Here are seven tips to be connected to your customers online 24/7.

1. Automate blog posts. Blogging is a great way to connect with your audience on a very personal level. Unlike articles, blog posts can be written in first person and create a connection no other medium allows. The great thing about blog technology is that you can write your blog posts in advance and schedule them to be posted each day, thus enhancing your customer contact.

2. Incorporate RSS. RSS technology enables customers and website visitors to subscribe to your online content. You can utilize RSS for your website and blog to notify your audience each time new content is added. It’s a great way to connect to your customers on a regular basis.

3. Automate Twitter posts (but don’t forget to interact too). Twitter is a handy social marketing tool because it can also be set up to post on Facebook. And with one of any number of tools, like Seesmic, you can write your posts in advance and schedule them just like a blog. This give you double the opportunity to market your new content, promotions and business-related news, and also provides you with an ongoing opportunity to connect with your customers around the clock.

4. Consider outsourcing 24/7 customer service if you sell products. Customer service is a valuable tool if you sell products. It enables your customers to ask questions right away and enhances the possibility that they’ll actually make a purchase. You can outsource this type of customer service or utilize a software solution. Services like Live Chat have improved conversion rates for some businesses by as much as 20%.

5. Autoresponders for inquiries. There’s nothing more frustrating for a customer than to send a question or comment and not know whether your comment has been received. Autoresponders can be set up quite easily to confirm receipt and to let your customer know how soon they’ll be hearing from you. It’s just good business to respond to customers immediately and autoresponders enable you to do this even when you’re away.

6. Autoresponders for purchases and opt-ins. Another great use for autoresponders is to set up thank you messages for purchases and opt-ins. Let your customers know you appreciate them automatically. You can also use this opportunity to up-sell or to provide more value by offering them something like a coupon on their next order. You can set up a series of autoresponders to be emailed weekly to stay in touch with customers too.

7. A consistent flow of valuable information. While e-newsletters have diminished over the past few years as blogs and social networking has taken off, newsletters, report clubs, and a consistent flow of valuable information is still appreciated by your online customers. Consider using regular emails to stay in contact with your customers on a regular basis and provide them with content and promotions they’ll appreciate.

As the Internet becomes more and more competitive and customers become more and more demanding, it pays to be available to them 24/7. Use technology to help you get the job done. A bigger, better bottom line will be the reward.

Step #1 Visit Slinkset.com and register. The registration process isn’t without a few kinks however, it’s fairly straightforward and it’s free.

Step #2 Once you’re registered you’ll immediately be taken to a page where you can submit a news item to show up on your site. Try it out and see how it works. You can submit a title, a URL and a description. Enter the information, hit submit and you’re done.

Step #3 Change the settings on your site. Click on “admin” in the upper right hand of the page and you’ll see you have the option to change settings, features, feeds, users, invites and so on. It’s fairly customizable so you can brand the page along with your own website.

Step #4 Change the design for your site. Depending on how skilled you are, you can make basic color changes, font changes and upload your logo or you can try the more advanced approach and modify the CSS.

Step #5 Ad users. This feature enables you to add users and to ban users. This way, you can ensure the people who are submitting posts are in line with your audience, are not blatantly promoting themselves and their products and are not spamming or promoting any content of an adult nature.

Step #6 Invite. In this function you can quickly cut and paste your opt-in list and promote your new website feature. It’s a great way to get the ball rolling. Of course, be sure to post a few items to your site to begin with so people have something to comment on. In the invite section you can also customize your message to your list.

Step #7 Make sure to link to your social news page on your website. Likewise you can add the URL of an RSS or Atom feed on your Slinkset page to automate links from that feed to your site.

Slinkset is a fantastic tool for marketers to make good use of their customer’s desire to interact. It enables you to build a community, share useful information and provide valuable content to your website visitors. Additionally, having your own social network site helps you boost search engine optimization for your site through one-way links and continually fresh content. If you’ve ever considered adding some sort of social feature to your site, try Slinkset. It’s free and easy to use.

What is Viral Marketing?

Viral marketing is essentially something that gets passed from person to person. For example, have you ever sent a YouTube video to a friend? That’s viral marketing. If that YouTube video just happened to be for a product or had been monetized then each time that video is forwarded or shared with someone, it’s making money. Viral marketing, in a nutshell, is designed to be passed around, to create excitement.

How do You create a buzz with viral marketing?

We just mentioned videos and they’re a great way to generate a buzz. Funny or shocking videos in particular are popular because people want to be entertained.

However, video isn’t the only tool you have to create a viral marketing buzz. Viral marketing can be created with:

* A free book,
* A free report,
* a free service
* a free workshop, seminar or online course

Now you may be scratching your head and thinking, “I’m already giving away those things.” Here’s how to make them viral.

Make sure you include links in your free content back to your website and to your opt-in page. Let folks who download the content know that they can send it to anyone and everyone as long as they leave your links in the material.

The key to giving your viral content the power to create a buzz?

It has to be interesting and provide value. Now you can go over the top with it and produce something no one’s ever heard of before, something that piques curiosity and water cooler talk like “The Rich Jerk.” However you don’t have to. A good product will always generate a buzz.

Making it viral.

In order for your product to become viral, you have to start the buzz. Start by linking to it in your email messages. Post links to it in social marketing sites and forums. You may even want to consider a short PPC campaign just to get it started.

Once the material is out there and spreading like wildfire, you can sit back and begin planning your next marketing strategy. Oh, a few tips before we wrap up.

#1 Make sure your viral content is easy to share. If people can easily link to your video, download your reports and forward your content, then they’re not going to. Quick video upload times are essential as are quick download times for your written content.

#2 Test and track your results. If you’re using social media, PPC and other strategies to get the word out, test and track to find out which tools generate the best results. You may find that you get very little traffic from Facebook but your Twitter traffic is through the roof. It’s important to know what works.

#3 Give yourself permission to get creative with this project. People are always looking for solid and valuable content but they enjoy seeing it presented in a new and different way. Brainstorm the possibilities!

Viral marketing is a great way to draw traffic and customers to your website. Follow these simple guidelines and start creating a buzz today.

Fish Tacos at Dorado

When Dorado finally opened in June I knew right away because I had his tweets enabled to send a text message right to my iPhone. My first meal was to die for, and Raye and I have been back at least 5 times since. Several of the visits have been prompted by Tweets – "Free fish taco with cup of Taco Soup if you mention you heard about it on Twitter", or about the new Yucca Chips.

Smart marketing using a free medium, are you using Twitter in your local business?