They have always used more traditional advertising methods such as CraigsList and other yellow pages based methods, and wanted Social Media to accomplish the same thing. They wanted us to create a series of social networking pages (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.) that would just attract business.

Unfortunately, it was not going work the way they wanted.

Social Media is a dynamic exchange of information with the rest of the online world that increases your visibility and network of available resources. Social Media is NOT a passive form of advertising.

The success of Social Media is directly tied with the activity of the user. If you want Social Media to not require work, then it won’t work for you or your business.

Does that mean that Social Media has no value in business? Of course not! It has tremendous value, some of which has yet to be figured out! But it does require a commitment to make it work. It requires a particular business to decide to make Social Media work for them, and to dedicate the necessary resources needed to make it successful. That said, there are ways to reduce your workload, and find easy things to tweet, update or blog about. Much like optimizing a process within your business, there are ways to optimize your Social Media time to much less than it may originally seem.

Commit to making it work, and it will. If not, don’t bother.

This particular client seemed to understand what I was explaining, and has decided to make Social Media work for them. They recognize that it is not passive, and while it will require additional effort, they see the value and future value and want to grow. Good for them.

Flash is bad for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

While Google is working on listing Flash-based websites in their engine, it is still somewhat “iffy”. Further, the reality is that many of the best techniques used for SEO simply cannot work with a flash site.

Flash is usually bad for User Interface (UI)

While it can be cool, Flash usually deviates from the best User Interface principles, in favor of what the designer wants. This is never good.

Flash is not supported by most mobile platforms

Most experts predict that mobile platforms will occupy a significant portion of the internet browsing in the near future. Currently, Flash is not supported on many of those mobile devices, including the iPhone and Blackberry. Basically, developing a site in Flash ensures that you are not thinking for the future.

Most Flash effects can accomplished using better methods

You don’t NEED Flash to do what Flash does! jQuery, MooTools and other sources accomplish what most people use Flash for, and they are fully compatible with all the problems I stated above.

Flash intros are ALWAYS a bad idea

Don’t do them. Ever. Even if you have a skip button. Please.

Exception: Flash is okay for video

As a platform for displaying video, Flash is a very viable option. It’s okay to use it. I give you permission.

In Conclusion

I hope this article gives you enough reason to uninstall Flash from your computer, or if you are a website owner, not to ask your web designer to use Flash.

Introduction

Twitter is the single fastest growing social media outlet on the Internet. From April ‘08 to April ‘09, Twitter has gone from 1.22 million users to 17.1 million users (Time magazine).

More importantly, Twitter is a fantastic tool to increase your network. Unlike other social media tools such as Facebook or LinkedIn where the primary network is people you already know, Twitter goes far beyond that network putting you in touch with a world beyond the one you already have access to.

General Tips

1. Coordination with Blogs
2. Don’t be a afraid
3. Search is your friend
4. Pre-write your tweets
5. Pre-date your tweets
6. Use Twitter software
7. Find Your Voice
8. Re-Tweet With Confidence
9. Consistency

Coordination with Blogs
Blogs and Twitter are like peas and carrots. Many of the same benefits of blogging apply to Twitter. Additionally, you can use Twitter to draw additional traffic to your blog, which in turn improves your search engine optimization.

Don’t be afraid
A potential downside of Twitter is that it carries a slightly steeper learning curve with it. It isn’t more difficult to use or do per se, but because it is such a new platform it is difficult to wrap your head around it. Don’t be afraid, within a short while you’ll be tweeting like a pro.

Search is your friend
One of the finest ways to use Twitter, develop followers and make it work for you is to use search effectively.

Pre-write your tweets
I recommend to all of my clients to pre-write a number of tweets at once. This way, if you are stuck and can’t think of something relevant to write, you have a go to tweet that will work.

Pre-date your tweets
Tools such as HootSuite.com allow you to send your Tweets at a pre-arranged time. Works in conjunction with Pre-writing your tweets.

Use Twitter software
Twitter.com’s interface is limited. Using desktop software to be more productive with your Twitter time. We use TweetDeck, but there are a number of other alternatives out there.

Find Your Voice
Twitter allows you to let people in on the little stuff. The little stuff is interesting.

Re-Tweet With Confidence
Re-Tweeting gives Twitter its viral growth and expands the communication spectrum.

Consistency
Frequent and consistent tweeting is critical. I suggest at least 3 a day.

Overall benefits

1. Direct Communications
2. Brand Building
3. Competitive Differentiation
4. Positions Your Business as “Cutting Edge”
5. Relational Marketing
6. Exploit the Niches
7. Build Community
8. Media & Public Relations
9. Position You as an Expert
10. Coordinate With Your Blog
11. Reputation Management
12. Low cost

Direct Communications
Twitter provide a way for you to speak directly, openly and honestly with your customer.

Brand Building
Twitter serve as another channel on which to promote your brand and company.

Competitive Differentiation
Because Twitter give you the opportunity to tell your story over and over, they help set you apart from the competition.

Positions Your Business as “Cutting Edge”
By embracing new technology, you establish yourself as a pioneer, rather than a follower.

Exploit the Niches
Twitter help you fill your particular industry niche.

Build Community
Business Twitter provide your small business with a chance to share your expertise and knowledge with a larger audience. An opportunity to connect with a wider audience and build a community is a strong benefit for consultants and knowledge workers.

Media & Public Relations
Twitter are excellent PR tools. The media calls you, not your competition.

Position You as an Expert
Twitter enable you to articulate your viewpoints, knowledge and expertise on matters pertaining to your industry.

Coordinate With Your Blog
Twitter gives you an opportunity to drive traffic to your blog.

Reputation Management
Twitter helps you manage your online reputation.

Low Cost
Twitter is inexpensive to set up, operate and maintain.

Final Thoughts

Don’t Miss Out
Twitter is here. it is popular. Position yourself to best take advantage of this fantastic new communication tool.

Have Patience!
You will not see immediate gains from Twitter. How Twitter will affect business is still evolving, but it is better to be in a situation by participation, then deciding when it is too late.

Ancillary Benefits of Blogging

1. Blogging makes you a better thinker
2. Blogging makes you a better listener
3. Blogging makes you a better writer
4. Blogging makes you a better salesperson
5. Blogging keeps you focused on learning
6. Blogging makes you a better networker

Blogging makes you a better thinker
In an effort to create content for a blog that is succinct, it can reveal new ways to look at common things, or apply simple solutions to seemingly complex problems.

Blogging makes you a better listener
By listening with a writer’s ear, you will find yourself coming up with blog ideas simply by listening to others discuss unrelated subjects.

Blogging makes you a better writer
By writing every day, you will naturally become a better writer. In addition to practice, writing publicly also allows for community reaction to help you get better faster.

Blogging makes you a better salesperson
By clearly stating idea pitches in writing, you will find that it has improved your ability to quickly articulate them in selling. It’s like you build up this reserve bank of preprogrammed discussion points.

Blogging keeps you focused on learning
The discipline required to create even somewhat interesting content, requires that you stay on top of current trends, what’s being said and what’s not being said in order to find ways to apply it to the world of small business.

Blogging makes you a better networker
By blogging on a regular basis, your regular readership will grow over time, growing your network beyond where it currently is.

Final Thoughts

It takes time.
You will not see immediate gains from your blog. Blogs are not a magic bullet to the top of the engines. They require working hard and smart – especially smart. However the payoff can be significant.

Be responsive.
The blogosphere is all about two-way communication — a blog is not simply an outlet for your message, but a tool for engaging in a conversation. Readers want to see that the person or people who are writing the blog are actually invested in its content and willing to read and respond to comments. The goal is to make your organization’s or corporation’s voice heard as part of ongoing conversation about policy issues.

Have a well-thought-through plan.
Too often a blog gets started amid a great deal of hype and publicity, but then quickly loses wind as posts become more and more sporadic. A lack of fresh content and infrequent updates will make it clear to readers that the company isn’t really taking its blog seriously. It is better not to create a blog at all than to launch one with only a halfhearted effort.

Read part one

Read part two

While we have done trade show booth designs before, it was the first time that Flying Chimp has ever been an exhibitor at a trade show.

Our Plan

In keeping with all things Flying Chimp, our booth had to reflect our fun and creativity, while still being professional and easily understood.

Our booth was very visual with a lot of our humor throughout, but we were careful not to be over the top. Of course we were consistent with our branding throughout.

The Game

To help drive traffic, we had a game where attendees would try and sling shot a flying monkey through the hole. The prize WAS the flying monkey that they used! The monkeys screams when they flew and everyone loved them.

The lines at our booth were by far the biggest of the entire trade show, and we think the game was a major reason why.

The Champs

This is a bit of bragging, but our booth was the hit of the show. We had people coming up to us on the second day to say that our flying monkey game and prizes were talked about extensively at the hotel the prior evening. Everyone loved us.

The FICPA gives away three awards and we won the “Most Original” award, which we were very excited about. We were told you could only win one of the three awards (otherwise we might have swept)!

I partially expected Kanye to interrupt the announcement and say that Beyonce should have won, but our award went uncontested.

Thank You

Thanks to the newest chimp Harrison Stevens who did a great job at manning the booth, talking to prospects and helping to set up and take down.

Thanks to Steve Sexton of Your Sign Solution, who, in spite of a lot of things going wrong, still managed to get our booth and other large format printing done in time. Heck, when one panel needed to be re-printed, he came to the convention center to help set it up.

Special thanks to my friend Shari Borek of Borek Consulting who offered a lot of fantastic advice on some of the little things to help make a trade show more successful. Visit her site at www.borekconsulting.com.