Articles – Page 23

Social Media

In doing some research for a client about social media, I came across a great article that I thought I’d share with you. Small Business Owners Need Twitter and LinkedIn By Carrie Hill , May 13, 2008 Small businesses have real opportunities for success using social media. Jeff Quipp, in his great article, “Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses,” wrote that it can help generate links, forge relationships, generate direct sales, and build a company’s authority in an industry. However, Jeff missed two of my favorite social media sites: Twitter and LinkedIn. Consider this a companion piece to his great article, which you should go read as soon as you’re done with mine so you’ll be fully armed with some great social networking information. Twitter It’s all the rage lately — and with good reason. Twitter offers the ability to connect with a ton of people you normally wouldn’t have access to. I’ll give you a real life example. The other day, a popular blogger I follow on Twitter sent a “Tweet” calling for “top 10″ or “list” type articles. I had written my “30 Free Ways to Market Your Small Business Site” so I sent the link back to him via Twitter. It took me less than a minute, and my article was chosen for inclusion in his daily “link finds.” The traffic and link from that one interaction alone was worth the time I spend there, purely from a branding and “getting my name out there” standpoint. Notice I said “traffic”? Traffic from your network on Twitter definitely has potential, especially if you’re writing fresh and compelling content. Jason Calacanis wrote that Twitter was sending over 20,000 people a month to Mahalo, his human-edited search engine. Karl Long also gave an example of good Twitter traffic on his blog. He received quite a bit of traffic in a short amount of time, and all it took was someone else talking about reading his blog and throwing in a link. Twitter can be a time suck, and it’s more than a little addictive for some. The key here is to follow those that can help you, be part of the community, and log in only as often as your schedule allows. Here are some things a small business owner can accomplish with Twitter:

Do you have a brick and mortar business? Connect with your local clientele by using TwitterMap.com or TwitterLocal.net. These sites will show you all the Twitter updates happening in any given geographic area. Sign into your Twitter account and enter “L: city, state” and then visit TwitterMap or TwitterLocal to find “Twits” near you.
Looking to hire employees? Send out a Tweet with what you’re looking for. Followers who aren’t necessarily in your geographic location might still know someone who is, and they’ll re-Tweet the message for you.
Build buzz for a future event. Having a blowout sale in two weeks? Let everyone know on Twitter. One person in your area with lots of followers has the potential to reach thousands of people, tens of thousands even.
Looking for new ideas? Reach a broad range of like-minded businesses and use Twitter as a brainstorming platform.
Building links to a small business Web site? Follow people who can help you out, engage in the community and when they call for help/suggestions, offer yours.

LinkedIn LinkedIn is a great tool for building a professional network in the virtual world. In the old days it was mixers and conferences; now it’s e-mail invitations and connections. We still like attending conferences, though. If you’re running a small Web-based or brick-and-mortar business, “knowing” the right people and being able to answer and ask questions significant to your industry is going to help you build your network of contacts. Chances are someone you know in your industry is already on LinkedIn. Set up a profile and start introducing yourself around. The LinkedIn Q&A section is an opportunity for you to participate in your industry by asking questions and getting answers from some of the best and the brightest. Users can vote on the “best” answer and this can sometimes help them be mentioned in other venues. Here’s another real life example. A few weeks ago, Vertical Search columnist Elisabeth Osmeloski asked a question on LinkedIn. She wanted to know what types of sites and tools travel search marketers used. She got some great answers, including mine. The end result? She used my answer in her column, “What’s in Your Travel Tool Bag?” I spent less than five minutes answering a question and I received a link and some traffic to my Search Engine Watch profile. This is a great tool for brand building, even if that brand is you. Once you (or your company) are a member of LinkedIn and are participating in the community, you can create a “group” for your business or industry and invite people to join (like the Search Engine Watch LinkedIn Group). It’s likely anyone you’ve become connected to is interested in the same things you are, so having a group dedicated to your industry where you can send out mass messages, arrange get-togethers or keep members updated makes sense. If you’re really interested in Internet marketing and you visit the Search Engine Watch Forums — I suggest you get started by joining the SearchEngineWatch Forums Group on LinkedIn. Another great side benefit from both Twitter and LinkedIn? They both rank pretty well for a search of my name, which is technically what I’m branding with my participation in both networks. Yes, it’s a time investment. But something worth having takes time. Get rich quick and minimal-effort maximum-profit doesn’t really happen in SEM. Keeping up with what’s going on in your industry and creating a community you can talk with are key factors that successful web businesses employ. http://searchenginewatch.com/3629475

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Microsoft Word 2007: Help! My mouse won't work right!

Microsoft Office 2007 Word. He couldn’t highlight text! He could click on some things, but not all menus. And despite everything he tried, the mouse wouldn’t select the text. He turned to me for help. Since this was a new situation for me – one that I hadn’t heard of – I searched Google for an answer. On Lockergnome.com, I discovered there were many people experiencing this issue. A fix was posted, which was copied in part from a Microsoft Knowledgebase article. What happens sometimes, is the Data file for Word 2007 becomes corrupted. Usually due to a defective, or incompatible addin. The suggestion is to delete the registry key. Most of us don’t like to work with the registry, however, in this instance, the fix was painless, and I was even able to apply it to my client’s computer remotely. To delete the Word Data registry key, follow these steps: 1. Exit all Office programs. 2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK. 3. Locate the following registry subkey, as appropriate for the version of Word that you are running: • Word 2002: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice10.0WordData • Word 2003: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice11.0WordData • Word 2007: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice12.0WordData 4. Click Data, and then click Export on the File menu. 5. Name the file Wddata.reg, and then save the file to the desktop. 6. Click Delete on the Edit menu, and then click Yes. 7. Exit Registry Editor. 8. Start Word. If Word starts and works correctly, you have resolved the problem. The problem was a damaged Word Data registry key. You may have to change several settings to restore your favorite options in Word. If you want to escape problems in future use the Office For Mac UK. (This is an excerpt from Microsoft Article ID: 921541) Hope this helps if any of you experience this issue. Happy Computing, Kathy Ritchie]]>

Disaster Preparedness

NOT be one of those that never reopen. Plan your recovery before its needed. To see the supplies that Ready.gov recommends please visit http://www.ready.gov/business/plan/emersupply.html Common sense tells us, that businesses should keep copies of their most important files offsite. Personally, I use several methods but most notably, I use Carbonite’s online backup service. For about $50 per year, I’m assured of complete recovery of my files in the case of disaster – or if I reformat my PC (as I did recently) and need to restore my files. Also, dvd’s of my information is stored in fireproof safes, and the really urgent information is easily grabbed as I’m running out the door. Be prepared. Your equipment should be insured. Don’t use a rider on your homeowner’s policy, you should have business insurance that covers your equipment. All of it. Make an inventory of all the software you have, whether its installed or not, list your peripherals List your books. If you have a radio in your office, list that! List EVERYTHING! Take pictures of your equipment, store your receipts with your inventory, OFF SITE. My Office inventory is electronic, and is stored offsite, AND backed up regularly. Keep your inventory up to date. When you prepare your inventory, don’t forget about your various logins and account access codes and passwords. I have a book of keycodes, kept in my fireproof safe. For my more sensitive logins, those are encrypted on a flashdrive in the safe. Keep this list as up to date as possible. During severe weather, surges often cripple your equipment, which is why it is vital your equipment be protected with high quality surge protection, and if you lose power suddenly, having an uninteruptable power supply (UPS) can give you the time you need to save what you’re working on and shut your equipment down. High quality UPS systems also include surge protection. Include your PHONES on the surge protection. Often, your telephone is one piece of equipment that is forgotten about when it comes to equipment protection. Visit Ready.gov for more information about disaster preparedness for your home and your business. Become familiar with what you need to do, and what needs to be on hand. Stay alert to the news, and be prepared. Wishing you safe, Kathy Ritchie]]>