Do I really need a Social Media Manager?

First of all, let’s consider the question, “What is Social Media?” Is it just Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube? Well, no….it’s not….OK maybe it is …just a little. But in fact it’s so much more. The challenge most small business owners face is they want to jump on the Social Media bandwagon and start making [...]

What is Google Caffeine and why is it good for you?

What is Google Caffeine? Just a little over a month ago, Google announced its new search index: Caffeine. For those who have yet to do their homework on the announcement, the first thing to know about Caffeine is that it is not a rankings algorithm update; rather it is a new indexing system. According to [...]

The War for Your Business Future Is On

April 19, 1775: The shot was fired that was heard ’round the world. At the Battles of Concord and Battle Road in Massachussetts, the British met a surprising militia formation of American farmers. The Redcoats marched in plain view while colonial minutemen hid behind every house, tree and fencepost. The score: Americans lost 93, but [...]

Lead Generation Tip #2: Be Intentional About Social Networking

There’s a great video that I saw recently called “Facebook in Real Life”.  Perhaps you’ve seen it to.  It is a hilarious look at how Facebook would play out in real life, and to be honest, how silly it all seems.  You can watch the video below; While it can be a lot of fun [...]

Turn Your Passion Into Profits Workshop

Leverage Social Media Marketing to Explode Your Business Whether you are an experienced business owner or marketing professional or you are just starting out, NOW is the time to harness the power of social media marketing.  Small business experts around the country agree: social media marketing is one of THE most important things that small [...]

Local Bookstore uses Social Media to save the day

My new friend, Marie Trucco of the Greater Independence (Oregon) Business Incubator, posted a story on Facebook that I just had to pass along. It is a story about blogs, burritos, and books, (I know – a seemingly odd threesome)  and how it saved Broadway Books, an independent bookstore in Portland. You can read the [...]

Do I really need to Tweet what I ate for breakfast?

I recently presented a one-hour seminar for the Chemeketa Small Business Management Power Advising Group on the topic of Social Business Networking.  I focused on answering the following questions; Is it relevant? How do I find the time? How do I ‘do it’? Where is the return on investment? During my presentation I talked about [...]

Which Social Networking site is the best for business?

Hmmm, this is a great question, and one that I hear a lot.  The answer, in my best politicians voice (no offense to my political friends) … is “it depends“.  You might think that is a copout answer … but I think it is true. It depends because the site that is the best for [...]

The power of a strong Linkedin.com profile

I had the opportunity this morning to put on my social media “evangelist” hat and spread the word at the Keller Williams Realty office in Corvallis. There were about 20 Realtors and industry folks in the room. As I typically do, I asked by a show of hands who had a Linkedin profile, Facebook profile [...]

What is #FollowFriday on Twitter?

I saw a friend of mine the other day and he looked at me funny and asked me, “Tim, just what the heck does #followfriday mean”?   He had seen this on my Facebook page and had no idea what it meant. After a quick chuckle I realized that many of the terms that I use [...]