Alberta Business Marketing

I was recently reading a fantastic article about failure on Facebook and Twitter.  The article published in the Boston Herald talks about how using social media services such as Facebook, Twitter and other online services to pitch your products/services can actually do more harm than good.  The journalist discusses how social media services actually hurt sales of the new Apple iPad rather than helping it.  Well, when you have a bunch of people destroying an iPad on YouTube, how does that influence you?

P.J. Lamberson, an MIT Sloan School of Management visiting assistant professor mentioned in the article that you would think the more people you talk about your products and service with would actually adopt it, this is not always the case.  As a Calgary Online Marketing professional this is a huge hurdle many business owners we consult with through our Ulistic Online Marketing program need to jump.  It is never about the product and service, it is about engaging, helping and being part of the community.

I just finished reading “Go Givers Sell More” co-written by my good friend and trusted mentor, Bob Burg.  Bob always talks about the reasons why people do business with you.  First, they need to know, like and trust you and you can not meet these critical requirements by simply pitching your business on Twitter.  There are many things to think about.  Online Marketing is not the holy grail that will save your business, but it can help if used correctly.  It can be that first step towards know, like and trust.

Deep down inside we all want to get the word out about our business (sometimes we come across very desperate), just be careful how you go about doing this and make sure it doesn’t come back to bite you in the backside.  This is how I help many business owners across North America each day, we share ideas and concepts about balance and strategize about their overall marketing, not just online.

The article from the Boston Herald goes on to speak about President Obama and how he used social media services to help connect many young voters and now using these same services to gripe about the President.  How can these networks impact your business?  Word of mouth is so powerful today and the Internet is a giant word-of-mouth network.

Tags: Blog hosting services, bob burg, Boston Herald, Business/Finance, Facebook, Facebook Inc, Internet Marketing, iPad, journalist, MIT, North America, obama, Online Marketing professional, Online Marketing program, Online social networking, President, products/services, School of Management, Social information processing, social media, social media services, Technology/Internet, the Boston Herald, The Facebook Era, Twitter, Twitter Inc, Ulistic Online, visiting assistant professor, web 2.0, Word of mouth, word-of-mouth network, World Wide Web, YouTube Inc
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There is lots of discussion in various small business communities throughout the world around the topic of Return On Investment (ROI) with Social Media? As an owner of a successful small business IT firm and now a partner with Ulistic, understanding ROI is not only important but essential for success in your business operations.  What is the ROI on a piece of software?  What is the ROI on that lunch with a prospect?  What is the ROI on hiring your first employee? But there is more!

Personally, I think simply focusing on ROI is very shortsighted.  I understand how important it is that your business is profitable and sees a return on the investments made however I think the deeper question is “what is the return on opportunity” or “How can my business capitalize on the opportunities out there”?  For me this is much deeper and really hits the core of why we do what we do.  I believe this is what makes our team at Ulistic different, we have and continue to run profitable and a successful business.  We know what it takes to be profitable, where to reach your markets and a unique approach to looking at the entire picture and the impact on your business.  Then we share this information with our consulting clients.

How does this tie into Social Media?

What is the ROO with your marketing efforts?
What is the ROO in having the talented staff member fielding support calls?
What is the ROO of being present in the online communities?

You have to understand the opportunity and what potentials exist in your target market.  I speak about casting your net and the importance of knowing where to fish for maximize effectiveness plus have nets out there which catch less fish (The Long Tail).  But you also need to know when the fish are hungry. (Thanks Bob Burg).

During our Calgary Social Media Workshops which Ulistic holds every couple of months for business owners, we focus on the importance of looking at the potential opportunities associated with simply being present online.  I remember how T. Harv Eker would open his Millionaire Mind intensive with every single time “80% of success is just showing up”.  This goes for your online marketing and social media activities as well.  You need to show up, that is the first step but of course it is not the last step. You need to have a presence, now there are tricks so it doesn’t consume all your time.

What opportunities are you missing by not having a presence on the mainstream social media services?  I shared recently online with you about how Google is now archiving tweets on Twitter.  Twitter, Facebook Pages, Digg, LinkedIn and many others are importance networks to participate in and do you play in these sandboxes?  David and I cover the importance of search and your social circle during our Calgary SEO courses and plus the importance of having effective online strategies in our Calgary social media courses.

What is the ROO for your online fishing (marketing)?  To me, it is so much more than talking about Facebook, Twitter and other online services.

Tags: Blog hosting services, bob burg, Business/Finance, Calgary, Facebook, Facebook Inc, Google Inc., importance networks, LinkedIn Ltd, media activities, media courses, media services, online communities, online fishing, Online social networking, online strategies, Social information processing, social media, Social Media Ventures Inc, T. Harv Eker, Technology/Internet, Twitter, Twitter Inc, web 2.0, World Wide Web
Posted in Marketing, Online Marketing | | Comments Off

There is lots of discussion in various small business communities throughout the world around the topic of Return On Investment (ROI) with Social Media? As an owner of a successful small business IT firm and now a partner with Ulistic, understanding ROI is not only important but essential for success in your business operations.  What is the ROI on a piece of software?  What is the ROI on that lunch with a prospect?  What is the ROI on hiring your first employee? But there is more!

Personally, I think simply focusing on ROI is very shortsighted.  I understand how important it is that your business is profitable and sees a return on the investments made however I think the deeper question is “what is the return on opportunity” or “How can my business capitalize on the opportunities out there”?  For me this is much deeper and really hits the core of why we do what we do.  I believe this is what makes our team at Ulistic different, we have and continue to run profitable and a successful business.  We know what it takes to be profitable, where to reach your markets and a unique approach to looking at the entire picture and the impact on your business.  Then we share this information with our consulting clients.

How does this tie into Social Media?

What is the ROO with your marketing efforts?
What is the ROO in having the talented staff member fielding support calls?
What is the ROO of being present in the online communities?

You have to understand the opportunity and what potentials exist in your target market.  I speak about casting your net and the importance of knowing where to fish for maximize effectiveness plus have nets out there which catch less fish (The Long Tail).  But you also need to know when the fish are hungry. (Thanks Bob Burg).

During our Calgary Social Media Workshops which Ulistic holds every couple of months for business owners, we focus on the importance of looking at the potential opportunities associated with simply being present online.  I remember how T. Harv Eker would open his Millionaire Mind intensive with every single time “80% of success is just showing up”.  This goes for your online marketing and social media activities as well.  You need to show up, that is the first step but of course it is not the last step. You need to have a presence, now there are tricks so it doesn’t consume all your time.

What opportunities are you missing by not having a presence on the mainstream social media services?  I shared recently online with you about how Google is now archiving tweets on Twitter.  Twitter, Facebook Pages, Digg, LinkedIn and many others are importance networks to participate in and do you play in these sandboxes?  David and I cover the importance of search and your social circle during our Calgary SEO courses and plus the importance of having effective online strategies in our Calgary social media courses.

What is the ROO for your online fishing (marketing)?  To me, it is so much more than talking about Facebook, Twitter and other online services.

Tags: Blog hosting services, bob burg, Business/Finance, Calgary, Facebook, Facebook Inc, Google Inc., importance networks, LinkedIn Ltd, media activities, media courses, media services, online communities, online fishing, Online social networking, online strategies, Social information processing, social media, Social Media Ventures Inc, T. Harv Eker, Technology/Internet, Twitter, Twitter Inc, web 2.0, World Wide Web
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Are you thinking about the use of Twitter in your small business?  How can this micro-blogging service help me promote my business?  Why is it important?

My views on the overall importance of Twitter for business varies each day.  Some days I am on the bandwagon and some days I am not.  I believe effective use of Twitter has some importance for a business and your presence on Twitter can help with your overall online fishing.  I often speak on “casting your net” during our Calgary Online Marketing Courses.  In the same breath it is important that business people don’t consume all their time and efforts using Twitter as a tool to share information and events.

This is where a great blog comes into being an extremely strong strategy for your business.  Using your blog as a centre point and then leveraging Twitter (automatically) to help share out your information can be a very effective strategy.  Set it and forget it.  My blogging strategy is to offer my insight on popular topics, simply not to retweet other peoples stuff.

Google announced this week that searchers have the ability to go back in time, eventually to March 2006 to see archived tweets from Twitter.  This is pretty cool feature from Google.  Google calls this search technology “Real-Time Search” and it has been around for  few months now.  This week Google announced enhancements to real-time search, you can read about it on their blog by visiting Google Real-Time Search.

Do you really want to see its effectiveness? Google “Iceland Volcano” to see how it works on trending topics.  Real-time search is great, but it is really the archived Twitter search results that are impressive.

To see how the archived Twitter search works, just check out what Strathmore Realtor, Kevin Baldwin is doing on Twitter.  His Chestermere Real Estate blog feeds Twitter every time he posts information on his blog, posts a video on YouTube or lists a home on the MLS system, check out his Twitter archive at Chestermere Real Estate.

The next big thing around this search technology is also the “Top Links” section.  As a blogger, my goal is to share information with people they find interesting.  The Top Links on the right side of the Real-time Search results shows some of the top URL’s based on a particular search term.

Is your Search Engine Optimization firm helping you understand the importance of Real-time search?

Tags: blog, Blog hosting services, Business/Finance, Calgary Online, google, Google Inc., Iceland, Kevin Baldwin, Microblogging, Natural Disaster, Online Marketing Courses, Online social networking, overall online fishing, particular search term, real time search, Real-time web, search engine, search engine optimization, search results, search technology, search works, Technology/Internet, Twitter, Twitter Inc, Twitterrific, web 2.0, World Wide Web, YouTube Inc
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Is social media right for your business? I really don’t know unless I know what your goals and objectives are for your business.  Also it is important to understand who is your target market is and perhaps the biggest question, are people using social media services looking for what you have to sell?

I recently read an article by a Calgary Social Media Support Specialist on why your Calgary business needs to be on social media.  I have respect for the author of this article however I need to share my views on why the article is leading a typical small business owner down the wrong path when it comes to social media.  I really don’t agree with this article at all and to be honest it is pretty standard for a lot of the junk out there today.  It is this sort of FUD which is leaving many business owners uncertain about social media and the purpose of social networking in their business.

Social Media in my opinion is important but it is not for everyone.  This is where our team at Ulistic helps Realtors, small business owners, IT Professionals and many other types of business understand your entire online marketing strategy.  Not to toot our own horn too much, but we are business people first, teachers and educators second, consultants third and then somewhere deep in the order of priority, guys who understand social media.  We use social media in our business but it is NOT for what many of our peers in the industry will try to tell you.

The author of this article talks over and over about building followers, lists of friends and great connections.  True, social media can do this for the selected few.  But, let’s be real, the average person really only has about 25 followers on Twitter, about the same on LinkedIn and maybe 100 friends on Facebook from their high school and college days.

One other items the author talks about is that your competitors are beating you out of customers because of social media. If you are losing customers it is because of your lack of service or a sales/marketing delivery not because of social media is winning them away.  Yes, a client may read a post and follow a link to an article, but think about it, if you are giving exceptional service what do you have to worry about?

Online marketing is more than social media.

Social media is just one small component of your overall online marketing strategy for your business.  I am not saying you should ignore it as social media does have a place in your business.  However if you focus on your blogs, Google reviews, your marketing website and your own personal network, social media strategies can fit in very naturally and actually support what you are doing in your marketing activities.

This is what we strive to achieve for everyone who engages with us at Ulistic.  Service comes first and our mentoring and coaching program helps every business understand what needs to be a priority and what are nice to have, according to your goals, objectives and desired outcomes.  If some consultant says you need to be on social media or you will go out of business, without sitting down with you and understanding your business first, turn around and run away really fast.

Also, the last myth to squash, social media may help on some search rankings.  A great blog, an awesome website, your business articles and engaging in the online community will help you more than simply sending out a few tweets, putting someone else’s link on your Facebook page or posting a someone else’s story in your LinkedIn group.

Learn the truth about social media for business by contact Ulistic today.

Tags: author, Blog hosting services, Business/Finance, Calgary, Consultant, Facebook, Facebook Inc, Google Inc., LinkedIn Ltd, media services, online community, online marketing strategy, Online social networking, personal network, search rankings, Social information processing, social media, Social network service, social networking, Support Specialist, The Facebook Era, Twitter, Twitter Inc, web 2.0, World Wide Web
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