I posted my new business portrait on this site and other locations on the web. I was so pleased with my portrait, the photo session and my relationship with the photographer, Erin Hayes, Erin Hayes Photography, that I posted a recommendation for her on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. I got lots of positive comments on the portrait, which translates into lots of eyeballs who viewed my recommendation of Erin.

I shared my testimonial with the members of my business group, Sonoma Success Partners. My friends, family, and business contacts, read or heard my testimonial for Erin. In a few minutes, I had shared my positive experience with hundreds of people I know and through them, with thousands more. The people who commented on my portrait and recommendations, multiplied my message exponentially.

The power of social media

• sharing what you know
• sharing what you like
• sharing what makes you mad
• sharing what inspires you

It was easy to do. It took me a few minutes to compose my message and a few more to post it. Then the magic of sharing took over.

Want an easy way to promote your business?

Leverage testimonials from your clients by asking for them on social networking sites.

Ask for written testimonials that specify a service or challenge you helped to resolve.

Ask your clients to record a video or audio testimonial for you. You can upload videos to YouTube, embed them on your web site or blog posts. You can embed or link to audio files.

Give and Receive Testimonials

I got busy giving and and requesting testimonials. LinkedIn lets you review recommendations before they are posted. It also prompts you to give a recommendation when you received one. Reciprocity at its best.

Get them in writing. Then you can pepper your web site with endorsements from happy clients. The credibility of paid advertising has dropped to an all time low of 14% believability versus our faith in word-0f-mouth comments. Real people, real words, real solutions, translate into rapport and trust.

In a previous post, I commented on what is known as “The Oprah Effect” or the “Tim Ferris Effect.” Getting connected to someone who is famous, has a committed and engaged following, can turn your visibility super-nova bright. I worked for a graphic designer who was also an avid golfer. He invented “Loud-Mouth Golf,” fun and funny golf attire and accessories for golfers with a sense of humor and style. His strategy for promotion, give the pants to famous golfers who then endorsed them. He leveraged his way into a larger circle of buyers and fans. I visited his web site today and there is now world-wide distribution of his products. Not bad for a grass roots company with marketing smarts. This strategy works because humans take on the style, habits, attire and behavior of our heros, and people we like. It shows we belong.

What’s your next step?

See where you have a strong presence already and look at how you can increase your visibility through recommendations and testimonials. Here are some sites you might want to add to your list of cyber addresses. Most are free to join. Building your google juice depends on who knows you. Testimonials and recommendations are a proven way to expand your circle of influence and your profits.

 Sites That Make It Easy to Capture Testimonials and Reviews

• LinkedIn
• Manta
• Yelp!
• YouTube
• MerchantCircle
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google
• Google Maps
• Bing
• Local.com
• JudysBook.com
• AngiesList.com
• TripAdvisor.com
• OpenTable.com
• BBB.org
• Google+
• Google Places
• Yext.com
• Yahoo! Local Listings
• Citysearch
• foursquare
• ziplocal
• likelist

Testimonials are better than ice cream. Especially when they are shared.

 

The lure of Amazon often trumps going to your local bookstore. Buying shoes from Zappos can sometimes be easier than purchasing the same items from the shoe store in your town. But, wait, something is missing. The personal touch of your relationship with your neighbors and the people in your community.

When we buy locally it is a vote of confidence in the community. When money stays and circulates with in your local economy, that money circulates many times over and tends to remain among your friends and family. When we send our money overseas, the benefit goes to anonymous companies while our local businesses go wanting. Helping to stimulate local businesses raises the stakes of your investment in a place where you live.

The first 10 years I lived in Sonoma I commuted to work in San Francisco, Napa, and Petaluma. As a commuter, I got the dark, went to work in the dark, and most often, I came home in the dark. My waking hours were spent away from home as were my dollars. Most of my income went outside the community where I live. When I began to work where I live I began to send money more regularly to in the community. One day I realized I was also connecting to people in town. It felt good to exchange money with people I know. It was at that time I finally felt like I was once again part of the economy and the vitality of the place I call home.

With the prevalence and the ease with which all of us can purchase with the click of a mouse, a local businesses need to pay attention to what brings customers in the door. Knowledge and trust are a factor in my buying decisions. Relationships, history, personal care, a sense of belonging, mutual respect, connection, all of these factors play a part in my decision to spend money where I live.

I find mega malls and cookie-cutter shopping experiences boring. I look for unique, one-of-a-kind, special items and shops. I enjoy finding out the stories behind unusual products. When I travel, I want to experience the ambience of the place rather than looking for the same things I can find anywhere. When I’m at home I want to find the special things that make the Valley of the Moon one of the top places to visit and to live.

Just as the locavore movement in food has taken hold, I am an advocate of buying local business services, clothing, whatever I need if it is available locally, I will try that option first before going far afield. But, many times local businesses are unaware that they are making it hard to buy from them. They make price their goods and services higher without providing premium service or connection. Those local businesses that get it right are involved, aware and engaged with those they serve.

Some of my friends created a network of local businesses, business owners, independent contractors, and people who live inside of Sonoma Valley. The group they created is a combination of online and face-to-face interaction. They initially started the group to fill a need they had and a desire to find talent within the geographical radius of Sonoma Valley. Because they created WiredSonoma, new businesses have started, people found people to populate their businesses, and individuals in the community are more connected to each other.

Before you consider outsourcing hitting the button and making a purchase online, or sending the work you have overseas or outside of your community, take time to explore whether it is possible to find what you need in your own backyard. You may be surprised that just what you need is a close as your next-door neighbor.

When you are in need of a friend to comfort you in times of trouble or when you want to celebrate a success, will that anonymous online presence answer your call at 3 am? Will they be there to help you move into your new house or say a prayer when someone you love is hurt? Get to know your neighbors. And make a difference.

This is a photo of my friends, Randy and Deb Myers. He is wearing a hat I brought back from a fabulous hat store in New Orleans, Meyers Hats. Myers Hats is a family owned business, with five generations of Meyers on board. I was thinking of Randy on our vacation in New Orleans. When we saw the name of the store, we had to go in and they helped us find just the right hat and fit for our friend. We were delighted to bring bag this piece of the Crescent City in the form of a hat for Randy.

Randy is battling cancer. Both he and Deb have given to those they know and now it is time to give back.If you live in Sonoma County, come and help support my dear friends, Randy and Deborah Myers at the Create Ease Benefit, October 24, 2010. If you can’t come in person, you can make a donation at www.AstateofEase.com

 

This is a guest post by Linda Jay Geldens

LindaJay@aol.com

www.LindaJayGeldens.com

You may be losing business or hurting your professional reputation by sending out unedited Web site copy.  Text that is riddled with errors will distract present or potential clients.  The reader will think:  Do I really want to buy a product or service from someone whose copy is sloppy?

One way to ensure that your Web site message will be as perfect as possible is to invest in the services of a professional copyeditor/proofreader.  In the twinkling of a well-trained eye, a topnotch editor can clean up your Web site copy so it sparkles in the sunlight.

Misplaced modifiers, dangling participles, its/it’s, to/too, and other hair-raising/hare-raising errors will melt away.  Skilled editors say that mistakes “leap off the page” at them.  And potential clients will leap off the couch to contact you because of your magnetic Web site copy.

Horror Stories about Unedited Copy

A glossy magazine placed an advertisement on its Web site, targeting the publication’s upscale subscribers.  The expensive ad emphasized how perfect the tiniest detail would be for guests who experienced a stay at a certain very fancy hotel.  There was only one small problem in the ad, yet it was glaring enough to undermine the hotel’s claim to perfection.  The headline read:  When Everything Has to Just Right  [where was the "Be" before the "Just Right"?].

If Web content is launched into the stratosphere without being edited, unfortunate things happen:

• A national eNewsletter is sent out with the headline “For Pubic School Educators.”
• A scholarly article proclaims, “We will stand on the toes of those who have gone before us.”
• A document that says $25,000. instead of $250,000. might cause a legal nightmare.
• An international company’s brochure states, “We’d like to pedal your ideas.”

How Working with a Copyeditor Helps Your Business in Practical Ways

Maybe you believe that copyediting and proofreading would be luxury items in your publications  budget.  Or that no readers would notice if a few mistakes slip through in your copy.  Think again!

There are many ways in which a professional copyeditor can benefit your business:

• An editor writes zingy headlines to draw potential clients to your company Web site.
• An editor breaks up dense paragraphs in the text into smaller, easily readable sections.
• An editor makes sure the grammar in your copy is correct and the punctuation is right.
• An editor has good ideas about when to italicize or boldface certain words or phrases, to call attention to them and to make the text more interesting.
• An editor can point out places where the facts could be clearer, or more accurate.
• An editor can tighten text, or make suggestions for expanding ideas in the text.

Web site text is far different from magazine article copy and other promotional material because the pages are shorter, the paragraphs are smaller, and the selling points have to be made faster.  Web site visitors are assumed to have a short attention span; your company has only a few minutes to make a lasting impression.

Hiring a Copyeditor

Copyeditors can be found through professional organizations such as BAIPA and WIC, through consulting and marketing organizations, through directories that list editorial professionals, through ads in magazines targeted toward writers, and through looking up “copyeditor” on search engines.

Employing the services of a good copyeditor to make your Web site text shipshape is a great investment in your company’s future.  Your message will be conveyed beautifully — and that’s not editorial spin!

Linda Jay Geldens

Copyeditor/Copywriter
*Helping clients communicate their message with style*
(415) 456-4334
LindaJay@aol.com
Blog: http://lindajaygeldens.wordpress.com
www.LindaJayGeldens.com

 

Valuable expertise on demand – rich business content and presentations | myBrainshark.

There are many ways to add video and share it on the web. My Brain Shark offers some unique and free options.

If you are a Powerpoint user you already know most of what you need to know to use My Brain Shark.

One feature that is different from other services I have found, you can use your telephone to record a audio track for your slides. No need to buy a microphone or worry about learning how to use it, just follow the dial in instructions and you are ready to record.

This could be a way for you to post a real “Audio Logo” on your web site.

 

Follow me on YouTube to learn marketing tips for entrepreneurs.
http://www.youtube.com/completelycreative. You can subscribe to my channel.

 

Dimdim is an easy to use video conferencing and screen sharing open source tool. It works on both Mac and PC platforms.

Its free for up to 20 attendees.