Before tweeting, connecting and friending, answer me this: where are your customers?

September 12, 2009

Sometimes this is the request from a business owner: Could you show me how to use Twitter?

1102203_23617898Other 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 »

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Posted by Chris Celek

Find, hire employees at the speed of Twitter

July 29, 2009

844460_39845064How fast can you hire an employee?

Grant Coffman did it within three days of finding a strong candidate using Twitter, the web-based communications tool.

Fast enough for you?

Grant is a registered financial services representative and division leader at Primerica in Sharonville Ohio who needed to fill a spot on his sales team in the northern Cincinnati suburbs. We met on a Monday morning to introduce social media and covered basics about how he might begin to use Twitter as part of networking to get to know people and build relationships that might turn them into customers.

“I went right in and told my boss that we needed to start using this,” Grant says. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Chris Celek

You can do this: Best ways to connect your business to customers with social media right now

June 22, 2009

0622090840Excellent 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.

No matter. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Chris Celek

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