One of the benefits of operating a small business in a rural community is the increased opportunity to personally connect with your customers. When you are seeing the same people week after week, or when you are the only business in town offering a certain service or product, it is easy to take customer loyalty for granted. Bear in mind, however, that the dissatisfied customer is extremely likely to jump ship as soon as a new option is available. For this reason, it is important not to take your current customers for granted, no matter how limited a rural location may make their options. A great way to increase customer loyalty is through social media marketing tips designed to increase customer satisfaction and appreciation. [Read more...]
17
Dec 2009
Twitter Giveth and Twitter Taketh Away
Only a short time ago Twitter added the much talked about “RT” button. For days I read nothing but negative tweets with #fail hashtags. Nobody seemed to like it. I was hesitant to use it, but forced myself to give it a try. It was easy to ReTweet with a push of the button. However, it made following RT bread crumb trails more difficult. It also resulted in seeing people I didn’t normally follow appear on my home page. “Who is this?’ often ran through my head.
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?
07
Dec 2009
Top 10 Reasons Why Twitter is Bad
1. You might get more than one opinion. If you love to live in a world that revolves around you, do more talking than listening, and shun open-mindedness, then Twitter is a bad idea for you. [Read more...]
17
Aug 2009
You know the look…
You know the look. That blank stare you get when you mention something the other person hasn’t the slightest idea what it is. Mention Facebook and people warm up immediately. Mention Twitter and they freeze. Why is it that Twitter is so hard for people to get? Well, there is good reason why people don’t openly embrace Twitter, and I believe it has to do with a sense of “lack of control”. We live in a country where we try to be in control of almost everything from our careers to the people we marry (both of which are predetermined for millions of people elsewhere in the world).
01
Aug 2009
Social Media – Not Just for Big Brands
Even if you are running a small business in a rural area, that does not mean social media marketing is impractical or unprofitable. Social media marketing techniques can be tailored to work with any size business, in any location. Do not assume that social media is limited to big cities or certain demographics or businesses. You do not need to be running a web-based business to benefit from social media marketing. Check out these social media marketing tips for small business and see how many you can put into play. [Read more...]
30
Jun 2009
Rural Small Businesses Can Use Social Media to Compete
Small businesses, especially in rural areas, can struggle with keeping customers loyal when big box and chain stores are opening in the nearest major city. Competing can be tough, but social media for small business can give you the edge that you are looking for. [Read more...]
28
Jun 2009
I spend an average of three hours per day networking with people online. Granted some of this time is answering emails and reading blog posts, but much of my time is spent networking with people to learn valuable information, techniques, and new tools to pass along to other small business owners and people interested in learning social media. Therefore, it should come to no surprise that I have accumulated a list of things that make it difficult to quickly and effectively communicate with people. [Read more...]
22
Jun 2009
Guest Post by @ConfessionsMom
If it’s a microwave light bulb we’re talking about, the answer is quite a few.The light in our microwave is something I apparently took for granted. When the original, several year old light bulb recently burned out, it took me by surprise. I opened the microwave door, expecting to see something obvious. Instead, I found no where the light bulb could be. I couldn’t even remember where I used to see the light coming from inside the oven. My husband looked too and was stumped. Hmmm… I decided I could live without a microwave light, until the next time I overheated a cup of coffee. I couldn’t see into the oven until it was too late. I had coffee everywhere. As I grumbled through the clean up process, I decided to turn to twitter. Within seconds, I received this tweet, “How to Change a Microwave Light Bulb http://bit.ly/YgSF3 from @jennhollowell [Read more...]
19
Jun 2009
Rural Small Businesses Look at Ways to Use Twitter
I have met some amazing people in small towns across Minnesota. Recently I had the opportunity to give two presentation on social media in Arlington and Redwood Falls, MN.
At the end of the presentation, we do a group exercise and ask the participants to gather in groups of 5 to answer the question, “How could you use Twitter in your business?“ Below are some of the responses to the question. [Read more...]
07
Jun 2009
Recently our family took a trip to St. Cloud, MN to visit family. Upon driving through town, I noticed St. Cloud has a Famous Dave’s restaurant. We love to treat ourselves to Famous Dave’s occasionally, but we’ve never visited this particular location. [Read more...]
05
Jun 2009
Turn to Twitter for Your Family’s Next Meal
Kraft is using social media, specifically mom bloggers to reach its target audience.
As part of their social marketing campaign, Kraft is giving away several years supply of Kraft Mac and Cheese to contest winners who enter on various mom blogs. They are also donating thousands of boxes to Feed America, which is added incentive to bloggers to participate in their giveaway. [Read more...]
04
Jun 2009
I own a rental property and recently stopped over to paint and clean before the next tenants move in. When I opened the door, a gust of cigarette smoke hit me. Being a non-smoker, I immediately started worrying how I was going to get such an overwhelming scent out of the house. I opened windows, but that wasn’t enough. [Read more...]
15
May 2009
How has Twitter Changed You
I started to ‘tweet’ tonight in kind of a bad mood. My first tweet was about how some people can ‘suck the fun out of the room.’ But then my friends on twitter changed that. First, I was added to several #followfriday tags. FollowFriday is a tag used in Twitter to recommend people that you enjoy on Twitter. That is always a great honor on Friday. [Read more...]
16
Apr 2009
How Much Time Should You Spend on Social Media Each Week
I am often asked how many hours I spend on my social media sites every day. On average, I spend about 3 hours a day creating educational content for my clients and building stronger relationships with current and potential clients.
Something happens when you get involved with social media. You change. You realize that the more you give – the better you feel – and the more you get back. I am motivated to be even more active!
By the end of the week, I have created some terrific marketing materials that are customer focused. I have also created a bunch of ineffective materials that will not work, but here’s the thing – my social community helps me determine what is good or bad based on the comments I receive, the number of times an article is retweeted, or the emails that I receive with questions on the articles or tweets.
So – 15 hours per week [Read more...]
I am President and Chief Evangelist for Vivid Image - a web design and social marketing firm located outside of Minneapolis, MN. 
