Are you a LinkedIn user? I am and I love the site. It’s a great way to connect with like-minded individuals, share ideas, solve problems and help one-another.

You can form relationships that are critical to your success, but remember, effective networking requires reciprocity through developing and nurturing win-win relationships. Through LinkedIn, you have opportunities to help those in your network by answering questions, providing relevant leads, and helping them make connections to further their goals.

In the guide to using LinkedIn for business and career management, I’m on LinkedIn–Now What??? (Third Edition): A Guide to Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn, Jason Alba explains that there are six major benefits to LinkedIn:

• The ability to be known and enhance your personal brand
• The ability to be found by recruiters or other hiring authorities
• The ability to find others and make important connections
• The opportunity to learn and share
• The ability to connect with group members
• The opportunity to show you are plugged in to current technology

These are great benefits. There are more but these comprise the top six, in my opinion. All the interaction on LinkedIn is based on respecting your connections. If you treat them with respect they will do the same.

What I DON’T like is when someone uses LinkedIn inappropriately to market their own products and services. We all know that using social networking for business is about building relationships and helping each other grow and improve, but the obvious “Spammers” just don’t seem to get it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen someone respond to a group discussion with a statement that had nothing to do with what was being discussed. They just wanted to get as many people as possible to click on their website link, and they will respond with that identical post to as many discussions as they can. Do they really think that the people in the group don’t know exactly what they are doing, resulting in the opposite outcome the poster hoped for? Now they have angered the members of the Group, gotten reported as a “Spammer” and forever tarnished their LinkedIn reputation with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

And by the way, when I see these types of blatant misuse, I do report them. You should too.

We’d like to share one of our favorite recipes to start you into a great New Year! Hoppin’ John is a Southern tradition for the New Year’s Day meal. We pair it with some kind of “greens” (spinach, collard, mustard) as that is said to bring you lots of “folding green” while the black-eyed peas are said to fill your pockets with change. This is a basic recipe that we have enjoyed for years. There are many ways to “kick it up a notch” so use your imagination! We wish everyone prosperity in 2012!

We’ve all seen the Discover Card commercial “Hello, welcome to USA Prime Credit, my name is Peggy”. It’s a funny commercial and we can all laugh at the frustration experienced by the caller. Obviously this is an exaggeration, a caricature of sorts, to entertain and to make you want to watch the commercial. BUT… it is based on the common premise that offshore customer service has a few barriers; first of which is language and dialect. It is often times very difficult to understand what is being said when the person on the other end of the phone has a heavy accent and only a casual understanding of the English language; second is knowledge. Many times the person you speak with at what is called “Level 1 Support” is trained to handle only the most common questions or problems (Frequently Asked Questions, usually with scripted responses). The theory behind this from a company’s perspective is to spend as little money as possible to answer the majority of the questions. This is a solid, cost-effective measure indeed… or is it?

Before I continue with my editorial, let me first share a recent customer service call I experienced.

I have a credit card that had been paid off and was put in a drawer in case of future needs. A charge was put on this card without my knowledge and because I didn’t pay it (I didn’t know about it), it accrued late fees and interest charges of almost $100 in two months. The credit card company called me (non offshore… a very nice lady named Audrey) to arrange payment. I told Audrey that I needed to check on the purchase to verify its validity and would call them back. I called the company who made the charge and spoke with someone (not offshore). I was able to discuss the situation, identify it as an unapproved transaction and get a refund processed, all in one call. GREAT, then I called the credit card company back to tell them a refund was being processed and got the company’s “Level One Support”. I didn’t understand the name of the person who picked up my call, but it was obviously offshore, based on the dialect. When I posed my situation, the representative said that he would have to transfer me to a Supervisor… and then hung up (or totally blew the transfer), so I had to call back. The second call also had to be transferred and this time I was put on hold, or “Ignore” and the call went into limbo, it didn’t terminate but after 5 minutes of nothing (no music, just silence), I hung up (with thoughts of “Peggy” haunting my brain). The third time I finally got transferred properly and I could tell that I was back in the States. The Supervisor was friendly, polite and helpful. We got the situation resolved and all was finally good, but only after having to provide my account number, date of birth, address, last four digits of my SSN, and explain the reason for my call… FOUR TIMES. This experience frustrated me to no end. I can’t even tell you how angry I was by the time I reached someone who could actually help me. Been here? I thought so.

I understand the need to save money, align resources and try to achieve the greatest efficiencies, but if those efficiencies result in losing customers or damaging a company’s reputation, what have you gained? There needs to be another way.

Complimenting the usual phone support with social media support is a growing trend. Many companies are setting up social media customer service units to monitor Facebook, Twitter and other online channels for questions and problems related to their products or services. This might be a good way to get your request in ONCE, have the company triage the problem to resolution and get back to you with an answer without the frustration experienced in my example. The responsibility is then on the company to do whatever is necessary, talk to whoever is required to resolve the situation… behind the scenes… and then get back to the customer with the answer.

So here’s my final question… Am I overreacting based on my recent experience or do you see this as a viable way to buffer the consumer from “back-office” operations?

I joined Facebook a little over 3 years ago because that’s when we started our business and became specialists in Social Media. We are in the business of promoting Facebook for business. It’s just what we do. Along the way, I started using Facebook more and more for connecting with friends, family and “blasts from the past”. Lately, I have been questioning whether this is a good thing or a bad thing and here’s why:

1. It has reduced the number of phone calls and actual interactions. While I believe this may be good for business (and not all of the time – face-to-face contact is a good part of an overall business strategy), I am sometimes saddened that the only place to catch up with family or friends is through Facebook. And it really blows my skirt up when someone uses the “I didn’t see it on Facebook” as an excuse.
2. It has caused unwitting arguments. I had a certain incident where I liked a page that happened to be a competitor of someone close to me. The page was beneficial to us from our marketing standpoint, but I was called out on it and basically forced to “unlike” the page due to this conflict of interest.
3. Sometimes people post things that they are feeling, which may have a profound impact on another family member or friend. I have had family members or friends remark to me that they were hurt or upset about comments or postings from other family members or friends. While I understand that “intent” is a key factor, sometimes it’s just a post where it didn’t enter someone’s mind that someone else might be hurt before that enter key was pressed. When we post on Facebook, we are generally posting our feelings. Unless privacy controls are strictly set to restrict certain people, everyone gets to see what our feelings are, be they happy or sad. This sometimes causes old wounds to resurface and an argument to ensue or it may just remind a person of losses, things they wish had been different, things they wish are different. You get the drift.
4. Arguments or “discussuments” with family members or friends happen. Does it hurt you or help you that you can keep up with what’s going on in their life because you can still see the status on Facebook? And if they hide their statuses or, God forbid, the dreaded “UNFRIENDING” occurs, you may find yourself at a point of anger, frustration, hurt, fear or apathy. How does this affect this relationship? If you were not online, wouldn’t you pick up the phone more readily and try to come to an understanding?
5. Old Wounds. Have you “friended” someone from the past and had it bring up an old wound? I bet most of us have – whether it’s an “old love”, an ex-spouse and their family, or a memory of being ignored by the popular kid in high school. How about a once very close friendship that managed to just disappear? Somehow you manage to reconnect on Facebook but it doesn’t rekindle that once close tie.

When we taught the Facebook class for social media at the local tech college over the last 2 years, one of the examples we gave as “what not to do” was this one:
Now this may be somewhat of an extreme, but it is an example of how things might slip out that others could be hurt by. And, of course, much of the comments that we see may be taken much more to heart than the writer intended. This same type of thing occurs in email.

Emotions are hard to read when you’re not looking someone dead in the eye or hearing the sound of their voice.

I’m in the process of evaluating whether or not staying connected with family and friends on social networks is something to reconsider. If I come to the conclusion that it isn’t, and I start the un-friending process, please don’t be offended – it’s not personal. I’d much rather talk to you over the phone or visit with you in person. I am a huge proponent of family and friend get-togethers and meaningful relationships. The featured photo in this post is of my grandmother and my son a long time ago. It is a photo that memorializes a connection that just can’t be made online.

I know there are lists and I know that I can segregate my comments to specific audiences. This thought process is in its infancy stages. We, as a business, will of course stay on Facebook both through transparent personal profiles and our business page. I do believe that Facebook is a fantastic place for businesses to connect.

What are your thoughts? Is this what the future holds and you need to just “deal with it”? Or would you prefer that IRL (In Real Life) interaction with your family and friends? Is any interaction better than no interaction? Are we too internet focused? Is instant gratification the “all important”?

I don’t know about you, but I need a hug.

When we meet with clients who want to use social media to grow their business, our project plan includes these 10 steps.  The “strategy” that results is often very different, but that’s OK because no single solution works for every business. If you know you want to get started, but don’t know where to begin, start with these Ten Steps:

1. Educate yourself on the latest tools and techniques in Social Media
2. Define your business objectives
3. Identify your target market
4. Decide how much time you have to spend on social media
5. Decide who will manage your company’s social media
6. Choose the social media channels you will use
7. Develop a strategy to achieve your objectives
8. Set up your social media channels
9. Engage with your audience
10. Manage your campaign and monitor your progress

This is an over-simplification of the process, but it outlines the major steps you should follow to be successful. If you have questions or get stuck on any of these steps, call us. We can help.

As most of my friends and “fans” know, I’m not a huge blogger. I do get a few atta-girls every now and then for writing a small post, but not blogging as often as I should definitely rates an “oh sh_t” instead. Because, as we all know, life is a series of atta-girls(boys) and oh-sh_ts.  But today, I will write.  And I don’t need the atta-girl.  I’m passing out atta-boys and atta-girls today because this week, I have been inspired.

This week, I was invited to attend a meeting for the Milwaukee Chapter of EWI – Executive Women International by a good friend and business associate.  What a fantastic opportunity she presented me with. EWI was established in San Francisco in 1938 by Lucille Johnson Perkins.  Ms. Perkins recognized the importance and potential of an association bringing key women together to promote their firms and improve their community. I plan to join this organization’s Milwaukee Chapter because it embodies many of my beliefs and it will provide another way for me to give back to the community. One of the greatest things that I left with after this meeting was a renewal of spirit and drive courtesy of this group of lovely, friendly, professional women. They shared a fantastic poem during dinner that every person should read. They should read it to their daughters and their mothers and their friends. It is quite simply called “She”, by Kobi Yamada. Not only was I inspired by its words, but I was inspired to create the image in this post reflecting the words of that poem. Click on it and read it. And then celebrate and share it with a woman you know and love.

My second atta-boy is posthumous. As has been relayed across every media channel yesterday and today a thousand times over, a great man, Steve Jobs, has left us. I have only become an Apple fan in the last couple of years after purchasing both an iPhone and a MacBook Air. I can tell you that I’m a huge fan of both. But it’s not the products that bring Mr. Jobs the atta-boy or me the inspiration – it’s his pure, unadulterated quest to follow the beat of his own drummer. It’s his speech to Stanford University in their 2005 Commencement. It’s his brilliance in forward thinking. It’s his resilience in the face of once being fired from his own company. And it’s his obvious determination to keep moving forward until the last hour – even as he battled his life threatening illness. This is deserving of an “atta-boy” – and so much more. And I just needed to say that. Rest in peace Steve Jobs. Your body may have left us, but your legacy and your spirit will live on and inspire so many more. And your family is in our thoughts and prayers.

So, for you, today – move forward, give back, aspire to do more, inspire those around you.

I love WordPress. And it’s pretty much my site builder of choice these days. Adding functionality through plugins is a pretty common thing  to do, but too many plugins or those of the wrong kind, can sometimes make a mess of your site. There are also plugins that are put out by some unsavory types that are guaranteed to make a mess of your site. When you search for plugins through WordPress, there is a link on each plugin entitled “Details”.  Always click that link before installing and review each tab of information on the plugin. In addition, let these 5 simple tips help guide you in your decision making process:

1. When was it last updated?  If it was 2 years ago, this might be an issue.
2. What version of WordPress is is compatible with? It really should be compatible with the latest version.
3. How many times it has been downloaded? This gives insight into its popularity.
4. Visit the actual “Plugin Homepage”.  Is it a valid and up to date URL?
5. Ratings – What do other users say?  Does it have a good rating?  Do most say “It Works”?

If you go with the plugins that are recommended and check the above points, you are more likely to be able to trust it.  And of course, always back up your site before installing anything that you are not sure of.

Per Wikipedia “Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.”

In more simple terms, cloud computing allows people to use applications, both business and social, through the internet, rather than having to install software and hardware in their own home or company. Many people use cloud computing without realizing it. As an example, if you’re using Google mail or Hotmail, you’re using the cloud.

The concept of cloud computing does solve a significant business need. It provides a way to increase capacity or add capabilities without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software.

The three main factors driving companies toward the cloud are:

1. Cost – Cost savings by requiring a smaller in-house IT staff, less software licensing, and less hardware.
2. Ease of use – Cloud customers don’t have to worry about software upgrades, hardware upgrades, or any of the technical management issues that come with running a datacenter.
3. Data storage – Many companies will keep the primary copy of their data in-house, and use the Cloud for the redundant copy(s).

The three main barriers preventing companies from moving to the cloud are:

1. Fear – If a company loses its data, they are likely to go out of business. Some companies would rather manage their own data than rely on someone else for its safekeeping. Also, it the internet is unavailable for any reason, you can’t get to your applications or data.
2. Smaller IT staff – Many companies see their IT staff as a competitive advantage in their field and do not want to give up this advantage.
3. Too new – For a lot of companies, the cloud is still just an idea, and they don’t understand how the cloud is built or operated. This is a learning curve that the business industry is now going through.

In a recent post, I commented on the vast growth of mobile devices. A mobile device is a pocket-sized computing device. After the release of the Apple iPhone, the mobile device usage has been growing steadily. Smartphones today have large color touch screens, nice user interfaces and are highly optimized for browsing the web. With the use of cloud computing, smartphones and tablet devices are quickly taking over for the traditional desktop or even laptop PC.

We are entering an era where business will be conducted anywhere, anytime and cloud computing will be the resource upon which this capability is built. It’s not the future, it’s right now.

The weather is hot, schools are out and Summerfest is over; these are all signs that the middle of summer is upon us.

At this time of year, most people’s thoughts turn away from work to days at the pool or beach, enjoying summer sports, and ice cold drinks. We normally think of summer as a time when work generally slows down (unless you sell sunscreen, or swimwear, or boats… or you are my wife Susi).

Focusing on marketing during a slow period (like summer) has actually been shown to increase sales once spending picks up.  It’s time to start brainstorming for some creative marketing ideas to help make sure you stay in business all year round. Here’s some food for thought:

• Follow up with everyone who expressed an interest in your product or service over the last six months but did not follow through. They may have more time to consider your offers during the summer.
• Write six articles related to your business and have them proofread and edited until they are polished. You will submit one article every other month for the next year to appropriate publications.
• Create a Facebook marketing plan with a list of items that you can work on for the next several months.
• Develop contests for your Facebook fans, website visitors and newsletter subscribers that you can run regularly during the year.
• Contact your local Chamber of Commerce and offer to speak at a fall or winter event.

OK now, grab a cold one and get started on using this time to your advantage.  Implement just a few of these ideas this summer and with a bit of luck your efforts will pay off all year long.

There are many things that make a website successful.  Here are 10 of the more important things to consider when building a site so that you can get the most out of your design efforts.

Branding

1. Your Logo. If you don’t have a logo, get one. Use this to brand your business on every online (and offline) marketing channel that you use. Brand recognition is established over time by repetition.
2. “Build It and They Will Come”
   This may have worked for Kevin Costner in “Field of Dreams”, but in real life, you need to first build your website with purpose, then market it consistently. Without marketing your site, no one will come.
3. Keywords
   If you don’t use proper keyword phrases, you won’t get traffic, which means that you won’t get sales. It’s very important to use these, particularly on web page titles.
4. Overdone Graphics and Video
   Mind-blowing graphics can be very cool, but they can actually distract our eyes and more importantly, slow down your page load time which can frustrate your visitors into leaving. Another frequent annoyance is having videos or audio automatically play.  Give your users the option to hit the play button and don’t force feed them.
5. Look and Feel
   Remember, you have 20 seconds or less to capture the attention of visitors and they will leave if your site is unattractive or the navigation is not simple and straightforward.
6. Value Proposition
   Today’s users expect shorter copy with only the information necessary to make a decision. That means a headline (use keywords), short to-the-point copy, 5-7 benefits (this is important – you MUST let your visitors know your value proposition i.e. what’s in it for them).
7. Testimonials
   Include real-life testimonials from satisfied customers. Nothing advertises better than actual people telling your visitors that your goods and services are superior.
8. “Call To Action”
   Include your “Add to Shopping Cart” button, an “Opt-in” to enter a contest, or a “Sign up” for free “whatever”, and remember to capture names and email addresses for future communications.
9. Site Map
   Include a site map so that Google site crawlers (as well as other search engines) can navigate your site more easily.
10. Relying ONLY on Your Website
    This is a No-No. Today’s savvy users want interaction and communication with you. Provide links from your website to your social media sites like Facebook and Twitter where your prospective customers can actually communicate and interact with you.

There are actually many more things to consider when building a website, but these should at least help to get you going in the right direction.