Archive for May, 2008
the power of twitter
Another in a long line of sites devoted to online networking, Twitter is quickly gaining attention as a way to stay in touch easily, and update your community about what you’re doing (you can find us at http://www.twitter.com/shetech). Like any networking/posting tool, though, it can be overused — and it’s highly tempting to do so! MarketingSherpa offers some terrific advice for what to do and what not to do. Read the article here…
Add comment May 16, 2008
the power of social networking
Over the last couple of years, the so-called “Web 2.0″ phenomenon has really taken hold. Social and business networking sites have grown, new ones are added practically every week and people (including yours truly) keep signing up. Why? Because they work!
A few weeks ago, I finally broke down and joined Facebook (feel free to visit my profile!). Now, why would someone nicknamed “SheTech”, who actually specializes in online marketing, resist joining such a phenomenon? Because I knew that I would 1) be bombarded by messages from other Facebook denizens (and I was), and 2) I would spend so much time poking around that my time management skills (such as they are) would fly right out the window.
The stuff is addictive! And it has changed the face of how people reach one another, both for personal and business use.
Late last week I joined another site, geared toward business networking. FastPitch is all about business networking and appears to be built around the BNI philosophy of “Givers Gain” (I had suspected it’s run by the same people, but it turns out it’s not, just highly recommended by BNI’s founder, Dr. Ivan Misner) — you create good karma by referring business to other people, and what goes around comes around. It’s a philosophy of enlightened self-interest, and more and more businesses are jumping on this particular bandwagon.
I haven’t gotten any business out of it yet, nor am I expecting to; however, I have already made some very interesting connections around the country in the way of strategic alliances. There are many members representing companies that do things SheTech and Company does not do, but that would make a great addition to the suite of products and services we offer. Everybody wins.
What is it about these networks that make them so appealing? In this age of global communication, they offer a great way to reach out to people around the world with like interests. We really are social creatures. We like to have friends, and as the world becomes less and less formal, networks such as these offer ways for us to stay in touch with friends, colleagues, family, classmates, etc., without the pressure of having to write perfect purple prose (there are some of us, I admit, who will always be sticklers for language).
Networking sites also offer a way to create “buzz” about your product or service in a way that traditional marketing methods can’t touch. Some of the most successful marketing campaigns I have ever seen were created for next to nothing by way of Web 2.0 sites — one a technology company and the other a musician/composer, both using networking sites to create “street teams” to generate interest in what they do, and spreading the word far more widely and for far less money than any newspaper or trade magazine could possibly offer!
Sign me up!
Until next time…
SheTech
Facebook profile: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1156998576
Add comment May 5, 2008
the power of good design
If you look around on the web these days, you’ll find countless web sites, many of which likely claim to do exactly what you do. Setting yourself apart from the competition involves many things, and in the case of a web site may be as simple as a better design.
Over the years, the web has changed dramatically, and design concepts have changed with it. With the advent, for example of “Web 2.0″ (social networking and interactive sites), web sites have moved in the direction of graphic-intensive designs that rely heavily on visual signposts rather than lots of wording. Studies over the years reveal certain patterns in human responses to visual stimuli, and page design has changed accordingly. One of the most amazing examples is how very graphics-oriented we have become. We’d rather see a picture than read a word, giving entirely new meaning to the phrase “a picture worth a thousand words”.
As bandwidth has increased and display technology has improved, we have seen a surge in animations — and a resulting pendulum swing in the opposite direction. Where a decade ago we thought animated widgets were cool, we see fewer and fewer of them now, having learned that they can actually detract from your message if overused. Too much is, after all, too much!
The broad availability of ready-made templates makes web publishing much easier for personal sites or small businesses that do not have the resources for a full-scale custom site. The hazard there is, of course, that you sacrifice a great deal of individuality and flexibility with an off-the-rack template; at the same time, it offers a great way to step up to the web using the proverbial “baby steps” — a great solution for many people!
Stretching your budget just a tiny bit can, on the other hand, make the difference between a cookie-cutter web site and one that makes you and/or your company look the way you really want to present yourself to the world. We learned years ago that if a company has a gross annual revenue of, say, $200,000 but wanted to look as though it were more like $2 million, a great web site was an excellent place to start. You’ve seen them, too: the sites that make you say “Oh, cool!” out loud, or that just seem to intuitively know what you need and where you want to go.
We strive for that every day.
Add comment May 1, 2008
