Small and Medium IT Companies reap benefits of online Networking Sites

While looking up the profile of a prospective client on LinkedIn, a business networking site, the salesperson of a small and medium IT firm found that he had a Twitter account. The salesperson followed the client on Twitter, an online messaging service, and messaged him about the company. On a working day, in 15 minutes, the salesperson got a response: “Get back in touch with me.”

“There is a culture today that respects an online connection,” says Narasimhan Mandyam, CEO, PK4 Software, a Bangalore-based firm that deals with on-demand CRM (customer relationship management) solutions, narrating this incident.

One way small and medium (SME) IT companies can benefit from this culture is to get into the social media space for marketing. Given the current economic scene, the online space is a cheaper marketing option. But despite the cost advantage, there is a debate on whether to latch on to the social media bandwagon or not.

Understanding lacking

Many SME IT firms do not have a clear understanding of what online marketing is, says Mr. Mandyam. “We believe in an equation – pay X amount of money for an advertisement and get Y returns. But, the value of a discussion in blogs, online forums, or Twitter has to be understood in a larger context.”

Marketing on social media is different from traditional media as it follows a “pull model rather than a push model,” says Suresh Sambandam, founder and CEO, Orangescape, a software product firm. Rather than selling your company, you share ideas and knowledge, and people come to you if they find the information useful. This, in turn, benefits the company.

To see these benefits, you have to cultivate relationships. There is value in looking beyond your work, and providing thought leadership in your area of work, says Gaurav Mishra, CEO and Founder, 20:20 Web Tech, a social media research and analytics firm. “When you form a readership in that area, you can make connections with more people.” For a small services company, to be able to build relationships with 10 potential customers is huge, he adds.

Honesty pays

Being honest about what you and your company stand for is important, says Mr. Mandyam. “You cannot create an image that is not you or your company.” This is something which many SME IT firms have difficulty understanding.

If companies are apprehensive about the uncontrolled flow of information, they could have guidelines for social media in place, says Arvind Muthukrishnan, manager-business development, UST Global, an IT services firm, who is also a social media consultant. It is also important not to spread negative information about your competitors; it could backfire.

But, for SME IT companies, rather than controlling information, a better strategy would be to evolve an open culture, says Mr. Mandyam, tying it back to his stress on the need for honesty online.

Marketing through social media is measurable, says Mr. Muthukrishnan.

There are a variety of tools and metrics. But, to use these metrics, companies need to define first, what their objective is.

article source: http://www.hindu.com

Should you engage an In-House SEO Manager or Outsource?

During these tough economic times companies everywhere must make some difficult decisions when it comes to how they spend their money. The hiring of new employees is a very fragile and gentle topic for most businesses right now. There is no exception when it comes to SEO. Many companies always ask themselves whether they should hire an outsourced company or an in house SEO manager. Both have significant advantages and disadvantages.

In House Advantages:

There are many advantages to having an in house SEO manger. Some are the obvious like convenience to be able to speak with your SEO person regarding new projects at almost any given moment. You also know that this person is 100% onboard with your companies project at all times and you don’t have to compete for their time and attention with other companies. You can assure yourself that there will not be a conflict of interest with another client in the same industry.

In House Disadvantages:

Some of the disadvantages to hiring a full time SEO manager for your business are that to get someone that really knows what they are doing you will have to shell out a considerable amount of money for a yearly salary including benefits. Chances are in this economy a business can find a very reputable marketing firm for a fraction of what they would have to pay a full time employee. If you find the right firm it will cost you much less than having to hire a full time internet marketing manager.

Outsourcing SEO Efforts Advantages:

The costs of outsourcing SEO efforts would be much less leaving most businesses to be able to use that additional money trying to create new business in other ways. Also a business has the flexibility of trying out a different firm if the current one does not work out. If an in house SEO manager doesn’t work out the costs to let that employee go and rehire a new one are much higher.

Outsourcing SEO Efforts Disadvantages:

One of the biggest disadvantages to outsourcing your SEO efforts is that you are out of touch with your account manager handling your SEO. The ability to walk into their office and get a meeting together to brainstorm new ideas doesn’t really exist. That person might also be managing a handful of other clients as well so the amount of attention spent on your account is going to be much less than if you had an employee in house.

Article source: http://www.promotionworld.com