October 14, 2009
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 »
4 Comments | 
Business, Facebook, Social Media, Video, You Tube | Tagged: Business, Cincinnati Museum Center, Facebook, Google, Google Video, Jeff Zaret, Mike Cornett, Minuteman Press of Lebanon, National Processing Solutions, Schmidt Heating and Cooling, Video, Visual Media Concepts, YouTube | 
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Posted by Chris Celek
September 12, 2009
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 »
Comments Off on Before tweeting, connecting and friending, answer me this: where are your customers? | Business, Social Media | Tagged: advertising, Business, business development, connect, Customers, Facebook, goals, Linkedin, marketing, Networking, sales, Social Media, Twitter | Permalink
Posted by Chris Celek
August 21, 2009
It’s funny to read what the president & CEO wrote, if only because if you’ve ever shopped for bread, wine or seafood at Dorothy Lane Market, you get the message real fast that the grocery’s employees want to talk with you. They ask if you want that loaf of asiago cheese bread sliced, if you’ve considered the new summer rosé from one of their favorite French organic wineries, or if you’d like them to prepare a dinner of Crispy Dijon Tilapia for you.
So it’s funny, at least to me, that DLM boss Norman Mayne is surprised by how much his customers use social media, including Twitter and Facebook to talk with one another and with Dorothy Lane Market’s employees.
“Who knew that a short 140-character message could be so meaningful to so many people” Mayne wrote in his company’s August newsletter. Read the rest of this entry »
3 Comments | Business, Facebook, Networking, Social Media, Twitter | Tagged: Dorothy Lane Market, grocery, Nick Nawroth, Nick Nowroth, Norman Mayne | Permalink
Posted by Chris Celek
Connect your business with customers with awesome web content, social media & videos 