SBAC Hot Topics

Los Agaves Video Tour

2010-02-09T05:52:00.000-11:00

Kent Business Video Tour - Treasures

2010-02-01T21:13:00.001-11:00

Green River Community College
City of Kent
Kent Downtown Partnership
Kent Chamber of Commerce
Washington Small Business Development Center
Small Business Administration
Key Bank

Are all sponsors of the Kent Business Video Tour

The video tour is your chance to get an inside look our local businesses. These businesses are great!

Today's Business tour? Treasures

Treasures Video Tour

Kent Business Video Tour - Petrik Photography

2010-02-01T06:07:00.004-11:00

Green River Community College
City of Kent
Kent Downtown Partnership
Kent Chamber of Commerce
Washington Small Business Development Center
Small Business Administration
Key Bank

Are sponsors of the Kent Business Video Tour

The video tour is your chance to get an inside look our local businesses. These businesses are great!

Today's Business tour? Petrik Photography

Click Here for Petrik Photography Website

Petrik Photography Video Tour

Kent Business Video Tour - Shindig Martini Bar

2010-02-01T06:01:00.002-11:00

Green River Community College
City of Kent
Kent Downtown Partnership
Kent Chamber of Commerce
Washington Small Business Development Center
Small Business Administration
Key Bank

Are sponsors of the Kent Business Video Tour

The video tour is your chance to get an inside look our local businesses. These businesses are great!

Today's Business tour? Shindig Martini Bar

Click Here for Shindig Martini Bar Website

Shindig Martini Bar Video Tour

Kent Business Video Tour - The Balanced Athlete

2010-02-01T05:58:00.002-11:00

Green River Community College
City of Kent
Kent Downtown Partnership
Kent Chamber of Commerce
Washington Small Business Development Center
Small Business Administration
Key Bank

Are sponsors of the Kent Business Video Tour

The video tour is your chance to get an inside look our local businesses. These businesses are great!

Today's Business tour? The Balanced Athlete

Click Here for The Balanced Athlete Website

The Balanced Athlete Video Tour

Kent Business Video Tour - BittterSweet Restaraunt

2010-02-01T05:49:00.002-11:00

Green River Community College
City of Kent
Kent Downtown Partnership
Kent Chamber of Commerce
Washington Small Business Development Center
Small Business Administration
Key Bank

Are sponsors of the Kent Business Video Tour

The video tour is your chance to get an inside look our local businesses. These businesses are great!

Today's Business tour? BitterSweet Restaraunt

Click Here for BitterSweet Website

BitterSweet Video Tour

The Right Loan for The Right Reason

2010-01-15T13:46:00.001-11:00

As a banker I frequently have people coming to my office asking for money; usually a line of credit. “I need a line of credit”, they tell me. “What are you planning to do with the money?” I ask. “I want to buy a new truck for my business”. After which I say, “You need a loan to buy a truck, not a line of credit”. The prospect looks at me surprised and then asks “What is the difference?” And I start to explain.

A line of credit is a pre-established amount of money extended to a borrower by a lender that the borrower can draw against as needed. There usually aren’t any rules that dictate how the borrower can or should use the line of credit; however, the line should never be used frivolously. The interest rate is tied to the amount of money borrowed, so in other words, you pay interest on the balance of the line. The minimum payment available is the interest only payment, meaning you are not decreasing the amount owing. If you pay in addition to the interest only payment this amount start paying down the principle and that amount becomes available to use again. With a line of credit, you have more flexibility in how much you repay each month. You can continue this spending and repayment cycle until the pre-negotiated term on the line of credit expires.

So what is the best purpose for a line of credit? A good use is to finance gaps in account receivables, seasonal sales operations, and certain kind of inventory (fast turnover) or to purchase something that is going to be repaying fast. All commercial lines of credit will expire at certain point and they have to be repaid in full (usually after one year). If for some reason the line can not be renewed and the business doesn’t have enough money to repay in full there is a problem. It is easy to think “I’m going to buy the truck I need and I will pay back the line with the sales of three months” Then sales don’t go as planned or we spend the money somewhere else, minimum payments (interest only) are paid and after three months there is more debt. The line of thinking is “I will start adding to the principal as soon as I have more income”. Guess what? We are always tempted by the minimum payment ghost and we never pay the extra principal borrowed. This starts a vicious circle, and in the end we will have a maxed out line of credit and a tramp of interest only payments.

A loan is an arrangement in which a lender gives money to a borrower, and the borrower agrees to repay the money, usually along with interest, at some future point(s) in time. Repayment is made in installments meaning that you’ll make equal monthly payments throughout the entire loan term. The term can be one, two, three or more years.
Because there are no minimum payments on a loan we don’t have an option to choose and we will be reducing the principal on the loan no matter what. Loans are good for real estate, vehicles, equipment, building improvements, business purchase or any purchase that is going to be repaying slow.

As you can see, lines of credit sometimes used for the wrong reasons and end up not benefiting the business owner. Communication with your banker is very important. If you don’t know something, ask questions. Your primary responsibility as a business owner is to protect and grow your business; nobody expects you to know everything about lending, leave that to the bankers. We are here to help, especially during this time with the economy the way it is. A cup of coffee and a good talk with your banker; what a great combination!

By Walter J. Acuña, MBA
AVP, Relationship Manager
PlazaBank
207 W. Kent Station St 101 - Kent, WA 98032
wacuna@plazabankwa.com
(253) 981-6345 W
(253) 249-6756 C
(253) 852-1442 F

The ONE Secret to Accelerated Business Growth

2009-09-15T12:34:00.002-11:00

What is the one secret to faster business growth?

What is Your Current Business Focus?
What is the best thing to focus on to ensure sustainable business growth? Is there only one thing to focus on? Could it be?
* quality
* customer orientation
* branding
* leadership
* financial management
* profitability
* customer service
* benchmarking

So Many Studies, So Many Books, What Really Works?
The list could be much longer. Just read the titles of current best selling business books. Why is there so much information available with proven studies and case studies and still, so many businesses cannot seem to achieve accelerated sustainable growth?

There is No One Best Focus
The reason is, “The Delusion of Single Focus.” There is no single explanation for why some companies achieve high performance and others don’t. More and more thoughtful business studies are concluding that high performance businesses tend to do almost everything right. When companies stray away from doing almost everything right their performance suffers. Many business studies and best selling books focus on a single explanation that they correlate to high performance however they cannot prove causation. Books like “In Search for Excellence” and “Good to Great” give good ideas but fail to give us a practical roadmap for achieving sustainable high performance. It creates a false sense of security when we tend only to look for “one thing” that will make a difference. The answer is approaching your business holistically.

Improve Your Entire Business at the Same Time
The Hot 100 Business Program is the only program we are aware of that takes a comprehensive approach to improving almost every part of the business at the same time. We have identified 7 areas of your business that need to be improved simultaneously:
1) Ownership
2) Management
3) Marketing
4) Productivity
5) Accounting
6) Risk Management
7) The Next Phase

Through 12 years of research identified over 300 best practices that need to be implemented systematically. Through pilot testing we have designed an approach that helps you prioritize and individualize the system to your situation.

Proven Results. Remove the Friction of Growth.
The Hot 100 Business Program has proven results. By implementing the Hot 100 Best Practices, companies have achieved an average of 406% growth over 3 years. (I know It sounds too good to be true, however please check out the case studies on our blog.) The Hot 100 Best Practice remove the friction of growth and make it possible to achieve rapid sustainable growth. The Hot 100 Best Practices are published in the book "The Best Practices of High Performance Entrepreneurs" and is available at Amazon.com.

Hot 100 Business Blog
Best Practices of High Performance Entrepreneurs at Amazon.com

Top 10 Sales Converting Websites July 2009

2009-09-03T19:41:00.004-11:00

Here are the top 10 converting websites for July 2009*. These are based on Nielson Panel data and are calculated by user to final conversion. Conversion-rate data is based on visitor conversion rates, not session conversion rates: i.e., No. of unique customers/No. of unique visitors.

1. Schwan’s 35.2
2. Keurig 31.3
3. ProFlowers 26.0
4. Vitacost22.5
5. Blair 22.4
6. DrsFosterSmith.com 22.4
7. Woman Within 21.3
8. Amway Global 20.5
9. Roamans.com 18.7
10. Office Depot 17.9

*Source: Nielsen Online / Marketing Charts

Benchmarks according to the FireClick Index

Increasing your conversion rate requires you to follow a continuous improvement program? If you need help improving your results let us know.

Link to original article (Click Here)

14 Tools for Legally Spying on Your Competition

2009-09-03T19:14:00.006-11:00

Have you ever wished you were Bond? James Bond? Here are 007+007 = fourteen ways to spy on your competitors’ web sites, without breaking any FISA laws.

1. Statbrain – Using several sources, Statbrain’s algorithm computes the number of visitors to a website based on offsite factors like backlinks, Alexa Rank etc. Statbrain does not have access to log files or any hit-counter information. Use this as a rough relative benchmark of your traffic to theirs. First run your website and compare the results given by StatBrain to your actual results to get a sense of its accuracy in your category. Figure out what the multiplier is and then try it on a competitor.

2. AideRSS – Find out which of your competitors’ blog posts and topics are engaging people. This should provide you with a list of topics you should be covering. Engagement doesn’t necessarily mean your competitor’s opinion is right or even agreed with — but it does mean the engaged people are interested in the topic and therefore why not your opinion on the topic.

3. FeedCompare – If you use Feedburner to track your rss subscribers you can compare the size of your feed to others. Just like in #1 above, figure out your own multiplier and then compare it to the competition.

4. Xinu Returns – Xinu Runs a report from multiple sites to tell you how well a site is doing in popular search engines, social bookmarking sites and other technical details. How well are you stacking up against your 5 biggest competitors?

5. Google Trends For Websites – Enter up to five topics and see how often those topics been searched on Google over time. Google Trends also shows how frequently your topics have appeared in Google News stories, and in which geographic regions people have searched for them most. You can learn more on how to use this from our friend, Avinash Kaushik.

6. Google Insights for Search – With Google Insights for Search, you can compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, and time frames. Again, Avinash explains how to use this well.

7. Microsoft’s Keyword Forecast tool – This tool forecasts the impression count and predicts demographic distributions of keywords.

8. Microsoft’s Search Funnels – Customers often perform searches by typing related keywords in specific sequences. This tool helps in visualizing and analyzing the customers’ search sequences. Search Engine guru Mike Grehan explains the value of these query chains.

9. WayBackMachine – Go back in web history to see how your competitors’ site has changed through the years. Look for the things that have stayed consistent, because those might have been the most successful. In the same vein, what have you changed on your own site during that time? It’s easy to lose track, particularly of your own work, and to think of your current site as “how it’s always been”.

10. Web Page Speed Analyzer – Compare the download speed of your pages with those of your competitors to see which are loading quicker. Quicker loading pages tend to have an advantage at converting visitors. This analyzer provides a detail analysis of the page elements. For a rough comparison of two pages side by side try WebSlug. And, WebWait is great when you want to get accurate speed results from the visitors perspective because WebWait pulls down the entire website into your browser, so it takes into account Ajax/Javascript processing and image loading which other tools ignore.

11. Web Page Readability – By comparing the readability score of web pages you can optimize your writing and make sure that you aren’t creating overly complex sentences and paragraphs for your audience.

12. Attention Meter – Attentionmeter gives you a quick snapshot comparing any websites you want (traffic) using Alexa, Compete, and Quancast.

13. Websitegrader – Website Grader is a free tool that measures the marketing effectiveness of a website. It provides a score that incorporates things like website traffic, SEO, social popularity and other technical factors. It also provides some basic advice on how the website can be improved from a marketing perspective. Also worth checking out Twittergrader to check on your competitors’ twitter accounts.

14. Google Alerts – set up searches for your competitors, key employees, and keywords to monitor their activity.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it: Try some (or all) of the above techniques and report back on your intriguing espionage! This tape will self-destruct in 10 clicks.

Shhhhh… care to share your spying secrets? What tools or techniques do you use?

For link to original article (Click Here)

Half of Social Media Users Connect with Brands

2009-09-02T06:32:00.000-11:00

Marketers may be adopting social media in droves, but are consumers reciprocating by following or becoming a fan of companies and brands on social media sites? According to recent data, the answer would seem to be a resounding ‘yes’.

A study published today by eMarketer, more than half of social networking users have become a fan or follower of a brand online. Moreover, users are far more likely to say something positive about a brand than something negative.

From the report:

“52% of social network users had become a fan or follower of a company or brand, while 46% had said something good about a brand or company on a social networking Website—double the percentage who had said something negative (23%).”

In other words, there seems to be much more going on beyond businesses simply setting up shop on social media sites and hoping people will show up. Rather, users are actively seeking out their favorite brands online or being connected through other means – like a friend’s suggestion, a link on a website, or offline advertising. All the more reason that spending on the medium is expected to continue to increase over the next five years.

(Link to original article)

Study: Social Media Audiences are Active Consumers

2009-08-20T10:00:00.004-11:00

The big lure of social
media: Its users

They are young and affluent and active consumers

By Diego Vasquez
Aug 20, 2009

No wonder social networks are feeling such urgency to figure out how to monetize their audiences. According to a new study from BIGresearch, the Worthington, Ohio-based research company, social media users represent a hugely desirable audience. They are younger than the average American, more affluent, and more apt to buy certain big-ticket items, such as furniture, computers and televisions. Social media users tend to use multiple platforms. A Facebook user, for example, is far more likely to use Twitter or LinkedIn than the general population is. Social networkers have a median income of $68,311, and they’re more likely to be female (nearly 58 percent). Gary Drenik, president and chief executive officer at BIGresearch, talks to Media Life about why social media users represent a desirable audience for buyers and planners, why they’re more likely to be female, and why MySpace is losing users to Facebook.

What did you find most surprising or most interesting about this report?

The high level of usage and interactions among social media options. It demonstrates a new way for marketers to communicate with their customers. It’s interesting to see where the crossover is. For example, Facebook tends to be popular for LinkedIn and MySpace users, but Facebook users aren’t as apt to use LinkedIn or MySpace.

What's the most important thing media buyers and planners can learn from it?

Not only is social media widely used, but the users are active consumers. They are planning on buying at a higher rate than the general population.

For example, 30 percent are planning to purchase a vacation (versus 26 percent of adults 18-plus), 18 percent are planning to buy furniture (versus 13 percent) and 17 percent are going to buy a computer (versus 13 percent).

With a higher propensity to spend, social media users need to be targeted by marketers.

Why are social media users likely to use more than one platform?

Social media users tend to be more tech-savvy than the general population. They are more likely to purchase products online (35 percent versus 27 percent of adults 18-plus). They are more likely to regularly use new media forms, including downloading video (23 percent versus 14 percent) and text messaging (57 percent versus 27 percent).

Being early adopters of digital media, they are highly aware of different applications available to them and tend to be more engaged.

Social media users also like to give their opinion. Forty percent regularly give their opinion about products/services they’ve purchased (versus 30 percent of adults 18-plus). Social media gives them a chance to express their views.

Why are regular MySpace users apt to regularly use Facebook but not vice versa?

If you look at adults 18-plus, you’ll see that over a quarter (28 percent) regularly use Facebook, compared to 12 percent who regularly use MySpace. Just six months ago (in our last SIMM Survey), 17 percent regularly used Facebook and 18 percent regularly used MySpace.

So it appears that MySpace users are migrating towards Facebook. These things are viral and people tend to go where their friends are. It’s kind of like a bar – people want to go hang out with their friends.

One reason we may be seeing a migration is that MySpace started as a user-generated company which News Corp. acquired in 2005. When they bought them, they turned on the advertising spigot. About a year later, Facebook (which was limited to college students) opened to everyone, giving MySpace users an alternative without all the advertising.

How do social media users differ from the rest of the population in terms of demographics?

Social media users tend to be younger than the rest of the population, with an average age of 38 (versus 45). More tend to be female (58 percent versus 51 percent) and they have higher incomes ($68,311 versus $66,942).

Why do women make up such a large percentage of social media users?

One-third of women say they regularly view photos from friends (versus 22 percent of men) online for fun and entertainment. Sixteen percent (versus 9 percent of men) share stories and 15 percent (versus 13 percent) look for old classmates and friends.

Therefore, women tend to do more of the activities social media platforms are used for than men.

Which social media site surveyed had the lowest median age and why?

MySpace has the youngest user of those platforms profiled with an average age of 33. MySpace’s origins are in music, which could be why their users are a younger MTV-type of crowd. Thousands of bands use MySpace to promote their music, and fans support them by using the platform.

Which social media outlets do blacks, Asians and Hispanics favor more heavily than whites? Why?

Social media is a good place to find ethnic groups because they index high across all social media platforms. Ethnic groups tend to be big media users across the board from traditional media forms to new media and have a higher propensity than whites to regularly use Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter.

(Click here) for link to the article

Summary of Online Marketing Class

2009-08-14T11:54:00.003-11:00

I just taught an online marketing class for the Kent Chamber of Commerce. I thought I would share some of the information from the class with you.

Online Marketing Seminar

Here are some interesting up-to-date statistics I found as of August of 2009:

Years to reach 50 million users

Radio 38 years
TV 14 years
Internet 4 years
Ipod 3 years
Facebook – 100 million users in 9 months
Ipod application downloads hit 1 billion in 9 months

******************************************************

If Facebook were a country it would be the 4^th largest

YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world

There are over 200,000,000 blogs – 54% of bloggers update or tweet daily

78% of consumers trust peer recommendations

Only 14% trust advertisements

*******************************************************

Facebook has 250 million active users – 120 million daily

Average Facebook user has 120 friends

12 million people on twitter – 45 to 55 years olds mostly, closely followed by 25 to 37 year olds

40 million people on Linked in

Over 12,000 small businesses on Biznik.com just in the Seattle Area

**********************************************************

The new paradigm is to market to a "tribe" of people who are already interested in your topic. It is better than marketing to a crowd of people who may or may not be interested. Social media makes it possible to assemble or find a willing audience. We can create top-of-the-mind awareness by participating in a conversation with a community of people (tribe) who share our common interest.

Our goal in marketing is to create willing audiences. Here are 5 easy opportunities for creating a willing audience:

· Customer list
· Email list
· Twitter followers
· Facebook Fans
· Biznik.com & Linkedin.com Connections

Educate and entertain your audience. Build relationships. Be a part of your community.

Because of your relationships with your social media audience, they will become your customer because they know, trust, and like you and they will recommend you to their friends.

The purpose of the class was to give an overview of the social media terrain. I asked each class member specifically what I could share that would make the biggest difference to them. Our discussion centered around how to specifically apply social media to their individual situations.

At the end of the class we asked each class member to share their recommendation for the class. Here are their comments:

This Marketing Toolbox Seminar really helped a web savvy businessman refocus his efforts as it pertains to social media. Ty Podeszwa – TMP Productions

Well worth my time being at the Marketing Toolbox. I learned about a lot of paths/opportunities that are available to me. I am excited to get started on them.

Jeff McCann – Outdoor Perspectives LLC

New Chamber Member Tory Nguyen – EE Printing found the Marketing Toolbox very helpful. She learned some new tools about how to promote her business to the next level. She is looking forward to the next seminar on Web Design next month.

Listening to Kirk Davis’ talk today made me more aware of all the business-building tools and made them not quite so overwhelming to me. DeeDee Peterson-JoviPak

This seminar topic really helped me understand and appreciate the value of social media. to my business.

JoAnn Rovig – JoVI Pak

This monthly seminar is a must for all businesses, owners & managers! We must communicate and participate in community conversations within social media.

Vincent Parker – Lost Art Barber Shop

I didn’t know what to do or ask about “social networking”. The Chamber Marketing Toolbox gave me a great intro to start using a whole new set of tools.

Rick Clendenen – Two Men and a Truck

This Toolbox session offered terrific collaboration and real solutions to a businesses social media strategy. I’m looking forward to next month!

Jeff Link – Missing Link Consulting

The Toolbox Seminar today helped me with my fear of joining social media. I am looking forward to creating a video to post on the “page” that work best for me and the market I want to reach.

Gwen Allen-Carston – Heartland Payment Systems

Kirk Davis, seminar facilitator, is a gold mine when it comes to marketing and business development. He is great at surveying the audience to see what needs we have so that he presents us with relevant information.

Welcome to the Revolution of Social Media

2009-08-10T12:22:00.000-11:00

How Mighty Companies Fall

2009-07-30T09:11:00.002-11:00

Jim Collins: How Mighty Companies Fall

By Randy James Wednesday, Jun. 10, 2009

Jim Collins

Ray Ng / Getty

Circuit City. Lehman Brothers. Fannie Mae. The economic crisis has devastated a slew of companies that once ranked among the country's most admired. Best-selling author and corporate researcher Jim Collins spent five years studying the decline of great businesses for his fourth book, How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In. He spoke with TIME about finding lessons amid the corporate wreckage, his choice for "entrepreneur of the decade" and why the rocky business climate may be here to stay. (See the top 10 bankruptcies.)

Your timing was close to perfect — you wrapped up your research just as some iconic businesses were falling to earth. What did you learn about corporate mortality?

There are three things worth keeping in mind about any great enterprise that eventually falls. Number one, the seeds of decline are usually in place long before decline becomes visible — like a disease where you look strong on the outside but you're already ill on the inside. Second, we tend to think decline happens because of complacency — people just sitting still, not being aggressive or innovating. But we found there's often tremendous change and innovation leading right up to the point of fall. It's overreaching: undisciplined growth, undisciplined risk-taking. Finally, I was surprised by how far you really can fall and still come back — it's one of the most wonderful things to come from this work. The tendency for many of us might be to give up too early. (See pictures of retailers that have gone out of business.)

Some of the fallen companies you analyze, like Circuit City and Fannie Mae, are companies whose strengths you'd previously praised. What happened?

What happened in all the great companies that fell is they made a shift from a humble drive to an arrogance, the belief they somehow magically deserved all that success — "We're just really better than everybody else, and we always will be." The great irony is that leads to the undisciplined pursuit of more, and it's very hard to preserve your values and your basic model if you grow too fast.

You write about a lot of failed business leaders, but your tone is usually sympathetic — they were well-intentioned, but simply didn't get the job done. That seems out of step with the anger flowing toward corporate America these days. Are there villains in executive suites, too?

In the companies we've studied we did not find villains. I think that's very important. These were smart, well-intentioned people trying to make the right call. To me, that's even more sobering: hardworking people who are often full of tremendous imagination and energy can still bring enterprises down. I know villains are more fun to write about, but it's not what we found.

Most of your readers aren't executives running large corporations. What do your books offer ordinary workers?

I've never really seen our work as being about business. These are human questions — how do you take something mediocre and make it exceptional? Why do some people become great in a world that's full of tremendous volatility, uncertainty and rapid change? That's a human question that we happen to address by looking through business, which we can do because of the rigor of the data.

This is one of the most treacherous and unpredictable economic climates we've ever seen. Are we headed out of it any time soon?

The period of time from 1950 to 2000 was a combination of prosperity and relative stability. I think the odds are very high we regain prosperity, but very low that we regain that combination. I think our likely scenario is tremendous prosperity with tremendous ambiguity and instability. That means those who know how to manage in that environment will do very well, and those who don't may disappear.

You've studied business leaders spanning most of American history. The entrepreneur of the decade, you say, is Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp. Why?

Wendy Kopp didn't sit back and say, "How can I find something that will channel my passion?" She built something. The ultimate entrepreneurial act is creating a movement. Wendy Kopp is on a 50-year mission to transform education in this country. And she's doing it by creating an army of people who have been in classrooms, who can say, "I know firsthand what the problems are." She's demonstrating the idea that entrepreneurship is about an idea more than just an organization.

You say one key to being successful today is developing "a ferocious understanding of what you're not going to do." What do you mean?

As I got into my research, I saw that those who were really effective made use of not just a "to-do" list but a "stop-doing" list. I set up a time almost every day where I turn off my cell phone and do not get on [the Internet]. It's a pocket of quietude. I also leave white space on my calendar, roughly three days every two weeks. Nothing can be scheduled during white-space time. I try to create bubbles of tranquil time for hard thinking. It can also be a day where you get up at 6 and do a bunch of writing and then go rock-climbing for three hours.

You refer to rock-climbing quite a bit, calling it one of your three passions, besides your work and your marriage. How is it useful for understanding business?

It's been one of my great classrooms. Gravity does not care if you didn't get enough sleep — you've got to be on your game. El Capitan [a perilous rock formation in Yosemite National Park] is unforgiving, and gravity is unforgiving. That's what we're studying — how you build something great in an environment that's unpredictable, uncertain and ultimately unforgiving.

Link to article

4th of July Tribute to America by Ray Bradbury

2009-07-02T09:07:00.002-11:00

From the WSJ Opinion Archives
IN VERSE

America
An ode to immigrants.

by RAY BRADBURY
Wednesday, May 17, 2006 12:01 A.M. EDT

We are the dream that other people dream.
The land where other people land
When late at night
They think on flight
And, flying, here arrive
Where we fools dumbly thrive ourselves.

Refuse to see
We be what all the world would like to be.
Because we hive within this scheme
The obvious dream is blind to us.
We do not mind the miracle we are,
So stop our mouths with curses.
While all the world rehearses
Coming here to stay.
We busily make plans to go away.

How dumb! newcomers cry, arrived from Chad.
You're mad! Iraqis shout,
We'd sell our souls if we could be you.
How come you cannot see the way we see you?
You tread a freedom forest as you please.
But, damn! you miss the forest for the trees.
Ten thousand wanderers a week
Engulf your shore,
You wonder what their shouting's for,
And why so glad?

Run warm those souls: America is bad?
Sit down, stare in their faces, see!
You be the hoped-for thing a hopeless world would be.
In tides of immigrants that this year flow
You still remain the beckoning hearth they'd know.
In midnight beds with blueprint, plan and scheme
You are the dream that other people dream.

Mr. Bradbury is the author of "Fahrenheit 451" and numerous other books.

Click here for original article

Blogging Guide

2009-06-29T07:58:00.000-11:00

Social media is a large umbrella that covers many aspects of interaction within the blogosphere. One of the major areas of social media is blogging on a personal or business blog. In this guide we are going to explain how to blog effectively, what makes a great blog and give you some options to start your own blog.

If you've never had a blog before, get ready for some exciting information about what a blog can do for you. If you're already blogging, we'll have some great tips, tricks, and ideas about how to get the most potential out of your existing blog. Whatever you're blogging experience your sure to find helpful information right here in the ArtFire blogging guide.

What is a blog?

The word "blog" is derived from a mash up of the words "web" and "log". In essence, it is kind of like an online journal. Blog writers can chose to make these journals private and control who is allowed to read them, or make them public and let anyone who finds them read. For our purpose we will only be discussing the benefits of a public blog as a way to increase your reputation and put yourself in front of potential buyers.

Why would anyone read what I have to say?

This is one of the most common hurdles most people have when they are thinking about starting up a blog. The best answer I can give anyone is "If your blog gives value to people, they will read it". This is where a lot of online bloggers break the one cardinal rule of social media. If your blog is not interesting, if it doesn't give something of value to a potential reader, if it is filled with nothing but self promotion; you will not see great results from maintaining a blog. However if you take the time, become an active participant in the blogosphere, and give something back to the community; you will get back more than you put in.

Tip: While often forgotten, it is imperative that you remember your audience every time you go to write a new blog entry. Actively think about the kind of information you would want to read in your blog. Never forget your audience.

How could I provide something of value to the community?

This is the real key to blogging. You need to think for a second about what you are passionate about. For many of you this probably relates in some way to your craft. If you can say I am an expert stained glass artist, then you know what you can write about. If you love to spend time tinkering in the kitchen, then you know what you can write about. If you're a skilled clarinet player, a vinyl record enthusiast, a serious astronomy hobbyist, then you have something to write about.

Take a few minutes and think about what your friends ask you questions about. What do you talk with authority and confidence about? If you can't think of anything right away, just think about what kinds of questions your friends always ask you. If your friends and family always turn to you for help with their fashion troubles, or their photography mishaps, or their recent foray into crochet; you've found a good topic. Once you've realized the things you're confident talking about, all you'll need to do is figure out which one(s) you'd enjoy writing, researching, and blogging about and follow along!

What makes a great blog?

This is a question that gets asked a lot, and one which unfortunately has no easy answers. But there are some general tips that seem to work in almost every situation. What follows are the top 8 things you should remember when writing a blog.

Be genuine – One thing that will make your blogging life miserable is if you try to be someone or something that you're not. If you absolutely love coffee, but you think you'll get more readers if you write about fashion, this will completely show through in your writing. It is always best to write about something you love, and enjoy doing it. If you write about something you think others will love, but you don't enjoy, any potential readers will pick up on this immediately. If you are passionate about what you write, you readers will be to tell.

Be real – One of the great aspects of blogging is that you can be yourself. You can let people know who is writing the blog. Adding a personal touch to your blogging will let people know that there is a real person behind the blog, not just some unknown anonymous writer. Even if this just means filling out your biography well, it gives a reader a way to connect with the blog.

Have a Goal – If you can't figure out what your blog entry is trying to do, how can your readers? Goals can be as simple as "Informing my audience" or being "thought provoking". If you want to write a call to action, think about how you need to write your blog to get every reader inspired to meet that call. Always realize and remember your goal.

Use Pictures – One common theme you will find in almost every popular blog is that they use pictures. Even the best articles in a newspaper usually have a picture to go along with it. The great part is that in a digital world you can add pictures to your blog as virtually no cost. Just using the digital camera you use to take pictures of your products you can take fun and exciting pictures to compliment your blog.

Keep it fresh – one of the most important things to remember is to keep your blog updated regularly and with new fun content. Remember not to get so zeroed in on the main focus of your blog that you forget to have fun. If you love knitting, and your blog is primarily about knitting, and you find a video online that isn't really about knitting but you really enjoyed it; share it with your readers. Your already attracting people with similar interests, so don't be afraid to throw in some offbeat content if you really enjoyed it because chances are your readers will enjoy it too.

Keep it Brief – This one can be a balancing act. If you write too little, you probably haven't given your readers enough content and context. If you are too long winded than most readers will not even finish reading your post. The best plan is to write out everything you want to say in the post, and then condense that down into about three paragraphs or somewhere around 500 words.

Preview your post – As simple as it sounds there are so many people who get into a bad habit of submitting their post right away and walking away. Use the preview tool to see how your post is going to look. Are there any misspelling/typos/homonyms that weren't caught the first time? Do all of your links work? An extra five minutes can save you from having to edit a post after hundreds of people have viewed a mistake ridden post.

Engage your readers – There are several simple things you can do to help engage your readers in your posts. You can leave cliff hangers with a "Part 2 coming soon" style of post. You can give your readers some kind of call to action "Sign this petition". You can just ask them a question they can respond to in your comments, "Have you had any great volunteer experiences lately?". Anyway to get your readers interested and engaged in your writings.

Where should/can I blog at?

Type "free blog" into a search engine and you'll be met with millions of returns. However there are a few services we feel stand above rest. The real key is deciding whether to let a blog server, such as BlogSpot, host your blog, or whether you'd like to export your blog to your own domain. There are several advantages to owning your own .com or domain name, however if you would rather not pay the money it is perfectly acceptable to let your blog be hosted on one of the main blog servers. Here are my top three recommended free blog hosting sites.

Blogger from Google is one of the most popular blogging services out there. It offers one of the most user friendly and low maintenance blogging services available. You will be able to select your blogs domain that will become www.(yourchoice).blogspot.com. This is an ideal choice for someone who is just getting into blogging. If you'd like a little bit more control, or better feedback/traffic reporting, you might look at the next one as well. Here's just a few examples of what a great blog at blogger can look like.

http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com - one of the top blogs on the internet. An influential "design" blog.

http://mama-craft.blogspot.com - Just a nice simple blog maintained by the author as her online journal about her daily life.

http://www.darkroastedblend.com - an example of a "blogger powered" blog. This blog is hosted on its own domain but uses the blogger service. Hosting on your own domain can give you increased control, but that comes at a price.

Wordpress is probably the top overall blog service on the internet. They provide a very good free blog, as well as several upgrades to more premium services (like no ads, video hosting, and increased storage.) Their blogging platform is the top used platform among the highest ranked blogs on the net. There is a step up in the "ease of use" factor from Blogger, but there is also a big step up in customization and control. Here are a few examples of what WordPress blogs can look like:

http://www.larissameek.com - Fun video content and an easy to navigate blog. http://fonetik.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/sleeves - A really inviting clean looking blog. http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com - Another nice clean blog, well laid out with very nice pictures.

Type Pad rounds out the top three recommended services and is also the only paid service we'll recommend here. Type pad is used by 14 of the top 100 blogs, and offers one of the best blogging platforms available. Type pad is very easy to use and offers thousands of designs to help make your blog look as unique as you. The basic blog costs 4.95 per month. One of the main selling points of the type pad blogging service is the technical support that becomes available when your paying a monthly fee, making type pad blogs one of the top picks among bloggers.

http://istanbultea.typepad.com/largefellaonabike - an inspiring story and an engaging blog.

http://corkdork.typepad.com/corkdork - another nicely set up typepad blog

http://www.greenwoman.typepad.com/biggreenpurse

What can I do to get my blog seen?

There are books thick enough to stop a bullet written on this topic. Some of the basic things you can do right away are submitting your blog to Technorati and other blog indexing services. This isn't quite as important as it once was, but old habits die hard. Additionally offering assessable RSS feeds to your readers will help to increase readership.

Another important element of a good blog is making sure it is optimized for search engine traffic. Now we start to run into a few problems when we talk about trying to optimize our handmade stores blog. It is unlikely that your blog will ever be able to compete for the "big" keywords, rather than seeing this as a negative, this gives you the opportunity to attack very targeted keywords and demographics where you efforts will have the best return. If you're writing a blog that has a lot to do with your cold-process handmade soap business, you might be able to work that into the title so people searching that term have a chance at finding your blog. A lot of the same best practices we went over during SEO week at ArtFire will carry over to your blog.

Finally, one of the best ways to get more readers and viewers to your blog is to utilize the other social media mediums you have available. If you've just updated your blog, let your twitter followers know, post it in the forums you are a member of, tell your facebook friends, get the word out there that new and interesting content can be found at your blog. As people get to know you and your production they will be excited every time the see there is a new post!

Trick: Even a basic blog offers a lot of customization when it comes to simple widgets. Don't forget to add multiple, easy ways, for people to let their own social communities know about your blog. Things like a "Digg This" button, a "I like" stumble upon button, and more are all great ways to help your readers spread the word about your blog.

Don't forget to add easy RSS style subscribe buttons to your blog. RSS readers let people stay up to date on their favorite updating websites (like your blog), so make sure you add a widget somewhere that lets people subscribe to your feed with ease!

This concludes the more technical and analytical portion of our blogging guide. What follows below is a more creative investigation on how to make a blog people want to read. It can be noted at this point that Social Media is not a hard science, different things work for different people, however what follows below are general insights into what seems to separate the great blogs from the average. Many of these insights are truths we find again and again as we investigate what really drives phenomenal social media.

Let me start this portion of the guide off with a story. Perhaps a little out of date with TiVo and DVR's in every other household, but a story everyone can relate to.

It's Tuesday night, your favorite primetime show is on. You sit down to watch, enjoying the twists and turns, the laughs, the drama; this is the greatest show on television. Every once in a while the show goes to commercials, but they just cut off at a really intense moment so you can't wait for the show to pick back up. The show finishes and you're already excited about next week's installment.

Now how many of you would have sat down to watch this show if you got to see one minute of the show interspersed between 8 to 10 minutes of commercials, or worse yet, how many of you would sit down and watch an hour straight of commercials (no these aren't super bowl commercials, those cross over into the "content" category). The reason many of you are willing to sit though the commercials is because you want to get back to the real content of the show, and heck they're targeted at that specific shows demographics, that one commercial about the laundry soap reminded you that you need to pick more up at the store tomorrow.

This mix of content and advertising is found in all kinds of advertising mediums. Newspapers mix advertisements in with their news articles, magazines do the same thing. Movies theatres show previews and advertisements, radio stations have commercials. The reason we listen, and read these advertisements is because we want the content that goes along with them.

As a blog author you will have the opportunity to be both the content provider and the advertiser, and this is where so many blogs run into real trouble. If your using your blog for the exclusive purpose of posting the new item you just listed without providing any content or entertainment, you're probably going to have as many avid readers as people who would happily sit down and watch an hour straight of commercials.

There are multiple strategies for giving people the kind of content that will keep them coming back for more, and more than one angle can be used in the same blog. Changing up the content delivery methods and use of your blog can help keep things fresh and readers interested. Certain formats of content delivery that seem to work well are things like:

Narratives that tell a story while giving the reader information and content. If you remember back to your schooling days you probably remember how boring textbooks can be. Even if the information is great, if it doesn't come packaged in a way that users enjoy reading it you're not going to be getting people excited and engaged as you could.
Top 10 lists are a tried and true method getting people interested. You can reverse the order and get people more and more excited as they read their way to number 1, or you can do an opposite angle approach and write about 10 things you should never do. Either way numbered lists are a great way of showing people where the interesting information is going to be.
On that same note, bulleted lists also format content in such a way that people know where to find the good stuff. If your information is hidden in huge blocks of text it becomes a game of “find what I care about” which many readers aren't going to be willing to play.

On top of all this, one of the best ways to become an active member in the blogosphere is to read and comment on other peoples blogs. If you read a blog post you find really helpful, let the author know. If someone asks a question you think one of your blog posts answers well, don't be afraid to let them know where to go. The big word from social media is not media. Media has been around for a long time. The defining aspect of this movement is the social nature within which the media is created. By interacting and discussing, by helping and learning, by talking and listening, social media has become one of the most standout web movements ever.

Thanks for reading our Blogging tips guide. We'd love to hear any feedback you have. You can write to me at kevin@artfire.com or leave comments in the forums. Additionally if you have any other tips you'd like to give out to your fellow artisans we would love that too! It just wouldn't be social media if we didn't all get involved, excited and engaged.

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7 Keys to Creating a Social Media Strategy for Your Brand

2009-06-28T02:21:00.001-11:00

In the past few weeks I’ve experienced a decent amount of spam from social networking sites ranging from people marketing their books, selling “make money online” information, to promoting their personal brand. It’s indicative of the fact that individuals and businesses are viewing the space seriously as it takes on the mainstream spotlight.

There are many ways to utilize social media to boost your brand. The key is to have a strategy around building your social proof.

Let The Truth Be Told

People naturally look for social proof in any given situation. Social proof is a weapon of influence by which we replicate what we see others do. We tend to make assumptions in our head when we’re unable to determine the appropriate action to take. So we turn to surrounding authorities that we assume possess more knowledge about the situation than us.

For example, if you see a bunch of people lining up outside of a restaurant you tend to think the food is good or better yet, it MUST be good.

Social proof is especially powerful in social media because of the available information from Twitter followers to LinkedIn connections. People get influenced real-time on their PCs or their mobile devices. This creates little barrier to entry for people to be perceived as preeminent experts. Combine that with the limitless reach of social network; people will often evaluate others based on how “connected” they are.

The truth is – social media is a platform for engagement and building communities. It has evolved to be part of a marketer’s arsenal and it’s on the path to be the next coming of email spam. If you don’t want to be perceived as a spammer or someone just looking to gain free social proof, you need a solid strategy for your brand.

Aligning Your Brand And Business Strategy

There are lots of high profile people and companies using social media today but not all of them are getting the result they want. Many brands are doing a fairly good job utilizing the right social media strategy while others clearly have no clue.

Here are 7 keys to create your social media strategy:

1. Define your outcome – This is perhaps the most important aspect of your social media strategy. What are you trying to achieve? What is your ideal outcome? Sales? Lead generation? Promotions? Branding? Buzz? Corporate brands generally use social media as part of their larger strategic initiatives for reputation management, product launches, and customer engagement tools. Those methods apply to personal branding as well because social media is a cost-effective marketing and PR vehicle in comparison to the traditional media marketing.

2. Focus on your audience’s needs - If you want to sell a product such as a book across social media, you must focus on your audience’s pain point, solve their problems, and add value to them little by little. Provide free advice that’s of high value, NOT something anyone can just copy and paste from a source like a blog. For example, instead of relaying mainstream news, focus on syndicating news gear towards a specific niche area so you become the go-to source for it. Better yet, compile the content and provide your own insight so you act as a filter for your audience.

3. Implement measurable ROI – This is actually difficult to do because social media is still a relatively new medium and remains largely unproven. The best solution is to gauge the time spent versus the result you are able to measure such as inbound traffic, clickthroughs, impressions, comments, fans, followers, subscribers, and ask how prospects find you. Track your data and chart them over time to find relevant cause and effects. You may be surprise to find what people are saying about your brand or how effective your marketing triggers are after reviewing your statistics.

4. Actively participate in discussion groups – If you have something valuable to offer, people should know. Join discussions and participate in forums will bring you opportunities to brand yourself and create awareness in the form of constructive promotion. Further more by providing your audience with insights, educational content, or value support systems will help you gain social proof. Knowledge transfer in social media is very powerful especially given as freebies. As a result it creates reciprocation from the recipient who will want to return the favor in the form of purchasing your product or endorsing your brand.

5. Get in front of the right people – High profile people are great leverage to give you that boost of traffic especially key opinion leaders in your niche area. Get in touch with them and do something for them first. Contribute to their cause and the reciprocation factor will work on them as well. Instead of asking for endorsements, participate in their discussion groups, leave comments on their blog, send them useful information, and interact with their channel are all ways to gain visibility. Build the right relationship will also drive The Long-Tail affect in which your brand impression will be distributed amongst high profile people’s fans in significant numbers.

6. Blend online and offline social networking - This is one of the overlooked areas for social networking. Offline networking can add more fuel to the fire especially when people aren’t able to hide behind their user name, emails or avatars. There is nothing quite like a face-to-face conversation to get a nice dialogue started. Not only can you hear the voice of the other person but the body language, eye contact, and physical interaction in the same space makes you more “real” and believable. Although it can be time consuming, offline networking is more powerful than 140 words in a tweet or a two liner comment in Facebook. It also encourages word-of-mouth marketing which is by far the most effective marketing tool today. I highly recommend you to attend conferences, go to tradeshows, take a training course, or get with other social networkers locally. Start a MeetUp group or a monthly seminar.

7. Nurture relationships, build momentum – When implanting social media strategies, you may wan to run tests to get feedback from your network. You should stay true to yourself but also know what worked and what doesn’t. Ideally you want to keep doing what works and find new ways to strengthen your relationship with your audience. Start your own discussion group, do an online survey, create joint ventures, exchange opportunities, and continue to provide free information are all ways to foster your social media relationships. Nothing will happen when nothing is provided and you must be patient before you get results. Whether you’re already on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or is blogging on a regular basis, my best advice is to just let go and keep on giving!

Has social media already helped your business? Or your personal brand?

3 Ways to Capitalize on the Destruction of Traditional Media and Embrace Social Media

2009-06-27T19:29:00.000-11:00

If you’re part of the social media movement, you’re witnessing the annihilation of traditional media. From newspapers to cable TV, everything is converging onto the internet resulting in a more accessible, cost-effective and integrated media.

Let’s look at some statistics courtesy of Sillicon Alley Insider:

Newspaper

- “Print ad sales fell 30% year-over-year in Q1, led by a 42% year-over-year drop in classified ad sales.”

- “Newspaper classified revenues peaked above $16 billion in 2005, only to plummet to an estimated $5 billion or so in 2009.”

Cable TV

- “A Bernstein survey says 35% of Web video watchers might dump their cable TV provider in favor of online video within 5 years.”

Internet

- “Some 63% of adult Americans had broadband Internet at home in April, up from 55% last May, according to the Pew Internet & American Life project.”

- “By the end of 2008, 20% of U.S. households had unplugged their landline phones and gone exclusively wireless, say surveys by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. That’s a huge increase from early 2005, when only about 7% of U.S. households were wireless-only.”

The Bigger Picture

Although the current recession has contributed to the decline of newspaper subscriptions and the increase in people viewing online videos; the truth of the matter is we’re no longer accessing or consuming information the same way. This translates to a less effective advertising channel for brands and the bulk of the advertising dollars will be spent where consumers are spending their time – the web.

Furthermore, the convergence of technology has weakened the foundation of traditional media authorities especially those that didn’t have an immediate online strategy. Even those with web1.0 strategy, the rapid expansion into web2.0 has left some without a social media strategy.

One thing is clear – internet will continue to grow as the cost of broadband continues to drop. This means more people will have faster internet and faster internet takes us a step closer to the real-time web. What does this mean to you? It means instant access to data across the web with a massive coordination effort from social media.

Mass Amateurisation of Brands through Social Media

The rise of social media tools such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg, and many other social networking sites has accelerated the spread of simplified media technologies, making it easy for anyone to access, participate, and share information. Social media in particular is leading the way on what web commentator Clay Shirky called “the mass-amateurisation of everything.” It is now possible for individuals to choose from a wide variety of communication arsenals outside of the mainstream commercial system to reach the mass audience.

As a result of this ubiquity of social media, individually created media content that originated on the internet has started to infect mass media. This not only challenges the traditional media authorities, but it also created dynamic conversations across the globe. Take the latest Iran incident as an example, Twitter was the fastest medium to report what had happened as it was happening before any other traditional media could get to it. It enabled people all over the world to rapidly react to this piece of news and participate in support and interact with the people in Iran.

Take social bookmark sites like Digg, and Delicious for example, users are encouraged to “vote” for the top content they want to appear for maximum exposure. These services aggregates content across the web to determine what content is popular making it easy to filter for individuals. It’s like real-time TV/radio rating and you can simply choose from a list of categories within your interest. In addition, there is now an element of choice and coordination to establish a new content authority. You no longer have limitations on what’s available from newspaper or what’s on TV; you have millions of content to choose from or you can create your own.

This applies to blogs as well because you only have so much time to consume information, reading from one source means not reading from another. As a result, blogs are taking readers away from authority sites and turning them into loyal subscribers. If you’re reading this post, either you’re a new reader or a regular subscriber to my RSS or newsletter.

3 Ways to Capitalize on Social Media

In many ways, social media is still at the “technology trigger” aspect of the hype cycle. If you can capitalize on it, you will benefit by capitalizing on the destruction of traditional media.

Here are 3 ways to capitalize on this opportunity:

1. Expose your personality – Social media is a one-to-many interaction medium, it’s the perfect platform to personify your brand and build a fan base. Demonstrate your expertise is important but showing your personality can be the difference between choosing to engage with you versus others. This will ultimately convert visitors to fans, transform viewers to participants. Give your audience a reason to engage by revealing your emotions and even political stance will help you to stand out, be a person not a company and have fun. Remember, it’s impossible to be liked by everyone and you won’t be anyway, the key is to create synergy with those that like you in order to foster trust. A great example is the CEO of Zappos who updates his every move via Twitter with what he does and how he interacts with his employees, creating a personable, likeable, transparent identity that everyone can relate to.

2. Drive engagement and visibility – One of the disadvantages of traditional media is the limitation of engagement opportunities. This is different in social media. You can create your own opportunity to be “high touch” with your audience by sending update notifications, creating a poll, asking to join your group, conducting an offline event, or promoting a cause. Combine engagement with marketing through conversation will reduce resistance to you brand’s message. As a result, your fans will become your best evangelists. However, there is a fine line between a prolifically active brand and an annoy spammer. The key is to become a good listener and allow conversations to come to you before reacting swiftly. If you do it right, you will succeed in coordinating a massive word-of-mouth campaign, a sharing frenzy across all social media platform that increases your brand loyalty. Get it wrong, you will need to put out the fire with reputation management strategies. I recommend having different social media accounts to provide a focused-orientated engagement strategy. Dell is the best example for this as the company has more than 30 Twitter accounts that they use to communicate to very specific audiences. Ford also got more than 7 Twitter channels to handle customer service and reputation management.

3. Leverage multimedia and mobile platforms – As I’ve mentioned before, all media has converged onto the internet so why not use all of them to maximize the experience. You can easily create your own podcast now, load it up to iTune or deliver it in mp3 format. For images, you can use Yahoo’s Flickr, Google’s Picasa, or Twitpic to share it on Twitter. By far the most powerful multimedia content is the use of videos through YouTube or Viemo. Although still limited by network and bandwidth, there are a few “live” video streaming social media tool that’s making headways specifically UStream.tv, Blip.tv and Justin.tv. Not only do people respond different via a variety of media formats enabling a broader reach, there is an increasing demand for location-based interaction as well. Thanks for iPhone and BlackBerry, mobile web content delivery is now an important consideration of a brand’s social media marketing strategy. The cost of mobile broadband will continue to drop enabling mobile rich-media content to be produced and distributed anywhere. The exciting part about mobile content is the ability to target location based users then engages them with relevant content.

Are you capitalizing on the rapid growth of Social Media? Or do you still believe in traditional media?

Link to original article Click Here

Social Media Guidelines for Intel Employees

2009-06-26T11:55:00.001-11:00

Businesses are just beginning to understand the opportunities that social media and social networking provide for engaging customers at a much deeper level than traditional marketing and advertising. Naturally, many companies are treading very softly in their social media experiments because it typically means allowing employees to go out and engage the public at a grassroots level and that usually scares the heck out of the PR and marketing departments.

However, the companies that figure out the right balance (skewed more toward openness) and train their employees appropriately have an opportunity to use social media to leapfrog in the market because they will be able to create stronger relationships with customers.

One of the companies that has figured this out is Intel. The company has created a Social Media department and offers training for employees who are interested in blogging and participating in online forums and other social media venues where they represent Intel. Intel has also recently published its “Social Media Guidelines” for employees. This document states:

“If you’re an Intel employee or contractor creating or contributing to blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds, or any other kind of social media both on and off intel.com-these guidelines are for you. We expect all who participate in social media on behalf of Intel to be trained, to understand and to follow these guidelines. Failure to do so could put your future participation at risk. These guidelines will continually evolve as new technologies and social networking tools emerge-so check back once in awhile to make sure you’re up to date.”

Intel also provides the following general principles for employees to remember when participating in social media:

- Stick to your area of expertise and provide unique, individual perspectives on what’s going on at Intel and in the world.
- Post meaningful, respectful comments-in other words, no spam and no remarks that are off-topic or offensive.
- Always pause and think before posting. That said, reply to comments in a timely manner, when a response is appropriate.
- Respect proprietary information and content, and confidentiality.
- When disagreeing with others’ opinions, keep it appropriate and polite.
- Know and follow the Intel Code of Conduct and the Intel Privacy Policy.

In addition, the company offers some general “rules of engagement” for social media, including:

Be transparent
Be judicious
Write what you know
Perception is reality
It’s a conversation
Create some excitement
Be a leader
If it gives you pause, pause

Any businesses and IT departments who are wrestling with social media guidelines for their employees, should take a look at the Intel document. It strikes a pretty good balance between maintaining corporate control while opening up to allow employees to become an army of grassroots brand advocates.

For more insights on social media in business and other tech topics, follow my Twitter stream at twitter.com/jasonhiner
See the original article at: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=20245

Maximizing The Use Of Social Media For Your Online Marketing

2009-06-24T13:39:00.000-11:00

There are so many types of social media that businesses can take advantage of for their marketing efforts

Published on June 23, 2009

by Lawrence Perry

(OfficialWire)

LONDON, ENGLAND

A lot has been written about the wonders of Facebook and Twitter to reach a very wide audience on the internet. But experienced and effective online marketers know that there are so many more websites and applications that can help enhance the online marketing efforts of a company. Although there are millions of users on Twitter and on Facebook there are many more users online that are not part of these 2 networks. Twitter and Facebook do not comprise social media- there are so many more services out there that can help you make the right connections and build a good reputation online.

There are so many channels online that you can use to develop business and personal connections with people. It is best to get on as much networks as you can because while there are millions of people on Twitter, there are still millions more that have not caught on. There are still millions of people who do not see the value of Facebook and Twitter and simply get information and connect with people through blogs and other websites. If you do not engage these other people that are on the other networks then you are not maximizing the benefits that you can gain from social media marketing.

Aside from Twitter and Facebook, companies can also use the following channels to engage prospective clients: LinkedIn, Plurk, MySpace, Forums and so much more. The world of Internet Marketing is a big -and dynamic world. A company must really be fully-committed to building strong networks in several of these networks so that they can fully take advantage of social media.

One of the best ways to reach people online is through blogging. Blogging can definitely help companies generate and ‘broadcast’ meaningful content to users. What’s good about blogging is that it can have a more informal tone than a company website. The blog can be more personal and help appeal to the emotional side of the audience. Developing blogs with good content can also help attract traffic to a company’s main website.

Another way companies can connect to more people online is through photo-sharing websites. Photos are fantastic ways of transmitting ideas and messages. Companies should also consider sharing videos online. There are so many companies that receive free publicity through videos that they produced that have become viral. When people like a video, a photo or an article they usually share them with their friends and family. This means that a single video or photo you upload can reach millions of people.

Companies can also utilize forums to communicate with people online. Companies should remember that the more communication channels they use, the more people they can reach and influence.

Follow me on Twitter: @CatchFriday

Putting the "No" in Innovation - Hilarious

2009-06-19T06:34:00.001-11:00

This is a hilarious viral video from "Shredded Wheat." I laughed myself to tears.

Enjoy!

$35,000 SBA ARC Loan - No Payment for 12 months

2009-06-09T11:14:00.001-11:00

FAQs
PRESS OFFICE
Release Date: June 8, 2009
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news
ARC Loan
Frequently Asked Questions
For Borrowers and Lenders
FOR BORROWERS:
What is an ARC Loan?
o
The America’s Recovery Capital, or ARC, loan program is designed to give viable small businesses suffering immediate financial hardship some temporary financial relief so they can keep their doors open and get their cash flow back on track.
o
The ARC loan program is a new, temporary program authorized by the Recovery Act.
o
An ARC loan is a deferred-payment loan of up to $35,000, to be used for principal and interest payments on existing, qualifying debt/loans.
o
ARC loans are 100% guaranteed by SBA and have no SBA or lender fees associated with them (unless the lender must secure collateral as part of the loan).
o
There are no interest charges to the borrower. The SBA will pay the monthly interest at the rate of Prime plus 2% to the lender on behalf of the borrower. (The current rate is published in the Federal Register.)
o
There is a disbursement period of up to six months is followed by 12 months with no repayment of the ARC loan principal. After the 12-month deferral period, the borrower pays back only the ARC loan principal over a period of five years.
How is “viable” defined and who defines it? What constitutes “immediate financial hardship”?
o
Viable means the business is an established, for-profit business with evidence of profitability or positive cash flow in at least one of the past two years. An analysis of financial statements going back three years is also used. Future cash flow projections based on reasonable growth going out two years should show that the business will be able to meet current and future debt obligations, including future repayment of the ARC loan. Also, the borrower must certify that they are currently no more than 60 days past due on any loan being paid with an ARC loan and they must have an acceptable business credit score as determined by SBA.
o
Immediate financial hardship means that there must be evidence to show a change in the financial condition such as declining sales, frozen credit lines, difficulty meeting payroll, paying rent, difficulty making loan payments or perhaps something else. Your lender must analyze and confirm that a hardship exists. The SBA has several categories for determining hardship status, such as loss or reduction of revenue in preceding year, increase in business costs in the preceding year, changes in operating ratios, loss of working capital or short-term credit lines, and/or inability to restructure debt due to recent credit restrictions. .
o
There are additional eligibility requirements. Please contact your SBA lender for details.
What loans/debts are “qualifying” and eligible to benefit from ARC? Can the proceeds be used to make payments on another SBA-guaranteed loan?
o
The only eligible purpose for use of ARC loan proceeds is to make periodic payments of principal and interest on qualifying small business loans.
o
Small business loans/debts qualifying and eligible for assistance with ARC loans include:
-
Secured & unsecured conventional loans (mortgages, term and revolving lines of credit)
-
Capital leases
-
Notes payable to vendors/suppliers/utilities
-
Development Company Loan Program (504) first mortgage loans
-
Credit card obligations for business purposes
o
ARC loans can not be used to make payments on another SBA-guaranteed loan, with the exceptions of loans made with an SBA guaranty after Feb. 17, 2009
Can ARC loans be used to pay a home equity line of credit and credit card debt?
o
ARC loans can be used to pay home equity lines of credit and credit card obligations if the debt is for business purposes that meets 7(a) standards. Documentation requirements for assistance with home equity and credit card debt are stringent. (Contact your SBA lender for details).
How do I obtain an ARC loan?
o
A small business should talk first to their current lender about obtaining an ARC loan.
o
ARC loans are made by commercial lenders (ARC loans are not made by the SBA itself).
o
Non-SBA lenders can become SBA lenders in order to make ARC loans.
o
SBA district offices can assist lenders in becoming approved SBA lenders.
Where can I get more information or speak with someone at SBA about ARC loans?
o
For more about ARC loans go to www.sba.gov
Is my business right for an ARC loan?
o
The ARC loan program is intended to give existing, viable small businesses that are suffering immediate financial hardship some temporary financial relief so they can keep their doors open and get their cash flow back on track, retain existing jobs, and ultimately grow in the future.
o
Examples of financial hardships include declining sales or revenues or difficulties in paying the operating expenses of the business.
o
ARC loans are not designed for new small businesses.
I’ve been making my business loan payments on time. Am I still eligible for an ARC loan? Can I use an ARC loan to establish a line of credit?
o
Subject to eligibility and your lender’s credit criteria, you may be eligible for an ARC loan to pay principal and interest on your existing small business loan(s), freeing up your income to pay other operating expenses. For more information, please speak with your SBA lender.
o
ARC loans are for making principal and interest payments on qualifying small business loans and are not a general line of credit for a business.
When will ARC loans be available?
o
ARC loans will be available beginning June 15.
How long do I have to obtain an ARC loan?
o
ARC loans are available through SBA-approved lenders as long as funding is available or through Sept. 30, 2010, whichever comes first. For more information on the ARC loans program and eligibility requirements go to www.sba.gov
FOR LENDERS:
When will I receive additional guidance and details regarding how to administer ARC loans? How will I know if my borrower is eligible? How do I know whether a business is “viable”? How do I know what constitutes “immediate financial hardship”?
o
A detailed Procedural Guide is available at www.sba.gov. FAQ’s for borrowers provided above contain summary information
Will lenders be paid interest on ARC loans?
o
The lender will bill the SBA, and the SBA will pay Prime plus 2% to the lender on behalf of the borrower. SBA will publish the current interest rate in the Federal Register.
When will the ARC loans be available? When will the SBA begin accepting loans?
o
ARC loans will be available and the SBA will begin accepting applications for ARC loans on June 15.
I have heard that ARC loans are relatively risky. Will ARC loan defaults impact my risk rating?
o
The SBA understands that ARC loans will carry greater risk than most SBA loans, and we expect a higher default rate than 7(a) loans. The SBA will be closely monitoring the ARC Loan portfolio. Performance of a Lender’s ARC loan will be taken into account as part of a Lender’s contribution to SBA’s mission in determining the satisfactory performance of a lender..
Where are the forms I will need for administering the ARC loans?
o
Forms are available along with the lender guidance at www.sba.gov
When can I get trained on providing ARC loans? Where should I go for questions?
o
SBA district offices are ready to begin training lenders and answering questions. If you are not already an SBA lender, please contact your local SBA district office: http://www.sba.gov/localresources/index.html
Will the SBA’s electronic submission method for delegated lenders be available for the ARC program?
o
Yes, delegated SBA lenders should use the electronic submission system, eTran. Non-delegated SBA lenders will submit applications to the SBA’s existing 7(a) Loan Guaranty Processing Center in Citrus Heights, California.

100 Tips to Be a Smarter, Better Twitterer

2009-06-01T12:39:00.000-11:00

Click here for the original article

100 Tips to Be a Smarter, Better Twitterer

May 12th, 2009

Twitter is a fun and useful tool, but there are a lot of quirks, rules, and standards that come along with it. To be effective on Twitter, you’ll need to learn the lingo, mechanics, and the ins and outs of interacting with followers. Here, we’ll take a look at 100 tips that can help you do just that.

For Beginners

If you’re just getting started, be sure to follow these tips.

Set up your profile: Give people a glimpse beyond what your tweets reveal.
Include a picture: Make sure you add a photo of yourself so that your tweets will be more personal.
Create a simple and short Twitter name: The longer your Twitter ID, the more space it takes up, and having a complicated name can make it hard for people to respond to or mention you.
Just do it: Don’t just lurk-jump into the conversation.
Make your profile link something that tells more about you: Share your blog, an about me page, or any other page that offers more information about the person behind the tweets.
Share photos: Post your photos on Twitter to shake things up a bit and add some interest to your stream.
Use proper grammar: Occasional abbreviations are passable, but make sure that your tweets are readable.
Use your real name: Build your personal brand by choosing your real name as your Twitter ID.
List your location: Many people use Twitter for local networking, so they’ll be more likely to follow you if they know where you are.
Learn the lingo: If you don’t know what DM, @, RT, and other Twitter symbols and words are, look them up or ask.
Don’t rush to build your network: Don’t follow hundreds of people right away-allow your following to grow organically.
Reply to someone with @: Place an @ sign in front of someone’s name on Twitter to write to them specifically, or simply just mention them-they will be notified that you did so.
Shrink your URLs: Use a URL shortener like TinyURL or is.gd to make it easier to fit into 140 characters.
Use your mobile device: Tweet from your phone, iPod, or other mobile device to keep your Twitter updated on the go, using the mobile web or text.
Find your friends: Use Twitter’s search in order to find your friends, organizations, and others that you may want to follow on Twitter.
Go public: Keep your tweet public so that people can get to know you before deciding to blindly follow.
Make it easy for others to find your tweets: Use a hashtag (#) in order to be more a part of a popular conversation.
Use abbreviations: Make use of codes like LOL, BRB, and NSFW to save space and reading effort.
Remove and/or block problem followers: If you don’t want to follow someone anymore, you can remove them, and if you don’t want your tweets to appear in their timeline, you can block them.
Remove irrelevant words: Use only the words that are completely necessary to get your message across.
Go private: Make your account private if you don’t want to share your updates with the world.

Finding Friends

In order to really use Twitter, you’ll need to build your own community and find people to follow.

Find people with similar interests: Check out Twitter directories to find people in your niche and interests, as well as those in your location.
Don’t sweat finding followers: Twitter isn’t about quantity, but quality-focus on building good relationships with those you follow.
Follow genuine people: Avoid only following people that want to game the system-build relationships with people.
Keep an eye on Facebook statuses: Many Facebook users tie their status to Twitter-if you see any @ signs in there, chances are they are on Twitter.
Share your passions in life: Discuss your hobbies and interests, and hash tag them so others can find you-and find others this way as well.
List yourself in directories: Make sure you’re easy to find by putting your Twitter name in relevant directories.
Get out from behind the curtain: Participate in meetups to meet your followers face to face, and get connected with others.
Be informative: Share links, video, and more in order to be interesting and valuable to the Twitter conversation.
Follow influencers: Follow important people on Twitter and interact with them to get lots of value.
Follow the people that you think are interesting: Listen to people that say things you’re interested in hearing.
Be funny and interesting: Make your timeline entertaining so that others will want to follow you.
Make yourself an authority: Share invaluable knowledge that would be missed if you stopped tweeting.

Keeping Followers

Once you’ve got followers, be sure to keep them by following these guidelines.

Don’t spam: Just don’t. Excessive DMs, repeated messages, and constant annoying information will get you unfollowed quickly.
Follow back: For goodness sakes, reciprocate. If someone is following you, and they offer some value, go ahead and follow them back-you can always take it back later.
Don’t make Twitter an extension of your blog: Twitter about your blog, but go beyond it as well-Twitter isn’t RSS.
Take it easy: Don’t tweet incessantly-or you’ll flood the windows of others so much that they’ll want to stop listening.

Tweeting

These are some of the ideas and things you can tweet about.

Share your announcements: Let people know about your achievements-shows, interviews, big trips.
Tweet useful links: Found something interesting, useful, or funny? Share it with your Twitter network.
Have fun: Be social, make connections, and use Twitter for good.
Share multimedia: Twitter loves photos, videos, and more, so share good multimedia.
Update daily: Update at least once a day so your followers have something to follow along with.

Developing Relationships

These tips explain how to develop good relationships with your Twitter followers.

Ask questions, give answers: Help others out, and ask for their opinions to improve relationships.
Check your @ replies: Make sure you know who is mentioning you by looking at your @ replies, and responding to them.
Collaborate with others: Share information and work closely with others in your niche on Twitter.
Show gratitude: If someone’s helped you out, be sure to thank them publicly.
Be a human being: Share personal information and show people that you’re a human being.
Provide value: Share your knowledge and give people a reason to listen when you tweet.
Give shout outs: Mention your Twitter friends and give them the spotlight.
Meet off of Twitter: Go to Tweetups and meet other users, or organize your own.
Retweet: If someone you’re following offers valuable information, retweet it, and you can simultaneously share it with more people and show the person you retweeted that you appreciate them.
Respond to every reply: If someone writes directly to you, be sure to acknowledge them by responding to their tweet.
Be genuine: Avoid being false-stay honest and let people see yourself.
Keep an eye on your reply ratio: You should keep your ratio or normal tweets to reply tweets in balance in order to stay original while still actively engaging others.
Take extended or private conversations to DM: If there’s too much quantity, or a privacy issue involved, don’t Tweet in public-share via DM.

Getting Value

Here we’ll take a look at how you can best get value out of Twitter.

Join the conversation: Read what others are doing and reply to what you’re interested in.
Ask for help: Use Twitter to get your questions answered and find a lending hand.
Keep your tweets short enough to retweet: If you want to be retweeted, make sure to leave extra space for at least "RT @yourname" to be added.
Keep up with the Twitter blog: Find out about technical problems, community issues, and more from the Twitter blog.
Stay active: Don’t use Twitter passively-be an active user to get the most value from it.
Follow the news: Twitter is a great source for breaking news-often beating mainstream media to the punch by hours.
Tweet during peak times: People are most likely to see your tweets during US business hours, so time your usage accordingly.
Stay on top of your friends: Use Twitter as a service to stay well connected with your real-life friends.
Connect with companies for better service: Use connections on Twitter to address your customer complaints.
Meet celebrities: You can often have a conversation with celebrities on Twitter, even if it’s one sided.
Track mentions of keywords: Set up a service to notify you whenever certain keywords are used on Twitter.

Snafus

These are actions that are best avoided on Twitter.

Remember to tweet like your grandma’s listening: Twitter is public, and even if you keep things private, you can never be too careful.
Give information about links: Don’t just share links without any explanation-tell your followers why they need to visit.
Keep it all to one tweet: You’re limited to 140 characters-keep it that way unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Don’t share EVERYTHING you do: Don’t share useless details about your cat or grilled cheese sandwich for lunch-make things a little more interesting.
Stop arguing: Debate is fine, but too much tense back and forth will turn followers off.
Avoid automatic DMs: Don’t set up your account to send welcome DMs to new followers-it’s considered impersonal and bad form.
Make sure your background doesn’t look like an advertisement: Many users choose to customize their background-just be careful not to take it too far.
Keep your follow to following ratio fairly even: You should be following about the same amount of people who follow you-too far either way makes you look like a spammer or a snob.
Don’t expect unrelated people to follow you back: If your Twitter is all about how you sell real estate in California, someone in Texas with no unifying interests to you is just not likely to want to reciprocate.
Don’t be an island: Engage your followers, and show that you’re a part of the community.
Don’t make it a following contest: If your main goal on Twitter is to amass as many Twitter followers as possible, you’ll end up turning a lot of followers off.
Do not autorespond: Autoresponders take the personality out of Twitter-individually connect instead.
Don’t always push your agenda: Twitter is a great marketing tool, but it will backfire on you if you abuse it.

For Business

Follow these tips if you’re a business on Twitter.

Don’t automate: Impersonality is the bane of Twitter-you’ll get more attention by engaging others and being genuine.
Use a photo instead of a logo: Make your Twitter account more personal with a photo.
Share your events: Make things interesting and possibly meet your followers through events.
Be personal: Show character and enforce a friendly brand for your company.
Share contests: Get followers more interested in what you tweet by holding contests.
Create multiple accounts if necessary: Set up an official account and others for individual employees if you’d like.
Follow relevant people: Connect with colleagues, journalists, competitors, and people who love your brand.
Share your business culture with OHs (overheards): Let people listen in to what’s happening in your office by repeating fun moments and comments.
Gather information: Ask Twitter followers what they’d like to see from you, and how you can improve.
Monitor your brand: Use alerts to find out what people are saying about your business, and respond to them.
Share your media: Link to videos, interviews, and more so followers can learn more about you and your business.
Talk back: Engage with those who engage you-and don’t be afraid to start conversations.

Productivity & Organization

These tips will help you keep it all together.

Use a client: Whether you’re on a mobile device or your desktop, get some help from clients like TwitterFon, Twirl, or TweetDeck.
Don’t feel like you have to read every tweet: You will miss some tweets, and that’s OK.
Limit your Twitter time: Check in occasionally, but don’t let Twitter keep you from more important things.
Don’t feel pressured to follow everyone back: While you generally should follow those who follow you, if someone offers no value to you, don’t feel guilty about not following them back.

Beyond Twitter

Take things a step further with these tips.

Link your Twitter and Facebook: Use the Twitter app on Facebook to automatically update your status whenever you update Twitter.
Put your blog posts on Twitter: Share blog post links on Twitter to reach a greater audience.
Share your Twitter ID: Put your Twitter ID on your email, business cards, and other social media networks so others will know you’re on the service.
Tell others about Twitter: Get people in your real life on Twitter, and you’ll have a great new way to communicate with them.
Include a link to tweet blog posts: On your blog, place a link that allows readers to send out a tweet about your post.

2009-05-19T07:52:00.003-11:00

See the original post

The best billboard in New York

The rules of a great billboard (great = cost effective) are as follows:
1. "Next exit"
2. EZ off and on
3. Free parking
4. Major thoroughfare
5. Take action now
6. Credible promise

Billboards are useful for building brand trust, but only if you run them for a very long time and over a wide area. In other words, it's an act of faith.

This billboard, on the other hand, probably started paying for itself before they finished painting it.

Microsoft's Channel 9 Social Media Policy

2009-05-19T04:55:00.002-11:00

Channel 9 Doctrine

Channel 9 is all about the conversation. Channel 9 should inspire Microsoft and our customers to talk in an honest and human voice. Channel 9 is not a marketing tool, not a PR tool, not a lead generation tool.
Be a human being. Channel 9 is a place for us to be ourselves, to share who we are, and for us to learn who our customers are.
Learn by listening. When our customers speak, learn from them. Don't get defensive, don't argue for the sake of argument. Listen and take what benefits you to heart.
Be smart. Think before you speak, there are some conversations which have no benefit other than to reinforce stereotypes or create negative situations.
Marketing has no place on Channel 9. When we spend money on Channel 9 the goal is to surprise and delight, not to promote or preach.
Don't shock the system. Lasting change only happens in baby steps.
Know when to turn the mic off. There are some topics which will only result in problems when you discuss them. This has nothing to do with censorship, but with working within the reality of the system that exists in our world today. You will not change anything by taking on legal or financial issues, you will only shock the system, spook the passengers, and create a negative situation.
Don't be a jerk. Nobody likes mean people.
Commit to the conversation. Don't stop listening just because you are busy. Don't stop participating because you don't agree with someone. Relationships are not built in a day, be in it for the long haul and we will all reap the benefits as an industry.

ARC Loans Become Available June 15, 2009

2009-05-18T09:49:00.003-11:00

News Release

PRESS OFFICE

Release Date: May 18, 2009	Contact: David J. Hall (202) 205-6697
Release Number: 09-30	Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

SBA Launches New 100-Percent Guarantee ARC Loan Program to Help Struggling Businesses

WASHINGTON – Small businesses suffering financial hardship as a result of the slow economy may be eligible to receive temporary relief to keep their doors open and get their cash flow back on track through to a new loan program announced today by SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills.

Beginning on June 15, SBA will start guaranteeing America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) loans. ARC loans are deferred-payment loans of up to $35,000 available to established, viable, for-profit small businesses that need short-term help to make their principal and interest payments on existing qualifying debt. ARC loans are interest-free to the borrower, 100 percent guaranteed by the SBA, and have no SBA fees associated with them.

“These ARC loans can provide the critical capital and support many small businesses need to make it through these tough economic times,” said Administrator Mills. “Together with other provisions of the Recovery Act, ARC loans will free up capital and put more money in the hands of small business owners when they need it the most. This will help viable small businesses continue to grow and thrive and create new jobs in communities across the country.”

As part of the Recovery Act, the ARC program was created as a no-interest, deferred payment loan to help small businesses that have a history of good performance, but as a result of the tough economy, are struggling to make debt payments.

ARC loans will be disbursed within a period of up to six months and will provide funds to be used for payments of principal and interest for existing, qualifying small business debt including mortgages, term and revolving lines of credit, capital leases, credit card obligations and notes payable to vendors, suppliers and utilities. Repayment will not begin until 12 months after the final disbursement. Borrowers don’t have to pay interest on ARC loans. After the 12-moth deferral period, borrowers will pay back the loan principal over a period of five years.

ARC loans will be made by commercial lenders, not SBA directly. For more information on ARC loans, visit www.sba.gov

You can receive all of the SBA’s News Releases via email. To subscribe, visit http://web.sba.gov/list and select “Press Office.

Top 10 Social Networks for Entrepreneurs

2009-05-09T02:16:00.002-11:00

I found this great article with new social media sites for entrepreneurs.

See the original article at: http://mashable.com/2009/03/12/entrepreneur-networks/

Dan Schawbel is the author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success (Kaplan, April 09), and owner of the award winning Personal Branding Blog.

Looking for a job? Consider creating your own. There are a number of social resources to help you connect with other entrepreneurs and get your business ideas off the ground.

Here are the top 10 social networks for entrepreneurs. Each helps entrepreneurs succeed by providing them with the guidance, tools and resources they need to setup their company and gain exposure.

Have another social site to add to this list? Tell us about it in the comments.

1. Entrepreneur Connect

Entrepreneur Media, the company that produces Entrepreneur Magazine, started a social network over a year ago specifically for entrepreneurs and small business owners called Entrepreneur Connect. Like all social networks, you have the opportunity to create your own profile, explore the community, share ideas with other entrepreneurs and network. Unlike most social networks, this one frowns upon too much self-promotion and applauds idea sharing.

You can use this network to connect to service providers, suppliers, advisers and colleagues. Just like LinkedIn and Facebook (), there are professional groups that you can join or create. Another cool feature is that you’re able to start your own blog and possibly have it appear on the main page. This is similar to what Fast Company has done with their website.

2. PartnerUp

PartnerUp is a social network for entrepreneurs who are searching for people and resources for business opportunities. Anyone can join, but business partners, co-founders, executives and board members will get the most out of this one. In this network, you can ask or offer advice, find commercial real estate and find service providers like accountants and marketers for your business.

The big differentiator with this social network is the commercial real estate “MoveUpSM” program that serves entrepreneurs who have experienced a hard time trying to find office space for their business. They also have a Resource Directory that allows small and mid-sized businesses to advertise their services.

3. StartupNation

Most social networks neglect the content aspect that makes StartupNation so useful. With articles, forums, blogs, on-demand seminars, and podcasts, entrepreneurs will be better prepared for their ventures and have the resources required to make better business decisions.

There are a wide range of topics being discussed on StartupNation right now, including business planning, marketing and web-based business. The site also offers a series of competitions, such as a dorm-based 20 contest and an elevator pitch competition. If you’re an entrepreneur or hope to become one, this site is definitely one you can’t miss out on.

4. LinkedIn

It’s difficult to leave LinkedIn () off of any social networking list because it’s so useful for anyone who’s either searching for a job, is trying to network with like-minded individuals, or building a company. LinkedIn offers many resources for entrepreneurs, such as groups, including the very popular “On Startups” group that has over 54,000 members.

Entrepreneurs on LinkedIn should brand themselves properly so they can attract the right kind of business opportunities, and perform searches to find service providers or partners. As an entrepreneur, you should also be looking to participate in LinkedIn Answers, events and applications to spruce up your profile and become a valuable member to your community.

5. Biznik

This isn’t another LinkedIn clone. Instead, Biznik brands itself as a social network that “doesn’t suck.” The Biznik community is composed of freelancers, CEOs, and the self-employed. Like the other networks, this is a place for you to share ideas, instead of posting your resume. It is mandatory for all members to use their real names and provide real data, and Biznik editors actually review all profiles to ensure compliance with that policy. There are three levels of membership, including basic, active ($10 a month for an enhanced profile) and supporting ($24 a month for increased visibility).

6. Perfect Business

If you want to meet thousands of serious entrepreneurs, experts and investors from a variety of industries, then Perfect Business might be the perfect social network for you. The type of people you’ll find are potential business partners, potential clients and advisers. Additionally, the site has leading business partners like Entrepreneur and Virgin Money.

From business networking to a video center where you can learn from successful entrepreneurs, a business plan builder and even an investor center, you’ll have most of the resources you need to create or regenerate your business. There is a free basic membership and a gold membership that costs $29.99 per month.

7. Go BIG Network

The Go BIG Network embraces job seekers, in addition to funding sources, service providers and entrepreneurs. In this social network, you post requests for help, which are then routed to other people in the network that can answer your questions or support you. Members of this social network can search through profiles of other members, contact them or post a request (a classified ad) to talk about what they are looking for (such as a business partner). The profiles on this network are targeted and specific so it’s easy to find an investor in a particular region.

8. Cofoundr

The Cofoundr network is made up of idea makers, entrepreneurs, programmers, web designers, investors, freelancers and executives. The primary purpose of joining this network is to start a new web venture. Unlike most of the social networks already listed here, Cofoundr is a strictly private network, which means that you can’t view member profiles before you register for an account.

Membership requires having a valid university or work email address, which means high schools students and younger aren’t allowed. The first thing you have to do is sign up, then specify your abilities and the people you are trying to network with and finally, post your idea on the bulletin board or in the forum.

9. The Funded

The Funded is an online community of entrepreneurs who research, rate and review funding sources. Entrepreneurs can view and share terms sheets to assist each other in finding good investors, as well as discuss the inner workings of operating a business. General benefits of this site include viewing facts, reviews and commentary on funding resources, and accessing RSS feeds of the most recent public comments by members.

By joining the site, you have access to detailed fund profiles with specialty, reference investments, and investment criteria, in addition to accessing partner vCards that have full contact information of all partners at venture funds. In order to get any value out of this social network, you pretty much have to become a member.

10. Young Entrepreneur

If you’re young, entrepreneurial and socially active or just curious, then Young Entrepreneur is a great starting point for you. This community appears as a discussion forum, with topics such as e-commerce, search engine optimization, marketing, IT & Internet, and franchising. Aside from their main forum and threads, there is a popular blog and some great videos.

2009-05-08T06:12:00.001-11:00

Click on Image to Enlarge

Finance Workshop
for
Enumclaw Small Businesses

The federal stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contained several
provisions to help small businesses. In addition, there are other federal and state programs aimed at helping small businesses. At this workshop, you will receive information about business financing using new SBA programs in addition to other help available from:

US Small Business Administration
Washington State Department of Community Trade and Economic
Development (CTED)
Northwest Business Development Association (NWBDA)
City of Enumclaw ‐ Economic Development
Local Banking Representatives

We want to help small businesses remain stable and thrive during these difficult times,
and hope you can attend and get information about resources that are available to you.

For more information, contact 253‐288‐3400.

Date & Time:
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Location:
Green River Community College ‐ Enumclaw Campus
1414 Griffin Ave, Room 15
Enumclaw, WA 98022

If you would like to attend, RSVP to ewilliams@greenriver.edu or at the numbers above

Power Hour Networking with U.S. Bank at Emerald Downs on May 21st

2009-05-08T05:44:00.008-11:00

Click Image to Enlarge

On Thursday May 21, please join the SBDC and U.S. Bank for our Small Business Networking Power Hour. Meet other business owners in the community with appetizers and a drink on US. We encourage you to bring another small business owner and learn how to grow your business.

Free food, free drinks and free business expertise. Network with SBDC Counselors, Bankers and other business owners. Hot topics include, Marketing, Finance, and Social Media.

Please RSVP by May 16, 2009

WHEN:
Thursday May 21, 2009
5:00pm—7:00pm

WHERE
Emerald Downs
2300 Emerald Downs Drive
Auburn, WA 98001

Contact:

Toya Turner, GRCC
(253) 333—4953
tturner@greenriver.edu

or

Daniel Alldredge, U.S. Bank
(253) 288—8598
daniel.alldredge@usbank.com

Well Fargo Business Insight Video Series - Check It Out!

2009-05-06T04:23:00.002-11:00

Wells Fargo Business Insight Video Home Page

The Wells Fargo Business Insight Series offers information and tips to help you grow your business and meet your management goals. Industry specialists and Wells Fargo customers share best practices and strategies on important topics such as credit management, financing, retirement planning, marketing, health care and more. Each short episode is filled with useful information, tips, and practical advice to help your business succeed.

Financing and Credit Sound financial management is essential to creating long-term stability and growth for your business. Learn best practices for applying for a loan or line of credit, securing funding, and managing cash flow.	General Management and Marketing Obtain information and tips on topics such as strategic planning, marketing and personnel development to improve the overall management of your business. Find out how implementing online marketing, starting a mentoring program for new employees, or developing a strategic plan can help you move your business forward.
Retirement and Transition Your retirement plan and transition strategy are critical to creating a solid, long-term financial future. Position yourself to achieve your goals by choosing the right plan, saving and spending wisely, and preparing your business for a smooth transition.	Security Protecting your business with insurance and data management systems can help make your business more secure. Industry specialists and business owners share their best practices and strategies
Technology Technology plays a major role in today’s business world. Learn how to use the latest innovations, how to protect your digital information, and the ins-and-outs of your technology investments to put your business on the leading edge.	Health Care Health care is a top concern for many business owners today. Discover cost-saving health care tips, strategies for making smart coverage choices and ways you can effectively communicate health insurance choices to employees.

List of Social Media and Social Networking Sites

2009-05-01T12:33:00.004-11:00

This list is from Traffikd:

http://traffikd.com/social-media-websites/

This page will be continually updated to add new resources, so please use our contact form if you know of a site that should be included.

ARTS:

ArtSlant
deviantART
Humble Voice - Art, music, video, photography
imeem - Music, videos, photos
MyArtInfo
PhotographyVoter
Virb - Music, art, fashion, film and more

BOOKMARKING:

AllMyFavorites
Backflip
Blinkbits
Blinklist
Blogmarks
Blummy
BuddyMarks
BookmarkTracker
ChangeToLink
Chipmark
Connectedy
del.icio.us
De.lirio.us
Diigo
Dogear
Favoritoo
Feedmarker
FeedMeLinks
Foxmarks
FreeLink
Fungow
Furl
GetBoo
GiveALink
Hyperlinkomatic
iKeepBookmarks
Lilisto
LinkaGoGo
Linkatopia
Linkroll
List Mixer
Livemarks
LookLater
Lycos iQ
Ma.gnolia
MarkaBoo
Mobilicio.us
MyBookmarks
MyHq
Mylinkvault
MyPip
My Stuff (from Ask)
MyVmarks
Namakkal
Netvouz
Online Bookmark Manager
OnlyWire
Oyax
Shadows
Simpy
SiteBar
SiteJot
Snipit
Socializer
StartAid
Stufflinker
Sync2it
SyncOne
Turboclip
Windows Live Favorites
WireFan
Zurpy

CARS AND AUTO:

AutoSpies
Boompa
CarDomain
Motorpulse

CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS:

Classmates
ConnectU
Dodgeball
Friends Reunited
Graduates
Meetup
MyYearbook
Reunion
SKOUT

CONSUMER REVIEWS:

Cork’d - Wine reviews
Chowhound - Food
Epinions
RateItAll
Yelp

COOKING/FOOD

All Recipes
Barmano
FohBoh - Restaurant network
Foods.tv - user generated cooking shows
Kitchen Bug
WineLifeToday - Wine

CULTURES/FOREIGN LANGUAGES:

Acelerame - Spanish (cars)
Amina - Chechen Republic
Black Planet - African American
ClubGh - Ghana
Hyves - Dutch
IRC Galleria - Finland
iWiW - Hungary
IndianPad
LunarStorm - Sweden
MiGente - Latino
Mixi - Japan
Nexopia - Canada
Playahead - Sweden
Scoopeo - French
StudiVZ - German students
Wamba - Spanish social network
Yigg - German

DATING:

Chemistry
Crush or Flush
Cupid’s Lab
Flirtomatic
LoveandFriends
OkCupid
SpeedDate
WooMe

EDUCATION/BOOKS:

Book Tribes
BookCrossing
Bookins
BookMooch
BookSwim
Carmun
Citeulike
Connect via Books
Good Reads
Hitflip
LibraryThing
PaperBackSwap
qoolsqool
Read It Swap It
Shelfari
Wordsy

EVENT PLANNING

Socializr
Zoji

FAMILY:

Amiglia
Babbiz
CafeMom
Eons
Family 2.0
Family Den
Famiva
Geni
Genoom
GreatSchools - Parents review schools
Kinzin
MomJunction
MothersClick
Moxie Moms
MyFamily.com
Parentography
TheFamilyPost
WebBiographies

FASHION/CLOTHING:

Chictini
Stylehive
Threadless - T-shirts

FINANCE:

Tip’d

GAMES:

Gaia - Games and anime
Game Diggity
GuildCafe
WeeWorld

GENERAL NETWORKING:

AIM Pages
Badoo
Bebo
CyWorld
Everyone’s Connected
EarthFrisk
Facebook
Faves
Friendster
Grono
Hi5
LiveJournal
Lovento
Multiply
MySpace
NetFriendships
Netlog
Orkut
Passado
ProfileLush
Skyrock
Tagged
Tribe
Trig
Windows Live Spaces
Yahoo! 360
Zaadz

HEALTH/MEDICAL:

DailyStrength
Health Ranker
icarecafe
MyPharmaNote
Sermo - Doctors
Walker Tracker
Who is Sick?

KIDS:

imbee
KidLinks

INTERNET MARKETING:

PlugIM
Sphinn

LINK/WEBSITE SHARING:

Blue Dot
Ensiting
StumbleUpon
TagTooga
Trailfire

MICROBLOGGING/IM/MOBILE:

BeeMood
Feecle - Japanese
FlickIM
Frazr - German and French
IMified
Jaiku
Komoo - Chinese
loopt
mbuzzy
Numpa - Dutch
Oseflol - French
Pownce
Radar
Robisz - Polish
Rummble
Twitter
Zannel

MOVIES:

Filmcrave

MUSIC:

10Tune
Buzznet
Fuzz
JamNow
Jango
Indistr
Last.fm
MOG
Purevolume
Soundpedia
thesixtyone
WoozyFly - promotion of indie artists.

NEWS:

Blog Engage
Blogg-Buzz
BloggingZoom
BlogsVine
BuzzFlash
Content Pop
Digg
Fark
Hubdub
Mixx
NewsCloud
NewsHeat - Politics
Newsvine
NowPublic
Plime
Propeller
RawSugar
Reddit
Shoutwire
Stirr’d Up
Tagza
Thuhm
Wobblog
Ximmy

PETS:

Catster
Dogster
Fuzzster
MyCatSpace
MyDogSpace
PetSide
PetZume
Pikapet
UnitedDogs

PHOTO SHARING:

Flickr
Fotki
Fotolog
Linkinn
My Opera
Photbucket
Picli
Tagmee
Text America
Zoomr

POLITICS:

Carnival of Politics

POP CULTURE:

Lipstick - Celebrity
Showhype

PROFESSIONAL:

APSense
Biznik
Cofoundr - Entrepreneurial
CompanyLoop
DoMyStuff
Doostang
Ecademy
Fast Pitch
JASEzone
KillerStartups
Konnects
Lawyrs
LinkedIn
MeetIn
NetHooks
PairUp
Ryze
Small Business Brief
StartupNation - Entrepreneurial
Startupping - Internet entrepreneurs
Synergy Street - Entrepreneurial
Tapped In - Educational professionals
Upspring
Xing
Ziggs

REAL ESTATE:

Puurple
Trulia
Zillow
Zolve

RELIGIOUS:

Blessedit
Blogs4God
GodTube - Video sharing
GospelShout
MyChurch
Xianz

SHOPPING:

AgentB
BiddingBuddies - For Ebay members
Deal Comet
Dealigg
Iliketotallyloveit
Judy’s Book
OSoYou
ThisNext
Yub
Zebo

SOCIAL ACTION:

Care2 - Social Issues/Humanities
Hugg - Environmental
Planet Change - Environmental
TakingITGlobal

SPORTS:

Armchair GM
Ballhype
eFans
FanNation
Fanspot
GymMeet
Joga - Soccer (Football)
ScoreGuru
SportsFlip
Sportsvite
Takkle - high school sports
SportsCast

TECHNOLOGY:

Carnival of Making Money Online
Design Bump - Web/graphic design
Design Float - Web/graphic design
DesignRelated
DevelopersNiche
DNHour - Domain Name News
DotNetKicks
Dzone - Developers
Earner’s Club - Internet Marketing
Hacker News
Hosting Bookmarks
Leet Daily
Pixel Groovy - Web design
Slashdot
Tweako
SWiK - Open source software
WPscoop - WordPress

TEEN:

eCRUSH
eSpintheBottle
Piczo
Profile Heaven
Sconex
Student.com
Stardoll
Teenwag

TRAVEL:

Couch Surfing EveryTrail - GPS
GeckoGo
Groople
Gusto
TravBuddy
Travellerspoint
Trip Advisor
TripUp
WAYN
Woophy

VIDEO SHARING:

Broadcaster
Friction.tv
Panjea
Revver
Tubearoo
Viddler
Video Bomb
Video Sift
Vimby
Xillian TV
YouTube

WOMEN:

Kirtsy
PNN
PrettySocial
SurgarLoving

MISCELLANEOUS:

9rules
43 Things - Goal sharing
Beautiful Society - List and vote for your favorite things
Clip Clip
Brijit
ChickAdvisor
Clipmarks
Clipstar
Consumating
Dandelife - A social biography network
Dawdle - Auction
Daytipper - Tips and tutorials
Digglicious
DigStock - Financial
DontStayIn - Clubbing
EnergyPeopleConnect
Experience Project - Share Life Experiences
Faceparty - “The biggest party on Earth”
Fazed
Faqqly - Community of questions and answers
Ficlets - Collaborative writing
Flixster - Movies
Gather
Global Voices
GoLark - Events and activities
Hypediss
I Am Bored
Jambo
JetEye
LinkFilter
Listible
Neighborrow - Borrowing and sharing
Ning - Create your own network
Outside.in - local news
Product Clash - Product reviews
Prosper - People to people lending
Recruiting.com
Searchles
SEO Tagg
Shared Confession - Secrets
Spout - Films
Squidoo
StoryLink - Screen Writers
Tipstrs - Tips and tutorials
Tribe
Truemors
Value Investing News - Financial
Vampire Freaks
WeGame - Video games
Wists

How the Library of Congress Uses Social Media

2009-04-29T04:54:00.003-11:00

I found this great example of how the Library of Congress uses Social Media. There are some great lessons here.

Social Media Marketing Example #12: Library of Congress

Lisa Braziel | April 17, 2009 | 0 Comments

Continuing with the series, 26 Social Media Marketing Examples in Detail , I will cover The Library of Congress. Perhaps you may think that this isn’t the most exciting example to showcase on a Friday, but hopefully you will be just as pleasantly surprised as I was to see the neat ways the largest library in the world is sharing some of its unique content. And if you are a library geek like me, you’ll find yourself subscribing to some of these tactics by the time you are finished discovering them.

Here is what they are doing:

Blogging

Apparently the Library of Congress has been blogging for more than 2 years now, and while they don’t post very frequently, the manner in which they write content is fun, engaging, and puts some personality and humor back into the Library. Most of the posts are made by Matt Raymond, whose humor and relevancy keeps audiences engaged (with most posts experiencing double digit comments). Who knew that library’s could have a sense of humor?

Flickr

The Library of Congress just started this Flickr page in January to upload historical pictures from their collections. At first, I thought that it wasn’t as populated as I thought it would be, but then I realized that for many of the pictures uploaded, this is the first time they have been available in digital format (which is really cool!). Interestingly, because the staff uploading these pictures are relying on information that came with the photos (that can sometimes be incomplete/inaccurate), they “welcome your contribution of names, descriptions, locations, tags, and also your general reactions.” I’m completely in love with these collections already, and from the 80+ comments from other Flickr members on just one album, I think this is a crowd favorite and a huge success.

You Tube

To provide users with its historical video content, the Library of Congress also has a You Tube channel, LibraryofCongress . Within this channel, users can currently watch around 75 videos ranging from historical videos from Thomas Edison to speeches from the National Book Festival. The blog announced the reason why the Library started this channel by stating, “When you’re the stewards of the world’s largest collection of audiovisual materials (some 6 million films, broadcasts and sound recordings), nothing less would be expected of you”. They also noted on their blog that, “We have made a conscious decision that we’re not just going to upload a bunch of videos and then walk away.” I love that :-)

Social Networking

Facebook: It appears most efforts on Facebook are made from the fans of the Library of Congress, because I couldn’t seem to find an official page. It seems I’m not alone, as one user within one of the fan pages I reviewed noted, “Is there an official Library of Congress fan page?”. While I don’t think it is a mandatory that they have one, I think there are plenty of patrons who would be happy to join.

iTunes

So far, the Library of Congress is offering podcasts from the National Book Festival for 2008 and 2009 through its website and its iTunes account. I expect that this may expand to offer more content, but for now it is great that it is an option.

Twitter

In case you are wondering if the Library has explored Twitter,they are also there as well! They seem to use this account to share events happening at the Library of Congress, and to update users on fresh and relevant content. Currently they have a following of more than 5k followers, so it seems as if people are responding well to the effort.

Do you have any reactions to the Library’s initiatives in social media marketing? I think that they are doing a great job using the social media tools to share content in a new way. It’s likely that other library’s will begin to follow in their footsteps.

Join the Online Revolution - Engage in Radical Self Promotion

2009-04-22T13:46:00.003-11:00

The Goal of Social Media is to Increase Sales. Really?
Social media provides the tools that enable us to have online conversations. I know, the big advice out there today about social media is don’t try to sell anything to anyone. The idea of social media is to be part of the conversation to build relationships over time. Of course, our goal in business is to sell more stuff to more people. The new revolution in business is social media marketing. If done right, it can be your key to radically improving sales. The question is how do you increase sales by using social media? Sun Tzu in the Art of War explains that strategy is determined by the terrain. Here is an overview of the social media terrain.

Your Word-of-Mouth Marketing Just Got a Megaphone
There are three ways your customers eventually find you online:
1) Search engines
2) Browsing
3) Recommendation

Susan Boyle, chances are you have heard of her, the Britain’s Got Talent superstar already has just under 40,000,000 views on one YouTube video in just 11 days. She is listed on the second page of most viewed videos of all time for YouTube. Most of us heard about Susan because her performance was recommended to us. The idea is you want your business, your products and your services to be recommended as well.

Social media gives your word-of-mouth marketing a megaphone. You have a good business, your customers love you. You just need more customers. Here is an important rule of social media marketing . . .

You Must Be Present to Win
Out of sight is out of mind. There is a saying in business, “You must win mind share before you can win market share.” Social media is where conversations and recommendations are happening. By joining the conversation you become visible and good things can happen from there.
Here are some ways to be present to win:
1) Listening to the conversations you are interested in
2) Participating in those conversations
3) Publishing information
4) Facilitating a conversation

Listening
Ask your customers which social media they use. Twitter, Facebook, forums, YouTube, Yelp, others? You can also search topics that relate to your business to find where relevant conversations are occurring online. You can use Google alerts and www.search.twitter.com to find articles, blogs, newsletters, and other online content that will help you gain insights into your customers, your industry, and discover a whole new world of ideas.

Participating
By participating on social media websites like Biznik.com, Linkedin.com, Twitter.com and hundreds more just like them you can create a profile that will show up on the front page of search engines. (I was surprised today to find I was on the front page of Google when I searched my name.) Participating in social media increases the likelihood that you will show up on the front page of search engines when customers are looking for you.

Here are some interesting ways to participate. You can start a blog, comment on other people’s blogs, comment on relevant news articles, comment on published online articles, and link to interesting information on your website and other people’s websites on Twitter.

Publishing
You can publish (for free) pictures, videos, articles and announcements. Your new customers will find your published materials and those materials will link back to your website. There are hundreds of places to publish your information.

Facilitating
Websites like Biznik.com, Linkedin.com, Facebook, Ning.com, and others like them allow you to create social networking groups for free, for your customers. You can facilitate your own conversations that will meet the specific needs of your existing and new customers.

Social Media is More like Customer Service than Sales and Marketing
There is a buying process customers go through when they are deciding to do business with you:

1) Awareness
2) Consideration
3) Purchase
4) Loyalty

Social media helps with the awareness, consideration, and loyalty aspects of the buying process. Think of social media marketing as a customer service outreach. Chances are, you are already good at customer service and social media gives you exposure to new people very quickly.

“Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About”
You know what I mean. Believe me; we are all learning how to use and how to win customers with social media. I’ve talked to several social media experts and they admit they are stilling learning and discovering. No one has all of the answers. So don’t feel bad as you feel your way through this new terrain. The best advice I have heard about social media marketing is to spend no more than one hour per day working on it. You are already busy enough. What you put online stays online and works for you 24/7. So giving it an hour a day allows you to build slowly and get better as you go.

You may not get results over night; however momentum will build as you give them something to talk about.

Radical Self-Promotion - Crawl, Walk, Run
People do business with people they know, trust, and like. Social media gets you out there. You are the face of the company. As you participate and publish you build credibility and trust. That’s why we call it “radical self-promotion.” We want to get know you. Start small. Crawl, then walk, and then run. Do one social networking site at time and then add more as you go. The good news is, you become visible, your search engine ranking improves, you encourage raving fans, you get recommendations, you get to know your customers better, you get to meet new people, and yes social media will result in more sales. I highly recommend it.

Social Media Action Plan:
1) Search online for information about your industry or line of business
2) Join and check out several online communities as you have time
3) Pick one social media website at a time and learn how to use it
4) Spend one hour a day listening, participating, publishing, and/or facilitating
5) Track website traffic, search page rank, and increased sales for effectiveness

Kirk Davis is a SBDC Certified Business Advisor at Green River Community College (GRCC). GRCC offers no-cost guidance, bringing big business advantages to small businesses. Kirk can be reached at 253.856.9595 ext. 5041 or at kdavis@greenriver.edu. Check out his blog at www.grccnxlevel.blogspot.com.

How to Start Your Own Business Workshop

2009-04-14T07:01:00.003-11:00

The City of Auburn and Green River Small Business Assistance Center are putting on a seminar “How to Start Your Own Business” for any South King county resident interested in learning about how to start a business.

The seminar will take place Monday April 20th, 2009 from 4-6p.m.

Please see the flyer below. We also have a flyer in Spanish (e-mail me to request a flyer in Spanish). Please let folks know about it We will have ethnic bank lenders, micro-lending groups, a panel of business owners and a packet of resources available.

Registration is required. Call or e-mail 253-333-4954 or Toya Turner at tturner@greenriver.org

Check out the new Auburn Diversity Blog:
http://www.auburndiversity.blogspot.com

Email Marketing - What I've Learned

2009-03-13T13:26:00.004-11:00

I taught a seminar on email marketing to the Kent Chamber of Commerce in January 2009. Here is what I've learned about it.

Email Marketing
The easiest way to increase your sales is through email marketing. It only costs a few dollars a month to get an email program like www.constantcontact.com. They take care of the legal stuff and prevent you from accidentally spamming. Email marketing helps build:
1. Customer Loyalty
2. New Customers
3. Word-of-Mouth Sales

Studies show that most people only buy after repeated exposure to your marketing message or ads. You are reminding people of your company and keeping your company top-of-mind with your existing clients.

But what do you put in an email?
1. List tips for using your products
2. Offer a review of a website or product
3. Answer a reader's question
4. Reprint relevant articles

How do you grow your email list?
1. Cross promote with other businesses. Feature other businesses on your email and they will promote you on their email. It can help build both of your lists.

2. Believe it or not, almost every person who is on facebook has an average of 150 contacts. If you can get your customers to say nice things about you on facebook and refer your website, it gets out a lot people. Twitter.com is getting a similar response. There are a lot of social media marketing methods which we will talk about later.

3. Another great way to build your email list is through networking if you are a business to business type business or hosting special events for customers if you are a business to customer type business.

There is so much more to say. Hopefully this will get you started. Of course there are many blog posts and websites that can give you more information.

The important thing is not to hesitate. If you are not making full use of email marketing, it should be your number 1 priority. Most of our clients who use email marketing get at least 1/3 of their sales because of their email marketing. You should too.

TV Ads for $6 Each

2009-03-13T12:21:00.005-11:00

I just taught our third Marketing Tool Box Seminar at the Kent Chamber of Commerce. I was asked by several in attendance to share some of the information from the other seminars. Here is what we covered last month about TV advertising.

It's hard to believe but its true. TV is cheap! Doug Basler of Fast Trax Media has created a package that makes it easy and affordable to be on TV. I was talking with one of my clients who owns a small retail store. Her competitors can't figure out how she affords to be on TV. It costs her less than running a newspaper ad campaign. How can you find out more?

Go to www.fasttraxmedia.com. Doug has a great video on his website that explains the whole thing. Its easy, it's inexpensive, and best of all it works. As you know TV is the 800 pound gorilla of marketing. My clients who advertise on TV are experiencing an ROI. Chances are, you will recognize some of the commercials on Doug's website.

The Financial Crisis Explained in Simple Terms

2009-03-05T14:09:00.001-11:00

Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Berlin. In order to increase
sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed
alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on
a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).
Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of customers flood
Into Heidi's bar.
Taking advantage of her customers' freedom from immediate payment
constraints, Heidi increases her prices for wine and beer, the most-consumed
beverages. Her sales volume increases massively.
A young and dynamic customer service consultant at the local bank
Recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Heidi's
borrowing limit.
He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the
alcoholics as collateral.
At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert bankers transform these
customer assets into DRINKBONDS, ALKBONDS and PUKEBONDS. These
securities are then traded on markets worldwide. No one really understands what these
abbreviations mean and how the securities are guaranteed.
Nevertheless, as their prices continuously climb, the securities become top-selling items.
One day, although the prices are still climbing, a risk manager
(subsequently of course fired due his negativity) of the bank decides that slowly
the time has come to demand payment of the debts incurred by the drinkers at
Heidi's bar.
However they cannot pay back the debts.
Heidi cannot fulfill her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy.
DRINKBOND and ALKBOND drop in price by 95 %. PUKEBOND performs better,
stabilizing in price after dropping by 80 %.
The suppliers of Heidi's bar, having granted her generous payment due
dates and having invested in the securities are faced with a new situation.
Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a
competitor.
The bank is saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock
consultations by leaders from the governing political parties.
The funds required for this purpose are obtained by a tax levied on
the non-drinkers.
Finally an explanation I understand . . .

The 10 Foot Wall and the 10 Foot Pole

2009-03-05T13:32:00.003-11:00

Why people aren’t buying from you and what do about it – It’s not only because of the recession.

The 10 Foot Wall Goes Up
You are telling someone about your business, they are looking right at you, they are nodding their head, and they are not hearing a word you say. That’s because of the invisible 10 foot wall and the ten foot pole they put up to protect themselves. If you perceive that I’m trying to sell you something, your defenses are up instantly. Your 10 foot wall goes up and your 10 foot pole comes out. You may appear mildly interested, but your mind is on the defensive and you can’t wait for me to go away. We usually have these types of experiences quite often. In fact, it happens so often that our defensive response is automatic. In order to grow our businesses you have to successfully overcome the defenses that keep people from buying.

The Big Three Objections
When a customer is defensive here is what they are thinking:
· “Don’t waste my time”
· “Don’t waste my money”
· “Don’t disappoint me”

The Reassure Rule
In this recession it is very true that people don’t want to risk a failed purchase or buy a disappointing product. The way to help prospective customers overcome their resistance and gain trust in you is to follow the three cardinal rules of selling:
1. Reassure
2. Reassure
3. Reassure

Explain and reassure them on their time involvement, explain and reassure on the price or investment involved, and then explain and reassure on the satisfaction they can expect. One of the easiest ways to reassure is with stories of other successful clients. This really pays off. They are telling you no not because they don’t want to buy. They are telling you that they haven’t been reassured enough to put down their 10 foot walls and 10 foot poles. They just want to make certain they feel safe doing business with you. Good branding accomplishes this very simply.

Marketing Secrets of Napoleon Dynamite
Here’s one of my 10 foot wall and 10 foot pole experiences that illustrates some important points about overcoming someone’s defenses. When I first heard about the movies “Napoleon Dynamite” and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” I told myself I would not see those movies. They sounded totally stupid and like a waste of my time. I did resist for a very long time. However, eventually I was overwhelmed by an army of evangelists who loved the movies and insisted I would enjoy them. I finally gave in and have watched them both several times. Have you had similar experiences?

Here is the inside scoop on these movies. They both were independent films with a limited release. Napoleon Dynamite cost only $400,000 to make and generated over $44,500,000 in gross sales. My Big Fat Greek Wedding cost only $5 million to make and generated over $368,000,000 in gross sales. The expert analysis is that both of these films became so successful because the audience related to the situations and characters in these movies. The key word is relateability.

Platinum Rule (The best way to sell anything)
So how do you overcome the 10 foot wall and the 10 foot pole when you encounter it? You start with the Platinum Rule. You’ve heard of the Golden Rule, “She that hath the gold makes the rules.” That’s a great way to say, the customer is boss. There is a lot of truth to that saying. If you please the boss, she/he will pay you. Also, consider the real Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The Platinum Rule has a subtle but powerful difference, “Do unto others as they want to have done unto them.”

Although I had heard the Platinum Rule many times before, it really started to become more meaningful in light of the 10 foot wall and the 10 foot pole. In fact, the Platinum Rule is the easiest way to overcome that invisible 10 foot wall and 10 foot pole that potential customers use to protect themselves from your selling efforts. If you are presenting people with what they are looking for then you are viewed as a solution to a problem and not as a nuisance. It’s like you are on their shopping list.

The Before and After Photo – You Need a Sticky Message
Picture the person you are selling to as having a “before photo” in his or her mind. Before they meet you or know about you, this is how they view the world. Imagine this person has talked to you, seen your website, your business card, or brochure and now picture that same person with an “after photo” in his or her mind. If you have a sticky message and this person wants what you offer, they will remember your message and it will influence them to buy.

A sticky message is defined as a message that is memorable and creates meaning for your audience in a way that changes their thinking and behavior. There are many examples of sticky messages, PC and Mac commercials, Nike’s “Just do it,” Geico’s “15 minutes will save you 15% or more on insurance,” Taco Bell’s “Think outside the bun,” and messages like “Got Milk?” A sticky message creates meaning and moves customers to buy.

The Sticky Message Formula
How do you create a sticky message? You can read a lot of books, websites, and blogs about how to create a good marketing message or you can use this simple formula:
1. Clearly identify what your customer wants (think Platinum Rule).
2. Decide how your customer will best relate to your product, service, or company (think of Napoleon Dynamite and My Big Fat Greek Wedding).
3. Paint a clear mental picture in word, photo, graphic, video or any combination of these.
4. Reassure on the Three Big Objections
5. Test, experiment, and refine until customers respond by buying.

I was recently working with Rachel Dexheimer, a Biznik from Maple Valley, Washington. She provides a unique transformational experience of walking with horses. Well, we had to think through the formula. What do her clients want? They want a transformational experience. How could they best relate to it? We came up with the idea of relating it to swimming with the dolphins. Now when she introduces her service she tells them it is similar to swimming with the dolphins. People get it instantly. It has made selling and creating word-of-mouth much easier. (Rachel’s Website)

I had a similar experience with Toya Turner, a Biznik from Auburn, Washington. She provides a great service as a virtual assistant. We followed the formula. What do her clients want? They want to spend more time with customers and less on menial tasks and paper work. How could they best relate to it? We tell them that studies show their time is worth $200 per hour when they are working with customers. Her job is to make certain they spend more time with their customers. We then came up with a script that reassured them on the Three Big Objections and came up with the tagline “Make more money. Work less.” It made her sales much easier. (Toya’s Website)

Your marketing message is the best representation of your company. It is the promise you make and deliver. Is it time for an extreme message makeover? So, based on what we’ve learned we need our marketing message to do two things. . .

Paint the Picture then Reassure
Using what you’ve learned so far:
1. Get a clear picture of what your customers want and specifically define their objections
2. Use the Sticky Message Formula to paint the picture you want them to have
3. Decide how you will reassure on the Three Big Objections
4. Write it all out in a script so you can see it objectively and make changes as you go (use the script to train your sales staff)

I really think your business is too good to settle for a mediocre sales script, a mediocre marketing message, or mediocre branding. This recession demands nothing less than excellence. Seek advice from friends, peers, and mentors. It is a very difficult process to do for your own business. The goal is to get more sales with less effort. As you more easily overcome the 10 foot wall and the 10 foot pole you spend more time building your business and less time beating the bushes.

Author: Kirk J. Davis is a Certified Business Advisor at Green River Community College.

SBDC Creating Jobs, Growing the Economy

2009-02-17T06:10:00.003-11:00

SBDC Update

Report Shows SBDC Clients

Create Jobs, Start Businesses and

Grow the Economy

America's Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) helped in-depth* clients create an estimated 73,377 new jobs; save 93,449 jobs; start 12,763 businesses; obtain $3.3 billion in financing; and increase sales by $7.2 billion in 2007. These are some of the findings of a report on the economic impact of the nationwide SBDC network.

The report also finds that:

- Small businesses that benefited from in-depth SBDC assistance experienced more than 17 times the job growth of average businesses (14% compared to 0.8% for U.S. busineses in general) between 2006 and 2007.

- More than 54% of all pre-venture SBDC in-depth clients started a business after receiving SBDC business consulting services between 2006 and 2007.

- Every $1 spent on the SBDC network enabled small busineses to access $16.77 in new capital.

- Small businesses that benefitted from in-depth SBDC assistance experienced sales growth of 20.2% between 2006 and 2007 -- compared to 5.2% for U.S. businesses in general.

- SBDC in-depth clients generated an estimated $2.86 in Federal and state tax revenues, as a result of economic growth,

for each $1 spent on the SBDC program.

In other words, the SBDC program generates more revenue from economic growth than it costs to run the SBDC program.

The SBDCs are a partnership that includes Congress, SBA, the private sector, and the colleges, universities and state governments that manage SBDCs across the nation.

America's SBDCs provide management and technical assistance to more than 1.2 million small business owners and aspring entrepreneurs each year. Small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs can go their local SBDCs for free, face-to-face business consulting and at-cost training on writing business plans, accessing capital, marketing, regulatory compliance, international trade and more.

About the Report:

The report on the economic impact of the nationwide SBDC network is based on a survey of 55,464 SBDC clients who received five hours or more of SBDC consulting services in 2006. The report measures the results of those services during the following year. The report, commissioned by the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC), is written by Professor James J. Chrisman of Mississppi State University. To read the complete report, click here.

_____________

* In-depth clients are those who receive five hours or more of SBDC business consulting services in a year.

Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling

2009-02-11T19:40:00.005-11:00

January 30, 2009 Business Book Discussion Group

We just held our business book discussion group on the book written by Sam Richter, "Take the Cold out of Cold Calling." This an amazing must read book!

I like the subtitle to the book, "Know more than you ever thought you could (or should) about your prospects, clients and competition."

Having knowledge in advance of your meetings about current business issues, industry trends, competitors and what is relevant to your audience gives you an unfair advantage. It gives you credibility and increases your personal value.

In the age of the internet, you should no longer have to say, "Tell me about your business."

In the book, Sam walks us through many ways to find information especially on the "Invisible Web." He explains that there are approximately 500 billion pages on the internet and the best search engines out there only have access to about 16 billion. He shows us how to access the visible and the invisible information in very easy ways. There is a gold mine of information out there waiting to be tapped and this book shows you how to tap it.

In our discussion we brought up the three rules of selling.
1) Talk about them.
2) Talk about them.
3) Talk about them.

These web search secrets make it easy than every to be able to talk about your intended audience.

We reviewed and discussed the individual applications of these web search secrets. There are a lot of reasons a business today needs the research skills taught in this book.

We also spent a good portion on learning how to use the advanced search screens, which could be more appropriately titled, "Web Search for Dummies." It really helps to use the advanced search mode on the search engines. You find what you are looking for in a lot less time.

Sam taught us a great trick in the book, how to find industry information for free that premium information sites sell for a lot of money.

This book is well written and easy to read. It gives you access to more ways to get to information than you can imagine. Here is the best part, you can access almost everything covered in the book through Sam's online Warm Call Center. You have to check it out.

There are many useful tools, templates, and guides in the book. Here is one of my biggest take aways from our discussion:

The Platinum Rule. I had heard it before, but Sam really brought it home for me and our discussion group made it stick. The Platinum Rule will change the way you market, sell or brand your business (Learn about it in the book).

Here are some of the written comments from the participants at the discussion group.

"I learned so many tips on how to use Boolean which I'd never even heard of before, to narrow my search to come up with more releveant information. In the past I sould get soooo frusrated with the sheer volume of information from my searches that I'd more often that not give up and try again later when I had more time."

"It's amazing how much free information is available if you just know where to look."

"Great information! I never imagined that there was so much on the internet and that you can do so many things on Google."

"Kirk and Deanna made the book 'Take the Cold out of Cold Calling' jump to life. I am anxious to get back to my computer and start using some of this info."

"These are practical tips for increasing the effectiveness of our direct marketing efforts. This was a great exposure to the hidden info that's available to us as a marketing person or as a business owner."

This was a good way to start 2009. I hope you will join us by reading this book and joining us at our next book discussion group on January 20th for the book "Made to Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath.

Inspiring Market Demand

2009-01-27T05:02:00.003-11:00

Market demand is a business 101 concept, yet very few businesses achieve it. Does your marketing and selling effort inspire market demand? My purpose in writing this article is to make it easier for your business to grow faster. Consider Apple, one of our most recent national market demand success stories.

Apple with its iPhone has outsold RIM, the maker of blackberry smart phones, in just 15 short months. It positioned Apple as the third highest in cell phone revenue after Nokia and Samsung. Apple had predicted they would sell 10 million iPhone by the end of December 2008. They sold 10 million iPhones by the end of September 2008. There were plenty of critics and naysayers along the way and Apple proved them wrong. Here is what Steve Jobs had to say about the coming days and the place where Apple stands:

“We don’t yet know how this economic downturn will affect Apple. But we’re armed with the strongest product line in our history, the most talented employees and the best customers in our industry. And $25 billion of cash safely in the bank with zero debt.”

That is what market demand does for you. I work with a variety of local businesses. Even though they are not Apple, once we position them for market demand; instead of running each day to make sales, they are running to keep up with sales. My clients have had some dramatic success stories. If their business requires face-to-face selling, the sales come much easier and faster. If they advertise or use some other form of online or offline marketing they get a much better and more reliable response.

Market demand is a very powerful concept. It positions you so that your customers are eager and “begging” to do business with you instead of you having to be eager and beg people to do business with you. It’s a power shift to you being the one who is sought after.

Market demand makes it easier to grow faster. One high tech company we work with had a great product and service and yet found it very difficult to get and close sales. We explored and discovered what was driving the demand for his services and he put it into his sales and networking script. When I called him a month later he told me that it is much easier now to make sales, however, they were challenged to keep up with all of the work they are getting. Before I tell you what he told his prospective customers that inspired market demand, I want to walk you through a process for discovering your own market demand. To create market demand you must start with differentiation.

Differentiation
You know the saying “differentiate or die.” Inspiring market demand requires a clear strong differentiation. College courses on marketing as well as popular marketing books and seminars emphasize the importance of differentiation. Differentiation goes by several different names:

Competitive Advantage
Unique Selling Proposition
Irresistible Offer
Blue Ocean Strategy

O.K., you know differentiation is important, but how do you do it? You have to identify you’re unique value.

Unique Value
How do your customers decide to do business with you? They make their decision based on the value you offer. If they want something and you offer that something they are generally willing to buy. However, your customer has choices. Are you the only place where I can get what I want? Is there another business that offers the same or better value for less money? Customers tend to decide based on your “unique value.”

Here are 4 scenarios based on your customer’s perception of your unique value:
1. Business Failure – If customers perceive that you have a low level of value and a low level of uniqueness it results in business failure.
2. Fad – If customers perceive that you are unique, but they are disappointed in the value, it’s like what happened to the Pet Rock. They only buy once.
3. Price Wars – If customers perceive you have high value, but you are not unique they go for the lowest price. The only company designed to win in a price war is Walmart. Everyone else goes out of business eventually.
4. Unfair Advantage – If customers perceive that you offer high value and high uniqueness you are become their #1 choice.

Start by listing out the value you offer and what is unique about you. This is an easy exercise; however, it does cause you to think deeply about what makes you unique. After you make the list, boil it down to the top 3 or 4 things that give you an unfair advantage.

Unfair Advantage
An unfair advantage is an advantage you offer to your customers that is so good that it is actually unfair to your competition. If your customers have several choices and they understand your unfair advantage they will choose you every time.

Several of my clients have become market leaders in their geographical area by starting to promote, sell, and advertise their unfair advantage. It really focuses your message and gets the attention of your market place.

Being crystal clear about your unfair advantage is good, however there is more to it, you must communicate your unfair advantage in terms of your demand context.

Demand Context
What is demand context? I think of it in terms of what conditions are happening in your market that causes a demand for your products or services. Think of context in terms of a song. I compare context to the music, beat, and rhythm of the song and I compare the content to the words of the song. Context is what surrounds your message and makes it relevant. Demand context is another powerful concept for shaping the message about your unfair advantage.

Here’s an example:
Geico can save you money on your insurance. How do they communicate it at the end of every commercial you hear 10 or 20 times a day? “15 minutes can save you 15% or more on insurance.” So what is their demand context? What conditions are generally true for most of their market that is driving demand? People are generally concerned they are paying too much for insurance. That is why they are able to have a consistent focused message (that never ends) that grabs their potential customer’s attention. When I see a business’s marketing message I can get a pretty good idea of what they believe their demand context is (just reverse engineer it).

It is important to know your customers and what is creating a demand for your services. Talk to your customers, read books, articles, and blogs about your industry, attend trade shows, and find specialists that can give you insights into customer behavior. Your research will be rewarded.

I came across an article about Trader Joe’s founder, Joe Coulombe, who ran convenience stores in California in the 1960’s. His stores were threatened by the well funded 7-Eleven franchises coming into the area. He came across some information that indicated that wine consumption increased with education level. He began stocking his stores with a variety wines and products that appealed to more educated customers and located his stores to be more accessible to that demographic. The rest is history. You never know when a small piece of information about your customers will help you generate a bigger market demand.

In addition to your unfair advantage and the demand context make certain that your message is unfair to your competition.

Unfair to Your Competition
What did Sun Tzu teach us? “Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated.” What do you know about your competition? What other choices do your customers have? It is important to list out the messages and choices your customers have when they are ready to buy. You can learn a lot from your competitors. The internet makes it very easy to research and analyze them.

Your goal is to position your message so that when given a choice, the people who should be your customers choose you. The final step of your quest to inspire market demand is to take all of the information you have so far and put it into a core message.

Core Message
Create a simple, central message that is the big idea you want your audience to know. This core message may end up as your elevator speech, a tagline, or an introductory statement. It should put everything into perspective for your audience. One of my favorite places for a core message is in the tagline.

Taglines are important. You know Nike’s tagline, “Just do it.” What is the tagline for Nike’s two biggest competitors, Adidas and New Balance? I’ve looked them up and I still can’t remember. Taglines can drive market demand.

Here is a small business tagline success story:
I was working with a yarn shop owner that was getting no response to her newspaper advertising and wanted to try one more thing before she gave it up. She had been paying for the ad for one year with no discernible results. I introduced the idea of inspiring the market demand and developing a core message. We brainstormed for 2 hours and came up with a rough draft tagline. She took our idea to her customers and told them what she was trying to do. They reshaped the core message to be “Feel the Fiber.” (Get the point? Let your customers help you.) Everybody loved it (knitters love the feel of the yarn going through their fingers). She put the tagline on her website, business cards, newsletters, and newspaper ad. As a result, sales started coming from the ad and her sales improved from her website and newsletters. It even gave her the confidence to advertise on TV. Her sales continue to increase month-by-month (even in this recession).

What is the big thing your customers need to know about your business? What is the one thing that kind of says it all? Here are some national and local examples. I’m certain you can think of more:

From the Dairy Association – Got Milk?
From Taco Bell – Think outside the bun.
From a local bookkeeper – We turn your passion into profit
From a local CPA – Build Wealth. Go Play.
From a Virtual Assistant – Make more money. Do less work.

A core message gives your market the biggest reason to do business with you.

Test for Market Demand
Before you make a big investment in a marketing campaign, test your core message in small ways. You can test it informally with your customers or with prospective customers. Ask for feedback and make improvements before you use it in your day-to-day marketing. You can also test your core message by creating a mock web page, brochure, or postcard. You may also want to test it by mailing out to a small sample of your market, conduct an email survey, or try something in your email newsletter before you fully commit to it.

How do you know if you have inspired market demand? Your target market buys from you with little or no hesitation, your sales are increasing from the same or less marketing effort, and your customer base is growing by word-of-mouth. Most important you are reaching or exceeding your sales goals.
Let the Fun Begin
Once there is an indication from your testing that your core message works, start promoting and expanding your marketing and sales efforts to reach your revenue goals. Rework your core message as necessary to inspire market demand. Use your core message in all of your promotional efforts.

At the beginning of the article I mentioned a high tech company that was having difficulty making sales. For this client we borrowed an idea from the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. He began telling his prospective customers that his “technology accelerates growth.” That simple phrase made all the difference.

You know you have your core message right when it becomes easier to make sales and you are running to keep up with sales instead of running to make sales.

Action Plan to Create Market Demand
Here is your action plan:

1. Decide and write down the top 3 or 4 things that comprise your “unique value.”
2. Decide and write down what gives you an unfair advantage.
3. Decide and write down the demand context for your products and services.
4. Decide and write down how your offering is unfair to your competition.
5. Decide and write down your core message.
6. Test your core message to make certain it inspires market demand.
7. Put your core message in all of your marketing materials and scripts.
8. Have more fun and make more money!

Marketing Formulas I've Collected Over the Years

2009-01-12T05:19:00.003-11:00

Over the years I have collected a variety of marketing formulas. I am giving you the formulas without any explaination. I know that won't be helpful and informative if you are new to marketing. This article is directed more to those of you who have read and studied everything there is to know about marketing to expand your thinking on what and how to share your message and hopefully in the comments you will share your secrets.

I start with what you learned in college - the 4P's of marketing. Here's the summary from Wikipedia:

Four P's
In the early 1960s, Professor Neil Borden at Harvard Business School identified a number of company performance actions that can influence the consumer decision to purchase goods or services. Borden suggested that all those actions of the company represented a “Marketing Mix”. Professor E. Jerome McCarthy, also at the Harvard Business School in the early 1960s, suggested that the Marketing Mix contained 4 elements:

1) product
2) price
3) place
4) promotion

Seven P's
As well as the standard four P's (Product, Pricing, Promotion and Placement), services marketing calls upon an extra three, totaling seven and known together as the extended marketing mix.[citation needed] These are:

5) People
6) Process
7) Physical evidence

The 4 and the 7 P's of marketing were not that inspiring to me. They were descriptive but I couldn't create much of a marketing campaign or much of a marketing plan from them. It kept me looking for more answers.

Web 2.0 New Marketing Four P's:

1) Personalization
2) Participation
3) Peer-to-Peer
4) Predictive modeling

I liked this one! Good take on what is important in web marketing.

AIDA (S)
AIDA is an acronym used in marketing that describes a common list of events that are very often undergone when a person is designing a marketing peice:

A - Attention
I - Interest
D - Desire
A - Action
(S) - Satisfaction

When I learned this one years ago, I thought there was something missing from the formula and I couldn't figure out what it was. That is what kept me searching for other marketing formulas.

Buying Process

1) Awareness
2) Consideration
3) Purchase
4) Loyalty

Isn't that simple? I like looking at everything from the buyer's point of view.

WIIFM
What's In It For Me?

For years I studied psychology, influence, and persuasion to figure out how to motivate people to take action. Once I became aware of this formula I stopped studying all of that stuff and just studied what people want. This leads to a discussion of Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs.

From Joe Vitale
Aristotle Formula:
1) Problem
2) Promise
3) Proof
4) Price

Joe Vitale is great! He pulls abstract stuff from Aristotle and translates it into a formula. For years I went on this model even before I learned it from Joe.

The Updated Joe Vitale Formula
1) Promise
2) Proof
3) Price

In his book "Hypnotic Selling" Joe explains how you don't have to rub the client's nose in the problem, they live with the problem. What they want to hear is the promise. They will get it if they are feeling the pain. I use this formula a lot.

From the Book "No More Bullet Points" by Cliff Atkinson
Setting
Dilemma
Solution
Close

I had to extract this formula from the book. He didn't present it as a formula. He was sharing in the book that this is how Hollywood creates previews that pull us into the movie theatre. He says that all good stories center around a dilemma. That was enlightening to me.

From Sergio Zyman
This is one of my favorite marketing mantra's

The purpose of marketing is simply to “sell more stuff to more people more often for more money more efficiently.™”

More Stuff
More People
More Often
More Money
More Efficiently

This one is a powerful formula! I use it to teach my clients how to think about marketing. Not only is it the purpose of marketing, this is a sophisticated marketing strategy. Create marketing that will get one more customer to buy one more thing, come back and buy one more time, and spend one more dollar with ou while you spend one less dollar on your advertising budget. Mathematically speaking this adds a lot more revenue from the same number of customers.

NLP Selling Formula

1) Establish Rapport
2) Identify Values
3) Create Value
4) Solve Buying Problems
5) Close the Sale

I was in professional sales for years and studied everything I could get my hands on. This NLP formula for sale really resonated with me and I still use it today.

Double A Double M - Back of the Napkin Marketing Strategy
1) Audience
2) Advantage
3) Media
4) Math

I was looking for a way to simplify a marketing plan. I found that if I can identify these four elements (on the back of napkin), I have a marketing plan.

Y.U.M. Principle of Marketing
You Understand Me

This has been very helpful to my marketing way of thinking. When a person sees our marketing and says, "you're talking to me." That person will likely become a customer.

"Made to Stick" Formula

Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
Stories

This is from the book "Made to Stick." I highly recommend it. The idea is to create a message that will change the thinking and the behavior of those who experience it.

I teach hours of courses on these topics. We have a lot of fun with it. When I am helping a client put their marketing together I usually rely on the "Updated Joe Vitale Formula" (Promise, Proof, & Price). In his book "Hypnotic Writing" he shares some ways to be flexible with the formula and how to adapt it to the customer.

I highly recommend using sales scripts for training purposes. Usually the owner is the best salesperson in the business. Depending on the product/service or situation I have the business owner video his/her sales presentation and put it on their website. Nobody sells better than you. This creates consistency with every prospective customer and they get to hear it from the top.

I have seen a dramatic increase in sales conversions when the owner writes down the sequence of their own presentation and writes out the main concepts in a story board fashion. It helps you to get an objective point of view on what you are saying and how it is being recieved.

What marketing formulas do you use? What has worked for you or your clients?

Surviving and Thriving in This Recession

2009-01-12T04:49:00.003-11:00

What to do When the Tide Goes Out
Warren Buffet says, "Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked." Well the tide has gone out and so have many businesses. We want you to survive and thrive and come out financially healthy on the other side of this recession. It's all about preparation and, as Edna 'E' Mode in Disney's The Incredibles, said, "Luck favors the prepared." Here is what you can do to be more prepared.

How Many Sales Per Week Do You Need?
A client came to us that was very worried they couldn't make payroll by the end of the month. We talked to them about their average sale in terms of price and cost and determined how many sales they would need to make just to break even. It turned out they only needed thirty more sales a week on top of the hundred sales per week they were making. We discussed a few ideas for attracting 30 more customers per week. Once they knew the number they needed to hit, it wasn't that difficult to find solutions. They easily made payroll and have been increasing their sales all through the recession. Once you know exactly how many sales you need, you can start creating solutions.

One of the first things we do when meeting with a client is to help them determine how many sales a week they need to break even. Usually, the number is not as big as you are afraid it might be. We recommend that you do the math for yourself or get an accountant or someone like us to help you with it.

Improve and Increase Your Marketing and Sales Efforts
By watching our clients during this recession We have learned some important lessons from them. One consistent theme is that the companies that are improving and increasing their marketing are doing O.K. If the marketing or sales efforts you already engage in are working, chances are just need to increase how many people you reach in a day or a week. If the recession has changed the buying behaviors of your customers then you need to find ways to improve the effectiveness and then increase the reach of your marketing.

Have you seen the latest trends in TV and Radio ads. Keep in mind that these companies spend millions of dollars in research before they air these ads. Hopefully some of the successful advertising you see and hear will give you ideas to adapt your sales and marketing. Here are some key ideas we have learned from our clients:

Email Marketing - just in case your not already doing it. It keeps you in touch with your fan club and gives them reasons to buy from you and to tell their friends about you. It is the easiest and least expensive way to give you top of the mind awareness with your customers.

Focus on a Single Customer Type - Is there a certain type of customer your business attracts more than others? By focusing your marketing and sales efforts on a single customer type you can target a better message right to them and generate enough sales to start focusing on other customer types. We are aware of several companies that have increased sales by 30% by focusing on a single customer type.

Recession Opportunities - Does your product or service make more sense to customers now because of the recession? Luxury sales are dropping. Do you offer something that luxury shoppers would now appreciate? Do you save people money, time, or effort? Now is a good time to tell customers how you have what they want.

Help Increase Consumer Confidence - Customers and employees read your attitude. If you are worried, they are worried. If they are worried, they spend less and less often with you. As the leader of the business you must find reasons to believe that you will survive and thrive and focus on and talk about those reasons. Even if it is the best acting job of your life, you are on stage, and the audience looks to you to reassure them that it is O.K. to buy.

Look for Ideas and Ask for Help - In a recession, your big enemy is isolation. If you isolate yourself or try to make it on your own the odds are not in your favor. Start talking to other business owners. Go to networking events. We highly recommend biznik (check it out). It is an online networking community for business owners. Their tagline is "Business Networking that Doesn't Suck." It enables you to network both online and in person.

The Small Business Assistance Center Can Help
By knowing how many mores sales you need per week and being more aware of marketing opportunities you will survive and thrive in this economy. The Small Business Assistance Center is available to help. We hope you will call us if you need assistance or perhaps we will see you at one of our classes.

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This list is from Traffikd:

How the Library of Congress Uses Social Media

I found this great example of how the Library of Congress uses Social Media. There are some great lessons here.

Blogging

Flickr

You Tube

Social Networking

iTunes

Twitter

Join the Online Revolution - Engage in Radical Self Promotion

How to Start Your Own Business Workshop

Email Marketing - What I've Learned

TV Ads for $6 Each

The Financial Crisis Explained in Simple Terms

The 10 Foot Wall and the 10 Foot Pole

SBDC Creating Jobs, Growing the Economy

Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling

Inspiring Market Demand

Marketing Formulas I've Collected Over the Years

Surviving and Thriving in This Recession

From the WSJ Opinion Archives
IN VERSE

America
An ode to immigrants.