I wanted to title this post:  Do you really give a damn? Do you really care about your job, your co-workers, your clients, even your family?

More and more I see people texting at meetings instead of listening.  Checking email while working on other projects.  I am just as guilty.  In the last meeting I had with a fellow co-worker, my computer beeped twice notifying me of incoming emails, my phone vibrated, and I had a brilliant idea pop in my head that distracted me from the topic at hand.  Does that really show that I care?

Two Questions That I Struggle With

1. What does it take to give 100% to another person?
2. What does it take to give 100% to the task at hand?

Create an environment that allows you to focus 100% on the person or the critical task.  Remove distractions.  Close your email.  Focus.

It is more than just showing you care.  A lack of focus can actually make you less efficient and even stupider.  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1046286576946413103.html

It is up to you to provide the leadership

Change happens when you make the decision to give 100% to the person or task at hand.  Decide today to cut off all other options.  The world demands 100% from you.  To fully give 100% attention is rare.  Choose to be remarkable.

1. Have you started using Quora yet?  I signed up a few months ago and I am beginning to see the value of this question and answer tool.  Here are 10 tips from Inc Magazine on how to use it to build your business:  http://www.inc.com/guides/201102/10-tips-for-using-quora-to-build-your-business.html
2. Have you thought about using Facebook as an e commerce platform?  It may be time to consider it.  http://socialmediatoday.com/mattambrose/272418/why-facebook-could-dominate-next-generation-ecommerce
3. I enjoy researching new online tools and finding creative ways to use them to help my clients grow their businesses.  The Social Media Examiner looked at 22 Hot new Social Media Tools Worth Exploring:  http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/22-hot-new-social-media-tools-worth-exploring/
4. I love Copyblogger.  One of the post that captured my attention was about 6 Marketing questions to ask before you spend a dime on design.  These are six fundamental questions to ask before you do any marketing:  http://www.copyblogger.com/6-marketing-questions/
5. To Do List.  I have a lot of lists.  But what should you actually put on your to-do list and what should you just let go of?  http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2011/03/what-to-do-with-your-to-do-lis.html

From the Vivid Image Blog

We had six great blog posts this week.  If you missed any, here there are:

1. Monday:  This was truly a Remark!able day.  Julie Warner shared with Beth how they used social media to have their biggest sales day in history!  Thinking Outside the Dishwasher.
2. Tuesday: I really enjoyed Sarah Manley’s article on Marketing Habits:  Good or Bad.  The last line of the post was great:  Doing things like last year can be a great foundation for planning and strategy, but may stunt your growth for this year.
3. Wednesday:  Beth shared 20 Tips to Building Your Own Facebook Business Page.  We have shared this post via email with a lot of people this week.
4. Thursday: Michelle welcomed the newest member of the Vivid Image community – Swift County Benson Hospital.  I love our clients.
5. Thursday:  I reviewed two of the new features in WordPress 3.1 that our clients will begin seeing in the next few days.  WordPress 3.1 Rocks.
6. Friday: Beth wrote about our Free WordPress refresher course for Vivid Image Clients! All Aboard the WordPress Train April 14.

Your Turn

What do you think?  Any links your want to share?  Your comments are welcome below.

1. There were two posts about Facebook that I loved.  The first one was written by Beth that outlines many of the changes that are happening to your Facebook Fan pages.  She puts these changes in plain English for you.  So, “Take Advantage of the New Facebook Features for Business.”
2. The second article on Facebook came from Denise Wakeman.  Her post about “I’m Giving Up on Automation” was great.  Many people like to automate the publishing of their blog content to Facebook.  Automation is not always the best answer.
3. What Nuns, Yes Nuns, Can Teach You About Social Media. This may change your approach to Social Media forever.

From the Blog

We had five great blog posts this week.  If you missed any, here there are:

1. Monday:  Beth started the week with her focus on Remark!able businesses and organizations.  Her topic today was:  A School District on Facebook? Unheard of, Right?
2. Wednesday:  Sarah took a lead from the Super Bowl ads and wrote, “Is Surprise Advertising Old School?”
3. Thursday:  Michelle focused on “Staying Top of Mind Through Video Content.”  In this article, she features four businesses in Central Minnesota that are utilizing video on their websites.
4. Friday:  Wow, Friday was a great day to inspire you with new things that are coming.  Beth wrote on the new Facebook Features for Business and….
5. Josh provided us with a peak at some new features in WordPress 3.1 that are expected soon!

Your Turn

What do you think?  What did you find inspiring this week?  Share your comments below.

This Weeks Cool Links:

There are post that I found insightful this week.

1. Inside the Mind of a Community Manager.  I suspect this is how Beth’s mind works when she is managing communities.
2. The second graphic I first saw from Chris Brogan on some Shocking News about Cell Phone Usage.  Do you use your phone to check the time more than you use it to make phone calls?

From the Vivid Image Blog

We had five great blog posts this week.  If you missed any, here there are:

1. Monday:  Beth started the week writing about “Customizing Facebook for a Remarkable Experience.”  This article looked at five our our clients and the goals they have for their Facebook Fan pages.
2. Tuesday:  Sarah Manley wrote about “A Crowning Social Media Story” and her journey through Facebook.
3. Wednesday:  I wrote about “Secret Ways to Get More Out of Your Facebook Fan Pages.”  This was inspired by all of the questions we get about getting new Fans and engaging them on Facebook.
4. Thursday:  Michelle featured one of our clients, MVTV Wireless, and how they are using Facebook.
5. Friday:  Ryan ended the week with “Going Green With Design.”  IT really got me thinking about colors and the emotions they elicit.

What is New

We had three great projects go live this week for three wonderful clients:

• Runnings Corporate Website:  http://www.myrunnings.com/
• Camden Outdoors – Inspired Hunting Technology:  http://www.camdenoutdoors.com/
• Madison Lutheran Home/Lac Qui Parle Clinic/Madison Hospital/Hilltop Residence:  watch the video now

Your Turn

What do you think?  What did you find inspiring this week?  Share your comments below.

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.

For each hour I spend researching, writing curriculum, driving, and delivering speeches, I bet I get back tri-fold from the experience. Each person I meet has amazing ideas, insights into their industry, questions that challenge me to think, and humor to round off my day. Driving to each destination allows me time to take in the countryside, discover where businesses are located that I had heard about, and get a feel for each unique rural community. Yes, each one is very unique.

Inevitably, I return from every teaching experience with a very long list of ideas, things to do, topics to write about, information to research, people to get back to, and the list goes on and on. I learn so much while teaching others that I get inspired to schedule the next class before I even return home.

Can I offer an tips to keep inspired while working on the road? Yes! I always make sure I have paper with me to take notes while I’m thinking of things. I also try to pull into one or more local establishments to visit with people and experience the local culture and business. I keep track of people I meet who want to connect later online via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc and do what I can to keep those relationships growing. Lastly, a positive attitude goes a long way. If you are doing something you love, it will show.

Here’s a special shout-out to the people in Worthington, Redwood Falls, and Kerkhoven, MN whom I met this past week. Thank you for an enjoyable few days, and may you be inspired to try new ideas and keep the discussions going!

What about you? What do you take from your work? If you teach or help others, what do you learn?

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.

She said, “Daddy, why do you need to go?  You teach this stuff to others.”  I never really thought about this from her perspective.

So I asked her, “Sweetie, what are you really good at?”  She said, “Fashion design.”  My daughter will sit down at night and fill a tablet with new dress, shirt and shoe ideas.  Sometimes she won’t go to bed until she can get all of the ideas out of her head.

“Would you like to attend a conference on fashion design sweetie?  Do you think you could learn more?  What about reading fashion magazines?  Would that get you more inspired?”  Her answer was yes.

Many people spend their entire lives trying to improve on things they are not passionate about.  Why?  Wouldn’t you rather be a 10 at something you care about, than a 5 at something you struggle with?  If you are a business, no one pays for mediocrity.

What do you think?

photo credit: mark_donoher
photo credit: Mikael Miettinen