- @myev this tweet should go to evernote #
- #trueblood tonight! #
- I'm excited to see how well Gmail's Priority Inbox will work! #gmail #
- @aDiffDesigner @producteev agreed
These things happen. You guys are still an amazing service! Keep up the great work! in reply to aDiffDesigner # - Sometimes a full night working does more for you than a full nights sleep! #
- Anybody still up with me? #
- RT @grapevinemsp: Does anybody have any PC questions that I can help you out with? #
- Should have a new mockup this weekend for @grapevinemsp! Excited to see what he has designed! #talentedpeople #
- I think I'm going to change our company slogan to "Call us if you want to get your shit done!" #
- I'm loving how Chrome syncs extensions and themes now! #
- @ubrenda88 Are you on Foursquare, yet? #
Lately I have either trying to read or listen to at least 1 book every week or so. Throughout the past couple of years I have heard many business people and entrepreneurs recommend a book called, Rich Dad, Poor Dad so I finally bought the audio version from Audible.
Quite frankly, one of the best books I have ever read if not the best. One of the most important distinguishes he makes is the difference between assets and liabilities. His definition of an asset is anything that provides income and a liability is everything that you buy that does not provide income.
Another key suggestion he makes is not buying your luxuries (house, car, toys) with the income from your job but rather use the income from your job to invest in assets and let the income from your assets buy your luxuries.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with a business mind set!
Category : Announcements
Can’t go into much detail but we are working on a new project named TassoIt and it’s going to be huge!
Category : Web Apps, iPhone Apps
Ever since I bought my first iPhone, I have been looking for the right productivity web and iPhone app but no luck. For a while, my development team and I used a web app called Basecamp by 37signals which worked will for several months but the times that we only had one or two projects going on at once, I had a hard time justifying the $25 per month, especially at times I was taking on marketing and non-profit projects on by myself.
A few weeks ago, I just about gave up on the search and almost began developing my own solution but decided I would give the search one more shot. I tried 4 or 5 different apps but all of them had just too much. They all aimed at project management and not task management. Then I stumbled upon Producteev and I was sold! The simplicity of it reminded me of another web and iPhone app that I use daily, Evernote and best of all, its free for up to 2 users no matter how many projects you manage!
I encourage everyone to at least try it! It is by far the best combination of web and iPhone app I have ever used!
Define your Goals and Develop a Strategy
The first step of developing your web presence whether it be from scratch or taking your online presence to the next level as with all business endeavors is to define where you want to be and develop a strategy on how to get there. You may want to spend a hour or two with your web consultant on the ideal strategy for you. Keep in mind, your efforts in some areas will differ from others depending on your target demographic. For example, a nursing home will have a far different strategy than a t-shirt shop.
Have a Presence
No matter what kind of business you run, having a web site is an absolute must in todays business world. If you are just beginning to have a web presence, 90% of the time, you do not need to hire a web developer quite yet. There are tools and companies out there such as SquareSpace that will allow you to create and customize your site effortlessly for a small monthly fee, however, if you need something more customized or have quite a bit of content you want on the site, you may want to look into hiring a web developer.
My advice is to try it yourself first using tools such as SquareSpace and if you find it too overwhelming, hire a web developer.
Once you have your web site up, track its progress. If you are using a tool such as SquareSpace, chances are that they have tracking built-in, however, if you had your web site developed for you, ask your web developer to apply Google Analytics or another tracking system to your site. This will allow you to see statistics on how many people are visiting your site, where they are geographically and what other sites are linking to yours. This data is invaluable for determining if you are succeeding or failing in your web presence efforts.
Keep your site updated
Nothing is more frustrating to a user than to visit a web site and the content is several years old. If you want to keep your visitors coming back to your site, its important to always keep your site fresh. This can be a challenge for some businesses to come up with more content on a regular basis, however, there are ways if you give it some thought. For example, maybe its a weekly story about a new client you helped, or a problem you solved or a “tip of the week”, there a tons of ways to consistently generate new content.
Engage in social media
Well, as it turns out, social media is here to stay and is now the second home to most businesses online. The big difference between social media and your web site is that you can engage with your customers online directly with social media.
Although it is tempting to login to Twitter and Facebook and post about your services or sales everyday, the most successful businesses in the social media space have learned to promote their business indirectly. For example, a PC repair company could post daily or weekly tips on how to keep your computer healthy or a test prep business could post a word/problem of the day. With social media, you have to keep in mind, youre talking directly to people and if you sound too much like a salesman, 9 times out of 10 you will get the door slammed in your face.
Another key to social media is to listen and respond. If someone is trying to communicate with you on social media, the last thing you want to do is ignore them. A reputation can be severely damaged literally overnight if social media complaints are ignored.
Just like with your web site, you need to be consistent with social media and always be posting new content to constantly improve your following.
In reading this, youre probably thinking that social media is a lot of work and to be honest, if done the correct way, it is a ton of work on a daily basis! That is why most organizations appoint whats called a community manager to manage your social networks day to day. If you choose to do this, be sure that your community manager is an expert in your field, if not, they have the potential to damage your online reputation.
Video Testimonials
If testimonials speak one thousand words about your company, video testimonials speak a million and nowadays, they are simple to create. Just take your digital camera or even most web cams will do the trick, record your best customers talking about your company, do a bit of editing in Windows Movie Maker or iMovie, upload it to YouTube or Vimeo and you will be good to go!
Add Value
The best way to keep people coming back to your site is to find a way to add value. If youre a type of consultant, post a how-to on a certain subject or even better, allow your customers participate in a Q&A where your customers submit questions and you either post them on your site or do a video response.
Another good way to add value is to offer discounts to your online following.
Be diligent
Finally, be diligent in your efforts. There is no silver bullet when it comes to online marketing so dont get discouraged if a certain strategy doesnt pan out for you, just try a different approach until you find the right fit for you.
I would love to hear what you thought of this article so if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at chester@definitionsystems.com or you can reach me on Twitter at @cwfrazier