Video for Your Business 3: In New Year, Think Video, Tell Your Story Online

December 31, 2011

Here’s 12 tips for 2012, and they begin and end with video for your business:

1. To connect with more customers, think video. Show them what you do. Show them how you do it. Show them work you’ve completed. Show them — and let them hear from — your customers who are thrilled with your products and services.

2. Introduce yourself, and your employees. There’s no substitute for meeting in person, shaking hands and talking to get to know the person you’re considering doing business with but remember that customers want to check you out online before they decide to talk directly with you. Increase your opportunities to be found online and get that in-person meeting by using video online so that customers can see and hear you. Read the rest of this entry »


September 25, 2011

Why bother with social media?

July 7, 2011

Chris Celek article in CinDay B2B how why businesses should use social media.It’s simple: Your customers and competitors are spending their time with it — so you should, too.

Here’s my answer to the head of an engineering consulting firm in Mason who leaned across the table during breakfast, and got right to the point.

“Why should I spend any time on social media?” the business owner demanded to know.

He’s not the first to ask that question. The line of owners who doubt whether social media is right for their businesses, honestly, is quite long. And my answer is always the same. Read the rest of this entry »


What basketball has to do with your business and how you use social media

March 31, 2011

Twitter #UDrise Screen shot 2011-03-31 Here’s what I learned by spending the day on a college campus today, listening to college and pro basketball legend Bill Walton tell many of the smartest investment bankers and finance students how the lessons he learned in sports apply in their world.

The day’s lessons also apply to businesses that use social media to meet, connect and communicate with customers. Here’s how:

Walton played at UCLA for another legend, coach John Wooden, who Walton reminded the financial education conference participants, taught him that it’s never about how good a performer you are individually. It’s always about how good your team is.

The take-away for businesses is that they should not rely on one person to handle all of the duties on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube and where ever else the company needs to reach customers and partners. Can’t be done, not if you want to improve, grow and attract more friends, fans and followers. Read the rest of this entry »


Why your business marketing plan should include social media to be heard above competitors

February 22, 2011

Chris Jensen, president of Audio Concepts in Bath, OhioChris Jensen has a simple idea that is really tough for many of us to pull off well.

“When 60 seconds just isn’t enough, podcasting is the innovative way to be heard,” Chris says.

He ought to know. He’s worked in radio and TV for years, and his business at Audio Concepts in Bath, Ohio, is to help businesses sound their best. Read the rest of this entry »


5 things you can do for your business to start the new year

December 31, 2010

Forget the best-of-what-happened-in-2010 lists and top trends to watch in 2011. I’m tired of remembering and forecasting. Let’s focus on five steps to take now to grow your business.Happy New Year 2011

Yes, 4 of these 5 tips are actions to do online. They are things you can do. Now. With little or no cost, except your time. So, here’s how to kick start the new year:

1. Tell people you exist. Otherwise, they won’t find you.

There are lots of ways to accomplish this with websites, blogs and social media but my must-haves include Google Profile for individuals and Google Places for your business; and the Local Listings Center on Yahoo and also on Bing. Read the rest of this entry »


The Facebook math you should learn to improve your business fan page’s bottom line

November 29, 2010

You update your status on Facebook. You share your events. You post photos into galleries. And, you add video. All on your business fan page.

Your Facebook fans then all see all of your great content. Right?

Little chance.

Here’s a fact of Facebook life that all businesses need to know – and live by – to make your fan page work for you. Today’s tip comes with a huge assist from Jay Feitlinger, owner of StringCan Interactive, an online marketing and social media agency in Phoenix, Ariz. Jay attended a Facebook developer conference earlier this year and paid close attention to Facebook’s explanation of the formula used to determine what content shows up in your news feed.

Facebook's Edge Rank Formula for determining where updates appear in top news feeds

Facebook uses its Edge Rank formula to determine where page updates appear in top news feeds, Jay Feitlinger writes in Website Magazine this month.

Jay shares his take-away notes from the conference this month in Website Magazine, including the math that makes Facebook work. The bottom line for businesses: “If you post content on your page that does not follow the … formula you are wasting your time, as updates will not be seen by your fans,” Jay writes. Read the rest of this entry »


Offer discounts and coupons to your fans

October 31, 2010

Itʼs OK to post about your products and services on your Facebook fan page.Cadillac Jacks Sports Bar and Restaurant Facebook coupon

You want customers to know about your business, after all. But limit the commercial messages. A good guideline — direct pitches or commercial message should be 2-3 of every 10 you post. Read the rest of this entry »


What’s best for your business — Facebook or Twitter?

August 26, 2010

Tech leader Jeff Pulver makes the case that businesses need to talk with customers to build relationships with them and that Twitter is better than Facebook for that.

Jeff’s point, as you’ll see and hear in the video from his #140conf road trip visit to Dayton Ohio on Sunday, August 22, is that Facebook is a closed network and therefore less valuable for businesses.

Read the rest of this entry »


Use photos to improve your search ranking

June 1, 2010

Cadillac Jacks Sports Bar and Grill Facebook fan page photo pageGoogle and the other search engines index all of the content of your Facebook fan page, so how you use photos matters for search ranking.

And, before you can meet and build relationships with customers, your business and your online presence have to be found. Actively and consistently updating your fan page will help you increase the opportunities to be found in searches and photos — among the most-popular content — should be a top priority for your business fan page.

The photos themselves cannot be searched. However, what can be searched — and what you should focus on, includes: Read the rest of this entry »


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