I made a bold move today.  I joined the Conway (AR) Chamber of Commerce.  If you are a resident of Conway and have a business, you might consider joining. These guys do a great job and it is a good way to get exposure.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thechamberlife/

I think there are many good reasons to join the Chamber, but one thing I like about our Chamber is that they are using social media.  Several of the staff tweet often on twitter and they know how to make use of other social media channels such as flickr and Youtube.  Last year they even held a Social Media Conference.

It is a great way to get your business some much needed exposure as they list in their newsletter, on their website, and feature you in the member newsletter.  They also do “ribbon cuttings.”  I participated in one for my church, oneChurch.  If you don’t have a marketing team, this is a “no brainer.”  If you do, well, you can still benefit.

Thanks to Whitney Farris (@ChamberWhitney) and Jamie Ekenseair (@chamberjamie) who helped me get signed up.

Check out the Chamber trying out the latest models from Caldwell Toyota.

This article is originally published in Samantha’s Ezine which you can subscribe to here.

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

Attractingperfectclients.com

I was moved to share with you this quote I saw on Twitter. I’ve seen many entrepreneurs rush off, motivated, ready to implement new ideas, marketing plans and behaviors. But soon, they get fried and fall back into old habits.
Habit is the default setting, which you do automatically and, sometimes, unconsciously. We so often think of bad habits, such as smoking, biting nails, gossiping or watching TV.

But what about good habits, like eating raw fruits and vegetables, saying “thank you” and saving money? Those can be difficult to start but, once they’re the default, easy to continue.

More motivation is not what we need; it’s more good habits.
Imagine how you’d feel if, instead of the cycle of fired-up-motivation and run-down-dejection, you found a few new behaviors and made them habits. You might see enough improvement to get – and stay – truly motivated.

In case you’re wondering what those habits might be, here are 10 suggestions:

1. Create content. Whether you write, record on audio or video, or present to live audiences, information is what drives today’s marketing. Allot time weekly to content development.

2. Systematize, automate and outsource. If you do it the same way more than once, you can turn those steps into a system. If it can be done with software, automate it. If someone else can do it more effectively or efficiently, outsource it.

3. Respect your revenue flow. Revenue-generating activities need to top your priorities list. If you have a proposal to get to an interested client, do it now. Same with invoices, follow-up and anything else that results in money flowing into your business. Do it now. And if any of those can be … well, see #2.

4. Get in front of new audiences. Seek ways to share your brand beyond your usual crowd. You can do this by visiting a new networking group, commenting on a blog or asking readers to forward your ezine.

Speaking of which, would you mind sharing this with a colleague? Just click “forward,” please. Thank you!

5. Stay in touch with past clients. Those who’ve invested with you before are more likely to do so again or to refer you to others. You can also learn a lot about the lasting effects of your work.

6. Connect with your referral partners. It’s best to stay top-of-mind with those who refer business to you. Exchange news, tips and ideas. Propose collaborations. Send thank you notes.

7. Try something new. If there’s a new marketing technique or message you’ve wanted to try, give it a shot. What’s the worst that can happen – failure? That’s a good thing. You’ll never know what won’t work until you try it. If you can’t think of anything new to try, do one of my 24 proven techniques for attracting clients.

8. Update your website. At least weekly, ideally daily. Your website should be the center of your marketing efforts … interactive … as alive and dynamic as you are! Anything less is a wasted asset.

9. Check your stats. You should be measuring your performance on an ongoing basis. How much revenue have you earned year-to-date? How are you doing against your goals? How many visitors to your website? Is the number growing or declining? Why did we get that big spike last week? Who refers the most clients to us?

10. Recharge your batteries. What’s the most energizing thing for you? Working one-on-one with a client, taking a 4-mile run or listening to an inspiring podcast? Whatever it is, weave it into your day so the habit fuels your motivation engine.
It’s easy to create healthy habits for your business

You know that fuzzy feeling you get if you go too many hours without brushing your teeth? Or the sluggish feeling from lack of exercise? If you add one or two of these habits to your business routine today, you’ll soon find it hard to live without them.

© 2010 Enlightened Marketing

Samantha Hartley

“By Samantha Hartley of Enlightened Marketing. For effective marketing strategies that align with your values visit http://www.enlightenedmarketing.com/.”

OK, so you have bought an ad in the newspaper (yikes!), you spent thousands of dollars to build a website and you seriously considered that billboard space on the freeway.  You have done all of these things to match up with the bigger company down the street, but you haven’t increased any of your traffic at your place of business.

You then decided to quiz old-school businessmen and they tell you that you need to network.  “This is 2010,” you say.  You wonder if that is still a valuable strategy.  They are right!  Except in today’s business world, networking can be done, in part, online.

You have heard the hard-to-believe stories about companies using Twitter.com or Facebok to attract new customers and double their businesses.  I have heard those too.  Now, you are trying decide if social media is for you.

For one, while social media is a great tool, it by itself is not a “magic cure.”  Networking, by its definition, assumes communication and conversation, which means that it is a two-way street.  You have to engage “friends” in conversation.  These online friends are potential customers, and, to be sure, potential evangelists for your business or brand.  Your ability to engage your customers online gives you an advantage over the big businesses who might be using social media as a glorified email marketing strategy.

A couple of years ago, I visited an upscale restaurant in Fort Worth.  I never would have afforded it, but we were given a gift card as a treat that made it possible.  The food was awesome, and the service was outstanding.  The setting was wonderful.  What put this experience over the top was that the owner and head chef came out to meet the customers!  A year later, he had a book signing at the bookstore where I worked.  I recognized him and escorted him to where he would be signing his books.  He probably didn’t remember me, but I remembered him!  I am not usually an upscale restaurant kind of guy–I prefer a place like Cracker Barrel–but if I ever have the money, I would definitely consider going back, just because the owner came out to meet me.

Word-of-mouth has stood the test of time, and social media is a new vehicle to accomplish that.  Think about it, when you are looking for a new barber or dentist, how do you find one.  You simply ask trusted friends.  That is what social media is about.

According to social media guru, Shama Kabani, it is better to manage a couple of social media profiles well rather than to have several that are not managed well.  And more, she says in her book The Zen of Social Media Marketing which will be released in book form in April, we need to have a hub, and online presence, in which to direct the customer too.  Ideally, that hub would be a website or blog.  I believe, it is better to have a website which has the feel of a blog.  There are a couple reasons for this.

First, a blog is conversational, therefore, it reinforces the idea of conversation and of engaging the customer or your online friends.  Merely having a static, brochure-like website is stale and non engaging.  You can separate from your bigger company competition if you have the feeling of friendly and conversational when customers come to your website.

Second, a website which is built to have the feel of a blog, and possibly built on a blog platform such as WordPress, is active and the search engines love active.  Each time you update your blog or site, the site will ping the search engines to let them know that it has new content.  Over time, the search engines recognize that your site is active.  Active sites receive higher rankings in the search engines.  Also, when you update your site with articles or news, this creates some backlinks to your site.  As Darren writes in the article I linked to, backlinks are not the most powerful thing you can do, but they do help.  And by the way, always cross link your profiles with your website or blog.

It takes a while to put a social media strategy in to place.  You have to be intentional.  I recommend you working on it as if you were at a networking event or conference.  Ask questions, answer questions, engage people and seek out experts in your field.  Build up a base of friends or followers.  The rewards are great.  Not only will you tap into another market–a loyal market, but, eventually, your website rankings in the search engines will begin to rise, and the only thing you will have spent was time.