SDG Web Agency Blog

Lots Are On It (Social Media Sites), Yet Lots Are Leaving &/Or Grieving

You heard the hype, you got on the bandwagon, so you created a Twitter, Facebook, & LinkedIn account, and now its there, but you still haven't leveraged what you got and wonder why you spent so much time and some money on it and you're not seeing results.

You need to understand that social media is just another communication tool, and like any other tool at your disposal, it needs to be mastered. So here are some tips you can take to heart in hopes that you can navigate this crazy world of social media madness:

1. Write down or type in your Goals! - Every time I do anything, I think of the beginning and the end result. This allows me to manage what I do, and how effectively my time is being spent. List your goals as to what you want to achieve. Whether it is building a following or a fan base, or even increasing your traffic. Whatever it is, track it.
2. Learn From the Right People - Tons of people call themselves experts, and very little of them deserve it. So how do you discern. Look at their track record, the work that they do, and if they themselves practice what they preach. No use emulating someone who's not doing it right.
3. Many People Are Communicating, Not Many Are Connecting - If you just tweet or update about what you do, and don't engage with others, you are just adding to the noise. Be human, talk to others, add value first. You see people in need, help! Get those experience muscles working, and build a name for yourself.
4. Bad Networking Moves Online - You try to sell without really listening first. By listening first, you'll know how to engage people. You'll know what peoples interest are. Imagine someone comes up to you and starts talking about their business, giving you only 2 words to say in response, hands you a business card when they are done talking & asks to give them a call and just walks away. Seriously, do not be that person online!
5. So Many To Manage - There are many social sites, you get an invite via email each day. Focus, focus, focus. Figure out where your target audience is hanging out. Know who your target audience even is. The top 3 I mentioned above is really essential though. Yes even Twitter. At least have a LinkedIn account and a Facebook Fan Page for your business. Leverage your friends and family first, then branch off to Twitter once you get those two down.
6. Lack Of Real Transparency - If you want people to know, like, and trust you, you need to show them who you are. Put some character on your blog, website, profiles, wherever you like. Gone are the days of hiding behind corporate walls of ambiguity.
7. Patience is a Web Virtue - Rome wasn't built in day, so don't expect that you'll be successful right away. Most recognized leaders in social media, have been doing their craft for years. Successful companies that have leveraged social media got their winnings from consulting with the best. Do what you can, but do it consistently and patiently.
8. Leverage Any First Time Initiators - I am talking about those who connect with you. If someone comments or sends you a nice post, reply back. That's the whole point is it not. If you have a LinkedIn profile and "good" people want to connect with you, why shouldn't you. Build your inner circle fast, and engage with your early fans, they will help you get where you want to go. If you ignore them, you end up with nothing.
9. Keep Learning Stop Crapping - Okay, that needs an explanation. What I mean to say, if you get content or complacent about things you need to know, eventually, what you know won't work all the time. You need to keep investing on your noggin. Knowledge is power, when practiced & maintained. Crapping is when you basically stop learning and start complaining about the world. That's my interpretation at least.
10. Get Social Online & Offline - This is such a crucial step. We are humans, we need to meet face to face. I challenge you to meet those you have met online and further connect with those people. Its an amazing feeling to put an face on an avatar.

I hope this reaches out to you in a deeper level. I would hate to see you not succeed simply because no one told you. Now do something, anything, connect, engage, and change the world!!!

Best wishes to you and your endeavors...comment below and let me know how it goes. Would love to hear your response.

This is what every customer who wants a website ask. How much does a web site cost? And not to say it's not a legitimate question, because it is. The only problem is, it may not be the right question. It's like asking a used car salesman, how much a car is? Of course he would say, "Well what type of car are you looking for?" and a bunch of other related questions that ultimately would lead to the car, they would recommend for the specifications or choices you just told them.

How Much Does A Website Really Cost?? Well that depends, on these factors:

• Experience of the Web Firm/Web Designer - how much real experience does your web site firm/web designer have? The more experience, the more costly they would be (Hourly rates start around $50 - $125). Factors to consider as well, a fully staffed web design firm has it's benefits, but you are most likely to pay top dollar for your site, a freelance web designer are often less expensive. A growing trend for web firms, is a company with a flexible team of professionals. A hire by demand kind of team. There are pros and cons for each as you can imagine, it just depends on the scope of your site.
• Strategic Design Elements - we are talking about visual elements contained within the site. Well designed sites not only have appealing and custom graphics, but they are also well structured. So combine compelling design elements, usability considerations, and call-to-action approaches, this stage of development can take considerable time. This can also determine the success and failure of a site, whether or not it appeals and meets user expectations.
• Flash Animation - is great feature when used properly. Create compelling animations with sound, moving video and graphics, and capture your audience. Depending on the length of the animation, and it's complexity (sound, buttons, and transitions), this can be a hefty price to pay to have on your site.
• CMS & SaaS Solutions -CMS stands for Content Management System, which is an application in which can use to create, edit and manage your site's content. There are many CMS's out there, and they all vary in capability, cost, ease of use, cost of ownership, etc. SaaS stands for Software as a Service, which is a paid license service for robust and turnkey applications. They are more robust and often are more complex than a CMS. Depending on what you get, prices vary and so are the features. Some of the common features are content management, blogs, photo galleries, article management, search feature, e-commerce, bookings and more.
• Custom Application - are custom built websites that are built often times from scratch or a software framework. This type of website building allows site owners to get exactly what they want in terms of how a website works and functions.This type of venture requires great capital to build at first and some to maintain as well. The advantages are huge, but the costs can often detract most businesses.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization) - is a type of service that enables your website to be found by search engines. The process or techniques to do this, vary for each SEO firm, some are legitimate others are not. The concept of "built and they will come" does not apply with the web. So building a website is just the beginning. Getting it found by your target market is another. This is just one aspect of internet marketing.
• Internet Marketing - is required and often neglected as part of the web design process, due to the importance of driving traffic to your site. Whether you choose an SEO route, as mentioned earlier, or PPC (Pay-per-click) advertising method, which entails paying to be on search engines through chosen keywords, or Banner advertising, in which an ad is placed on a third-party site once clicked on goes to the specified page within your site.
• Social Media Marketing - is a fairly new internet marketing method, but quickly gaining momentum, due to the overwhelming response and interaction between social media sites such as LinkedIn.com, Facebook.com, MySpace.com, and YouTube.com, to name a few. The difference between this type of advertising, is trying to make it less obvious that it is one. This requires further explanation on another blog, but lets leave you with this thought; social media marketing is all about the user having dynamic interaction with a site and choosing to be so.

Now that we have laid out most of the major factors that can affect the cost of a website, it is up to you to choose what you want included. So talk with your web design firm/web designer and discuss your goals and objectives, and the options or factors that are applicable to you. Depending on what you want on your site, how you want it done and what makes it work behind the scenes, affects the cost of your website. So get multiple quotes that outline the cost and you figure out what approach you want.