3 Factors that Define Social Media

Posted by kboon on February 23, 2010 under Business Building Strategies | 4 Comments to Read

There is barrage of hype around the term “social media”.  Everybody is writing about it, tweeting about it, spamming about it, and a lot of people are trying to determine how they use it for their business.

The other day, I mentioned social media as being a useful method to connect with customers or business partners.  My colleague politely said, “It is more hype than fact!  It really doesn’t substitute for selling or promoting your business. It’s a time waster.”

We talked a little more about about his thoughts and that was the end of it.  But the conversation made me think.

What does social media mean to me?  Do I use the term too loosely?

Social Media (in my view) is a component of a larger business strategy.

The way I see it there are 3 main factors:

1. Web Tools that enhance productivity
2. Sharing technologies to enable you to be part of a community and be in multiple places at once (leverage).
3. Communication technologies that allow you to better reach within your community.

How do you define social media?  Is there a better term?

6 Tips for Building a Website on a Limited Budget

Posted by kboon on February 10, 2010 under Business Building Strategies | 3 Comments to Read

Imagine you have an important business meeting.  You worked hard to get this appointment and you know this person would be a great partner for your business.  You want to make a good impression.  You take extra time to prepare for your meeting and you make sure you dress professionally and appropriately.

Chances are you wouldn’t dress in a pair of sweat pants, an old t-shirt and running shoes.

Yet many businesses dress their website this way.  Their website is an afterthought.

Website as a Central Source

Social media strategists often say, the first step to creating a social presence is to have a good website.  The main purpose of social tools like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and other forums is to drive people to your website.  According to the Edelman Report Barack Obama’s election team used 15 social networking sites to get the word out.  They created a central website at BarackObama.com and that had videos, blogs, calls to action, and resources that people could use and share.  (I’ll include a link to the report at the end of this post)

There are 3 components to a good website.

1. Graphics Design & Layout
2. Programming & Development
3. Usability

It can be difficult to find website design companies who have mastered all 3 of these skills.  If you do, you’re likely to pay big bucks!  IT companies will tend to hire in-house, but small businesses usually have limited budgets.

6 Ideas for Building a Website on a Budget

My website is about 3 weeks old and has been created on a small budget.  This is still a work in progress but here are some resources that I use today:

1. Wordpress – Wordpress is easy to use, includes great themes, and it’s free.
2. Netfirms – URL Registration & Hosting – Hosting is generally inexpensive
3. IstockPhoto – For low-cost images – or Flickr for free images
4. Website Grader – from Hubspot – this is a free tool that lets me grade my website for design, web usuability and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
5. Technical & Design Support – I am not a techie so I have a friend who helps me with any coding or technical work.  Usually all it takes is an email and he can create something quickly for me.
6. Access to Communities – Accessing web communities is one of the most powerful resources I use.  With Twitter, Linkedin and a new community called Third Tribe Marketing, I can get answers to most questions, business, marketing, sales or web related.

Developing a good website is worth the time investment.

At the end of the day your website can make your day-to-day sales efforts a lot easier.

Resources:

1. Barack Obama’s Social Media Toolkit.  Here is the Edelman website.
2. Website Grader is free.  Hubspot has other free graders for Twitter, Facebook and Press Releases.

ReDefining Customer Service – Well.ca

Posted by kboon on January 26, 2010 under Stories | Comments are off for this article

Had the pleasure of listening to a talk by Ali Asoria, the CEO of Well.ca.

Ali started Well.ca back in September 2007 in the back of his dad’s pharmacy, and within two short years the business has grown to be the top online health and beauty store in Canada.  They made Profit Magazines “Hot 50” as one of the fastest growing companies in Canada in September 2009.

What’s the secret to their success?  Here is a quote from their website.

What makes us different?

“Our company is made up of kind, friendly people that want to go the extra mile for you. With customer care at the core of our business, we strive to give you the best shopping experience possible!”

The answer is Customer Service.  Ali explained how the customer is at the core of their business philosophy. Every  interaction is an opportunity to provide exceptional customer service; even to the point where they include a hand written note on every order.

When they hire new staff, they want to find the most friendly people and create as Ali says, “a local store feel”.  They are not afraid to admit when they’ve made mistakes and they take the time to talk to their customers.

Obviously there are other factors which enhance the customer experience.  Some you can see on their website, which is well designed with easy navigation, fast checkout and the incentive of free shipping.

But there is something more to Well.ca.

When you visit their website you get the real sense that they’re interested in you.  They want your business and they want to connect.  There are profiles of their employees, team photos and they are connected on Facebook and Twitter.  They are blogging and creating a two-way conversation with chat and a prominent 1-800 number.

When people ask me, how do I do use social media for my business?

Well.ca actually has the answer! Create a quality website, be friendly, approachable and take care of your customers! Engage in a dialogue and be there to assist and support.

Ali closed his talk with two comments that I thought were most enlightening.

“We don’t spend on marketing” and,

“We are a technology company“.  (they are not a drugstore)

Perhaps ideas for future discussion.

In my next post I will talk about Haiti, the fund raising efforts and the ability of communities to make a difference.

Guelph Technology & Greenway Home Products

Posted by kboon on January 25, 2010 under Stories | Comments are off for this article

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the first Guelph Technology event hosted by Linamar.  There were a few hundred participants representing various industries from manufacturing, government, entrepreneurs and a growing number of technology companies.  Jim Estill, the founder of EMJ & Synnex was the keynote speaker and there were several breakout sessions throughout the day.

There were two speakers with insights that I thought could benefit every business owner or entrepreneur.  One with traditional business background, and the other on the leading edge of newer technologies.  Both demonstrated (in different ways) how they have used technology to increase productivity, communicate more effectively and increase revenues.

Phil Greenway from Greenway Home Products (GHP) described some of the changes within the past 50 years of his career.  GHP develops, manufactures and distributes a broad line of water, heat and home products.  They have a dealer base across North America and manufacturing locations around the world.

Phil spoke about business in 60’s and 70’s, before computers and fax machines.  He described his early experiences of setting up a global business, describing his travels to Western and Eastern Europe (before the fall of the Berlin wall).  With no computers or cell phones, contact with home office was often scattered, and it could take days or weeks at a time before he could connect.

In the 80’s computers were introduced and by the 90’s bar-codes, EDP technology and supply change management streamlined the whole inventory and manufacturing process.  Communication became instantaneous and global markets opened around the world.

Productivity has been one of the main benefits of technology for Greenway, where at one time it required 4 employees to generate $1 million in revenue.  Today it takes 1 employee to create that same $1 million.

Phil finished his talk by describing how Communication, through video conferencing, with tools like Skype have saved tens of thousands of dollars in travel & phone costs.  Being able to track inventories online has changed how Greenway distributes and manufactures product.

Although privately owned Greenway and its various companies are worth millions.  Their success has been due to their ability to change with the times and adapt technology to their business model.

In part 2, I will talk about Ali Asoria and the success of Well.ca.

Follow me on Twitter or contact me through eLead.

AdWords & AdSense – How Google Opened up the Internet

Posted by kboon on January 21, 2010 under General | Comments are off for this article

In the late 90s, companies saw the Internet as a powerful communications tool, but many found earning money (direct cash) illusive.  By the time of the “dot-com boom” the common thought was, “build a website and they will come”.

We soon learned as the “dot-com meltdown” taught us, it wasn’t that simple.

Over the past 10 years companies and entrerpreneurs have become smarter.  We are realizing that success on the web comes from a variety of factors, one of which is a good website.  Communities do not grow on their own.  Establishing two-way communication, building relationships, developing trust and finding ways to be found (SEO), are essential to being success.

I’ll talk more about all of these topics in futures posts.

Google’s biggest achievement, I believe (besides search & rankings) has been to find a creative way of connecting Advertisers with producers of web content.  Their AdWords and AdSense programs have brought the Internet together connecting buyers and sellers.  The majority of Google’s revenue comes from ads.  Millions of companies use AdWords, which provides inexpensive, targeted advertising based on the search terms that you and I enter into Google.

AdSense on the other hand, has been used by producers of web content from blogs, and websites as a means of to provide income.  For every click on your website, you get paid a few pennies.    PlentyofFish.com used this method to earn millions of dollars, however not all web producers are lucky enough to have that volume of web traffic.

From what I hear most Adsense subscribers don’t see much revenue.  Many prefer affiliate programs or some means of paid sponsorship on their site.

My question is:

What are your thoughts on Google ads?

Have you used the Adwords program for your business?

Do you use Google Ads (Adsense) on your website?

Do you feel this business model is sustainable for Google?  How should they innovate?

Feel free to comment or connect with me on Twitter with any thoughts or ideas.