Time for a Spring Spruce-up!

Spring has finally sprung and traditionally, it’s a time that many people think of clearing out the clutter in the garage or basement. Why not initiate a spring spruce-up of your business marketing?

The best place to start is by taking an objective look at your existing brand and/or logo. Is your logo old and outdated? Is your marketing material inconsistent? Now may be the time to enlist the help of a graphic designer to create a fresh and new image that clearly enhances the look of your business. 

When was the last time you updated the pictures you have on your social media profiles and web pages? If they are more than six months old, it’s time to post new ones. You may want to consider having your photo taken by a professional photographer.

And while you are at it, why not freshen up your data on all your social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter? Your business is constantly evolving and your social media should reflect those changes.

Haven’t taken the plunge into the internet marketing realm yet? Now may be the time to explore your social media options and make the commitment to maintain your internet presence. 

Is your website or blog in need of an overhaul?  If you don’t have a website, landing page or blog, this could be the perfect time to consult with a web designer to explore your options.

What are you doing to drive traffic to your website, blog or other social media sites? Do you send out an e-newsletter on a regular basis with “links” directing your readers to your website or blog?

All of the elements above can be included in a Marketing Strategy. Does your company have such a plan in place? A Marketing Strategy is a living document that changes monthly, weekly, and even daily, as your business evolves and adapts to your business environment. If you are currently without a marketing strategy or business plan, now is the time to create one.

I would be delighted to help you explore any of these options and welcome the opportunity to meet with you face-to-face to discuss new ideas and answer your questions on how to brand and expand your business.
 

Marketing Tip #32: New Feature on LinkedIn

Have you been wondering about the new “Endorsement” feature that LinkedIn introduced in early October? To get started, go into your LinkedIn profile section and add your “Skills and Expertise”. Next, similar to a Facebook “Like”, you can easily endorse your connections for a skill listed in their profile.You can do that one of two ways: at the top of your profile page, a “short-cut" graphic will appear showing your connections along with a recommended endorsement. Or, you can also go into their profile page and endorse them from their “Skills and Expertise” section. You may also suggest additional skills that may not be listed. Have questions about this new feature or on updating your profile? Feel free to call me 248-787-6623.

Marketing Tip # 31 - Facebook in Search Engines

If you want your Facebook profile to be more visible on search engines, go into “account settings,” choose the “subscribers” section, and click the box saying “subscriber search.” What this does is allows people to find you more easily on search engines so they can subscribe to your posts. 24 more tips from Quinton O’Reilly at http: /www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/13232.aspx

Fun Definition of Social Media

While reading “How to Make Money with Social Media” by Jamie Turner and Reshma Shah, Ph.D., I came across a fun definition of social media and thought I’d share it with you.

“What is social media? You can find dozens of answers on the Internet, some helpful and some flat wrong. But for our purposes, social media are the digital tools that enable a two-way conversation between your prospects or customers and your business.

Unfortunately, most businesses are social media for one-way monologues instead of two-way dialogues. This brings us to our first analogy:

Social media is more like a telephone than a megaphone.

Businesses that use social media as a megaphone are missing the point. You know the kind we’re talking about. They’re the businesses (or consultants) that can’t stop talking about themselves and what makes their products or services special.

Now let’s take that analogy a step further. If using social media is similar to using a telephone, then what is Facebook like? Or LinkedIn? Or Twitter?

• Facebook is like a pub. It’s a casual place where you can go to talk about what you did over the weekend, tell a dirty joke, or tell people about the checkers convention you attended last week.

• LinkedIn is like a trade show. You wouldn’t tell people at a trade show what you did in Vegas last weekend, would you? Limit LinkedIn to your professional side. Talk about business. Talk about interesting articles in the Harvard Business Review. And use plenty of phrases such as “value chain” and “business model” in your profile. That should do the trick.

• Twitter is like a cocktail party. Just be sure you send out tweets that are helpful. New Tweeple make the mistake of taking Twitter seriously when its home page asks, “What are you doing now?” Well, we’ve got some bad news for you. Nobody cares what you are doing now. They care about information that will help them in their daily lives. So stick with helpful tweets that will position you (or your company) as an expert, drive people to a landing page on your site, or promote someone else in your industry who will someday return the favor.

• YouTube is like Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Times Square on New Year’s Eve is packed with people clamoring for attention, which illustrates the problem. Just as it’s hard to stand out in Times Square, it’s hard to stand out on YouTube. Too much competition exists. [You’ll have to read the book to find out their solution.]

• MySpace is like Woodstock. MySpace has suffered the same fate as AOL – it was huge at one time, but it has faded a little during the past few years. That said, MySpace still provides some very good uses. If you’re a musician or a cause-oriented marketer, you should be all over MySpace. But if you’re selling industrial widgets in the B2B space, you should do two things: 1) avoid MySpace like the plague and 2) think about getting a new job, because selling industrial widgets in the B2B space sounds like a terribly boring job.”

Taken from “How to Make Money with Social Media: An Insider’s Guide on Using New and Emerging Media to Grow Your Business” by Jamie Turner and Reshma Shah, Ph.D. FT Press, 2011. Pgs. 34-36. More info at www.60SecondMarketer.com

Marketing Tip #27 - Watch What You Post!

 In matters of defamation of character, the hard truth is that when you are careless with your postings on Facebook, Twitter, or any social media site, you can get into ginormous legal trouble with statements that directly target an individual, company, association, or anyone that has a reputation to be damaged. And if the matter is pursued in court, it can cost you big-time.  Also note that even a truthful statement can bring on legal issues if sharing that information damages someone’s reputation.  Once it’s out in cyberspace, it’s out there forever.

Can You Be Sued For Posting the Truth Online?

During a meeting this past week, a client revealed that he had been drawn into an on-line argument with a friend. What began as a private email conversation between the two of them, evolved into the “friend” posting snarky remarks and innuendos broadcasted to all their mutual friends on Facebook. He wasn’t sure how to proceed and was wondering if these remarks were defamation of his character.

First of all, there are two kinds of defamation of character: Libel is the defaming of character or reputation in the form of a written statement, in this case, on a social media site, or slander, that is a damaging statement which is spoken.

As a former publisher of a newspaper, I was faced with the issues of libel and slander every day. I purposely wrote the content of the paper from the “third” person, disconnecting my feelings and opinions on any given matter. It took a lot of discipline not to be dragged into disagreements that were between two embattled neighbors or one business owner who was doing everything he could to put the other out of business. But my reputation was that of fair and unbiased reporting, a reputation that I am proud to have.

The hard truth is that when you are careless with your postings on Facebook, Twitter, or any social media site, you can get into ginormous legal trouble with statements that directly target an individual, company, association, or anyone that has a reputation to be damaged. And if the matter is pursued in court, it can cost you big-time. Also note that even a truthful statement can bring on legal issues if sharing that information damages someone’s reputation. Consult an attorney for the laws governing defamation of character in your state.

Before you begin sharing your matters of discontent on the internet, here are some things you should keep in mind:

• Defamatory language does not have to be direct. It can also be innuendo.

• That language must be “of or concerning” the person claiming to be harmed by the language.

• The language must have been “published” for all to see.

• The language has to damage the reputation of the person of whom the remarks are directed. It should be noted that even a statement of opinion can get you in trouble.

The bottom line: Use common sense with everything you post on the internet for all to see. This is especially true before you post something in a hasty moment of anger. Once it’s out there in cyberspace, it’s out there forever.

Marketing Tip #23 - Resumes Out, LinkedIn In

Did you see the 60 Minutes segment, “Job Programs for People Trapped in Unemployment”? http://tinyurl.com/9gudccd  John Carbone, the subject of the piece, runs a program for the unemployed in Connecticut. In the segment, he tells how resumes will soon become a thing of the past. Employers will skip right to viewing your social media and online presence to screen candidates, with LinkedIn being the first web site they will check. Whether you are out-of-work or looking for more customers, ask yourself: Is your profile up-to-date? Is there a professional picture? Do you give a detailed description of your products or services? Do you have testimonials about your company?  Do you need help with your profile? Give me a call.

What's Your Marketing Strategy?

Let’s face it. When the economy takes a dive, businesses are forced to compensate with downsizing, restructuring and taking drastic cost-cutting measures. During the recession of the last few years, as in other years of economic down-turns, dollars allocated to advertising and marketing are the first line-items to be eliminated. However, on the other hand, it makes perfect sense that when your competitors are cutting back on such spending, now should be the time to charge full speed ahead of your competition in getting the word out about your company, product and services.

With money tight, especially for the small to mid-size businesses, self-promotion is the most economic and viable option. Where do you begin? Do you have a business plan and marketing strategy in place? Have you identified your niche market? How will you reach your target client? Which social media option is the right venue for marketing your products and services? When it comes to marketing, these are just a few of the questions that business owners wrestle with on a daily basis.

Where do you start? The place to begin is with having a solid business plan in place. And, in addition to the business plan, having a strong marketing strategy is the key to your success. A marketing strategy is part of the overall business plan and is best described as a well thought out and step-by-step plan that shows how the business proposes to create revenue.

If your company doesn't have a business plan and/or marketing strategy in place, now is the time to create one. There are countless websites on the internet or books in any library that will guide you through the process. Or I will be happy to critique your business plan and work with you in creating a marketing strategy the best suits your business. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Out With the Old and In With the New!

There is no better time than the year end to do an overhaul of the marketing you have in place for your business. Below is a checklist of things you can do to give your business a fresh, new makeover for 2012:

1. A Marketing Strategy is a living document that changes monthly, weekly and even daily as your business evolves and adapts to your business environment. When was the last time you updated your plan? Don’t have a marketing strategy or business plan in place? Now is the time to create one. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Marketing expert Sandy Barris discusses the value of creating a marketing plan in an interview from July 2010 at http://tinyurl.com/dx7yu9c.

2. Does your company have a memorable brand or logo? Or is your logo old and outdated? Do you need to enlist the help of a graphic designer to create something fresh and new that reflects your business. Diane Krueger, the Brand Identity Artist at Contagious: Cure for the Common reminds us that a company’s logo is the starting point of the entire corporate image. http://tinyurl.com/c5v7ll7

3. Are your marketing materials consistent? Does your logo or brand carryover onto your business cards, brochures, website, blog, Facebook fan page, etc? Linda Kleist of Identity Graphic Design talks about the importance of consistent branding. http://tinyurl.com/csmcc99.

4. Are your social media sites up-to-date? When was the last time you updated your profiles and contact information on Linkedin, Facebook, etc? Is it time to post a more current photo? Are you getting the most from your social media efforts as you market yourself and your business? Marketing and social media expert, Beverly Cornell, covers the whole gamet of social media’s do and don’ts. http://tinyurl.com/bw8fu62.

5. How long has it been since your website was updated? How many hits are you getting to the site? Not a lot? You might want to have a professional revise the content, adding key words that will get you found on search engines (SEO) such as Google. Kevin Van Dette, President of Affordable Website Specialists, talks about all this and more in his 2010 interview. http://tinyurl.com/d572lny.

6. Do you currently have a blog? Is a blog right for you and your business? Are people reading or listening to your blog? Corey Perlman, author of "eBootCamp", describe blogging in concise and easy to understand language. http://tinyurl.com/ctnc4g8.

7. What are you doing to drive traffic to your website, blog or other social media sites? Do you send out an e-newsletter on a regular basis linking to your website? In a second interview, Corey Perlman gives tips on how to use e-newsletters as an effective marketing tool as well as a means of keeping yourself in front of customers and business associates. http://tinyurl.com/744wrdh

8. How current is the information in your database? Over this past summer, I purged my database of the old and outdated contact information. I was shocked as to the extent of job changes, out of state moves, and businesses that had closed in the past year. You probably will be amazed too.

Have a Happy New Year!

Maurer Marketing Minutes #48-Corey Perlman-eBoot Camp-Blogging

MMM-#48-Corey Perlman-eBoot Camp-Blogging

In the second of a three-part series, Corey Perlman, author of eBootCamp, describes blogging in concise and easy to understand language. He explains what a blog is and why you want to have one. One reason is that it’s a living, breathing webpage that allows you to post fresh content consistently. By updating your blog on a weekly or daily basis, Google and other search engines will pick up your content much quicker than before. And, of course, the more people who read or listen to your blog, the more influence and power you exert in your industry. But it’s not a simple process. You can contact Corey through his website www.theebootcamp.com.

Maurer Marketing Minutes #47-Corey Perlman-eBoot Camp-Social Media

Maurer Marketing Minutes-#47-Corey Perlman-eBoot Camp-Social Media
In the first of a three-part series, Corey Perlman, author of eBootCamp, a how-to guide for internet marketing, believes that social media could be described as “peer-to-peer” marketing. “Sites such as LinkedIn, FaceBook or Twitter should be used to engage and interact with your current and potential clients. Make your social media pages all about your customers and ask yourself, what can I give them today?” You can contact Corey through his website www.theebootcamp.com.

Maurer Marketing Minutes #46-Bill Pirtle-The Savvy Business Owner’s Guide

Maurer Marketing Minutes-#46-Bill Pirtle-The Savvy Business Owners Guide

Bill Pirtle, author of “Navigating Through the Risks of Credit Card Processing”, was asked to write an article to benefit readers of a publication in his industry. He determined from his own clientele that most of them weren't using social media simply because they didn't understand the technology. Bill wrote a very informative two-part article explaining social media and how to use it to promote your business and to set you up as an expert in your field. He asked a panel of “pros” to contribute to the article, including Terry Bean, Corey Perlman, Al Crawford, Michael Angelo Caruso, myself and others. Links to the articles: http://tinyurl.com/48ra698 and http://tinyurl.com/4h2p5kv.

Contact Bill at 734-272-6177 or mpctpublishing@gmail.com

Maurer Marketing Minutes #45-Doug Willett-Luna Tech Designs

Maurer Marketing Minutes -#45-Doug Willett-Luna Tech Designs
Have you ever wondered how 3-D Geo Web Development could benefit your business? Have you ever wondered what the heck that is? Doug Willett, President of Luna Tech Designs, tells why and how real-world viral tours of your business – or city – is becoming the trend in visual web marketing. This technology uses Google products such as Google Earth and Google Mapping and has numerous applications. Recently, Luna Tech Designs was called on by WDIV-TV to illustrate a “before” picture of Frank’s Furniture in Wayne after the terrible explosion and fire. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNPJ530Hzv8 Find out more about 3-D web marketing at www.lunaglobes.com or call Doug at 734-260-1069 or email dwillett@lunaglobes.com

Maurer Marketing Minutes #30-Beverly Cornell-Mango Languages

Maurer Marketing Minutes #30-Beverly Cornell-Mango Languages
In Part 3 of our three-part interview, Beverly Cornell, Marketing and Social Media Director at Mango Languages, discusses what and what not to share on social media sites. She encourages users to share their “human” side, as well as reflecting their business personality as well. You need to know who your audience is and provide engaging content to interest them as followers. Contact Beverly directly at 248-254-7450 ext. 824 or email Beverly.Cornell@mangolanguages.com or visit Mango’s website at www.mangolanguages.com
Direct download: MMM-30-Beverly_Cornell-Mango_Languages.mp3

Maurer Marketing Minutes #28-Beverly Cornell-Mango Languages

Maurer Marketing Minutes #28-Beverly Cornell-Mango Languages
If your business brand was a person, what would he/she look like? Beverly Cornell-McGlynn, former Marketing and Social Media Director at Mango Languages, encourages business owners to put “fun” in their marketing effort. She says that by capturing your unique business personality in promoting your service or product, you will catch the attention of potential clients in a big way. The marketing strategy she instituted at Mango is a prime example. Contact Beverly at beverlyrcornell@gmail.com.
Direct download: MMM-28-Beverly_Cornell-Mango_Languages.mp3

Maurer Marketing Minutes #22-Tom Harris-Marketing Coach/Business Motivator

Maurer Marketing Minutes #22-Tom Harris-Marketing Coach-Business Motivator
Why should a business person have a blog? According to Tom Harris, Marketing Coach and Business Motivator, it establishes online credibility and sets you up as an expert in your field. He gives an in-depth explanation on how to position your blog and target your ideal customer. Email him at tom@tomharris.us, call 877-901-9977 or read his blog at www.tomharris.us.
Direct download: MMM-22-Tom_Harris-Speaker-Marketing_Coach-Business_Motivator.mp3