Posts Tagged ‘Online social networking’

Get Connected — Make It Happen!

By Jim Pagiamtzis

Effective tips on networking to help every entrepreneur to build their business

Many business owners have asked me how I became such an effective networker. My response: “The secret to your success is in your daily routine.” Everyone has the same 24 hours in the day; the better question to ask is “how do you use those hours?” When I first began to get out and meet new people, all I had was a simple, one-sided business card.

1. Business Card
I use a one-sided business card because it is simple and to the point. Name, business, phone and email address with the second side left blank. Many people I met with didn’t have business cards, so I used the “two card process.” As I handed my card out, there was a second card underneath so they could write down their contact information and hand it back to me. Every entrepreneur should carry business cards and they should be ready to hand them out at every networking event or opportunity.

2. Attitude
When you are in a networking environment, it’s very important to have a positive attitude. After all, you are there to generate business. People around you will remember the way you speak and present yourself. Remember the three-foot distance rule. You want to be in their space but not in their face. Smile and be courteous. Be ready with a mini explanation of what you do. Stephen Covey says, “Begin with end in mind,” in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. You are there to meet and connect and collect business cards with the result of generating business.

3. Key Questions
Many people I speak with always have a challenge initiating conversation. This is easy to overcome. We actually do it every day when we talk about the weather, the sports or the news. In the networking environment, it’s done with the specific intent to learn more about the person you are speaking with. Debra Fine in The Power of Meeting New People talks about being prepared with ice-breaker questions. For example, you could say, “Good afternoon. My name is Terry Grant. I’m from Resolutions Inc. How are you doing?” This can be improved upon with, “Great to meet you, Steve. My name is Terry Grant. What got you started in this industry?” Or “Tell me about how you…” Or “What do you see as the coming trends in your industry?” And if you are just starting out, it never hurts to ask something like, “What kind of advice would you give someone starting out in this business?” These types of questions will definitely get more conversation flowing and may lead to a powerful conversation. Entrepreneurs are seeking ways to voice their passions, talents and experiences to show everyone that it can be done. Networking is and always will be the best way to learn and participate. Put yourself in the arena and learn your hobby or interest, and let it grow by building successful relationships with people who may become friends, associates and, perhaps, lifetime mentors.

JIM PAGIAMTZIS is the owner and founder of Payamgis Enterprises. He works with consultants, entrepreneurs and corporate professionals on effective communication. He will teach you how to get to the next level in your business, through prospecting, effective presentation skills, and customer service. Jim has written articles for Empower.ca and has been quoted by Empower.ca and Happy Worker.ca. He can be reached at payamgis@gmail.com , or visit his website at www.jimpagiamtzis.wordpress.com

Posted by Jameel in Growing Your Biz, Marketing on March 28th, 2011

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Five conditions for cultivating a successful Facebook strategy: PART ONE

By Darrell Cook

Ok, you own a small business and you’re trying to figure out the best approach for using Facebook to help grow your brand, increase your sales and drive new customers. This can be challenging, as there is little enough time in your day to read a Facebook profile, let alone write and maintain one. Furthermore, your experience in social media is limited. You’ve read a number of articles and looked at a few Facebook pages, but overall, you are in uncharted waters. After reviewing a number of social media case studies for small business owners, I have put together five conditions for cultivating a successful Facebook strategy.

1. In for a penny, in for a pound

Facebook fans expect a lot for their participation. Their attention spans are exceedingly short, especially if your Facebook content is only changed sporadically or you wait too long to update information. For the best results while hosting and managing a Facebook page, get into a weekly (or daily) habit of updating content, changing images, adding incentives and providing good educational and informative content. Fans will see your commitment and give you their “attention monopoly” if you follow this rule.

2. Slow and steady wins the race

Savvy marketers know that promotion depends on multiple reoccurrences for impact. Therefore, when building your Facebook strategy, count on a slow drip of Fan increases rather than a home run promotion that doubles and triples your fan base. With the fragmentation of information out there, Fans are choosy about which Facebook pages they get sticky with. The good news: the difference between Facebook vs. more traditional marketing/promotional channels means that the small business owner needs only invest as little as two hours per week. Over time, your Fans will begin to provide feedback and start communicating directly with you. Although entrepreneurs start off enthusiastically, it’s important to remember that you are building a relationship with your Fans and not building a selling channel. It takes time to build trust.

3. Interact with each fan

Since the Fan base for small business owners is typically smaller than that of large organizations, who can have upwards of tens of thousands of Fans, small business owners can use this opportunity to reach out to their Fans more intimately by building a direct connection to hearing their voices. It’s a good idea to interact with each new fan on an individual basis. The viral effect of this intimacy can become greatly appreciated across unknown groups. The most hidden sub-culture within Facebook is comprised of the local “Mom” groups looking for family-friendly activities, sharing parenting ideas and yes, learning about good products and services from other group members. You never know if you have a Fan that may be part of a larger group that can springboard additional Fan participation and loyalty.

Stay tuned for PART TWO of Five conditions for cultivating a successful Facebook strategy on Monday.

Darrell is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Conversys. His focus is to steward the North American growth for Digital Promotions Marketing. His career spans a wide range of technology and Internet companies throughout North America and the UK. From small start-ups to Fortune 500 firms, Darrell excels at bridging offline business processes with effective online channels. He is currently a Board of Director of the Retail Advertising and Marketing Club of Canada (RAC), and former Board of Director of the Internet Advertising Bureau of Canada.

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz on March 16th, 2011

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The Search for Bananas: Building Better Websites, PART TWO (continued from Friday)

By Rick Sloboda

Make it easy for visitors to share what they find on your site.

Godin liked the “send this page to a friend” functionality offered by some websites. By providing a little bit of information, such as name and email address, visitors could email pages to friends.

Since the publication of Godin’s book, the ability to share online information with friends and colleagues has grown exponentially. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter make it easy for visitors to share with their networks. Today, sharing a favourite blog post or YouTube video is as easy as a single click.

This kind of sharing has become an important marketing tool. By starting an online conversation with your customers and their networks, you can develop a stronger web presence and drive more sales.

The Best of Today’s Websites Emphasize Marketing, Not Technology

Websites have grown up, and many have adopted Godin’s ideas and recommendations. Technology has become a means, not an end. Websites are segmented to target different audiences. Sharing has become a critical marketing tactic and tool. So don’t lose too much sleep over that little monkey. He’s often getting his bananas, and some chocolate sauce too.

What do you think? Are websites doing a better job of meeting the needs of visitors? Which websites are setting new standards of excellence and which are stuck back in 2002?

Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Getting Organized, Technology on February 28th, 2011

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7 ways to build your brand with social media and 3 ways to ruin it.

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Social media is becoming a force to be reckoned with in terms of building your company’s brand equity and strength. And according to brand expert  Jennifer Bourn, there are a handful of steps you ought to take to maintain and build your brand’s value:

1. Secure your social media brand: Register your name and business name on a variety of social media sites. Even if you don’t plan on using a site, you might want to consider securing your name anyway for future use. NameChk.com and Knowem.com are two free sites to help you get started.

2. Keep your message focused: “By keeping a consistent message across all social media sites and platforms, you build brand recognition that pays off over time.”

3. Provide value your audience will appreciate: “Providing links to valuable articles and resources, sharing your recent blog post, etc., are all ways to help your audience and share your expertise.”

4. Showcase your personality: “Share posts that give your network a glimpse into your personal life…These posts will provide opportunities for your network to connect with you on a deeper and more meaningful level.”

5. Remember to be social: “Social networks are just that – social networks. If all you do is post information and links [without interacting] with your audience, you are missing the most important part of building a successful social media brand – building strong relationships.”

6. Keep your avatar/profile photo consistent: “Using a photo of your dog or cat is useless to your network and frankly, it makes you seem unprofessional.”

7. Help others: “When you read a good blog post, article, press release or social networking post, tell other people about it and share the link.”

How about damaging your brand using social media?

While social media has the power to help humanize your brand and connect you with your customers, Internet strategist, B.L. Ochman, cautions businesses to use some common sense when they wade into the new medium.

1. If you start a Twitter account or Facebook page, use it: “All it really takes to slow down an issue is a human being responding quickly to say something as simple as ‘Thanks for making us aware of this issue. We are checking it now.’ And then, the company has a reasonable amount of time to say what went wrong.”

2. Track your brand with monitoring tools: “The Internet is 24/7. Brand monitoring has to be constant. Pick [a tool]. Use it.”

3. Don’t keep your social media program a secret: “Corporate silos just don’t work in social media.” Make sure everyone in your company knows about your social media presence.

How have you used social media to enhance your brand? Where do you feel social media falls short?

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz, Marketing on July 20th, 2010

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Tech Tuesdays: 5+ social marketing start-up tips for your small business.

For those who still aren’t sold on the social media phenomenon, these and these numbers ought to get your attention, or at least give you pause:

  • Social media adoption by small businesses doubled in 2009 from 12% to 24%.
  • 59% of small businesses with a social media presence say it has provided value.
  • 49% say their social media presence has produced advocates for their business.
  • 65% say they actively use it for promotion.
  • 1 in 5 small business owners are actively using social media, including blogs, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.

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So if you’re considering dipping your toe in the social media sea, here are 5 of 30 musts you might want to keep in mind from inc.com:

1. Pull back the curtain: “Offering a sneak preview of new products, services or features online can help build demand and provide critical feedback to help smooth the launch.”

2. Be candid: “In unsure economic times, transparency goes a long way toward retaining and attracting customers. Giving readers the scoop on your company blog is an easy way to keep the lines of communication open.”

3. Reward customer loyalty: “Sprinkles Cupcakes, in Beverly Hills, California, uses Twitter to send out daily promotional offers. The tweets, which ask customers to whisper a ‘password’ to receive a free treat, have helped the company draw more than 17,000 followers.”

4. See what they’re saying about you: “A quick search for mentions of your company on Facebook, Twitter and Yelp can yield a goldmine of information concerning your reputation.” The owner of one Chicago bookstore focused on improving customer service after reading comments online.

5. Help others promote you: “Social media can help you find passionate customers who are more than willing to spread the word about your company. Crafts supplies manufacturer Fiskars reached out to scrapbookers by inviting four avid users to blog. Its crafts community has since attracted 5,000 users who serve as brand evangelists.

You’ll find some additional small business social media tips here and here.

Have you already gone social? What advice can you offer?

Posted by Lynnette in Technology on July 13th, 2010

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STAPLES BizTIPs 4business: Build an online community—Grow your business

By Small Business Expert, Roger Pierce, BizLaunch

Online communities are becoming increasingly popular with large companies eager to connect with customers. Your new small business can start one too. Your online community might include prospects, customers, employees, suppliers and colleagues.

When you build a sizeable community, marketing and selling is much easier because you can simply introduce your products or services. Your online community will also provide feedback on your business, connect you to others and become a source of market research.

Here’s how you can build your own community:

Discover where your customers are. With the bountiful number of social media platforms out there, it is often hard to decide which medium is best for your business. Research, explore and ask your customers where they are in order to find out the best place to start building your community.

Use online applications. The most popular online community development tool is Facebook.com. You may also work with Meetup.com, LinkedIn.com and Twitter.com. Call your group something relevant to what you do, such as “Toronto Wine Lovers’ Group” or “BizLaunch Small Business Community.” A clear, common interest is important.

Communicate regularly with your group. The Internet is a dynamic, live environment, so you can’t just create a group and walk away. Someone within your business must be responsible for cultivating your community by posting fresh comments and materials regularly and communicating with group members daily.

Connect your community to your world. Invite your group members to free seminars, networking nights, or other events hosted by your business. Post a link to your blog and website. Upload photos. Share some advice and offer to answer questions. Your online community will be more inclined to return if you are interactive with them and give them something of value.

Roger Pierce

ROGER PIERCE is passionate about helping entrepreneurs achieve success. Co-founder of Canada’s largest small business training company, BizLaunch.ca, he’s launched eleven small businesses of his own and personally experienced what he calls “the good, the bad and the ugly” sides of entrepreneurship.

BizLaunch advises thousands of Canadian startups through its popular how-to seminars and webinars delivered with partners such as STAPLES.

Posted by Lynnette in STAPLES BizTIPs on May 21st, 2010

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Moving Marketing From Your Eyes To Your Hands

By Mitch Joel – President, Twist Image & author of Six Pixels of Separation

I have a personal gripe with anyone who questions what Social Media can do for their business.

We toss around the words “Social Media” as if it’s like saying, “I need a 30-second spot.” It’s a mistake. We keep on making it, and things have to start changing soon before it becomes a hollow term (or worse, a fad). Unlike other media channels, Social Media is many different types of content (text, images, audio and video) with many different types of platforms and channels on which the content plays out (Blogging, video sharing sites, virtual worlds, Podcasting, micro-Blogging, online social networks, photo sharing, mobile, widgets, apps, etc…). It’s not push marketing and it’s not pull marketing either, it’s more of a group expression (to steal a concept that Clay Shirky discusses in his outstanding, best-selling business book, Here Comes Everybody) where a concept can be explored, shared, posted elsewhere, mashed-up, expanded upon or completely re-invented.

Sounds confusing? It is.

One person’s Twitter feed is another person’s spam pit. What works for a brand in Facebook might crash and burn on YouTube. Some people are still experiencing great ROI from their current efforts in Second Life, and while many are quick to call MySpace as dead as Friendster, there are many musicians, filmmakers, authors and artists who still have a healthy and robust community (that keeps on growing) on MySpace with no plans of slowing down.

Social Media isn’t a fad, but big brands can make it look like it is.

We tend to measure the success of Social Media using traditional mass media metrics (audience size, amount of advertising revenue, etc…). We’re getting it all wrong. Social Media is not about advertising… it’s about Marketing. Authentic Marketing. Ethical Marketing. Social Media is about creating engagement with consumers and getting those that are uber-excited about your brand to connect even closer (to the brand and other denizens or evangelists). In essence, we’re mining for the quality over quantity of people who can best connect to our brands, but we continually stumble into the mass media metrics trap.

Will big brands only care when Facebook has 500 million users?

Facebook recently surpassed 400 million users, and it’s somewhat humorous (and a little bit tragic) to think that brands and marketers usually only care about a channel or opportunity when the masses are there (as if 10 million is paltry). The smarter brands are slowly weaning themselves off of this very traditional metric and are starting to look at who they are connected and not how many people they are connected to.

So, what’s the big deal?

The old Web and traditional mass media were always about “eyes” – how many people were looking at the content (remember in the early days of the Web, how excited we all got over the amount “eyeballs” and “stickiness” our websites had?) Social Media changes the body parts from “eyes” to “hands”. What are people doing with this content? What are they creating with it? How are they sharing it? How are they re-inventing and creating their own pieces of content around it?

It’s a big deal. It’s a big change.

Do your own brand analysis and figure out how much of your content, media and marketing can people simply look at with their eyes versus their ability to use their own two hands to really do stuff with it (and that includes very simple stuff like writing a short review)?

It’s a great question to ask, and I wonder how many times it has been asked in the boardrooms across this great, big world?

 

MitchMitch Joel is President of Twist Image — an award-winning Digital Marketing and Communications agency. In 2008, Mitch was named Canada’s Most Influential Male in Social Media, one of the top 100 online marketers in the world, and was awarded the highly-prestigious Canada’s Top 40 Under 40. His first book, Six Pixels of Separation (published by Grand Central Publishing – Hachette Book Group), named after his successful Blog and Podcast is a business and marketing best-seller. You can find him here: www.twistimage.com/blog

Posted by Lynnette in Marketing, Technology on April 13th, 2010

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Tech Tuesdays: Who says Canadians are social butterflies?

The cynical among us might be tempted to call the social media craze a fad. But if the results of new studies by Cossette and Coleman Parkes Research are any indication, social media vehicles like Facebook, Twitter and blogging are rapidly becoming to email what Blu-Ray or DVD was to VHS (remember that?).

And because Canadians are adopting the new media faster than most, it’s important that you understand what it’s all about and how it can benefit your business.

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According to Coleman Parkes, over 68% of Canadian companies see social networking as an important component to helping them collaborate. Canadian business leaders also appear to have a much higher appreciation for the potential of social media than executives in other countries. In fact, 40% fear they’ll fall behind competitors who embrace the new technologies.

Cossette’s study offers five major observations about the social media phenomenon in Canada and around the world, including:

1. Social media is quickly replacing email: Email is still the most ubiquitous way to communicate online but among those aged 18 to 24, social networking beats email 26% to 15%.

2. Facebook could be the next Google: Two-thirds of social media activity takes place on Facebook – in Canada it’s an impressive 80%. And that activity is more than just mindless banter – 6 out of 10 regularly answer simple polling questions, 4 out of 10 follow links posted by others and 3 out of 10 read blogs, offering small businesses huge potential to get their messages out through word of mouth and advertising.

3. Users are paying attention: And speaking of word of mouth, two-thirds of online users consider the opinions of other online consumers, even while they’re not paying attention to companies directly advertising products.

4. Talking about brands: One-third of online users share information about the brands they love or hate with others – a trend that’s highest in the US, Canada and the UK.

If you need more information on the social media tools small businesses should consider right now, Amber MacArthur offers up her top five.

And to learn more about marketing your business using social media tools, check BizLaunch’s online calendar to sign up for free webinars.

Let us know about your recent successes – or failures – marketing with social media. We’d love to share your experiences with the community.

Posted by Lynnette in Technology on March 30th, 2010

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Is social media a trend that's too big for your business to ignore?

If it felt like everyone was talking about Twitter last year, it wasn’t your imagination. According to the Global Language Monitor, which documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language, Twitter was the top word of 2009, beating out other trendy words like H1N1, 2.0, Deficit and, of course, Obama.

That’s not all. According to Nielsen Online, Twitter grew 1,382% – and that was just from February 2008 to 2009! Other social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn also saw impressive growth.

Forrester’s Nate Elliott says the social craze is here to stay and Canadians are the world leaders in embracing it. In fact, he says 57% of us use social networks like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn at least once a month. (Americans are second, trailing at 51%.)

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Okay. So how does all this twittering, facebooking and linking in impact your business?

It turns out some Canadian marketers like Vancity and Molson have been using social media for 3 or 4 years. For the rest of us—social networking newbie’s—we have some catching up to do.

Forrester developed a cool tool your business can use to better understand your customers who use social media. Check it out here.

And the Harvard Business Blog’s David Armano, offers some additional insight with his six social media trends for 2010:

1. As networks continue to fill with noise, more will allow users to select the chatter they most want to hear.

2. Most companies will use social technology to find effective ways to serve customers more economically.

3. Businesses will become more savvy at providing incentives to increase activity within their networks.

4. Companies will formalize how their employees can—and should—use social media network to interact directly with customers.

5. As many organizations ban social networks on work PCs, smartphones will become the social media vehicle of choice.

6. Email sharing will become so ‘Year 2000’ as more websites allow users to share information directly through networks—why email when you can tweet?

What’s your experience with social media been like? How do you plan on taking advantage of the power of social networks in 2010?

Posted by Lynnette in Marketing on January 26th, 2010

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How Blogging Helped Me to Build My Business

By Small Business Owner Jane Clapp, urbanFITT Inc.

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Jane Clapp, Founder UrbanFITT Inc.

I’m a small business owner and spent several years as a single parent carrying a mortgage and business overhead by myself. I needed to grow my business with no advertising budget but with my fitness knowledge and time investment.

Social networking tools have made reaching a wider audience possible for people like me.

My first blog was Take Two With Jane Clapp. Blogging has been a great way for me to keep in touch with my clients. Sometimes when a client hasn’t been in in a while, they start to feel guilty and maybe a little afraid to come in. But when they read a new post, it’s a great way for me to motivate them to come back to the gym. They remember how much fun it is and what the feeling is like when the endorphins are coursing through their veins.

Blog posts are also a great way for me to support my clients with their long term weight loss and fitness goals, even when we’re apart. I use the blog space to introduce new exercises, new weight loss research and just to keep them focused on the target.

At their best social networking and more specifically blogging gives something back to the audience or reader in return for their time. Each business owner needs to identify what their target market values most from the business and many times that something is intangible and directly tied with the brand.

Since opening urbanfitt in June 2006 I fully appreciate how my community of amazing clientele is what has really been driving my biz. I also realize how my clients greatly value a fitness studio that is more than a space to sweat. It is also a community for them to meet and engage with other like minded individuals.

So I’ve turned my attention to social networking not for self-promotion, but to unify our community. I just launched ihearttosweat.blogspot.com where anyone connected to urbanfitt can post fitness related experiences, wisdom, ah ha moments or even spread some first hand inspiration.

Small business is all about serving people in our communities. And the urbanfitt community puts food on my table, pays my mortgage and keeps my life moving forward. I hope I can help this community of amazing people connect more and more and build its synergistic energy for some time to come.

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz, Small Business Spotlight on November 30th, 2009

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