Now you have another opportunity to brand your company, offer key messages, and reinforce your expertise in your niche through the 5 pictures displayed on your Facebook wall or on the information page. It’s a place to convey your assets, reinforce the company’s promise, and display 5 key messages at once. It’s a great way to share key selling points with your customers. Whether through pictures or phrases, your target audience who lands on your wall or welcome page, will get a positive first impression of your company if you brand it correctly. In addition, they might be motivated to go to the information page to find out more about your company.
When a picture is clicked, like the one below, you have the opportunity to embed a live link to lead the reader where you want them to go. In this the link www.jwrp.org is leading the reader back to the website to register for the trip they are promoting.
It looks like lots of fun and a trip where good friendships are being formed. Since Facebook is just one of the tools you use for social media, the links mentioned above can be to your website, YouTube channel, blog, Flickr, slideshare account, etc. You can link to your site and other related resources to:
Engage content
Promote and offer updates on company events and seminars
Release announcements in the industry
Offer discount programs
Present contests
Inform your target market about your ‘company in the news’
The only challenge is that the pictures are uploaded in no specific order so it’s hard to create a banner, although, someone will figure out how to overcome that soon enough. The other test is to get the right pictures posted to reflect the brand that your customers have come to rely on. Any new uploaded pictures end up in the top 5 but if you click X it will disappear and the old one will reappear. However that new picture will remain on the Facebook page either in an album or in a post. Photos uploaded by fans or ones where you are tagged will not appear in the 5 above. Putting pictures up on your company Facebook page makes your brand human, relatable and accessible. It shows your consumer the ‘personna’ of your company. It’s the picture of your voice, it’s all about your ability to talk to people in a genuine way and show them that you are part of their community. By all means analyze the stats once the pictures go live. See if your audience is relating to it and be able to pinpoint what attribute moves your target most. In the very name Facebook is the essence of the brand. We now have a ‘face’ behind the ‘name’ and we insist on that as a given. Facebook is changing everyday so stay tuned for more and more sophisticated ways to deliver your message in this popular medium.
Who are these Yeshiva University boys that are taking the world by storm? How did they create a video for Chanukah that has captured the attention of so many with 1.5 million views and counting on YouTube? Why are they so successful?
They are successful because they are creative, talented, and simple. You like them. No synthesized music in the background, flashing lights, or dance routines, just plain melody and love of music that goes straight to hearts of their audience. They represent the “boy next door” – your friend’s son. Actually one of the boys in the group is my friend’s son.
Ever since Adam Sandler’s Chanukah video, it’s been an eagerly awaited form of entertainment to see who’s got the most engaging themed video. The Maccebeats, because of their religious background, choose to sing about Chanukah. Maybe they will create videos around the whole Jewish calendar of holidays so stay tuned.
You and I made them stars by sending their video to all of our friends and colleagues on all the online social networks we engage in. We did this because we wanted to share something special to make others feel good, and reinforce the relationships we’ve created online. First rate content comes in all forms and being a part of a popular craze, being “in the know,” is also important for our profile. Everyone wins.
Important elements to make a video go viral.
High quality Content – Original, creative, compelling, quirky, fun, humorous, and informative.
Target audience – Create the video with the target audience in mind and ask them to be the first to spread the word and they ask others to do the same.
Tools of the internet – Use the power of YouTube, Facebook, Blogs, Forums, Email lists, Friends, and all the other online tools available
Be Relatable – Create something that people can relate to, hum, or give over the main idea quickly.
Create emotion – Some people use animals or kids because they are loved by all.
Use pictures – Use a compelling thumbnail picture to identify the link. In essence you’ve branded that video.
We can learn a lot from the Maccabeats as they just brought us this delightful video at the right time. May they stay simple, like the acapella sound they’ve popularized today, developing their talents in all aspects of their lives.
Now that PayPalIsrael has a site in Hebrew the world is really able to penetrate the Israeli market.
Now that the whole interface is in Hebrew, Israeli buyers can confidently proceed through checkout in their own language. Just watch your sales soar!
Now there is even a local number for PayPal customer service for Pay Pal 073-713-7777.
Disclaimer: The Hebrew enabled portions of the PayPal site seem to be disabled but this link seems to be working the best. These are the early days of the launch so be patient and keep on trying.
Recently I attended a WordCamp conference and I was shocked to find that I was one of the few attendees using a pen and paper, which they gave out at registration to take notes. Everyone was busy taking notes on their iPad, iPhone, or computer. Since the lecturer’s slides were posted in advance and we were able to download them – we could add our own comments as the lecturer was speaking and that was a great convenience.
As soon as the lecturer mentioned a site, people “googled” it and everything was live. At the same time I saw people posting on their blogs, answering emails, ‘IM’ing, and searching the web as other thoughts relating to the lectures came to mind. It was a fascinating display of multi-tasking.
Is that good? Multi-tasking, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO_oEGHWSMU which many have embraced as the key to success, could be a formula for shoddy work, mismanaged time, rote solutions, stress and forgetfulness. Paying attention means to one thing, or so I thought.
Psychologist David E. Meyer of the University of Michigan says, “it takes more time for the brain to switch among tasks than it would have to complete one task and then turn to the next.” Obviously a man’s approach. A prolonged period of extreme multi-tasking, warns Meyer, may lead to a shorter attention span, poorer judgment and impaired memory.
Dr. John Medina, developmental molecular biologist who focuses on human brain development, said the brain does not pay attention to boring stuff. The brain wants a rotating, moving, digital image and up to half the brain power is devoted to visual processing. However the brain needs to rest to process information.
I optimally absorb information when I am taking (writing) notes so it can register in my brain for easy recall. While I am writing, I am reviewing the information, and ultimately able to summarize it into key points. All I need to focus on is the lecturer, his material, and the notes. Everything else is a distraction.
I am a strong advocate of technology and I am “plugged in” for far more time than I would like but how many things can one really do at once before it affects their absorption rate and their commitment to really being present.
The jury is still out and I am probably going to buy an iPad soon because I really like to meet with clients, having everything at my disposal.
Last month I gave a presentation to the RBS Women’s Professional Networking Group on the ABC’s of Affiliate Marketing. It sparked a lot of questions about how to generate passive income in our businesses. Why should we get into affiliate marketing? What are the advantages? How to get started.
Immediacy and the lasting impact of what we say online could be positive or negative. In this case it could have cost Israel the lives of its soldiers on a mission to apprehend suspected terrorists.
On March 4, ABC News reported that the IDF had to cancel an operation to arrest militants in the West Bank several weeks ago after a soldier posted details of the mission.
Here is the message that the unnamed soldier posted his Facebook page:
“On Wednesday we are cleaning out the village of Katana (nr Ramallah) – today an arrest operation, tomorrow an arrest operation and then please God, home by Thursday.”
Comrades in his elite unit saw the post and reported it to their commanding officer. The Commander aborted the mission for fears that operational security had been breached.
The result: The soldier was arrested and placed in custody for 10 days before being forced to leave his unit.
This is serious lack of judgment, but at the time the soldier was merely updating his friends using Facebook and making plans for his return home. He didn’t consider how this information would impact his colleagues, the IDF, and Israel’s security.
“Friendly fire” in this case came from the post and not the bullet but its impact could have been just as severe.
This phenomenon of “post now and think later” is rampant. Whether it is inappropriate pictures that follow you for life, negative comments that could cost you a future business opportunity, or being overly critical in a comment section, these very acts can affect your personal brand.
Using social media has become the vehicle for sharing information in an effective, quick, and inexpensive way. Everyday more and more people seem to be gravitating to it for good reason.
In the frenzied rush to be the first one to report news, we sometimes ignore the bigger picture: the consequences. Perhaps we should slow down, be mindful, be considerate and put ourselves in the other person’s place when participating on social media.
Social media is just that – building relationships to a positive end.
The Kishor Social Media Conference on February 17th was buzzing with expectation to get the answers on what’s “Kosher” about social media. We had a great time and I wanted to share some of its goals and address a few questions that I was asked.
Rav Berkovits Gives Us Valuable Advice
The conference went a long way to educate and guide religious Jewish women about the use of the Internet at large, and social media, in particular. Since many of us want to “do the right thing” and protect ourselves and our families from the challenges that this open forum presents, the conference had an obligation to address many sensitive issues which it did very effectively. Being informed and responsible business people, parents and educators was the focus of the day.
Using online social media platforms is now an essential part of a comprehensive marketing strategy to attract inform, retain, service and form loyal bonds with your audience. With the many tools out there to choose from, the women needed to know why to use it, when to use it, and how to use it to have a voice in their market. See more about the conference at JPOST.com
Here are a couple of the questions I addressed at the event:
Time – Does it take up your whole day? How many hours per day do you Tweet, Facebook or blog
Market – Why must I deal with social media for the religious market?
How Much Time?
My answers were specific to each business owner that approached me. The time allotted to social media varies. It’s all about research and strategy.
“Instead of researching the best ways to engage, many businesses create accounts across multiple social networks and publish content without a plan or purpose. However, businesses that conduct research will find a rewarding array of options and opportunities.” – Brian Solis, founder FutureWorks, in a blog post on Mashable- January. 11, 2010
Investigate and find out where your customers are ‘socializing’ and be active on those platforms. Creating a blog post takes planning, research, and creativity – the time invested into each of these elements is naturally up to the author.
Posting articles and blogs should not take you more than an hour per day. If you are involved in many forums sharing information and connecting with your customers, consider it part of your sales cycle and give it the time if deserves to engage your customers and develop relationships.
Is there a Market?
A book publisher asked me, “Why do I need to be online when my market is only for the religious Jewish community?” Before I got a chance to answer, another book publisher answered, “Are you kidding, a large majority of my business is done online and most of our marketing is done online.” Of course, I mentioned it’s time to expand her market and not limit the company to such a small niche.
The feedback from the conference has been mostly positive, but there are many that still harbor serious reservations about the dangers of exposing themselves and their families to both known and unknown dangers online. A key takeaway for those with such reservations is that others are also struggling with the issues too. Some decide to face them head on, while engaging the new media but with caution. Others are mostly deciding to wait-and-see how the rest have fared.
After viewing this short video, I was struck by how it illustrates all the different positive results Social Media has brought to companies across every product line, service, non-profit, and the education sector.
Social Media has quickly evolved into the tool of choice today to cultivate an audience built on trust between individuals and groups through the continual sharing of everything from personal stories to professional critiques, photographs, and creative works. One the biggest breakthroughs, the use of proprietary software that is now free, is the sharing of software created with open source code.
Customer opinions, instant feedback, and requests are valuable information which companies can now use to create better, more targeted products and services for their customers.
Developing a relationship with your target audience prevents your company or service from becoming a price sensitive, commodity, to be scrutinized or eliminated. As the world becomes a much smaller place through online media and search, relationships become that much more important to each party. One of the ways to create loyalty amongst the sea of “look alike, act alike” products and services is to be unique, approachable, open to collaboration, and be willing to go beyond what is expected.
Social media as a tool for connection has proven itself quite effective. The point of entry is fairly low, everyone is welcome, and the benefits are great, when used effectively.
The formula of success today seems to be in this virtual world of connection; knowledge of the company and its’ offering, plus appreciation and responsiveness of the needs of the target market, all equals continuity and success in business.
Many people that I have spoken to, who provide services, get intimidated when a potential client questions their fees. The proposal has been approved, the work is clear, and the client is ready to hire you. Just some small issues with the fees. How should you respond?
On Tuesday, January 19 from 9am-10:30am the RBS Professional Networking group will meet. In addition to all the networking and business initiatives we gain from meeting once per month, Debbie Benstein and Rachel Swirsky will be addressing the group.
Show Me the Money!
How to Earn What You Are Worth Without Feeling Guilty
Debbie Benstein, www.marketingmorsels.com is a marketing consultant with an original and highly successful spin on marketing for small businesses. She specializes in taking the guesswork out of marketing for her clients.
Since we are women we cannot ignore our other interests as well.
Go for the Gold or Silver
Advice From An Expert Goldsmith
Rachel Swirsky- Phony Art Custom Design http://www.phony-art.com will discuss her business. She is a well trained, seasoned artist that will help us understand how to look after our jewelry and how to choose good, artisan pieces. She will also discuss skill building and project based classes that teach you to create timeless pieces you can be proud of, in a safe and well equipped studio.
We had a great meeting yesterday. The women who attended are dynamic, accomplished, and excited about sharing their expertise and resources. It is obvious that many alliances and referrals will come from this committed group.
We are formulating our schedule for future meetings including topics like: writing a marketing plan, the business environment in Israel, taxes, marketing strategies, branding, budgeting, financial management, insurance, legal, and time management. Each of these subjects has many sub categories as well.
The next meeting will be January 19 from 9am – 10:30am. It will feature a subject to learn and showcase one of the members. Details will be announced.
The meeting was educational and dynamic. The networking segments resulted in brisk business card exchanges. The lively interaction during the group meeting led to some suggested solutions for specific business dilemmas and to some potentially helpful resources for several participants. Most participants announced their interest in future gatherings of this group. Kol hakavod Esther, for launching the project! We look forward to benefiting from it. –Yoheved G
Thank you so much for organizing the networking event. I thoroughly enjoyed it and gained so much already. — Naama G.
Thank you for hosting such a wonderful meeting this morning. It was a terrific experience for me, meeting so many nice and talented women. – Rachel F.
Thank you for organizing and hosting the group this morning in your beautiful home. The meeting was great and I’m excited about the future of this group. I would be happy to help out with the group if you need. — Rifka L.
