Once a website is online, getting traffic and increasing traffic share is the most common goal. After all, the website has been put out there with a purpose in mind relating to persuading, informing, educating, and selling. While social media offers one channel for traffic to find your site, it is also one that remains a short-term immediate benefit as it happens more in real time in a social sphere. You post a link to your site that you want to share, those who are online and respond to it, come visit your site. Days, weeks, months later, you either repeat the same process again and again to sustain that traffic flow, or you seek out other alternatives to keep ( Read More ... )

Many people are looking at how to leverage social media to generate business. To jump into social media with the sole focus upon 'sell, sell, sell' is bound to result in huge results. However, the larger percentage of results will be broken trust-relationships.

Many of the social media platforms are clamping down more and more on the way marketers engage people on their social media sites. They are looking out for their user base. Just as you would protect your own client list, they're protecting their client list and best interests. So what do you do? ( Read More ... )

Many conversations these days pertain to what the website is for, where the web is going, whether the same strategies from five years ago hold true today. Before the buzzword social media and web 2.0, everyone knew the importance of a list and having regular email communication to their clients and audience. In larger organizations, the web and email may have had much less prominence, as they opted for the traditional print media channels for the client / audience communication.

Today, so much more is possible directly online.

Any business can start small and scale up to meet the needs of a growing business. First and foremost, this must be ( Read More ... )

This short video is the current sample of putting the I Choose Love song by Shawn Gallaway to a slide presentation of the Maya Sacred Path to 2012 Tour that took place Dec 3rd through 12th, 2009. This video is on display as presentation for review by participating parties for approval processes. Until approved for release, this material is completely unavailable through any Creative Commons licensing.  ( Watch the Videos ... )

Getting traffic to your website is and should be a top concern for anyone with, or planning to create, a website. No matter what community online I spend time interacting with, the common question of how to get more traffic to your website is raised. It makes perfect sense.

The whole purpose of the website is to inform customers, and to create relationships with new customers. You'll notice it states: Create relationships with new customers, and NOT get new customers. Those days are gone, and social media is a driving force restoring best practices that focus upon building relationships with people, as people. Along this journey into social media, there were many marketers who used this effectively with poor practices that result in damaged relationships. This article focuses upon the outcomes of this journey, and re-establishes the tried and true considerations for ( Read More ... )

Sacred Earth Journeys is an established Vancouver travel and tour agent that stands out from the norm. They off a unique and different approach to bringing travelers an experience that informs, educates, and enlightens for many who participate.

Sacred Earth Journeys came into the being during a time when much attention was on the benefits of having a website to reach your market audience. They seized the opportunity well developing a comprehensive web presence complete with information about their tours, their guides, and background with benefits for the experience each travel destination and tour offered. Incorporated into that is the ability to book your vacation online.

With Social Media making a profound statement for the next strategic move with marketing to the public, many questions and a lack of time to tackle something new kept them venturing tentatively online, mainly creating group and posting updates there for their company announcements. Social Media offers so much more however, and as I found myself (Read More...)

A response in a discussion forum to professional coaches looking to leverage social media marking.

Ethics, value, and relationship.

I've been a technology professional since 1986, a coach since 2005, and a man who stands for something bigger than my pockets for much longer. Seeing what I see around "marketing" I'm going to share some important distinctions, and encourage anyone tempted to use traditional marketing techniques on any social media engagement sites and tools.

First, I will not pick on any names here. I have a philosophy that allows for free choice. Therefore, I will not publicly pick on any one individual behind their back. However, I have and will engage in a challenging public conversation online with anyone using tactics that are abusive of the tools and audience. As a coach, educator, lover of social media and it's principles, this is a natural opportunity to enlighten the would-be offender and help them become more successful. That said, it is (Read More ... )