Work at Home – 38 Facebook Applications and Games
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Social Networking
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Need Traffic? Fast Solutions To Drive Traffic to Your Website
Website traffic is for many business models, the key to profits. The more traffic you have, the bigger your bottom line. Whether you’re launching a new product or just want a quick influx of cash, sometimes you need tons of traffic quickly. Here are 5 fast solutions to drive traffic to your website.
#1 Social media. Social media works quickly and if you have a large following on any of the social media sites, you can generate a ton of traffic to your website quickly. The key is to create attention grabbing posts that arouse curiosity, make people laugh or stir up a controversy. You want to generate click throughs to your website.
Make the most of your social networking tactics and use technology to get the job done. For example, one StumbleUpon post can be integrated with both Facebook and Twitter profiles so you’re making waves on all three social sites at once.
#2 Article marketing. Article marketing works well when you concentrate your efforts on quality article marketing sites with large audiences. One well written and informative article, rewritten a few times, and submitted to a handful of directories can generate the traffic you’re looking for. Be sure to include a bio box that includes a call to action and a link to your website to motivate click throughs.
#3 Blogging. Post on your own blog or be a guest blogger on a blog with a large number of subscribers. Like social networking, if you offer an informative, controversial or entertaining post, you’ll have people clicking through to your website like mad. Of course, if you also promote this wonderful blog post(s) via social media, you can double your traffic results.
#4 Video content. It’s amazing how quickly a video can go viral. Like print content, videos that entertain, stir up a bit of controversy or offer tremendous value cause a buzz. They’re forwarded to friends and downloaded on laptops and mobile devices around the globe. A good video can generate all the traffic you need. Again, integrate a bit of social media to promote your video, blog about it too, and you can multiply your traffic results.
#5 Partnerships. Partnering with a relevant or compatible business can work quite well to generate traffic fast. The key is to come up with a mutually beneficial agreement. Find people in your industry that are willing to work with you and help each other drive traffic. A partnership may include guest blogging on each other’s sites, swapping advertisements or even promoting one another in your ezine.
It’s possible to drive a ton of traffic to your website fast. The trick is to have a plan in place, know your audience and your goals, and take action. To your success!
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Social Networking Sites For Business is the Next Big Thing
Most people spend hours on social networking sites to stay in touch with friends. But for Joy Parohinog, devoting long hours to those things is for business. Her job is to check her accounts online to confirm orders from her customers.
By day Parohinog is the director of the Institutional Linkages Office at De La Salle University in Dasmarinas, Cavite . But during breaks and other free time, she manages her own virtual shop Online Bazaar, promoting it mainly on Multiply site.
Online Bazaar sells a variety of goods on the Internet, including shoes, bags, clothes, books, health, beauty and wellness products, toys and other items. Last year when her business was just a year old, Parohinog was recognized as “seller of the month” by auction.ph for her online shop, the local version of EBAY.
“I had a lot of stuff that was just lying lazily at home,” Parohinog said. “That is why I started a garage sale, and then [used] text and email brigades to promote my stuff. The modern technology just provided me an opportunity to explore other income generating endeavors while I work full time.”
She said that she has a knack for marketing and selling. Parohinog added that she also deals well with people, even those she does not know.
Even though she only works on her business part-time during breaks, she said she earns about P3,000 to P5,000 a month.
Actually, Parohinog is just one of the thousands of Filipinos who have parttime businesses that use social networking sites. Besides Multiply, the other popular sites include MySpace, Facebook and Friendster. All of them have attracted millions of users around the world — including a number of entrepreneurs like Parohinog.
According to a 2007 research article posted on the website of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, hundreds of social networking sites exist offering all sorts of features and other offerings. For example, several sites incorporate new information and communication tools, such as mobile phone connectivity, blogging, photo and video-sharing capabilities and other features that allow members to sell or trade goods.
Most sites support the maintenance of pre-existing social networks and some are commonly used to put up or advertise a business online and that made the Multiply site popular. Multiply is a blog site that is famously and usually used by people, especially teenagers, who sells or trade products through online.
According to a report posted on pinoy.org, Multiply founder Peter Pezaris said that out of 12.5 million subscribers, 3.5 million are based in the Philippines . He added that the Philippines is the second-largest market for Multiply in the world, after the United States.
Online shops appear as a trendy and convenient way for small entrepreneurs to start an enterprise without having to invest huge sums.
Multiply and other social networking sites have simplified the process of starting a business. An entrepreneur just needs to create an account, and then allow his or her creativity to take over. Many sites allow members to custom design their pages, making them attractive to their intended customers.
For example, Parohinog added music in her business’ homepage so that people wont get bored browsing on her site. Some would designed it with customize photos.
Trendy shirts, cool sneakers, stylish accessories, imported bags and dresses are just some of the basic products that are sold online.
Parohinog said that the good thing about online shop is “you don’t need to maintain an actual shop and personnel to showcase your products. You just need a computer, an Internet connection, a camera, and some extra time and you are ready to go.”
“You also get to expand your network and meet a lot of people who could help you in your other endeavors, such as community work and outreach programs for which I am also active with,” she added.
The part-time businesswoman also considers personal steps on creating an online shop and first, people must decide on what product to sell, who to sell them to, how to market your product and the image that you would like to carry, and where to sell your products.
People must also decide on the amount of time they would like to invest in their online shop and how they would manage their schedule. Also, they should make sure that they have resources in place to make their selling efficient and effective such as camera, pc, internet connection, etc, Parohinog added.
Parohinog also made clear that making the transaction easier when it comes to mode of payment would also help the business become stable.
“People who would want to start this kind of business should have a regular check of their site for possible comments and inquiries that are coming from potential customers and they should maintain good relations with their clients by providing products with high quality, excellent conditions, and best and honest service,” said Parohinog.
Carleen Manuel, a student and another online shop owner, said that it is important that the products that someone who was planning to start an online shop was unique and something that cant be found in an ordinary shop.
Manuel is an 18-year old seller of Lolita fashion items like petticoats, high heeled-boots, skirts and aristocratic-looking tops in cheap prices.
“As long as your products are distinctive, you won’t find it hard to find customer, most of shoppers that would go in my site are addicted to Japanese craze and those whose hobby was to join cosplays [anime-related events],” said Manuel.
Manuel said that the usual problems she encounters in her online shop is dealing with inconsistent costumer for example, a client already confirmed yet backed out at the time that Manuel have marked that certain product sold out or reserved.
Manuel and Parohinog with other thousand of owners of online shop are making shopping easier to students and corporate people. Also, they are standing as an inspiration to those people who want to start their own business.
Parohinog said that she is planning to add more essential yet cheap products for her customer and future clients.
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You’ve probably been hearing about Twitter a lot lately. It has become the latest rage for keeping up to date on absolutely everything. While Twitter can be great for contacting friends or finding out about the latest gossip, it’s also an easy and effective way to build your business.
Twitter is a social networking site, much like Facebook or Myspace. Twitter allows you to tweet from your computer, phone, or other mobile device. Posts must be short. This allows you to keep your followers updated on everything that’s going on with you. Followers can be friends, relatives, or the most important for you, current and potential customers.
To promote your business effectively with Twitter, you must have followers. There’s really no point in tweeting if no one is reading it. Here are a few quick tips to gain followers:
Follow people and they’ll often reciprocate. Often it’s pretty easy to find someone in your field who you can follow. They may have a popular website, blog or newsletter and will post their Twitter ID or you can search for them. Don’t stop there. Twitter allows you to not only find out what’s going on with them, but lets you see who they’re following and lets you become a follower as well. The beauty in this is that once someone sees that you’re following them, they’ll often follow you back. Just be sure not to follow too many people at first. Keep it close to the number of people that are following you.
Often people will do the same thing you did. They’ll find people they like and know of and see who they’re following. So simply by getting a few people to follow you, you’ll often build up more Twitter followers without doing anything. And the more Twitter followers you have, the more Twitter readers will see your tweets, and the more people who see those tweets might come to your site.
If you want word about you to spread on Twitter, you need to make your tweets count. Sure, you want to link to your website when you have updates, but you also want to give them a reason for listening to you. Has someone published an awesome new product? Posted a helpful blog post? Is there a big sale going on? Pass this info on. If people know you’ve got good info to pass on, they’ll become your follower, and then hopefully your customer. Remember to choose wisely. If you’re constantly tweeting, people might stop following you.
Remind your current contacts that you’re on Twitter. Whether it’s a customer you do business with or someone you meet at a business seminar, pass on the fact that you’re on Twitter. When you tell them, you can also ask for their contact and become a follower yourself. This will remind them who you are and help them remember to follow you.
You might also want to take advantage of different software that works with Twitter. There are programs that automatically post tweets from your blogs, ones to keep you updated on the tweets of others, and countless others.
If used properly, Twitter can be a great way to build website traffic, gain new business clients, and keep your relationship going with current contacts.
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Many people already know that Twitter is a great way to keep up to date on everything that’s going on in the world around you. Whether it’s finding out about the latest product releases or just knowing what your friends are up to, Twitter is a quick, easy and popular way to keep an eye on the pulse of the modern world. But it’s also a great way to get traffic to your website. More and more people are expanding their numbers using Twitter and so can you – you just have to know how to do it.
If you’ve never used Twitter, it’s pretty simple. It takes about a minute to create an account, then you can type in short messages (less than 140 characters) and they’re sent to everyone who has chosen to be one of your “followers”. You can also follow people you’re interested in and get updated whenever they make a post.
These are a few reasons Twitter is a great tool for getting traffic.
*It’s easy. Pretty much anyone who can use a computer can use it. And we all know that the less work people have to do to use something, the more likely they’re going to be to use it.
*It’s accessible. People can use Twitter from their computer, phone, or pda. That means they’re always checking it and always getting updates. It becomes a part of their life. And if they follow you, that makes you a part of their life too.
*It’s Popular. Millions of people are already using Twitter, and thousands of new users join each day. So you can transfer networks over from other sites, or your email list, and watch your followers grow from there.
The first step to increasing your traffic is to simply gain followers on. If you’re tweeting and no one is listening, it’s not really going to do you or your website any good.
The easiest way is to bring along your network from other sources, like your business contacts, email list, message boards, or even other social networks. If you don’t have anyone to add, or you want to expand, simply start following others in your field. Many will follow you in return, and if you use your tweets properly, the word will get out.
Once you have followers, there are many strategic ways to use your tweets wisely. Don’t just talk about anything:
*Keeping up relationships. Whether it be clients, potential clients, or business contacts, Twitter can help you update your followers, and following them can help keep you updated. This makes them feel more connected with you and gives you a better relationship. You can even take it a step further and follow-up on their tweets through other communication lines. And remember, happy customers means repeat customers and referrals.
*Product release. If you have a decent number of followers, Twitter is a great way to get the word out about a new product, website, or service offer. You can also use it to build excitement before a new release.
*Website changes. If something changes about your site, even something small like a new article, spread the word. This gets them to come back to your site, even if they’ve already been there.
*Become a resource. If there are things going on that interest you and that might interest your followers, spread the word. They’ll be thankful that you shared valuable info with them and be more likely to pass on your name and pay attention to future tweets.
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It’s easy to not understand what Twitter is when you happen upon someone’s personal page. The micro posts are a potpourri of replies that don’t quite make sense to the visitor, but that’s okay because you’re not connecting with your visitors, you are connecting with your followers.
Twitter tweets allowance is 140 characters. It may seem short, but you can get in quite a mouthful. No one ever said networking had to be a long drawn out novel. Don’t underestimate the power of short and quick replies because with the right words they can add a lot of punch.
What I have observed over the months is everyone uses Twitter for different reasons, but the majority of people who use it for networking don’t always know how to network properly.
These 8 tips will show exactly how you can get the most out of your networking efforts on Twitter.
1. Start by using your real name on your profile, upload a real photo of you and fill out your bio. Your bio is about you and not your business. Your website link will take care of that.
2. Follow people that interest you and who can help grow your business. Follow quality people. Quantity is not important.
3. People want knowledge, information and resources. It’s always better to give first and then receive. I’m not saying you shouldn’t self-promote, but if the whole time you’re on Twitter and you’re just self-promoting, people aren’t going to care and will most likely un-follow you.
Networking is about sharing and connecting with others. A person who only has self-promotion on their mind is looked upon and labeled a spammer.
4. People like freebies and tips. Offer your best tips on working from home, on direct sales, web designing, and marketing and even Twitter tips. There are tips for everything so find something in your niche that you think would be valuable information. Throw in a few freebies as everyone loves something for free.
5. It’s important to engage in conversations with your new found “friends”. Don’t ignore their tweets. Use it to strike up conversations as you will never know where these will lead.
6. If you read an interesting or newsworthy tweet, retweet it. This is a great way to say something if you can’t find anything to say. When you help to promote others, others will help to promote you.
7. Don’t abuse direct messaging (similar to private messaging) or use it as a means to spam your followers. Many will not hesitate to use the block feature.
8. Expect to spend some quality time and be consistent in your networking. Try to visit daily. Enjoy and be yourself on Twitter and be respectful. Your reputation should always be guarded.
Not enough people take networking seriously because they don’t know how to do it properly. There are many people who do know and can show you the ropes or better yet take the time to learn and observe what others are doing.
When you learn networking is not about sell, sell, sell and me, me, me, you will soon find more people are attracted to you and what you have to offer.
Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com
Follow Sophia on Twitter to network, get work at home tips and freebies twitter.com/WorkAtHomeSpace. You can also find daily work at home job leads, home business opportunities and business resources; join in the discussions, network and more on her work at home forums.
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