Why Auto Follow Apps Suck (Really Though)

Archive for the ‘Business 101’ Category

Why Auto Follow Apps Suck (Really Though)

Sep
2011

Recently we talked about why you should rethink automating your content on your Facebook fan page; the main reason being because it dramatically lowers fan engagement. Now we’re here to tell you about another icky trend we have noticed that hurts more than it helps: automated following. Auto follow apps have become increasingly popular on Twitter. For those of you who are lucky enough to never have run into this, here’s the break down: Auto follow apps are applications that follow every user on a specified list automatically, the users follow you back automatically, and viola! You have thousands of followers to call your own.

So what’s so bad about that? Everybody wants to have a large amount of followers, right? After all, isn’t that often times the first thing you look at when visiting new a Twitter page? It can be very discouraging when you’re working hard to tweet lots of great content and feel like no one is out there to read it. You might even feel embarrassed that your numbers aren’t quite what you were hoping for. We’re here to tell you that despite what you may have heard, automated apps like these are not the solution. Here are 4 reasons that auto follow apps suck (yes, we said it… they SUCK!):

1. Quantity over quality. Sure it would look awesome for your company to have thousands of followers, but what value do these followers really provide? When you use auto follow apps, most– if not all– have you follow what are nothing more than spam bots. These account basically do nothing but sit there and follow people back. So what you’re really going to have is 10,000 followers that aren’t actually interested in your brand. Don’t let yourself get caught up in a popularity contest. Wouldn’t you rather have a dedicated following of fans that actually want to engage with your company? Which brings us to our next point…

2. Engagement, engagement, engagement (or lack thereof). Remember that social media is supposed to be about talking with your customers and building a community around your brand. This is a two-way street and in order for it to work, you need followers who actually want something to do with your company. When your primary method of following is through auto follow apps, you’re quickly going to find that most of your many followers care very little about conversing or interacting. Your words will be falling on deaf ears, so to speak.

3. It’s fake. When you use auto follow apps, you start building a fake community (if you can call it that) around your brand. The numbers are fake and the interaction is fake, and most social media users will be able to spot this from a mile away. What’s worse is it might actually discourage people who are genuinely interested in your company from following you for fear that you might be a spammer. The account takes on the appearance of a hoarder, rather than someone who wants to involve or be engaged with their followers. Believe us when we say no one wants to follow a Twitter account that has a huge number of followers after only being active for a week. It seems unnatural. Your social media accounts are an extension of your brand– don’t let your image be cheapened for the sake of efficiency.

4. You become irrelevant. Think about it, if you’re a small business that’s primary customer base is local, what good does it do you to have followers across the country that aren’t even accessible to you? Your Twitter feed is also going to be cluttered with irrelevant tweets that will probably end up frustrating you. That’s not to say that having followers from other geographic areas is a bad thing; genuine followers from all over can be a great way to spread your name and make connections. Just remember you want to be relevant, which is hard to do when most your followers/users you are following are located elsewhere.

No matter how tempting it is, we urge you not to take the easy way out. We think that you will find that following Tweet peeps “the old fashioned way” has much greater results than auto follow apps. Don’t become discouraged if your numbers aren’t quite where you want them; building a community of interested followers takes time, patience and a some work. Numbers don’t matter, conversation, interaction and value do. If you’re unsure of the best strategy to gain followers, we’ll help you get their authentically, just contact us. Photo credit: thebarrowboy

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4 Business Coaching Conspiracy Theories That Might Actually be True

Sep
2011

When you think of business coaching, what comes to mind first? Rah-rah sessions? Feel-good moments where you get a pat on the back and validation for all of your ideas and decisions? If you believe this is what business coaching is, we have some news for you: it’s not. We’re here to dispel some notions you’ve come to know and set the record straight. If there was ever a doubt, be clear that your business coach is conspiring…

We will tear apart your ideas. The truth is good coaches will tell you when you’re wrong and will help you avoid pitfalls in every way possible. Sure, we’ll let you keep and refine the good ones, but the bad ones, the unprofitable or ill-conceived ones will get promptly kicked to the curb.
You won’t be able to hide behind excuses. Sorry, but you’ll need to share your excuses with someone who wants to hear them, it’s just not us. Reasoning, yes, excuses, no. We want the truth why something wasn’t done like it should have been. We want your accountability to be first. Excuses fix nothing. Excuses are the anti-fixer.
We will prove that you don’t always know best. You hired us to be an adviser to you, to help you. Fighting sound ideas we develop for you, or not implementing them is not helping your business. Let us do our job. We want you to succeed.
We will make you uncomfortable. It’s really part of the job description to make clients squirm a bit. The reasoning is simple: when things are too much the same, complacency cannot be far behind.

So yes, what you’ve heard really is true: Business coaches are conspiring. They conspire to make you better by relieving you of outdated concepts, ideas that will be too shaky or costly to implement, and excuses that deflate the profitability of your business. We’re your advocate and when bringing one of us in, you need to be open to being coachable. If you’re not ready, don’t hire a coach. You really do need to be ready for help and the changes that come with it. Oh, and if we haven’t scared you off yet, then perhaps it’s time you drop us a line and get the ball rolling.
Photo credit: Peter Lee

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Say No to Mr. Roboto: Why You Should Rethink Automated Social Media Posts

Sep
2011

We know all too well that small business owners usually have a million things on their plate. You’re likely playing the role of manager, accountant, customer service rep, among other things– and now to top it off you have to add social media to that list. Depending on your company and what social platforms you’re using, you may or may not have quite a bit of content to generate and post everyday. Guess what? There is an easier way to do it that will save you a lot of time in your daily routine. What is the miraculous thing? Automation. But like with anything else, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

There are two types of automated content that we generally see being posted on Facebook. Both can save you time, but both can also work against it when it comes to building a community around your brand.

1. Twitter feed imports. This is easily one of the biggest mistakes most small businesses make when finding their way into social media. They link their Fan Page and Twitter profiles so that one update goes to both places automatically. Sounds nifty, right? Wrong. This is very quickly going to annoy any customers that follow you on both sites who will be bombarded with the same messages from your company over and over. Additionally, Twitter only has an 140 character limit while Facebook’s is much bigger. What this means is people reading your Facebook updates on Twitter are usually going to be missing part of your message, and to get it, they might have to log into Facebook. Be aware that some companies don’t even allow these employees to log on to Facebook, much less spend their time chasing down the rest of your message. Solution: Be mindful that Facebook and Twitter each have unique audiences that behave and use these channels differently. It is important to customize your content for each platform.

2. Third party apps. Customers can spot these types of posts from a mile away. When you post to Facebook using a third party app, it shows up under the post. When you post multiple times from a third party app, all the posts get grouped together and it becomes much harder for customers to see your content, let alone put a voice to it. More so than anything, it comes across as very insincere. Regardless of what your content is, if your customers see 10 posts from Hootsuite or Tweetdeck in a day, and no engagement with your audience and no “now” RT’s (retweets), they’re probably going to begin feeling like yours is just a stream of blathering spam. Solution: Use your third party apps with care. Everyone understands a few messages being automatically queued, but if that’s all there is, rethink your strategy and infuse it with a little more “real time” content.

It really comes down to one thing and one thing only: You’re going to have less authentic engagement if you choose to use automation as your primary means of posting. Recently a study found that using 3rd party apps to post can reduce fan engagement by 88%. The purpose of social media is to humanize your company in an age of technology. While pushing out content like a well-oiled machine may save you time, you’re losing all the value that genuine social media provides. When it comes to social media, it’s usually best to avoid translucent shortcuts. Only with time and dedication will you begin to see the great things it can do. If you’re wondering what a real strategy looks and feels like, get in touch with us.
Photocredit: Salty Soul

3 Dangerous Trends That Can Destroy You and Your Small Business

Sep
2011

Does your business own you or is it the other way around? Some business owners we know are working harder than ever, logging more hours, but seemingly never catching up. Others are trying hard to control their businesses, but instead are being controlled by it. Still others seem scattered, frantically running from fire to fire. What’s the problem? Business ownership should be fun and it should be profitable. We see some dangerous trends with businesses and while many will point to the economic climate or other issues, the truth is, this hasn’t just cropped up. It’s time to stop and make a couple adjustments to some deadly business trends.

Trend One: Running on Empty. “Getting up and working earlier all the time means I’ll get all my work done and I’ll get all caught up.” This is pure folly. Our bodies and brains need rest and need to have time away from work, so constantly starting at the crack of dawn and working past dusk does not cut it. Statistically, people will perform poorest when they don’t get adequate rest, plus solutions for nagging problems can’t surface if the brain is exhausted. It’s hard to be on your game when you’re sleep-deprived and stressed to the gills. Here is a great article on ways to help your brain. Bottomline: Get away and get some sleep! Make a commitment to keep yourself refreshed so you bring your very best to your business.
Trend Two: Fear of Delegation. If you are a “gotta do it myself all the time” kind of person, take a step back and be honest with yourself: Are there some minor admin chores of your day eroding billable time that you could be devoting to bringing in business? An easy way to move past this roadblock: delegate small tasks and be very clear on the expectations you have. If you’re a small shop, hire someone for only a few hours at a time and let them prove themselves. Over time, their worth will be shown by allowing you to work more efficiently, making your hire an asset, rather than a liability. Rule of thumb: get rid of whatever you can do, but really shouldn’t be wasting your time on.
Trend Three: No Plan for Marketing. When’s the best time to be marketing? All the time. When a business is busy and flush with customers, it’s easy to think things are okay. This short-sighted comfort can kill your business. Why? Because you need to keep the pipeline filled at all times, let the business begins to dry up. Customers can come and go, so if you’re marketing consistently, you won’t really experience the downturn some businesses face when there their marketing goes flat. A solution: make a concerted, written-down plan for marketing for just the next quarter. Commit to it and let nothing stand in the way of doing it. By taking it in quarterly chunks, you can make adjustments when some marketing isn’t getting the results you need.

Are you seeing other trends impacting small business or are the ones above hitting close to home? Share your comments below.

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Hit Your Mark: Why Your Facebook Landing Page Matters

Sep
2011

[Editor's Note: 3/15/12: Facebook recently changed the layout of Pages to Timeline (effectively to take place across all Fan Pages 3/30/12), and while Landing Pages can still help a brand by providing additional information within the tabs of a Page, guests will now subsequently be directed to the wall. Read more here. ]

When it comes to your company’s Facebook Fan Page, you have probably thought about your fan count, what to post, how much to post, and everything in between. But have you really thought about what your Facebook looks like? Sure, your page features your company’s logo and colors… but after that, what are you left with? Basically what everyone else has, and that’s where a landing pages come in.

What Is a Landing Page?

A landing page is a neat little feature on Facebook that many small business owners don’t even know about. They serve as a welcome mat to your main “wall”. What’s a “wall”? Normally when you go to a Facebook page, it’s the place you will see status updates posts. This is all fine-and-dandy for people who are already familiar with your company and the services you offer, but customers new to your brand might feel a little lost or like they just stepped into the middle of an on-going conversation. By having a landing page, it can be the first thing new visitors will see. Think of it as a roadmap for your new guests; it allows you to direct your customers in the way you’d like them to go.

Why You Should Use a Landing Page

Landing pages have a lot more value than you would think; when customized, a landing page allows you to differentiate yourself from the thousands of other companies also on Facebook. This is usually the first impression potential customers will have of your company, so why not use it to your advantage? It’s the perfect place to get visitors interested and let them know why they might “like” you. Your company has its own target audience it wants to engage, and most of the time a generic Facebook page just won’t cut it.

How You Can Use a Landing Page

The great thing about a landing page is that it can be tailored to fit your company’s needs. Your page can be changed instantly, unlike print media or directory ads you might be paying for. Remember, you’re using this to help differentiate yourself from the pack — so don’t worry if your landing page has a different purpose than another company’s. Some of the most common (and easy!) ways to use a landing page include:

Giving incentives for liking your page. Sometimes the easiest way to gain fans is by offering a little reward. With a landing page you can have users like your page which will in turn reveal whatever the incentive is (a 20% off coupon, a free consultation, etc.). It’s one of the quickest ways to grow your fan count and customers love it, provided you make it fun.
Telling your visitors who you are and what you do. A lot of people who will be visiting your Facebook are going to be unfamiliar with what your business is. This is a perfect opportunity for you to give them your spiel in a cool way. As we mentioned before, your landing page is the first impression that you’re making on a potential customer, so keep that in mind when deciding what information you want to share. Typically in social media only pushing your own brand is a big no-no, but if there is an appropriate way to do it, this is it!
Showcasing your important content. Landing pages are ideal for telling customers about special sales, events, or promotions you may be having. You can have as many as 5 landing pages, much like a mini-website, and many company’s choose to switch them up to keep customers engaged.
Providing seasonal information and offers. One of the often overlooked aspects of Fan Pages is the seasonal aspect. With Autumn quickly approaching, restaurants can spotlight new comfort food items and clothing stores can highlight cozy clothes to fight off the chill of fall evenings. What if you run a dude ranch that offers hay rides or dog-sledding in one part of the year and fly-fishing in another? The sky’s the limit for customizing your landing page.

So now you’ve decided to jump in and create your own customized landing page: Keep in mind it’s handy to have some working knowledge of HTML and iFrames, and a little PHP can’t hurt. If this sounds daunting, there are free and paid generators for landing pages (just Google that) which can be great if you’re just starting out. Tread carefully though, as these can end up looking very canned or a bit “template-y”. If you’re looking for something a little less “them” and a lot more “you”, drop us a line and we’ll help design the custom look you need.

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No Two Pages Are Created Equally – Personal Profiles vs Fan Pages

Aug
2011

Sometimes we run into cases where we see personal pages being used to represent a business, and we’ve covered this in a previous post, but wanted to elaborate today. This seems to be a very common issue: Either the owner of a small business is using a profile under their own name or a business has created a personal profile. If either of these things sound like you, listen up! By using a personal page you are only hurting yourself.

Facebook has designed Fan Pages to be loaded with tools and analytics. These allow you to see how popular your page is, how much feedback you’re receiving, and so much more. Like with anything else in business, social media has measurable aspects that help you determine if your efforts are paying off. When you use a personal page you may deprive yourself of some pretty useful information, including customization.

But, if that alone is not enough to convince you to switch over, we have 5 more things that you should consider:

1. It is 100% against Facebook Terms & Conditions. When you use a personal profile as a business page, you are actually violating Facebook rules. This means that if they catch you, they can suspend your account, which we know you don’t want! You have the potential to lose lots of hard work put towards building a fan base.

2. People may be hesitant to “Like” your business. Well, technically if you are running a personal profile no one can “Like” your business anyway. But the point is, by asking people to “friend” your business on Facebook, you are also asking them to expose a lot of personal information to your company, which a lot of people aren’t willing to do. When a customer “Likes” a fan page, none of their information will be accessible.

3. You can customize Fan Pages. By creating new tabs you have endless opportunities to direct people to sign up for your newsletter, run competitions, or provide coupons as a reward for liking your page, plus create great landing pages. People like pages that are fun and interactive, and it’s nearly impossible to achieve this with a personal profile page.

4. Advertising. Facebook Fan Pages allow you to create ads to reach your target customers. It’s a great way to gain some exposure. Plus, you’re allowed to set limits on how much you want to spend on advertising each day, so you can advertise as little or as much as you need to.

5. No one will find you. This one is pretty simple. Fan pages can be optimized to appear in search engines, where personal pages cannot

Given these things, make your next objective one that gets your business the kind of Facebook presence it deserves by setting up a proper Fan Page. If you need help, get in touch with us, as it’s one of several things we do to help small businesses.

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Thinking Social Media? It’s Okay to Be Super Choosy

Aug
2011

As a small business owner, the question you should be asking yourself isn’t if you should be using social media, but rather how you should be using social media. Admittedly, if you’re trying to keep a handle on things, it’s better to set up what you can logistically maintain. There are a lot of options out there– Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and more. Each channel has its own unique advantages and disadvantages as well as devoted audiences that use them. When we first take a look at our client’s channels, one of two things appear: Either a company is completely under utilizing channels or over-advertising and missing out on valuable connections with customers, OR in a good-hearted attempt to use social media have decided that any and all channels will work — and they don’t maintain any of them properly, if at all. Below we will differentiate between five of the most popular social platforms to help you decide which channels are right for your company.

Facebook is the big kahuna of social networks. With more than 640 million users, it is considered a staple in most social media campaigns. It is a friend-based network where users mutually add each other. Businesses should use Facebook Pages to interact with customers. It is especially useful for B2c companies who want to share product images and videos, hold contests and sweepstakes, or host events. The type of content posted on Facebook is typically fun and interactive, but you don’t want to go overboard posting otherwise people may hide your posts. It is a simple and effective way to build your brand. Warning: Using a Personal Profile for business purposes can get you into hot water, plus doesn’t allow you to take advantage of the great analytic reports that are natively built into Business Pages.

Twitter is a micro-blogging network that focuses on what is happening in the moment. It is very fast paced and each Tweet has a life of about 1 hour. So, unlike Facebook, you would want to send out a stream of fresh and interesting content throughout the day. As long as it’s interesting, content can be serious or funny in nature. Twitter is home to more than 175 million users that are ready and willing to engage with your company online. Whether you’re willing to put the time and effort into conversing with your customers is up to you!

FourSquare is a geolocation based network that is primarily used on mobile devices such as cell phones. Though it can’t rival Facebook or Twitter numbers, it still has 8 million users checking in across the nation. Each time a user checks in to your business it will be displayed to their friends, helping your business gain exposure. It is a great B2C network that allows companies to not only draw in new customers, but reward loyal customers as well. If you’re interested getting your company started on Foursquare, be sure to check out our blog post, Geolocation Deals: Has Your Business Checked In?

YouTube is a video-sharing based social network which also happens to be the 2nd biggest search engine in the world (just behind Google!) It has a whopping 500 million users. Both individual users and companies can upload material to YouTube. This is ideal for companies that might offer a product or service that can be shown or has commercial advertisements to share. (We love the Cravendale ads!) It’s also useful as these videos can then be posted to Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and more (which is also good for SEO, hint hint)! Just like with any social network, the content you’re posting should be of quality. So please, no 10-second fuzzy clip shot on your cellphone.

Remember, in order to select the right channel for your business you need to understand the differences between each platform and the audiences that use them. Evaluate your target audience and look at which network might fit with that group. If you still need help figuring out which channels might be right for you, please contact us, as we can help you eliminate the guesswork. It’s okay to be choosy and in fact, it will really help you be more effective in social media.

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How to Start Your Own Blog

Aug
2011

A blog can be a great way to delve into social media or it can be a the centerpiece to an established social media campaign. It is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with customers, showcase your expertise, increase visits to your site, and create a friendly persona for your company. You can add photos, how-to videos, whatever! The opportunities are endless. Plus blogs are easy to update, as it’s not abnormal for blogs to have multiple contributors posting throughout the week. More so than anything, blogs are interactive, allowing you to solicit feedback from customers and engage them in conversation. Great, right?! But now you’re probably wondering where to start.

First thing’s first. You need to select hosting, a domain name, and a blogging software platform. Our platform of choice is WordPress, but there are many options out there that might suit your needs. What you use to create your blog isn’t necessarily the important part. Rather, you should make always make sure you self-host your blog. What does this mean? It means paying an annual fee to a service for hosting your blog. By doing this, you control your domain and the content, plus get the benefit of the traffic to your site.

So now you have your blog hosted on your website and you’re ready to roll:

1. Decide what your purpose is and set some goals: Is it going to serve as the company’s main website? Are you looking to interact with customers? It is vital to decide what the end goal is, otherwise your blog will come across as disorganized. What topics should it contain? Will you share common customer issues and give ideas for resolving them? Let whatever your goal is influence your content and voice. If you will have multiple authors, make sure you each discuss what needs to be similar across the posts (such as 1st or 3rd person voice, humor or not).

2. Make it look good: No one really wants to look at a blog that is a) ugly, or b) looks like everyone else’s. Your blog should be customized so that it is inline with your brand.

3. Create a plan: How often are you going to update your blog? Remember, you’re not really engaging customers if you’re only going to post once a month. If you want a devoted readership, you’re going to have to work for it a little bit by frequently contributing posts to keep them interested. What categories are you going to be posting? (For example, social media, marketing, coaching, etc.) This should be aligned with your purpose and goals.

4. Start posting!: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Everyone has to start somewhere and like everything else, practice makes perfect. Try different things out when posting content. See what works and what doesn’t. Just remember to keep it relevant and personal. You should be talking to your readers!

Still a little bit unsure of how to get started? Contact us and we’ll get you blogging away in no time!

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Advertising Your Online Presence in the Offline World

Aug
2011

Would you provide just a street name if you were advertising your business? Probably not. You want people to be able to easily find your place of business, so you would most likely provide an address that would tell them exactly where you’re located. Well, believe it or not, the same thing applies when you’re trying to get customers to become a fan/followers on Facebook and Twitter and any other social spaces you’re on. When advertising on the internet you have the luxury of linked icons that customers can click to go to your page. Unfortunately, this doesn’t translate over into other types of media, such as print advertising. Telling someone to simply find you on Facebook without providing a URL or handle is like suggesting a customer find you on Main St. It doesn’t actually tell them where they can find you, plus leaves it to chance — quite possibly they might find your competitor first!

There is a very easy solution to guarantee that customers don’t get lost. Display your URL(s) prominently— problem solved! Wear your Facebook and Twitter URL loud and proud, as they are as much a part of your company’s brand as anything else. If the Facebook.com/MarketingJava URL is too long for you to fit in your advertisement, FB.com/MarketingJava is also an option. Similarly, if you Twitter.Com/MarketingJava is taking up too much space, a simple @MarketingJava should be enough to let your customers find you. (Bear in mind you need to actually “claim” these names to use them!)

If you truly want to engage with your customers online, you should advertise your different social media channels in as many places as you can. Again, just make sure you are putting detail into your online whereabouts. Of course there are the standard forms of media such as television or radio where you can promote your company’s online self, but the key with social media (and advertising it) is to get creative! Hopefully you already have easy-to-find links to your pages on your website and blog. If you don’t, stop reading this and make it happen right away. If you do, proceed to read about some more ideas of how to advertise your online presence:

• Your brick-and-mortar store. Get some banners, signs, etc. printed informing customers to about your pages. Offer some incentives such as, “Like our page and get 10% off your next purchase”.

• Paper products. Your company letterhead, stickers, business cards, receipts, whatever! You want to encourage your customers to interact with your business online. Place it where you might also have a phone number or email address, to show customers they have another means to contact your company.

• Put in on your company car, scooter, truck, or van. If you’re driving a vehicle that already has your logo plastered to the side of it then you already have the perfect opportunity to show off your online presence as you drive around town.

From our experience, one of the biggest issues small businesses have with social media is that they fail to fully embrace it. Do you have to paint an entire wall dedicated to it? Not even. But make sure handles are accessible and your URLS are not in “squinty vision” — an impossible to read 10pt font or cluttered by other text. Need more pointers? Get in touch. Our handles are linked at the right hand side

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Geolocation Deals: Has Your Business Checked In?

Jul
2011

Okay, we all know it; geolocation is now just making its way to the market like Twitter was a few years back. We also know, just like with Twitter, that businesses that choose to become early adopters will be at a major advantage when the masses decide to join in. If you’re just starting out and don’t know anything about geolocation services, then there is one primary thing you need to understand: They are applications that run on smartphones that mesh your city, your social life, and deals!

Foursquare, one of the household names is geosocial applications, allows businesses to give discounts/free items based on a user’s activity within its application. For example, the person who checks in the most at a location is dubbed “the Mayor” of that spot. This person might be rewarded with a coupon for a free side or drink, which they can redeem at the store (thus encouraging repeat visits).

The social media manager of a small, three-location chain of seafood restaurants in the Bay Area quickly realized Foursquare’s potential to attract customers. The business was already implementing social media tools like Facebook and Twitter but felt more could be done to connect with their customers. The restaurant decided to try out Foursquare. After all, what was there to lose? When Foursquare users opened the application within a few blocks of the restaurant, a special offer would be displayed on their phones: check-in five times and earn a free shrimp ceviche or a Hawaiian poke. Any customer that checked into the restaurant using Foursquare was rewarded with a free side of sweet potato fries. And now? More than 1,400 people have checked in at the restaurant’s locations more than 2,800 times. The social media manger of the business put it simply, “It keeps people coming back.” Bear in mind while the initial deal can be the lure, the upsell potential is what makes the deal even sweeter for the business.

Recently Foursquare announced that they would be entering the realm of daily deal services. Now, if users find a discounted item they want to buy, they’ll be able to do so from within the Foursquare app on their phone (through 3rd parties like LivingSocial and Gilt City). The deals offered to a Foursquare user depends on where that user checks in and what friends on the service are doing as well. But it’s not only Foursquare that businesses can utilize to bring in customers and encourage repeat spending. Both Yelp and Google have decided to also throw their hats into the daily deal arena. Yelp, the kingpin of online business reviews, has began offering Yelp Deals. Yelp’s popular mobile mobile apps, which already include check in specials, will now also feature a deals icon. When it is clicked on, you can see a list of nearby Yelp Deals for discounts at surrounding businesses of all types. As for Google? They’re currently testing out a beta of Google Offers in limited areas, which more or less takes aim at Groupon’s daily-deal model. Many have even speculated that it could be a “Groupon killer”. So what does this really tell us? Well, three of the Internet’s biggest game changers have started offering geolocation/daily deal services. It’s probably a good indicator that your business should start exploring some of these options as well!

Still not convinced that that this new wave in social media is right for your small business? Here are some things to consider:

• It costs business owners nothing to claim a listing so you’re really not at any kind of disadvantage by at least claiming your business’s page. When many company’s go to claim their page, they realize people have already been checking in and that they have been missing out on opportunities to reach customers and even respond to rants or raves.

• You can EASILY offer specials to both regular customers and prospective customers. Change the specials as much as you want. Set how often you want to allow users to receive rewards (every 5 check-ins). Also, you can save yourself some time and money by throwing away those old fashion punch cards.

• You get reports of who has checked-in at your location so you can see when your business is getting the most foot traffic, who is checking is frequently, and get a breakdown of who your customers are. Are you spotting loyalists? Reward them handsomely, and you create a brand advocate.

• It allows you to test out offers to customers. Most geosocial services, such as Foursquare, have reports where you can see which deals and terms customers are enjoying and using; pitch the ones that aren’t working and keep the ones that are.

• Daily deal services allow you to reach new customers you probably wouldn’t have been able to reach and gets them through your business’ front door. It also makes loyal customers happy because, hey, who doesn’t want a good deal? Is there a guarantee customers will come back? Not necessarily. But it gives you an opportunity to provide them with an enjoyable experience which will hopefully keep them coming back for more (perhaps with a few check in incentives to help out…) The good service is up to you, as is the “staying in touch” factor.

Remember, when you cut away the technology of geolocation services, daily deals, and smart phones, what you are really left with is a social network — a way for people to connect and share. These services are not limited to one role. They act as city guidebooks and rewards programs; business directories and customer-relationship tools. They help businesses like yours by rewarding loyal customers, offering coupons, and gathering useful data about consumers.

Ready to dive in? Here are four tips to growing your business with FourSquare (or any geosocial service)! Or you can get in touch with us and we’ll step you through.

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GOOG 101: Google+ for Beginners

Jul
2011

Just when you thought you were getting the hang of Facebook and Twitter, Google+ has to come along and shake everything up. Now in addition to Tweets and Likes, the internet has been flooded with +1s. If you’re wondering what a +1 is, you’ve come to the right place. If you’ve already gone through and given a +1 to every cute picture of a baby animal that you’ve stumbled upon then congratulations! You’re ahead of the curve.

Though Google+ is in its invite-only stage, in the next couple weeks it should be open to the public. Google’s jump into the social media arena is already turning the heads of avid Facebook and Twitter users, so what does this mean for businesses? Google has promised business pages are coming soon, so until that happens, Google asks that companies wait until business profiles are released. Luckily this gives you plenty of time to learn the ropes so that you’ll be ready to hit the ground running when the time comes for your company to reach out to customers on Google+. To help you get started, we’ve compiled the best bits of information you need to make things easy.

So you’ve gotten your invite… now what?

The Basics:

• Circles: Think of this as your Facebook friends. Except now you don’t have to worry about your mom seeing pictures from your weekend out at the bars. Circles are customizable groups/lists of friends with different permissions. Your circle names are completely private, which means you can put that annoying guy from work in a “Don’t Read” circle where you’ll never have to see his updates about the type of toothpaste he uses. You will get updates from contacts that you have added in your circles– just like Twitter! Hint: Worried about who is seeing what on your profile? Go to your Account Settings and select Profile and Privacy. Look for “See how your profile looks to other users.” Type in a username and click “preview” to see what your profile looks like from their point of view.

• Sparks: Sparks is a search component of Google+ that allows you to find and identify topics you might be interested in sharing with others. Search for whatever interests you and click “Add Interest”. Now you can easily click on your Sparks on the left hand side to get your daily dose of… Anything!

• Posts and Stream: The equivalent of your Facebook/Twitter newsfeed. Stream all your circles at once, or pick which circle you want to view updates from.

• Hangout: Google+’s hangout can be used to connect up to 10 people via video group chat. Pretty self explanatory. Also pretty fun.

• +1: Similar to Facebook’s infamous “Like” button. Not too much to explain… +1 everything you like, find interesting, etc. (For example, this blog…hint, hint. )

Tips and Tricks:

• Drag and Drop from your Desktop: On Google+ there are several ways to add media. You can do it the old fashion way of searching through your desktop folders and uploading to G+; upload from your phone or tablet; OR, you can simply drag and drop the picture, video or link from your desktop directly into the share box.

• Mute Posts: How annoying is it when you like a friend’s post on Facebook and are bombarded with notifications from everyone who proceeds to comment on that post? Thankfully you’ll never have to worry about this on G+, as Google has included a “Mute” function. If you want to stop stop receiving updates from a post/remove it from your stream, click the arrow at the top of the post, and select “Mute this post”. To unmute it, do the same thing and select “Undo mute.”

• Tag Someone in a Post: Facebook and Twitter use the “@” symbol followed by someone’s name/username to reference a person in a update. If you want to tag a person on G+, type the “+” symbol, followed by their name. Let’s be honest, though. By now everyone is used to the “@” symbol… so G+ allows for that as well.

• Move2Picasa: A 3rd party application that allows you to download all your Facebook photos into a zip file and then upload to G+. Unfortunately you lose all your captions, comments, likes, etc.

Now that you know the basics it is time to invite some friends, build up your circles, and start socializing!

You can find more tips, including FAQ and browser extensions and a demo for Google+ visit here.

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Seeing the Good (business) in the Bad

Jul
2011

“A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind”-Lewis Mumford

In many cases, bad situations can turn into very prosperous ones. The business world has proven to be no exception to this idea. The Wall Street Journal wrote a great article about a few individuals who did just that: took a a sticky life situation and turned it for profit.

Rejection hurts, and it hurts even more when it has a price tag. Joshua Opperman experienced this first hand when his fiancee left him, and he was left with a big, fat engagement ring. The jeweler who sold him the ring refused to take it back for more than a third of what he paid when he came in to return it. Instead of getting upset, Opperman saw a business opportunity. He created a website where the broken-hearted can take their financial “woes” and sell them to those who are looking for a better outcome. Opperman’s broken heart left him with a pocket full of cash.

Just like Opperman, Ellie Scarborough was in a losing situation. Scarborough became a dumpee just a few days short of Valentine’s Day. To counteract her sorrow, she became actively involved in Valentine’s Day by sending flowers and an encouraging note… to herself. She realized after she had received her “presents” that it had been exactly what she needed to make herself feel better. Shortly after her realization, a light bulb turned on and a business was founded. She created a website where a broken heart could visit for a little patchwork. Scarborough’s business sends out cards, emails, texts, flowers, and candies to brighten the dark days of post-breakup. Her light bulb in the darkness lead to her creating enough profit for her to quit her day job.

While it wasn’t love (or a lack there-of) that inspired Kim Benson to start her business, she also was able to turn her bad situation into a positive one. Benson struggled with weight throughout her life. She had tried various diets repeatedly, but always found herself gaining the weight back. One day Benson found herself ordering enough food for two people. It was at this point, at a weight of 347 pounds, that Benson decided something needed to be done. She joined Weight Watchers for the 10th time… and this time lost 212 pounds. People were amazed by her transformation and began emailing and asking for advice and recipes. Very quickly Benson realized she was on to something and started her own online weight loss company, which now has 25,000 subscribers.

Children can be great, but as any parent knows they are also prone to making life more difficult sometimes. Adam Nelson was no stranger to this. When he moved his toddler son, Aden, to his new bed, he found himself constantly being woken up in the morning. When Aden woke up during the early morning hours, everyone had to wake up with him. Sleep deprived and grumpy, Nelson was determined to figure out a solution. Thinking of children’s night lights on timers, Nelson came up with the idea for a light in which a dim moon switches to a bright sun based on a timer set by the parent. Nelson hoped that his son would stay in bed until he saw the sun come on. It worked and a business was born– allowing parents to be well rested across the nation.

All four of these businessmen and women share a few things in common: a bad situation, a new inspiration, and a new web business. Each of these people faced a challenging situation, and chose to come out of the experience with their heads high and brains churning, which in turn produced some new figures for their back accounts. Three average people, who had and idea and the Internet, created web-based businesses that now support them and help other people out of bad situations, all at the same time.

So, next time something bad happens to you, you might want to stop and consider how you could profit from the situation besides “learning a lesson.” Nobody is born great, they merely create their own greatness. Next time you find yourself on the ground, get up, get inspired, and go! Who knows where it might lead you.

You can read the original WallStreet Journal article here and read more inspirational start up stories here or here.

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Rebranding Semi-Painlessly

Jun
2011

It seems like forever since a post was placed here, so this is a good time to catch the world up on our doings. As you can see from our main website, we have a new look and are embarking on some new adventures in business. With that always comes the taxing and un-fun part: balancing the rebranding objectives. While we’re excited, it’s hard sometimes to make sure all the plates are spinning at the proper speed and that nothing gets dropped. And that’s the purpose of this post. We thought we’d share a checklist of sorts, one that could give you a glimpse of a few things to consider if you’re contemplating a rebrand.

And why rebrand?

This is a question that’s been put to us many times, and the short answer is “growth”. Marketing Java is the slightly bigger version of what BizCoachDeb once was, so with that, a new name and styling needed to replace it. We’re also refining our offerings and growing in terms of staff. If you’re considering a rebrand, it’s a good idea to have a similar motive in place. The other motivation is having a brand not tied to any one person, at least in name. Your motivations might be different; maybe your brand has reached a place where it’s smart to scale down or even ramp up offerings, where a current name doesn’t seem to fit any longer. Maybe the brand you’re using just doesn’t have the appeal it did when you first started your business? Or maybe you just need a fresh start and a new “face” will give you the extra moxie you need. Whatever your reason, be sure to think and plan before you leap, because it’s time-consuming and can get pricey very quickly.

And that brings us to that list we promised…

A short and semi-painless checklist for your rebranding

Is it vital to rebrand and what is your reason? Make sure you have this clarified before embarking!
Define the purpose of the “new” brand; will you expand or scale down services, products and offerings?
Notify your accountant and attorney of any changes; chances are your attorney will recommend trade names, etc, to consider.
Register with your state, the Feds, bank or whoever needs to know your new name for financial purposes.
Your look, logo, colors – will they need to also change? Probably so. Start this part early on.
Notify your vendors, suppliers and even subcons.
Collateral, identity pieces, tradeshow and printed (and imprinted) material development.
Directories, search engines, other websites, listings, professional memberships.
Website, blog and all your social media spaces refaced, modified and updated.
Newsletter and mailing pieces, both in print and online.
Documentation, contracts, software licenses.
Infrastructure: whatever tools, applications, equipment, programs, presentation, or even vehicles you use to deliver service will need to be updated.
Voicemail and email addresses and signature lines.
Press release, well, if you want the general public to know, that is.
Most important: update your customers and clients, maybe even your friends.

While the process can be overwhelming at times, be sure to divvy up the work so it’s not falling on the shoulders of one person. Also, don’t rush! Small businesses have the luxury of being able to roll things out a bit at a time, so make sure your timelines are reasonable and sustainable. Even we still have a few little bits and pieces to complete, but we’re almost done. Oh, and please connect with us in our new spaces on Twitter and Facebook

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Have you experienced a rebrand of your own? We’d love for you to share your perspective, including some pitfalls other small business owners should avoid.

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Archive for the ‘Business 101’ Category

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3 Dangerous Trends That Can Destroy You and Your Small Business

Seeing the Good (business) in the Bad

Rebranding Semi-Painlessly

And why rebrand?

A short and semi-painless checklist for your rebranding

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