Tag Archives: time management

40 Years since the 1st Cell Phone Call – a Retrospective

Posted on by
Picturephone

Picturephones never made it…

Mashable posted this morning about today making 40 years since the first cell phone call. I had to stop and calculate how young I was at the time…

Ok – so I was in high school

…and we were happy enough having a phone extension in the bedroom (for you Gen x & Yers, an extension was the teen’s only way to get out of the hall to have a private conversation!) Back then, our parents were panicking that they couldn’t hear all of our conversations anymore. We teens were always worried someone would pick up the other line and listen. Nothing compared to today’s worries over teens and the internet!

So who cared?

I don’t recall knowing anything about this new cellular technology. But then, that is how it was with most inventions in that era. New inventions splashed on the evening news and then disappeared. You learned it was best to not to get too excited because many of these earth changing discoveries tended never to get to the masses due to the huge expense of production.

A great example was Jetson’s style visual communication that featured in the Ma Bell “Future” section of the State Fair (above image) year after year. It was a big flop. Of course, now, the internet has taken over that function with Skype and other internet options. Oddly, visual communication finally surfaced without the use of telephones.

Marketing Potential?

So in light of the simplistic perception we all had about the power of visual communication back then, the only advantage we saw to Picturephones was the ability to see who was on the other end of the line. And we weren’t always sure that we wanted to BE seen! The first concern was whether there was an OFF button!

Never was there any discussion as to the marketing possibilities that would come with portable visual capabilities. After all, this was the era of newspapers, magazines, billboards and only 3 TV networks.

Similar to the beginnings of Social Media, it was just about communication and that’s all. Now, the primary discussion is all in Market-speak.

As with all inventions, you never really know what ultimate usage will evolve, but one thing you can be sure of, someone in marketing will always be asking:

How can we use this to reach our consumer? ;)

2012: Email Marketing is Dead; 2013 Email Marketing is King – HUH?

Posted on by

All through 2012, the buzz was “E-Mail Marketing is Dead!”

Now in 2013, most articles are about why Email Marketing is Supreme for Small Business!

HUH?

Actually, the latter is really true. Email is perfect for small business.

But let’s discuss the why of the mixed messaging and why you as a small business owner need to pay attention.

1. Social Media platforms grew exponentially over the last few years.

Soooo, “they” assumed, that because the growth was so rapid, social media platforms would soon replace email and all other traditional forms of marketing and communications.

While that might be true in major metropolitan areas and college campuses, there is still a huge population out there that doesn’t own a SmartPhone or that  only accesses internet through a desktop.

But, email is universal.

Everyone sits down at home and work and checks their email…

Another assumption was that because Social Media platforms are “Free,” that it would be nonsense for anyone to ignore it as a marketing avenue. Again, you can pick up a hammer, but that ain’t gonna make ya a carpenter!

Sure you can create an account for free, but time is money, and it takes time to maintain a social media business page, not to mention at least basic marketing skills. Nothing wrong with that, – all marketing comes with a cost – but that has to be considered.

Then, when it comes to attracting fans, many of those fans are laggers in social media who only use it for sharing funny cat pictures and playing application games. So, getting fans to pursue your page is another form of investment – a good offer to like a page, the giveaway, someone to manage the comments and likes, someone to engage to grow fans… And don’t believe those hucksters claiming to bring you from 0 to 40,000 fans! Fake profiles = fake fans = no rise in insights or revenue.

Now, why was email getting badmouthed:

2. “Free” Email services were springing up all over the place.

Why pay for email service when you can get it for free? Again, because FREE is never really free! You pay a price eventually – think of the hidden cost to you when your email goes to a spam folder and never reaches your intended recipient?

So, if you were judging the effectiveness of free email vs free social media… neither one will bring results so that comparison is probably moot.

They are both an investment in Time and time costs money.

OK, so now what should you invest your time in? Social Media or Email Marketing?

If you are asking this question, it tells me you don’t know your customers or clients. Face it, most of you small business owners have poo-poo-ed SoMe and Email.

Why don’t you let your customers tell you where you should invest your time?

  • Have you noted whether your customer is tapping away on a mobile while they are waiting in line?
  • Have you asked them what platforms they use?
  • Have you invited them to join your email subscriber list?

Stop being an employee of your own business and market your business. How?

  • Find out which Social Media platforms are appropriate for your business and demographic – Start with one and do well, then move on to others.
  • Invest in an email service that fulfills your needs for marketing and has integrated social media tools for efficiency and broader distribution that will attract new subscribers. (want to play around with one for free for 60 days? Click here!
  • And pay Freaking attention to where your customers live online! ASK THEM. SURVEY THEM. TALK TO THEM.
Related articles

You Might Be a Marketing Consultant If the 1st Thing a Prospect Says is “I Really Have No Idea What You Do”

Posted on by

Apparently a lot of people don’t understand consulting services. When many prospects shop for a marketing consultant (like me), they often expect some sort of price and package menu like the image below.

Superhero price packaging

Hmmmm, after looking at the fees for the services in this image… I may have to rethink my fees ;)

So why hire a consultant?

Seriously, the reason you hire a consultant is because they should “consult” with you on what you need and customize their services specific to those needs. And they should have specialized experience and know-how of what you require to succeed. And you don’t have to hire a consultant as an employee – no overhead, no insurance, no commitment to keep them, easy to hire and fire, and many more benefits of a non-employee status. You have total control.

However, you as a business owner typically don’t know what you don’t know outside of your areas of expertise, so package pricing is really of little to no use to you.

Every small business is different in their marketing needs, and every small business is at a different stage and level of marketing. There are thousands of self-help websites, books, tools, and more out there – and many of them free. But, it’s not just knowledge of using the tools you need, but the strategies and applications that would fit your particular business that are far more important for implementation.

Most small business owners do NOT have the time to learn marketing, nor how to properly apply best practices.

And if you start talking to a consultant who doesn’t ask you a lot of questions about you and your business, end that call!

Do you really want to hire someone for a generic marketing package that may or may not bring results to your business? That is why I don’t offer package prices. I do, however, work on a sliding scale based on the size of the job, length of time, customized preparation involved, and so on.

Food for thought:

The overall impact of a consultant is that clients have access to deeper levels of expertise than would be feasible for them to retain in-house, and may purchase only as much service from the outside consultant as desired.

You have total control. That’s the beauty of a consultant. You don’t have to employ another person to get a specific job done. You can retain a consultant for as long as you like as an as-needed go-to resource for your business.

It’s really quite a high ROI.

And why do I work exclusively with SMBs and NPOs? The passion of a SMB owner or NPO leader is contagious and energizing!

 

The Win-Win of Social Media Through Unexpected Uses. Pt.1: The Perks of Pinterest

Posted on by

I started noticing that Social Media has become a source of everyday personal convenience as well as social! It has completely become a part of my everyday life because of unexpected (to me at least!) uses and applications.

Some unexpected uses I have discovered and maybe you have, too…

Pinterest as a source or reference tool:

Example #1

A blog feed I subscribe to had a post on a slow cooker chicken that rocks!

I love slow cooker recipes because I don’t have to be in the kitchen to cook them ;) and any meat cooked in them is usually incredibly tender! I’m too busy for elaborate recipes and I get tired of basic recipes. So when I stumble on a recipe that I must try, I don’t bother to print it out. I PIN IT! This is great for busy people like me. So, I have a board for food ideas.

Anytime I want to retrieve a recipe, Pinterest has a great visual for me (who remembers recipe names?) and I can just click on my Pinterest app on my iPad or SmartPhone when I am in the kitchen and there’s my recipe (I just have to keep my tech tools out of the way of drips!)

No paper, no ink and always ready to view!

Example #2

I love to buy, but I hate to shop - mostly because the time that it takes is a luxury I can’t afford. I’ve got more speaking gigs, so I need some new professional outfits.

But, like I said, I hate to shop and I also don’t have time to keep up with what’s current. Yes, I buy the humongous Vogue book size editions to try to keep up to date, but…

So when I need to buy an outfit, I cruise the Pinterest “Women’s Fashion” category to see what is current. There are some of the best pins ever that show every piece you might want to create that complete outfit. This is like Garanimals for me and a huge time saver. (see left image)

I am usually inspired to post a quick comment to the pinner and that blogger now also has more exposure since I liked, commented and re-pinned the picture that she posted with her blog that has now been pinned.

When someone clicks on it anywhere on Pinterest, they are now directed back to the original pinner’s source. A win-win for both of us.

Moral to the story? Always provide a picture with your blog content!

Residuals?

Whoever follows my boards may repin one of my pins – giving both me and the source more exposure. They may start to follow my board and maybe my other boards as well.

Anyone who clicked on the photo may start to follow the blogger.

When I get a notice that someone repinned or liked my pin, I will most likely take a look and possible follow them on or at least one of their boards on their Pinterest because since they liked what I pinned, they most likely have other items I would probably be interested in.

My pin will also show up on the main Pinterest board and catch the eye of a browser. Potential new followers from outside of my network for both me and the blogger.

And notice that if you click on the image at left, guess where you’ll wind up…?

Yup, at that Pinterest board. The beauty of it is that you don’t have to sign in or have an account to view it either….

And the holiday ideas? Ah, don’t get me started!

Don’t forget you can also share to other Social networks. And here is a tip: Click “embed” and copy the code, paste into a Facebook post and it will provide the link and a lead in to it. No picture though… still trying to find a way to make that work.

What have you discovered you can do with Pinterest?

Still hungry for the WHY of social media? What good is it? Why should you bother in 2013?

Posted on by
George Takei https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei

George Takei – or as some of us know him from the original Star Trek Cast – “Sulu” Now the most influential person on Social Media in 2012. https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei

Many social media newsletters and blogs are chock full of the wrongs and rights of 2012 and what’s coming in 2013. But, while that is all truly good information, most of my clients and presentation attendees are still very hungry for the WHY of social media.

  • What good is it?
  • Why should they bother?
  • And lastly – Why should they want to connect with hundreds or thousands of strangers?

So I decided not to discuss the stats on where Social Media has gone in 2012, the demographics and analysis, the projections for where it is going, etc… (my favorite reliable source for that  – http://mashable.com/social-media/)

INSTEAD, let’s walk through the “why” in hopes it will change how you think about Social Media and get you participating on a REAL basis.
I remembered a blog (no link, I’m protecting the innocent), that suggested in your efforts to organize in preparation for the opportunities of 2013, that you should also UN-Follow anyone in social media if you couldn’t identify them on sight of their gravatar.

H U H ?

My Perfect segue into the why…

If you follow the advice of that blogger and UN-follow anyone whom you really don’t know, don’t connect on LinkedIn with someone you don’t know, and don’t accept invitations to friend those you don’t know, then you are missing the point of social media. (yes, you should check out their profile first!)

TO PUT THIS IN THE SIMPLEST TERMS… Here is the why…

Part 1 – Who ARE these people?

  • When you go to a party or gathering, do you ignore everyone you don’t know?
  • When you attend a business networking event, do you refrain from accepting a business card or offering your own?
  • When you are standing in line at the grocery store and the person behind you comments on the long wait, do you turn away and ignore them?
  • At any public sports event or concert or play, if the person in the seat next to you shares positively in your emotional response to the event, do you reject them?
  • When you are at a store that sells products for your hobby or niche, does the advice of a bystander bother you when you make a decision on the products you are perusing…?

Are you starting to get that aspect of it…?

Ok – now part 2 – What am I doing here?

  • Have you  never made any comments to a stranger on the surrounding events?
  • Have you never hi-fived someone next to you at the Sports Bar when the team you both support makes a goal?
  • Have you never offered words of comfort to a stranger in need?
  • Have you never shared business ideas and observations with the vendor in the next rented booth at an expo?
  • At home, don’t you have pictures of family, vacations, certificates of achievement… on your walls for all who visit to see?
  • Don’t you talk to strangers (prospective customers) every day in your business?
  • Have you never been excited to share good news or concerned enough to share bad news?

Enough? Now is it sinking in?

Last Considerations:

  • Do you know the number of friends, acquaintances and colleagues you have in the physical world?
  • Aren’t those relationships of varying degrees?

There are services out there that people get sucked into that will “buy” likes for your social media account…

  • Do you want friends that have nothing to do with your world – in other words, do you “buy” friends who serve no purpose but to add quantity to your circle?

So now… what do you do to get started on a realistic level that works? You begin to think of Social Media as a public venue for all the interaction you do on a normal basis…

  • You stop thinking of Social Media as a badge of distinction based on the numbers of fans or followers.
  • You become open to the possibilities of these tools of social media. Yes, that is all they are… tools. YOU make them what they are and YOU determine the results you get. Just like in the physical world.

I hope this blog has helped explain and inform you enough to get more involved in the use of social media for your business – and get social!  And don’t forget that Google loves fresh content…

Post Script:
And one last distinction that is often overlooked… Social Media is also a manifestation of our 1st amendment rights in the United States of America
Consider that in some countries, there are use restrictions and even total bans…

Example: Section 66A of India’s Information Technology Act, makes it a crime punishable by jail time to use social media platforms to make offensive statements.

Food for thought.

Please visit my archives for more food for thought on Social Media and more…