Posts Tagged ‘customers’

Social Networking April 2010

Friday, February 26th, 2010

*** Update: These classes are sold out and the Shah Center has added additional sessions. Contact the Shah Center directly for available openings, dates and times.

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The Shah Center and Illinois Small Business Development Center hosts social networking for business classes April – May 2010.

Are you thinking about social networking for your business but not sure where to start? Are you on Linkedin and not getting the most out of it? Do I really need to tweet? Can I do business on Facebook? What is a blog anyways?

You will get answers to these questions and more during these sessions. April M. Williams gives you real examples of how you can use social networking to conduct business.

Who should attend? Business owners, entrepreneurs, marketers, job seekers who want to show potential hiring managers understand current trends.

These social networking for business classes are sponsored by the Illinois Small Business Development Center in association with McHenry Community College. Class are open to the public. Register and pay for these sessions through the Shah Center.

Capacity is limited for these small enrollment classes to provide time for discussion and your questions. Register early to reserve your seat.

Sessions will be held 1-3PM at the Shah Center  located at 4100 W. Shamrock Lane in McHenry, near Centegra Medical Center.

For more information or to register, please contact the Illinois Small Business Development Center at (815) 455-6098 or sbdc@mchenry.edu.

• Apr. 27, 2010 I’m on LinkedIn, Now What? In this session learn how to build effective connections, get recommendations, get introduced to others, find customers and partners, use groups and stay in touch with other pestering your contacts. Create a free LinkedIn account before the class.

• May 04, 2010 Facebook for Business. Learn how to leverage connections to build relationships for business. Learn about group and fan pages. Create a free Facebook account before the class.

• May. 11, 2010 – Blogging Basic: Curious about blogging but you do not know where to start? In this session you will create your own blog and post your first online message. NOTE: To participate in the session, you’ll need access to a web based email account such as Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, etc.

http://www.Twitter.com
http://www.Twitter.com

• May 18, 2010 -- Tweet for Profit: People are looking for your business on Twitter. Are you there to talk with them? Learn how to make the most of this micro-blogging tool. Create a free Twitter account before the class.

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Social Networking Feb 2010

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Are you thinking about social networking for your business but not sure where to start? Are you on Linkedin and not getting the most out of it? Do I really need to tweet? Can I do business on Facebook? What is a blog anyways?

You will get answers to these questions and more during these sessions. April M. Williams gives you real examples of how you can use social networking to conduct business.

Who should attend? Business owners, entrepreneurs, marketers, job seekers who want to show potential hiring managers understand current trends.

These social networking for business classes are sponsored by the Illinois Small Business Development Center in association with McHenry Community College. Class are open to the public. Register and pay for these sessions through the Shah Center.

Capacity is limited for these small enrollment classes to provide time for discussion and your questions. Register early to reserve your seat.

Sessions will be held 8-10AM. All classes are held at the Shah Center. The McHenry County College Shah Center is located at 4100 W. Shamrock Lane in McHenry, near Centegra Medical Center.

For more information or to register, please contact the Illinois Small Business Development Center at (815) 455-6098 or sbdc@mchenry.edu.

• Feb. 17, 2010 – I’m on LinkedIn, Now What? In this session learn how to build effective connections, get recommendations, get introduced to others, find customers and partners, use groups and stay in touch without pestering your contacts. Create a free LinkedIn account before the class.

• Feb. 24, 2010 – Facebook for Business: Learn how to leverage connections to build relationships for business. Learn about group and fan pages. Create a free Facebook account before the class.

http://www.Twitter.com
http://www.Twitter.com

• Mar. 10. 2010 – Tweet for Profit: People are looking for your business on Twitter. Are you there to talk with them? Learn how to make the most of this micro-blogging tool. Create a free Twitter account before the class.

• Mar. 17, 2010 – Blogging Basic: Curious about blogging but you do not know where to start? In this session you will create your own blog and post your first online message. NOTE: To participate in the session, you’ll need access to a web based email account such as Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, etc.

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Small Business Social Networking Trends

Monday, December 21st, 2009

I read an interesting article this week on Small Business Trends “Study: How Are B2Bs Using Social Media“. I will share a few of the statistics with you here. The study documented their conclusions in a 58 page report. Here are highlights of their findings on what types of social media B2Bs are using.

Their findings on what types of social media are B2Bs using? “It’s worth noting that everyone questioned in the study is already using social media for business, either as a resource, to engage in initiatives or both. So the usage curve is probably higher than normal.

According to the study, people from mid- to large-sized companies (100 employees or more) were far more active in social media than people from smaller companies. I found that to be rather surprising.”

“46 percent of mid- to large-businesses use Twitter, compared to just 28 percent of SMBs.”

“Overall, B2Bs are more active in social media than B2Cs, with 81 percent of B2Bs maintaining one or more accounts on sites like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. They’re also much more likely to engage in micro-blogging on Twitter than B2C companies.”

What metrics of success are used by these companies?
* Web site traffic – 68 percent of B2Bs, 57 percent for B2Cs
* Brand Awareness, 61 percent and 52 percent, respectively
* Engagement with prospects, 60 percent and 57 percent respectively
* Engagement with customers, 52 percent and 51 percent, respectively
* Brand Reputation, 47 percent and 41 percent, respectively”

More than half of these companies are measuring engagement. Your company is missing out on an opportunity if you do not monitor the conversation.

Customers are talking about you and can be your advocates. Take the opportunity to contribute to the conversation. Your will build loyalists who will evangelize your brand.

Here I am networking with Ji Sun Chang who uses social networking to engage customers. Read more about how she engages customers here.

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