Lead Generation Techniques

Social Networking Sites - An Overview

Business is on the face of it “Sales driven”, while networking, we are told is NOT?
And you believe that to be true? Well let me explain a little more to clarify.

Ultimately all business is about relationships and Social Network sites enable you to create those through the various tools and site features that exist on them; such as Messaging, Forums, dedicated online messaging chat (voip), Blogs and Advertising. So they all have facilities to initiate the process of creating new relationships and the approach here is no different to how you would begin offline. The techniques are adaptable from one context to the other with slight technological changes required to deal with the fact you are not standing face to face with the person. The Virtual Network is as in “real-life” one of skill and knowledge and in order to progress you have to learn these “techniques” to move towards the goals you have. The tools of engagement remain the same relatively but with some modification to match the demands of technology.

Messaging can consist of Text, Images, Audio files (.mp3, podcast), links to Video Files so in effect you have a full range of tools at your disposal and it’s down to your imagination what kind of opening gambit you wish to bring into play as you search for new contacts to engage with.

Forums are in effect Topic driven messaging where you will be posting to a preset defined area and this allows you to target your message to specific areas, many however have strict rules on how you may post and blatant spamming and url posting is not acceptable. The etiquette of Forum posting is outlined on the sites and a read of these beforehand will avoid pain and suffering in the future. Failure to do so may result in removal of the entry, or worse a complete ban from the site. So be warned and keep to the rules when using Forums if you plan to make effective use of these types of sites.

As well as the external chat systems like Yahoo and Skype many if not all of the Social Networking sites now offer an instant messaging system to chat with users who are online at the same time as you and are an extremely powerful tool when used with the correct level of diplomacy and messaging skill.

Blogs are an absolute goldmine with the range of Templates available to match content and the ability to present a ready made marketing scenario that is again, just a matter of imagination and creative skills in the area of writing and visual formatting.
Blogging - to begin building these type of sites you must register and open an account such as Blogger or WordPress who have a range of Templates to suit the needs of most from Business to purely fanatic level. Online Publishing is now an extremely rich area with many who would previously have remained as unknown now in the domain of “writers” and able to present articles across a whole range of subjects.


Advertising is in the cold light of day commercially driven and is designed to present items or services for sale with the persuasive use of images and text, and by it’s nature, the Internet has Advertising included across many of it’s locations from Direct e-Mail, and sites which include Google Ads or Adsense (small text only type), Classified (Directory Type), and Banner Ads which most users will recognise as the variably sized blocks of sometimes animated “gifs” and static visual images that reside on their visited websites. You can pay through the nose for Advertising and it’s value is in how much you are able to convert the responses, or if you get responses at all so the variables and success are quite widely margined if you are not sure what’s going on and the follow-up employed lacks effectiveness. So take heed of any tips that you are able to garner from colleagues who have used a service previously and can advise on its response levels.

The above is not an exhaustive level of information on the whole gamut of Social Networking techniques but is simply a taster to what is a rich and varied subject that can be further broken down for analysis and debate. Thanks for reading this far and I look forward to your continued interest.

Approaches to Marketing

The underlying principle in marketing your business effectively is to primarily “monetize” for maximum return in Internet parlance. The variety of methods open to you is at first bewildering with a host of techniques and sites all vying to get your business.

The fundamentals of successful Marketing are based on the following characteristics:-

· Design
· Content
· Consistency
· Honesty/Integrity
· Branding
· Niche

Design provides a context for the successful fusion of elements brought to the business table. Without clear design led solutions marketing for me falls short of a successful exercise and one destined to fail in my eyes.

It is the basis for your Content and one cannot be seen without the other as it is the central hub of putting the whole show on the road. Having a solid foundation for your marketing is the rock on which it all hinges.

You must have Consistency or else again you’re likely to fail at some point in the formation of your marketing plan and is the overwhelming requirement across all aspects of the campaign. You don’t plan to fail – do you?

Honesty and Integrity should shine through your Marketing Plan if your prospect is to feel comfortable with what you have to offer. It cannot shed a ray of doubt on your ability to come up smelling of roses.

Branding is a re-enforcing of the whole and a means to producing an overall familiarity for the user to identify with and through the product, or use of the service.

The ability to create a Niche allows you to dominate in an area where a competitor can match at best but never overtake as you are looking to maintain your share of that market segment.