50 Social Sites That Every Business Must Have a Presence On.

50 Social Sites That Every Business Needs a Presence on

Web sites to help your company network, advertise recruit and more.

courtesy of: Inside CRM Editors

If your business limits its online presence to advertising banners and blogging, it's missing out. The Internet provides powerful networking opportunities that allow users to effectively target their audience by logging on to social sites like LinkedIn, Digg and more. Take advantage of these tools by asserting your company's presence online and reaching more potential customers, business partners and employees.

Social-Media/Social-Bookmarking Sites
Share your favorite sites on the Web with potential clients and business partners by commenting on, uploading and ranking different newsworthy articles. You can also create a member profile that directs traffic back to your company's Web site.

1. Reddit: Upload stories and articles on reddit to drive traffic to your site or blog. Submit items often so that you'll gain a more loyal following and increase your presence on the site.
2. Digg: Digg has a huge following online because of its optimum usability. Visitors can submit and browse articles in categories like technology, business, entertainment, sports and more.
3. Del.icio.us: Social bookmark your way to better business with sites like del.icio.us, which invite users to organize and publicize interesting items through tagging and networking.
4. StumbleUpon: You'll open your online presence up to a whole new audience just by adding the StumbleUpon toolbar to your browser and "channel surf[ing] the Web. You'll "connect with friends and share your discoveries," as well as "meet people that have similar interests."
5. Technorati: If you want to increase your blog's readership, consider registering it with Technorati, a network of blogs and writers that lists top stories in categories like Business, Entertainment and Technology.
6. Ning: After hanging around the same social networks for a while, you may feel inspired to create your own, where you can bring together clients, vendors, customers and co-workers in a confidential, secure corner of the Web. Ning lets users design free social networks that they can share with anyone.
7. Squidoo: According to Squidoo, "everyone's an expert on something. Share your knowledge!" Share your industry's secrets by answering questions and designing a profile page to help other members.
8. Furl: Make Furl "your personal Web file" by bookmarking great sites and sharing them with other users by recommending links, commenting on articles and utilizing other fantastic features.
9. Tubearoo: This video network works like other social-bookmarking sites, except that it focuses on uploaded videos. Businesses can create and upload tutorials, commentaries and interviews with industry insiders to promote their own services.
10. WikiHow: Create a how-to guide or tutorial on wikiHow to share your company's services with the public for free.
11. YouTube: From the fashion industry to Capitol Hill, everyone has a video floating around on YouTube. Shoot a behind-the-scenes video from your company's latest commercial or event to give customers and clients an idea of what you do each day.
12. Ma.gnolia: Share your favorite sites with friends, colleagues and clients by organizing your bookmarks with Ma.gnolia. Clients will appreciate both your Internet-savviness and your ability to stay current and organized.

Professional-Networking Sites Sign up with these online networking communities as a company or as an individual to take advantage of recruiting opportunities, cross-promotional events and more.

13. LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a popular networking site where alumni, business associates, recent graduates and other professionals connect online.
14. Ecademy: Ecademy prides itself on "connecting business people" through its online network, blog and message-board chats, as well as its premier BlackStar membership program, which awards exclusive benefits.
15. Focus: Focus is a business destination where business professionals can help each other with their purchase and other business decisions by accessing research and peer expertise. Most importantly, Focus provides open, quality information for all businesses that is freely available, easily accessible, and community powered.
16. YorZ: This networking site doubles as a job site. Members can post openings for free to attract quality candidates.
17. Xing: An account with networking site Xing can "open doors to thousands of companies." Use the professional contact manager to organize your new friends and colleagues, and take advantage of the Business Accelerator application to "find experts at the click of a button, market yourself in a professional context [and] open up new sales channels."
18. Facebook: Facebook is no longer just for college kids who want to post their party pics. Businesses vie for advertising opportunities, event promotion and more on this social-networking site.
19. Care2: Care2 isn't just a networking community for professionals: It's touted as "the global network for organizations and people who Care2 make a difference." If your business is making efforts to go green, let others know by becoming a presence on this site.
20. Gather: This networking community is made up of members who think. Browse categories concerning books, health, money, news and more to ignite discussions on politics, business and entertainment. This will help your company tap into its target audience and find out what they want.
21. MEETin.org: Once you've acquired a group of contacts in your city by networking on MEETin.org, organize an event so that you can meet face-to-face.
22. Tribe: Cities like Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, New York and Chicago have unique online communities on tribe. Users can search for favorite restaurants, events, clubs and more.
23. Ziggs: Ziggs is "organizing and connecting people in a professional way." Join groups and make contacts through your Ziggs account to increase your company's presence online and further your own personal career.
24. Plaxo: Join Plaxo to organize your contacts and stay updated with feeds from Digg, Amazon.com, del.icio.us and more.
25. NetParty: If you want to attract young professionals in cities like Boston, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Orlando Fla., create an account with the networking site NetParty. You'll be able to connect with qualified, up-and-coming professionals online, then meet them at a real-life happy-hour event where you can pass out business cards, pitch new job openings and more.
26. Networking For Professionals: Networking For Professionals is another online community that combines the Internet with special events in the real world. Post photos, videos, résumés and clips on your online profile while you meet new business contacts.

Niche Social-Media Sites Consider linking up with one of these social-media sites to narrow down your business's target audience. You'll find other professionals, enthusiasts and consumers who are most likely already interested in what your company has to offer.

27. Pixel Groovy: Web workers will love Pixel Groovy, an open-source site that lets members submit and rate tutorials for Web 2.0, email and online-marketing issues.
28. Mixx: Mixx prides itself on being "your link to the Web content that really matters." Submit and rate stories, photos and news to drive traffic to your own site. You'll also meet others with similar interests.
29. Tweako: Gadget-minded computer geeks can network with each other on Tweako, a site that promotes information sharing for the technologically savvy.
30. Small Business Brief: When members post entrepreneur-related articles, a photo and a link to their profile appear, gaining you valuable exposure and legitimacy online.
31. Sphinn: Sphinn is an online forum and networking site for the Internet marketing crowd. Upload articles and guides from your blog to create interest in your own company or connect with other professionals for form new contacts.
32. BuzzFlash.net: This one-stop news resource is great for businesses that want to contribute articles on a variety of subjects, from the environment to politics to health.
33. HubSpot: HubSpot is another news site aimed at connecting business professionals.
34. SEO TAGG: Stay on top of news from the Web marketing and SEO (search-engine optimization) industries by becoming an active member of this online community.

General Social-Media Sites The following social-media sites provide excellent opportunities for businesses to advertise; promote specials, events or services; and feature published, knowledgeable employees.

35. Wikipedia: Besides creating your own business reference page on Wikipedia, you can connect with other users on Wikipedia's Community Portal and at the village pump, where you'll find conscientious professionals enthusiastic about news, business, research and more.
36. Newsvine: Feature top employees by uploading their articles, studies or other news-related items to this site. A free account will also get you your own column and access to the Newsvine community.
37. 43 Things: This site bills itself as "the world's most popular online goal setting community." By publicizing your company's goals and ambitions, you'll gain a following of customers, investors and promoters who cheer you on as you achieve success.
38. Wetpaint: If you're tired of blogs and generic Web sites, create your own wiki with Wetpaint to reach your audience and increase your company's presence online. You can easily organize articles, contact information, photos and other information to promote your business.
39. Twitter: Is a social networking and microblogging service that allows you answer the question, "What are you doing?" by sending short text messages 140 characters in length, called "tweets", to your friends, or "followers."
40. Yahoo! Answers: Start fielding Yahoo! users' questions with this social-media Q&A service. Search for questions in your particular areas of expertise by clicking categories like Business & Finance, Health, News & Events and more. If you continue to dole out useful advice and link your answer to your company's Web page, you'll quickly gain a new following of curious customers.

Job Sites If you want to secure high-quality talent during your company's next hiring spree, you'll need to maintain a strong presence on popular job sites like the ones listed below.

41. CareerBuilder.com: Reach millions of candidates by posting jobs on this must-visit site.
42. The Wall Street Journal's CareerJournal: The Wall Street Journal's CareerJournal attracts well-educated professionals who are at the top of their game. Post a job or search résumés here.
43. CollegeRecruiter.com: If your firm wants to hire promising entry-level employees, check CollegeRecuriter.com for candidates with college degrees.
44. Monster: Post often to separate your business from all the other big companies that use this site to advertise job openings.
45. Sologig: Top freelancers and contractors post résumés and look for work on this popular site.
46. AllFreelance.com: This site "offers self-employed small business owners links to freelance & work at home job boards, self-promotion tips" and more.
47. Freelance Switch Job Listings: Freelance Switch is the freelancer's online mecca and boasts articles, resource toolboxes, valuable tips and a job board.
48. GoFreelance: Employers looking to boost their vendor base should check GoFreelance for professionals in the writing, design, editing and Web industries.
49. Yahoo! Hot Jobs: This site is often one of the first places that job seekers visit. Post open opportunities and check out informative articles and guides to gain insight on the hiring and interviewing process.
50. Guru.com: Build your company's repertoire with top freelancing professionals by advertising projects on this site, otherwise known as "the world's largest online service marketplace."

Information is courtesy of Inside CRM (See link)

50 Social Sites That Every Business Needs a Presence on - Inside CRM

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Your Business & Yelp In 2010

Your Business & Yelp In 2010
Mat Siltala
courtesy of search engine journal

I want to get you thinking the way I am on this one, so bear with me for a moment. I want you to imagine yourself moving into a brand new area that you are completely unfamiliar with. You have brand new neighbors, and there is not a familiar face anywhere. You don’t know if your new neighbors have kids for your kids to play with, or if you would even want them to. So the process begins, you meet your neighbors, you gain trust and eventually are part of the neighborhood BBQs. As time goes on, and you are getting to know everybody even more, they begin sharing information with you, like what the best schools are, who to call for takeout, what doctors are nearby etc. There is a process of trust that grows within the community, and that community sticks together and helps each other out.

In Comes Yelp

Businesses need to look at Yelp in more of a neighborhood sense, as explained above. Stop trying to think how you can game the system with only 5 star reviews in mind. Businesses need to understand that there is a strong community of people that run it, police it, and spend all day on it – looking for, or giving recommendations. If you are a good neighbor, your business can benefit from it. If you are a bad neighbor that creeps everybody out, then its not going to work so well for you, and the neighborhood will spit you out.

Do Not Fear The Reviews

It amazes me the number of businesses that are afraid to get listed on Yelp. My personal opinion, if businesses are afraid to get on Yelp, then there might be some internal house cleaning that needs to be done, and problems fixed. If your business is broken, and this is why you are worried about getting on sites like Yelp, then FIX THE PROBLEMS NOW. Even if you do get some negative feedback, take it as a learning tool, grow from it, and do everything you can to overcome and grow as a business. Yelp is only going to continue to grow, and with app phones flooding the market now, the mobile use in 2010 for local marketing is going to big the biggest ever. In my opinion, this is going to be the biggest opportunities for businesses marketing online. These phones are not going away, these apps are not going away, so your business needs to do better starting now.

Be A Man, Stake Your Claim

If you do not go in andcreate your business listing on Yelp, someone else will (and its just a matter of time before the reviews start pouring in). These are free tools that Yelp is willingly offering you! Go take advantage of them! When you rely on someone else you add your information, you are risking things like:

* wrong phone number
* wrong business address
* wrong website address
* wrong product information
* general company info wrong
* wrong hours
* wrong menu items
* which photos show up first
* a competitor going in and listing you wrong (on purpose)

This Matters For Four Reasons Because:

1. Users will quickly click off your listing if the phone number does not work.
2. Users will quickly move on to the next business if they are looking for a website, and yours is not listed.
3. Trust will be lost with a half done/wrong business listing.
4. You can create a reputation nightmare by not staying on top of things.

Yelp!

The main point I want to make with this post is 2010 is going to be the year of mobile/local marketing & apps, as well as the opportunities that are going to be generated from them.Yelp has a mobile appnow for iPhone, Blackberry, Palm Pre and Droid. I am sure as more app phones come into the market, Yelp will be developing for them as well. Yelp has become my new American Express – “Can’t leave home without it” I really can’t go anywhere without consulting Yelp first. It is for more then just food too, you can get reviews and information on pretty much any kind of business possible. Funny, my Mother and Father in Law told us the kept tabs on us during a recent trip by checking out my Yelp reviews, and could tell we had a blast! They personally do not use Yelp, but they always tell me: “See what Yelp says” and I do a quick consult before we all head out somewhere. Its truly an awesome tool to be able to carry in my pocket, and “mark my words” this is the future of local marketing.

I asked Gabi, the Phoenix ambassador for Yelp to share her thoughts of how business owners can do better with Yelp in 2010, as well as a couple others – Will Scott & Chris Smith. Here are their responses:

Gabi:

Per your request, below are a few quick thoughts on how businesses can utilize Yelp to their advantage in the new year:

1. 1. Utilize the free tools that are available – Claim your business!
2. Respond to all yelp reviews (once you’ve claimed your business) to thank that yelper for their feedback.
3. Tell about the business, business owner, specialties, etc… and announce special offers, events, etc…
4. Look at Yelp as a helpful resource – we’re not the enemy; Yelp is a useful tool to help you improve your business all of the time!
5. Do not ask random friends or customers to write reviews on Yelp – this can come off as spam; let the reviews happen authentically
6. Provide fantastic customer service always and you’ll likely reap the rewards in the reviews that are written!

Will Scott:


1. Be proactive.

2. Just like any review site you need to get your fans out early and often. The rules say you can’t pay people or otherwise incentivize but you can certainly ask.
3. Consider advertising.

4. One of our clients started advertising in Yelp and increased his leads from yelp by 5X almost instantly. Moreover, you get to pick your favorite review to pin at the top of your list.

5. And, best of all you can show up on your competitors’ listings. Mwahahaha.



Chris Silver Smith:


I see two main areas where businesses may do better with Yelp.


1. Businesses really need to step up their customer-service game. A world of pain can be avoided merely by instituting highly excellent customer service practices. Customer service policies and practices need to be revisited frequently to insure you make a good impression.


2. In 2010 businesses should become less shy about asking pleased customers to review them. I encounter many proprietors who are hesitant to ask customers to rate them online, but I think the fear is unwarranted. Dale Carnegie, in his classic book, “How To Win Friends & Influence People”, even recommends that you ask others to do you favors as a strategy for getting people to like you (among other tactics). In that vein, I suggest that when a customer particularly gushes, hand them a coupon for a discount for their next visit, and tell them you’d really appreciate being rated in Yelp. Do not pay for ratings nor offer discounts in trade for a rating, but merely ask in a modest way. By specifically targeting pleased customers, giving an unconditional discount, and personally asking them to do you a favor, you make them feel important and inclined to give you a very positive review.

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Having a strategy to encourage and build positive reviews can help to insulate a business from occasional negative reviews and can pump up rankings and conversions.



I appreciate Gabi, Will & Chris taking the time to share their thoughts on how businesses can do better with Yelp in 2010. To sum it all up? Businesses need to not be afraid of where mobile/local marketing is headed. Also, they need to not be afraid of UGC type sites like Yelp. Your business will grow and gain customers in 2010 if you embrace Yelp, run a good clean business and play by the rules!



Matt Siltala, owner of Dream Systems Media shares his love and passion for SEO and all things social on his Internet marketing blog. You can follow Matt on Twitter here – http://www.twitter.com/Matt_Siltala


Your Business & Yelp In 2010 | Search Engine Journal

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High Touch Marketing

High Touch Marketing - The Key to Relationship & Business building
By Marlo Boux of Boux Small Business Coaching

see original post on risingwomen.com

High touch...what does it mean, and why should you care? The term high touch, coined by futurist John Nesbett in the eighties, refers to having human interactions, a personal element or a personal touch. In a world where nearly everything is high tech and automated (or is well on its way to being as such) it is a breath of fresh air to have some ‘old-fashioned’ human-to-human contact. So how does this translate into business networking?

Well, if you attend a networking function in the flesh, you are part way there by having face-to-face interactions. But let’s take it a step beyond just showing up and inject a real personal touch in how you network with others.

I will assume that as a business person, you are aware of the networking basics:
- Having quality business cards on hand
- Crafting a laser-focused 10 to 30 second business message
- Dressing appropriately for the event
- Having a great handshake

These topics will not be addressed any further in this article. What I am about to suggest will turn the typical networking objective on its head. Most of us go to networking events to “get our name out there”, generate leads and build business relationships. Instead of going to an event with a “how will this benefit me” attitude, walk into the event asking “how could my knowledge, resources and contacts benefit my fellow networkers?” This requires a really authentic shift in your motivation.

Listen - When moving from conversation to conversation, ask thoughtful questions and listen to what your peers are saying. Don’t interrupt or start formulating your next thought while they are speaking. You will miss out on nuggets of information that will tell you how you can add value to their business or personal lives. Ask great follow-up questions to get clarification and show genuine interest in them and what they have to say. Focus your attention on their message - both the verbal and non-verbal cues they provide.

Add Value to Their Business - If you know of a useful resource, have a great contact, or have access to some other information that may make their life easier, take special note of this at the end of your conversation and write it down. When you take the time to do something thoughtful for a fellow entrepreneur, you are more likely to be remembered positively by that person - and not just memorable, being “memorable” can carry negative connotations too - you will be remembered and regarded as thoughtful and genuine.

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The Top 6 marketing strategies to Promote Your Site

The Web Marketing Checklist:
37 Ways to Promote Your Website
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, E-Commerce Consultant
Courtesy of, Web Marketing Today, June 2, 2009

This article is designed to introduce you to website promotion, getting visitors to come to your website. It gives you the basic information, which you can then explore through dozens of links to other resources, much of it entirely free. As one of our most popular articles, this was revised most recently on June 2, 2009.

Business lunch about Web marketing and e-commerce

How can you get more visitors to your website? What can you do to stimulate traffic? Here's a checklist of 37 items you need to consider. Many of these may be doing already; others you meant to do and forgot about; still others you've never heard of. Of course, a great deal has been written about this. You'll find links to thousands of articles about website promotion in our Web Marketing Today Research Room (www.wilsonweb.com/research/)

While I'm not breaking any new ground here, I've tried to summarize some of the most important techniques.
Search Engine Strategies

Perhaps the most important -- and inexpensive -- strategy is to rank high for your preferred keywords on the main search engines in "organic" or "natural" searches (as opposed to paid ads). Search engines send robot "spiders" to index the content of your webpage, so let's begin with steps to prepare your webpages for optimal indexing. The idea here is not to trick the search engines, but to leave them abundant clues as to what your webpage is about. This approach is called "search engine optimization," abbreviated as SEO.

1. Write a Keyword-Rich Page Title. Write a descriptive title for each page -- rich in keywords you want people to find you with -- using 5 to 8 words. Remove as many "filler" words from the title (such as "the," "and," etc.) as possible, while still making it readable. This page title will appear hyperlinked on the search engines when your page is found. Entice searchers to click on the title by making it a bit provocative. Place this at the top of the webpage between the tags, in this format: . (It also shows on the blue bar at the top of your web browser.)

Blue bar at top of web browser containing the Title

Plan to use some descriptive keywords along with your business name on your home page. If you specialize in silver bullets and that's what people will be searching for, don't just use your company name "Acme Ammunition, Inc.," use "Silver and Platinum Bullets -- Acme Ammunition, Inc." The words people are most likely to search on should appear first in the title (called "keyword prominence"). Remember, this title is your identity on the search engines. The more people see that interests them in the blue hyperlinked words on the search engine, the more likely they are to click on the link.

Competiton for search engine ranking occurs every day2. Write a Description META Tag. Some search engines include this description below your hyperlinked title in the search results. The description should be a sentence or two describing the content of the webpage, using the main keywords and keyphrases on this page. Don't include keywords that don't appear on the webpage. Place the Description META Tag at the top of the webpage, between the tags, in this format:



The maximum number of characters should be about 255; just be aware that only the first 60 or so are visible on Google, though more may be indexed.

When I prepare a webpage, I write the article first, then develop a keyword-rich title (#1 above). Then I write a description of the content in that article in a sentence or two, using each of the important keywords and keyphrases included in the article. This goes into the description META tag.

Next, I strip out the common words, leaving just the meaty keywords and phrases and insert those into the keywords META tag. It's no longer used much for ranking, but I'm leaving it in anyway. I think it may have some minor value. So to summarize so far, every webpage in your site should have a distinct title and META description tag. If you implement these two points, you're well on your way to better search engine ranking. But there's more that will help your ranking....

3. Include Your Keywords in Headers (H1, H2, H3). Search engines consider keywords that appear in the page headline and sub heads to be important to the page, so make sure your desired keywords and phrases appear in one or two header tags. Don't expect the search engine to parse your Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) to figure out which are the headlines -- it won't. Instead, use keywords in the H1, H2, and H3 tags to provide clues to the search engine. (Note: Some designers no longer use the H1, H2 tags. That's a big mistake. Make sure your designer defines these tags in the CSS rather than creating headline tags with other names.)

4. Position Your Keywords in the First Paragraph of Your Body Text. Search engines expect that your first paragraph will contain the important keywords for the document -- where most people write an introduction to the content of the page. You don't want to just artificially stuff keywords here, however. More is not better. Google might expect a keyword density in the entire body text area of maybe 1.5% to 2% for a word that should rank high, so don't overdo it.

5. Include Descriptive Keywords in the ALT Attribute of Image Tags. This helps your site be more accessible to site-impaired visitors (www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/glance/) and gives additional clues to the search engines. The ALT attributes do help get your images ranked higher for image search (see #12 below).

6. Use Keywords in Hyperlinks. Search engines are looking for clues to the focus of your webpage. When they see words hyperlinked in your body text, they consider these potentially important, so hyperlink your important keywords and keyphrases. To emphasize it even more, the webpage you are linking to could have a page name with the keyword or keyphrase, such as blue-widget.htm -- another clue for the search engine.

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::Brand, Market & Promote Your business, product or service the PR Smart Way::

:Brand, Market & Promote Your business, product or service the PR Smart Way::
Full Scale Marketing and Branding. We enlist traditional marketing strategies as well as online and new media campaigns to win solid results for our clients.


Choose Wisely:: Choose PR Smart

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Log (Press Release) – Feb 13, 2010 – PR Smart is a Full Scale Marketing and Branding Firm. We enlist traditional marketing strategies as well as online and new media campaigns to win solid results for our clients.


PR Smart excels in the following Categories:

* Beauty
* Fashion
* Hospitality
* Retail
* Food
* Lifestyle
* Real Estate
* Franchise
* Product Launch
* Personal/Professional Branding
* Start Ups
* Technology


contact US at wise1@getPRsmart.com for a consultation


a Few Clients...

* Silho Custom Made Furniture
* Chop Chop Salon Gallery
* E's Wine Bar & Restaurant

* Sold in the City
* aguirre Tequila Imports
* Halie Restaurant Pasadena
* Las Casas Realty, Inc.
* Canicas Tequila
* Inked In Tees
* Eyebrows By Gohar
* The Method Fest Short Film Festival

# # #

PR Smart is a Full Scale Marketing and Branding Firm. We enlist traditional marketing strategies as well as online and new media campaigns to win solid results for our clients. Contact us for a consultation.




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Leveraging Social Media to Grow Your Beauty Brand

Leveraging Social Media to Grow Your Beauty Brand
By: Donna C. Barson
Posted: October 5, 2009, from the October 2009 issue of GCI Magazine.

* PR launched through social media has the potential for going viral.
* It is important to know who is following you in social media outlets, and this can be a very valuable tool to determine if you are reaching your target and which products your consumers want.
* Maintaining numerous online networks can be a challenge, but also offers rewards.
* Even when valuable content is offered through social media, a solid image should remain a priority.

It’s no secret that companies left and right are going the social media route. Whether it’s creating a business page on Facebook or sending out promos in 140 characters or less on Twitter, beauty marketers are turning to the Web to both drive sales and build consumer interaction for long-term success.

“As the world of technology changes, businesses must adjust with the times,” says Rachel Johnson, director of communications, Alchimie Forever. “I have found online media to be a fascinating and effective tool for building a brand.” She’s made sure the Swiss skin care line is on Twitter and Facebook, in addition to other online avenues such as Linkedin.

Rodan + Fields Dermatologists, the company that developed Proactiv before selling it to Guthy-Renker, has used the power of viral marketing—and everyone’s love of celebrities—to push its brands online. For its new product launches, the brand uses webisodes that debut exclusively on Facebook and cover beauty-related topics. This has helped the company boost sales and offer unique content to users.

Using Twitter was instrumental for Miriam Kleinman, president and chief scientific officer of Teava, to launch her tea-based skin care line. “I found that Twitter was an excellent source for garnering PR exposure,” she says. And PR launched through social media has the potential for going viral.

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Word-of-Mouth Marketing 101, à la Zappos.com

By Pete Blackshaw, ClickZ, Apr 1, 2008

Sponsored by PointRoll

Help! I've been zapped!
Yes, I've been zapped by the zervice (I mean "service") of Zappos.com. Trust me, I'm not doing a poor imitation of Dr. Seuss.


It started rather innocently. To round out a spirited "Advertising Age" conference panel I recently moderated entitled "Listenomics," I invited Tony Hsieh, Zappos founder and CEO, to participate. While I knew enough about Zappos to give it a few paragraphs in my upcoming book, it quickly became obvious I was barely scratching the surface.
Joining Hsieh on my panel were Rick Clancy, Sony VP of corporate communications, and Linnea Johnson, head of consumer relations for Unilever. We talked about the importance and challenge of listening, the fine and sometimes precarious art of conversation, and the growing importance of customer service in the new marketing. Clancy offered insightful commentary about his ambitious corporate blog, and Johnson offered punchy, spot-on insights about the value her groups bring to the table and why it deserves even more respect and attention -- even from media planners. (Her group is like air-traffic control for consumer conversation!)
But Hsieh took the prize for -- how shall I put it? -- zapping the crowd. Before I explain, let me first zing you with a little backdrop.
About Zappos
Zappos, with over $1 billion in sales, is one of the Web's fastest growing shopping sites. It offers over 1,000 brands in over 150,000 styles, with over 850,000 UPCs. Every single pair of shoes sits in inventory. The company has 7.4 million customers, nearly half of whom have purchased in the last 12 months.
Now it gets really interesting. On any given day, 75 percent of sales come from repeat customers, and those repeat customers spend much more the second and third times around. The average order size for returning customers is about $140, compared to about $110 for first-time customers.
This is a brand with extraordinarily high levels of customer loyalty. If you put a dipstick into the online CGM (define) currents, you'll find a brand with off-the-charts customer advocacy.
Service Begets Delight, Which Begets Word of Mouth
This customer advocacy stems from a unique combination of company culture and an unapologetic focus on customer service. In fact, Zappos's tagline is "Powered by Service." This means providing the best service and online shopping experience possible: free shipping both ways, a 365-day return policy, fast fulfillment, and expedited delivery.
For example, unlike the vast majority of big brands, Zappos promotes (rather than hides) its toll-free number visibly on the home page. You can talk to someone 24/7.

The table outlines more ways Zappos's customer service excels:

Key Variable	Typical Brand	Zappos.com
Service as marketing	Low	High
Traditional media spend	High	Low
Toll-free number	Hidden	Written on forehead
Invitation to interact	Hard to find	Everywhere
Openness to talk	The clock is ticking; get lost	Stick around; let's chat
Toll-free number hours	9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.	24/7
Outsourcing	Common	Unthinkable
Employees as advocates	Medium	Off the charts

"Zappos is touching a real nerve in the consumer affairs industry. The service is putting hard data behind what we all intuitively know and feel: great service and so-called 'feedback moments' are inseparable from marketing and brand building," explained Beth Thomas-Kim, head of consumer relations for Nestlé and chair of the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals (SOCAP).

Hsieh and his team clearly get it. There's nothing touchy-feely about how well this works. Over 80 percent of his customers hear about Zappos through either word of mouth or online advertising. Print advertising amounts to a mere 15 percent of media spend.
The Role of Culture
There's a key piece of Zappos's strategy that you just can't crank out with a cookie-cutter marketing whitepaper: culture. Hsieh borders on fanatical about culture. Shortly after the panel, I received the Zappos "Culture Book," which opened up yet another fascinating window into the "service company that happens to sell shoes," as the CEO puts it.
The entire 300-page book is written by employees and partners. It's fat, visually appealing, and reads like a group hug. It also nicely complements the company's five-week Las Vegas training course for all employees in core values, customer service, and the warehouse.
"I have felt so proud to be part of a company," notes Laura T., an employee since May 22, 2005. "Zappos culture is electric!," writes Jon J., an employee since 2004. "Our goals are set, values clearly defined, and we all buy into it," notes Kris O., an employee since 2000.
The Final Word
But is it scalable? It's hard to tell. To fully answer that question, we may need to keep an eye on Howard Schultz's relentless pursuit of Starbuck's founding values, including its sense of authenticity, in his company's repositioning. Coincidentally, the centerpiece of his reinvention strategy -- My Starbucks Idea -- is grounded on the very principle of customer participation that's given Zappos such undeniable traction.
In the end, Zappos is powered not merely by service but by the internalization of a core truth as well. Loyal customers, even your own employees, are the heart of effective word of mouth. You don't need ROI analysis from my firm or any other one to connect those dots.

oringinal article posted on::
Word-of-Mouth Marketing 101, à la Zappos.com - ClickZ

Extending the Customer Experience - the Zappos Story | Futurelab – An international marketing strategy consultancy

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Extending the Customer Experience - the Zappos Story

by: Matt Rhodes
Zappos is a well-known social media case study. The Las Vegas shoe retailer was founded in 1999 selling shoes online. In ten years it has expanded to include other products like handbags and sunglasses, and it has grown to be a $1 billion per year business. Very impressive statistics, a good Image via CrunchBase business model and a really good example of using social media.
For Zappos customer service has always been a critical part of the brand, indeed early on they made the deliberate decision to divert their marketing budget to customer service. They allowed customers to do things like try and return products for up to a year, only list stock that’s in their warehouse, encourage customers to call them about nearly everything, and they invest in ’surprise’ free overnight shipping for most customers. Customer service comes first, with the aim to acquire customers through word of mouth and retain existing customers through good service. And for them this approach seems to have worked. It is also one that fits well with a strong social media strategy.
So Required Reading for Easter at FreshNetworks is this presentation by Brian Kalma at Zappos, showing how they have used social media and the benefits they have received. It’s great to see how these micro-interactions and the emphasis on customer service have had real word of mouth benefits for the brand. And then how this has translated into customers and loyalty. For me it is also great to see how they have worked internally to engage staff and involve them in making this process work - getting 440 staff to be customer facing and engaging with customers on a daily basis.
A great presentation and a great chance to learn from what Zappos have done.

View more presentations from Brian Kalma.
Some more reading

• Zappos CEO Talks Culture Fit and the Importance of Creating a ‘Wow’ Experience (readwriteweb.com)
• Social Media Three For One (marketing.blogtanker.com)
• Some takeaways about organizational culture from Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO (beth.typepad.com)
• Guide: A Brand Strategy Checklist (thecauseisthehabit.com)
• Steve Rosenbaum: Circuit City Goes Bust: Zappos Flies High - Why? (huffingtonpost.com)

Original Post: http://blog.freshnetworks.com/2009/04/extending-the-customer-experience-the-zappos-story/

Extending the Customer Experience - the Zappos Story | Futurelab – An international marketing strategy consultancy

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EFFECTIVE FUNDRAISING

EFFECTIVE FUNDRAISING (January 1997)
Many not-for-profit organizations raise funds from individual and corporate sponsors to augment grant and fee revenue. Before undertaking a fundraising venture the Board of Directors should identify the objectives of the organization and how they relate to fundraising. Once the objectives have been clearly identified then the volunteers and staff can develop and implement a fundraising plan to meet them.
Establish fundraising objectives
The goal of a fundraising campaign is, obviously, to receive money and gifts-in-kind. However, raising money is not an end in itself. Your Board of Directors should first clearly identify the reason additional funds are needed by the organization. Matching the organization's fundraising objectives with the interests of its members increases the likelihood of a successful campaign. Some common objectives are:

• Purchasing specific items

Fundraising for specific purchases is one of the most common objectives and the easiest to promote. Asking for donations for computer equipment or specific enhancements, such as a music program, is a much easier task than asking for money to eliminate a deficit as the objective is positive and tangible.

• Improving your financial position

If your organization is having difficulty obtaining sufficient funds to meet operating expenses on a day-to-day basis then your Board may determine that a fundraising campaign is necessary.

Unfortunately, fundraising to remain solvent usually does not work for organizations whose revenue is primarily generated by fees and memberships. For example, a childcare centre with capacity for 60 children and monthly expenses of $25,000 may need to raise up to $2,000 a month to make up for lost revenue if enrolment drops below the break-even point by only two children. Raising $2,000 a year, let alone every month, from fundraising is a challenge for most not-for-profit childcare centres. The centre would be better off first focusing its efforts on bringing enrolment back up to the break-even level.

Similarly, if fifty percent of government grant revenue is eliminated, your organization should first work towards redesigning its program to cope with the reductions and then determine whether it is appropriate to support the redesigned program with extra fundraising dollars.

• Sense of community

An often overlooked benefit of fundraising is an increased sense of community among members of the not-for-profit organization. For example, a childcare centre might put on a fundraising dinner and dance for the children's parents. As well as raising money for the centre, the parents get a chance to meet and, hopefully, have a fun evening resulting in a more closely knit community.

Develop a fundraising plan
Once the fundraising objectives have been clearly articulated then setting a plan to achieve them need not be difficult. The plan should specify:

• How much money, net of fundraising expenses, is to be raised and when the money will be needed. It is important that the fundraising goal be net of expenses as the organization only benefits from net resources raised.

• Whether the fundraising campaign is to be an ongoing campaign or a one-shot effort.

• Exactly what resources of the organization are available to the fundraising team including money, staff and volunteer time.

• Who the target audience is for the campaign.

• Efficiency benchmarks. For example, requiring that a campaign generate at least a set amount , net of expenses, per volunteer hour (e.g. $40 per hour) and that administrative expenses be no more than a specified percent (e.g. 10%) of gross receipts raised.

Reporting results to the Board of Directors
The fundraising committee should make regular financial reports to the Board of Directors including:

• A statement of revenue and expenses for each campaign and a comparison with the original forecast. Again, the report should focus on revenue less related fundraising expenses and not gross receipts.

• Whether efficiency benchmarks (e.g. dollars per volunteer hour) are being met and if not what recommendations the fundraising committee has to improve returns.

For ease of reporting and tracking of expenditures all fundraising proceeds should be deposited in a bank account separate from that used for general operations. Note that this must be done by law for all gaming campaigns such as bingo, Nevada ticket sales, and raffles. We also strongly recommend separate accounts for campaigns where donors have been promised that their contributions will be used for specific purchases.
Efficiency considerations

1. The Board of Directors should set up a fundraising committee to select appropriate campaigns and make sure they are executed in as efficient a manner as possible. Maintaining some continuity of committee members from year to year will ensure successful and not-so-successful experiences are passed on as lessons learned from Board to Board. [See Volume I Issue 10, p.45 for comments on establishing Board committees].

One of the responsibilities of the fundraising committee should be to monitor fundraising trends in the not-for-profit industry. Campaigns such as bingo and direct marketing have become less effective as more and more organizations have begun taking advantage of them. Staying one step ahead of the fundraising pack is difficult but necessary. Monitoring efficiency benchmarks should give the Board an idea when a particular fundraising strategy is running out of steam and a change is required.

2. Try to match the duration of a fundraising campaign with the period over which your organization needs the money. Specifically, if your organization needs additional money every month then select a fundraiser that will generate funds each month. If your organization can philosophically accept using gambling proceeds then consider applying for a bingo or Nevada license that will generate funds on a continuous basis. If gambling proceeds are ideologically unacceptable you must look elsewhere. If, on the other hand, you want to raise funds for a single purchase a one-shot fundraising campaign may be more appropriate.

3. Not-for-profit organizations frequently undertake a fundraiser and assume that staff will fit it in along with their regular duties. This may or may not be possible and in many instances staff do the fundraising on their own time.

Budgeting staff time and determining when the work will be done brings the Board's staffing decisions to a conscious level. If overtime is necessary it should be acknowledged. To ensure the Board is aware of the extent of staff involvement, set a budget for staff hours and ask for regular reports of whether hours spent are greater or less than expected.

4. Volunteer time is a resource which is often just as valuable as paid staff time when it comes to fundraising. The fundraising committee should estimate how much volunteer time is required as part of selecting a fundraising campaign. The anticipated dollars raised for each volunteer hour should be compared to the benchmark established by the Board of Directors. If the return is lower than required it may be time to find a more efficient (i.e. profitable) campaign.

Categories of fundraising campaigns
Selecting the appropriate fundraising campaign can be a difficult task. Fundraising campaigns usually fall into one of four categories. Each has its own strengths, weaknesses and legal requirements.

1. Donor appeals

Donation drives for money (flyers, door-to-door campaigns, direct marketing) work best when the organization has a well known cause with a large public from which to solicit funds. Donor appeals often require a large initial investment in volunteer time (door-to-door canvassing) and/or money ( the printing and mailing costs of direct mail). The ability of your organization to issue charitable donation receipts is generally necessary for running a successful campaign.

2. Sale of merchandise

Sale of merchandise works best when you have a dedicated membership. Sales of food products, clothing, gift wrap and coupon books are popular items. Reduce the risk of incurring significant up-front costs that may not be recovered. For example, ordering more t-shirts than can be sold for a t-shirt sale campaign could result in your organization actually losing money. Selecting a fundraising campaign where merchandise is purchased after orders are taken will reduce this risk. The down side is that impulse purchases are less likely to be made and every sale can require a follow-up visit to deliver the merchandise.

Given recent bad press involving the sale of coupon books you would be well advised to do your homework on the reliability of the distributors of the books. Ask distributors for several references from well known organizations selling the books and be sure to follow them up.

3. Gaming

Using bingo, Nevada, raffle, Monte Carlo and other gambling schemes for fundraising can provide a steady stream of revenue if your organization itself is lucky and if revenue from gambling is philosophically acceptable. These campaigns often require a significant investment in volunteer time if they are to be run legally. They also have strict government reporting requirements. In our experience returns per volunteer and staff hour from these sources have declined significantly over the past few years as more and more organizations, especially government organizations, have jumped on the gaming bandwagon.

4. Social and professional development events

Events such as fun fairs, dinner dances and professional conferences can be good for community building and can generate significant money. They also require much volunteer and staff time both to stage the events and to obtain donations from businesses and individuals. Generally these events can be held annually at best and are therefore most useful for one-time fundraising needs. Many organizations without a steady stream of fee revenue, such as school parent councils, use events such as spring or fall fun fairs to raise the majority of their fundraising dollars.

There is generally no need to obtain licenses for these events unless you plan to sell liquor or conduct a raffle as part of the festivities.

In conclusion, fundraising is not for the faint of heart. It requires energy, effort and commitment. Start by setting objectives then develop a plan and match the campaign with your cash needs. Remember, fundraising does not replace sound financial management for meeting day-to-day expenses.


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EFFECTIVE FUNDRAISING

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5 Key Principles Of Restaurant Marketing

1. Marketing has to pay for itself (it’s never an expense, it’s an investment)

restaurant-marketingThe whole idea of a “marketing budget” is wrong. Most restaurants define it as a percentage of their sales. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

If you had a reliable and proven way of investing $20 and getting back $30, how many of these $20 bills would you invest? I hope you answered, “All the $20 bills I could get my hands on. And also all the $20 bills I could borrow!”

Good! Then why would you cap your marketing at some — largly arbitrary — number?

A-ha! You probably do that because you are NOT sure if a $20 bill invested in your restaurant marketing can reliably and predictably bring you back $30 or $15 or any money at all.

And if that’s the case, you need to radically change the way you approach restaurant marketing. There is always a way to measure and to know how much money each marketing campaign is generating for you.

2. If it ain’t broken, break it (to give a way to the new and better)

In many locales, we see restaurant chains move in and independents wane. And it is believed that this happens because the chains have more money in their corporate coffers and because they get better discounts from the distributors.

These are largely not true. On both counts (and I’ll leave this at that now and cover this topic in the future articles.)

However, the main reason chains are generallt more successful than independent restaurant is because they always break what’s not broken. They constantly test new menu items, tweak their pricing, adjust their internal processes and marketing campaigns. And once they find something that works extremely well in one locale, they roll it out to all of the other stores.

Most independents we know abhore change. Aside from new paint on the walls every 5-7 years and the new menu covers every 3-5 years, most independent restaurants are frozen in time. Which brings us to the next point.

3. “The world doesn’t need another restaurant” (and it’s your job to prove them wrong!)

I first heard this phrase from Bill Marvin (a.k.a. The Restaurant Doctor). Maybe he’s the one who coined it, or maybe he’s heard from someone else, but this is the one that you need to make your mantra.

I have two very big questions for you:

1. What makes your restaurant unique and special?
2. Why should I, a customer, come to your restaurant versus all the other options I have (including doing nothing)?

If you can’t answer these questions well, the world certainly can do without YOUR restaurant. Think about it.

4. Restaurant business ain’t easy (however it can be simple if you follow the right formula)

Do you have an operations manual? If not, why not? How often do you and your staff refer to it?

For how long can you afford not to be AT your restaurant? Is that one day? A week? What about a month?

If you business depends on your being there all the time, you don’t have a business. That simple. What you have is a job. And nobody wants to buy a job, especially yours.

5. The biggest asset in business is relationships (and it’s better than cash because it can be turned into cash over and over again)

You may be in love with the equipment you have in the kitchen. Or with the building you’re in. Or with all the furtniture and fixtures that you have purchased and installed. Or maybe you love your recipe book and the beautiful menus that your graphics designer created for you.

This is all good. However, all that has very little to do with the real value of your business.

What you need to be in love with is your customers. You also need to be a freak about maintaining an up-to-date list with all their contact information as well as birthdays and other important dates in their lives.

It’s the new era in restaurant business, the era of Relationship Marketing. We have arrived. If you have been slow in getting on the bandwagon, you need to do that now.

Filed Under: Restaurant Business • Restaurant Marketing • Restaurant Owner

Tags: Restaurant Business • Restaurant Marketing
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5 Key Principles Of Restaurant Marketing | Restaurant Commando

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Why the Web Is the New Media Kit | Marketing & Advertising

Why the Web Is the New Media Kit

Interview with Michael Greece of Padilla Speer Beardsley, a New York public relations firm.

See Full Text Transcript

MICHAEL GREECE: A media kit generally is designed to define the messaging and positioning and identity of a brand or company. Quite frankly a media kit is, probably is becoming, to some extent, an anachronism, because the web has taken over as a search vehicle for people figuring out what the brand or the company stands for. And the details, once you go to someone’s home page, of messaging, of positioning, of mission statements, of all those things, of objectives, and products, and values, is very well-defined by most people’s homepage. So, I think the web has sort of taken, to a large extent, has taken the place of the media kit. I happen to think to some extent that it’s still valuable to have something hard to hand somebody when they come to meet you, because what basically you are doing is you are separating yourself from the noise. That is, everybody has a homepage that defines them, but not everybody has something to hand somebody that they can take back and slip in their briefcase, so I’m probably taking a maverick point of view, that to some extent, an element, or pieces of what historically people call a media kit might still be valuable in defining a small or middle-sized company’s brand.

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