Just for Fun

Always Connected

Here is an interesting infographic that highlights how people are always “connected” these days.

We are all relying more and more on our phones for more than just chatting – for information, accessing the web, checking up on our social connections, keeping in touch.

This is a humorous take on our reliance on connectivity, but on the serious side, it’s more than a Trend of the younger generation but a Reality that impacts on how we do business today. To ignore it would be foolish.

View the full infographic created by Online Schools here…… Read More

B2B (Business to Business), B2C (Business to Consumer), Social Media for Business

Taking Your Networking Online

Social Media… Online Marketing… Facebook Marketing… Online Networking….

We are reading about it everywhere

Everyone is talking about it

Buzz words abound… connecting, engaging, interacting, Like, Fan, comment, Sharing, Posting, Viral …

This is new vocabulary to the local business person.

The world is changing and Yikes, how do we keep up?!

Stop, take a breath, “smell the roses” and let’s put this into perspective…

At the end of the day, business is about people and networking with people is what helps you personally and in business.   In the words of Rebecca Morris from Paradigm Shift “Character trumps Credentials every time… making it imperative to have the balance right in the online world”

So, yes we all know we have to get online with our business, but we can’t just do this and then sit back and hide behind our computer screens.  We also can’t just stay-still in this ever-changing world.

We have all heard the benefits of online social marketing…

  • Grow your brand awareness
  • Connect with your customers
  • Expand your networks
  • Increase your search engine rankings
  • Sell more,
  • etc,

There are many, many tools with which to do this.

Ultimately, this is what you need – here are the 7 key steps:… Read More

Facebook, Resources

Facebook Facial Recognition

Facebook Privacy is in the news again – this time with a new “feature” called Facial Recognition.

A couple of months ago I wrote a blog post on Facebook Privacy Settings as I felt strongly about the fact that many people still did not understand the settings, or know how to fully protect their privacy, or even why they should.

I regularly meet with small business owners who are willing to explore the benefits of social media for business and embrace this new way of marketing online.  I absolutely admire them them for stepping outside their normal means of interacting with their customers, however the biggest concern I regularly hear expressed, is about privacy, ie. the need to protect personal privacy and keep it separate from business.

So the first thing I do is ensure their Facebook Personal Profile privacy settings (and those of their family, particularly their children) are set appropriately.

Meanwhile, Facebook is ever-changing and there’s been some recent talk in the online space over the rolling out of the Tag Suggestions which effectively means that faces are being scanned with facial recognition software…. Read More

Resources, Social Media for Business

Social Media Revolution 2011

Erik Qualman is the man behind the SocialNomics and the Social Revolution videos.  The previous version with its great choice of music was one of 2010’s most videos on YouTube (it has over 2.8million views) and was shared by many as the defining source of statistics in the social media industry.

Qualman is the author of Socialnomics: how social media transforms the way we live and do business.

Today he released his new video – 2011 version.  There are so many great statistics in this short 2 minute video and beyound.  Here are my Top 10 that I consider very powerful and relevant.

  1. Social Media is about People
  2. Over 50% of the world’s population is under 30 years old
  3. 93% of marketers use social media for business
  4. Kindergartens are learning on iPads, not chalkboards
  5. A new member joins LinkedIn every second… Read More

B2C (Business to Consumer), Business Blogging, Facebook

Facebook Marketing – Give your Customers More

I notice that many companies use Facebook regularly and are saying all the right things – “engaging” their customers with personable comments, providing them with information about what’s happening (“Come on in We’re Open”) – but this sort of marketing message doesn’t quite “cut it” anymore in today’s information overload/cluttered marketplace.

Here’s where they are missing out – they are treating Facebook as a standalone marketing communication channel.   They are treating this social media channel as marketing only and missing the bigger picture…

Sound familiar? then consider this:

Integrate and Link

You have the opportunity to integrate your social media channels into your business by providing a link back to your website (or better still, your Blog) to entice the reader to click through, visit your website and maybe even “share” that content with their friends.

Provide additional helpful information

Once your reader arrives at your website, you provide them with more… interesting and helpful content.

Engage your Customer and Sell

The result of this is extra traffic to your website, but even more than that, an interactive visit, thereby engaging your customer and adding value.  Ultimately this leads to trust and that potential customer is on track to become a true customer

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MARKETING MESSAGES and lost opportunities

Outlined below are some common Facebook posts, the consumer behaviour that can incur, leading to a lost opportunity to drive traffic to your OWN website, remembering that you do not “own” or control the Facebook platform (case in point AirNZ’s recent hiccups with a Facebook-only promotion) :… Read More