2009 May | flyte blog: small business web marketing blog

Archive for May, 2009

Add Music to Your Tweets with Blip.fm

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

OK, so you've been tweeting for a while now, but something's missing and you can't quite put your finger on it.

Well, if you're thinking that it's music that your tweets are lacking then you're in luck. Although Blip.fm is a standalone social media app, it can be a Twitter add-on as well.

But I get ahead of myself. First, visit Blip.fm and set up a free account; once you have, you are now officially a DJ.

Blip.fm works a lot like Twitter.

Twitter has tweets, Blip.fm has blips, which are short messages with a song attached.
Twitter has followers, Blip has listeners.
If you like a tweet on Twitter you can "retweet" it, if you like a song a song a DJ plays you can "reblip" it. You can also give that DJ props to show how much you like it.

I don't use Blip.fm to discover new music, although I have discovered new songs and artists through some of the DJs I listen to at Blip.fm. I just find the music is too eclectic–even within the same DJ–to make for good listening.

Instead, I use Blip.fm to inflict my musical taste upon humanity. Banana Splits, anyone?

To do this, you put in your desired song and/or artist into the Blip search box. Not every song can be found, which is annoying if your taste runs a little esoteric. Blip.fm will bring back several versions, and you can preview each one to make sure it matches up with what you were looking for. Then you can add an accompanying message of up to 140 characters.

Once your account is set up you can sync it to your Twitter account (and your FriendFeed account as well as some other services) so that your blips appear as tweets.

Keep in mind that Blip.fm adds a musical note and a URL to your tweet, so if you maxed out the 140 characters on your blip, it might get cut off when it becomes a tweet.

Please feel to add therichbrooks to your favorite DJs on Blip.fm once you set up your account.

If you want to listen to that beta version of Bruce Springsteen's Thunder Road, here it is.

Rich Brooks
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life

Posted in Off Topic, Social Media | No Comments »

Social Media & Time Management: Yes, It’s Possible

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

The question I can most reliably count on during any presentation I give on blogging or social media is "how do you find time for all this?" or "how long does this all take?"

Recently, when I was presenting to the National Association of Professional Organizers, I mentioned that I was about to write an article on time management and social media. Almost everyone in the room wanted a copy of that article.

Although the use of social media marketing is going mainstream–every news organization sports a variety of pro-am blogs, the "graying of Facebook," and Oprah jumping on Twitter–it can still seem overwhelming to small business owners and entrepreneurs who already have too much on their plate.

In this month's issue of flyte log, our email newsletter on Web marketing for small business, you'll find a three-step process to get your social media activities under control.

Whether you're using social media for research, networking, sales & marketing or some combination of the three, you'll find advice on how to better manage the time you spend with these powerful new marketing tools.

If you're concerned with how much time you're spending on Twitter, or have been avoiding Facebook or LinkedIn because you're concerned other work will suffer, check out 3 Steps to Better Time Management of Social Media Marketing.

For additional resources on time management and social media check out these sites:

Rich Brooks
That Social Media Guy

Posted in Business Philosophy, Entrepreneur & Small Business, Social Media | No Comments »

10 Marketing Tips for Professional Organizers (and Everyone Else, Too)

Monday, May 4th, 2009

I'm just back from Orlando where I presented twice on Web Marketing for Entrepreneurs and Social Media Marketing to NAPO, The National Association of Professional Organizers.

I met with a lot of cool (and well organized) people and over drinks (mostly bourbon) we discussed what small business and solopreneurs could do to better market and grow their business.

I thought a lot about some of the unique challenges professional organizers face, and so here's my list of 10 things professional organizers can do to better market themselves.

Get listed in local search. Your business is local. That should drive a lot of your marketing choices. Improve your visibility in local search by visiting GetListed.org, which will walk you through the process of getting listed in the four most important engines for local search.
Don't use an AOL, Yahoo, Cox.net, Comcast or even Gmail address on your business card
(or anywhere else.) It reeks of amateurism, and you're no amateurs.
You're professional organizers, and your email address should be
promoting your brand, not AOL's.
Where are you? Your business is local. Include your address on your business card. On the 100 or so business cards I got at the conference, only two had addresses. If you're not comfortable putting your home address on your business card at least get a PO box or list the cities and towns you do business in.
Leverage social networking sites. In a service industry like yours, your personality will drive a lot of buying decisions. By getting involved with Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn you can make invaluable connections.
Find local people. Your business is local. (Sensing a trend here?) If you're on Twitter you can use tools like Nearby Tweets to find local businesses and home owners who may be in need of your services.
Convince me "certified" professional organizers are better. For laypeople, we don't know why professional organizers need certification, or what the benefit is to us. Make sure this comes across in your marketing materials and when you talk to us.
Use Article Marketing. Article marketing is an inexpensive way to get your name out there and generate dozens or even hundreds of incoming links to your site. Articles on "Cleaning Out Your Inbox" or "Spring Cleaning Tips and Tricks" (depending on your audience) are good places to start. (Check out this article on article marketing, although it needs some updating.)
Start a blog. In my experience blogging provides the best return on investment of any Web marketing campaign, and it ties in search engine optimization and social media. It also turns a static Web site into a publishing platform that can grow with your business. In fact, WordPress (a popular blogging platform) doubles as a content management system (CMS) platform, allowing you to turn a static Web site into a publishing platform. Read more about the best CMS for small business here.
Create videos. Video is an essential tool for marketing, and with your client's permission, you can create simple before and after videos of home or workplace "transformations." Use Tubemogul.com to maximize your visibility.
Use email marketing to sell more product. A monthly, opt-in ezine with tips and advice can include e-commerce links to popular organizing products in your online store.