The Business Coach

    

           Social Media-Take 2 And Call Me In The Morning© 10/10/2011

 

Social media is it for business, fun or both.  There are over 200 social sites so I will confine my comments to the household names.  Facebook as we all know is a true phenomenon.  It started out as a personal connection site and has grown, seemingly overnight into a mega social-connection-friend development site, world wide; it also has grown into a platform for business with a business page that is available to everyone.  Additionally, companies are now building websites on FB with shopping carts.  Let us not forget that there is an advertising opportunities on FB as well.

 

Linked in is for business.  The opportunity to connect with business people in your industry, connect with prospects for your product or service, and to search for a new job, all this is endless. 

 

Many of us at the beginning of the LI days were not sure how it all worked, once in awhile it didn't.  By the end of the first week when I signed up on LI I had 5000+ contacts.  I didn't know of them except for maybe 2 of them.  Something went haywire.  As I contacted people I got the all too familiar, "do I know you??" or the "I don't know you, why am I in your connections" and other similar comments, so I closed the account.  Yes, I did create a new one after some time.

 

Twitter, my goodness, I had not idea how to use it, why I would use it as I am not the type of person who broadcasts every time I go to the bathroom.  Then I started to follow a few people and all it seemed to be was an advertising fest for these people.  No tweets that I got were of interest or value, only directing me via their link to their website to buy their book, and attend their seminar, etc.  Thank goodness things have changed.

 

So the question is, "do you social or do you not" I say Just Do It.  There are many opportunities to develop business using social media, and from where I sit, NO YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT EVERY DAY ALL DAY LONG.  You also do not have to spend thousands of dollars to get set up.  Would it be beneficial for you to take a course offered, I am sure your local CofC has local talent this is offering FREE how to seminars through the chamber.  Should your chamber of the 'lame' variety and offer nothing there are online guru's that will teach you; some very affordably, others looking to have you pay for their new Maybach.  Be frugal. 

 

So here are some ideas on how social media can work for you.  First, LinkedIn, aside from developing a biographical phone book, you share and learn from people in your industry or teach others about yours and their industry.  You now have a platform to broadcast relevant information about you, what you do, what you sell, how it helps people and a platform to attract prospects.  You can also develop one on one contact with potential clients.  Since this is a business site (still called social) no one should be offended if you approach them, if they are, too bad, go on to the next one.

 

Through LinkedIn you can join groups, industry specific, by local, or create your own group.  If you choose to create your own, remember to post quality comments, ask questions for people to reply to, this will go a long way in establishing you as an expert in your field.

 

Now for Facebook.  I like the social part (prior to joining I never thought I would like it) it allows me to keep up with friends both near and far. It has allowed me to deepen a relationship with people I just met and it allows me to post whatever I feel like. 

 

From a business position, the development of a business page has allowed me to post comments on various subjects, to send links for other business people to visit that contains value information for them.  This process allows for my name and picture to be out among the people that I network with, how great is that.

 

Not limited any longer as in the past, you can develop a full blown website (or some facsimile there of) promoting your wares.  It is the new high tech covered wagon that would travel from town to town.

 

There are many possibilities for businesses that use FB in the proper way.  Note, I stress 'proper way'.

 

Twitter-do you tweet.  Let's say that you are a spa business, and every day between 1:45 and 3:45 your place is dead as a door nail.  By encouraging your patrons to follow you on twitter for twitter only specials, for update information on new products or services you develop a channel directly to your customer with their permission to send them stuff-tweets.  So, you see that there are no, or only a few booked appointments at the stated times, you tweet your followers something like this.  "Twitter Special opening avail btwn 2&4 book now and get 30% off all services Hurry."  You can play around with it but I think you get the idea.

 

Let’s say your are a sandwich place, you get your customers to follow you and you can tweet daily specials, something like this.  "Specials fresh roast turkey with avocado & cranberry sauce. Pastrami & Swiss w/caraway kraut" Tomato Basel soup; just remember you are limited to 140 Characters.

 

These are only a few of the scores of things you can do free to promote your business.  It does not have to take us much time, in fact, you may have employees that are wiz's at this stuff, and they would be thrilled to do this for you.

 

The chart below created by S-net shows the increase of importance to the business community from one year to another.  This is recent data.  The blue line represents one year ago and the green represents now, one year later.

 

    

So, do you 'Social", the answer should be YES, if not start today.  Good luck

By Michael Loewenthal-The Business Coach 06/14/2011

The New Economy Is Not So New ©

It seems that the New Economy, although 4 years old now is still 'new'. "because the answers have changed"

This New Economy has brought about changes in many areas, some overtly visible and others barely visible. 

Subtle changes that have altered the results within our  businesses; systems sales processes, and sales techniques that were once viable are now barely effective.

People and businesses still need what we have to offer, goods and services, the question however, how does one operate within an ever changing market place when what was 6 months ago is now no longer.

This is challenging for most businesses and sales people.  All is not lost however, people who see and acknowledge the changes can devise (themselves or bring in training) new techniques that have adapted to the new changes taking place. 

The old expression, "working smarter, not harder" really applies now more than ever.

When our environment changes, so must we.

             Albert Einstein, while working as a

             professor instructed his assistant to

             prepare for this weeks test by

             using last weeks test questions. 

             The assistant surprised by this asked

             "why give the same test", Einstein replied,

             "because the answers have changed". 

             This is not unlike the market place in which we work.

The New Economy is forcing business people to think outside the proverbial 'box'; the question is, are you, and

if you are, are you willing to work outside the box, not just think outside the box.

Please know this, thinking and working outside the box is not throwing caution into the wind.  It is the development

of a process that incorporates sales, marketing, pricing of goods and services, developing a consistency in your

networking, developing and understanding your target market and effective use of joint ventures.  Notice, for

joint ventures, I said effective use.

The New Economy is here, it will be here for some time to come, work at and learn to survive and thrive within it.

Improvise-Adapt & Overcome

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The New Economy Effective September 1st 2008