Featured Article:

Exploring The Uses of Facebook and Twitter
by Victoria Zillioux.

We have been exploring the uses of Facebook and Twitter to help us provide our client base with up to date relevant information that can be of use in today’s business market. We come across articles and websites frequently that we would like to pass on but email didn’t seem like the best way to handle it. Everyone complains that they receive too much email these days. Not only do people get the messages meant directly for them, but there seems to be a “CYA” trend to copy as many people as possible whenever an email gets sent out. It is becoming increasingly difficult to sort through it all and identify which is the most relevant, which are “must reads” and which should be tossed out without even being opened. It is becoming more like all the additional papers that come in the mail that need to be tossed out without even reading them.

Have you ever thought about all the advertising dollars that are spent on the flyers and postcards that are automatically thrown in the trash when you pick up your mail every day? Does anyone really read that stuff, despite the chance that there might be a coupon included that would be something you would actually purchase? Our goal is to not be part of the email equivalent of those flyers. We send out a monthly newsletter that includes an article of interest to our client base along with Arte’s motivational quotes that always seems to make us stop and think for a moment. So how can we continue to share information that comes across our desk on a regular basis and appears to be so interesting that we wouldn’t want our clients to miss reading it?

We have determined that our solution may be the latest in marketing evolution – Facebook and Twitter. While appearing to be much the same, they really do serve different purposes and can be much more interactive than other forms of communication such as mail and email.

Twittering Away...

Before looking in to Twitter, it was my impression that the typical use was to follow the latest teen heartthrob and know their every move – having a tuna fish sandwich, shopping on Rodeo Drive, partying with Paris. But when you look closer, you find that this media can become a great tool for passing on info that you know your “followers” would be interesting without interrupting their day or clogging up their emails on a too frequent basis.

One of the interesting and successful examples of Twitter business use is the story about a coffee cart that twitters their location at different businesses along with daily specials to attract customers. Evidently this regular communication has worked to greatly increase their business without disrupting their customer base on a daily basis. While we are not providing that same kind of product, we can send out useful information that our clients will find helpful in their daily business. Not everyone has the time to sort through all the business info that regularly bombards us. If we can provide some of that sorting for our clients and send out a tweet of what we consider to be the most valuable with a quick comment and link, we think it will be a great customer service. Think about what you provide to your customers and how a quick communication on Twitter might be of service to them. The key is “service to the client”. While it is handy sometimes to send out reminders of product or service offerings, sending out those kinds of announcements is not what will interest people to sign up to follow your company on Twitter. Determine your goals first before you start the process. Then make sure that each tweet follows that goal.

Keep in mind that Twitter works both ways. If your customers are following you, they can use Twitter to make inquiries, product comments or complaints. Make sure that the employee who is responsible for Twitter communications is also checking for messages coming back and will respond or pass on the information to someone else who can address the question or comment. Twittering implies fast response rather than the longer time lag that can be more appropriate on email.

If you are interested but not familiar with this whole process, sign up for a personal account and check out the process rather than checking it out with a business account that will post your experiments. Do a search and find companies and people to follow that would be of interest to you. Check to see if your competition is Twittering and see what they have to say. Follow Barack Obama and see what is sent out about what is happening in the White House or on his travels. Search by subject and find out what others are saying about whatever your special interest or hobby is. You’ll get the idea quickly and see what you like and don’t like about how to use this interesting tool. Check out the Twitter 101 guide on the site that provides some great tips.

Better yet, sign up for SDWnet and start receiving our tweets – we hope you find them helpful. If there is something in particular you would like to see, please let us know!

Facing Facebook

Facebook provides different advantages than Twitter, allowing a longer message to be posted and providing the trailing comments that “fans” add to the mix. Personal Facebook pages have a bit more functionality than the business sites do. However a business Facebook page works great to communicate what your company is about and obtain great insights from the comments that are posted. Just like with Twitter, you need your own Facebook page in order to access others’ pages and leave comments. Sign up is easy.

We post many of the same links on our Facebook Page that we send out on Twitter, but the space availability allows us to comment on what we think is interesting about a link to a website or article that we are posting. We encourage our “fans” to comment on what we send out and to let us know more of what they would like to see.

Sign up for a personal Facebook page to test the waters and see how it all works. Keep in mind that there is more functionality in the personal pages (differing because you set up a “profile” on the personal page but not the business page).

Facebook provides the ability to develop a relationship with your clients that you can’t do on email or the phone. Let the site reflect the personality of your organization. Give your clients the opportunity to interact with subjects that are relevant to your customers so they can get feedback from you and others who are coming to your Facebook page. Go to other Facebook business pages and see what they have done that you might like to do as well. Sign up as a fan on Facebook pages for companies that you know and want to support. (In order to sign up as a Fan, you have to have a personal – rather than business – Facebook page. Business Facebook pages don’t allow you to sign up as a fan for other pages). Do searches to see what companies are out there with pages. You might be surprised at the results.

Check out our Strategic Development Worldwide Facebook page and see what we have in mind. Take a look at the photos of our office mascot, Frieda. We are planning to put more photos on our page that will give you an idea of our office and our people so that you can become familiar with who we are.

We have started a discussion section on the Strategic Development Worldwide Facebook page with the question “what information would you like to see here that would be helpful to you?” Sign on and get involved in this discussion or start one of your own in our discussion section. What are the organizational challenges that you are finding in this economy? How is your business changing with the market? What are you experiencing that you wonder if others are seeing as well?

We look forward to hearing from you! Sign up on Twitter to “follow” us at SDWnet to receive great info in a quick and easy manner! Become a “fan” on Facebook for Strategic Development Worldwide to get insight into business issues, ask questions, and participate in our discussion boards! And let us know if we can provide some helpful suggestions on how you can use these tools to provide better service and information to your clients as well!

News & Events at SDW:

Here are the latest news and postings on the SDW website – As we’re previously mentioned, we are now using both Facebook and Twitter to post relevant information on the business climate, and invite you to join in : you can add comments, tell us what you like and don’t like and suggest other article for posting on the site!

Our Facebook link is right here:

Articles currently up for your perusal are about how Starbucks turned things around – “Woke up and smelled the coffee!” a great article from the Economist about establishing your own business; Business-school entrepreneurs: In the beginning | The Economist and a discussion board about how your employees are doing.

Our Twitter page is just a click away:

Among other articles, we have an article from the New York Times about leadership, by the CEO of Continental Airlines, entitled Bad News or Good, Tell Me Now!

An eye-opening one about using Twitter to market your business: Marketing Small Businesses with Twitter (who would have ever thought it would be used for that?) and one about travel manners (or the seeming lack thereof these days. ) When Good Manners Get Left At The Gate.

Check with us often, we’ve always have some idea to help your business thrive in good times and bad.

The Arte of Motivation:

“For every failure, there's an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.”
-Mary Kay Ash

Mary Kay Ash (May 12, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. Early in her career she was National Sales Director for several direct sales organizations. Frustrated when passed over for a promotion—in favor of a man that she had trained—Ash retired in 1963 and intended to write a book to assist women in business. The book turned into a business plan for her ideal company, which began with boxes of bottles and jars labeled "Beauty by Mary Kay." That was a very successful detour.

Do you think that everything will go exactly as planned today? There will be lots of moving parts that will make up your day – alarm clocks, all that goes into getting yourself and others ready and out of the house, your car, traffic, railroad crossings, red lights, parking spaces, information about and stuff you need for your assignments, computers and the glitches that so often happen, co-workers, schedules…this list can go on forever.

Just imagine if one of these things doesn’t work exactly as planned – and since most are inter-dependent, if one has a problem then the rest might start to unravel too. To make it through successfully you need back up plans, a flexible and positive attitude, a clear head and lots of common sense, and a constant eye on your objective.

If something can go wrong, it will (that’s Murphy’s Law); but like Mary Kay’s lost promotion, most of those failures can be turned around. A can-do attitude earned her the recognition as America’s greatest woman entrepreneur. Take a line or two from her script and find all the detours you need to be successful today.

In today’s economic environment, most businesses are struggling to keep market share and momentum. Orders are down, employees have been cut back, customers are hesitant to commit and all are doing more with less. More companies have gone out of business in the past year than the total from the last 10 years; but out of these failures are starting to be found the beginnings of a new entrepreneurial spirit that will start new businesses to serve the new needs of their communities.

• A friend in San Francisco bought a franchise to help senior citizens move out of their homes and into senior living communities – the stress of liquidating a lifetime of possessions when downsizing for this can be traumatic, and these entrepreneurs have found a niche that is sorely needed.
• A couple in Arizona is providing personalized assistance to families who are faced with having to sort through the options of what to do with elderly parents – as the baby boomers age the dilemma for their families can be very confusing; and these health care professionals are providing advice when it is needed the most.
• Omar Soliman and Nick Friedman are the 26-year-old founders of College Hunks Hauling Junk, based in Tampa, Fla. The pair started the company in Washington five years ago and now employ 25 people there; they also have franchises in 15 metropolitan areas. Sending out college students in golf shirts and khakis, College Hunks had $2.9 million in business last year. Mr. Soliman and Mr. Friedman said they expected sales of $4 million this year.

There are thousands of these new start ups to be found in the columns of Inc. magazine and on the internet. And like Mary Kay Cosmetics they have been started by smart entrepreneurs who never gave up looking for opportunities, even when things looked bleak. As trusted business advisors we help companies find their real potential - we understand that budgets are tight and recognize that every dollar must provide maximum return. That’s part of what we help to achieve and have made the dual goals of operating efficiencies and business growth the hallmarks of our advisory services. So if your business is heading in the wrong direction, take a page from Mary Kay’s book and find a detour – you never know where that journey will lead.