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Why Facebook for Business?
by Jamie Gorman on July 7, 2010
This weekend I traded emails with Becky O’Brien of Optimal Wellness about my Subscribe! blog posts that described the importance and steps to subscribing to a blog. As part of the discussion I went to her blog, checked out the subscription setup and left a comment – nothing serious.
Here’s where it gets interesting…
I walked into Sigma College of Small Business yesterday afternoon and there on the desk was a little pink box with a great thank-you note from Becky. The little pink box contained a Southern Red Velvet cupcake from one of my business neighbors in Haymarket, VA, Cupcake Heaven. Now, 5 years ago I would have e-mailed or called Becky to thank her and probably told my wife and a few others what she had done and how wonderful the cupcake tasted. In the end maybe 5 or 10 people would have known how thoughtful Becky had been, what a wonderful cupcake they have over at Cupcake Heaven and the fact that I took some time to help Becky out with her blog.
The Difference with Social Media
Instead of just e-mailing or calling, I posted my thank you on Becky’s Fan page and on my personal profile in Facebook, tagging her fan page. I also mentioned Cupcake Heaven and the quality of their product. The difference with social media is that the same message that went to 5 or 10 people a few years ago can now reach hundreds of people between my friends, my fans and Becky’s fans. And it took no more effort on my part than if I had just sent an email. If I could have quickly found the Cupcake Heaven Fan Page, (I have since found them on FB) the message would have been received by all their fans as well! So the advantage is that in the simplest of transactions and communication, all three of us are promoted from trusted sources (people choose to fan, follow and like those that they trust) to a few hundred people.
And By the Way…
You may be asking the question “Why would Becky choose Cupcake Heaven, with its pink box and swirly frosting for a male business associate?” Well, it is right next door and I look like I enjoy a good cupcake, but that’s not the case. The fact is that I have been posting my visits to Cupcake Heaven for coffee through Foursquare, and commenting on how tempting the cupcakes (and ice cream) look, for several weeks! In fact I’m the Mayor! So Becky knew going in that this would the perfect thank-you gift, and it absolutely was! I was wiping frosting off my face as I walked into my next meeting.
A Lot of Hype
There is certainly a lot of hype around social media. And there are some who can fit the technology so well with their business and personality that it becomes a huge business driver. But like any other marketing tool it takes time and consistency to build success. Don’t get scared by the hype because even a simple presence and effort can become beneficial. In fact, in many cases, like the one I described above, you just need to set up the presence and let your customers and network do the work for you through their social media channels!
Posted in Blog, Business Networking, Marketing and Sales, Online Marketing
Tagged business, education, gainesville, haymarket, learn, management, marketing, networking, online, optimization, prince william, rss, search, seo, small, social, subscribe, training, VA, Virginia, warrenton
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Subscribe! Part 2
by Jamie Gorman on July 1, 2010
Subscribe! Part 1 covered the importance of getting interesting blog content brought to you in a convenient, efficient manner. Part 2 is a bit more hand’s on in showing you how to actually subscribe.
Decide where you want to see blog content
A great thing about RSS is that there are multiple ways to manage content. You can set it up in your web browser, through email or even feed it to your personal or business home page. I actually have some feeds that come up in my iGoogle home page, some that feed to a tab in Internet Explorer and some that go to an email folder in Outlook.
To determine which tool to use for feeding content you should ask yourself, “Do I want to see this post immediately, or have as a reference for later” The posts I want to see immediately, the timely information I want to comment on, are fed to my iGoogle personal page through Google Reader. Those I use for reference to search later feed to my browser or an email folder, and some feed to multiple places.
Don’t forget that following and commenting on other people’s blogs is an important part of social networking. It is how you listen and interact in the discussion, building trust and credibility with each thought and comment.
For step-by-step on three basic RSS feed techniques, click the links below. If you have any questions, suggestions or run into problems, drop me a comment. Although the directions are specific to an application, most similar apps have the same functionality.
Using Google Reader and following blogs on your iGoogle home page
Posted in Blog, Business Networking, Marketing and Sales, Online Marketing
Tagged business, classes, development, education, gainesville, google, haymarket, learn, management, manassas, marketing, networking, online, optimization, prince william, rss, search, seo, social, subscribe, training, VA, Virginia, warrenton, web
7 Comments
Using Google Reader to Follow Blogs on your iGoogle Home Page
by Jamie Gorman on July 1, 2010
Google Reader is a great little tool that helps aggregate the blogs you are tracking to your Google account. The reason I like it is that I have an iGoogle “portal” page (a page that I can personalize with info I want to see) and there is a “Gadget” that puts my feeds right onto my personal home page, the one that I see first every time I open Internet Explorer. This is what I use for those blogs I want to see and review quickly and then comment, especially on blogs related to educating small business owners.
1. Sign into your Google Account. If you don’t have a Google account:
- Go to www.Google.com
- Click “Sign In” at upper right
- Click “Create an Account Now” under the Sign in box
- Follow instructions for setting up an account
Click on Settings in the upper right to add new Google apps
2. In the upper right of your Google page click on the “Settings” drop-down and select “Google Account Settings”. You can do a lot here to personalize your page and account.
3. If “Reader” isn’t listed under “My Products”, go to the “Try Something New” section and click on “More”
4. Under the “Communicate, show & share” section, click on “Reader”. This will place Reader into the “My Products” section where you can open and start using.
Open Google Reader by clicking the link
5. Open Reader by clicking on the link and you should see your Google Reader Page
Now it’s time to add a subscription.
Go to www.sigmabizlearning.com or another blog you want to feed
1. Go to www.SigmaBizCollege.com or another blog that you would like to track. Select and copy the web address, or url for the blog. (you can also just type this in to the subscription box when the time comes if you know it)
Click on the "Add Subscription" Button
2. In Google Reader click on the “Add a subscription” button at the upper left, paste or type the url into the box that drops down and click “Add”.
3. You should now see your new subscription in the subscription box on the left and the latest blog post in the reader box.
Click on the Subscription to see the latest posts from that source.
Add the Google Reader Gadget to Your iGoogle Home Page
Click on "iGoogle" at the top right to open your iGoogle page
1. Go to www.Google.com and sign in if you aren’t already. This should open your iGoogle page (if it doesn’t, click on the “iGoogle” link in the upper right) and you should see something like this. Each of the little blocks is called a gadget and you can customize which gadgets you want on you page.
Click on the "Add Stuff" link in the upper right to get new gadgets!
2. In the upper right click on the link for “Add stuff”. In the search area type in “reader” and search. This will show you the Google Reader gadget and clicking “Add It Now” will put it on your iGoogle home page.
Search for "Reader" to find the Reader Gadget and "Add it Now"
3. Now, when you go to Google.com, your subscriptions will show up for a quick review. If you click on the title a preview window pops up so you can take a quick look without even leaving the page.
Although I walked through the Google method for putting subscriptions on your home page, most other portal sites that let you customize a home page will have similar functionality.
See Related Blog Posts on RSS Feeds:
Posted in Blog, Business Networking, Marketing and Sales, Online Marketing
Tagged business, classes, development, education, email, gainesville, google, haymarket, learn, management, manassas, marketing, networking, online, optimization, prince william, rss, search, seo, social, subscribe, training, VA, warrenton, web
4 Comments
Tracking RSS Feeds as Internet Explorer Favorites
by Jamie Gorman on July 1, 2010
In Subscribe! Part 1 I talked about the importance of tracking and commenting on relevant blogs and news feeds to building your online presence. Internet Explorer and other browsers have the capability to help you manage your RSS feeds and this post will walk through how to send news and current blog posts to the “Feeds” tab in Internet Explorer 8. Other browsers should have similar functionality.
If you are someone who routinely uses the “favorites” functionality in IE to manage the web sites you visit frequently, then this may be the best place to track important RSS Feeds that you want to comment on immediately. I don’t routinely use the favorites part of IE so I use this method for sites that don’t update often, or for sites that I want to track for reference when I’m developing business curriculum. Remember, in social networking it is important to follow and comment, so keep your “high interest” content where you will see it often through your normal work routine.
1. Go to sigmabizlearning.com or another blog or news site that you want to subscribe to.
Click on the RSS Icon in the upper right of the IE window
2. In the upper right of the window, in the menu area is the little orange RSS icon. If the icon isn’t orange, either you are already subscribed or the site doesn’t have RSS capability. Click on the RSS button and a “feed” page will load.
3. Click on “Subscribe to this feed” and then “Subscribe” in the window that pops up. The subscription will be placed in the “Feed” Tab in Favorites.
Access your saved RSS feed through the Favorite window on the Feeds Tab
4. To see your feeds, click the “Favorites” button in the upper left of the window and then the “Feeds” Tab.
5. Click on the subscription to see the latest post!
Remember that a big part of building credible online relationships is to listen and comment on the thoughts of others. Subscribing to interesting blogs with RSS, reading them and consistently commenting is a great way to be part of the discussion!
See Related Blog Posts on RSS Feeds:
Using Google Reader and following blogs on your iGoogle home page
Posted in Blog, Business Networking, Marketing and Sales, Online Marketing
Tagged business, classes, development, education, email, feeds, gainesville, google, haymarket, Internet Explorer, learn, management, manassas, marketing, networking, online, optimization, Reader, rss, sales, search, seo, small, social, subscribe, training, Virginia, warrenton, web
1 Comment
Subscribe to RSS Feeds in Microsoft Outlook
by Jamie Gorman on July 1, 2010
Microsoft Outlook allows you to use RSS technology to subscribe to blogs and news feeds and have updates come directly to your inbox. This can be useful if your main communication technique is email and there is a feed that you don’t want to miss an update. Or, you may use it to store feeds from an online resource for future reference. I use the RSS functionality in MS Outlook for my Inc. Magazine RSS feeds. There are a lot and it’s tough to keep up, but there is some great information that I can use when I am putting together my business management classes for small business owners. Once again, if you don’t use Outlook, your email software probably has a similar function.
1. Go to www.sigmabizlearning.com or the blog that you want to subscribe to and click on the orange RSS button, either on the page or in your browser. This will bring up the “Subscription” page for that site.
2. Select and copy the web address or url from the subscription page. For Outlook you must have the url from the subscription page, not the main blog page.
3. In Outlook, go to the File menu and Folder>>Add a new RSS feed…
Open the "New RSS Feed" Box
4. Paste the URL from the subscription page into the New RSS Feed box and click the “Add” Button.
5. Your RSS feed is now ready to review in Outlook.
Remember that a big part of building credible online relationships is to listen and comment on the thoughts of others. Subscribing to interesting blogs with RSS, reading them and consistently commenting is a great way to be part of the discussion!
See Related Blog Posts on RSS Feeds:
Using Google Reader and following blogs on your iGoogle home page
Posted in Blog, Marketing and Sales, Online Marketing
Tagged business, classes, education, email, gainesville, haymarket, learn, management, manassas, marketing, networking, online, optimization, prince william, rss, sales, search, small, social, subscribe, training, Virginia, warrenton
4 Comments
Twitter Power by Joel Comm (@joelcomm) – Book Review
by Jamie Gorman on May 12, 2010
Relationship.
To summarize Twitter Power by Joel Comm (@joelcomm) in one word, I’d have to pick “relationship”. And, the more I read and learn about this new magic marketing fairy dust called social networking, the more I see that these are just new tools for good networkers to be great networkers. Joel does a great job of laying out how we can specifically use Twitter to help build relationships and our networks.
Building Relationships
Building relationships is a theme throughout the book and most of the techniques and tips are focused on improving your capability to build relationships. Here are a few of the techniques I thought were especially helpful and unique:
- Reply and Retweet – this is how you use Twitter to have discussions with your Twitter network and how to gently refer and recommend their thoughts to your followers. Joel stresses the importance of the reply and re-tweet throughout the book in much the same way I stress listening and referring in my business networking classes
- Build Your Profile, Then Your Followers – When you sign up for Twitter is quickly takes you to a screen where you can search your email accounts to find potential followers. Joel recommends skipping this step and coming back to it after you have built your profile and followed a few others to get a feel for Twitter. It’s the networking equivalent to establish a good message and listen first before speaking.
- Add Value – by providing information, discussion and a personal touch along with your promotion. If all you provide is promotion, your followers will not see the value and will most likely drop you. Joel offers some great techniques for mixing the types of tweets and setting up a schedule that adds value.
Twitter Power was a pretty good and easy read, and in addition to these and other techniques for use, Joel provides directions on how to customize your Twitter site, build applications around Twitter and more. He closes the book with some good reference chapters, including third party tools to leverage your Twitter presence and a 30-day calendar that reinforces the techniques throughout the book.
Thanks Joel for sharing your knowledge and experience in a way that was both understandable and enjoyable. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to make Twitter part of their marketing strategy.
This post is dedicated to my good friend Tom Schultz, CEO of Acuity Audiovisual. He gave it to me so he wouldn’t have to be on Twitter, but I’ll get him there eventually! thanks Tom
Posted in Blog, Marketing and Sales, Online Marketing
Tagged advertise, advertising, business, development, education, email, free, learn, management, marketing, networking, online, prince william, search, seo, social, twitter, web
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Create Your Online Marketing Video – INTRO|vid!!!
by Jamie Gorman on April 23, 2010
Since 2008 I have been trying to figure out how my small business customers can more easily create and use online video as a marketing tool. However, the ability for novices to develop good videos for business and the cost for a professional have been obstacles.
The Wait is Over!
Over the last couple weeks I’ve spent some time with Abe Erickson at Ugly Chair Productions, learning from an expert about what’s really happening with online video. Last week he explained how video content is going to have a huge impact on search engine indexing (see “What I Learned 4/17“), and told me about his newest product, INTRO|vid.
This week Abe was gracious enough to let me be a part of the new product launch and get my own INTRO|vid, which you can check out. For less than $300 you can have a 2-3 minute introduction video filmed in a professional studio and produced by an expert staff.
My Experience
I went over to the Ugly Chair Production Studio in Manassas, VA on Wednesday morning. The only preparation was to pick something to wear that wasn’t green, well within my onscreen talent. They set me up in the studio and asked a series of great questions to get me talking naturally about Sigma College of Small Business while the camera rolled. The questions they asked generated all the key points that I would have scripted. The whole video shoot took less than 30 minutes and they posted my INTRO|vid within 48 hours. AND, DID I MENTION THEY DO THIS STARTING AT LESS THAN $300 DOLLARS!
Wows
You can see for yourself – that’s what is great about video
- Quality of the video, especially considering my lack of talent
- Ability to nail the key points about my business
- The price and more importantly the short time to shoot and produce
Pows
- The only thing I would improve in this is me. As they move forward, I’m sure Abe will do a little coaching to us amateurs about being on camera.
Let me or Abe know your thoughts by commenting here or on the Ugly Chair Productions Blog.
Added Value
While I was shooting the video I learned that Abe and his lovely production assistant Anna both have a business education. I’m convinced that is why they were able to come up with such great questions and then focus the video down to the best message for my business. I think this is a big differentiator when you’re looking for professional video for your online marketing!
Note: Sigma College of Small Business is teaming with Ugly Chair Productions to present a business class about using video in your online marketing plan. More to come. Follow us on Facebook or Join our email list to get the latest info on classes.
Posted in Blog, Marketing and Sales, Online Marketing, Product Review
Tagged advertise, benefits, business, classes, development, education, free, gainesville, haymarket, learn, management, manassas, marketing, networking, online, optimization, prince william, sales, search, seo, small, training, VA, Virginia, warrenton, web
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Subscribe! Part 1
In our Network@Noon at the Western Office of PWC-GM Chamber discussion this week the topic was “RSS”. For those who don’t know, RSS or “Really Simple Syndication” is an easy way for anyone to syndicate their online content. Just like syndicating a radio show, syndicating a blog or other online content means that many others can subscribe to the content. So it really is just a method for distributing, receiving and managing online content.
Visit Subscribe! Part 2 for a step-by-step guide to subscribing.
Here’s how RSS works, well close enough
When a web page is designed there is code that allows the page to be syndicated so that others can subscribe to the page or site. As a subscriber they can now receive updates in a number of ways – email, browser, social media and through special “reader” apps. There is nothing else required really, any time the site is updated it automatically “feeds” to you so you can read it, and then comment. There is of course a few technical details I’m leaving out, but you probably don’t really care about them.
Here’s why RSS is important
Let’s say I’m interested in 5 different news sites and 10 blogs for my industry. The news sites post daily and the blogs post new content twice a week on average. Without a subscription service I would have to go to all 15 sites independently to see the latest posts, and most of the blog visits will be a waste of time because they only post twice a week. Now, let’s say I subscribe to all 15 sites and have them feed new content to my web browser. Each time there is an update to one of these sites it will show up in the “RSS Feeds” area of my browser. Instead of going to 15 sites, most of which have no updates, I can now see and read all the updates in one place without actually visiting the independent sites. More importantly, you’re audience can subscribe and be notified every time you update!
But, how are you using it in business?
A great question raised by Jim Aram of Advantage Physical Therapy.
Every expert in social media will tell you that it is important to interact with your online network. One critical part of this is to comment on the blogs of those people in your network. Using a subscription service let’s you track a large number of blogs and easily monitor topics that you want to comment on. In fact, even if you just have a web site and haven’t done anything else with social media, commenting on blogs is an easy entry point. Pick a few blogs in your industry, among your friends, vendors that you use, and even your personal interests. Subscribe to these blogs and then set aside a little time each week to monitor and comment. The “bloggers” will be encouraged and you will start to build trust and credibility with your online network, before you even get into your own blogging, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn efforts.
In Subscribe! Part 2….
We’ll walk through how to actually subscribe to a blog and the options available for managing your feeds.