BroadVision Marketing Blog

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Being Social"] [/caption]

Do you see yourself as Mr. or Ms. Business Blogger, along the same lines as the  “Cherry Ames, Companion Nurse” stories by Helen Wells? Writing a business blog is a good step in the right direction, but if no one reads your blog, you have just wasted a lot of time.

How do you get that great article you wrote out there? Blogging and social networking are both parts of the same strategy. You have to go out and promote your blog by being social. There are many different ways you can use to get your word out. We are just going to look at four.

• Twitter is a quick way to let people know that you are in business and that you have a live website, as opposed to one that is static where nothing new is ever going on. You can tweet about your new post in such a way that people will be interested in reading about it. Remember that no one wants to be sold on social network. They do want to learn things and be entertained. If you are offering information, make that obvious in your tweet. Oh yes, it’s a good idea to put out around 10 tweets on various subjects a day and then spend some time actually on Twitter to show that you are a real person.

Topics: Using Different Media, Google, Corporate blog, Social network, Helen Wells, blog, BroadVision Marketing, Facebook, Social Media, Marketing Principles, LinkedIn, Business Owner, Jaco Grobbelaar, Blogging, Twitter

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="250" caption="Zuckerberg explains Timeline"] [/caption]

Facebook is going through a major upheaval among savvy users, according to internet news services. For one thing Facebook unveiled its Timeline recently, an act that followed closely on the news that Facebook privacy practices were found faulty by the Federal Trade Commission. Furthermore, this past summer elderly people in various places in the United States were scammed based on Facebook information they probably thought was private, but instead was used against them.

Some of the seniors, top worries when it comes to learning to use Facebook came from an article by Colleen Greene on “Helping senior citizens learn how to use Facebook” at (11.2.10) http://colleenscommentary.net/2010/11/02/helping-senior-citizens-learn-how-to-use-facebook/. Greene asked the elderly what their concerns were and their top concerns were privacy risks.

Topics: United States, Social network, Timeline, privacy settings, Federal Trade Commission, Privacy, Facebook Timeline, Personally identifiable information, Facebook, Social Media

[caption id="attachment_2796" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Facebook, not just for children"] [/caption]

Recently I was asked to speak to a group of senior citizens about how to use Facebook. There is more than I could cover in roughly an hour, but I have some interesting reasons why they might be interested.

• Reason 1: There are groups on Facebook set up to tell senior citizens what sort of activities they might be interested in attending. These groups are started by chamber of commerce committees or from centers for senior citizens. The nice thing about them is that they report on the activities for those who cannot attend.

Topics: Social network, Grandparent, Senior citizen, Farmville, Online Communities, Facebook, Social Media, Business, Marketing strategy

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Old "Six Degrees of Separation" Chart"] [/caption]

Facebook’s data team has announced that there are more like 4.74 degrees of separation between people. The old adage of “ six degrees of separation” that defined social media back when Friendster was the social media site has been replaced. The number represents the average number of people separating any two individuals on the social network.

What does this tell the wise social media Facebook Fan Page owner? What about the new business owner who is unsure about whether to tread the unknown depths of social media at all?

Topics: Social network, Online Communities, Six degrees of separation, Friendster, Facebook, Social Media, Business, Marketing strategy

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Original Starbucks"] [/caption]

How many of you have tried your hand in social media by launching contests, promotions and branding campaigns on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube? OK, raise your hands.  If it worked for you, keep your hands up. Oops.

I have a clue for you. “Social” is not the same as “ sharing.”

Topics: Using Different Media, YouTube, Social network, Brand, super influencers, Starbucks, sharing, Facebook, Social Media, Business, Twitter