Community Marketing Blog

3 Powerful Ways To Boost Your Marketing On LinkedIn - Part 1

By Andrew Ballenthin January 19, 2010 President, Sol Solutions Biography

Connect.Follow.Network.

With over 55 million people on LinkedIn are you sure your company is getting the most out of it? Following are a number of powerful ways to market your company and actively make yourself known to potential customers, suppliers, strategic alliances, media and other LinkedIn users. LinkedIn doesn't keep track of how many dollars flow through its site in jobs, new business, media exposure or strategic alliances. Yet the 2% who have mastered LinkedIn know there's hundreds of thousands of dollars that are moving back and forth between members weekly if not daily.

What Does It Take To Be Effective In Social Media? 3 Top Performers Share Their Insights

By Andrew Ballenthin January 3, 2010 President, Sol Solutions Biography

Connect.Follow.Network.

In 2009 there was a lot of talk about social media, but how do you know if the people giving advice are competent in the field or theorists? In 2009 this blog I had the opportunity to innovate an event called Blog-Off contests. These were events that offered social media enthusiasts the opportunity to be measured and show they knew how to apply several of the fundamentals critical for social media marketing effectiveness.

Out With The Old And In With the New - The Debate of Print Versus Internet Advertising!

As the year end is rapidly approaching it is time to take a look back at where the advertising money has gone and what kind of return we received for it, as well as look ahead at where the money should be directed in 2010 to attract more business. As a small real estate company we invested quite a bit of $$$$ on print advertising in 2009 and in all honesty the only thing it did was pacify some sellers of ours who didn't even sell anyway. On the other hand the little bit of money we spent on the internet advertising has generated close to 400 leads and has helped to build the pipelines of the 5 agents working here.

Blog-Off II Winners: A Great Close to 2009

By Andrew Ballenthin December 24, 2009 President, Sol Solutions Biography

Connect.Follow.Network.

How do you really know if the person advising your company on social media has the capability to deliver? One way is to find out if if they've participated in a Blog-Off contest. A Blog-Off contest offers social media enthusiasts and professionals the opportunity to be independently assessed by judges and statistics on their capability of implementing the fundamentals of social media marketing. On December 1-12, 2009 28 people from 5 countries entered Blog-Off II to find out how they measured up: following are the results.

Tweeting in Crisis: A New World of Communication

By Julie Tyios October 20, 2009 CEO, Red Juice Media Biography

Connect.Follow.Network.

There is no doubt that Twitter is a powerful communication and collaboration tool. Some call it a social network, others liken it to the phone. It has one purpose: To deliver a message.

At 5:22 p.m. on December 14, self-employed mommy blogger Shellie Ross was active on Twitter. Minutes later, her 11-year-old son called 911 to report that his two-year-old brother, Bryson, was floating unconscious in the family’s backyard pool. Ross performed CPR throughout the call. 34 minutes later, Ross tweeted again: "Please pray like never before, my 2 yr old fell in the pool."

By Julie Tyios October 20, 2009 CEO, Red Juice Media Biography

Connect.Follow.Network.

There is no doubt that Twitter is a powerful communication and collaboration tool. Some call it a social network, others liken it to the phone. It has one purpose: To deliver a message.

At 5:22 p.m. on December 14, self-employed mommy blogger Shellie Ross was active on Twitter. Minutes later, her 11-year-old son called 911 to report that his two-year-old brother, Bryson, was floating unconscious in the family’s backyard pool. Ross performed CPR throughout the call. 34 minutes later, Ross tweeted again: "Please pray like never before, my 2 yr old fell in the pool."

Urban Jungle Myth: Use Your Network

Discussions about how to win new clients usually involves discussion of the “network" myth.

You may have recruited experts to your company in order to have access to their professional networks. Word of mouth marketing and referrals is the most dependable way for specialized, knowledge services to win new clients. 

And yet, when it comes to getting inside large, complex organizations, the “network myth” becomes apparent.  How often has the expert you hired on the strength of their network been disappointing?

Oprah and the Voice of a New Generation

This blog post is also connected to my blog at The Huffington Post.

"You work and work and fight and struggle and all the time, you're dreaming of this moment when it's all going to happen, when people will listen to your opinions and team up to make your ideas happen.  I'm in that moment right now and it's unbelievable.  Everything I've worked so hard for is coming together right now," says Derrick Ashong, activist, social entrepreneur, and front man to the band Soulfège - who has recently caught the eye of Oprah Winfrey.

Blog-Off II Entry: SPIRITUALITY AT WORKPLACE – AN EMERGING CORPORATE FLAVOUR

SPIRITUALITY AT WORKPLACE – AN EMERGING CORPORATE FLAVOUR

 

Ubiquitous, has it become. Almost  phenomenal. Go anywhere & you find it present . Albeit, in various forms. Discussed , debated , accepted , subtly or overtly , & even ridiculed. Growing interests have made it assume importance in every corner of our lives, but of increasing importance & amazement is the paradigm shift  in attitude of corporate India. Well yes, you’ve guessed it right. We’re talking of Spirituality At The Workplace. The corporate souls seem to have awakened by this new business dimension. And, incredible , though it may sound, Spirituality at the workplace , is finally being recognized as a contemporary field of research & as a potent tool towards effective human asset management. What was earlier perceived as a corporate taboo & looked upon with suspicion, has emerged as the ultimate soul succour.

Blog-Off II Entry: Impact of recession on Approaches to Brand Promotion

There was a time when Sales as a concept and practice got being considered ineffective and unsufficient. The concept with longer relationship with customer gained the importance. Thus, got the  Marketing concept its being. Slowly, this became the integral and most important part of the strategy and the prime tool while devising a plan for revenue generation. The increase in competition, the globalization, economic growth and recession all has played its role and made the process richer and complexer each day. Among the multiple facets that form the wings of this approach, brand promotion is one that too has grown in the ways of implimentation and has seen fortuned innovations.

Blog-Off II Entry: How is Tennis like a Sales Conversation?

1. Skilled players return the ball no matter how well-placed the shot
2. Making the other player move around the court to return shots often produces an advantage
3. The one who drops the ball gives a point to the other side.

In a sales conversation, the volley of comment/question is a natural way of engaging the other person. Opinion-based questions allow you to guide the conversation.