Business owners frequently tell me that they’re uncomfortable with making decisions about what to say to customers online. They want to use Facebook or a blog but they don’t know what to write about. And they’re certainly not about to get in front of a camera to talk about their products or services and then share it on YouTube.
But customers want information they can use to solve a problem or answer a question today. They’re looking for tips, advice and insights that will help them. Businesses that provide that information — and do so without direct sales pitches — can build relationships with customers. Help them today and put yourself in position to do business when the customers are ready for you.
Customers also want information in a format that is immediate and easy to digest and in a format that they prefer. Podcasts allow your customers and potential customers to hear, in your own voice, the attributes and benefits of working with your company, says Chris Jensen, president of Audio Concepts in Bath, Ohio. And sometimes it’s just easier for a business owner to share information by talking about what they know and do in business. Read the rest of this entry »
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 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 »
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.
Video is for national brands with budgets big enough to buy network television time. Right?
Well, sure, but it’s also for your local business. It’s affordable and a compelling way to introduce yourself and your business to customers online. Companies like Schmidt Heating and Cooling in Cincinnati smartly use video on its web site and in its Yellow Pages advertising as a virtual way to shake hands and say hello. Minuteman Press of Lebanon (Ohio) created a television commercial and also posted a version on Google Video to quickly demonstrate all of its services and equipment. The Cincinnati Museum Center announced winners of contest with video on its Facebook Fan Page. And Jeff Zaret, VP of sales at National Processing Solutions in Centerville, Ohio, shares tips not about his company’s credit card processing but instead about ways to improve your customer service. He posted a series of three videos on YouTube.
Each of these approaches is different but they have this in common — their image and sound quality is professional. These are good-looking videos that send a clear message about each of the businesses. So I asked a pro how businesses can get this quality and how they should consider using video to connect with customers. Here’s what Mike Cornett, owner of Visual Media Concepts in Dayton, had to say: Read the rest of this entry »
Sometimes this is the request from a business owner: Could you show me how to use Twitter?
Other times, this is the question: Should I use Facebook?
Or this: I’m thinking of using Linkedin. Will it help my business?
My answers: Yes. Yes. Yes.
And: No.
I work like crazy to avoid saying no to a customer but no is the quickest and best answer for businesses considering whether they should use social media to connect with customers. Why? There are other questions and information about your business and your customers to consider first to help you decide whether to spend time on social media and then which tools to use and how to use them.
Here are questions I ask my customers before we ever get close to answering those first questions they ask. I share them to help prompt discussion about what you want to accomplish at your business, too: Read the rest of this entry »
Excellent advice at Podcamp Ohio 2 at The Ohio State University on Saturday, June 20 came from a designer, who I expected would share ideas for what makes a web site attractive and usable.
We got that from Daniel Lewis of D. Joseph Design in Northern Kentucky and more. His ideas for what to say on social media sites are perfect for what businesses want and need to do to connect with customers.
Most important thing for business people to know: These tips from Daniel apply regardless of the web site or online service you use. There are lots from which to choose now. And today’s most-popular — Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Flickr, among them — may not be what you’re using 12 months from now.
About 125 sat in with us at the Receptions conference center; most use Linkedin; fewer use Facebook and about half use Twitter, which I think is a strong showing given the older age range of this group. While they’re active on social networking and communication sites, they wanted to know more about how to connect with potential customers and how to build or expand these relationships.
That was a main topic of my presentation this morning in Erlanger, Ky., south of Cincinnati. My slides and notes are shared on my Linkedin page.
I’m also sharing this reading list of tips, techniques and helpful hints from some of the best social media and communications experts. These will further answer many of the questions raised this morning by the N. Ky. chamber members and I wanted to make them available to you, too: Read the rest of this entry »
People who are really smart about how to make money by selling insurance, investments, real estate or running a restaurant all say the same thing: “I don’t know what to write about my business. I don’t know what to say.”
As a result, you don’t know what to make of Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, blogs and the rest of the booming social media and online communications tools.
You gotta be kidding, right? You’re the experts and the rest of us want to know more about what you’ve already figured out. So there’s opportunity for you to share some of your knowledge. There’s also a big opportunity for you to share some of yourself by joining online conversations and groups and getting to know people.
That’s what social networking is all about. And conversations online are in so many ways no different that conversations you have in person — if you approach them in these three ways: Read the rest of this entry »
Join me on May 28 for Tech Friday with the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in Erlanger.
Learn how to listen and have conversations with your customers and people you want to be your customers. Learn what to say and when to say it on social media sites including Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. We’ll show you how to use these powerful tools to join communities of other users and to build a new community around you and your business.
Learn how to:
• Watch and listen on Twitter to learn what customers are saying about your business, your products and what they want help with. Learn what information to share and when to talk about your business.
Businesses, networking and community groups invite Chris Celek to talk about how to use social media. When you need a program or speaker, talk with Chris. E-mail: chris@celekmedia.com
Connect your business with customers through social media.
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Posted by Chris Celek 
Other times, this is the question: Should I use Facebook?
Excellent advice at 
Spent the morning with a lot of great business folks at the 
People who are really smart about how to make money by selling insurance, investments, real estate or running a restaurant all say the same thing: “I don’t know what to write about my business. I don’t know what to say.”
The Facebook math you should learn to improve your business fan page’s bottom line
November 29, 2010You 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 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 »
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