How to Become Your Industry Expert

 35 Responses »
Apr 142012
 

It is All About the Value Your Provide as Your Industry Expert!

Providing ValueYou don’t have to be the originator or all the content you provide to your target market. YES original content is important so you should definitely provide as much original content as you have. However, there are many other ways to help establish yourself as your industry expert. How?

Share Other Industry Expert’s Content

Does this mean take someone else’s content and put your name on it? NO! That would be stealing! It DOES mean that you could and should SHARE their content with your target market/lists/clients/potential clients.

Be Selective, Do Your Research

You don’t want to just share anything. Remember your goal is to provide VALUABLE information from other authorities in your niche. The more value you provide, the more people will follow you, listen to you, and know where to go when they need answers/solutions/products/services. How?

Set up an RSS Feed

Don’t listen to me – this is not my area of expertise. However, it IS one of Kimberly Castleberry’s so read her post Create or Subscribe To Google+ Public Shares By RSS Feed with PlusFeed. How’s that for a real-life example of what this post is about? :)

Why Should You Establish Yourself as Your Industry Expert?

SEO! Need I say anymore?

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Who Has a Longer Memory – an Elephant or the Internet?

 23 Responses »
Apr 262011
 

Did You Know that Elephants are More Intelligent than Humans?Elephant

Yup, that is what the scientists tell us.

The elephant brain is denser than the human’s, and the temporal lobes, associated with memory, are more developed than in humans. Elephant’s lobes also have more foldings, so that they can store more information. That’s why elephants have excellent memory.” (source). So here is the question, what has a better memory, the elephant or the Internet?

This post is actually following up on a comment by Rick Lelchuk about personal responsibility and how the onus of this responsibility falls on the individual. He used the memory of the Internet as an example, meaning if someone uses bad judgment once and blurts out something online without thinking of the long and far-reaching consequences of this action, it will haunt them for a very long time – because the Internet remembers.

I have heard of many specific examples where people are suffering from these unwanted consequences of “bad” Internet behavior – some not even by choice. One woman in particular was mentioned in an article about a scandalous case when she actually had nothing to do with the case; she came on the scene after the incident. This is actually not an example of personal responsibility, as she had nothing to do with it, but it is a good example of the very long memory of the Internet. Her name still appears on the first page in Google, and although it doesn’t say anything negative about her, we all know about “guilt by association”. Couple that with the fact that many people don’t read beyond the first paragraph or so and tend to make judgments based on perhaps only half of the facts. How many times have you heard someone say, “I read a review about such-and-such and it proves the product (or service) is crappy’, yet if you check out the same review, you might often find the second, third, fourth, etc. reviews are actually positive?

Take another example of someone losing their cool online and acting unprofessionally – as we have all seen. This person’s comment will be showing up in Google for a lot longer than he or she will appreciate – no doubt. There are reputation management companies out there specifically for the purposes of managing and/or helping re-build business’ reputation. Have you seen examples of people saying something online that has left its mark on their reputation? No names please :)

Has the Internet Taken Away Personal Responsibility?

 37 Responses »
Apr 192011
 

Where Does Personal Responsibility Begin and End?

responsibility

The recent news about Match.com being sued by a woman who was raped on a date with a man she met on Match.com has brought about the question – “Who is liable” here? First off, let me say that under NO circumstances is rape ever OK. It is a horribly violent attack that is never the fault of the attacked no matter how she is dressed, what she says, where she is, etc. With that said….

The Internet is used to “find” everything including a mate. The same way one checks out reviews about products before buying them, shouldn’t someone seeking a mate on an online dating site also do some checking before they go on that date? Match.com has a disclaimer on their site that clearly states:

“Match.com is not responsibl­e for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any user of the Website or Member of the Service.”

According to Annenberg TV News, the plaintiff is not asking for monetary damages, but wants all of Match.com’s members to be run through a national sex offender database before allowing them to join the site. And what if this is the person’s first offense? How will this help? People can snap at any time and/or can have deviant tendencies that might be laying dormant. Where is the personal responsibility, good judgment, and common sense?

In a similar vein, how many times do you hear adults blaming their parents for their misfortunes, character flaws, and inadequacies? At what age do “adults” start taking responsibility for their own lives? 18? 25? 45?

The Internet has made everything easy and immediate. However, as adults, it is our responsibility to use it wisely. This goes for dating sites, social media sites, forums, and any place online one either visits or posts.

How is this relevant for small business marketing? It serves as a reminder that the Internet provides a huge arena for brand exposure, but each business owner needs to be aware of the effects and consequences of everything they do and don’t do on the Web. The responsibility is ours to make sure we are true to our brand promise, transparent, genuine, professional, and courteous – even if someone else is not. Have you ever seen professionals behave unprofessionally online and use the excuse that the “other” person started it or was rude first? Personally, I don’t subscribe to this line of reasoning. Blaming others as a reason for bad or unprofessional behavior is not, in my opinion, a good response. We have no control over what others say or how they behave, but as adults, we do have control over what we say and do, on the decisions and judgments we make, and on the actions we take or don’t take.

What are you thoughts on this topic? I started an interesting conversation on Facebook about this case. The consensus of opinion is that the case is full of holes, and no matter how horrific the crime, it is not the fault of Match.com and they are not liable for this act of violence. What do you think?

Lions and Tigers and FaceBook Web Addresses – Oh My!

 8 Responses »
Nov 102010
 

You Can Now Have Your Own Facebook Web Address

surprisedWho knew? I didn't when one of the vendors I work with emailed me a few weeks ago asking me if Facebook users had their own Facebook web address. She had a client who wanted to add his Facebook address to his business cards and she reached out to me to see what I knew about them. As I didn't know anything about it, that is what I told her. (I did just send her an updated email with the correct information). I did know that one could get a personalized URL for a page, but didn't know that we could do the same for our personal FaceBook profiles.

Some of you are probably thinking to yourselves, "Duh Julie, this has been around for months"! If you are one of those people, why didn't you tell me? :)

In any event, for those of you who – like me – are busy doing a hundred things at once and might miss something new and neat, you can now have your own Facebook web address. Read Memorable Web Addresses for Profile, Page or Group and get your own.

Mine is http://profile.to/jweishaar – what's yours?

Don’t Underestimate the Value of a Relationship

 9 Responses »
Aug 272010
 

relationshipsAs consumers we are continually bombarded by ads, emails, mailers, and phone calls about the latest and greatest. How do we decide which ones to pay attention to and which ones to ignore?

In the same vein, how can the small business owner expect his/her marketing message and value proposition to stand out amongst the masses? The answer lies in using effective marketing techniques and differentiators in order to be as unique as possible. The higher the competition of a particular industry, the more difficult this becomes. One would be hard pressed to find many industries that are not saturated these days, unless it is a very unique and highly targeted business.

In addition to using creative and innovative messaging, small business owners should keep in mind the value of the relationships they build. The Internet and the use of social media have created a totally transparent society in that what one does and says is more often than not, broadcasted across the World Wide Web – especially if it is something negative. As the old adage states: “Bad news travels fast”. Reputation management has become an increasingly important area of concern for business owners – as it should be.

It is pretty much accepted by all that people like to do business with people they know. Think about it. How often do you ask people you know to refer you to a doctor, hair dresser, painter, or landscaper? How often do you hire someone to perform a service you need because you either know that person or know someone else who knows that person?

So, in the end, who gets the business? The person you know – either directly or through someone else. If you ask many self-employed folk how they found their first customers, you will find that most of them are from people they know.

Even in a world where technology is advancing at a rate close to the speed of light, basic principles of human nature and business prevail. Reputation and relationships matter.


Footprints in the Sand

 4 Responses »
Apr 222010
 

footprintWhat are footprints? They are marks or impressions of someone's foot -  right?

What does a footprint mean? It means that the owner of that foot was in the place where the print was left.

What does this have to do with marketing? The answer is EVERYTHING.

If you are a small business owner, your footprint is your brand. You want to give your brand as much exposure as possible and you can do this by leaving your footprint wherever you go both on and off the Internet. If you attend a business networking or social event, your footprint is usually your business card. On the web, your footprint is the comment you leave on someone's blog or article. It can be your participation in conversations on industry forums.

The more places you leave your footprint, the more name recognition you will get, the more connections you will make, and the more you will be building your expertise on the subject you are commenting on which will help to identify you as your industry expert. Miles Austin in Footprints in the Sand shares some great insights and differentiates between lurkers and those who leave their footprints behind. Which one are you?

Lessons to be Learned from Kiosk Vendors

 5 Responses »
Apr 052010
 

kioskWe have all been accosted by kiosk vendors while shopping in malls. Most of the time, we walk past them quickly to avoid their hard-sell approach because we find them annoying, right? 

And for the most part, they are annoying but they are just trying to make a living like the rest of us.

In What Small Business Owners Can Learn from Kiosk Salespeople Jessica Swanson talks about the lessons small business owners can learn from these pushy sales people.

She says “For small business owners there’s a lesson to be learned from the aggressive and pushy kiosk sales-people. It’s called “product demonstration” and it works – in fact, it works so well that product demonstrations can increase sales by up to 70%.”

Read her full article here.

Don’t Believe Everything You Read

 No Responses »
Jan 102010
 

There is so much information on the Internet that it is oftentimes difficult to know where to focus your attentions or how to know what is true.  Greg Satell in his post "The Importance of Paying Attention" brings out how both on and off the Internet, it is important to "pay attention" and read entire reports, don't just believe something is true because everyone says it is, and to check out your facts.  He tells it like it is!

Read his article from Digital Tonto here.

Time to Re-Evaluate and Re-assess Your Marketing Efforts and Your Marketing Edge

 No Responses »
Jan 072010
 
Marketing has always been a very important and oftentimes overlooked function of running a business.  Because it SUPPORTS the sales function rather than having a DIRECT effect on the bottom line, it is also often the first area businesses will neglect in hard economic times.  The term Marketing is also often equated with the term sales – when in fact – they are not one in the same.  However, well thought-out strategic marketing efforts are even more important in times of economic crisis.  Mark Bower in his post on Brand Republic offers a witty and wise look at the importance of marketing. 
 
Read full article here.