Alberta Business Marketing

As the world continues to struggle with a social media definition, anxiety is building at an alarming rate on how your small business can leverage social media.  Almost everyone I speak with during my travels right here in Calgary but across our entire client base is challenged with these same thoughts.

How can we really use social media and how can we profit from the use of social media?

These questions are fantastic and genuine.  We can measure some marketing and some companies are spending thousands of dollars on marketing that doesn’t work with no real measurement.  I would be better off sometimes driving down Deerfoot Trail here in Calgary and throwing my business cards out the window.  Oh yeah, and then trying to follow up with every one who picked one up off the side of the freeway.

Concern and the pursuit of figuring our social media, tough economic times and constant bombardment from gurus is causing more and more social anxiety to occur.  Leaving Small Business owners to feel like their heads are going to explode.  They won’t explode and you can always call me if it feel like it will.

It is no secret that communication strategies are evolving.  Some may see this as change while others see it is a natural evolution on how people communicate.  I believe most people are resistent to change as well.  They don’t like it, maybe they don’t accept it and it could be the alarming pace of change that may also lead to anxiety throughout Canadian business.

After all, we had telephones, fax machines, cell phones, email, cell phone with email and now social media platforms.  Change is all around us.

Is the rate of change that is fueling the anxiety or even adoption of social media in the workplace?

I am shocked every time I learn about a firm who block services like Facebook, Blogs, Twitter from their employees?  Why?  Are you position them to fail in one of most critical parts of your business.  Creating rapport and communicating with clients, customers, prospects and the community?

Recently, I learned of a friend who left his Calgary car sales job because his employer wouldn’t allow him to use these new social media tools to help build his following and use social media services to increase awareness about the cars the dealership was looking to sell into the Calgary market.  He was told that he had to do this work from home and the dealership wouldn’t allow it on their business network.  I am not sure if you are aware how car sales work?  The hours are long and you are exhausted at the end of the day. Plus it is very competitive.  Any leg up may just be the advantage they were looking for.

Did this lead to social anxiety?  You bet!  Someone who wants to take it to the next level and an organization that doesn’t back it.

Here is the way I see it.  Social Media is here to stay.  Each and every day social media services are weaving their way into the fabric of our communications.  Definitely at home and now moving into the workplace.  Don’t get hung up on the tools is something I coaching our Ulistic clients on.  The tools may change but the core philosophy doesn’t.  Look at your cell phone, it doesn’t matter if it is an iPhone, HTC, Blackberry – the core principles are in place.  Do you have anxiety over your mobile phone?  For most no, why?  It is part of the way we communicate today and so will social media…it will become part of the way we communicate.

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Ulistic focuses on serving the needs of Canadian Small Business, REALTORS, and Information Technology firms across Canada and United States. Helping your business understand, deploy and leverage social media, search engine optimization and online communications to generate business opportunities and make an impact inside your community and industry.

My business partner David and I are business professionals first. We understand what it takes to run a successful small business.

I invite you to reach out to me personally at 403.775.2205 or email Stuart at scrawford@ulistic.com.

Tags: Anxiety disorders, Anxiety/Uncertainty Management, Calgary, car sales, car sales job, cell phones, cellular telephone, Facebook Inc, Health Tech Corporation Limited, Human behavior, iphone, Labor, media definition, media platforms, media services, Mobile phone, Phobias, Psychology, Social anxiety disorder, Social information processing, Social Issues, social media, Social Media Ventures Inc, Social psychology, Technology/Internet, Twitter Inc
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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
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I find myself these days with three Apple products at the ready at all times and with our team at Ulistic growing, collaborating and sharing of information amongst our team members is crucial to our success.  Our MacBooks, iPhones and IPADs travel with us everywhere we go and this allows for keeping in touch with our clients when they need us.   Having instant access to our client data is crucial to our success but having this luxury within our budget is especially critical.

The Internet Cloud allows Ulistic to operate in a manner that meets all of our needs for access, security and affordability.

Enter another robust, secure and free/nearly free solution for business

I stumbled upon a great “free” application over the weekend and what is even more impressive is how seamless it works with all of our computers and mobile devices.  For me personally, one of my biggest challenges throughout my business career has been taking accurate notes of things that happen or are said in a meeting.  I just wasn’t one of those guys who took notes on everything that was said in a meeting.  But I think I just found a solution that can cure me of this challenge.  Sure I tried Microsoft OneNote but it didn’t have a solution (when I was using it) that worked when I didn’t have my laptop.  With this new application I learned about over the weekend I may have just finally found a cure for my challenges with keeping track of what happens in our meetings.

Notetaking Software that just works

Enter Evernote! Evernote is simply one fantastic service!  Evernote offers free and “nearly free” services to a busy guy like me who doesn’t have countless hours in a day to wrestle with technology.  Evernote’s simply interface and synchronization allows our team at Ulistic to have our notes with us whereever we go.  MacBook, iPhone or iPAD they all work like a charm.  Synchronization works virtually without any user interference to all of our devices without any headaches at all.  Need to start taking notes for an idea that pops into your head, no problem, just open Evernote wherever you are a make a quick note.

This includes pictures, movies, typed in notes and audio recordings.  Can you say SLICK!

The free version of Evernote allows for 40 MB of data transfer each month, not bad as a starter. Go Premium with 500 MB of synchronization traffic for only $5 per month or $45 per year – less than the cost of that memory stick you just bought.  When you combine Evernote with other great online services such as Dropbox and Google/Microsoft hosted email, why would you ever need a server or complex information technology solution for your small business?  It just makes technical and economic sense to choose robust, secure and efficient services such as Evernote and the others if are simply sharing files and sending emails.

Evernote also works on the Microsoft Windows platform and Android, Palm Pre and Blackberry mobile phone services.  I am giving Evernote two thumbs up and placement on my home screen of both my iPhone and iPAD.  Great tool for any size of business.

Something else that is cool, Evernote can also track where you were when you worked on a file and bring up that location on a Google map.

Tags: android, Apple Inc., blackberry, Business IT, cellular telephone, Computing, Dropbox, Evernote, free solution, Google Inc., Google/Microsoft, information technology, information technology solution, iPad, iphone, Microsoft Corporation, Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft Windows, mobile devices, mobile phone services, notetaking, Notetaking software, onenote, Palm Pre Smartphone, secure and efficient services, Technology/Internet
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