Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You’re only a stranger once.

SOB Business Cafe 03-19-10

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SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking — articles, books, podcasts, and videos about business online written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Do It Myself
Yesterday I was interviewed via email by CBC Radio about “Social Media and the Paralympics”. It was to air this morning on CBC’s Early Edition. However, my interview responses were cut from show, which raises a larger question about traditional media and representation of people with disabilities.

Traditional Media versus SocMed Coverage of #Paralympics

Barry Moltz
It’s not really a conference or even a festival as the organizers say it is. It’s a happening. At 30,000 people, it is so large and complex, you don’t really attend SXSW, it just happens to you. …

9 Things I Learned at SXSW

Read Write Web
Social CRM: The New Rules of Relationship Management, a report from the Altimeter Group released earlier this month, serves to help companies and organizations understand the changing territory. The report offers a thorough framework with which companies can strategize their adoption of social CRM projects.

‘Breathe Social’: The New Rules of Relationship Management

Marketing IQ
If you know what to listen for and how to separate signal from noise, it should propel you towards action and engagement the right way. If social media is a blend of art and science, engagement is definitely the art of it. If you approach it in a heavy-handed or inauthentic way, you may scare people off and mar your reputation.

Ten Best Practices of Online Engagement

emergent by design
This weekend I experienced a snowcrash; a moment where the seemingly disparate pieces of information floating in my head came together. A synapse fired, a new connection was made, and I was brought to a new level of consciousness, a new way of seeing the world. In reading this over, it almost sounds obvious, but it took me a while to get here. I hope that by sharing with you, it’ll help you “get it” too. So let me take you on my thinking trail.

An Idea Worth Spreading: The Future is Networks

Related ala carte selections include

gapingboid
has a word …

There Is a Word

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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SOB Business Cafe 03-12-10

Filed Under Great Finds, Successful Blog | 5 Comments

SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking — articles, books, podcasts, and videos about business online written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Chris Brogan
Someone else took your idea. You’ve been talking about it for years. That’s your thing. I can’t believe she said what I’ve been saying for years, and now she’s got a book. I could totally do that.

I Could Totally Do That

Saul Colt
Way back in October I put my “money where my mouth is” and challenged someone to come up with a new idea in Social Media because if there ever was something that needs re-invention, this is it …

What makes you so special on Social Media besides being “early”?

Tim’s Strategy
And if you listened to my appearance on the Recruiting Animal Radio Show you may have an interesting view of my personality and strengths. Animal has a well-honed way of sweeping your feet out from under you.

But the places I stumbled were not his fault. They were mine. I was not able to answer some pretty basic questions he asked. Ones that, I think, seem pretty straight-forward. Not intentionally deceptive at all.

So now I’m here to answer the big one. In full detail. For the world to evaluate and comment on.

How To Start, Maintain And End A Conversation With A Stranger

Social Media Marketing News

# Ask for feedback and/or ask questions at the end of a post.
# Comment on other’s blogs.
# Barrier to comments BAD (in other words, don’t make it difficult for people to leave comments).

20 ways to encourage engagement

Barry Moltz
I am horrible on putting things together. So when my son wanted a new basketball hoop I shivered.

I dutifully ordered it from Walmart and it came a few days later in the mail. One night, my son and I embarked on the journey called “Assembly Required.”

The Way Calls to the Customer Service Agent Should Be

Media Buzz
Instant messaging, viral marketing and social networking sites could make his workplace uncomfortable — even scary — for men and women raised in a slower time. Yet Wasiak surrounds himself with 20-somethings and 30-somethings and loves it.

“There’s no rule that says 20-year-olds are better at this than 60-year-olds,” says this cofounder of the creative development company The Concept Farm. “It’s the approach that counts.”

What Older Workers Bring to Marketing

Related ala carte selections include

Lewis Howes
wants to know … does this video entertain or offend you?

Journey To Success – Interview With Arthur Kade

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

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SOB Business Cafe 03-05-10

Filed Under Great Finds, Successful Blog | 2 Comments

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SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking — articles, books, podcasts, and videos about business online written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Powered
Why is it that when it comes to conversation about social media, business-to-business (B2B) seems to draw the short stick every single time? As someone that does a lot of webcasts, blog posts and speaking gigs, the questions/comment that always comes up is, “what about B2B examples.” Fortunately for me, I’m able to mention companies like BreakingPoint Systems and Hubspot that do a great job tapping into the power of social media but I often wish there were more examples (with public results) that I could discuss.

Social Media for B2B: It CAN be done

Six Pixels of Separation
Imagine this scenario: you are walking along one of your favourite streets and you suddenly receive a text message on your mobile phone. It notifies you that your favourite fast-food burger chain has a joint just up the block, and if you come on in, they are willing to throw in a medium-size fries and bottomless jolts of free cola with the purchase of a hamburger.

Why Is Privacy So Unsexy?

Brand Savant
One thing that has become apparent to me over the past few months is that there are a lot of folks using social media monitoring tools to listen for brand mentions, but truly they are capable of so much more with a little forethought and planning.

The Six Degrees Of Social Media Monitoring

Randy Gage
Do you hold back on things because you feel you aren’t worth the extra money? Does going for the luxurious choice bring up feelings of guilt?

I used to say these kinds of things were issues for people who grew up in the great depression. Then I came to realize that this was a problem for most people. It’s no surprise really, when you think about it.

Are You the Slumdog or the Millionaire?

Bawld Guy Talking
BawldGuy Axiom: When the farmer plants corn in the spring after proper preparation, tends his fields diligently, fertilizes as needed, and adjusts to any bumps in the road, he’s not surprised when he’s harvesting corn in the fall.

10 Ways To Delay Or Diminish Your Retirement

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Social Media Enthusiast
Are there still companies who haven’t entered, at any level, the social web? Sure. But they’re so far to the right of the adoption bell curve, we’ve effectively entered the territory of the Amish. They might make awesome baked goods, but don’t know diddly squat about marketing a brand in the digital age.

The days of “exploring” social media are over. Deal with it.

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

Register Now!! for sobcon-vmc

SOB Business Cafe 02-26-10

Filed Under Great Finds, Successful Blog | Leave a Comment

SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking — articles, books, podcasts, and videos about business online written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Altitude
Today on Twitter’s #SMChat, DJ Waldow asked about professional uses for Twitter and what we got out of it.

In my first year as an independent consultant, I can attribute over $100K in revenue for my business directly to Twitter. How?

How I Made $100K With Twitter

Small Biz Survival
Suzy and Tracie make bread in a little strip mall in Mishawaka, Indiana. They have a franchise with Great Harvest Bread Company. They give you free slices to sample. (Apple Scrapple is very good.) They are like lots of bread stores in lots of towns.

Their store/bakery is only a couple miles from our daughter’s college, but I never would have noticed it. It’s one of many stores in that mall, and there are many strip malls along Grape Road.

So how did Suzy sell me a muffin and a coffee mug?

How Suzy sold me a muffin with 6 lessons

Servant of Chaos
CMO.com released a handy chart with snapshot social media information designed as a quick heads up for chief marketing officers. It’s not a panacea and it doesn’t cover all the places, spaces and platforms – but it’s a great start.

The Social Landscape for Marketers

Social Media Marketing Institute
You can bet I understand the importance of numbers. They are crucial to every business.

BUT…..(you knew this was coming)… everything you do in your life doesn’t have to have a concrete measurement. Todd Carpenter said, “if you coach a softball game”, do you measure the ROI of getting new clients?” Now, that is just silly. Of course not.

Sometimes the ROI is just in the People

Lip Sticking
I’ve decided to step out and say what few people are willing to say: women business owners need to approach social media differently than male business owners.

Some Men are Already Scared of the Real Women Revolution - Ha!

Related ala carte selections include

Being Five …
If you truly believe something with all your heart …

Wayne Dyer

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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Teaching Sells

SOB Business Cafe 02-19-10

Filed Under SOB Business, Successful Blog | Leave a Comment

SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking — articles, books, podcasts, and videos about business online written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Name Wire - Strategic Name Development
This year may mark a milestone in branding and naming, one that has as much resonance as Marlboro Friday.

Walmart is unceremoniously clearing brands off the shelves that do not sell well and replacing them with their own private label versions.

Is Walmart Killing Branding and Naming?

Logic + Emotion
It’s unlikely that people will abandon existing platforms or networks unless they become so polluted that we have no choice. Sure we may have wandered away from e-mail, but how many of us have actually abandoned it? Very few I suspect. E-mail like Twitter or Facebook will remain relevant as long as our friends and co-workers keep using it. When they stop, it might go away—but how likely is it that scenario?

Less Networks. More Meaning.

Barry J Moltz
You need money to finance the start up or growth of your business. Who are you going to call?

How do you finance a business in 2010?

10 Ways For Finding Funding

Altitude
You have an idea!

You’ve thought it through, and you’re excited. You’ve uncovered something that’s really going to help your company or your boss or your client achieve their goals. You want your project to get attention and action. It deserves it, right?

6 Principles of Selling In Your Project

Life Beyond Code
You buy a burger (or almost anything) and while the person in the counter rings that he or she looks up and asks,

“Do you want some fries with it?”

The offer is compelling and it works. Most people take up that offer and McDonalds wins.

Read more: http://www.lifebeyondcode.com/2010/02/17/do-you-want-a-gift-with-it/#ixzz0fzdwf2IP
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

Do you want a gift with it?

AdRANTS
Ooo! Ooo! Facebook Fan Pages work for marketers! A recent study conducted by Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business found companies that use Facebook fan pages can increase sales, word-of-mouth marketing and customer loyalty.

Study Finds Facebook Fan Pages Can Increase Loyalty, Revenue

Colour Lovers
Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medical Research Methodology describe the development of a color chart, The Manchester Color Wheel, which can be used to study people’s preferred pigment in relation to their state of mind. Those who described themselves as happy picked shades of yellow where as those feeling anxious or depressed chose shades of grey or dark blue.

What Color Is Your Mood?

Related ala carte selections include

Justin Case You Were Wondering
has several jobsearch videos and articles to HAPPO — Help a PR Pro Out

Justin case you were wondering

101 Cookbooks
I came across a cookie when I visited Portland a couple years back. It was a crackle-edged puddle of chocolate with a texture that made me think of a collision between soft meringue and a fudgy brownie. I kid you not, love is not too strong a word to use here.

Chocolate Puddle Cookies Recipe

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

Register Now!! for sobcon-vmc

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