Archive for the ‘technology’ Category

The difficulty in embracing public social networking outlets is the current inability to measure the success of your online community. A recent survey from Jupiter Research and Verse Group found that achieving measurable results was the number one goal of marketers in 2009. Which begs the question — If you want to know if your efforts are paying off, what can you do to obtain measurable results?

Public social networking platforms (like Facebook and MySpace) offer a free space to cultivate connections and collect friends. The data is frequently erroneous and the site lacks reporting features. On the plus side it is free and available and comes with a site name that everyone knows.

Private online communities and membership sites offer your members the same robust, entertaining features and ability to connect, while providing your administration with something that we all long for — accountability. Reporting features within private communities deliver a strong level of accountability and allow you to monitor and export data on your members and their activities.

The number of friends (or fans) on your public site is not a viable measure of return on investment. In addition to bogus information/member data, the ease at which someone can become a friend or fan of your site actually becomes a negative for your organization as many individuals will merely succumb to the ease/pressure of pressing a fan button because their friend sent it to them, not because they have any interest in your organization. Becoming a member of a private online community is a much bigger commitment because it is an active approach and one that speaks (silently) to their intention.

The perfect fit for your organization may be a combination of both approaches — having a public membership site that funnels traffic to your private site. It’s often a good tactic to incorporate public social networking sites into your marketing mix. It’s certainly a good idea to fish where the fish are! But be sure to bring them home to your organization’s private community — where you can capture valuable member information and provide measurable value to them in return.

About YourMembership.com Inc.
Founded in 1998, YourMembership.com Inc. develops online member communities and web-based membership software for associations, non-profits, government organizations, corporations, congregations, secondary schools, universities, foundations, fraternal organizations and private social networking sites. Serving hundreds of customers around the world, YourMembership.com creates truly dynamic, secure and connected member communities with all product features, design, hosting, future product upgrades and customer service included for one low fee.

David L. Sieg
Vice President, Strategic Marketing
YourMembership.com Inc.

Author: David L Sieg
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Creditcard Currency Conversion Fee

When I planned my first event we did NOT even have the internet! I remember that word processing was done on terminals, and the screen was black and the letters were gold. Now, we have flashy word processing that can be done without software via open source platforms like OpenOffice (Sun Microsystems) and cloud computing (Google Docs).

Perhaps you have been in the events industry just as long.

We were just beginning to use fax machines with the roll paper. Only senior executives had cc mail…and mobile phones – OH FORGET IT!

How many of you remember those days? Telling you that – I feel like a dinosaur, but really I’m the Gen X-er. Isn’t it true that as experienced planners we may be of one generation, but we work with and serve quite another?

Take a look, for example, at the tools we now have – my how things have changed.

* Smart phones

* Flipcams

* The NET and it’s blogs and social networks

We now have laptops and all kinds of editing software to makes forms, and capture leads right at the time of sale!

It is precisely this shift in technology that necessitates a change in the thought process of today’s meeting and events professional. Attendees are consistently exposed to technology and will expect an “experience” when they attend events. Here are some tips from experienced strategists: Nate Riggs of Social Business Strategies, Will Burrus of 247Interactive, and Eric Leslie of Be On Scene:

Skyline Exhibits Panel Tips

Here is some of the chatter from the event last week!  Go to live feed.

I’m going to just review what I believe is the future of the web and that’s mobile technology.

SNOW ALERT- “SNOW DATE IS 2/12″  SAME PLACE. SAME TIME.  BE SAFE.

Columbus women talk tech!

Join a few women in the area who may not have met live-in person. We’ll savor tea and some of Tehku’s best delights. Relax after a long week. Talk tech and see how great minds make things happen!

If you’ve ever crashed while sending the all-important message of the day, or couldn’t open a critical document, or just down-right couldn’t afford the newest version of software, then you’ll appreciate the value of open-source.

Open-source is a part of web 2.0 protocol and enables the creative, technically savvy and ingenious programmer to create software that builds community and is generally easy to use and adaptable. Here is a compilation of alternative open-source programs that might make your life easier.

I’ve tested the Open Office programs and loved them!

Social Media Get’s a Search New Tool: Who’s Talkin.com.

WhosTalkin.com is a social media search tool that allows users to search for conversations surrounding the topics that they care about most. Whether it be your favorite sport, favorite food, celebrity, or your company’s brand name; Whostalkin.com can help you join in on the conversations that you care about most.

Interested in reviewing the tool? Comment and tell us what you think!

Web 2.0 Expo is a global annual gathering of technical, design, marketing, and business professionals who are building the next generation web. Web 2.0 Expo features the most innovative and successful Internet industry figures and companies providing attendees with examples of business models, development paradigms, and design strategies to enable mainstream businesses and new arrivals to the Web 2.0 world to take advantage of this new generation of services and opportunities. Web 2.0 Expo is co-produced by O’Reilly Media and TechWeb.

Here is a clip form the keynote (Oct. 2008).
2009 is planned for March 31-April 3 (San Francisco, CA)

If you read nothing else in this article, remember this – be compelling.

This week I’ve been in many conversations about website and marketing content, and to me, it all boiled down to communicating in a compelling and memorable way. So, I thought I’d share some of the dialog with you from two sources: 1) from a collaborative partner on my team, Gerry Black; and also, from an article I posted entitled:

Creative vs Technical – the battle of website development! (on The Virtual Wire’s blog, Saturday, December 13, 2009).

Excerpts from Gerry’s article “Is Your Marketing Penny-Wise and Pound-Foolish?”

Even though many of us become knowledgeable about effective marketing strategies, somehow, some of what we learn never makes it to the front line – the point where our sales proposition is laid bare in front of our prospect for consideration.

Here are three things that could be hurting your marketing results along with some suggestions on what you can do to correct them.

1. Thinking a web site is ready for prime-time because it was created by a “web site designer”.

This can be a costly misconception. Many web designers rely on their clients to supply content. Most web designers have no idea (or any interest) how to write compelling copy. Nor should they. That’s why they’re designers.

But here’s the problem: Many have no basic understanding of how to create a home page that presents a client’s selling message effectively. Unless a web site designer is getting content from someone who knows how to write and present a sales argument, chances are the site will do very little other than occupy a spot in cyber-space for which the client pays a monthly hosting fee.

Much of the content on web sites today has been cobbled together from brochures, competitors web sites and presentations that are equally as weak.

Don’t believe me? The next time you’re in surf mode, check out how many home pages – where the all important first impression occurs – are missing most critical selling element of all – an attention getting headline that offers a clear benefit to the reader. Happy hunting. Many home pages don’t even mention the word “you” in the copy. It’s all about me. Them. You know what I mean.

So, why would companies lay out all kinds of dough to have a web site designed and then cram the home page with copy the reader won’t respond to?

Many simply don’t understand that the best design in the world can’t make a web site with dull “me too” copy perform. If you think your home page copy falls into this category, it may be time to have it reviewed. You may be spending valuable marketing dollars driving customers to your web site only to have them click away in search of a competitor who has a better answer to the question they arrived with, ‘What’s in this for me?’

2. Not marketing to existing customers.

It’s amazing how many businesses will spend money trying to get new customers while leaving one of the greatest incremental revenue streams sitting untapped right in their own backyard in the form of their current customer list.

To win a new customer, you have to cut through the clutter like everyone else is trying to do. Not only is this becoming more difficult to do for even the most sophisticated marketers, it’s very expensive. Every year, the potential customers we chase after are bombarded with even more sales messages.

Meanwhile, our existing customers, the people who have already done business with us, represent a prime audience predisposed to hearing about other ways we can help them solve problems. We may have added a number of new services or products since they first became customers. If we don’t let them know about how we can continue to add value to their lives, they’ll probably find what they need from a competitor. Worse yet, the customer will probably end up buying from someone else simply because he or she didn’t know we could help them with their needs.

Keep your customers informed. Treat your customer list like the goose that laid the golden egg. By staying in touch, you’ll learn about new needs and wants and you’ll be able to minimize your cost of sales.

3. Not creating “pull” marketing material.

None of us likes to be sold. But we love to buy. Your marketing material should be carefully crafted so it grabs the reader by the lapels and creates the feeling that doing business with anybody else would be a huge mistake.

Every day, our eyes glaze over as we are hammered by ads, home pages, sales letters and brochures that just blah, blah blah us to death. And guess what? Millions of dollars go into creating these messages that don’t attract attention or create desire.

You see this all the time in the local community newspaper. The advertiser pays a king’s ransom to have the ad run in the paper. The ad ignores every fundamental of effective advertising. Instead, it announces what is being sold. And that’s exactly how it comes across to the reader. He’s being sold something.

If you’re not sure how to create marketing material that “pulls”, think about looking outside for a competent professional who will get you started down the right track from the beginning and help you create marketing materials that reflect an understanding of what’s working in today’s competitive selling environment.

You can’t push people into buying today any more than you could 20 years ago. But you can make sure you create the type of environment that gives you a chance to allow them to buy what you’re offering. Start getting into the habit of analyzing the sales and marketing messages that come at you during the day. Try to distinguish between those that just bounce off your sales resistance armor and those that make it past and create a desire within to learn more.

To be successful in today’s marketing and selling arena, we need every edge we can find. Especially those over which we have full control.

About The Author: Gerry Black is an independent copywriter and marketing consultant specializing in helping solo professionals and small businesses develop and implement simple, proven website marketing strategies that attract clients. Visit www.gerryblackcopywriter.com for his free report, “The #1 Website Mistake That Is Costing You Clients.”

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Don’t forget to check out The Virtual Wire’s blog post: Creative vs Technical – the battle of the website development! (on The Virtual Wire’s blog)

Has your Blackberry suddenly gone wacky? Have your recently lost valuable data?

If not, great. Here’s the low down on preventing information overload on Blackberry:

Top 10 tips of the month:
1) Make it your standard to maintain at least 14,000,000 bytes of free space!
2) Regularly check your system and remove any unused programs – they are just wasting space.
3) Use the “delete prior” feature, which keeps your messages on your desktop, but not clogging up your in-box.
4) Be sure to turn on the feature “Delete on prompts” (especially if using IMAP).
5) Clear history for internet use.
6) Clear cache operations.
7) Save music and audio books to the memory card and NOT the phone.
Make sure your photos taken with the camera phone are stored on your data card and NOT the phone.
9) At least once a week, connect your device to your laptop and back up your data.
10) Finally, re boot for your changes to take affect.

More tips and tricks in my monthly newsletter. Sign up for it here:

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Here’s a BONUS for all of you Google business app lovers…
Just released google and blackberry contacts sync!!! Check out the details here:

http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2008/11/google-sync-for-blackberry-now-with.html