In today's world full of new media and digital communication technologies, companies of all sizes and industries have a huge opportunity to expand the reach of their messages using social media.

Social media has the potential to attract and hold the attention of a vast demographic of people, especially those who have grown numb to traditional media. Great marketers have always figured out how to stay "ahead of the curve" in their marketing efforts. Social Media is the new frontier of marketing.

Below are some other benefits your company will experience by utilizing social media:

• Affordable Marketing – There’s no need for a large budget to conduct social media marketing
• Viral Nature – Users can easily share your messages with their friends with a click of a button
• Enhances Brand – Through social media you can build and enhance your online reputation
• Builds Credibility – User generated endorsements are more credibility than traditional advertising
• Increases Traffic – A well-planned social media strategy will drive more traffic to your website
• Engages Customers – Connect with your customers and respond to their feedback in real-time

WSI has developed a comprehensive "Social Media Strategy Kit" that will smooth the way for launching a social media strategy for your company. Download the Cover Page and Table of Contents to gain a sense of how complete this document is.

Contact Michael Richards at 636-244-3684 to learn how you can acquire this 65 page social media strategy kit for your company.

I've been wandering around the office the past couple of days with a wicked head cold. You know the feeling. It is like you have stuck your head into a fish bowl that is murky. You see everything alright, but there is a lack of clarity in what you see.

It doesn't require a head cold to create this kind of situation in our minds regarding our businesses. To borrow a military term, it is likened to "the fog of war". Being in the middle of all the tasks that pull at us on a daily basis, plus all of the non-business issues we are dealing with can put us in a situation where we are likely to make decisions without "clarity".

We cannot afford to make important decision unless we can see the issues clearly. Take some time today to retreat to a place of quiet and begin to think about what it is about being in business that you love. Begin to toss the clutter of the day-to-day behind and see once again the important issues. There is something therapeutic to this activity. Do it enough times and the important begins to bubble to the surface.

Once we pull our heads out of the fish bowl, we can see clearly enough to make the right hire, set the correct goals, and market in such a way that maximizes ROI.

Even though the use of Social Media channels is increasing in the business world, it is not impacting the use of email as some analysts predicted. In fact there seems to be an increasing synergy between these two marketing tools.

“The two channels can help each other, offering the opportunity for marketers to create deeper connections.”

Combine the Strengths of Social Media and Email. (PDF) I hope you find the article enlightening, and that it helps you achieve greater results

Businesses are learning how to leverage Facebook! Being the fastest growing Social Site, Facebook has attracted the attention of business marketers for quite some time. You can monetize on Facebook!

You may have wondered if there is potential for your business to be promoted through Facebook strategies, or asked the question of, "Why?" I know that you will find the "Facebook Strategies for Businesses" a valuable read. 

Let me know if you are intrigued, and if you might need some implementation assistance. 

"The number one reason as to why businesses do not adopt a social media strategy is because of lack of knowledge, according to a survey conducted by Marketing Sherpa to small and medium sized businesses in 2009. This is why when it come to sites like Facebook most businesses do now know where to begin."

In order for your company to effectively compete in today's business world, you need to have a stellar Internet presence. Even so, just having a website isn't enough. Your website has to rank nicely inside the search engines so potential consumers can discover you. In order for that to happen, you need to become an expert in world-wide-web promoting, or hire a professional services Search Engine Optimization firm.


There are numerous advantages to hiring an SEO Company instead of trying to market your web business yourself. For one thing, learning net marketing and advertising is a big expense in time. You have to do it properly in order to beat out your competition. There are several techniques to learn and several of them are learned through trial and error, which keeps you from achieving your goals as quickly as possible.

The time you invest in understanding about online promoting could be better spent in building your company and taking care of your customers. You can leave the management of the site to an experienced company that will get improved effects much quicker than you could do personally.

Knowledge can mean the difference between success and failure for your Internet site. That's the main reason why you should hire professional help instead of trying to understand online promoting well enough to produce it yourself. Things change fast on the Internet. What works today may possibly be outdated by the time you learn it. It takes a huge commitment of time and interest to stay abreast with the latest on net advertising and marketing trends.

Marketing a website on the Internet is not as easy as it might seem. That's due primarily to the fact that there is so much competition. You'll find hundreds if not thousands of other websites, which are trying to get ranked for many of the same keywords that you need to use. The corporations that utilize the most skilled net marketing experts are the ones that will secure those coveted, best search engine results listings.

If you leave net advertising and marketing up to chance your competition might trounce you.

Driving Web visitors to a business web site has grown to be a fairly well proven technological procedure that performs very well. This does not mean that the process will be easy, but that we know enough regarding how it operates to do a credible job of delivering precise traffic in the right direction.

Converting Internet Traffic into a lead, or sale, still has quite a bit of art, as well as scientific discipline in the mix. One of the speediest means to improved revenue is a higher “conversion rate” on the traffic arriving on your site.

Of course, the very best of both worlds would certainly be increased Web traffic conversion, and greater targeted traffic as emphasized below.

The optimum method to accomplish this lofty objective is through a four-step process that leads to great success.

• You have to “Measure” – or define your objectives so that you can determine performance. If you don’t understand your target, how in the world are you going to recognize if you have hit it?
• You then want to “Experiment”. If you keep trying to get varied results while using the exact same techniques, you will never get to the place desired.
• “Test”. Sort of sounds like a bad word that flashes you back to your school days. You have to have the feedback which testing provides. Absolutely nothing else will be able to take the place of testing.
• Someone needs to keep his or her big baby blues on the winning prize, or be “Monitoring” the process at all times.

Imagine that you are converting at a 2% higher rate than what you are presently experiencing. That would make a great impact on the bottom line. I would like to invite you to check out how online targeted traffic conversion can positively impact your company. I would love to discuss it with you. Give me a call at 636-244-3684.

I ran across a devotional that is in my estimation critical for business success. The principles are true whether you consider yourself a "person of faith" or not. This writing is from Rick Warren, pastor a church in California.

God cares about honesty in the workplace; your business is his business. Proverbs 16:11 (MSG)

"God promises to meet all your financial needs, if you (1) ask him for help; (2) learn to be content; (3) practice giving in faith; and (4) maintain your integrity --

God doesn't bless dishonesty. Proverbs 16:11 (NLT) says, "The Lord demands fairness in every business deal." That includes wages, sales and taxes.

If you want God's blessing on your finances, you've got to be honest. You can't rip people off. Profit made dishonestly always brings trouble. Always.

"The blessing of the Lord brings wealth and he adds no trouble to it." (Proverbs 10:22, NIV) Have you ever known anybody who made money, and it just brought trouble? You will always reap what you sow. If you are dishonest with others, it will be returned to you. If you think you haven't been caught, understand that the clock is still ticking. You cannot mock God and get away with it.

Be honest. Be honest with your finances: "It is the Lord's blessing that makes you wealthy." (Proverbs 10:22, TEV)"

You can get your own free subscription to this devotional service. 

I’ve been reminded this past week of how important organic SEO, (search engine optimization), is to a marketing plan, whether for a business, church, or non-profit. Most organizations want to be found by those needing their product or service.

If the purpose of marketing is to be found by those needing what you have, or what you do, then the first commandment of that process is to do it at the lowest possible investment that will get the job done.

This is where organic SEO can give you the advantage. Unlike PPC, or paid search marketing, where you pay an amount to a search engine for each instance where a person clicks on the link of your ad to be directed into your site, organic SEO positions you in an area where it does not cost you anything to receive a click into your site.

Organic SEO is so important to your business. It is hard to overstate that fact. I encourage you to learn more about why organic SEO is so vital.

WSI Webpro will be attending the 2009 WSI Excellence and Innovation Conference (E&I) at the gorgeous Portofino Bay hotel in Orlando at the end of the month.  WSI Internet consultants from around the globe will be attending this event for the phenomenal training opportunities it provides.


Michael Richards of WSI has the honor of presenting as one of the featured speakers at the event. This is the second time that Michael has been chosen to share on a topic of great value to the IC community.

We strive to provide top-flight services for our clients, and the E&I event in Orlando will contribute significantly to the ongoing high-level consulting that WSI Webpro offers.