I just finished listening to the NetBase.com’s final installment of the 11 of 11′ Webinar series with speaker Jason Falls and was literally blown away by the information he shared. The various examples he gave revolved around what he calls the “seven business drivers of social media”. They offered great insight into how companies can use social media to increase sales and customer relations.

He also spoke of how to choose the right one for your business and how to execute a strategy that would improve sales, profitability, efficiency and brand value for any company, even if your business is not based online.

All of this, of course, was the condensed version of what you can find in his book “No BS Social Media” and provided some very powerful tips and techniques you can use in your own business.  I plan on getting my copy today:)

If you’re interested in watching today’s webinar and others from the series, all of the replays can be seen on Netbase.com and cover a wide range of social media topics from a variety of speakers.

I highly recommend it!

~Toresa

Interesting presentations by Maria Pergolino of Marketo on the how’s and why’s of content marketing for your business. I would have loved to have attended the Webinar, but her Slideshare presentation does offer a lot of useful information to take away.

Guest article by James Grandstaff

The whole point of creating a Facebook Page for your business is to build a fan base of people interested in your product or service, right?

Facebook Pages are a great tool for interacting with your fans on a regular basis and for them to discover whether or not your product or service is right for them.

But to build a HUGE fan base you need people clicking the all mighty “LIKE” button. Yep, the tiny little button sitting at the top of your page.

Gone are the days of “Become a fan.” Today, it’s all about the “LIKES” and YOU WANT THEM (a lot of them!)

Because without them… you have ZERO reach. If you have zero reach, you make ZERO dollars.

And this is where most Page Admins fall flat on their face.

Let me explain…

I’ve been saying for years that businesses have to start paying attention to how consumers are now making their purchase decisions.  With technology always so close at hand, we are seeing people in store isles searching out reviews on products before they buy, gathering information about the products right on the spot, or searching online for a much needed product or service.  It’s time now for businesses to take social media and online search seriously by applying new strategies to their marketing portfolios.

Google has just released their own ebook entitled, “ZMOT: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth” by Jim Lecinski, Google’s Managing Director of US Sales & Service and Chief ZMOT Evangelist, which focuses on the way consumers have changed and evolved.

As I promised yesterday, I want to share an article posted on twitter by @mostash by @jasonfalls that explores how conversational marketing equates to real world socializing. Increasingly companies are finding that the “pushy, I gotta meet a quote” sales tactics no long work, instead  it’s become far more effective to build relationships and trust over time.

How do you know when, in the midst of conversation, to market? Is it never? Is it only when your conversational partner asks? How about at any reasonable opening to do so? Or is there a medium in between one more more of those?

From The Cluetrain Manifesto‘s declaration that “Markets are conversations,” we’ve all tried, and some have struggled, to figure out what that means, how we as marketers can capitalize on it and tactically, when in conversation can we market? Or more appropriately for many, when in conversation can we sell?

I found this article posted on twitter by @OlivierVasquez and realized that while some of the statistical information may have changed, the concept  behind it is still very relevant to today.

Social networking: The New Marketing Frontier

The many faces of advertising

Advertising, a business concept almost as old as humanity, is still evolving. It changes with new developments in technology and people’s understanding of society.

Today, newspapers, magazines, and other print media are losingadvertising opportunities, while electronic publications are gaining advertisement earnings.

If you’re looking for a reason to start using social media to propel your business to the next level, then you need to read this interview and watch the video of Gary Vaynerchuk.  He took his family owned wine store from $2M to $50M using the web.

Story By: Hillel Fuld of Technmarketing.com

If you are not familiar with Gary Vaynerchuk, you must not spend too much time on the social Web. He is the guy who is the answer to all the people or companies that are skeptical about the returns of social media. Where do I start?

If you currently have a website that you built yourself or maybe you’ve had it for a few years, it might be time to consider getting it evaluated by a professional.

Here are a few reasons that should get you thinking.

Out-dated Screams “OLD” and “UNTRUSTWORTHY”

When I’m surfing the net doing research I often come across websites that I can easily tell are at least 10 years old. They have a look to them that just screams, “I’m OLD”! When I see that, I usually click away and not just because of the design, but because it leaves me with the impression the information is out-dated and possibly incorrect to todays standards. I just don’t feel I can trust it.