Web Savvy Marketers

Support Your Local Workforce Board

Last week was a whirlwind of activity. Lots of meeting and greeting going on. However, we did take the time to go to the Manchester Chamber of Commerce breakfast hosted by Capital Workforce Partners. Capital Workforce Partners is a non-profit that I’ve had the pleasure of working with for more than 5 years. They’re an amazing group of people that do incredible things.

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.

I’m Back….

So I promised to post my adventures weekly, but life got in the way. But hey, busy is good. I did want to share with you some of the people I’ve met recently and the non-profit organizations they are working with.

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.

Inspiration & Ideas From the Twitter Feed

Cruising through my Twitter feed last night and I came across this inspiring infographic – 22 Ways to Create Compelling Content.

Who doesn’t need inspiration occasionally? I know I do. It’s been some time since I posted any content let alone compelling  content to my blog.  Lacking time to nurture inspiration this week, I decided to  simply post @copybloggers infographic for now so I can refer to it for inspiration when time allows. I believe that makes this post a combination of #1 (using content from other blogs), #2 (group brainstorming via Twitter) and #5 (guest post).

Thank you @copyblogger for allowing me to use this infographic on my blog and to @MichelleShaeffr for retweeting it so I came across it in the feed.

22 Ways to Create Compelling Content - Infographic
Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

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.

Web Savvy Marketers Facebook Page
What's Not To Like?

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?

*http://www.checkfacebook.com/

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!

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?

Holiday Shopping Suggestions – Supporting Small Business Cyber Shops

The holiday shopping season kicked off with some distasteful Black Friday incidents last week.  Hearing about these unsavory incidents makes me glad I’ve never bothered with  Black Friday,  I’m more of a Cyber Monday kind of gal, and I  support Small Business Saturday. I think it’s important to support your local small businesses including brick and mortar and online stores.

Although the big kick-off shopping weekend is over, I’m sure there’s more shopping to be done.  If you prefer to avoid the mall hubbub and feel like staying home in your jammies and doing some on-line shopping this holiday season, here’s a list of clients who are small business owners that sell or show products online.  They’re all reputable honest people with great products.  The * indicates you may need to call to purchase.

Art

Astrology Calendar & Services

Books

Food & Beverage

Health & Fitness

Jewelry

Motorcycle & Auto Accessories

Travel Services

Museum Store

And Finally, Santa Claus

Happy Holidays!

My Secret Weapon – Google and an unknown 13-year old

Today I had a unusual call from a long-time client. (I promised not to reveal her name).   She apologized for calling me because the problem had nothing to do with her website or her online marketing but she was extremely disoriented because her computer screen had flipped upside down.

I laughed.

“How did that happen?” I asked and then I chuckled some more.

Apparently my client  had accidentally hit the combination of keys that’s the shortcut for flipping your display.  Yeah, that’s a handy shortcut. Thank you Microsoft.

“It’s not funny,” she said. “Not only is the screen upside down, but the mouse is backwards”.

I laughed again.  “Did you try turning the mouse upside down?” I asked.

Meanwhile, while poking fun at my client I did a quick Google search for “upside down display screen”  and I quickly found a forum where others had run into the problem.  Scanning the forum I saw one that  began with “I’m 13 years old and I have the answer to the problem…”

The 13-year old recommended going to the display settings where you will find the option to flip your screen.   Who knew?  I’m 53 years old and I didn’t know that option existed, but Google and the 13-year old kid made me look like a hero.  Thank you Google and unknown 13-year old (you little smartie-pants).

When to Launch?

We’ve been working with several clients recently who have been reluctant to launch their websites. Most often they will tell you it’s because it’s not done yet. Technically, a website should never be done. You should be constantly adding to the site. Whether it’s using a blog or adding to a press page, the more often you update the site, the more reasons your customers and prospects have to come back to your site. It’s also the best way to improve your search engine ranking.

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”.

 

 

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