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You know you have to blog but you have no idea where to start or how to get it done. We understand, and we are here to help! With our team of creative content specialists, we can help start and enhance your blogging efforts. The benefits of having a blog are: Increased traffic to your corporate website. Educational and informative content about your products are services accessable to your audiences. Enhanced search engine optimization for your website. Factors include consistent keywords and updates added to your website, more pages per visit from visitors, and more time spent on your website by visitors. Watch Tom and Lou explain why you need a blog now! The blogging solutions we offer are: Strategy Consultation Campaign Consultation Content Calendar Development Blog Integration for Websites Training Customized Blogs Attract leads now! Related Blog Posts: The Immeasurable Benefits Of A Blog 5 Guiding Principles for Creating Great Content
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Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
This day and age, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to stand out as a business marketing student when it comes to the job hunt. It took some considerable time to think, “What makes me different?” When I sit and evaluate myself I like to take a step back and think, “What have I always loved and what is it that I have always been good at?” Until you can figure out what your true passion is its hard to figure out what you want to do with your life.
I know I am a people person. I’m the type of person who enjoys meeting people and getting to know them. I like the idea of going to a place that is completely new for me and make at least five new friends. Networking has always been something I loved. I have one year left of college and now that it’s time to join the “real world” how do I apply this to my career or more importantly my near future in the job search? Well the advances in social media have provided me with an amazing venue for advertising myself and creating innovative ways to display my work.
I am not the only one that has found unique ways to market myself through social media venues but I have done some research and developed a base of useful tools to help me. Some websites I love are LinkedIN for its unbelievably professional approach to getting yourself noticed worldwide on a professional platform. Although I still advise cleaning up your facebook, having a LinkedIN profile and expanding that network is vital and becoming increasingly more important to the job search. I also like to focus my attention to two other tools used online that have helped me get where I am academically and in my career. Twitter and a software program called iFlyMobi.
Twitter is amazing because I can surf through twitter looking for contacts that have similar interests, can teach me something, and can share my work. The concept of micro blogging is genius in this fast paced world we’re all growing up in. I along with most Americans are only looking for the most important information and want it as quick as possible. Twitter provides me with the opportunity to explore the web and experience different things all while learning. I end up finding myself blogging more and exploring blogs because they come up in my Twitter feed. I’m learning and I don’t even realize it because I enjoy reading this stuff! I never thought in my entire life that I would say that.
The last tool I use because it is something that sets me apart from everyone else and I am only sharing it with you
because I think everyone should be doing it to promote themselves. iFlyMobi is a software developed by a company that I work with called interlinkONE. What they do is create a mobile optimized portfolio for you where you can display your professional image, bio, links, and a portfolio of your work. Scan my code to see what I’m talking about.
Once your personal mobile website is created you generate a QR code that I put at the top of every resume I have printed in the past year. I attended the SIFE competition in New York last spring and we visited a very largely attended job fair with hundreds of business students from all over this region. Each person I talked to was very interested in my QR code and put my resume right to the top of the pile because they knew how “cool” and unique it was. This little code helped me stand out because it was something that was new and innovative. I highly recommend anyone who’s looking to use this type of creative tool to get one today and start using it as much as possible. It’s a small fee but it’s totally worth it. Put it on a business card, your resume, or even your website, you never know what it could do for you because it surely helped me.
No matter how competitive the job market gets there’s always ways to help yourself stand out and whether you’re like me or not it is important to network and do it in the most unique way possible. With that being said listen to how other people market themselves and create a path that helps you stand out. You could be the next trend setter you just need to think creatively. You never know what’s going to be the next big thing. Who knows it could be you!
Check out some of my other work on Facebook Pages, YouTube and WordPress:
Camp Forty Acres- Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Charlton College of Business- Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Blog
My Mobile Made Easy- Facebook | Twitter
Blogs- Grow Socially
Ok, so your business has an established social media presence. You’re posting on Twitter, throwing up status updates and photos on Facebook, uploading onto YouTube and hoping something happens. You keep pushing out content you’ve created or found on social networks with little to no response rate and your following is beginning to stall. The case is clear: you are missing out on the one of the major pillars of social media, engagement. To continue to produce great conversation-starting content is one thing, but it really means nothing if you have nobody to share or discuss it with. Brands with a stronger social media presence are usually the ones that not only produce great content that’s targeted and executed correctly, but they also are heavy on engagement.
So, what exactly does it mean to be engaged on social media?
Engagement on social networks can be anything that can start a conversation. From responding to a follower’s question to retweeting a message sent to you, users like to see that a company can be humanized on sites like Twitter and Facebook. A good social media site for a business is not one that is merely information constantly being pushed out, but one that also acts as a forum for questions, answers, and, as always, opinions. So responding back to users is key, but how can businesses go out of their way to connect with other users on social networks? For starters: keyword listening. Establish Google Alerts and have a running list of terms to search on Twitter in case you someone out there is talking about your brand without mentioning your online handle. For example if someone has a question about a sale at Target and tweets, “I wonder how long the sale on furniture at Target is”, they are mentioning a brand without directly including their Twitter account in the message. With listening tools established, a brand would see a post such as this and bea able to respond, making your online presence more friendly and approachable. Always go out of your way to reach out if a user is mentioning your brand, the more interaction, the better you’ll look. And just as important, the higher your Klout score will be. You also don’t have to go out of your way to get a conversation going, a lot of the best social media engagement starts with brands asking open ended questions (the new Facebook Questions feature is ideal for this).
Also, try and remember that it’s okay to have an opinion on things. Retweet and weigh in with messages about current events, take sides when it comes to the big game, let your thoughts be heard. But don’t forget to be consistent. Make sure you’re maintaining the same level of posting volume, frequency, and that the tone (or rather the “social voice”) of your messages remains the same. As you go along, you’ll find what works and what doesn’t. For some brands, engagement and interaction is encouraged by administrators of the page either by asking open ended questions or even having contests for retweeting or responding to a post. For others, engagement and interaction is brought on by necessity, usually this means there is a problem and the consumer is turning to you on social networks to solve it.
So start out slow, posting news, links, and stories that your audience will find relevant. Then work your way up by having opinions of your own and encouraging responses. From there the conversation will continue on social networks 24/7.
Follow Graham on Twitter
“I swear it’s this one… Maybe it’s in caps? Add 11233 at the end? Security question… favorite pet… which pet?”
If you have this conversation with yourself at least once a week
I have a suggestion for you – Evernote.
Evernote is a free website (that is also on many mobile devices) that offers a way for you to keep track of, well, whatever you usually forget. Let me explain – Evernote is like an intense notepad that’s a bit more organized. But, it goes beyond text and regular bookmarking.
Keep a note for a password to a certain account, your favorite photo of your dog, a bookmark to that random indie site that has that shower curtain you must have that was featured on Modern Family two months ago… Ok, maybe that’s just me.
Anyways!
Evernote will take all these mixed together medias that have no relation to each other and organize them for you so it’s easy for you to login, type in a keyword, and they’ll find what you’re looking for you.
Evernote gives some great examples of what you may want to keep on file (depending on your lifestyle).
Are you a businessman or woman?
-Snap photos of businesscards
-Save hotel and flight confirmation numbers
Planning the annual summer vacation trip?
-Bookmark your maps & attraction websites
-Working with Public Transit? Save PDF’s of the subways
Recent College Grad with Bills & a Puppy? / Me
-Write down grocery list
-Keep the rent lease on file
-Keep track of online bill logins (Cable, Electric, Etc.)
-Record voice memos when your pup will not give you 30 seconds to type a note
Really though that is just the tip of the iceberg. I’m new to Evernote and will make sure to update you while I start to explore it’s many mobile apps that are joining forces with Evernote to give you options in the way you keep track of whatever you need to.
If you’re like me and enjoy being organized but seem to always have too much going on Evernote is an effective and free website you should be using on your desktop or mobile device.
So, how will you use Evernote?
Want to Learn More about Evernote?
So we talked to you last week on Twitter about an exciting new change for one of our customers at Grow Socially. Formally known as Rescigno’s Mailing Solutions, they are now known as Rescigno’s Marketing Connections. They’ve done so much with us in the past couple of weeks which has made it very exciting here at Grow Socially. With the launch of their new website, our very own Matt Sullivan went to Illinois this past weekend to attend their re-branding event. Check out this video to see them announce their new brand.
Visit their brand new website that we helped develop!
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Have you ever created a YouTube video that you felt should receive an academy award because you put so much time and effort into designing, filming, and creating it? Well you may not receive any major awards (besides a possible appearance on Tosh.0) but at least you can get credit for the work you’ve done. YouTube is incorporating a whole bunch of Creative Commons content in order to encourage creativity in the making and publishing of YouTube videos. That way if anyone is going to use your videos, they will need to give you credit for it.
The concept of free file sharing is the biggest advantage of social media and with these additions, file sharing through YouTube has a new approach where you can still share and use others files but you have to give them credit. This is only fair, I wouldn’t want someone to take my piece of work and decide it was OK to just pass it off as their own. I personally have made a number of YouTube videos that I wouldn’t want others to say they did because making them for me was meaningful. Just like any piece of work if you can’t or don’t want to sell it yourself, why would you want someone else to? If they are then at least make sure to give credit where it is due. Check out the new Creative Commons functions.
Read about YouTube annotations here
Have your own TV channel on YouTube
Social media has already started an internet revolution. So many sites already exist, and so many of them are successful. And now the strong want to get stronger. Some social media giants are talking about merging and creating services for users that are convenient, practical and exciting.
Groupon and Live Nation are currently in the process of creating GrouponLive, which, according to Mashable.com, “will utilize Groupon’s local reach to market event tickets sold through Live Nation.” After a difficult fiscal 2010 for concerts, Live Nation saw a need for a change. Techcrunch.com outlined the hardship. “In 2010, Live Nation Entertainment’s concert ticket sales were down 10 percent, and for the year it reported a loss of $228.4 million on $5 billion in revenue. Last week, the company announced that the first quarter of 2011 reflected ‘improvement’ in ticket sales – Live Nation reported a 17.4 percent increase in revenue compared to Q1 2010.”
Even Facebook is throwing their hat into this ring. Rumors have been reported saying Facebook and the music-streaming service Spotify may be joining forces. Forbes.com had this to say: “Clicking on the Spotify icon will install the service on their desktop in the background, and also allow users to play from Spotify’s library of millions of songs through Facebook. The service will include a function that lets Facebook users listen to music simultaneously with their friends over the social network, one of the sources said. The partnership is another indication of how Facebook is moving towards becoming a hub for media like movies and music. Last March for instance, Warner Bros. announced it would make movies available to stream and rent through Facebook using Facebook credits.”
We can certainly see a trend here. With the opportunities for financial gain, these specialized social media outlets will continue to partner up and offer a more comprehensive experience for users.
Read here about social media in the news.
And here is why your company needs to have a social presence at the next big event.
Yesterday, Groupon announced a partnership with concert promoter giant, Live Nation, for an online ticketing marketplace known as GrouponLive. The site will offer limited time deals to Live Nation events in the style that has captivated impulse-buyers around the U.S. over the past few months. Surely by now you’ve seen your friends talk about purchasing Groupons (or similar deals through vendors like Living Social) on sites like Twitter and Facebook, or perhaps you’ve purchased one yourself in the past. According to research from ComScore, traffic to Groupon’s websites (there is a sub-site for targeted deals in different major cities) has risen 657% since October 2009.
The combination of buying products or services, saving and being able to share the deal on social media has already proven to be a winning combination, but who is really benefiting? The creation of GrouponLive has been dissected as an obvious attempt to breathe life into the live music industry’s flagship summer concert season after a disappointing 2010. Group-buying sites like Groupon have always lended a helping hand to industries that thrive off of crowds looking to do something new. With everything from summer concerts to helicopter tours, these sites are driving web traffic and cash to these companies and Groupon, but ultimately it seems like only Groupon is the one with a smile on their face in the end.
Take for example my one and only encounter with the site. There was a special for an oil change at an auto-repair place right down the street from where I live, it seemed like it couldn’t have been easier to pull off. So I bought it, made an appointment which I had been warned would take a while because the business had been so overwhelmed with people cashing in their Groupons. I dropped my car off and when I picked it up that night, my car starting making odd noises it hadn’t before. As it turns out, this business had been so overwhelmed with the business coming in from the online deal, that they were understaffed and pretty much rushing each job for people using their coupons. In their carelessness, they forgot to plug something back up (I don’t know car details, if I did I would change my oil myself and I wouldn’t be writing this blog out of spite) and I ended up making a trip to the dealership to correct the mistake. This isn’t the only case I’ve noticed of local businesses partnering with Groupon in hopes of boosting sales and revenue only to come out shortchanged and overworked.
The best example of this was Posies Bakery & Café in Portland, OR. In a detailed blog post, the manager of the business explains that the demand from the Groupon left the business overwhelmed, while the percentage they ultimately were paying back to Groupon for hosting the deal hurt them so bad they couldn’t even make payroll for three weeks. Now it’s true that a lot of businesses don’t realize the effect of mass coupons, such as Groupon, until they’ve experienced it.
But overall, the smaller the business, the less likely they are to do a second go around with Groupon. The cost of hosting a deal and the percentage given back to the online dealer is seemingly overpriced and never carefully explained to those running the campaigns for the businesses. Is it the trendy aspect that is making Mom and Pop shops all over the country indulge? Or is it the false promise that this internet giant can spread word of mouth overnight and have a line out the door waiting for you in the morning? Whatever it is, most businesses haven’t been left smiling.
The most effective alternative we’ve seen for smaller businesses is to run a social media based, coupon campaign. Offer discounts to those who check-in on Foursquare, comment back or “Like” a Facebook post, or those who retweet a message. Socially-based discounts are better for small businesses because they increase engagement and spread awareness at no cost to the business itself. It’s the ideal way to spread word of mouth and to establish a business as being a leader in customer service and deals. So I say leave social-coupon sites like Groupon to the bigger brands and let Mom & Pop shops all around start engaging and interacting so the consumers can start saving.
Our CEO, John Foley, is proud to announce that his highly-anticipated book, “Business Transformation – A New Path To Profit for the Printing Industry” is officially available for purchase!
His goal for this book was to introduce and explain in-depth how new marketing and communication tools are vastly changing the way businesses promote themselves today. Foley also brings it all back to how these new marketing strategies can be tied together with traditional marketing tools, such as print.
During his experience of writing the book, Foley had gained a tremendous amount of respect for authors and the publication industry. John said, “Throughout the entire process of putting together this book, “Business Transformation – A New Path to Profit for the Printing Industry”, I’ve learned quite a bit! Seeing firsthand everything that is required — from the big picture planning to the tiniest details, there is a lot of work, sweat, and hours behind this sort of production. I certainly have developed a new found respect for authors and editors everywhere! Especially those that seemingly put out a new book each year.”
For more details and information on “Business Transformation”, please visit the book’s website.
Get a free preview of John’s Book today!
Please take a moment to learn more about our Social Media Marketing and Website Consulting and Design services by viewing our 8-page booklet online! You must have a Flash-Player to view the booklet below. To obtain the non-Flash version of this booklet, please click here.
Click on the side arrows to turn the pages and click on the links within the booklet if you wish to view them online!
Our own social media specialist, Graham Spector, is counting down the days to the SXSW Conference in Austin, TX. One of the ways he already made his trip more organized was by creating a mobilized version of his SXSW calendar! The application he used to do this is iFlyMobi, a software service that converts any type of content into a mobilized-version format, so people can view information easily from their smart phones. Watch Graham and interlinkONE’s, Jason Pinto, explain more about iFlyMobi and how Graham was able to utilize the application for SXSW.
To view Graham’s iFlyMobi SXSW Calendar from your smart phone, scan the QR Code!
See the top 10 things Graham and Ed are looking forward to seeing at SXSW!
We are also going to the Vision 3 Summit!
Contact Us For An Audit
FROM THE BLOG
Is Our Social Media the Problem? || Read More
June 11, 2013
The Marketer’s Guide to Marketing in the Social Media Market || Read More
June 6, 2013
Why My Business Needs to be Active in Social Networking || Read More
May 26, 2013
