October 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Since founding Daystar Digital Development, Inc., in 2000, I’ve helped many companies establish an effective business website. But in a web 2.0 world, a website is not enough. I now help clients expand from a website to a web presence using social sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. It’s similar to the concept of “Location, Location, Location” in the real estate industry. I position you and your web content where the people are. I help you place your website content in the best web locations–where the traffic is so you can build relationships, trust and grow your business.
I can help you succeed with social media. Here’s how:
Join Us Tues Oct 13 2:30 CST Facebook for Business Webinar
October 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 | 3:30 PM EDT
Social Networking Best Practices Webinar:
Facebook For Business – Can You Afford to Ignore 300 Million Users?
With an estimated 300 million users, Facebook is THE most prevalent social networking application in the world! As such, it has become an on line community to reconnect with old friends & colleagues, build marketing campaigns and create critical awareness for your business.
For many individuals, Facebook is providing a human element or in essence a “face” to their professional presence. Our pictures, activity updates, circle of friends, causes we care about, all are helping others get a more holistic view of not only what we do when we work, but who we really are – including that which we find interesting, how we like to play, and those who are around us! For many, it’s a platform to engage and influence, and to share stories or perspectives.
How can Facebook help you? Join us-David Nour, Michelle Cullison and Nhat Pham-on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 3:30 PM Eastern (12:30 PM Pacific) for a look inside Facebook best practices to help extend the value of your on- and off-line business relationships.
>>Click HERE to register for this free webinar
Presentation Skills Teleseminar Series Starts Tomorrow
October 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Download Presentation Skills Seminar flyer for more information.
I highly recommend Myra’s program. She is the number one reason I am speaking successfully and for profit today. Take a minute to review her program. Since presentations are so crucial to business success, you won’t want to miss this chance to learn from an expert. —Michele
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Myra says:
I am so happy to share with you a special teleseminar series that I will be hosting, along with talk-show host Monica Pierre, starting next Tuesday (Oct 6) from 4:00 to 5:00 pm CT and continuing at the same time period on Tuesdays Oct 13 and 20.
As you know, I’ve spent the last 25 years helping individuals and organizations develop and articulate their unique messages. Helping hundreds of people find their voice and package their presentations has been extremely rewarding and very enlightening.
I’m often asked “what are the most critical things a person should know/do in order to speak effectively?” Each year, I witness several hundred presentations. There is a real consistency in determining whether a speaker will be exceptional, decent, or just plain bad based on how well they adopt 10 basic principles.
This teleseminar series has been designed around my “10 Absolutes”. I believe, unequivocally, that every presenter can significantly improve his/her performance with the right knowledge, commitment and practice. And those improvements can happen very quickly!
Public speaking has greatly evolved over the last 15 years. Presentation software is now omnipresent (although rarely used to its potential). Multi-media is now easily accessible but underutilized. Audience demands of speakers have changed. They now want crisp, fast-paced, engaging programming. Even technical presentations must now balance a need for concrete information with enough motivation and audience connection to make the message heard, accepted and the new knowledge used. In short, the bar has greatly risen in all areas of presenting.
If someone is relying on principles learned in a college public speaking class 10 years ago, it’s unlikely they are performing anywhere near their potential. I should know. I taught those classes – and still teach them – BUT I also add the “tricks of the trade” that I’ve learned as a professional speaker along with all the new technology and online resources available at our fingertips. Together, it’s a great new way to look at speaking – whether you’re a business development specialist, a non-profit executive, an entrepreneur, a technical expert, or an emerging executive.
If you or some of your colleagues could benefit from some fresh ideas to liven up your programming, join us!! Attached is a flyer for the program and more information and registration can be found at: http://www.FindYourSpice.com/teleseminar . All three one-hour sessions are only $87 AND you get a recording of each session after its completion. That way, you can listen whenever you like – even if you can’t be with us “live” for one of the sessions.
I wish you all the best and thanks for helping us spread the word about this exciting program!
Myra
Myra L. Corrello, PhD
Spice Your Business. Growth strategies designed just for you
Spice Your Career. Knowlege & skills to take you to the top & keep you there
Spice Your Life. Enhance & enrich your personal time and relationships
5721 Magazine Street, #141
New Orleans, LA 70115
Office: (504) 899-8660
Mobile: (504) 453-3466
iPhone: (504) 812-5990
Myra@FindYourSpice.com
www.FindYourSpice.com
SBA 2007 Women in Business Champion of the Year – State of Louisiana
Call today to learn more about our
Presentation Skills training programs
coming in October!
How to Un-Fan a Page on Facebook
October 4, 2009 | 1 Comment
On Facebook, you can become a fan of a business page. However, you may want to bow out at a later date. Here’s how:
- Visit the business page.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the left hand column.
- You will see a link that says: Remove me from fans. See figure 1 below.
Figure 1-Screenshot from facebook fan page
To learn more about social media, sign up for social media bootcamp!
Meeting Planners Q & A about Facebook
September 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment
On Tuesday, August 25, 2009, Plan Your Meetings, sponsored a webinar, hosted by David Nour with Michelle Cullison and Nhat Pham. These questions were asked by the meeting planners:
1. Can a group created by an individual be moved to a public business page?
Moving from a group to a company page is a manual process. Create the page and then invite all group members to become a Fan of the new page. Some Group admins put a deadline on the move and close the group. You may also provide some new content on the page as an incentive to make the move.
2. How are people using Facebook to find potential partners/vendors?
You may find vendors/partners using the advanced search page on Facebook. It allows you to search for people, pages and groups by keywords. You can get to the advanced search page by typing search in the Search field. (Currently, there isn’t a link to advanced search on the menu.)
Another great way to find potential partners and vendors is groups. Join industry specific groups where your partners and vendors are spending time. Need to find the groups, search for them with the advanced search page.
Are they searching like on Google? Yes. Business pages on Facebook are public so googling the company name and the term facebook as search words is a good way to see if a potential vendor has a facebook presence.
How does Facebook rank pages when a search is done?
Facebook doesn’t disclose how it ranks pages on its search results page. However, this page about the new Facebook Search may be helpful to you: http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=923
3. I get feeds on my home page from groups/pages that I am member/fan of, what do we need to do as a company to get our updates to post to our friends pages?
4. Can you create an event for a Cause FB account?
A cause is an FB application. Anyone with an FB profile may create an event.
5. What is the difference between a group and a fan page – benefits of both?
Groups gather people around a topic of discussion and can be a good place for collaboration. FB fan or business pages are like personal profiles but for businesses. They have all the power of personal profiles including the ability to publish a lot of company info, install apps, communicate with and build a fan base.
6. Is it advisable to keep a “personal” Facebook page versus a “professional” page?
Having both kinds of presence on Facebook is important. You develop business relationships personally using your personal profile and as a brand using your (professional) company page.
7. If you post a blog to the notes section how do your friends see it?
Under the Settings menu, Choose Application Settings and then Notes under the Wall tab click on: Allow Notes to publish to Streams.
8. I am the director of communication for a small trade association – we have created a group on Facebook – so are you saying we should create a profile – if so, for me or for biz? How would you do this?
Groups are good for collaboration but do not have as many features a public profiles (business pages) have. As an association, you could benefit from the added features that public profiles have. To create a public profile for your association, go to Facebook.com and click this link: Create a Page for a celebrity, band or business. Having a personal and a business presence on Facebook is helpful as business relationships can be formed personally and organizationally.
9. How can Facebook give an incentive travel company an edge on the competition? Create a content-rich public profile for your company on Facebook Business pages. Make it a page that adds value to your audience and includes links to your website and industry specific keywords for Google. Invite your target audience to become fans. Engage your audience in conversation.
10. I’m looking for a job – any suggestions on how to use Facebook for that? Many times job leads come through the people you know. Make sure you’ve entered all your education and work history info in your personal profile. Communicate confidence and the value you bring to employers in your status updates. Do communicate that you are looking for opportunity. Don’t convey desperation in your updates.
11. How can you use Facebook for education/learning?
12. How can my company keep negative comments off our Twitter account? Controlling negative comments is a common concern across social networking platforms. Some of the blogging/microblogging tools allow you to turn off commenting but then you’ve shut down communication with the exact audience you want to build relationship with. Responding positively to the negative comments may indeed give you an opportunity to build repo ire with your audience and show how you are handling the issues that occur. Google the words “Transparency in blogging” to learn more about how companies are dealing with negative comments in the blogosphere.
13. How secure is Facebook?
I will talk about 3 common ways that FB accounts are compromised and how to prevent it from happening to you.
- Phishing: Do not give you account information to someone who claims to be an FB rep via email. FB will not ask you to update your account info via email ever.
- Hacking via email access. You can reduce your chances of having your account hacked by using a password on your FB account that is DIFFERENT than the password on the email account that you have associated with your FB account. If a hacker gets your FB password and it is the same as your email password, they can then take over your email account that manages your FB account and lock you out of your account.
- Applications are another door hackers use to compromise your account. Facebook is an open development platform meaning applications can be submitted by anyone. One way to reduce your vulnerability is by installing only verified applications. Read more about verified apps here: http://developers.facebook.com/news.php?blog=1&story=247
14. Looking to extend company community aspects while differentiating content on Facebook so it is not a duplication of efforts. With this type of strategy, you will need to communicate what type of content will be unique in the FB arena. I saw a site that week that gives tips on their FB page that they do not post anywhere else.
And, if the company doesn’t have a blog where interaction occurs, then of course, the FB page can be the place for customers to provide feedback and enter discussions with you. Open up your FB page wall for community interaction.
15. How do you get over the legal hump within a corporation to allow use of Facebook for the company and employees? Developing a policy and making sure all parties understand the rules is key to social networking success in a corporate setting. Here is a GREAT site, the Social Media Blog Council, to use a resource in the process of policy development: http://www.socialmedia.org/
16. As a non-profit with few resources, how do we figure out what the best use of Facebook for our situation is? If you have a small budget for education, invest that in learning social media strategy. Then, perhaps you can utilize volunteers or college students for implementation. The leaders must understand WHAT the goals are and who the audience is on these social sites. Social Media Strategy programs are offered by David Nour, Nhat Pham and Michelle Cullison.
17. How do you keep you personal Facebook and business Facebook separate? I don’t want to personally become a fan of a vendor but want to professionally become a fan. Only people (personal profiles) can become fans of pages. However, you can tag another page as Favorite page of your Business page. Go to the Vendor page on FB that you want to support as a business. Then, click the Add to MyPage’s Favorites and select your business page from the list. You won’t be a fan but you will be showing support business to business.
18. What’s the quickest way to add value to the lives of those we contact with in Facebook and to monetize opportunities for all parties involved? To add value, think about what tip you can give your audience today that will help them in business. Monetizing many times comes when a client trusts your business enough to close the deal, buy the product. What can you say today to build trust in your product or service?
19. What is the balance between being effective at promoting events vs. spending all of your time on social media sites?
It is best to determine 2 things before you login to social sites:
1. How much time do I have to give to this social media session?
2. What specifically do I need to accomplish when I login?
I would suggest allowing time to create the event in the FB events app and promoting it on your page and to your targeted friends list. You may also promote the event to select groups on FB that have the targeted audience on FB.
20. How do you show the value and utility of Facebook and social media when executive management doesn’t even understand social media? Case studies are really helpful to show what others are doing that is working. Mashable.com is a good site for breaking info on social media and web 2.0. Here is an article that highlights some big business success stories that you may want to share with your executive management: http://mashable.com/2009/02/06/social-media-smartest-brands/
21. Facebook comes across as a social site – how do you make messages more “business like”? In your status updates, answer questions like these, “What would add value to my audience today? What can I share that will help them professionally?
22. How do I get folks to register for my online training?
You may want to familiarize yourself with FB events. Another great way to get the word out on FB about products and services is to join groups with members who are in your target audience. Start discussions in the FB groups and offer the group members free pre-training teleseminars or webinars so you add value first and then plug the training on the call. You wouldn’t want to join a group and then start selling your training services.
23. How can I advertise my business on FB but not have it so “In Your Face” to my friends. You may want to consider a paid FB ad. You can get significant exposure for $30 a month. Or, segment your friends using Friend Lists and send targeted advertising messages to select groups. However, remember that social networking culture is somewhat averse to advertising. Try soft marketing value add messages that also include links to learn more about a product or service.
24. To me, Facebook is merely a social tool. I want to be convinced of it’s usefulness as a business tool. I’ll give you 3 reasons:
First is location, location, location. Facebook allows you to put your business where the traffic is flowing. There are many people you can touch in FB that will never come to your website. Secondly, google loves high traffic sites and a link to your website from within FB increases your findability on google and other search engines. Finally, on FB pages you are allowed the chance to have people build a relationship with your company or brand.
Profiling Your Existing Customers and Expanding The Business Relationship By: Tiffanie Z. Lyon
June 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment
During difficult economic times, it’s especially important to maximize our relationships with existing customers. We’ve all heard and have experienced first hand that developing and nurturing our relationships with current customers is a heck of a lot easier than going out to get new ones, right? The fact is, we DO need to do both, but this post will focus on our current customers and how to maintain and grow the relationship.
DETERMINING YOUR MOST PROFITABLE PRODUCTS/SERVICES:
Many companies have a gold mine of business sitting right in front of them in their existing customer base; we just need to be strategic in how to “mine” the data. The first exercise before we even begin to profile our customers is to look objectively and deeply at our product/service offerings. You might not be able to answer these questions on your own and/or right off the top of your head, but it’s well worth investigating. You may need to get your manager involved.
List out all the key products and services you sell.
Now, go back through the list and circle the products/services, which are most profitable to the company and frankly, to your pocketbook. Assume the “ideal” customer for each of these products/services. This is where you may need assistance from management. Most companies know (or should know) which offerings are the most profitable. It’s just smart business. Clearly, you will offer what makes the most sense to your customers’ needs at the time, but with all else being equal, it’s good to know what makes us the most money.
Now go through the list again focusing on the products you circled. Next to those, write down the traits or characteristics of the IDEAL customer for each. You should do this for ALL the services, but start with the most profitable. Where are these ideal customer located? How much do they spend? What is their age? income? etc.
So now you should have a good idea of what you have to offer and who is an ideal (and profitable) candidate for each one.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR CURRENT CUSTOMERS:
Let’s look at our existing customers. Run a report on all the people who are considered your customers-current and past. Customers are customers – past or present. It’s a “warm call” verses a “cold call” when you re-connect with a past customer. They trusted and invested in you and your products in the past.
Next, make note of what the product was/is in which they invested, when did the relationship begin, what are the demographics and characteristics of the customer, etc. Really analyze them. What potential do you see? At first glance, can you get an idea of how you could help them make more money, save money, save time, offer convenience, and/or give them peace of mind or security? These are the key benefits most people are looking for in many products and services (as I’ve mentioned in a previous post).
Hopefully once you do this exercise you will re-familiarize yourself with these past/current customers and you will begin to see some potential for additional business from the active ones and ways in which you can re-kindle the “old” ones. What are you doing to re-capture past business? Are you focusing on your most profitable products/services? Why/why not?
The Power of Pushing Yourself
May 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Are you challenging yourself to go beyond your comfort zone? Often, we progress to a place where we feel that we are competent and confident, and then kick back and relax.
Now is no time for complacency! In tough economic times, your organization needs individuals who are proactive, adaptable, and who offer creative solutions to help the organization build and maintain a competitive edge. That likely means that you will have to push yourself beyond your comfort zone.
We recently enjoyed a ski vacation in New Mexico. A Louisiana bayou girl doesn’t get much practice skiing, but I managed to improve my technique – on the “green”, beginner slopes. However, I knew I needed to challenge myself to loftier goals.
In tackling the “blue” slopes, I experienced fear, reluctance, and a longing for the comfortable green slopes. I knew the beginner slopes would become boring, and besides, it’s embarrassing to have your kids swooshing past you! With persistence, I became more adept and confident. Soon, I was feeling a sense of exhilaration and pride as I, too, did my own version of swooshing down the mountain.
As a leader, you cannot afford to become complacent. Volunteer for new assignments. Seek out professional development opportunities. Think about stepping out of your comfort zone and really pushing yourself to achieve greater success and provide greater value to your organization.
Here’s to your success!
Jennifer
Lessons from the life of Ursula Burns, the first African-American Woman CEO of a Fortune 500 Company
May 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Today on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, Ursula Burns is announced as the first African-American woman to lead a Fortune 500 company, Xerox, as CEO. Here are a few things I learned about Ursula from the article.
• “She has a reputation for pushing hard to make the company move faster and for making the company’s research labs focus more directly on products to help the bottom line.”
• Her predecessor says about her, “The decision to move on is made easy only in the fact that Ursula Burns is so well positioned to take Xerox to the next level.”
• Ms. Burns grew up in New York’s public housing, served Xerox first as an intern then obtained her Master’s degree in engineering.
Taking a quick look at this Succeeding Woman’s life inspired me! Ms. Burns grew up and out of a difficult situation. She positioned herself -and continues to do so – for success. She understands that movement creates momentum and pushes her company to move fast and focus on the essentials (one of which IS the bottom line.)
Consider these questions with me:
• How well-positioned am I for moving myself and my company to the next level? What changes could improve my position?
• What is my current focus? How does this focus effect the profits of my company? Should my focus shift to improve my company’s bottom line?
• Am I using my past experiences as stepping stones or roadblocks? Am I currently in a poor or dependent position? If so, what steps can I take to grow out of this position?
• Finally, how fast am I moving toward my business goals? What can I do to accelerate my career or the success of my company?
Ms. Burns will take the reins of leadership at Xerox on July 1 modeling for all women in business what is possible when we choose to grow, strategically position ourselves, move fast and focus. Whether you are developing a career, financial, relational or even a social media strategy, the lessons from Ursala’s life apply. Congratulations to Ursula Burns on leading the way for all women in business and to each Succeeding Women who has positioned herself to grow and has achieved her goals. Do you have a success story to share? We’d love to hear it at succeedingwomen.com.
Everybody Has Sales-Influence By Tiffanie Z. Lyon, MBA
May 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment
It’s important to understand that everybody in your organization touches the sales process- from the first telephone inquiry to the signed paperwork. All “sales” have a sales process (which you may have read in our my other posts) and it’s best to have your team positively influence that process. First impressions can be powerful. How does your receptionist answer the telephone on behalf of your organization? Who puts together information packets to be sent out? Do they look like they’ve been assembled with care? How do you position your company to your prospective customers? Here are a few tips:
• Educate your team on your company’s sales process and discuss where everybody “fits” into that process. This will create ownership and accountability.
• Inform everybody of your ideal customer and the most value-generating products/services the company provides its customers.
• Be certain everybody is saying the sales USP (unique selling proposition or “elevator pitch”).
Selling anything is based on having the right sales attitude, maximizing relationships and having a strategic process (Mindset/Art/Science). Selling is a team effort. So, rally the troops and Happy Selling ☺
Have You “Stretched” Today? by Myra Corrello, PhD
May 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Accomplishment. What a terrific feeling.Have you ever found yourself in a pickle and not sure how to get yourself out?
After taking the scary leap to spend several thousand dollars on an upcoming international conference, I found myself quickly sinking into a “money pit”.
Sadly, when you’re a solo act, there aren’t too many people around to bail you out – so you dig in & start getting creative – searching for a solution.
With $1300 in registration fees already paid I still faced the uphill battle of finding a decent hotel.
My fears materialized on the computer screen . . . “best rate: $279, $299, $289″ . . . yikes! I’ve never spent that kind of money for a hotel room – AND I needed one for 5 days! Suddenly, ka-chings were going off in my brain like popping corn. Where could I possibly afford to stay?
After 15 more hours of less-than-fruitful web searches on every discount-travel site & after checking out every no-frills B&B in my target city, I concluded it was time to “stretch” outside my comfort zone & try a new strategy. A friend had reminded me I still had never tried bidding for travel. Ughh. The thought had always turned me off – having someone TELL me where I’d be sleeping? Nah, I’ll pay the extra. And, the thoughts of having to learn something new while under-the-gun seemed exhausting but, backed into a corner, my willingness try increased substantially.
Being a planner, I can’t just jump in . . . not on something that could cost me hundreds of dollars if done wrong – or accidentally put me 50 miles out in the boonies with a bad click.
Folks posting in the travel message boards recommended a website that allows all bidders to build a database of best practices from their bidding experiences. From their posts you learn how to bid. Ever the good student, I voraciously read hundreds of posts to increase my skill level.
Finally, after 12 hours of research on the prep site (yes, I have a tendency for overkill), I made the big, nervous click onto the bidding site to try my luck. First bid: “Sorry, your bid was not accepted.” OK, I can deal with this. At least I have my Plan B in place. Let’s try again: “Rejected”. Rejection again. Rejection still again. Ughh, this is NOT exactly fun! And then finally on the fourth try: “Congratulations! Your offer of $135 per night has been accepted for the four-star hotel in the neighborhood of your choice.” Yipee!! A $1,600 hotel bill was miraculously cut to $773 – over a 50% discount!
Now that this 5-day ordeal is over, I’ve learned a few things:
- Invest in yourself – somehow, some way, it will work out.
- We’re more likely to try new things & take risks when our familiar options are limited.
- Spending the time to learn how to expertly build and use a new skill should be weighed as an investment – will it be something you’ll be able to use over and over? Can it help you accomplish your long-term goals? Know the true cost of your time investment versus the payoff.
- Listen to good advice – from your friends & from the unlimited “communities” of experts out there in cyberspace – and reciprocate whenever possible.
- Allow adequate time to plan any new pursuit but, at some point, you gotta jump in & get your feet wet.
- Use your new-found confidence to tackle another “stretch” while you’re hot!
Have you taken a productive “stretch” lately? What was it and what did you learn?
