Business Idea's, Stories and Links
Shout out to Michelle Judd – Global Communications Manager, Ergotron, Inc. for turning me on to this site. . very cool. .Thanks Michelle you rock!
The link on her blog is below:
http://blogs.ergotron.com/blog/2008/09/04/monitoring-your-brand-on-social-media/
Update here is another tool that also does this:
This article is a little too basic for my knowledge but it still is a good read.
Also if you want to read an article that is limited to WSJ.com customers and you do not have a subscription just use the email the article feature send it to yourself and you can then read the article for free. Sorry WSJ
Social Business Networks inexpensively interconnect professionals online, in particular, independent entrepreneurs and smaller companies. Social Business Networks also give you the opportunity to showcase your experience and achievements within your network. If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner, you need to be literate in the current world of social networking profiles, tools, and online connections to stay competitive and promote your business.
Participating in social networking is an often-overlooked small business marketing tool. In the real world, our networks are hidden. Social networking sites solve this problem by letting you see who your friends and connections know, who your friends, friends know and so on. You then are free to contact anyone that interests you by inviting them to join your own social network.
If you are looking to expand your contact base, LinkedIn and Facebook are two of the more popular services that facilitate business-oriented connections. Facebook showed a 270 percent increase in visitors in 2007 over the year before according to comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world.
Here are 5 quick tips to successful social business networking:
1. Take the time to learn how to properly use the business social networking site that you join. Most social networking sites offer online tutorials. Many sites allow you to post your own user generated content in the form of blogs, pictures, slide shows and videos. Many users do not use the social networking sites to their fullest potential by taking advantage of these features.
2. Don’t let your ego take over and join in the race to build up a massive list of contacts to show off your “social power.” If you have more than 500 “friends,” take the time out to sort through these “friends” to be aware of the people you may be attracting to your network.
3. Build and manage your online reputation. According to a report on MSN, several companies are now using the “friends” on an applicant’s social-networking page as references. Not only are they looking at your page on sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, they may also take the next step in contacting your friends. The old days of a page with three references and three phone numbers on it that you controlled are over. With social business networking, you open up your rolodex for the whole world to see.
4. Be professional. Type your posts, e-mails, comments or chats in a professional manner and do not use internet slang such as “lol”, “omg”, etc. Type your email, comments or chat messages as if you were standing in front of the person speaking face-to-face. Let’s face it; this could be your first impression with a potential client or HR recruiter.
5. Establish a Routine. When logging on to your preferred Business Social Networking sites, set aside a designated length of time to spend here. Have some specific goals in mind when visiting the site.
Don’t take a pass on the whole social networking trend. Millions of professionals are learning how social networks work, how social networking works, and how shared applications can be viral and ever-present. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to create a successful social business network of your own.
Lets face it we are in a recession or at least it feels that way. I get approached by people all the time that they don’t have the money to promote their goods and services. I would say in times like this it may be the time to ramp up the marketing and cut back on other areas (I know this is easier said then done).
I like free and cheap marketing. I like hearing about. I like talking about. I really like to see it in action.
A month ago a person was handing out lollipops at my kids soccer game which had a coupon for a free slice of pizza wrapped around it for a new local pizza restaurant. I like pizza. I really like free pizza. This restaurant probably hit 500 people in one morning with this offer.
In the whole scheme of things how much did this promotion really cost them? Not much compared to traditional advertising. Guess what? I drank the koolaid. We are regular customer and we would have never know about this restaurant had it not been for this promotion.
The other day I received an envelope addressed to “my neighbor.” It was from a neighborhood kid looking for some babysitting work. What struck me about the package that was enclosed is that it had testimonials, professional looking stationary and a refrigerator magnet with both her home number and cell phone number. This is from a kid that is 13 years old. Guess where that magnet is? Right on my refrigerator. Guess who we are going to call next time we are in a fix for a babysitter.
Finally, I was reading the Saint Joe’s HawkEye newspaper. (Shout out to them I love reading the Hawk) I read an article about a student that started a cookie making business ala Mrs. Fields. I then notice that this same budding entrepreneur had notices on the bulletin boards placed in the hallways of the classroom building with an ad for her company with a tear-off section for her phone number. I was hit by two different forms of cheap marketing within 10 minutes.
What do these three examples have in common? They not only advertised but they left the prospect with something to remember them by. A lollipop, a refrigerator magnet a tear-off phone number tag.
My gut is all these examples have a very high ROI.
We are not talking rocket scientry. . just good common sense which at times is lacking from even the best organizations when it comes to marketing.
You are also reading a blog that cost me nothing. . nada. . so I want to give a shout out to WordPress.com for helping me market on the cheap! Other alternatives are the free social networking sites such as Linkedin, Facebook and MySpace.
Update:
Another idea is to approach your local schools hand out a flyer to local school children to bring home to their parents this is especially effective for neighbor hood organizations such as sports leagues and social organizations targeting this demographic.
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