Web Content and Social Networking Experts

Are you a Facebook consultant? Facebook's future is uncertain. It's time to diversify.

Facebook's future is far from certain. For several reasons all of which are real. so, if your income is ties to Facebook, it is a good idea to diversify.

• Mark Zuckerberg has stated that he's not interested in money. He is interested in changing the world. Those sentiments won't help him run a one billion dollar corporation.
• One of the risk factors identified in a recent financial analysis of Facebook is Mark Zuckerberg. He's only 28 years old, and his business acumen is considered a risk factor in Facebook's success.

So, it's up to you. Facebook won't fold or fail anytime soon, but be advised it is always a good idea to have a diverse occupational resume.

What is the greatest predictor of success in your Facebook posts?

When you write a post on Facebook it will be judged as good, or not, depending on it's relevance to your brand. So, when we say content is king. We mean content is king to the reader when it is relevant to the reader, and to your brand. Your brand is already relevant, or the reader would not be reading about it.

Do you see a pattern here? Is the word "relevant" starting to get repetitive? What have we been saying here for almost three years?

1. Write for the reader.
2. Target your content to the needs of the reader.
3. Write in crisp, clear language that the reader understands.
4. Don't write fluff.

So, the bottom line here is simple. If you want readers to read your Facebook posts make the content relevant to the reader and be about your brand. They want to read about you and your products. They do not want to read touchy-feely, small talk, or cute, but irrelevant, material. They want solid, related, well written content.

Give them what they want and you will be successful. Here is a quote from, Facebook to Brands: You're Posting Stuff Wrong

"By far, the biggest predictor of engagement was that the post was on a topic relevant to the brand," said Sean Bruich, head of measurement platforms and standards at Facebook. "It impacts everything, from lightweight likes to more invested shares. It's actually one of the most important things a brand can do. People are seeing the content because they liked the brand, and it makes sense that content about the brand will get them engaged." "

Whether you are on Facebook, a blog, writing a newspaper article, or a book. It is the content and it's relevance to the reader is the currency of success. When your content is relevant, it's king. When it's not, you and your social networking campaign suffer the consequences.

Write relevant content. Don't fight it. It is what your audience wants.

Is your social networking campaign a failure? Not worth the effort you say? Be careful! It may doing just fine.

Lots of people are "numbers people." They want to see in black and white the return on investment (ROI) of their time. That's a good thing we intent no disrespect to that point of view. But (you knew there was a but coming) what is being measured?

• Are you measuring Website hits, and don't see an up tick?
• How about blog hits, and see not a lot there either?
• Ditto for Twitter and Facebook?

Take heart, you may well be very successful online and see no great shakes in any one place. While, it may well be true that no single measurement is what you would like it to be. Be very sure that you consider this in the aggregate. Carefully consider retweets, mentions on Facebook, how new clients are "first hearing" about you. How do your know that? You ask them. Don't just say, "Where did you hear about us?" Ask, did you find un online? Where? Did someone tell you about us? This begs the question where did that person hear about you.

Look Deeper

Do some digging, we think you'll find that your online and offline social networking activities are doing just fine on your behalf.

When it comes to social networking. One size does not fit all.

On Saturday, May 12, 2012 I spoke at the Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association (CAPA) yearly conference CAPA-University. My talk was on social networking. One of my first comments was that social networking is an individualized endeavor. What works for you may not work for another business or organization. Why? You have different products, different customers, different needs, different goals, and a different end game.  

Goals? End Game?

Goals are meant to be reached and left behind. Your end game is what you are always striving for. Goals are tactical, your end game is strategic.

The interesting thing about your end game is that you may never reach it, and have no intention of reaching it. This is true when your end game is to run a successful business that is an enjoyable place to work. This is something you work at every day. Your goals, in contrast, are short term. They are designed to be attained.  

Goals Are Stepping Stones

Don't do any social networking without a goal. As your goals are 90% or 95% complete, start working on your next goal. This way, you never run out of content because it is your content that moves your social networking campaign forward. And that, my friend, is the right direction. No matter what your end game.

Still writing press releases the old fashioned way? Include social media in your next press release. Here's how.

Are you still writing your press releases in black and white? Those days are gone. Use email to send a press release enhanced with social media tools. Include:

• links to your social networking campaign
• a link to your Web site
• an entire Web menu, just like you would place on your web site
• a video
• your blog. Yes! Your entire blog.

Want to See One?

Here's a press release we wrote for our book. It is now part of our Website. You may find it by clicking, Services --> Press Releases --> Social Media Enhanced Press Release at WebContentRx.biz. To see our blog simply scroll the the bottom of the page.

Note: what you see by following the link below is for demonstration purposes, so our clients may see what's possible. You may not want to include everything we have here.

See Our Social Media Enhanced Press Release

Want to get the most from your videos? Don't keep them to yourself.

Some time ago we uploaded two videos to YouTube on how to use statistics in your Web content, and on how to get the most from Twitter.

Statistics

When used well, statistics are an excellent tool to make your point. When done wrong, they will hurt you and hurt your marketing efforts - a lot.

Using Twitter Well

Twitter is an excellent tool, of that there is no doubt. The trouble is that many people just can't see how anything with a 140 character limit can be so effective. So, this topic is a natural for anyone in the social networking field and for anyone who uses or wants to use Twitter.

Do Not Keeping Things to Yourself

The title of this blog is automatically sent to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and our blog at Amazon. Further we send keywords to Technorati Tags as well. In addition to the fact that YouTube is the number two search engine in the world. That translates to a lot of eyes. Now, we've uploaded the videos to Facebook as well.

See what we've done? Our videos are getting wide spread dispersal. The message here is to take your social networking campaign into proactive mode. Do not be passive. Put your content into the world and then tell the world it's out there.

Here is our video on statistics. Below that is a second video that will also be on Facebook soon. It shows you how to get the most out of Twitter.

Statistics Can Be Dangerous, Here's How to Use Them Well



How to Get The Most Out of Twitter

Online do not think marketing. Do think relationship marketing.

Online don't sell. Get to know people. Make a relationship first. the marketing comes later. The selling comes not at all. Sounds strange, we know. You are thinking, "What a waste of time, I need to sell stuff." We know. We get that.

We are not saying don't do business online. Far from it. What we are saying is that online you can be easily tuned out. No one is going to read, listen to, or watch your beautiful sales spiel. No one. Online people don't much care what you're selling until they know you, and know your products. Then your selling will just happen because you are known to the buyer and have credibility.

Take time to get to know people and let them take time to get to know you. Humanize yourself by telling them about you and your company and your products. Build relationships because it is the relationships that will sell your goods and services.

Listen to their comments. Can you use them to better your brand, company, or products. There is no better way to make friends than by being a friend.

So, get to know people. Get yourself online. If you out there people will get to know you. They will find you. That's what networking is all about whether its online of offline.

Interested in using Pinterest? Here are some good demographics of who is there and how it's growing.

Pinterest, the social photographic pin board, is growing very nicely. So much so that it is one of the social networking sites that you will want to consider for your needs. To that end, here is a short but informative article on just who is on Pinterest. If this demographic is important to you, give close consideration to adding Pinterest to your social networking campaign's mix of sites.

Be advised though, that here you will need high quality digital photography as that is what Pinterest is all about.

Pinterest Demographics

Want to make money? Here is a way to make $50 per referral.

SocialOpp.com will actually pay you $50 for every friend who joins when they list you as the person who referred them.

Yes, You Read That Right

So, if you have a lot of friends you have the potential to earn a lot of money. Check it out. Oh, one thing though, it costs $99 to join. So, you will find out right quick who your friends are.

What is social networking? Why is it in the best interest of your business or organization to use it? The answers may surprise you.

You hear people saying all the time that social networking is sales; it's marketing. Quite correct, but let's get closer to the nitty gritty.

The Telephone

Lets first talk about something you've used all of your life: your telephone. It offers you two vast benefits, and I'll bet you a cup of coffee that you've only thought of one.

1. It provides real time voice to voice communication.
2. It provides a medium in which your message can not be altered, changed, or edited in any way.

Think about number two, and what that means. Your message is delivered without intervention by anyone. There is no newspaper editor, no book agent, publisher, no one stands between the message you send, and the message received. No one.

Enter Social Media

Social networking offers you number 2 on a vast scale. If you have ever used a press release, an article, book, or any other traditional method of communication this is literally a priceless way to communicate. You receive these vast benefits for the cost of using social networking tools.

Social networking is the most significant advancement in communications since the invention of the printing press. Never in human history have you, your company or organization, had this ability. And because social networking is still new, it is misunderstood, still changing, evolving, and will continue to do so. What it will not do is go away.

Social Networking is a Tool

Like any tool, you need the right one for the job. Many people choose a social networking tool first, and they try to make it do their bidding. That's not the way to do this.

First, do your homework. What do you want from social networking? What do your customers, clients, employees, vendors, manufacturers, suppliers, shippers, advertisers want from your social networking campaign? Answer those questions, and many more, then pick the tool. Then create the content. Then tie your Website and social networking campaign together, then tell the world.

Then it will work for you.

Don't stay in the dark on this. Social networking is to your business what a Website was years ago. Social networking, and your Web site, will only grow in importance to your success.

Let us hear from you.

Burned out with social media? Hate social media messages? Which do you hate the most?

Social media messages are everywhere. What do you hate the most? Why?

Schadenfreude. Ignorance. Social networking, and advisors mired in the past.

Ever get the feeling that not everyone wants you to succeed? Ever hear of schadenfreude? German word. Means delight in another's misfortune. Why are we telling you this?

Social Networking

Lot's of people fear social networking it because the don't understand it. And because they don't understand it, they poo-poo it; denigrate it. When you hear them (and some are business coaches) tell you that social networking is a waste of time. Watch them closely, when you mention success story after success story by companies large and small. Does your ignorant advisor stick to the old mantra of "never needed it never will"?

Be careful who you listen to, who you trust. Ignorance, even from a trusted source is still ignorance. And ignorance is a brutal instructor. Costing you dearly in time, money, reputation, maybe your very business.

In your social networking, think relationships, not marketing.

Who do your do business with? Someone who is a trusted source, or someone you never heard of before? The trusted source, of course. Your marketing efforts are all about getting you from being unknown, to being trusted is what social networking is all about.

This is why social networking is so incredibly powerful. It provides a vehicle for you to get your reputation, clients, customers, products out where potential customers can easily find it.

A powerful tool to that end is a blog. Other social networking sites are fine, no doubt. However, we like a blog for a lot of reasons. Here are some of them.

• You own the blog space, it is controlled by you, and you alone. Your message goes out unfiltered, unedited. No one can change what you write. No one. Gone are the days when you begged for an article in a paper or magazine.
• Blogs are popular, easy to access, easy to set up and use, can be linked to your Website, and any social media sites you care to use. Also, you can link your Website and your social networking campaign to your blog.
• Blogs are unstructured. You can present what you want, when you want, in any format you want. Add videos, music, text, pictures, graphics, you name it.
• Do you have videos on YouTube? No problem, link to them.  
• Search engines love blogs. And using keywords is easy. Just add them to the blog post title and in the body of the post as well.
• To increase readership, post on other blogs. Here, look for nationally popular blogs. Sign your posts with your name and Web address of your blog. This is an technique to increase the readership of your blog.

If all of this sounds like a Website, it is because a blog can easily double for a Website. Here are a couple tips for running your blog and the business side of the business.

• Involving your employees is simplicity itself. Write your company's blogging guidelines so that they tell people what they can do, not what they can't do.
• Should you publish in print magazines or newspapers, include the web address of your blog in the About the Author section. Do the same thing when in your press releases.
• Do not seek to monetize the blog. Pay attention to developing relationships and let the relationships monetize themselves. If you feel that you must track your blog's success, ask people where they heard of you. don't be surprised to hear that the path that brings customers to you is convoluted. They may have heard of you from a friend, read your blog, looked you up on LinkedIn, visited your Web site, and then called you. Let the blog do its work. You see, it's you and your reputation that made the phone ring.

Want a digital business card? You can use it to send your contact information.

Now you can have a free of charge digital business card from itwtBizCard. With it you can send your contact information by adding #twtbizcard to a @reply.

Want more information? Watch this video or follow the link above.

Are you using games as a marketing tool?

People love to play. doesn't make any difference how old they are. Games have existed for thousands of years and are still going strong. Using games - not to be confused with gambling - are great fun and will keep your audience coming back again and again. Better yet, they will tell their friends. To us this means more friends, buzz, and business.

One of our favorites is The Treb Challenge. We also like Angry Birds.

Facebook

As Facebook is the number one social networking site, you will likely want to put a game on your page. Here the top nine games of 2011.

Top 9 Facebook Games of 2011

1. Slotomania-Slot Machines
2. Empires & Allies
3. Bingo Blitz
4. Words With Friends
5. Indiana Jones Adventure World
6. DoubleDown Casino
7. Cityville
8. The Sims Social
9. Gardens of Time

Have fun. No pun intended.

When your clients are not online, use a cheap cell phone for their feedback.

Okay, you know by now that we believe in the net, the Web, and social networking. However, what do you do if your clients are not online? A cheap cell phone, that's what.

Your Cheap Cell Phone Solution

To gather customer feedback using you main phone is folly. These phone calls you do not need to take, they only need to be recorded. You can follow up later, or not at all. Up to you.

It Works Like This

1. You buy a cheap cell phone. Something like a TracFone will do nicely. Cost? Ten or twenty bucks plus another hundred or so for a year's worth of minutes. Why? This "protects" your main phone number as you do not need to take these calls. So, you are not bothered as you go about your business day. Just check the phone when you feel the need. You leave it at the office as there is no reason to carry it. It is not your main phone and is only used for voice mail.
2. You use direct mail. Yes, it's pricey, but remember your clients are not online. So, you use the mail to ask for comments, and publish the number of the cheap phone. Tell them that this connects to voice mail. Hopefully, this is likely cheaper than returning a questionnaire by U.S post. If not, just use return mail.
3. Your clients use the published number to inform you of what's good, and what can be improved. You can even leave a short ad on your voice mail.

Your saying, "But, but but . . . ." I know, we get it. This is far from perfect. Yet, it does give business people, with a clientele that is not online, an affordable way to gather client feedback, and stay in touch. Not perfect, but better than nothing.

As you may be using direct mail. Your feedback may be a postage paid card that accompanies your packet, but that gets expensive. You will need to cost it out, and see which is better.

Please let us hear from you on this. Just click the title of this post to write a comment.

Note: We mentioned TracFone because we've used their products for years. They are inexpensive and do the job nicely.

Does your business need social networking to succeed?

 

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This question is difficult for me to answer because I do a great deal of social networking, writing for the Web, and provide support to authors and business people. Much of my support involves social networking, Web sites, and the online world.

I tell you all of this so that you do not think my answer biased. I've met people who run successful businesses with no online presence. None. They do not even have a Web site. That these people are running a successful business, using only a free email address, cannot be denied.

So, do you require social networking and the online world to be a successful business person? No, you do not, but look at what you're missing.

The net offers you an around-the-clock marketing machine that cannot hurt you. Further, it will cost you the time it takes to use it. This is like me giving you a new Rolls Royce, a Cadillac, and a Lexus - totally free of charge forever. All you need do is keep the tires inflated. That dollar amount pales when you consider the cost of the Internet, the Web, social networking sites, search engines. You can use all of that, and more, at no charge.

If the above disclaimer is not enough to show you where I stand let me say this, I believe in the net. I know and see what it can do for any business, that includes your's.

Soon, without a Web presence people will wonder if you are real. Soon being online will be needed because that is where clients will find you.

To use social networking or not is your choice. One way or the other we wish you the best of good luck now and forever, but it takes more to be and stay successful.

If you need no more than a phone to do the job, read tomorrows post where we discuss how you can use a cheap cell phone to collect customer feedback because some companies deal with clients who are not online.

    Tomorrow: When you clients are not online, use a cheap cell phone for their feedback.

 

 

Need an email address? Here's an easy way to find a specific person's email address at any company or organization.

Go to the company Web site, and find any email address. Skip to 'Got email address,' below. What? They only list a form page and there are no email addresses to be found. Don't you hate that? No problem.

1. Copy the company's Web address to your clipboard.
2. Paste it into Google's search bar.
3. Delete http://www and add the @ character. In our case you change http://www.WebContentRx.biz to @WebContentRx.biz.
4. Execute the search.
5. Scroll through the search results, and soon you will find a complete email address.

Let's say that you're looking for John Simth's email address. John is a fictional person working at the fictional XYZ Company.

Got email address

What you're looking for is the format of the email address at John's company. Some companies use the full first name, some use initials, some use the initial of the first name and the first few letters of the last name. This is why you search for any email address. By seeing how the email addresses are constructed at John's company, you will infer his address.

An example

Getting back to our fictional example, let's say that you find these email addresses.

• TomQ@xyz.com
• EdwardF@xyz.com.

From this you infer that John Smith's address will be JohnS@xyz.com.

Now Google: JohnS@xyz.com.

Look through the list, or search the returns for JohnS by pressing Ctrl-F and entering JohnS as the search string.

Success may require some trial and error, but in the end you will have the email address you need.

Want to end it all? Kill your online footprint? Suicide Machine will remove you from the online world. Mostly.

People opt out of the online world all the time. Except, what to do with all that content that is out there. here is one solution: Suicide Machine.

Here is a good article from the LA Times.

Want some good advise? Never, not ever, place anything online that you don't want to see published, on a job interview, or in your school paper. People have lost jobs because they thought that they were in a private room when commenting online. Hey, online there is no privacy. Social networking sites are public.

If you absolutely must use the net to transfer sensitive information use encrypted email. Never trust any social networking site, or regular email, to be private because it is most assuredly not private. Your communications can go through many servers to get to its destination and can likely be read at all of them.

Use your Web site, and social networking campaign, to exclude people who won't do business with you.

No one, tells you this, but you can use your Web site, and social networking campaign, to exclude people who will never do business with you. This is right, proper, and the correct thing to do because to prequalify prospects only saves everyone's time. And, as time is money, it saves money too.

Consider a pizza restaurant

Let's say that it is located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. That restaurant, and most all pizza shops, service clients within a 15 or 20 minute drive. So, out shop owner does not want calls from Hartford Illinois, or from any other city named Hartford.

So, their Web site plainly lists Hartford Connecticut at the top of every page. the shop's telephone number also plainly shows the area code of 860. This also a visual queue that they are in Connecticut. Why? Well, folks are not going to travel from Illinois to Connecticut for a pizza. So, the Web site is designed to exclude them from even calling.

You, too, can use this technique. If your clients have some sort of qualification, are from a particular geographic area, make that information plainly visible. Taking phone calls, or email, from people who will never do business with you only wastes everyone's time.

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"If you don’t pay attention to the needs of your audience, they won’t pay attention to you."

Read, Shift World,
Dark Fiction at it's Best.

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How's your bottom line? Want an around-the-clock marketing machine? Get yours here.

What is the success of your business worth? What's it worth to get your message into the world? To get your organization known? To gather donations of money and volunteerism?

Never in the history of Mankind has this been possible. Always, your message had to pass the filter of editors, censors. That is no longer the case.

Social networking is the key, but not the only one. Your marketing machine's tool box includes these sites, activities, and opportunities.

1. Web search engines like Google and Yahoo
2. Your Web site, the crown jewel of your social networking campaign
3. E-mail marketing
4. Social networking sites like,
   1. Facebook
   2. LinkedIn
   3. Twitter
   4. A Blog
5. And offline activities as well.
   1. Asking for recommendations
   2. Attending conferences
   3. Public speaking and presentations  
   4. Sending Christmas cards and Thank You notes
6. Press releases

Here are many of the pieces of your "marketing pie." Of course, there is much more, but the point is that you can have before you, literally for the cost of using it, the most advanced marketing machine in human history. Use it. Embrace it. Do not waste it.

An easy way to get started is to use LinkedIn. It is prefect for business people, for your career, your company, or organization. LinkedIn requires no technical skill, is free of charge, and will do you a lot of good.

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"If you don’t pay attention to the needs of your audience,
they won’t pay attention to you." Wise words.

Read, Shift World,
Dark Fiction at it's Best.

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When you emphase quantity, not quality, your content and social networking campaign lose.

Social networking, like good writing, takes time. time to do it right. And time to get known and followed by your audience. Your content, whether it's words, videos, pictures, must be worth of the time your audience will spend viewing or reading it.

Time

Time is what good writing, and good social networking is all about because the time people will spend with your content means everything. You see, the content in your social networking campaign must compete for people's time. They won't waste one second of it if you don't provide real meaningful value.

Value

Value is not something we can quantify exactly because it is different things to different people and to different needs. Ask what your audience wants and give it to them. Let them tell you what they want. They are telling you what your value is to them. Listen to their needs, be guided by their wants. Provide what they want and need. And don't rush it. you will be using social networking, online and offline, forever. so, there is ho hurry. Just get started and keep going. You won't be sorry.

Copywriter's bible. We all sell something. Whether you write for the Web, for print, or for anything else, read this.

Copywriting marries the technical, aesthetic to motivate someone to do something. Copywriting is not easy, takes as much time as it takes, and when done well is literally worth its weight in gold because if it's not, well, there is no gold.

Here are some ways to make your copywriting better. There are lots of others, of course. Questions are more engaging than statements because people do not like unanswered questions. Also, is is far more powerful and effective when the reader answers the question than when you tell the answer.

Focus on results, not process. Benefits, not features.

1. Tell stories, not concepts
2. Stay in touch with your clients with newsletters, eZines, and invitations to presentations to keep information flowing.
3. Tell people what they will get, not what you do.
4. Talk about the client, not about yourself
5. Do not talk about we do this, we do that, we, we, we. This, marketing consultant Mac McIntosh describes it as "we-we-weing all over yourself.")
6. WIIFM - What's In It for Me? Answer this simple question or you and your copy are toast.
7. Be a solution, a resource to your clients.

Words to use

• yes
• love
• hate (you will hate yourself for .....)
• How much (would you like to one, be, have ... )
• How would you (solve this problem)
• This (is the way)
• Only
• Sale, 2 for 1, 50% off
• FREE is the most powerful word in any language,

Five words never to use

1. Buy. Use, claim or invest.
2. Learn. Use, discover.
3. Tell. Use, reveal.
4. Things. Use, tips, tricks, and techniques
5. Stuff. Use, insider secrets.

Need a job? Looking for work? Help is as close as a can of soup.

You never thought that a can of soup was like a resume and cover letter? Can't imagine why.

Take a look at most any soup can. Campbell's soup comes to mind. On the can's label you will find two things.

1. What soup is in the can, (let's call that your resume)
2. A recipe (think of that as your cover letter) showing you how to use what's in the can.

When you apply for a job never send only a resume. It does the reader little good to see your skills and background without knowing what you can do for the company. your resume and cover letter have a job to do; to get you hired.

Your resume's job is to show your skills, background, expertise, accomplishments, education. To show the reader what you've got to offer.

Your cover letter shows the reader what you can do for the company. Don't force the reader to figure out what you can do for the company. no one knows this but you.

• Your resume; no more than two pages.
• Cover letter short and to the point.
• Make a folder on your computer and keep your resume and cover letter there in text format, Word, and PDF format.
• Without informing the reader of what you can do for that particular company, throws your future to the wind because it forces the reader to determine where you fit in.

               

Sign your blog posts with a signature block. Here's how.

A signature block solves a lot of problems.

1. Is is prewritten and spell checked
2. You don't inadvertently leave out important material
3. It is quick and simple to use

What's in your signature block?

Your name, company, contact information, blog address, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn accounts and your Web address. Don't hesitate to include a few words about what you can do for the reader. something like this:

Here's one that I wrote

Wayne English is a Web content and social networking expert, published author and writer. He is the founder and president of Web Content Rx. His first book Web Content Rx is a Top 5 Business Title in Leadership Books at The Washington Post. Wayne teaches and presents seminars on social networking, writing for the Web, and on how to find a job using social networking and Web search. Download his Nine Steps to Social Networking Success.

Web: WebContentRx.biz
E-mail: info@WebContentRx.biz
Blog: blog.WebContentRx.biz                  

Notes:

• Write out your full e-mail address so it can be copied and pasted into Web mail like Gmail, HotMail, and others.
• Indent your work. Studies show that indented text has a better chance of being read.
• Test and verify that all links work as advertised.

Do you have two markets with different needs? No? Are you sure?

Institute of Technology & Business Development at Central Connecticut State University in downtown New Britain, Connecticut. They had a panel discussion that I was fortunate to be a part of. It was a wonderful experience that I enjoyed very much.

Marketing is an interesting thing and sometimes we can get side tracked into thinking we are marketing our goods to the right people when we aren't. Who do you market to when your product is used by one person by paid for by another? This situation occurs in education, elder care, child care and in other industries as well.

Students need to know about academics, occupational outlook, dormitories, food, and the college experience. Do not neglect that. Kids at top schools speak of 'the - fill in school name - experience."

Yes, they do. They actually talk like that. They know what an opportunity that have before them and enjoy every minute of it. Smart people get that. Yse it to your advantage. Sell the experience. Appeal to the emotions, and the dollars will follow.

Students also want social life, not to be confused with social networking. Parents want a safe place that will prepare their child for success in the world. Mom and dad want a real investment for their money. The education, contacts, job prospects, availability of internships, job market are all important sign posts on the road to somebody's check book.

So, we ask you, who are you marketing to? High school seniors go to college, but mom and dad are the ones likely paying the bill. Private high schools are in the same boat. How about elder care? The consumer of those services is very likely not the one who is paying for those services. There's a message there.

We ask because you have two markets, not one. Market to both groups because the consumer of the product has different needs from who is paying the bill.

Hour homework

Find out what your market, or markets, want. Address their needs with superb content, videos, testimonials from esistin and past clients. Video testimonials are powerful statements when done right.

Social networking offers you an unparralled opportunity to create an around-the-clock marketing machine. Use it to inform your future clients and make them your current clients. Use your current clients to attract future clients. See how this works?

Want a hand?

Down load our Nine Steps to Social Networking Success.

               

 

You're out of you mind. You're crazy. Have you heard that? I hope so.

If there is any one statement that tells you that you are on the right path. that's it. Don't like those words? How's this? You're crazy. Like that better? Means the same thing. You are on the right path. You are creative. You are going where you friends and family have not gone before.

Not going anywhere different? Then you are buying something. In my case it was a camera system. A Hasselblad. Expensive. Very expensive. Very good. One of the best in the world. NASA flies Blas on the shuttle, or they did when there was a shuttle.

When you hear people tell you that you're crazy, smile. You're on the right track. Keep going,

View our videos on YouTube.com/WebContentRx/ Listen to us most Friday's on The Business Buzz, 4 p.m. - 5 p.m., WESU 88.1 FM with Jeffery Sherman.

Writers use the word correlate all the time, but sometimes, it just doesn't correlate.

 

The definition of correlate at Dictionary.com states: to place in or bring into mutual or reciprocal relation; establish in orderly connection: to correlate expenses and income.

Correlation means that things are related positively (mutual), negatively (reciprocal), or not at all. Writers use the word, correlates, to mean a positive relationship. Meaning that when one thing doing this, it causes the other thing to do that. Using the word "correlates" this way is sort of right. So, it's also sort of wrong.

Why? Well because all things correlate. Correlation is expressed in numbers from minus one (-1) to plus one (+1). That number is a measure of how just related those particular things are.

A Correlation of Minus One (-1)

A correlation of minus one (-1) means that the relationship is reciprocal. If you compare two things X and Y. When X goes up, Y goes down. They move in opposite directions, a reciprocal relationship.

A Correlation of Plus One (+1)

A correlation of (+1) means the correlation is directly related. Here's an example. Let's say that we have two things. We'll call them A and B. When A goes up, B goes up. That's a correlation of (+1) because when A moves B moves in the exact same way.

A Correlation of Zero (0)

Now, consider two other things, totally different from the examples above. Let's use a boat and a teaspoon. When the boat is tied to a dock. The spoon is in ice cream. Correlation is zero. They have absolutely no relationship between them because what the boat does does not affect the spoon and vice versa.

See for Yourself

Correlation = (-1)

Correlation = (0)

Correlation = (+1)

Here are three graphics for you. They are from the Neag School of Education at UCONN on the Follow this link for an interactive Correlation Coefficient graph. At the destination of the link you will see an interactive graph where you can change the correlation coefficient. The three graphics you see here are from that link. There, you can watch the data reorient itself as you change the correlation coefficient. Wow, is that cool or what? From a geek perspective, of course.

This link opens in a new window, so you can keep this post and the graphic on your desktop at the same time. Now, use your mouse to change the correlation number.

• As the correlation number changes the data (the dots) becomes more and more related.
• At (-1) the data runs from upper left to lower right, "downhill."
• At a correlation of zero, the data are scattered. There is no relationship.
• At (+1) the data runs from lower left to upper right, "uphill."

So, when you say that this correlates to that, what are you saying? Not much.

The only correlation that really maters to us writers is the correlation between our words and the understanding of your readers. When that correlation is (+1), you're golden. Yes you are. Factoring in your check book doesn't hurt either.

View our videos on YouTube.com/WebContentRx/ Listen to us most Friday's on The Business Buzz, 4 p.m. - 5 p.m., WESU 88.1 FM with Jeffery Sherman.

Site search and SEO. Having you own site search capability will do you a lot of good. Here's one we've used for years.

One of the things you can do to make your Web site easier to get around is to provide you own site search capability. Here is a link to a site search engine that we've used for years. So, yes, it's a little old. For newer products Google free web site search.

What we like

This search engine is easy to install. You can update it whenever you wish.

The advantage of using site search capability that is not a major search engine is that you can update it whenever you want to. When you use Google, or another search engine, new material can not appear in a search until the search engine rescanns your Web site. Until, you get rescanned, Web updates can not appear in a search. so, if you updates need to be found after they are made, we suggest having your own search capability.

Site Search capabiity with Fluid Dynamics Software Corporation.

View our videos on YouTube.com/WebContentRx/ Listen to us most Friday's on The Business Buzz, 4 p.m. - 5 p.m., WESU 88.1 FM with Jeffery Sherman.

The two most important questions in the business world.

1. What are your goals?
2. What are your problems?

Ask the equestions. Learn what the client needs and then help the client. There is no better to find out what the client needs than to ask. Then shut up and listen.

Don't sell, but provide needed services.

That's it. That's all. Do that and you're golden, busy, booked solid. Don't and you're not. what could be simpler?

View our videos at YouTube.com/WebContentRx/ Listen to us most Friday's on The Business Buzz, 4 p.m. - 5 p.m., WESU 88.1 FM with Jeffery Sherman.