For the first 8 years that we marketed online it was pretty simple really. Create a product, invite affiliates to promote our product and sell a bunch of copies using an auto-delivery method. This often equated to tens of thousands of dollars overnight even for the small time marketer. (I’m not kidding. On a little project of my own with a big name as a co-author we rolled over $10,000 by morning. Back in that day John Reese sold a million worth of product in the first 24 hours.)

What many of the big names then did was (a) take a long vacation, (b) take a sabbatical, and/or (c) pursue other interests – until more money was required.

Today life isn’t that easy. The web is massive. People don’t trust marketing ads. Everyone knows now to look for an affiliate link and by-pass it. The recession slowed down the buying frenzy. I could go on and on reporting on the changes – large and small – the first of which you should understand right now: Google isn’t driving the web anymore when people want to purchase information, shippable products, or online services.

Nope.

Today’s business has to be everywhere the people are – Facebook, Twitter, and so on – as well as Google. A lot more work for the marketer right?

Well, yes. But also, no.

I’m going to suggest that once you’ve created your social marketing strategy, that you learn how to romance the Web 2.0 properties a little first and as a direct result you’ll win over Google and the other search engines in the process. (Hint: Today, Google would rather ‘discover’ your content than be told. Rather like a child that way.)

Don’t believe me? Take 15 minutes looking through some of the top results for competitive keywords in Google…

Who ‘owns’ the results today? The Web 2.0 properties that’s who!

Does that mean you can’t compete in those niches? Au contraire!

Your involvement on those same sites can get you the top results and as the people come, they will also find a direct link to your business site, proposal or product, newsletter or whatever else you want to call attention to.

Well that’s a bit of work isn’t it? Not only are you now expected to build your business website but you’re also expected to be active in social networking and have content on Web 2.0 properties! Not to mention you have a business to run! Who’s got the time for all of this?

Here’s the ‘easy’ answer…

The Do Nots: Stop promoting your home page. Slow your efforts at tweaking keyword metas for search engine optimization. Give up the back-linking game. Don’t ping your pages. In fact, throw out nearly all your old ways of working and promoting in the past.

The Dos: Post excellent, keyword-rich content. Delete your massive ping list (you know you were only doing that for Google’s sake anyway). Take a (keyword-rich of course) snippet of your content and post it to your social network pages and/or Web 2.0 properties. Bookmark your new content with (keyword-rich) tags. Let Google do the rest. Repeat again starting with posting new excellent, keyword-rich content.

Who This is For: This strategy works best for those who are running one to three websites only. Marketers who are managing (should I say juggling) multiple websites in as many markets need to automate or delegate (see below). Of course I’ll always take automation from a good service over delegation because outsourcing bills add up pretty quickly but you likely have your own ideas on how you want to run your business. The automation service I’ve been using since the original beta is here – and I’ve enjoyed top ranks for very competitive keywords as a result.

1. Focus on answering recent questions, posted within the first three hours.
2. Always post a relevant website link in the Source box using a URL that sounds similar to the topic. (e.g. If I was answering a question regarding weight loss, I would create a landing page specific to that niche and include it in the source box: yourdomain.com/weight_loss_tips.html)
3. Answer questions as thoroughly as you can. The more specific you are with your answers, the better chance you have of being selected as the top choice.
4. After your limits are raised and you are able to answer more questions each day, start answering questions regardless of when they were posted (older ones are fine at this point). Every answer you submit will be included in Yahoo’s search engine results page regardless of how old the original question was.
5. Be sure to include your keyword (that you are optimizing for) in your answer as best as you can. You can also add your URL (using a href tag) but if you do this incorrectly and your answer reeks of spam, you will not be chosen as the top answer and in some cases your answer may be removed completely.
6. It isn’t just Yahoo’s search engine that will pick up your answers (and links). Google may also spider your answers and give you credit for a back-link to be sure to answer as many questions as you can each day, until you reach your limit.
7. Stick with it. Building an impressive portfolio and developing your back-links takes time but if you create a strategy where you are answering questions on a daily basis, incorporating your keywords into your answers and linking to your websites within the source boxes you will see results relatively quickly.
8. The more effort you put into answering questions thoroughly and being chosen as the top answer the more traffic your website will receive. Always keep this mind when you are answering questions. While quantity is important, so is quality!
9. Since you are answering questions across a variety of categories and niche markets, be sure that you know enough about the subject to provide a helpful response. If you answer a question incorrectly, your credibility will wear down. It is important that you focus on answering questions relating to topics that you are familiar with. If you are unsure about a question take a few minutes to research the correct answer before posting. It is not possible to edit your answers once they are published!
10. Don’t underestimate the power of custom landing pages. Instead of directing people to the main page of your website, creating specific pages where you can lead people to find out more information, while sticking to the topic or subject that you are answering. This way you will avoid confusing your visitors who are simply looking for additional information about specific topics.
11. Points & More Points. You will receive points for answering questions (2 points per answer), 10 points for being selected as the best answer and an additional point for every answer you vote on. When you are building your levels it is important to collect as many points as you can so by voting on answers submitted by other people you are able to generate more points quickly, however you must be a LEVEL 2 to be able to vote on answers, so do your best to get to that level as soon as possible. As you begin to earn points and answer more questions, you will become a top contributor and a badge will appear near your avatar picture. Once you are a top contributor you will be selected more often as the “best answer” and more people will view your answers, profile and your websites. (Social Proof!)

Okay, I realize there are actually eleven tips in the list. Just a little bonus to keep you excited about the power of this easy to implement social marketing strategy.

Making the most of Web 2.0 for traffic is a very different lesson plan than the one I taught on blogs and RSS feeds in 2004.

Keep in mind as you continue to work through and on your own social marketing strategy that one size (style/strategy) will never fit all. Although I had hoped to create a membership site that provided point and click answers, I’m certain that no such thing exists. This is especially true if you’re in a tightly defined or highly specialized niche.

Strategy is never cut and paste and it often rewrites itself as trends evolve. Plus, if you want to be successful online, you must study, watch, define, and implement a strategy to see any results. You can’t buy or follow a generic traffic strategy that works across the board, but you can first learn about and then design and execute your own traffic strategy for any market you so choose.

As I said earlier, there is no way I could ever say ‘A Web 2.0 traffic strategy is performed from this particular place, with these necessary tools, and in this absolute order’…

Remember, Web 2.0 is all about a relevant user experience.

You’ll want to understand the processes and terms, define and then find your target market, and then roll out your red carpet of offers and services, in their path.

Anyone who is trying to sell you on a one size fits all solution to online traffic in this day and age is doing you a grave disservice, wasting your time and potentially turning your natural traffic away from your site before you have a chance to convert those visitors into something tangible!

Don’t Get Frustrated During the Learning Process and Don’t Give Up

If you happen to get caught in negativity (it happens to all of us) and feel as though the work is too labor intensive, understand that once you have your ‘2.0 ducks in a row’ maintenance is a breeze – and the results are nothing short of splendid.

In 2004-2006 people thought the work involved within the Stampede Secret was too time consuming as well (2 hours to research and set up, then 10 minutes per week to maintain) but those who made the effort had traffic that they could consistently draw into their site upon request! Even my newbie clients (and I mean newbie with a capital N-E-W) had huge breakthroughs!

Mapping out your Web 2.0 traffic strategy will also take about 2 hours to devise and initially employ, then 10-20 minutes every 2-3 days to maintain. Again, every market differs. Be of the mindset “Whatever it takes,” and you will find the success you are looking for!

Even though tag pages get high ranks in Google and a lot of traffic within the sites, you can also use those keywords in more places than tag options. You can stuff them (in a natural way) into your profile, the url of the page, and your titles and sub-titles.

Start off at Google.com to determine what your tags will be by looking for the hottest tag pages related to your content, product offering or service.

For your Squidoo lenses:

In google, type:
site:www.squidoo.com “Squidoo : Tags” KEYWORD
into the search box.

Remember to first replace KEYWORD with your best guess or educated choice on which keyword your target market is frequently using.

For your HubPages:

In google, type:
site:hubpages.com KEYWORD “Hot Hubs”
into the search box.

Where KEYWORD is your main keyword, phrase or testing keyword/phrase.

Then…

1. Make a list of all the tags from the tag page results shown in Google.
2. Create your lens or hubpage and use the tags within your content, as part of the page url, within your profile, and within your title – where ever you can without over-stuffing.
3. Add the tags to your lens or hubpage using the tag feature during page creation.

The video below discusses the basics of a social marketing strategy. These are careful, pre-conceived considerations to take into account before designing your campaign plan.

Anyone who indulges in marketing should have a plan to follow first. Use a social media marketing strategy to determine and track your actions and updates.

Introducing new products require different actions than creating a social marketing strategy to widen your customer base.

Who do you want to reach?

Your target audience will dictate which social marketing websites you will use to create a social media strategy as well as the best content to interest them in your offers, products or services.

Which Mode of Content Will You Use?

Audio, video, photos, links, articles (i.e. content or testimonials) are a few different ways to add an engaging message to solicit interest and engagement as a result of Web 2.0 marketing.

Which Social Sites Will You Use?

Whether you’re marketing through Facebook, Digg, Twitter, Squidoo, or any other Web 2.0 property, plan your content to match the style of site you’ll be using. Do this is the same way you would plan any advertising and marketing campaigns. Be sure to document your process so that you can revisit those sites and content regulary – to either respond to potential customers, to check the effectiveness of the campaign, or to update the content.

Watch the video:

Then, download and read this brief overview (Social Media Traffic -pdf) of gaining traffic from a few top Social Media websites.

Here are a few excerpts from the 44 page book:

“…it is becoming increasingly clear that people all over the world are using the internet as a principal means of communication in ever increasing numbers.” (page 3)

“…in detail at how you and your business could potentially use Facebook as a source of new customers for your products and services.” (page 4)

At the time of publication: “Facebook is currently enjoying 70 billion page views per month…” (page 6)

Some of the topics in this ebook cover:

• adding links to your website in FaceBook’s profile
• creating niche groups
• using FaceBook’s classified advertising
• highly targeted social advertising
• how social advertising and marketing differs from other networks
• FaceBook’s pay-per-click advertising

There are ample screen shots to visually explain the process of utilizing FaceBook’s website as part of your social marketing strategy.

Screenshots within this ebook walk you through the most strategic processes of marketing on FaceBook.

This ebook is now part of the Social Marketing Strategy membership as a downloadable pdf file.

[This content is protected for Pro members only. Click here to learn more about membership] - it is cheaper than you'd think!

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