How to Create a Social Media Command Center For Your Next Sale, Launch or Event

Even small, local businesses can take a clue from large organizations

How to Create a Social Media Command Center For Your Next Sale, Launch or Event September 30th, 2012 http://www.SmallBusinessNewz.com

How to Create a Social Media Command Center For Your Next Sale, Launch or Event By: John Jantsch As more and more people adopt social media tools and get used to Tweeting, Liking and Checking In, smart marketers are employing a raft of tactics to get them to do more and more of just that. One of the most important reasons to promote and incentivize sharing on social networks is that it can multiply your message and carry just a hint of referral, albeit it very faint one. Even small, local businesses can take a clue from large organizations, like Dell and national events like the MLB All-Star Game to create a "command center" approach to promoting a concentrated happening such as a new product launch, new store opening or seasonal sale. The key is to approach it as a very special event and not something you're trying to maintain long-term. You may, in fact, discover some elements do play long-term, but most businesses and their customer base can't sustain something like this more than a days and couple of times a year. Let's take a common example that a local retailer might explore – Black Friday. Black Friday has become a major shopping holiday in the U.S. as shoppers head out to snap up deals the day after Thanksgiving. (Between you and me, I prefer Small Business Saturday, but that's another story.) Many big box chains spend heavily in local markets in an attempt to lure local shoppers with loss leader pricing. Local shops generally can't compete on price so they need to get creative and I think the command center could be the answer. For this illustration you might create an "anti Black Friday" or "shop local" promotion and employ social media as your bullhorn. A noteworthy assumption here is that you've been active on social media and have created at least some engagement and following. It's tough to go "poof, I'm social." The way to make this work is make it one person's responsibility to create and monitor all of the moving parts. Think in terms of the technology, services, monitors, etc that your point person will need to keep tabs and keep promoting. Choose one or all of the following to build social media buzz around your promotion. Create logo for your theme! – a simple visual to use in all of your merchandising for the event can be a great tool when it comes to sharing on sites with images. Decide on and check an event hashtag – choose a #hashtag that you will use throughout – make sure to check and see if it's in use by some other cause or theme as you don't want to find out mid-sale that your hashtag is also slang for a very naughty act in some Iowa subculture. Claim your Facebook location for checkins – if you have not yet done so claim your location on Facebook and create ways for people to earn prizes by checking in on their Facebook page. (Check out Wildfire andNorth Social apps.) Twitter hashtag tweets – Start tweeting using your hashtag a week prior and create in store posters, flyers and emails to publicize all of your social media activity during the event Choose a local or related charity partner and donate so much per tweet or share during the day Twitter search – Set up a number of twitter searches related to products and other aspects of your event and reach out to people tweeting before and during your event Pinterest – Create a Pinterest account and start pinning images of products you are featuring during the event Live Blog – Create a live blog on your WordPress blog with this plugin or use Tumblr and create updates throughout the day Live Tweets – Assign someone in store to live tweet out hourly specials, giveaways and images of happy customers using the hashtag Google Hangout Live to YouTube – Run hourly Google+Hangouts streamed live to YouTube and announce offerings, interview customers and create news like coverage Foursquare checkins – Create Foursquare checkins particularly focused on swarm discounts Hourly specials – Promote your hourly specials on every channel Display real time stream – Use a tool like Postano to display real-time tweet and social stream in the event Bring Facebook into the event – Install a camera station and let customers upload images to the Facebook pages for even more free stuff Hide discount codes in YouTube videos – Create a series of YouTube videos featuring products on sale during the event and hide discount code in the videos and promote sharing the videos and codes Facebook ads – Run tightly focused Facebook ads and promoted content ads focused on local and related brands – if you sell certain brands target any local fans of the brand or product category Tweet branded messages to get early, early access – Create early, early bird access for people that fan, like, share and RT Consider a street team – think about sending employees out into busy places throughout the day to surprise shoppers with free stuff for tweeting, Liking or sharing images. Another benefit to all of this work is the momentum factor. Even if someone doesn't veer off course on the given day of your sale, there's a good chance that you've exposed a great number of people to your business and some of those might decide to check you out later. I'm not suggesting this won't take some work and planning, but hey, the little guy wins always wins when they outsmart and outhustle the big guy. So, any ideas you care to add to the list? Comments

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How to build a massively valuable business using a more human approach!

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Tech Giants Hope To Stop “Bad Ads†With New Alliance A new alliance has formed in hopes of keeping “ bad ads†off the Web. The Ads Integrity Alliance, as it is being called, began through non-profit organization StopBadware, but it now has the Interactive Advertising Bureau and tech giants such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, and AOL on its team to help fight this initiative. [...]

Thursday, Sept 27, 2012 Years ago, there were six degrees of separation between you and anyone else on the planet. Then came the social web and suddenly, there was just one pixel of separation between you and anyone with an Internet connection. So, given this unparalleled business opportunity to connect with almost anyone, what are you doing with it? Selfish demands from strangers Very few small business owners seem to understand how to benefit from this opportunity. They just don't get it. They simply see a way to connect with someone via email or a social network who they think can help them, and ask that stranger for help. Rather than think ahead of the people it would be useful for them to know and invest the time required to connect with these useful people in advance, they just pester them with a direct demand for a selfish favour. For instance, today alone, around half a dozen people who have never connected with me before, will email me and ask if I will let them write a guest post on this blog. Another dozen or so people who have never previously connected with me, will ask me via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or email if I will 'check out their site and tell them what they are doing wrong.' Then around 50 PR companies will email me a press release, even though they have no relationship with me and I have never published a press release. None of us are self made people The idea of the self made person is a myth. None of us can do it by ourselves. We all need the help and support of others, in order to achieve anything of value. The least effective way to garner that help or support, is to pester people we don't know and demand it. Business is all about people and people value relationships. This means relationship building should be an essential, ongoing process in your business. Try this Take some time out to identify the people, who you would like to know and then invest the time required to get to know them. You don't need a complicated strategy for this any more than you need one for making new friends. It's about people. Just keep it human and be prepared to give before you receive. Instigate the relationship with a hello, not a demand. Seek to help, before you ask for help. You wouldn't make a new friend and straight away start demanding they do things for you the same is true in business. In short: Business is all about people and people respond very poorly to selfish demands from strangers. Make relationship building an ongoing priority, by investing the time required to get to know the people, who you can help and those who may be able to help you. Get this right and the potential is endless! Comments » Comment on this article About the Author: Jim Connolly has worked in marketing for 24 years and had his own successful marketing business since the mid 1990's. Jim is known worldwide for his ability to help small businesses make massively more sales and boost their profits. Although Jim now works exclusively with small businesses, he has worked with people from some of the best known companies in the world. These include; The BBC, Disney, Rothschilds, Mitsibishi, Hewlett Packard, Edelman and AWD PLC plus many more. To see how he can help your small business, visit his blog at Jim's Marketing Blog.

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Who built your business model? Just remember when asking and answering your questions, to Think Different. business, social media Creating Your Business Playlist What do your business playlists look like? business, marketing Effective B2B Content Marketing Tips & Six Mistakes To Avoid Figure out what story you want to tell, and how to tell it. B2B, marketing You can't have insiders without outsiders Insiders are the people who buy from you, recommend you social media, marketing 4 comments Get Better Engagement Through Content Optimization 9 out of 10 B2B Marketers Are Using Content Marketing Tactics content, marketing, Optimization

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Who built your business model?

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Tech Giants Hope To Stop “Bad Ads†With New Alliance A new alliance has formed in hopes of keeping “ bad ads†off the Web. The Ads Integrity Alliance, as it is being called, began through non-profit organization StopBadware, but it now has the Interactive Advertising Bureau and tech giants such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, and AOL on its team to help fight this initiative. [...]

Tuesday, Sept 25, 2012 Have you ever asked yourself that question? It's easy to get stuck in a business model, which we adopt because everyone in our industry is doing it. Now, if that model works, supports our commercial and lifestyle goals, then that's great. Sadly, many people are working a business model that's missing one or both of those goals. For example An example we see all the time, is the trend among the best known social media experts, where almost all of them use the exact same business model: Selling speaking gigs and books. Book income is relatively low, even for best selling business books. As a result, these hard working individuals tend to spend most of their time away from their homes and loved ones, because they have not yet figured out an alternative business model to the social media talking circuit. It's sad and 100% avoidable, for those willing to embrace Steve Jobs' mantra and Think Different - rather than follow the flock. Thinking different The starting point of developing a more effective business model, is to identify exactly what you want from your business. I'm going to leave you today with a great way to get some clarity around this key challenge. Grab a pen and a pad and write the following question at the top of the page, then spend as long as required answering it. Here's the question: If my business were perfect in every way, serving both my lifestyle and commercial needs, what would it look like? Consider things, such as: How many hours would I work? Which worthy causes would I support with my work? How much would I earn? Where would I live? Who would I work with? You can answer with the profile of clients you want to attract or name names of people / businesses you'd like to work with. The key is to allow your mind to focus on the things in life that matter most to you and incorporate them into the development of your ideal business. If you take the time to do this correctly and then start working on an effective plan, the impact can be life changing. I have worked on this with many clients over the years and it's one of the most professionally rewarding things I have ever done. Just remember when asking and answering your questions, to Think Different.? Comments » Comment on this article About the Author: Jim Connolly has worked in marketing for 24 years and had his own successful marketing business since the mid 1990's. Jim is known worldwide for his ability to help small businesses make massively more sales and boost their profits. Although Jim now works exclusively with small businesses, he has worked with people from some of the best known companies in the world. These include; The BBC, Disney, Rothschilds, Mitsibishi, Hewlett Packard, Edelman and AWD PLC plus many more. To see how he can help your small business, visit his blog at Jim's Marketing Blog.

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Creating Your Business Playlist What do your business playlists look like? business, marketing Effective B2B Content Marketing Tips & Six Mistakes To Avoid Figure out what story you want to tell, and how to tell it. B2B, marketing You can't have insiders without outsiders Insiders are the people who buy from you, recommend you social media, marketing 4 comments Get Better Engagement Through Content Optimization 9 out of 10 B2B Marketers Are Using Content Marketing Tactics content, marketing, Optimization 2 comments Are you missing out on this free, powerful marketing asset? What kind of atmosphere do you present to prospective clients? marketing, Social Media

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How to find blogging inspiration & 20 blogging ideas

The five golden rules of blogging

How to find blogging inspiration & 20 blogging ideas September 23th, 2012 http://www.SmallBusinessNewz.com

How to find blogging inspiration & 20 blogging ideas By: Sam Hall Even if you have the best intentions in the world, coming up with a constant stream of new ideas for blog posts can be pretty intimidating. All too soon, the corporate blog lies empty because the company has run out of ideas. Don't let that happen to you! From company brainstorms to new ways of planning copy, we are going to provide you with some great tips on how to generate ideas for blog content. WARNING: This is a long post, but we think it's worth the read (and hopefully you'll agree). If you really don't have time then there's a list of our top tips at the end! Use your colleagues Brainstorms can be a brilliant way to come up with interesting blog ideas. Don't limit yourself to asking only the PR or SEO teams though, invite people from across your business to contribute to a brainstorming session. They might not have the skills needed to write good content, but they may have insights and opinions that will help you generate great ideas. Speak to your partners, colleagues, and employees, and listen to them to decide what would best suit the needs of your company. Then, come up with something you can write about which takes this on board. You might even want to talk to some of your regular and trusted customers, to find out what they're interested in, as there's a good chance other potential customers will share those same interests. Remember why you're blogging. In the case of a corporate blog it's usually to generate business – so put your audience first and write for them, not for your own interests. You might be delighted to finally have a platform to rave about your travels, but your corporate clients won't care. One key consideration is to make sure everything you write is both useful and interesting. That's the best way to maintain a high standard for your blog. Become a Serial Killer Serialising your blog posts can be a great way of producing killer copy over the medium term, rather than putting all of your eggs in one basket. By producing a series of posts on the same topic, you increase the apparent relevance of your site for that subject – and give your readers some other pages to click onto. Serial articles can help keep people interested in your blog and encourage them to return for more useful content on a relevant subject. You could consider writing a series of how-to articles, or reviews of products, industry publications, or even Twitter accounts from within your sector. At its best, this approach can encourage readers to come back for the next instalment, creating a steady flow of visits. So, if you're relying on serial posts to get people back to your site, you might want to stick to a regular schedule for maximum effect. One caveat – don't flog a subject to death. There is nothing worse than reading a series of posts which do nothing but re-iterate the same ideas over and over again. If you have nothing new to say on a topic then it's time to find something new to write about. Read Simple enough to be summed up in a single word, 'read' is one of the best pieces of advice that can be given to any writer. The more you read other people's blogs – even if they're not relevant to your industry – the more you'll understand what makes for engaging content. You also need to read people's blog comments and take on board what they're saying, both on your blog and other people's. This will help you to understand which sort of posts are good and which aren't. Once you've gained this understanding, as well as gathering some new ideas, the trick is to turn them into something that is not only engaging and entertaining, but which also meets your marketing or lead-generation needs. Remember, it's not just new ideas that you can pick up by reading other blogs – you might also improve your grammar and style along the way. Invite guest bloggers Consider asking an industry influencer if they'd like to contribute to your corporate blog. They are likely to be flattered, so it could be good for networking, and they will publicise it to all their Twitter followers and online circle, which can lead to some new traffic for your blog. Just one word of warning: agree how you'll edit their copy in advance. People can be very protective of their work and may not be happy if you've gone through it with a red pen. Edit their work lightly and send it back to them for approval before publishing. Break the Rules Finally, a fallback option is to go out and break all the known rules about corporate blogging. But, if you take this option, on your own head be it! Every so often you will find a corporate blog that has almost nothing to do with the company that publishes it, but focuses on something like environmental sustainability or charity work instead. You might also see 'corporate' blogs that are purely for entertainment purposes, filled with jokes, or comic strips, or pictures of cats. When you're this far outside of the box, there are very few hard and fast rules left to break, but get it right and you could give your brand a huge boost in positive perception as a result. The only caveat to this is that it's always wise to have plenty of plain text along with any images, infographics, videos, and so on. If you can get some relevant language into it then so much the better, even if it's just 'After a hard day working on our new landlords' insurance document, we've been relaxing with some lolcats. Enjoy!' That way, even if you're giving your visitors something fun to look at, you're still delivering the search-visible text content that will help to get you into the search engine results. However, I wouldn't recommend this as a good way to write a corporate blog. Nine times out of 10 it's not a clever quirky marketing strategy, it's down to ego, and it brings little benefit to the business. Five golden rules Ultimately, there are just five things you need to consider when writing corporate blogs. Your posts need to be: -- Relevant -- Timely -- Frequent -- Personable -- Useful These are the golden rules for great blog content so never publish anything without considering those first. Top 20 Tips If you're still struggling for blog ideas, try some of these top tips: 1. Look at current trends, extrapolate them, and make a prediction for the future of your industry. 2. Do an introduction to 10 of the best up-and-coming bloggers in your field. 3. Find a current topic of debate and express your own, new, different view on the issue. 4. Make a list of common myths and misconceptions about your industry and then debunk them. 5. Satirise a well-known personality – it can be someone inside or outside your industry. 6. Look at a big brand, and analyse both their good and bad points – show where they're using best practise techniques and where they're making mistakes. 7. Find a recent piece from a high-level personality in your industry, disagree with it, and prove them and their opinions wrong. 8. Do a case study of something that went wrong in your business. Analyse the mistakes and explain how you fixed them. 9. Break some news about your company, e.g. revealing a new product. 10. Write a list of the vital web tools and software people in your industry can't do without. 11. Compare the old and new ways of conducting your business. 12. Write an allegory about your idol doing your business e.g. "How Steve Jobs Would've Done SEO" or "The Bruce Lee Approach to Marketing". 13. Go to a trade fair or industry event and report on it. 14. Do a comparison of your national market to markets abroad. 15. Review a book which deals with your industry – particularly if it contains some interesting outside the box thinking. 16. Find out about something new for your industry – a tool, a website, a method etc. – and write about it. 17. Identify industry leaders in your area and ask them to do a guest post. 18. Write a code of business ethics for your industry. 19. Conduct an interview with a prominent or rising industry figure and write it up. 20. Check Digg, StumbleUpon, Technorati, and Quora to find out what's most popular right now, and what questions people are seeking answers to. Then provide the information they want on your blog. (These tips come from a previous blog post of ours written by Tad. He had 50 ideas, but here we've just picked our favourite 20). Comments

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