Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Propel Your Business

For the last week, I've been reading Launch, a new book by Michael Stelzner.

In it, Michael reminds us that our business is not about selling our products or services, it's connecting and building relationships with people.

He introduces something called the Elevation Principle and it goes like this:
Great Content + Other People - Marketing Messages = Growth

Michael encourages us to leave the "marketing message" out by creating opportunities for your business without selling or actively marketing.

You see, while technology is changing business at an alarmingly fast rate, people don't really change. They still want to trust a person and that trust leads to them doing business with you. Lay foundations for sustainable growth by deepening relationships with your customers.

"The book was crafted to help small business owners figure out how to respond to an ever changing world without performing the types of activities people hate to do (like selling)." -- Michael Stelzner


Read more about what this book is about and download Chapter 1 FREE.

Ciao for now, Paula

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Your Digital Data: Is it Backed Up?

Sadly, I attended a funeral for a friend and business associate last week. She and her 2 daughters died tragically when the Bed and Breakfast she owned and operated caught fire and burned. Her living space was on the 3rd floor and they were unable to escape. A truly sad day.

I worked with her several years ago enhancing the user experience of her Web site and looking to the future of blogs, social media, etc. deciding where she needed and wanted her business to be. That made me think of the many accounts she held - Web site, blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Who will be able to get into these and remove them? Or post a notice of the recent events?

courtesy of blog.forbes.com
I was reminded of a post I wrote some time ago about including all your digital data information, passwords, URLs and so on in your end-of-life documents. Include them with your will, or at the very least, put them in a safe place away from your business so they can be obtained by another should anything incapacitate you, or in the event of death. 

It's not something we like to think about, but it is more important today than ever with all the technology we use to operate our businesses. Personally, I have PAGES of protected documents that contain all my digital data!

Please, make plans to put all your digital data into secure hands today!

Ciao for now, Paula

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Google Launches Additional Local Search Features

Haven't claimed or listed your business in Google yet? Do it today!
If you aren't there, Google AND your customers won't be able to find you. 90% of Web users go to the Internet to find a LOCAL business; no more phone books. And what about mobile users in your area? Can't find you if you don't create or claim your listing.What's stopping you? It's free! OK, enough lecturing. :-)

Google continues to update the features for local search so that your local business can have a rich listing. Soon they will drill down to search for city pages which is already active for many large cities across the nation. City pages will act as landing pages to help people find businesses within a certain area and category such as restaurant, office supplies, etc. It will be a local search engine for each city.

Additional features that have already been added to Places/Local Listings -
  • Descriptive terms in listings:  Places Pages now have additional markup to indicate common feedback in reviews about a business. It's important to get consistent, positive reviews of your business. You don't have any control over what appears under your listing, so if there is negative feedback it could show here along with the positive.
  • My Places tab in Maps: People can star and bookmark Place Pages of interest. Having a strong Places Page that stands out will increase your likelihood of getting bookmarked.
  • New features in Mobile search: Mobile searches often have a local intent. Icons appear on the bottom of Google.com's mobile page for easy access to Places and for an increased focus on local. A similar interface for tablets should be coming soon. Expect to see more developments, as local and mobile (often referred to as “LoMo”), continue to be an area of high importance for Google.



Source: Nick Roshon is a natural search strategist at iCrossing (via Google Reader)