Catchin’ Up in the Feed Reader | June 12

June 12, 2009 by Kathy Drewien · Comments
Filed under: Bloggers Say - Updates from My Reading List

I’m always reading ‘round the web to stay on top of small business trends, social media, and emerging technologies.

By creating News to Use I have a built-in bookmark for stuff that captures my attention. I hope you’ll find some of the posts useful, thought-provoking, and worthy of sharing.

Don’t miss the news. Subscribe to this blog in your feed reader, or use the email subscription box.

Real Estate Internet Marketing: How Successful People Accelerate Their Business to the Next Level. Peter shares a very powerful strategy that if you incorporate into your own business, you’ll gain more freedom, get more done, and accelerate your business to the next level.

All of the attention you think you should be spending on online marketing in the many digital channels and platforms will bring your company zero return if you don’t have a website that is not only nice and easy-to-use, but findable through all of the search engines. Hold Off on Twitter – Fix Your Website First!

How to Be More Human We’re on the social web because we want to connect with other human beings and we want them to act like them. Being human means talking like a human.

What does it mean to make content that causes people to feel something about themselves when they read it, and something about themselves when they share it? Viral Marketing: We Share What Defines Us

Is Fear Stopping You From Being Successful? Fear can keep you from starting your small business. Fear can keep you from expanding your small business. Fear can also keep you from adequately promoting your small business.

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Catching Up On News ‘Round the Web Jan 27

January 27, 2009 by Kathy Drewien · Comments
Filed under: Bloggers Say - Updates from My Reading List

I’m always reading ‘round the web to stay on top of small business online marketing success and emerging technologies.

I’ve created a new category called Catching Up to organize articles of interest to me, and I hope to you.

Don’t miss Catching Up. Subscribe to this blog in your feed reader, or use the email subscription box in the right column.

Reflections Over Coffee Our opportunity is to grow, to be shaped. But our lives are shaped by our relationships. Who we hang out with, who we drink coffee with, what we talk about while we are drinking coffee will shape us.

I understand that more people would be interested in church if we spent more time over coffee. It is valuable to sit side by side and sing and listen. (It really is.) But somehow, I think I need to spend more time sitting face to face talking and listening.

Acorns and Oak Trees True success comes from the building of relationships. Of loyalties being forged. Of give and take and the combining of good ideas and openness to encourage greatness.

Aim high – there’s nothing wrong with that. But just take a minute to think what’s going to get you higher – two giants 100 feet tall who control you, or hundreds of normal sized people who respect you.

Lose Control of Your Marketing! New Free eBook For decades, companies have offered Web content as lead bait. But the goal should be to get the word out about your organization, not to misuse the Internet for the sake of an outdated technique.

For your ideas to spread and rise to the status of a World Wide Rave, you must give up control. Make your information on the Web totally free for people to access, with absolutely no virtual strings attached.

What are you catching up on? Use the comments to share highlights from your reading.

Catching Up on News ‘Round the Web

January 19, 2009 by Kathy Drewien · Comments
Filed under: Bloggers Say - Updates from My Reading List

I’m always reading ‘round the web to stay on top of small business online marketing success and emerging technologies.

I’ve created a new category called Catching Up to organize articles of interest to me, and I hope to you.

Don’t miss Catching Up. Subscribe to this blog in your feed reader, or use the email subscription box in the right column. Or you can subscribe to Catching Up only and not receive my other posts.

It Ain’t About the Technology That’s my standard response when asked about Social Media. That’s not to say technology is unimportant, but that technology never really changes how people behave, think, and feel. Human nature drives that; technology only changes the constraints previously placed on human preferences.

Image by luc legay via Flickr

Community and Social Network Research
Strategy: Online Communities: Build Or Join? (Hint: the answer is ‘when’)

Resources: How to Staff for Social Computing (Like any business program, key people are needed, and here’s there two roles you’ll need to succeed)

Best Practices: Online Community Best Practices (I interviewed 19 brands that have done it right, and to find out how, remember: only 20% is technology)

In my opinion, Twitter is not about making money, it is about building relationships.These relationships might be business or personal in nature. Regardless of the type of relationship, being overly “sales-ish” or pretending to be something that you are not seems to turn people off and will discourage Tweeters from following you.

What works? Be yourself. Be honest. Give good advice and thank people who are giving you advice when you need it.

What are you reading this week?