A Consumer’s Market
By Camille Rodriquez You’ve heard the real estate phrase, “It’s a seller’s market,” or “It’s a buyer’s market,” right? When it comes to social media, it’s a consumer’s market. Let’s take a look at what that means for your business, because the implications of this are going to be long-lasting and affect your bottom line for quite some time. Yes, some consumers still make impulse purchases. It happens. Emotions still play a part in sales. However, with the exception of a few industries, most business owners are finding it harder and harder to get the attention of...
read moreRisk Management in Social Media
By Frankie Rodriquez If your business has a presence on social media it is essential to practice risk management. Traditionally when one thinks of risk management in business one thinks of policies and procedures in place to reduce the risk of accidents in the workplace, safety during natural disasters, protection from fraud and theft, protection from sexual harassment litigation, credit risks and confidentiality/privacy compliance. Those areas of risk management apply in social media as well. But social media also presents an unusual area to be vigilant about risk management. The nature of...
read more7 Tips for Improving Your Social Media
No one is perfect. That’s true in every area of life, even social media marketing. The rapid-fire changes to social networks, and how we use them, make it very difficult to be a perfect user of all of the tools or to even know what all of them are. However, everyone has to begin using social media somewhere. We’ve watched the “big” names and the little unknown folks hit home runs at various times with strategies, tips, and helpful information for the social media marketer. But no one does it every time – not even the “big” guys. Largely, that’s because the first “rule”...
read morePassword Security
In case you missed it today, the official Burger King Twitter account (@burgerking) was hijacked by someone who renamed the account McDonalds. Pretty funny, right? Well, not if you’re Burger King and you’ve worked hard to get those 86K+ Followers! (That number fluctuated wildly during this time, too!) Details are still coming out, and the account was suspended in less than two hours, but what can the rest of us learn from this about password security? Whether the hack is from a password breach or not is still to be discovered, but let’s take a moment to review some basics. Social media...
read moreSocial Media – Don’t Shoot Yourself In The Foot
At some point in every social media campaign, someone on the team suggests a shortcut to the goal. It can come from innocent motives but invariably someone will decide that it would be “easier” to do things a different way than was originally planned. Marketing is a very fluid process, and changes are customary, but do you know the difference between normal changes to a fluid plan and shooting yourself in the foot? In the same way that you would get bored if you ate the same thing for lunch every day of your life, social media thrives on “mixing it up” a bit. Trends ebb and flow...
read moreLeveraging Twitter
My favorite social media network for business is probably Twitter. The “rules” change there less often and there’s a lot of power in Twitter. Sadly, it’s frequently under-utilized by business owners. It takes time to use Twitter thoroughly, and it takes a willingness to applaud others who are doing a good job, perhaps even in your own industry. Not everyone is comfortable with that, but if you are, Twitter is an amazing resource for the proactive business leader. But the very first step in leveraging Twitter for your business is to remember that it’s conversational – just like any...
read moreFacebook Tagging Etiquette
One of the wonderful things about Facebook is that it’s meant to be social. Often, that shows up in the form of Facebook “tags.” A tag is when you link your post or image to another person’s Facebook account. The post you’ve made shows up on both your wall and their wall, and so more folks will see the post. Or, at a minimum, the person you’ve tagged will definitely see the post and get a notification about it as well. Both status updates and pictures can be tagged. But what is the etiquette around this tool. Just because you can do something with Facebook, does that mean it’s...
read moreGrow Your Business by Growing As a Leader
I am honored to have Glenn Smith, President of The Growth Coach in Sugar Land as a guest blogger for Polka Dot Impressions. He is among the finest business leaders we have ever met, and his friendship and wise counsel have meant much to us over the years. Please enjoy, and learn from his wisdom in today’s blog. As business owners we are responsible for the state of our businesses. When business owners stop growing as leaders their businesses will almost always stop growing as well. So the first thing we need to do is to make sure we’re growing as business leaders. But how...
read moreThe Best Marketing Advice Ever
People love to give advice. Sometimes you ask for it, and sometimes it’s just “offered.” The world of social media is full of advice. But, the key to advice is in taking action on it. Agree or disagree, advice is just a bunch of words if you don’t do something about it, and taking no action on it is as good as saying you disagree with the advice given. So recently, when we asked a Facebook question, we were surprised by the similarities of the answers to the question, “What’s the best piece of marketing advice you’ve ever been given?” See if you don’t notice some...
read moreA Numbers Game, a Game of Numbers, or Something Else?
There is a temptation in social media to focus strictly on numbers. Numbers of Fans, numbers of Followers, numbers of Repins, Connections, etc. Pick your social media platform, and you’re likely to have a measurement benchmark related to numbers. Numbers aren’t the “be all, end all” that everyone might think they are, but they also aren’t evil. They’re just a piece in the social media marketing puzzle. Used in conjunction with an overall marketing strategy and feedback from customers, numbers can point to trends, topics of interest, and other patterns that drive better engagement...
read moreTop 3 Things I Love About LinkedIn
Recent reports have indicated that LinkedIn is not the most widely used social media network, but it spite of that, it has consistently been a part of the professional branding experience. Let me explain what I mean. In a recent study, it was found that the average time spent on LinkedIn per month is 21 minutes. That’s not a lot of time over the course of the month, but when you consider some of the loveable things about LinkedIn, it’s easy to see why less time doesn’t mean less quality, and it’s widely touted as the most “elite” of the social media platforms… (If you’re...
read moreTop 3 Things I Love About Blogging for Business
Make no mistake. Blog writing for business growth takes time, energy, and a commitment to push beyond the monotonous. It is not easy. That’s the bad news. The good news is that blog writing for your business is an excellent tool for growth, clarification of what makes you unique, and staying current, fresh, innovative, and relevant. Isn’t that what good business is? How you apply these thoughts will be unique to your industry, but I challenge you to consider what a “love of blogging” could do for your business. Here are my top 3 reasons for keeping up a business blog. 1. Creative...
read moreThe “One Thing” Rule About Social Media
There’s much to say about social media, whether you’re talking about using it, marketing with it, connecting with it, or all of the above. Recently, however, I was asked to sum up all that I would convey to others about social media into “one thing.” What would that one thing be – the one thing that I would want everyone to know about social media? Assuming that brevity is the point here, here’s how I would sum up “social media.” Pay Attention. Pay attention to what you post, what others are saying, or not saying by their robotic use of social...
read moreTop 3 Things I Love About Email Marketing
First, we must define the term “email marketing” as I’m using it. It is not a reference to sending out 10 different Outlook Distribution List emails because you’re afraid your message will bounce back if you send it to too many people at once. Many business owners create multiple lists and send out messages in exactly that way. When you do that, you are not using email for marketing. You are using email for sending a “personal message” in an impersonal way. Email marketing, by definition, is the process of using a third party program for sending out professional business-related...
read moreSocial Media Day Wrap Up
We had a great event in Fort Bend County, TX this weekend! We celebrated Social Media Day along with hundreds of other cities across the globe. The event, sponsored originally by Mashable, Inc. was in its third year, and it proves to be bigger every year! Our event was attended by about 30 folks from a variety of businesses, some who use social media for business, and some who were just curious. The group reflected a good broad-spectrum of interests and knowledge, and we had a fun time together. In addition to some good networking opportunities, our Fort Bend County group broke into smaller...
read moreThe Love Languages of Twitter
You’ve probably heard of The 5 Love Languages book by Gary Chapman. It’s a phenomenal book about communication and personal ways of expressing and affirming love to those we care about. It’s used in every setting imaginable as a way to better our communication skills. So why not apply it to Twitter? Do you have a Twitter “Love Language”? Let’s look at the Twitter types out there so that we can better engage with one another through this social platform. You may find that you resemble more than one of these types, and that’s a good thing. But you’ll likely find that you tend to...
read more4 Ways to Get Better Fans
When you think over your life, you probably have some great memories of specific events and times. You may have lived a lot of days, but the great ones stand out, right? Social media has a similar principle in effect. You may desire a lot of fans or followers because that appears to make a statement about your worth as a business, but a few great fans are better than a thousand inactive ones. The great ones stand out, don’t they? So how do you get better fans? This isn’t a question of more fans, but better fans. With better fans, you’ll likely see a growth in your reputation, customer...
read more“Would You Rather?”
Have you ever played that game, “Would You Rather?” Two choices are presented to you, usually of a similarly difficult nature, and you are supposed to decide which you would prefer. For example, “Would you rather die in a tornado or a hurricane?” Social media presents this challenge to the business owner every day – two difficult choices. How you respond to them in action, not just in your published motto, can make or break your social media marketing. “Would you rather build a business on authenticity or gimmicks?” Through social media, the business leader has the opportunity...
read moreThe Core of Social Media
How well can you recite or explain your own core values in business? Do your staff members know them from a plaque on the wall or by experientially “doing” of business? These are important questions when it comes to social media for one simple reason. Social media is the most obvious and “loud” place to demonstrate your core values for your customers, clients, and prospects, and it’s the test of your own staff’s understanding of your mission. Through social media, businesses have the opportunity to “practice what they preach” around the clock. Through social media, customers...
read moreTime Management in Modern Settings
The other day I stumbled on an article from 2009. It was shared in an online group I belong to, and the content was very interesting as it relates to how business gets done. While the terms used were geared to the computer programming industry, the article describes two types of schedules that people keep in business – the “maker’s” and the “manager’s” schedule. The original article is worth reading, but it points out an interesting fact. When we set up our day, our tasks, and more importantly our interactions with others, we often assume that others are operating within the...
read moreWarning: This Is a Social Media Rant!
Yes, I do actually read the tweets of those that I follow on Twitter. Yes, I do actually care about the Fans on my Facebook page and whether or not my topics are interesting for them to engage with. Yes, I realize that this means I may or may not have huge numbers of Followers or Fans, but those with whom I engage have offered something of value to me, and I am trying to return the favor. That is in fact, one of the core values of Polka Dot Impressions. Thus, when I saw the tweet below, I was shocked. I get it. Numbers sell. It’s like sex in movies and scandal in the music industry. Many...
read more10 Commandments of Social Media
Social Media Top 10 lists. Everyone has one of these. Okay, maybe not everyone, but those who engage in proactive social media do. The phrase that gets tossed around a lot is “best practices.” I love that! I think all businesses should have a “Best Practices Handbook” of some sort. Policies are important, but what you do, your “practices” on a daily basis, those go beyond policy and should always be tackled at the very best level. So, here is the public posting of Polka Dot Impression’s best practices, or rather, the 10 Commandments of Social Media as we see them. 1. Thou...
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