Do you want to understand what it means to go viral?

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  The Viral Components of Facebook Status Updates - ViralNetworkers.com
- Watch more Tech Videos at Vodpod.
Thanks to Jeff Johnson 

This great session explains why you should usually post at least 3-4 times a day to FB about what you are doing or perhaps sometimes about your business, other times a quote or something inspirational, or what I' doing. etc. Great to know about being able to post on other sites and have it post automatically too.

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http://www.viralnetworkers.com/video/video/show?id=4523559:Video:82048&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_video

Richard Branson: Five Secrets to Business Success

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The celebrated entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group offers his tips for starting out


I am often asked if I have found a secret - or at least a consistent answer - to successfully building businesses over my career.  So I’ve spent some time thinking about what characterizes so many of Virgin’s successful ventures and, importantly, what went wrong when we did not get it right. Reflecting across 40 years I have come up with five “secrets.”
No. 1: Enjoy What You Are Doing. Because starting a business is a huge amount of hard work, requiring a great deal of time, you had better enjoy it. When I started Virgin from a basement flat in West London, I did not set out to build a business empire. I set out to create something I enjoyed that would pay the bills.  There was no great plan or strategy. The name itself was thought up on the hoof. One night some friends and I were chatting over a few drinks and decided to call our group Virgin, as we were all new to business. The name stuck and had a certain ring to it.  For me, building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that’s going to make a real difference to other people’s lives.  A businesswoman or a businessman is not unlike an artist. What you have when you start a company is a blank canvas; you have to fill it. Just as a good artist has to get every single detail right on that canvas, a businessman or businesswoman has to get every single little thing right when first setting up in business in order to succeed. However, unlike a work of art, the business is never finished. It constantly evolves.  If a businessperson sets out to make a real difference to other people’s lives, and achieves that, he or she will be able to pay the bills and have a successful business to boot.


 No. 2: Create Something That Stands Out. Whether you have a product, a service or a brand, it is not easy to start a company and to survive and thrive in the modern world. In fact, you’ve got to do something radically different to make a mark today.  Look at the most successful businesses of the past 20 years. Microsoft, Google or Apple, for example, shook up a sector by doing something that hadn’t ever been done and by continually innovating. They are now among the dominant forces.


No. 3: Create Something That Everybody Who Works for You is Really Proud of. Businesses generally consist of a group of people, and they are your biggest assets.  No. 4: Be a Good Leader. As a leader you have to be a really good listener. You need to know your own mind but there is no point in imposing your views on others without some debate. No one has a monopoly on good ideas or good advice.  Get out there, listen to people, draw people out and learn from them. As a leader you’ve also got to be extremely good at praising people. Never openly criticize people; never lose your temper, and always lavish praise on your colleagues for a job well done.  People flourish if they’re praised. Usually they don’t need to be told when they’ve done wrong because most of the time they know it. If somebody is not working out, don’t automatically throw him or her out of the company. A company should genuinely be a family. So see if there’s another job within the company that suits them better. On most occasions you’ll find something for every single kind of personality.


 No. 5: Be Visible. A good leader does not get stuck behind a desk. I’ve never worked in an office - I’ve always worked from home - but I get out and about, meeting people. It seems I am traveling all the time but I always have a notebook in my back pocket to jot down questions, concerns or good ideas.  If I’m on a Virgin Atlantic plane, I make certain to get out and meet all the staff and many of the passengers. If you meet a group of Virgin Atlantic crew members, you are going to have at least 10 suggestions or ideas. If I don’t write them down, I may remember only one the next day. By writing them down, I remember all 10. Get out and shake hands with all the passengers on the plane, and again, there are going to be people who had a problem or have a suggestion. Write it down, make sure that you get their names, get their e-mail addresses, and make sure the next day that you respond to them.  Of course, I try to make sure that we appoint managing directors who have the same philosophy. That way we can run a large group of companies in the same way a small business owner runs a family business - keeping it responsive and friendly.  When you’re building a business from scratch, the key word for many years is “survival.” It’s tough to survive. In the beginning you haven’t got the time or energy to worry about saving the world. You’ve just got to fight to make sure you can look after your bank manager and be able to pay the bills. Literally, your full concentration has to be on surviving.  Obviously, if you don’t survive, just remember that most businesses fail and the best lessons are usually learned from failure. You must not get too dispirited. Just get back up and try again.
Richard Branson
Questions from readers will be answered in future columns. Please send them to BransonQuestions@Entrepreneur.com. Please include your name and country in your question


© 2010 Richard Branson

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Beat the BIG players in SEO with a new strategy

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As we see the competition mounting in landing a high ranking through search engine optimisation growing more competitive by the day, often blocking small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SME's) from achieving top spots online, more businesses are turning to social media to find new customers.


Many of Netbods customers, meanwhile, are also starting use the search functions on Twitter, Facebook and getting referrals from their friends and contacts


Getting online referrals from their friends/contacts is more valuable than a static website, we say Websites are like businesses cards, great to show people at first glance who you are. However, consumers want more up-to-the-minute information, and want to see how others interact with your business.

Social media, is a key role in marketing for almost any business, it’s not going away and early adopters of social media will be miles ahead as are those who first got websites.

If you have an old website then keep it as oldwww.netbods.neter sites are often ranked higher than newer websites.

Netbods research backs up the growing importance of social media. Seventy-eight percent of Facebook users returned to news websites, compared to 67 percent from the search giant Google (Nasdaq: GOOG).

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How Could Your Customer Transform Your Business Through Word of Mouth?

Digital word of mouth creates real-time feedback

Can I have a word?


You are possibly missing out on a golden opportunity.


With the later stages of the Internet turning us all into digital journalists a business no longer gets away with being good it has to be MARVELLOUS!


Anything less than blowing your customer away with superb service does not cut the mustard.
Some business owners have got into flap about dodgy reviews online and at one point it was true as read and many believed every comment. In 2010 a bad review will not be detrimental just so long as it is a one off, we have all read the one review on Tripadvisor from the grumpy holidaymaker who hates the queue at breakfast, moaning about the fruit juice, we all know they have deeper issues or the other 30 reviews are all wrong and it might true about the unfriendly staff with no orange juice!


Holiday time for me is right (I actually wrote this last week and am now back in England with the heating on as it is chilly) now as I sit in my study at home in Sri Lanka, we planned a weekend down south, we fancied the best beaches, our closest beaches are nice, not as nice as beaches a couple of hours south of Colombo, towards Galle, we fancied a change and wanted a great beach hotel and sure enough reading other peoples reviews was the final job before booking.


My first stop was Googling the area, see the villages and then reading the reviews. You will no doubt have done the same and we might be the last generation to have stopped in a hotel without knowing how to get feedback from twenty of the very last guests.


Feedback can be great for business or it could spell disaster and Nestle will be feeling this on the bottom-line after the Kit Kat fiasco.


After calls that asked Nestle why they used Palm Oil that endangered the life of the Orangutan they tried a unique approach as food giant Nestle, already under pressure from environmentalists, became the subject of a Facebook- and Twitter-based "twitstorm" when the operators of the corporation's Facebook page took a hostile approach to critics.


In protest against Nestle’susageof palm oil from companies that kill Indonesian rainforests, Facebookusers put up anti-Nestle logos as their profile pictures.
Nestle asked them to remove these images, triggering even more discontent from the “fans.” These conversations snowballed into a PR fiasco for the company.


Every action gets a reaction, Greenpeace has long been putting the pressure on Nestle to stop using palm oil, the production of which has been documented as a source of deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and endangered species loss. With huge help from Facebook users Greenpeace made friends with many people and became more mainstream. I in the past thought Greenpeace was a little radical, (imaginary) membership comprising of an induction involving eating granola bars for two weeks and walking for 1 hour to work daily with vegetarians driving a Prius complete with a wetsuit in the boot and off to the park saving the Mallard from white bread (wholemeal only). 


Don't get me wrong I am a bit of an Eco Warrior myself, they just seemed a bit over the top, compared to me (goals: Solar panels on the roof/Bentley in garage) the lighter green, with Greenpeace getting 200,000 emails sent and a word of mouth viewing totalling 1.5 million of its viral film they made followers through online PR.


When Greenpeace set sights on banking giant HSBC the reaction was fast and they gave up  shares in Sinar Mas, one of the worst companies responsible for ripping up the Indonesian rainforest for palm oil and pulp plantations.


So in this battle Greenpeace grew its brand and Nestle killed a brand. 


Why is Word of Mouth (WOM) so HOT now?


Frankly WOM has always been hot and personally I've been instrumental in establishing a handful of people (for WOM to work just find a handful better than you are) who built sales of around $200 million WOM for one product and for one company. The amazing thing was that no market was officially identified for that product and sales still increase.


Today people are faster as word spreads (word can be typed or oral) through a plethora of online social networks and we can then take action together. 


The slowness of isolated instances of bad customer experiences are no longer a challenge as we express our concerns and dissatisfaction more loudly than ever before.


Not just chocolate, we can challenge traditional business activities and people in power. 
In the digital world a few inspire and reach many. 


We can use this to our advantage with a flow of information publishing the thoughts of every single customer and that is much stronger/faster reaction than ever seen in our lifetime.


I follow the thoughts of Seth Godin and say build a tribe of employees, partners and customers. This is where customer satisfaction becomes critical.


Do not let this scare you as we tend to gravitate towards the positive.
Having worked in three companies who sold nothing off the shelf of a shop I implore you take this concept seriously and it should motivate you to be a better marketer. 


You can now make more sales off an ideal that if your customers are happy, they will share satisfactory experiences with a broader social network and earn you more followers.


Word of Mouth means something we can remark about and one word describes this remarkable. Both Greenpeace and Nestle did something worth remarking about.


To get the greatest response on Facebook or Twiter it will be no big surprise to know the highest response or re-tweet was found in conjunction when a sexual reference was in the title.
Positivity is more shared than negativity. 


So if you want to make a fortune blogging and get the articles shared on Facebook, try writing (positively) about sex.


The real commercial word is FREE as we seek value for money and look toward the voucher business. I tried to get a decent reseller deal with a voucher company and they are so busy the response was yeah have a few pence in the pound. Without doubt in this financial market 
online vouchers are the business to be in and I will enter the market shortly, buying our own email database, with special offers being flavour of the moment.


As an online marketer you will have realised that if you provide incredible value, consumers will beat a path to your door. 


Of course, you’ll probably run out of pizza (or whatever it is you provide) , which is exactly the result you were hoping for and those who help market this can make a fortune out of a WIN/WIN situation.  


Get yourself known, I laugh at those who still say it is cool to be a secret on the web and one Internet Networker claims I don't do email. I say get known, get a thousand or more Twitter folowers, find 500 Facebook friends and fans.


Post replies all over LinkedIn and set up groups. The key to status is everyone wants to share it.  And the more you have it, the more you’ll do just that. If you make it simple for people to share their connectivity, there won’t be a tight lip in the house.
To make the most of this our team at Netbods (www.netbods.net) are predicting a big upturn in translation with 
English to Chinese translation.

Chinese to English translation. 

English to Japanese translation.

Japanese to English translation.
Also all the Indian languages

This covers 35% of the population and switched on business people will want to capture this market.

I've set up a Netbods team just for translation as we are now a global market.
How we can transform our business comes through making our blog worth a 
read.


There are some insanely popular blogs out there. You probably have heard of the biggies, like: The Huffington Post, Mashable!, TechCrunch and Gizmodo. But today let’s talk about a more achievable idea and how you could make your blog one of those that people read.

The Internet is a level playing field and this means that every single blog has a shot at gaining a big readership. 

I wanted to compile  some ideas to make sure that your blog posts are influential, tweetable and hopefully – even a bit addictive.

Make sure that your blog is…

1. Part of the global blogging fraternity
   Networking online counts and it counts BIG in the Internet world. The first and best way to drive readers to your blog is to be an active participant on theirs. Comment all the time on a blog whose readers you’d like to attract. 
2. Break the normal rules
   Please avoid making-up fake controversy, although I would embrace the real thing, either. Controversial topics and debates will  make your site the go-to place for readers.  We all like a heated debate? It’s human nature to want to ‘see a scrap'
3. Takeaway Heavy
   You must make sure all blog posts jump off the page. They should be alive and you should ensure they should get into a readers brain and traumatise them, long after they have browsed away from your blog they should remember what you wrote. When you create a post, think about it from the readers’ point of view. Are you just talking about stuff or are you giving your readers something they can act upon and change their lives for the better?
4. Facts are the truth when you've done research
   Do your fact finding, back up your point of view with facts. Talking in generalities about your industry will still gain you readers but if you can include references to research and if you go a little deeper, it will up the chances they can return. It will also up the chances that you will be quoted again and again or even linked to, by other bloggers!
5. Personal & Passionate
   “Write about what you know” is not new advice. Your best, most compelling blog posts will happen when you write about topics that are near and dear to your heart. Don’t shy away from writing with passion, either. Seeing you care about a topic will make readers care about your posts!

What blogger has inspired loyalty in you? Who do you follow and recommend your friends to? Why? What specifically made them stand out in your mind?

http://mashable.com/2010/05/17/nestle-social-media-fallout/


http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=18&ea.campaign.id=6632

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YOUR BUSINESS YOUR LIFE YOUR WAY

Develop a successful, long-term business as a website

 consultant for yourself with Netbods’, some of the world’s leading companies have used  the services of our team.  Franchises are available throughout the UK, Ireland, UAE, and North America

Netbods.net the franchise  

This is an exciting opportunity to join one of the fastest growing Internet franchise companies on the PLANET.  

Every great business has to start with a great website and Internet marketing advice or it could face extinction 

With an unrivalled product and enormous market potential, netbods.net offers a high-income potential business - all you need is the desire to succeed.

Who are we looking for?

Confident, determined self-starters who enjoy marketing, making presentations and developing an expanding customer base. 

The netbods system delivers the very best training in the Internet sector today and full training is provided, you do not need any technical skills or specific sales experience – just a passion for meeting people and helping them to understand how a well marketed website can improve their business.

Our Proven Business Model

Often referred to as a “White Collar Franchise,” Netbods Internet Business Consultants deliver Internet Marketing Solutions to large organisations, medium and small sized businesses worldwide by leveraging our exclusive, patent-pending Life@ctivator system – our blueprint for developing effective solutions.

Become a Netbods Internet Business Consultant

Whether your background is in general business or sales and marketing, if you follow Netbods proven system you will build and expand your client base and achieve recurring revenue streams. 

Netbods successful business, marketing and Internet solutions are driven by a team who have worked with clients such as Heinz, Mars, BBC, BT, Youngs Seafood and many many more.

You will work at board level using the very best tools, best practice, products and comprehensive operational and superb marketing support.

Netbods Unlimited Opportunity

As a Netbods Internet Marketing Consultant you will be at the vanguard of a global network, you will have the personal and professional independence, freedom and lifestyle that you deserve. 
Your business is scalable, operates with flexibility and in return for effort will be a profitable business.
The list of household names that our team work with are not just a coincidence and you can deliver the same strategy and a definitive formula for your clients success. You will in turn secure long-term business growth and profitable client relationships by identifying and delivering the right Internet solutions, driving qualified traffic to your clients’ websites and converting visitors into paying customers. The resulting predictable, income will enable you to accomplish the chance to build a wall of financial security, for yourself and your family.

No specific business experience is required for the Netbods Internet Business Consultant franchise business. Netbods offers its franchisees the most complete and comprehensive training  available in the world today. 

Netbods mentors/coaches according to the unique and individual needs of each new franchisee.

Netbods Benefits 

For your franchise fee starting around £5995, you will receive world-class coaching ongoing HQ and marketing support; your own web presence on our company’s domain; and a lucrative position within a local area.

Become a part of the team of Netbods Internet Business Consultants, we are from all backgrounds and share an  entrepreneurial spirit.

We need to share your managerial skills and business development capabilities to create a brand leader.

We welcome you to a place of amazing profit, professional freedom and personal success.

What does the business package include?

Everything you will need for a successful launch and a fast start in your business!

1. Comprehensive 4 day induction training course
2. Extensive protected franchise territory
3. Business laptop with all proprietary software installed
4. Presentation website, Sales Portfolio and full range of marketing materials, inc. business cards, letterheads, brochures and leaflets
5. Businesses database and access to an e-CRM system
6. Not to mention the back up from a fantastic team of experts
7. Business stationery, Customer order, in-house payment and invoicing system - and much more!

 Call +44 (0) 845 056 9325 

 email netbods@gmail.com for more details

http://www.netbods.co.uk/ 

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• http://www.netbods.co.uk/