Building a Personal Brand for Increased Exposure
January 20, 2012
By Kerry McDuling, McDuling PR
A lot has changed as far as the way we do business, and as a result, the way we promote ourselves. While brand-building of companies used to be very much the focus of publicity and public relations efforts, nowadays the trend has moved more toward building a personal identity or personal brand, based entirely around individuals.
The reason for this is that, while technology has made doing business or making purchases so much easier and quicker, it has also made the process so much more impersonal. People prefer to do business with people, and those businesses that incorporate a personal touch to the transition are reaping the results.
An example of someone who has done it really well is Richard Branson.
Here is someone who has put himself at the forefront of the Virgin brand. He has created an identity of fun, adventure, creativity, courage, possibility. He is someone many of us can relate to. He is human. Therefore, no matter what industry he decides to launch into, he has immediate support. We can trust that new company because it is Virgin – because it is a creation of the incredible Richard Branson.
New media and technology lends perfectly to the idea of creating a personal brand. CEOs and Directors have created Twitter accounts, Facebook profiles and blogs for themselves where they share their business and personal viewpoint on the world around them. Suddenly we have direct access to the head of a large firm we are spending money with.
We feel important as a consumer because we can more easily be acknowledged by the person at the top, instead of having to be passed on from one department to another. We also feel that the business is more transparent because the top dog is putting himself/herself out there, and opening himself/herself up to public scrutiny. But perhaps most importantly, we feel we can relate to these people who used to be hidden in glass offices at the tops of very tall towers.
With this in mind, I would encourage business owners to create a personal profile for themselves at every available opportunity.
Here are some handy tips:
- Make sure your business’ webpage has an About Me page, with a short bio and a photo of yourself.
- When engaging in social media, such as Twitter or facebook, do so under your own name, rather than a business name. By all means, have a business page, but try making the content more personal.
- Be the media spokesperson for your business. Build your profile as the face and brand of the company.
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Kerry McDuling – McDuling PRKerry McDuling is a publicist and Director of her own public relations and publicity consultancy McDuling PR and exposure speciality business, Stratosphere Me – building brands and developing profitable business opportunities for companies, authors, speakers and entrepreneurs.
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Taking Action in 2012: 12 Pointers for Marketing Your Website More Effectively
January 19, 2012
By Bianca Board, Web123
What’s one thing you’re going to do better in 2012? I hope it’s taking action to improve your website! It’s a huge untapped resource for most of us small businesses as we can sometimes fail to see it as an investment. Like any investment, it should be showing you a profit.
Marketing your website and ensuring it is converting leads and getting you more sales should be at the top of your priorities for 2012. I have 12 pointers to help you get started on this… but trust me; they won’t work unless YOU take ACTION!
Pointer 1: Set your goals.
If you don’t have a clear direction or a set goal to target, then how do you know you’re improving? You don’t! Setting special goals can allow you to plan each step of the way and measure how far away you are from reaching the end goal.
Make sure you have SMART goals; in other words, they need to be: Specific, Measurable, Accurate, Realistic and Timely. Here are some examples:
- Increase sales by XX% during the next financial year
- Grow my subscriber list by XX by June 2012
- Generate XX leads on a weekly basis
- Grow my Facebook fan base to XX fans by June 2012
- Grow online sales by XX% over the next 2 months without increasing my advertising spend
As you can see from these examples, they provide a specific target that’s measurable, accurate, isn’t unrealistic and provides a time frame in which it needs achieving. Make yourself accountable.
So, how can you carry out achieving these goals? Through the use of Tactics!
Pointer 2: Define tactics for achieving your goals.
Put simply, tactics are what you’ll use to carry out your strategies in order to accomplish your goals. Once you identify the reasons for creating and investing in your website, you’ll find it easy to put strategies and tactics in place.
So really you need to work backwards. Define your goals first and then work out how you’ll achieve them. Here are some examples of tactics you could implement:
- Build a database of email prospects
- Promote my business through email marketing
- Sell my products 24/7 using a shopping cart
- Share my expertise through a blog
- Get a guest blogging gig on XYZ blog
- Create one webinar per month on specific topics
These tactics will help you ensure your goals are SMART and can be accurately undertaken without being unrealistic for your business.
Pointer 3: Are you telling your customers where to go?
If your website doesn’t clearly state what the next step is for a customer or where they should go to purchase a product or download a report, how will the customer know where to go? They won’t and this means they’ll either wander your site aimlessly or leave your site as it’s ‘too hard to find’ what they’re looking for.
Therefore, ‘Calls to Action’, known as CTAs, need to be placed on your site in order to clearly direct your visitors to do what you want them to do. The customer came to your website to hopefully buy, so place a CTA on your homepage that clearly points to your products, and ideally at least one CTA on every single page to encourage secondary actions like add to cart, join your newsletter, download your eBook, book a consultation, etc.
The use of catchy headlines and compelling copy is what can also be used as a CTA. If your headline doesn’t catch your reader’s attention straight away, then you risk losing that customer.
Pointer 4: Lead Capturing – What ‘FREE’ can really mean for your business.
People love getting things for free – if they feel there’s value. Putting a small hurdle in the way of someone getting something of value and then seeing whether they jump over it is a great way to filter qualified leads from casual browsers. Lead capture is the capturing of details (name and email as a minimum) for this qualification process. On the flip side, you could always offer free content without a barrier to encourage your content to spread more virally.
Lead capture, properly implemented, helps a visitor get to know you, like you and trust you.
Give them something of value, offer them ongoing information and freebies – and once they’re ready to buy, you’ll be front of mind.
When you’re planning out how to do it, it’s best to think of it as a sale where the customer is paying with information. You’ll want to use all the sales techniques you’d normally use to try to convert visitors into leads as you would converting a prospect into a customer. Use eBooks, reports, whitepapers, webinars, calculators, templates, checklists or ongoing advice as your “product”. Keep in mind all the profiling you’ve done of your ideal clients and use their hot buttons. Create content that helps solve their problems and you’ll have them eating out of your hands!
Pointer 5: Ditch the generic stock photo!
Stop relying on the same old stock photos for your website. Hire a professional photographer or, even better, hire a student photographer who will only charge a small fee!
Nothing beats authenticity and originality.
People like to see exactly what they’re getting and they want to know it’s of good quality. Even with service-based business, having photographs of your staff and what they do will add that personal touch and feel to your website. Real is better. As Ali G would say… “Keep it real.”
I’m not saying don’t use stock photos because, in some cases, they are needed, but consider for your 2012 website marketing to include new and original photos of you and your team.
Pointer 6: How to get more email subscribers.
If you want to increase subscriptions to your newsletter, try changing the copy and making it more about your prospects’ problems, fears and concerns. Instead of saying ‘Join our Newsletter’, try ‘Free Expert Tips & Success Strategies to Make You More Profitable’.
Offering them something of value is the trick!
People’s inboxes are overcrowded with newsletters these days – what would entice them to join yours? A gift voucher? A Free report or eBook? Regular Free Advice? The list is endless.
We did this with ours and got a whopping 3600% increase in newsletter subscriptions!
What are you going to include in yours to convert them later on too? Free accounting advice? Industry updates? Expert webinars? Always send good quality content that will interest your subscribers. Continuous blast-outs of product announcements just doesn’t cut it these days.
Pointer 7: Accelerate your conversions via landing pages.
Landing pages are simplified pages on your website dedicated to capturing leads or sales for one specific offer or product. I’m sure you’ve come across these before – a page with a sales pitch, lead capture form and one button – one way in, and only one way out.
Your response and conversion rates can be drastically improved by directing campaigns to landing pages – it keeps your message and your sales pitch crystal clear and ensures they’re not distracted by any other of your messages. Landing pages for campaigns targeting different markets can push the hot buttons of different types of ideal clients.
How can you utilise this tactic? Simple:
- Create a landing page that includes all the information about the campaign you’re running. For example, if you’re offering a free eBook for the purpose of lead capture and you’re advertising it through online ads, ensure the landing page has all the information required for the prospect to download the eBook. Include the benefits they’ll receive by downloading the book and of course include your lead capture form. Don’t get greedy with the fields you make them complete either. Keep it simple at this first stage.
- All your advertisements should link to this one landing page. The one-click to the landing page allows the customer to qualify the product instantly and quickly download what they want.
- Ensure you keep your leads and add them to your database for further nurturing!
Landing pages are also great for promoting workshops, special product packages, eBooks or whitepapers and other valuable insider content you want to market.
Pointer 8: Become an Educator.
Building a higher presence within your industry comes down to how much credibility the viewers of that industry perceive you have. A blog is a great way to position yourself and your business as experts in your field – as well as generate quality traffic for your website. Think of it as a personal journal, explaining something related to your industry (and your ideal clients) without being sales-focused. And consider getting controversial too. Make a real statement with your opinion and you could gain more traction and comments on your blog.
This integrates closely with the building of trust – for the kind of reader who goes into depth on your website, they’ll see that you’re knowledgeable, trustworthy and not going for the hard sell.
A blog, like your website, is a living, breathing asset. Google loves recent content.
Google loves newsworthy content. Treat it with love and care to keep your customers and prospects coming back!
Other tools that show you are an educator within your field include:
- eBooks
- Whitepapers
- Reports
- Email Newsletters with tips and advice
- Tutorials
Test each type of tool and see which one your audience prefers the most!
Pointer 9: Go Video in 2012.
Video is the new way to improve your Google ranking. Utilising video on your site can improve your rankings in Google 50 times better than a page of text!
Not only does video improve your ranking, it also allows you to explain what you do easier and will give you a better chance to build trust with your customers rather than using text on its own.
You don’t need a film crew or expensive camera to do it either. There are heaps of free tools that allow you to edit video. Search your computer – it’s bound to have one!
Pointer 10: Slow and steady wins the race.
Search Engine Optimisation is a set of tactics and practices you can implement or outsource to drive your website up the natural rankings in search engines for the keywords you want to be found on.
The best way to handle SEO is to outsource it – make sure you go with a reputable provider, but know that the hours of work required to do a good job with SEO can be substantial.
However, there are a number of things you can do to improve your SEO performance without spending a cent or investing too much time:
- Think about what your ideal client is going to type into Google to find you. Do your keyword research.
- Update all your online listings. To find out where they are, type your domain name into Google with inverted commas like this: “www.mydomain.com.au” and hit search.
- Build additional external links. e.g., get your suppliers to link to your site, write guest blog posts, write articles and submit them to online directories for publishing.
- Set yourself up a Google Places Account – for help with this, you can see this post Listing with Google Places in 3 Easy Steps.
- And use video where you can.
It’s a known fact that 90% of search engine users won’t go past the first 3 pages.
In fact, about 42% of people click on the number 1 result. That’s almost half! Therefore, you need to get your business ahead of competitors. If you’re on a tight budget or the DIY type, you could even try a 30 day DIY program to improve your rank >>
Pointer 11: Social Media – Just do it really well.
As we all know by now, social media is where people (and your customers) are hanging out at. This means that your business should be there as well, utilising it to communicate with customers in a more personal way.
However, the point of social media tools like Facebook and YouTube isn’t about just being present. If you really want to make an impact and gain higher conversions from using social media, then you need to do it really well!
This is easier than you think if you have a good strategy behind you. Ensure you communicate on a regular basis if you’re on Facebook and encouraging participation in your posts from your ‘likers’. If you utilise YouTube, ensure you are regularly updating content and pushing links through to Facebook. Keeping active on social media will keep your audience aware of you and will eventually convert them.
Remember, only spend time where you know your audience does. Don’t waste time on Twitter if your audience isn’t using it yet. Research first then approach it from a strategic standpoint and you’ll succeed.
Pointer 12: How to implement and action for 2012.
Your brain has probably just overloaded and you’re now thinking, “How do I go about implementing things like this for 2012?” Don’t stress! It’s all about planning and setting out what you want to achieve… remember Pointers 1 & 2? They are your first steps. Then you need to sort out what tactics (pointers 3-11) you will use to achieve your goals.
Here are some quick tips of getting started on implementing:
- Set Your Goals – what do you want to achieve and by when?
- Create a Content Calendar – what are you going to market and when? Think of what you’re going to do on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis, then plan it out in your calendar.
- Measure using Google Analytics and Your Website Statistics – Measuring is important to ensure you are on track to achieving your goals. Don’t miss this crucial step.
- Review your progress on a monthly basis – if you aren’t on track, then you should refine your processes or refine your goals to be SMART. If one medium isn’t bring any sales, maybe it’s time to ditch it and put your energy into something that will.
As you can see, when you break it down, it can be a lot easier to take action for marketing your website for 2012. By taking action, and being patient, I guarantee you’ll see positive results and you won’t look back!
What have you got planned for 2012? Share your ideas below. Leave a comment now.
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Bianca Board – Web123Bianca Board is a self-confessed perfectionist, but that’s a good thing, because as Web123′s chief designer and web strategist, she’s expert at helping small business achieve something that makes money and looks incredible without the designer price tag. With a creative streak that extends to sales, organic gardening, painting, decorating and generally making the world a more beautiful place, Bianca’s the person who will make sure that, along with functioning just as it should, your company’s website will look nothing short of amazing.
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Is this Social Media Myth Hindering your Business Results?
January 13, 2012
By Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen’s Network
I often speak with small business owners about the value in using social media and some of them respond with social media myths, stories that are just not true. These myths are an unnecessary obstruction that prevents them from implementing the power of social media in their business.
The common myths I hear are that social media is too time-consuming, that it’s just a distraction from doing business.
The myth that I hear most often, and which I want to address today – is that it’s hard to justify the ROI.
How to get a good ROI from your social media activity
Social media use in business should always be tied to specific targets and objectives.
Doing good business means getting a good return on your investment of time and energy.
If you’re spending time on social media sites without a clear goal, then you may very well be wasting time and creating a distraction.
Some people seem to have a hard time justifying the use of social media, just as some people found it difficult to justify having a business website ten years ago.
But you CAN set goals and measure results to justify the ROI.
Let’s start here:
What is your goal? Do you want to increase your number of follows? Increase sales for a particular item? Increase the number of comments left on your blog?
You can measure and quantify how your social media activity impacts those goals.
Put in place some measures, take some action using social media and see what happens. If nothing happens, it’s probably not ‘social media’ at fault. Perhaps there’s more for you to learn about how to use it effectively.
Two more social media myths
Here are two more myths I often hear.
MYTH: Social media is time consuming.
Social media doesn’t have to be time-consuming. It’s wonderful to offer free, valuable content to your audience, but you don’t have to keep reinventing the wheel. You can save time by repurposing your existing content and disseminating it through different channels.
For example, we repost our top newsletter articles on our blog and link to them from social media sites. Our newsletter is like the backbone of our social media activity for the week. Once the newsletter is complete, our blog posts and tweets for the rest of the week are already scheduled.
Because we’re organised and efficient in repurposing content, we don’t have to spend a lot of time creating fresh content for social media.
MYTH: Social media is a distraction from doing real business.
If your social media activity is tied to specific business goals, it makes sense to spend the time required to get the results. You don’t have use every social media tool. You may be able to use just one tool and create all the results you want.
But FIRST you need to know what the tool does so that you know if it will get you the result you need.
If you come to see social media as the way you interface with customers and prospects, you’ll never see it as a distraction – you’ll see it as the never-before-available-and-wonderfully-effective opportunity that it is.
Of course, all of these myths could be true – but not if you’re using social media wisely.
Social media is the way people communicate. If your business is not using social media, then you’re missing out on the conversation, and you’re missing out on multiple opportunities to engage customers.
Are there other myths that you hear about that you think should be debunked? Let us know by adding a comment.
If you’re looking to improve your social media prowess, you may find our Social Media for Small Business podcast series helpful. Each 30-minute episode gives you tips and tricks for using social media. Available on our website and also on iTunes so that you can enjoy it anytime, anywhere.
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY SUZI DAFNIS
- Does your website make you look out dated? 5 tell-tale signs.
- The business books that rocked my year, in a good way
- The three words that will shape my 2012 goals
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Suzi Dafnis – Australian Businesswomen’s NetworkSuzi Dafnis is the Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s Community Director and Chairperson of the Advisory Board. Suzi has been involved with the network since 1995. In 1998, she took over the network from its founder and has since managed and grown the network. She remains its media spokesperson and a champion of women in business. She is also the editor of the ABN’s newsletters, author of the herBusiness blog and presents the In Her Shoes video series and herBusiness podcast.
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How to Use Social Media to Create Brand Advocates
January 4, 2012
By Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen’s Network
A brand advocate is a satisfied customer who promotes your brand for you. Think of brand advocates as unpaid marketing reps. In fact, brand advocates don’t even necessarily have to be customers; they may just be people who share social media content that you’ve created.
Because social media encourages interaction and participation among your customer base, you can use social media to create brand advocates. When people share your content on Facebook, for instance, they’re essentially endorsing your brand.
You can create brand advocates by energising your customer base.
Offer free, useful content to your audience. Provide stellar customer service and take every opportunity to engage your customers. If someone posts on your Facebook page, reply to their message as soon as possible and try to open up the conversation to others. If someone replies to your Tweet, thank them quickly and engage them in a conversation that will grow and vitalise your online community.
It’s easier now than ever before for people to tell us when they love us – and it’s just as easy for people to tell us when they’re not happy with us. Pay attention to both types of messages. Criticism is valuable to your brand because it gives you a chance to interact and put it straight. You can ignore criticism, which is bad PR. Or you could shoot back with a negative attitude, which is bad PR. Or you could take the opportunity to impress people by taking the issue seriously. Some of the most valuable brand advocates are those who see that you’re willing to resolve issues for customers.
Now, there are some people known as “trolls” who have no real criticisms; they only want to attack others online. Just ignore the trolls. They’ll go away when they realise they’re not getting attention.
Focus on energising your brand advocates and they’ll do the work for you.
Do you have tips for creating brand advocates through social media? We’d love to hear from you. Add to comments and let us know.
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY SUZI DAFNIS
- The Business Books That Rocked My Year (in a Good Way)
- How to Use Social Media for Business Research
- How to get Everything Done Before Christmas
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Suzi Dafnis – Australian Businesswomen’s NetworkSuzi Dafnis is the Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s Community Director and Chairperson of the Advisory Board. Suzi has been involved with the network since 1995. In 1998, she took over the network from its founder and has since managed and grown the network. She remains its media spokesperson and a champion of women in business. She is also the editor of the ABN’s newsletters, author of the herBusiness blog and presents the In Her Shoes video series and herBusiness podcast.
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Technology for Small Business Owners
December 9, 2011
By Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen’s Network
If you’ve explored our website or attended any of our events, you might think that the Australian Businesswomen’s Network (ABN) is a large organisation — but we’re not. We’re a small business, a small team of six people on a good day. And the six of us have to cater to clients all over Australia because women in business are in country towns, rural areas, urban areas and overseas. They’re not always available to come to events, so we had to make our education and information available to them.
Because of this need to make our information widely available and easily accessible, we were very early adopters of many different technologies, and now we train our community of businesswomen to use that technology.
We rely on technology because we don’t have a lot of resources.
I’m sure that a lot of you can appreciate that. We have a small team, with one of our staff actually based in the U.S. and an off-site advisory board, so we need to be able to communicate, share files and collaborate efficiently, sometimes in real time.
We rely on technology to manage our inventory. We need to communicate with our clients every week because 16,500 women rely on us to give them new information about education and resources. As a business owner, I use technology to make sure that I’m updating my skills and have the right information to run my business.
I had the pleasure of attending the largest technology conference in the world this year, South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, where 19,000 attendees shared the latest technologies. I came back with so many great ideas about new technologies that can be used in small business. But so many people are not taking advantage of the most helpful technology: the basic website. For most businesses nowadays, if you don’t have an online presence, you do not exist. If I search for and cannot find you using Google or any other search engine, then you don’t exist for me.
The Internet has changed the way we communicate with our clients.
People expect us to be able to comment on what we’re doing, to collaborate with them and to acknowledge their opinions. We can’t just broadcast to them; you have to give them the opportunity to give feedback. In this way, you can co-create your business with your clients.
At the ABN, we use an online editable website to collaborate on projects, so anyone on our staff can edit it and add content on a moment’s notice, from anywhere. We use YouTube to provide training videos on small business subjects, have our own Facebook page where we provide interesting articles and community updates, a Twitter account, as well as two iTunes channels where we publish podcasts: Social Media for Small Business and herBusiness – Insights for Women in Business. We use a lot of different devices and gadgets and we try to integrate them to give our clients multiple paths to the same destination. Technology allows us to connect with clients, educate ourselves and grow our business.
At this point in history, the question is not: “Should I be using these technologies in my business?” but rather: “How quickly can I adapt the most relevant technologies to grow my business?”
Start with a basic website, then use all those other social media tools to drive traffic to your website. From there, you can start to generate new leads and then communicate with those leads.
For new users, technology may be daunting.
I’m not really a tech-savvy person, but my business goals demand that I use new technologies. When I’m confused or overwhelmed, I may outsource a project to meet my goals. So, if you’re not tech-savvy (like me), don’t let that stop you from taking advantage of all the wonderful technologies available to increase your business.
Go to Google, start researching technologies relevant to your business and you’ll eventually come across a community of individuals in a similar position, looking for the same information. That’s how the ABN has developed into what it is today!
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY SUZI DAFNIS
- Business Mentoring for the 21st Century
- What Should I Write about on My Business Blog?
- How Guy Kawasaki Enchanted Me
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Suzi Dafnis – Australian Businesswomen’s NetworkSuzi Dafnis is the Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s Community Director and Chairperson of the Advisory Board. Suzi has been involved with the network since 1995. In 1998, she took over the network from its founder and has since managed and grown the network. She remains its media spokesperson and a champion of women in business. She is also the editor of the ABN’s newsletters, author of the herBusiness blog and presents the In Her Shoes video series and herBusiness podcast.
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Transforming Your Business Reputation
November 26, 2011
Carden Calder is the co-founder of Australia’s largest specialist financial services communication and public relations, BlueChip Communications. In this interview we discuss the key element of effective reputation management, regardless of what industry you are in.
As a founding partner Carden grew the business from start up to become Australia’s largest specialist financial services communication and public relations firm within two years. Clients include banking providers, fund managers, government, industry associations, insurers, researchers and consultants to the industry.
In this video interview we discuss:
- The key elements to managing your business reputation
- Warren Buffet’s philosophy on reputation management
- How social media can impact your reputation
- The role that citizenship, governance and leadership play in your brand management
- Why the product your delivery needs to hit the right buttons with your audience
Enjoy this interview with Carden Calder.
Watch this interview on the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website.
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About the In Her Shoes seriesIn Her Shoes is a regular video series presented by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network and BNet.com.au. Each interview features an inspiring businesswoman and her strategies for success. New episodes are released regularly. Become a Community Member for regular updates. StartUp and Growth Members get updates automatically. Become a Community Member with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. |
Growing a Business with Social Media – Video Interview with Angela Vithoulkas
November 22, 2011
Angela Vithoulkas is the multi-award-winning CEO of VIVO cafe, one of Sydney CBD’s most recognisable cafe brands. She has forged a strong reputation for the cafe through clever marketing techniques and a belief that customer service excellence forms the basis of every successful business. She is passionate about small business, women in business, and social responsibility.
In this video interview we discuss:
- How Angela balances working IN her business (spending hours on the shop floor) and working strategically on business growth
- Why small business is a power behind Australia’s economy
- Why she doesn’t believe in “balance”
- How she has successfully used social media (Four Square specifically) to drive customers to her stores
- Plus, Angela shares your top strategies for making your small business work.
Enjoy this interview with Angela Vithoulkas
Watch this interview on the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website now.
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About the In Her Shoes seriesIn Her Shoes is a regular video series presented by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network and BNet.com.au. Each interview features an inspiring businesswoman and her strategies for success. New episodes are released regularly. Become a Community Member for regular updates. StartUp and Growth Members get updates automatically. Become a Community Member with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. |
Member Kristy-Lee Johnston says Women Better than Men at Social Media
November 21, 2011
Member Kristy-Lee Johnston of Footprint Recruitment was recently quoted in a story for news.com.au about how female business owners have embraced social media and online retail more than their male counterparts.
Kristy-Lee says:
“It’s really easy to make connections with other people and introduce yourself much more simply. Getting to face-to-face meetings can be more tricky or time consuming.”
Read the full article on the Herald Sun website.
Kristy-Lee is one of our herBusiness bloggers. Read her latest blog posts here.
Can Google+ break through our social media fatigue?
November 10, 2011
This week, Google+ launched its business pages which will compete with Facebook business pages as a way for organisations to manage online communities, to market and to interact with clients.
But is Google+ just one social network too many for us to manage and care about?
Last week, Chris Brogan, author of about-to-be-released book GOOGLE+ for Business: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything was our guest on BOOKED for Lunch, the Australian Businesswomen’s Networks’ interview series with best-selling business book authors.
During the webinar (for which over 700 people registered), Chris pointed out many reasons why business people absolutely MUST start to use Google+, not the least of which is because Google indexes all public posts (your posts on the other social networks are not), giving you a lot of power behind your posts and the chance to integrate with other Google products.
Plus, Google+ has some fun features (Hangouts where you can video chat in small groups) and a better way to manage your contacts (Circles) than Facebook.
We jumped on the moment Pages launched and grabbed our page. We suggest you do the same. We use our Facebook Page extensively for business and I’m sure we will continue to — BUT that’s no reason for us not to also explore how to best use Google+ for business. (I bet you’re not lamenting that you now have a smart phone and not an old brick of a phone – technology and tools change and evolve and it’s important to keep evolving with them for your business to stay up to date.)
As Chris explained: “Google+ is more ‘open’ than Facebook, more deep than Twitter and more rounded than LinkedIn.”
And the fact that Google+ is tied to the number 1 and number 2 search engines in the world (Google and YouTube respectively) makes it a tool unlike the others.
So, there’s no time for fatigue. Register and grab your page today.
To help you make sense of it we suggest two things:
- Watch the webinar on the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website (duration 1 hour).
- Read this list of Google Pages how to guides compiled by Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop.
Here’s some comments from people who attended the live webinar:
– “I found Chris’s responses insightful and thoroughly convincing.”
– “Great ideas, which I’ll be implementing.”
– ”I enjoyed the targeted information that came out though the interview (which was conducted in real language rather than ‘business speak’”
– ”Practical tips and reconfirmation of the importance of social media.”
About Chris Brogan
President, Human Business Works
Chris Brogan consults and speaks professionally with Fortune 100 and 500 companies. He is a New York Times bestselling co-author of Trust Agents, and a featured monthly columnist at Entrepreneur Magazine. Chris’s blog is in the Top 5 of the Advertising Age Power150. He has over 11 years experience in online community, social media, and related technologies.
About Google+ for Business (the Book)
In Google+ for Business, Chris Brogan guides you through using Google+ for promotion, customer service, community building, referrals, collaboration and a whole lot more. You won’t just master innovative new tools like Circles and Hangouts; You’ll use them to generate more customers and more cash!
OUT SOON: Order your copy today.
Article by Kate Tribe in Dynamic Business Magazine
October 31, 2011
Australian Businesswomen’s Network Member and Owner of Tribe Research, Kate Tribe is featured in the October 2011 issue of Dynamic Business Magazine. She writes an article entitled, The Old Fashioned Things that Make a Big Difference. Kate discusses five things that you can do to help stand out and stay front of mind in your customers’ minds:
- Identify a core market and a unique way for them to remember you
- Slightly change marketing that can be lost in a seasonal flood
- Think laterally about your brand messages and fun ways to communicate them
- Word of mouth isn’t just through your customers
- Supporting businesses that are in your market
Kate Tribe says:
New technology and social media are great but maintaining some old fashioned thoughtful gestures can make a real difference to the way customers view your business and its brand.
Kate Tribe has also been featured in a recent new.com.au article, Business slow on the uptake of mobile web and in Smarter Business Ideas on how to network like a pro.
