Once upon a time, shortly after dinosaurs stopped walking the earth, you know when Fred Flintstone was around, if you wanted to do business with someone, you could invite them over to your cave and chat them up over a bite of bison or strike up a deal while chewing on sloth.

Of course those times are long gone and the vast majority of your target market is online, on their iPhones, Droids or on their Blackberries. Read More »

The good news is that Facebook Fan Pages are a great social media marketing tool for a small business.

The bad news is that there are millions of fan pages out there.

So what will make your page different?  What will make your Facebook Fan Page stand above the fray?

The answer is one word.  Applications. Wisely implemented, applications will make your Fan Page dynamic, entertaining and irresistible, ensuring you will both attract and retain fans. Read More »

Now that you have made a profile on LinkedIn, have you ever given any real thought on what to write so potential customers or other people who might be interested in your profile can find you? Or when they have found you that they are interested in contacting you to start a business relationship?

In the previous article you already received the first 6 tips, these are the next 6 tips to optimize your LinkedIn Profile. Read More »

Social media, according to the business  owners I talk to, is like a big cocktail party. You enter a room and have all kinds of opportunities for communicating.  But just as you wouldn’t  go up to a group of people at a cocktail party and take over the conversation,  at the social media cocktail party you  just don’t barge into someone else’s conversation  and say, “Hey, come shop at my store.”

Conversations come from being both timely and topical: good social media cocktail party conversations are  fresh and connected with what other people are talking about. Like at any cocktail party, you don’t want to be seen as the bore who talks only about yourself. Your goal is fit your business into the conversations that are currently happening. Read More »

Back in the good ol’ days of the web (circa 2004), it was so easy for businesses to market via the internet; all that was necessary was a functional website. But the advent of social media has made a dramatic impact with online marketing— and in a good way.

Social media is, for the most part, free, saving many marketing dollars. But just because it is free, doesn’t make it easy or cost-free, if your time is valuable. So before you jump into the social media frenzy, do your research and discover where your time and resources are best spent. A little research on the front end will save you a lot on the back end. Read More »

Celebrities, politicians and athletes and even CEO’s are doing it. Did I mention – I’m doing it too.

What are we all doing?

We’re are using Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, YouTube and other social media tools to build our audience, stay in touch and grow our businesses.

How about you? Have you been struggling in this economy to increase sales? Read More »