Archive for June, 2009

Grand Junction is HOT news

June 30, 2009 at 11:07 am · Filed under Local scene

by Nancy Ruspil, MGC

Grand Junction is hot – and we’re not talking about summer temperatures. We’re talking about what’s been happening in our now-famous community. Seems like every other month a new jewel appears in Grand Junction’s crown. If you’ve ever wondered why people are eager to live here or do business here, take a glance at some of the recent kudos:

Forbes Top 25 List/2009 Best Small Places for Business and Careers – Coming in at a proud #24, Grand Junction was the only small metro area in Colorado to make it into this elite group!

Grand Junction’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 80% in the last decade, making it the 14th fastest growing in the U.S.

The 2009 Large Community of the Year was awarded to Grand Junction by the Economic Development Council of Colorado. The award is given to a community of more than 20,000 that demonstrates strong support for economic development.

Grand Junction tops the list of “recession-proof” communities in the U.S., according to a national report that compiled statistics from a 10-year period including three recessions.

Outdoor Life magazine honored Grand Junction by placing it in the top tier of U.S. sporting towns. Their list of the Top 200 ranked our community as #77. Rankings were based on quality of life factors, along with outdoor factors.

See why we’re proud to call Grand Junction home? Where’s your community? What’s going on there? Toot your horn. We’d love to hear it.


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Social marketing – It’s no small talk

June 30, 2009 at 11:06 am · Filed under Social media marketing

by Nancy Ruspil, MGC

Do the terms “social marketing” or “social media” flood your mind with images of cocktail parties and mindless chatter? Just remember: When used in connection with business, “social” is a good thing. A very good thing.

Social marketing for business is simply about companies and customers interacting in productive ways. In the past, businesses usually communicated to customers, in a primarily one-way relationship. Today businesses need to communicate with customers. It’s a continuous two-way relationship now, and a mutually beneficial conversation. And it’s done via social media.

Business blogs. Company communications on Twitter. Facebook business page updates. Company videos and podcasts. The list goes on, but you don’t need to do it all. The important thing is to realize the value of social media for your business, and to tap into that value.

Call it “new marketing” or “new media” if you’d rather. Same thing. Whatever you call it, just be sure to start using it – for the sake of your business.

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Good business in a bad economy

June 19, 2009 at 10:00 am · Filed under Business strategies

by Nancy Ruspil, MGC

The upside of the current economic scene is that it gives you a chance to do some profitable things that your competitors may not be doing.  Take it from Rachel Daniel, CEO of Synergy Marketing Strategy & Research, Inc. While many companies are slashing their marketing and research activities, the savvy ones are communicating with their audiences in new and effective ways. When confidence is low, customers and employees want their organizations to show competency, integrity and a core of humanity. Daniel recommends several inexpensive but powerful methods for creating rewarding results:

  • Social networking media…Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter are great message tools, but they’re also great listening tools. Spend time listening to chatter about your industry or brand. Then start generating some positive talk about your company.
  • Corporate social responsibility…Your employees can work together mentoring young people, helping a local charity, or offering expertise to a newly formed company. These kinds of things not only help your community, but they also tell a great story about the soul of your company, even during tough times.
  • Consumer advisory boards…Recruit a group of core customers (varying levels of loyalty and satisfaction) to give your company feedback on products, services, and messages. Your customers can do a great job of keeping you honest, if you let them.

Amid a challenging economy, your customers are listening to what you say and watching what you do, more closely  than ever. Take this opportunity to strengthen their trust in your company’s competency and integrity. Where will you start?

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Shift happens

June 17, 2009 at 3:23 pm · Filed under Technology - keeping up

by Nattana Johnson, owner, MGC

The world is changing, at an exponential rate. And although this is dated the moment it is posted, it is an eye opener. We need to think differently, prepare ourselves, our kids and our future generations for big changes.


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12 tips for business blogging

June 17, 2009 at 11:15 am · Filed under Business strategies, Social media marketing

by Nancy Ruspil, MGC

Now that so many of us are managing or considering a business blog, it’s prime time for helpful suggestions on doing it right. In a nutshell, here are some key points recommended by Chris Brogan, online marketing/PR expert and president of New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency. For all the juicy details, check out his blog post, Basic Business Blogging Suggestions. Meanwhile, here’s the gist:

1. Above all else, be human. Write in first person – the human “I” or “We” – and write as if you’re talking to one real person, not a faceless mass.

2. Commenting is just as important. Read other related blogs and comment on posts that interest you.

3. Blogging policies. Your blogging rules should be as simple as your email policy. Too many restrictions will kill employee interest in blogging.

4. Does this tie to strategy at all? Your business blog has more requirements than a personal blog. Why did you start it? What’s the real goal? What are you hoping to do with it? What will you be measuring, and why?

5. Platforms aren’t that important. But consider whether yours is easy enough to be enjoyable. Does it have RSS capabilities? Tagging? Plug-ins and external codes?

6. Mix it up. Don’t write only about your company or product or you. Readers want your take on the industry, events, forces, etc. that might affect their relationship with you and your business. Share relevant information that reflects the world around us.

7. Don’t sell, but don’t be shy. Blogs can be suggestive, but they’re not about the hard sell. People won’t come back to your blog if it’s focused on selling. Show passion, interest and a flow of good information. Don’t pretend like you’re never selling, but keep the balance.

8. Build a workflow. Since you may not always be in the mood to blog, try keeping notes on topics/ideas that you can tap into when needed. Another good way to keep your blog flowing is to make blog reading a habit. Tools like Google Reader give you ongoing relevant sites and searches.

9. Link out. Readers pay attention to where you link. Instead of constantly linking to your own stuff, point out other great posts and give credit with the links.

10. Frequency is how often you have value to add. If your blogs are just monthly, traffic will be dismal. Try daily, or at least weekly. Don’t get frustrated if you can’t do daily blogging right away. Blogging takes practice, but it will begin to feel natural over time.

11. Pay attention to design. Have easy-to-use contact info on your blog. Put up a human “About” page. Readers know it’s about your company – they want to know about you, too. And be sure to build in all the social sharing tools, so people can bookmark sites, share with colleagues/friends, and easily offer information to others.

12. Encourage conversation. Ask questions of your readers. It’s a great way to tap into the expertise of people in your space. If there are no experts in the crowd, write your posts in a way that gives readers something to comment on. You won’t get many comments on a post that is too rock solid.

Have you started your business blog? If not, why not? If so, what have you discovered? Any tips you would add?


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The Twitter decision

June 5, 2009 at 9:54 am · Filed under Social media marketing, Technology - keeping up ·Tagged

Excerpted from To Twitter or Not to Twitter by Suze Bragg, Expert Business Source, February 25, 2009

In an article by Erick Schonfeld on TechCrunch, one businessperson mentioned that Twitter is “the quickest way to spread information virally to a wide scope of people attached in a lot of random ways.” Sounds enticing, but how exactly does it work? Can a small business use it successfully to reach their customers, and will their customers even care? The answer is yes, and it depends on what you tweet about.

To get started, keep in mind the following:

1. You can create more than one Twitter account. Companies like Zappos, CNN and Dell use multiple accounts to post different tweets. This way they can appeal to more people who have different interests.

2. When you set up your account, use your store name or company  name so people identify with your business instead of with you.

3. Figure out what you want to tweet about before you jump in (you have 140 characters or less per tweet).

4. When setting up your account, use your business email address, preferably one that already has your customers’ email addresses in the address book. Twitter can pull from your address book to find your customers who are already using Twitter – this helps create instant followers

5. Twitter is great if you have the time to keep it updated. Timely responses are what makes Twitter successful. I don’t recommend using Twitter if you don’t have the time or desire to use it often (daily is good, every other day works too).

6. It’s different from Facebook – you can post to Twitter and it feeds to your Facebook page or blog. You can even post to Twitter from your phone, so you can update anytime anywhere to keep your customers informed. (FYI: Facebook vs. Twitter: Twitter is short statements. Facebook is more robust, with different ways to communicate, along with the ability to post catalog images/product shots, etc. You cannot do that on Twitter, but you can use Facebook to post short statements and skip using Twitter altogether.)

7. And last but not least, promote it on your website, email and other marketing literature. The more people who follow you on Twitter, the better your sales conversion rate in your store/business. Finally, if you’re considering using Twitter, according to the same article by Erick Schonfeld, Abrams Research conducted a study of “over 200 social media leaders” to ask which social media site they’d recommend for business to pay for, if they had to. Twitter beat Facebook with more than 24% of the votes. If nothing else, it’s worth exploring to see if it fits into your overall marketing strategy.

posted by MGC

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Dive into the social media sea

June 2, 2009 at 9:07 am · Filed under Social media marketing ·Tagged

by Nancy Ruspil, MGC

Recently we were in San Francisco for a fascinating conference on social media marketing, organized by the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR). Throughout every session, the theme continued: this is no trend. Social media marketing is here to stay – and if you’re not already on board, you’re already behind. In small businesses and large corporations, in small towns and big cities, marketing is a two-way relationship now more than ever. If you pay attention, it’s a productive and profitable conversation.

Customers and companies are communicating, responding and developing relationships through social networks and social media. The number of people now getting and sharing information digitally is staggering. In 2009 your business is expected to have a real face – a reliable company “friend” who notices what people write about your company, responds quickly, and sends out relevant updates and information to customers.

Your business is able to reach a critical audience in faster ways than ever before. You’re able to get instant feedback and awareness. Customers are empowered to know your company, and respond to your services. More than ever before, your brand and your reputation are shaped by the quality of your communication with your customers. As one industry expert put it, it’s time to put the “public” back into public relations.

Is social media marketing worth the time? Companies of all sizes are finding that it’s worth much more than time. Some are adding one or more staff focused solely on social media marketing strategies and activities. Even better, social media results are measurable.

Can your company manage this in-house? Only if you have an interested, informed employee who can devote considerable work hours to your social media realm. For many companies, this may not be possible – in that case, an outside social media consultant can become a vital branch of your support team.


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