Social Media Home Base Business Tips:

 Social Media A to Z, this section is going to introduce you to social bookmarking which is going to be one of the ways that you truly start increasing traffic to your website. You’ll find a ton of introductory information as well as some intermediate discussion throughout this text. As I mentioned in the introduction, make sure that you read this section so that you can gain the most benefit from this post.

 Social bookmarking is based on the concept of sharing information on the web, and has evolved rapidly with the growth of the internet communities and interactive sites. As more people turn to websites to learn, research, and even read the latest news, the ability to track and monitor this behavior is becoming even easier. Collective intelligence is leading the wave of sharing information based on specific keywords and subjects, and can help marketers and business owners in many ways. Today’s social networking sites are incorporating many social bookmarking elements into the platform. This allows users to learn even more about each other, and is engaging people online by building communities, opening up new networking channels, and giving marketers and business owners a chance to track behavior. The Wikipedia definition for social bookmarking states: "an activity performed over a computer network that allows users to save and categorize a personal collection of bookmarks and share them with others. Users may also take bookmarks saved by others and add them to their own collection, as well as to subscribe to the lists of others. - a personal knowledge management tool." Each social bookmarking site is designed differently, but ultimately allows users to create a profile, update their preferences, and share this information with friends and family. Since they are creating this growing network of information, a pattern of tastes and preferences is established—and made publicly available. This profile is the key element of interest to marketers; it’s created with basic registration and in most cases, an e-mail address and login name allow complete access to the social bookmaking platform. The visitor can begin publishing their activity to share with fellow social bookmarkers, and this creates a network of categories. Discovering and sharing information with keywords in specific topic is what allows social bookmarking networks to grow; as more information is provided, the categories of interest also develop to provide key information.

 When website and internet marketing first became effective, the most common applications included: ? Surveys, Online newsletters, Direct e-mail campaigns, Auto responders, E-mail collection services Visitor feedback through comments with the surge in AI technologies, blogging, and a higher level of interaction on the web, the focus has shifted to interaction and community building. As a result, the most common applications for marketers on the web today include: Blogging, Social networking, Wiki-style site building, Online chat, Vlogging, Online events, social bookmarking networks by seeing exactly what consumers are looking for online, a business or marketing team can even increase their own exposure in the right channels. Branding by increasing exposure is an excellent way to cut costs on marketing budgets; social bookmarking is an inexpensive way to simply ‘insert’ and include a brand in a growing consumer activity. At a very basic level, social bookmarking allows users to create a profile and share information. 

                                                          Social Foot Print:

 

 Building a profile, users are looking for other people with similar interests. Any business or brand can create an identity and join various communities. By doing so, they can reach well beyond their target market and join various networks after a few simple steps. It’s easy to attract and maintain a steady presence by using the following guidelines when developing a submission: Make the content easy to read and understand ? Offer useful tools, use keywords, make the best use of tagging so users can find information with ease The Basics of Tagging A large number of websites are implementing tagging systems in an effort to control and organize the information on their site, and categorize various pieces of data. A tag is a relevant keyword or term associated with a specific piece of information; it can be used to describe or represent a picture, media file, article, or product and is used by social bookmarking sites to organize and categorize the data. In most cases, each media file or piece of information will have one or more tags associated with it. Tags are essentially a way for categorizing data, and are the critical first steps in developing a niche subject. Even though there may be some contextual issues involved with specific keywords, most tags become a part of a collaborative effort to organize all data available. After collecting and organizing this data, the following options exist: Facilitating networking, analyzing source tags and keywords (essential for article marketing) Increasing branding  Improving user communications and interaction Developing new products developing new blogs or online channels How To Find Your Niche A typical business can not only position themselves within each of their relevant channels on social bookmarking sites, but can also work on presenting themselves professionally after learning about their target market. Tracking down the target market has commonly been done with parsing technologies and only possible after collecting large amounts of data based on surveys or other input.

 Many of these research studies are conducted by expensive marketing departments, and can take months and even years to consolidate. Still, tracking down a target market is worth the effort; finding out exactly where potential customers are, learning about their buying habits, and engaging them in new ways of interaction with a company, can help improve brand presence and create a shift in consumer behavior. With social bookmarking sites, the information about consumer behavior and preferences is readily available. Social bookmarking sites that create a community based on preferences pave the way for reviewing trends, patterns, and basically learn what the market is interested in at any given time. Reviewing independent profiles and trends on a regular basis can make trend forecasting much easier. It can help with identifying market leaders, and learning first hand from the consumer about feedback on specific products. Engaging within a community can help create a brand presence, but also learn about direct customer experiences. 

                                                   Social Book Marking

Computerize Thinking AI Head Social bookmarking offers many opportunities for marketers to collect information and learn about the behavior patterns of their customers, as well as firsthand reviews for particular brands and products. Social bookmarking sites are chock full of different perspectives and information, and all of this is stored in an easily searchable database. Since like-minded individuals are creating tags on every item they post, it becomes easy to find relevant products and related subjects within each area of interest. Social bookmarkers are primarily interested in learning more about products and ideas that interest them, and will network accordingly. They are more exposed to new information, whether this is pulled from blogs, media sites, or simply a product page from a business. The more involved marketers are with these social networks, the higher the chances of increased brand exposure. As more social bookmarkers participate in their communities, the buzz about a particular product or idea can easily be broadcast across multiple markets with very little effort. The thinking process of a social bookmarker is relatively simple. First, they find an idea or product of interest. They then upload this information to the social bookmarking platform. Next, they describe the product or idea, usually posting a brief summary that includes keywords and other relevant information. This is noted on the social bookmarking site’s search engine, as well as the tags that are added to the item after this. Once complete, a picture or other media clip may be added, followed by the social bookmarker’s signature (if it does not automatically get posted as part of the profile). Once submitted, the new item is organized and implemented into the appropriate category on the site. Any new information posted to the site can now be viewed by the entire audience; subscribers to various channels will see new topics posted immediately, in a very similar format to an RSS feed on a blog. In either case, this fresh information will be on the minds of all the people in that community. If others find it important as well, this increases the chances of sharing as they are more likely to ‘note’ it and include it on their lists. But what does all this mean for the marketer? Essentially, this means that the marketer or business can create unique content and products to send to various social bookmarking sites. Once they create a valuable presence, it becomes much easier to influence the decision makers in each and every community. This is the essence of social bookmarking and networking at its best; community building can create a network of influence that can now also be enjoyed by marketers and entrepreneurs on the web.

 Getting Big Time Traffic Given how simple it can be to get information in front of influential customers, it only makes sense to take the steps to get on the front page. The front page of social bookmarking sites offers an opportunity for increased page views, visitors, and increased exposure across multiple channels. Getting on the front page makes it easy for millions of visitors to get the ‘first impression’ with very little effort. Still, it’s not an easy process. But how is this possible? The first step in reaching the top ranks is to develop a creative headline. All articles on social bookmarking sites that have some leverage contain a unique and compelling opening; they encourage readers to click on the link, and essentially draw people in. It may be helpful to brush up on article-writing and effective web copy to understand the guidelines for writing compelling headlines. 

The next step is to right an appropriate description. Descriptions are essential for ensuring your captive audience stays with the article through completion. The first 10-15 words can make or break the article, and this is the time to keep the information short and concise but informative enough to keep the reader engaged. Some social bookmarking sites don’t allow more than 150 characters, so you may need to edit the text down according to site standards. After reviewing the headlines and description, you will need to make sure the first paragraph is just as compelling. You’ve grabbed the user’s attention, and now it’s time to continue on with a unique presentation. Posting irrelevant information may result in banning from the site, so it’s important to stay within spamming guidelines. If you are posting information from a blog, it may be simpler to just add a bookmarking button on the site. Bookmarking buttons can be pasted within a website or blog with some simple HTML code. You will simply copy the code and implement it on the site so that others can link to it easily. Or instead of adding bookmarking buttons one at a time from each social bookmarking site, you can run simple scripts that will add multiple buttons all at one time. Once you’ve submitted your piece, it’s important to network and ‘socialize’ with other people in the community. This can help you create an active profile with various communities, but also provide added exposure for relevant posts or links. Cooperation and collaboration on social bookmarking sites are essential for creating a valuable network, and you can gain an even more influential presence as you find the right networks and communities to join. Responding to comments, posting information on other people’s articles or blogs, and just staying connected to various channels will help you build a positive online reputation. It’s Vital That You Integrate Community into Your Site Building a brand in the offline world involves maximizing exposure and creating easy access to your business. Online, this takes the form of communities and social interaction. It is even more important to become engaged and get the right level of exposure on the web today, and community building is a part of this process. Joining relevant networks, providing appropriate content, and building an online profile are all effective ways to make this possible, and building a strong foundation requires some skill and knowledge about social networking overall. Ensuring that positive feedback, comments, and relevant information are posted is one way to promote a brand or identity with ease. As more readers begin to learn about your particular topic or niche, it becomes easier for them to associate and grow with you. Where Your Business Fits Best Finding the right networks and communities to join will take some time; you will need to set up your profile first, highlighting key areas of interest, tagging your information appropriately, and sharing the information in already-established web communities. After that, you can start communicating with other social bookmarkers to learn about the different groups available. Many social bookmarking sites are organized by topic and subject, and you’ll want to narrow down your fields of interest to about 4-5 different areas. If you are selling beauty products, for example, you may choose to set your sights on Fashion, Lifestyle, Shopping, and Style.

                             Home Base Business Opportunities

 If you are promoting a home-based business, you may choose to focus on Stay-at-Home Mom groups, Entrepreneurs, and Small Business networks. It’s important to think in larger terms when choosing communities and networks to join, as you can narrow down the crowds after entering and introducing yourself. Introductions are very informal on social bookmarking sites, and are different than joining a discussion forum, group, or portal. On these sites, your ranking and seniority is largely determined by the date you joined, and the level of activity. It may also be calculated by the number of positive ratings or comments you have received, as well as a calculation of page views. Whatever the case may be, it’s important to learn about community rules and guidelines, and then begin posting in areas that are relevant to your identity. More Links for Your Site Link building is a natural by-product of social bookmarking sites, since you are using your links and blog posts as leverage while you network. It becomes very simple to locate groups of interest, and then to proceed with sharing your links through article submissions and relevant posts. Building a profile with a link to your website is the first step, since the more prominent your position on the network, the more that other community members will want to learn more about you. Increasing links to your website can be done in a few different ways, without spamming: ? Commenting on blogs, articles, and posts and providing link back information of relevance ? Including your link as a tag on your profile name ? Making sure people are aware of new information that you have posted, by copying and pasting the link on relevant discussions or comments These are all effective traffic builders for your website, and can start to spread the message about a particular topic or article of interest. In the next section we are going to jump right into the huge list of sites that you have been wanting to get your hands on. Remember, print this out and have a pen in hand so that you can put checks next to the sites that you want to use!