What inquiring business minds really want to know

May 28, 2009

logoSpent the morning with a lot of great business folks at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Business Expo in Erlanger. Thanks to Kelly Jones of the chamber and Steve Jones of Jaap-Orr in Cincinnati  for the invitation to talk about putting Linkedin and Twitter to work.

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 »


3 ways to write about your business

May 23, 2009
1038121_76724335People 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 »


Shiny new thing or old-fashioned networking?

May 9, 2009

1009935_25003389You’re thinking that turning to the latest and hotest social media and online communications tools will increase sales and get your business moving again. Nothing wrong with that idea and lots of people will tell you that’s just the thing to do.

Heck, I’m one of those people. But simply setting up on Facebook or Linkedin or Twitter without a clear purpose in mind and a commitment of your valuable business time to follow through is not going to increase anything — except for your frustration with the folks who sold you on the whole social media idea in the first place.

The purpose and how much of a commitment, of course, are up to you. You know what you want to accomplish for your business or community group. But your purpose for using social media also has to include meeting people, getting to know them and building and keeping relationships with them. It’s business development and no different from attending a chamber of commerce event, or lunching with a customer, or any of the other ways you use to say hello and stay in touch. Read the rest of this entry »