"Helping Small Business help themselves - SolutionsArePower™" - 4 new articles
Seminars on Search Engine MarketingGet Found Online or Get Left Behind!presented by Network Solutions Marketers, Business Owners, Entrepreneurs & Web Site Designers - this workshop is for you! You can learn how to: - Increase traffic to your site - Best way to get customers searching for your products & services - Understand the factors that affect your search engine rankings - Impact of search engine technology on your bottom link There are also a number of 30 minute time slots where you can get free web design evaluation by an expert from Network Solutions.
The workshops are being held around the United States at various sites. So choose the site that is the most convenient for you. Portland - September 9, 2008 Doubletree Hotel Portland - Lloyd Center Minneapolis - September 11, 2008 Millennium Hotel Minneapolis Salt Lake - September 11, 2008 Salt Lake City Marriott Downtown NYC - September 16, 2008 Lighthouse Executive Conference Center Tampa - September 16, 2008 USF Downtown Center Austin - September 23, 2008 The Mansion at Judges’ Hill Cincinnati - October 1, 2008 Bankers Club Cincinnati Pittsburgh - October 8, 2008 Doubletree Hotel & Suites Pittsburgh City Center Charlotte - October 9, 2008 Hilton Charlotte City Center Las Vegas - October 23, 2008 Green Valley Ranch Casino, Resort & Spa Writers, Take Note! this is for youOn Saturday there’s an opportunity to take your writing to the next level. American Independent Writer are having a seminar on Saturday, September 6th. The theme is: Sharing your Writing & Selling Your Work in Cyberspace Our very own Shashi Bellamkonda will be presenting a session on social networking & using it for your marketing efforts.
And every registered attendee will get a 15 minute free consulting session with Andrew Bates from Network Solutions. Andrew is a senior website and search engine marketing consultant for Network Solutions. So if writing is your passion & you’re wondering how to take it online then you should attend this workshop. More information can be found here. Facebook isn’t just for studentsFacebook was created for college students. But the majority of people using it aren’t in that age range. They’re much older and definitely not in college anymore. Facebook offers incredible networking opportunities. It’s more than just a place to share photos & information with friends. The first thing to relax about is the idea that your personal friends will mix with your professional contacts. It’s ok. (The inappropriate photos & commentary are best to not be online anyway).
1. Create a profile Make sure to include your photo because that personalizes it so much. (Don’t include your year of birth to protect against identity theft) 2. Use your email to search for people you know. Search by people’s names also works well. You’ll be amazed at how many people are there. 3. When you add people as friends put a note in stating why you’d like to connect with them. 4. You can also send a message to someone without adding them as a friend 5. Groups on Facebook are hugely diverse. They’re not as effective as traditional forums, but they serve a purpose of connecting likeminded people. There is a wall where you can introduce yourself. And there are discussion threads to exchange ideas with other members. Some groups are extremely active & others are quiet. Tip - When you see people making comments in groups that resonate with you reach out & connect with them. You will find that you’ll meet a number of amazing people! Facebook connected me with people from Microsoft because they’re making their business to be there too. More reading: articles on My Solution Spot, SCORE Chicago, Chris Brogan, Small Biz Trends Do you use Facebook? What are your tips? Small Business Marketing Roundtable - Part 1: How Small Business Realtor’s Leverage Web 2.0 to SellRecently, we had the opportunity to speak with two independent realtors who leverage the web in big ways to build their respective small businesses. Both are affiliated with bigger companies but they are independent businesses and in most respects, on their own. We spoke with Bob Carney who is based in MD and runs his blog and web site at focusonfredrick.com and Jeff Royce who covers Northern Virginia and writes http://ourfairfax.com/. Both are very Web 2.0 saavy use the tools to help market their business as well as educate potential clients. In Part 1 of this two part interview, we focus on they are using Web 2.0 to sell to customers and lessons they have learned. Steve: How long have you been selling real estate? BC: Just over 3 years JR: I've been helping people buy and sell homes in Northern Virginia since 1994. BC: Day one, I have always been a tech junky. Domain names and websites were set up within weeks of my license date. JR: I've used the web in my business since the mid 90s, but that took on a whole new meaning two years ago. At that time I started to realize that there were a large number of web-based tools available to me that would allow me to communicate to customers and potential customers in a whole new way. Steve: With the evolution of Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 we have seen tools become more about two-way communications and personal interaction. What Web 2.0 tools (e.g. blogs, podcasts, social networks) are you leveraging for your respective businesses? BC: I author multiple blogs for various audiences. I use twitter to broadcast my blogs, meet local tech junkies, communicate with other real estate professionals across the states. That’s how I know Jeff. I have not ventured into Podcasting and Video networks yet (emphasize YET,) but you can find me on Facebook, MySpace, Plaxo, LinkedIn, Flickr, Skype, Oovoo, ActiveRain, Plinko (I just made that one up.) Just google “gotbob” and you will find me somewhere. Not that I am active on all of them, I do have a presence there. I look at it this way; whatever social network someone is comfortable using, they have the ability to find me. JR: I base much of my output in my blog at ourfairfax.com. But obviously very few people are familiar with my little blog. So I use various social networks to add my knowledge and presence to these networks that are more commonly visited by your average person. My goal is to be where my customers will seek out information when they are looking to buy or sell a home. So I interact with people on Twitter, Facebook , Flickr, and LinkedIn. There are also real estate specific sites, such as Zillow and Trulia. My role in these sites is to bring information that would be helpful to a specific person, and to leave information about my area that would otherwise not be available. For instance if someone was moving to Fairfax and wanted information on a neighborhood, I'd want to have pictures of that neighborhood on Flickr, have answered a question about that neighborhood on Trulia, and have written a profile of that neighborhood at ourfairfax.com. Of course, I can only do all of this for neighborhoods I know well. Having that kind of information available to consumers will assist many people as they purchase homes in a neighborhood and show my familiarity of that particular neighborhood to those consumers who are looking for an agent to assist them. Steve: Have these tools increased your opportunities or have things stayed the same? BC: Most definitely. Google loves my blog. I get questions via email or phone all the time. Some turn out to be nothing, but it’s an opportunity I didn’t have before. JR: These tools have increased my opportunities. They also put me in a better position to take advantage of the opportunities in front of me. Steve: For those small businesses out there, what would you recommend to someone thinking about using these Web 2.0 tools to market their business? BC: Yes most definitely. The more you can separate yourself from you competition and make yourself more available to people that have questions or needs the better your chance at capture their business. Today is about now and what can you do for me. JR: In the end you need to know your customers. The main question to ask is: "Can I use Web 2.0 tools to give my customers a better experience when they do business with me?" Next Time…Next time in Part 2 we the other side of Web 2.0, how customers are using the tools to educate themselves. 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