Month: September 2010

Top 5 Areas To Concentrate Your Social Media Time and Efforts

I mentioned in Monday’s relationship challenge post that I attended a wedding last weekend and learned two lessons I would be sharing with you. The first was a reminder on how important relationships are. Today you get the second.

This is such a simple lesson but one I think we often overlook.

Hard work pays off.

That’s basically all there is to this lesson. My friend who got married, Mary, put her heart and soul into this wedding. For ten months she worked tirelessly to make this joyful event everything she ever wanted it to be. And in the end, it was more beautiful and loving than I think even she imagined it could be.…

The Social Media Relationship Challenge

I spent the weekend in upstate New York attending one of my favorite people in the world’s wedding. It was an absolutely beautiful affair, held in an old barn that has been standing since 1799. Coming from Chicago, where the biggest hill is the street curb, the scenery was a true and complete treat. Rolling hills covered with trees all succumbing to fall and changing from green to orange, red, and brown.

Ok, so what does this have to do with social media? There are two answers. The second you’ll get on Wednesday. But today we’re going to discuss relationships.

Being with so many wonderful friends reminded just how much relationships matter.…

10 Social Media Promotion Ideas For Small Businesses

Top-Ten-Social-Media-Promotional-IdeasSo you have a great new product and you want the entire world to know about it. Or you have added a new service to your list and want to offer it out. What’s the best way to go about letting people know just how awesome your business is?

I am going to give you a list of 10 mediums you can use to get your word out.

1. Facebook

2. Twitter

3. A Company Blog

4. LinkedIn

5. Guest posting on other’s blogs

6. Have a conversation with your customers

7. Yelp

8. Have a contest

9. You Tube

10.…

Good News and Bad News

I’m going to start with the good news since I like to think of myself as a glass half full kinda gal.

So here is my good news: My Social Media Writing business is thriving!  I am beyond thrilled.  When I started this business two months ago I knew there was a huge demand for well-written social media content priced with small businesses in mind.  Apparently I was right (and apparently I’m not afraid to say it out loud). I have met so many amazing small businesses who are starting out in social media and need a bit of help.  It’s been amazing working with different people, learning as much as I can, and helping small businesses move from traditional marketing into social media marketing.…

What You Can Learn From Starbuck’s Social Media Recipe For Success

This is a blog geared toward small businesses, but that doesn’t mean we can’t play with the big boys sometimes. I wanted to talk about one company that is doing a lot of things right: Starbucks

Starbucks is a pretty bad-ass player at Social Media. Sure they’re huge, but that doesn’t mean a small business like yourself can’t learn from them. Here are a couple lessons worth paying attention to:

Listen To Your Customers

Starbucks has an entire website dedicated to listening to their customers. It’s called My Starbucks Idea, and it’s a place for those to give suggestions on how to improve the “Starbucks experience”.…

How To Boost Your Karma With Free Bacon

Fall is my favorite season for many reasons:

  1. The bugs start dying (I abhor all insects)
  2. I can stop wearing sunscreen (I’m about as prone to a sunburn as HBO is to producing dramas about organized crime. Anyone watch Boardwalk Empire last night?)
  3. I love to wear boots (Fryes are my absolute favorite)
  4. My parents have an apple tree in their backyard so I get as many apples as I want (although I still have never actually baked with them, this year I intend to make a crisp)
  5. TV starts up again (this is the most important reason).

I have been a TV junkie since I was a kid.…

How An Editorial Calendar Will Change Your Blogging Life

blogging-with-an-editorial-calendarThis is my fourth and last post this week on blogging for business. I have covered many topics, from finding inspiration to writing tips to business blog rules. I hope you’ve learned.

But there’s something I haven’t really touched on that I truly believe will change your blogging life. It’s not illegal, it’s not hard to do, and it won’t wake you up in the middle of the night screaming. So what is it you ask? (hint: it’s in the headline). It’s an editorial calendar.

You run a small business. Your life is as full as it can be. There is always something to do, something you should be doing, something you just half-assed in order to accomplish a different task.…