Beware of programs like Hootsuite or AlertFirst to automate your social media marketing. On the surface, for busy professionals, this looks like the perfect solution. But I only need to remind you of the excitement around voice mail and telephone system automated attendants when they first hit the market. Clients and customers experienced “voice mail jail,” and other annoying automated telephone solutions and it became the Achilles heel of businesses with intense competition in their markets. Clients now had an excuse to try someone else….and it became a competitive advantage to have an actual “human being” answer the phone and handle the caller’s issue directly. Your clients and prospects deserve respect of individual engagement and interaction. Automated solutions can quickly get ahead of themselves. Imagine accidentally sending the wrong message to the wrong prospect. Imagine sending a introductory post to a long time loyal client. It’s easy to see who’s automating. Too busy to talk to your clients? That will become obvious and can tarnish your reputation. You need to be the master of the technology, not the other way around.

Is Free Better than Fee?

The upshot is that what one considers “better” is all relative and “to each his own,” and value is usually in the eye of the beholder and on and on, but sometimes “free” can be better than a monthly fee. Do you Roku?  This is a good example. I finally discovered free tv.  At first I thought it was bleeding edge technology and probably didn’t work.  I was wrong.  It installs easy.  It works the first time.  Much, although not all, of the programming is free.

Roku is a box that lets you stream media from the internet.  It costs about 50 bucks and connects in minutes to your TV. The free part are the free channels available online like “Crackle” and “Pandora.” And you can watch all of your regular TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Once Upon A Time and House on HULU Plus, although that’s about 10 bucks a month.  You can pay for other channels like Netflix, but there are lots more free channels to choose and activate.

How long will this be free?  Who knows, but it’s a great alternative to paid tv now, especially with commercials dominating paid tv airtime and the pitiful channel selection on cable and satellite.

But what’s the message about marketing in this technology leapfrog game?  When consumers (your clients) get disgusted, they will search for alternatives and entrepreneurs will create them.  We’ve all about had it with paid TV.  Cable TV and Satellite providers take notice.

Don’t wait until your clients have had it with you.  Improve your service.  Find out what’s frustrating your clients in your service process, your performance, and the overall client experience.  Improve, be the best you can be!

Master the technology, conquer your market.

What in heaven’s name is going on at www.godaddy.com?? I recently had some very sticky problems with a client website using a WordPress template, and alas and alack I had to call tech support for HELP.  I usually dread this because of the hold times and tech support is not always technically helpful, especially if you use any 3rd party software.  But HOLD THE PRESSES.  Latest release: Godaddy.com tech support goes Above and Beyond the call of duty.  First support person I got on the phone (hold time wasn’t bad), was Shane Blisset.  Shane was very knowledgeable about WordPress, so patient with me, and he was determined to help me solve my problem. When it seemed there was no solution, he creatively came up with another way to look at things and VOILA!  Problem fixed. Another call on another topic and I encountered tech specialist, Bobby K. What a gentleman! Solved my problem and answered my question with a great deal of panache then followed up with me on email.  Can’t ask for more.

Friends, I really don’t know for sure if www.godaddy.com is the best hosting you can find, but when tech support is a superior service, it certainly adds tremendous value.  That’s all I’m sayin’ here. Thank you Shane, thank you Bobby K and thank you godaddy.com!

New Landing Page

Please check out the new Facebook Landing Page I created for a client, Theresa Fappiano, Re/Max First Choice Real Estate professional, who by the way sold our home last year and made the entire experience rewarding.  It’s a flash application and you can turn off or turn down the music, but I like it. Let me know what y’all think.

Real Estate Landing Page:
http://www.facebook.com/NorthWestNJRealEstate

I created a second page for her:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Personal-or-Real-Estate/278331922233761?sk=app_190322544333196

Facebook “landing page” gear is easy to use, but you have to worry about hosting your files, so figure that out first. You can place your html code right on the page, or run the entire app from your server.  I’m running it from my server now, but may leap for another solution in the future.  All comments, questions, suggestions welcome!

Engage in Conversation

Have you ever commented on someone’s blog and checked back day after day, never to see a response? Frustrating, isn’t it? I challenge professionals to examine their motivation for starting a blog. If your blog is motivated by SEO….because your marketing consultant advised you that blogging can improve your search engine page rank then you are likely to fall into the trap of the one-way blog syndrome. One way blogging is like going to a party with a tape recorder and turning it on all night. People will avoid the noise….instead of a blog, you’ve created a Blah Blah Blahg. Conversion (converting website visitors to clients) depends upon development of a relationship, which is fueled by two-way conversation. So take your blog to the next level. Find ways to engage your audience, by acknowledging comments and responding to questions.

One caution. Spammers love to comment on blogs to gain back-links, so beware of giving credence to vacuous compliments….manage the comments and respond only to those who are truly engaging in a conversation about the topic. SEO is poison to the internet….and often works against the honest professional and misleads by giving undue but temporary standing to spammers. Those Google folks are geniuses though and the spammers will soon be banished. Don’t be one of them.

Here's my website QR

I try not to rant on this blog, but I’m goin’ all “Lewis Black” on you today. I just have to vent. My Shop Rite circular today includes a QR code with a “Learn More.” message. How cool is that? I think that’s what many businesses are expecting as the consumer reaction. But are they trying to communicate or just trying to be cool?

Here’s my take. If they are trying to communicate with customers and prospects, then we can assume they are communicating to all of those out there that have smart phones with QR readers, that they all know how to use them, and that they all work. True or false?

Now, no one disputes the importance of appealing to mobile phone/smart phone users who went from spending 32 minutes per day using their mobile phones in 2008 to 65 minutes per day in 2011. And even the elderly are getting on board. According to the Arbitron-Edison media study, 19% of people ages 55-64 have smart phones.

But all this tech usage is no excuse for tech snobbery. When businesses ASSUME that everyone knows the latest mobile phone app and everyone uses it equally, they prove how out of touch they are with their clients and prospects. I’m not saying that vendors and professionals shouldn’t use new technology, but for goodness sake, please respect the differences and the learning curve. Be cool, yes, but don’t forget about the uncool. The uninformed or to some, the “uncool” may want to “learn more” about your products and services also. And really, what does it take to add a short line explaining: “This is a QR (Quick Response) code. If you have a mobile phone, you can use this code to get more information or you can visit our website at www.coolbusinessdude.com. With this kind of footnote, at least you provide some help until the majority of your clients and customers are users of the technology feature and understand the benefit.

And what if you don’t provide help? Just think about the “gotcha” factors: QR codes can include computer viruses. All mobile phone apps are not standard and some may not have built in QR readers. Not everyone has internet access on their cell phone. Not everyone even knows how to “download” stuff. Some under-educated, under-privileged, or disadvantaged may not be able to afford the technology and will feel they are being left out and ignored. If any of this is true, your marketing cool tool has now created frustration, resentment, and alienation.  Nice going!

So, here’s the end of my rant. Please be sensitive to the fact that technology may be new or unavailable to some of your best and most valuable prospects and stop making them feel bad about it.

To end on a lighter note: Here’s a good video on QR code uses that may amuse you.

Should I have a Google+ account?

Hey folks, it doesn’t surprise me that Google is finding new and amazing ways to be profitable while continuing to delight their customers with fast and furious relevant results to searches. And don’t forget their rivalry with Facebook. All my clients are asking, should I have a Google + account?

Did anyone doubt that Google would become a social media player? Did anyone doubt that this fireball of a company would change the game with better social media integration and search? So what does it all mean for professionals marketing online? A lot or nada, depending on your strategy. Remember that powerhouses like Microsoft and Google are competing by being the best at serving up quality information and quality results. My advice? BE the quality content they NEED to connect their users to and you’ll rule. Serve up “me-too” or boring or irrelevant content or very little content, and others will win page rank, no matter how many key words you stuff into your pages. Trust me, this is going to get harder. Stick to your knitting and do great work, then share your knowledge, and they will come.

My membership in NJAWBO, the NJ Association of Women in Business, Sussex/Warren Chapter, is barely a few months old and I’m impressed with the business acumen of the members and the openness and willingness to embrace new members and ideas. For the holiday meeting in December, I introduced the idea of a “Gift of Marketing” to replace their usual gift exchange and it was very favorably received. Comment on this post if you’d like more information about the program. Hey NJAWBO members, send me your questions—I’m sure your participation in this program has surfaced some new online experiences for you! And my secret santa gift recipient is Dorinne S. Davis of The Davis Center. Dorinne, MA, CCC-A, FAAA, RCTC, BARA is a World Leading Sound Based Therapist. Please visit thedaviscenter.com for more information on how these therapies can bring quality of life to those suffering from disorders like autism or down syndrome to those afflicted with disabilities due to aging or various illnesses. Happy New Year Dorinne!

CEO's should focus on their business, not the stock market.

In his book, Fixing The Game, former strategist and now business school Dean, Roger Martin www.rogerlmartin.com, compares the two distinct markets at play in the NFL and the business world —the real market and the expectations market. The expectations market is gambling. In the real market, real football players make real plays and there are real winners and losers. In the expectations market bets are balanced on a point spread. In this book, Martin compares this point spread in football to the stock market in American capitalism. There’s a lot to this analogy so you’ll want to read the book to understand it all, but in a nutshell, Martin applauds the NFL for understanding how important it is for the players to focus on the game, and therefore they prohibited betting by players. Not so in business. CEO’s are compensated on shareholder value, making their focus clearly on the expectations game. And the NFL remains strong, while American capitalism goes from crisis to crisis. Martin says, “fix the game.” That means fix whatever is wrong with your business.  Become stronger, leaner, smarter. Become introspective…..polish your internal processes and client service, be the best professional you can be….gain more knowledge, certifications, and if you are a lawyer, win more cases. Focus on perfecting that which really fuels business development—-operating on sound business principles of customer value and client satisfaction, and future profits will result. Focus on the wrong things….like stock prices, website hits, visits and Google placement, and you could fail miserably. Mr. Martin, what insight!!

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Let’s discuss what professionals should or shouldn’t tweet about.

What should professionals tweet?

A great article addressing this topic is a November 2, 2011 post by Am Law Daily staff reporter Sara Randazzo on the AmLawDaily.com website. Here’s the link: “The Tweet That Roared: Lawyers and Law Firms Navigate Social Media Land Mines”

After reading Ms. Randazzo’s stories about all of the social media wrecks that resulted from attorney’s who mis-posted, I’ve come to some of my own conclusions.

Time and time again we’ve seen that professional and personal lives and reputations overlap.  In a world where everyone is watching, can professionals afford to risk reputation ruin through social media?  Firms may seek to exert control over associates’ tweeting and blogging, but the bottom line is….for a professional….communications of all kinds conducted through all media are under constant scrutiny.  So I think that all the rules of propriety for professionals that may apply to communications at a cocktail party also apply to communications on Twitter. Those who have shared too much after a few drinks at a party are having morning after regrets.  The difference in this phenomenon on Twitter is the viral factor.

After a cocktail party memories fade, everyone sobers up and aside from the obsessions of a few gossips, the indiscretions are soon forgotten.  An embarrassing moment shared on Twitter or an inappropriate slip of the keyboard on a professional blog can last forever in the world-wide web!  Oh what an appropriate name for this media!  It’s worldwide, and it’s a web of connections that enables messages and images to spread feverishly and to last forever.

A guide to tweeting is needed for professionals.  To start, as you may do in any marketing effort, is to decide on the purpose of the Twitter account and who is the target audience.  Although your message goes out the world of followers, deciding first with which followers you really want to encourage conversations will form the basis of your strategy.  Simply put, if you are tweeting to obtain new clients, speak to that audience directly.  In order to do that, you need to determine who your best prospects are, and you need to know everything about them.  Who said this would be easy?