Have you been on Facebook lately? It’s been very active. People are connecting, talking and forming groups. Some groups are very interesting, others seem to be in their infancy stage - not quite thought out and lacking  a bit of focus; but you can find groups for just about any interests.

Regardless if you’re a fan of groups and/or pages, the overall activity level has definitely increased. Does that mean Facebook is the way to go? Not necessarily. Like with anything - you’ll have to keep your target audience in mind…and go where they are. Now if the “Facebook Gang” appeals to you - by all means - join, connect and most of all - participate. If you’re more formal - how about LinkedIn?

Just keep in mind - regardless of how much activity there is on a social site - you will only get out of it what you put in it. If you send generic invitations and never follow up on conncections made - you will not get to know your ‘friends’ and therefore not be able to connect on a deeper, more meaningful and/or beneficial level. Next time you connect - ask quesitons. Find out your new friends’ interests, goals and how you can help them; then try to be a valuable part of their network.

What say you? Do you agree? Disagree? Will we meet on Facebook? Can’t wait for your replies!

With all the talk about social networking, online marketing, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, friending, forming groups out there - it seems (at least to the folks online) that using the net is clearly a must in order to be successful in business. I’m sure the people that are not “into” this “phenomenon” might disagree…and the question is - who is right?

If you’re online, connecting and advertising, blogging and recruiting - you might say that traditional marketing and advertising is no longer valid, that online activities are the way to go and time spend networking is well worth it.

But what if you’re doing business “the usual way“? Marketing and Advertising on TV, in newspapers, via flyers and talking to your clients on the phone? You might say that is the way to go and all the Internet “stuff” is just a waste of time. Who is right?

I guess my answer would be twofold:

1. You have to figure out, based on your business model, where your clients are. Are they online (as in Real Estate searching for homes) or are they offline (word of mouth, highly specialized services doing well without additional advertising, etc). Then decide if adding something extra (online activities) would be beneficial. The world of advertising and marketing IS changing - it’s up to the individual to figure out if it would be beneficial for their business to change as well…which doesn’t mean giving up everything that has worked so far - it only means integrating something new into the mix.

2. What is your Bottom Line? Is your goal the connections you made online, the number of hours spend blogging, networking and designing pay per click campaigns or updating your websites SEO….or… is your goal to make sales and write contracts? If you’re in the marketing department of a business - the contacts made, the click throughs counted, etc might be what you’re after. But if you’re the owner - your ultimate goal might be more based on the bottom line (profit) versus online.

What do you think?

PS: Thank you Vernon for the ideas on this one….

Just a quick post today…regarding your photo.

You are representing yourself to the world - in various poses, in various stages of being dressed professionally or casually - in some cases very casually…in office, outdoors and private settings. All to convey to the viewer a sense of who you are, maybe of things you enjoy - trying to forge a connection made without actually meeting someone.

Clearly - it’s your decision as to how you want to represent yourself…just please, do me a favor - don’t use pictures which show you hovering in a corner, like a kid in time out. (You know who you are…I won’t even show examples…)

Let me ask you this - is this just a pet peeve of mine? Or do others share the same dislike for the “Time-out” photos?

You’ve received the requests to ‘friend’ and connect, join groups and add applications.

Question is: Are you a Connector or a Collector?

What does that mean? Well, it’s simple really…either you just accept all the ‘friend requests’ - whether its on Facebook or LinkedIn, Plaxo or Spock and then never do anything with them - OR you accept the request (and you make them as well), but then you follow up with the people you connected with; to find out what “makes them tick” and how you can help them.

Either by introducing them to a coveted connection, giving some networking tips, listening to their story; whatever it is that would help them and make your connection stronger. How many people online really learn about their connections?

If I would pull all your connections/friends - what can you tell me about them? Do they have anything in common? Why are you connected to them? What are you trying to achieve? What are their goals? Their Story? And where do you fit in?

If you can’t answer these questions - at least for part of your online community - its time to start getting involved. Just collecting names/numbers doesn’t count - because it doesn’t benefit you - OR them. You might as well stay off-line.

You have to get involved with your network - just as if you were seeing them face to face. Is it work? Definitely. But the pay offs are huge…how else would you get to know people world wide? Learn about them, their culture, their business, make connections that might benefit you in the future - and just in general expand your horizons? The answer is clear - you wouldn’t!

So - stop collecting and start connecting!

What are your thoughts and ideas on this issue? Do you agree? Disagree?

We’ve heard - and maybe even hired professional Organizers - for the sole purpose of getting our life in order. From cleaning out closets to re-grouping books, from adding new shelves, boxes and dividers to piling our belongings into keeps, give-aways and discards - we’ve heard it, we’ve done it (or at least meant to do it) and we’ve seen the benefits of having things organized in our lives.

Question is - are you this organized online? What does that mean? We belong to social networks, have different email addresses, maybe a variety of websites, use “oodles” of programs to make things easier, maintain blogs, podcasts and add videos. Just HOW organized are you? Think you could make improvements? Follow these simple steps and get organized online!

1.) Make a list of:

• all the networks you belong to
• all the email addresses you use
• all the websites you update/maintain/market
• all the video and podcasting sites you use
• all the feed aggregetors you use
• any other online site/program/activity - and ask yourself if you know all the passwords!

2.) Divide your list in personal and business - or both if applicable (I’ll leave the personal sites/networks/etc up to you to decide…we’ll just discuss the business use.)

3.) Take a look at all your sites (this includes everything you do online) - are you:

• Consistent from site to site (Do you present yourself the same from site to site?)
• present the same message in a professional manner (Who are you and what is your business?)
• have completed profiles (If not - complete all the missing ones.)
• provide valuable information (Give more than you take? Participate?)
• target the same audience? (Can your prospects see you on different sites and know that you’re talking to them?)

4.) Choose the sites that benefit you and your audience the most - there is no need to belong to EVERY new site.

5.) Timeblockas to how much time you will spend on each site and on what days. (Online networking especially can take over ALL of your time if you’re not organized.)

6.) From there, make this into an editorial calender - by deciding what topics to address - on your sites, on your blog, in your videos and/or podcasts. Give yourself additional time to respond, leave comments and ask questions. You don’t just want to post information everywhere - you also want to respond - ie converse.

7.) Once you’re this organized - ask yourself prior to joining a new site - will this be beneficial and will you have the time to do what’s neccessary? (Just having a profile on a site will not bring your customers running…)

8.) Follow your editorial calendar, participate, be involved, provide information, dont’ just make connections, but introduce people, be consistent. And keep in mind - this is a long term effort!

You’re busy working, growing your business, following up with clients, improving customer service, paying bills, maybe taking care of a family, trying to spend time with friends and have a life…

With all that’s going on - do you have time to spend on learning?

Time to learn - as a business owner you may barely have the time to breath! And yet…all the benefits might just outweigh any down sides.

Why? Because learning something new will give you a new perspective, encourage you to think along new lines, give you new ideas, lets you meet new people, broaden your horizons, maybe even gets you involved in a new hobby…all around - it’s a great deal.

So the question is: Are you going to be a Life Long Learner?

Let’s take a look at offline marketing…it’s been around for a while…so you probably heard all the reasons why you should use traditional marketing! From reaching the masses, to being “affordable”, effective and measurable. 

Let’s say you place an ad, you pay the fee and the ad runs in the paper: What do you get for that? You get distribution - to the “masses” as promised. But what about the being affordable, effective and measurable?

Affordable -I guess that would depend on your overall marketing budget, and the return you get from that ad.

Effective and measurable - do you have a system in place to measure the effectiveness, i.e. the number of calls/orders/business received?

And the question is - who are you targeting with this ad? Do you have a specific group of people in mind? Or are you just sending out a ‘general’ ad? (I hope not!)

While advertising, design and location are important - the message you are sending is the most important. You’ve all seen way too many ads, consisting of a logo or headshot with contact information…maybe a line about how this business/person/service can help you with xyz…

But does that make you want to call/contact them? Probably not. Why would it? Unless it is a service/product you’re looking for at that particular moment and you already know about this person or business - you probably won’t call them based on this ad.

What has to happen in order for someone to call on your ad? Several things.

• Your target audience has to be familiar with your name/product/business - whether from personal experience, word of mouth or at least seeing your advertising/business/product repeatedly.
• You have to be able to offer a solution to one of your target audience’ members.
• You have to be appealing - whether it’s based on price, service or quality.

Let’s assume your ad is ready - designed for your target audience - what magazine/newspaper will you choose to advertise in? Don’t choose just based on price…pick a paper that appeals to your target audience. Read the magazines/newspapers, see what articles are in there, who are they trying to reach, who’s advertising etc…you  have to form your own opinion…Remember: Ad Sales People get paid to sell ads!

Business Cards - same rules apply. Yes, you want your contact information on there…but you also want them to be memorable and appealing…adding a sentence on how you can solve a common problem your clients might experience could just be the one thing that makes them different from the other 250 cards people receive at an event/expo/meeting.

TV and Radio Ads - can you target them effectively? Do you have a message that resonates and makes people want to take action? But also - if you were to market via TV or Radio - could you business handle a big influx of orders/customers? Do you have the supplies and/or manpower? And is that really the best way to spend your marketing dollars? 

Signs - if you have a brick and mortar business a sign is a must…people don’t usually guess where your business is - you need to point it out to them. But what if you work from home? Or have an online business? Could you maybe incorporate a sign on your vehicle? Or a car wrap? (Which both can be custom designed to match your company’s advertising/logo/look.) And are not outrageously expensive either.

Regarding all of the above - being affordable depends on the results you get (ask within your industry what the typical return on this type of advertising is, prior to committing yourself.) As for measurable - do you ask your clients where they found you when you first make contact? If not - this might be a good time to start. You need to track where your clients come from in order to gauge the effectiveness of your marketing. All marketing will need a period of testing, but when you have to measure everything in order to know when to cut ‘your losses’, make changes or try something else.

What are your experiences with traditional advertising/marketing?

Today’s Post is a “Jumble” of links…have fun! (After all - it IS Monday!)

Calendar of Events - If you’re ever looking for something unusual to celebrate with your clients, this is the site to check out. For example, did you know that today is “Pecan Nut Day“?

Getting Your XML Sitemap Into Google - why would you want that? So that Search Engines can come and find you. Enough said.

Add on to original post: Check out “The Endeavour” - the blog of John D Cook and his post offering the information to make an XML sitemap automatically!

Thanks John!

List of United States Magazines - doing research, have questions,looking to advertise, contact someone, etc? Check out this list.

Chase’s Calendar of Events - another site for unusual days to celebrate. Plus a site where you can submit an entry to the Calendar. Have something related to a cause or your business? Have a special day - or week - to celebrate it. (How do you think we’ve ended up with “Celebrate cleaning out your refrigerator-week?)

Summit Spider Simulator - need to know how your website is doing? Just use this tool and you can find out.

openkapow- Mashups made easy!

BookletCreator- create a booklet from any PDF document.

SurveyMonkey - create your own surveys for your clients and friends.

Think you can use any of these?

You’re a business owner…and you know you need to market/advertise in order to increase business, expose your business/name/brand/and everyone telling you something different - who should you listen to?

Let’s assume you’re a new Business Owner. Everyone wants to help you with your marketing efforts.

There are different magazines/newspapers vying for your marketing dollars, with each magazine/paper telling you just why you need to advertise your business with them. You will hear about the success other Business Onwers had while advertising in this magazine, the online marketing this magazine will do for you, the included design services for your add, the additional leads you’ll be able to receive from their online presence and more. It’ll then come down to “How big of an add would you like?”…and “It’s best to have a full page”.

Then there are the TV ads, promising you the best exposure, with extremely targeted advertising on special channels. Again, with add on promises of leads, exposure, branding and profit.

In addition, there are Radio Ads, and why not, a potentially huge number of potential customers might be listening to the radio and their way to and from work, waiting to hear about your business/product or service. For a small price - in comparison to the number of listeners you can potentially reach - you can take advantage of this medium as well.

Business Cards - how else would you remind people of what you do when first meeting them.

Email address based on your business name - wouldn’t want to look unprofessional, would you now?

Signs - no better advertising for your business/product/service and yourself.

Personal brochures, Give-aways like pens, cups and t-shirts, an assorted other promotional items to be used at Expos, Events and more.

Then you can have 800 numbers, specialized license plates, car wraps, ads in the yellow pages and more.

If you’re thinking that this might put a serious strain on your finances, you are right. But keep in mind, you’re not done yet - now have to consider all the online marketing options.

Website, SEO, Pay per click, Adsense, Social Networking, Podcasts, Videos, virtual tours and blogging to name a few. While some of these might not cost as much as traditional marketing, they can be quite time intensive.

Take blogging for example. If you plan to successfully leverage your expertise via a blog, you have to stay on a schedule, blog regularly, provide interesting content and be engaged with your audience.

Social networking: The signing up and creation of a profile is just the beginning. Then the real work begins. You have to participate and interact, form new relationships and offer value.

Your website - it’s not just a “static thing” that can be designed and controlled by someone else - it has to be a reflection of you, your business style, values and what you can do for clients.

Pay per click - you’ll need a well designed campaign to obtain maximum results. You have to know your target audience, and speak to them directly. You can’t be vague and use generalized terms.

Podcasts - do you know what you want to ‘get across’?

Video/virtual tours - great way to advertise your product and/or expertise, show off uses of your product/service, show off your community (if that is part of your business) and lets people meet you online - but again, time intensive if done right.

With all those online options - which ones are right for you?

Or should you just stick to traditional marketing? After all, it always has worked, and it seems there is a lot more help (outsourcing) available…

We’ll take a look at all the different options that are available to you in the next parts of this series. But while studying marketing - both off- and online, I’ve come to the conclusion, that the best marketing/advertising/branding/etc is a combination of different options available, based on your business/product/service and - most importantly - your clientele.

Looking forward to your input on this series!

Keep in mind: When it comes right down to it - it’s not about your business, about you, or what you can offer - it’s all about what your clients expect, where they go for information and what’s most convenient for them. So you have to know what they want, in order to stay on top of the ‘game’.

 When you are servicing a customer, do you give him/her your full attention? Or do you answer phones, send text messages, check your e-mail, talk to other associates, or anything else like that? And how do you think that makes your current customer feel? Valued? Or more like ‘just another sale’?

Most likely it’ll make him/her feel like he’s just another number - and not a valued customer! You HAVE to give your current customer (the one you’re working with) your full attention - listen to what he/she has to say, as well as what they are not saying verbally, but through body language. If you are not “there” 100%, you’re likely to miss most of those cues/clues, which can definetly cost you the sale.

Sounds like something that everyone should know? Well, maybe they should, but does that mean they practice it? No. If you were the customer who’s been put into a ‘holding pattern’ in order to wait for the salesperson to work with someone else, would you continue working with this sales person? Specially when there are a number of sales people around?

Consider this situation (all true - happened to us yesterday): We went to AFW (furniture place here in Colorado Springs), and after wandering around for a while, we finally asked one of the sales people  present to help us. While she didn’t seem too enthused - she came over and wandered along with us.

We told her that were looking for a replacement of two recliners and a loveseat; to be replaced with a couch and or loveseat and a chair, leather, reclining with out a gap between the seat and the footrest, preferably brown leather - we figured it’d be best to lay that out up front, to make things easier.

After looking at a few leather sets (with the majority not fitting our description at all - which made us wonder about her product knowledge), and measuring one couch, an announcement was made that a phone call was on hold. Our sales person told us that she’d take that call and would be right back. So we waited. After waiting for a while, with no sales person coming back, we decided to go downstairs and look at chairs there. We were about ready to leave, when that sales person caught up with us. No apology, no inquiry if we had any questions - nothing. So we politely said our good byes.

She handed us her card, told us to call her when we’re coming back - and left.

Would YOU have bought?