In an article published by Alison Diana of Informationweek.com, the majority of consumers want to interact with businesses via social media outlets. However, less than one-third of companies actually have any type of social media strategy in place. Thus, we have a problem. So, then why aren’t businesses picking up on their consumers’ desire to connect?
This information on the many missed opportunities to use social media in business comes from a recent report put forth by Siemens Enterprise Communications in conjunction with leading research firm, Yankee Group. In the study, results showed that the average customer satisfaction with current business interactions via social media was just 65 percent while one third of businesses do not allow the use of social media at work or aren’t aware of their company’s participation in social networking.
Tsk. Tsk.
Overlooking social networking or merely passing social media off as a “waste of time” or boiling it down to goofing off on Facebook or Twitter is hardly the case. If used properly, social media can draw in tons of traffic to a website or help put a business that would have otherwise been an ‘unknown’ on the map for the first time.
All you have to do to see social media in action with a business is look at the recent ad campaign put forth by Old Spice. Old Spice found a clever and creative way to employ the use of several top social networking site: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube (all user-generated) in order to strengthen their brand. Some may view Twitter as pointless, but when you look at what Old Spice did with their Twitter page, they actually took the time to interact with their followers. It was the perfect example of listening to the consumer and then responding (in real time) to their demand.
Selected highlights from the study
70 percent of consumers want access to company experts and support via social media channels and trust company information provided to them via their social networks.
Nearly 60 percent of customers feel company outreach via social media would improve their loyalty to that company.
Most customers feel that companies should be monitoring social media for customer feedback.
50 percent of respondents use social media daily or several times a day.
Nearly 70 percent of employees feel they need better tools to track and manage social media for business, and would like the ability to initiate a Web conference automatically from a chat discussion at work, inviting people from within their social and work networks.
To read more about the study, click here. In the meantime, consider what sorts of social media practices your business is employing at the moment. What could you be doing better? What sorts of demands do your customers/clients want? Perhaps the most important thing to consider is the power that social media has to leverage your business above the competition. Never underestimate this!
Are you entrepreneur material? The following are several questions you can ask yourself in order to get an idea:
Am I passionate about any one thing?
Am I a dreamer?
Am I always looking for other opportunities to better myself?
Do I have a problem with authority figures?
Do I want to be in control?
While these questions aren’t necessarily a means to an end, it seems as if most entrepreneur-type people lean towards these sorts of tendencies.
Start Thinking Like an Entrepreneur
With the last couple of years in the middle of a recession being rough on a lot of people, many have had time to re-think their career goals. What’s even more is that some of these people have decided to throw caution to the wind as they pursue their lifelong dreams and goals to be their own boss. Of these people, some have succeeded while others have floundered. But what is it about successful entrepreneurs that puts them a step above the rest of us in the scramble to work for ourselves?
In order to be an entrepreneur, you have to start thinking like one. The following examples are just five ways in which you can begin the process of thinking like an entrepreneur:
Don’t Fear Failure- Failure is often how we learn our toughest lessons. Don’t view it as a failure, but as a way in which something didn’t work. Learn something from the experience and try again.
Be Innovative- Too often, you will find that several people have had the same idea while one person really stands out. What is it about that one person who stands out? What ideas do you have that others don’t?
Be Gentle to Those Around You- If, one day, you make it big, there is no doubt that you wouldn’t have done it alone. Everyone has been successful in some aspect of their lives has had to accept help at some point from others around them. Be kind to these people when you are on top because should you falter, you may need their help.
Be Confident; Not Cocky- No one likes an ego-maniac. Similarly, however, no one will take you seriously if you lack confidence. This is a delicate balance that you must master while remaining somewhat realistic in your expectations of yourself, your business and others around you.
Be Persistent- If it was easy, everyone would do it.
When it comes to finding a job, you don’t have to wait for employers to call you. Rather, you should be proactive and see what sorts of information you can find out about them instead. From checking a company’s market shares, stock performance and overall history, it doesn’t hurt to do a little research on a potential employer. For example, prior to going on a job interview with a somewhat major company, I first researched them and discovered that they had declared bankruptcy only a few months prior to my interview.
At the end of the job interview, the asked me if I had any questions, and the first one I asked was related to what I had researched and found. I soon found out that I had gotten the job, but given the employer’s shaky explanation about the bankruptcy issue, I didn’t feel that it was a smart move to accept a job that I could potentially stand to lose within a few months. All of this aside, the following are some great resources for researching your future employer:
ThomasNet- great resource for finding out comany information- simply type in the name of the company you are searching for
ThomasGlobal- same deal as ThomasNet except bigger
Corporate Information (Ci)-Find out financial information about a company as well as info related to earnings and dividends, sales analysis and more.
Triangle Business Journal-For those who live in the Research Triangle area of NC, this journal is a great resource for the financial happenings in the business world of North Carolina
When you own a business, you naturally want things to succeed. This is why many small (and larger) business owners have turned towards the Internet in recent years. Like so many of us, they realize that most people spend a considerable amount of time on the Internet. Why, the Internet is everywhere you go! From coffee shoppes to cell phones that have Internet access as a feature, it seems as if we simply cannot escape it, and invariably, we become addicted to “surfing”.
Keeping all of this in mind, business owners are becoming more and more Internet savvy and are counting their lucky stars after they’ve realized how much money can be saved by turning to various forms of online marketing to help drive traffic to their business’ website. The following are five simple examples of this.
5 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Site
Blogging-Blogging is a more relaxed, fun and personal way to get in touch with your target market. It puts you into direct contact with the consumer, allowing for feedback, advice and other information through insightful often well-thought out blog posts that vary between 150-350 words typically. Blogging can also help with search engine traffic because it helps to add content to your already established website.
Link Exchanges- A link exchange is a great way to keep in touch with other people within your niche market. Not only this, but the more link exchange relationships that you form, the more your business gets seen by other people on other sites, which can increase your popularity.
RSS Directory Submissions- RSS directory submissions are great because they allow you to submit your RSS feed to a select network of people within your industry. This helps you to reel in a more focused group of visitors to your site who are actually interested in what you have to say/sell/offer.
Social Networking- Social media and social networking are ALL THE CRAZE because they are super effective when used properly. It’s no longer about your kid creating a Myspace page so that he or she can chat it up with friends and gossip. Rather, social networking (from a business perspective) is about creating a profile for your business on a few social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and then keeping these profiles strictly for business-related items. You’d be amazed at how many business owners have experienced success from the creation of Facebook Fan pages and large numbers of Twitter followers. Try it out!
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)- For a nominal fee (depending on the company’s objectives), business owners can pay to display their website’s name along with a brief description when a person types a term that is relevant to that particular business into a search engine. PPC is typically a great (and fairly quick) way of getting advertising results. However, for it to be effective, you should have a clear understanding of what the main keywords in your industry are as well as how much is in the budget for PPC. For this reason, it is usually a good idea to find someone who specializes in PPC and is certified to help you out.
A Poken is a small USB device that allows you to store your social networking info and share it with other Poken users. Essentially, it is akin to having a social business card because it makes sharing your contact details and online social networking info incredibly easy (not to mention paper-free).
How do you Poken?
To activate your Poken, you have to pull apart the body and hand (yes, they look like little people) and pull out the plastic tab. If you see a flashing red light, then this means that your activated and read to go. When you meet up with your boss for lunch or with other business prospects, instead of handing them your business card, simply connect your Poken to theirs. You can choose what sort of information you would like to share with other people before hand. Remember, your poken card only shows whatever information you want to share with people.
Where Do I Get One?
Pokens can be purchased in packages or individually from official resellers found here. Pokens can come in sleek and sophisticated designs (for those of you who like to keep things super simple) or you can purchase them in one of the many characters that they are popular for. Most of them average between $20-$35 depending on the style that you get. To get an even better idea of what Poken is all about, check out the following video:
Tiny futuristic techno creatures, some with oversized eyes and cartoon-like disguises, have entered the US at strategic points. They have been identified as Poken. Their point of entry two years ago was Switzerland. They transmit short range wireless code to accomplish their mission of interpersonal information gathering. They are reported to be proliferating in Europe, and now seem to be multiplying quickly in the U.S., having been observed in increasing numbers, especially at networking gatherings around the Triangle, NC area.
Success coach Martin Brossman says not to be afraid. He advises: “This is the wave of the future. It’s time to be prepared. The Poken™ come in peace, bringing a new electronic form of networking communication. I see a day in the not-too-distant future when everyone who wants to expedite and improve their human connections will own and carry a Poken™ on their keychain.”
For those who are eager to early-adoopt a Poken™, Brossman has been authorized to reveal the inner workings , as follows:
How information is transferred and stored via the Poken™
The Poken™ is a fun way to share your social media and contact information with someone you meet who also has a Poken™. When two Poken are touched together, they give off a green glow which indicates the information has been successfully transferred. Information can include your photo, all your social media sites, your websites, phone, address–whatever you want to add.
The Poken HUB is the website you use to maintain and keep all your contact data. Since it is web-based you can view and update it remotely. To see more about the HUB:http://www.poken.com/website
A Poken™ is essentially a dynamic electronic business card. There are two different models.
* PokenSPARK™: Humorously designed little characters with a big hand, plus key chain hook.; they have no extra memory. Cost about $20.00 + shipping. To see the SPARK: http://www.poken.com/spark
* PokenPULSE™: Looks like a USB memory stick and had 2Gig of re-usable memory as well as the Poken™ electronics and storage for the Poken data. To see the PULSE: http://www.poken.com/pulse
Poken™ have the following benefits
* You don’t have to type in a person’s contact information or re-check scanned information like you do with business cards.
* If your contact changes their content information, their information is automatically updated on your Hub site.
* Your Hub storage includes the time / date when you met them on a timeline.
* Their photo is included.
* You can easily export the data to other electronic devices.
You can find Poken™ to order on-line, or it is available locally at events related to www.inside919.com and www.LinkingRaleighNC.com or contact the Martin Brossman to find out where to pickup one in the Raleigh NC area.
It’s bad enough that the unemployment rate is over 10 percent, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that your dreams of having your own business have to be washed down the drain. The following are five steps that you can take to starting your own business during an unfriendly economy:
Hang on to that Day Job! For those of you who are fortunate enough to still have a job during regular business hours and have always dreamed of “being your own boss,” don’t submit your resignation just yet. Rather, it’s better to take a safer approach by testing out business ideas and coming up with a business plan in your off-hours when you’re not working. By doing this, you can continue to eek out an existence while you brainstorm.
Who Needs an Office? Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to get in your car and sit in rush hour traffic for an hour just to get to a physical office. Instead, many smart business owners are discovering that they can run a much more profitable business venture right from the comfort of their own homes. In this day and age where everything is run off of the Internet, you’d be silly to waste all of that money renting out an office space and paying for extra utilities. Instead, turn that second bedroom in your home or apartment into an office area and then write it off on your taxes!
Use Free resources. Your local library contains numerous useful references regarding incorporation, writing business plans, marketing, as well as information specific to your industry. The Small Business Association, Chambers of Commerce, AMEX Small Business website, associations for your industry, associations by ethnicity…all of these offer training, materials, networking and sometimes financing. Another good option is SCORE, a group of retired executives who provide business start-up advice. [source]
Find Dependable Employees! Whether you’re flying solo on your first business venture or if you’re bringing a business partner and/or employees on board for the ride, make sure that you look for people who are RELIABLE. Sure, the success of any company is due to the person who manages/runs it; but the real success comes from the people who work within the company. Treat your employees well, and you’ll almost never be disappointed.
Figure out a Marketing Plan! With the overabundance of social media, social networking and other, significantly cheaper forms of marketing, there is certainly no shortage of ways for you to market your company- and the best news is that it won’t have to cost you a fortune to do it!
Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some tips on business etiquette from the book titled Business Etiquette in Brief by Ann Marie Sabath. First off, let’s start with how you can make a positive and powerful first impression. The following is a summation of 4 various categories or ways that this can be achieved.
I. Make Your First 10 Words Count
The most effective way to open an interaction with a person is to begin by thanking them.
Always try to include the person’s full name when thanking them, and make sure you know how to pronounce their name correctly!
II. Tune Into Others
Eye contact is always a plus when dealing with others. You would be surprised at how easily people can read your facial expressions and body language, so watch how you act!
III. Walk With a Purpose
There is a definite difference between the walk of someone who has no direction in life versus someone who is confident, upbeat and ready to take on the world. Make sure that you are in the latter half!
IV. Groom Yourself Properly
Your hair should be neatly trimmed and shaped in a way that flatters your face and brings out positive features. Not sure? Consult a professional hairstylist. You would be surprised at how a simple haircut or hairstyle change can dramatically change how you look.
Wear jewelry that is tasteful. Remember, you are what you wear! That being said, no one wants to see gold chains hanging off your neck like Mr. T at a job interview!
For the guys: make sure that your shirts fit properly. Use the ‘one finger test’ by placing your index finger between the collar and the neck. If there’s enough room to slip your finger, you will feel more comfortable and less like you are choking.
People often don’t pay attention to their shoes, but they need to. For both guys and gals, make sure that the shoes you wear aren’t ratty looking or scuffed up. If you need to, you may have to have your shoes shined and/or repaired.
Finally, for the guys: No one wants to know when the flood is coming. That being said, wear socks that are long enough to cover your calves so that when you sit down you aren’t putting on a show for the entire office. You may also want to check to see that your pants are long enough to begin with!
Have you recently stepped onto a new life path or been drawn to what you feel is your calling? Have you taken on an entrepreneurial venture or made a transition from corporate employment to self-employment? If you answered yes to any of these, you might be experiencing a condition that is hardly ever discussed and usually completely misunderstood. It’s something I have discovered in coaching, especially with clients in the process of changing from working for someone else to working for themselves. This mysterious ‘something’ is an unexpected resistance to putting yourself out there, to really stepping fully into your new role and letting the world know you are completely capable and ready for business.
Observing resistance
How do you know if you are affected by the resistance factor? It basically exists if the level of motivation you would expect is not present. As a recent client said, “ I had no problem blowing the doors off my sales objective when I worked for someone else, but now that I’m selling my own product, going for what I really want, I have challenges staying as motivated.”. Now this doesn’t mean that he is on the wrong path. What it does mean is that he hadn’t realized how he had hidden out from truly putting himself out there in the past behind the shield of the other company that was not his own.
It seems that nothing brings up long-ignored life issues like going out on your own in business. Any unresolved issues are forced up to your consciousness to be worked out, resulting in feelings like, ‘maybe I’m not in the right field, maybe I’m not supposed to be doing this’…Of course it does not occur at the same level for everyone, and the solution is unique for each person.
Remember, this is not a fake-it-til-you-make-it method. It is the art of recreating yourself into your next role, a process I designed that takes you through the following four steps:
1. Creating a new role
Define your new direction. For example, say to yourself, “ I am taking full responsibility for my life; I am here and of value; who I am can make a difference”. Step into who you are meant to be instead of who you think you are. Remember only a prince or princess can dream of a castle.
2. Stepping into and living out of the role
This is a chance to develop a fortitude you may not have developed in your former work life. If other people speak more powerfully or enthusiastically about your business than you are able to do, that’s a sign that you have work to do to get to the level of speaking powerfully about the gifts you have to offer. There will be both an element of fear and excitement present, as well as some anxiety as you move to the next level.
3. Collecting evidence of progress in the role
Keep an accomplishment journal to record your successes. Record customer testimonials to apply in your promotional materials and to re-read when you need a boost!
4. Designing the environment to call you forward in the role
Get clarity on what motivates you and have a system to help you remember it. Realize how unstructured time many affect you, and create a new time structure that will keep you in action, with sufficient down time for effectiveness. Set up support that keeps you on track with who you say you are and what you are up to.
Building your own mentor
A client attempting to start a fashion accessory business was facing negative family members who told her she was foolish to go for what she wanted. I saw that support wasn’t going to come from her immediate environment, so I worked with her to create an imaginary mentor, created from a combination of super heroes and Oprah, to advise her in difficult times. Her turning point came when she stood up to her overbearing older sister, telling her, “This is who I am now, and if you want to keep talking to me, you have to accept that.” After that she started standing up for other things that were important—like herself—and built up her business one satisfied customer at a time.
Generating motivation
Another client who had previously done well with a large real estate group was not doing as well in the new agency he had started with a desire to offer greater customer service. We worked to build a mission for him and his partner and tightened up his work schedule. Since he was going to his office but wasn’t being productive there, I had him show up at his favorite coffee shop first thing in the morning for work. But his best motivation came from envisioning sitting down with his grown kids in the future, giving them advice on exploring their own business by telling them how he worked through his fears. Just one year later I gave a presentation to his team of employees in their new expanded office space.
Leaning into progress
People who have made progress on this describe moving from a state of mentally leaning back and occasionally moving forward to an experience that feels like steadily leaning forward into what they have to sell or offer, while realizing that if they don’t get it out there, either someone else will or the value that they have to offer people will be lost. They move from a state of diffused focus to clear focus, from disharmony to harmony.
What are you doing to lean into your goals? To create a sense of urgency?
When you put yourself out there, you will see the adventure as exhilaration.
So deeply engaged that you’re energized, you’ll feel confident that you’re absolutely in the right place.
Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some tips on business etiquette from the book titled 
Have you recently stepped onto a new life path or been drawn to what you feel is your calling? Have you taken on an entrepreneurial venture or made a transition from corporate employment to self-employment? If you answered yes to any of these, you might be experiencing a condition that is hardly ever discussed and usually completely misunderstood. It’s something I have discovered in coaching, especially with clients in the process of changing from working for someone else to working for themselves. This mysterious ‘something’ is an unexpected resistance to putting yourself out there, to really stepping fully into your new role and letting the world know you are completely capable and ready for business.
