Archives for January 2012
Invest in Your Local Chamber
So, this week I traveled from Storrs to Glastonbury, from Manchester to Canaan and back again. I don’t know which was more painful, filling my tank or my bottom after sitting all that time! Well at least the weather’s been accommodating. One of my stops this week was the annual dinner hosted by the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce. If you’re from the area and haven’t attended a Glastonbury Chamber event, you really should make it a point to do so.
The Glastonbury Chamber is focused on helping businesses grow. To support their diverse membership, they’ve created small groups to meet on specific topics. We are joining the Creatives Group which gives fellow business owners in the “creative” realm a place to network and discuss topics of interest. We’ve also joined the Sales and Business Development Network which offers panel discussions, presentations and sharing of best practices. Both of these groups are an excellent way to network.
We are also a member of the Manchester Chamber which offers several outstanding events throughout the year. The bottom line is that anyone doing business that isn’t affiliated with their local chamber(s) is missing out.
What’s Not to ‘Like’?
Not long ago, one of my kids was approached by a peer who asked point blank, “Why didn’t you friend me on Facebook?” The response was given with a raised eyebrow and a funny look, “’Cuz you’re not my friend…?” with an unspoken “Duh!!” tacked on the end—not the expected response from a teenager in this media-saturated world. 10% of the 157,418,920 Facebook users in the US are between 13 and 17*—and many of those one and a half million teens (!!!) want to ‘like’ and have ‘likes’ from everyone else—I mean, who doesn’t want a lot of friends?
Well, we of the older mindset have learned with age to be more selective with what we do, when we do it, and with whom. Call us paranoid—or just old—but it simply doesn’t seem right to have 673 friends, and we definitely don’t have the time to ‘like’ everything we see. We truly aren’t interested in what you found in the couch cushions, and we aren’t going to ‘like’ a post about what your dog regurgitated. Yes, we have become discriminatory.
However, in business we know we need to network and talk, make friends and get as many people to like us as possible–in both the real and the virtual world. We also realize that for some the word ‘like’ has become a super-sized commitment to be a part of the everyday minutia of the world–but unlike taking out the garbage and cleaning the bathroom, it’s something we can choose not to do. So why do it? Why should you ‘like’ us?
It’s pretty simple.
When we at Web Savvy Marketers ‘like’ you, it’s because:
- We value you
- We value something you’ve said or done
- We want you to succeed
When you ‘like’ us, it means:
- You value us
- You value something we’ve said or done
- You want us to succeed
It’s not complicated. Your newsfeed won’t be stacked with invaluable, irrelevant nonsense from us–although we will include you when we’re having fun! We will share our ideas, what works for us and doesn’t, and we’ll want to hear about what makes your business tick–your challenges and experiences.
So let’s avoid that awkward middle-school-hallway moment, “Why didn’t you ‘like’ me on Facebook?” and support each other with a click on that little thumbs-up.
What’s not to like?
This Week’s Adventures
It’s been a week filled with exciting adventures! On Monday, I went to CCAT in East Hartford. I know, it doesn’t get better than a trip to East Hartford. But, the cool thing about my trip was that I met with other members of the Outreach Committee for CT Dream It Do It! For more information about the organization, go to ctdreamitdoit.com.
Next it was off to South Windsor. I tell ya, these long drives really wreak havoc on my vehicle! There I met with the board of the CT Women’s Alliance to plan the annual conference. Carolyn is on the board and they do amazing things. Check out ctwomensalliance.com for more information about the organization and the upcoming conference in March.
Finally, today I was off to Glastonbury. There I attended the B.I.G. meeting. Very few us like to refer to ourselves as BIG women, but it’s okay when you know it stands for Believe, Inspire, Grow. I was definitely inspired today and left with a renewed focus on the business. For more information about BIG go to http://www.justthinkbig.us/event/id/138842/B.I.G.-Introduction-in-Glastonbury-CT.htm
So, between my adventures above, sales calls, projects and dodging snow storms, it’s been an exciting week all around. Please join me next week when I’ll travel all the way to Canaan, CT. All I can say is thank goodness for GPS!
Connecticut Women Ob/Gyn Launched This Week
Avoid copyright infringement or it will cost you…
Just because you can search Google Images or other photography sites and find images online that might look good on your website, doesn’t mean you have the rights to use them on your website.
I’ve run into clients and prospects who are under the misguided assumption that images on the web are free for the taking. Not so. In fact, if the stock photography companies find that your site is using pirated images you could be fined hundreds or thousands of dollars. And they will find you. I’ve had clients who have loaded images onto their website (that were unknowingly pirated from an online source) and eventually they get a call from Comstock or some other Stock photo house demanding payment for the use of their image.
Always make sure that you have the right to use images that you place on your website (or any marketing materials). There are many royalty free stock photos you can purchase for use on your website for fairly low cost. IStockphoto.com is one that we use frequently to purchase stock photography.
Music is another component that people like to pirate. It is not legal to use a song you’ve purchased and downloaded onto your IPod as background music for a video you post to YouTube. Sorry. SoundDogs.com is a good source for music and sound effects.
I don’t have to tell anyone that it’s plagiarism to copy text from another site. Do I?