Alberta Business Marketing

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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Two Calgary boys heading to Hogtown for an industry leading conference on SEO.

David and I will be heading to the Ontario Capital this June for a great Search Engine Optimization event.  We are planning to play a vital role with our blogging from this year’s Toronto Search Engine Strategies Conference, it should a wonderful three days of learning and networking with leaders in the Canadian SEO market.  This will be my first time at this event and from what I understand from reading blogs from the previous years, it is going to be an awesome time.  Will be different from the IT conferences I have attended?

During some discussions in our office recently about who should represent Ulistic at this event, we basically figured out that we all need to be there.  That is right, the majority of our Ulistic team is investing the time to learn from the best in our industry and how we can serve our Calgary and Information Technology clients with practical SEO advice which will enhance their online marketing efforts.  You may ask yourself why does a Calgary SEO firm need to send a good portion of their team to a conference on the other side of the country?  Well, to learn and to share our learnings with our community.  If you are leader, you must continue to sharpen your saw…something I learned once.

The world of online marketing and Internet marketing is constantly changing.  Just ask our first batch of graduates coming out of our Ulistic Calgary Online Marketing Mentoring program.  Change is already occurring and they are just finishing their programs with Ulistic. So yes, we all must continue to learn the new things in the world of Internet Marketing.

Over the next few weeks, David and I will be blogging about the Toronto Search Engine Strategies Conference and sharing who will be there and what will be happening. Also keep an eye on the Ulistic Facebook page and our Twitter account for up to the minute news.

SES Toronto typically attracts Canada’s and U.S.’s leading search engine marketing (SEM) professionals – from the very experienced to the novice. Marketers can take advantage of the special early-bird registration and save up to $200 by registering by May 21. Click here to review SES Toronto rates and registration details.

The SES Toronto 2010 conference, which will be held on June 9-11 at the Hyatt Regency Toronto, 370 King Street.

Tags: Calgary, canada, Hogtown, information technology, Internet Marketing, online marketing efforts, Online Marketing Mentoring program, search engine, Search engine marketing, search engine optimization, Search Engine Strategies, Technology/Internet, toronto, Twitter Inc, United States, USD
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I made my share of mistakes when I first started playing with marketing online.  I still make the odd mistake and do the odd bonehead thing.  I am learning as well.  However, learning from my mistakes is critical to my overall success as a Calgary social media consultant and my mistakes are things I can now teach my best clients.

Now today, I understand social media services are designed to share ideas, concepts, offer advice but not to aggressively sell or spam those around us.  This happened twice to meetup.com groups in Calgary which David (my partner at Ulistic) and I are members of.  One was for a “self-claimed” SEO expert in Calgary and the other a “sort of” business coach.

In my review of successful business people in Calgary, they simple don’t do this stuff.  So my only conclusion is that if Ulistic wants to be a truly successful SEO and Social Media firm we need to practice the behaviours of those who we look up too, not those who we look down on.

Meetup.com idea feature being hit by spammers in Calgary

Recently meetup.com, one of the leading social networking sites which encourage online networking with traditional face-to-face networking added some new skins, designs and functionality with the introduction of some new features.  Meetup.com is a wonderful tool to bring people together who have similar interests, share ideas and for us business-focused people learn and share our business stories.

One of these new features is called “ideas”.  Not a bad thing for group members to share ideas and concepts however when some awesome functionality is added the spammers also can take advantage of something which is meant for the overall good.  Over the past couple of days some so-called Calgary Internet Marketers have started spammy activities these new lists on meetup.com.

David and I run two very successful meetup groups in Calgary focused on the entrepreneur community and also a good group committed on bringing together information technology professionals together. The Calgary Entrepreneur and Business Professionals Group and also Tech Brew Calgary are now in full swing.  Unfortunately because of these spam activities we have been forced to restrict access by approving new members until everyone is confirmed as a legitimate businesses.

G0od thing these so-called professionals haven’t found our LinkedIn groups yet.

Tags: Business/Finance, Calgary, calgary entrepreneur, Calgary social media consultant, Computing, Entrepreneur, face-to-face networking, information technology, Internet activism, Internet Marketers, LinkedIn Ltd, Meetup.com, online networking, Online social networking, Social information processing, social media, Social Media Ventures Inc, Social network service, social networking sites, Spam, Stuart's ramblings, technology, together information technology professionals, wonderful tool, World Wide Web
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Is your business ready in case your Calgary Internet Marketing efforts take off?

I have been reading a number of blogs lately from many Calgary Internet Marketing Professionals.  I always respect those who share our market.  After all Calgary is a city of over a million people, so lots of business to go around.

Even dating back to my days in the Information Technology market, I always believed it was better to be friends with our so-called competitors rather than focusing my efforts on the competition.  You will go crazy trying to compete and you will lose business because you will take your eye of the most important ball, you clients!

Remember, after all, there is a tonne of business in Calgary and some people I would never ever run across.

When you team up with others, you learn

I love to learn from everyone and I do learn for every single interaction.  Learning is something I strive for each day.  What can I learn from all the Internet Marketing Professionals out there?  Especially those who try to cut my grass each day?  After all, this guy has been a tech person for over 15 years who just seemed to be bitten by the marketing bug and the importance of marketing for any business no matter what size, revenues and offerings.

A client taught me the importance of Internet Marketing

I met with a client recently who has a great e-commerce based website and his site sings in the Google search rankings.  He works in a competitive industry but has a very narrow niche market.  What I love about this guy, he is never satisfied and he want to continuously improve his performance.

After a great discussion about his business (a good consultant always wants to learn more about his customer right?), we discussed who his ideal client is and where his target market resides?   He asked me a very important and to the point question and I knew this was a deal breaker type of question.

Stuart, is Internet Marketing important?

I scratched my head for a bit on this question, kind of knowing what the answer is in my head but I really wanted to make sure I totally understood his business before I shouted out my answer.  After all, here is a guy who cancelled all his Calgary Yellow Page advertising to go completely online last year asking me if Internet Marketing is important.

The answer was very clear, well at least to me it was.  The answer for anyone who asks me this question is actually quite simple.  Internet Marketing is important only if fits and meets the goals of your business.  Will Internet Marketing fill a void in your plan today or in the future?  What or who are you not reaching today and how can Internet Marketing reach new markets for you?

These are all critically important questions in determining if Internet Marketing is important.  After all, you can have the best Calgary focused search engine optimization strategy but if your website is not ready to greet and receive visitors well it is a wasted effort.  How about if your salespeople can’t return a phone call, your Internet or any marketing is a wasted effort.  What about if your suppliers can’t deliver your products on time and your customers are very upset because you missed another deadline, well it is a wasted effort.

Do you see that there are many factors to determining if Internet Marketing is important?  Are you ready to receive, service and take care of the new potential business opportunities which may come your way.  Do you have the communications strategies in place to follow with leads or even a customer situation which goes sideways.

Internet marketing is just the tip of the iceberg.  An important tip of the iceberg.

Tags: Business, Business/Finance, Calgary, communications strategies, e-commerce based website, good consultant, Google Inc., head, information technology, Internet Marketing, Internet Marketing efforts, Internet Marketing Professionals, search engine, search engine optimization strategy, search rankings, Technology/Internet
Posted in Advertising, Business Marketing, Marketing, Online Marketing | | Comments Off

I woke up this morning to a Google Alert from my friend Arlin Sorensen, the founder of Heartland Tech Groups (HTG).  Thanks Arlin for the wonderful compliments and sound vote of confidence in my pursuit to help Information Technology Professionals, Calgary business and small business worldwide understand how they can leverage Social Media to do great things online.

It is great for the potential opportunity to be the HTG Social Media dude.

Also good luck to North Battleford Computer Specialist, Brad Kowerchuk who will be taking my place on the HTG Advisory Council.

With Brad’s appointment, we bid farewell to Stuart Crawford who has served on the advisory council since its inception a few years ago. Stuart was part of HTG3 before moving to help us begin our first international group in Canada, where he facilitated HTG10 for a year and a half. Stuart has a passion to help people, and caught the Go Giver bug in ways that became contagious. He leaves us to pursue his passion around social media and the web. He is consulting for businesses in his hometown of Calgary and around the globe as he serves people and their desire to learn how to leverage the communication tools of the 21st century. Thank you Stuart for your hard work and contributions to helping HTG become what it is today.

Read all of Arlin’s post here.

Tags: arlin sorensen, Battleford Computer Specialist, Brad Kowerchuk, Business IT, Calgary, canada, communication tools, Google Inc., Haitian gourde, HTG Advisory Council, information technology, North Battleford Computer Specialist, Social Media Ventures Inc, stuart crawford, The Giver
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