I just read an excellent post on bridge jobs for babyboomers. Now, th
is is inspirational because it shows it encourages baby boomers to look at jobs for the purpose of staying productive. Yet, I am stuck on the fact that so many baby boomers I know are just trying to add to their pensions.
A bridge job for many is an essential job for many baby boomers who lost their jobs or need to pay for benefits until they reach medicare eligibility.
So, look at this post and share with others who may be thinking about staying productive or just plain need a job.
Virtual Events (VE) are some of the most effective tools for presenting valuable information via the telephone or Internet, creating new products, increasing your profitability, and reducing your marketing costs. Using Virtual Events such as teleseminars, webinars and webcasts are one of the fastest ways to introduce yourself to prospective clients while nurturing relationships with existing clients at the same time – all with one simple telephone call or online event! No matter what business you are in, VEs are one of the most profitable avenues to business and/or personal success. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
It appears that many many baby boomers are buying and selling on Ebay. Now, some are doing the selling to augment retirement income. While others are seeking hobby focused collections. Whatever the case Ebay is one of the largest online auctions around.
I found this well written, comprehensive article by Philip Moeller. He writes for US New and Reports. He also has extensive experience in business journalism, including reporting, writing, editing and publication design and production, both in print and online.
As such, he is a credible source for the article I am sharing with you. This article looks at the baby boomers and Ebay use. It also gives a birds eye view of what is hot for purchase and sales on Ebay. I loved it. I think it will added value to your Ebay efforts as a buyer or seller.
As I continue my review of Facebook Fan Pages I have joined I thought it would be helpful to share this blog post. It is from a really cool blog called Indie Business.
Now, this is what I am going to do. I will review the article on improving your fan page. I just joined the Indie Business Fan page and will study the information and how they format their site.
I am not a Facebook Fan Page expert so it is in my best interest to stand on some tall shoulders. Remember, I am a baby boomer and that is how we do things, right? So, take a few minutes to read this power-packed article on enhancing your fan page.
Please share whatever changes you made to your fan page as a result.
Oh, did I tell you that their fan page has 1,031 fans? They must be doing something right!
I was just uploading my logo to my Ebay invoices and wondered how much we really use our logos online. What do our logos say about us and about our business?
If you look at my logo you see that it is an attempt to capture the myraid forms of communication. For us it includes online talk, offline talk, plus more all connecting with powerful diversity.
I hope that my logo shares the combined business efforts of both Ray and myself. As an artist Ray is teaching, training and teleporting folks into his art as much as possible.
This is another excellent post which is part of the
Boomer Credit Fitness Series
By Morlino and Lathea Morris
Business Credit and Capital: How to Get it
& Who to Get it From
Having access to capital is vital to the success of your business. However, due to the current condition of capital markets – getting capital or credit can be a difficult, if not an insurmountable challenge. So what do you do? Well, continuing to waste your valuable time trying to convince a traditional bank to loan you capital, approve a line of credit or credit card is not the answer. It’s Time For You to Investigate Alternative Sources of Capital & Credit! Most business owners have no idea about the numerous alternative funding sources
Join Special Guest Presenters along with Lathea Morris who will lead this teleseminar. She’s an entrepreneur andsmall business professional trainer who in many circles is known as the “Credit Guru.” She knows about capital resources – who to consider doing business with and who to stay away from. This is a Unique Opportunity to Learn About:
Alternative sources of capital and credit
How to get access to these resources
The new rules of credit and steps to take before applying for capital
Business credit scores
Never before has it been a time so urgent for small business owners to get practical advice on how to take advantage of alternative funding options. Register Now! Get a 10% Discount – Put in code:myguest01
May of us now may be looking to save money with our cell phones. Of course that depends on if you have a cell phone. But if you do this video produced by Bank of America was clear, short and informative. They even gave the pros and cons and decided on the winner.
It does appear that negotiation techniques would be an excellent video also. How do you negotiate for a better phone plan? What are the words you should say? What about your tone of voice? Any suggestuons? I will wait to hear from you before I call Verizon.
Are you making mistakes with your SMM? (Social Media Marketing)
I am honored to have Pam Lontos, a Public Relations Specialist as a guest blogger today. She has a powerful message on Social Media Marketing for every baby boomer business owner who has taken the plunge into the world of social media.
The Top 5 Mistakes of Social Media Marketing
By Pam Lontos
The Top 5 Mistakes of Social Media Marketing
By Pam Lontos
As a business owner, you already know the importance of utilizing traditional PR – print, radio and TV exposure – to keep your name circulating in the marketplace. Now, however, there’s a new PR outlet you need to become familiar with. It’s called Social Media Marketing, and when combined with your traditional PR efforts, Social Media Marketing can help you penetrate the marketplace with your message quicker and easier than ever before.
What is Social Media Marketing? It’s utilizing the various social networking sites to enforce your brand and market your business. A social networking site is simply an online meeting place. Think of it like an eHarmony or Match.com for business people. On such sites, people can post a profile with the hopes of meeting other like-minded professionals for business reasons.
According to the Nielsen Research Group, social networks and blogs have moved ahead of personal e-mail among the most popular online activities people engage in. Additionally, USA Today reports that the time spent on these sites is growing three times faster than the overall Internet rate. More than two-thirds of the world’s online population now visits social networking and blogging sites.
Knowing this, it’s clear that if you haven’t yet engaged in Social Media Marketing, the time to start is now. But before you do, you need to be aware of the top mistakes businesses make with this PR outlet so you can avoid them and get the biggest return for your marketing investment.
Mistake #1: Having more than one face on the Internet.
When you’re engaging in Social Media Marketing (called SMM from here on out) you’re really building your image from the ground up. The goal of SMM is to virally spread parts of your image across the Internet. The word “parts” is important. Basically, you’re starting with a holographic image of yourself in the virtual world. You then need to break that hologram apart and find the appropriate places on the Internet where you can frame certain pieces of that hologram.
When someone looks at all the pieces at the various sites, they should be able to put them together to see a single whole. They should not see multiple images of who you are, as that would ruin your credibility. Therefore, if you have multiple Facebook accounts, for example, your personal one has to be hidden and by invitation only. You don’t want that other image out there confusing people and possibly diminishing your reputation.
Mistake #2: Collecting friends.
SMM is how you create instant buzz on the Internet by getting the same message out over and over. It’s spreading your message and getting yourself branded so you can get more business. Social networking, on the other hand, is about making friends. For example, you’ve likely seen someone on LinkedIn who has 25,000+ contacts. That’s great, but what do you do with all those contacts? Remember, just because you have a phone book in your office doesn’t mean you can open the book at random, pick a name, and call them for business.
When you collect a contact, you’re supposed to be opening the door to exchange information and build a relationship. Think of it as relationship marketing in the 21st century, and the same rules apply. The only difference is that you’re building the relationship online rather than over coffee.
Mistake #3: Putting out the wrong messages.
You’ve likely seen people put posts on Twitter or Facebook that say something like, “John Smith is watching a great movie and eating popcorn.” Such messages may be fine for personal networks, but for business networks you need to put out messages that are useful to your readers. In other words, don’t talk about yourself. You want to give valuable tips and advice so that the people who read your posts want to repost them to their own sites. That’s how your message spreads virally.
The key is to keep your messages consistent. Remember that people are subscribing to various feeds in order to get your information. They are essentially saying that your message has value. That’s why you can’t do a series of sales tips and then post a couple of your favorite omelet recipes. You have to stay on message, and your message has to be for your readers.
With that said, it is okay to occasionally have a press release type message that says something like, “John Smith is speaking at ABC Convention on employee productivity today.” Such a message does two things: 1) It tells people they might not get a tip today or tomorrow because you’re busy, and 2) It shows that other big-wigs out there think your message is important. It’s a positive reinforcement that boosts your credibility, so long as you don’t do it too frequently.
Mistake #4: Posting inappropriate information.
Don’t allow yourself or anyone on your site to post anything online that you don’t want your most conservative client to see. You never know where something will end up, especially since the nature of the Internet is for things to spread virally. For example, a CEO of a corporation had a picture of himself and his girlfriend on a topless beach in Mexico. In the photo she’s riding on his shoulders with her breasts exposed. For some reason, he decided to post the photo on his personal invitation-only Facebook site.
The only problem is that he was married. His wife (or rather, his now ex-wife) saw the photo. How? Someone on his invitation-only Facebook account thought it was a great picture and decided to repost it on the public Internet. To top it all off, his board of directors got wind of the photo and fired him. Now he’s no longer employable in that field or that position again. The moral of this story: Never post anything on any site that you wouldn’t personally show your own grandmother.
Mistake #5:
Assuming that it is better to have your message in only one place on the Internet.
In the “old days” of the Internet, people believed they had to keep all their content on their own Web site. The theory was that spreading it out ruined your credibility and diminished your reputation as being a unique business. Not so today. In fact, with SMM, the opposite is true. The more places you can get your message to appear simultaneously, the more effective your message will be.
Think of it as constructing a funnel. You want to lay several trails of information, all of which lead to your main site. Therefore, no matter how someone stumbles upon you, as long as they “follow the trail,” they’ll eventually find you. That’s essentially what you’re doing with your Twitters and other SMM messages. You’re putting out kernels of information. If someone wants the next kernel, they have to follow the trail. Eventually it funnels them to one Web site, which is where you wanted them to be anyway. You’re creating an environment where people see your message everywhere. As a result, you now have their attention and you have the opportunity to sell your product, your services, or whatever you’re selling at that point of distribution.
Here’s an example of the power of funneling: Recently Aaron Chronester posted a message on Twitter. Someone saw his post and reposted it on their blog. CNN and the New York Times found the post interesting and reported on it. Because of that exposure, Chronester got a book deal from Simon and Schuster. So, what was his post about? Current events? Global warming? A tell-all celebrity biography? Nope. It was a Twitter post with a unique bacon recipe, as Chronester was trying to get publicity for a barbeque club he belonged to. That’s how powerful funneling your message can be.
Get Noticed with SMM
The marketplace is changing, and you have to change with it. Your name has to be everywhere – in print, on radio, on TV, and on the social networking sites. The more you can get your name and message circulating in the various mediums, the higher your chances of clients seeing your information and ultimately hiring you. Thanks to SMM you can get your message out to thousands of people in an instant. And the results are greater credibility, more exposure, and higher sales – all of which positively impact your bottom line.
Pam Lontos is president of PR/PR, a public relations firm based in Orlando, Fla. She is author of “I See Your Name Everywhere” and is a former vice president of sales for Disney’s Shamrock Broadcasting. PR/PR has placed clients in publications such as USA Today, Entrepreneur, Time, Reader’s Digest and Cosmopolitan. PR/PR works with established businesses, as well as entrepreneurs who are just launching their company. For a free publicity consultation, e-mail Pam@prpr.net or call 407-299-6128. To receive free publicity tips, go to www.PRPR.net and register for the monthly e-newsletter, PR/PR Pulse!
