@BasilPuglisi

Content & Strategy, Powered by Factics & AI, Since 2009

Business Coach

Some Knowledge For Creating A Small Business Website

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There are a few things that you will need to know in order to successfully build and maintain a website for your small business. These things are mostly common sense issues, but a few of them are things that only the top flight business people really focus on and have now mastered. You have seen just how successful some of the big companies have gotten with their online advertising, so if you want a piece of that action, here are a few things to take note of.

For one, you will need to have a clear idea of what the purpose of the website is going to ultimately be going forward. As you business expands, you will need to kind of make adjustments on the fly. Your customers need to feel safe and secure that you and your partners know what they are doing and are able to keep up with the ever-changing marketplace. Be precise in your marketing plan and things should fall into place quite nicely.

Another thing to take note of is to know right off the bat exactly what you are going to need in order to run a successful website. Whether you think that some video advertising or maybe some audio clips will do the trick to attract more and more people to your site, you will have to have a plan set up no matter what direction you decide to go in.

Also, you will need to have a good idea as to what to expect in terms of profits and website clicks from the very start of the site to even as far down the line as five years. We all know that it is pretty much impossible to predict a fluctuating marketplace too far down the road, but with the right people at the helm and a solid business plan, the sky really can be the limit in terms of your eventual success.

No matter what you decide to do with your website, it is going to end up being one of the most powerful tools for your company’s present and future success. The internet can work wonders for you and these days it is pretty much imperative to have a strong website and at least a decent sized following. We have come a long way with the internet providing us with more and more extra abilities every day. Just make sure to keep an eye on the market and for what is hot and in on a monthly basis, and things will start looking up.

Social Brand Visibility: Plaxo

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Plaxo, launched in 2002, is a tool that enables users create and maintain an online contact list and have it automatically updated.

Users have their information stored on servers, so they can access it anytime from everywhere. When your contact information is updated it will be changed in all your contacts’ address books that are connected to you through the site.

You can reach your contacts very fast. Results start to show with the typing of the first few letters. Opening a record is fast as well, without delay, after double clicking the contact. You can categorize your contacts into groups and add your contacts to more than one group. This way you can create distribution lists and send messages to the whole group at once.

Another feature allows you to mark your favorite contacts and they will appear on the front page of your address book.

Since 2008, Plaxo allows its users to share content from different social media platforms like blogs, social networking and post photos. Plaxo can also track feeds from different social media. Users can share and view content they have chosen by categories; friends, family, business and so on.

Up until 2009, Plaxo offered sync-up service with Outlook, Mozilla, Gmail and Yahoo. This service still exists but it has become Premium (paid) service in July of that year. It allows people to keep their contacts, calendar and tasks up to date across many platforms.

Plaxo is ranked #1,752 in the world, and #985 in the United States, where about 40% of the users are located. It is also popular in South Africa and is ranked #682 among all the South African sites.

Statistic shows that this site appeals more to high income women over the age of 35 who use it for business.

How to Use Facebook to stimulate your Business?

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It is not just about creating your own Facebook page anymore; it is about maintaining it so you can be able to better connect with your existing customers and develop a connection with future ones. Being active on the site is one of the main things you should think about. How to be active? Here are a few ideas that can change you Facebook page from a dormant one to an active one:

Use your existing customers to promote your page. Once they connect to your page they are able to share it with their friends. That is the essence of Facebook, but for businesses there are some free tools you can use; Page Badge allows you to promote your Facebook page from your website and drive traffic to it so they can see what is going on and what’s new in your business. “Like Box” – implementing a “like” button on your website page gives your customers the ability to like your Facebook page from your website. Include a link to your Facebook page in your newsletter and e mails to encourage your customers to join your Facebook page.

Facebook Ads is another way to create a marketing campaign within a budget. You can do it yourself by going to the site and following the directions for creating a successful ad campaign.

Publish relevant information on your Facebook page, be helpful and giving. Write in your true voice, as a person, not a business owner. Talk about things relevant to your business.

Use humor and provide fun facts that will make them come back.

Update the site frequently. A few times a week is recommended. If you have nothing new to inform your customers, dig up some relevant information and post that.

Encourage writing on your page and respond to the comments. If you get favorite reviews about one of your products respond to it and mention a similar product you’ll have for sale soon. If you have a complaint, answer it even quicker. Show your followers that you value them and their feelings.

Use Facebook to ask customers what they think about a certain product or service. Creating a two way conversation, and finding out what your customers would like to have is very important.

Use Page Insights. It is a program which provides anonymous statistics about your friends including demographics and frequency of use.

Use photos and upload videos to make it come alive and fun.

Update your page using mobile technology. This is very simple today with the iPhone and androids. That helps you update your page if you are on the road and have no immediate access to your computer.

Social Media Monitoring – SCRM

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One of the biggest questions small business owners ask themselves is how effective is my presence in the social media circles.

A good word of mouth can go a long way, but in the same way a bad comment can have a negative effect on your business.

People are sharing their thoughts on blogs, forums, groups, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. Somewhere in there, among all the social talk, there might be a piece of information that will be crucial to your business. To be effective, your reaction should be quick. You can’t afford to wait weeks for reports. You want to know what people are talking about in your niche. That can give you an idea where you should go next in your business.

That is what CRM all about?

CRM is an acronym for Customer Relationship Management. It is a strategy for managing interactions with customers, clients and potential clients. Using technology CRM helps you organize, synchronize and automate sales activity, marketing, customer service and support. Similar to Social Brand Reputation Management (SBRM) The aim is to find and win over new clients, retain those who the company already has, win back former clients and reduce the cost of marketing.

Social CRM does that with social media.

With the help of social media, people can now research a company and ask for recommendations about a product or service through social media channels and make their buying decisions without looking at the company, or the site, itself.

Social media is used to share opinions and experiences. Since social media is not monitored and censored like the mainstream media, people can say whatever they want, good or bad.

“Social CRM is the company’s response to customer’s control of the conversation” is how it is defined. Companies are looking for a way to gain access to those conversations and take part in the dialogue.

There are many systems that integrate the social media sites. Using online communities as a source of leads, finding out what clients are looking for to better target marketing and sales and responding quickly to customer’s complaints. All these things can increase interactions and win hearts. The goal is to make the relationship with customers more intimate.

Social CRM adds to the traditional view of customer relation management. The focus here is on people, not technology. It aims to join the ongoing conversation, not try to control it.

There are many companies offering software that allows the users to manage multiple types of information, lead aggregation, status updates, and offers community platforms. It allows you, the business owner to listen to their conversations and respond in a timely manner. It allows you to understand the influences that make them decide on a product. Happier customers, faster customer service, product development, more reach and spreading the word is what SCRM is all about.

Companies that provide SCRM software:

Jive Software, Lithium Technologies, Neighborhood America, Concourse, CrowdEngineering, Fuze Digital Soultions, Helpstream, Buzzient, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite among others.

A Few Quick Pointers For Building A Successful Business

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There are a couple things that I have learned over the years about being able to successfully start a small business from scratch and build it into something potentially special over the long haul. A few of these things are actually pretty basic when it comes down to it, but the others definitely take some precision and hard work for the business to get off of the ground.

Create A Promotional Message

One of the first important things that I learned is to make sure to use one simple message to promote the business that you are building and trying to sell. It can get quite confusing for a potential consumer if there are a bunch of mixed message being sent out by your business. Just keep it really simple and to the point that you are trying to make and hopefully that message will in time sell itself.

Create An Advertising Strategy

Strategic advertising is probably the most overlooked and unappreciated aspect to any successful small business plan. You need to make sure to set aside about seven to fourteen percent of your gross target for marketing and advertising. Also, make sure that the ads that you are putting out there for the world to see are tasteful and to the point. You do not want people getting the wrong idea about your company or even not knowing exactly what it is that you are trying to sell.

Always Be Available To Your Customers

It is vastly important to be able to be reached by phone or by email at any point in time to answer the questions of your potential customers. There is nothing more frustrating for a consumer than to have an inquiry or problem with a product and to not be able to reach the company in which they seek advice or the ability to troubleshoot the issue. Be easy to contact and you should be golden in the customer service aspect of your small business.

Keep Your Customers Interested

The last little bit of advice I am going to give you is to make sure that you create a little bit of curiosity amongst your potential client base by mixing things up a little bit and throwing a few curve balls their way. Try coming up with new and innovative ways to advertise your products and make it exciting for someone who is in the market to buy whatever you have to sell. Fresh and interesting things will keep your customers interested in your company.

I hope these quick pointers were helpful to you and your future business and I wish you the best of luck in all that you decide to do.

Making People Aware Of Your Business With A Small Budget

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There are quite a few simple and easy ways to get the attention of potential customers of your company with only a small budget to work with. This may sound like a difficult thing to do since the bigger companies have a lot more money and resources to work with, but it is in fact one of the original ways of doing business and works just as well now as it did way back in the day.

One smart thing that you can do is to make up a nice coupon book online or to give out to the local residents through the mail. This coupon book will offer discounts on whatever it is that you are selling and start to get people on your side about your products. Nothing makes people more excited than knowing that they do not have to pay the going rate on something that would normally cost them an arm and a leg.

Another really simple and inexpensive way to get noticed is to get your business phone number listed in the local phone books. This usually does not cost a thing, but make sure to use a land line because cell phones will probably run a little bit more money than you will likely want to spend on that type of advertisement.

Find Digital listings, there are a lot of comapnies and websites that provide listing services for FREE!!! Take the time to get an accurate listing, some even offere customization or updates for free.

You can also try to get your company enlisted at a trade show or some type of job fair scenario. This will get the public to notice you. As we all know, word of mouth marketing is probably the best and cheapest way to do business these days. As long as people are able to bear witness to an actual company and the products or services that they are selling, they will buy into it if it fits their needs.

Even though using a website to promote your company can get a little bit pricey at times, being able to split the cost with another company is a good way for both of you to save a little bit of cash while allowing the public to catch a glimpse of your company. This will also allow you to start building business relationships with other companies and show that you can be counted on to help out if you are needed to.

All of these things are cheap and easy ways to get your company off of the ground. Most people do not have a lot of spare money lying around when they start a new business, so it is best to find creative ways to work with what you have at the moment and build on it as you gain more and more income.

Using Social Bookmarking To Rise Your Small Business Through The Ranks

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We all know that there are quite a few different ways to promote your company using all of the amazing resources that we have available to us now with the internet. One of the best ways for you to get your company noticed is through social bookmarking which allows you to get your social blog or personal business website ranked. This ranking system lets you and your business partners get noticed quickly and build the popularity of your small business.

Digg & StumbleUpon

There are two very popular social bookmarking websites that have millions of users search for things that interest them each and every day. Digg is probably the most popular these days because it allows users to interact with each other and share tips on how to get their own blog or website looked at more often. StumbleUpon is another very popular website that does similar things to Digg, but also has some audio and video options to compliment the chat style that Digg has. These websites have really led some companies to turn the corner and head toward years of prosperity.

Be Aware of Spammers

Like is the case with many other social and open sourced websites, you will have to pay close attention to and watch out for spam web links. There are always going to be those people out there that want to infiltrate your website and even cause it to shut down. Whether it is competitive businesses or just a few hackers trying to get their kicks, you must to aware at all times as to what type of activity is going on on your website. It is not always the easiest thing to monitor, so you should also try looking into hiring yourself a WebMaster if at all possible.

Find Some Assistance

There are a few things that you should know in regards to getting your website and company noticed. These things are very simple and, in many cases, deal with common sense problem solutions. First, make sure to have some of your friends and family members help you out with raising the awareness amongst the community about your website. Maybe not everyone will be interested in what you have to sell, but at least they will know that your small business exists. Secondly, do a little bit of research as to how you can get your website affiliated with other more popular ones on the internet. This will drastically increase the chances of you getting yourself noticed.

Social bookmarking is making a huge difference in how people network their businesses around the world and will continue to assist in building these smaller companies into huge conglomerates. There will be more of these websites popping up all over the internet, so keep your eyes peeled for them to open up and jump on board.

Interlude.fm – Interactive Video

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Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could interact with music videos? If you could decide which of the musicians in the band you would like to follow?  If you could choose which version of the song you’d like to hear?

And if you could do that, where will the road lead in brand recognition and advertising?

Yoni Bloch thought it could be great. The young Israeli musician, who happens to be a computer geek, gathered his computer savvy friends and posed these questions to them.

A year and a half later, Interlude.fm came into being. It was first presented at the Techonomy convention in May 2010, and is now gathering more and more interest.

What Interlude does is allow you to choose your adventure and influence what you see. While watching a music video, you are asked, from time to time, to make a choice who you would like to follow.  When you do, you will see a different version of the video than you’ve seen the first time. The beginning and end always stay the same, and the music continues seamlessly without interruptions.

To understand what it means, let’s assume the video takes place at a party. Like in the demo shown at the convention, you can see what happens at this party from different angels, by choosing to follow different band member each time. At times you are being asked you if want to hear the music in a different style, a cappella as opposed to instrumental, for example.

You make your own version of the video, following band member A, then switching to see what band member B is doing, than to a girl dancing in the middle of the room. You can review your version of the music video, download it to your computer and share it with friends on other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or your blog. There could be hundreds of versions of the same song, the same video, constructed by different people, who share it with one another.

What does it do? From publicity, advertising and brand recognition point of view doing all that prolongs the time a person interacts with the product. When videos are concerned, it triples, on average, the viewing time. The song itself is played many times as the viewer chooses a version of the video he likes best. The product is displayed longer and by being able to influence events, a feeling of familiarity is created.

Interlude.fm took it a step further. Another application of the program targets commercials; If you are looking at a car advertisement, for example, which shows a silver car driving down a road between high rises in an urban setting, you can opt to change the color of the car and you can choose to change the setting in which the car is driving. Now a red car is shown driving by the ocean or in a rural area. You can interact with it; change it over and over again with a simple click of the mouse.

Another feature of the program is the ability to instantly compare versions of the same song, and navigate from song to song to see how different artist performed the same song. Again, the move from one video to the other is done seamlessly without losing a beat.

The best part? Interlude.fm technology can be embedded on any corporate or designed website. The customer can provide the video footage and keep complete creative vision of his product, or he can take advantage of the production services of Interlude.fm to create new footage.

Intelude.fm allows users to create unique versions of a video, using pre-recorded video/audio, and share it quickly and easily with their friends. Users can compare versions and decide which one they like best. The end result will always be greater use, greater play and greater interaction with your product.

Google bookmarks

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Google Bookmarks allows its users to bookmark their favorite pages and save them remotely so they can be accessed from any computer with a use of a password.

Why is this service important? You do not have to have your computer with you when you want to show something interesting you have bookmarked.

If your computer crashes, you have a place to go to and retrieve all the bookmarked pages you had.

Lists are private by default, but once you’ve created one you can share it with specific friends or even publish it. Google allows the users to post their bookmarks and share them with others.

Sharing lists can help you collaborate with your friends on common interests or activities.

With Bookmarks, you can also organize your content using labels and/or lists. Like labels, lists let you organize your bookmarks into categories for easier retrival.

Social Brand Visibility: Tumblr at Your Service

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A different kind of social media can be found in a site called Tumblr. They declare themselves as being the easiest way to express yourself. How can you do it? By quick and easy blogging.

Tumblr was co-founded by David Karp and Marco Arment in 2007. It emphasizes its customization and ease of use, with a simple sing up and log on. No need for knowledge in the world of coding and computer language. Each user gets his own tumblelog where he can post his thoughts and feeling.

Posting can be done either by text, quote, picture, video, link, audio or chat. Participants follow other members’ tumblelog, just like it’s done on Twitter, for example.  Updates of the people you follow appear on the dashboard in one stream.

Users can “like” a post to let other users know what they found interesting and reblog it on their own tumblelog. They can comment on posts and start a conversation.

When it was launched, 75,000 bloggers left their previous platforms and converted to Tumblr almost immediately. Since then, more than 3 million users joined in. Tumblr has mobile apps that let bloggers blog from wherever they are.

As of the beginning of 2010, the site averages 2 million posts a day. With 15,000 new users joining every 24 hours, it is still growing rapidly.  What’s more, it has a retention rate of 85%, compares with Twitter’s 40%.

Tumblr is amazingly fast and processes 10,000 posts an hour. It lets you update post to your Twitter and Facebook accounts as well. All their services are clearly offered on the front page and are, as they promised, easy to use.