New beginnings are what this time of year is all about for many people; new commitments to losing weight, exercising more and a variety of other items. As a business owner, every day is a new beginning with commitments to excellence and more success than yesterday.

Yet, success requires planning now and in the future. Therefore, your marketing strategy at the beginning of 2012 should be about maintaining the positive effect and presence of your business. With this being the start of year, it is an excellent time to clean up any “dirt” from the past year so you can build your positive influence through the year.

Yes, your business may be online, but that does not mean you are “dirt” free. Your social media, your blog and other aspects represent your presence online. But they may not have the influence you want. You also have consumers who have their blogs and social media forces which influence your business as well. These are the things you want to check and possibly cleanup for more success in 2012.

Even the best of businesses will receive unflattering information from time to time. Yet, that unflattering information about your business on the web can be damaging to your business. Ignoring it and hoping it will go away won’t help either. With some pro-active steps you can control and even clean up your presence so your business shines, which is why today’s post will help you.

Lee Collins
Managing Director
StomperNet, LLC

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.”
~ Abraham Lincoln ~

A Clean Start to 2012: Sweep Your Digital Dirt Away

By Jorgen Sundberg of jorgensundberg.net

As we all know, the Internet has made information instantly accessible. You can find a customer, business partner, investor or employer quicker than ever before. The flipside is that they are only a few clicks away from finding your entire social life online, for better or for worse.  That’s why you want to start each New Year with a clean start digitally.

A recent survey conducted by the good folks at CareerBuilder UK has revealed that more than half (53%) of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates. Another 12% plan to start using social networking sites for screening. Their preferred methods for looking up candidates are search engines, Facebook, Linkedin, blogs and Twitter.

OK, perhaps not much of a shock there. This is more interesting: 43% of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them not to hire the candidate. The top reasons were that candidates lied about qualifications, showed poor communication skills, made discriminatory comments and posted content about them drinking and using drugs.

So there you have it; in addition to working on your actual application you now have to sweep the Internet for digital dust bunnies as well. If employers are doing it, we can assume that current and potential customers will be at it as well. You can see why they do this as a quick and easy way to find out who you really are. After all, they will only want to be associated with people that have ‘clean’ online lives as anything else might damage their business.

Here are 10 steps you can take today to check up and clean up your digital dirt:

1. Check your stats

What does a simple Google search reveal about you? And more importantly, are you happy with a prospective customer seeing the result? There are a few ways of checking your online personal brand, or reputation if you will. Google is the obvious one, at the very minimum you should check Bing and Yahoo as well. Use variations of your name, search pictures, videos, and news to really turn over every stone. You can also use Personas, an application that MIT developed, that scours the Internet to get the gist of your online reputation.

2. General clean up

Cleaning before any tender process may seem obvious but can actually require quite a bit of effort. Delete any embarrassing photos, comments, links from your online profiles and blog. You can even disable your wall/comments so that no new information can be added by others during your critical job search period. Sever all ties (remove/unfollow/block) to questionable or unreliable people as well as groups and associations that are not congruent with your professional reputation. All the security settings in the world won’t help you if one person decides to share your content with the rest of the world!

3. Facebook

The bad news is that Facebook is one of the first ports of call when someone is checking you out. The good news is that you simply change your security settings and they will only be able to see your mug shot or nothing at all. First off, you can specify who can find you in a Search, then change who can see what on the Privacy settings page. This should make things secure and you can carry on tagging yourself in pictures and videos with little risk of being seen by an employer.

4. Twitter

The bad news is that everyone can follow and see what you do on Twitter. The good news is that you can set up more accounts, and there is nothing stopping you from adding as many as you like. So if you do under your own name, make sure your content is clean. If you still want to retweet those risqué links, you had better make use of a nom de plume account.

5. LinkedIn

I will assume that your LinkedIn profile is business friendly, as it is a professional network after all. What you could consider is the Groups and Associations you are a member of, whether you want them to be visible on your profile or not. Furthermore, your personal interest field is the only one where you can actually show off some personality so make sure it’s consistent with your personal brand and other communications.

6. Cyber Twins

An evil twin on the Internet is not what you need in any situation. What if there is someone out there with your name that is preaching hatred on their blog? If that person is the first to come up when searching Google for your name, you had better be prepared to explain what the score is. So make sure you know this before you get the question, however unlikely it may seem.

7. Blogging activities

What have you posted on your own blog and other blogs out there? Think back to when you first started blogging, perhaps you tried out a few topics that aren’t perhaps conducive to your new job? Or maybe you left a comment or two in haste that you really shouldn’t have. Use Google Blog Search to find your blogging footprint, as it scours the entire blogosphere on a daily basis.

8. Create positive content

The best way to let the good outweigh the bad is to create lots of new content that will eclipse whatever dirt is still left out there. The Internet handles so much new information every day that the old stuff tends to be pushed down the search results and slowly forgotten. This will take a great deal of time and effort, but will be worth it.

9. Send in the marines

If all else fails and you still have your own digital landfill out there, you might want to call up the professionals. There are a few online services that will seek out your dirt and can annihilate it on the spot. Sites like Reputation Defender and DefendMyName all offer to stay on top of your online reputation for a fee. They will typically identify non-flattering information about you, alert you about it and you can then decide whether to keep or destroy. I believe this option is useful when running for a public office or when you have a few too many skeletons in the closet; however most readers will not have this need.

10. Keep it going

Google Alerts is a very handy tool for real time alerts about anything, in this case yourself. Punch in your name in inverted commas, set it to send you updates as soon as you are mentioned online. This way you will be able to monitor yours whenever your name is mentioned anywhere on an ongoing basis.

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Secret Sauce Checklist

Cleaning your Digital Dirt

• Check your online reputation
• Do General Clean Up
• Check your Facebook privacy settings
• Create multiple Twitter accounts if necessary
• Remember LinkedIn is a site for professionals
• Who else has your name?  What do they represent?
• Check your blog footprint
• Outweigh the bad with good
• Hire professional cleaners as necessary
• And lather, rinse, repeat throughout the year as necessary

Stomper Buzz

Next Week’s Focus: Conversion

Stompernet Blog

This week has been full of social media and marketing. You know Facebook, Twitter and other social media formats seem to be growing ever more popular. The Facebook Like button is now on billboards and as you know, Google + is getting into the mix.

Many businesses around the world are learning to use social media as an effective tool to draw in loyal customers. Social marketing is what allows people of similar interests gather together online and share information. I know all the members of the StomperNet staff; myself included, are involved in various ways with social media and special interests. This sharing of information is what brings you here to this blog as well, and why you have been reading the articles and hopefully enjoyed the webinars this week.

Since the theme this week is social marketing, we can’t forget Twitter. Twitter Lists today will help you find more groups and people interested in the same things as you! Imagine segmenting a full list of people who have similar interests! Or imagine all your dog lover friends on Twitter together. Read today and you will know how!

Lee Collins
Managing Director
StomperNet, LLC

“Twitter’s success is wonderful and it shows you that there are many, many ways to communicate.”
~ Eric Schmidt

Twitter Lists: Research, Share and Spy

By Joan Stewart

If you aren’t using Twitter lists to position yourself as a subject matter expert, share valuable content with the world, and even spy on your competitors, you’re missing a very powerful tool!

Lists are all the rage for so many reasons. They save you time in two major ways. First, they help you categorize, group and isolate the tweets of people within a specific industry, niche or topic. Lists are also one of the most powerful research tools on the planet if you’re looking for experts within a niche.

They help you spy on your competitors because by searching through their lists, you can see which experts they’re following and uncover all kinds of other information on topics they think are important.

Here’s a quick how-to guide on how to create and use Twitter Lists!

Where to Find Lists

You’ll find references to lists in two places in your own Twitter account.  If you haven’t created lists yet, you can create one by first logging into Twitter.

On the right side, you’ll see a “Lists” section. Click on “New list.” A window will open and ask you to name the list, give a brief description and decide if you want the list to be public or private. If you decide to make a list private, it will show up under your list of lists with a small lock to the right of the title. Visitors will be able to see the title, but they won’t be able to access the list.

I recommend you make as many lists public as possible. An example of a list that you might want to keep private would be a list of your competitors. I’ve created a list of media I write for, and I want that private because I don’t want my competitors to have easy access to it.

To see your own lists, go to your Home or Profile Page, and look for “Lists” in the right column, just under the Search box. Click on “View All” to see all the lists you have created.

To see who has added you to lists they have created, look on the right side, under your gravatar, and click on “Listed.” You’ll see all the lists, and their names, on which you appear. This is a fabulous way to help you build your brand. It’s also very helpful when you’re searching for joint venture partners and other experts just like you because you can check to see who else shares the same list where you’re mentioned.

The name of each list will be in bold, and as you look down the column, if you see the same keywords showing up again and again in several lists, you can see immediately how others view you.

How to Add People to a List

There are three ways to add people to a list:

1. When you create a list, type into the window the name of someone you want to add. Twitter will take you to their page. Click on the “Lists” button that’s at the top of their feed. It will open a window with names of all of YOUR lists. Put a checkmark next to the name of the list, or lists, you want to add that person to.
2. When you create a list, add people from your “Following” page (not recommended if you’re following many people).
3. When you’re on someone else’s Twitter page, click on the Lists button in the same column as their feed. The names of your lists will appear. Put a checkmark next to the lists you want to add that person to. If you decide you want to start a list and add them to it, do the same as above, but go down to the bottom of your list titles and click on “New List” and add them to it.

How to Subscribe to Someone Else’s List

To find someone else’s list, go to their Twitter page and look in the far right column under the “Lists” category. Click on “View all.”
When you see a list that looks interesting, click on it. It you want to follow it, click on “Follow this list.” That person’s list will then show up on your list, and it will be accompanied by their gravatar, not yours.

How to Get onto Other People’s Lists

You want to be on as many lists as possible, particularly those in your area of expertise. Here are five ways to do that:

1. Write relevant, content-rich tweets tied to your topics, and write them frequently.
2. Ask! Don’t be shy about sending someone a direct message and suggesting that they add you to a list they’ve created.
3. If you publish an ezine, tell your subscribers that you’d love to be added to their lists that match your area of expertise.
4. Write a blog post and list the topics in which you’re an expert. Suggest that your readers add you to their lists, or start their own lists and put you on them.
5. Make sure you’re listed in Twitter directories, where many people search for people to add to their lists. A few of the best ones are Listorious.com, Twellow.com, JustTweetIt.com and Twibs.com.

Experiment with lists. Have fun with them. And if you think I should create a list and put you on it, let me know!

~~~~

Publicity expert Joan Stewart, aka The Publicity Hound, shares tips on publicity, PR and social media on Twitter at PublicityHound and answers publicity questions at Facebook.com/publicitytips. Send your publicity success stories, and good, clean dog jokes, quotes and links to videos to JStewart@PublicityHound.com for her publicity tips ezine at PublicityArticles.net.

STOMPER Speed Boost

Secret Sauce Checklist

Tips for Twitter lists:

• Find Lists
• Add people to your lists
• Make most of your lists public
• Subscribe to other people’s lists
• Write relevant tweets to get on other’s lists

Stomper Buzz

Next Week’s Focus: Keyword Research

Stompernet Blog

By John Limbocker

You may have heard that the search engines love social media. What you probably haven’t heard is why and what it can mean to your business. Most people think it is because the search engines like all of that fresh new content social media sites provide, but that is only a fraction of it.

The real reason that social media sites score well in search engines is because of the authority of the social media site itself. Hundreds of thousands of sites all linking to the social media sites are what makes them extremely popular in the eyes of the search engines. In search engine geek talk, all those links translate to authority.

What I am about to reveal to you is unknown to most people, and yet one of the more powerful techniques used to dominate search results. We all know that optimizing our sites can take a long time, and building up authority to be able to compete for highly prized terms can take even longer. But if you use the authority of an existing social media site, you can get to the top almost overnight!

If you take your content and place it on your social media pages, and then optimize your social media pages for your desired keywords, you will be shocked at how quickly you can see results. Imagine the following…

How would it look if your ideal prospect went online to Google and typed in a search phrase describing your product or service, and got back a results page that had only you on it? That would literally leave them nowhere else to turn. You have probably never heard of such a thing, and are now wondering if it’s even possible. Well let me tell you: it is possible and I am about to share with you how I do it.

Optimizing a social media page is fairly easy.

There are 2 key factors that will rocket you to the top. First is the title of the page. This is by far the biggest on page optimization factor today. The trick is simple: just get your main keyword phrase into the title of your social media pages. You do this by naming your pages using your keywords or at least having them in the page names. This automatically puts them into the title.

Most social media sites allow this and most people don’t take advantage of it. Many people use their name, which is great if you are a household name and people know to look for you, but in most cases your target audience knows to search for you by what you offer.

Once you have your primary keyword phrase in your title, it’s time to start telling the search engines what the page is about and why it should rank first. This is done by going out and getting other sites to link back to your social media page with the same clickable text that matches your target keyword phrase. This is known as an anchor text link and simply means it is the clickable text to link to another page.

When the search engine sees other sites using a particular phrase as an anchor text link to you they take notice of that, and in turn counts that as a vote of popularity towards your social media page. The more popular it looks, the higher and faster it will climb. These two factors stacked on top of the fact that the social media site itself has so much credibility will literally rocket your page to the top.

Now obviously all these links, which are considered votes, do not count equally, but this is the basic premise. The page at the end of the day with the most points wins. The links on higher priority pages will count for more points and have more value.

So these are the basic principles of getting a social media page to the top of the search results. Now let’s talk strategy, and how we will use this knowledge to dominate the search results.

You need high authority social media sites.

There are a ton of these high authority social media sites out there, but all you need is 10 to take over the first page of the search engines. These are, in no particular order, sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Squidoo, MySpace, EzineArticles, and the list goes on and on. It typically doesn’t matter which ones you use, just pick 10 of them.

Now sign up for all those free accounts and name your pages appropriately as you learned earlier. Next let’s put some good content on those pages with a strong call to action. This is where most people blow it. They drive traffic to pages that lead nowhere and don’t have a clear purpose for the viewer. You really need to tell them what to do. My preference is to have them opt in to receive some piece of valuable information I am offering to get them into my sales funnel.

Don’t forget video!

Video works best for this, and is right in line with all this social media stuff. So use video to tell them what to do and offer it as your teaser. You will get a lot more opt ins to see the continuation of a great content delivery video than anything else. Start off with the video explaining something of extreme value to your market, and then offer them more on the second half if they put in their email address. Think of it as a cliffhanger!

Okay, now that you have your ten social media pages up, it’s time to start linking to them. There are many ways to do this, and it can be a lot of work. Don’t worry, this is a perfect job for you to outsource. Believe me: you will not enjoy this mind numbing work. You are going to want to get this job outsourced.

These are just a few of the places you can go to get these links, and they are all free with the exception of the time it takes to do it. You can find blogs all over the Internet on any topic imaginable that will allow you to post comments with links. There are free forums and message boards you can post to that allow linking.

There are many video sites that allow comments with links as well. You can also put your links into articles and press releases and distribute those throughout the article and press release directories across the Internet. There are literally millions of places you can go to put your links.

It is these anchor text links pointing to your social media pages that will tell the search engines that these pages are popular for your keyword phrases and drive them to the top.

Imagine all of your social media pages coming up and pushing your competitors right off the page, and all pointing your ideal clients right to your website. How would that change your business?

It almost seems like an unfair advantage, doesn’t it?

John Limbocker is CEO of Limbo Vision, Inc., Founder of SEO Dominator’s Club, and Master Internet Strategist at CBS News Radio. To find out more about complete training on SEO Domination as well as the commercial services and outsourcing services, visit him at SEODominators.com or contact John directly at John@limboland.net.

Content Packed Facebook Marketing (So Easy My Mom Can Do It!)

by Robert Grant

FLV /MOV

Stompernet Blog

If you want to make a Resolution that will help build your business and improve your promotional campaigns, repeat after me: “Whenever, I write a press release, I will ALWAYS include hyperlinks.”

To Stompers, this is probably a no-brainer…

But Business Wire, one of the major press release distribution services, says only about 13 percent of the press releases it distributes have hyperlinks. People either forget to include them or are unaware of the three most important reasons to use them:

• They improve your search engine optimization.
• They drive traffic to your website.
• They amplify your message.

Used correctly, links can also push consumers to take the action you want them to take, whether it’s buying a product or calling for a reservation. Here are 16 ideas for linking from your press releases. You can use anchor text hyperlinks anywhere within the release, but be sure you have one or two in the first two paragraphs:

1. A sales page

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t promote from within releases because you’ll offend journalists. Truth is, we write online press releases primarily for consumers, not for journalists. These press releases seldom prompt journalists to cover our story. For that, we must deliver a customized pitch, not a one-size-fits all press release.

2. A video

Announcing a new product? Link to a video that demonstrates how to use it. Promoting an upcoming event? Include video clips and highlights from last year’s event.

3. Testimonials

Don’t just link to written testimonials with photos. How about an entire page of video testimonials which are much more effective?

4. A blog post

If the press release is about a controversial topic you’ve already addressed at your blog, provide the link where readers can join in the conversation.

5. Another press release.

Link to a press release either at your website or on one of the press release distribution sites so readers can learn more about a sub-topic.

6. A podcast.

People have different learning styles, and a link to a related podcast will help auditory learners. They might even be inclined to subscribe to the RSS feed.

7. Your online press room.

A press room isn’t only for journalists. It’s for consumers and anyone else who wants to learn more about you. It can include video, audio, your bio, photos, background information and other content.

8. Your social media profiles.

Let readers know where they can follow you on Facebook and Twitter. Link to your YouTube channel, or photos on Flickr. Be sure to mention why they should follow you.

9. An opt-in box.

Build your list by leading people to a landing page where they can opt in for a special report, eBook, list of tips, a video, or other helpful material.

10. A book you’re selling on Amazon.com.

Why pass up a chance to use your press release to sell?

11. FAQs.

FAQs give readers a great opportunity to learn more about a product, service, cause or issue and help you keep the press release within a reasonable length, about 500 words.

12. Photos and graphics

These can be photos at your website, or on Flickr or other photo-sharing sites. Make it easy for journalists and bloggers to access your photos. Graphics can include pie charts, bar charts, graphs and maps.

13. A page where readers can submit a question.

A great way to generate leads!

14. Customer reviews

These reviews don’t necessarily have to be at your website. You can link to reviews on sites like Yelp or Amazon.com.

15. An online catalog

If the press release is about only one product, link to your catalog so customers can see what else is available.

16. A link to your website

Include a link, not a hyperlink, to your website, preferably high in the release.
I’ve given you lots of ideas here, but don’t go overboard. A good rule of thumb is one hyperlink for every 100 to 150 words.

If you’re linking to pages at your website, be sure the page you are linking back to is optimized for your keywords. If the anchor text is “weatherproof patio furniture,” make sure it’s linked to a page containing “weatherproof patio furniture” in the title tag and within the text on the page.

Use this list the next time you write a press release, and choose the type of hyperlinks wisely!

By Joan Stewart

Publicity expert Joan Stewart, aka The Publicity Hound, shares publicity tips at Twitter.com/PublicityHound and answers publicity questions at Facebook.com/publicitytips. Her tips and commentary have appeared in more than 60 books on marketing, publicity, social media and small business. She publishes “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week” Ezine at http://www.PublicityHound.net. Subscribe and receive the handy cheat sheet, “89 Reasons to Send a Press Release.”

Press Releases – Another Piece Of The SEO Puzzle

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Stompernet Blog

Last week we talked about how important social marketing has become in terms of search marketing. And this week we’d like to take that advice in a new direction and focus on how you can improve the status of your business on Facebook.

Facebook definitely has advantages, such as their 500 million active users, any one of which has the potential to become your business’s raving fan.

This week, we’re going to show you ways to crank up your presence on Facebook to get traffic and even though Facebook is intended to be a social network — to translate those friendships into sales.

Let’s get started!

Lee Collins
Managing Director
StomperNet, LLC

“The thing that we are trying to do at Facebook, is just help
people connect and communicate more efficiently.”
- Mark Zuckerberg, Co-Founder of Facebook

Friendship on Facebook is Like Money…

In 2004, when Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook, he intended it to be just a way for college students at Harvard to connect. It was kind of like being in the student union with your friends, but you didn’t have to leave the dorm.

And then it blossomed and grew far larger than Zuckerberg or the rest of the world imagined. Today, Facebook is not only a name known in most households in the U. S., but in homes around the world.

This creates an incredible opportunity for any marketer, whether you are a brick and mortar business owner or have a marketing presence online. For local business owners, Facebook is a great way to connect with people in their region. For Internet marketers or e-commerce site owners, it’s an opportunity to connect with the world. At no other time in history has this type of bonding opportunity been available!

So, how can you increase your presence on Facebook? What are some of the cutting-edge ways that you can use to bond with your ideal customers so they’ll follow you right to your sales page or your front door and buy your products?

Here are 20 different ways to make Facebook a very important tool in your promotional and SEO toolbox:

1. Get a Vanity URL.
   You’ll need 25 likes for your fan page first, which is easy to do. Then, be sure to get a Facebook vanity URL. Make it easy to remember by keeping it clean (no hyphens or underscores, for example) and as short as possible. You want it to be easy to type and to stick in people’s minds. Just be sure that your vanity URL is close to your brand name. If you can’t do that, make sure that the URL you pick makes sense to your business’s purpose. For example, if you have a shoe store called “Miller’s Shoes,” you want a domain like http://Facebook.com/millers or http://facebook.com/awesomeshoes.
2. Use a keyword rich description for your page settings.
   Just as you would with any other page, be sure to give your primary keyword prominence in your page title and in your page’s description.
3. Choose the anchor text links in your page carefully.We established in last weeks’ newsletter that even “nofollow” links do pass some link juice. So… be sure to choose the anchor text for your page links wisely. As we always teach, go for that “low-hanging fruit,” and focus on getting some juice for the keywords you know you can rank for easily.
4. Know your stats.
   Check Facebook “Insight” stats regularly. Know how many visitors you’re getting, what days and times they arrive, and what they’re reading. It will help you to tailor your posts to their preferences.
5. Stay logged in. This will make it easy for you to share interesting tidbits with your visitors. Just check the “Keep me logged in” box when signing into the site.
6. Add content regularly. Facebook is no different from any other pages on the Internet. If you want it to rank in search, you should add unique, quality content to it regularly. And mix it up. Use photos, videos, and audios along with your text entries. This may be the most important key to success.
7. Be unique.
   Think hard about how to make your Facebook page different. Because there’s so much going on at Facebook, you want to make a great first impression. First, have a great photo or logo. It used to be that a designer could be way more creative with a page. Now, since the newer page design took over a while back, that photo or logo is critical. Here are 5 pages that have great designs today:

Threadless
LiveScribe
Victoria’s Secret
Slightly Stoopid
Burt’s Bees

8. Use a sandwich page.
   Facebook is a little picky about advertising. If you have an ecommerce store, it won’t be as tricky as if you’re advertising information products, especially if they’re geared toward making money. But even if you can get your page approved easily, it’s better to have an optin page when someone clicks on your Facebook link. Give something of value away on that page in exchange for the potential customers name and email address (or just email address). This way, even if you don’t make the sale, you’ll still have permission to email them with content and other offers whenever you like, and the opportunity to build a relationship with people on the fence, who may just turn out to be your best customers.
9. Take advantage of photo ops.
   Use pictures to connect with people on Facebook. Always use store openings, special events or any live conferences or meetings to take photos. Then, put the photos up in your Facebook account and tag the people in them. You’ll be amazed at how much traffic you’ll get just from people sending their friends to your page to see their photos.
10. Create contests.
    People love contests, especially when they’re free to enter. So, create contests regularly and use them to get people to your Facebook page.
11. Get the AWeber app and add an optin box to your page.
    AWeber has now made it simple for you. If you use another autoresponder, you can still add an optin box using FBML code pages. Just go to your page and click on Apps. Add FBML app and place your autoresponder code in one of those pages. (You can create up to 10 extra tabs for your page that will hold code with this app.) Or, check to see if your autoresponder company has an app of its own. Build your list!
12. Integrate Twitter.
    There are multiple ways to send your tweets to Facebook, but an easy way is just to add the app “Twitter” to your Facebook account. It will automatically grab any tweet you make and send it to your Facebook profile.
13. Thank your fans.
    If you’re not a huge conglomerate, it’s probably not going to be too much of a time sink to thank the people who “like” your page. They will remember and come back to see what you’re up to again and again.
14. Create a new GMail account for your current customers.
    Load up the contact information that you have for them in GMail and use that account as your Facebook email address . Facebook will automatically contact your customers and invite them to your page.
15. Join groups in your niche.
    Networking with others of like mind can uncover some potential customers. Never market to them on Facebook! Just have conversations with folks, make friends, and inevitably, they’ll drop by your profile to check out your stuff.
16. Jumpstart the action.
    When you build a new page, ask your coworkers, family, and friends to “Like” your page. It’s kind of like bartenders salting the tip jar on the bar to make people think it’s impolite not to leave folded money. Social proof is often incentive enough to get others to participate.
17. Use polls and surveys.
    Not only is this a great way to get folks to participate, but it can be great market research for your business, as well.
18. Look at what your competitors are doing.
    See how you can do it better. Be the 007 of marketing in your niche.
19. Add Like buttons wherever you can.
    Having the ability for people to like and share blog posts, for example, is critical. But even if you’re an e-commerce site, be sure to add a Like button to you homepage and to your product pages.
20. Want more?
    Here is an amazing post by the Inside CRM Editors at Focus.com: “The Facebook Marketing Toolbox: 100 Tools and Tips to Tap the Facebook Customer Base,” which you’re bound to find amazingly helpful.

So, if you’ve been overlooking Facebook, I hope this article has opened your eyes. Social marketing has arrived, and using Facebook is one important way that you can ramp up your marketing power. If you don’t have an account (but then, who doesn’t?) get over there and open one today.

Set up a personal account for your friends and family, and a separate account for your business. Be sure to use both angles to promote what you’re doing and you will most definitely come out a winner — from all angles.

STOMPER Speed Boost

If you’ve been wishing you had a group of business minded friends that you could ask for help at any time, then I have exciting news!

That is exactly why we created the Stomper community where you Are Never Alone!

Everything you’ve been looking for is right here. Get the full story by clicking here.

SEO Secret Sauce

Want to know why Facebook is so important? Check out these stats:

• Facebook has more than 500 million active users.
• Half of them log into Facebook every single day.
• People spend 1.2 billion hours on Facebook every month.
• Facebook pages can be translated into 70 different languages on the site and 70% of users are outside the U. S.
• Every month, more than 250 million people engage with Facebook on external websites
• More than 2.5 million websites have integrated with Facebook
• Over 250 million active members use Facebook on a mobile device and access Facebook twice as much

(Facebook Stats from: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics)

The STOMPER Buzz

“Vin Montello makes learning extremely fun and enjoyable. I listen to him no matter what because his information is fantastic and his delivery is awesome. I enjoy listening to him. He has the gift. … Vin is my favorite StomperNet faculty because of his entertaining style.” David Yuen

Free Live Webinars Next Week:

THURSDAY, May 26th, 2011 at 3:00pm Eastern

Public Webinar:  ”Hands on Business Building Follow-up” Follow up with Lee Vance. Topics will be on hands on business building techniques, including structuring a funnel using Groupon and similar tactics, as well as hands on on mobile marketing cases studies, and general Q&A. Register Now

THURSDAY, May 26th, 2011 at 8:00pm Eastern

Public Webinar:  ”"Become a Local Business Superhero” with Ross Denny. How to take local business to the next level (without the pain of outsourcing). Register Now

Public Webinar:  ”Hands on Business Building Follow-up” Follow up with Lee Vance. Topics will be on hands on business building techniques, including structuring a funnel using Groupon and similar tactics, as well as hands on on mobile marketing cases studies, and general Q&A. Register Now

Download Available:

Recording of  the “Hands-on Business Building” with Lee Vance from last week.  The number of requests for access to the replay was so HUGE we decided to forego our normal “replays are only for members” policy and make this replay available to the public – free of charge..

FLV / MOV / MP4

Let us know your thoughts on today’s issue.

Post Your Comments Here

Stompernet Blog

What’s the most important rule in getting and keeping followers?

Loyalty.

And one of the easiest ways to maintain active interest and engagement, create brand awareness, and improve search engine optimization is by using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and blogging.

How should you leverage social media to create a buzz in your business?

Find out this week as we welcome the ‘Big Idea Catalyst’ Melanie Benson Strick who will share some of her insider secrets on how to really make social media work for you.

Check out our free resources and media to see how StomperNet can help you grow your business today.

Talk soon and enjoy the resources below!

Ryan Taylor
Director of Operations
StomperNet, LLC

IMPORTANT: Some of the resources shown are only available to members. Not a StomperNet member? Join us today for just $1.00 to get access to the world’s largest Internet Marketing community plus all the tools and resources you need (including upcoming free webinar replays) to start, build and grow a thriving Internet-based business!

Curriculum Resources

• “How to OWN Your Social Media Marketing (Literally)” with Tammy Kahn-Fennell

New Posts and Media

• “Hands-on Business Building” with Lee Vance

• “Webinar Legends” with Wil Mattos

• “Rapid Local Selling” with Rob Canyon

Faculty Office Hours

TUESDAY, May 17th at 3:00 pm Eastern

“Conversion By Numbers” with StomperNet Faculty Member Vin Montello.

The secret numbers you must know to take your sales copy to the next level.

Vin Montello is a former stand up comic and Hollywood television writer that brings his 20 years experience as a storyteller, to every direct response sales letter he writes. These days Vin and his crew are responsible for crafting some of the most successful online marketing campaigns, earning him the nickname “The Millionaire Maker”.

Members: Register Now

WEDNESDAY, May 18th at 1:00 pm Eastern

“Insider Secrets from the Big Idea Catalyst” with StomperNet Faculty Member Melanie Benson Strick.

Learn how to leverage your social media efforts to get more clients, generate leads, and increase revenue. Melanie knows first-hand how to build a successful, thriving company with her secret weapon — LEVERAGE. With over 12 years working for a Fortune 500 company, Melanie now works exclusively with entrepreneurs who want proven strategies to double and triple their revenue, eliminate unnecessary costs, and stay sane as they grow their business.

Members: Register Now

* Free Live Webinars This Week

TUESDAY, May 17th at 8:00 pm Eastern
Public Webinar: “Your Marketing Funnel and Membership Site” with Rick Dearr.

Learn how a funnel with upsells, downsells, cross sells and bumps can increase revenue from the same number of visitors. Rick will also show how converting those visitors into paying membership and over-delivering on value creates longer-term income and stability to members and site owners. Register Now

“How to Leverage the 7 Hidden Trends to Profit More on the Internet”

We will pull back the curtains on the ‘Age of Voice’, an unprecedented shift that has created the biggest opportunity in history for nearly effortless and massive money creation. Register Now

The recording of the “Hands-on Business Building” with Lee Vance from last week is available! The number of requests for access to the replay was so HUGE we decided to forego our normal “replays are only for members” policy and make this replay available to the public – free of charge.

Download here: flv | mov | mp4

Special Announcements

THURSDAY, May 19th at 7 pm Eastern
Charter Member BBG
Charter Members: Please note new time. We have adjusted this time per your request to have this later in the evening. If you need the registration link, please email Janet at stomperjanet@gmail.com.

SEO Pro 2-Day Essentials Workshop - May 20th and 21st in Dallas, TX
Only 4 seats remain for our Dallas event! Two bonus sessions just added: Mobile Marketing 101 and How to Sell Your Services Fast! Register Now

StomperNet LIVE 11! – June 23rd – June 25th in Phoenix, AZ
Register for our “Early Bird” list!

Stompernet Blog

If you can’t nail down the quality of your event in the first hour of the day, it’s going to start off dragging and it won’t EVER pick back up.

But this is StomperNet.  It NEVER drags over here.

So, let’s start at the beginning.  On Saturday morning, we subjected our attendees to something very… loud.

Perry Belcher on the stage, laying down the foundation for social marketing domination

Here's a better shot of Perry's shirt (batteries not included).

Stompernet Blog

More Shocking than The Nixon Tapes…
More Evil than The Screwtape Letters…
More Awkward than The NASA Love Triangle…
Makes Paris, Lohan, Gibson and Cruise look like Rank Amateurs…

Captured on Tape:
Situation: HOSTAGE! with FRANK KERN and ANDY JENKINS

Captured On Tape!

Not since the heady days of Hugh Grant or Pee-Wee Herman has such an event sparked more controversy. Tearing at the very fabric of uncommon decency, this chilling expose reminds us all that…

…Success is like a booger.  You keep picking at it until you get it, and then wonder what to do with it.

Well friend – WONDER-NO-MORE!

Download this “revealing”… “conversation”… between Frank Kern and Andy Jenkins and “discover” how to:

• Get a 52% Opt-in rate on your Reverse Squeeze Pages.

• Generate 23,407 new subscribers with an 11-minute video.

• Double your email Open Rates without using sleaze.

• Disguise your content so that it actually SELLS something, and doesn’t just educate.

• “Actually, I want to not only educate AND sell, I also want to use that SAME content to become an Authority and have instant Credibility (and while we’re at it, I want it to TRIPLE my sales conversion).”

• “I just need a blueprint that I can use over and over again (so I can DO Stuff, not THINK about what I should be doing) that makes my customers excited about buying from me.”

Download this podcast NOW!

…MORE NEWS…..MORE NEWS……MORE NEWS……

Mass Control 2, The StomperNet Accelerators,

And an ‘annoying’ truth.

Mass Control 2.0 SOLD OUT?!?!?!

By the time Mass Control 2.0 opens on Monday, February 16th at 1pm Eastern (10am Pacific), there’s a chance it could be 90% sold-out!

Here’s why: Frank has this slightly annoying habit of releasing his products early to his newsletter subscribers vs. the general public.  He creates these early notification lists and people sign up in hordes to be the first in line.

And he rewards that behavior by letting them in early! It’s one reason why his stuff sells out so durn fast.

So, I’m getting you out in front of this by doing 2 things:

• Showing you where to get on his early notification list, and
• Announcing StomperNet’s Mass Control 2.0 Accelerator Program.

For anyone who purchases Mass Control 2.0 via StomperNet’s recommendation (and yes, in case you haven’t noticed – I am a Fan-Boy of Frank), I’d like to help stack the success-deck in your favor by offering:

2 Months FREE of
Full StomperNet Elite Membership
(worth $1,594.00)

2 FREE Tickets to
ANY StomperNet LIVE Event
(worth $2,994.00)

An Invitation to a full day
SUPER SECRET Closed-Door Mastermind Session at MC 2.0
with some big-shot dudes (I’ll be there to serve coffee)
(worth, like.. A LOT of $$$$)

Seriously, this is a secret EXTRA DAY that
the general public doesn’t even know about.
It’s only available to my customers and a hand-full of others.

Beta Tester Status for Don Crowther’s
NEW SMARTS 2.0 Social Media Traffic Strategies
(This is FULL Access to SMARTS 2.0 that’s in development)
(SMARTS 1.0 was $1497)

…and finally: You’ll be entered into a random drawing to win…

A “Genuine” Frank Kern Surfboard!

(Restrictions Apply: Skills and Insurance Required. Not Responsible for: Shark Attacks, Bodily Injury (including decapitation), Family & Friend Ridicule, Flip Flops, Hair Growth, or Loss of Productivity)

To get on Frank’s Early Notification List, Go Watch This Video and leave a ‘real’ email address (at least one that you’ll get) to join his list.

While you’re watching Frank’s latest video, some dude named Tony Robbins says something cool about Frank.  Whatever.

Listen – YOU have a great weekend, and always remember the immortal words from Oscar Wilde:

“In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are Insane”.

Andy

P.S. Here’s that link to Frank’s Video and Early Bird Notification List.

Stompernet Blog

On January 4th, I made a post here on the Stomper Blog titled, “The Secret…ALMOST Revealed”.

(And no, it wasn’t about all that “Secret” stuff everyone was flipping out over last year.)

I actually let the “cat out of the bag”–so to speak–regarding what all these free videos and the Scrutinizer software were really about.

Basically, this is what I let slip:

• Yes, we’re releasing a new product.
• Yes, it’s a Coaching Program.
• And yes, it’s about Social Marketing (I’m betting you already figured that one out).
• And yes, it’s scheduled for release this Friday.

I want to crack the door open a little further, and give you another even bigger glimpse of what we have in store.

And what’s the best way to do that?

Yup–more Free Content.

Our 40 page Strategy Guide reveals 5 simple-to-implement social marketing strategies you can put into action right now to generate monster traffic and position yourself as THE go-to person in your niche.

And the Strategy Guide is free. Right now. Just go here and grab your copy.

Wait until you see this report – if you thought the Going Natural 2.0 videos over-delivered, this one’s going to rock your world…

We’ve structured this Strategy Guide as a hard-hitting resource that will get you started in minutes. In fact, I have a feeling that you’re going to want to print it out as a reference.

And like all the other cool stuff we’ve handed you over the past couple of weeks, there’s no charge. None. Nada. Zippo.

Just go here and grab your copy.

Enjoy…

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Stompernet Blog

Personally, I think it’s the best one in the whole Going Natural 2.0 series so far. We’ll let Andy Edmonds off the hook for now and let another esteemed StomperNet faculty member take the wheel. Don Crowther’s been in the secret StomperNet labs for the past several months, wrapping his arms around this whole “social media” thing you may have heard about. And he’s uncovered the TRUTH about some of the biggest myths out there:

• Social Media sites are filled with pre-teens, not viable prospects… WRONG!
• Social Media site visitors don’t spend money online… WRONG!
• Social media sites are just a fad… WRONG!

Listen, we’ve been getting incredible results from our experiments, and our research indicates we’re only seeing the tip of this Web 2.0 iceberg. And that’s a GREAT metaphor because unlike other internet marketing opportunities, Social Marketing can be DANGEROUS to your business! If you do this WRONG, that “iceberg” will sink your business like the Titanic.

Fortunately for you, we’ve taken the time to figure out the SMART way to leverage this opportunity, and in this new video, we tell you what’s up.

Turn off the phone, close your email and IM - you need to see this today.

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Stompernet Blog