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 moreEarly Media Trends for 2013
By Frankie Rodriquez Aggressive and successful marketing campaigns are relying on diversification of media platforms in the first quarter of 2013. The early trend in 2013 is that smart businesses are strategically leveraging their use of owned, paid and, increasingly, earned media. These terms may be self-explanatory. But there are significant differences that you should know about. Each is clearly different from the other. The outcomes, if not strategically planned, can range from scratch-your-head frustration to where-did-that-come-from success. So it is extremely important for today’s...
read moreWhat Does Facebook Graph Search Mean to Your Facebook Business Page?
Social media marketing is an ever-changing field. In part, that’s because social networks are constantly updating features, and so business owners and marketers must stay in a constant learning mode. Facebook’s Graph Search is an excellent case in point. The service hasn’t even been rolled out to all Facebook users yet, and there is much wide-spread speculation about how powerful it’s going to be. Facebook has said, in fact, that they expect Graph Search to be something that they will update many times over the next few years, so what is a business owner to do? Pay attention. That is...
read moreSocial Media – Is It Valuable?
If there is one thing that comes up repeatedly in working with clients in a variety of industries, it’s the question of “value.” However, this word is seldom used in these discussions. Words like ROI, cost per platform, time, expense – these are the words most frequently used. But at the heart of them another word is really at stake—“value”. Is there value in social media? That’s really what business owners are asking, whether they hire someone to manage their social media, seek out a consultant, or delegate the task of social media marketing to an existing employee who...
read more8 Tips for Creating A Personal Google+ Profile for the Professional
So perhaps you’ve been avoiding that leap to Google+. Why do you need another personal social media profile you ask? The problem with that question is that you are comparing Google+ (G+) to your experiences with Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. That would be a mistake. G+ is not like these other networks. Each social network has its own nuance and “flavor,” and G+ is no different. The strongest advantage to G+ is in the fact that it’s owned by Google. Duh, you say. But think about the implications of that for anyone who works in a field or business where the internet is involved in...
read moreSocial Selling
Business-to-Business (B2B) sales present a unique challenge. Because we’re in the business of doing business, we can see right through a, “Hi, this is so-and-so, and I’m wondering if you have a few minutes” phone call. Don’t come at us with a cold call either, because while we might be interested in what you have to offer, we probably won’t have the time to really hear what you have to say. We’re busy with our own sales goals. And, B2B selling requires a lot of trust, and there’s just no way to do that in an instant with a stranger on the phone. Typically speaking, that kind...
read moreLinkedIn Endorsements
One of the newest features of LinkedIn is also one of the most interesting updates on that network that we’ve seen in a long time. The feature is the recent addition of Endorsements. At first, they can feel a little disingenuous for this network – a bit like a Facebook “Like” which is quick and easy to give. But digging a little deeper, we think you’ll find this new feature pretty meaningful. So let’s break it down a bit. (And if you’re new to LinkedIn, or not sure how to use it, you may want to first download our “LinkedIn Quickstart White Paper” – a FREE...
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 moreWhat is Pinterest? Why You Want To Know!
Pinterest is a social bookmarking site, and it’s all the rage right now. If you haven’t heard of it, you will. If you’ve heard of it and use it, you likely either “get it” or you don’t. But there’s a chance that you’ve heard about it and disregarded it as “trivial,” not worth your time. That could be a marketing mistake if you are a business owner or leader. Pinterest is a giant bulletin board for “pinning” things that you want to come back to, websites that you want to remember for products you like, etc. But rather than focusing on what Pinterest is in...
read moreLeave a Tip?
Did you hear the one about the Seattle waitress who was left a “tip” on the credit card receipt by her customer? Turns out, the paying customer didn’t leave her a cash tip with his payment, he only suggested that she lose some weight. What a tip, right? Her response was to go to social media to post this man’s name and the receipt; however, she targeted a different man who happened to have the same name and lived in another state. Apologies followed, yet the correct gentleman has yet to come forward; a third gentleman with the same name has sent her a 100% tip to “redeem” his...
read moreThe 3 R’s of Growing a Robust Business
There are thousands of books written on this subject. Some are good and worth the read and some are not. I’ve read many of them – of both types. I’ve sat at the feet of excellent and wise business coaches. I’ve been a part of life-changing work and a part of jobs that just paid the bills. In every case, whether for good or for bad, there were patterns of behavior that made one business or one company grow into something to be proud of over one business that well, just wasn’t quite “all that.” Those patterns boil down to three consistent elements that everyone intuitively knows,...
read moreBuilding Business Trust
Building trust in online business relationships can be tricky. Sometimes you may never even meet the person with whom you’re doing business, but at some point, one member of the relationship must extend the first outreach of trust. Here are several steps you can take to build trust, though, especially if you are the provider of services or products. These may seem obvious, but many business veer away from the basics. There’s always a test at the end, though, so pay attention! 1. Be realistic in what you promise, and don’t promise more than you can deliver. If you are as good as your...
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