Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Hogpile on Google

For months now, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft have been laying the groundwork for a relationship of convenience whose primary goal is to check the Google juggernaut. The Facebook-Microsoft-Apple triple entente is reminiscent of many a four-player Risk board game enjoyed in my youth. In Risk, the goal is world domination, plain and simple. When one person's armies acquire too much territory and power, the other players oftentimes form a loose alliance of mutual benefit to weaken the dominant player. Put simply, everyone decides to hogpile on the winning player.

Extending our Risk analogy to the online world, it's clear that Google is the dominant Internet power. Yes, Apple has more cash, and Facebook has more social, but Google dominates in search, mobile, and most importantly, online ad revenue. Google's only real weakness is in social, which is why they are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Google+. It could be reasonably argued that if the search giant can crack the code on social, there will be nothing stopping Google from veritable (online) world domination.

Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple, on the other hand, each lack elements that the other has.

Facebook needs a search engine, and mega-ad friendly platform that Madison Avenue media types can get excited about blowing wads of cash on.

Apple needs to become more than a device company. With a healthy balance sheet, Apple is poised to once again redefine how we interface with technology, perhaps this time via social (Apple) TV. Apple can lay groundwork for this vision by cozying-up to Facebook's highly-engaged and truly massive user base.

Microsoft sees an opportunity to beat Google in social search by more-deeply integrating Facebook's user base into its Bing search engine.

The common player in this would-be marriage of convenience is Facebook.

FACEBOOK AND BING

Earlier in June, Microsoft rolled out its revamped Bing.com search engine, complete with a social sidebar where users can see any relevant data from their social graph for any search they perform. The move is a response to Google's attempt at merging Google+ with its search results. On Google, pages your friends have shared on Google+ or have "+1'd" rank highly in search queries. With the new Bing structure, Microsoft has moved social data off to a sidebar, arguing that social results should "complement the standard search results without compromising them."¹ This may prove to be a big hit with users, as many have complained that Google+ data compromises the integrity of Google's search engine.

In addition to looking cool, Bing's social sidebar has included an "Ask Friends" feature, which gives users the ability to ask their Facebook friends a question. A closer integration with Facebook may help Bing eat away at Google's share of the US search market.¹ According to a recent study by Experian Hitwise reported in Mashable, in April Bing search queries controlled 30% of the US search market, up 11% year-on-year.

To compete with Google's new Knowledge Graph semantic search capability, Microsoft just signed a deal with Encyclopedia Britannica to integrate its extensive data set into Bing search results. I don't think this alone will be enough to compete with the Knowledge Graph, but it's a good start, and a signal that Microsoft understands what it needs to do to take on the dominant player in search.

Interestingly, a new study by Searchmetrics found that Facebook social shares are now the dominant ranking factor in Google's search engine. A closer relationship with Facebook would allow Bing to capitalize on this trend.

FACEBOOK AND APPLE

February, Apple CEO Tim Cook told a group of investors that Facebook was "the one company that is closest to being like Apple." He wasn't joking. Apple recently announced that Facebook integration will be baked into Apple's latest version of iOS.² This is good timing, with Facebook's launch of its app center on June 8th. Facebook will be very important for Apple's iOS, especially given that many apps use Facebook for sign-ups and authentication.

This may prove to only the beginning of a deeper relationship between Facebook and Apple. Josh Constantine speculates in a TechCrunch post that Facebook and Apple are working together to turn Facebook into a social television show via Apple TV. He points out that, because Facebook has the largest online archive of photos (over 250 million pics uploaded each day), users would likely take to uploading photos into hi-res slide shows on a Facebook TV network.³

This integration would also give Facebook a way to cater to larger advertisers hungry to create flashier ads, which may prove indispensable to its monetization strategy. With user demand for social TV experiences gaining currency, Facebook could position itself at the forefront of social TV.

For Apple, this would give app developers another compelling reason to utilize the iOS platform. A deeper collaboration with Facebook would also give Apple an opportunity to integrate Facebook's Open graph into iTunes, allowing millions of iTunes users to share what they are watching and listening to with their Facebook friends.

Moreover, a Facebook-Apple collaboration in social TV might go a long way to check Google's similar efforts on its YouTube platform.

MARKETING TAKEAWAY

Any move by Facebook, Microsoft and Apple to check Google's online supremacy can only help business owners and marketers, as new avenues for spreading the word about a company's products and services proliferate almost daily.

With the center of gravity for marketing and advertising continuing its shift to Internet, social and mobile technologies, businesses need to develop a clear digital marketing strategy that is relevant to their business and implement it, recognizing that many tweaks and changes will have to be made along the way. If change is the new constant, waiting on the sidelines until things stabilize is not an option. In order to compete, brands are going to have to flow with the fast-moving online current or risk getting swept up by it.

In the game of Risk as in life, one player often stands out as the primary architect of an alliance. The evidence suggests that Facebook has become the linchpin to this techie triple entente.

As Zuckerberg moves toward deeper ties with Microsoft and Apple, I wouldn't be surprised if he finds himself humming the timeless Beatles lyric "I get by with a little help from my friends."

¹ TechCrunch, "Merging Facebook With Search, Microsoft Rolls Out "New Bing" To All Of U.S.'
² Tech Crunch, " "After Years Of Flirting, Facebook And Apple Set To Achieve Relationship Status In iOS 6"
³ Tech Crunch, "The Future Fruits of Apple + Facebook"

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7114701

How to Run a Successful Web Business

Running a web business is one of the easiest ways to get started in business. Unlike traditional enterprises, web businesses can be started very cheaply and there are no premises to rent or many of the overheads associated with their real world counterparts.

A web business can be as simple as selling a few items on an online auction site or a multi-million dollar enterprise. It can take up just a couple of hours per week or become a full time job.

Whether it is a spare time hobby, or a full time career, running a web business still requires planning and commitment in order for it to succeed.

There are many different types of business which can be run online, some of which require investment and others which can be started on a shoestring budget. For many people, selling at online auction provides their first steps into online trading. Profits can be invested back into more stock, and very soon a healthy profit can be made.

The next step is often selling directly from a website. An alternative idea which does not require any investment in stock is to consider a drop shipping business. Drop shipping allows businesses to sell stock without having to purchase it first. The customer purchases from the business and the order is then passed to the drop shipper who sends it direct to the customer. The profit is the difference between the price from the drop shipper and the price which is paid by the customer.

Another way of running a web business without any stock is by affiliate marketing.

Affiliates advertise products and services and in return, they receive a commission when a sale is made. Just about anything can be sold via affiliate marketing, and there are a vast number of affiliate programs to choose from. Affiliate marketing traditionally requires the affiliate to have their own website although increasingly now it is being done through blogs and social networking.

Most web businesses will however, need their own website and this can be quite inexpensive.

A domain name can be purchased for $10 or so and for a start-up business website hosting should cost no more than around $15 a month, or slightly more if you will be using e-commerce.

Choosing a good domain name which really sums up what the business is about and what potential customers will be typing into the search engines when looking for the site is essential, and worth taking time over. Having a good, relevant domain name can make ranking in the search engines much easier.

When setting up any type of business, it is always a good idea to produce a business plan.
A business plan is a road map of any business and forces the entrepreneur to think about key areas of the business such as who the customers are likely to be, how the business will reach them and how the business will be funded.

Do some research into similar businesses, and find out what marketing and pricing strategies they are using. The old adage "fail to plan and plan to fail" is as true for web businesses as for any other type of business.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7121704

How to Earn $1000 a Week Selling Web Services in 5 Simple Steps

The biggest secret about earning a full time income online is NOT difficult to understand. It's not complex, it's not complicated and the truth is, you don't even need all that much experience to be able to do it today.

In my own view, the REAL enemy of achievement online is the idea that you have to learn a complex set of skills, or invest hours and hours and weeks, months or even years of your life "learning" how to build an online business.

The truth is, at least from my standpoint, the whole "secret" can be boiled down and disseminated with 2 simple words.

BUILD SOMETHING.

That is the mandate, and the mantra that I use in my own business whenever I find myself being seduced by promises of push button profits, overnight riches or outrageous (and expensive) opportunities I know in my gut are never going to amount to much.

In a recent article I described the super simple strategy I used to make my first 1 thousand dollars online, and in this one... I want to lay out the simple sequence of 5 simple steps you can use to have similar success, starting today.

1 - Create a Marketing Menu of products and services you'd like to offer to people in your local community (preferably professionals who already have a budget set aside for building their online business)

2 - Register a premium domain name that has real value in your local marketplace, and serves a specific profession as above (attorney, realtor, contractor, credit consultant, etc)

3 - Get the site hosted, (a simple shared server you can use for multiple clients is fine) and install Wordpress.

4 - Develop the Site with onsite content, a social media profile, a little bit off offsite content for incoming links (articles like this one are perfect), and overall, prepare the site to be presented to the professional public in the niche you've selected in step 2.

5 - Advertise the site using simple local newspaper classifieds, online classifieds, direct mail or MOST effective and expeditious, simply contact the local professionals in your niche of choice by email or through their online contact form, letting them know you have a site for sale in the hyper competitive local market, and you wanted to give them the opportunity to take advantage of it.

Each site you "sell" SHOULD have a minimum bottom line value to your business of at least $1000. (most likely... much MORE) The best part about this approach is, you can literally give the sites away... and still earn $1000 + for every one, simply by back-ending each transaction with the marketing menu you created in step 1.

For example?

You could GIVE a site away to a local attorney, if he agrees to a 12 month SEO contract at $200 a month. (very reasonable price-wise, and you just signed a $2400 client)

You can offer email marketing services at 4 or 5 hundred dollars a month, and give away sites with landing pages, or email capture forms in the blog sidebar as well. ( I know a girl who charges doctors $200 plus per HOUR for the very same thing)

Building something, and then offering massive value to prospective clients and customers is the absolute easiest way to get an avalanche of eyeballs in front of your offers... and building a viable, valuable and enduring business that will make you a guru and marketing hero in your local community to boot!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7115020

Website Marketing: Practical Layout Tips

In the creative realm, visual ideas and good design matter most. This goes hand in hand with website design as well, only this time, you're coupling those concepts with concrete information in the effort to boost sales, promote your product and your brand, and in general, make your website work for you. Here are some ways to make life easier for the reader to take in your message, whether it be on a magazine ad, an ad on your website, or your website as a whole.

Use easy to read typefaces. Most newspapers are set in serif type. Serifs the little feet that are found at the bottom of letters that line up to keep the eye moving horizontally along the line, rather than straying below to the next line. A study has also found that using sans-serif type on a regular space reduced comprehension from 67 to 12 percent! The eye also recognizes shapes more than letters and a word in all capitals has less shape than the word in caps and lower case. The eye also finds it tiring to read reversed out type in any great volume. 'Reversed out' refers to the setting of the text in a light color, and then putting it against a dark or high contrasting background. Reversing out has been known to halve response. So, learn to use sans-serif, capitals and reversing out in moderation.

Just as reversed out type is difficult to read, type set over tints or textures or colors is even more difficult to read, because it does not stand out that clearly. Equally, very small type is not a good idea. Lots of people can't read it very easily. This goes for being consistent with the typeface you use throughout, and don't change typefaces unnecessarily. Constant changes in typeface are ugly and imply an immaturity in the design process. Our eyes don't like constantly having to readjust.

Use narrow measure. You will notice that on newspapers and magazines that the words are set in narrow columns. That is because the eye likes to travel down the center of a column rather than having to go back and forth along one large column all the time. Similarly, long, unbroken blocks of text are hard to read. Simply put, big blocks of type are daunting. For this reason, you should break up your copy with lots of crossheads, sub headers, or images. These make your content more approachable and interesting to look at. It also enables the reader to learn the essence of your message from the subsidiary headings, which boosts their comprehension and encourage them to read further.

Justify your columns. Comprehension goes down if the edges of columns are ragged, that is to say, unjustified. Once again, this is simply because the eye has to work harder. Also, minimize your use of large headings. Art directors love them, but people do not generally read your website from across the room. Large headings are oftentimes, a waste of space, and more importantly, a waste of time.

Remember that first impressions last, and this is also very true for websites. Your layout and your choice of typeface contribute heavily to your website's impression on your visitors, so consider them very, very well.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7108276

What Is Content Marketing?

Content Marketing goes by so many names... custom publishing, custom media, branded media, branded content, attraction marketing. Content marketing can take various forms. It could be a video, an article, or a blog post. Whatever your choice of name for this type of marketing, boils down to one major point. If you're not content marketing, you're not marketing.

The definition from CMI (content marketing institute):

"It is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience - with the objective of driving profitable customer action". It's the procedure in which your target audience locates a piece of your content on the internet and responds to a call to action which guides them to your capture page where they can become a lead. In plain English: this is when someone finds your content online and decides to learn more about you and what you have to offer them. If you have something to offer them they can become a customer or business partner.

This type of Marketing has been around for a long time. It simply works.

Pros and cons of Content Marketing.

Pros:

1. Inexpensive form of marketing.

2. Leads coming to you. You are being the hunted instead of the hunter.

3. Content is interesting, informative and adds value. Your potential customers will get to know you and the added value you bring. Focuses on earning, not buying a persons attention.

4. Free Traffic from the search engines. Pre sells your leads on you. Brand marketing.

Cons:

1. Learning curve

2. Takes time.

3. You need to generate a lot of content to be found and create daily leads for your business.

It is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. It is non-interruption marketing. Another read can be found on mashable - The New Inbound Marketing vs. The Old Outbound Marketing.

Education is critical to your success when creating content online. You must learn basic skills of keyword research, search engine optimization both on page and off page SEO, the word or phrase you want to rank for, building back links and more. If you liked this post and want more information on content information connect with me. For now, get familiar with the terms of content marketing and what is content marketing. Google has a great tool that is free and will guide you in your keyword research: Google Keyword Tool.

I highly recommend you grab your piece of real estate online with establishing your own blog and create content that will generate traffic and sales for your business. Education is critical to your success when creating content online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7055290