Fall forward.  It’s right in front of you.  That’s what I told my son this morning when he asked,  “Mom!  Where are the band aids?”   The band aids have been in the same place in our kitchen cabinet for over a year and he was standing in front of them looking at the box.   He’s 14 years old and very active.  This was not his first trip to the first aid supplies.  All the moms reading this blog already know that the real message here was probably more like this.  “Mom, get a band aid for me and put it on my cut.” 

Our mornings are chaotic so the complete lack of cognitive engagement by my son was really irritating me when I realized this is what most of us do every day.  The answers and solutions are right in front of us.  If we just move forward a tiny bit, take even the smallest amount of responsibility, life would be so much easier.  Success!  Small little band aid sized successes all day long instead of expecting someone or something to provide our solutions.

So for all of you struggling small business people that read my blogs looking for SEO tips, here’s your solution today.  Blog.  Make a connection with your customer or your prospect.  Fall forward just a tiny bit.  Write something.  Begin today.  You cannot change the economy today.  You cannot take out an expensive bill board ad today.  You probably will not win the lottery,  so do something about what is staring you right in the face.  Blog.

Happy Blogging!
Libby Lucas
www.webdesigncharlotte.org

Whether it was Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa or just an opportunistic break from work, chances are you are back at your desk this morning opening up the internet world we all live and work in each day.  So if you are like me, you are sorting through the post-holiday platefuls of spam!  From my email to my Facebook and Linkedin accounts my new friends are trying to interest me in Viagra, weight loss, computer equipment, business advice and various other unmentionables.     It’s like a bad wreck on the interstate; you know you shouldn’t look but you just can’t help it.  It always amazes me to see the number of different methods they use to get through.

So can you be saved from this attack of random advertisements?   Not completely, but you can eliminate a fair number before they reach your email by using a good spam detector (Pineapp is my personal favorite).  If you cannot afford a spam device, at the very least use a good antivirus/spam product like Trend Micro.

My engineering counterparts at CCP are also fond of blocking spam at the point of the router and suggest using a professional firewall.

As for your social networking sites my recommendation is that you correspond frequently with the vendor to voice your complaints.  Facebook recently changed their privacy policies and upgraded protection for their users due to a grass roots proactive campaign by its’ members.

If you tweet then you are all too familiar with the offensive invitations to “follow” someone who is obviously not using the outlet appropriately.  Twitter is now addressing this issue due to membership complaints.  Keep them coming and hopefully they will upgrade the system.

Even using the latest equipment, software and business practices, some clever marketers will still get their message through the gauntlet.  I believe the most sage advice to keep your blood pressure from rising is to sort through the message with some levity.  Delete, enjoy your coffee and move on with your day!

On Tuesday, November 10, 2009, LinkedIn and Twitter announced a partnership to bring tweets to LinkedIn, the social networking site for professionals.  This comes on the heels of announcements by Microsoft and Google that they would incorporate tweets into their search results.

The partnership with LinkedIn affirms Twitter’s role as a network for professional conversation.  More than social sites like Facebook, people use Twitter to keep abreast of professional news and share links to articles about their industries.

Article by Claire Cain Miller, The NewYork Times

Edited by Libby Lucas, Carolina Computer Partners

The Federal Trade Commission is going to hold marketers liable for false statements on blogs and social media outlets.  Companies and/or bloggers could potentially be sued for writing that a product was good if it really wasn’t.

Discussion boards and social networks are no longer opinionated individuals utilizing their freedom of speech; companies are peppering the blogosphere with endorsements and information from hired marketing guns. 

Trade organizations like the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) are fighting back.  Their argument is that the new regulations will inhibit social media and stop the wave of marketing that many now depend on for their advertising venue. 

My opinion …. Come on!!!! Give me a break!!!!  Stop your whining.  First, this will definitely not slow the social networking frenzy.  In this economy, it is the only “free” way that small businesses have to market. 

Second, admit it!  We evil marketing folks need some regulation!  If you are worried that your advertising may land you in court, then clean up your act and make sure that the products that you are selling are appropriately represented.

Libby Lucas

llucas@ccpteam.com

www.webdesigncharlotte.com

www.ccpteam.com

704-549-0125

For CCP social network has been a tremendous success.  We made two sales off of one of our employee's facebook pages last week.  We get valuable information and leads from our accounts everyday.  But is it working for everyone?  Here's one of the latest news pieces that I found on this subject.... 

New York (Reuters) - Few U.S. small businesses have adopted social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter for business uses, according to research released Thursday.  

Three-quarters of small businesses say they have not found sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn helpful for generating business leads or expanding business in the past year, according to a survey conducted for Citibank Small Business of 500 U.S., businesses with fewer than 100 employees. 

Also, 86 percent said they have not used social networking sites for information or business advice.  Ten percent said they have sought business advice and information on expert blogs. 

The low number of small businesses using such sites for business purposes was unexpected, particularly as social media use has grown overall, said Maria Veltre, executive vice president of Citi's Small Business segment.  Citibank is part of Citigroup, Inc.

 "We were very surprised we did not see more use of some of the social media outlets, even if just for advice," she said. 

"What this survey indicates to us is small businesses are very, very focused on running their business and on generating sales and managing their cash flow and doing the tings that are really important, especially in these economic times, " Veltre said.  "I don't think quite yet the social media piece of it has proven to be as significant." 

The survey found 42 percent of small businesses have made greater use of their company websites to generate leads and sales. Nineteen percent were doing more advertising to attract new customers in the economic downturn, 38 percent said they were doing less and 41 percent were doing the same, it found. Also, 28 percent were using more email marketing and 25 percent using more online advertising to generate business leads and sales, it found. 

(Edited by Michelle Nichols and Eric Beech) 

Distributed by Libby Lucas

llucas@ccpteam.comwww.ccpteam.com

www.webdesigncharlotte.org

Are you struggling to keep up with your blog, linkedin, facebook, twitter world?  Well run to your keyboard and get busy because Google just entered the social media craze with Google Wave.  Google Wave will allow groups of users to simultaneously share conversations and files.  Early predictions indicate it will rival email exchanges due to the file sharing capability alone.

This new capability will files, photos, documents, and records available to groups for meetings.  Probably a great idea, but sadly for me there are already way too few excuses to leave my chair.  I really like seeing my colleges and customers face to face.  I'm gonna miss you guys!

Libby Lucas
llucas@ccpteam.com

www.ccpteam.com

www.webdesigncharlotte.org

www.sonicwallcharlotte.com

I recently attended the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce Internet Marketing Seminar on Social Media and it was great!  The guest speaker was Rick Nash from Churchillnash

Rick explained how to register with LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter and several of the other Social Media outlets. 

Several members of the group asked about spam as a result of joining social outlets.  The overwhelming answer to that question is YES!  If you put your email address out there, people will use it.  The Our solution for spam is called the PineApp. It is not as well known in the marketplace as a SeaGate Barracuda but we think it performs better at a fraction of the cost.  In these difficult economic times social media is just one more vehicle to get marketing results.  My advice ... sign up for everything, protect your network and make some money!