North San Diego Business At Large
Show Notes: September 2, 2011

I hear it all the time…”I don’t have time for social media. I can barely read all my emails.” Unfortunately, if you don’t embrace social media, you will be left behind. According to Gary Vaynerchuk, author of The Thank You Economy:

Social media makes the Internet an open, level playing field where any limits to how far you want to spread your message and your brand are self-imposed.

Today I’ll lay out some of the basics of social media, why you want to use it and how to save yourself some time  and stay out of overwhelm.

North San Diego Business at Large
Show Notes: February 11, 2011

The design of your Facebook Business Brand Page is changing. On March 1, 2011 all pages will change to the new design. In this episode of North San Diego Business at Large I share some of the changes and how you can leverage those changes on your page.

North San Diego Business At Large
Show Notes: January 21, 2011

This week there were several conversations on the Internet about tagging photos, videos, notes and status updates on Facebook.  Tagging one of the mentioned items puts that item into the News Feed of the person who was tagged. Originally it was to be able to share, with your friends, the pictures you took of them.

However, now tagging is taking on a new twist as a way to promote your “stuff” in someone else’s news feed. When used inappropriately it can be considered spam. In this episode Barbara Eldridge, Mind Masters, and I talked about tagging, how to use it, and more importantly how not to use it.

On Friday, January 21st the San Diego Chapter of SCORE will present Susan Rust, Vice President Client Services, Achieve Internet presenting “The Business Owner’s Media Mogul Manual: A Strategic Plan to Leverage Web-Based Technologies”

These days you must be your own Media Mogul! Susan will discuss how you can leverage today’s free and low-cost web technologies to get more presence in your marketplace, drive more traffic to your website and convert more people into customers. You will gain insight into how to develop a chain of marketing channels from YouTube, Facebook, Linkedin and more.

Those of you who know me well, know I’ve attended these SCORE Breakfasts since 2004. You also know I came down on SCORE pretty hard a year ago in a blog post reviewing the Score breakfast and the mistakes I thought SCORE was making. After a discussion with the incoming team, I’ve found SCORE to be very responsive to suggestions from the attendees and have seen them “re-think” some of their decisions.

I’ll be there Friday the 21st and am looking forward to connecting with the other women business owners in San Diego. I’ll be sharing the exhibitors with those of you who follow North San Diego Business on Twitter.

I still think this is one of the premiere networking breakfast and well worth your time and investment to join me. See you there??

North San Diego Business at Large
Show Notes: December 21, 2010

In this special episode of North San Diego Business at Large I interviewed Stacey Ross, better known as the San Diego Bargain Mama. Stacey is known for promoting and celebrating local value both online and offline. She’s integrated both online and offline strategies in helping “spread the word” about San Diego’s various “family friendly” attractions. Hear how she used social media to build her online community.

North San Diego Business At Large

North San Diego Business At Large
Show Notes: July 30, 2010

Dale Condy, Gems of La Costa, will be my business guest interview. He’s using Facebook to raise awareness and brand recognition for his business. He’s got some creative ideas and will be able to share a few ideas as a business owners who is leveraging his “brick and mortar” business online.

I’ll follow that up with a discussion on Facebook Pages and why you’d want to consider adding one to your marketing efforts. Taking your questions on using Facebook Pages for your business.

If you have a question you’d like answered on using Facebook Pages for Business, just use the North San Diego Business Contact form and send your question to me.

North San Diego Business At Large

North San Diego Business At Large
Show Notes: July 23, 2010

My business interview was with Cassie Carter, QLN Conference Center, about the conference center and how local small business owners can use the center. I also discussed the use of Facebook profiles for business.

The conference center has several space configurations allowing it’s use for many types of events. The center also offers WIFI for those looking to use the Internet in a presentation or as an instructional tool.

Cassie can be reached at QLN Conference Center Contact page or by phone, 760-722-0072 ext. 193. The conference center is located at: 1938 Avenida del Oro, Oceanside, CA 92056

The second half of the show Barbara Eldridge, Mind Masters, and I talked about Facebook profiles and gave some tips on organizing friends and how we use our profiles for business.

Next week we’ll be discussing Facebook Pages. Use the North San Diego Business Contact Us form to send a question you have on using Facebook for business.

North San Diego Business At Large

North San Diego Business At Large
Show Notes: July 9, 2010

Barbara Eldridge and I discussed what Social Media Channels are and how a business owner would use them. We discussed blogging platforms, micro-blogging, social networks and video.

Some resources for more information:

So, How Many Channels for Your Brand?
Wikipedia List of Social Networking Sites
Which Channels Should You Be Using

North San Diego Business At Large

North San Diego Business At Large
Show Notes: June 25, 2010

I am often asked  about using social media in business. Most of my fellow business owners are wary of spending time with Facebook and Twitter, especially Twitter.

Today I’m answering a lot of those questions, sharing why, or why you wouldn’t want to use social media. I know you’re hearing that you HAVE to use it or be left behind.

Social media can be a tremendous benefit to your business, but to a certain degree you have to participate. So, I’m letting you know that you DON’T have to participate, but…participating can bring you, and your business, tremendous rewards.

This is an ongoing series, so if you have any questions, use the contact form and I’ll add them to the list. Check out the Upcoming Show Details post for the schedule of topics.

Let me know how you are using social media. I’d love to hear success stories. Feel free to comment!

North San Diego Business At Large

North San Diego Business At Large
Show Notes: April 16, 2010

Today I interviewed Vicki Garcia, Marketing Impressions, about small business marketing. Vicki has over 20 years experience with all aspects of marketing a small business.

Some of the tools we covered were:

• ISSUU a site that allows you to upload pdfs then turns the pdfs into ebooks with pages that flip. It includes a widget bookshelf that you can put on your website.
• EzineArticles a site that let’s you publish articles that are available for bloggers, webmasters and others to use as content on their site. It also gives out an “Expert” badge for your site.
• SlideShare is a site that you can upload your PowerPoint presentations to and share them with bloggers and others.
• Meetups for Small Business Marketing, San Diego Speakers Guild and Numbers At Work
• San Diego Airport Green Build Contractor Sign Up

Facebook is currently the most “searched on: brand in the U.S. according to Bill Tancer at HitWise.com. HitWise Intelligence is a leading source for insights about online marketing, e-commerce and industry trends.

If you have a small business, you need to seriously look at having a Facebook Fan page.  It’s a valuable, inbound link from a site with much higher authority than many of ours. If you are blogging, you can import your blog into Facebook, syndicating your content, or your passionate message, even further. It’s another way to grow a “community” centered around your message, your niche.

Sign up for access to the video on How to Create a Facebook Fan page. If you need hands on help with the details of creating your Facebook Fan page, check out Syndicating Your Content Webinar Schedule for a “hands on” course designed to get the fan page FINISHED!