I meet with prospects and clients almost every day. Most people now agree that Social Media is not going away. They also recognize that it’s time to get serious about implementing and maintaining a social media strategy that will work for their business. Some are doing amazingly well. Others struggle.  So, as a Certified Social Media Specialist, what are the top 3 excuses I hear for slacking on setting up or not staying consistent with a social media strategy?

3. I Don’t Know What to Say

It’s rare that when properly coached, a client doesn’t have ongoing valuable information to share with their audience. Some are afraid to give away too much intellectual property, which is understandable, but you can give away just enough to entice your reader to want to know more.  At the opposite end of the spectrum, others feel that their content wouldn’t be of interest to readers. The fact is, you may end up sharing that one piece of information that is just the trigger needed to get that prospect to pick up the phone, email you or respond to your blog post or Facebook page entry.  Perhaps you have just answered a nagging question for them or you shared some personal information about a hobby that resonated with someone and they feel more connected to you.  Open up a little and share about who you are as a person as well as a business entity.  Success is in the sum of the parts….

2. I’m Worried About Who Will See What

So, the result is you do nothing! I find that people are mostly nervous about Facebook, and honestly, rightly so. Facebook is making a lot of changes and some of them are a blatant way to get more information from you so that they can feed their advertisers.  But, there are ways to stay safe on Facebook. Things like;

• Ensuring your privacy settings reflect who you want to see what content
• Instructing family members / unruly relatives to send you ‘emails’ on Facebook rather than write on your wall
• Monitoring the wall and removing inappropriate content if it does show up
• Setting up Facebook lists and then publishing information to the appropriate lists
• Enable the secure browsing feature

If someone wants to get information in this day and age, they will find a way to do so. Being conscious about what you put out there will help you.  If you can answer these three questions (thanks to Mari Smith for these), with a YES, then you are probably safe.

1. Would I be comfortable if my boss were to see this content?
2. Would I be comfortable if my mother/father/children were to see this content?
3. Would I feel comfortable if this content showed up on the front page of the Wall Street Journal?

And the number 1 reason?

1.  Not Enough Time!  …and by the way, I can be just as guilty of this as anyone else.

I recently read an interesting quote. It said: We all have the same amount of time in a day: 24 hours or 1,440 minutes. In fact, we have exactly the same amount of time that was given to Helen Keller, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein.

Sobering thought. As entrepreneurs, we all wear many hats. But the one hat that can’t fall to the floor is being consistent in how we market our businesses. And, in order to successfully move people through the sales funnel, we need to build strong relationships. This makes it easier for people to want to do business with us.

It’s really a question of discipline and having a good strategy in place.  Know what you want to accomplish each week. Write a list of information that you want to disseminate and then use the appropriate tool to get the message out. Remember, it’s not about selling product/services, it’s about building those relationships and providing value.

Start your morning each day working on your business rather than in it.  It doesn’t take that much time to check your social media profiles, respond to people who are trying to connect with you and give them the information they need to say YES to you and your business. Ultimately, people buy from people they know, like and trust.

If you need help, then consult with a Social Media Specialist to get a strategy in place both in terms of where you should be spending your time online and what kind of content you need to be putting out there.

The key to success here is consistency. Stay focused, be diligent and keep your eye on the prize. It will pay off in the end.

What do you think? Share your tips with me. I love getting feedback. Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv. What a great way to leave a link back to your own blog!

Until next time,

Joanne

If you are a business owner who is using third party applications like Hootsuite, Ping.fm etc., to engage in social media to grow your business, then this blog post is for you.  As a Certified Social Media Specialist, I work with small business owners everyday and counsel them on how to use Social Media tools for their business.

You will find that in general, I am not an advocate of using these third party applications to engage your audience.  I personally find it stilted and cardboard like.  To me, pre-scheduled posts lack a human touch. I guess I am a purist. If you are an educated social media user, you too can likely smell these from a mile away.  Furthermore, these posts/updates show the source of the post; another dead giveaway that they are pre-fabricated.  I tend to un-follow people if their content is strictly pre-scheduled.

I was beginning to think I was in the minority in my way of thinking but I came across this very recent post that tells me I may not be far off the mark.  EdgeRank checker is a free tool that measures your effectiveness on Facebook. And with one out of every 8 minutes being spent online being on Facebook, this is an important measurement to take into account.  This post implies that using third party tools like Hootsuite can kill your Facebook EdgeRanking.  Please click here to read the article.

So why are people using them? The biggest complaint I hear from business owners is that you ‘lack time’.  You likely started out your business because you had a great product or service to market. What you didn’t bank on was that you were going to have to be the Chief Cook and Bottle Washer. You probably didn’t appreciate just how much of your day this takes up!  You’re stuck because your business isn’t generating enough revenue yet for you to hire on help but you are so busy wearing all these hats, you don’t have enough time to get out there and market your product or service to generate revenue. Sound familiar?  I can relate because I am a small business owner and I’ve been there too.

But what I have come to realize and put into practice, is that if you are truly looking to engage your audience, particularly on Facebook, you need to be real and authentic and most of the time, in real time in this social media space. You need to schedule this activity into your day and be prepared to take responsibility for the kind of content you generate. This is called working on your business instead of in it.  It is not an easy thing to outsource either.  Unless that person/s knows you and your business like the back of their hand, it will be difficult to represent you.  No one knows you and your business better than you do. This is like handing over the reins to someone else.  The fact is, people want to get to know you both as a business entity and as a person and they want to engage with you knowing that you are being genuine and available.

I am not saying that you shouldn’t ever use these third party apps, however you need to be careful how and where you use them.   Finding someone who you can consult with to find out where your target market hangs out and when is your best strategy. Then be as authentic and real as possible.  It may take a little time, but it will pay off in the end.

Remember, people buy from people they like and trust. Part of trusting someone is knowing that they are there when you need them.

What do you think?  I love getting feedback.  Here on this blog, you’ll get commentluv. This is a great opportunity to leave a link back to your own blog.

Until next time,

Joanne

While physically living in Newmarket Ontario with her family, Joanne is virtually yours, anywhere.

Did you know… As of January 2011, LinkedIn counts executives from all 2010 Fortune 500 companies as members.  As of March 22, 2011, its hiring solutions were used by 73 of the Fortune 100 companies. With over 100 million members now in over 200 countries, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network and it’s totally business focused. Now, there are LinkedIn Company Pages.

For all you business owners out there, if you haven’t already done so, maybe it’s time to capitalize on LinkedIn’s announcement back in November 2010 of its Company Pages. More than 2 million companies now have a LinkedIn Company Page. Have you got a Company Page yet?

Company Pages allow you to bring your brand to life by showcasing your products and services.  They help you grow your company’s business virally through word-of-mouth – the most trusted form of advertising . You can also get endorsements in the form of testimonials on your company page and by displaying your strongest recommendations to your prospective customers, your Company Page can help you accelerate growth and trust in your brand.

In addition to product and service testimonials, you can post a job, display videos, featured product information and targeted ads on your Company Page to drive sales and interaction.  These features however, require you to have an upgraded profile on LinkedIn, meaning these are features you pay for. However, for some businesses, the ability to secure quality connections may be worth the investment.

In addition to company pages, LinkedIn also recently added more features for the personal profile. If you haven’t visited your LinkedIn profile recently, you might have missed the new sections that LinkedIn now allows you. Things like adding your specific skill set and certifications.  You can now drag and drop your profile sections in a priority sequence thereby allowing you to highlight the sections you deem most important first.  I still recommend that you have your Summary at the top however, as most visitors to your profile will look at your ‘job’ title first followed by your summary.

Take the time to explore all the features that LinkedIn has to offer.  For example, if you have written a book and it’s available for purchase on Amazon.com, then add the Amazon app to your profile and showcase your book! Import your blog and don’t forget to add your website, Facebook business page, a link to your YouTube channel perhaps and your Twitter handle.

5 Tips for your profile:

1. Make your title at the top of the page a show stopper.

2. Make your summary engaging. Speak in the first person and ‘talk’ to the person whose business you are trying to attract.

3. Ask for testimonials. Not only do they appear on your own profile, but on the profile of the person endorsing you. And, testimonials get flagged in the weekly summary of LinkedIn updates that are sent out to your community. This keeps you top of mind and this kind of endorsement can be key to securing more business.

4. If you are a business owner, create a company profile. Make sure you populate it with proper keywords so that the company search feature will pull your business into targeted search results.  Fill out all the pertinent information. Consider the paid-for options if appropriate.

5. Keep it up to date!  This is your digital resume for yourself and for your business.

I wrote a more comprehensive list of items and things to consider in another blog post.  Feel free to check it out here.  If you need help, engage the services of someone who understands this space.  As a Certified Social Media Specialist, I encourage all my clients to complete a LinkedIn profile and maintain it as part of the ‘big three’ in the social media realm.

Please feel free to comment! I love getting feedback. Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv. This is a a plug-in that gives you the opportunity to leave a link back to your own blog when you leave feedback.

Until next time,

Joanne

While physically located in Newmarket Ontario, where Joanne lives with her family, she is virtually yours, anywhere…

Facebook recently announced a security setting that allows users to view content over a secure network (https) while they are in Facebook.   There have been posts recently by users to inform and encourage others to select this ‘secure’ form of browsing wherever possible. I thought I would share some information with you here that might influence whether you choose this option or not.

For example, as a Certified Social Media Specialist, I encourage my Facebook clients to have a custom landing page (Welcome Page) for first time visitors to their page. It is a wonderful way to welcome prospective clients and introduce them to you and your business.  We can incorporate images, audio, video, etc., and make it a great experience for those who visit your page. It definitely helps with engagement! I create other pages for clients too and customize them to your brand.

Until recently Facebook allowed these custom pages to be uploaded to their own servers and viewing these pages were never an issue.  Facebook has now taken away this ability.  They appear to be grandfathering the pages that are already there and they still work as they always have but any new pages that anyone would like to add to their Facebook Business page must now be added using another form of technology and herein lies the problem with the secure browsing.  Anyone putting up a custom page now becomes a ‘developer’ in the eyes of Facebook. As a developer, Facebook would like everyone to obtain a security certificate which costs approximately $50./site but supposedly gets around this problem although I see that there are still issues with this.  I should add here, that there are other issues with using secure browsing on Facebook other than just custom landing pages. You may run into problems with other applications that you might be trying to add or view on your Facebook page as well as some of the options that Facebook itself currently offers.

If you or someone viewing a tab on your Facebook business page is a Firefox user, you may get this error.

Or perhaps you are an Internet Explorer user, and you get this message:

If you are seeing this message or are informed by someone trying to view your new landing page that they are getting this error, then it is likely because you/they have opted for secure browsing.  If you remove the security setting, you will eliminate the problem. It’s as simple as that.

How do you opt for or remove this feature?

1. Go to the Account tab (top right of your Facebook screen)

2. Select Account Settings

3. Select change next to Account Security

4. Either check or uncheck the box that says ‘secure browsing (https)’ depending on whether you want to use it or not.

Personally, I have unchecked this box so that I can view everything without issue until a more satisfactory solution is achieved. There is a lot of buzz in the developer forum on Facebook around this issue at the moment.

I continue to modify pre-existing pages on Facebook under the old platform but I am now creating new landing pages for clients using the new technology that Facebook requires.

I am not a proponent of jumping on every new feature that Facebook releases. For example, if you have a Facebook profile and you have been using it to promote your business, Facebook has released the option to transform your profile into a Facebook Business page.  Don’t do it!  There are many wrinkles that still need to be ironed out here. You run the risk of losing your personal profile altogether along with your contacts, your images etc.

If you are using Facebook for your business, I would encourage everyone to engage the help of someone who really understands this space to advise you. Facebook isn’t perfect and can sometimes be frustrating.  Having said that, it is now the number 1 visited site on the internet, has close to a billion users and has a very loyal audience.  I use mine every day to meet new people and engage new prospects.

How about you?  I love getting feedback here on my blog and you’ll even get commentluv. This is a plug-in that allows you to leave a link back to your own site when you leave a comment.

Until next time,

Joanne

While physically located in Newmarket, ON where Joanne lives with her family, she is virtually yours, anywhere.

There seems to be a lot of focus lately on local business owners -something that I find interesting. I have been focused on small, local business owners for a long time. There seemed to me, to be a need to help local business owners transition to online marketing and help them use cost effective tools like social media to grow their business. Here are 3 ways that your prospects and clients will do business with you in future.

1. Online Searches

If you are still investing in traditional hard copy directories to market your business, it is time to reevaluate. Most of your prospect and client base now do searches for products and services online. 20% of online searches now are ‘local’ searches.  A business owner today,  needs to understand how to properly tag their sites to optimize results.  You need to be ‘findable’ online using these keywords.  It is not enough to rely solely on your website address on your business card for people to find you and to drive traffic to your site.

2. Mobile

It is expected that by the end of 2012, mobile sales will eclipse PC sales. This means that people are accessing information on the go. What are the implications?

• Your website should be structured in such a way that it is easily viewed on a mobile device. (For WordPress sites, there are plugins that you can use to address this).
• People will be looking to applications like Facebook Places, FourSquare etc. to inform their friends of their current location and will be looking for incentives to do business with you. If you are not sure what an application like FourSquare is or how the incentives work, please contact me and I would be happy to share this information with you.
• Keyword Searches – if someone is on the road and looking for say, a restaurant to have lunch, they will enter keywords like restaurant toronto ontario for example.  If you are a restaurant owner in this area, try googling yourself using these keywords to see if your restaurant comes up.   If it does, take note where it comes up. Are you on the first page of Google and in the Google Places listing? (more on this below).   Keep in mind, people on the go will likely not leave the first page of Google or dig very deeply.  No matter what your business is, if you are a local business owner, go through this exercise for your own business and see what results you get.  It may be time to contact someone who understands this space and the implications well enough to help you.
• QR Codes are a new way for people to use their mobile devices to get more information.  You may choose to create a QR code and publish it on your marketing materials, put it up on a storefront window, or even have it placed on a company vehicle.  When someone scans this code (they will need a free downloadable application to be able to scan QR codes), they will be directed to whatever online resource you send them to. This could be a website, a special promo etc.  Get creative.  I expect this will really take off in the next couple of years.  Here is an example of what a QR code looks like.  This code for example will redirect you to Google.com

3. Google Places

This is a free Google application that every local business owner needs to explore.  Your business might already be listed on Google  and you aren’t even aware of it! Back in October of last year, Google consolidated the Google Places information with the general web searches. You will now generally find these local business search results on the first page of Google. You will be able to identify them by the red markers that coordinate to Google maps. If your business listing shows up and says ‘unverified’ next to it, it is time to claim it and take ownership of the information.   There is a right way to do this, so if you need help, you should contact someone who understands how Google treats this information.  This is something that I do for my clients when I set them up on the social media space.

Always remember, most users have a place that they are most comfortable ‘hanging out’ online.  It is no good to invest your time heavily in an online space if your target market doesn’t spend time there.   If you have a presence on more than one Social Media application for example, it is very important that these sites link to each other, so that, on the chance that a potential client or client finds you online in one place, they can easily slip over to their favorite application (like Facebook for example) and begin sharing information with you there.  All sites need to be consistently branded, customized and optimized for maximum benefit to you and the client.

How about you? Do you have your sites properly branded, customized and optimized? Do you know about these new tools?  I love getting feedback. Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv. That’s a plug in that allows you to leave a link back to your own site when you leave a comment.

Until next time,

Joanne

Facebook Landing Pages – Why They’re Hot

Do you have a Facebook Business Page? Do you have a Welcome Page set up as a landing page for first time visitors? Why might this be important?

Have you noticed when you visit people’s business pages, you are bouncing back and forth between the info tab, the small bio under the person’s graphic and reading the wall to get a sense of who this person is and what their business is about?  I know I do.

Do you find you get more information on some people’s pages than others? Why is that?  That’s because not all business pages are created equal! By this I mean that the templates that Facebook offer you, are chosen based upon the industry that you are in (i.e., what you specify when you first set up the page. You should also know that when you choose the business name and the industry, these cannot be changed. You would have to delete the page and start over, so choose wisely).).  A brick and mortar retailer for example will be given the place to enter their store  hours etc., but not given any space to include who they are, what their business is, their mission or their objectives – this template is reserved for businesses that are more Consultative in nature.  So in many cases, when you visit someone’s page, you will either land on their less than informative ‘info page’ or on their ‘wall’ and right into the middle of the conversation.

So how does one create a welcoming environment so that you can tell people who you are, what you are about both as a person and as a business entity? This is where the Facebook Welcome Pages (landing pages) have become so popular.  Not only can you tell people in words, but you can incorporate video, audio and pictures to make the page more exciting. It’s another great touch point. In addition, you can set this up so that it is the default landing page for anyone new visiting your page. Once they ‘like’ the page, from then on, each time they return to the page, they will go directly to the wall.  It’s a nice warm welcome and people will gravitate to your page. In addition, this page should be properly branded to reflect your Facebook business page and all your other online sites.

This Welcome Page needs to be created using Facebook Markup Language (FBML) and this is an application that can be added to your page.  Unless you have the necessary technical skills, this isn’t something that most of you will tackle on your own, but thankfully there are people out there like me, a Social Media Specialist with training in Facebook Business Pages, who can help you set one up!  Please feel free to contact me or another qualified Virtual Administrator that you may know.

I would love your feedback on Welcome Pages that you have seen and admired, or even your own! You’ll get commentluv here on my site. That’s a plug in for bloggers. Leave a comment and you can leave a link back to your own site.

Until next time,

Joanne

While physically located in Newmarket, ON where Joanne lives with her family, she is virtually yours, anywhere.

Still Using Telephone Directories to Market Your Business?

In a recent informal survey of local small business owners, I was surprised to learn how many still rely on costly telephone directory listings as a primary means of marketing their business. Interestingly, when I asked them how they themselves find products and services that they are looking for, most said they did their looking online. There seems to be a disconnect between what they do and what they expect their prospects and clients to do.   If you read one of my recent posts on 8 ways to green your office, you will know that I discontinued the delivery of local telephone directories to our home because I do all my searches online and have for some time.

In addition to the number of people who use their home computers to source product and service, there is a growing number of users of smart phones and products like the Ipod Touch. What business owners need to get a handle on is how these users actually find products and services online. Most business owners tell me they have a website. When I ask them how well optimized their sites are for keywords, most don’t know and don’t understand the implication. One cannot count on the fact that users will know to look up your business to find what they are looking for so it’s not enough just to have a website.  Most of the time, users will do a Google search on a keyword or keyword phrase to find what they are looking for. The bottom line here is that if you are not easily found using those keywords, to those individuals, you do not exist.  And, if the proliferation of these tools and the growing number of Social media users continues to rise, where does that leave your business in the coming years?

As a Social Media Specialist, I counsel my local business clients to at least have a Google local business listing. This local business listing must contain the keywords that your community will use to find your product or service. You need to think like a consumer when you are targeting these keywords. It is also important to do some keyword research to ensure that your listing will have the chance to be ranked high in the Search Engines.  If you are not comfortable doing this on your own, you should enlist the help of someone who can help you.

If you are a business owner who does business online, then it is even more critical that you either understand keyword searches and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or get someone to help you ensure your sites rank high enough to be found. Most users will not leave the first page of Google to find what they are looking for. Targeting to be on the first page of Google should be your goal.  Targeting to be the first listing on Page 1 of Google would be ideal.  According to Market Samurai, a higher percentage of users will click on the number 1 Google listing than on any other.

Social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and WordPress (blogs) naturally rank high because the Google search engines heavily index these sites so being involved in Social Media is a good choice.  Knowing which sites to be involved in based on your business model is something I work on with clients to ascertain where they will have their greatest success.

Ready to get started?  I’d love your feedback. Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv. That’s a plugin for bloggers. If you leave a comment, you can provide a link back to your own blog. How great is that?But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment. I want to hear from everyone!

While physically located in Newmarket, ON where Joanne lives with her family, she is virtually yours, anywhere.

Until next time,

Joanne

Your Social Media Specialist Knows Best

TWITTER is the little rock star of the Social Media world. Who would have thought that 140 characters could be so powerful? Millions are using Twitter as a means of driving traffic to their own sites, to others’ sites and for communicating with the masses in real time. Yet for many, Twitter still seems a mystery.  As a Social Media Specialist VA, I coach clients on Social Media usage.  Here are my top 5 No-Nos when it comes to Twitter!

1.   Not Filling in your profile completely.

A completed profile is a must.  This includes your bio and a picture.  I advise against pictures of your favorite pet, cartoon character or using a logo unless you are an association.  People generally want to see who you are and what you are about before they will follow you in a meaningful way.  As a VA, I research potential prospects for my clients and I won’t follow you on behalf of my client unless I have some background on you.

Helpful Tip: Be selective in your keywords when composing your bio.  These are important for search engine optimization.

2. Blocking your updates.

Do not block your updates. The whole purpose of getting involved in Twitter is so that people can see what you have to say!

Helpful Tip: If you are new to Twitter, before you start following anyone,  post about 15 tweets with relevant information so when potential followers visit your site, there will be an archive and people can see what you are about.

3. No personalized Twitter background.

Borrriiiing! Showcase your personality and your business! Spend a few dollars and have someone create a personalized Twitter-back for you if you don’t have the skills to do one yourself.  Some Social Media Specialist VAs like myself can create one for you.  While people don’t always visit your site to communicate with you on a regular basis, they will generally visit it once or twice to get some background on you.

Helpful Tip: Make sure your background ties in with your brand for consistency.

4. Not tweeting enough.

Some people think it’s ok to tweet once a week. Wrong!  You need to be tweeting 3-4 times a day.  What to tweet about?  Tweet important industry related information, news-worthy items, links to articles etc. and only occasionally to your own sites. Avoid shameless self-promotion. Social Media is about relationship building. I can’t stress this enough.  Social Media is an ideal place to become known as a thought leader, problem solver or go-to person in your industry. As far as tweeting what you had for dinner?  Unless you are a caterer,  chef or a food critic, these tweets are best left out of your stream.

Helpful Tip:  If you can’t be at your computer every day at the pertinent time to send out your tweet, there are tools to help you.  Your VA can work with you to ensure your message is getting out there.  You will need to schedule some time each day to review any direct messages or responses to your tweets to build those relationships. Communicating in your authentic voice is very important.  In my opinion, you should not delegate this to your VA.

5. Ignoring the ‘ Re-tweet’

Re-tweeting is a very important part of Twitter.   A compliment goes a long way in the social media world. By re-tweeting someone else’s tweet, you are endorsing the person and their message.

Helpful Tip: When you send out a tweet,  try to leave about 12 characters free (so tweet about 128 chars).  When a message gets re-tweeted, the original author of the tweet gets published again (more publicity for you!)  thus adding the additional characters.  You can’t exceed the 140 character limit and people will not take the time to rework/reword your tweets if they are too long.

Finally there is the debate in the social media world about quality over quantity. Personally I believe quality will win out.   It’s difficult to build quality relationships with 5000 followers!  Seek to find really good prospects and then work at building relationships with them.  If you are unsure how to do this research, your VA can help.

Those are my top 5.  What would you add to the list?

While physically located in Newmarket Ontario where Joanne lives with her family, as a VA, she is virtually yours anywhere….

Who’s Next? Have you Googled Yourself Lately?

I wonder how many businesses out there are paying attention to the change that is going on in terms of brand and reputation management.  With the proliferation of Social Media,  the power to define and control  a brand is now shifting from corporations and institutions to individuals and communities.

Back in 2005, before Social Media became popular, blogger Jeff Jarvis who, among other accreditations, was creator and founding editor of Entertainment Weekly, Sunday editor and associate publisher of the New York Daily News, TV critic for TV Guide and People, purchased a Dell computer which he considered a lemon. When he wasn’t able to get the customer service he was looking for, he proceeded to take Dell down a very lonely path after writing a blog which he entitled “Dell Lies.  Dell Sucks”.  Not an attractive headline.

At the time, Jeff was not able to get Dell’s Executive to respond in the online forum. It was only after their customer satisfaction, market share and share price took a beating that they started paying attention to Social Media. Since that time, Dell has done a complete turnaround and in 2007, they began using Twitter to market its used and refurbished equipment.

Recently, they announced $2M of revenue directly attributable to their @DellOutlet Twitter id and another $1M of revenue from clickthroughs to their Dell.com site.  Jeff now says he blew Dell a big wet kiss.  If you check out their website, you will see a “community” section where they have incorporated a solid SM approach to doing business. Even their employees are now blogging on Dell’s behalf.  Bravo Dell!

This should have been a road map for other organizations to follow!  Fast forward to 2009.

Earlier this spring, Domino’s Pizza were blind-sided when a couple of its employees uploaded a video to YouTube, portraying them breaking every health rule possible while involved in food preparation.  With no one from their organization paying any attention to reputation management online, it took a consumer to bring it to their attention.  There is now a lawsuit pending.   Not surprisingly, I am now seeing Domino’s ads everywhere professing their high customer sat ratings in 2009.

I can only imagine how expensive this recovery effort is to say nothing of the cost of the lawsuit compared to the cost of  some reputation management software and a little awareness. To their credit, Dominos’ President addressed the incident by publishing its own YouTube video shortly thereafter.

It’s time for businesses to sit up and take notice.  Keeping track of what’s being said about your organization online is becoming increasingly important.  And it’s not just big business that needs to pay attention.  Small business owners are just as much if not more vulnerable to having their reputation sullied from a dissatisfied consumer.   Social Media is word of mouth marketing, and bad press can really hurt you.

It’s time to jump on the bandwagon people!  And, if you’re unsure how to track your own or your company’s reputation online, there is help out there.  While you are at it, it’s probably time to take a look at an overall Social Media strategy for your business.  As a Social Media Specialist Virtual Assistant, I can help you from strategy and action planning to profile building and on-going maintenance and support.  It’s much easier to create a positive flow of communication at the outset than to back pedal and recover from a media disaster.

So, do you know what’s being said about you?  Go ahead Google yourself…regularly.

While physically located in Newmarket Ontario where Joanne lives with her family, as a VA, she is virtually yours anywhere….

 MAKING EVERY MESSAGE COUNT

As a VA, I find it mind boggling that seasoned marketers are still sending out email messages from their BlackBerry® with the signature block that reads “sent via my BlackBerry….”.  I find it even more ridiculous when these seasoned marketers are tech-savvy.

Unless you own shares in this company, why on earth would you waste valuable advertizing dollars to promote their product when you could easily customize the signature block to include your own business name and contact information and whatever other data that is pertinent to marketing and growing your business? 

It’s so simple to do and the benefit should be obvious, however to make it even easier, here are the instructions from their website.

Adding a signature to email messages that a user sends from a BlackBerry device

1.Click Manage users.

2.Search for a user account.

3.In the search results, click the name of the user account.

4.Click Edit user.

5.In the Messaging configuration section, click Default configuration.

6.On the Email tab, in the Mail options section, in the Auto signature field, type the signature that you want to appear in the email messages that the user sends from the BlackBerry device.

7.Click Continue to user information edit.

8.Click Save all.

 Simple enough, don’t you think? 

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