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Basics of Social Media Marketing in Orange County California

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There are many benefits of social media marketing in Orange County California. The top 3 include developing lasting customer relationships, building brand recognition, and expanding online presence.

Participating in social media marketing within Orange County California can be a fulltime job. There are multiple steps involved and a plan should be developed for interconnecting a variety of online marketing strategies.

This region of the state is known for its competitive and trendsetting nature and is home to wealthy communities of Newport Beach, Yorba Linda, and Coto de Caza. While everyone in Orange County is not wealthy, it never hurts to market like the rich and famous.

In fact, a good way to learn about social marketing is to research celebrities. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook to see what types of marketing messages they are sending. Chances are you won’t find Ashton Kutcher constantly promoting Nikkon cameras. Instead, he shares tidbits of his personal life and interacts with his fans.

Another option is to follow O.C. businesses engaging in social media marketing. Facebook is a great place to locate local companies. Just type in ‘Orange County California’ via the search feature and you’ll be presented with a long list of choices.

Mayor Teresa Jacobs has a fan page. The City of Orange County uses Facebook to promote local events and community meetings. Dozens of local real estate agents participate in social marketing, as do restaurants, nightclubs, day spas, pet groomers, and hair salons. You can learn a lot about what to do and what not to do by following local businesses.

While it may seem easy to engage in social marketing it requires a commitment to interact on a daily basis. After all, social marketing literally requires companies to be social with their fans and followers. This venue is about fostering relationships. Those who take time to engage in conversations will build a loyal customer base they can tap into for years to come.

Before diving into social marketing it is smart to conduct research and enroll in a marketing training course. Doing so can save time, money, and frustration. Another option is to work with a social media marketing consultant. These professionals can help develop a strategic plan that incorporates a variety of Internet marketing strategies to maximize results.

While Facebook and Twitter are considered the top social networking venues, other powerful strategies exist. These include local search directories, social bookmarking, and publishing comments to like-minded blogs.

Local search is an essential tool that help customers locate O.C. businesses. These directories are similar to printed yellow pages books, but offer additional benefits. Companies publish a listing to include address and contact information, hours of operation, driving directions and maps.

In addition to publishing via the major search providers it’s important to seek out niche directories such as the Orange County Creative Directory, EasyOC, Made in OC, Orange County Resource Guide, and Find in OC.

Social bookmarking refers to sites such as StumbleUpon and Digg which allow individuals to bookmark favorite websites and share them with others. A good example of using social bookmarking comes from a client who owned a gym. He promoted healthy recipes published by food bloggers and newsletters published by nutritionists, weight loss coaches, and dietary supplement manufacturers.

Social bookmarking connected him to valuable resources that eagerly promoted his gym and helped increase his customer base. This technique didn’t cost a dime and let him provide beneficial information from industry experts to his clients.

Publishing comments to like-minded blogs or within community forums is another form of social marketing. Each time a blog comment is published it provides a link back to your website. This strategy is also a form of link building online and is an integral element for increasing search engine rankings.

As you can see there are many ways to participate in social media marketing in Orange County California. It can be advantageous to source this project out to a marketing agency experienced in social media. Working with professionals can expedite the process of developing a strategic plan and ensure a successful outcome.

Social Media for Small Business – 3 Secrets of a Good Website

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When using social media marketing for your business, the first and most important element is your website.

Your website or landing page is the first contact your potential customer has with you after finding you through your social marketing campaign. To reduce your visitors clicking off the page, use these three guidelines:

First- Think simple and free of clutter

Just like your desk, if your website is packed pull of unorganized and random elements… clean it up quickly.

Most of the time visitors to your site will judge your page within 3 seconds and either decide to stay or leave. Having a cluttered site makes it hard for your visitor to find out if you have what they are looking for. Always make it easier for your web visitor to find exactly the information you are providing without having to click all over the place.

Also, make sure to guide your web visitor in the direction they need to be going. For instance if there is information about different types of information, give them a choice like “If you are looking for dental insurance, click here… for motorcycle insurance, click here.” Making it simple helps them find what they need quickly and reduces the chance of them leaving early.

Second – Avoid big filed graphics and animations

Your web visitors will be coming to your site from various different platforms, computers, and internet speeds. If you load up your site with large graphic files or processor heavy animations, you limit the amount of people that can view your site.

These days, many people use their phone and other mobile devices to quickly find information or a merchant and you don’t want to restrict their access. Flashy sites are for winning agency awards, not for doing business. Keep it simple and light.

If you need help building a site, don’t worry about having to learn HTML, CSS or Java. Use simple but powerful web building software like Weebly or WordPress and you’ll have a very a nice looking site that will do more than you need for running a business.

Third – Tell your visitor what to do

The call to action is the most important step you need to have in your website or any other marketing piece you have. It tells your reader, “Look, to get your cavity fixed, pick up your phone, call 555-1234 right now and end the pain immediately!” While that might sound simple or obvious, you would be surprised the difference having a line like that makes.

Be sure to have clear, simple directions on what to do to contact you or how to request more information at the end of every page you have online or in print. You will quickly see a jump in your response.

Having a website for your social media marketing is vital. But don’t let it overwhelm you, it can be as simple as clicking a few buttons and writing some basic descriptions if you use the resources mentioned above. If you already have a website for your small business, go through it and make sure you’re keeping it simple and clean as discussed in the first steps.