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.

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.

Blog-Off II Entry: Major Accounts: Different Strokes for Different Folks

Building credibility in the early stages of a major account development process may be one of the biggest hurdles for a first-time supplier  Therefore, helping defuse concerns about non-performance is the best way to reduce that risk for stakeholders around a decision to hire your firm. 

In general there are 3 "functional" roles around a decision:

Blog-Off II Entry: I'm Mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!

2009 was a very tough year for a lot of people, myself included. My investments, real estate, income and ego took a quite a beating. We forget that people have gone through tough times in the past. Back in the 70's there was a movie that was very popular called "Network". Finch, a local TV newsman lost it and decided to start a movement for people who were fed up with the status quo. He was "Mad as hell and he wasn't going to take it anymore". I have animated my version of his tirade to help promote my soon to be released iPhone game called "Beat the Boss". 

It has been a pleasure to participate in Blog-Off II.