Newsfeed updates from Facebook

Social media experts from Waseem Saddique Marketing Services in Birmingham reveal Facebook’s latest home feed design changes.

Facebook the online social media giant, has recently spruced up its news feed design. They announced that they would be giving the social media site a makeover just over one year ago.

A representative from Waseem Saddique Marketing Services in Birmingham has said “the social media giant Facebook is focusing on making its site more streamlined and easier to use.”

Facebook’s initial update didn't go down well with many of its users so they have tweaked the design and focused on making it better. Now the update is to be applied to all of its users in the next 5 days.

A recent statement about the update from Facebook said “The updated design has the best of both worlds: it keeps the layout and navigation people liked, but offers bigger images, as well as a new font.”

Facebook’s updated look now means that the desktop and mobile version look the same which means that the social media site is more consistent and is much easier to use across many different platforms.

Facebook users with English language preferences will see the social networks Graph Search bar located at the top of the page where-as others will see a standard search bar.

To learn more about Online Marketing, PPC, SEO, About Waseem Saddique Marketing Services in Birmingham, Visit our blog at www.waseemsaddique.blogspot.com

Birmingham marketing experts reveal SEO tips

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the practice of making additions or changes to websites in order to help improve search rankings on search engines such-as Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Internal links:

Waseem Saddique Marketing suggests using internal links wherever and as much as possible. This does not only make the users browsing experience much easier, it also helps search engines to understand your websites structure.

Original engaging copy:

“Never copy and paste content” a Birmingham based Waseem Saddique Marketing spokesman has said If duplicate content is discovered by a major search engine such as Google then the website that has done so will be penalised meaning rankings are affected. It’s always best to use original engaging copy.

Page content:

Copy writing specialists at WaseemSaddique Marketing in Birmingham suggest that all pages on a professional website should have a minimum of 300 words as a rule of thumb. The text should always include information that’s relevant to the page, giving users a much better experience on your website. Using this tip will help to improve your page rank and will mean avoiding high bounce rates which can often cause negative impact on your rankings.

Effective URL’s:

Including a keyword in your businesses domain name is a great start, this can help users find the exact site/ product that they are looking for. On advertising programmes such-as Google Adwords or Yahoo Search; you’re given the opportunity to have a display URL. Waseem Saddique Marketing suggests using this opportunity to your advantage. This not only engages the user searching for your product, but shows search engines how relevant your content is to the display URL you have chosen.

To read more about online marketing, PPC, SEO, Waseem Saddique and Birmingham, visit our blog at www.waseemsaddique.blogspot.co.uk

What’s new in the PPC world and what does the future hold?

Waseem Saddique explores what lies ahead for PPC marketing as we head into 2012.

Following some extensive research, by Waseem Saddique, one of the more common issues facing PPC marketers today is differentiating between what is a ‘Good lead’ and what is a ‘Bad lead’. Whilst many companies tend to say it doesn’t matter to them either way, as long as the ROA numbers look good, there are those that value their clients and benefit from referrals to potential customers.

Waseem comments: “For those who tend to ignore the value of quality leads, this can only be described as bad business practice.”

In order to overcome the issue of dealing with ‘poor business leads’, Waseem Saddique offers his expert marketing knowledge and provides some key tips when developing good quality PPC leads.

The fundamental principles   

Understand that the ‘After Click’ is just as important as the ‘Before Click’ – Those in PPC marketing who simply focus on conversion quantity and avoid conversion quality are setting themselves up for a fall. The simple truth is that no client will stay with you if business leads do not show evidence of bringing in the money. Yet, such major issues can be resolved if companies simply took the time to communicate and engage with their clients asking targeted questions like:

•        Why do you consider this to be a poor lead?
•        What information do you need from your website visitors that qualify them as a good lead?
•        What other useful information can you give me about past clients?

Once these questions have been addressed, PPC marketers should do whatever they can to gain access to view leads that are coming in. This allows the PPC marketer to understand demographics and geographical information allowing them to review entire messaging and marketing strategies.

Try different conversion tricks to filter out the bad leads 

One way to identify the good leads from the bad is finding those clients willing to put the effort in. Rather than using generic online forms that request little information and require very little effort, switch tactics and try a brief survey that lists a number of key questions.

Mr. Saddique states: “Often, companies who are serious about success will take that extra time to achieve the best for their business when it comes to PPC. Furthermore, from a marketing perspective, it gets visitors to your site engaged and proactive.”

Surveys are useful for two key reasons:

• They will generate a better response rate with more in-depth information
• They provide that sense of interaction that filling out an online form does not

And finally… remain ahead of the game

PPC marketing is continuously changing and becoming more complex as client demands grow and industries become more competitive in the quest to reach wider and further in terms of their marketing campaigns.  Therefore we, as marketing experts, need to find new and innovative ways of achieving the best possible results for our clients.

Whilst evaluating and monitoring statistics is useful, unless leads turn into strong prospects and bring about future business, it’s all useless to the client.

Waseem says: “Achieving better qualified leads is as easy as communicating with the client to see the types of leads coming in and understanding why these leads are good or bad. Sometimes we can get lost in the analytics and forget the simple matter of talking to the client.”

Making words work for you

Copy is king

In an increasingly visual age, people often ask what role copy plays when it comes to marketing a business on the internet. The answer is simple, ‘copy is king’, without it images have no voice and people are left to interpret the subliminal messages that are often associated with a myriad of images featured on web pages.

Undoubtedly, the purpose of copy on a website has had to adapt to the fast paced environment of the World Wide Web. Gone are the days of static websites that are flooded with text as we begin to see more interactive sites that provoke the senses in a bid to keep our attention.

Where does copy come into it?

Copy provides the key to these images, essentially unlocking the story that is being told. However, in order to serve a purpose on the internet, particularly when marketing a business, copy has to adopt a ‘less is more’ approach.

Research shows that copy needs to have a ‘hook’ (i.e. something that makes the additional copy worth reading), be ‘punchy’ (i.e. speaking in a rhythmical tone) and most importantly bitesize in order to capture and keep the intended target audience focused. Without the principles in place, people become frustrated and begin to look elsewhere for answers.

The essential elements

· Keep it short - People NEED TO KNOW NOW! We live in an instant society, if people can’t find the information they are looking for in the first 2-3 sentences of text, you’ve already lost 75% of your audience

· Keep it simple – When it comes to copy, using the old cliché of ‘hook, line and sinker’ works wonders when applied to website text. Generate an eye-catching hook, further fed by a snippet of information and close with a call to action

· But above all, stick to the story! – If the words do not ‘SPEAK’ the voice of the images surrounding the text then ultimately your text will serve no purpose at all.

What your PPC adverts should feature this holiday season

Christmas is once again nearly here– marking that period of year in which people spend a huge amount of time doing their gift shopping online; because of this, it is also a great time to implement PPC marketing initiatives.

To ensure you get the possible results from your PPC adverts, Waseem Saddique, has produced a checklist, specifically covering this festive season.

Here are some of the items featured on Waseems checklist:

Give them an incentive with deals – Deals attract people; it can encourage them to buy when they hadn’t originally had any intention to. Offering something like “free shipping or “50 per cent off everything today only” in your PPC ads, Waseem suggests, will have people rushing to your site.

He concludes by stating: “You will get thousands of low cost clicks to your site that should convert very well.”

Change your ad text – Altering your ad text everyday can seem to be something of chore. However, different ad text will, if done properly, help potential customers have a greater understanding of their questions.

The text should specifically cater to the intent of shoppers and how they go about making purchases online, Waseem adds. He also states that you should try to let consumers know what you’re selling and how much you’re selling it for.

PPC marketing doesn’t need to break the bank

Successful online marketing is an invaluable step for any business seeking to increase awareness of the services they are offering and engage with potential clients.

Marketing expert, Waseem Saddique is offering his expert knowledge on how not to break the bank with Pay Per Click (PPC) Marketing.

With an understanding of the resources available, an online marketing campaign can be one of the most cost-effective ways of maximising your business’s potential.

“It is wise to set aside a portion of your budget for paid advertisements on Google. These paid ads will become the first results that potential customers will see when they make a search,” Says Waseem.

Although Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising requires a financial investment, if successful the ROI can be extensive. Research shows that approximately 60% of people click on organic results, leaving 40% of potential customers lost if a PPC campaign is not run.

Guiding traffic to a website is great to increase awareness of the services you are offering which in turn can increase revenue. PPC is great for new websites by giving a direct instant service although it is vital to keep within the budget that has been set.

“The first step of PPC marketing is to understand what you want to achieve for the budget that has been set. Research the keywords and phrases and then write ads directed to qualified customers,” continues Waseem.

Once PPC ads have been written, choose the keywords relevant to the campaign to link to the ad.

Both Google AdWords and Microsoft adCenter offer a service where ads can be set to target metropolitan areas, individual cities or even zip codes within those cities so that your budget is spent on a well-targeted audience: In AdWords, you can even limit your ads to show within a certain radius of your location.

“By restricting your ads in this manner, advertisers can ensure that they aren’t wasting money on users outside their target market,” advises Waseem.

Geographical regions can be set almost instantaneously by adjusting your campaign settings.

“PPC campaigns can double visitors and if successful can double profit. But you will need to keep track of campaigns to ensure that it is continuing to succeed and that you are within your budget,” Waseem Saddique recommends.

A great thing about PPC is that the Return on Investment (ROI) can be measured. This way if it doesn’t pay for itself in conversions it can be adjusted accordingly.

PPC marketing is one of the most instant services to make people aware of the service on offer but it is important to stick to budgets and to keep reports this way Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising won’t break the bank.

Click Fraud: Is Your Account Protected?

Over the past few years the internet has significantly grown. This growth has not only boosted the online advertising industry but also in particular the PPC market.

Although great things have come out of the world wide web, the ugly issue of click fraud has come about.

Click fraud, also known as Invalid Clicks happens in Pay Per Click online advertising and is considered a type of internet crime.

Since the dawn of PPC in the early 2000s click fraud has been an issue for many online advertisers.

Click fraud occurs when a person, automated script or computer program imitates a continuous number of clicks. It can be for the financial gain of the clicker, or to deplete the funds of the advertiser.

Google is continuously worked on this problem but to keep your account protected, marketing expert, Waseem Saddique offers these useful tips.

“You should always track your campaigns. There is a very important relationship between managing and monitoring your account,” Says Waseem.

Google AdWords has two handy resources that can be used to track campaigns; Account Performance and Campaign Performance. These two resources will allow you to see the percentage of clicks that Google thinks are irrelevant or ‘not good’.

“In countries where there is a low labour rate, people are employed to power click fraud efforts. It is therefore wise to choose which countries your ads will be displayed.”

By limiting the locations where you have the ads displayed, you will automatically get more conversions due to target clicks, furthermore your website will be less prone to click fraud.

“You need to be meticulous in your approach. Completely analyze and go through all details that could relate to any suspicious activity.

“Last but not the least; carefully document all your traffic analysis through reports while running your PPC campaign.”

Click fraud is preventable if campaigns are monitored and managed carefully.

Get Started With Mobile Search Marketing!

Worldwide, the number of consumers who own a mobile phone is far greater than the number who own a computer.

“This means that it is more important than ever for your business to build and grow a mobile presence, irrespective of whether you are trying to sell tickets to an event, rooms in a hotel, cars or houses!” Says marketing expert, Waseem Saddique.

In 12 months the mobile advertising market has grown by 41%. The mobile market represents a new and ever-growing route to market for businesses.

In the UK, ownership of iPhones or Android devices continues to grow rapidly, as does the number of people using phones to search for businesses. Almost 13 million people in the UK alone own a smartphone and over 13.5 million people now surf the internet on their mobile.

“Now is the time to ensure your business has a place in mobile marketing especially if you sell products or services.” Says Waseem.

The way people use the internet is about to change. If the browsing habits of your target market change you will need to adapt your online presence.

When Pay Per Click was born it transformed online advertising, however with the rapid growth of mobile search marketing there are several key differences between online and mobile Pay Per Click.

Mobile PPC ads have different device restrictions, a new viewing context, and the needs of customers are also completely different.

Mobile PPC campaigns should ideally link to mobile websites. Mobile internet users have time restrictions so the PPC ads need to be eye-catching. Mobile PPC can also be targeted according to location due to the introduction of GPS smartphones.

If you have not yet considered mobile marketing for your business, now is the best time to get involved and capture additional mobile traffic.

Google PPC & Online Click Fraud

Google Display Network makes advertising on websites easy and effective.

“I can take control of your company’s online advertising not only by running display ad campaigns but also by running successful and accountable PPC campaigns,” says Waseem Saddique, an online marketing expert.

By creating engaging display ads will result in a high click-through rate that leads to more conversions on the Google content network, improving ROI.

Text and display can deliver additional conversions for less. The median advertiser gets 20% of their conversions from display and text on the content network. This median advertiser has a content Cost per Action that’s 2% lower than search.

“Display can compliment your text and sometimes out perform it. I will continue to run reports to determine which works best,” says Waseem.

PPC is an advertising form that works. It can help your business. But, as with any aspect of business, you need to be very aware of what's happening.

Click fraud, also known as Invalid Clicks happens in Pay Per Click online advertising and is considered a type of internet crime.

Since the dawn of PPC in the early 2000s click fraud has been an issue for many online advertisers.

Click fraud occurs when a person, automated script or computer program imitates a continuous number of clicks. It can be for the financial gain of the clicker, or to deplete the funds of the advertiser.

Waseem ensures that click fraud is monitored carefully with the help of Google filters: “Click fraud is a serious online crime and can cause online businesses a considerable amount of unnecessary expenses.”

PPC is a great way to increase a company’s popularity within the marketplace. With click fraud monitored carefully you can be rest assured you won’t suffer unnecessary expenses.

Waseem Saddiques Full Online Marketing Service

With a wealth of knowledge in the online marketing industry, Waseem Saddique can create a successful website for any type of business.

Mr Saddique has expert knowledge in online marketing, including SEO, PPC, social media, link building and the design and development of websites.

Waseem provides an excellent level of service to all of his clients. Little things in marketing make a big difference so first class attention to detail throughout all online marketing projects comes hand in hand with his service.

Inventive and cost effective online marketing strategies can develop new businesses and expand existing companies at a reduced cost compared to the average online marketing methods.

Attractive content is a must when it comes to website design.

“It is very important to me that the design of a website is attractive, it needs to grab people’s attention. Websites also need to be user friendly. Simple navigation keeps users happy.”

It is important that landing pages are optimised for SEO purposes. Good SEO ensures that your website appears top on search engines. When a customer has come to your site from typing a keyword into the search engine they will find exactly what they want to.

Waseem links sites that are only relevant to the industry. This way the traffic is genuine.
“Link Building is low cost, highly effective at driving traffic and it can have a dramatic effect on your search engine ranking.”

Link building improves a website’s visibility in natural search results listings when related search terms are used.

Google AdWords is a highly effective but yet affordable way for any company, great or small to advertise online. Mr Saddique offers a range of Google AdWords management services that can sometimes seem a little daunting for new businesses. This means that companies can spend a little but yet achieve amazing results by gaining traffic to their website.

“I talk to businesses about what they want to achieve and research the keywords and phrases and write their ads so that they only encourage qualified customers.”

Mr Saddique’s full service markeiting can save a company a considerable amount of time.

Marketing Expert, Waseem Saddique offers PPC Management

Waseem Saddique is offering his PPC management services to companies big and small all over the world to ensure they are successful.

Guiding traffic to any company’s website is the difference between the company succeeding or not. Waseem Saddique is a marketing expert that takes control of PPC to attract traffic to a website and then sustain it.

“I believe that PPC advertising is the key to many businesses success,” says Waseem.

PPC campaigns can be a more complex form of online advertising but with the attention of a professional, sales will go through the roof. Successful PPC can double your visitors which in turn doubles your profit.

“I aim to encourage qualified visitors. To do this I first analyse the company and its goals to gain a full understanding of the specific business requirements.”

The next stage of Waseem’s PPC management service is to select the most productive keywords and phrases that are the most relevant to the service on offer.

Waseem’s service continues by following the marketing campaign straight through to the end with ongoing monitoring.

“You can’t improve if you don’t measure it.”

Waseem keeps track of campaigns and measures the ROI regularly to ensure that that the campaign is continuing to succeed. Generating ROI reports will ensure that the company understands the effectiveness of PPC by comparing results from the campaign and measuring it against the cost of the campaign.

Waseem has extensive knowledge of PPC management systems to ensure that a business has high visibility on search engines to attract more qualified visitors to the website.

“I understand the changing trends of search engines. I can amend the PPC campaign to secure continued performance.”

Revenue can be increased by the development of powerful marketing campaigns that can accelerate traffic to a website. PPC is a direct, instant service whereas Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an ongoing benefit. With Pay Per Click (PPC) you only pay for the visitors that the company receives.

Mr Saddique is a PPC expert and can manage your campaign for you.

Online Marketing Trends To Watch Out For Over The Next 12 Months

The trends online marketing services providers should be looking out for in the next 12 months have been highlighted by one Waseem Saddique.

Writing for his blog, Waseem Saddique suggested one area marketers could be focusing on is cross-channel optimisation, which will become "imperative" due to the rise of social media sites such as Facebook.

He also noted that only around half of conversions involving Facebook used the site as the last click, so advertisers who merely analysed the final step of their marketing campaigns may be underestimating the importance of the domain to a successful strategy.

Bing would be another area marketers should pay attention to, as Mr Saddique predicted the search engine would continue to gain market share.

ComScore's latest traffic report showed the site increased its number of queries by seven percentage points in October and the expert expects this growth to continue into next year.

The company should be accounting for around 20-25 per cent of marketing volumes, he suggested, adding users needed to ensure full keyword coverage to allow for optimum use of the platform.

Video Marketing Growing Rapidly

Users are uploading over 35 hours of video material per minute onto YouTube, figures released yesterday on the YouTube blog show.

According to Search Engine Watch, this is an increase from the 24 hours reported back in March – meaning a total of 50,400 hours of new footage are being uploaded daily by users across the world. Compared to previous years, this means marketing professionals are now facing double the amount of competitors, and beginning to realise the potential YouTube has to market their services.

There are several reasons to explain the upsurge in uploading volumes, such as YouTube’s increase in file size allowance and the time limit increasing to 15 minutes, allowing more room for utilising video content marketing.

Content marketing on YouTube is usually created through cause-driven videos, video adverts and branded webisodes. This can be integrated with search engine marketing campaigns, and wide-spread media campaigns.

Key ways to optimise YouTube as a marketing tool include customising your channel, making short, snappy virals, and creating niche-targeted playlists.

In light of the news, the Director of Product Management at YouTube, Hunter Walk, said in Search Engine Watch, “…if 3 of the major US networks were broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for the last 60 years, they still wouldn’t have broadcast as much content as is uploaded to YouTube every 30 days.”

These are impressive statistics, and with YouTube gradually adding more full-length television shows and movies, visitor numbers are expected to increase drastically.

Twitter Implements New Advertising Feature

Microblogging site Twitter has begun testing a new advertising feature, which may give internet marketing services another way of reaching consumers.

The Promoted Tweets system allows advertisers to pay to have their messages displayed in individual feeds which the website thinks may be relevant.

Announcing the trial on its official blog, Twitter said the service would initially only be seen by those with HootSuite installed and the company was experimenting with the best times and places to display the ads.

The blog said the organisation would be "carefully looking at how Twitter users react to and engage with Promoted Tweets" and they would be extended across the site "only when we feel we're delivering a high-quality experience".

It went on to say Promoted Tweets would allow people access to accounts and information that they would not otherwise have seen.

A recent report in the New York Times revealed Twitter now has over 175 million users and is continuing to grow at a rate of 370,000 new accounts per day.

The latest internet marketing and SEO news brought to you by marketing expert Waseem Saddique, also a specialist in PPC advertising.

Waseem Saddique Online Marketing

Waseem Saddique has a wealth of experience in all types of the business start up life cycle, from pre-funding, to venture capital financing, all the way to an IPO.

Waseem has recently signed up a new client, within 4 weeks the website was set up and the online marketing campaign was launched. Within the first week the website bought in over 10,000 visitors and as a result, 200 have already signed up to the service, leaving the client amazed at the online marketing results.

Working with over fifty businesses to provide a range of services that include online marketing, consultancy and sales training, Waseem Saddique has the dexterity to help businesses formulate a strategy for their online marketing that are in line with company goals and develop a business plan that can easily be put into action.

Main experiences include online marketing, “Online marketing guarantees to maximise your exposure to customers. I believe a website must give prospective customers a reason to look around and take action. In order to sell a service, establishing trust is vital to make profit.” A number of solutions are used to maximise the impact that a company’s online marketing efforts have.

Other experiences include search advertising and social advertising, including vast practice with consultative services in a business to business environment.

“I make sure that these main beliefs are all fulfilled, so I can be positive that you will increase your number of new visitors, and more importantly give confidence to past and current customers to return.”

A range of online marketing principles are used to make a company successful. The push and pull principle works by pulling people into the website using attractive content, and then pushing the information to them, subsequently making a profit.

“I believe niche marketing has become a vital part of the online marketing industry to be successful, especially with an online business; you need to know your niche, and market directly to them.”

A successful online marketing process is vital for any company to succeed. A wrong online marketing method is not only time consuming but also expensive. Waseem Saddique works with businesses both large and small to help them maximise the effectiveness of their online marketing.

Assistance has been offered to create a plan to improve the way that a company markets online. Waseem’s professionalism has allowed him to act as a branding consultant to ensure that online marketing messages and images are consistent with company goals providing innovative and cost effective online marketing strategies to develop new businesses at a reduced cost compared to the average online marketing methods.

One of the most important factors for many businesses is to have an excellent driven sales team that can exceed monthly targets. Mr Saddique has the ability to train a sales team to excel in closing deals and also review existing company sales teams and modify it to get your company on the road to success. 28/09/2010 - Press Release

Marketing Expert, Waseem Saddique Makes AdWords Less Daunting for New Businesses

Waseem Saddique is offering his marketing expertise to companies all over the world to perfect their online marketing strategies.

Traffic is the backbone to any company’s website. Waseem Saddique is a marketing specialist that can use AdWords to attract traffic and then sustain it.

“Double your visitors, double your profit,” is Waseem’s key principle.

Google AdWords is a highly effective but yet affordable way for any company, great or small to advertise online. Mr Saddique offers a range of Google AdWords management services that can sometimes seem a little daunting for new businesses. This means that companies can spend a little but yet achieve amazing results by gaining traffic to their website.

“I talk to businesses about what they want to achieve and research the keywords and phrases and write their ads so that they only encourage qualified customers.”

Waseem’s service doesn’t stop here, he follows the marketing campaign straight through to the end by testing what he has already put in place and then conducting research. A report is then filed every week to keep the business informed about their campaign.

“A website can be the most powerful sales technique but without a successful Adwords campaign a business won’t get anywhere,” Says the marketing Guru.

Waseem has extensive knowledge of Search Engine Optimisation and all the major PPC management systems to ensure that a business has high visibility on search engines, therefore attracting more qualified visitors to the website.

Revenue can be increased by the development of powerful marketing campaigns that can accelerate traffic to a website. PPC is a direct, instant service whereas Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an ongoing benefit. With Pay Per Click (PPC) you only pay for the visitors that the company receives.

“SEO should be seen as an investment, not a cost. It produces results that will last and is not a one hit wonder”.

Waseem understands that successful SEO and PPC campaigns will attract hundreds if not thousands of visitors to a website every day.

Mr Saddique’s PPC Management service can save a company a considerable amount of time. If the main role of the company’s manager is to oversee other projects and marketing initiatives, pay per click management is a solution that saves a considerable amount of time. Waseem is able to allocate the necessary time to optimise and run the campaign.

“Search engines change their requirements. I can amend the campaign to secure continued performance”.

A PPC management service will know about changes to search engine requirements and will action them to the best advantage. - 20 -10-2010 Press Release.

Revolutionising The Internet: Social Media Marketing

The Internet has (and, if it hasn’t, it will) transform the way natural products industry companies communicate with their customers. That transformation is accelerating at an astonishing pace

as a result of social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and about 50 other sites that can help distribute marketing messages.

More than ever, customers are sharing their experiences and opinions, good and bad, with global audiences on blogs, social networks and review sites, literally at the touch of a button. Those opinions have the potential for shaping, controlling and redefining marketing messages, as well as the reputation of companies. Most companies, especially in the supplement industry, are still unaware of the existence or benefits of social media marketing. However, those that are aware have not adapted to the speed at which social media marketing is revolutionizing the way companies communicate with customers and potential customers and the way consumers are voicing their opinions about companies and their products.

Social media experts believe the day of the one-way message controlled by brand owners may—at least for now—be dying. I would agree. The question to ask now is no longer how are your customers playing back the message you told them. It's what message are they are spreading to others? This is in part due to the development of social media.

The ever-increasing number of social networking sites, blogs and customer review sites makes it a greater challenge for brand owners to manage marketing messages, reputations and intellectual property assets online. That challenge will undoubtedly intensify as the number of participants on user-generated content sites explodes to an estimated 1 billion by 2012. It is also estimated that there will be 40 billion “tweets" on Twitter in 2010. Clearly, the pace at which people are using social media networks to connect with “friends" and seek out online relationships with business is exploding. This is why the smart companies see social media as an opportunity to connect with individuals or groups in this manner. Online media has opened an entirely new path to reaching target audiences.

Waseem Saddique - Marketing Consultant and Sales Expert

Waseem Saddique has worked with over 50 businesses providing marketing services, marketing consultancy and sales training that have and can include:

• Internet marketing consultancy to improve the way that you market online and to integrate it into your marketing plan
• To act as a branding consultant to ensure your marketing messages and image are consistent with what you want to achieve
• To provide innovative and cost effective marketing strategies to develop new business at a reduced cost compared to "normal marketing methods"
• Training your sales teams on how to close more deals
• Reviewing your existing sales process to modify it and to give your sales teams the best chance of success
• To help you formulate a strategy for your marketing in line with your company goals
• To help you develop a marketing plan that you can easily put into action!

...or it could be a simple as just reviewing what you are currently doing and making recommendations. Whatever the challenge, Waseem can assist you!