ConverStations

Small Business Blogging Done Right

No, it's not BlogTipping Day (that's tomorrow), but here are some recent posts from a few small business blogs I follow. These folks are doing a great job providing value and engaging with their customers:

• The Maine Stay Inn provides an inviting way to enjoy a Super Sunday, even if you're not a Bears or Colts fan.
• Real Oasis introduces a new member of their landscape of exotic hire.
• Juggling Store shares process and expectations on International Shipping.
• Lightning Labels takes a look at unique labeling used elsewhere, not only sparking ideas, but possibly igniting some business.
• Hennen Furniture shares a life hack for getting a big bedding up the down staircase
• Tacony Corporation provides a resource and shows it has a watchful eye in caring for their readers.
• SWH Supply provides a link to their updated training schedule.

Good stuff folks. Keep it up.

That's My Take. What's Yours? Comment Here.

Engage With Your Marketplace

The conventional (cob)web sites we've grown accustomed to seeing is just one way to present your business. But in most cases, it's static and impersonal...in many ways aloof (remember Info?).

Still, your (cob)web site is a way to deliver your marketing message on the web. Notice I said a way, not the way - as in the only way.

Your company web site is a series of web pages. Rarely updated (modified rather than added to). Visitors have to come to you. Little if any room for interaction.

Your company blog site is a series of web pages. Often updated (added to rather than modified). Content delivered via feed. Lots of opportunity for interaction.

Still, your blog site is a way to engage with your marketplace. Notice I said a way, not the way - as in the only way.

In the last few posts, we've used audio, video, photos, and text. And those are just (some of) the tools. How about the delivery? There are so many ways to tell your story...and you shouldn't be the only one telling your story.

Engaging with your customers and peers - and giving them opportunities and reason to share your story - allows your message to be spread to people who otherwise would've never heard of you.

Love is contagious. Don't be afraid. Come out from behind that cobweb and let your customers love you. It's really a picnic, ya know.

Cobweb Photo at Flickr by florriebassingbourn
Picnic Photo at Flickr by LetThemTalk

That's My Take. What's Yours? Comment Here.

Speed Networking Akin to Live Blogging?

Last night I had the opportunity to watch a Speed Networking event at The Village Bean. Fifty professionals gathered to share their porch pitch (elevators take too long) one-on-one.

Individuals were paired up for five minutes, each having 2.5 minutes to talk about their business, what they needed to grow, their target audience, etc. What ensued was like watching blogging without a computer.

Here's what I witnessed:

• A few folks were hesitant, wondering whether that had the right words to say
• A couple of people brought samples of their work for visual aid
• Sometimes, one individual would take up the whole five minutes
• Though rare, sometimes people weren't really listening to what was being said
• Often, people were connecting folks they sat across from with someone they had met a few tables prior - live hyperlinks perhaps?

After three hours, people left smiling and even hugging with newfound friends and business peers. Good stuff happening in Iowa. Thanks to Adam Steen and Mitch Matthews for putting this together. Next event is February 27th at Java Gs in West Des Moines.

The next few days present these opportunities to preach the good news about blogging and social media:

• Wednesday, Jan 31 - 12:00 pm: Adel Rotary, Adel IA
• Wednesday, Jan 31 - 7:00 pm: The Iowa Business Hour on WOW-FM (98.3)
• Thursday, Feb 1 - 6:30 am: Workshop on BlogTalkRadio
• Friday, Feb 2 - 11:30 am: Iowa-NAMA

Is this the blogosphere?  No - it's Iowa

Update: Video courtesy of Brett Rogers

That's My Take. What's Yours? Comment Here.

Talk to the Blog: MyChingo

One of my favorite bloggers, Anna Farmery at The Engaging Brand, uses a widget so her audience can leave messages on her blog. it seems like a fantastic tool for engagement, and therefore a perfect fit for Anna's brand.

MyChingo is easy to set-up (took 15 minutes) and I've placed it on the right sidebar. You can leave a message up to two minutes in length (we may extend that if needed) and I look forward to using it as a Q and A tool.

Here's how I'm looking to use the tool. Ask a question by leaving a message (everyone can hear it - so choose your words wisely). I'll either respond via voice on MyChingo or in a blog post. If I don't know the answer, we'll find out together by asking the blogosphere.

You can listen by clicking the play button, record by clicking on Leave Me a Message or even subscribe to the feed!

UPDATE: I appreciate the first couple of questions we received today. The challenge in front of me is how do I respond and publicly recognize those who leave messages? Links? A follow-up post? Within the comments? I've left a message in response, and I appreciate Tom, Maria and Greg for helping us break the ice on this project.

That's My Take. What's Yours? Comment Here.

BlogTalkRadio: Questions About Social Media Tools

We've got a great opportunity to listen in with some experts regarding blogging and other social media tools during BlogTalkRadio's Nuts and BlogBolts show, tonight at 8:00PM ET (check your time).

What are the burning questions you have about some of the tools and intagibles of social media?  Leave a comment below or email me - and I'll do my best to make sure we bring that question up tonight.

Check back here tonight to listen live, or download the podcast after the show
Click below to listen to the show:

If you're listening live and busting to ask a question, you can IM me via Sype at mikesansone.

That's My Take. What's Yours? Comment Here.

Quotes n Notes - Intellectual Property

"Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats." - Howard Aiken

Doc Searls gives us 10 Ideas About Ideas in an article last year (quick tip to Creative Generalist). As I'm writing this, I started to point out No. 4, then Nos. 2-4...but ya know what? They're all solid, (but pay attention to Nos. 1-5).

Too many times, especially here in the Midwest, we want to "own" the idea. I've seen companies try to maintain secrecy, take ownership-control, invent their own wheel...and end up choking the life out their idea (and it probably wasn't original anyway).

I've talked about the changing landscape of the WII-FM signal before (as have others  elsewhere). To hoard your idea is to suffocate it. Would you insulate a child from the outside world? Let your ideas breathe on others.

That's My Take. What's Yours? Comment Here.

Google Blogsearch This Bookmarklet

Here's a tool I use to save time and see who's blogging about a site I'm visitng.

For Firefox, click and drag this Google BlogSearch This link into your toolbar.
For IE, right click, 'Add to Favorites' and save this Google BlogSearch This link into your Links folder.

By using this bookmarklet, we can quickly find the 150+ bloggers that have linked to the 2000 bloggers project.

This works for any site, not just blogs. As an example, let's look at results for Kohl's. By using the bookmarklet, with one click I get results of who's blogging about Kohl's.

That's My Take. What's Yours? Comment Here.

99 Pictures of Peers in the Search

One way to use social media tools is to search for like-minded people and sites.

A friend in the mortgage business, but not yet blogging, wanted to know if other mortgage professionals are blogging. I did a quick search (20 minutes and out) using a few tools.

MyBlogLog offers up site thumbnails, and that where I start (you'll find the search in the upper right corner after logging in). Here are a few of the better ones I found in a search for mortgage blogs:

• The Mortgage Porter by Rhonda Porter
• The Mortgage Reports by Dan Green Keegan
• America's Most Opinionated Mortgage Broker by Brian Brady
• Mortgage Paradise by Matthew Keegan
• Mortgage License Solutions by Robin Gronsky

Of course, one of the pioneers in blogging for mortgage pros is David Porter, who's in transition from Michigan to Arizona (nice timing, Dave).

I limited the search to mortgage, but could've done home loan as well (the results). other tools of use for this type of search:

• http://technorati.com/blogs/mortgage
• http://www.technorati.com/people/tag/mortgage
• http://del.icio.us/popular/mortgage
• http://del.icio.us/tag/mortgage

Of course, there are important questions to ask before conducting such a search:

• Why are you searching? (Peers; Prospects; Collaboration; Research)
• What are some synonomous phrases or industries?
• If you make contact, will it be by email or blog comment?

Many reading this may not be involved in real estate, financing or mortgage. However, if you replace the word "mortgage" with a keyword of your own...

Happy Hunting:-)

That's My Take. What's Yours? Comment Here.

Whistle Stops - 01/27/07

Some posts worth reading even in the busiest of weeks...

• Passion in Your Career, How Do You Find It? by Lori Grant at Smart Lemmings (feed): Lori talks about passion being a jourey, not a destination. This post helps us recognize the sign posts and navigate our journey.
• Who is Your Blog For? Not, for whom do you blog? by Kate Trgovac at My Name is Kate (feed): Is your blog for you or for your audience? Kate shoots straight and hits the target here.
• A Business Blog is Still Personal by Ben Yoskovitz at Business Blogs Now (feed): We like doing business with people we like. Keep the corporate message in the brochures.
• SEO Copywriting Techniques that Readers Love by Brian Clark at Copyblogger (feed): Brian's post proves why he's been nominated for a bloggie.
• Word of Mouth Marketing - Are You Facilitating Talk? by Ron McDaniel at Buzzoodle (feed): Ron provides 6 ways to "nudge" your message internally and externally.
• Understanding Syndicated Feeds for Your Corporate Website: by Jeremiah Owyang at Web Strategy by Jeremiah (feed): Jeremiah's first line is a winner, "If your website at your company doesn’t have Syndicated feeds on your website, please send this to your web team, (this post is) here to help."

That's My Take. What's Yours? Comment Here.

Fanning the Flame to Go Viral

Interesting scene at a Breakfast Group I talked with today.

I have a single sheet summary handout when I speak to a group. This morning, I placed a pile of these in the middle of the table. I also put a stack of business cards beside these summaries.

Within minutes, the sheets went viral as they were immediately passed around without a word from me (thanks Trip!). The business cards needed a nudge as I asked someone to pass them around.

When we launch a project and want it to go viral (a video, a calendar, a blog, etc.) we need to always ask ourselves these questions:

• How can we make it easy for the audience to particpate and share
• How will we acknowledge their particpation, spotlighting the sneezers
• What's our nudge if it doesn't happen as planned

This talk was just an introduction to blogs and how to subscribe to feeds. As promised, here are some of the tools I shared with the group:

• Google Blog Search: http://blogsearch.google.com
• Technorati: http://www.technorati.com
• BlogPulse: http://www.blogpulse.com
• Google Trends: http://trends.google.com
• GreatNews Aggregator (stand alone application): http://www.curiostudio.com
• Bloglines (web based application): http://www.bloglines.com
• What the Heck is RSS?: http://www.copyblogger.com/what-the-heck-is-rss/

Could you pass this post around the table please?

That's My Take. What's Yours? Comment Here.