There are about ten common Facebook marketing tactics. (You can probably think of more, but most are a derivative of one of these ten.) It may surprise you to learn that five of these tactics don't even work -- that's fully half! Now, no Fire God will suddenly appear to smite you if you happen to have done one of the following things. They are definitely mistakes, but they aren't irreversible. In fact, they're really only mistakes in one sense of the word.
My perception of these as "mistakes" isn't about breaches of the unwritten Facebook etiquette either - I dance on those lines myself from time to time.
Rather, I'm calling them mistakes from a perspective of effectiveness, versus the alternative behavior. Whether they're wrong in terms of just coming across as rude or politically incorrect is another matter altogether.
Having said that, off we go.
Mistake #1 - Posting Signature Links on Profile Walls with Your Introduction
I asked someone why they did this once, especially since I'd already been to their site and purchased the item they were selling on that page.
She said: "I saw someone else do it."
"How did it make you feel?" I asked.
"I felt kind of used. But I figured if that's what it takes to be successful, that's what I'll do, even if it doesn't seem quite right."
Now that's deep.
I understand though, because once I made the vow to become successful, I also made a vow to do "whatever it takes". At the time I thought it meant hard selling and being pushy. I later found it meant hard work, and doing what's right even if there's a lazier, easier way.
Even if this was once effective in terms of getting clicks from random profile visits, Facebook is now much more stream-driven than it is profile-driven.
And that's a huge part of why this is a mistake in terms of effectiveness.
Not to mention that people who see these postings as rude or attempts to spam can rémove or hide them. They may even drop you as a connection, which cuts you off not just from them, but from their network.
You're not missing out on anything by omitting that signature link. Your name, hyperlinked to your profile IS your signature link. If your profile is set up correctly, prospects will get to your site from there.
Mistake #2 - Pitching
If you want to pitch people on Facebook, purchase an ad on Facebook.
It doesn't have to be a Facebook ad - purchase one in a popular Facebook application. No matter how good your elevator pitch is in real life, it doesn't translate in online networking. Let me give you a hypothetical example from the real world.
Imagine you go to an after-work bar. People go there to relax with work friends, to meet potential mates, on actual dates, and to get to know other people in the business.
You're unwinding with colleagues when someone walks up, and without forewarning, tries to sell you some steak knives. When you stare blankly, they shrug, and move on to the next person.
We all may chuckle to ourselves, and wonder what that person is thinking... but are you ever the knife salesman when you're on Facebook?
Honestly, when I first came here, I was tempted to be.
Thank God my better judgement stopped me. I'm telling you that to say this - if you've been the knife salesman don't be ashamed, you didn't know any better. It's not like they issue marketing lessons with your incorporation papers.
Just make a vow, right now, to always check yourself before you post. Ask yourself "Am I Networking or Pitching?"
Mistake #3 - Artificial Bonding
I'd respect a person more who was upfront with me, and said they were hoping we could work together, or do some business, than someone who pretended to care about me in order to get me to have a conversation that they could then direct to their pitch.
I wouldn't purchase from them, at least not then. But at least I'd still respect them, which means I could change my mind in the future.
Pretending to like people until you get the chance to try to sell to them is really just pitching with a little bad foreplay first.
Bad foreplay isn't better than none at all.
Mistake #4 - Favoring Uphill Marketing Over Downhill Marketing
Again, this is a mistake in terms of how effective it is. In my own experience, as well as in case studies of clients, it always works out better when you create a fantastic marketplace presence and people are drawn to you in droves, seeking to do business with you, rathere than the alternative.
The alternative, of course, is when you go out and pursue customers and clients one by one.
That's not to say that you should stop advertising, bidding on projects, or being a go-getter in any way.
It means that while you're doing that, also create a situation where customers are flowing towards you, seeking you out, asking for help.
It's much less work to get from interest to sale when they come to you.
Mistake #5 - Fishing on Dry Land
A long, long time ago, I was in a network marketing company. Now defunct, the products they have greatly enhanced, possibly even saved, my life. The products were targeted to people who cared about being healthier and eco-friendly.
By Tinu AbayomiPaul (c) 2010
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Samstag, 10. Juli 2010
Donnerstag, 8. Juli 2010
Report of an iPhone 4 Catching Fire, Spoerrle Marco
posted by arn on Thursday July 08, 2010 05:39 PM
BoyGeniusReports posts pictures of one customer's iPhone 4 having caught fire. The photos come from an AT&T source after the customer brought the iPhone 4 in.
It's the first time our guy has seen this happen (us too), but the brand new iPhone 4 caught on fire while being hooked up to a computer using the Apple USB cable that accompanied the device. The customer wanted to exchange the iPhone -- obviously -- for a new, non-charred unit however the AT&T store in question was out of stock. An Apple Store did confirm to our AT&T connection that this did appear to be a defective USB port and not some sort of user error. Our source went onto say that the phone bezel was extremely hot (obviously), and it slightly burned the customers hand.
Apple's iPod nano has in the past been linked to overheating and potential fires. Apple issued replacements for those iPod nanos that dated back to 2005-2006.So far, this seems to be an isolated incident.
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Dienstag, 6. Juli 2010
Advertising and Marketing Techniques, Marco Spoerrle
Advertising and Marketing Techniques, Marco Spoerrle
I've been involved with Internet marketing
for over twenty years and have seen marketing techniques come and go. Some are still around and some are new and innovative. Below you will find what I believe to be the best and most effective online marketing techniques.
Article Marketing - Article marketing was and is one of the most powerful online marketing methods available. Not only does it do wonders for you and your business, it's also free! Article marketing consists of writing helpful, informative, easy-to-understand articles that actually help your readers, instead of trying to sell them something. You then submit your articles to article banks, directories and ezine publishers. When your article runs in a popular ezine, it can make a major difference to your business. Contrary to what you might think, it's not that hard to get started.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Don't worry about your ability to write. People are looking for help, not big words.
- Advertise in your resource box, not your article.
- Provide real, helpful information and resources, not hype!
- Write from the heart! Let your personality shine through in your articles.
Blogging - Blogging is a newer form of online marketing that became popular in the late 1990's. Blog is short for weblog and is an online publication in the form of a log or journal. Blogs can increase your customer base, your traffic and your search engine ranking, thus increasing your sales.
Blogging can be done for free through such sites as:
- blogger.com
- wordpress.com and
- livejournal.com
Be sure and update your blog regularly; every day would be best as people like fresh content, ideas and information.
Ezine Publishing - Ezine publishing has been around much longer than blogging and is far more effective, in my opinion. Your ezine needs to contain helpful resources and information, not just sales pitches. It's important to develop a relationship with your readers. Let them know they can trust you and rely on you when they need your help.
Things to remember when putting together your ezine:
- Keep it clean and easy to read.
- Limit your advertising and be selective.
- Always provide quality content and information.
- Add your personality into your writing. This helps readers to get a feeling for you as a person.
- Always provide contact information and be accessible.
- Be consistent; send your ezine regularly as scheduled.
- Be sure and proofread your copy before sending it out.
Online Networking - Online networking, as with offline networking, is very important to your business. This is where you connect with as many people as possible to learn more and share information about your business. Many leads can come from networking. There are several ways to do this online.
Email Discussion Groups: Go to yahoogroups.com and search for appropriate groups.
Message Boards: Be sure and follow the rules for posting and offer your help as much as possible.
Social Sites: Examples include: MySpace.com, Ryze, Merchant Circle, etc. These can be great ways to make more contacts and get leads.
Joint Ventures - This is when you enter into an agreement with another online marketer that will benefit both sides. Examples of joint ventures:
- Ezine ad swaps
- eBook ad swaps
- Subscription page ad swaps
- Affiliate programs
- Exchange advertising for a percentage of the sales
and the list goes on and on. Be creative and come up with new ways for you and your associates to help each other.
Podcasting - Podcasting uses digital media files which are distributed all over the Internet via syndication feeds. Podcasting is still a fairly new way of online marketing and has great potential. Podcasting can be powerful because it uses voice, instead of written words to get the message across. Offer your articles, do voice interviews, offer a chapter in your ebook via podcast, etc. Again, use your imagination to create new ways to spread the word about your business.
Ezine Advertising - Advertising your business, product, service, etc. in quality ezines can be well worth the money spent. Before you do so, here are a few things to consider:
Conduct a search to find ezines that cater to your target market. Once you find several targeted ezines, subscribe to them so you can look them over and see if the publisher is reliable in sending them out. You can also look over the other ads and make sure the publisher is selective in their advertising. You might be able to learn what the other readers think of the ezine as well.
Try contacting the publisher to see if they respond to your email. Ask about testimonials from other advertisers. Find out how many ads they run per issue and what it costs. You could also ask the publisher to do an ad swap to get an idea of what the response is like. Be selective in your choices and always code your ads so you know which ezines actually deliver.
I hope this article has given you some insight as to how to market your home/online business. I use several of these methods and know from experience that they work.
http://marcospoerrle.blogspot.com/
http://marcospoerrle.com/blog/
https://twitter.com/marcospoerrle
https://twitter.com/spoerrle
I've been involved with Internet marketing
for over twenty years and have seen marketing techniques come and go. Some are still around and some are new and innovative. Below you will find what I believe to be the best and most effective online marketing techniques.
Article Marketing - Article marketing was and is one of the most powerful online marketing methods available. Not only does it do wonders for you and your business, it's also free! Article marketing consists of writing helpful, informative, easy-to-understand articles that actually help your readers, instead of trying to sell them something. You then submit your articles to article banks, directories and ezine publishers. When your article runs in a popular ezine, it can make a major difference to your business. Contrary to what you might think, it's not that hard to get started.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Don't worry about your ability to write. People are looking for help, not big words.
- Advertise in your resource box, not your article.
- Provide real, helpful information and resources, not hype!
- Write from the heart! Let your personality shine through in your articles.
Blogging - Blogging is a newer form of online marketing that became popular in the late 1990's. Blog is short for weblog and is an online publication in the form of a log or journal. Blogs can increase your customer base, your traffic and your search engine ranking, thus increasing your sales.
Blogging can be done for free through such sites as:
- blogger.com
- wordpress.com and
- livejournal.com
Be sure and update your blog regularly; every day would be best as people like fresh content, ideas and information.
Ezine Publishing - Ezine publishing has been around much longer than blogging and is far more effective, in my opinion. Your ezine needs to contain helpful resources and information, not just sales pitches. It's important to develop a relationship with your readers. Let them know they can trust you and rely on you when they need your help.
Things to remember when putting together your ezine:
- Keep it clean and easy to read.
- Limit your advertising and be selective.
- Always provide quality content and information.
- Add your personality into your writing. This helps readers to get a feeling for you as a person.
- Always provide contact information and be accessible.
- Be consistent; send your ezine regularly as scheduled.
- Be sure and proofread your copy before sending it out.
Online Networking - Online networking, as with offline networking, is very important to your business. This is where you connect with as many people as possible to learn more and share information about your business. Many leads can come from networking. There are several ways to do this online.
Email Discussion Groups: Go to yahoogroups.com and search for appropriate groups.
Message Boards: Be sure and follow the rules for posting and offer your help as much as possible.
Social Sites: Examples include: MySpace.com, Ryze, Merchant Circle, etc. These can be great ways to make more contacts and get leads.
Joint Ventures - This is when you enter into an agreement with another online marketer that will benefit both sides. Examples of joint ventures:
- Ezine ad swaps
- eBook ad swaps
- Subscription page ad swaps
- Affiliate programs
- Exchange advertising for a percentage of the sales
and the list goes on and on. Be creative and come up with new ways for you and your associates to help each other.
Podcasting - Podcasting uses digital media files which are distributed all over the Internet via syndication feeds. Podcasting is still a fairly new way of online marketing and has great potential. Podcasting can be powerful because it uses voice, instead of written words to get the message across. Offer your articles, do voice interviews, offer a chapter in your ebook via podcast, etc. Again, use your imagination to create new ways to spread the word about your business.
Ezine Advertising - Advertising your business, product, service, etc. in quality ezines can be well worth the money spent. Before you do so, here are a few things to consider:
Conduct a search to find ezines that cater to your target market. Once you find several targeted ezines, subscribe to them so you can look them over and see if the publisher is reliable in sending them out. You can also look over the other ads and make sure the publisher is selective in their advertising. You might be able to learn what the other readers think of the ezine as well.
Try contacting the publisher to see if they respond to your email. Ask about testimonials from other advertisers. Find out how many ads they run per issue and what it costs. You could also ask the publisher to do an ad swap to get an idea of what the response is like. Be selective in your choices and always code your ads so you know which ezines actually deliver.
I hope this article has given you some insight as to how to market your home/online business. I use several of these methods and know from experience that they work.
http://marcospoerrle.blogspot.com/
http://marcospoerrle.com/blog/
https://twitter.com/marcospoerrle
https://twitter.com/spoerrle
Montag, 5. Juli 2010
Reports of 'App Store Hacked' Greatly Exaggerated
posted by arn on Sunday July 04, 2010 06:06 PM
Earlier today a report on TheNextWeb claimed that the App Store had been hacked and that a rogue developer had gamed the system by artificially driving sales to their eBooks. The rise in ranks were noted by competing developers who thought the rise strange given that the books all represented poorly coded Vietnamese-based books.
A couple of reviews left on one of the books revealed that at least two customers had their iTunes accounts compromised to purchase the books. This led to theories that a widespread attack specifically tied to this developer could be the cause of the rise in ranks. Which then led to a cascade of headlines suggesting that everyone's iTunes account was suddenly vulnerable to a coordinated attack. While we do believe that this developer had been trying to game the iTunes ranking system, it's hard to believe that their efforts affected more than a few hundred accounts worldwide.
The Book category in which we found these apps (note, they've been pulled from the App Store) is one of the lowest trafficked categories in the App Store. Based on sales reports we've received from developers, the number of daily sales required to hold a book in the #10-#50 rank seems to range from 50-250 sales a day. That means that even if every sale was based on a compromised account, the actual number of accounts involved are minuscule compared to the 100 million active iTunes accounts.
Now, on a separate note, the issue of hacked or compromised iTunes accounts is a major issue, and one not to be dismissed. However, this issue has been ongoing for years and we're not convinced there has been a major spike in activity. iTunes accounts are easy targets since they are so common. In our forums we have had a running thread on the topic since January 2008. A few reports appear every few months. There do seem to be a higher number of reports arising the past day or two of other iTunes accounts being hacked. It's certainly possible there has been an acute rise in the past few days, but the added press coverage will certainly attract more stories. Meanwhile, a blog post from 2009 similarly attracted a number of "me too" reports.
It's still a good idea to make sure your accounts are safe, and especially important to make sure you have good (and different) passwords on all your sensitive accounts. Common mistakes include easy to guess passwords and shared passwords across multiple accounts.
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http://marcospoerrle.com/blog/
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Sonntag, 4. Juli 2010
Apple on iPhone 4 Reception: Signal Strength Display Issue Only, Software Update Coming
Apple on iPhone 4 Reception: Signal Strength Display Issue Only, Software Update Coming
posted by Eric Slivka on Friday July 02, 2010 09:24 AM
Apple today released a public statement regarding user complaints of reception issues on iPhone 4, noting that the issue is simply a software one relating to how the number of bars of signal strength displayed is calculated. The apparent significant drop in signal while touching the lower left corner is actually a result of the phone reporting too many bars while not being held.
We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.
Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don't know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.
To address the issue, Apple will be issuing a software update "within a few weeks" that will adjust how signal strength bars are calculated and displayed. The change will adopt a recently recommended formula from AT&T that will more accurately display actual signal strength at any given time. The update will also increase the size of the smaller bars (1, 2, and 3) to make them easier to see.Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don't know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.
The update will also be available for the iPhone 3GS and 3G, which are also affected by the miscalculated signal strength indicators.
We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same - the iPhone 4's wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have caused.
Finally, the company notes that it is allowing customers still unsatisfied with iPhone to return their device for a full refund within 30 days of purchase, provided that the phone is undamaged.Apple, AppleCare, Marco Spoerrle, Spoerrle, marcospoerrle.com
http://marcospoerrle.com/blog/?p=13
Donnerstag, 1. Juli 2010
Apple Beefing Up iPhone and iPad Antenna Engineering Staff
posted by Eric Slivka on Wednesday June 30, 2010 10:31 AM
As noted by Engadget, Apple has been busy posting job listings for engineers to work on design and testing of antennas for the company's iPhone and iPad. While Apple typically posts a number of new job listings each day, the fact that the company has posted a total of eight antenna-related positions over the past two weeks naturally leads to speculation that it is beefing up its staff to investigate and deal with signal issues being experienced by iPhone 4 users.
The eight job listings comprise three separate job titles, with the most relevant being three "Antenna Engineer - iPad/iPhone" positions. The three listings, all posted on June 23rd, are looking for individuals with a high level of qualification including 10+ years of experience in RF technology and a preference for PhD-level training.
Responsibilities: Define and implement antenna system architecture to optimize the radiation performance for wireless portable devices. The candidate should be able to design antennas suitable for wireless handheld devices with excellent radiation performance, including TRP, TIS, SAR, and EMC. Work closely with other RF and antenna design engineers, mechanical and industrial designers, and EMC engineers to integrate the antenna design in our products.
Also posted on June 23rd were two listings for "iPhone OTA Wireless Systems Engineer" to focus on validation of antenna radiation performance. And just one week earlier, the company posted three listings for " RF Systems Validation Engineer iPhone" positions also focused on testing the iPhone's RF systems, noting that "as we add more and more capabilities to the iPhone, testing the radios becomes more and more complex."It is unclear exactly what role these new hires might play in addressing the current issues, as it typically takes some time for a hiring process to run its course and new employees to arrive and get up to speed. The job listings could suggest, however, that the company is looking to bring on additional hands to work on designs and testing for future models as some of the unit's staff is absorbed in addressing issues with the current model.
http://marcospoerrle.com/blog/?p=10
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