1. You are welcome to think of and write the content yourself, especially if you enjoy writing.

2. Don’t forget to ask staff if they’d be interested in writing articles.

3. Check with Receptionist/Customer Service Department for commonly asked questions, and address those questions with answers in your next article.

4. Use all or part of case studies for articles. If none have been written yet, use client projects or service scenarios to demonstrate problem/solution oriented articles.

5. Use products/services list to choose one item to elaborate on, explaining in easy to understand terms what it is you offer. If you don’t have a list, brainstorm one and work off of it. This can be a source of articles for many months, depending on the length of your products/services options.

6. If you have clients complete feedback cards, address the issues in an article explaining either that it’s a great idea and what you’re working on to incorporate the idea, OR why it’s not feasible to accommodate that now; acknowledging the excellent ideas.

7. Feature a testimonial from a client.

8. Write about an upcoming industry related training or presentation that you/staff plan to attend. If appropriate to encourage your clients to attend as well, include necessary registration information.

9. Review an article or book related to your industry and readership interest.

10. Choose an ongoing topic for a series or mini-series that you add to each issue.

11. Create a Question and Answer format, and either ask your clients for questions or write your own. You could also draw from a FAQ page from your website, highlighting a different one each issue.

12. Ask your clients to submit stories and/or pictures using your products creatively, humorous stories, etc.

13. Re-use old articles, editing and updating for current use.

14. If you offer training or have materials already written to help clients with a specific topic, use portions of the materials to develop a new article.

15. Ask your staff for industry news that is timely and needs to be communicated. (new products, research studies, rebates, recalls, etc)

16. Ask your clients what they would like more information about or what topics would be helpful to them. Make sure to ask more than just your contact person. Issues that are pertinent to your contact person, may be very different from what the owner of the company, sales person, repair person, marketing person, customer service person wants/needs to know.

17. Identify a vertical industry (one that is relevant or complimentary to what you do, but not in direct competition) and ask others to write articles for your blogs. They may have plenty of pre-existing items they can submit for your blog. Most people will welcome opportunities for free marketing.

18. Check with your manufacturer, supplier, distributor, parent company, etc for published articles and materials you can re-publish in your blog. If your sales increase due to your to additional marketing efforts, there may be affiliate payouts, commissions, benefits, etc.

19. Advise readers of critical dates such as upcoming events, sales, or rebates. Be sure to walk them through any necessary procedures and provide all critical information.

20. Summarize all pertinent information you/your staff learned at a recent conference or seminar, passing along an abbreviated version of helpful insight to your readers regarding new products, new services, new uses or updates to older items, research findings, price reductions, benefits, etc.

21. Use an interview format for an article. Interview a client, vender, or industry expert with predetermined questions to make it simple for everyone.

22. Obtain author’s written permission to use an article written and published in a local newspaper or blog. Simply republish in your blog.

23. There are lots of articles online that are free to use and republish. Spend some time searching for some good sources and make a list. In most cases, all you need to do is give credit to the author and site the source.

24. Reiterate important business relationship topics, such as your payment terms, return policies, office hours, holiday hours, contact information, directions, website, etc.

25. Premier sales in your blog or develop specific sales offers only for blog subscribers. This is a great measurement tool, as you can have clients reference codes published in blogs, different from those published in newspaper ads, direct mail, etc.

26. Ask clients to submit ideas they’d like covered in future articles on your blog.

27. Ask pre-selected employees, clients, and/or vendors, if they’d like a regular column. You set the parameters for the content, and let them write and develop on an ongoing basis.

28. Feature an article to get to know your staff and/or departments. You can either set standard questions and have others write the article, or use an interview format.

29. Highlight your business in the news. If you’ve been recently featured for one reason or another, write an article to extend the PR a little longer.

30. Build personal relations with your clients by writing about internal news such as new hires, long time retirements, winning awards, promotions, title changes, ownership changes, restructuring, etc. Make sure your blog readers hear things first, from you, the most trusted source.

31. Review your company calendar, company meeting agendas/notes, or company emails for items that may need to be shared or of particular interests to your clients. This is a great way to stimulate ideas that may otherwise get forgotten.

32. If your product, service, staff, or manufacturer has been recognized for honors or extraordinary results, or awards make sure to cover in an article explaining the importance of the recognition.

33. If you donate to a charity, offer a scholarship, volunteer time and/or staff resources it can be very important to communicate your involvement to your readership, offering them opportunities to get involved if they’re interested and would like more information.

34. Publish the history of your company. Many people have the story of the business framed on the wall or in their marketing materials.

35. Don’t be afraid to “re-run” articles on critical topics. It is common to assume that clients understand and retain information provided them, and yet statistics show that reiteration of the same topics proves helpful and diminishes common frustrations.

36. If your business is seasonal or products/services vary with seasons/holidays, make sure you write articles several months in advance to help prepare for increased business and customer needs. Address issues such as advanced appointments, shipping, deadlines, inventory, etc.

37. Develop a customer of the month, highlighting their trust and years of patronage. Tell about your business relationship, products/services purchased over the years, how they use your business to solve their problems, and give them a free plug for their business/organization/ or cause they are passionate about.

38. Provide a list of resources for your readers that is related to your industry or that may stimulate additional inquiries. It may be a local list or an online list. For example, a professional organizer should provide updated information on where to donate unwanted items. A real estate agent should provide the same information to a client preparing a home to sell. An accountant would want to provide updated information on how to track (tax) donations for all the items these industries are assisting their clients with. It is amazing how important shared resources are and how helpful it can be to your clients.

39. Offer an incentive to your readers to forward the blog to others they think may be interested in subscribing.

40. Review a different section of your website, guiding your blog readers to your website, through the services you offer, and highlighting specific benefits or areas of interest. Choose a different area of the website to feature each issue.

41. Create a Did You Know section that simply relates facts or statistics about your company, products, service, industry, etc. For example, “Did you know that our company achieved 100% on-time shipping of all our products in 2007?”

42. Pictures can provide insight into your organization. Consider a pictorial tour by departments, or by process of product development or service delivery. Example: Outside view of building, reception area, offices, production, testing, delivery trucks, etc. You could also show history of the business through the years.

43. Articles aren’t the only content in a blog. Consider a quiz, contest, game, or other interactive idea to get your customers involve. Interesting ideas make it more likely that readers will retain information about your business.

44. Watch the news for related stories you will need to address for your readers, either to reiterate, explain, ease fears, or translate locally. An example may be food or toy recalls. Do you sell something that is getting national coverage? Would your readership wonder if you do? Address the issue.

45. Do you have a PR story to pitch? There are tons of writers who look for interesting stories to write that will get them their own good PR. Some will write about you for free, submit your story online, and give you permission to use the story in your own blog. Subscribe to newsletters and other blogs, get familiar with some authors, and email them directly. Most will post their email address or websites after the article.

46. If you have a web blog or feedback forum on your site and a great topic was recently discussed, re-use the content! This is probably going to be a great representation of what all most of your other readers want discussed as well.

47. Don’t underestimate the power of a brainstorming session with lots of people from your company. Ask for ideas for upcoming articles and let the ideas flow freely for a while. Then take notes. Chances are you’ll have more content ideas than you have time to address right away. Don’t forget to ask for volunteers to write, especially if someone is very passionate about something.

48. Are there tips and tricks you could provide to your customers that would make their use of your product or service easier, faster, cheaper, less stressful? This section would not need to be long, but would provide something new each issue such as: replacement parts, cleaning tips, preparations before service, dates to remember (changing filters), maintenance, record keeping, what to keep/throw, storage instructions, safety tips, other uses, etc. You could also use simple diagrams with your tips if appropriate.

49. It’s ok to hire a content writer. This option isn’t for everyone, but it can be very appropriate to hire help, especially with larger PR initiatives. If you do spend the money to have content written for your website, PR campaign, or marketing kit, make sure you use it (or excerpts) in your blog. Get the most mileage you can out of pieces you’re paying an author to write!

50. Carry a notebook or journal to take notes of ideas that inspire you at inopportune times. You may be at a business meeting, out for supper, or at a child’s concert when a great idea crosses your mind. If you don’t write it down, you may not recall it later. Some of your best ideas will come when you’re least expecting it, so when all else fails, take a break. Don’t stress over creating content. Some blog articles will be longer than others.

REMEMBER: Write about something you are passionate about; it will show in your writing. Write to the needs of your readers; they’ll establish you as an expert and look forward to what you have to say.

What ideas do you have that helped inspire what you write about?

photo credit: Julie Sturek

Marketing with Social Media Tip 1:

Keep in mind that you should not be focused solely on selling yourself. Social media networks are largely about building relationships. In a rural area, it is likely that most of your targeted market knows of you, so take advantage of social media to let them know who you really are.

Marketing with Social Media Tip 2:

Find your angle. Some people use social media to link useful tools, apps or stories to their followers. Others use social book marking sites to promote niche topics. Some use social media mainly as a conversational tool. Once you choose your angle or style, be sure to stick with it. It is essential to your brand to have not only a consistent message, but a consistent presentation as well.

Marketing with Social Media Tip 3:

Remember how big the Internet is. No matter how small your local community is, remember that any social media messages you post or sites you promote, targeted customers in your small local area are not the only ones that will be able to see them. It is important to not get too casual or veer into unprofessional, which can be tricky with the free flowing, instantaneous nature of marketing with social media.

Marketing with social media is constantly growing in popularity. With no sign of waning, it is safe to assume that sooner or later, your small business is going to have to get involved with social media. Keeping in mind these three tips for marketing with social media is a good start, with many more resources available for your perusal as you get more comfortable with your social media presence.

Why make things more complicated when you start?

One hour a day. It doesn’t even have to be a continuous hour.
Ten minutes here, twenty minutes there – whenever you can find the time to spare, all you need to do is engage in social media marketing an hour a day. So, what can you do in that hour? Here are seven things you can do, all in under an hour.

1. Do a Twitter search on your company name to see what people are saying. Respond to a couple.
2. Add a picture or two of new products to your company Facebook page.
3. Film a quick 5 minute video about recent news relating to your industry or company.
4. Write a blog post about your top 5 best selling products or services.
5. Create a quick coupon and link to it from your Twitter account.
6. Do a quick Twitter search for your town and add ten new friends from the local area.
7. Spend a couple of minutes personally responding to blog comments and visiting the blogs of commenters.

Give it a try

Not only can each of those social media marketing techniques be done in under an hour, all seven tips can be accomplished in under an hour. Participating in social media marketing an hour a day may not seem like enough to be effective. However, pick one, two or even all of the tips listed above and try them out for a couple of weeks. Don’t spend more than an hour a day on social media marketing, and see what kind of connections and results you come up with. After your initial two weeks, take what you’ve learned about what works and what doesn’t and tailor the tips to your business’s needs. Don’t wait for the big budget and big staff of a big city business to start your social media marketing efforts. If you can spare an hour a day, your small business can have a legitimate presence on social media as well.

Your thoughts?

Can you spare one hour to focus on building relationships online, enhancing communiation, learning what your customers are really thinking? I would love to hear your thoughts.

BTW – the photo above is from one of my favorite local potters.  You can learn more at www.claycoyoteblog.com.

URL shorteners are an amazingly simple and free tool that I now find it hard to live without. Ok, maybe I can live without a URL shortener, but I couldn’t WORK without one.

Why You Need a URL Shortener

You want to pass this article along to a friend in the email you are writing (or on Facebook or Twitter). If you don’t use a URL shortener yet, then you have to highlight it, right click-copy it, and past the whole thing into your document. Some can be very long, take up a lot of space, and are definitely hard to remember.

 How URL Shorteners Work

There are plenty of URL shortener options out there, but I usually use Bit.ly It is easy to use, and their new redesign makes the service even more intuitive for first time users. It is free to use Bit.ly, so simply right click-copy the URL you want to shorten, pull up Bit.ly, past it in the large space provided, and it will automatically give you a short URL that is unique to your link. You can use this link anywhere and whoever clicks on it will be taken to your intended (original) link.

See Bit.ly:

The long URL example from above is now shortened to:

I hope this was helpful and that you take a few minutes to give Bit.ly a try. Once you experience how easy it is to shorten your URL’s you’ll come to rely on this service frequently.

The repetitive question refers to providing the same information and links across multiple social media platforms. When I tell a client, we need to list all your websites, post your pictures, and provide all your social media links, I inevitably get “Well, it all seems so repetitive. This information is already provided on our website.”

Yes, this information is readily available if I were to look for it. However, the key to social marketing is reaching people where they already are; not making them go elsewhere or jump through hoops for what they want.

Your pictures are already posted in your beautiful portfolio section of your website? Well, sorry, but you need to include them again in your blog posts, on Facebook, and have we discussed Flickr yet?

Maybe you’ve done a great job of creating a Twitter page and are using it daily. However, if you have wasted space in your design, then why not include some of your information like email address, physical address, Facebook page, etc.

With each area we focus on, it’s important to include the “same” information, even if it seems repetitive.

Remember this: While it may seem repetitive to you, it doesn’t necessarily seem repetitive to your audience. The same pictures or events you’ve had posted on your website for a few days are NEW and INTERESTING to the right people who are seeing them for the first time somewhere else.

photo credit: webtreats

Creative Commons License photo credit: alexliivet

The best social media marketing tips help establish lasting relationships between your business and your targeted market. There are two ways to use social media marketing to increase customer loyalty and ensure your business a customer for life: engagement and appreciation.

Making a habit of engaging with your customers and targeted market on sites such as Twitter or Facebook personalizes your business and gives your company a more relatable feel. When a current or potential customer knows they can reach out to you and receive a human response, a feeling of investment in the relationship is created. Rather than stewing about problems they may have had, a customer you interact with through social media is likely to comment on your company blog or direct message you on Twitter to make you aware of the issue, giving you an opportunity to really shine in offering a solution.

Once you have made a habit of engaging with your customers and clients, take advantage of the easy connection offered by social media marketing to offer targeted sales, products and special deals to your social media communities. You can select five random followers a month to receive a special coupon code, or offer “secret” sales just for Twitter followers. A customer who is invested in their relationship with your company, as well as one with a feeling that their business is truly appreciated, is likely to be a customer for life, no matter what competition moves into the neighborhood.

Need a great gift idea for that special someone in your life whose own life is encompassed by social media efforts? While an ergonomic computer chair is a great idea, I guarantee you that the best thing you can give them is the gift that keeps on giving.

I’m talking about writing an article on your blog or a guest article for someone else; no strings attached. Take your passion and writing skills, and donate a little time toward something that really matters. We’ve all had requests from others to write an article about this or that.  Think of your friends, clients, and colleagues; then go back through your notes or emails and follow through with a few requests.

If you haven’t had any recent requests for guest articles, then choose a few topics that you LOVE and write from the heart. Give a shout out or a link to someone who you care about who also has a common interest or expertise in that area. There is no better way of expressing your gratitude and best wishes for 2010 than to create positive, helpful, and inspiring content for others.

photo credit: smajee

But, my biggest gripe with the RT button was the fact that using the button meant that I wasn’t allowed to add my personal comment before the RT, explaining why I thought it was worthy of my time and endorsement.

Well, today I need not ponder the issue any further. I logged on early this morning to find the button gone. My first and only tweet thus far today:

I guess it’s back to the old way of ReTweeting.  I really won’t miss it. And you?

Facebook recently launched the capabilities of replying to comments via email. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a message from Facebook in each of the emails that reads, “New Feature: Reply to this email to comment on this post.” This is a fantastic feature for anyone who manages a fan page. Manage multiple fan pages as I do, and it is a gift. Today, I’m referring to it as my special holiday gift from Facebook.

I’ve always monitored comments via email. My email feeds into my Blackberry. Now, I can reply faster and easier to keep discussions going and without logging into Facebook. This saves me a ton of steps, not to mention a whole lot of time. Thanks Facebook!

*Hint: Don’t try to reply to emailed messages from last week. The feature wasn’t implemented and is likely not to work on older messages.

2. You’ll save money on advertising costs. If you pay to post your job openings in the newspaper like “you’ve always done it” and it makes you feel better, than don’t post them for free on Twitter. Its reach isn’t near as limited as your local newspaper.

3. Your leisurely search in Google will be replaced with a knowledgeable human being. If you feel you’ve done your duty and finally learned to Google your questions, then stick with that. Spend your time sifting through results produced by a machine that has no clue how to LOL.

4. People will be overly friendly and helpful.Recluses who enjoy their polished anti-social behaviors should definitely avoid Twitter. They could become utterly overwhelmed by the everyday thoughtfulness of tweeps.

5. You’ll hear what people are saying about your company or brand. If you’re a business owner afraid of what might be said about you or your company, Twitter can be a scary place. People frequently toss around thoughts and feedback about their favorite brands, giving ample opportunities for those who aren’t afraid of Twitter to win their loyalty.

6. You’ll feel obliged to help people. Darn it! Twitter starts to rub off on the seemingly innocent people going about their selfish lives. You might be inclined to help someone on Twitter.

7. You’re going to find out what you never knew you were missing. This is the main reason Twitter is bad. From breaking news to philanthropy efforts to make our world a better place, Twitter loyalists feel compelled to share human interest stories.

8. You’ll be overwhelmed with how small of world we live in.Gain a few followers, start a few conversations, and you’ll be surprised that there are other people from all over the world with whom you have much in common. Venture toward Twitter too long, and you might get invited to a TweetUp.

9. You might partake in too much “Twittering”. Watch famous people try to assimilate and look intelligent, and you’ll hear them use ridiculous words like “Twittering”. Join Twitter and find out why that word is obnoxious.

10. You won’t get to wait until the 10pm news to find out what’s going on. If you look forward to learning about your local and world events on the nightly news; news stories that are selected and censored by the media, then by all means stay away from Twitter. It’s a cesspool of current events.

Need even more reasons?  Follow me on Twitter.  www.twitter.com/confessionsmom or Steve at www.twitter.com/stevegasser