Alberta Business Marketing

This post may ruffle a few feathers especially here in our Calgary Social Media consulting world.  But what the heck, sometimes I learn from Vladville and gotta upset the apple cart from time to time.  I am only writing this because I care enough about Canadian small business to raise a flag on all the “so-called” gurus out there ready to take your money and give you nothing in return.  Buyer Beware and do your homework before giving your credit card number or writing a cheque.

How does the average Canadian small business see Social Media? What does your business think of those feverishly running around or continuous tweeting looking to pitch their services?  $100 off a strategy session here and promises to manage a company’s social media there. There is still a lot of promises about experts looking to fill the pipelines of Canadian small business with endless referrals become of their social media activities.

Sorry, I have to throw my BS flag here. Just because you have a website and sent out 5 tweets doesn’t make you a marketing expert.  Our team at Ulistic are serious and professionally trained consultants and a team who works strategically with business across the globe.  We take an exception to those social media gurus out there who think they can save the day with a simple Facebook Page and Twitter account.  Sorry, social media success is part of a greater marketing strategy and business plan loaded with KPIs and objectives.

There are some markets our team has a wealth of experience and some we simply have a basic understanding.  We know our strengths and appreciate our weaker areas.  I can’t promise that we will fill your pipeline with gobs of referrals.

What if no one is looking for what you are offering?
What if your sales team can’t follow-up on leads?

What if…what I can promise if you do things right and follow the new rules of marketing you can position yourself to win new potential opportunities, but I can’t promise you the phone will ring off the wall.  Those who promise this, sorry I simply don’t understand it.

With that, more and more social media consultants are popping up on the landscape claiming to save the day.  It is almost embarrassing.  The social media consulting space here in Calgary and across all of Canada is becoming extremely crowded.  Crowded  with social media consultants and self-proclaimed experts.  Those who have a family businesses to former golf ball and promotional products experts flying in to save the day with Social Media.

Wait a second here!

Here are a few things to watch out for when hiring a social media consultant for your business:

• Is your social media consultant going to educate you and your team.  Your team must own your strategy.  A great consultant will share everything they know and use to help position your business for success.  Speaking from experience, our Ulistic Social Media Coaching program is in hot demand simply because we coach and work with the clients we serve to position themselves and be in the right spot, hopefully at the right time.
• You as the business owner or leader must own the strategy, outsource the tactical but the business owner must own the strategy.  I can’t tell you what going to happen in your market.  But I can help you formulate and then execute a plan based on your own business intelligence.
• Do your research.  When finding a firm to work with check some basic things.  Does their website look like some cheap or free template?  Does your social media consultant have a professional image?  How do they show up at your office?  Suit and Tie or T-shirt and shorts.
• Never, Ever hand over any money without doing your background check.  Ask for references, talk with those in your industry and most importantly do your own Google search on the firm you are looking for.  If your social media expert is going to position you for online success, they better be high on the first page of Google.
• Does your social media professional have deep strategic relationships?  What industry groups do they have membership in?  Who endorses their work?  Do your homework and ask the right questions.
• Ask your social media expert for their P and L and income statements to prove they are a legitimate business.  Nothing wrong with asking for proof they are running a successful enterprise.

Real business needs real world consulting. Not someone who will tweet your specials and start a fan page on Facebook.  Your business is not going to win with social media alone, social media must be integrated into your overall marketing strategy.  A strategic marketing coach with specialities in online marketing, social media and search engine optimization can help your business understand this part of the strategy but also have resources outside of the online marketing world to help with the overall marketing strategy and business execution.

That is the end of my rant…here is my last tip to the business owner…Do Your Homework and Buyer Beware!

Tags: Business, Business/Finance, Calgary, canada, Consultants, Internet Marketing, Media consultant, media consultants, media consulting space, online marketing world, sales, search engine, search engine optimization, Social information processing, Social Issues, social media, social media consultant for your business, strategic coach, Stuart's ramblings
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Why is football so popular?

Is it the brutal tackling, amazing catches and exceptional athletes?

This year I am volunteering to coach the Calgary Bantam Wildcats as an Offensive Line coach.  I played Defensive End when in high school, so it will be interesting to be on the other side of the ball for a change.  Football for those who follow this game closely must be approached in a strategic manner.  You can’t expect to take the field without a plan of how you are going to play the game.  The best teams throughout history have always used strategy to fight for every yard and to win championships.

Lately, I have been looking at social media from a very strategic approach.  I first started out with tactics and dismissed strategy, however as I mature as a business consultant who focuses on helping Canadian small business with Online Marketing, strategy is crucial to everyone’s overall success online.

Many Canadian, US and Tech firms simply attempt to leverage social media by going at it very tactically and I am not sure why online marketing often skips over the planning and strategy phase.  Perhaps it is the ease of access and even because it requires little or no financial investment to get started.  What a mistake as I have learned over my time in the industry.  Tactical is crucial during the execution phase however long before you send out a tweet, post an update on Facebook or write your first blog post you have to look at the strategical approach to social media.

Social Media is a relationship marketing tool and the best relationships are always part of your strategic plan.  Over the past few weeks I have spoken about the importance of a plan and what my friend Arlin talks about “The Four Plans That Change Everything“.

Do you have a business plan?  Many businesses don’t.

How about a marketing plan?  Nope, even more business don’t have a plan to execute their marketing.

Are you getting the results from your online marketing? Maybe it is simply a failure to plan.

Many businesses here in Calgary and across Canada are not getting the results they were promised by their social media consultant.  Why?  Because they have no plan to attack the market, just like in football…no plan, how can you ever succeed?

Yes, Social Media is exactly like Football.  You need to battle to develop every strategic relationship just like you need to take the field in football to win each series, each quarter, each half and then each game.

Need a hand planning your online marketing…give me a call 403.775.2205

Tags: 403.775.2205, Arlin, Business, business consultant, business plan, Business Success, Business/Finance, Calgary, canada, Defensive End, Facebook Inc, football, Internet Marketing, Management, Marketing effectiveness, marketing plan, Media consultant, Offensive Line coach, relationship marketing, relationship marketing tool, social media consultant, Sports, Strategic management, United States
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There has been a number of people claiming to be Social Media Experts who are attempting to capitalize on the  social media craze. Social Media technologies are not going anywhere and now they are woven into the fabric of business communications.  However, knowing this, there are a number of social media professionals in Calgary and I am sure this trend is occurring everywhere in the world.  People looking to make a quick buck on the social media rage out there.

Why your business doesn’t need a social media consultant?

Wait, isn’t this what I do for a living?

Not exactly, David and I are more than just social media consultants.  Ulistic’s focus is on the entire web marketing strategy for small business.  As professionals in the “all up” approach on Internet Consulting, we totally understand that social media is just one piece of a very complex puzzle.  Our complete approach is very different from many of the social media consultants who are popping out of the woodwork, just like a dandelion on a spring day.

Tip:  If you want to know the biggest difference, just look at their website.  This is a strong indication if they are a complete marketing professional or just someone offering to write your blogs, tweet for you or update your Facebook page.

Your business doesn’t need someone to do your social media for you.  This is something the business must own.  Ulistic core message is on helping business owners, directors and executives who have business websites to become owners of their web presence.

When it comes to Social Media, Twitter is merely 140 characters and the truth be told, is a great way to listen and learn about things happening in your community, with suppliers and perhaps learn about events happening around the city.  Some of my clients never send out a tweet, all they do is listen.  Twitter on its own will not sell products or even have some one pick up the phone and call you.  Remember the core lesson of business and sales which I learn learned from Bob Burg.  People do business with those they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST.  Simply tweeting, blogging and Facebook is not enough.

Facebook Fan Pages are also gaining in popularity and once again on its own…doesn’t make me want to pick up the phone and call any business let alone join as a fan.  Just leave your Facebook idle for a couple of days and see how many invites you get to join someone’s fan page.  My own strategy is never to join a fan page of someone I don’t know, never have worked with or don’t feel comfortable endorsing face-to-face.

Familiarization, mentoring and education is the secret

David and I are completely focused on empowering business in Calgary and those across the globe so they take ownership of their entire social media and web marketing strategies.  It is not about doing, it is about empowering and educating our clients so they know what we know and ultimately they can do it for themselves.

At the end of the day it is about lead generation.  You can be the best thought leader, community player or blogger…but if you are not generating leads for your business, what are you doing?  This is what we teach our clients…how to create new lead generation activities, one of my clients just emailed me and told me her new blog has generated her first lead. Love it when this happens.

Sure, we can kick-start a campaign, but at the end of the day…you, the business owner, VP Marketing, Director of Business Development are ultimately responsible for your web marketing and overall business strategy.

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Microsoft Partner Webcast – Feb 24 at Noon Eastern

Why must you use social technologies to market your business today? Pretty valid question in today’s world of Facebook, Buzz, Twitter, Foursquare, Blogs, Podcasts and everything else out there.  On a good day this has the potential to confuse the brightest marketing expert.

What can you do now to create a social networking impact?

When you think about it, no one is forcing you to use online technologies and you don’t have to even consider it if you are happy where you at today.  But really think about it, how social technologies fit into your business?  It is not that important if you build strong and vibrant online communities which feed into your referral sources is it?  No one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to engage in online strategies to grow your business, are they?

You don’t have to do any of this.  Look around you though.  Do you competitors have blogs?  Are they influencing the community?  Are they posting feedback on your Chamber of Commerce Facebook fan page?  Are they out there hosting meetup groups?  What are they doing that you are not?

Join Calgary Social Media Consultant Stuart Crawford (that’s me) on Feb 24th at 9 AM Pacific or Noon on the east coast for a very special Microsoft Partner 5W25 session on Social Media.  This is not a death by “presentation software” webinar.  You will get “down and dirty” on discussions on how your business can use social technologies daily and how you can build a strong following online which will spill over to the face-to-face community.  How can you influence those in your community?  You see social media is simply a communication tool to get people to call you, email you or fill in some form on your website.  It is something very crucial to the success of your business and when done right can have a huge upside.

Here is a question for you.  If you are not out there, how will anyone know you are there?  This goes back to the core basics about business networking.  Sit behind your desk all day, no one will call you.  Don’t get online and share information, no one will know you exist.

What will you learn in this Microsoft 5W25 webinar on Feb 24th?

What will we be covering in this one hour webinar with the fine folks at Microsoft?

In my last talk I pretty much laid the ground work for this discussion.  Back in October we covered a bunch of boring theory around social media and the tools available, no one liked it they wanted more, more life stories and lessons learned from the trenches, more real life examples of success and more meat around this subject.  This time you will have your meat and potatoes on how you can use Social Media in your business.  Not fluffy stuff, real life examples of stuff I did and what some of my peers have done online.

We get to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty this time around.  Social Media is critically important but for reasons that are not shared now.  You need to tune in.  However, it is more than just letting people know you published a blog via Twitter or you helped a client out via Facebook.  Social Technologies and the effective use on online tools and services goes far deeper than simple status updates.

You have to tune into the webinar to get the full story.

This Microsoft 5W25 seminar is open to most Microsoft Partners around the world.

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