WebProNews

Tag: business development

  • Google+ Shares Daria Musk: Hangout Success Story

    If you’ve got something to share and you want to reach a wide network of people Google+ might be for you. Today Google shared on their blog the story of Daria Musk, a young musical performer who made her dreams come true using Google+ hangouts.

    Daria had a dream of reaching out to people with her music and playing in front of large crowds. Using Google+ Hangouts she was able to advertise shows and bring people together to watch them. Before she could even recognize the power of this type of social networking she was playing to huge global crowds.

    Daria comments on what she was thinking about when she decided to try Google+:

    “I was dreaming maybe there’s this wider world that I can sing for,”

    “Maybe my people are out there somewhere.”

    “Right now if you get on Google+ and you show that you’re doing something remarkable, they’ll notice you,”

    Take a look at her video:

    Daria included some advice about how to have success with Hangouts on the blog. Here’s what she recommends:

    * Announce the Hangout: Be excited! Hang a virtual poster on your stream and tell users what you’ll be doing or discussing.

    * Encourage participants: If you’ve noticed great comments, invite those users directly to get a lively discussion going.

    * Follow up: After the Hangout, post a summary on your stream. What happened? What was discussed? What will you do with what you learned?

    This is simple advice that can really go a long way to get people interested in what you’re promoting whether it is yourself or a particular product/service. What she’s doing would work for many different applications. This something Google provides for free so users should really take advantage of it.

    As of the 13th of this month Daria reached a milestone with Google+, she has one million followers. It took her about eight months to reach this point, and if you are wondering if it furthered her career, it certainly did.

    After some searching I found Daria featured on Taylor Guitars website. Taylor Guitars is a huge manufacturer and distributor of guitars worldwide. Being featured on their site is a big deal and if she were to secure some type of endorsement deal in the future, it could bring her a lot of recognition.

    Check out the video Taylor Guitars has of Daria on their website:

    Seems like she’s doing pretty good to me, this was a great story for Google to feature on their new social networking platform. It definitely opens up my mind two the Google+ experience.

  • CEOs Are Not Taking Advantage Of All Their Assets

    The 10 Company and Gotham Research Group have released the results of a new study that suggests CEO’s are not capitalizing on the important roles blogs play in building and maintaining brand status and recognition. Many blog writers are frustrated with the lack of communication coming from the top-end of organizations. Experts say this lack of communication between business leaders and bloggers represents a huge missed opportunity for organizations to promote and disseminate vital information.

    Valerie Di Maria, Principal and co-founder of the 10 company commented on the relationship between CEO’s and bloggers:

    “The frustrations that bloggers expressed are real and important, and can be remedied with a strategy of inclusion,”

    “CEOs and their Chief Communications Officers need to make sure they put a monitoring program in place, read and occasionally comment on the stories/posts of key bloggers in their industries -being sure to focus on those bloggers with the most influence and journalistic integrity- develop relationships just like they do with traditional journalists, and arrange in-person backgrounder sessions. It’s an opportunity to create a real dialogue with the blogosphere. As one blogger said, ‘it’s tough to trash someone you’ve gotten a note from.’”

    Blogs are an important sources of information for many business savvy people who are too engrossed in the enterprise world to waste their time with general publications. CEO’s and other executives need to take full advantage of these insiders and work with bloggers to promote their organizations in a positive way. If they continue to take a hands-off approach they could be missing opportunities to grow interest in their products and services.

    Here are some key frustration bloggers have with CEO’s in general:

    * Lack of appreciation for the power that bloggers have today. Bloggers believe their influence already rivals that of traditional media journalists and is likely to grow over time. Said one survey respondent, “I get a lot more eyeballs than anyone writing for a paper.”

    * Lack of respect. Bloggers believe that CEOs and their senior communications staff do not pay sufficient attention to the blogosphere and are too slow to respond to requests for information. “It’s amazing,” said one blogger, “how could they not be watching what we are writing about them?”

    * Lack of direct access. Bloggers don’t expect full access, but believe an interview once or twice a year is reasonable. They feel they are given less access than traditional media.

    * Excessive control by the communications staff. Although bloggers understand the need and desire for CEOs to avoid mistakes, they believe CEOs and their staffs go too far in attempting to manage the media, and in the process, come off as artificial and scripted. Said one blogger: “It’s important for at least some of the real person to come through—that’s what the best ones do.”

    Dr. Jeff Levine, founder of Gotham Research Group commented on the importance of addressing the issue:

    “We are now well beyond the point where bloggers can be ignored,”

    “Some of the bloggers we spoke with have larger followings than the media outlets which executives would have interacted with in the past.”

    Today many people subscribe to of blogs looking to stay informed on what’s happening in their organizations and fields of interest. Blog writers provide a trusted inside voice. Business leaders could be capitalizing on the relationships authors build with their readers. It’s not tabloid garbage or sensationalized stories, these bloggers are in touch with the core of the industry and are constantly scanning for new information and press releases that can give them something interesting to report on.

    Short interviews with CEO’s and an occasional inside scoop could forge a useful alliance that would serve the organization as well as the blogger. I am surprised more organizations don’t help fund and foster these relationships. Believe it or not, blogs have become an essential PR tool.

  • LinkedIn Better Than Facebook or Twitter!

    Want to generate a lot of leads for your business and not spend a lot of money? In a survey-based study by HubSpot, business’s who used LinkedIn to showcase their services generated 3 times as many leads as when they used Facebook or Twitter.

    This should come as no surprise to those who are business minded. Linkedin is more of a no non-sense social networking site. “I don’t wanna see pictures of your gandchild, I wanna know what your company can do for me”. This mentality rules out Facebook and Twitter seems less than organized for targeted searches of a professional nature.

    Business minded people are drawn to Linkedin and the numbers don’t lie. Check out this bar graph assembled by HubSpot:

    Some tricks to using LinkedIn for growing your business include paying attention to what’s already working for you on the site. Look at what draws customers in and do more of that. It just makes sense. Why do you think big company’s always ask, “How did you hear about us?”.

    Also, stay vigilant. Just because blogs about your industry are mentioning you and bringing in leads doesn’t mean that is the only vehicle you should rely on. Keep expanding your horizons and testing the waters. Exposure in different circles can be crucial to expanding your base of customers.

    Word of mouth is still the best way to gain fame in any arena. People love to reccommend services. It makes them feel connected. If someone has an overwhelmingly positive experience or unique story about your services, attempt to capture that feedback and get it visible to other potential clients.

    Not that Facebook isn’t a good place to advertise, but to me, it seems like more of a ‘family and friends’ network. Concentrate on something designed for strict business and marketing connections.