Here’s an example of an animation you can make with YouTube’s software. It’s about getting started with YouTube after setting up your account.
Here’s an example of an animation you can make with YouTube’s software
July 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
A (different) Twitter posting for everyone
June 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment
“One size fits all” is perhaps the biggest marketing lie ever!
This man would love the social media!
Similarly, one type of marketing is not going to reach everyone.
Consider the AIDA consumer model that’s been around for decades. It assumes that any particular individual is, at a given time, at one four mile markers along her road to making a purchase: Awareness, Interest, Desire or Action.
Unless you specialize in impulse items, it’s unlikely that someone who has just become aware of your product or service is immediately ready to sign on the dotted line. Similarly, your Twitter fans need different messages, appropriate for their particular place on the road.
I’m using Twitter in this example, because the messages are short and it’s feasible to list a few here, but the same concept is true for Facebook, blogging, email newsletter, face-to-face, etc., as well.
I’m going to use for this example, because it’s consuming much of my thought right now, a new business I’m creating: Jules Verne Audiobooks. Sales are programmed to begin July 11, but I want to build audiences ahead of time. That’s the same as having a billboard in front of your building with similar words. [Read more...]
Here’s a bullet-point outline for today’s session on Twitter for business
May 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Twitter for Business
Luncheon seminar sponsored by the Cochise College Small Business Development Center
May 19, 2011, Sierra Vista Campus, Room 702
Gary and Margaret Dillard, instructors
• Social media marketing
First of all, it’s social. Treat it as if it were a social event.
Just as important, it’s marketing. You must have goals and measurements. [Read more...]
I’m ready to start social media marketing! Uh, what should I write about?
May 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment
I have to be somewhat careful about what I say here, because I’ve been a professional writer for the past 40 years and may not evince the sympathy you would expect. But believe me: I’ve stared at a lot more blank screens than you’d care to imagine!
What I would encourage you to do, however, is to rephrase the question in the headline a bit. Since this is all about social media, ask instead, What should I talk about?
Is that an easier question?
Also, don’t just see yourself sitting behind a computer, but put yourself into a social situation, talking with a few friends or customers. (With luck, they’re both.) Envision a recent conversation in which you chatted about your business. What did you say then?
If it’s like most conversation, there was a mixture of short statement, questions, replies and longer stories or explanations. And that’s what your social media marketing is about as well. [Read more...]
Planning your Twitter name
April 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Will your name in Twitter match your blog name or your name in Facebook?
Your Twitter name, or handle as some call it, is what people will know you as on Twitter. While you can change it, it’s worthwhile to give it some thought before you sign up.
First off, you have only 15 characters and you can’t use spaces. But you can use capitals in the middle of it all to get names such as PrismSMM, a shortening of Prism Communications Social Media Marketing, which certainly wouldn’t fit. Another Twitter handle is simply my name, all lower case: garydillard. Many Twitter handles are like this, though I could have used two caps. [Read more...]
You think only small business has it hard keeping up with IT?
April 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Small businesses certainly miss out on a lot of the benefits of the IT revolution because they can’t hire a staff of experts to do it for them.
But even big business, with all its resources, is struggling to keep up. Here’s a look at what a CEO needs to understand, and the questions he needs to ask, from today’s Wall Street Journal.
The ABCs of Twitter: Exploring the home page
April 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Last episode we took a look at the basics of the toolbar, which runs across the top of the Twitter page. For setting up your Twitter account, this has many features you’ll need to be familiar with. Some of its functions also are used every day as you tweet and participate in discussions.
Now let’s look at the home page, the page at which you arrive when you log into your account. (If there’s any questions, you can see it is highlighted on the toolbar; or click it to make sure.)
First function on this page, in the upper left, is the box for sending your message. You have 140 characters and everything counts. By watching, you’ll learn the various standard abbreviations that can give you more words – using numerals, for example – and you’ll learn what not to use because it can be ambiguous. [Read more...]
The ABCs of Twitter: Exploring the toolbar
April 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Details about how to use Twitter to its fullest extent could lead to hours of teleseminar; it’s also a subject that is evolving – literally – every day.
But here we’re just going to look at the basics, the things you see and can do when you open your Twitter account.
The toolbar
At top is the black toolbar with the Twitter symbol and name at the left. This is fixed, no matter where you are in the applications, whether you’ve linked to other pages on your Twitter site or whether you’ve scrolled way on down. [Read more...]
Getting to know Twitter simply by being an anonymous observer
April 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Whenever you experience something new, it’s nice to be able to sit back, anonymously, and observe for a while. With Twitter, not only is it possible, but it’s advisable, to do exactly that.
Find a topic that’s pertinent to your business and check it out. Let’s say your business is a crafts supply store. Type in #crafts in the search bar at top left on your Twitter page and see what’s being said. (Go here to read more about the #, or hash tag.)
The first message I see, when I do this exercise, is a “promoted tweet” from KrylonCrafts encouraging the use of spray paint. But instead of a sales tweet, it’s offering a link to projects, which could give a shopkeeper ideas or could be worth forwarding to others. [Read more...]
It’s all about conversation, not monologue
Social media is not monologue.
There’s a great scene in “The Hunt for Red October” when one naval officer says that the Russian ships followng the submarine are pinging away with their sonar, but no one is listening. What they’re doing is driving the defecting Russian toward hunter subs that will kill him.
Your use of social media also can be a “driver.” But that may not be what you want.
You know what it’s like when you’re gathered in a social group and one person dominates the conversation, not allowing others to comment, question or participate in any way. She essentially is “driving” as well: she’s driving everyone else away. [Read more...]