TypePad is the least friendly and advanced site for site Content Management Systems on combined blogs, website, and community build; they are up to 18 months behind providing users services that WordPress, SquareSpace, and Ning in my view. Who do you think will get it right? Please comment on this post and share your insights, thank you. Continue reading

There's a substantial amount of buzz going on over Facebook's decisions to further commercialize the value of it's technology assets (user information). While the decisions Facebook is making may come as a shock to users it awakens the business questions in social media that have not been getting addressed - how do social networks monetize their model beyond advertising income? Continue reading

"As a small-business owner how do you attract customers? How do you foster ever stronger relationships and loyalty? How do you build a strong vital company with little time and even less money to sink into marketing?" Continue reading

The timeless adage "don't fix it if it isn't broken" is the opposite of what thought leaders aim to do. Seth Godin, recently stated, "want to know why so many companies can't keep up with Apple? It's because they compromise, have meetings, work to fit in, and fear the critics...". As a thought leader is he right? Continue reading

There are many challenges to capturing and engaging user interests online - starting with finding the right person to lead that effort. This article from MarketingVOX shares steps that can help determine who's advice is best for your business and how to qualify their experience. Even though social media marketing is being hailed as new, it's time tested results and credibility that are essential to ensuring your organization lands on its feet. Continue reading

I just got back from an Ad Week presentation by Jonathan Lister, a Google Managing Director, on YouTube's present and future. I give the presentation 7.5 out of 10. Jonathan shared widely available statistics and stories and failed to demonstrate the real success of the monetization, media mentions and business growth that can accompany YouTube and online video super stardom. Continue reading

With over 55 million people on LinkedIn is you getting the most out of it? The following tips can help you market your company and reach more potential customers, suppliers, strategic alliances, media and other LinkedIn users. LinkedIn doesn't keep track of how many dollars flow through its site in jobs, new business, media exposure or strategic alliances. Regardless, the 2% who have mastered LinkedIn know there's hundreds of thousands of dollars that are moving back and forth between members almost weekly if not daily in business opportunities. Continue reading

How do you know if the people giving advice are competent in the field or mainly theorists? In 2009 an event called Blog-Off contests was launched to identify top performers. 7 judges and 6 countries of participation later 3 top performers emerged who demonstrated measureable fundamentals in effective social media marketing. Continue reading

How do you really know if the person advising your company on social media has the capability to deliver what your business needs? One way is to find out if if they've participated in a Blog-Off contest. A Blog-Off contest offers social media enthusiasts and professionals the opportunity to be independently assessed by unbiased judges and statistics on their capability of implementing the fundamentals of social media marketing.On December 1-12, 2009 28 people from 5 countries entered Blog-Off II to find out how they measured up: following are the results. Continue reading

You may have recruited experts to your company in order to have access to their professional networks. Word of mouth marketing and referrals is the most dependable way for specialized, knowledge services to win new clients. And yet, when it comes to getting inside large, complex organizations, the “network myth” becomes apparent. How often has the expert you hired on the strength of their network been disappointing? The “network myth” has an inherent geographic preference. In other words, not only is a referral from a personal network likely to be to a peer, with similar background and responsibilites, but there is a likelihood of that access being limited to one business level or one geographic location. Continue reading

In a sales conversation, the volley of comment/question is a natural way of engaging the other person. Opinion-based questions encourages discussion and allow you to guide the conversation. Questions stimulate information-collecting as well as avoiding talk-at-them presentations. It's useful to think in pairs: comment and its companion, the question: Continue reading

Building credibility in the early stages of a major account development process may be one of the biggest hurdles for a first-time supplier Therefore, helping defuse concerns about non-performance is the best way to reduce that risk for stakeholders around a decision to hire your firm. In general there are 3 "functional" roles around a decision: Continue reading

2010 is not about following fads or hype, it's about focusing on connecting to your customers and industry via social networks and mobile phone media. Why? Facebook had 2.6 billion visits in November up from 670.4 million in 2008. Twitter had 131 million visits in November up from 29.6 million in 2008. LinkedIn had 52.1 million visits in November up from 27.1 million in 2008. Source: compete The following video provides unique advice on why and what your business needs to do. Continue reading

I am a benefit auctioneer helping people navigate the world of fundraising auctions so my Blog Off II posts cover aspects of the event. Here's a photo of my first Pink Martini CD, which I bought during the band's Kennedy Center performance on Millennium Stage around 1997. Let me guess: You want unusual items for your charity auction, but you have no “connections.” How can you improve the odds of getting a donation? If you’re not afraid to reach out and you’re committed to spending some time on the computer, use your location to turn a cold lead into a warmer one. Sometimes knowing about a possible donation is simply about being in the right place at the right time. Here’s an example. I love the band Pink Martini and make every effort to attend the group’s almost annual performance in the Washington, D.C. area. Oddly enough, I only learned of them nine years ago when they were performing a... Continue reading

Is Globalization bad for your health? It's a question that has been raised in recent years, due in part to the advances of diseases and illnesses such as SARS, H1N1, Avian Flu, Mad Cow disease, Pneumonia, HIV/AIDS, and many others. Furthermore, there's an increase in the discussions on bioterrorism because of how easily some of these illnesses can be spread. The discussions in and of themselves are of global proportions that reach from medical journals such as The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) to the World Health Organization (WHO) and beyond. Discussions and research has indicated that it is not only the diseases and illnesses that negatively affect but also that some of the poorer countries in the world are not getting the same medicines that more developed countries are. Consumable products such as food have also had a negative affect on the global markets. Tainted foods, commonly fruits and vegtables, have often been exported to countries for... Continue reading

As the great architect, Mies Van der Rohe said “Less is More”. Especially when talking about yourself. Senior executives of big companies have often been in sales and can fill in the blanks pretty quickly. In an initial conversation, they usually have these questions on their minds: Continue reading

You may be a new firm, a small firm or you may have very little experience in the industry you want to pursue. Yet you have your sights set on big company you would like to have as a client. Expressing your offering in a specialized a way as possible limits the number of percieved competitors you may have. Chunk up what you do into several packages if you want to, but present each in its own niche when going after big companies. Here are 3 ways to find out what your "super-niche" might be. Continue reading

Owner-managers tell me they are on a rollercoaster. They are either too busy delivering client work to go after new business or they're frantically chasing down the next assignment because there is no work. Preferred vendor agreements with big companies can lead to annuity types of assignments and get business owners off the rollercoaster. Continue reading

yourBusinessChannel.com started a great project: compiling insights from international experts reflecting on HSBC's recent Business of Recovery Report. Myself and 4 international business experts were asked, "who will be successful in 2010?" What do you think of our views? Who do you think will be successful in business in 2010? Tell us why. Continue reading

Blog-Off II has surpassed the level of activity of Blog-Off I by far. In 3 days we've seen over 50 new posts, 300+ comments and 6,000 incremental page views. These are great numbers and they speak to great people who are part of this international community event. With participants from the US,Canada, UK, Netherlands, Italy and India I am seeing a spectacular spirit of collaboration. Continue reading

As the year end is rapidly approaching it is time to take a look back at where the advertising money has gone and what kind of return we received for it, as well as look ahead at where the money should be directed in 2010 to attract more business. As a small real estate company we invested quite a bit of $$$$ on print advertising in 2009 and in all honesty the only thing it did was pacify some sellers of ours who didn't even sell anyway. On the other hand the little bit of money we spent on the internet advertising has generated close to 400 leads and has helped to build the pipelines of the 5 agents working here. The option I am weighing is to totally eliminate print advertising except for spot ads, run at key times and geared to promote our websites and our web pages as opposed to 'advertising a listing', thereby driving more consumers... Continue reading

Thank-you to our friends at Six Apart for mentioning Blog-Off II to their followings. Ginevra Kirland, Community Manager at Six Apart shared news of our event on: TypePad's Community with 47,448 followers at: http://bit.ly/5aNIXu Twitter with 16,734 followers at: http://twitter.com/sixapart/status/6315462511 Facebook with 1,372 followers at: http://bit.ly/7U62T7 At some point today the Community Marketing Blog will be featured on TypePad's new directory at: http://featured.typepad.com. Continue reading

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us, while we live" Norman Cousins This summer I faced a very difficult visit with my friend, Amy, who was in the final days of living with breast cancer. It was a trip that I knew I must make. I had promised Amy when I moved from the East to the West, that would see her again before she left us all. To me, a promise is a promise, and I could not have rested until I held up my part of the deal. Continue reading

I want to give back in 2009 and help a few top professionals get the recognition they deserve going into 2010. Thanks to 10 sponsors, I’ve been able to assemble a tremendous package of online media publicity worth over $40,000 for Blog-Off II. This package could be a game changer for 3 people who demonstrate excellence in social media fundamentals. Another $5,000 in service is on the table for the 1st place winner for a blog logo makeover, business cards and stationary. Continue reading