Alberta Business Marketing

To say I’m excited about Facebook Fan pages would be the understatement of the year. Ever since Google extended social networking to your Web page with Google Profiles and Google Connect I’ve been waiting for Facebook’s response.

Finally, Facebook goes beyond the Walls

It’s taken a while, but by using Facebook Fan Boxes (Embeddable Facebook Pages), businesses can leverage Facebook platform in a number of ways without needing to be a code monkey.

Three Reasons to Celebrate Facebook on your Site

This new widget is a huge opportunity to: Grow your following, build credibility, and keep current!

• Instant Opt-in: grow your opt-in audience with one-click access to becoming a Fan. Users of Facebook Fan Pages already know how easy it is to update Fans updates whenever you have something to share.
• Credibility Plus: build credibility by showcasing your fans on your Web page
• Keep your site Current: instantly update your Web page or blog by simply updating your Facebook status.

How to set-up Facebook Fan Boxes:

Look under your fan page for the link to your Fan Box – embeddable widget.

Copy the embed code, paste into your blog or Web site

Voila, Facebook on your site.

Summary:

Facebook Fan Boxes definitely up the ante against Google FriendConnect. The biggest enhancement Facebook brings is status. By comparison, Google’s widget offers a business card approach to networking, but without status updates (I’m sure it will come along soon). I’ve already dropped it on our blog and home page at Northern Edge Algonquin to integrate Facebook status updates and Fans into our home page. How will you use Facebook Fan Boxes to grow your business?

Links:

• Mashable article on Facebook Fan Boxes: Embeddable Facebook Pages
• Google Profile and Google Connect are Game Changers

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Tags: embeddable, Facebook, fan box, free web marketing stuff, friend connect, google, social networking
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Join Stuart Crawford from Bulletproof InfoTech with Steve Zanini from Zanico Services, a leader in the people development business right here in Alberta. Stuart and Steve will discuss how a toxic work environment will limit the success of any business and what you can do to eliminate it today. Listen ...

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I just read an interesting post about Chris Anderson’s new book Free, the Future of a Radical Price. This article gives a number of text passages that were lifted from Wikipedia and published in the book without citation.

This isn’t the first time we’ve discussed the idea of harming your credibility by using improper content to promote your region.

Sometimes, it’s just not possible to get the photos you want. You may also stumble-upon text that you think would be great for marketing your tourism business or region.

Use this simple test to determine if you should use the content:

Ask yourself, “Would I feel comfortable answering the phone to talk with the original content creator to explain my use of their content without permission?” If it’s Creative Commons content and you give credit, no worries, otherwise – DON’T USE IT, no matter how perfectly it appears to match your needs. Plagiarism is illegal after all.

Never sacrifice industry relationships for the possibility of luring a new customer

In the past, we’ve had competitors use our tourism experiences and create exact duplicates of three day experiences and then market them right in our backyard. We’ve had a tourism business offer a trip in a region for the first time using pictures of our staff and our guests in the destination to market their trip.

As difficult as these situations were for me, it must have been extremely difficult to be on the other side of the phone trying to make things right.

Difficult times breed innovation

Use challenging economic times to get creative and dream up new offers for your ideal guest. Pay attention to what others are doing to stimulate new business ideas, just make sure they’re your own, and give credit where it’s due.

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Tags: brand, creative commons, free web marketing stuff, harm, plagiarism, risk
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Who, over the past 12 months, created the largest company in Canada? Who shook up the health care system? Who dined with a newly civilian George W. Bush? Who sparked a medal haul in Beijing? With this, our 13th annual list of the province’s movers and shakers, we round up the business people, politicians, do-gooders, rabble-rousers, athletes, academics, artists and other overachievers who are giving Alberta a face and a voice for the 21st century.

THE LIST
This year’s list of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People, arranged in alphabetical order

LISTEN
50 Most Influential People Podcast
Listen to the inside story on the year’s 50 Most Influential in this podcast with the editors and associate publisher of Alberta Venture

Alberta’s Oilman Podcast
Listen to writer Tom Keyser’s full interview with the 50 Most Influential’s Rick George

READ
Canada’s Oilman
50 Most Influential feature story on chief executive of oilsands giant Suncor Energy, Rick George

Tags: 50 Most, Alberta's 50 Most Influential
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