In this day and age, there are so many different social media sites to choose from that it can become a full time job to update and monitor each profile. To eliminate that stress, follow these 13 steps to become more productive: 1. Select the top five social networks you are interested in joining. Check out Ning.com as it offers thousands of social networks for just about any … [Read more...]
The Small Business Underdog: How to go head to head with the big dogs of business.
The big corporations of the world seem to have endless resources to force smaller companies into submission. They have in-house marketing teams and hire advertising agencies to create marketing collateral, websites, messaging, advertising, direct mail, and email campaigns. They test and retest, conduct quantitative analysis to measure market share, develop new creative … [Read more...]
Top 10 Email Marketing Takeaways from 2009
Guest post by Janine Popick, CEO of Vertical Response (see disclosure below) 1. Get Social The web's most successful companies have discovered the power of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media to connect with their customers. 2. Host then Post Web 2.0 marketers have found a great way to expand their readership beyond their opted-in subscribers. Create a … [Read more...]
Finally Get on TV with the Right Pitch
It's 2010 - Stop Procrastinating and Kick Your PR Plans into High Gear this Year Getting in TV is one of the best ways of generating publicity that increases your brand awareness, your creditability as an expert, get more clients, and increases sales. Yet, it is not easy if you don't know how to craft a pitch that is tailored perfectly to meet the needs of the … [Read more...]
Healthcare and Women
One of the most well-run and informative meetings I went to last year was the HBA conference in San Francisco. The Healthcare Businesswomen Association is a class act. What impressed me was the juggling act done to show the strong side of women in a mostly male dominated industry, as well as the feminine side that we, as women, need to maintain for our own sanity. The women … [Read more...]
Top 10 US Cities to Capture Small Business Recovery Act Dollars
Uncle Sam wants small business entrepreneurs to lead the nation to economic recovery--and has billions of dollars to make it happen. Small business owners are in line to receive low-interest loans and government contracts through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). To secure your little corner of the recovery, you'll need to be at the right place with the right … [Read more...]
The Four Essential Elements to Your PR Toolbox
Part 5 of 7 Ever since the revolution of the Internet, more and more brands are becoming digital. To start playing with the big brands, smaller guys have to learn Internet based PR. They have to learn the right tools and tactics to stay ahead of the curve with the rest of the digital world. To be properly equipped, you are going to need the four following tools in your PR … [Read more...]
7 Easy Ways to Retain Customers
Guest post by Michelle Strassburg (learn more about Michelle at the end of this post) Winning new customers is often easier than keeping them. Not too dissimilar from other types of relationship business or personal you must work hard on the relationship to make sure the other party is content. When it comes to retaining customers, keeping the other party content will directly … [Read more...]
Learn How to Pitch the Media Correctly, without Upsetting Prospective Contacts
Publicity is more credible than advertising because it isn’t paid for directly by the company or person, while advertising space is. Public Relations specialists can't control the size of a write up as much as advertisers can. When your product, service, name, or company is in ink, it can generate great media attention, which is why billions of dollars are spent on PR every … [Read more...]
Business Stalled? A Killer Question
Halloween is a scary time of year. Ghosts, goblins, vampires and other creatures of the night stroll around making ugly faces and uttering growls and, like my dad used to do, they slap their shoe on the coffee table when you don't expect it scaring the bejezzus out of you. Actually it was pretty funny because we kids could always see it coming and mom never could and she … [Read more...]