The vitals of success for online marketing should be a three pronged strategy. What are they? I am talking about (1) well-written and relevant content, (2) in-bound links, and (3) fans, friends, and/or subscribers. The first two figures are largely covered by SEO, but once you throw blogging and social media marketing into the mix you open up a whole new realm of possibilities.

One prong, Social media, isn’t really the next big thing anymore, but it’s not too late. Like with all good things it’s best to get started later in the game than not at all. What is new, however, is the way that it’s being used in conjunction with the tried and true search engine marketing practices. I highly recommend using social networks like stumblepon.com, twitter.com, linkedin.com, facebook.com, etc, which allow you to become more engaged with others in your community, keep up to date on trends, manage your company branding and so much more.

Ever curious about what people are saying about you or your business? Through Twitter’s search application you can actually see and monitor what people are saying about you or your business, and then you can subscribe to a feed for your query so you can continue to monitor what is being said. When you become part of larger networking communities like this you’ll start to get more of a sense as to what is being said, and in the event that someone has a negative review about you (whaaaat?)… now you have a means by which you can counter and respectfully disagree, because you are already engaged and part of the community. Of course you’ll also want to promote yourself in a more flattering way any chance that you get. And, don’t forget, all those fans and/or friends that you are gathering will help you promote your content as well.

As Twitter and other social media services evolve, they are becoming a key part of online marketing strategies. All of your efforts should work together; (1) SEO (plus PPC), (2) your blog, and (3) your social marketing. These efforts, combined, help to increase the number of inbound links and spread your content through more and more channels … all of which makes for a highly efficient online marketing strategy.

A lot of buzz came about recently thanks to a Nielsen report on “Twitter Quitters”. I voiced my opinion in a post last week called “Twitter and the Biggest Loser effect“, which also sparked a lot of talk about Twitter and its sustainability.

By now we have already established that part of the issue of people joining and abandoning Twitter within a short time is false expectations. Though I don’t think that this is unique to just Twitter. I think that any new social media platform with as much hype as Twitter has been getting would experience the same thing. With that said, this is pretty much the first time that any online community has grown this quickly and received so much press.

Personally, I think it helps to evaluate your expectations and, therefore, goals before joining an online community as part of your business (this goes for any online presence really). If you are just joining for kicks, then by all means, have at it. But as part of your online marketing strategy, joining communities like Twitter can be effective (depending on your type of business), and it’s effectiveness can be measured…again with the right goals in mind.

My goals for year (great time to re-evaluate) were the following: Engage. Community. Change.

Engage: It is up to each of us, part of the larger online community, to engage our peers. To engage them with quality and newsworthy information. Through this process of sharing and engaging we are community building and social networking. It’s important to find a means by which you can engage others, a process that is a good fit for you, and your business.

Community: As you manage your website, the aim should be to make your site an online community for your target audience. You should always keep your business plan or your overall goals in mind. Think of what is important to you. As you become involved in the community – your niche, you will be able to communicate your plan and goals, and through that offer how you will respond to changes ahead.

Change: I believe, this may be a bit cliché, but the change you want to see in the world starts with you. I also believe that what will give you an advantage in the year ahead is the ability to be able to anticipate certain changes, and how in response you handle those changes. As a professional in any field you need to look (be proactive), listen (be aware) and learn quickly (be able to adapt) in order to respond to and cope with changes. I suggest you evaluate yourself and your business. Assess where you are, where you’ve been and where you want to be. From that point you can make changes where and when appropriate. While you don’t have to have a magic 8 ball to know what’s to come, you have to be in tune with your surroundings, your community, and those whom you engage.

I still believe that all three of these are an important part of what the year so far has consisted of and what the year ahead will behold. Social media and online marketing in particular allows me (or any of us) to practice all three of these on a daily basis, which is why I for example find that Twitter is effective for me both personally and professionally.

Do you set goals for yourself? If so, what are they?