Archive for the 'Buzz' Category
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008
Here is a list of internet marketing activities that a realtor should outsource to a virtual assistant.
Source: Real Estate Virtual Assistant
- Updates to websites and Blogs
- Article writing
- Set up local housing Blog and keep it updated
- Monitor search engine traffic to improve listing performance
- Update real estate home listings
- Optimize images and video
- Upload images and video
- Reach out to local housing market and try to grow email lists
- Publish email newsletters with home listings
Posted in Buzz, Small Business, Web Resources | No Comments »
Sunday, July 27th, 2008
Blogging is a great way to meet new people and get noticed. Getting yourself known on other sites from your Blog helps generate a lot of traffic as well. The question is, though, “Is your site link friendly?” Here are some things to do that could increase linking and traffic.
1. Make sure comments are enabled! This should be a no brainer, but I’ve seen a few blog sites with this feature disabled, and that is a major no-no. By enabling comments, you are encouraging people to be a part of the conversation and building relationships with other bloggers. Keep it up and they just may be talking about you later.
2. Blogroll. Pople love being linked, and they keep track of it. Bloggers will check you out once you’ve linked them, and if they find your site valuable, they may reciprocate.
3. Trackbacks. Providing trackback links is important because it allows others to link back to you as a source. The more the merrier.
4. Social media links on blogs. Many plugins are available that add social media links on each post for sites such as Digg, Reddit, Technorati, Del.icio.us, etc. If you are part of a social media site like Technorati or BlogCatalog, what are you waiting for? Copy/paste the code they give you to pop into your blog site! Make it easy for people to add you!
5. Social media sites. Take full advantage of sites such as LinkedIn, Squidoo, Howto.com, Technorati, MyBlogLog, etc. and link them to you. For example, my LinkedIn profile links to my business site and personal blog.
These are just a few simple ways to get noticed. The key is to focus hard and build on one tool before moving on to the next one. A few strong tools work better than many mediocre ones. Now get out there and start linking!
Article Submitted By: Hans Strock
Posted in Buzz | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 17th, 2008
Thinking about launching a Virtual Assistant Business or another home-based business?
I started writing this eBook as a members-only resource for the virtual buzz assistant netowrk. Then I realized it could be very valuable to anyone starting any kind of home-based or small business.
People were getting lost in what seems like overwhelming issues, so we lay it out day by day and make it easy to move from idea to income in 30 days.
We are giving it away. Click here to get your copy.
Since we have launched several ventures, we know the basic stuff you need to do, and how important it is to focus on generating revenue quickly. If you are thinking about starting a business or are trying to figure out what things need done for a business you recently started, this resource is for you.
Posted in Business Books, Buzz | No Comments »
Thursday, July 10th, 2008
If you have set up a wordpress Blog or are considering it, make sure you put the basic SEO tools and settings in place first. Visit the buzzoodle Blog for an introduction to wordpress seo basics.
Posted in Buzz | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
When you first started your business, it was simple. You had a checking account and it had a few expenses every month, and if you were lucky, some deposits.
"Today you are trading in social currency. You may be rich, or you may be poor, but it is the currency of the future whether you like it or not."
If the IRS came knocking at your young business, you gave them the shoe box of transactions and brewed them some coffee while they sat at your kitchen table and reviewed a whole year’s worth of transaction. If you have been in business for a while, you know how quickly that changes. Multiple checking accounts, automatic transactions left and right, loans, credit cards, balance transfers….
For a more mature company, an audit is a hassle if you have to do it yourself.
Social Networking seems just as confusing and out of control as finances can be. It all started out easy. No need to keep lots of records, you are just trying out that new social media tool…
Doing taxes, and auditing your own financials is not fun. But if you were not forced to do it periodically, imagine what a mess you could have after a few years.
Your Social Media Efforts Need Audited
Your social media efforts produce important things for you, even if you are not taking full advantage of them.
- Connections - Also known as lists
- Feeds - via RSS - Avenues to publish information other people see
- Access - Permission to publish on other web sites
Much like scheduling auto-payments for a bill, many of these tools automatically publish information or grow your network. It is easy to forget it is happening.
Here are recommendations for getting the most out of your social media effort.
- Have a real strategy - Who would you like to connect with and what do you have to offer them?
- Have a reason for them to sign up to an email list - email is still #1 when used correctly. What can you offer people in your many online groups to entice them to sign up directly with you for email?
- Track all your accounts - Keep a spreadsheet of accounts, when you signed up, password, etc.
- Audit your profile and settings at least twice per year. You will find all kinds of things have changed, but you have not updated them.
- Look for new integration opportunities - Social media is doing a better job of integrating and standardizing than financial tools are, in my opinion. (Yes, financial is a bit harder, I know)
Perpetual Beta Social Sites
Social media sites are constantly evolving. Many never leave Beta. If not the tool itself, then some other tool that will take data from a site and display it within another tool. Crazy!
You have to keep up, or your image will get muddled or stale. The good news is that there are social media bookkeepers. A good virtual assistant can help you organize the tools, track progress and outcome, grow your connections and audit your profiles - often in a few hours per month. The Virtual Buzz Assistant network was created because of the incredible need for this kind of help. It helps people develop their own Virtual Buzz Assistant business and help busy professionals that understand the importance of social media to find the help they need.
No sales pitch here - you can do it all yourself right after you update Quickbooks and finish your weekly payroll.
Posted in Buzz | No Comments »
Friday, June 27th, 2008
Blogs are the best networking tool I know. Better than conferences, clubs, etc. Not because of volume of business cards, but because of strength of relationship.
I do not expect my blog to help me reach a lot of CEO’s, but neither do I expect that from BNI, IRN or other networking groups.
Five of us showed up for the Akron Bloggers Community (ABC) yesterday. Here is a picture. Blogging starts on line, but spills to real life all the time. People meet you in person for the first time but already feel like they know you.
The picture above, left to right - Ron (me) McDaniel, Stephen Hopson, Chris Brown, Norma Rist and Deborah Chaddock Brown.
With no real agenda we were all shooting ideas back and forth on Blogging, Podcasting, Monitizing Blogs and tools that help enhance the audience experience. I could have stayed for hours, but I think some of them have real businesses.
Deborah is currently a member of our Virtual Buzz Assistant network where she is a freelance writer.
Posted in Buzz | No Comments »
Friday, July 20th, 2007
I was reading a post by Seth Godin on the new Harry Potter book this morning and something he said about the book got me thinking about what people really buy. He said, “Holding and owning the book, remembering when and how you got it… that’s what you’re paying for.” Exactly. As any good marketer would tell you, you are not just buying a product, you may be buying buying ideals, memories, image, prestige, friendship, or more. As a fun exercise, let’s take some no-name products and associate them with motives for purchase:
- Sports Drinks: Energy, determination, commitment to fitness.
- The Latest MP3 Player: Makes me hip and cool, tech geek bragging rights, I look expensive, and therefore, important (if you buy the high end ones), people will like me more.
- Convertible Sports Cars: I look rich, I want to be young, I want to feel the wind in my hair, I’ll be a hit with the ladies.
These are just a few quick examples. What other ones can you, the reader think of?
Posted in Buzz, Marketing | 2 Comments »
Thursday, July 5th, 2007
This 4th of July exceeded my expectations. My family and I watched a spectacular fireworks show. It had all the great things you would expect to see, and it outdid the city’s fireworks from years before, and lasted longer, to boot. Here’s the thing, though: they weren’t the city’s fireworks. These were from a guy two houses down from my parents. The man has a license for creating and shooting off his own fireworks, and has done so professionally for years. A display of this caliber was definitely beyond the expected. If someone were to tell you to watch the fireworks of some random guy in the neighborhood or the city’s, you would probably choose the city’s, assuming it would be the best. This man proved me wrong.
This got me thinking about small businesses as well. How many small businesses release great products that are never tried because the assumption is that the bigger company’s version is better? Sometimes it is really worth looking into the small companies. You may just find a gem.
Posted in Buzz, Marketing, Small Business | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007
The New York Times recently posted an article on the latest, second highest paid guest teacher. Paris Hilton. The Learning Annex has reportedly offered her a cool $1,000,000 to speak on “Building Your Brand” to businessmen. Yes, you read right, and no, the world is not ending, the moon is not being filled with blood, nor are fish turning up dead in oceans around the world. I am still trying to wrap my head around this one. Obviously, this makes for great publicity for both sides.
What she will say during the seminar are beyond me. It is true, she has built a phenomenal brand around herself (for better or worse, you decide), but how is she as a speaker and mentor? After hearing her in interviews, I shudder to think about what comes out (no offense, perhaps I have just not heard the “real Paris”). My best guess is that she will have highly paid advisors coaching her and preparing the workshop for her. Or, perhaps I am not giving enough credit where credit is do? Time will tell. Either way, this is buzz for her that is a step in a more positive direction, and not about skin or alcohol.
Posted in Buzz, Marketing | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 19th, 2007
Well, not quite my car, but Kent Floral’s is. While eating my lunch earlier I noticed their van pass by, and their colors and design really caught my eye. It passed by so quickly I didn’t have time to snap a picture, and Google search isn’t giving me results, so the most I can do is describe it to you. It was a very clean, white van with large flowers all over its side (I only got to see one side of it). Just picture Scooby Doo’s Mystery Mobile but white. Notice I mentioned clean, just read Ron McDaniel’s post on company imagery and you’ll see why. It stood out very well, and stayed with me long enough to want to post about it.
It had me thinking about other great advertising I’ve seen on automobiles. Sure, you see semi-trucks with products plastered on their side, but I mean something that becomes instantly recognizable and synonymous with the company. The best examples I can think of now are the Best Buy Geek Squad and Oscar Mayer car/truck/moving food product… whatever it is. Both are unique and recognized instantly. There is no mistaking who their for. Alright, so you don’t go around seeing the Oscar Mayer weiner-mobile driving around the road, but the Geek Squad cars are everywhere, and the fact that they are makes a great advertisement for them while they are out on house calls.
Having the Geek Squad bug and uniforms really established an identity for them that separates them from normal customer service. It goes beyond the expected. The question is, then, what do you do to stand out?
Posted in Buzz, Marketing | 7 Comments »
