Marketing Java Blog: Blending traditional and social media marketing in Boulder, Colorado.

Should You Offer Up That Special Sauce?

May
2012

As an inn or restaurant owner, the experience you create for guests is unique, separating you from all others. With choices to numerous to count, what you have to offer needs to rise above the ordinary in order to catch the eye, palate – and memory – of your guests.

Quite possibly, what helps make you stand out is a special dish (or two! or three!) that leaves guests awestruck. We’ve all been there… we’ve had that meal that tastes like heaven on earth; that meal that you find yourself craving in the middle of the week on a Wednesday afternoon. Now, if only we had the chef’s recipe, we could at least attempt to recreate the masterpiece in our own kitchen. However, more times than not, chef’s are hesitant to release such treasures into the hands of just anyone. It may seem counter-productive to offer up the exact secrets behind what makes you successful, but just think if you did on only a few items. How grateful would your guests be, being able to prepare what equates to a fond memory in their own kitchen?

While maintaining some illusion of secrecy in order to increase allure is sometimes important, it can be equally, if not more, beneficial to share small glimpses. By sharing a recipe or two, it can greatly help your audience relate to you and your business, while also conjuring up unforgettable moments at your place. By allowing them to recreate a dish at home that they loved while staying or dining with you, it deepens the emotional connection they have with your business, leading them to think of that return trip they can make back to you. No one wants to be the place that’s visited once, eventually forgotten about. Sharing recipe’s almost guarantees that you will not fade into oblivion.

Inns or restaurants that want to take things one step further and aren’t worried about sharing that “secret sauce” may consider putting together a keepsake recipe book. Nowadays you can produce these yourself, branding it with your logo. Websites such as Blurb and Lulu offer services to help put together projects and books, which you could then sell off your website or even at your location. Not only do they get a neat souvenir, but they have something that they can put to use when they return home. What better reminder of you or simple aid is there to remind them to plan another trip to experience the “real thing”?

So go on, give them a taste of the good stuff; let ‘em remind themselves what they’re missing Photo Cred: cathy.fong

Navigating the Blogging World as a B&B

Apr
2012

Coming up with fresh and exciting topics to blog about may be greeted with a serious case of writer’s block. You might worry that your posts can become redundant, often hitting similar topics from the past. While you don’t want to become overly repetitive, it is okay to touch on a topic that has already been discussed, especially if the topic brings new insights to potential guests. The ultimate goal of a great B&B blog, besides converting readers into guests, is to also convert the readers to subscribers. Another aspect? Fresh content can yield favorable results on SEO for your website.

For any number of reasons, it may not be the right time for your readers to make a trip and stay with you, but if you can manage to keep them coming back to your blog and connected to your establishment and your surrounding area, there’s a likelihood they’ll become a guest in the future, or maybe even recommend you to a friend. So how can you create a blog that is not easily forgotten?

Mashable notes that it’s important to “solve your readers problems”, this is not new thinking; sales people have known that for quite some time. In thinking about your blog, come up with common questions or needs guests might have when traveling to you. Provide insight and answers before they can even think to ask. Guests at B&B’s and inns often search for a place that features specific amenities in the local area, for instance restaurants, wineries, shopping, or various natural attractions (hiking trails, waterfalls, etc.). They also might be worried about being too disconnected; do you offer WiFi, telephones, or even a television or refrigerator in the room? Creating a post highlighting one or a few of the many things that are available in your spot and even the surrounding area gives the reader even more incentive to become a future guest. Not only will this give them a more detailed idea of what they can enjoy at your place, but it also also increases the potential that a search engine will lead the readers right to you! Finally, by promoting various other businesses/attractions in your area, it increases the chance that they may in turn promote you. This kind of symbiotic cross-marketing can certainly help your guests, but also the local economy.

Stay on Topic, Have More to Say Later

It is important to keep the posts on topic and straight to the point. If you choose to suggest a restaurant in your area, stick to discussing the restaurant and the restaurant only. Readers can quickly become bombarded with information which in turn may result in them merely skimming your post or even skipping it entirely. By focusing on one topic (or local merchant at a time), it gives you more material to feature in future posts. Also, be sure to include a link to the website of whatever place you are reviewing.

Another key idea is to include past consumer reviews (the positive ones!). Facts now support that a majority (84%!) of the population tends to lean heavily on user-generated content when making buying decisions. If your blog subtly self-promotes itself through guest reviews, it adds a level of trust and security in the minds of potential guests.

As mentioned in a previous post highlighting mobile influence, sites such as Yelp or Foursquare also allow innkeepers to claim their business and offer mobile users an incentive such as savings for visiting your place, plus you can change the deal linked to your B&B seasonally, following other annual events in your area, or essentially whenever the mood strikes you. Reminding readers of these types of deals on your blog gives them a jumpstart in doing the research involved in finding the best deal. You hand it to them right in the blog post.

Blog posts do not need to solely revolve around reviews and suggestions for other attractions in your area however; posts can range from many different things, as long as they are related to your target audience. If the majority of your guests tend to come to your B&B for the quaint and quiet nature of your area, it might be a better idea to leave out a post detailing and promoting the upcoming rock concert the next town over; this may result in turning people away, rather than encouraging them to come. Knowing your target audience is key; most people want to stay somewhere that mirrors their interests and personality, somewhere they can feel at home and relax. Reminding your readers that your inn may be their home away from home, and why, may be all the difference in the world.

As one final note, while the majority of this post has outlined more of the “DO’S” in blogging about a B&B or an Inn, it is vital to never use your blog as a soundboard for your own personal thoughts, lives or complaints. ALWAYS keep it professional, keep it relevant, and keep it informative in regards to your business. Need any pointers? We’re happy to help, just give us a call or shoot us an email. Photo Credit: Sarah Elizabeth Simpson

Pictures Hold The Key To Sticky Posts

Apr
2012

Sure, “content is king”, but do you know what it really means? In a nutshell, it means if you produce worthy content, it will be “sticky” and readers will come back for more. Maybe. Readers are fickle, but you stand a fighting chance if you at least provide a visual with your written content.

It is crucial to spice up the posts you are creating across various social spaces, including your blog. Speaking from first hand experience, we seldom curate posts or updates that don’t contain some kind of supporting graphic. Why? People read enough of the same things lacking personality; we like our content to have some pizzazz and a bit of finish in the form of an image that captures the essence of the post. Bloggers and others who don’t take the time to include this little nugget, well, they might also be the ones with utterly boring Powerpoint slides full of bullets, text, no fun images, and a scary dose of Comic Sans thrown in for “punch”.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Think about that. In the case of blogging, that picture might be the ONLY thing that gets the attention of your readers, and if you chose right, they may not even have to read your entire post to click “share” or “retweet”. We live in a microwave society, and let’s face it; we’ve become a culture of skimmers when it comes to reading online. People very often share the same way. Admit it: you’ve retweeted or shared something at some point based solely on the image or title. We all have.
PICTURES! VISUALS! A LITTLE EXTRA SOMETHIN’ SOMETHIN’!

First and foremost, strike a balance between visual and text. Adding the right picture to your post has been proven to increase the likelihood that people will not not only be more willing to pause and read an entire update or post, but also most importantly, posts that feature photos typically out-perform those without. Betanews.com reports that with the addition of Timeline for Facebook brand pages, “photos are now tops when it comes to generating comments, outperforming the next-best post type by more than 8 percent.” This shouldn’t come as a surprise; it is human nature to be drawn to shiny objects, onscreen or off. One need only consider Pinterest, the virtual eye candy museum; its use of imagery creates an emotional connection, and it’s that connection that was evoked by a visual stimuli. The messaging in your posts, therefore, become that much more powerful with an effective, complementary image, compared to a text heavy post that may seem daunting or even sterile, potentially causing the reader to skip it entirely. If the initial reader skips the post, there’s no way they are going to then share it.

According to allthingsd.com, in December 2011 alone, Twitter users shared 58.4 million photos. Staggering. It’s clear that we prefer our pictures; we want to see rather than just simply read. When you think of how easy it is for people to use the retweet feature, a single user could end up sharing a single photo with people all over the world. Now think about how easily it is to use that to your business’ advantage.

As one final note: many social spaces won’t even pull and present an image unless it is actually there, and Facebook especially will not import anything, so it is important to include the actual picture in each new post across all social channels.

Take away: adding a picture to your post is like adding a little extra salt and pepper to your meal. The ingredients aren’t that fancy, but boy does it make a whole world of a difference ☺

Photo Credit: Paisley patches (coming and going)

Mobile Influence on the Uprise

Mar
2012

In the past, spontaneity has been often sought after, yet somewhat unrealistic, especially in terms of taking off on an unplanned weekend getaway. The thought of getting in the car and “winging it” used to make many people too anxious to actually go for it. What if there are no open vacancies at any of the Bed & Breakfast spots you pass? What if you end up in the middle of nowhere with no real food options. Or, what if you end up somewhere that is simply out of your price range. Back in the day, the next best option would be to bunk up in the back of the car, but consumers in today’s age now have the power of spontaneity right at their fingertips. That “power”, of course, being mobile.

No longer does the word “mobile” simply mean a cordless way to make phone calls when you are out and about. It isn’t even just about text messaging anymore either. With the technological advancements of recent years, mobile today literally means almost anything and everything you could think of, or need, while making that road trip.

Want to go away for a romantic weekend with your significant other, but want to leave in ten minutes? No problem! Start up the engine, throw some things in a bag, grab your phone and go for it. Not only are there hundreds of various mobile sites available to aide in your search of a place to stay, eat, or shop, but most even come with plenty of customer reviews, so you can get a real and true idea of what you may be getting yourself into, what others recommend, and other general feedback. Directions, tunes, reservations, shopping, reviews, coupons, deals, offers, museums, movies, amusement parks, and almost everything else you could possibly need to look up while on that road trip, or on any old Tuesday, is right there in your hands.

Yelp in particular offers consumer reviews on over 20 different categories, ranging from restaurants, arts and entertainment, health and medical, and even automotive. It’s not even necessary to type in a specific restaurant to pull up reviews. Once you arrive in the town you are in, simply type in that town, and then search whatever you’re in the mood for. It will pull up the most relevant searches, an idea on pricing, how many stars it received based on reviews, as well as the distance from where you are. Doesn’t get much easier than that!

Other sites such as Foursquare offer customer reviews and allow consumers to leave “tips” once they check into each place. For those that are indecisive, these sites should offer more than enough background information to help in the decision making process.

Both Yelp and Foursquare (and many other geolocation tools) offer the adventurous an even sweeter deal: savings! For the savvy innkeeper or merchant, you can claim your business on these either of these spots and offer mobile users an incentive for visiting your place, plus change it whenever the mood strikes you, say seasonally or when you have an inventory you’d like to move.

According to Google Commerce, 37% of consumers research items on their smartphone and then make the purchase online. It is no longer simply a convenience factor, but rather the power to do their own research, weigh the options and make an informed decision that motivates the consumers to utilize mobile in this way. This trend in mobile influence is still on the uptick, and businesses and consumers alike have only scratched the surface in the future potential of mobile marketing.

Photo credit: Kazz.0

Choosing a Social Media Partner: Part Three

Mar
2012

Measuring For Success

In our first and second posts in this series, we discussed both what the owner should be on the lookout for when seeking outside help regarding their social media goals, and how to define those goals, as well as a handful of key insights into what makes a good partner. Now that you have found a partner, established your goals and the strategy to accomplish those goals, you have a little work now to assess what the impact is. Gauging the success of your new partnership should include a look at the following:

Audience: is your audience growing, i.e. are your followers/likes/subscribers increasing?
Engagement: is the audience engaged and interactive on your channels?
Tone: is the vibe upbeat, casual, fun, supportive?
Content: is the content a good mix for your audience, being both informative and entertaining?
Responses: are responses generally positive, neutral, or are you getting negative feedback?
Tracking: where are people finding you and what traffic is showing on your website? Is it from your social media channels or somewhere else?
Reports: does the vendor provide detailed reports and insights into the progress of the campaign?

As echoed by those over at Mashable, social media success (or failure) becomes easier to understand when thought of in the context of real world conversations; you want to know that they’re talking about you to begin with, then you want to know what they’re saying and how often they’re saying it.

Measuring success is really not black or white. You may be successful in one aspect of the campaign, but struggle in another, but is this due to the work or more towards the actions of your demographic? The key is to pick and choose which metrics are most important to the strategy put forth to execute your goals. There may come a time when your business decides they have gotten all they can out of the vendor, and it is time to transition back into taking full control of the social media marketing efforts internally. Or, it could be that your business is pleased with the results of the partnership, and decide to keep things as they are.

Bottom line: partnering with a vendor should simultaneously make your life and work easier, but also deliver the results you aim for. If the partnership isn’t firing on all cylinders, for whatever reason, it is okay to continue the search for that perfect fit. Your soulmate is out there, don’t settle.

Once again, if you have questions about the social media services we provide, please check our social channels or visit our website. Photo Credit: Your Secret Admiral

Choosing a Social Media Partner: Part Two

Mar
2012

In our previous post in this series, we discussed what the small business owner should be on the lookout for when seeking outside help with their social media goals. Now that you have gotten over the initial cold feet and are ready to dive full on into a serious and committed relationship with a social media vendor, you may be wondering “Now what? Where do we go from here?” It may be tempting to do the awkward 8th grade side-step dance, hoping that the two of you fall into some sort of groove. Nah, it’s better to do a little research, establish what goals you want to achieve in bringing a social media vendor into your operations, and shop around until you find “the one.”

Define your goals

Before sending that first email or making that first call to a potential vendor, get some of your own goals and desires written down first. You may focus on the idea of supplementing your current marketing platform; not replacing what you have already established, but bolstering previous work to in order to establish an even broader reach and tighter results. In refining or even setting up your channels, you should strive to become that company that makes customers stop and think, “Wow, they’ve really thought of everything, they’re everywhere!” Customers want you to seem accessible and connected, so this should also be a goal. They also want to believe that whoever they do business with “has it together”and is very interested in them; another goal needs to be the level and frequency of contact you wish to establish. But besides connecting you better with your customers, your channels also have the ability to drive a much higher volume of traffic to your websites, which could then have the ability of improving sales and revenue, accomplishing yearly financial goals at a faster rate.

Who will you dance with?

So, now comes the fun part: Choosing the right partner. You will have a bunch of questions to ask, but what is a primary consideration is the “feel” of your vendor. Does it feel like discussions leave you slightly flustered and uncomfortable, or do they seem like they “get you” and are on the same page? We say this because really, it should fit nicely and your vendor should set your mind at ease; after all, they will be someone you’ll be working with for at least a few months, maybe even be representing your brand on your channels through the messaging they provide.

What ultimately makes for a good partner is a vendor that brings:

A sound sense of expectations: they don’t promise the moon and make unrealistic predictions about your success in use of social media
Variety of packages: they offer not just one, but several kinds of packages to suit most budgets
Reporting: they can provide reports and updates to you that show the progress of your social media efforts, before and after you began with them
Reasonable direction: they give you guidance that approaches social media with attainable goals and expectations for messaging and audience interaction
Clear expertise: they are knowledgeable and are able to take the “tech language” and put it into terms you can understand
Proof of success: they have recent case studies available which showcase past success
Diversity in channels: they have an active presence on a multitude of channels, not just the “big two” (Facebook & Twitter)
Branding and design skills: they know the importance of branding your channels appropriately and have the staff to help do this for you
Ad caution: they talk with you about ad use, but don’t make that the major focal point in generating an interested and engaged followership
Clear strategy: you know ahead of time what your vendor will provide for you on a weekly basis and they give you ways to get the most from the services they provide you
Training options: they can train you and your staff on use and management of your spaces
Message and content management: they offer the option of handling your messaging seamlessly for you

Together, you and your chosen vendor should work to define the best possible spots to place your business and your messaging, and also should work hand in hand in order to ensure that the branding across various channels is 100% consistent. Your vendor may also want to implement an editorial calendar, something that we put to use for our own clients, in order to keep all messaging on track and to hold your staff accountable. Each of these elements, none more important than the next, will eventually lead to gaining and building an authentic, engaged and interactive audience. After all, merely gaining a synthetic, manufactured number of followers does nothing to actually impact the growth of your business, now does it? Be very careful of vendors or even applications that promise scores of followers, as this kind of false “growth” can often do more harm than good, losing or even diluting your authentic follower base in the mix.

The ultimate goal of utilizing social media should be further develop the conversation and the relationship that your small business has with its audience and customers. Once the plan is set in place and you have now found your soul-mate of a vendor, settle in for the long haul; this is when things get good. If you have questions about the social media services we provide, please check our social channels or visit our website.

Photo Credit: jbhthescots

Choosing a Social Media Partner: Part One

Feb
2012

When is it Time to Choose a Partner?

Like most business owners, you’ve probably come to accept the reality that social media is here to stay. You’ve begun adding status updates to your enormous to-do list and promise that you’ll get better at putting out messaging and connecting with guests like you should. What you may not realize however, is that the social media platform you’ve learned and mastered today, won’t be the same platform a year from now, or even 6 months from now. It is constantly changing and progressing. Even worse, no sooner have you figured out one platform, another one emerges with all the promise and excited public use of the others. For the small business owner, this brings about a double-edged sword; it is vital to jump on board with the best ones for your brand, but just when you think you have found your sea legs, another ripple comes along and to throw you off balance. It may seem that while you certainly can’t survive without it, it’s also nearly impossible to live WITH social media.

The facts remain: Your customers are most likely there. Your competitors are probably there. You absolutely need to be there.

And therein lies the dilemma: When is it time to hand this kind of work off to someone who can stay on top of it and direct your company to the best places for your brand? Do you need to train your staff better to manage it in-house? To answer this, you probably need to be very honest: is learning all the ropes of social media part of the core of marketing your company or not?

Another fact: You have a business to run. While having someone internally seems the best route, we see a lot of failed social media experiments on the “company dime”; profiles set up incorrectly or incompletely; poor or missing branding; abysmal messaging practices; horrifying lack of customer engagement. Let’s face it: this is still a new area for many people, and “I do Facebook”, just doesn’t cut it. So do you know if you’re on track? You can safely answer “Yes” when you’re getting customers this way and now from which efforts they’re coming to you; you can also safely answer “No” if you don’t know, or can unequivocally say you’re not getting any new customers as a result.

So back to that time thing…

According to the folks over at Mashable, “social media takes time, education, and constant platform management.” So when is it time to start thinking about a social media partner? If you find social media use compelling, ut not unsure of how it can help you garner new or returning business, the time might be now. If you find your staff isn’t grasping it or is unable to demonstrate its impact on your business, it might be time. It might be time to seek help when you know social media is taking on a larger part of your day, possibly interfering with the obligations you have to running other parts of your business. At the very least, it might be worth having a review of your current practices so you don’t waste additional time or resources on this very important part of your “marketing pie”. Getting a handle on it sooner than later can help you realize the success that really is out there for you. Partnering with a capable outside vendor may save you time, money and a few headaches. Even if your business has had lackluster results in the past, remember: this is an emerging “science”, so new tools and methods evolve on the fly. For success, you need to have a combination of the right ones.

This is Part One in a series of three, where we’ll help you identify some key things to look for when seeking a trusted and knowledgeable social media partner. Stay tuned for Part Two, coming soon. Photo credit: LifeinMegaPixels

The Newest Facebook Facelift… What will it mean for your brand?

Feb
2012

Sample Fan Page with Timeline

For regular users of Facebook personal profile pages, the “Timeline” has become old news, even if you were reluctant to make the switch. The public’s reception to Timeline has been mixed; some rave about it, while others threaten to quit Facebook if their profile is switched over, and still others are unhappy about the switch and want to return to the old format. Ahh, the good ole days. Whatever your opinion, be ready for yet another change: Timeline for brand pages.

The newest installment in this transition towards the “future of Facebook,” is supposedly taking place February 29th. While it is not conclusive at this point how current brands will be affected by this change, it’s a good idea to prepare a bit ahead for some of the likely obvious changes, just so things don’t look too goofy once the implementation takes place. Most companies working in social media (ours included) agree that from a branding standpoint, the new timeline will be a good update that will help showcase businesses even more, and for some, a bit more easily, if you have some creative chops. Being such visual creatures, you can bet on one thing: emphasis will be placed on images used in the new layout, so now, more than ever, it’s important to use solid imagery to support your posts.

Prepare the basics before the switch

First and foremost, we highly recommend selecting a strong and effective image to place as the “cover photo”, or header image at the top of the brand page the moment the change occurs. Since this image will be the main focal point of the entire page, it is important to design one that speaks directly to your brand in a positive and effective manner. Facebook will “right size” pretty much anything you choose as this new profile picture, but consider a more rectangular choice to be safe.

Second, it will be extremely important to dedicate some time to sit down and really interact with the new Timeline page, to get a better understanding of what posts may be emphasized, how to highlight certain aspects of your brand page, change avatars, edit where information can be found, etc. Speaking as people who already made the switch on their personal pages, it takes some time to get familiar with the changes and a lay of the land, so to speak.

Those over at AllFacebook.com also suggest a few other pointers:

Plan which material in your archives you’ll want to feature on the timeline; it’s a chronological paradise now
Determine whether to add more administrators to the page, and whom, since the workload may increase, at least initially
Determine a new editorial process for timeline

While the new Facebook Timeline for brand pages is nothing to panic about, the changes may seem drastic at first; it’s quite a different look and feel from what most of us have gotten used to. However, the feeling of the “unknown” will be fleeting, especially if you take a few steps to prepare beforehand. In time it will become old hat, like all other Facebook updates before this, that is, until the next round of Facebook updates roll out

If you need any help, let us know, and we’ll step you through things, plus can help you get your page looking and performing like it should for your guests. Photo Credit: itinfoz.com

Pinterest… Fleeting Trend or Revolutionary Marketing Vehicle?

Feb
2012

Has anyone else been caught off guard by the speed in which Pinterest has caught fire and spread throughout our social media realm? The power to create your own virtual bulletin board has quite honestly taken the world by storm. Well, okay, maybe not the entire world… but most definitely the interwebs. The funny thing about the newcomer is that while many (and by many I mean 10.4 million users) of us have fallen completely in love with the concept, very few can even accurately describe the concept of the site to those stragglers who have yet to join in on all of the pinning fun. Typical responses when asked what the buzz is all about commonly sound something like, “It’s so cool, there’s a bunch of random pictures and quotes and stuff and you can “pin” them to various bulletin boards that you create, like DIY projects, cute and fuzzy animals, clothes I wish I owned and ideas for my wedding!” The fact that this particular visual curator is potentially as close to getting married as Facebook is to going under seems to be only a small detail. The fact of the matter is that people are intrigued. And more times than not, that intrigue turns to a self-proclaimed addiction after taking pinterest.com for only one quick test drive.

What will be the longevity of the visually appealing platform is yet to be seen, but the real question, and one that some have already started to attempt to answer, is how brands can leverage the momentum of Pinterest. According to those over at TechCrunch, Lowe’s has already taken full advantage of the popularity, creating various boards as a means of segmenting their followers in ways relevant to their business. Seems brilliant right? Pinterest has the ability to offer brands near constant advertising disguised as visually appealing images. The majority of society tends to “tune out” overly aggressive messaging, especially if it is some sort of dialogue that feels as if they are simply being talked AT, rather than TO. With Pinterest, brands have the ability to generate interest and buzz, all while letting the audience be the ones in the driver’s seat. For some reason, visuals seem to create more of an emotional connection; the messaging can be more powerful in an image rather than simply reading a statement or a statistic.

Somehow, Pinterest has figured out a way to motivate, engage, and most importantly inspire its users. Isn’t that the ultimate goal for most brands out there?

Ponder that one for a while the next time you wake up groggy and find yourself saying “I really should have stopped pinning last night at a reasonable hour. Tonight will be different.”

Ten bucks says you wake up the following morning needing yet another double espresso.

Yeah. It’s THAT addicting. Trust.

Oh, and a cautionary note: There have been some discussions concerning copyright infringement, as it relates to the pinning of photographs andes and other works of art. Read up a bit on this issue so you keep yourself (or your brand) out of hot water. Photo credit KentBrew.

SOPA, PIPA and Why They Matter

Jan
2012

Yes, we’re participating in this today. People may arrive here or on our website and wonder what was going on. Well, imagine that being the case every day, or worse, imagine a trusted site you’ve come to know and frequent being shut down forever, due to no fault of their own. Imagine if that site was yours.

SOPA and PIPA are two pieces of legislation are being considered. SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act of the House, and PIPA, or Protect IP Act, is its Senate companion bill. At first blush, and without review, these sound like, well, sound bills, but even though the intentions are noble, the overall impact amounts to censorship of the Internet, and more, closure of sites. The real intent (warning: very boiled down explanation) is to protect works of those that produce it and to punish those that benefit from those works without compensating the creator. That’s called “stealing”, “plagiarism” or “piracy” and it stinks. Now, if the bills were designed to catch and punish only those ne’er-do-wells, all would be great, and only thieves would be complaining. However, that’s not how these bills are written: instead, they are sweeping legislation that essentially allow the government’s dragnet to be cast far and wide to snare those committing these kinds of crimes, while at the same time, ensnaring innocent business owners in the melee. Oh, and all without due process. These are your neighbors, other business owners, maybe even YOU, caught in a net for no reason other than having your site on the Internet. Scary stuff.

Bye-bye website, bye-bye business, bye-bye world, because let’s face it, the Internet as we know it has opened up the entire world to us.

Please take a moment to read up on these bills and make your voice heard. Here is one list of sites going”dark” today in support of stopping these bills as they’re written. If you’d like a snippet of code that we used to help support this, you’ll find it here. The folks at Torbit did a great job developing it.

The Trouble With “I’ll Do It Later”

Jan
2012

We’re not here to admonish you for putting something off; it happens to the best of us and with crazy schedules, some “to-do” items get hustled to the side. However, how many times have you said, “I’ll do it later”, yet you never did? The next time you’re tempted to utter these words, pause just one moment and think if postponing that is just an excuse for not taking care of it now, while it’s top of mind. Think of one thing you should do for your business, but haven’t. Would it help if you put it in action today?

Your challenge: if it will help your business, commit to inking it and following through, both on your calendar and in your mind. The trouble with postponing beneficial things is they may never get done, and thus, your business never gets to enjoy the rewards. The other problem is when you really decide you MUST do it, there are usually a bunch of other things screaming for your attention at the same time. By putting it in writing that you are going to do it, you’re one big step from having completed it. You’ll be surprised how easy it will be to just finish it up, then get to that other thing you’ve been postponing. Running your business is really a series of little things, all put together to form the whole. With each piece taken care of, the entirety performs better.

Choosing Your Words for Success

Jan
2012

Success in business depends as much on your hard and smart work as it does on your choice of words in defining or talking about it. Negative words surrounding it make it become more of a chore and bad experience. We challenge you to think about what you’re saying about your work and change some of the words to define, (1)a more positive outlook, and (2)step towards a goal to improve things.

Examples:

“I’m always too busy to take care of that” can become “I’m fortunately very busy, but I definitely need to make more time for that. I can see Tuesday working to make this happen.”
“I never have time for a vacation” now becomes “A vacation from work will be a priority. I’m making Friday a short day so I can enjoy a long weekend.”
“This economy has taken a toll on our business” is now “This economy is helping us look more critically at things so we can operate more efficiently.”

Try to catch yourself before you choose negative words; positive ones will help you much more, plus brighten your own outlook on things. (Photo Credit: Daniel D. Slee)

Editorial Note: As the New Year rolls full steam ahead, one of a few things you’ll see changing here at Marketing Java is our blogging format. We’re big fans of getting things done and making the most of the time you have, so we’re moving to a mixed model of blog posts. In the future, you’ll see some of the same kinds of posts you’ve become accustomed to: short, medium and long. What we’re adding? Ones like this one: uber short challenges. We hope you enjoy them.

Small Business Simplicity: Your New Year’s Challenge

Dec
2011

The year is drawing to a close and there is no shortage of great advice floating about the Interwebs or newstands on how to be your very best in the New Year. Personally, it’s easy to get crushed under the overwhelm of all the things we *should* be doing. Sure, we nod in agreement and make vows (silently, outloud and even in writing) that we’ll do better this next year. We’re super-humans, right? Quite the contrary: we can only do so much and what’s more, we can only do so much *really well*, especially when we’re charged with numerous commitments, demands and expectations. In our “gotta be the best” society, is it any wonder the best of intentions are left to ferment sometime around the end of January?

So here’s what I’m proposing for your small business: take it easy and bite off what you can chew fully and nothing more, at least until you’re ready. Be simple in taking on your challenges in the New Year and choose those things that you feel adamant about, those things that will be impact decisions in your business. Have you postponed getting an accountant, thinking you have a handle on your books? Maybe this year is the time to turn your numbers over to people trained and dedicated to handling accounting. Is this the year you finally formalize your brand? Sit down and go over the aspects of this and put a plan to have it done and rolled out by a certain date. Or maybe this is the year you finally embark on the social media journey. Look thoughtfully at what that will take, as well as how you can commit to this kind of marketing for the whole year.

Whatever you choose, set yourself up for success in doing it. Think positively about it and embrace how it will be in the New Year. Visualization is a powerful thing and in business, you have to dream in order to picture how it will look in reality. Sure, you’ll still need to plan and go through some paces to make it happen, but by keeping things simple, you set the groundwork for success. Once you achieve one goal, you can move safely and confidently to another one, knowing you’re arriving there by careful planning, follow through and thoughtful intent.

Remember, the race is to the steady, not the speedy.

Social Media and the Unwilling Business Owner

Nov
2011

Many of our readers are already knee-deep in the use of technology and social media tools; they thirst for it, see it making their life and work easier and have a hard time understanding how they could do with it. Then, we have readers and even clients that are what we term “techno-phobic”; they know they need social media to keep up and remain relevant, but seem to be brought to it kicking and screaming. They have a love-hate relationship with it and often say, “It’s just not my thing, so I’m not going to use it.” This thinking reminds me of what it must have been like when computers first came on to the scene with small businesses.

It’s pretty natural to be a bit nervous when new things come our way. Many resist learning it, accepting and just coming to terms with it. Part of it is fear of the unknown, concern about the time it might take, and part of it is a desire to keep things in the past, where things seemed more simple. The fact is it wasn’t really wasn’t it more simple then, it just seemed so because it’s what you knew, it’s what you were taught and it served you just fine for quite awhile.

Fact: We are all novices at everything the first time we are learning it. Not only that, we’re also pretty inefficient when we’re learning something new. This is no difference with technology and certainly no difference when you begin using social media applications. Do things get confusing? Sure. Did things get confusing before technology? Of course. But that’s not the reason for this post. The reason for this post is simple: I’m challenging you. Instead of digging your heels in and resisting, why not explore a little bit? Take a look at your industry and see what others are doing and not doing. Notice if your competitors are starting to use social media on their websites, ads, and mailings. If they are, you really should be too. If they’re not, maybe you can get a jump on them. Either way, be sure of this: social media is here to stay. Oh, and we can help.

Small Business Saturday: Tools for Every Day Use

Nov
2011

Big props go out to an unlikely source: the Big Fellas at American Express. While we look at them as a deep-pocketed corporation, we prefer to give credit where credit is due: their push for Small Business Saturday is pretty cool and extremely well-organized and thought out. This year, it seems better than ever; take for example the Small Business Saturday Checklist. Don’t you think this thing can be used for marketing efforts all year long? We sure do.

Visit their dedicated website and Facebook Fan Page. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at all the tips and ideas they’ve assembled for small business owners. Oh and make sure to “Like” the idea by pledging to shop locally.

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