Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

 

Seasons Greetings From Beautiful Downtown Santa Fe! Thanks To Old Man Winter It's Now A True Winter Wonderland

Wishing you all a very wonderful Holiday Season! Thank you to our clients for helping to make 2011 another incredible year at Flyline Search Marketing. We hope that we have exceeded all your expectations and plan to deliver another stellar performance for you in 2012. 

Merry Christmas

             &

Happy Holidays!

See the Difference: Social Media Return On Investment

There is a lot of talk about social media and your return on investment (ROI). The ability to measure your ROI on social media marketing is important and will assist you in navigating and establishing your best strategies for successful marketing. But, one important rule you must remember with social media is instant gratification does not easily. Social media takes time and patience to build a faithful following and develop brand loyalty.

Slow Down and Reap the Rewards of User Loyalty

Companies will be poised for greater success when they look at the “big picture” of social media and their ability to establish and engage customers. Your talent for developing a successful social media campaign begins by thinking long-term. Companies must plot out a marketing strategy to develop new products, create buzz and dialogue with customers, and instill brand loyalty.

This begins with a well-thought out campaign focused on long-term, not short-term goals. This is where companies will see their ROI on social media. It is like simmering a pot of stew; a nice, slow simmer will bring you a delicious dinner. Think the same way with your social media campaign. That’s why it is important to be patient.

You Spoke, We Listened

A successful social media campaign depends on dialogue between you and your customer. Your customer will be free to give stellar reviews, positive feedback, and constructive criticism. They can also be harsh and spread the word about how poorly your product performed or how badly they were treated by your customer service department. Your role in a successful campaign begins by monitoring and carefully considering the comments being made about your company.

This can influence every department within your organization to capitalize on feedback to improve performance or to continue on the same track. Another important feature with social media is the ability to track which activity on your site garners interest and comment. 

A small business might manufacture ten separate products, but every time a certain product gets mentioned it garners interest and positive feedback. This kind of information can be used to focus on better developing this product line before waiting for all the sales numbers to come in.  

Let’s Take a Ride on the Social Media Highway

Many companies forget social media is a journey rather than a static activity. You do not put out a message and sit back and wait for the customers to flock to you and buy your product. Social media is a tool to communicate directly with your customer base and the conversation is a consistent action that engages them.

Rating Your Social Media ROI

Your measurable ROI depends on tracking specific activities within your social media campaign to determine the value of each activity. You must fully understand how your social media activities are being utilized within each department of your organization. From here you are able to track the effectiveness of each campaign and adjust your tactics accordingly. Specific sales goals must be developed and measured against your social media campaign to rate performance. 

This is where Flyline Search Marketing can help; we understand social media and have been generating successful campaigns for our clients in a way that offers the maximum ROI. Find out now how we can help you!

Our Latest Venture: Website Hosting

Flyline Search Marketing is excited about our latest venture into website hosting. We are pleased to offer three levels of service to our customers. You can choose the option that best fits your needs and budget.

Each option is designed to provide you with a full-service package that keeps your website up and running. Our clients enjoy a 99.9% uptime and we are committed to providing outstanding technical support.

Premium Hosting

Our premium hosting package is designed to provide advanced support at an affordable monthly rate. Our highly-skilled technicians provide comprehensive service to keep your website running. For $49 a month, we provide the following services:

• Linux Server
• CPanel Acces
• 2 SQL Databases
• Up to 5 Ftp Accounts
• Website File Back-Up
• Up to 10 Sub Domains
• Up to 5 Parked Domains
• Advanced DNS Zone Editor
• Up to 20 Webmail Accounts
• AWstats and Webalizer Stats
• Assistance with CPanel Set-Up
• MySQL Database Set-Up Wizard
•  IP Visitor Log and IP Deny Capability

We offer first-rate service to our customers; in addition, we can customize your package with additional service features.

Standard Hosting

We have put together a comprehensive website hosting package that will provide you with quality service and affordability. Our standard website hosting package costs $29 a month and includes the following:

• Linux Server
• CPanel Access
• 1 Ftp Account
• 1 SQL Database
• 5 Sub Domains
• 3 Parked Domains
• Up to 10 Webmail Accounts

Our standard package delivers outstanding website coverage at an attractive price. Like our premium package, additional service features can be added to customize your package to suit your needs.

Basic Hosting

For our clients requiring high-quality website hosting for a great price, we have put together a basic hosting package that has you covered. For $15 a month our basic features include:

• Linux Server
• CPanel Access
• 1 Ftp Account
• 1 SQL Database
•  1 Sub Domain
• 1 Parked Domain
•  Up to 5 Webmail Accounts

Extra service features are available on our basic hosting package to supply you with all the features you need.

We Have You Covered

Whatever your website hosting needs, Flyline Search Marketing has you covered with a comprehensive package designed to serve you. Simply complete our online form, and one of our dedicated customer service representatives will be in touch with you to discuss your website hosting needs.

Security Threats within the Social Media Arena

The development of social media has altered the way we must react to security threats and requires us to address the usage of these sites to minimize attacks that can cripple our systems. Businesses are vulnerable to cyber-attacks and must be prepared to defend their systems to ensure a virus-free operating arena. Potential attacks are growing with the increase and popularity of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.

Security Shortfall Studies

The website, AsiaOne.com, listed a research study conducted by the Ponemon Institute with conducted an in-depth study of 4,460 IT and IT-security users. Their users averaged ten years of experience within their chosen field and stretched from the United States, Mexico, Singapore, Canada, France, India, Hong Kong, Britain, Australia, Germany and Italy. The survey focused on the unrealistic ability of companies to avoid the emergence of social media and the role it increasingly plays in business.

Tom Clare, who is senior director of product marketing, had this to say: "Social media is the new communication platform being fuelled by the cloud and mobile technologies that employees are bringing to the workplace" and  “while anti-virus and firewalls are traditional pillars of security defense for companies, they need to find new solutions for dynamic Web content classification, advanced threat blocking and data-theft protection.” 

Businesses must address their security shortfalls to avoid being victimized by attacks from viruses and malware. The social media is advancing at a rate that defies the old-school firewalls and anti-virus programs. Real-time programs that analyze links as they appear must be implemented to increase company security.  Mr. Clare added: “Sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn change too rapidly to rely on traditional background analysis and security-software update cycles."  

Making Social Media Security Changes

Employers must issue guidelines to direct the social media usage of their employees. Hackers have been known to inject malicious codes into social networking sites, advertisements within a website, and by-way-of third-party apps. For example, Twitter is especially vulnerable. Users can be easily manipulated into browsing a malicious site that extorts personal and company information.     

The seriousness of this issue cannot be overstated. Businesses that do not take this matter seriously are at risk for exposure to corporate espionage, loss of pertinent data, and theft of confidential employee information.  And, not to mention the public embarrassment of a serious breech of computer security which looks unprofessional and can damage and alter your public image.

Tips on Protecting Your Social Network

An article on ZDNet offered some great tips on how to protect your social media presence:

• Beware of messages with a link inside.  
• Ask yourself if the message you’re reading is from who it claims to be.  
• A lot of social engineering sleight of hands used by social networking sites rely on teasing the victim into watching a video, so be cautious about clicking on videos.
• Don’t browse the Web with a system that’s not up-to-date with security updates.  
• Get help from anti-virus software.  

Your Experiences

Have you experienced any security threats with social media and social networks? Share your stories with our readers below.

Social Media and its Impact on College Life

Did we exist before social media? Today, it seems impossible to imagine a world without Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and all of the other sites we seem to visit daily. We are constantly connected and being updated of the activities of friends and family. And, we are able to send out blasts of hellos like your picture or post some other random comment. College life can seem inundated with a steady stream of information and social media has become the platform to facilitate this medium.   

However, the real question is how useful is this information to our well-being and is it really necessary for a college student to be turned on and tuned in 24 hours a day with social media. According to Psychology Today, social media has “revolutionized the way we communicate,” and “we human beings have won the communication lottery since the days of rotary phones and dial up internet.”

Personal Contact and Connections?

But, have we? Is our constant connection to social media to our benefit or do we lose a connection for every “friend” we make on Facebook? Users estimate they can spend upwards of hours a day on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to connect and communicate. This is a lot of time, so it begs the question, what did we do before social media? Where did we spend our hours before we were so plugged in and making connections? Were we simply staring at the wall, waiting for the phone to ring? I don’t think so.

Which leads me to an interesting experiment about the role social media plays in a college student’s life. What would happen to college students if they were suddenly disconnected from social media? One top university set out to answer just this question.

Rejoining the Real World

The Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania conducted a study where they blocked access to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other similar sites to see how students would respond to a forced disconnection of social media.   

Initially, the blackout was viewed with contempt by faculty and students alike. It took almost a week for there to be a general acceptance of the situation.  Some students were very angry with the blackout and some faculty from neighboring universities voiced their disgust with university’s decision to even block the sites in the first place. Neighboring Professor Reynol Junco stated, “It’s ridiculous for an institution” to block access to social media sites. Ouch!

It seems everyone had an opinion. But, the good thing about this experiment is it started a dialogue about how social media impacts college students, both the good and bad. This little experiment shows how ingrained social media has become to our state of being. College students have come of age during the social media revolution and feel a strong affinity with these platforms. However, we must examine the role social media plays in our life.

Keeping Social Media and Social Networking in Check

Not all technology is to our advantage and we must see that we do not let our social life become impacted by the isolation of social media. Now, I know this sounds odd to use the word isolation since we are so connected with social media, but we cannot forget to establish human connections in our pursuit of being plugged in.

College students can be vulnerable to the effects of social media and, like anything, we must take the good with the bad. 

Social Media Mistakes to Avoid

Social media has made it easier than ever for businesses large and small to reach out to potential customers. Unfortunately, social media has also made it easier than ever to make gaffes and blunders that can alienate customers and damage your company’s reputation.

Because social media is a marketing tool that cannot be ignored, businesses must learn to use it wisely. The following are the most common social media mistakes businesses tend to make and how to avoid them:

Going in without a plan. A recent article by Pamela Springer for Forbes.com points out that starting a social media marketing campaign is a waste of time and money if you don’t have any type of plan. Using a scatter-shot approach and creating a profile on every available social media outlet isn’t necessarily a good idea. Researching which social media platforms would best reach your target consumers and determining which of those platforms is the best fit for your business is worth taking the time to do before you get started.



Incomplete profiles. Springer also notes that it is a mistake for a company to not take advantage of every branding opportunity offered by social media platforms. Incomplete profiles appear unprofessional. If you are going to use a particular social media outlet, then take advantage of every opportunity available on that outlet to post your company’s logo, images, information, and appropriate links on your profile. In addition to the social media profiles you initiate for your business, be sure to check for profiles that may already exist in places, such as Yelp and Google Places. Take control of those profiles and update with accurate information.

Not listening. Once your business has established a social media presence, it is critical to keep in mind that a social media platform is exactly that: social. SocialMediaToday.com lists not focusing on relationship building as one of the biggest social media mistakes businesses make. Do not lose sight of the “social” aspect of social media. Take the time to interact with customers, including addressing any negative comments, in a genuine way. If your customers feel your company truly cares about and addresses their concerns, they will be much more likely to remain a loyal customer and even better – help spread the word to other potential customers.

Not being involved. Because a successful social media marketing campaign does take a certain investment of time – even if it’s only a few minutes a day – it is tempting to farm the task of social media management out to an intern. Performancing.com points out that while younger employees might be more tech-savvy and in tune with the latest social media trends, it’s crucial that business owners be personally involved in their company’s social media campaign to ensure the values and standards of the company are upheld.

Help is Available

If planning, implementing, and maintaining a social media marketing campaign seems like a daunting or time-consuming prospect, it doesn’t have to be a daunting prospect. Contact Flyline Search Marketing to find out how we can help your business build and maintain a successful social media presence.

How Small Business Can Benefit from Social Media

Small businesses enjoy a resource that was unheard of twenty-five years ago. Social media has opened a door for entrepreneurs and hustled in a new era of communication. Small businesses can learn to utilize social media and social networking to increase their market share, promote their company, and expand their name recognition.

Each of these assigned roles within social media will increase traffic to your website, inform your customers, and engage them in an interactive role-play where they are an active participant. The Los Angeles Times recently ran an article entitled, “Social media giving small firms a boost.”  

It profiled a small start-up business owner, Dede Parise, who used the power of social media and social networking to increase her business contacts to 15,000 potential customers within a year. This is amazing. Social media can be used to grow your small business and achieve a level of success and exposure with simple networking. And, one of social media’s greatest achievements is the cost. Networking on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs are free. Your only cost is time.

Facebook: Facebook allows small business owners the ability to create a page and post product information, display pictures of their inventory, and engage customers with meaningful dialogue. Small business owners can also track how many people “liked” their page each week. This will give you a sense of how successful your social media campaign is.

Twitter: Small business owners can benefit greatly from Twitter. Twitter allows businesses to tweet up to 140-character blurbs. Businesses can post specials, advertise upcoming deals, or impart their customers with useful information. Frequent postings keep your company name on the mind of your followers.

LinkedIn: As a small business owner, you can use LinkedIn to connect with former colleagues, college classmates, neighbors, and fellow entrepreneurs. As you increase your connections and develop contacts, you gain a new audience and potential customers through their connections.

Blogs: Having a personal blog on your company website is another tool to stay connected to your customer. Engaging your customer with helpful information, informing them of important product features, and upcoming sales will increase customer loyalty, brand recognition, and company profile.  And, each of these factors is important when you are trying to grow your business.

The Wave of the Future

Social media’s role in today’s business climate will only increase as time moves on. It has become woven into the fabric of our business world. As a small owner it is important to harness social media and social networking to increase your client base and company growth.

Now is the time to jump on the social media train and head for destinations uncharted for your company. But, like a good roadmap, using these tips will have you arriving at your destination on time and in good spirits. 

Getting the Word Out about Your Home for Sale Using Online Tools

Social media is an extremely useful, versatile platform. While social media is well known for a wide variety of feats, including everything from reuniting long lost loves to improving the bottom line of a business, it’s becoming increasingly better known for something different altogether: helping people sell their homes and move.

In a sluggish housing market, more and more homeowners are successfully using social media to get the word out and get their homes sold. But how?

Get a New Address…

Web address, that is. No matter how many social networking sites and platforms you utilize, it’s crucial to have a website to link back to and direct potential buyers to. That website can be as simple or elaborate as you feel comfortable with. However, there several key ingredients that will make your site more successful: 

·        A blog. People are drawn in a by a good story. Not only are blogs a good place to talk about events like moving and an upcoming open house, but they are also great for expanding on what’s special about your property. What renovations, upgrades or additions have you done on your home? A blog gives you plenty of space to elaborate on the details that set your home apart from the rest.

·        Videos. Photos are great, but videos are even better. Video tours of your home are an easy, inexpensive, and effective way to showcase your home. You can also post those videos on social media sites such as YouTube and Facebook or link to them via Twitter.

·        Calls to action. It’s important to have your contact information available on your website, including information, such as your e-mail address and phone number. However, go one step further by including the opportunity for visitors to share your website via Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms.

There’s No Place Like My Home

A recent article on MSN Real Estate included a clever use of Twitter by a homeowner in a prime neighborhood. Ruta Fox just happened to live near several celebrities and used that fact to fuel Tweets and gain interest in her home.

Even if you don’t happen to live two blocks down from Madonna, you can still feature the best aspects of your home and its location as incentives for potential buyers. Aspects, such as top-rated schools, safe neighborhoods or proximity to attractions like museums and performing arts venues, can all be worth mentioning in Tweets and status updates. And, don’t forget to include that link back to your website.

Going Viral

Crowdsourcing is one of the great advantages of using social media to get the word about your home for sale. Updates to your social media platforms not only let your friends know you’re selling your home, but these also allow your friends to let their friends know, and so on. Sending out moving announcements also help spread the word.

…But, Not Too Viral

It may be easier than ever to share information and updates about the home you’re trying to sell. However, it’s also just as easy to overdo it. Avoid overkill by pacing your posts and by not repeating the same posts ad nauseum. Do update your social networks with new information and do use your contacts to help you through the selling process by soliciting helpful comments and advice. Before you know it, your next status update will be: “Sold!”

Social Media is for the Birds: Tweeting in Business Communication

A recent article featured at The Source Weekly reported on the effects of Twitter – not only on how people communicate in business, but also on the people doing the communicating. Diana Adams, an Atlanta-based computer consultant, takes her phone to bed and wakes several times throughout the night to check her Twitter stream and respond to messages. 

At one point, NPR's senior strategist for social media, Andy Carvin, was spending 18 to 20 hours a day on Twitter. The profound effect that Twitter has had on its users is undeniable, but what has that effect been on the communication itself?

Paying Attention

There are two main aspects of Twitter and Tweets that set the social media platform apart. First, there is the 140 character limit. This limit is the apple of brevity and creativity’s eye, challenging users to compose their messages within that framework. 

However, many people have expressed the notion that Twitter has shortened our collective attention spans. Adams admitted she now only thinks in Tweets, “So, if someone is talking to me for more than a minute, I just stop paying attention.” The idea of ADD on the rise may just have a lot to do with the technology that is changing our behaviors.

 Second, Twitter is also set apart by both the real time participation of its users, and the constant stream of Tweets. Twitter users can dip into a never-ending stream of information and be in constant contact with followers 24 hours a day. Other social media platforms just don’t deliver the same volume or pace of interaction.

Tips for Tweets

Because of these unique aspects, Twitter can be an extremely effective tool in business communication. However, there are several things to keep in mind when Tweeting:

• Make it meaningful. Before you post that Tweet, think about what you are trying to communicate and what you hope to achieve by communicating it. Twitter users often have to sift through a lot of dross to find something worthwhile. Make sure whatever it is you are adding to the conversation enhances meaning as well.
• Be clear. Without the benefits of nonverbal communication, such as tone of voice and body language, it’s all too easy to be misunderstood. Make sure your Tweets are easy to follow that your messages send the right intent.  
• Avoid Web slang. The use of Web slang in business communication appears unprofessional, and while the 140 character limit does make it tempting to use common Web slang, such as “ur” for “you are,” for the sake of brevity, it’s best to resist that temptation.
• Use proper grammar and spelling. Because space is very limited, making a good impression within that small space is critical. Be sure to proofread any and all Tweets to avoid embarrassing errors.

How Tweet It Is

 Do you use Twitter in your business? If so, what has your experience been? How has Twitter affected your business communication? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Social Media: Helping Communities Help Each Other

Social media is known for a great many things, ranging from being a great business marketing tool to simply serving as a digital water cooler for catching up on the latest gossip. However, more and more, social media is becoming known for something else entirely – a way for real life, flesh and blood communities to come together and help one another.

Fighting Crime

Graffiti is a problem plaguing many urban areas. However, social media is making it more difficult for taggers to hide and easier for law enforcement to catch them. A recent article in the Santa Fe New Mexican entitled, “Social media tip leads to graffiti suspects,” highlighted how social media can help communities fight crime and help local law enforcement. In this instance, over 30 local businesses had been tagged with graffiti before an anonymous tip led to a social networking site where evidence was found linking suspects to the graffiti.

While the use of social media outlets by local law enforcement is still relatively new, it has already been very successful. In an article on Mashable Social Media, author Lon S. Cohen outlines several ways in which law enforcement utilizes social media. One of the most effective techniques involves requests for tips and information by a particular local law enforcement agency on their Facebook fan page and Twitter feed. People with information can post it immediately, making that information instantly available to local law enforcement.

Crisis Management

Not only has social media proven its usefulness in helping fight crime, it’s also been shown to be an extremely effective tool during the course of an emergency. Michelle Lyon, Social Media Manager at MEC International, wrote about how social media brought community together after the recent riots in London. A call to action on Twitter resulted in over 80,000 volunteers almost immediately coming together to help clean up and reach out to those in need.

Twitter was used to organize the volunteer effort, letting people know exactly where they needed to go and what they needed to do to help. Even beyond the hands-on help being received by the local community, the Twitter feed was also used by local businesses as a way to offer free services to the people most affected by the riots.

Local Events

There doesn’t have to be a crime or crisis for social media to help build community. It’s extremely common for local chambers of commerce to feature updates and local events on social media platforms. Whether it’s a neighborhood farmer’s market or a local charity event, cities, large and small, are reaching out through social networking sites with great success.

Your Community

How has social media helped build your local community? Please share your stories and thoughts in the comments section below.