Alberta Business Marketing

The buzz around the CompTIA Breakaway conference this week in San Antonio varies from circle to circle but there are some consistent themes being discussed in the breakouts, keynotes and hallways of the JW Marriott Resort in San Antonio.

• Healthcare IT is one of the hot topics this time around.  Every US MSP is looking at Healthcare and why not, it is almost like the perfect gift.  Now, this Canadian blogger and MSP Marketing Professional needs to learn more about US Healthcare but from what I can understand many Doctors are now mandated to make the move to some sort of EMR solution.  I am sure there is more to it, but a good start for me.
• The next topic is the CLOUD.  What is cloud computing?  How will it impact my MSP business and what do I need to do now.  I know Arlin Sorensen has talked for a couple of years on cloud preparation and I firmly believe the time is now to act on getting cloud solutions integrated into your overall service offering.

What does it take to succeed with MSP marketing especially in these verticals?

Having a plan, strategy and action items are important and a must for every MSP looking at jumping into these new worlds or even simply just getting into managed services….but you also need clients.

How do you find or attract new clients?

Marketing and effective, targeted and well thought out marketing strategies.  Your MSP business needs a marketing coach and someone who has walked a mile in your shoes.  You need to do your homework and get the right solution that meets the needs of your business and meets the needs of the market you are going after.

How do you attract new opportunities?

Simply put…speak their language.  Your marketing must speak the language of the market your going after and your online marketing crafted to attract those looking for exactly what they are looking for.

Keyword Research, Online forums and special interest groups are where you must start.  Having the perfect business blog that attracts and retains those interested in learning from you and buying from you is crucial as well.

Then you must execute!

Need a hand, give me a call at 403.775.2205.

Tags: 403.775.2205, Business/Finance, CompTIA, Internet Marketing, marketing coach, MSP Marketing Execution, Online forums, San Antonio
Posted in Marketing, Online Marketing | | Comments Off

This post is written for Calgary Real Estate Professionals however it applies to every business model

Each week Ulistic, your local Calgary Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization team hosts a series of webinars to help Calgary business understand online marketing, social media, Internet Technologies and help debunk some of the myths associated with social media and general online marketing.

This week, our team at Ulistic hosted a webinar for a number of Calgary-based REALTORS® on the power of social media and Internet marketing to help them market their listings more efficiently online.  This was not a hyped up social media discussion and actually social media was just a sliver of what we discussed during the 60 minute REALTOR® webinar.

Here are some of the highlights and what you can do as a REALTOR® to help place your Real Estate business online.

Success online takes commitment, this is the first crucial step towards success in anything we do.  REALTORS® who demonstrate commitment in applying the principles of effective online marketing make great success stories versus those who pay it “lip service”.  This is not something you simply set and forget.  Online Marketing success takes effort, it takes commitment and it takes time. Set up a schedule and commit to keeping that schedule.  For those who were on the webinar, remember F + V = C.

Does your REALTOR® website welcome and convert visitors to potential qualified buyers and sellers?  You don’t need another virtual billboard on the Internet highway.  Personally, I would rather have 10 solid buyers and sellers visit my site each week versus having thousands of visitors who never engage with me.  Does this concept make sense? Your marketing online must attract qualified prospects to your business or why are you doing it?  Numbers don’t matter if no one engages with you.

Experiment with new ways of doing the old things.  We discussed services like Microsoft Tags and other new technologies can offer the same information to a new audience.  Consider attaching tags or bar codes for those interested in learning more about your listings.  With smart phones, a potential buyer can easily research your listings with a click of their camera.  Microsoft Tag is a great way for you to showcase your listings.  Almost everyone today has a smart phone, let’s leverage this for our benefit.

And finally, don’t forget about video.  If a picture says a thousand words, then video must say millions.  Start using video now in your business and use it for your advantage.

These are just a few of the items we covered during our REALTOR® webinar this week.  If you would like to learn more about Social Media for REALTORS® give me a shout at 403.775.2205 and our team at Ulistic would be more than happy to work with you or you can click here to contact me directly online.

Tags: 403.775.2205, Business/Finance, Calgary, Calgary Realtors, Internet hightway, Internet Marketing, Internet Technologies, media discussion, Microsoft Corporation, Microsoft Tags, National Association of Realtors, online marketing make great success stories, other new technologies, Real estate broker, Real Estate Calgary, realtors calgary, search engine, smart phone, smart phones, Social Media Ventures Inc, stuart crawford, Technology/Internet
Posted in Marketing, Online Marketing | | Comments Off

Everyday I get asked by someone who is wanting the “quick win” with their marketing.  What do I have to do today to enable the phone to ring tomorrow?  Well, that is a very good question.  I am one hundred percent sure there is some marketing guru out there who can give you some quick win success formula that will enable this happen.  A couple a tweets here, a Facebook status update there and you are off to the races.  You need to simply spend two minutes on Google and you can easily find them, there are lots of gurus and ninjas and self-proclaimed experts who can help you.  Sure get the quick win, lots of promise but they all lack real substance.

Success in marketing doesn’t come overnight, I know…I haven’t been marketing for several years and it takes blood, sweat and tears.  It takes works and it takes time.  It takes patience and most importantly, it takes commitment.  The only thing overnight about marketing is your blunders that knock you down.  Those for some reason they seem to occur overnight, but success doesn’t.

I was reading on the side of my cereal box this morning about healthy eating.  Same thing, healthy lifestyles isn’t a race it is a journey and the same thing can be said about your marketing and especially your social media activities.

Success with social media is definitely not a race.  It is a journey and a tough uphill journey at the best of times.   It takes commitment from you and your entire team.  It takes more than just opening a Twitter account, Facebook Page and throwing up a free WordPress or blogger site.  Social Media takes planning, preparation and it requires everyone in the company to play a role.  I don’t care if you have three employees, thirty-three or three thousand and three.  Everyone must play a part.

This is what we do at Ulistic, everyone plays a role in our social media activities.  David, Frank and myself (soon Melanie) all play our parts and we all have the same goal just different paths that are strategically laid out in our marketing plan.  We all blog regularly and we participate in blog commenting almost daily, we are active on Facebook, Twitter and others and most importantly, we are active in our communities and this includes online and face-to-face.  I mentioned this in my podcast with Daniel Gutierrez and Bob Burg the other night…nothing will replace a face-to-face meeting, your social media fills these gaps and helps you get to face-to-face.

Are you expecting that quick win?  You may be a tad bit disappointed with this mindset.  For those who are out there consistently adding value and enriching the lives of others you will have success and it will take time.  Success with your social media marketing is helping others but also getting paid to help these people.  Bob says’ “Give more in value than you take in payment”.  You need to provide value but don’t do it for free.  Never lose site that you are in business and you must convert visitors, fans and followers to clients.  If you don’t you have a big network.  That’s it.

Need help figuring all this out, give me a call 403.775.2205.

Tags: 403.775.2205, Behavior, Blog hosting services, blogger site, Bob Bur, Business Success, Daniel Gutierrez, Facebook, Facebook Inc, Google Inc., Learning, media activities, media marketing, Online social networking, Play, social media, social media marketing, Twitter, Twitter Inc, web 2.0, World Wide Web
Posted in Marketing | | Comments Off

Thanks to my good friend Marcia Johnson for sharing this with me.

Microsoft Tag!

I have been sharing with a number of the small business clients that we work with at Ulistic about the day when tagging comes into play.  Now, it is here with Microsoft Tag.

What do I mean by tagging?  If you check out the Microsoft Tag website you will learn a tonne about what they have to offer.

In a nutshell a Microsoft Tag is something similar to a bar code that you see on any product we purchase at the supermarket.  Traditionally bar codes were used for internal inventory or other systems that a store would use.  Now this is all going to change!

Microsoft Tag now takes what was traditionally an internal mechanism and puts power into the hands of the consumer.  Many restaurant owners, small business managers and those who run hotels may be shaking in their boots or jumping up and down in celebration.

What Microsoft Tag offers now is something like this bar code that a web designer can use on a website, a restaurant owner can post on their menu or a hotel owner can share on the front door of the hotel.  Consumers, readers, information gatherers now with their smart phone or mobile phone can use a special Microsoft Tag Reader to scan the image (see near the bottom of my blog for a functional example) and they ar directed to a mobile website that offers additional information or where you can leave a review or share your feedback.

Where I see this playing a major role in business?  The opportunities are endless..really.  Need to solicit reviews from those who come to your restaurant..put a Microsoft Tag on your credit card bill.  Want to keep in touch with those who purchased products and services from you, get a Microsoft Tag and email the tag to your visitors.  Imagine the potential this can have for small business.

Microsoft Tags are where the fax machines were in the early days….remember what happened with fax machines…now everyone has one.

Over the next few weeks I will learn more about practical uses for Microsoft Tag.  This is so new the exact impact on business is still to be determined but I think it will be huge!  Almost as big as video.  Want to chat about Microsoft Tag, give me a shout at 403.775.2205.

Tags: 403.775.2205, bar code, Barcodes, Business/Finance, cellular telephone, Computing, Criticism of Microsoft, High Capacity Color Barcode, Hospitality/Recreation, Marcia Johnson, microsoft, Microsoft Corporation, microsoft office, small business technology, smart phone, Tag, Technology/Internet, web designer
Posted in Alberta Business | | Comments Off

What a pleasant surprise at today’s Mind Over Marketing day here in Calgary.

Greg from “The Engaged Entrepreneur” was a pleasant addition to the speaker lineup at the Mind Over Marketing boot camp today and shared some great strategies on marketing for our small businesses.  Greg had a great question on “Why is so much marketing screwed up?” What a great question!

I shared this belief with a number of my fellow Canadian small business owners on why our marketing simply doesn’t work.  Here is the main issue…we are all focused on “IMAGE MARKETING”.  You know or maybe you don’t know.  Drive down any highway and you will see classic examples of image advertising…just look for all the billboards.  The biggest challenge with image-based advertising is this…you can’t measure it.  Lesson of the day – If you can’t easily measure it…DON’T DO IT!

Here are a few great small business marketing ideas I learned from Greg.

Never drive traffic to your main website – David and I talk about this all the time.  Domain names are cheap and people who specialize in Internet Marketing are plentiful.  When you run a campaign or do some marketing, register a special domain at godaddy.com or your favourite registrar and then have everyone go to that specially registered domain name.  Why?  So you can measure how effective your marketing is.  Ulistic can help with strategy around this.  There are many ways to implement this, so before you spend a dime…call me at 403.775.2205.

Not everyone is your target market – Most entrepreneurs are afraid of limiting their target market.  Well, the opposite is the reality.  With Ulistic, we focus on hi-tech organizations, IT Professionals, Real Estate Agents, Real Estate businesses and keep our focus aligned on what we do best.  Not everyone is in your target market.

Keep it simple – Avoid high prices imaged-based marketing.  Keep your marketing simple and targeted.  Always think about the target market that you are serving and think about them some more.  People are always asking “Who cares, what is in it for me?”. Simple marketing works, put yourself in the heads of the market you are looking to serve and then serve, serve, serve them.

What does this have to do with social media or online marketing?  Lots!

As I mentioned in my talk yesterday at Mind Over Marketing…the barrier to entry is extremely low and never before has access to the market been so affordable for small business.  Don’t bring in the mistakes of image-based marketing into the online world.  Put yourself in the shoes of your prospect and market and then serve them.  Position your marketing, your blogs, and social media to serve and offer great advice and service.

If you need some help with online marketing and position yourself online as a servant to your community give me a shout at 403.775.2205.

Tags: 403.775.2205, Business, Business Success, Business/Finance, Calgary, Engaged Entrepreneur, favourite registrar, image advertising, image-based advertising, Internet Marketing, Marketing research, online world, Positioning, Return on marketing investment, social media, speaker, Technology/Internet
Posted in Advertising, Business Marketing, Marketing, Online Marketing | | Comments Off