The breakfast focused on their Summer Youth Employment program. This is when they match kids to companies in need of help. If you’ve ever considered covering your employees summer vacations or just believe in investing in the future, I urge you to consider the Summer Youth Employment program. We’ve signed up for a student this summer and are looking forward to working with them. Go to www.capitalworkforce.org to sign up.

The summer youth program is just one of their many programs. Last year we worked with them to create a website to teach teenagers the career competencies needed regardless of their chosen profession. The kids in the program that we had the honor to meet, were inspiring. Visit www.careercompetencies.org to learn more.

The first is Kathy McAfee. Although I had heard her name for years now, I had not had the privlidge of meeting her until recently. For those of you who know Kathy, she’s a bit of a networking guru. She is the marketing motivator. What I found interesting, that even some of you who know her may not be aware of, is her involvement with the YWCA. In fact, she is part of the 17th Annual In the Company of Women Luncheon with guest speaker Rosie Perez. For more information, go to www.ywacahartford.org.

On Thursday morning I met Kate Houlihan who is an advocate for New Hope Manor in Manchester CT.   New Hope has been a leader in providing comprehensive and effective treatment to young people and their families with mental health, behavioral, and/or substance abuse problems since 1971. Please stop by on March 8th from 8:00 am – 9:00 am for a tour. For more information go to www.newhopemanor.net.

That’s all till next time.

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.

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!

People tend to view launching their site like it’s going to print. Once it’s up it can’t be changed. When the fact is that it not only can but should be changed. The trend towards content management sites such as Word Press are in response to the need to update frequently.

When deciding to launch ask yourself, Is it better than what’s out there now? If it’s a new site, the sooner you get it launched, the sooner your prospects will be able to find you. It will also get you indexed by the search engines sooner. If it’s a new site, Does it look and function better than the old site? If so, get it launched and add to it later.

A few years back, you would see “page under construction” and know that the site wasn’t complete. This is no longer the practice. If you don’t add a page until it’s ready, no one but you will know the site’s not “done”.

Our client had a process that they wanted to show but could not accomplish through straight video. We were able to combine video, photos and 2-D animation to fulfill their need. Adding copy and voice over allowed them to highlight the points and products most pertinent to their customers. Although the piece was created to use at meetings and sales presentations, the addition of music allowed them to use it at trade shows as well. View the presentation

Our client was hosting a large event that had more than 30 different presenters. Although each attendee could choose which break-out session they wanted to go to, the client wanted to provide them with information on all the sessions and the presenters. Since the theme was “Going Green” the paper route was not an option. We created an interactive CD that allowed them to view all the information at their leisure. Note: the image used was provided by the client.

The client wanted a presentation that could be used as both a trade show presentation and also as a sales CD. We created an interactive CD with a high-end intro. The CD could be given out on sales calls and at shows. We also provided the client with a show master that would loop the introduction until used to walk a customer/prospect through the rest of the CD. After a minute, if the presentation wasn’t used, it would go back to the looping introduction. View the presentation introduction

I recently had a customer who wanted to get more fans on their FaceBook page and then drive them to their website. The problem was that they hadn’t finished creating a FaceBook profile and their site was sorely in need of an update.  We worked with them to update these tools before the social media campaign to ensure the impression they wanted to leave was consistent wherever the viewer went.

Here are some pointers when planning your on-line campaign…

Website

• Make sure it’s easy to contact you – a phone number up front would be ideal
• Provide good content that your “audience” would be interested in
• Make sure the navigation is clear and information can be easily found
• Use imagery that gives the impression you’re going for – this applies to design and photos
• Update, update, update – give people a reason to return to your site

Social Media Page (Facebook, Linked-In, etc.)

• Create a company page to separate your personal page from your business
• Make sure your page reflects the rest of your branding
• Keep communications professional
• Don’t sell at people – establish yourself as an expert or give them an incentive to try out your product or service
• Update, update, update – give them a reason to become a fan or follower

The bottom line…before you invite people to “like you” make sure there’s something to like.