town, most businesses, agencies, and professionals are sleeping on this rare paradigm shift in how we interact.  If they truly knew what was happening, they would all be racing to secure the biggest chunk of social media following that they could before their competitors.  I predict that there will be an explosion of social media useage by businesses and professionals in my home town almost overnight.  We are getting so close to the “critical mass” point.  It will take everyone by surprise when it happens, and it will demand lots of traditional media attention.

Who knows… maybe even the traditional media will wake up when they realize their secure market share could be planting their crops in the more fertile social ground!

Only time will tell.

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If you haven’t heard, Twitter has hit the internet scene and in only one year, there are 1.7 million users. What is it? It’s what one would call a “micro-blogging” site. In a nutshell, you sign up for an account, and then make “tweets” about what you are doing or seeking in life. So what is the difference between Twitter and blogging? On Twitter, you can only post messages that are 140 characters or less.

It sounds pretty simple… so simple, in fact, that I thought it was absolutely a useless waste of time when I first saw it. I thought it was a stripped-down ameteur version of a Myspace or Facebook website. But months after dismissing Twitter, I discovered the fact that Twitter is one of the most powerful networking tools used throughout the world today by business owners, professionals, executives, politicians, and more.

I had no idea that there were so many creative ways to use this site to your benefit. The ways of using the site are endless. You might be a college graduate looking to find employment, and you make tweets about your background and experience. Or you might be a politician running for office, and you tweet about the ideas you would implement if elected. You may even be an active blogger that uses Twitter to drive more traffic to your blog through your tweets.

Whatever the case, you can keep followers updated on projects you are working on, share information that you are researching with others in your field, or even seek advice from others by posting questions. I could probably come up with hundreds of pages worth of creative ideas, but we’ll just keep this short!

Do you have any ideas you’d like to share about your own uses for Twitter? Or have you even signed up for an account? I’d love to hear your ideas, and I’d love to see you on Twitter for the first time if you aren’t already registered! Click the links below to see the two Twitter ID’s that I am currently using (yes, you can sign up for multiple ID’s). I’m using one as my general Twitter ID, and one for promoting cell phones. We’ll see how either of them do, and I will report the results on my blog!

Enjoy, and see ya on Twitter!

http://www.twitter.com/carltonf – my general twitter ID

http://www.twitter.com/getacellphone – my test project to determine whether or not Twitter is useful for promoting products (namely my cell phone deals)

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