Measuring Social Media Marketing ROI - Online Business

Social media has tremendous potential for your small business marketing strategy. It also has plenty of potential as a time and money sink. Getting the most from your social media marketing efforts means producing measurable results.

Yet, social media marketing results can be nebulous, at best. Having 1,000 Twitter followers doesn?t automatically equate to having 1,000 customers. You need to be able to look at the right numbers to know whether you?re actually getting anything for your efforts.

Here are some metrics you can use to measure your social media marketing ROI:

Sales

Ultimately, the goal of your social media marketing campaign is to increase your sales. If you?re not increasing sales, at least indirectly, you might as well shut it down. It might be that you?re promoting branding, for example, which can be hard in and of itself to measure; but even branding activities contribute to sales in a measurable way.

There are a number of tools you can put to use in this task. Google Analytics, for example, can tell you how many of your website referrals are coming in from your social media presence. If you have an online storefront, you can even measure how much of that social media traffic is converting.

That said, your sales goals might be less direct. You might be using social media to drive customers into your physical storefront. In that instance, you?re going to have to find other ways (such as customer surveys or social media-exclusive coupons) to figure out whether your social media efforts are having a direct impact on sales.

Generation of leads

Social media marketing can generate leads in a number of ways. You might use a custom Facebook app on your business? page, for example. You might combine this type of activity with Facebook Insights and Google Analytics to determine how effective these leads are.

You might also use social media to promote a lead generation tool on your own website. For example, tweeting the signup form for your business? monthly newsletter can pay off in the generation of leads.

Extending your reach

By their very nature, small businesses tend to have somewhat limited reach. You usually can?t afford to advertise on national media outlets, and you?re not going to be doing a Superbowl commercial anytime soon. However, social media actually presents an opportunity to extend your reach outside some of those natural limits. And, it does so at an incremental price.

Depending on the nature of your business and your target market, social media might mean reaching customers that can?t be reached in more traditional ways. For example, a younger target market is less likely to read newspapers or watch local network television, and so Internet marketing in general (and social media marketing in particular) are better ways to reach those customers.

Yet, reach is also hard to measure. It?s hard to say for any given customer whether they might have found you via traditional advertising and marketing channels. Customer feedback is key in measuring this element of social media ROI.

Cheap market research and product development

If your business uses tools such as focus groups or product testing procedures, social media presents a potential cost savings to you. You can connect directly with people in your target market, and you can do it in a cheaper and faster way than you could through a traditional product development and testing channel. This, then, increases the overall ROI of your social media presence by decreasing your expenses.

Direct, public customer service and customer retention

Consumers are turning to social media in droves to complain about products or services that they don?t like. Discontent spreads by word of mouth, and social media gives consumers a megaphone. Unlike with traditional word of mouth, social media actually gives you the opportunity to step in and fix a potential problem.

For example, you can use Twitter searches to find out when your product is being mentioned. If someone?s having trouble with a product, you can offer to help or replace the product via Twitter. In doing so, you?re not only retaining that customer, you?re publicly demonstrating your commitment to customer service, which can help bring in new customers.

Social media channels provide you with exciting marketing opportunities. Learn to recognize those opportunities that have a true return on your investment, and focus your efforts into those. Learn to read and quantify your results ? real results ? instead of merely counting social media followers.

Author bio: Dominique Molina is President of the CertifiedTaxCoach.org, a professional membership organization that provides tax-specific resources such as engagement letter and accounting templates. The company offers the most comprehensive tax training in the industry.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 20th, 2012 at 9:43 am and is filed under Latest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Source: http://onlinebusiness.wark.biz/measuring-social-media-marketing-roi/

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Finding Ideas For Article Writing When You Are Out And About ...

If you?re trying to generate ideas for article writing, it can be easy to think that this all has to be done by sitting and researching online. Although the internet is an enormous and wonderful resource for finding out information and stimulating new ideas, if you?re creating content on a regular basis it can also be useful to step away from your computer and in the course of your day take note of things around you that can stimulate ideas. Try and be flexible and allow your mind just to have fun and finding ideas for article writing will come from the most surprising places.

Other peoples conversations

I?m sure you?re thinking that you don?t make a habit of listening to other people?s conversations, but often it?s very difficult not to. People talking on their phones, in the street, on public transport. People holding conversations in doctor?s waiting rooms, dentists, hospital waiting rooms, hairdressers, in cafes and bars. You don?t need to listen to hear whole conversations, even small snippets can generate ideas. What are their fears, their worries, the problems they have and need solving?

Shop window displays

Look at what they are promoting and how they?re promoting it. What story are they telling? What need are they trying to fulfill? Your online business may be completely different, but that doesn?t mean there isn?t something that you can?t make a connection to and write about.

Flyers and posters

Sometimes it seems you can?t walk down a street without someone trying to press a flyer in your hand. As tempting as it may be to just put it in the nearest bin, take a quick look. Similarly instead of just walking on past advertising hoardings, see if there?s anything that stimulates your interest.

Public announcements

Yes even public announcements in train, bus, or coach stations or ones inside shops can be interesting. Quite often one hears poor examples of communication skills, customer service, time management, organisational skills or even funny announcements that can spark ideas and help you find ideas for article writing.

Hustle and bustle of life

Just in the course of a normal day you will be interacting with lots of different people. Some of these interactions whether they be positive or negative can be used to generate further ideas. Sometimes it may be conversations, it may be the manner of someone, it may be the way their dressed, it may be something that they?re doing. And of course ? although I?ve said about the hustle and bustle of life they are just as many times to gain ideas at quieter times such as a walk in the country, a jog along the beach...

Summary

When you?re out and about on an everyday basis you will come across many things which can help you in finding and generating ideas for article writing. The connections may not seem obvious, but be flexible. Oh and I never said earlier, but always have a way of jotting down any idea that comes into your head. There?s nothing worse than having a great idea and then not being able to remember it later.

Source: http://www.streetarticles.com/writing-articles/finding-ideas-for-article-writing-when-you-are-out-and-about-advice-for-newbies

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Report: More riders linked to Armstrong's doctor

ROME (AP) ? At least 15 more cyclists have been linked to Lance Armstrong's banned Italian sport doctor in an intricate scheme of money laundering, tax evasion and widespread doping.

Former Giro d'Italia winners Michele Scarponi and Denis Menchov, and this year's Olympic champion Alexandre Vinokourov, are under investigation for doping under the supervision of Dr. Michele Ferrari, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported Friday.

Citing documents from an inquiry led by Padua prosecutor Benedetto Roberti, the Gazzetta detailed how Ferrari allegedly masterminded a $40 million operation where riders and teams avoided taxes by recycling money via Gibraltar, Monte Carlo, Switzerland and South America.

Ferrari and the cyclists deny wrongdoing.

Roberti has been leading a sweeping investigation of Ferrari for several years, parts of which were used in the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) report detailing why it banned Armstrong for life and ordered him to be stripped of all seven of his Tour de France titles.

Armstrong has acknowledged that Ferrari was his trainer until 2004, and Ferrari's name is mentioned throughout the USADA report. In July, USADA banned Ferrari for life.

Roberti told The AP last week that his inquiry was nearly finished.

"We need to figure out where the real truth lies in all this," Gianni Bugno, the president of the international cyclists' union (CPA) told The Associated Press on Friday. "There's an ongoing investigation and once the inquiry ends, then we'll see what the situation is."

Doping is a crime in Italy, and Ferrari was already cleared on appeal in 2006 of criminal charges of distributing banned products to athletes. But he remains barred for life by the Italian Cycling Federation under a 2002 ruling.

"Doping is not a cycling problem, it's a problem for all sports," Bugno said. "Ferrari didn't work only with cyclists. He also worked with athletes from other sports."

For example, former Olympic race walking champion Alex Schwazer acknowledged working with Ferrari after it was revealed on the eve of this year's London Games that he tested positive.

Bugno doesn't want to see pro cycling stopped, even momentarily.

"No, we need to move forward. Stopping would hurt the innocent (riders)," he said. "We need to fight against those cheating the system and defend the innocent. ... We're waiting for a response from the UCI (International Cycling Union) on all that has happened. It's the UCI that needs to respond to the USADA report."

Ferrari is reportedly under investigation again in Italy for criminal association, trafficking and administering doping substances, tax evasion and money laundering.

Investigators placed hidden microphones in the camper van that Ferrari used to meet with cyclists in remote areas of Italy and in Switzerland, the Gazzetta said. The newspaper printed a phone-tap conversation between Scarponi and Ferrari inside the van in September 2010 during which the rider said he could win the following year's Giro and the physician replied that if he used a blood transfusion he had a chance.

Scarponi finished second in the 2011 Giro but then was bumped up to champion when Alberto Contador was stripped of the title for doping at the 2010 Tour de France. Vincenzo Nibali finished behind Scarponi.

In 2007, Scarponi was banned for 18 months for involvement in the Spanish doping scandal Operation Puerto.

Police also tapped a September 2010 phone call between Menchov and agent Raimondo Scimone during which the Russian rider tells the agent that he wants "all the cyclists working with him followed by Ferrari," according to the Gazzetta.

Scimone wrote in a statement to the paper that he was never involved in doping or wrongdoing.

Menchov raced with the Rabobank team from 2005-2010 and won the Giro in 2009. He also won the Spanish Vuelta in 2005 and 2007.

Rabobank announced Friday that it is ending its long sponsorship of professional cycling, saying "the trust in the cycling world has gone" following the publication of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's report on Armstrong.

Vinokourov is also reportedly under investigation by Roberti. He won the men's road race at the London Olympics, having served a two-year ban after testing positive for blood doping during the 2007 Tour de France. The Kazakh rider retired at the end of this season.

Others reportedly under investigation are Armstrong's former teammates Yaroslav Popovych and Volodymyr Bileka; Russian riders Alexandr Kolobnev, Vladimir Karpets, Vladimir Gusev, Mikhail Ignatiev; Czech rider Roman Kreuziger; and Italians Filippo Pozzato, Lorenzo Bertagnolli, Giovanni Visconti and Franco Pellizzotti.

Bertagnolli's detailed confession to Roberti was published in the USADA report to reveal Ferrari's system.

Also, riders and teams took advantage of their image rights contracts to limit taxes, the Gazzetta reported, with Scimone helping them work with a company called T&F Sport Management in Monte Carlo to register the deals there and avoid tax.

The contracts were not registered with the UCI and the riders paid only 6 percent tax and then transferred the cash to Switzerland to use it in part for paying Ferrari, the paper said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/report-more-riders-linked-armstrongs-doctor-134838776--spt.html

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Video: Google Drops on Earnings Miss

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/49465380/

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Rwanda wins seat on UN Security Council

By Reuters

UNITED NATIONS - Rwanda - along with Australia, Argentina, Luxembourg and South Korea - won a seat on the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, despite accusations by a U.N. panel that Rwanda's defense minister commands a rebellion in Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Rwanda was unopposed in its bid for the African seat on the council that South Africa will vacate at the end of December, but still needed approval from two-thirds of the U.N. General Assembly members present to secure the two-year term. It won 148 votes in the 193-nation assembly.

Argentina also was elected to the council unopposed, winning 182 votes. Australia won a seat with 140 votes, Luxembourg with 131 votes and South Korea with 149.

Cambodia, Bhutan and Finland failed to secure two-year seats on the council.

There are five veto-holding permanent members of the council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - and 10 temporary members without veto power. Thursday's election was for the term from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2014.

Rwanda's government said that it would work with all members of the council to ensure "it is responsive and reflective of the views & aspirations of the developing world."

"Rwanda's troubling and tragic past allows it to bring to the UNSC a unique perspective on matters of war and peace," it posted on a Twitter account created for its Security Council term (@RwandaUNSC).

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Before the vote, the Congolese delegation told the General Assembly it objected to Rwanda joining the Security Council, accusing its neighbor of harboring "war criminals operating in the eastern part of the DRC and who are being sought by international justice."?

A confidential U.N. report, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, cast a shadow over Rwanda's election to the 15-member U.N. power center - which has the ability to impose sanctions and authorize military interventions.

Support for rebels
The Security Council's "Group of Experts" said that Rwanda and Uganda - despite their strong denials - continued to support M23 rebels in their six-month fight against Congolese government troops in the east of the country.?

Rwandan President Paul Kagame posted a declaration on Twitter welcoming the result: "No matter what haters say ... justice&truth will prevail!!! Sometimes it just requires a bit of good fight for all that...!!!"?

Speaking to reporters in New York, Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo complained about the timing of the leak of the experts report to Reuters two days ahead of the Security Council vote, but added that the leak was "predictable."

She also sought to assure Congo that Rwanda would be a responsible council member. "I believe the Democratic Republic of Congo should see Rwanda on the Security Council as value addition," she said after the vote.

Philippe Bolopion of the advocacy group Human Rights Watch criticized the inclusion of Rwanda on the Security Council

"After blatantly violating the Security Council's arms embargo and undermining the work of the U.N. by propping up the abusive M23 rebels, Rwanda is rewarded with a seat at the table," he said.

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"Kigali is now in a position to try to shield its own officials implicated in abuses from U.N. sanctions, which is a flagrant conflict of interest," Bolopion said in a statement. "Other Security Council members now have an even greater responsibility to hold Rwanda to account."?

Britain's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Philip Parham put a more positive spin on Rwanda's election, saying: "We look forward to working with them on issues of international peace and security including the efforts to try to end the cycle of violence in the eastern DRC."

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr described Australia's election as a "big juicy, decisive win" that endorsed the country as a good global citizen.

Heavy rains exacerbate Congo crisis

"For us as a middle power a long way from the centers of clout in the world, the centers of power in the world, this is a lovely moment," Carr told reporters after the vote.

South Africa, Colombia, Germany, India and Portugal are leaving the Security Council in December. Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Pakistan, Togo and Morocco will remain until the end of 2013.

The last time Rwanda was on the council was in 1994-95. That coincided with a genocide in which 800,000 people were killed when Rwanda's Hutu-led government and ethnic militias went on a 100-day killing spree, massacring Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

The Congolese government on Wednesday demanded targeted sanctions against Rwandan and Ugandan officials named in the U.N. experts report.

According to the U.N. experts, who monitor compliance with sanctions and an arms embargo on the Congo, Rwandan Defense Minister General James Kabarebe was ultimately commanding the rebellion and both Rwanda and Uganda were providing weapons, troops and military and political aid to the insurgency.

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/18/14539916-rights-group-blasts-rwanda-winning-seat-on-un-security-council?lite

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Morgan Stanley: fiscal cliff daunts businesses

In this Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012, photo, people pass Morgan Stanley headquarters in New York. Morgan Stanley reported higher revenue and net income for its third quarter Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, thanks to gains in its bonds and asset management businesses. Excluding an accounting charge, the bank earned $535 million for common shareholders in July to September, up from $39 million a year ago. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

In this Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012, photo, people pass Morgan Stanley headquarters in New York. Morgan Stanley reported higher revenue and net income for its third quarter Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, thanks to gains in its bonds and asset management businesses. Excluding an accounting charge, the bank earned $535 million for common shareholders in July to September, up from $39 million a year ago. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

In this Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012, photo, people pass Morgan Stanley headquarters in New York. Morgan Stanley reported higher revenue and net income for its third quarter Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, thanks to gains in its bonds and asset management businesses. Excluding an accounting charge, the bank earned $535 million for common shareholders in July to September, up from $39 million a year ago. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Morgan Stanley said Thursday that its corporate clients are ready to do business ? but they're a little unnerved by the impending fiscal crisis.

The bank reported higher revenue and net income for the third quarter after stripping out an accounting charge, helped by a jump in underwriting and trading bonds. Executives described the markets as calm, especially compared to the chaos of a year ago, when the third quarter was rocked by a downgrade of the U.S. government's debt, a budget standoff in Congress and the European debt crisis.

But businesses aren't going full bore on deal-making, if Morgan Stanley's results are any indication. Revenue that the bank made from advising companies on mergers, acquisitions and other strategy fell. So did revenue from underwriting stock offerings, as well as revenue from trading stocks on behalf of clients.

Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said that many businesses, though interested, are waiting to see what happens with the U.S. fiscal cliff. That's when higher tax rates and lower government spending are scheduled to kick in at the beginning of the year, unless Congress can work out a compromise before then.

"We're having vibrant conversations, and they know what they want to do," Porat said in an interview. "But they need a little more clarity."

After excluding an accounting charge, Morgan Stanley's net income for common shareholders jumped over the year, to $535 million from $39 million. Revenue also rose, beating expectations. Including the accounting charge, the bank lost money and revenue fell.

The bank has been moving more into working with individual customers, notably with the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney retail brokerage. The brokerage, while not as glamorous as higher-risk businesses, does provide a steady source of revenue. And Morgan Stanley and the rest of the banking industry are navigating a new regulatory environment that has crimped some of its old sources of revenue.

The bank makes money in the retail brokerage largely through charging fees when it helps customers manage their money. Riskier bank activities, like banks trading for their own profit, can offer the opportunity for bigger profits. But that type of trading is being stamped out by new regulations. It also carries the risk that banks can miscalculate and suffer huge losses.

Morgan Stanley jointly owns the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney brokerage with Citigroup, and is in the process of buying out Citi's stake. This quarter brought a coup for Morgan Stanley when it muscled through the negotiations, securing a sale price that was much lower than Citi wanted. As a result, Citi had to take a $4.7 billion write-down when it announced its own third-quarter earnings on Monday.

In a call with analysts, CEO James Gorman said Morgan Stanley was positioned well "for the future and the new regulatory landscape."

Like other banks, Morgan Stanley has been slashing jobs and expenses to cushion itself against the uncertain economy. It shed about 4,500 jobs over the year, or about 7 percent of its work force. It spent more on paying its employees, though. Compensation and benefits expense rose 8 percent to $3.9 billion.

Revenue rose in most areas where the bank does business. It tripled in the asset management unit, which helps sophisticated clients ? mostly institutions ? invest in private equity, real estate and other investments. The bank noted gains in real estate investing, and said that clients were putting more money into certain funds.

Overall, revenue rose 18 percent to $7.6 billion after excluding the accounting charge. That beat the $6.4 billion that analysts were expecting, according to FactSet.

If the accounting charge is included, the bank lost $1 billion in the quarter versus income of $2.1 billion in the same period a year ago, and revenue fell 46 percent to $5.3 billion.

The charge was related to a controversial accounting rule that governs how banks value their debt. When the value of a bank's debt rises, it has to take a write-down because, theoretically, it would have to pay more to buy back its debt on the open market. The rule has been criticized as confusing, because it penalizes banks when their value to investors is actually rising. The rule could be phased out as early as next year.

Morgan Stanley's stock edged down in afternoon trading, losing 61 cents to $17.88.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-10-18-Earns-Morgan%20Stanley/id-47b5d75ad5fd4448a1ef7f009156f234

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Features Of A Good Magazine Maker Software | Internet Marketing ...

By publishing an ezine on such a site, you can achieve a lot of popularity for your business without investing a lot of time, effort and money. In order to create an ezine on your own, you will need the help of a good magazine maker or flipbook creator software.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 18th, 2012 at 7:00 pm and is filed under internet marketing servicess, internet marketing tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://internetmarketingbooth.com/blog/74439/features-of-a-good-magazine-maker-software/

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