It was a small article in PC Mag, just 157 words, that caught my eye. [Read more...]
08
Oct 2009
It’s no secret that I love and use Twitter everyday. It is also no secret that when I first heard of it, I thought it was the stupidest idea I had ever heard. That’s why I have no problem understanding why people don’t get Twitter. To be honest, I don’t know many people personally who actively use Twitter. I do, however, have many friends and family ask me dozens of questions about Twitter. Therefore, I thought it would be helpful to explain how I use Twitter. My hope is that anyone can adapt and use Twitter for a more enjoyable and successful experience.
Beware, my Twitter strategy is a little peculiar. [Read more...]
17
Aug 2009
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).
27
Jul 2009
To increase your market share, another company must lose. Market share is a competitive mind set. In order to win, you must take business away from someone else. It is a zero sum game. In order to gain 10% market share, others must lose 10%. To increase market share, most businesses spend an insane amount of money on advertising. [Read more...]
13
Jul 2009
When you have a rural small business, your clientele and target customers are clients that are likely spread out and difficult to categorize in any one specific group. Marketing with social media to such a wide variety of people can be a challenge. Knowing how to appeal to a diverse group of people is never an easy task. Here are three basic tips to keep in mind when marketing with social media. As you get more familiar with your target market’s presence on social media sites, you will get a better idea of how to tailor these tips for your specific needs. [Read more...]
05
Jun 2009
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...]
BrownBook.net is a fledgling social networking site for businesses that is popping up everywhere lately. While this social media tool isn’t as high profile as some other tools, BrownBook.net is spending a lot of time marketing itself. Since it is free and includes some neat features, it’s worth a brief discussion. [Read more...]
21
Apr 2009
Remember when you developed your first website? Did you get the domain name that you wanted? For some businesses, that was tough. Now we need to worry about our name on social media websites. [Read more...]
15
Apr 2009
This is a video I just had to share with you from Axel Schultze, Founder and CEO of Xeequa Corp.
Axel says, “We need to stop embarrassing our potential customers with cold calls, mail shots and advertising, instead creating a better business experience through community building.”
Enjoy the video and leave a comment below with your reaction.
26
Mar 2009
Today we are going to explore how to use social media tools to gather feedback from your customers. A great example of this tool in use is “Open for Questions.” This is a tool that allows citizens to submit questions to the White House and vote on those questions that were submitted. 92,934 people have submitted 104,039 questions and cast 3,604,877 votes on “Open for Questions.” Not bad for a trial run. Many of the most popular questions were addressed by the President during his special online town hall meeting on March 26, 2009. Today, the trial of this new service has ending, but you can still view and vote on the questions submitted.
Questions on the following topics were submitted:
- Education
- Home Ownership
- Health Care Reform
- Veterans
- Small Business
- Auto Industry
- Retirement Security
- Green Jobs and Energy
- Financial Stability
- Jobs
- Budget
Is the White House embracing social media? I think so. I would expect that applications like “Open for Questions” will gain in popularity.
Here is the opportunity for your business
22
Mar 2009
Doing the same thing over and over again is the definition of insanity. Are you insane? Is your business enabling you to live out your passions? Or is it draining the life out of you?
I really believe in taking small steps. Making small changes daily to improve your business and your life. Sometimes these changes are outside of your comfort zone. I know some of the things we have talked about over the last couple weeks have taking you outside your comfort zone. To continue doing the same thing over and over again is just insanity. Sometimes we need a kick in the pants and to take a giant leap into the unknown. Have you ever done that? Take a giant leap of faith? Stephen Covey says that to make incremental changes in our business, focus on behaviors. If you want to make life changes; course altering changes, focus on paradigms.
Do you know what a paradigm is?
Let me tell you another story to illustrate what a paradigm shift really looks like. [Read more...]
25
Feb 2009
In just a couple of days we will being a journey together through social media.
There will be a lot of information that we will cover. Here is a breakdown of the topics that will be covered:
- Face It: What you need to know about Facebook
- Using LinkedIn to grow your business
- Do you Tweet on Twitter
- Harness the power of Blogs
- Dominate the Search Engines
- Using Email Effectively
- Online Video to grow your business
- much more…
You don’t want to miss a day. Go to the Subscribe via Email to receive your “30 Days of Social Media” in your mailbox each day. You can unsubscribe at anytime.
At the end of the 30 days, I will be publishing an action plan with additional details from the comments you provided. I will only be sending this action plan to the followers of this blog. If you want a copy, please subscribe in the subscribe via email box above. PS: This is only the beginning! Take a sneak peak at what is coming up!
23
Feb 2009
The next 30 days promise to be very insightful, at times overwhelming, but ultimately rewarding.
Here is my personal guarantee to you:
- You will be able to read each article in this series in less than 60 seconds
- You will be provided with inspiration and insight
- You will be given at least one actionable item you can implement immediately
This is meant to be a 101 introduction to social media. We will paint broad brush strokes over the next 30 days. It is an overview of social media – meant to stimulate possibilities and inspire action. I promise to be here with you every step of the way.
Here is what I request of you:
- Take the recommended action each day. Try it out. See how it works.
- Comment on each post. Please engage in the conversation. Social media is about building relationships. Tell me what you like, what you don’t like — above all, engage in the conversation.
- Are you ready for the journey together?
At the end of the 30 days, I will be publishing an action plan with additional details from the comments you provided. I will only be sending this action plan to the followers of this blog. If you want a copy, please subscribe in the subscribe via email box above. PS: This is only the beginning! Take a sneak peak at what is coming up!
I am President and Chief Evangelist for Vivid Image - a web design and social marketing firm located outside of Minneapolis, MN. 




