posted by Anna Fleet on June 30th, 2010
If you asked Curtis Kimball, the owner of a very successful mobile crème brulèe cart, why business was booming, he’d give kudos to Twitter!
But it wasn’t always that way. Curtis had to be convinced of Twitter’s word-of-mouth marketing prowess. And he was. Just three short weeks after he started his part-time business, he noticed a new face in his line up. When he asked the stranger how he’d heard about it his cart, he was told, “Twitter”!
Curtis was convinced. Since then, he’s quit his day job as a carpenter and uses Twitter multiple times a day to post his current location to over 5,400 followers.
So what should your small business with no marketing budget or your large business with budgetary restrictions take from Kimball’s story?
1. Twitter is a free social maketing service
2. It can provide the sole means for marketing
3. Twitter is easy and quick to update—more so than a webpage or blog
4. It’s ideal for promoting mobile businesses
5. It urges people to spread news to their own social networks through retweets, etc.
6. It shares news nationally or locally—depending on your business goals
7. It lets you ask questions and share advice with other business owners
8. You can talk directly to your customers
Read the full story about how Curtis Kimball and other small businesses owners are using the power of Twitter for word of mouth marketing.
Tags: social networking tips, twitter advantages, twitter tips for small businesses, web marketing for small business
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posted by Anna Fleet on June 29th, 2010
This morning, as I did my rounds on Twitter, Facebook and Google News, I was instantly taken aback by a lion meat burger.
A lion meat burger?
What the heck is a lion meat burger ?
Gasp! Huff! Gasp!
It’s exactly what it sounds like. And the Phoenix Small Business Examiner jumped on the lion meat burger news after Phoenix-area restaurant, Il Vinaio, announced they were adding this controversial meat on a bun to their menu (in case you’re curious—it’s legal, not that it has me craving lion at the moment, actually quite the opposite).
So what exactly does this mean for the local restaurant Il Vinaioi? It means a ton of online attention in the form of viral marketing—that’s what!
Positive and negative reactions (such as mine) have put this restaurant in the spotlight (news wires, blogs and social networking sites) all over the web because of the controversial menu item.
So small business take a cue from the story of the lion meat burger. A little controversy can be a good thing…especially when it increases your web presence and gets people talking about you.
By the way…I checked the Il Vinaio menu and there was no lion burger in sight.
Tags: blogging for small business, lion meat burger, small business web strategy, viral marketing tips, web marketing tips
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posted by Anna Fleet on June 28th, 2010
A recent article from MarketingProfs shared some rather shocking news where social media strategies for small business is concerned.
According to the Social Media Without a Parachute survey from Digital Brand Expressions (DBE), a large number of companies are adopting social media without any sort of social media strategy.
The study from DBE surveyed 100 companies and indicated that 78% of those companies surveyed companies actively use social media, however only 41% employ their social media efforts with a strategic plan in mind.
Take a look at the full social media findings from MarketingProfs.com. The study also shares interesting tidbits such as which department is primarily responsible for social media in corporations, and what social media is being used for.
Tags: digital brand expressions, marketingprofs.com, social media for small business, social media plan, social media strategy, social media survey, web marketing
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posted by Anna Fleet on June 24th, 2010
Yesterday we took a good look at the age-old blog question—does blogging frequency or the quality of posts matter more? And the Google experts at Google Webmaster Central weighed in.
I thought it was all said and done. However, this morning, I found A Simple Blogging Formula c/o Chris Brogan, the owner of New Marketing Labs and chrisbrogan.com.
Now Chris is someone who blogs daily and pretty successful (I might add)—he draws approximately 50K readers who subscribe to his RSS blog feed daily. Chris favors the side of blog post frequency over quality posts, but as a side note he does claims that he thinks of way more valuable and relevant ideas to write about than he has time for…which should be the case if you’re passionate about your blog focus or have expertise in the field or industry you’re promoting!
So Chris Brogan’s formula for blogging is definitely worth checking out if you’re considering starting a blog for your small business or non-profit.
Tags: blog formula, blog strategy, blogging tips, chris brogan, Google blog tips, social media strategy, social networking tips, web marketing tips
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posted by Anna Fleet on June 23rd, 2010
I go to the experts when it comes to the question “How much does blog post frequency play into a high SEO page rank?”
In SEO circles this is an age-old dilemma. Does one put quality content ahead of frequent blog post updates? Does quality posts or frequent posts matter more?
Well Google Webmaster Central has this to say…I told you I was bringing in the big guns)…
We know that Google loves quality content. So useful, unique posts will always attract search engines to your blog.
But…
For organic visitors (e.g., people visiting your site on their own) posting frequency is a vital component. Would you continue to show up to a blog if there were no new post in the last month? No, you’d probably assume the user has abandoned it. Posting frequently is a great tactic if you want to engage lot of users.
So I think we can agree that a balance is valuable in this case—of course, depending on your blog goals. For full details, check out the whole YouTube video from Google Webmaster Central video.
Tags: creating SEO rich blog posts, frequency of blog posts, Google blog tips, Google page rank, SEO tips from Google, social networking tips, web 2.0
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posted by Anna Fleet on June 22nd, 2010
Can you engage your non-profit or small business customers in 140 characters or less?
Twitter can be a challenge to learn and navigate for newbies, but this free online forum has almost 100 million users—which equates to massive marketing and social networking potential for your small business or non-profit agency. So if you’re not taking advantage of Twitter already—you best be Tweeting soon!
To help guide you through the “tweets”, “retweets” and so on, Kermit Pattison from The New York Times recently introduced his small business tips for using Twitter, plus he offers 11 prime examples of large-middle-and small businesses that are taking advantage of Twitter in new ways.
So check out Pattison’s list and learn how giants such as Rubbermaid, UPS and shoe king Zappos are using Twitter. But don’t be scared off by sheer size, smaller companies like Naked Pizza and Kiss My Bundt offer some excellent 140-character examples of engaging tweeting as well.
Tags: brand strategy for non-profit, Kermit Pattison, New York Times, social media, social networking tips, twitter advantages, twitter tips, web marketing for small business
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posted by Brenton on June 21st, 2010
Last Friday we talked about creating a clear brand identity, and how brands that try to do it all can actually water down the strength of their brand.
I asked you to think about what you could take away from your brand over the weekend in order to clear the haze and make it stronger and more effective.
Now that you’ve had the weekend to think about it, how do you actually decide what to clear away? You’re probably even afraid that if you start chipping away at your brand you might chip off an essential bit and make things even worse!
As you develop brand clarity, start with the visual elements. Are there any icons or images that don’t really add to the story of your brand? Sure, they might look nice, but do they really add to the power of your brand?
Now think about your brand’s messaging. Is it specific enough? Does it capture the true essence behind why people buy your product or choose your small business service?
As you ponder further, I’ll leave you with a statistic that I read in the book Radically Transparent by Andy Beal and Judy Strauss. It shares the fact that studies show 85% of a company’s brand image is driven by sales interactions—not by marketing campaigns.
If you’re a B2B small business, this makes sense. Remember, as you chip away the non-essentials from your brand that you need to think bigger than just simple marketing communications. A strong brand incorporates the messages that customer-facing employees are communicating in their words and actions to customers.
Is your brand doing this?
Tags: andy beal, brand marketing, brand strategy for non-profit, brand strategy for small business, branding tips, creating a strong brand, judy strauss, radically transparent, strategic web marketing
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posted by Brenton on June 18th, 2010
When they asked Michelangelo how he went about crafting his masterpiece, the statue of David, he’s rumored to have said, “It’s easy! You chip away the stone that doesn’t resemble David.” This, essentially, captures the most difficult part of defining a brand.
The hardest part of defining the brand of your small business or non-profit organization is deciding what to leave in and what to chip off. There might be many problems your brand can solve and many target market possibilities. But the tendency of small businesses trying to tell people everything and hope something sticks just doesn’t work. I’ll let my post “Does Your Brand Need to Shed Weight?” fill you in on all the details.
Tips for defining a winning brand:
* Start with the mindset that less is more
* Remember that complexity is the enemy
* Shoot for simple
* Be strikingly clear and distinct.
* Lastly, liken your brand to the statue of David, a block of marble you must chip away at until the only thing remaining is the brand’s purest essence.
What do you think you should chipped off your brand to strengthen it? What extras add confusion currently?
I’ll leave you to think about it over the weekend. Remember to share you discoveries, and on Monday I’ll give you some suggestions of my own.
Tags: brand identity, capturing brand essence, defining a clear brand identity, tips for branding
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posted by Anna Fleet on June 17th, 2010
MFX Partners is excited to announce the promotion of Lesley Richardson to Intermediate Designer at MFX Partners and Lead of Design at Design Changes (a studio of MFX Partners).
Les will begin working in the Design Changes as the studio’s main point of contact, serving the design needs of Kitchener-Waterloo’s and its’ surrounding communities small and non-profit sectors. Les will work in the studio alongside fellow designer Scott Lee, both reporting to Creative Director, Brock Hart, with added support from MFX Partner’s Account Director, Lisa Grogan.
Les has worked with MFX Partners for the past year and a half, applying her clean and creative design talents to help customers see their visual communication problems clearly. Lesley is a graduate of the award-winning design program at Conestoga College, and she took home silver for the ADCC (Advertising and Design Club of Canada) student competition.
Since graduating, Les has enjoyed a diverse array of design experience—working on trade show display development projects and advertising in Toronto, as well as being an integral part of the design department at one of Canada’s highest-ranking universities.
Congratulations Les from the team at MFX Partners and Design Changes!
Tags: creative agency, design changes studio, graphic design agency, graphic design for small business, graphic design non-for-profit, intermediate graphic designer, lead graphic designer, MFX Partners
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posted by Anna Fleet on June 17th, 2010
MFX Partners is thrilled to announce the promotion of James Bisch to Senior Designer.
James will take a lead role, working with MFX Copywriter, Anna Fleet, to guide MFX’s creative team under Creative Director, Brock Hart.
James has 5 years of agency-level experience creating visual communications for a wide range of B2B brand print and digital projects, from the conceptual stage to refinement and final production. he graduated with distinction in Graphic Design from Conestoga College, and his work has earned recognition by RGD Ontario’s Design at Work 2008. James has worked with MFX Partners for 2 and half years. amd his work will be showcased in RGD’s inaugural Provisional Showcase newsletter to be seen by thousands of RGD members, sponsors and subscribers.
Many congratulations go out to James from everyone at MFX Partners!
Tags: conestoga college. R.G.D., creative agency, design award winner, design changes studio, graphic design agency, james bisch, MFX Partners, senior graphic designer
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One Calendar with Social Networking Powers
