Alberta Business Marketing

It is a very proud day today and a wonderful end to a very busy week.  David has been working very hard to get the Ulistic online store up and running for those folks who are interested in registering for the Ulistic Calgary Social Media Workshop on April 15 or our Calgary LinkedIn Workshop on April 28.  The Ulistic storefront provides an easy place for all our clients to sign up for the course of their choice.

Here is our official press release announcing the opening of the Ulistic storefront and registration site.

April 1, 2010 Ulistic Inc., a Calgary Social Media consultancy and search engine optimization service have opened a registration site. The new registration site is where Ulistic will feature upcoming training workshops.

Currently workshops, scheduled and ready for registrations include;

• Search Engine Optimization
• Social Media for Business Owners
• A Social Media Breakfast for Real Estate Agents
• LinkedIn for Business

The Ulistic approach to internet consulting is based on empower the client to take ownership of their online presence through education and support.

A practical “newbie” training…? By Sandy – Mar 30, 2010

I have been privileged to take two of Ulistic’s social media courses and they have helped me overcome my fear in this area. They taught it in an understandable, hands-on method so that when I left, I felt confident that I could do this. Other courses left me feeling overwhelmed, rather than equipped. Though they’re very experienced in this field, they didn’t make me feel that my questions were silly. I felt very comfortable during the course and excited to try it out for my business. Thanks, Ulistic!!?

Tags: April, Business/Finance, Calgary, collaboration, Internet Consulting, linkedin, online presence, registration site, search engine, search engine optimization, search engine optimization service, Social information processing, social media, social media courses, Ulistic Inc., World Wide Web
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Be careful what you wish for eh!  Ulistic is having one crazy busy week but we are having a blast.

My blogging has been pretty light this week, some of you may actually be happy about this.  It is simply because we have an abundance of proposals and training sessions going on this week.  In the past week Ulistic has brought on two new mentoring clients in the US, working with firms in Houston and Seattle and most recently speaking to another firm in Tampa about how we can help them win new opportunities with effective online marketing strategies.  Combine this with our local obligations…well it is amazing and we are very blessed to say the least.  I simply love to serve those companies interested in learning more about how their business can prosper by leveraging online marketing.

I started a Facebook debate on Wednesday evening around the “Social Media Expert” topic.  For those who follow my blog know that I absolutely detest those who claim to be social media experts and have no business substance or experience to support their claim.  This Facebook discussion focuses around those who claim to be social media experts however lack business acumen on how social media can actually fit into their business model and the actual goals of the corporation.

Want to the join the discussion, visit Stuart Crawford Facebook profile to join in.

Tags: blog, Blog hosting services, Business/Finance, collaboration, Criticism of Facebook, Facebook, Facebook Inc, Houston, media experts, online marketing strategies, Online social networking, Seattle, Social information processing, social media, Social Media Ventures Inc, stuart crawford, Stuart's ramblings, tampa, The Facebook Era, United States, web 2.0, World Wide Web
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Has this ever happened to you?  You go to your Chamber of Commerce luncheon or networking event and out of the blue some guy in a slick and shiny suit gives you their business card for no reason at all telling you to call them if you need to buy whatever they have to push.  I have to ask, why are you giving me your card and what makes you think I will do business with you in the first place?

I have been following some of the networking tips shared by Bob Burg over the past little while about networking etiquette and what is acceptable bahaviour when it comes to handing out your business card at events, lunches etc.  Well, according to all the experts and networking gurus they state “never give out your card until someone asks for it”.  Good advice in my opinion.

This same approach can spill over to the online world.  Especially one of my favourite business to business sites, LinkedIn.  Why do some people reach out to you when you really have no relationship?  There are legitimate people out there looking for help or advice, great this is what social networking is all about.  Some maybe looking to sell to you, this is what social networking is not about.

Therefore, if you are reaching out to sell something using online social technologies, don’t.  If you are looking at linking up with some to build a network, share experiences, share client needs or seek help or advice….make sure you state that in your request.  You will have a better chance of successfully building your online and face-to-face networks.

Don’t through your card in someone’s face…wait for them to ask for it.

Tags: bob burg, Business/Finance, collaboration, Human Interest, linkedin, LinkedIn Ltd, online and face-to-face networks, Online social networking, online social technologies, Social information processing, Social Issues, Social network service, social networking, social networking sites, social technologies, Stuart's ramblings, Technology/Internet, World Wide Web
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Hello from Phoenix, Arizona

This evening I managed to invest some time with HTG1 and the HTG Advisory Council here in the Valley of the Sun, Phoenix, Arizona.  Tonight is a sad night for me.  It was my official last social engagement as a member of Heartland Tech Groups (HTG) and the HTG Advisory Council.  A great bunch of awesome guys, however with my new career direction in the Calgary Search Engine Optimization and Social Media world. it is unfortunate but I am no longer a fit for HTG, as a member at least.  There maybe something else we can figure out, hopefully.

Canada’s Social Media Landscape

Yesterday I mentioned the Social Landscape and what I feel are contributors to the overall landscape in our socially connected online world that we live in.  A critically important online world that can’t be overlooked any longer by business, families and anyone else who is stuck in a log cabin up north totally disconnect from all human interaction.

Many of us as professionals in social media, throw the words “social media” around pretty loosely.  But really what is social media?  Many of my peers including myself have different descriptions for social media and as a consultant serving the Calgary community I may just continue to use it, out of context in my mind, because that is what people know.

In my opinion, Social Media is simply the art of communicating, the art of delivering the message to a reader, the crafting of the message for people to view, and the reaction to the original message or posting.  Print media is the same thing, the newspaper you read is the tool for reading print media.  I can get the message in a magazine, paper or even a cocktail napkin.  In our online world, Facebook is just a tool for you to read social (online) media.  I hope this make sense to many of you.

Social media is the message, Facebook is the tool, and social networking is the art of creating mutual win-win online relationships and social currency is the “go giver” of the online world.  Like I said, I hope this makes sense to many of you.

Here is another example.  If you are a publicly traded firm in Canada and need to combat some negative press coverage in the print media world, you can turn to social media to help share your side of the story to reach your audience.  Different tools and perhaps the same message.  Twitter can be a service or tool for you to get your word out (the media).

Love to hear what you all think on the this topic.  This is my first leg of what I can the “Social Landscape”.

Tags: Arizona, Calgary, canada, collaboration, Consultant, Facebook, Facebook Inc, heartland tech groups, HTG Advisory Council, HTG1, important online world, member at least, mutual win-win online relationships, Online social networking, online world, Phoenix, print media, print media world, search engine, Social information processing, social media, Social Media Ventures Inc, Social network service, social networking, Technology/Internet, Twitter Inc, World Wide Web
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LinkedIn is one of many social networking services available today and as I have mentioned, perhaps the best one for small business owners who want to network, share and connect with others around the globe and around the corner. Recently, LinkedIn has started to blend the entire social media world into your LinkedIn profile.  This is [...]

Tags: collaboration, Community websites, Facebook, Facebook Inc, Human Interest, level network, linkedin, LinkedIn Ltd, LinkedIn Open Networker, networking, online networking reach, online presentations, Online social networking, seperation, six degrees, Six degrees of separation, Social information processing, social media, social media world, Social network service, social networking services, Stuart's ramblings, Technology/Internet, thought leader, Twitter, Twitter Inc, web 2.0, World Wide Web
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