Since this is National Small Business Week, I thought I would dig a little into the study and make some observations, based on the research as well as my work with small businesses on a daily basis. I’m not going to rehash all of the numbers and those related in the study. You can easily find those in Geoff’s post, as well as in the full study which you can download for free from Vocus. You can see some of the findings as displayed in the infographic at the end of this post.

On a positive note, it seems as though SMBs are finally understanding that there needs to be an ROI that is tied to making money, not just getting social media likes and shares and engagement. On the other hand, as I read into this study and read between the lines, there are a few things that stand out for me and show me some real growth areas for how small businesses in particular should be approaching their online presence. Remember, where I quote numbers for the study, these are for small and medium businesses combined. My assumption is that the numbers for small businesses alone will be lower, and in some cases, dramatically so.

1. More communication and less marketing?

My thinking on social media and the online space has evolved greatly over the past few years. When I started my business, I was all about marketing. But the more I work with businesses and their social media and digital presences, I’ve moved away from that. I still use the word marketing in my pitch because that’s what businesses want, but I think that any real success in the online space comes when we have a shift in thinking away from marketing, and more toward communication and customer experience. Often the right mindset within the culture of your business makes all the difference. I try to disavow my clients of the notion of marketing right from the get-go, even though there is marketing involved. By focusing on marketing, most small businesses make the leap directly to outbound marketing and spitting out sales messages. By turning the focus on the customer, they get a better understanding of how they should be using their online presence. We need less “me” and more “you.”

2. A need for integration

The study and accompanying infographic look at how SMBs are using social media and other digital tools, and what they are using them for, but what I’m not seeing is how all of that is integrated. Sure, some are using social media, some are using email, some are using blogs. But what I’m not seeing, both in this study, and in practice, is how all of this is integrated. Not just online, but also with the offline activities of small businesses. None of these things exists in a vacuum. Until we integrate, we won’t see what the real ROI of our efforts is. And until we integrate, we won’t realize the full potential of our digital presence.

3. What? You don’t have a website??

I don’t know why, but I’m continually surprised when I go online searching for a company and all I find are directory listings and review sites. I’m shocked at how many small, local businesses have no web presence at all. According to the Vocus/Inc. study, nearly 87% of all SMBs have websites. That might seem like a high number, but not to me. The barriers to entry are so low these days, that it’s possible to get some sort of web presence for next to nothing. And for a small sum, you can get a highly functional and attractive website.

The other thing I’ll add is that what I’m even more shocked about is how many small businesses have really bad web sites, either because it’s an old site that has never been updated, or they are hiring people to make new sites that look like really bad sites. I could show you half a dozen or more web design firms right here in my town that are churning out ugly, non-functional websites on a regular basis, and making good money doing so.

It’s 2013. Get a website. And shop around. Get one that suits your needs and represents the quality of your business. Understand that a website is no longer a luxury, or even a nicety. It’s important. Probably more important than a lot of the other marketing activities you’re undertaking and spending a lot of money on. And before you get your site, consult with a digital marketing person who can guide you along to make sure you’re getting the best possible site to meet your needs and budget.

4. Small businesses need to embrace email for customer service

The study reveals that nearly 66% of SMBs are using email for marketing purposes. I’m actually surprised the number is that high, but of course we’re not sure how they each define that. For small businesses, the cost of doing email marketing well can be somewhat cost prohibitive, even with free e-newsletter services. It can also be somewhat time consuming. But what really surprises me is that only 61% are using email for customer service. In a customer focused business culture we need to make sure we are using every means possible to provide great customer service. If nearly 40% of businesses aren’t using email for customer service, it means one of three things is happening.

• They don’t use email
• They don’t publicize their email
• They ignore their email

I’ve seen all three of these scenarios, and it’s a bit boggling. As consumers are living more of their lives online, it only makes good business sense to make sure customers can reach you electronically, and that you respond to them when they do.

5. Content marketing needs to take on a larger role

Only about 53% of SMBs are producing content in the form of blogs or white papers, while about half as many are creating online events like webinars. Remove the medium sized businesses from that equation, and I’m betting the number is much lower. Small businesses are just starting to understand the power of content marketing. Small businesses often fall prey to those phone calls from folks offering them “a spot on the first page of Google” not understanding how SEO should be done.

Blogging and content marketing can be the most important elements in optimizing your website for search engines. Plus, video is taking on a much greater role as well, and Cisco predicts that video will begin to outperform Facebook and Twitter by 2017. And remember that thing about being more customer-centric up in point #1? This Cisco report also indicates that fan-generated content tends to outperform content created by businesses. That’s something that small businesses need to jot down and remember as they move forward.

6. Time to Go Mobile

Very few SMBs are using mobile, either via an app or through an SMS/texting program. Again, the number for just small businesses is probably much lower. I don’t think that every small business needs an app or a texting rewards and notification program, but I do think we need to rethink how we do business in a world that is quickly being dominated by mobile technology. At the very least, your online presence needs to be mobile ready, but you also need to understand how your customers are using mobile technology. The concept of SoLoMo (social, local, mobile) is becoming increasingly important to small, local businesses, and has serious implications about how businesses communicate their message to consumers. I would love to see is a study and breakdown of just small businesses, and particularly the smallest of the small.

By most accounts, a small business is generally considered to be under 250 employees. And while I have some clients that fit well into that definition, or even in the definition of a medium business, I’m more concerned with what is happening on Main Street in my town. Most of the small businesses I deal with have fewer than 25 employees. Some have fewer than five, and therefore the notion of having a full-time person devoted to digital marketing isn’t even an option. For many of these businesses, the owner, and perhaps one other person, wear all the hats: sales, marketing, HR, accounting, and so on. It’s a very different world for these businesses which make up the backbone of our local economies, and therefore their approach to digital marketing is necessarily different.

That said, here is the infographic from that Vocus/Inc. study, to help you get a better idea of the research I’m talking about.

If I asked my daughter to get me something, and she didn’t, I would respond,

Oh, wow. Hector would have gotten it for me right away.

If one of my boys got angry and threw a tantrum, I’d say,

Hector never gets angry. He’s perfect.

I have no idea where Hector came from, (or how I chose that name, for that matter). Usually the kids took this in stride and had fun with it, though one of my kids, who shall remain nameless, got very angry. VERY angry. He probably would have slit Hector’s throat in his sleep if he could have. Yes, I’m a bad father. I provoked my children to anger. But, I enjoyed it.

I told the kids that Hector was our perfect child. THE perfect child. He always did everything perfectly. Kinda like a cross between Mother Theresa and Gallant of “Goofus and Gallant” fame. Only…more perfect.

Obviously, Hector wasn’t real. There is no perfect child.

In the same way, there is no perfect customer. In the business and marketing world we often throw around a phrase that is part of the marketing and business process:

Buyer persona

According the Buyer Persona Institute (yes, there is such a thing), a buyer persona is:

Buyer personas are examples of the real buyers who influence or make decisions about the products, services or solutions you market. They are a tool that builds confidence in strategies to persuade buyers to choose you rather than a competitor or the status quo.

It’s the person you want buying your products and services. Read any book on marketing of any sort, and creating your buyer persona is one of the first tasks you’ll always be given. Heck, there are even buyer persona templates you can use to help you with this task.

At it’s core, what this means is knowing your customers. And the only way you can get to know your customers is to do two things: observe their behavior and talk to them. Observing their behavior includes looking at the data. Do your research. How do they behave? What are they purchasing? When are they shopping? Activity on social media outlets, or lack thereof, is a good place to start. What are they saying about you? Listening online is key.

Talking to them allows you to better understand that data, and understand their feelings and opinions about your business. Did they have a good experience? Why or why not? Will they be back? What makes them want to tell others about you?

But remember, there is no perfect customer. Your buyer persona is merely a starting point based on aggregate data. Just because your persona might be a 35-year old mother, doesn’t mean a 75-year old grandfather won’t buy what you’re offering. Be prepared for anomalies. Expect the unexpected, as they say.

About eight or nine years ago I wandered into a Hot Topic store at a our mall, mostly out of curiosity, but also because I knew they sold music, some of which I happen to like (don’t judge!). I was clearly out of place: a 40-something gray hair with no piercings or tattoos, and decidedly not wearing the “uniform.” As I flipped through the CDs one of the employees, dressed all in black, with black hair, and rather large gauges in his ears. He looked at me and said:

“Can I help you sir? Looking for something for one of your kids?”

And though those were his words, all I heard was,

“Hey Pops, you do realize you’re out of your element, right? We don’t sell Michael Bolton here, but I’ll throw you a bone and help you out. You need a clue on what to buy your kids…or grandkids??”

My response:

“Nah, I’m OK. Just checking out your selection, and glad to see you have [rattled off names of a few bands]. I saw these guys play a few months ago. Oh, and the drummer in that band is a friend of mine.”

Crickets. The guy walked away confounded. In fact, I think he literally was scratching his head. He had no idea what to do with me, so he simply retreated.

Don’t be confounded. Be prepared. Understand that a buyer persona is a good thing to have, but is NOT your perfect customer. There is no such thing. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to find even one customer that fits your buyer persona perfectly. All of your customers are different. Understand that there are plenty of exceptions to every rule. Don’t be so tied to your buyer persona that you miss out on other opportunities.

Don’t tell your customers how they should behave. And NEVER compare them to Hector. They won’t appreciate it.

Who is your ideal customer? Have you ever been surprised by the variety of customers who come through your door?

There’s bee a lot of talk lately about what has become known as the collaborative economy. In short, it’s an economic model,

that leverages communities or crowds to rent, share, swap, barter, trade, or sell access to products or services.

In other words, consumers pool their resources in order to benefit everyone in a group, while at the same time, promoting sustainability.

The collaborative economy is what fuels things like crowdsourcing and crowdfunding. At it’s heart, it empowers consumers. The latest study from Altimeter digs deep into the implications of the collaborative economy, and how social technologies disrupt business as usual.

Smart businesses and nonprofit will recognize this, and the power of the crowd, and will embrace it. A quick look at how traditional media has tried to adapt to a new media world is proof that you can’t force a round peg into a square hole. Traditional business and marketing methods won’t always work. There is a need for adaptation, which in some cases might be radical and disruptive. We can’t be afraid of that type of change, especially if it means survival.

Traditionally, organizational theory has treated external forces and factors as, well, external. Now we find we need an entirely new way of looking at things (and this would make a great thesis topic for any organizational grad student. Oh, to be in grad school again…). The new business model takes collaborative consumers into account. The new business model treats the consumer as a part of the team, not merely an external factor. The new business model includes the consumer in internal discussions.

In a collaborative economy, the consumer has a place at the table when it comes to marketing, customer service and experience, research and development, and more.

When consumers are included, they have a greater interest in you, your products, and your success. When consumers are included, you’ll gain a better understanding of what true influence is, how influence works, and who your influencers are. You’ll learn how to reverse engineer influence marketing.

Recognize that your customers are a part of your team, and treat them as such. Let them guide you into a business model that embraces the collaborative economy. Let them help you grow.

How can your business (or nonprofit) adapt to the collaborative economy? Are you prepared to make the necessary changes to your business model?

Now that I have that out of the way, and have kept Shadow’s pristine reputation intact, there’s a reason why I’m writing this. Honestly, there is.

Just yesterday, someone from the State of Wisconsin Office of Administration found my blog by Googling just that:

Why would a chocolate lab eat a baby chipmunk?

The reason they found my blog, and spent some time there, is because of a post I wrote earlier this year about Stuff My Dog Ate. It was a random post, part of my Friday Blogging Experience series, and while they may have enjoyed the stories of some of the crazy things that Shadow has eaten, they didn’t get the answer to their actual question. Unless of course they make the leap that, doggone it all, labs will eat just about anything!

But the point here is that I actually knew that this particular individual from that particular organization was on my blog looking for an answer to that question. Why? Because I check my analytics. I like to know who is on my site and how they got there. In this particular situation I discovered this through a cursory look at my Clicky real time analytics.

While a lot of folks are talking about this fuzzy thing called “big data,” there’s already a lot of great information and data at your fingertips.

By checking your analytics, you can discover what people are searching for when they find your blog. This can be a great way to fine tune your blogging and content marketing strategy to make sure you are meeting their needs and giving them what you want. You can also find out how many of your “readers” are really there for what you are offering. In this particular case, this person isn’t really a potential customer. Because of the nature of how I write and tell stories, I get a good bit of traffic from folks searching for odd things like this. We can get caught up in the numbers of unique visitors and views, and lose site of the fact that some of those people, a lot in fact, aren’t really there for you. They might find you through some random search that has nothing to do with you, or perhaps an image search. Either way, they might come, stay a few seconds, then leave. Regardless of your goals, or what you are measuring as a conversion, these folks generally aren’t part of that, and never will be.

On the other hand, if this same person had found me by searching something along the lines of:

How to start a blog about raising chocolate labs

Then I might be on to something. Despite be the owner of a chocolate lab, I’m not here for the purpose of offering advice about them. I am, however, very interested in teaching people all about blogging, regardless of what they are blogging about. So by studying the terms that people are searching for when they find me, I get a better picture of how much of my traffic is really relevant.

This information helps to shape a lot of how I approach my blog as I move forward; from the types of posts and types of content to even the titles I use when I publish my posts. By searching those search terms, you might find some untapped markets or niches. You might discover not only why people are reading your blog, but what things they wish you were writing about more often.

So today, I’m writing about why a chocolate lab would eat a baby chipmunk, because that’s what someone wanted. Goodness knows I wouldn’t want them to be disappointed. My answer? I honestly don’t know. In fact, I did the exact same Google search and came up with numerous articles about what chipmunks eat, but no answer to why this person’s dog chose to eat either Chip or Dale. Go figure.

So perhaps if you’re a dog lover (or chipmunk lover), this could be a niche for a new blog. Go for it. You’re welcome.

How often do you check your analytics, particularly the search terms your readers are using? And how do you use that information?

To date, the location based marketing boom doesn’t seem to have developed as promised. No one seems to be talking too much about Foursquare and other location based social platforms, and from what I’m witnessing online, and in conversation, very few businesses are paying attention to location based services.

The general consensus I’m hearing from those in the marketing and business community is that since “no one is using them,” perhaps we should be spending our marketing time and dollars elsewhere. After all, we’re told to fish where the fish are, and focus our efforts on those platforms where our community and customers are spending time. Right?

Not so fast.

I think that many businesses, particularly those in the retail, service, and hospitality industries, are making a mistake by not paying attention to location based properties online. Many have moved past the concept too quickly. We went through the Shiny Object and Next Big Thing Stage to the Yesterday’s News Stage a bit too rapidly. The real problem is that the users got excited about these services, jumped on them early, and then got bored, all before businesses really understood what their role was. So by the time businesses started thinking about Foursquare, etc., the users were moving on.

Understand this: some people are still using these services. Others still have the apps on their smartphones, even if they don’t use them often. Mostly because they don’t have a reason to use them. With the continued rapid growth of smartphone adoption, location based marketing is going to become more important. Mobile and social are becoming more closely entwined with one another, and location based services are being built into most of these devices.

Here are a few things to consider as you make a determination as to how location based marketing will fit into your plan:

1. Many of the social platforms you’re already on have a location based element

It’s not just about Foursquare. You can also check in on Facebook, Google Places/G+, and Yelp, among others. That functionality is already there, so you might want to take advantage of it. In fact, people might even be checking in without your knowledge. Be aware of the opportunities that exist for you on your current social properties.

2. Your accounts might exist without your knowledge

When people have checked in to your business, they might have created a listing for you. A proper online audit will help you locate these properties so that you can claim them and optimize them. Never let someone else control your online properties. If you claim these pre-existing listings, you can make sure that the basic information is correct. If people are already checking in, make sure they are checking in to something you have at least a little control over, as opposed to no control at all.

3. Location based marketing isn’t just about check-ins

Another major aspect of location based sites are the reviews that your customers are posting, both positive and negative. Plus, most location based sites offer you the opportunity to tell the world about yourself. This can include basic business information, along with photos, videos, suggestions, tips, and sometimes even offers or coupons.

4. Think search and SEO

You have a website, a Facebook page, and perhaps a Twitter account. Those are all sites that can show up in search results for your business. But add Yelp, Foursquare, Google Places, and more, and suddenly you have a much stronger online presence. Each of these location based sites is indexable by the search engines and can give you a boost when someone is looking online for the goods and services you offer.

5. They are easier to maintain

Some social networks require a bit more maintenance than others. But while sites like Twitter and Facebook work best with regular, daily updates and interaction, sites like Foursquare and your Google Places listing aren’t so labor intensive. Once you set them up and optimize them, you can get away with much more infrequent updating. Not all sites require the same level of attention.

6. Create deals

If it makes sense, think about creating some sort of check-in deals, coupons, or mobile offers that will draw people in. Remember, the deal has to be good enough that it will bring in new and repeat customers, and make them want to check-in. On the other hand, make sure your deals aren’t so good that they send you to the poorhouse, or cheapen your brand. It’s a fine balance that might take some experimentation to figure out.

7. Publicize, publicize, publicize

I think one of the reasons the location based land grab came and went is that we have short attention spans. Some of us tried these services out for our businesses, and we didn’t see the quick return we wanted, so we walked away. But here’s the thing: many businesses created profiles and deals but never told their customers about them. This is a common problem in the social media realm. This isn’t the Field of Dreams. You can’t just build something hoping that customers will come. You need to use both your online and offline properties to promote your check-in deals. Don’t expect your customers to find out on their own; tell them!

8. Make the ask

There is no shame in asking your customers to check-in. There’s also no shame in asking them to write reviews of your business on one of your chosen platforms. Review sites often skew toward the negative because we are a negative people. We like to complain. When we have a bad experience we can’t wait to get online and pen a negative review. But when we like something? Not so much. But the fact is that if you are conducting your business properly, a very large majority of your customers leave happy. Feel free to suggest they write a review of your business online.

9. What is your competition doing?

Perhaps your competition hasn’t yet discovered location based services, or has walked away from them. This gives you an advantage. On the other hand, perhaps your competition is all over them, and is reaping the benefits in terms of marketing and SEO. A carefully developed location based component of your marketing plan can help you maintain a level of competition.

10. It’s word of mouth

Word of mouth marketing is often the best form of marketing for any business. It’s based on the concept of influence, as people tell those who trust them about your business. Location based marketing is merely a way of harnessing the power of what your customers are already doing. They’re already talking about things they like on Facebook and Twitter; now you just need to tap into that and try to get them to do it on your behalf. It formalizes the word of mouth process a little.

Location based marketing isn’t dead. On the contrary, I think it is still in its earliest stages. There are some exciting things happening out there, and once developers work out a lot of the privacy issues related to this type of marketing, I believe that we’ll see a lot more on the horizon.

Don’t ignore location based marketing sites. Evaluate them and what they have to offer, and make informed decisions. Claim them. Optimize them. Offer deals. And encourage your customers to use them.

Over the years I’ve spent a good amount of time down south, vacationing and visiting family. One of the things that I’ve noticed as we drive or walk around neighborhoods, is how friendly the people are. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE will wave to you and greet you. They are just very cordial down there. It’s refreshing.

I like to see this from businesses as well. Our local pet supply store is that way. It’s part of a small national chain, and every time I walk in, whomever is working turns around and greets me. I don’t know if this is something they are required to do by corporate or just locally, but it’s just…nice.

I try to do this myself. As I’m out walking Shadow, I try to greet everyone I meet. People are often surprised, because it’s not generally done up here in the north. But it’s a great way of meeting people in our new neighborhood. In fact, the other day I randomly decided to stop in the small Haitian restaurant that just opened up around the corner. My intention was to just grab a menu, but when I walked in, the owner got up, came over and greeted me. After we exchanged a few pleasantries, he told me:

“I don’t have customers. I have friends”

That struck me. We’d never met before. He knew nothing about me. But he saw me as a friend, not a customer. And as you can imagine, it’s a lot easier to lose a customer than it is to lose a friend.

That type of behavior doesn’t cost a thing. Friendliness has no overhead. Friendliness doesn’t require seminars and workshops. It just is. It’s a part of the culture of your business or organization. And it’s easy to be friendly both in person, and online. Extend your culture across platforms.

What’s the ROI of friendly?

What’s the ROI of a smile? What’s the ROI of a pleasant greeting?

For Pets Supplies Plus it’s me telling others about it, and returning as a customer.

For Caribbean Chez Nous, it’s me telling others about it, and returning as a customer.

Being friendly isn’t the be all of customer service, but it’s a free and easy start. It’s infectious, and travels well from top to bottom, as well as bottom to top. And don’t just keep it within the confines of your business. Take it with you as you go out in public. You might just make some friends who might also become customers.

How is friendliness instilled within your business? Is it the norm when you and your employees deal with customers, or do you need to work on growing friendliness from within?

It’s not about blogging.

It’s not about social media.

It’s not about SEO.

We spend a lot of time, myself included, talking about the latest tips and tricks using all of the above to drive traffic to our websites and drive foot traffic into our businesses. There are theories, formulas, plans, models, and all sorts of systems that people are peddling. People offer to sell you tools to create, share, and measure. I”m in the business of working with small businesses and nonprofits, teaching them how to use these tools to ultimately bring in more customers, more money, and increase their profit margin. It’s what I do.

But really, it’s not about blogging, social media, content marketing, or SEO. We’ve forgotten what it’s about. In a piece about getting buy-in for blogging and content marketing from coworkers and executives, Marcus Sheridan notes that we’re using the wrong language. Instead of focusing on the tools, we should be focusing on the purpose of the tools:

If the movement that is blogging and content marketing is ever going to truly catch fire, we need to boil it down to its essence. We need to better explain to the world what it truly is. And what it truly is—if done right—is great teaching and communication.

It’s not about blogging and social media.

It’s about having better relationships and educating your public. All those other things are just the means by which we do that. We not only need to change our way of thinking when trying to get internal buy-in, but also when executing.

No. It’s not about blogging, social media, or any of that other stuff. Its about teaching. It’s about communicating. It’s about educating.

It’s important to know why you are blogging and why you are using social media. What are your goals? As Sheridan points out, if you can communicate the “why” without getting up on words like “blogging” or “content marketing” you’ll have a better chance of getting buy in. And if you know why you are doing these things, you’ll be more successful in connecting with your intended audience, i.e. customers

Is your job to mess around on social media and blog? Or is your job to communicate and educate? Makes a world of difference. 

As a marketer and small business owner, I appreciate an informative and well developed e-newsletter. Email is one area that I haven’t explored too much, and someday would love to have a good weekly or daily newsletter.

But there are a few e-newsletters that I do read on a regular basis because they are always filled with great, usable information. Whether you are in the social media and marketing realm professionally, or if you work for a small business and nonprofit, you’ll find the information in these newsletters helpful. I’m listing these in no particular order, and they are by no means all of the e-newsletters that I read. But they are the five that I’m enjoying the most right now.

1. AGBeat Daily

This newsletter comes from the folks at AGBeat, a part of the American Genius Network. This email is a great source of the latest business and technology news, presented in a very usable way. You don’t need to be a tech genius to understand what they are delivering. Every time I open up this email I find something that I can use and apply to my work almost immediately. And their news and information is sorted into a variety of useful categories from social media, and green work and living, to entrepreneurs and design.

2. Smartbrief

Technically this isn’t an e-newsletter. It’s actually a collection of more than 200 industry specific e-newsletters. Whether you’re in business, government work, a health related field, the restaurant industry, or a nonprofit, you’ll appreciate the useful information that’s delivered to your inbox each day. Those are just a few of the different business category newsletters that are offered. I subscribe to quite a few that relate to both what I do, as well as what my clients do. Plus, there is always something to give you an idea for that next blog post.

3. Copyblogger

If you are a veteran blogger, new to blogging, or just thinking about blogging, sign up for the information provided by Copyblogger. Pages and pages of great information, free ebooks, and more, with emails to guide you through everything you need to know. My most recent email included a link to information on what it means to create and provide “good content” – which is the kind of content that readers like to read and share, and also that search engines like. I’ve read the Copyblogger blog for some time, but I’m relatively new to their email updates, but I’m already finding some great stuff.

4. Ragan’s PR Daily News Feed

Ragan Communications publishes some of the best PR and communications related content, and you can have it delivered right to you. I subscribe to the main PR Daily newsletter, though they also have a few industry specific newsletters. Even if you aren’t “officially” a PR, marketing, or communications person, you’ll find the information useful, especially in an age when everyone inside an organization is involved in the marketing and promotion of your business. As a small business owner, I find this information invaluable, both for me and my clients.

5. Pew Internet & American Life Project

I’m a major fan of all the work done by the folks at the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Their research and white papers are overflowing with incredible insights into how we are using the internet. From a business standpoint, this information helps me make wise decisions as I plan my online presence, and work with clients. The research is thorough, meaty, and yet presented in a way that it’s easy to understand and digest. The research is conducted in the areas of social media, mobile, teens, health, libraries, and politics. All of it is interesting, and you’ll find much of it useful.

What email newsletters do you think are the most important for you? Which would you recommend to your peers?

As my month of experimenting with list posts draws to a close, I find myself thinking about blogging and all the work I put into it. I think about the work my clients put into blogging. And it is work. I blog nearly every day, at least five days a week, and it’s no surprise I strongly believe in blogging and the benefits it brings. But not everyone agrees. Quite often when I meet with a client, prospective client, or am speaking to a group of business owners, I hear a number of objections as to why they won’t, or can’t, blog.

As a result, I’ve gotten pretty good at responding to those objections. Let me just state that when I respond to these objections in person, it takes on an entirely different tone, and there is a conversation with give and take, not just my response. And as you read these, not only will you recognize these objections, but you’ll understand that most of them are merely variations on a theme. They are all connected in some way.

1. I don’t think blogging works

And of course, there’s the cousin of this, “Blogging is too much work for too little payoff.” First off, define what you mean when you say “work.” How do you define when something works? If it’s a machine, it turns on and does its intended task. Voila! It works. But the notion that blogging doesn’t work, is usually a mindset issue. What they generally mean is that it doesn’t work fast enough; you can’t see the results overnight. Exactly. But you are building something powerful that will pay dividends in the long run. You are creating a strong body of work online that will show your customers you know what you are talking about, and can be trusted. More importantly, even if the proverbial “no one” reads your blog, or comments on it, you are getting something even better. You are creating content and updating your website in ways that keeps those Google spiders happy, and will be your best SEO friend for a long time to come.

Remember: Your customers are spending more time online, and they are using the internet more often to research you and other businesses. A strong blog goes a long way in placing you higher in search engine results, and in front of more eyes. Blogging works. Just not in the sense of driving thousands of customers through your doors tomorrow. Building a strong, positive reputation goes a long way in making your business sustainable over the long haul.

2. I don’t have time

This might be the objection I hear the most. And it’s understandable. After all, many of the people I work with are overworked and understaffed. Small businesses and nonprofits with just a few people. In some cases, it might be a business of one. The thought of adding blogging to your already busy 16 hour days might seem daunting. But there are a few issues here. First, if in fact you believe that blogging is important, and that it can work for you, you’ll make time for it. More on priorities in the next point. Perhaps you’ll be clearing away time that you are spending on other things that aren’t as productive. I’d bet that many of you are doing things during your work day and week just because you’ve always one them. Now is a good time to reevaluate what you do in a normal day or week, and see if there are some things that you can cut out, or even reduce, clearing away time for blogging.

And then there’s the issue of how much time blogging really takes. I blog nearly every day, but would never expect my clients to do that. At least not at first. A few points about the time it takes to write a blog post:

• Blog posts can be short, perhaps 300-500 words
• One blog post a week is a great start
• You can take advantage of guest bloggers

Think about it: 52 short blog posts a year, some of which are written by other people. Suddenly it becomes much more manageable.

3. I can’t afford it

This is the kissing cousin to “I don’t have time.” After all, time is money. For some, it’s a matter of financial expenditure. Putting a blog on your website could cost something in terms of getting your web designer to either add the blog, or for some of my clients, having to get an entirely new site, complete with a blog. That costs money. Often that money isn’t readily available. But I go back to my argument in the first point, that if it’s important, and you believe it is worth it, you will spend the money. I am continually surprised at how many businesses either have no website, or a really bad website that they can’t update.

I don’t mean to sound snarky, but hey, this is 2013 folks. If you’re not online, with a strong presence, there’s a good chance you’ll suffer. You can’t NOT afford to be online, and blogging is a big part of that. Even if you have to pay someone to do it for you. If you don’t believe me, I’d love to sit down and chat through the scenarios with you. It’s not a matter of spending the money; it’s a matter of when and how you spend the money.

4. I’m not a writer

You’re a business person; a manager. Your job is not about writing, so I get that. Many of us aren’t writers, or at least don’t think we are. Writing comes easier to some than it does to others. But again, there are options. I have one client who sends me notes or sits down and chats with me about ideas and concepts. In about five or ten minutes (see! It doesn’t take too much time!) I get all I need to write quality posts that help her business build a strong online presence that both her customers and the search engines like.

Add to this that blogging isn’t just about you writing content. Remember, in the second point I mentioned guest bloggers? Guest bloggers can be a huge help in creating content for your blog, and they can be your employees, customers, or representatives of other businesses.

Finally, not all blogs require a lot of writing. Maybe you can sit down in front of a video camera and speak, with or without notes, for one or two minutes. That’s all it takes, plus you get the added bonus of a presence on YouTube that links to your blog or vlog. Or in some cases, a series of pictures with a minimal amount of text will do. A lot depends on what make sense for you and your business, and what you are comfortable with. But certainly don’t be intimidated by the prospect of having to write a lot if you aren’t comfortable as a writer.

One final note: I know a lot of people who say they can’t write, but actually can. Give it a chance and find your voice. You might be surprised. I’ll often sit down with a client and help them write a few blog posts that might ever get published, just to show them that they can do it.

5. I have nothing to write about/nothing to say

Pish posh! (Said in my best British accent). You have a business or nonprofit. I’m assuming you love what you do (or did love it at one time) and are passionate about it. I hope that you are still excited about telling people about your business and what you do; the products and services that you offer. I’d bet that if I sat in your office or business for a few hours, and listened and observed, I’d be able to come up with a full year’s worth of blog post ideas for you. Might not even take that long. You probably spend a lot of time educating your customers and potential clients about what you do. That’s exactly the kind of things you write about on a blog. You might have what some would consider to be the most boring business in the world, but people still come to you and have questions, which you answer.

Take that passion, and the love for your business, and turn it into content for the web via your blog.

And like I said earlier, even if you think it’s boring and no one ever stops by and reads it or comments, don’t fret. That might not be the real value of your blog. Worst case scenario: you are creating content that Google loves and will help you with search engine optimization. That, in and of itself, is huge.

I could certainly go on and on about all of these, and would even welcome the chance to sit down and discuss them further with you if you have questions.

Are any of these objections the ones that you have? What other objections do you have, or have you heard, and how would you answer those objections?

Tomorrow on the blog I’ll be summing up my findings from my experiment in using list posts, particularly lists of 5, for the entire month of May. I discovered a few interesting things as you consider whether or not to use list posts on your blog.

Her update sparked quite a discussion, and while I don’t know the particular business in question, Amber could have been talking about any number of small, local businesses. In fact, no matter where you are, you could probably name quite a few from your area as well. And Amber brings up a few important issues in her update, ranging from the business’s digital presence, their email marketing, and their overall customer service.

Despite the constant changes, marketing in the online space has grown up and matured quite a bit over the past few years. There are so many different online platforms available to us, and new ones going on line every day. Hundreds of social networks, all sorts of marketing programs and philosophies, and it can get awfully confusing. As a small business, you have to spend your money and your time wisely, while maximizing your results. So of all the options out there, which are the most important?

Here’s a quick list of what I believe are the 5 most important online tools most of you should be using for your small business. Keep in mind, your specific situation might dictate something different. One of the most important things for any small business or nonprofit to determine is which social networks to use, and that decision needs to be based on what makes sense for YOU, and where your target audience is spending time.

1. A website

Let me rephrase that: a GOOD website. This may seem silly, but there are still a lot of small businesses out there that have no real online presence at all. Get a website. Period.

There was a time when having a website was a bit of a luxury as it could be rather expensive to build. Not so much anymore. A functional, visually pleasing website can be built for next to nothing. Remember: things have changed. The Internet is often the first place people go to find information about you. Not the Yellow Pages, not your ads; your website. If you don’t have one, you’ll get overlooked. Also, think of your website as the online equivalent of your brick and mortar presence. Take pride in it. Do you spend money on the upkeep of your building and facilities? Then you should be willing to spend the money necessary to get what you need. A website is no longer just an online brochure. It can be a living, breathing hub of activity.

2. A blog

If a website is the hub of your online presence, a blog located on your site is the heart. A blog allows you to tell stories about your business. It allows you to provide important information. It shows your customers (and potential customers) that you know what you are talking about. And it provides much of the search engine optimization (SEO) that is needed to get better placement in search engine results.

In their book, Naked Conversations, Robert Scoble and Shel Israel noted:

“Neither a press release nor a full-page ad in The New York Times will boost your search engine ratings as much as a regularly updated blog. The shortest, cheapest, fastest and easiest route to a prominent Google ranking is to blog often.”

SEO is important for any small business web site, but a blog can take care of a lot of that, and will most likely put you well ahead of your competitors who likely aren’t blogging.

3. Facebook

Of all the social networks out there, this is the one that I consider a no-brainer at this point. Over a billion people are on Facebook, and more than likely that includes a good chunk of your existing and potential audience. A properly built Facebook business page that is updated regularly with good, engaging content can be extremely effective. Plus, with the roll out of Facebook’s new Graph Search beginning, being on Facebook is even more important as a form of customer service and word of mouth marketing. I rarely tell any client that they need to be on one particular platform, but Facebook is the one exception, by virtue of its ubiquity in our culture these days. Your customers expect you to be there. If you aren’t there, and don’t have a website, you’re really missing out. There may be other social networks that will work for you as well, but Facebook is usually a good place to start.

4. Email/Contact Form

Apparently there is some sort of super power in being mysterious. Because I see a lot of businesses whose websites and social profiles fail to have proper contact information. Isn’t the purpose of having an online presence, and getting found online, and marketing in general, to get people to contact you? Don’t hide that information. At the very least you should provide a contact form and an email address, if not a phone number. And if you have a physical location where your customers can visit you, make sure they can find you. And as Amber said in her update, when someone contacts you about anything: your hours, your service, your products, make sure you contact them in a timely fashion. And that response should be timely regardless of how they contact you.

5. Location tools

If you are a brick and mortar facility, the most important location tool for you is Google+ Local, which used to be known as Google Places. You might even be there without knowing it, so you’ll need to claim and optimize your account there. Properly optimized, this gives users a chance to learn about you right there inside of their Google searches. Create your account, or find it and claim it, and then make it complete. Additionally, you might want to consider Foursquare, which along with Facebook and Google, gives your visitors a chance to tell others about you via check ins. Other search engines like Bing and Yahoo also have their own versions of location tools for small businesses.

Secondary Tools

There are plenty of other tools out there that work well with the ones mentioned above. these include everything from LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube to Pinterest and Instagram. Only you can decide, based on quantitative and qualitative research on what will work best for you, and where your customers are spending time.

But remember, once you commit to a platform, you need to follow through. Creating an account or presence and then not using it is not acceptable, and sends the wrong message to your audience.

Which of these tools are you using, and are there others that you believe are essential to your online presence?

Checking in online isn’t quite the rage that it once was when people were checking in everywhere on Foursquare or Facebook, but it still somewhat popular. I still advise my clients to make sure they have their check-in accounts set up properly, and for some, I encourage them to be more active in encouraging people to check-in by offering different types of rewards. According to Pew, more than 18% of all smartphone users used check-in apps in 2012, up from 12% the previous year. That might not seem like a lot, but it really is quite a lot. In fact, this year, there are about 33-million people using Foursquare alone.

In the end, it’s up to the users to determine whether they see any value, either in rewards or just the gaming aspect of it, in checking in to various places of business. For some, it’s just a matter of keeping a record of what they are doing and where they have been. And check-ins are just relegated to physical places. With GetGlue you can check in to television shows, movies, and sporting events. With Untapped you can “check-in” to whatever beer you are drinking at the time. But clearly, there might be times you might not want to check-in to certain things on those apps. For instance, you might not want to admit to the Untapped crowd that you are hoisting an Old Milwaukee. And there are certain TV Shows or movies that might be embarrassing for you if you tell the world you’re watching them.

But for actual locations, there are some which are best left unsaid and unchecked-in. Here are 5 places where you might want to keep the smartphone in your pocket and avoid the embarrassment of telling the world where you are:

1. Funeral homes

It might seem a bit classless if you’re checking in to Uncle Andy’s funeral. Even more so if you’ve checked in enough to be Mayor of the place. Of course, if you’ve checked in that frequently, it probably means your at the age where more of your friends are dead than alive. And of course there’s also that final check-in, the one where you don’t check-out.

2. Adult book store

We have two adult book stores a few blocks from each other in downtown Lancaster. I rarely see anyone going in or out of either of them, but when I do, they’re always looking around and lowering their heads, I presume for the purpose of not being seen. They don’t want their friends, coworkers, or even family members knowing where they are going. If that’s the case, you probably don’t want to check-in online and tell the entire world.

3. Prison

If people see you checking in to the local prison, there’s a good chance they won’t expect to see y0u checking in anywhere else anytime soon. At least for another five to ten. Best to just let them think that you’ve “gone on an extended vacation” somewhere. You know, rafting on the river rather than up the river.

4. Hair Club for Men

This actually goes for any sort of place where you’re getting any sort of “work” done, from body “enhancements” and tummy tucks to a new head of hair. Best to let them be surprised when they see you, rather than giving them the heads up before hand. Subtle is probably your best bet in these cases. If they’re gonna snicker and whisper, let them do it when you’re around, rather than before they see the finished “product.”

5. Unemployment office

It’s one thing for people to know you’re out of work, and a whole other thing to constantly remind them online. And again, becoming Mayor of the unemployment office as a result of being there too often might send the wrong message. Your goal is to get a job, not look as though you are completely unemployable.

Those are my choices for 5 places you might not want to check-in. What are your choices?

Work, work, work.

Sometimes it seems that’s all we do. And yet people decry social media, smart phones, and what not for being time wasters.

Guess what? There’s nothing wrong with wasting time. At least not in moderation. Sometimes you have to just sit and chill in front of the television to rest after a long, busy day. You know the saying, “everything in moderation.” Too much of anything is bad. And that includes work. So for today’s Friday Blogging Experience during my May Month of Lists, I thought I’d share with you my 5 favorite time-wasting apps; the ones I go to when I just need to relax a little.

Since a number of these are games, I feel I must point out that I’m horrible at video games. If I ever play a game like Halo with my kids, I’m dead ten times before I’ve even spotted them once. I hate fast games, and especially those where you have to do more than one thing at a time. So that colors the types of games I play on my Android. For instance, I have tried Temple Run, and I have about as much success on there as I would if I were running through that course in real life. I’ve also played Angry Birds in the past, but gave up when I hit a level I just couldn’t beat, no matter how long I tried, and no matter how many video run-throughs I watched online.

Additionally, I’ve excluded apps like Facebook, Instagram, and the like which I DO use to chill, but also use for work. And I’m not including Netflix, which I love, even for watching movies and shows on a small 5-inch screen.

So here’s my list of 5 apps I use when I need to wind down a bit. (Note since I have an Android, most of the links I’ve posted are for the Android version of the app. If you have an iPhone or iPad, I’m sure you know how to use Google to find your apps) Also, I don’t like paying for things, so all of these are free, though some do have paid, premium versions you can get with more features:

1. Ruzzle

This is my latest obsession, and I do pretty well with it. This game is basically a generic version of the popular game Boggle, which I also do well at. I think it taps in to my inner Rain Man. It’s a timed game, so there is a speed element, but once I get in the zone, watch out. I love playing this with my friends, and I think I’m pretty darn good, so feel free to challenge me.

2. Say the Same Thing

This is another new favorite that we started playing in person, and I want to play on the app, but I need more opponents! The game was invented by the members of the band OK Go, and they invented the app so they can play each other when they aren’t together. The cool thing is, you have the opportunity to get in line and play against a band member. To fully understand the concept of this game, watch this video from the band. But seriously, download it, and let’s play! Oh, and after you see the video below, try playing this in person with some friends or family. It has created quite a lot of laughter in our home.

3. Candy Crush Saga

OK, for the most part, this one is truly mindless. It’s a one player game, but the kind where you progress through levels and it sucks you in. Big time. On Angry Birds I get stuck and can never progress, but on this game, when I get stuck, I eventually find my way. In fact, one little trick I’ve discovered is to play on both your computer and your mobile app. The game is available through Facebook, and sometimes when you’re stuck on the computer version, you can win on the app version, and vice versa. But right now I’m seriously stuck on level 125, and I get oh so close at times. There is strategy, for sure, but it’s a great time waster.

4. Words With Friends

So this one is a bit old school, at least in terms of popular apps. It’s the “other” version of that popular word game known as Scrabble. There’s a whole story behind the battle between these word games, but I’ve chosen WWF because I think it’s a better app. I love Scrabble, and the purists out there (including my own brother) won’t play WWF with me. Oh well, I have plenty of opponents and it provides a nice challenge, plus you can play at your own pace. Again, this one also connects with Facebook, so you can play online on your computer, as well as your mobile device.

5. Kindle

This one isn’t a game, and while I love REAL books (the printed kind) and don’t own a Kindle or Nook, I find the Kindle app really handy. I’ve downloaded quite a few free books, as well as others from friends and online folks, and there is always something for me to read. Right now reading the Henry Wood Detective Agency by Brian Meeks and Ctrl Alt Delete by Mitch Joel. Plus, if you are patient, and like to explore, a lot of newer books are offered for free, or low cost, at various times in their life cycle. Also recommend How to Use a Runaway Truck Ramp from my friends Shawn and Maile Smucker.

Honorable mention

And if you want to channel your inner old guy, here are a few games I occasionally turn to when I need something completely mindless, slow, and easy:

• Roller Ball - a version of the arcade game skee ball
• Office Jerk – Be the office jerk and throw stuff at your nerdy coworker.
• Paper Toss – If you don’t want to throw stuff at coworker, try throwing wadded up balls of paper into a trash can.
• 3D bowling – Just like it sounds. Bowling. For fun.

Now it’s your turn. What are your favorite time wasting apps, regardless of the platform? How do you like to chill or let off some steam?

The other day I talked about using Vimeo as one option, though of course the biggest option for video uploading and sharing continues to be Youtube. But regardless if you use one or both of these services, or even another option, video can be a great way to tell your story and grab attention. And remember, making a video today does not need to involve lots of money or high priced equipment. Yes, you can do really nice productions, but for some videos, it is perfectly acceptable to use webcams or smartphone cams.

Here are five different types of video content you can use online to grab and maintain the interest of your audience:

1.Take them behind the scenes

Every organization has a certain level of business that goes on behind closed doors. The general public only sees a portion of what you do. Why not take your video cameras behind closed doors and show them a bit more of what makes you tick. Of course you won’t be sharing anything that is too private or proprietary but they might like to see how you make or package the products they buy from you. If you give them unprecedented access you’ll make them feel like insiders, as you demystify your business for them.

2. Tell them your story

You could write about the history of your business and what you do, or you coud sit in front of a camera and tell them your story. Which do you think is more compelling? Tell them who you are, from top to bottom. Whether it be the owners or a lower level employee, customers like to get to know you, and we all have stories to tell. Tell the story of your business, and the stories off the people that make up your business. Let them get a better sense of who you are so they become more comfortable and personal with you.

3. Tell their story

While you may tell them your story, it’s not about you. Make your business customer centric and share the stories of your customers. They don’t even have to be about how your customers are using your products; just showcase them. Let them tell their stories. It’s a great way to get them more involved with your business, as well as encourage other people to get to know you better through the eyes and words of those who already know you

4. Educate them and show them how

One of the most popular types of video on Youtube is the How-to video. How to tie your tie, how to fry an egg, how to do just about anything. If I’m having trouble with a task, I will Google it, and find my way to the videos that pop up that will teach me how to do whatever it is that I want to do. No matter what your product or service, give your customers step by step instructions on how to do things, and they will appreciate it. Educate your audience, and do it for free.

5 Make them laugh

Again, this could be business related, or purely random, but people love to laugh. People also love those who have a sense of humor, particularly at their own expense. One way of doing this might be to jump on some of the memes that go around the video world. One friend mused out loud to me once about wishing that she could get some of her employees to do a Harlem Shake video, which would have been funny since the employees in question were mostly older men. Her biggest concern, and yours, is whether or not it could be done well enough, and timely enough, so as not to be too late to the craze. In the end she didn’t go through with the idea, but you should be on the look out for opportunities that might come your way. Just make sure you don’t jump on a meme too late, or it could backfire on you.

What other types of video content can you create for your small business or nonprofit? What are your favorite types of videos?

Many businesses still don’t have blogs. Many of those who do blog, don’t do a very good job of it. And of course there are those who create great content, but don’t do a good job of connecting with their readers. It’s one thing to publish the content, but another to get it out there, get readers, and then connect and engage with those readers. How you do that can vary, depending on who your audience is, and what your overall goals are.

But it is important to move beyond merely just creating and publishing content. In fact, if your small business is blogging, why not go the extra step and have a little fun with your readers and audience. Sharing moments of fun can be great for community building.

So with that in mind, here are five ways you can have fun with your blog readers:

1. Go off topic in comments

This might not work for every business, but if you start getting comments, make sure you respond and ask more questions. As you get to know the commenters, feel free to veer off topic. You can facilitate this by using a commenting plugin like Livefyre, which encourages a more real time type of commenting. Some of the blog communities I’m involved in excel at this, with commenters and bloggers having multiple conversations involving jokes and more. Some purists would say that all comments should be on topic and serious. I used to think this. Not anymore. I’ve seen how people can become more like a community.

One caveat: too many inside jokes and a failure to include newcomers can turn people off. You want an inclusive community, not a clique.

2. Turn the blog over to them

Guest posts are great, but even better when they come from your pool of regular readers. As you get to know your readers, let them take the reins. Invite them to submit posts based on their own experiences. Not only will it free you up a bit, but your readers will appreciate the gesture. For instance, since tomorrow is the Friday Blogging Experience, and I’m doing lists of five this month, I’ll be running a guest post from a friend of mine that is a little…different. But, you’ll just have to wait until then to find out.

3. Crowdsource

Even if you don’t use your readers as guest bloggers, you can pick their brains. After all, they are your readers. That makes them smart, right? And since you’re writing for them, why not ask them what they want you to write about. In fact, that’s what I did with this post. I wasn’t really feeling the post I had started so I went to Facebook and asked my friends and readers for help:

I fully expected all sorts of goofy answers, which is what I got, however the very first response from Jamie Wallace was the title of the blog you’re reading right now. I liked it, and I wrote it. And the conversation went on for some time with some rather interesting and funny responses, involving me buying pizza for all of my friends, bacon, hippies, goats, and more. Yeah, I know; I need new friends.

4. Interact with them off of your blog

This is exactly what I was doing when I was crowdsourcing on Facebook. I do this fairly often, and also interact with my readers on other platforms. In fact, some of the local ones have become friends, and some are even clients. This gives you a chance to get to know them better (and vice versa) and let your hair down a little. No need to always talk about the topic of your blog, after all, you’re all multidimensional with a variety of interests, some of which you might share with one another.

Oh, and the interaction doesn’t have to be online, it can be offline as well.

5. Have them take you out to dinner

Once you get to know them, you can hang out with them and even let them treat you to dinner. What’s more fun than that? So who’s first? ;)

Those are my ideas, now how about yours. How do you like to have fun with your blog readers?

Over the years I’ve worked with a lot of small businesses and nonprofits. I’ve submitted all sorts of proposals to work with even more, only to have them rejected or ignored. I’ve spoken to thousands of people in various groups, and heard their questions.

I’ve also gotten very good, in most cases, at knowing up front which ones will make good clients, and which ones might be more trouble than they are worth. And I’ve noticed that ones that don’t seem to “get it” have a few things in common, most of which could be summed up in two words: mindset and culture.

But to break it down a bit further, there are certain themes that come up either directly or indirectly, during conversations that raise red flags for me. Sometimes I feel that when businesses use the phrase “social media,” I should respond in Inigo Montoya fashion:

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

These are the 5 things I wish small businesses understood about social media, as they seek to expand their online presence properly:

1. Social media is not traditional media

Most small business owners are familiar with traditional media: broadcast, print, outdoor, and direct mail. They’ve used, or at least tried, most of them. In fact some of them have used traditional media so long that they approach social media from that same mindset. Traditional media is about delivering a message over a period of time. Social media is not completely about the message, and certainly not about pushing. It’s more about customer service than it is marketing. It’s a two way street. Traditional media is also built around campaigns. While you can build campaigns into your social presence, social media itself is not a campaign. Social media has no end date.

2. Social media is a long term proposition with a different type of ROI measurement

Small businesses are used to talking about impressions, and seeing fairly quick results and return on investment from their marketing and advertising efforts. If they don’t see the ROI fairly quickly, they assume it hasn’t worked and try something else. Traditional marketing is generally built on quick results: get people in the door to buy your product. Boom. If you start using social media with the expectations of a rapid ROI, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. I always make this clear in my first meetings with prospective clients. I tell them to think of social media as a digital form of what goes on in their brick and mortar presence, rather than any sort of specific marketing messaging. I let them know that if they do it well, and stick it out, they will reap the benefits, and that the goals might actually be different. But, in most cases that won’t happen overnight. If you’re gonna get in, get in for the long haul, and understand what you’re measuring.

3. Social media does not exist in a vacuum

For some reason, small businesses seem to think of social media as its own little entity. They have their marketing and communications plan, and then…they have their social media. They have their website (maybe), and then…they have their social media. It’s as if they operate in two very different worlds, only one of which includes social media. Social media only works when it is part of a fully integrated whole. Online integrated with offline. Social integrated with traditional.

4. Social media is not merely an add-on or extra

Going along with the previous point, many small businesses treat social media as the proverbial red-headed step child. I think part of this is because they still view it as a novelty. I think part of it is the mentality that it is “free.” I think part of it is that they think social media is what “the kids do.” That sort of mindset leads them to put social at the bottom of the list when they are thinking about communications. The “get around to it” mentality. You know, they’ll get around to social media once they take care of that print campaign, oh, and that sales brochure. And of course the radio commercial. Out of time and money this month? No problem! We’ll get to it…eventually. No. Eventually never comes. Not only is social media NOT some extra nice thing you use when you have free time, but it might just be more effective at the center of your strategy.

5. Social media isn’t Facebook

For many small businesses, social media = Facebook. Now, I understand that it’s often the first thing to come to mind because of how big and pervasive it is. But not only does that cheapen the value of social media in our minds, it minimizes the role and power that social media can have. Yes, Facebook is big. Yes it can be an important part of your online social presence. But…it is not all there is to social media. As far as I’m concerned, social media really is everything you do online, including email marketing and even your website. Just because you are on Facebook doesn’t mean you are “doing” social media. It’s not quite as simple as that.

Those are the five things I wish small businesses understood about social media, how about you? Are there any other things or beliefs you see that need to be addressed or challenged?

Social media. We know all about the big networks. Ask anyone to name a social network, and you’ll most likely hear them say, “Facebook” or perhaps, “Twitter.” And if you press them further you might get them to mention YouTube, Google +, or Foursquare, and maybe even LinkedIn.

These are the networks that just about everyone knows, and many of us use. If you’re using social media as a part of your online small business or nonprofit presence, those are also the networks you are most likely using to promote your organization. Depending on your goals, and of course your audience, these are the networks that make up your online presence. When I work with clients, these are often the first ones we talk about using, for a variety of reasons.

But there are a lot of other networks that are smaller and lesser known that also can be really useful for certain businesses, and add another dimension to your online presence. Here are five that I happen to like, and think have great possibilities.

1. Behance

We’ve all heard of Pinterest and Instagram, but Behance is another image based network of which many aren’t aware. The main focus of Behance is that it is a social network for those in the visually creative fields. It’s a great place for artists, graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, and more. More than 60 different categories, as varied as fashion, culinary arts, automotive design, and cartooning. This is where you create an online portfolio of your work, that is then easily integrated into other networks, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as your own website. It’s a great place to show off your work, as well as find visually creative employees or freelancers. Check out the profiles of my friends Jena Miller (Graphic Design), Matt Lester (Commercial Photography), Carol Cool (Writer), and Jason Heisey (Graphic/Web Design), then spend some time exploring the site.

2. Soundcloud

Soundcloud is perhaps the hottest platform for those creating and sharing audio, whether it be music or spoken word. I have friends who are musicians who post their work on Soundcloud, both as works in progress and final productions. Many podcasters and radio programs use this platform as one of the places where they store and archive their programs, such as my friend Kat Krieger who produces the Brand Fast-Trackers podcast. Also check out the work of my friend Bill Speakman and his band, Second Sky, as well as musician Deni Gauthier.

3.Vimeo

If pork is the other white meat, Vimeo is the other video uploading and sharing service. YouTube, owned by Google is…huge. But that’s not the only consideration. I think the best way to compare the two is that if YouTube is Top 40 radio, Vimeo is more like your local public radio station. In short, EVERYONE is on YouTube. Vimeo seems to attract a more professional, sophisticated, and artsy crowd. You’ll want to compare the features of both, and might even consider using both for greater reach, but definitely consider Vimeo if you are doing any sort of video creation and content marketing. Check out this channel from my friend Danny Brown, as well as one from my client, LCBC.

4. Slideshare

In the marketing world, Slideshare is very important. Anyone who makes any sort of presentations at conferences will often use Slideshare as a way of distributing their presentation afterwards so that it is easily accessible and shareable. And it’s not just confined to speaking presentations. Sales presentations, webinar graphics, or any sort of presentation you want to make available to customers and clients can easily be stored and shared via this platform, which integrates well with LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Think of it as an online version of Powerpoint that can be shared. It’s a great way of showing off what you know. Check out these Slideshare examples from my friends Shonali Burke, Marijean Jaggers, and the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

5. Spotify

My current favorite music listening and discovery service is Spotify. While musicians are a bit torn over the service, it’s great for making playlists of any type, as well as discovering new music. Using the embeddable Spotify widget, businesses and organizations can create their own playlists to share online. Even if your business isn’t music related, certain types of music might mesh well with your business sensibility. Some businesses play music on premises, and a Spotify playlist online might be a nice addition. Perhaps let your employees or customers create their own playlists. I’ve considered sharing some of my playlists on my website and Facebook, and will probably do so once I launch the redesign of my site. Locally, the Launch Music Conference used the Spotify widget to embed a playlist of participating bands and artists on its website, giving people a flavor of what the festival would be like.

In addition to being of value for creation, storage, and sharing of content, these platforms are also great for discovery and idea generation. Spend some time in each of them nosing around and you’re bound to find things that spark ideas for you.

How have you used any of these networks, and which other smaller networks are you using for your small business or nonprofit?

As cellphone technology advances and becomes more affordable, small businesses are starting to take notice. Or at least they should be. The fact is, many small business owners are smartphone users, and as consumers, they understand the importance of a good mobile experience. But many don’t seem to translate that and make the leap to apply that to their own business presence online.

According to a report from Flurry,

The rate of iOS and Android device adoption has surpassed that of any consumer technology in history. Compared to recent technologies, smart device adoption is being adopted 10X faster than that of the 80′s PC revolution, 2X faster than that of 90′s Internet Boom and 3X faster than that of recent social network adoption.

Additionally, mobile technology analyst Horace Dediu reports that even with 57% penetration, “the rate at which Americans are buying their first smart phone isn’t slowing down.” Meanwhile, the Teens and Technology 2013 study from the Pew Research Center finds that, “78% of teens now have a cell phone, and almost half (47%) of them own smartphones.”

In short, smartphone and mobile technology is growing fast, with no signs of slowing down. Small businesses need to consider this as they build and maintain an online presence. Those with no online presence are falling behind, while others need to adapt to the new mobile reality.

Here are five things we need to consider as we seek to remain relevant in an increasingly mobile connected culture:

1. Small is the new big

While our television screens seem to be getting larger, our computer screens are getting smaller. More of our online experience is happening on mobile devices than ever before, and smartphones and tablets are becoming more prevalent. This means your customers will very likely be accessing your website and other online properties on a small screen, not just a laptop or desktop. Tablets and smaller phone devices are becoming the norm. This means your website needs to be mobile ready. For WordPress users, there are plugins that can fill in the gaps for a short time, but a responsive theme is more important. (Right now I use the WPTouch plugin, but will be moving to a more responsive theme in the near future). Don’t wait until you have to play catch up. Start being more forward thinking so that you’re not only helping your current mobile-using customers, but also ready for those who haven’t yet moved to smart phones. The time is coming soon.

2. Apps over browsers/Social over search

If our customers are doing more on their smartphones, we need to know HOW they are doing it. When it comes to mobile devices, either phones or tablets, the browser experience is still a bit slow and cumbersome. The easiest and most pleasant moble experiences usually happen through apps. For this reason, among others, social networks have a real edge over search engines when it comes to smartphones.

All of the major social networks have apps that your customers are using. Make sure your social presence is strong and fully optimized. This doesn’t mean you need to be on every network; as always, only choose the ones that make sense for you. But a strong presence that is accessible by apps on mobile devices makes it easier to be found via mobile devices.

One caveat: SEO is still important. People still use laptops and desktops and still use search engines. But the face of search, and the role of SEO, are changing.

3. On the road and on the go

This may be one of those “master of the obvious” moments, but one of the major draws of smartphones is portability. A computer in your pocket. That’s right, you too can butt dial the entire internet. We’re no longer tied to our homes or desks. We can go online and check out your business (and your competitors) no matter where we are. In a car, on the sidewalk, or even right outside your door. Your marketing, messaging, and communications plan need to created and conducted with mobility and portability in mind. While some believe social networks force people to stay at home on their computers, mobile technology allows us to be out and about more.

4. Now is the most important time

Everything happens in the now. With smartphones, your customers can be online while in your business. Think of the smartphone as a megaphone. They are talking about you online, while talking to you offline. Not only are we no longer confined by space, we are also no longer confined by time. Customer service is a 24/7 proposition. Your customers might not expect you to respond to their questions or complaints at 2 a.m. on a Saturday, but they do expect a response, and they do expect it in a timely fashion. You can’t put your online presence on auto-pilot. Monitoring is of utmost importance.

5. Your competition is in your house

When your customers bring their smartphones into your business, they’re bringing your competitors with them. As they peruse your products and pricing, they might be comparing them with those of your competitors. And your competitors aren’t just the guy around the corner; they include other small businesses from around the world, as well as larger online retailers like Amazon or eBay. This means you need to up your competitive level a bit and find a way of standing out. Perhaps one of the most important areas where you can excel and compete is that of customer service. They might be bringing your competitors through your doors, but that doesn’t mean they have to win.

Now is the time to take a look at your business model and your marketing plan and look at them through the smartphone lens of your customers.

How do they experience your business on their mobile devices? Answer that question and make the adjustments that will make you more competitive.

But not all donations need to be of the direct monetary variety. Donors are tighter with their money, and are becoming more concerned about where the money is spent. As a result, they sometimes want to give in different ways, and sometimes they might even like something in return. From the point of view of the nonprofit, creativity is crucial.

With that in mind, here are 5 non-traditional and creative resources that nonprofits can use to get donations of both money and items.

1. eBay Giving Works

Ever see a bake sale or yard sale for the purpose of raising money for a charity? Well, now you can do it online. eBay Giving Works offers everyone a chance to sell their old stuff, collectibles, and just about anything online, for the benefit of your favorite nonprofit. You can set it up so that either all or just a portion of the sale price goes to the charity. You can set up an account for your organization, and ask your supporters to sell their items on eBay with you as the beneficiary. People can search for your nonprofit and even purchase items that will directly benefit you. Here’s an example from International Justice Mission.

2. Amazon Wish Lists

Many of us have put items that we want for ourselves on a wish list on Amazon. It acts a bit like a bridal registry. But Amazon also allows nonprofits to put wishlists together. For organizations that take in-kind donations of material goods, there is often the risk that they will receive items that they really can’t use, despite the best intentions of the donor. This way, your donors can shop for you online, and have the items shipped directly to your organization. Here’s a small example from my clients at Water Street Ministries.

3. Crowdfunding

If you’re nonprofit is looking to start a new program or initiative, crowdfunding might be the way to go. Platforms like Kickstarter, Rockethub, and Indiegogo are just a few sites that can help you do this. Each platform has its own set of rules as to what you can and cannot do, so make sure you look at the all options before deciding on which one to use. Here’s an example from a youth theatre organization that used Kickstarter to fund a production of the musical, Oklahoma.

4. Fundraising contests

Platforms like Razoo and Crowdrise not only make fundraising easy, but they allow your donors to create their own profiles and participate in online fundraising competitions, to see who can raise the most for your organization. Sometimes adding that little bit of competition can spur people on to not only give more, but to talk about your nonprofit more, particularly on social media. The competitions can be between your own donors, or even between other nonprofits in your area, as was done locally with an event called The Extraordinary Give, which raised more than $1.6-million for local nonprofits in just 24 hours. It was such a success in its inaugural year that they’ll be doing it again this year.

5. Music and arts

Many local communities have strong art, music, and cultural scenes. I know that’s the case here in Lancaster, PA, with a cultural vibe thatcontinues to grow. One local nonprofit, Music For Everyone, tapping into the music scene to raise much needed funds. Each year local musicians and bands submit songs for inclusion on a compilation CD that is then sold to raise money for music education funding. And the quality of the music and performances is incredible. While this particular nonprofit is focused on music, any nonprofit can do something like this. I have one nonprofit client that is supported by quiet a few musicians and bands in our community. I’d love to have them donate songs for the purpose of releasing a CD which can be sold to raise much needed funds.

What other non-traditional or alternative means have you seen for helping to raise funds for nonprofits? Which of these are things you might want to try?

The rapid growth of Pinterestwas one of the big social media stories of 2012, and by all accounts, the platform is continuing to see strong growth in the first half of 2013. What was originally a platform used by women is now expanding across wider demographics, and some businesses are even using the network in rather creative ways. If your small business or nonprofit is not yet using Pinterest, now is a good time to take a look at how it might fit into your overall digital communications plan.

Remember, anyone can just pin their products to Pinterest. That’s boring. Look beyond the obvious and find more creative ways of drawing people in and encouraging growth and repinning activity.

With that in mind, here are 5 ways that small businesses can use Pinterest more effectively:

1. Employee boards

Have you ever walked into a music or book store and seen a shelf of employee recommendations? Pinterest is perfect for this sort of things. Give each of your trusted employees their own board to play with. For a high end salon, let each of your stylists have a board to show off their work, or images of hair styles they like, to give customers a sense of their individual styles. You hire employees for their expertise and they are a big part of your brand. Let them show off their styles, interests, and sensibilities.

2. Customer boards

Your customers are the reason you are exist. They buy your products and services, and presumably are happy. Think about opening up some boards for all of your customers, or maybe just a few for some of your more loyal customers, to let them share what’s on their mind, particularly in relation to your products. Perhaps they can show off how they are using your products to inspire other customers.

3. Ideas and How-to

Rather than just showing off your products, explain to users some of the ways in which they can use your products. My friend Kim Carlo works at Stauffer’s of Kissel Hill, a regional chain of grocery stores and garden centers, and she does a great job with their Pinterest boards. Since they sell food, they offer boards with recipes on how to use that food. Another very popular board is one on Fairy Gardening and Terrariums, with ideas on how to use plants and other items purchased at the store.

4. Share a wide variety of content

We hear the phrase content marketing a lot these days, and it simply means you are creating some sort of content for your customers, whether it be blogs, ebooks, videos, or something else. It’s one thing to create that content, but another to give it legs. We share our content on Twitter, Facebook, and G+, but why not Pinterest? As you can see from the above image, SKH creates original “Gardening How To Videos” that are not only on Youtube and their website, but are pinned to their own board. I have a board of my own where I share both my own blog content as well as other blogs that I find interesting. It ends up being a good source of traffic. Plus, sharing the content created by others is just a good thing to do.

5. Contests

Brands big and small have learned that Pinterest can be a great place for a contest. “Pin it to Win it” contests have been done by Macy’s, Land’s End, Campbell’s Soup, and Volkswagen, to name a few. Have your customers pin their own images to your boards (perhaps integrated with Instagram) as a means of winning a prize. It’s a great way to get user generated content while building buzz and engagement.

Consider these ways of using Pinterest, and see if any might work for you and your business. Understand your audience and discover if they are using Pinterest, then figure out how they are using it.

What other creative ways have you seen businesses using Pinterest?

Yesterday morning while walking Shadow I took notice of some of the bumper stickers on the cars I was passing. It was a rather interesting array of sentiments and loyalties, slapped on the back end of vehicles.

The messages varied from political and religious statements to favorite causes, teams, or bands. And of course educational affiliations were very present. Here’s a sampling of the bumper sticker messages I found, sometimes alone, and sometimes along with other bumper stickers:

“God Bless the Irish” paired with “Take my Hand, and not my Life” (with a picture of a fetus)

“Planet Fitness,” “POW/MIA,” and “Watch for motorcycles”

“Roburritos” (a local burrito place)

“If knitting were exercise, you could bounce a quarter off my (butt)” with “I love my Pomeranian” and “Warning: Dog Bites Republicans”

“Pittsburgh Steelers” and “Lebanon Valley College Dad”

“A quality public education is America’s promise to every student”

“Buy Fresh, Buy Local”

“walk in love,” and ”CI Records”

“Phillies” and “Baby on Board”

“Semper Fi” and “Lancaster Barnstormers”

Now remember, there is a lot of context here as well. The type of vehicle that sports the sticker in question can impact how we view it. Is that sticker touting an environmental cause on a hybrid or a gas guzzler?

The neighborhood or town is also important. A Dallas Cowboys bumper sticker in Philly would say a lot (and be dangerous). If the car is in motion, how the driver is driving might also color how you view the message on the sticker.

And of course you, the reader, are a part of the equation; your opinions, beliefs, and loyalties will also impact how the message is received, especially if you strongly agree or disagree with the message on the sticker.

In the same way, every tweet, every pin, every item posted or shared on Facebook tells us something about you or your business. For sure, it’s not the sum total of who you are, but it does color how we view you. And that can be troubling. If you’re anything like me, you might even share things that are in direct opposition to your belief system.

But I know that when I look at the messages that people slap on their vehicles, I make judgments about them. I look at their statements, and make educated guesses about who they are. Fair? Perhaps not, but we do it all the time.

As people come across your tweets, just one at a time, they will take them as isolated representations of you and your business. They will use what they see as a way of determining who you are.

Out of context? Perhaps. But reality, none the less.

If they look at several tweets, they might get a better idea, kind of like those cars with two, three, or even more bumper stickers.

We can’t control the way people receive our messages, but we can carefully choose what messages we convey. We think about our Twitter and Facebook content within the framework of everything we say and do, but those on the receiving end don’t always see the whole. They might only see one of the trees in the forest, and judge the rest of the forest based on that one tree.

Don’t labor over every little nuance of every little tweet. But be cognizant of what you are saying and how you are saying it. Understand the wide variety of contexts that others bring to the reception of your message. One tweet can make or break you.

The month of May is going to be an experimental month here on the blog. It is the fifth month, and of course some of you will be making a big deal about the fifth day of the fifth month, or Cinco de Mayo. Well, for the reasons I list below, I’m doing an experiment. Every post this month will be a list of five thing. Five tips, five ideas, five reasons, five this, five that. A gimmick? Perhaps. But I want to play around a bit and see how this works. Read on for more.

I love list posts. But I used to hate them. When I first started blogging, I avoided them like the plague, even though all the books and articles I read about blogging told me how wonderful they were. Finally, I gave in and decided to give them a try, and wouldn’t you know, they were right! And to this day, list posts tend to be among my most popular posts on the blog.

List posts are big in the world of social media and online marketing, but they are also met with a lot of scorn and derision from purists and those who feel that lists aren’t intellectual enough. I used to think that way, but lists actually have culture and history on their side. In an interview with Der Spiegel a few years back, semiotician/author/philosopher Umberto Eco was discussing his book, The Infinity of Lists, and discussed the importance of lists in our lives and culture:

The list is the origin of culture. It’s part of the history of art and literature. What does culture want? To make infinity comprehensible. It also wants to create order — not always, but often. And how, as a human being, does one face infinity? How does one attempt to grasp the incomprehensible? Through lists, through catalogs, through collections in museums and through encyclopedias and dictionaries.

The list doesn’t destroy culture; it creates it. Wherever you look in cultural history, you will find lists.

…in cultural history, the list has prevailed over and over again. It is by no means merely an expression of primitive cultures…the list is certainly prevalent in the postmodern age. It has an irresistible magic.

Lists are a part of our culture. We all make lists, whether they be lists of our favorite books or songs, or even something as simple as grocery lists or to-do lists. Lists help us keep track of things and organize our lives. They bring order to our lives and help us focus on what is really important.

In the world of blogging, they can be incredibly helpful as we seek to explain and communicate. Here are 5 reasons I like to use lists on my blog as I seek to educate and inform others on the topics of social media and marketing:

1. They drive traffic

List posts draw people in. The title is enough to entice people in, while setting expectations about what they will be finding. If the title of a post is, “7 Ways to Use Vinegar to Clean Your Home,” the reader knows exactly what they are getting. There are no surprises because the titles tend to be more utilitarian and less literary. When they read the title, they know right up front whether they want to click or not. No matter what, when I look at the traffic on my site, the posts that generally do the best are the ones with numbered lists in the title.

2. They work well with how we read

Sadly, we are losing the art of reading. At least long-form reading. I know that when I’m online and perusing blog posts, I tend to scan. I look for certain words that grab my attention, based on what I expect to find. We scan; we skim. And a nice list separated by numbered headlines or bullet points makes it easier on the reader. And with the rapid growth of mobile technology, this is becoming even more true. When reading a post on a small device, it is much easier to read a list than it is straight text in narrative form.

3. They are built for SEO

List posts tend to be easier to structure for search engine optimization using keywords and various H1, H2, H3, etc. headers. Plus, since they drive traffic, they are more likely to get inbound links. In short, they offer everything that Google wants. That isn’t to say that other types of posts don’t, but it tends to be easier to optimize a list post.

4. They are easier to write

When writing a list post, it’s easier to organize your thoughts in a meaningful way, while avoiding the rambling that can occur from normal narrative writing. Think of it as writing an outline before you write a paper…and then never writing the actual paper. It’s a skeleton on which you can put as much flesh as you want. I’ll admit that when I sit down to write a list post, I generally don’t even have a number in mind. I might start with “7 Tips” and as I write, two more tips come to mind, upping the number to 9. In fact, as I write this post, I keep thinking of more points, but rather than go beyond my goal of five, I’ve decided to try and combine thoughts and make more generalized points. So to that end, the number that you use is purely arbitrary, depending on how broad or focused you would like to get.

5. They are easier to use and remember

Have you ever tried to describe a blog post to someone when it is written in a more narrative form? Sure, it can be done, but it’s not always easy to get to the heart of what is being conveyed by the writer. But if the post is a list, it’s easier to remember and tell your friends,

“Hey, I saw this post with 5 ways to….”

And then rattle off the five points from the post. They are easily actionable because they are easy to remember. This is one of the reasons why we write recipes the way we do. They are easier to follow. And if lists are easier to read and remember, they will also get shared more often, as people find them useful.

Coming up Fives

So now, for the rest of the month of May, all of my posts (at least the ones on weekdays) will be lists of five. Some will be original to me, some will be guest posts. In a few cases, I might take an older narrative post and convert that content into a list of five things. Even my non-marketing posts for the Friday Blogging Experience will be lists of five. In fact, if you’d like to contribute to this month’s experiment with a list of five, let me know in the comments and we can chat about what works, and I’ll share the results of this month-long experiment with you sometime in June.

Do you keep lists? How have you used lists on your blog?

Dear Justin Timberlake,

Yawn.

Seriously. That’s the best I can muster for your new MySpace.

Why?

Well, it has nothing to do with the interface. It’s pretty darn slick looking. Though the navigation can be rough at times.

The music? Well, I love music. It was my favorite part of the old MySpace even before it went all-music under the people who were in charge before you.

So why am I bored?

Because it’s too little, too late. People left in droves. I had an account there that I couldn’t find when I got back. So I had to create a new one, just to nose around. And as I walked the hallways of this shiny new beast, I heard a lot of echoing. Of my own footsteps.

“Anyone in here?”

Nothing. No response.

People left. They went to Facebook. And Twitter. And other platforms. And now the social strata has settled a bit. We have a variety of platforms, each with their own unique angle. Facebook is Facebook. Twitter is Twitter. Same with Pinterest, Instagram, and yes, even Google+ (which is still trying to figure out its own identity).

But you keeps trying. I keep getting emails from you telling me how cool it is, and that I need to come back. I wouldn’t even be writing this except that the past few days brought a spate of articles about the platform, and I assume you’re on a bit of a press junket. So I dropped by for a visit.

Yawn.

“But it’s for music and bands, Ken!”

Well, yes it is, JT (may I call you that?). If I were a band or musician, I might create an account there, just for the sake of hedging my bets and being there. But I wouldn’t spend a lot of time and effort on it, that’s for sure. It would be just for the sake of having a presence. If I’m a band that’s any good at any marketing at all, I already have a website. And I’m probably on Facebook, and maybe even Twitter or YouTube, not to mention Bandcamp, et al.

I’m not saying that some other social platform won’t come along. I’m not saying that you don’t have a chance (though if I were a betting man, I’d put down a pretty high bet against you). And I’m not saying that Facebook is the be all and end all of social platforms. Remember, I’m the guy who used to tell people that MySpace was king, and that no one, not even Facebook, could topple MySpace. I was wrong then, and I certainly could be wrong again.

What I am saying is that we seem to like what we have at the moment. Unless you can tell us, and even better, show us, why we need to be on your platform, and what you’re offering that others aren’t, I don’t think we’re going to flock there. I have no clue what the next big thing in social media is, but I’m pretty sure it’s not MySpace.

I’m sorry, but that’s how I feel. I just think you bit off a bit more than you can chew, and perhaps you can use it as a tax write-off next year. Not a good idea. Don’t take it personally. I actually kinda like you, especially if you keep doing those cool videos with Jimmy Fallon! And Suit & Tie was certainly kinda catchy.

It was one thing when you brought sexy back, but bringing MySpace back? Not so much.

Anyway, good luck with this endeavor. And don’t give up your day job.

Sincerely,

Ken (a fully recovered MySpace addict)

A picture hits the web and people start making their own, either with their own Photoshop skills or through a service like the Meme Generator. Others might do their own version of a popular video, perhaps lip-syncing to a song. Some memes take off, while others whither and die.

OK, so memes are fun. They make us laugh. Sometimes they make us laugh so hard we cry. Sometimes they make us think. Very often we like them so much they compel us to share them.

But what if they could also make us some cash?

That’s where the start-up MemeToPrint comes in, giving you the chance to not only create your own meme, but helping you push it out both online and offline while getting the chance to monetize your meme. The cool thing about MemeToPrint is that in true Internet fashion it was started by two people who met online, my friends Kat Krieger and Ryan Cox. Normal interaction via Facebook, comments on a picture of Kat’s daughter, and the next thing you know, they’re starting a business. I love when that kind of thing happens.

The thing I love about this idea is that there are very real small business and non-profit applications to this. You see, the thing about memes is that you can’t fully predict or define them. It’s like a video. People make videos hoping they’ll go viral, but they rarely do. Then again, the definition of viral can be different for different videos. For many small businesses or non-profits, all they care about are a few thousand views in their local region. That’s viral enough for them.

Consider the possibilities. As I sit here writing this, I’m thinking about how my small business and non-profit clients could take advantage of this.

Rather than just jumping on the latest trend, perhaps there is an image of your own that you can capitalize on. Turn it into a meme that helps define who you are, either as an individual, or perhaps a business or non-profit. Take that meme, upload it to MemeToPrint, and suddenly you have the chance to not only get the meme shared on a wider basis, but also to monetize it. How cool would it be to see people wearing your meme t-shirt around town?

And of course you can get your fans and customers on board and do a little meme crowdsourcing. Get user generated and submitted content, perhaps through a contest, as they submit either their own images, or create captions for the images you provide. Let them vote on their favorites. Get them involved and they’ll be more likely to share it online or purchase your meme-laden products. A sense of ownership can be a wonderful thing. I can think of plenty of ways this would work for my clients, and I have one friend in another state in mind who could really use this in big ways. A small business owner with a strong social presence, and his own name and image closely tied with that business. His customers would eat something like this up. (And, yes, I will be contacting him with the idea).

Once you upload your business or non-profit related meme to MemeToPrint, you have the ability to then have it placed on t-shirts, and eventually other items, which can be purchased by you and your supporters. Plus the mechanism is in place to have them spread the word on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or any other platform.

Create a meme, and then monetize it while hoping it will go viral.

Will it work every time? Probably not. But now there is a platform in place to help you get there and it’s worth a shot and could be a cool way to extend your branding.

Or, you can just use it on your own and have some fun!

How do you see something like MemeToPrint fitting into your business model and marketing mix?

I felt OK. I got out of bed, fed the dog, and logged on to check my email. After deleting the irrelevant ones (which was most of them) I clicked on my “alert email” from TalkWalker, only to discover that I had died.

Well, OK, it wasn’t really me, but the email contained a notification of an obituary for someone else with my name. Yes, there are other Ken Muellers in the world.

I posted about my untimely demise on Facebook, and my friend Lynne asked:

“You keep your name on a Google Alert?”

Well, yes. I do. Or, I did. That is until Google announced they were sending the alerts packing, along with some of their other products, like Google Reader. But I’ve done that for years. And I’m not alone.

This is called brand monitoring, and it’s the one of the most important things any business or person can do. While I no longer use Google Alerts (and quite frankly, that product wasn’t working very well anymore), I do use TalkWalker, thanks to a recommendation from Gini Dietrich at Spin Sucks.

Oh, I don’t just monitor my own name. I have alerts set for my business name, the business name’s of my clients (and some of their competitors), as well as various important industry search terms for myself and my clients.

Monitoring your brand, whether it is your business or your personal brand, is crucial.

It’s through monitoring, or listening, that you learn what people are saying about you, both for better or for worse. It’s how you can learn about what you are doing right or doing wrong. It’s how you can learn what your competitors are up to.

In short, monitoring your brand can provide you with all sorts of useful information to help you with marketing, sales, PR, customer service, HR, and research & development. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Those TalkWalker alerts that I get in my email throughout the day are just one of the tools you can use for listening, because no tool will catch everything. Others include:

Twitter searches and lists (that you can use to create columns within Hootsuite or other Twitter clients)

Your social properties – This may seem like a no-brainer, but if you’re on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Foursquare, you better be paying attention to what people are saying there. Or not saying.

Review sites – Sites like Yelp, Urban Spoon, and the like are great resources for finding out what your customers think. Just make sure you wear your thickest skin. And claim your listings on those sites while you’re at it.

Brand monitoring apps – There are a ton of these that range from free to pretty darn expensive. Most small businesses and nonprofits will want to go for the free ones. Rather than reinvent the wheel, here’s a list of 10 Free Brand Monitoring Tools, another of Ten Must Have Free Tools for Brand Monitoring and Reputation Management,

Surveys – Then of course you can be proactive and seek out opinions. Good ol’ fashioned surveys might just do the trick, if constructed properly and distributed to the right people.

Search engine searches – Apart from the alerts, do regular searches in the search engines, as well as specialty searches of blogs, and more. Alerts and other tools don’t always turn up everything. In fact, just this past week, a combination of alerts and a Google search turned up some information about a client that has the potential to cause some problems. But because we are monitoring the brand online, we are aware of the situation, and can prepare for any potential fallout.

Another client, while monitoring their brand on Twitter, noticed a local blogger badmouthing them. During the ensuing public conversation, the individual admitted to not even having tried my client’s product. My client invited the person in, in exchange for an honest review on his blog if he enjoyed it, which he did. Proactive monitoring and engagement turned into some good press for my client.

So, yes. I do monitor what people are saying about me and my business. I monitor what is being said about my clients. I see the good and react accordingly. I see the bad and determine whether adjustments need to be made (or if they are merely the work of trolls and bullies).

Remember, you might need to filter through the results. Since I’m not the only Ken Mueller on the planet, I get all sorts of interesting results. But I also find instances of when my online work is being stolen or “borrowed” by others. And it can be funny at times. Don’t just rely on tools, because they might give you skewed results. You need to read through your findings and conduct your own sentiment analysis to separate the good from the bad.

But by all means, start monitoring your brand online.

Oh, and I’m still very much alive, thank you.

What tools do you use for monitoring what others are saying about you online?

In my very first paid job in radio, back in the 80′s, I did overnights at a pair of stations in Western PA. Our FM station was automated, and while I was live on-air on the AM side, I recorded my breaks for the FM. Yes, I was a DJ on two separate radio stations at the same time. I had to look ahead at the logs, figure out which song would play when, and say the appropriate things. Sometimes 5 or 6 hours in advance. Now remember, this was in the days of automation where computers weren’t quite so sophisticated, so there was a lot of guess work involved, and when it worked, it was wonderful. But the entire process was fraught with all sorts of opportunities for error. And boy, was there error. Thankfully there weren’t many people listening at 3 in the morning!

I was reminded of this process several months ago when I read an article by Mark Ramsey, titled Great Radio is Heavy on Humanity. Radio is an industry that has evolved, and often for the worse. At some point in the 70′s, research took over, and automation soon followed. The entire process became rather formulaic, and today, most radio stations are rather indistinguishable from one another. I could write blog after blog about the long history of radio, and it’s transformation over the years, as that is a particular area of interest and research of mine, but that will have to wait for another time. This post is about the larger aspects of business.

The inspiration for Mark’s piece was related to a quote he gave from Seth Godin’s book, The Icarus Deception. In it, Seth says:

We don’t need more stuff, we need more humanity.

That quote hits me right where I am at this moment. I think about what is happening in the online world, and more specifically with the way business are using social media, and I see the parallels, albeit on a much faster learning curve.

In radio, most anyone will point to the consultants as the cause of the decline of this once great medium. Outsiders who got paid to come in and make things “work” for them. Cut costs, increase sales, and the like.

The end result is that it sucked the humanity, or perhaps personality, out of the industry. This is why I’m concerned about marketing on the social web. By nature we are social creatures. As Mack Collier points out in his recent post at Spin Sucks,

“If we were to start naming the reasons why most people use social media, our top three choices might look something like this:

• To stay in touch with friends and family
• To stay up to date on news and information that’s important to us
• To network and connect with others to improve our lives (maybe job-hunting or dating)

The point is, we use social media because we are trying to fulfill our own self-interests, not because we want to sell more stuff for Brand X.”

We are on social media for ourselves, not for the businesses and marketers who are there. We are there to be social. Go figure.

But now the conversation, at least in marketing circles, has turned to things like automation and big data, and influence. Everyone is talking about them and trying to figure out how to harness big data to sell more; how to use automation to cut costs and increase profits. How to harness influence to make more money.

I’m not anti-data, and I’m not necessarily anti-automation. And while I have reservations about how it is measured, influence is a key component to the social economy. But the conversation scares me. It’s less of an issue for me and my clients, because most of them are small businesses and they’ll never be able to afford any real automation or big-data enterprise solutions unless they become much more scalable.

I think what bothers me the most is that for many businesses, data and automation are not seen as tools, they are seen as quick fixes and shortcuts. The mentality is that if we cut here, and cut there, and replace this with something leaner, we’ll be able to do more and make more. While I understand the need to increase the bottom line, I worry about the end result. I wonder what this will do to how we approach social media.

“We don’t need more stuff, we need more humanity.”

Seth Godin’s words ring true.

Big data can be great. In fact, data of any sort can be important. Automation can also be great. But we can’t forget about the humanity. Those things will only work well in tandem with humanity. The human element is what makes social media social. If we begin to rely TOO heavily on data and automation, we run the risk of losing the human side. Big data has its own set of potential problems.

Remove the human element at your own risk. To paraphrase Mark Ramsey’s post on radio:

Great marketing is heavy on humanity.

Great business is heavy on humanity.

It is scalable. It can work.

Use data. Use automation. But by all means, go heavy on humanity.

How are you combining data and automation with a large dose of humanity?