Peta Penguasaan Facebook Di Dunia

Kelompok berwarna biru menunjukkan penguasaan Facebook di dunia Global.



Melihat kepada dua tahun lepas: Lebih banyak laman sosial lain yang menguasai di beberapa negara, walaubagaimanapun dunia sedang mula di kuasai Facebook. Peta yang terkini, Jun 2011, menunjukkan Facebook telah menguasai benua Amerika sepenuhnya, kecuali Brazil yang masih di kuasai oleh Orkut.

Kebanyakan negara di Eropah (Utara, Selatan, Timur dan Barat?, negara-negara Arab dan juga Australasia adalah di bawah "jajahan" Facebook. Malah India, negara yang pernah di kuasai Orkut kini telah di kuasai sepenuhnya oleh Facebook.

Peta-peta ini adalah hasil kerja seorang blogger dan pakar media sosial dari Itali, Vincenzo Cosenza.

Pada 2007, sebuah laman web media Gawker.com menulis: 'Laman web yang tempatan yang besar seperti Orkut di Brazil boleh di keluarkan dari peta kerana ianya adalah laman web utama dan tiada sesiapa akan berpindah ke laman web lain jika laman web utama negara di set sebegitu melainkan jika rakan-rakan mengikuti.


Peta: Facebook mengambil alih Amerika Tengah, India dan Amerika Utara.

Selain dari Orkut yang kehilangan India, Brazil kini adalah di kuasai penuh Facebook.

Walaubagaimanapun, statistik baru menunjukkan kemungkinan Facebook akan kehilangan takhta tidak berapa lama lagi.

Statistik baru itu menunjukkan 6 juta penduduk Amerika telah pun 'deactivated' akaun Facebook mereka bulan lepas, kerana risaukan privasi dan bosan dengan laman tersebut.
Dan statistik itu juga menunjukkan 100,000 penduduk UK sudah pun meninggalkan Facebook.


Dominasi: Brazil yang setia dengan Orkut, Russia dengan V Kontakte, China dengan QZone and Japan dengan Mixi


Peta dunia dari Jun 2009 hingga di sediakan Vincenzo Cosenza.

Penguasaan terbesar dari Rusia, yang masih setia bersama V. Kontakte, dan China dimana kuasa QZone. Japan masih bersama dengan Mixi. Hi5, yang popular di Mexico, Thailand dan beberapa negara Asia lain telah keluar dari peta. Manakala Bebo, yang di lihat amat besar dan popular 4 tahun lepas, kini tidak lagi di lihat dalam peta.

Berdasarkan ConsumersReports.org kajian bulan lepas, lebih kurang 7.5 juta pengguna Facebook adalah kanak-kanak di bawah 13 tahun.Statistik yang terkini memberitahu Facebook kini mempunyai hampir 600 juta pengguna di seluruh dunia.

Sumber artikel.

Tips Untuk Mendapatkan Backlink Untuk Kedai Online Anda

Backlink merupakan perkara penting bagi search engine seperti Google, Yahoo. Biasanya, backlink adalah 60% dari keseluruhan usaha SEO kedai online anda. Melalui pembinaan backlink ini akan memberi kedai online anda relevan dengan kata kunci yang anda mahukan, contohnya, Lot.my mempunyai relevan dengan kata kunci “Ecommerce Malaysia”, jika pengguna search kata kunci “Ecommerce Malaysia” di Google ia akan memberi Lot.my berada di ranking pertama Google. Tetapi, bagaimana cara untuk mendapatkan backlink? Di sini kami kongsikan beberapa cara untuk mendapatkan backlink ke kedai online anda.

1. Produk yang unik – Mungkin anda mempunyai sesuatu produk yang tidak di miliki oleh pesaing anda? Cuba letakkan produk-produk yang unik untuk kedai anda. Jika ada letakkan ia di hadapan kedai anda, supaya ia akan mendapat perhatian dari pengunjung. Produk unik dan menarik perhatian selalunya akan di kongsikan oleh pengguna internet dan ini secara tidak langsung menambah link kepada kedai anda. (Contoh ThinkGeek.com)

2. Blog & Penulis jemputan – Setiap kedai perlu mempunyai blog, jika anda tidak mempunyai blog untuk kedai anda, anda patut mendapatkannya sekarang, kerana blog amat berguna untuk memasarkan kedai anda. Melalui blog anda sendiri juga, anda boleh menjadi penulis jemputan di blog lain untuk menarik pengunjung serta menambah backlink ke kedai online anda.

3. Video produk – Anda juga boleh menggunakan video untuk mempamerkan produk anda kedai anda. Melalui video juga anda dapat menambah backlink ke kedai anda. Cara yang paling mudah ialah dengan meletakkan video anda ke laman Youtube, kerana Youtube mempunyai pengunjung yang ramai. Letakkan link laman web anda di bahagian deskripsi video tersebut supaya mudah untuk penonton klik pada link kedai anda.

4. Peraduan – Peraduan mampu meningkat backlink sambil meningkatkan “awareness” pengguna terhadap produk anda. Jadi, adakan peraduan sambil mengajak peserta untuk meletakkan backlink anda pada setiap entri penyertaan mereka (blog, Twitter, Facebook)

5. Review produk – Review adalah sangat penting. Selain meningkatkan jumlah referral dan jualan, review juga dapat meningkatkan jumlah backlink ke kedai anda. Malah anda boleh minta peserta untuk review produk anda sambil meletakkan link kembali ke kedai anda. Ini dapat menambah pengunjung sambil meningkatkan ranking kedai anda.

Six Steps on How to Use Samples to Promote Your Product (Part 2)

Have a Plan

When Ole Henriksen started his self-named product line in 1984, he batched out and labeled his own samples in the back room of his spa in Los Angeles.

"Sampling has aways been a big part of our culture," Webb says. "Ole as a man is so generous, I don't think he even thought of it as sampling, more of a gift for your skin."

Today, OleHenriksen still samples generously, but with more practicality.

"Sampling is expensive," Webb continues. "It's a balancing game based on the size of your market and what you're trying to do. You can't just say, 'I want a million.'"

You can, however, plan for a little extra. For each major product line or holiday special, miYim pads its sampling orders by 20 percent to account for unexpected events or requests. The company also saves money by planning its samples six-to-eight months in advance to avoid impulse spending. It also limits its audience to lower shipping costs.

"It's not like lipstick," Chae says of her product. "Our toys range from 11 to 35 inches. We don't want them to be shipped and disregarded. That's wasteful."

Additional packaging costs sometimes are the more strategic option, however. After starting with poured samples, POM soon realized it could better build its brand by giving away eight-ounce bottles.

"People can take the experience with them," says Six. "It's more expensive, but it's been more successful for us."

Strut Your Stuff

Sampling requires you think outside the box, both literally and figuratively. What you package your sample in matters for consumer appeal. POM uses an iconic curvy bottle to reinforce the brand image, miYim uses eco-friendly packaging to extend its mission, and OleHenriksen uses bright-colored packaging to distinguish its various product lines.

"We're very bright, we're very vibrant, and we make sure our packets resemble our actual products so our customers remember us," Webb says. "Be creative with your packaging. Make it stand out in a way that someone really wants to open and try it."

Creativity matters in the way you package your samples as well. POM outside-the-box sampling efforts have helped bolster the company's notability. Two years after introducing its product, the company created the POMtini for the 2004 Oscars, generating serious PR buzz.

"If you're going to do sampling, you can either do it very generically, or you can create an experience for your consumer," says Six. "We think the latter works better."

Turn Samples Into Business

Are your sampling efforts working at all? In order to determine if your samples are actually effective, you need to track its success. Various metrics are useful. For example, in its sampling efforts, Gordon Grade hoped its college samplers would try the product and then join their social network. POM used a similar approach after their POMx coffee campaign.

"We saw a lot of feedback on Twitter," says Six. "We could read what people were saying about us."

Promotion codes are another way to boost sales and track effectiveness. This June, OleHenriksen will participate in the Skin Cancer Foundation's Sun Safety Expo in New York's Grand Central Station, handing out samples to any New Yorker, traveler, or tourist walking by. It is the first time the company is participating in such a large-scale event, and to track sales, representatives will give away codes for free shipping on OleHenriksen.com with each sample.

"When your sampling dollars are really important to you, you really want to make sure you're tracking what's working and what's not," Webb says. "If we find that something like that doesn't work for us because we didn't have anybody come to our site and redeem the promo code, maybe we wouldn't do it next year."

In order for sampling to be successful, samples must become sales. Generous sampling is a waste of marketing dollars if no revenue comes from it. As a new company, Fitango is willing to give away as many samples as possible and work closely with their customers as they learn the product. But, the honeymoon will end soon.

"Our goal is to work with them, help them build these platforms, and then work with them to determine the price their services," says Muley. "Once we've convinced a small business to use our service, we will charge them what makes sense."

Sampling can be tricky, it can be tedious, and it can be taxing on your company. But, if in the end, your customer base grows, the effort will be well worth it.

"It's such an important part of the marketing mix," says Six. "If you want someone to try your product twice, they have to try it once."

Six Steps on How to Use Samples to Promote Your Product (Part 1)

Got a product? Give a sample. Make sampling easy and effective for any product in any industry with these six steps.

Decide Why You're Sampling

For a toy, it's the feel. For a drink, it's the taste. For a fragrance, it's the smell. Whatever your product, you need to develop a clear idea of why sampling is a necessary part of your marketing or sales plan. Before you plot your sampling strategy, return to your mission and company's core values to remind yourself why your product is worth trying.

Five years ago, Hosung NY started miYim, a line of plush stuffed animals and accessories for infants and toddlers made from certified non-toxic, recycled cotton. At miYim, in-store samples of velvety toys are all about the "aww" value that comes from displaying examples, and letting customers touch and squeeze them.

"When people think of our product, they're thinking cotton canvas or jersey, but our toys are as soft that they are almost always surprised," says Serah Chae, president of Hosung NY. "Because of that surprise factor and the obvious cuddle factor, our business model requires very diligent sampling."

For newer companies, sampling gives customers a sense of understanding and experience with an unknown product before they commit to buy. Fitango, a start-up that develops "action plans" to motivate behavior for individuals and businesses. Its online marketplace, similar to Apple's App store, offers a variety of samples frameworks for free.

"We're young," says Parinda Muley, Fitango's vice president of business development. "It's in our best interest for customers to be as comfortable with us as we are with them. We're willing to take the hit if it means one more business is using our platform."

But even more frequently sampled products, notably cosmetics, strive for consumer comfort.

"Skin care products and makeup can be really expensive so you want to make sure you're making a well informed decision," says Stacey Webb, director of marketing at OleHenriksen, a natural skin care company based in Los Angeles. "Consumers are so savvy these days, they don't want to spend their money on anything they aren't sure about."

Pick Your Product

Once you know the why, you next need to decide the what. For new companies with a single product, like Dr. Drip Coffee, this decision is simple. For more developed product lines, a few more choices arise.

One option is to vary your samples. OleHenriksen rotates between offering bestselling products, new products, and hidden gems—products the company believes could become best-sellers after they are discovered. With each category, the skin care line still strives for mass appeal.

"You can't always control who gets the sample," Webb says. "Make sure it's going to be something that generally a lot of people will try, like, and see results."

For companies such as Fitango, which has with a potentially large and diverse market, providing differing samples allows the company to reach more of its target audience with separate marketing for segments like education, business, and leisure. For others, like miYim, limiting the samples to the newest products proves more effective.

"For the new customers, it's absolutely critical," says Chae. "But even with people who already know us, they still want to see what we can do differently."

Whichever direction seems right for you, make sure it's right for your consumer as well.

Find a Target Audience

Like any other sales tactic, targeting the right audience is critical for your sampling success.

POM Wonderful, the company behind pomegranate juices, teas, and bars, appeals to a wide spectrum of consumers. So, the company divides its market into several pillars to make its extensive sampling efforts more effective.

"We focus around entertainment, philanthropy, health and beauty, fashion, the arts, and epicurean," says Rob Six, POM's vice president of communications. "That's where we see the bulk of our consumer and we try to target our sampling strategy around events that cater to those pillars."

For example, POM utilized guerilla-sampling tactics similar to Dr. Drip's on campuses nationwide for the debut of the company's POMx coffee. For its original juices, POM samples at marathons and epicurean events, such as SF Chefs, transforming the product into both a refresher for runners and an ingredient for foodies.

Because it's hard to target a baby audience directly, miYim takes a different approach, sending regular samples to up to 100 mommy bloggers with huge followings.

"They want to physically give it to their two-year-old and let them chew on it and see how they feel about it," says Chae about the bloggers. "They review the product online, and that's been a very powerful PR tactic for us."
Not just for toys, using reviewer samples are helpful for hard-to-reach audience. Once you have an audience, you need a plan.

Credit : Inc Magazine

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Hard Selling vs. Soft Selling: Which Approach Do You Use With Clients?

“Are you going to buy this or what?” the clerk at the hardware store asked me yesterday, nodding at the new garden shovel I was holding in my hand. The frankness of the question put me off at first, but the urgency in his voice prompted me to act. I bought it.

Was he being rude or was it a sales tactic? I don’t know, but it worked. This got me thinking about my own approach to selling my freelance services. Could I get away with saying something similar to a potential client? I can imagine some of them getting turned off, while I can picture others saying “yes.” I wouldn’t dare try it, of course. The sales process is my least favorite part of online freelancing.

Still, whether we’re providing products or services, we can’t escape being a sales person from time to time. This is why we need to be aware of the different approaches we could use when making a sale.

Hard Selling

Hard sell strategies are aggressive and usually put a high amount of pressure on the client. The clerk who sold me the shovel is a simple example. Other tactics include cold calls, forceful sales letters, and unsolicited pitches. You’re there to sell, they know it, and you know it — there’s no gray area.

The main advantage of hard selling is that it gets straight to the point. This is especially important for clients who are ready to buy and aren’t looking around to do a few more meetings. The decision should be made now, and you want to step up and offer yourself as a part of their team.

The problem with the hard sell is that when it’s done too aggressively, your attempt to help will be seen as an annoyance. This plays a big role, especially if you’re working with small businesses that are savvy to such sales techniques. No matter how genuine your offer is, it might come off sounding like a scam.

Soft Selling

Soft selling focuses on the relationship-building aspect of sales. You don’t put psychological pressure on potential buyers. Instead, you find passive ways to show them that you have the solutions they need.

In online freelancing, this could be done through your blog, by providing a free ebook or white paper, or even by participating in online discussions. With all the available online tools for these, it’s no wonder that this tends to be the approach chosen by more tech-savvy freelancers.

A study released by New Century Media in October 2007 showed user buying behavior after being exposed to informational and educational resources that were actually soft selling efforts from businesses. According to the study, consumers were 30 percent more willing to buy a product through non-direct advertising rather than media advertising. Not only that, consumers exposed to this method of advertising were 97 percent more likely to tell their friends about it, and 95 percent more likely to repeat their experience with the business.

There is, however, such a thing as taking an approach that’s “too soft.” You might spend so much energy on updating your personal blog that you forget to use it as a platform for selling your services. Or you could be spending so much time Tweeting with your potential clients that you don’t make firm, actionable proposals that will bring you recurring revenue in exchange for your efforts. Being too gentle with your sales approach might also give clients the impression that you’re not too confident about your services, or that you’re just not interested in working with them.

Soft selling may work in some cases, but it doesn’t make sense to apply those tactics to all of your clients, regardless of where they are in their buying cycle and what services you’re trying to sell. Find out the conditions that make soft selling work and apply it there, but don’t waste your time and effort using these techniques exclusively.

Call To Action

Whatever approach you use, there’s one thing you should always do at the end: ask for the order. From a simple “Will we be working together on this project?” to the more overt “Buy Now!”, there should always be a call to action at the end to indicate the start of a working relationship. Without it, your approach won’t even count as “selling.”

What experiences did you have with hard selling or soft selling? Which approach works better for you?

Credit : GigaOm