Alberta Business Marketing

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Calgary Search Engine Optimization Specialist hits the road for CompTIA Breakaway.

I value my time out of the office and I truly love being a road warrior.  Travel and seeing new parts of the country and combine this with an opportunity to serve small business across Canada and United States is what truly gets me up every morning.  This is what we are all about, service and making sure our clients get the right social media, search engine optimization and online marketing consulting, education and result their business craves. This is what Ulistic is all about.

Ulistic is off to one of the IT communities leading trade shows in San Antonio.

Visit us at booth 417

From coast-coast-coast-coast we cover North America helping small business (managed service providers, real estate professionals and general small business) use the right social media strategies and get real benefits from search engine marketing and optimization services, no fluff and no BS…we shoot only for results.  Our unique approach of educating and mentoring small business owners and teams throughout Canada and the United States has allowed many entrepreneurs and business owners to really make an impact in their business by blending online marketing strategies with their existing marketing solutions.

Who said the Internet would cut down on travel? I would like to meet this person.  Business in North America still requires the “human element” and this sometimes requires travel.  If it is a quick trip across town or a flight across the country, we will need to meet people and thoroughly understand their needs.

What does my portable office look like?

• Mobile Phone – My mobile smart phone is an essential part of my portable office.  Having the correct plan is also essential.  Having freedom to work from anywhere is crucial in my business where clients can call on us at anytime with any need.  A great mobile phone with a flexible plan is essential.
• The Right Laptop – I currently use a MacBook simply because it works without a hitch and if I have an issue with it, well I can take it to any Apple Certified repair shop and get it fixed.  Having the right equipment is very important whether it is a MacBook or DELL Latitude laptop running Windows 7, you need to have something that work and works for you.
• Cloud Technologies – My company Ulistic is a firm that teaches people to leverage the Internet therefore we need to have access to technologies no matter where we are.  The right cloud solution is just as important as your mobile phone or laptop.  There are many great solutions out there, do your homework and get one that works for you.
• Mobile Internet – Last but definitely not least is the importance of  mobile Internet.  Hotels, Airports and Coffee shops offer Wi-Fi however for me I need something fast and reliable.  My TELUS Mobile Internet service gives me the reliability that this road warrior requires.  I may forget my phone or my server maybe down, but without my mobile Internet from TELUS I would be crippled.

No matter where you work you need to right tools to do your job.  For this Alberta-based road warrior without my tools…well I would be lost and lose my competitive advantage.  What would hurt the most…I wouldn’t be able to serve my clients and take care of them.

Tags: Business Success, Business/Finance, Calgary Search Engine Optimization Specialist, canada, Internet Marketing, North America, on travel, online marketing consulting, online marketing strategies, optimization services, real estate professionals, San Antonio, search engine, Search engine marketing, search engine optimization, social media, social media strategies, United States
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Last week our team from Ulistic met with the great folks at MSP University in Garden Grove, California.  Together, we started to carve out what will become an awesome relationship.  MSPU is one of the leading managed services firms globally and the clients they work with are market leaders and enjoy the fruits of the hard work. I have personally known Erick Simpson and Gary Beechum for a number of years, they are rock solid guys and the entire team at MSPU is built on the same core values Gary and Erick bring to the table.

During our chat last week we got looking at Facebook Marketing and how businesses can leverage Facebook to market their offerings.  It is no secret that Facebook is growing.  Their recent partnership with Microsoft BING has shot Facebook up to the 6th most popular search engine.  One in Four page views on the Internet is Facebook related and the average person spends anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour on Facebook each day.  Still many question Facebook’s effectiveness in the market place.

During our time with MSPU, a number of ideas were discussed, but it was this fact amongst all the others that kind of surprised me when I stumbled upon it.  There are almost as many Facebook users in California that what there is in the entire country of Canada.   This is no secret really, we have heard for years that there are just as many people in one state in the US than what we have in Canada.  15.4 million Facebook users in Canada and almost 15.5 in the entire state of California.  What does this mean for business?

Does marketing on Facebook now make sense to your business?

If you look at the numbers closely, the 15 million or so folks from either California or Canada represent about 50% of the population.  That represents a good portion of the Canadian or Californian landscape uses Facebook.  Pretty impressive.

Are you leveraging this to get your message out there?
How can you use Facebook to market your business?

There are many ways to do this from Pay-Per-Click or Pay-Per-Impression ads, Facebook Pages and regular interaction with people.  Engagement with folks on Facebook, talking with your community, the people in your network and simply serving the market.

Do you need to know more about how to create a Fan Page that sings?
Want to know how to engage with Facebook?

I invite you to reach out and let’s have a chat about how you can use Facebook right now.

There are a number of opportunities and Facebook can be another important channel for you to help with your marketing.  You know the old saying about LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION or what Wayne Gretzky has always said “skate to where the puck is going, not where it is”.

Need a hand to figure it out…visit my Execute On Facebook or Marketing On Facebook page and take the first step in creating a marketing strategy for Facebook today.

Tags: Blog software, Business Partnership, California, canada, Criticism of Facebook, Erick Simpson, Facebook, Facebook features, Facebook Inc, Garden Grove, Gary Beechum, Human Interest, LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION, Microsoft BING, MSP University, Online social networking, search engine, Social information processing, Technology/Internet, United States, wayne gretzky, web 2.0, World Wide Web
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Thank you to everyone for all the emails lately.  Many of you who have been used to getting my blog posts delivered via email have emailed me concerned about the slow down or the drop off in the frequency of the emails.  Thanks for that.  The reality is this, I have just been very busy.

Ulistic is growing and expanding.  We have welcomed Frank Allen as one of our sales reps and are currently in discussions with another amazing person who will become a vital component of our team just like Frank.  Ulistic is blossoming into a Internet consulting firm across Canada and the United States.

Next week, David and I are heading back down to Los Angeles for a couple of days and then come home right in the middle of Stampede.  No Microsoft WPC for me this year. Going to miss seeing everyone who I have become friends with in the Microsoft community but it will also be great to spend a week networking in the Calgary business community.

All is well with me.  Trying to get back into my routine of working out, working on the business and working on my own personal goals and family.  It is truly a fine balance.  I haven’t even watched much World Cup Soccer.  Football however during the month of June kept us busy and it will again come August.  Football even reduced me business networking where I had to just pop in to say hi to those colleagues in a local Calgary Oil and Gas Meetup group.

All is well…just busy.

________________________________

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: business networking, Calgary, canada, Human Interest, Internet activism, Internet Consulting, Los Angeles, Meetup.com, Microsoft Corporation, Online social networking, Stuart's ramblings, technology, United States, week networking, World Cup
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I am back in my home office after a very busy couple of weeks which saw David and I hit the road to Los Angeles, California and then immediately flip the other way and head to Toronto, Ontario.  I love travel, I love being on the road and love to serve those who need help and it doesn’t matter where they are physically located.  Service is what matters and helping those in need of quality support is my personal number one priority.  Travel puts strains on the level of commitment I promise the clients I serve, so this week is a catch up week on my commitments.

Commitment…what a huge word.  Many say they are committed to a cause, their careers or their family.  But, even more who say they are never truly demonstrate it.

What is commitment? Is it getting up at 5 AM and getting two blog posts done for clients before 6 AM?  Is commitment ensuring your son’s sunburn is OK?  How about your spouse? Is ensuring the needs of the family are taken care of…commitment?  Of course all of the above are great examples of commitment and where we need to be committed.

I am not going to discuss spousal, family, church etc in this post…I would rather keep it on a professional level.  Your business and the success of your business.  We all know that marketing your business, starting a blog, ensuring your sales funnel is healthy and having happy customers all takes commitment but how do you manage this commitment.  Like I said earlier there are many of your peers who pay lip service to the word commitment and never truly understand or really want to know what it really means.

Since I work with small business owners across Canada and the US each day on social media marketing and online success…allow me to slip back into my own comfort zone here.  Social Media success takes 100% commitment.  Like anything in business you can’t go halfway and expect success.  It just isn’t going to happen…just like customer service, you need to commit to servicing your clients in order to truly have success in the relationship.

Here are a few tips to help you with committing to your social media success:

1. Develop a plan and stick to the plan – If it is blogging three times a week commit to it.  If it is tweeting four times a day, then do it.  You need to have a plan and then stick to the plan.
2. Schedule your time – put it in your calendar.  This is part of your business and must be scheduled and then the schedule has to stick.  How many stale blogs are out there?  Started by business owners with great intentions but no commitment?  Start it, schedule it and stick to it.
3. Find help - You need a coach when it comes to this stuff.  Social Media is much more than Twitter and Facebook…do you have someone to help you?

Commitment is a big word to many…even myself, however I am committed to sharing thoughts with you each day…or you wouldn’t get this email or read this post.

What can I do to help you…give me a shout at 403.775.2205, I would love to help you if you require some support and a person to bounce ideas off of.  If you are located in Toronto, Boston, New York or right here in Calgary…it doesn’t matter.  I am here to serve you and the needs of your business.

Tags: 403.775.2205, Boston, Calgary, California, canada, Los Angeles, media marketing, media success, New York, New York City, online success, Ontario, toronto, Uncategorized, United States
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