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FastPivot to deliver “Facebook Marketing” class near Asheville – Mountain Xpress (blog)

Posted by cgseo under Social Media

FastPivot to deliver “ Facebook Marketing ” class near Asheville Mountain Xpress (blog) The Small Business Center of Marshall NC is hosting a hands-on “ Facebook Marketing Strategy” workshop for small business owners and entrepreneurs Thursday, ...

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FastPivot to deliver “Facebook Marketing” class near Asheville - Mountain Xpress (blog)

How Do You Resell Your Employees

Posted by cgseo under Social Media

Share How Do You Resell Your Employees This content from: Duct Tape Marketing People come to work at your place, you hire for fit, teach them the core value and functions of the job, generally get them fired up for a while and then what? It’s a tough question, but one that is vitally important when it comes to marketing because happy, engaged, sold employees make far better brand advocates than the opposite. In doing some research on referable companies for my new book The Referral Engine , I came across a policy used by the online shoe and clothing retailer Zappos . When Zappos makes a hire, no matter the department, they go through a training class that includes spending time answering customer call center inquiries. (That’s the job that the bulk of Zappos employees fill.) At the end of their training period they are made an offer to quit. They are told they will be paid for the training period + $2,000 if they want to quit. I spoke with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh recently and he told me that initially they put this in place to weed out people that weren’t ultimately committed to the Zappos way of serving customers, but what they found was the more valuable attribute was the impact it had on the people that stayed. (By the way, few take them up on the offer.) People that turn down the $2,000, an amount that is over two weeks pay for typical call center job, go home over the weekend and think long and hard about why they want to stay. The net effect is that they resell themselves on making a commitment to the job at Zappos. (If you’re a blogger and want a free review copy of Tony’s book Delivering Happiness , due out in June, apply here .) I don’t know that I have a host of answers for what or how you should attack this one, I just know it will pay off if you do. Share your ideas for reselling your employees. How do you do it? Image credit: charlie llewellin Related Posts: 5 Ways to Make Culture a Marketing Strategy Small Business Speaker Series at CES 5 Ways to Make Next Year Your Best Yet Making Ideas Happen Why would someone come to work for you? Powered by Contextual Related Posts Like this post? Share it with others

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How Do You Resell Your Employees

Come Meet Me on the Road

Posted by cgseo under Social Media

Come Meet Me on the Road This content from: Duct Tape Marketing I read Jack Kerouac’s On The Road back in high school and I like it so much I’ve got a copy on my Kindle, er, iPad, just so I can grab a few pages any time I get a hankering for the road. I’ve got quite a few live, public and on the road events coming up over the next few months so I thought I would share some here in hopes that I can meet a few of my readers. (Some of the attendees at these events are getting advance copies of my new book The Referral Engine , out May 13th, but don’t tell anyone.) April 27th – Vancouver BC – Duct Tape Marketing Coach Live Discovery Session – http://bit.ly/dtmvancouver April 29th – Seattle WA – Master Builder’s Association Marketing Bootcamp – http://www.dtmwashington.com May 5th – Austin TX – Moxie Marketing and St Edward’s U – http://www.smallbizmarketingpro.com/ May 6th – Online – Marketing Profs – Social Goes Local Seminar – http://www.marketingprofs.com/marketing/online-seminars May 6th – Dallas TX – Social Media Club of Dallas – http://smcdallas08.eventbrite.com/ May 7th – Dallas TX – Duct Tape Marketing Coach Live Discover Session – http://bit.ly/dtmdallas May 8th – Dallas TX – eBay on Location – http://www.ebayonlocationevents.com/events/dallas “The air was soft, the stars so fine, the promise of every cobbled alley so great, that I thought I was in a dream.” – Jack Kerouac, On the Road Related Posts: Duct Tape Road Trips Duct Tape Marketing Authorized Coach Ranks Grow Again Is eBay a Small Business Marketing Tool? On the Road with Duct Tape Marketing Free Random Twitter Follower Winner Powered by Contextual Related Posts Like this post? Share it with others

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Come Meet Me on the Road

Right to reply: Can Twitter become a trusted marketing channel? – Netimperative

Posted by cgseo under Social Media

BBC News Right to reply: Can Twitter become a trusted marketing channel? Netimperative They need to follow Facebook and Digg's lead in having inoffensive advertising that doesn't turn users off. Signs from within Twitter are very encouraging ... Twitter Makes a Move to Marketing Small Business Computing Google launches search abiltiy for Twitter history Examiner.com Twitter's new flight path Independent Motley Fool UK

Changes Come to Yelp

Posted by cgseo under Social Media

Changes Come to Yelp This content from: Duct Tape Marketing Marketing podcast with Luther Lowe (Click to play or right click and “Save As” to download – Subscribe now via iTunes The online review site Yelp has come under fire of late for practices that have been described by some small business owners as heavy handed in an effort to use the ratings and reviews process as a tool to sell advertising. Yelp responded recently by formalizing a host of changes aimed at clarifying practices that are much more business friendly. I spoke with Luther Lowe , Business Outreach Manager at Yelp, for this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing podcast and he explains the roots of reviews, and just how hard Yelp is working to make the site valuable to both businesses and consumers. I think it’s worth noting that Yelp does not aggregate its reviews to Google as sites such as CitySearch does. Yelp has carved out an important and independent voice and, despite recent legal woes, is a tool that small business marketers need to embrace. At the center of Yelp’s controversy is something called filtered reviews. Yelp uses an algorithm to help fight review spam. The goal is that all reviews be true reviews from true customers. They’ve developed some ways to spot phony and stimulated reviews and they’ve always filtered these out. As with any automated process, some real reviews certainly get removed. Businesses that saw their positive reviews removed while negative ones remained cried foul. One of the biggest changes Yelp made to address this issue was adding the ability to see reviews filtered by the review filter . The second change made at Yelp was intended to address the notion that businesses that advertised on Yelp were somehow treated better in the review process and the flip side, those that did not advertise were punished. At the center of this was something called the Favorite review. Advertisers on Yelp were offered the ability to pick an existing review of their business and move it to the top as a favorite. This practice fueled the perception that advertisers could manipulate the review process. Yelp has discontinued the Favorite Review feature as part of their advertising package. In the words of Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman – “Lifting the veil on our review filter and doing away with “Favorite Review” will make it even clearer that displayed reviews on Yelp are completely independent of advertising — or any sort of manipulation.” Full post here Yelp has also initiated an series of educational workshops aimed at teaching small business owners how to get more out of Yelp. The Yelp Business Owners Guide is another great place to find more info as well. Additionally, in an effort to more formally integrate feedback from the business community, Yelp created a Small Business Advisory Council whose members will provide Yelp management with guidance and perspective regarding the concerns of small business owners. Some of the changes at Yelp may have come as reaction to the recent allegations by small business owners, but I’ve followed this company for some time now and truly believe they are committed to creating a service that is fair and valuable to both business owner and consumer alike. Related Posts: Local Review Success Hits Speed Bump Yelp! Changing the Local Game Some More Your Pizza Sucks And . . . 5 Ways to Rock Customer Review Sites Social Search Gaining Steam Powered by Contextual Related Posts Like this post? Share it with others

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Changes Come to Yelp