Its a brand new year and you are excited for the possibilities.  This is the year that is going to make the difference!   How will you get out of your own way to make a plan that will stick?  Here are 5 questions to ask yourself to clarify your goals and get you going:

1.  What are your values for your business and your life?  List 5 of your top values here and look to see if your business service offerings, customer policies and pricing reflect that

2.  What did you discover about yourself and your business last year.  Review what goals you made for yourself last year.  Did you reach any of them? You hopefully spent alot of time in your business last year doing various action functions.  What action items made your heart sing, and what items made you want to go in search of a margarita?  Can you outsource any of those mind numbing tasks to someone else?  All of us only have so much time in a day, so try to keep that time devoted to  your creativity and passion parts  which reflect  the core of why you started your business.  Decide to inspire yourself and those around you everyday and you will be amazed at the increase in productivity and revenue.

3.  Why did you not achieve some of your goals?  Was it lack of time, lack of resources, lack of action, skills, product offerings etc.  Be honest with yourself here and create an action plan to work on these areas or decide to outsource if reasonable.

4.  Who did you meet or could possibly meet in the future that will help build your business?  Many of us go to networking events weekly and monthly and never do a thing with that business card.  Take some time to try to connect with them via LinkedIn and keep abreast of thier updates.   Take some time to comment on updates and help point them to helpful resources.  Invite them to have a cup of coffee offline and find out more about what they do and how you may help them in achieving their goals.   Connect them to people who can help them achieve thier goals and who knows, you may  be rewarded in both good Karma and a possible future lead.

5.What are 3 goals you would love to attain in your business right now that are slightly unrealistic?  What are 5 action items you can do right now to get your closer to that goal?

Yesterday, I had yet another amazing experience at PodCamp Philly.  I met a woman there that has re-ignited my passion for Google+.  If you really want to stay up to date on Google+ , I suggest you follow this amazing lady who just  a delivered a spectacular presentation.  Her name is Lynette Young and she is the owner of PurpleStripe Productions.   In the meantime, please enjoy the next installment which outlines some really neat features.

SEO Effects:  Being able to SHARE or HIT +1 is also a newer feature which allows you to share content, somewhat like Facebook’s “like button”.  The major difference is, as Google is the Search Engine King, it has a nice impact on your content ranking in search. You may also now add the +1 button to your blog, to get the word out about your blog posts as well as those that you feel are quality content.  An interesting point is that when a connection +1s content, your connections have validated that sites reputation for being a credible site, therefore raising that sites search engine results positioning.

This is the gateway for Google to really begin to become the “social” search king.  As you build connections and they begin to +1 and add content, your search results may become skewed to more of what your peers recommend based on those keywords. This can be beneficial if you find people following you from Google plus, you could plus your own results, and then when they search on your keywords in the future your results will list higher, levying it in your favor.

Google+ Hangouts: Okay, so this is where things start to get really interesting!

This unique video feature allows you to video chat with a group of up to 10 colleagues or clients at once ( picture skype on steroids), for free!  One thing that makes it particularly neat is the layout.  When an individual is speaking the loudest, the real time picture of them will enlarge to give them the “floor”.

People can watch video from You Tube online together at the same time in these sessions and discuss right then and there. For your business, you can use it for collaboration and meetings, online trainings, and webinars.  This tool really helps to break down barriers in terms of communication and location.  Google has also mentioned in the future, businesses could use it as a customer service tool or a forum for group chats about products.

Future Plans:  The business profile pages will soon be here!  Once they launch, here are some rumors of good things to come!

Listings:   Members of the company as well as just fans.  There may be some cross functionality between Google Places and offers so that businesses can direct , offers and promotions directly to fans in that geographical area.  Pretty cool, huh?

Google Meeting: Google is planning on expanding the hangouts to be more business friendly.  they are planning on integrating scheduling tools through goggle calender, google mail, chat etc.  The are also planning on offering a screenshot, video and audio archiving feature to make it a truly feature. seamless productivity tool.  You will be able to share all of this information later as well as use a google whiteboard which will allow you to display your googledocs within the course of a meeting.  The meeting attendants, will also be able to edit and share the documents as well.  Freaking amazing!

There has been a whole lot of hype in the past few months regarding Google+. If some of you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, here are a few features that make it pretty special and may even make it a game changer for your social media strategy. While you have to wait to officially use it for business now, there is no reason why you cannot use your personal profile to begin to build contacts and “learn the ropes.” In the following few posts I will be highlighting some features and explain why Google+ may (depending on your audience) be added to your social media radar

CIRCLES- Lets kick off the features discussion with circles. Whats so exciting about the circles feature? Ease of use and one stop shopping! The link es can be clearly drawn on google + allowing you to place people in individual circles, thus allowing you to connect and share select information whether personal or strictly professional. Instead of having to make lists, go to a different social network etc. you may drag your groups of contacts into individual circles. You can have a friend circle, an acquaintance circle, a people to learn from circle, a family circle, coworkers circle and a professional circle. You can even designate your own circles. This allows you to not be concerned about dropping etiquette while posting. So I can put out my blogposts to my business contacts for example, while complaining about school bus schedules to my friends and neighbors circle.

Stay posted for our next Google+ feature. We will be discussing, how to share content and increase your contents ranking in search.

I recently read an interesting article from “Success” magazine on how your brain is really not a able to effectively function for eight hours a day straight.  Pretty enlightening for our society that values putting in as many hours as possible at the office while neglecting pretty much everything else.

The series was tremendous, talking about health and wellness as well as how to gain success in life.  It got me thinking however, how many people out there that have not gotten to that success tipping point are really able to use this as a tactic?  When you are an average small business owner and you wear all the hats, can you really fit in some downtime?

Another post from Forbes, commenting on the guerrilla in your market, talked about the premise that doing the same thing everyday, you may not always see the changes taking place right in front of your eyes.  So while some of us can’t afford to take that catnap everyday or join the four-hour workweek,  here are their suggestions:

• At weekly management meetings, talk about an idea or technique from another industry and how it might apply to your business.
• Visit www.ted.com to hear short presentations from some of the world’s best minds. Once a week, have someone watch a TED video and present a lunch-and-learn session for the rest of your staff.
• Spend 30 minutes a day studying news from several different sources.
• Take a day off from your business. No cell phones, no PDAs, no checking in to see what’s going on. You’ll be amazed at how this invigorates your thinking.
• Invite a business associate to lunch and talk about his or her business. This will force you to think about your own business in new and different ways.

What tactics have you used to step away to see the big picture?

The Old Spice Campaign, Social Media Great or Fail?

“How can I create buzz about my business?  How can I get more exposure and traffic to my site?  How can I get people to know about me?  What kinds of social media will help me most? These are questions that as a social media marketer I get asked quite a bit.  Social media is a hot topic and is on the minds of companies and professional worldwide…

These are important questions, but let me ask you another one instead.  What are you going to do with it?  Lets say I get you to the top of Google or I can develop a campaign that spreads like wildfire, gracing everyone’s facebook wall posts… is that really what you want?  Is that what you are paying me the big bucks for?  Of course not, you need the plan,  message, and campaign to create a story about your brand..  You need the viewers or your site, your campaign to not only spread your message but to invest in it and become lifelong loyal fans of your product.  That is where we really need to concentrate.

A perfect example is the Old Spice Campaign. While it has been touted as a huge success from many social media resources, it has not had much in the way of actual engagement or conversion.  As creative as it was albeit a bit disturbing that the managers of the campaign never used the buzz to create relationships with their clients.  They never engaged except to put out screaming messages to watch the new videos or to listen to how great they were. They failed to realize that the whole point of social media is that it’s another tool to build relationships. If you look at their twitter feed there haven’t been any interaction with their community at all.  No @ replies or thank yous or whatever.

They totally missed the point and may not have another opportunity for viewers to become a lifelong Old Spice man (or woman who loves Old Spice men). So while it is imperative to  create good solid, eye catching campaigns, it is also just as important if not more to think through the process so you can engage that community to maintain momentum and drive sales.

Just my two cents..let me know what you think

If I said, “I can get you to the top of Google in the next few days, “you would be lovin me right?  Well, here are a few tips to rank locally within your niche.  While most people are busy paying outrageous fees for pay per click,  you can happily find your place among the top for free!

Tip# 1

Make sure you are listed in local directories. Seems pretty simple, but if you are not listed you have to work a heck of a lot harder to rank.

Tip #2

Make sure all of your content, photos, and videos are tagged correctly to include local key word rich phrases with long tail key words.  Just adding a few local areas to your keywords and content  can boost your ranking dramatically.

Tip #3

Make sure you are connecting with people and businesses in your industry and link to their site.  The more links you have coming into your site that are relevant in your industry the better

I am currently in the process of teaching a class regarding social media and most people in the class really don’t know why they are there.  Social Media is a term people hear they must start understanding, but really don’t know why.   Here is a very brief intro to social media and how certain aspects can help your business….

Social Media,  so, what’s all the buzz about?  Simply put, social media allows you to make the sale before the sale.   Because the media landscape has changed in the past few years, it is imperative that every company take advantage of these tools or become obsolete.  There is a revolution in the way consumers are buying and making purchasing decisions.  People are no longer trusting broadcasted messages to them, they are actively looking for information and relationships they can trust.

Creating interactive information sources that are engaging and relevant to your customers allows you to connect to clients and prospects.  If done correctly, social media can put you in the top-of-mind position with your customers and create a referral sales force.  If you can show that you truly have your customer’s interests at heart and  brand yourself as an expert, you will rise above your competition and create brand loyalty. Below are some FREE  or very low cost ways to promote your business and increase profits by utilizing Internet marketing techniques.

Targeted leads:  Advertisements that are visible to people who have e expressed an interest in what you are selling.  Instead of using a billboard, direct mail, or magazine advertisement, market directly to people’s interests through Facebook or Google ads, forums etc.  If you are a golf club maker you can put an ad on the profiles of golf enthusiasts.  You only pay for the ad if it is clicked.  Clicks are easily traceable to help you understand what marketing message and campaign works best.  All of this can be done for very small investment

Video: Videos done on a flip camera or by a production company are fabulous ways to differentiate yourself from your competition.  Don’t have a million dollars for a commercial?  No problem, you can utilize video hosting sites to broadcast to millions for a fraction of the cost.  An entertaining “viral” video can be broadcast to millions within days!   Utilizing video will help you gain higher Google ranking as well as allow you to attach a visual personality to your product or service.

Social networking sites:  Social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, ) are key in connecting and engaging your customers and clients.  Utilizing a Facebook business page or Twitter profile can be very beneficial.  You can post recent news about your company, run contests to engage and reward customers in your success,  and have discussions about things that people find of interest in the industry or your brand.  For market research, test market ideas about a new product launch you are considering.  You can post online coupons; and community sponsored events.  All of these things are instrumental to keeping your fan base engaged and wanting to spread your message.  The sites are also excellent for networking as well as getting a leads on possible opportunities.

Article and blog writing:  Article writing can help establish you as an expert in your field as well as giving valuable information to your customers to help them make a better informed decision about your product or service.  In addition, article writing helps to create more links to your site because people can comment, bookmark and link back to your site.  Inbound and outbound links are very important in determining your Google ranking.

Affiliate marketing:  Linking to sites that offer a product or service that you enjoy.  Have a service or a fantastic new product that you feel would benefit your customer base?  Why not advertise it on your site and receive a commission?  Companies are hungry to cross sell in this economy and many are offering a  commission fee to companies that sell or refer their product.  If you truly feel that it is of benefit to your built in audience, it is a win- win situation.  A note of caution (you can only endorse so many product offerings like this before you start losing creditability.)

Customer Service:  Keeping in touch with your clients and dealing with any issues that arise.  Social media monitoring of your brand allows you to get real time results about what your customers are saying about you.  You may then quickly and effectively deal with any disgruntlement, showing that you are a company that cares about its customers.  On the flip side, if there are positive comments out there, why not spread the word by utilizing your newly built up network!

All of these techniques are easily doable for only a fraction of the cost of traditional market research, newspaper and print advertising.   To learn more about how to utilize these tools effectively, give us a call today!

Everyone is so eager to jump on the “Social Media” bandwagon these days.  Everyone is beginning to take notice that YouTube/Facebook/Twitter/Linkedin are all tremendous ways to network and create buzz about your business.

The key to developing a plan that actually works however, is to make sure that you continue to update your status, create compelling content and engage with your clients.  I myself have recently fallen off the publishing cycle I had  created.

What is your biggest challenge with posting content?  What would you like most to streamline? What would be the biggest help to you to keep your social media presence going instead of languishing in the dust?  Please comment and let me know what your struggling with.   Are blog posts a bore?  Are you having a hard time deciding what is relevant or not?

So here is the question:  ”If only I didn’t have to ( insert your source of agina)  I would be able to keep up with this so much easier.”  Thanks in advance for your comments!

Many people are confused and angry about what is going on with Facebook privacy and landing page glitches.  However, no matter the outcome,  it remains  an amazing marketing tool.  While all the drama is being played out,  it is a great time to get up to speed about making your Fan Page work for you.  Here are some pointers to get started:

1.  Create a page that helps you build SEO ( Search Engine Friendliness):  Use your  Business or Brand for the title of the page and once you get 100 fans you can pick a  username in addition to your title.  Try to have your Business/ Brand name and a keyword or two  people may use when searching for your product or service so that you can be found.  Make sure you load keyword friendly text into your about section.  This section really helps you allowing keyword rich text.  Include all your outbound links in the information section as well as your address so you can be found for local search.

2.  Create a landing page :  Put yourself out there!   Video yourself telling people what they  will find when they come to your page.  Why should they stay and become a fan?  What type of information can they find here?  Who are you?  Set this as your default page for new visitors to your page so they can see what you are all about.

3. Call to Action:  Run a special promotion for people who become fans.  Put it on the landing page prominently , so they don’t have to go through hoops to sign up to be a fan.

4.  Create Buzz about your business:  You may do this,  by holding contests, or asking opinions on something.  Fans love to be involved in your success.  Who doesn’t love to share their opinion?  You can  create a spot  where fans can post their own pictures of how they used your product and let your fans shine!    Another way to engage fans is to ask and answer questions that your fans may find of interest.  Put information out in your status updates that teach your clients something, or help them in some way and your fans will come back for more!

5.  Post Video and Images:   You can have humorous video about your product or service, video of events you are doing, or even online educational seminars about what people may need in your niche industry.  Ask yourself, “will this help my customers make more money, feel better, or help them in some way. ”  If the answer is yes, then go for it!

Recently, I have gone to some networking events, and I have been astounded by the absolute rudeness of some people.   I thought I would share a few experiences( and rant like hell)  to see if I am just crazy or if this is what is occurring at events you attend, too.   For your enjoyment, I decided to characterize some of the absolute winners I have met recently.  I know I have been guilty of some of these behaviours, and perhaps you have to, so I thought I would write it all down, so we can all try for the greater good  to get a freaking grip!

1.   The It’s -all -about- me -Droner: If you talk about yourself  for more than about three minutes, my focus is going to fade quickly.  I mean, really, let’s be honest… I don’t care.  If you have spent our whole 2-5 minutes talking about you and never try to engage me, or ask about my interests, hobbies, or business, the only think I am thinking is,  ”Ugh… next! In fact, most likely behind my wide smile, I am thinking when is this person going to shut up so I can politely excuse myself and find someone that will make all this schlepping worth while.

2. Bad Breath Bob/Barb Close Talker:  Have you ever been to one of these events and someone is just a little too close for comfort?  Have you ever stepped back only to have that person continue moving in your direction as though they are channeling their inner stalker.  My favorite is when they obviously have been hitting the hummus and that jalapeno pepper cheese dip.  Remember, sewer breath stalker, “This is your personal space, this is my personal space.”  My favorite personal tip is to always carry Trident gum ( that gum just seems like it packs a wallop in a second or two) and pop it into my mouth right before an event,  during downtime, and after eating.  I always chew for a minute or two to refresh  and then discard.  Please note:  Always, discard.  I have forgotten and my husband has let me know that on a good day, I  look trashy, and on a bad day, I look like a relative to “Mr. Ed.”

3.  Mr. Multi- Level Mysterious Maven:  Look,  I have been involved in multi-level marketing in the past, and there are some great products, training programs, etc. out there.  Please be honest, don’t be weird and mysterious, and for god’s sake, don’t be all about why your product is SOOOO great and make the meeting all about you or your product.  If people are looking and you are honest and have their best interests at heart, they will be a tremendous down- line.  If you are proud of the product and your company… be excited and that will translate to someone who is looking…

4.  Mr. Anger Management:  Recently, I went to a round table where we were supposed to be helping one another grow our business through networking and referral.  There was a supposedly very successful guy there who went on and on about how successful he was and how he doesn’t have time for this or that or this type of person or whatever.   The entire time he was talking, I kept thinking, ” Wow, this guy needs some anger  therapy or maybe some Prozac ”  Then he ended up saying a racial slur to prove his point… the whole round table just sat there stunned… So as the song says, .” If your angry and you know it…stomp your feet,  get some Prozac  and don’t go to a networking event!”

5. Self -Absorbed Sara:  I met another charmer whom I had met before at another event.  I called her by name and told her I enjoyed her  email newsletter, ( which was just being polite, since she sent it to me without asking permission after saying hello and grabbing my card the first time I met her.  By the way another  pet peeve of mine).  I mentioned I had referred her to a friend of mine, whom was in need of a service of hers… she just smiled vacantly at me, said” Oh great thank you “, and then asked if I needed more cards of hers.  She didn’t ask me how I was doing, how business was going for me,  or who my ideal client was.  I really don’t think I will be referring her anyone else.

So that is my pent up rant on networking… Please feel free to comment if these people are ones who frequent your networking jaunts or if I am just extremely lucky!