Small Business Online Operations Plan

I have been working with my brother-in-law to really escalate the operations of his small business Thinwrench, which offers custom wrench and tool manufacturing. He has had the business since the 1990's and has had the site since I believe 2001.

The site gets a fair amount of traffic and it generates a small trickle of orders for him though out the year, but nothing really significant. It is impressive though considering he does next to nothing to maintain or evolve the site, it's content, and online presence.

So we are always trying to get together and breathe some life into it. He is a real smart guy who has almost zero time to put into his business outside his day job. This is definitely a common problem for aspiring entrepreneurs.

So I have launched a new BETA version of his small business web site using the same look, but hoping to give him a new set of content management (CMS) tools to assist him in making his site maintenance and syndication easier.

My goal with the new small business online operations plan is to give a simple framework to:

• Maintain his simple, easy to use small business web site.
• Plan and implement a traditional and online marketing campaign for his small business.
• Plan and implement a social media marketing campaign for his small business.
  

So I put together a basic outline that lays out the plan for:

• Writing home page, about us, and contact us content for use on his web site as well as throughout his online marketing and social media marketing efforts.
• Develop a list of initial products he will offer through his small business web site.
• Develop a list of initial services his business will offer through his small business web site.
• Establish a basic keyword marketing strategy to use as a framework when marketing his site and writing content.
  

Once his site is up with the new content we will start laying out:

• Marketing Plan Outline
• Online Marketing Plan Outline
• Social Media Marketing Plan Outline
• Advertising Plan Outline
  

We will keep each plan and strategy simple and realistic and easy to implement. My goal is for him to be successful and not get overwhelmed with strategy and execution and never get anywhere.

He probably has 4-8 hours a week maximum to spend on his web site maintenance, content creation, marketing, advertising, and overall online presence. That isn't much.

He has to execute in the 1st round so he has a deep understanding of how the site maintenance, marketing, social media marketing and advertising process works before he can delegate to anyone else. This is critical as the owner of a small business.

So keeping it simple and obtainable, and employing an agile process for executing, evaluating and planning for changes every week is crucial.

I will keep posting on his progress, challenges and successes.

Participate in Question and Answer Sites to Market Yourself

I go through spurts where I monitor and participate on Question and Answer web sites. Usually I monitor Yahoo Answers & LinkedIn Answers via RSS feeds.

I gather a lot of information and knowledge this way and keep organized using tags in Google Reader and Google Notebook.

I also participate and give my answer or feedback on questions from time to time.

I haven't been doing this for a couple months now, but I did actively participate for months at a time.

I recently got the following email off LinkedIn:

For a while now, I've been digging around for answers to a question that no one seems to be able to answer. Your name keeps coming up in my searches. If you don't mind, I would like to tap your brain.

How would you project your monthly costs in terms of storage and bandwidth if you didn't know

how much traffic to expect on your startup photo/video sharing site?

This is just one notable connection I've made via social networks, thought it showed the value of a continued presence for your business on Questions and Answer web sites.

Marketing Using Facebook

Was just reading Facebook Marketing Opportunities over at Digital Podcast.

I am currently playing around with several strategies for marketing our companies products on Facebook.

His statement about 8 ways to market on Facebook really stood out, and I have seen reciprocated on several other core marketing blogs:

• Application Development
• Group Participation
• Paid Groups
• Targete Ads
• Newsfeed Advertising
• Beacon Advertising
• Guerrilla Individual Targeting

I am also exploring other methods for targeting around social graph marketing to specific measured social graphs for a focused but broad reach.

A Social Media Case Study at Lego

Was just watching a great video on Jeremiah Owyang's blog about a Social Media Case Study from Jake McKee who used to work at Lego.

It was very interesting to see how entrenched and distance from customers a company can be. Also how resistant to change a company can be when it comes to opening up to new ideas, change and ultimately their customers.

Of course Lego is a very large company and has a unique product line, but it really shows an interested way of embracing the smaller more passionate segment of your audience and leveraging them to reach the larger portion of our customer base.

Give it a watch, it is called: The Tenacity of Jake McKee: A Social Media Case Study at Lego.

Bebo Social Networking for Social Media Marketing

Been doing some work on various Bebo Social Network Profiles as part of a social media marketing campaign. Since I am spending some time here I thought I would share some thoughts and strategy.

First off Bebo is a very European focused social network. There are a lot of US users, but definitely heavy on the European market.

I got setup and have my profile all filled out from my social media profile content platform. Wish I had some data portability tools!

Put in a nice picture of myself or my logo, then I went ahead and started a couple of photo albums, and picked the best pictures I have for the first albums.

I don't have any video so I didn't do anything there yet.

I emailed a handful of friends, coworkers, and business contacts I had to make them mad about joining another social network.

I looked through the applications directory to see if there were any relevant applications I could add. Bebo had some nice Widget hooks which I will play with later.

They have a whiteboard feature which is unique. You don't see this many places, it is kind of like the wall...but you can draw. I just posted one myself.

I went to my central company blog on this topic and found a couple of the latest blog posts and and made links to the articles.

Next I went ahead and did a search on a couple of keywords that are relevant to what I am doing. Several groups came up and I went ahead and either became a Fan or a Member. Which gives me some eyeballs on their profile and starts some potential relationships.

That was all I did. I am going to write-up a formal strategy for business social networking strategy using Bebo as marketing of your social media strategy.

Then I will work on a social media maintenance strategy for your Bebo social networking account.

Use Flickr for Online and Social Media Marketing

I have historically played around with many online marketing and social media marketing techniques. I play around from time to time to see what works and what doesn't.

Last year I was walking around with my daughter and taking pictures for our Eugene Local Search web site. I am trying to have pictures of local attractions and business around Eugene, Oregon.

I took this picture of the Eugene Federal Courthouse. I then told a little story about it and happen to include a link Eugene Web Design Services which links to our web development company.

So it took a relevant geographical picture, some text, then linked with relevant keywords to our web site.

I have noticed I still get a some click through on this link as well as some search engine optimization value.

It is a nice example of using Flickr as part of your online marketing and social media marketing strategy.

From Ignite - How Will a Social Media Agency Work With My Current Agency?

Just read a great post over at Ignite Social Media about How Will a Social Media Agency Work With My Current Agency?

It has some great suggestions on ways a social media consultant can provide services for your social media marketing campaign:

• Consultant
• Trainer
• Executor
  

Give it a read, it can help you figure out the best level to engage a social media consultant on.

Should a Social Media Consultant Train or Stay on with a Company.

I was reading a blog entry by Lisa McNeil called The Marketer’s Foray Into Social Media, where she talks about her experiences with clients and the top questions they ask.

Anyways, the post was great. I noticed a comment at the bottom by Geoff Livngston the author of Now is Gone. His comment asked the question:

Shouldn’t a social media agency ultimately enable to company, not stay on? But the monitoring and coaching component seems to be necessary for the long-term.

This is such an important questions. I've talked about my frustrations regarding building web sites and applications for clients being very tough because of the lack of involvement on their part. The standard response is, "just build it I really don't understand this stuff".

I keep saying how critical it is for the site owner to be part of the development and understand their site and make it reflect them.

This is only getting more and more critical with the need to develop social media marketing strategies. Your social media marketing voice has to reflect your company and it takes key decision makers being involved in daily decisions and activities.

As a social media professional it is your responsibility to train your clients and get them intimately involved with their campaign and the decision making process. Train them to execute in house and not use you as a crutch just because your an "employee'.

Video Interview with Author of Now is Gone

I just finished reading Now is Gone last night by Geoff Livingston. If you are thinking about getting involved in Social Media Marketing from a professional standpoint this is the book to read.

It is tailored as a primer for the executive or marketing professional that is looking get more aware of social media and the conversation that is occurring out there.

Here is a video interview with Geoff Livingston, author of Now is Gone. Check it out.

50 Social Sites That Every Business Needs a Presence on

Everyone is a little intimidated and overwhelmed about where to start with your social media marketing campaign. There are so many sites and so few metrics for evaluating your success.

You really can't ignore social media for your company anymore, if you do your competitors are going to eat your lunch. So where do you start?

InsideCRM just released a great list of 50 social media sites that every business needs a presence on.

It is a pretty comprehensive list with a great introduction to each. They cover the following types of Social Network Sites:

• Social-Media/Social-Bookmarking Sites
• Professional-Networking Sites
• Niche Social-Media Sites
• General Social-Media Sites
• Job Sites

It is probably more sites than the average business can handle, but it is a great place to start.

Using Facebook as a launching point for your new application, and injecting work into your employees social networking habit.

Was reading the post on Techcrunch this morning called Huddle uses new apps and Facebook to take on Basecamp.

Its interesting on several levels to see another Basecamp competitor as well as someone leverage facebook as a marketing tool for their new web applications. How launching a Facebook can be a tool to drive new users to your application.

I think it is also very interesting from the usage of Facebook and other social networks in the workplace. I mentioned the article in the TimesOnline called Learn to love social network sites about workplace usage of social networks. Huddles new application introduces potential value for the workplace in applications that run in social networks.

I keep saying how companies need to embrace employees usage of social networks from a moral standpoint, work efficiency, and from their social media marketing strategy.

Companies and organizations and their approach to social media

Was just reading some of Now is Gone by Geoff Livingston. There is a great paragraph I just came across that really sums up a lot for me:

Companies and organizations should look at social networks as a way to engage potential community members outside of the confines of a corporate URL. By participating intelligently and building value, a company can create a great conversation with its constituents as well as future customers. Further, they can encourage them to take actions and engage them within the confines of the company's own social media initiative.

This really covers the essence of where a social media campaign should operate; outside the corporate URL.

Its not just directly with your customers, but with your future customers.

Some of these concepts are very tough for traditional PPC marketers to grasp and directly measure the ROI.

Example of Social Media in Podcast about Choosing a Doctor in the Digital Age

Was listening to NPR today and a podcast on Choosing a Doctor in the Digital Age. It was great about how to use online review sites to find out what people are saying about doctors.

Health consumers are increasingly shopping online for doctors through peer-based sites like FindADoc.com, DoctorScorecard.com, and even local city search sites.

Great example of how grassroots growth in online usage is influencing how business is conducted. More evidence on how businesses should be paying attention to social media and how it influences their business.

Review sites and Question and Answer sites are becoming more and more important for consumers.

Camera phone and other cell phone bar code technology

Some very interesting stuff in two-dimensional camera phone barcodes out there on the Internet.

Was reading the NY Times Articles on Mobile Phone Barcodes and it referenced a couple of technologies like Semacode, QR Code and Qode, and barcode technology maker Nextcode.

Here is an introduction to Two-Dimensional Camera Phone Barcodes that explained the technology to me.

There are plenty of big players in the game trying to push camera phone and other cell phone bar code technologies in the is country such as Microsoft Launches Windows Live Barcode Beta.

What is Windows Live Barcode?

Windows Live Barcode is a set of services that transfer information between various media (PCs, billboards, magazines etc.) and handsets via Quick Response Code (QR Code), a two-dimensional barcode. It provides a new method for people to exchange information and enjoy various online services on handsets. Windows Live Barcode aims to enhance handset utility and provide you with more convenience and flexibility.

The technology is big in Japan and is used in many daily activities. Here is a definition of QR code:

What is a QR Code for Mobile Devices? - A QR Code is a two-dimensional bar code introduced by the Japanese company Denso-Wave in 1994. QR stands for “Quick Response”. QR Codes are most common in Japan, and are the most popular type of two-dimensional code in Japan.

These two-dimensional images are truly the missing link in taking your social media campaign off line or bringing your off line campaign online.

Importance of a Social Networking Strategy in 2008

All signs point to increased growth and popularity of social network in 2008. New regional and niche focused social networks are popping up everywhere and new users are getting involved everyday.

This is definitely a space that businesses cannot continue to ignore and at least need to come up with a basic strategy for having a presence on the major social networking sites.

With the economy slowing, spending may decline however users will be online more and more regardless of their spending habits.

So engaging these users in there social spaces whether they are spending or not will still grow awareness of your brand, services, and products.

And when spending occurs you will be fresh in their minds and active in their worlds.

So don't ignore getting your social network campaign going this year at least in a basic form.

Create your own television ad for Cheerios

Everyone is getting in on the social media marketing game and encouraging users to generate video content seems to be a favorite.

Cheerios is encouraging users to create their own TV video spot and call it The Cheerios Circle of Help. They want you to help spread the cholesterol health news and in 6 weeks you could have your own TV spot.

Definitely a great usage of user generated content, viral marketing, leading into some traditional television marketing.

Check it out if you get some time at the Cheerios 4in6 TV Contest. Good example of viral social media basics.

Joining the Conversation

Joining the Conversation is one my new catch phrases. It just sounds good, and it really means so much to me in the 2.0 world.

I have seen it so many places lately and describes so much about my approach to Social Media Marketing.

Marketing these days is not about broadcasting our message to an audience, it is about joining the conversation.

I have had lots of problems with business owners and clients not getting involved in their web site development, online marketing projects, and social media campaigns. They usually just say they don't understand it and want you to do it for them.

Joining the Conversation and requiring a site owner to get involved and provide regular interaction with site development and marketing efforts will be a common theme of mine in the future.

I just posted about gathering my comments and conversations as I place them using coComment and Firefox Add-on / Web Application combination.

Joining the conversation as part of a social media marketing campaign requires oversight and senior involvement from the client. The message has to be consistent and intelligent and have a voice.

The content you place on the Internet will stay there and represent you represent you and your company so it is a form of advertising as stated by Brian Clark of CopyBlogger in his blog If Content is the New Advertising, What does your Advertising say about you?

You have to put a lot of thought into that as you join the conversation.

Large Companies Using Social Media Marketing

Just saw a commercial from Mountain Dew about their new soda creation web site, www.dewmocracy.com.

It was another interesting usage of Social Media Marketing that utilizes its pro-users or audience to facilitate research and development (R&D). They are encouraging customers to go to the web site and help decide certain characteristics of a new Mountain Dew soda.

It is a pretty simple web site surrounding a kind of game / soda creation application. The site is built in .NET, the application looks like Silverlight, but I am not sure.

Not really impressed with the campaign overall but it is an interesting usage of these new methods.

Shows that the big co's are embracing these principles, now we need to see more of it in the smaller business arena.

My Profile - Kin Lane - Technologies Applied

Below are some of the key technologies I specialize in:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Social Media Marketing (SMM)
User Interface Design / Documentation / Modeling
.Net / PHP / Ruby / Cold Fusion / Flex
HTML – XHTML – DHTML – Cold Fusion - JavaScript / AJAX
CSS – Photoshop - Macromedia Fireworks
Visual Studio 6.0 / 2003 – Macromedia Dreamweaver – Macromedia Fireworks / Flash
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 / 2005 / MySQL / PostgreSQL
API Development - XML - JSON - REST - SOAP
Active Server Directory Language – Internet Information Server (IIS) – Exchange 2000
Windows 2000 / Windows 2003 Server Platform