Sue Koch: Soaring Solutions LLC http://suekoch.posterous.com Soaring Solutions, LLC posterous.com Thu, 04 Aug 2011 13:20:00 -0700 Social Media: Your Business' Economic Stimulus Package http://suekoch.posterous.com/social-media-your-business-economic-stimulus http://suekoch.posterous.com/social-media-your-business-economic-stimulus

When business building & networking, pretty much daily the question comes up, ‘Why do you do what you do?’ Before digging deeper, there are many common responses:

1. I have a strong skill set here and a lot of value to add to growing businesses.

2. I find this work fun & fulfilling, let me take the load off for others who don’t enjoy it so they can focus on their core genius.

3. There is a huge need here I am honored and thrilled to be able to fill it.  And the list goes on…

In a coaching session with the fabulous Harriet DiCerbo of Mosaic Path, her line of questioning took me further, and allowed me to say something I normally would have felt immodest or arrogant saying, so it took a while to spit out, but dammit, it’s true! “I want to, and believe I can help stimulate the economy via social media!”

What?- Lil ol me, stimulate the economy? But why not? Why not all of us? We all have great business knowledge to share with others. Knowledge is infinite, meanwhile, most of us only have access to 10% of our brain. Something you find simple and basic could be someone else’s enlightening moment and vice versa. Don’t discount yourself.

So how can you use social media to stimulate the economy and your business or career?

1. Times are tough, budgets are strapped (not one of those enlightening tidbits, I know). A small investment in social media strategy and education will facilitate the ongoing use of tools that are free. Your recurring cost can be limited to only time. It shocks me how many businesses still take out classifieds, TV ads, radio ads; advertising the majority of the population simply tunes out. Save excess funds, allocate a smaller portion to social media education, and then run with your new model on a budget while capturing more business!  Not to discount those modalities completely, but track metrics to see what is truly bringing you ROI.

2. Sadly, I see local brick and mortars pop up quickly, only to find the storefront is up for lease again shortly thereafter. Many watch bottom line by not advertising, but as I frequently & cheesily reference- “If you build it, they will not necessarily come.” (Even if you believe they will, in the movie, they were ghosts. Ghosts don’t make good customers, they scare the real ones away & don’t buy stuff.)

Social media lets people know you are there. A small investment gives you a way to establish brand awareness. At the very least, get your Google Profile completed, claim your Google Place, and put yourself on the virtual map. It’s free!

3. Businesses are cutting back by not attending or postponing trade shows and conferences. This drastically impacts the goals of a sales team who may normally rely on these events to fill their pipeline, earn commissions, thus feeding their family & paying their mortgage. Seeing a company make this decision, and then seeing same company has no presence on LinkedIn literally saddens me. When used to its fullest, proactively, and with proper etiquette, you will see your pipeline grow and sales soar. As a side bonus, your cold calling can head to the grave. Even those cold calling for 20 years tell me it is still the most dreaded part of their day.

4. While we are on the topic of trade shows and conferences, did you know Twitter allows you to be a fly on the virtual wall? Don’t get pissed at your boss for keeping you at your desk; surprise them by saying~ “Cool! No problem! I’ll attend free from my desk!” Find the Hashtag and join the Twitter stream. The July eWomen Network Conference in Dallas used #eWN2011, and is still going strong weeks later. Several tools allow you to follow hashtags, archive and save them. You can meet people, learn from speaker sessions, engage and do business.

5. Are you job hunting and using Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com exclusively? To those of you also deep sighing with an eye roll, I know…. it shocks me how many think this is still the way to go. These jobs are already stale and likely have spent quality time already on LinkedIn. They probably are already down to the final 3 candidates and have it out there just in case they all get hit by a bus. If you aren’t on LinkedIn maximizing your profile and connections, while exercising caution on your other social profiles like Facebook & Twitter, you better believe that other candidates have both legs, and arms, up on you.

Daily I encounter entrepreneurs and business owners who are simply not yet aware of the power of these tools, or the current state of the technology. In many cases people simply feel overwhelmed by getting started, understandably so! Just pick one thing, start slow, and as Nike says “Just Do It”! It’s better to start getting a toe wet slowly than to keep it forever in your Nike.

Considering the power in these few tools, and how many more are available, I look back and think, “Yes, the more people I can show how to do this, the more people get jobs, the more businesses get business & create brand evangelists, I am stimulating the economy!” And it’s fun too. That’s pretty cool!

 

Econ_jscreationzs

  • Graphics courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net | jscreationzs

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/658418/SueGrnHead.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wPxcq2taBIB Sue Koch Sue Koch Sue Koch
Fri, 04 Feb 2011 08:30:00 -0800 Facebook Removes Suggest to Friends- How Will We Grow! http://suekoch.posterous.com/facebook-removes-suggest-to-friends-how-will http://suekoch.posterous.com/facebook-removes-suggest-to-friends-how-will

As you know, Facebook pretty much runs the world now, and they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, without notifying users, nor caring how user friendly or intuitive their user interface may be when changed abruptly. That said, it still is a fantastic platform for business, and well, they will continue to have many of us on that leash, because frankly if done right, it works. A great option in building a business page following, historically, was the 'Suggest to Friends' option, as seen to the left.


This is something I always tell clients new to Facebook or growing a business page to use on a weekly basis as they add friends to their personal page, in order to use their personal connections as a portal to growth for their business page, as relevant of course.

Those of you using this function may have noticed it acting a bit odd lately.  Something like the grey bar below, where you normally would see the thumbnails of each of your friends.  They first announced this as a holding pattern while a bug was fixed.  Per this article:  http://www.insidefacebook.com/2011/01/21/suggest-to-friend-bug/

Suggestfail

However, the end result is that this functionality for the non-admin user has actually been removed, as discussed here: http://www.insidefacebook.com/2011/01/28/removal-suggest-friends-pages/

Page admins, do not fret- as a page creator you still have access to this function, and should continue to use it as a fan building mechanism to boost your business page.

What you can no longer do is say to your friend with 1300 Facebook friends "Hey buddy, will you help support my business growth and suggest my business page to your expansive group of friends?"  Well, you can still say this, but your friend can no longer help you in this way.    Or can they...?

If you trust this friend, absolutely and unconditionally, both before and after cocktails, there is an option.  First ask yourself- would I give this person my debit card pin code?  If this answer is yes, consider this possibility...  Perhaps if just for a day, you make them an Admin of your business page.  (You trust them, right?)  If someone is an admin of your page, they can still help you and suggest their Facebook friends become a fan of your page.

So this is the workaround solution, one not to be considered lightly.  One I don't like to recommend for privacy sake, but some of you have very influential friends with strong networks, yet a simple 'share' is not going to have the impact of a 'suggest'.   People can still "share" your comments to their following, and this is still a good engagement factor to shoot for in your interactions and it can facilitate viral growth as well as boost search engine optimization (SEO).  However, it is a much slower step toward growth and is not going to have the potential exposure of a "suggest". The "share" can sneak past one's view in a full newsfeed, while a "suggest" will remain in someone's queue for an action to be taken. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So perhaps you make your highly connected friends or family members an admin, temporarily, so that they can suggest your business page to their friends.  Just don't forget to remove them once the action is taken!

Go forth and grow!

 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/658418/SueGrnHead.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wPxcq2taBIB Sue Koch Sue Koch Sue Koch
Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:23:00 -0800 Maximizing Social Media Internships http://suekoch.posterous.com/maximizing-the-social-media-internships http://suekoch.posterous.com/maximizing-the-social-media-internships
Holger-10

 

 Of the infinite benefits of social media, another has been the introduction of new jobs and opportunity into the economy at a time when it is critically needed.  The other side of this coin is that many people believe that because they spent years using Facebook, they automatically qualify as a “Social Media Expert”.  Businesses often fail to look beyond the lack of business world application due to their urgency to get online, and resist making the financial investment to do it strategically. 

Photo by graur razvan ionut

 

 

Enter the social media internship.   The internship is an incredible way to benefit both the applicant and the business.  But it can also be a recipe for disaster if not managed appropriately.

When hiring an intern to manage your social media, ask yourself a few questions:

  •  Would I want this person on the phone with that huge deal I’m about to close, while the world listens? 
  •  Would I want this person to immediately react and speak on my behalf when my business, products or services are highly criticized in the public eye? 
  •  Is this person a savvy communicator, strategic thinker, and comfortable with a public presence?

It isn’t simply about the ability to navigate the social landscape, a successful social media or community manager must understand your brand, your voice, the etiquette of attraction marketing, and hold in very high regard the fact that they are responsible for representing your public image online.

Let’s also consider your responsibility as a business owner, and grooming young professionals to be masters of their craft and helping to launch them into a successful career.  

The intent of an internship for a student is to learn and grow by applying learned skills in a business setting.  If you toss them a bunch of content and tell them to “post and chat” they will not be making the most of this career growth opportunity.  The internship is not about ‘cheap labor’ it is a coaching opportunity that needs to be taken seriously by the employer.

Too often businesses are simply looking to reduce cost and get online so they can look the other way and ‘let social media run itself’.  This does not work.  Making the investment to educate your social media interns will not only benefit your online campaign and protect your reputation, it could just result in a long term employee who becomes a solid, strategic player in your organization generating substantial ROI on your initial investment.

This is your image at stake, and the potential of an eager young professional.  Aren’t both worth the investment?

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/658418/SueGrnHead.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wPxcq2taBIB Sue Koch Sue Koch Sue Koch