Turn-Key Social Media Management for Small Business: Best Tools, Tips and Practices on a Shoestring Budget

Cindy Speaker has been called the secret weapon of some of the top plaintiff law firms in the country. She is the owner of and has been coaching and consulting for trial attorneys over the last 15 years. Next week Speaker and her team open registration for a new training program that will be geared not only to attorneys and other professionals, but also to small business owners in general.

Speaker and her team are about to launch their “Turn-Key Social Media Management Program for Small Business” on a limited basis, and they couldn’t be more excited. The plan is to offer it on a trial run at a discounted rate to a small number of business owners before a larger roll out in the fall.

According to Speaker, “Social media is a very misunderstood buzz word right now. Most business owners realize they must at least have a Facebook page but beyond that, very few have any idea what to do, how to do it, how much they need to spend or what results to expect.”

Speaker says last week she had 3 small business owners from various industries work with her team to launch social media campaigns. She said she found it particularly rewarding to work with a local nonprofit group because their story is so compelling. The campaign has been running less than a week and already the group has over one thousand friends on their YouTube channel.And the woman that is featured in the video has already been asked to speak to several groups and tell her story.

Speaker says social media is not rocket science. It is a blending of social interactions, technology, content creation, and strategic content distribution which all takes place on the web. Best of all, a turnkey social media program can be put together and managed on a modest start up budget if you choose the right tools and learn how to use them.

Speaker’s company plans to help other small business owners do just that. “I am a firm believer of investing in professional development. I take courses all the time to continue my learning and hopefully stay on the cutting edge of emerging technology and strategies,” says Speaker. “The turn key social media management system that we have masterminded is a collaboration of ideas and strategies.“ Speaker went on to say, “to be honest with you, I can’t say that anything in the course is original. Instead it includes the best practices, tips, strategies and tools that I have learned in my studies and adopted and modified to fit small businesses.

Speaker and her team are about to launch their “Turn-Key Social Media Management Program for Small Business,” and they couldn’t be more excited. According to Speaker, “Social media is a very misunderstood buzz word right now. Most business owners realize they must at least have a Facebook page but beyond that, very few have any idea what to do, how to do it, how much they need to spend or what results to expect. Online Marketing Services Provider.

It works for my business, but it will also work for other small businesses such as non-profits, restaurants, hotels, real estate agents, financial planners, chiropractors, lawyers, independent filmmakers, musicians, even celebrities." One of Speaker’s mentor’s coaches Ms. Paula Abdul and has helped develop her social media presence. “I think celebrities could greatly benefit from understanding how to best develop and grow their personal brand in the social media space. They are certainly getting talked about, they might as well join the conversation and help shape it,” stated Speaker.

According to Speaker, there are a lot of social media providers right now that will mastermind and implement your entire social media program for you, but the price tag is not inexpensive. Speaker contends that there are significant advantages to having an in-house program as opposed to opting for management by a third party vendor. “Social media is about communication and having an authentic and genuine voice. That is something that is very difficult to outsource.” Direct Marketing Services Provider.

In addition to teaching business owners and managers to build effective in-house social media programs, Speaker’s company does develop and manage these systems for a select number of clients that still prefer to outsource their social media management.

Speaker Media and Marketing, LLC provides marketing and media services to law firms and small businesses throughout the US. The company founder, Cindy Speaker, is a frequent presenter at legal marketing conferences. She is also the author of ''Power Marketing for Attorneys'' and the CEO of StateLawTV -- an internet TV network. For more information about the “Turn-Key Social Media Program for Small Business. Media Marketing Agency.

Going global - tips for international growth

Five tips for retailers with international growth ambitions on getting technology solutions right.

If your organisation intends to expand its operations overseas, you are likely to encounter challenges, particularly in your retail systems area. The following are the key points to consider before you get started, writes Andrew Gorecki*

1. Work with a retail expert
Many systems used by retailers have not been specifically created for the retail industry. If a retailer buys a system that was originally designed for manufacturing, or for an accounting business, then it won’t meet business requirements unless some serious money is spent.
It may not work anyway as only 30 per cent of IT projects succeed. Like with your health - when you have a serious problem, you should see a specialist. A mere GP will not be able to help.
If your systems are not retail-specific, get them checked to find if they can handle a shop in another country.

2. High prices do not mean high quality
It is a fact of life that in the absence of other criteria people tend to use price as a measure of product quality. Yet, there is no proof that such a relationship exists. This is why spending vast sums of money on technology does not guarantee you will get a good solution to meet the demands of your business.
For example, a chain of stores in Australia operating 160 outlets recently spent $100 million on its new computer system, when $10 million would have been enough. Its bottom line has been damaged for years to come and they were lucky to survive. There is such a thing as ‘killer technology’. Online Marketing Services Provider.
If you need to buy a new system to support your overseas expansion, do not spend millions.

3. Ensure operational efficiency and scalability
A retail company should have one IT person for every 100 shops it operates. This should be sufficient to handle all end-to-end retail functionality, allowing a business to grow without becoming a software house.
Such ratios are easily achievable if the right technology is used. Also, businesses must not assume that the system they originally adopted when the company started up will be able to handle their needs as the business expands. Many systems simply cannot scale up.
If your organisation intends to grow, it must adopt a system that will scale up to support the next stage of business development – larger size, new verticals, and new markets.

4. Select technology that can integrate across the business
Companies need systems that integrate across the entire organisation. Businesses need to ensure that information gathered at the point of sale is passed back quickly and analysed correctly within the head office environment. From here, this information must be used to make more effective plans for the business going forward by assessing the performance of stores and the stock within the stores. Direct Marketing Services Provider.
Your key objective must be to have a single database to handle data for the entire enterprise.

5. Do not focus exclusively on system functionality
Most retailers who look for a new system try to find a system with good functional match. Unfortunately, this is not enough. Like a house that may fall apart if the architecture was not completed properly, a poorly designed system will be a never ending source of grief.
Recently a large international vendor provided a system for a postal company in one of the developing countries and the functional fit was high – around 90 per cent. Only when they started to make modifications to address the minor functional gaps it was discovered that the system could not be changed and had to be completely rewritten. It is still being rewritten…

So, functionality is important, but it is only one of the selection criteria. Solid system architecture, single focus on the retail industry, high quality team behind the product, and good reference sites are equally important.
Retailers should not be afraid to ask a system provider to pass on details of customers who have previously deployed the system. It is essential to get an idea first hand of the experiences of retailers who already use the system in their business and assess if it works well for them.
Media Marketing Agency.

Emmer misrepresents the media

Tom Emmer looked into the camera and told an untruth.

“There are a lot of people out there who've been misled by what I would say is the less-than-forthright mainstream media here in the Twin Cities,” Emmer said in a video released by his campaign Monday, as controversy over his “tip credit” stand lingered. He continued:

The other day I talked with a couple of restaurant owners in downtown St. Paul and they told me that they need some help, that government's not helping them out too much, and they talked about how much their servers get, and it's all on tape and all I did was respond to them. Online Marketing Services Provider.

And they said, you know, if it was offered, would you advocate for a tip credit and I said, 'Yes!'

But then the next question has not been publicized very well. The next question was, 'Tom, so you're saying you'd reduce the minimum wage' and my answer was, 'That would be foolish. Absolutely not. We're not talking about reducing anyone's wages.' We're talking about making sure everyone can be successful. We want servers to be successful, we want the wonderful owners of our restaurants her in Minnesota — I don't know if people know we lost 300 of them last year — we want them to be successful ...

The “tape” — a version posted on Emmer’s own EmmerTruth.com, cross-checked against a DFL tracker’s unedited version, and a transcript —shows Emmer never got a “reduce the minimum wage” question at a July 5 Eagle Street Grille appearance. He never ruled out a wage cut, much less called it foolish. Direct Marketing Services Provider.

The closest actual question, from Pioneer Press reporter Bill Salisbury, was, “Are you suggesting you’d repeal the minimum wage law, or just amend it?”

Emmer’s answer: “Well I don't know you could do that. We’ve talked about that before — not with you — but I think you gotta look at what we're doing. We got to talk with these (gestures to cafe owners off camera) — that's why it's probably more in line with a tip credit that you've gotta be talking about. Plus, you know, Bill, you’ve got federal law.” Media Marketing Agency.

Emmer has new tack on tips

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer is now talking taxes after talking tips got him in trouble.

A day before he was to hold a town hall with servers at a Roseville restaurant, Emmer on Tuesday proposed that waiters and waitresses be allowed to keep the first $20,000 of their tips tax-free. The average income for servers in Minnesota is $19,000.

"They should not have to report their tips," Emmer said. "Tips should not be taxed. That's my belief."

The idea would cost the state about $17 million, the Emmer campaign estimates. State revenue officials said they were unable to calculate the cost of such a proposal because they do not track tips and wages separately.

Emmer's proposal comes after more than a week of criticism for his earlier support of a "tip credit." Such credits allow employers to pay servers less than the minimum wage, on the assumption that their tips would make up the difference. At the time, Emmer also said some restaurant servers earn $100,000 a year, touching off a firestorm among waiters and waitresses. Online Marketing Services Provider.

On Tuesday afternoon, DFL gubernatorial endorsee Margaret Anderson Kelliher held a news conference showcasing some disgruntled servers.

"I've got news for Tom Emmer," waitress Lissi Corbett said at the news conference. "I'm not overpaid and I don't make $100,000 a year. ... I'm not here to speak negatively about Tom Emmer, but I will say this -- I wouldn't vote for him if he gave me a $100,000 tip." Direct Marketing Services Provider.

Kelliher, who last week advocated increasing the minimum wage, said Emmer's new proposal is nothing more than "Tom Emmer taking tips from his consultants to try to get out of this situation. ... I'm sure he's just going round and round and round on this."

Both Kelliher and DFL candidate Matt Entenza's campaign said Emmer's smack at the minimum wage is part of a pattern. Both highlighted his failed 2005 move to repeal the minimum wage entirely. Media Marketing Agency.

The Tech Travel Essentials

Having the right tools on the road is essential for every business traveler. Tips for your next trip on what to pack, what to download, and what to leave at home.

Sometimes you learn the lessons of high-tech business travel in the strangest places. Even in your own backyard on a torrid Fourth of July weekend.

As I struggled to keep my tomato plants hydrated using a low-tech watering can, two women with strappy sandals and big-city sensibilities appeared and inquired about hiking in the mountains surrounding my flyspeck country village.

"The trails aren't marked, it's getting dark, and you shouldn't try to hike in those shoes," I said.

"We came up from [New York] on the train on a whim and thought it would be fun. Maybe we should just get a hotel room for the night?"

"Good idea," I said. "But the problem is…" Online Marketing Services Provider.

"Oh, no problem," one of them said. "I have this!" She flashed her iPhone at me. "All I have to do is look it up. I get all my travel information from this."

I didn't see the Strappy Sandal Sisters again, but I know what their iPhones would have told them. My village has three inns with a total of just 24 rooms, but there are nine big chain hotels clustered around an Interstate exit just 10 miles away. What their iPhones weren't likely to tell them? All 24 rooms in my village would have been sold out long ago, the train doesn't stop anywhere near the Interstate exit, and taxi service is nonexistent.

Moral of the tale: Don't come to my neck of the woods without the right shoes, and don't expect high-tech tools to solve all of your travel problems.

Tech tools have simultaneously made travel easier and more complicated—and made travel more essential and less necessary. And business travelers created the market for a slew of high-tech devices: Who but us needed portable computers, transportable digital audio and video, and mobile devices that allowed immediate communications with anyone, anyplace, anywhere on the planet?

But the tricky part of the equation is that the rules of managing both travel and high-tech change all the time. There is no immutable "truth," only an endlessly nuanced and evolving set of procedures that get you to the next improvement, the next adjustment, the next must-have "killer app." Here's what matters now: Direct Marketing Services Provider.

Less Gear Is More Practical

We may never get to the fabled "convergence device" that allows us to use one convenient piece of gear to do everything on the road. But that doesn't mean we should carry a paratrooper's stash of gadgets to do our business remotely. Do we really need to carry a notebook computer and a netbook? Is carrying a Mac laptop and an iPad logical? Why schlep a music player, a book reader, a mobile phone, and a PDA too?

The "simple" solution? Take two and no more. I would suggest that a good, current-generation smartphone—a BlackBerry, an iPhone, or the equivalent—can handle all of the functions you want accessible in your pocket or pocketbook. To varying degrees, of course, they'll all make calls, do email, and texting, surf the Internet, play music and video, and handle other media. They all have built-in tools (calculator, alarm, calendar, address book, still camera, and video recorder) that once required separate devices. For heavier-duty needs—spreadsheets, word processing, extensive Internet access, and other "traditional" tasks—settle on one "laptop/notebook" portable computing device. Media Marketing Agency.

Three Tips to Get You Started Blogging for Business

Over the last several years blogging has become the foundation for social media campaigns of businesses big and small. Where Facebook and Twitter help keep companies in the limelight, spreading the word about special events, discounts and newsworthy items, blogs are the place where companies build their reputation and make sales.

As popular as blogging has become, I often hear from home-based business owners who are trying to figure out exactly what a blog consists of and how they can use one to benefit their business. Below are three tips that can help maximize the impact of your business blog.

1. It’s All In The Name

Be sure to choose a name for your blog that is both descriptive and easy to remember. Try to stick to either your business name or the name of your star product/service. If none of these are available consider using your name or business tagline. Also, consider possibly adding in your keywords ... such as Publicity Virtual Assistant. Online Marketing Services Provider.

2. Use Keywords Effectively

When you write posts for your business blog be conscious of the words that you choose. Pepper your posts with keywords relating to your business, products, services and brand. These keywords will trigger Search Engine results and help you reach the top of the results for your keywords. Be careful not to overuse keywords, though, because readers will get frustrated and the Search Engines consider that against the rules.

Also, consider keyword phrases - often called long tail keyword phrases (why, I'm not sure!). Long tail keywords are simply a sting of words that make up a phrase that represent your keywords. Think, what would people type in Google to find me. Examples, "how to start a business." Think ... how can I define my blog more (or this particular post). I wrote this blog post on ... (fill in the blank), now what keywords do I need to put in so others can find me? Direct Marketing Services Provider.


3. Quality Information (No Fluff!) & Fresh, Regular Content

Another thing to consider when writing business blog posts is to keep your posts informational. The more quality content you offer to readers, the more often they will visit your blog. Also, by posting regularly your readers will get to know the schedule and tend to visit your blog on a regular basis because of it.

You know your audience best. What do they want to hear? Need to hear? Solve that problem that you've been having and you know others are having too. Consider adding in reviews, recommendations, etc. Your blog can be so much more than you talking about your business. What fun thing can you add? Contest, giveaways, etc.

There are many ways to use a blog for business use. If used correctly, a blog can be a terrific tool to inform potential customers of your business. Be sure to update your blog regularly so that the content remains fresh and people coming back for more great information. Media Marketing Agency.