Better Ideas Blog

If you are a small business owner who is serious about boosting your on line branding, take note, your profile picture matters.

We have all seen those profile pictures including those that are silly, indecent, unprofessional and just plain strange. If you are utilizing free-marketing strategies, you’re going to use social media marketing where they require you to upload a picture.

Remember, this form of marketing is all about visibility, personality and connectiveness. People want to get to know the person “behind the company.” So uploading a logo isn’t always the right choice.

When people come to your profile page on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, what is the very first thing that they look at? Your picture of course! So what all good marketers have in common is that they do put up a professional profile picture to better relate with their audience. For example my Facebook picture is more casual but related to what I do for a living. My Linkedin in picture is more professional and I do use my logo for Twitter. Other experts say you should use the same picture for all profiles for branding consistency, it’s really up to you.

Here are my top picture styles to avoid as a business professional.

1. The “I am Sexy” Profile Picture. Please cover it up! There is nothing less professional than a scantily clothed business-person. (Except, for #6)

2. The “Faraway” Profile Picture. Get close and personal. Please want to see what you look like.

3. “Your Child” As Your Profile Picture. If you use your child as your profile picture, there will be many misconceptions. Believe it or not, people will actually think that your child is YOU and immediately exit your page.

4. “Your Dog” As Your Profile Picture. Put her/him in your photo’s but not as your profile picture.

5. The “Sideways” Profile Picture. If you upload your picture and it ends up sideways, you NEED to fix it. Unless it makes a statement, then it’s OK.

6. The “Chugging A Beer” Profile Picture. Enough said.

7. The “Blurred” or “Too Dark” Profile Picture. If it’s not a clear picture, don’t use it.

8. The “Way Too Serious” Profile Picture. I truly believe that individuals should smile in their profile picture. In addition, there was a research study conducted on Twitter that suggested that people who smile gain 28% more followers.

9. The “Trying To Be Way Out Creative” Profile Picture. Until you have truly created your brand, don’t go for the goofy hats, clothes and antics. It really does send out the wrong message.

10. The “No Picture At All” Profile Picture. This is the worst offense of all. Please put up a profile picture if you are using social media sites. People want to see you. And I have heard time and time again that people oftentimes won’t connect with people without pictures. Social media is “social.” So, let them see who you are.

Like it or not, your profile picture speaks volumes about you. So, think about it and do your best to use a picture that you want the world to see.

My Best,
Kathy Kane
Market Insights, LLC

1. The economy IS going to improve. Have faith. Look for opportunities and focus on what you do best, make sure some form of marketing/advertising is in place this year!

2. Online social networks will continue to grow in prominence. Don’t need a crystal ball for this one. However, consider this: Digital dialog may continue to grow, but so will the frustration over how to convert that technology into viable business opportunities. This is still an emerging field, and much of it will be established, then changed and continue to change. Make sure you have a plan.

3. Companies, small and large, need to create a social media strategy. What’s your plan? Oh . . . you don’t have one? Big mistake in 2010. You need to start working on one now. If you don’t know where to start, ask friends colleagues or a professional, some of the best advice I have gotten has come out of small study groups.

4. We will begin to see more integration between face-to-face and online networking opportunities. Online networks will do things to promote face-to-face opportunities, and face-to-face networks will begin to integrate online networking.

5. Victims of downsizing will become active in networking groups (both face-to-face and online). Many people have been laid off. Based on trends, it is common that within a few months of an increase in unemployment, there is almost always an influx of new members into networking organizations. This is a great time, because maybe you even have more time, to network and meet new business potentials.

6. Face-to-face networks will continue to grow, if they stay true to a fundamental mission of helping people grow their businesses. Nothing beats networking in person. Go to a meeting, learn something new and bring home a potential client.

7. Don’t have a web site yet? Well one-way web sites are now OLD Fashioned! More and more, companies will create web sites that operate in two directions. They will not only provide information to their customers but will also seek feedback from their customers. Blogs, interactive newsletters, social network sites, consumer feedback groups: All of these will continue to grow in importance for companies.

8. Companies that succeed in 2010 will remain agile and will focus on relationships. Technology is a tool. Relationships are king when it comes to networking. Companies who are creative in using tools to enhance the relationship building process will be the leaders in a company networking program.

My Best,
Kathy Kane
Market Insights, LLC

Hopefully you answered YES to this question. If not read on…

There’s a paradigm shift under way that you need to be aware of. Measuring your success, and ultimately the success of your emails reaching your customers’ inboxes, is now becoming less determined by your complaint rates, open rates, and non-existent bounces. The new determinate is called Email Engagement.

Weekly new ways of measuring results pop up, this is the newest. These new metrics include variables such as, “Are the recipients deleting your mail without even reading it,” “How long does the piece of email sit in your subscriber’s inbox before it’s read,” “Are recipients saving your mail once it’s read,” and “Do your subscribers re-read your email.” The old metrics are still being used, but the new measurements of Email Engagement are now being factored into filtering models as a better means to separating the good marketers from the bad ones.

Real evidence of these changes was in late November when AOL announced significant changes to its Enhanced Whitelist policies. This indicates that AOL will give a heavier weight to Email Engagement in the future.

So what does this mean to you? You now need to clean up your subscriber lists and focus on what your subscribers really want. First at the top of your to-do list should be that you must obtain explicit consent from your contacts on your email list(s). You must remove your bounces, segment your list(s) to ensure your messages are truly targeted, and obtain a better understanding of your relationship with your subscribers to insure better engagement. If you don’t do these steps it potentially puts your business’s reputation in the crosshairs of the ISPs.

There is a science to this method of marketing. Keep researching, keep on top of it and if you understand and embrace these new changes, you will reap the rewards.

My Best Regards,
Kathy Kane
Market Insights, LLC

It’s an unfortunate fact of life (and business). Out of the blue you get a nasty email from someone. Sometimes it’s about an article you’ve written. Sometimes it’s accompanied by a refund request. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like it’s tied to anything at all.

Or maybe you discover someone writing malicious things about you on a blog or a forum. Or maybe some other negative things suddenly start getting tweeted or posted to Facebook about you, your products or your business.

As a business owner, the more active and successful you become, the more you open yourself up to criticism, negative feedback or just plain being attacked.

As someone who is both a writer AND a business owner, I know all about what happens when you’re dealing with unwelcome criticism. But if this is something new for you, or even if it’s not new but you’re feeling like you’ve just been sucker-punched by something out of the blue, I thought I’d share a few insights to help you shake off the bad karma.

1. Think about your response, long ….and hard. Respond only to the facts not emotions. Throw out a solution, be kind and firm. Businesses who respond responsibly and with solutions to negative posts win every time. Those that don’t bother to reply or do so in a derogatory way will sometimes jeopardize their business even more.

2. Keep active in that community or forum and make sure you continue to post and thank others for their posts. Post success stories, create your own good press.

3. Most people see thru negative posts anyway and when you have built a good reputation with enough friends or fans or followers, you will be amazed at how they automatically come through and protect your good interests….they really do!

My Best Regards,
Kathy Kane
Market Insights, LLC

One of the first questions I’m asked by a potential client is always, “What’s the Return on Investment for using social media?” Basically…when will I make money from being on social media sites?

That probably sounds a little harsh, but the fact is many businesses only want to get on social media if they think it’s a sure bet that they will get clients and make money as a result of being on social media sites. The problem with that mentality is that it treats all the people on different social media sites as numbers, which is absolutely the last impression you want to give people if you want them do business with you.

The reality of Return on Investment is that before you can get a return on it, you have to be willing to invest in it. And that means investing resources, but it also means investing in relationships with the people you want to do business with. Businesses that are only concerned with getting a return on investment for using social media fail to understand that social media isn’t where the sales occurs. Social media is where the networking and marketing occur, where the relationship building happens.

Social media is part of the relationship building process you engage in, in order to stay visible to other people, establish your reputation, and share information. And the value people find all of those activities is what ultimately helps them decide if they will do business with you. The recognition they have that you can solve a problem for them is what will motivate them to do business with you. And that realization won’t occur automatically. It will occur because you’ve spent enough time getting to know them that they understand and recognize the value that you offer.

The sales process can only occur once you’ve built enough rapport in your relationship to earn the trust and recognition of the person you would do business with. It takes time to establish value, and with social media it can take even more time because many of your interactions are done in a virtual space. When the sales process does occur it will happen as a result of building your relationship with the person to the point that s/he will be ready to do business with you.

The best strategy for social media is the strategy that recognizes the limitations of the medium that social media occurs in. All of social media occurs in a virtual space, mostly in text. There’s a lot of context that’s missing as a result. I have found that pictures and video are most effective for developing conversation with potential clients. The conversation that’s engaged in needs to be done as transparently as possible, without a hidden agenda. There’s also value in learning the social media behaviors that are successful and help you connect with people. Those behaviors take time to learn, just as it takes time to develop a comprehensive strategy that enables you to maximize how you use social media in your business.

Businesses want return on investment, and want sales as a way of justifying using social media. But they must first realize that in order to get all of that they need to learn what social media can help them do and what it can’t do. It can help them provide better customer service, better marketing visibility, and better networking. What social media can’t do is automatically line people up to do business with you. That only occurs if you are willing to invest time in building relationships with those people, and social media is integral to building those relationships will become more integral as it becomes more integrated into our lives. Business must also realize that integrating social media takes time. You can’t wave a magic wand and have it all put together over night. Developing a strategy and learning the behaviors that are accepted on social media sites takes time, but once the strategy is in place and the business understands the best practices of social media behavior, the return on investment will start to occur. And hopefully in the process, you’ll also build some genuine relationships.

Having a full two years experience in this media, I have found various ways to measure the results. First look at your friends and for your business page, look at your fans. How many have done business with you this past week, month or year. Another way to measure your results is to analyze how your numbers of followers, fans and friends are compared to your competition. Another way to measure your return is to look at your current clients and see how they communicate with you. Are they a fan or a follower? Do they get your monthly e-news? Are they part of any LinkedIn in or other business group with your business? All these little ways you can touch a customer, will over time have an effect of how they consistently do business with you based on your posts and responses to on-line media.

My Best,
Kathy Kane
Market Insights, LLC

What is a sales blitz? How can it help your business? A sales blitz is a program designed so your staff makes as many sales calls as possible within a period of time, normally 2-3 days. It can really help your business if you have a special program or promotion where you need to see immediate results.

First decide on your unique selling points and your blitz theme. For example a business that wants to promote its restaurant’s New Years Eve party will have an incentive for signing up today (maybe an early booking discount) and perhaps give out party favors (promotional theme)to the businesses when they drop off the information.

Next, decide how many party tickets (revenue goals) need to be sold to make this blitz a success and how many calls need to be made to reach this goal. Rule of thumb, 1 in 20 usually buy, so maybe you need to sell 10 additional tickets… so you need to make 200 calls. Calls can be made on the phone or in a geographic location to make it be cost effective. One person can make about 10 worthwhile calls an hour on the phone. One person can make about 20 decent outside calls a day in a given geographic location.

Then, set your agenda. Example: Day 1- telemarketing calls for business and to set appointments. 5 hours of phone calls should generate 100 leads. Day 2- Assign 20 outside calls per team and if you have 5 teams you will make your quota of a total of 200 calls. Each appointment, telephone call or cold call should have a report that can be entered into a data base including phone, address, email and web site of companies visited.

After the blitz you should have a recap report that details total number of companies visited, total revenue booked, total potential new clients, total calls not interested and total cost of the blitz. You should also be able to build a relevant email list or mail list with this updated information. This is a good old fashion way to get in front of new potential customers quickly and effectively with purpose and personal contact. See if it may work for you! Happy Blitzing New Year!

My Best,
Kathy Kane
Market Insights, LLC

Social media is good for business. It’s a chance to nurture, connect, and develop relationships, cultivate “expert status,” and grow a successful enterprise.

There’s just one [HUGE] problem. Propriety has been thrown out the window. In a sense, a computer is like a security blanket. People say things online that they would never say in real life. You would never share intimate details with a business acquaintance. You wouldn’t call up a client and tell them you’re bored. Just because you feel like you can share anything on the internet doesn’t mean you should.
Avoid these common social media pitfalls, if you want to make a good impression online:

Getting too personal. *
Sometimes, I think people forget that sites like Facebook and Twitter are public. Especially if you are on for your business, everything you post could and will be used against you. In facebook because you have a personal account to get your business account, it does get tough to determine how personal you should be when you have friends, family and clients looking at your posts. A general rule? If you wouldn’t stand up in the middle of a networking meeting and announce what you plan to say in your status update, don’t do it. In real life you filter yourself, and you should do the same online. If you don’t, you’ll lose credibility and clients.

*A problem at the other end of the spectrum: being a ghost or social media “lurker.” Get involved or you’ll never get results!

Posting boring updates.
I must confess, I’m guilty of writing a boring status update or two. The problem? These updates insidiously attack your reputation because they don’t help your clients or enhance your brand. My calendar is packed, so is yours, what was interesting in all that chaos? Certainly something! I also look at who I meet during the day and see who might be deserving of a little positive pr. Instead of wasting 15 minutes every day coming up with “I’m bored,” create an idea folder. Spend two hours a month visiting other blogs, collecting quotes, and writing 30 status updates that help your clients (that’s at least one good update each day). Every time you come across a great idea, throw it in your folder. When you have a fresh source of inspiration, you’ll never write a boring status update again. You know what YOU think when you see posts like “I’m bored,” “Going to lunch,” or “Watching T.V.” These sorts of updates were what made business-owners slow adopters of social media in the first place. Remember the days when we would cry: “Who really cares if I’m drinking coffee or eating tofu. My clients don’t need to know that!” Well, we were right: no one cares about this stuff. If you’re now using social media to tell people you’re drinking coffee or eating tofu you might want to re-think your online marketing strategy.

Only Positive Stuff!
While people who use status updates to vent are often amusing, if you’re an offender in this department you’re probably causing your business irreparable harm. People will figure out who you’re talking about and the situation that led to your update. And, if they don’t figure it out, they’ll worry you’re talking about them. The Facebook news feed is not the best place to vent your frustrations with clients and colleagues. Postive feeds positive just as in personal meetings, if you mention how you handled a negative situation, it certainly says more than how you reacted to it.

Ultimately, the goal of social media is to grow your business, position yourself as an expert and help your clients. You do all three by providing great information and avoiding the temptation to post just anything.

My Best,
Kathy Kane
Market Insights, LLC

Every year I question my memberships. I evaluate what they have done for me, but most importantly I evaluate what I have done for them during the year. I evaluate if I have I given my best to a group before I decide if I should renew the invoice.

How do I evaluate them? Here is my checklist:

• Why do I belong to the Chamber and the Business Association and the Rotary and the Marketing Association and the Network Groups? I belong for a number of reasons. Sure one of them is for more business or for referrals. But other reasons include how do they promote my business, how do they give back to the community and how will my association with them increase my value to clients.

• Of their benefits, what is the most beneficial to me? I join some groups for the listing in their directory or link on their web site or email blasts they send for me or for the networking or because what they are all about, is what I am all about.

• Have I joined a committee, leadership role or sub group? Why join a group and then not get involved? Yes, some do it for the benefits listed above and that is also fine, but I have found that you receive the greater rewards when you give back by becoming actively concerned about the group.

• What have I done for the group? I know and love marketing and that is usually what I find giving back to my groups. Find your talent and give it!

• What business has this group brought me? I have found by using this process, I naturally get more referrals and business just by showing up to events. It is truly a givers gain theory.

• What does the group do for the community of businesses? This is important to me because what the group does outside the group should be encouraging new business and developing community spirit to bring more members and business to the association.

• How much are the dues and what amount of business will it take to break even on membership? If you charge a $100 hour and the dues are $100, it really is a no brainer to join the group. If you get one new client, it is worth it.

• Do I track members of the groups and make sure I am touching base when appropriate? Once you start meeting members are you making yourself familiar with them? Are you touching base in an email or on facebook or stopping to shop in their store? Meet, greet and grow!

I do not join a group unless I can give back to that group. I do not join a group unless I know I can commit a portion of time to the group. I do not join a group just to “get” business. If it adds value to the community and business in general, it is also a good reason to join. Not all members can participate. As with most groups there are the handful of folks who move the associations forward and the other members who also have an important part of sustainability by just paying their dues. Wouldn’t it be a more valuable association if everyone used this checklist to drive their group in a positive direction?

My Best,
Kathy Kane
Market Insights, LLC
P.S. If your current membership isn’t working even after doing all the right things, then it is time to focus on another marketing venue.

Here’s a thought… cultivate your You tube clips to increase your web site rankings. What?

Many SEO expert friends of mine have longed to find the answer to the Google Search phenomena of highest search engine ranking kingmanship. The bottom line is and probably will continue to be, that it takes many tweaks and listings and content and links and algorithms and lots more jargon to get your web site listed high in the search engine rankings of Google, Yahoo, MSN, Bing and others.

While discussing the virtues of You Tube with a colleague who has been researching You Tube video seach rankings, he shared the fact that it takes a couple good ratings (stars) and a few reviews to get your video listed above all other, more viewed videos.

For example a video I did for Comfort Keepers. Not many views, but high search rankings based on the stars and review.

Next, search Comfort Keepers in Michigan and all of a sudden it ranked in the top 10 on any search engine. Interesting and exciting! So you make a video, tag it with what people are search for, ask people for reviews and rankings, then watch your web site and video come up more often! Make sure to list your web site within the You Tube video for best results.

My Best,
Kathy Kane
Market Insights, LLC

I’ve read many blogs on social media this week, this is my take on it.

#1: No one is reading your blog.
The world is not waiting breathlessly to hear what you have to say about unless you truly think about what’s in it for them? I try to write only what others can benefit from, not what my opinion of the day is.

#2: You’ve got to give (some of) your best stuff away .
The answer to the first question is “why should anyone read your blog?” is that you’re going to give away some of your best, most valuable, most life-improving material away for free, within a well planned marketing strategy.

#3: Social media just like face to face networking does not like selling.
How many followers have you blocked because they continue to post the same message without regarding to how it remotely relates to you? Stop selling, it’s a new market be real, to be friendly, and relate how they can use your information

#4: It will command your life (if you let it).
With social media you’ve got to keep yourself focused, and set a timer if you have to. The tools are amazing, but so is their power to distract you from what you’re trying to accomplish. I set up a month at a time, post it or tweak it but no more than 20 minutes a day.

#5: Listen! What they have to say is much more important than what you have to say. Your marketing might be beautifully executed. You might have a special report that get massive exposure, maybe, a great-looking blog that hits the search engines daily and an email marketing campaign that provides killer results. Treat people right, because if you don’t, you will be exposed. And remember the downside of being out there is anyone can say anything they want about you.

#6: You need to join the conversation.
The conversation will happen with or without you. You definitely don’t need to respond to every Tweet or post (and you shouldn’t), but you need to re-tweet, respond and know what is being said so you can pro-actively take action when you need to.

My Best,
Kathy Kane
Market Insights, LLC