Enjoying the satisfaction of finalising programme details for the special Copywriting Event I’m co-hosting on Wednesday 21st September. Am thrilled to be working with Lesley Hussell of Editing Edge who has first class skills and experience in this field (www.editingedge.co.uk)

We’re going to provide a very practical day for business owners & managers who are completely committed to implementing good copywriting skills to increase revenue and raise visibility. I’m really looking forward to the sharing all that energy and enthusiasm!

If you want to find out more, just click onto http://tiny.cc/rami3 for full details.

Teleseminars or Webinars: A Quick and Easy Guide Reviewing the Best Virtual Event for Your Business

Like many business owners, you want to offer and conduct webinars or teleseminars but are unsure of the processes involved. You may be confused by the terminology and want to know the key differences. This article will help explain some core features to help you decide which virtual event is best suited to meet your business needs.

The word webinar is actually a short way to say web-based seminar (web + seminar = webinar).

A webinar is a free or chargeable lecture/ presentation conducted and transmitted solely over the web. Webinar programmes such as GoToWebinar or Go To Meetings are free to download and use for attendees, but moderators (i.e. you, the host) will have to pay a small subscription fee.

All anyone needs to conduct and/or attend a webinar is a computer with speakers/headphones, and an internet connection. The webinar autoresponse system sends attendees a link and prompts them to register for the event (allowing you to build your list). Later, a reminder is issued. Using a link with a unique ID number sent by the webinar software, attendees are taken to the virtual “conference hall”.

There they see an introduction screen which you’ll be able to set up, outlining details of the event you’re hosting. During the event, you will be able to present slides, screenshots, video, and other documents. Attendees can type questions, raise virtual hands, and when invited, talk directly to you, the moderator.

Attendees can not only hear you and other attendees but they can see your high-quality presentation too. They can type questions which moderators can read and respond to directly. For convenience, attendees’ mics are muted unless the moderator allows them to speak on air.

Webinars allow you to speak to a large number of people in attendance at once, presenting key information remotely across the world at any given time. Businesses save on time, travel & accommodation costs as neither the presenter nor attendees have to be at a specific location at a specific time. Bear in mind however, your attendees will need access to a computer with an uninterrupted internet connection.

A teleseminar on the other hand, is just another way to say conference call. The advantages to holding a teleseminar are the same as conducting a webinar.

Teleseminars are used to launch products and services and/or provide training whilst providing the business an opportunity to build up a list of contacts that show an active interest. They have become one of the most effective and economical ways for businesses to increase sales and visibility. It is similar in set up to webinars but being less complex, are a cheaper option.

Many newcomers begin with teleseminars before deciding whether to use webinars to interact with their audience. Ultimately many find that they prefer the ease and convenience of teleseminars. Teleseminars have the moderator and attendees to dial into a bridge line for interaction and calls are often recorded to leverage future sales and marketing opportunities.

To conduct a teleseminar one can use software such has GoToMeetings or Intercall. The software is free to download and use as an attendee, but moderators pay a small subscription fee. If attendees use free VoIP packages like Skype, their call is free. If an attendee misses a live call, it can be made available as a replay, thus increasing the opportunity for list-building as new people sign up to listen.

With a teleseminar there’s often no presentation to see; attendees just listen and talk to the moderator and other attendees. However, teleseminars offer greater reach in that all the attendees have to do is use a phone to dial a number (they don’t need access to computers or the internet). The ability to record teleseminars means that you can leverage further income and list-building opportunities.

So, in the end, what’s the difference? Well, actually not very much…Teleseminars also help businesses reach a large audience plus save time and money.

Your choice will reflect your budget, and your need or preference for more functionality. Your decision will also be based on the degree to which your content requires a presentation to make it more attractive or accessible to your listeners.

Such considerations also influence pricing decisions. Learning techniques that ensure you create teleseminars/webinars which brings in revenue and list building are themes that I regularly share with clients. The processes involved have proven results. I do hope that this short article has helped with your own decision making – I look forward to hearing your feedback.

An Introduction to Personal Branding: Making the most of your expertise & experience

As part of my programme of practical online courses which I’m launching in January 2011, I’ll be looking at how you can build up your online reputation to promote your expertise and experience. Today’s blog touches on some of the key themes which I’ll be covering in more detail – if you’d like to find more about the courses, please do get in touch!

Increasingly, professionals are using social media tools to promote themselves, and create virtual calling cards for prospective employers and clients. Creating a brand profile to showcase your fields of expertise & depth of knowledge raises your professional standing and can help you become, in the current jargon, a “go-to person” in your discipline.

Using the new technology, professionals are creating personal brands which provide them with income streams, a following and improve career prospects. It’s a fast-growing and fast-moving field with some exciting innovations to learn from.

To develop a brand profile which stands out, let’s see what marketers mean by brand. Marketers define “brand” as… the marketing practice of creating a name, symbol, or design that identifies and differentiates a product/service/individual from other products/services/individuals…

So in marketing terms, you’re the “brand” creating a successful brand identity which shows what you offer to the marketplace, and what differentiates you from your competitors. A brand image is typically the attributes one associates with a brand (in other words, how you would like your client/prospective employer to perceive you and your services). Your personal brand should reflect an understanding of what your target audience needs.

Once you’ve identified and outlined your brand identity, you’ll be able to communicate messages which ally your brand with your audience’s expectations. Just remember that an individual can’t be all things to all people so your brand image & identity should focus on your authentic qualities.

Finally, creating a successful brand strategy will outline how, what, where, when and with whom you plan to communicate and deliver your brand messages.

My online course will guide you through the key questions you will need to ask of yourself to define your brand identity and image. Once you know what you stand for, you’ll need to consider what you want to say and how you’re going to communicate with your target audience. So many of us underestimate the amount of knowledge and experience we keep in our heads – following a strategy makes it easier to convert this information into viable income streams.

Use Twitter, your web site, a blog, etc. to write about your professional/personal experiences – providing your thoughts and commentary on the latest trending topics emphases your credentials and knowledge. The more information and interactive opportunities you provide, the better your content will be at educating, converting, and retaining your audience. Writing white papers, articles, newsletters will create content you can eventually convert into a print or an e-book/booklet, podcasts or videos.

My courses, “understanding social media for your business”, and “using social media to enhance your professional branding” will cover these aspects in more detail. To find out more, please contact me and I’ll be happy to help!

Sumi

Using Social Media for business series #1 Developing your online social skills

 

We’ve all heard about social media tools like Twitter and Facebook but it’s not easy to know where to start and why it’s worth getting involved. Knowing how to present business-related content through social media outlets is a factor many businesses are still getting wrong. Don’t worry – for it to be worth your time and effort, know what you want to get out of it before you start.

If you’re using social media outlets for business reasons, and not just to share your thoughts with the world, then first be clear what your business objectives are. For example:

• Are you selling a product or service?
• Do you have events that you would like people to attend?
• Would you like people to know that you have knowledge and experience in your field?
• Do you want to develop a community of like-minded people?

By establishing your objectives, you’ll be able to choose the right people to “follow” that is, those in the same field, or with a common interest (if you have interesting things to say, they might well follow you back). However, key to this is that by knowing your business intentions, you can write content that’s relevant and targeted to your audience. For example with Twitter, you only have 140 characters to use so you’ll need to make every word count.

Building relationships – customer relationship management with a social media twist

 

Whatever your commercial aims, what you’re actually going to be doing with Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and so on, is making relationships with potential or existing customers and clients. Giving value in your content through some useful information or even, if appropriate, humour, will endear you to your readership and help raise your follower numbers.

And, returning to your business objectives, the point of increased follower numbers is to increase your business opportunities and eventually generate income.

Remember that in this social media world, people are choosing to meet up with you and find out more about what you do. Communicating through this way is not like “interruption advertising” where you’re trying to attract attention through distractive marketing, but rather it’s about providing a steady flow of relevant information to an already receptive audience.

Thus your promotional and sales communications approach will be different to those you employ through traditional advertising. The emphasis will be on messages that demonstrate your understanding and appreciation of your customers’ needs and wants. Through your 140-character tweets and other content you can show you’re able to provide solutions, products, or services which meet these needs and desires.

How are your social skills…?

 

Think of social media in terms of a party where someone likes the look of you and wants to know more. They might start glancing your way, catch your eye, maybe even smile. They’re aware of you and you become aware of them. You both like what you see, and want to know more. Eventually you end up near enough to each other to begin a conversation… So what’s your next move?

• Start shouting at them about your favourite music, books, films, travel spots before they’ve said hello?
• Scream in their face that you’re single, solvent, and available?
• Bellow in their ear how your spouse doesn’t understand you/ you’re in an open relationship “so how about it…? “

Well, of course not!

As in the real world, in the Twittersphere and other social media channels, people don’t want to be sold to in an aggressive, loud, overly-commercial way. They want to know enough about you and your business so that they can grow to trust and like you. They want to be loyal to the business that listens to them, respects them, and meet their needs. They want you to show them that you are that business.

Sounds a bit touchy-feely, perhaps? Well, let’s put it this way, would you do business or spend money with people you didn’t know or trust…?

Think before you type…

 

So before you set up and account and start typing, do your homework first:

• Work out what you want to get from your social media experience
• Think about how you’re going to achieve this
• Review your marketing and promotional approaches – is it appropriate to the channel and your audience?
• Avoid hard-selling, aggressively commercial message and engage with your readers

   

In the next post, I’ll look at the consequences when you break the social taboos and walk away from your social media relationships! If you’d like to be updated on future posts, you can either sub to an RSS feed or email update.

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to leave comments or questions in the comment box below,

Best wishes,

Sumi

To tweet or not to tweet… should your business get involved with Social Media?

Welcome!

This blog is the first of a two-part introductory series that explores the benefits of using Social Media to sell or promote a product or service.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be adding further information and discussion based on the these key themes that this series has highlighted. For updates about future posts, please subscribe using the links provided.

 

Today, I’m touching on Social Media and how it affects customer relationship and brand identity.

The impact of Social Media
The growth of Social Media (SM) is a new and explosive trend, evolving rapidly just in the last five years. Its steady growth reflects the growing number of technological advances, accompanied by accessible pricing options for users. Significantly, many key Social Media tools are free to access and allow individuals and businesses to have a reach of millions within a global setting.

This geographical reach allows businesses to communicate directly with existing and potential customers locally, nationally, and internationally. Yet many SMEs are still unclear on how to make the best use of Social Media, and remain to be convinced of its value.

For individuals and SMEs using SM strategically within set business goals, the power of Social Media is increasingly clear.

 

Using Social Media to build relationships
One of SM’s primary strengths is the concept of engagement with customers. With increasing opportunities for interaction, both existing & potential customers/communities have new expectations of how a business should work with them.

Through Social Networks such as Facebook or Twitter, they want to interact with their chosen businesses and they want to know, (and “feel”) how your business and your business brand aligns with their own personal brands and values. In short, people are willing to do business with people they like and trust.

Decisive factors in why a customer decides to build a bond with you:

Desire – they want what you’ve got!

Ethics – they like the way you work

Sheer gut instinct  – they “like” or “get” you.

By collaborating on discussions surrounding ideas related to your industry and your business, and revealing your own (and the business’) ethics and values, you can build a  good relationship between you and the target community.

These are relationships which haven’t been paid for or cost very little (in cash terms), with people who have indicated interest in your business’ products/services. In direct marketing terms, these are hundreds or (if you’re really successful), thousands of “hot” contacts who want to do business with you!

In future posts, I’ll be looking at how you can develop relationships with your customers in more detail…

 

Using Social Media to support your Brand

A revolutionary aspect of SM is its ability to amplify Word of Mouth (WOM) recommendations to a wider audience. Your customers and potential customers can talk about you among themselves at their own leisure. Moreover, they’ll do so at great length if they’re either pleased or unhappy with your business or service!

SM is built on the philosophy of collaboration and shared opinion so feedback can be forthright, honest, or occasionally, even rude!

It’s in your best interest to take all opinions without rancour and try to put right what you might have done wrong. Using tools such as Google Alerts, or Twitter search, you can see comments made about your business and take proper action such as dealing with complaints, or thanking contributors for their positive remarks.

Getting actively involved and giving value are key tenets in SM relationships and if you show how you listen and respond, or are appreciative of customer feedback, you will have created good will as well as loyal followers.

Brand identity is important for individuals and businesses who wish to connect with potential customers and subscribers.  I’ll be adding further posts and resources to help you create a strong, relevant brand which will resonate with your target groups…

 

Part two of “To tweet or not to tweet… should your business get involved with Social Media?”
My next post in this introductory series will look at Appropriate Social Media Platforms for Research and Engagement and Identifying your Social Media Strategy. After this, I’ll be getting into Social Media Marketing in more depth! If you are interesting in learning more, please feel free to subscribe.

I look forward to sharing thoughts and experiences!

Sumi