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The need for social media is here.

Friday, February 18th, 2011

I had this conversation with a potential client last week.   They were thinking about entering the foray into social media, but didn’t know if they needed to right now.  Truth is, it is almost too late.  Taking advantage of the web to reach your customers is going to get harder and require more creativity than just a few short years ago.  Social media is more important than print media and getting noticed in a world where you can access anything is no small task.

So what the heck am I talking about, anyhow?  First off, let me explain that marketing your product, business, service, or even yourself is laid in your own hands.  Once upon a time, you sent flyers, mailed postcards, got a yellow pages ad, and even tried your hand at newspaper advertising or making a commercial.  While that may have lead to success in the “once upon a time” days of yesteryear, today’s ever changing world means that you need to watch trends and take advantage of the new marketplace.  While baby boomers may be the least likely to adopt critical marketing channels and join social media platforms, keep in mind that the first of the baby boomers have begun to turn 65.  While retirement at 65 is out of reach for most Americans these days, with retirement on the horizon you are likely to see less discretionary spending by this demographic and an increasing importance of the generations X an Y.  And these groups are into the trends.  If you intend to market to this growing group of spenders, and those that follow, you will need to take advantage of the internet.

Take a look at Facebook.  While it may seem that Facebook is played out, that is simply not true.  No one thought the telephone would catch on either, and while it is on its way out, it played a rather important role in developing our country for a century.  Facebook is set to be the online meeting space of the world.  The world will be dominated by Facebook and Google in the future, the way that Coca Cola and Pepsi own the soda pop market.  Sure there are still competitors like RC and niche market producers like Jones soda, but the big two are likely to always dominate the market.  Only a decade ago, there was a long list of competitors, but those who adapted managed to survive, and those that grew stagnant are in trouble, or gone.  Remember Compuserve?  AOL has a huge base, but since it never kept up with changing trends it is in real danger of collapse.  Even Yahoo is in real danger of dying a slow death, as they continue to lose market share.

Facebook continues to update and change to make its interface more user friendly.  While many bemoan these changes when they happen, the truth remains that they continue to gain ground in market share.  Many have tried and lost in their attempts to compete with the behemoth.  My Space may have been the mainstay, but as they grew stagnant, it was sure to see them collapse completely.  Surprisingly, though, they managed to find a new way to adapt and to turn My Space into the home for entertainment; a place where bands, music makers, and other entertainment companies could broadcast, sell, and interact with fans.  This may have been the move that saved the ship from sinking.  My point is this, you really need to take advantage of this market if you want to reach the next generation of clients.  A website is still important, but that alone is not the key to your marketing success.  Creating interaction between your web presence and the real world is where we are going, and here are some ways to take advantage of this interaction:

Social media as a means of customer interaction:

A good recommendation from a client can generate big returns.  So a group of good responses from ordinary users can really generate returns.  When I have a comment, complaint, or compliment for a product or company, I turn toward the web.  When I write on AT&T’s Facebook page that I am an unsatisfied customer, not only am I telling all of my friends and followers, but also all of those who are fans of that page.  Failure by AT&T to respond to its consumer complaints is wearing away at its market share.  On the other side, consumer interaction done properly has helped to increase market share for the likes for Verizon.

Social media as a means of product releases:

How do you introduce a new product and get people to take notice?  Did you take notice of the new flavor releases by Mountain Dew?  Using social media, they managed to create new flavors interact with consumers and have them vote on the flavors that they liked best.  Bands are releasing new singles for free on social media sites to promote their albums.  Behind the scenes clips and cast introductions are promoting new shows, as well as new seasons of existing shows.

QR codes marry reality and virtual reality:

QR stands for Quick Reference or Quick Response.  QR codes are essentially barcodes that can be scanned with free mobile apps and can contain thousands of characters.  More and more people are using QR codes to connect the real world with online connections.  In retail they can connect products with recipes or wine pairings; wine labels with wine spectator reviews; movie posters with trailers; the possibilities are endless.

So, the point, marketing is changing.  The way we look at the world, the way we create brands, the way we connect is about the internet.  If you do not take advantage of it now, you may be too lat.

Posted in Marketing, Social Media, Technology and the internet | Comments Off

Recycled and Organic enters the mainstream

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Just a decade ago, in order to find a natural, organic or product from recycled products, you had to find a natural food store or specialty shop.  My how times have changed.  Now, you can find organic produce at most grocers; natural products at most retailers, and even Wal Mart carries toilet tissue with recycled content.  That doesn’t event take into account the rise of the internet.  These days, you never actually need to leave the house to do your shopping.  Nearly every option is available at your fingertips.  What does this mean for greener products?  Manufacturers and retailers can now sell their products around the world with little or no outlay.

So, as the gutters are finally losing their icy coating, and we can actually see the grass again (albeit in patches) you might be thinking of swing sets, walks in the park, and other outdoor activities.

The cool thing is, that now you can buy outdoor goods from mainstream retailers that use recycled plastics.  Check out this cool recycled plastic bench.  A good use for all those plastic bottles that you recycle all year.

I was approached by an online retailer.  They wanted me to give away a $25 gift certificate to one of their sites, swingsetsandmore.com I was a little apprehensive at first.  What do they sell that folks who read out blog might get excited about?  Turns out, quite a lot!

When I got the email, I went to the site, and typed in recycled.  There were over a hundred and fifty products that they sell that came up.  I looked at only a few, and I was sold.  Besides the obvious, like the bench that is pictured, there were a ton of other cool stuff-especially if you have kids.  I was thrilled with the cool Young Scientists Club science kit.  Your kids can learn about the science of composting, grow seeds, and other cool stuff.   There were other cool kits that can teach your kids about solar power, make recycled paper, and a host of other stuff that I would have loved as a kid.  There are toys made from recycled wood fiber, toy storage bins made from organic cotton with recycled pop bottle resin appliques, and a pile of other cool stuff.  No kids, not to worry, there are products that appeal to the adults.  Weed block, outdoor furniture, and even a serving cart.

So how do you get your gift certificate?  Visit the site Swingsets and More, check out some of the products and write something in the comments here or on our Facebook page about the site.  Random winner will receive a $25 that is good for this site or any one of their affiliate CSN sites.  Good luck!

UPDATE: Comment by Monday, February 21, 2011 and a winner will be chosen on Tuesday.

Posted in Giveaways, Green, Technology and the internet | 2 Comments »

7 billion and counting…

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

I have to give a shout out to Joe.My.God for sharing this video.  It really got me thinking…

There are a lot of statistics in this video, and some made me ponder more heavily than others.  The one that startled me the most was the increase of population in the last decade and the projections for mid century.  We added a billion people in the last decade or so, and can expect to add another 2 billion by 2045.  That is a pretty heavy duty prediction.

We already know that we are using the planets resources at a rate that is not sustainable.  If we continue at the current rate, we will see our supplies of minerals, water and oil depleted far faster than most people realize.  If we are seeing the current electrical grid and use of power as tight as it is now, imagine the stress on the system when you add a 25-30% increase in the use of those resources.  If we cannot manage our oil and fossil fuel consumption now, what will we do with an extra 87 million people to worry about?

We are also moving from an agrarian society to an urban one.  For the first time, we now have more people living in cities than in rural areas.  We have seen an increase in megacities, that is cities with over 10 million people.  In 1975, there were only 3 of these enormous urban environments, but now we have 21.  In this video, they estimate that in 40 years, 70% of us will live in these mega cities.  Reflecting on these numbers brings up the importance of dense urban growth, and the importance of building smartly to accommodate these huge population increases in our cities.  Cities that do not embrace new technologies and new planning ideas could suffer greatly in the coming decades.  In America specifically, we do not have a power grid that can support a huge increase in populated areas.  Not only are we going to have to find a way to produce more power, but also to manage it more efficiently.  If cities like Los Angeles experience problems with pollution now, how will they remain livable while they add another 2 million or so people?  While issues like these will affect everyone, these mega cities are going to feel the pinch more than most.  Then there is the issue of food production.  Much like the growth of the urban environment during the industrial revolution, efficient food production and transportation is going to be a huge concern.  As we have to go farther and farther from the urban core to produce food, the cost to produce and transport it will go up.  Furthermore, the quality of produce will continue to diminish as we prepare for more of our food to come from mega corporate farms.

In the US, there is the concern of our crumbling infrastructure.  Currently, our electrical grid is in danger.  Bridges, water delivery systems, sewers, dams and more are in trouble.  We can currently only afford to repair and replace our infrastructure as it falls apart.  Look no farther than Cleveland’s own I-90 bridge and our postponing of its replacement for years to see the proof.  We are patching it to make it safe, but it is long overdue for replacement.  Minneapolis and Seattle have seen major bridge failures in the last couple of decades.  Sludge dams from coal mining are failing in some areas.  Levies in need of replacement may have been the biggest cause of Damage in New Orleans.  If we are seeing this stress on the infrastructure now, imagine when we add a 20% increase in population.  If California is searching for places as far away as the Great Lakes today, what will they do in 40 years?

5% of us use 23% of the energy produced in the world.  13% of the population does not have access to reliable clean drinking water.  38% lack adequate sanitation.  If we have failed to solve these issues for a population of 7 billion, how can we expect to solve it for 9 billion?  Then there are the issues of food shortages, natural disasters, climate change, they only get bigger and worse if do nothing to solve them now.

And just to make you aware, China has a one child policy for urban areas.  A large portion of the country is limited to having only one child per couple.  Over the years, they have become more lax on this policy.  Some imagine this policy will go away in the next decade.  If it does, what will that do to the overall planet overpopulation?

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Posted in Green, Technology and the internet | 1 Comment »

Take a few minutes and help the planet.

Friday, December 17th, 2010

As I mentioned earlier, time is hard to carve out this month.  But not to worry, you can still do good and make an impact while spending little time.  Here are a couple of things you can help out with, without leaving your desk:

Vote for World Water Day 2011: If you follow this blog then you know I admire my friend Erin Huber more than I can say.  She is working hard at changing the city of Cleveland, by getting a Farmers Market at CSU, getting CSU to install a green roof, working with the Sustainaiblity Summit 2019, and so much more.  Right now she is working on a World Water Day project.

March 18th, 2011 176 Inner City Cleveland Metropolitan School Children will be exposed to and interact with educators on urban water cycles, watersheds-local and global, Local water quality concerns, global water quality concerns, the UN efforts for water and world water day, water based careers, CSOs, stormwater runnoff, bottled versus Tap water, and greenbuilding practices to clean water all while honoring their sister school, St Charles School in Uganda, Africa.

The end of the day will will honor the students in Africa as the 176 kids decorate 176 2 liter bottles to carry a day’s worth of water with them on World Water Day Tuesday March 22nd….this equals the 88 gallons per day 1 American uses to wash, drink, and live.
On March 22nd, the students will be bussed to a local cinema-Tower City Cinemas (2 days prior to the start of the Cleveland International Film Festival) to see a screening of Tapped. At the screening, they will transfer their water into reusable containers. The decorated bottled will be arranged in a massive art display in a large fountain at Tower City for 75,000 film goers to view.
Water stations donated by Purewater  will surround the fountain during the CIFF and bottles will be sold by donation to raise funds needed for the Ugandan school to have basic water facilities.  This is the final component to the Cleveland schoolchildren (6th, 7th and 8th graders) in a service project we have designed to help them:
become educated on water. engaged in activity. and empowered to make a difference globally and locally.
This is a great project and has a great chance of being funded.  All you need to do is go to the Rain Bird site and vote for this great project.  Let’s face it, educating more people about the value of water is one of the key areas that needs to be addressed in the coming years, and this is a great way to get the message across.  So do me a favor and vote for this fantastic idea!
Support Zero Landfill at Pepsi Refresh: I am sure that you know about Zero Landfill.  This project diverts large amounts of waste from the waste stream and turns it into materials that is used by educators, artists, and artisans.  In an age where arts education funding is seeing more and more cuts, free materials for teachers is a plus.  Supporting artists is a win for everyone.  Add to it that waste is diverted from landfill and you have a recipe for greatness.  Help them in their efforts to expand to new markets by voting for their project at Pepsi Refresh:
ZeroLandfill projects connect expired specification samples from interiors designers with arts educators seeking new material sources. A volunteer led program through interior design professional trade organizations, ZeroLandfill connects these audiences in a collaborative and efficient manner, carrying the dual benefit of lessoning the burden on landfills while providing necessary resources within their community. Interesting and hard to find materials adds to a positive creative learning experience for the students.

Rolling out projects in 20 new cities will reach 10,000 new arts educators, about 500/market. Reaching beyond the materials exchanged onsite, unique art supplies are made available for the classrooms, budgets are augmented and creativity is sparked. ZeroLandfill(Ed) offers professional development using the materials commonly found at project sites.  We will launch an online portal to offer this to the new educators touched by ZeroLandfill.

So while it may take only a few minutes of YOUR time, the impact could be big!  Please take a few minutes and support my friends and colleagues in their efforts to change the world for the better.

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Giants at war!

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

Facebook: No need to say much about this, because who isn’t on Facebook? If you aren’t you are probably not the type to be reading this blog… Let’s just say that Facebook may the most important place on the web to give your business a web presence. It may be more important than your own webpage in the end. Facebook users often spend more time interacting with their favorite brands and looking for new ones inside this social media site than by scouring the web itself.

Google: More than just email, Google has a suite of products that all work together. I love Google Docs for sharing information in the cloud. When I work with clients, I always set them up with a Gmail account, as it makes working on their social media a breeze! As they march toward world dominance, they are acquiring other sites that I already liked and use on a regular basis. I use Feedburner to maintain some of my blog stats, and extend them with Google analytics. I watch You Tube all the time and they are now a part of the Google family.  I never really got into the Google Buzz, but was disappointed that Wave didn’t work out across the board-I saw a lot of potential in that product.  Still, Google never hesitates to move on, in an effort to be on the cutting edge, and the syncing between Android products and Google accounts is nothing short of amazing to me.

But some may not know about the heated battle going on behind the scenes with Google and Facebook. In an effort to rule cyberspace, a conflict much like the cold war is taking place. For most applications, you can import your contacts from Google. Google has decided that to that, you have to share your contacts back with them.  Seems fair, but as Facebook wants to remain on top and with its recent history of privacy concerns to top it off, they have stated that they will not share their users contact information back with Google.  Thus, Google is not allowing Facebook users in import their Google contacts into Facebook.  Who cares?  It seems that Facebook now has the fb.com designation and it appears that they are readying themselves for a rollout of an email product.  Imagine being able to send and receive emails from within your Facebook account.  This could be quite a blow to Google and Gmail.  This rift is widening the divide between the two giants.  The two are also battling it out over the top talents in the industry right now as well.  Engineers and developers from these two companies and a host of smaller ones are being snatched up like half price sale items at Macy’s.  Where this will all land us as consumers remains to be seem, but it is clear that the big guys are no longer playing nice.

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My Top Three Social Media Sites (this week)

Monday, November 15th, 2010

So there are tons of social media sites out there.  When twitter started, no one suspected how big they could become.  The landscape of social media is changing so rapidly that it sometimes seems impossible to keep up.  I am a member of a host of social media sites.  As an online branding consultant and social media marketer, I have to keep looking at the newest social media sites and seeing if they fit into the plans for my clients.  I play with all of them a little, some only a tiny bit ( I mean, a site for mommies and mommies to be holds my interest for only so long).  I spend a couple of days in Chicago and I have to say that there are 3 sites that really came in handy for me.

Tungle.me is a scheduling service that I love.  I found it a while ago while testing out a few services, and fell in love with it.  You sync it to your favorite calendar service and it tells your potential clients when you are available.  Your calendar can be public or private and people can request a meeting based on your availability.  Or when a client or friends emails me and says, we should get together, I simply go into my Tungle.me account, request a meeting from them, send them some possible times and a private message and send it.  When they make a choice, it is automatically entered into my Tungle calendar and then synced to my calendar service.  No fuss, no muss.  The client can just as easily add it to their calendar, too.  It is simply brilliant.  I sent these guys my thanks for their service, and they sent me a T-shirt and some stickers.    Check them out, and if you use a different calendar service tell me about it!

Geo location is all the rage right now.  Foursquare seems to be leading the way.  I used it a lot over the weekend, and not as much as I could.  As we walked around the Windy City, I often checked out my Foursquare account to see what was nearby.  The mobile app tells you what stores and restaurants are nearby and which ones have a Foursquare deal going on.  The tips from other users recommended a couple of treats that I might otherwise have missed.  The app shows the top checked in spots in the area.  With a city like Chicago, where there might be dozens of stores and restaurants in the neighborhood, it quickly narrows down the choices for you.  For retailers and restaurants that are not tapping into this huge market, the time is now.  So imagine being in a crowded neighborhood, wondering what restarant to choose, and you see that one is offering Foursquare users 2 for 1 apps at happy hour, and you go in.  Once there, as you wonder what’s good, you see the tips saying the steak is unbelievable and you are convinced.  You can also see that your friend has checked in here, so you can stop by their table and say hello.  People also post negative tips as well, so you might go in for the happy hour cocktail and see in the tips that the food is mediocre and move on.

Yelp sure came in handy this weekend.  Since I prefer cooking to eating out, I don’t get to use this application much.  While we were stuck, starving, in Chicago’s Friday rush hour traffic, I recommended that we get off the freeway and eat.  Unsure where to go in a lest than popular south side neighborhood, I pulled out the Droid and used the Yelp application.  On choice is nearby, and I chose restaurants.  Up came a list of the top reviewed restaurants near us, their rating by users, and the distance from us.  That is how we ended up in a clean by plain little Mexican restaurant that we would easily have missed.  We enjoyed one of the best Mexican meals I have had in my life.  We later used it find India House in downtown for a fantastic Indian buffet lunch and the perfect spot for an afternoon coffee.  If you are ever stuck wondering where to go, this app is the best.  I haven’t used it much for check-ins and other geo location “games” as I love my foursquare application and I am not likely to use more than one.  I have 7 geo location apps on my phone, so to check in on them all would be simply impossible.  I believe in social media, but not at the expense of real life.  I think Yelp is ideal for folks who like to dine out and who don’t care about the rest of the geo location features.  You can still pay around by getting badges and becoming a “duke” but it isn’t the same kind of site as Foursquare.

Okay, so have you used any of these sites and what do you think about them?

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Marketing and the Internet-Part 4:Your Brand

Friday, November 12th, 2010

Know your brand, know your audience

While this seems obvious, this can be tricky to keep clear.  You should always be promoting your personal brand.  Whether you are self employed or work for another firm, what you put out on the web, can always be found and seen.  Always be aware of this.  Online, your personal brand is your reputation and potential clients and employers will often Google your name before decided to hire you.  Keep your drunken late night brawls and embarrassing stories for face to face interactions with your real friends.  On the other hand, be real.  Your personal brand is about creating friendships.  People are more likely to do business with a friend, so make friends.  But since you never know where business might come from, make the relationships the priority, not the business that you do.  Use your personal brand to promote yourself as a leader in the industry, an expert in the field.  Interact with everyone equally and don’t be afraid to un-connect from someone who is bothering you.

Your business brand is a little different.  You should always connect with those who want to connect to your business.  Make it easy for them.  Do not use personal Facebook profiles to promote your business brand.  When potential customers or clients want to follow you, don’t make them send a friend request.  With a fan page, it is easier to build followers, easy for your friends to recommend your business to their friends, and you are creating an online business presence.  This means that those who “like” your page are opting in to get news, information, and relative information.  Use that FB “like” button on your blog and around the web to always be gaining new followers.  ‘

Since clients and followers are “opting in” to follow you, they want to hear what you have to say.  Feel free to promote your business and your industry.  Give them information about your field, including news and changes to legislation.  Do promote, but don’t be boring about it.  Remember that people don’t mind commercials if they are not boring.  If you use video, make it interesting.  Entertain or inform in order to promote.  Remember that social media is only a platform to reach your audience.  They want to hear from you, but if you are boring they can leave pretty easy.  Once upon a time, a television or radio commercial was the way to reach your audience.   If it way on a popular channel or program, it was likely to be seen or heard.  Those days are gone.  You can avoid advertising most places with a click of a button, so make the most of your efforts.

Know what your brand is and promote it as such.  Feel free talk about that amazing meal you had last night when you are on social media, but where do you talk about it?  If you post it to twitter or Facebook, use your personal account.  However, if you are a restaurateur, chef, or food critic or the like, use your business brand and put it in your LinkedIn status as well.  Perhaps even start a discussion about it.  If it was out, write about it on the restaurant wall.  Promote the businesses that you like and your clients are likely to promote you.

In any case, when you want to connect with someone, try to always use a personal message.  Let them know why or how you know them, why you think you should connect with them, or why they should follow your company or page.

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Marketing on the internet and social media-Part 3:RSS

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

This is a reprint from earlier this year that fold quite nicely into this topic, so I decided to include it in this series.

What is RSS? And what is a “reader”?

How do I follow a blog?  What does “subscribe” mean?  What is RSS?  What is a reader?  Why should I care?  If you have asked yourself any of these questions, then read on.  If you are more web savvy, then read on anyhow and add your two cents in the comments.

I am a member of a variety of groups and meet regularly with fellow bloggers, marketers, sustainability experts and more.  Sometimes it is purely a social event over a few beers, and sometimes I get down and dirty with technical aspects of the net or green technologies.  Whenever I mention our blog, I invariably get a few questions.  If you have ever wanted to ask any of the above questions, then you are not alone.  I thought I would answer some of these questions here and demystify some of the process for you.

How do I follow a blog? Let’s start here.  A blog is like an online paper.  It can range from a big service that reports daily news with lots of articles, to a crazy person who rants and raves on a variety of topics whenever they are so inclined.  We strive to fall somewhere in the middle.  With the rise of the internet and services like Blogspot, WordPress, and even Tumblr anyone with internet access can become a blogger and put their own thoughts out to the world.  Following a blog means that you read their articles or posts whenever they put new information out.  To follow a blog, you can bookmark their site and visit it on a regular basis.  Some sites allow you to subscribe.  Subscribe means that you get the information delivered to you.  Just like getting a newspaper delivered to your front porch instead of picking it up at the newsstand, subscribing to a blog allows the information to come to you in a way that is easy for you.  You can subscribe by email (if that option is available) and have an email of new posts delivered right to your email account.  You can also subscribe to a blog in areader.

What is a reader? A reader is a service that goes out onto the internet and looks for new articles for you.  A reader goes to any blog thats that you have subscribed to and sees if there is any new articles or posts that you have not gotten yet.  If there is, then they bring the content to you.  Some email programs, like Outlook have a reader built right in.  There are also plenty of other reader services out there on the web.  With names like News Gator, Google Reader, Net Vibes and even My Yahoo, you can sign up and these services will put all new content together for you.  A reader or reader service allows you to follow more than one blog at a time and makes it easy for you to read new content.  When you subscribe to a variety of blogs, then these services will go out onto the web, find all new content for the blogs that you choose and put it all in one place for you.  For example, after you subscribe to our blog and a few others, when you go to your reader you will find new articles from Great Lakes Green Pages, Green LA Girl, Tree Hugger, or whatever blogs you subscribe to all in that reader.  You no longer have to go out to each individual site to read each of these blogs.  If there is no new post since you checked last, then there will be nothing in your reader.  Blogs do this by using RSS.

What is RSS? RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.  When a blog starts publishing on a regular basis, they generally add an RSS feed.  This is like a newswire service (think UPI) for blogs.  It sends tells where the blog is and what the latest content is.  Blog readers use this feed to check for new content.  When you subscribe to blogs using a reader, the reader adds these feed “addresses” to their list of places to check and checks for you to see if anything new has been published.  When you see the symbol on the left you can generally click on it and subscribe to a blog’s RSS feed.

Why should you care?  The world is a rapidly changing place.  It used to be that one could get along just fine by reading the daily paper and watching the local and national news.  Now to be really aware of what is happening, you have to use the internet.  But sifting through all the content on the internet is a task all unto itself.  Then there is interesting stuff going on that is never picked up by the news or ever put into print.  I went to a great event last night called Eco Tuesday (which I will write about later) but there was no conventional press there.  There were other people there who likely write blogs.  When you subscribe to a blog like ours, you will be apprised of all the latest news and content that we write.  In addition, you can subscribe to other blogs that you find interesting and have it all delivered together in one place.  This is the future of news and information.  Blogs and the internet have lead the way in breaking news and information.  While CNN was reporting quiet elections in Iraq, twitter was abuzz with violence and protests that were happening in the streets.  Conventional media is at the mercy of the advertisers, while bloggers are more free to produce content.  So find your self a reader that you like, and start subscribing to this and a host of other blogs right now!  I’ll make it easy. Click here.

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Marketing on the internet and social media, Part 2:blogs

Monday, November 8th, 2010

To blog or not to blog?

Should you have a blog?  These days there are millions of blogs on millions of topics, so should you be one of them?  If you have a website to promote, then I say yes. For your business, a blog is a great way to keep new content coming to your site, increase your links from outside sources and build traffic to your website.  If you hate to write and you have no website, then perhaps a blog is not for you.  On the other hand, if you are unemployed or underemployed, it might be a great way for you to broadcast your depth of knowledge in a certain area and get you hired.

How often should you blog?  That is up to you.  The more often you post, the more often you are going to reach out to potential clients and build your base.  You have to know your audience and how often they want to hear from you.  You can post a lot at first, and see what sticks.  Just make sure to use Google Analytics and Feedburner as tools to see what people are reading.  Follow your stats, but don’t be obsessed by them.  Make sure that you know what an RSS feed is, what a reader is, and that you provide a place for readers to sign up to receive posts by email.

Promote your blog.  Post about your blog and what you are writing about on Facebook, twitter, and other social media.  Some tools will allow your blog posts to automatically go out over the web to your social media on their own.

What should I blog about?  This is a tricky question.  You want to provide one of two things: information or entertainment.  If your company is already producing an online newsletter, then there are the beginnings of your blog.  Each article could become a blog post.  Be careful not turn your blog into an online portfolio or a giant commercial, but don’t be afraid to put a little of your own work out there.  Figure out who you are trying to attract as reader, and then write as if they are already reading.  If you are writing to the masses, then don’t get too technical.  If you are writing to scientists, you might fare better skipping the generalities and get down to the technical nitty-gritty.  Once you develop a following, write for them, but be true to your vision of building your base.

Whether you blog or not, you should be reading relevant blogs.  Commenting on blogs with your website address give you extra points to search engines.  Be on topic and smart in your comments, though.  Too many comments that are just for links and you will be considered a spammer.  Most blogs now have spam filters and those kinds of comments are often blocked automatically.  Be real and be honest, and people will do the same for you.

Feel free to call me at 216-469-1579 to learn more about how Great Lakes Design Collaborative can help you build an online marketing strategy that makes the most of new media.

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Marketing on the internet and social media

Saturday, November 6th, 2010

Most people understand that the internet needs to play a part in any company’s marketing plan. The problem is that most people do not really know hos to use social media, or even the internet in a broader form as a way to build their business. That is why I have been so busy of late. I have been working with clients to build a social media presence and develop an online marketing plan. Over the last couple of months, it has become clear that many small business don’t really now how to use Facebook, other than in the personal sense. Most don’t use twitter, or even know how to. Some do not see LinkedIn as anything more than a tool to help them get a new job, should they decide to move on. Twitter, bebo, Ping, Facebook fan pages, Blogger, WordPress, Foursquare, Flickr, Linked In, Reddit, Technorati, My Space, Squidoo, Tungle, You Tube, Yelp, Loopt, Digg…. the options and the sites are endless. And just when you think you know them all, something new comes along and one of your favorites, closes up shop. Each site has a distinctive audience, and discovering which sites to tap into to make the most of your marketing efforts is something that is crucial to making the work you put in successful. There are some tips and tricks that you should know that will help you across the board. Since I am writing a white paper to present to my clients, I thought I could share some of this information here. Whether you are a casual user, a business owner who wants to make better use of the internet, or the marketing guru in your office, I am sure that you will find some information in these posts that you can use.

Know your platform

Each social media platform has its own style. So to use it effectively, you need to tailor your strategy to get the most out of it. To start with, make sure that all your social media profiles are filled out as completely as possible. Always use a profile picture; never leave it as the default. Business accounts should use their logos, or create avatars that reflect their business and profiles should be customized with the look and feel of your brand.
LinkedIn is a professional networking tool. In order to get the most out of it, you need to connect to people that you have a business relationship with. Join groups that offer business and networking opportunities. Follow discussions that are relevant to your industry and comment on them whenever possible. Keep all your interactions honest, professional, and positive. This is your place to promote yourself as a professional, if you would not talk about it in a job interview or a business meeting, then don’t discuss it here.
Twitter is limited to 140 characters. This is your place to speak in small bites. Use it to interact with customers, clients, coworkers, and friends. Keep you messages short and to the point, follow a lot of those who follow you, and check your DM (direct messages) often. Be sure to respond to them. Use service like Social Oomph to automatically send a thank you message to new followers. Make sure that your twitter page is current, and branded. Use a customized background. This may be the only time that someone checks out who you are, so make sure that you list other ways for people to connect with you.
Facebook is the place to try and engage in discussions, as well as give news and information. Fan pages can be difficult to create a following, but never stop. Sometimes, especially for businesses that serve businesses, it takes a long time to build up that following. Still, act from the very beginning as if you have a ton of fans. Ask questions and promote interactions. Always comment back on wall posts and answer questions. Promote other businesses and offer news and information that is relevant to your industry. Make your fan page the “place to be” for your market. Use it to post updates and offers as well. Always create links back to your homepage, but the more content you put into Facebook itself, the larger your audience will be. Some people on FB will not go out of it to see your You Tube video or visit outside sites, so try and hook them in here. Embed your videos, and place newsletter sign ups in the fan page itself. Create promotions that make fans “like” your page before they can enter.
Know your othersites. ITunes, Flixster, and Soundcloud are about media, so this is not necessarily the best place to talk about cars or food.  Don’t talk about movies on Scribd. Flickr is about images, You Tube about video.  Know your platform to use it to its fullest.

Feel free to call me at 216-469-1579 to learn more about how Great Lakes Design Collaborative can help you build an online marketing strategy that makes the most of new media.

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