And they told two friends . . .

Understanding the concept on social networking -

When I was a kid, you know back in the stone ages - there used to be commercial for Breck Shampoo - "and you told two friends, and they told two friends, and they told two friends . . . The idea was that happy customers would share their experiences with friends, who in turn would pass it on. Ultimately, this became known as viral marketing.

Fast forward to the 21st Century, and this is the premise behind using social networks for marketing. You post something, your friends read it and pass it on to their friends. Great! Marketing all done! Well, not exactly.

The problem is not every thing you post is compelling enough to repeat. Trust me, it's not.

In order for social networking to work as a marketing medium for you - what you post must be interesting, have value and be compelling to pass on. Let's go back to the ladies of Breck. If Becky simply told Jan and Sue "I went shopping for shampoo, today," then Jan and Sue would have nodded approvingly (actually Sue would have rolled her eyes) and the subject would have quickly moved on to Jan's new Dorothy Hammill do. But instead, Becky told the girls that this new product left her hair soft, shiny and cured split ends and they should try it. Now this was different - the value? soft, shiny hair and a call to action - you should try it!

While your fan base may put up with your posts about what you had for breakfast - they really want to know what is in it for them. Soft, shiny hair? Sign me up! Emerging technology that solves all of my business problems? Where do I invest?

The next time you post to Facebook or Tweet on Twitter or what ever it is that you do - makes sure it's worth sharing. Oh, and seriously stop sending me Mafia Wars, already!

We do it so you don't have to . . .

OK, actually we do it so that we can pass along our experience to you -

We tweet, there we said it. First step is acknowledgment, right? I like Twitter. It allows us to post links and messages when we update the blogs. We can be found there as FitBizTools.

New to Twitter - these Ten Top Twitter Tips should help you get started.

It seems to be the "gadget" of the moment - MySpace is so 2007! Passing fad? Internet Revolution? We wanted to know what you thought and here is what you told us -

• I used twitter for a few months, but I ended up deleting my account. I don't mind a bit of social networking, but Twitter, as someone else said, seems far too invasive and high-maintenance. Posting once a day, sure, but then I want to post something meaty. Posting 20 times a day with 140 characters strikes me more of a waste of time, or at least a non-significant method of information propogation. "At work. Have coffee!" "Accident on way home. Avoid I-40." etc. just isn't what I'm looking for -- or giving out -- as far as my interests are concerned.
• Some people have said that "old-fashioned" (can something be "old fashioned" if it's only a few years old?) blogs are dead, but I love them. Give me a good blog any day, rather than Twitter, Facebook, or Myspace.
• I love Twitter! If you want to find out more about it and what it can do for you, I suggest you follow @guykawasaki. He is really sharp, and has great articles about promoting yourself or your business, as well as posting links to some funny or interesting articles or websites.
• Totally! I'm always looking for new and interesting things in the world blog about.
• Twitter is like going to a party and walking around. Some people never stop talking, some say one interesting thing as you pass by, some are just Oscar Wilde witty or down right funny (a nice break in information flow), some make you stop and chat for a minute. I follow some people for fun, some for sustainability, some for marketing, some for technology, etc. Most, including me, tie it to other networking sites. It is a tool to be used in networking, not an end unto itself. It keeps me up to date with a group of people, and I can look into their blog posts if I like, email them for more info, and keep them abreast of what I am doing. If you are doing something cool, you are likely to get more attention from your twitter group that a press release. For it to be of benefit, you have to keep your end of the conversation going and tell other people when you see one of your group doing something great-otherwise you are just the wallflower at the party that everybody wonders about. As we see the death of print media, and the rise of web 2.0, those on the cutting edge of things like twitter are leading the way, and coming late to the game will force you to play catch up. Additionally, twitter has connected me with some great people, whose calendars would have made a meeting impossible.
• I have used Twitter professionally and currently use it personally. On the professional side, I found Twitter to be a useful tool in promoting website content. Build a strong network of following and followers in your topic area. Write witty and interesting one-liners with links to the content. Track your referral hits to that content to evaluate how effective your tactics are. Twitter takes little time and effort to use in this manner and every little bit of traffic helps!
• I think Twitter has its place and there is a growing community of people who want their information in bite-size (140 characters max) pieces. I tweet, but not for professional purposes, more for the challenge of making short interesting observations. I have only done it for a month and a half and, already, total strangers are finding me and following me. You can also control how many people you want to follow, keeping it manageable. I think there is potential here.
• I'm not sure what it will add to my networks. It seems rather invasive. Although my friends tells me I'll be a confirmed user at some point, but I need some down-time from the constant flow of information. But then again, I just use my cell phone as a phone!

On the Cheap?

Last Saturday, I headed over to the 1^st annual BiztechDay conference. Because who needs to sleep in on a Saturday?

The event touted over 500 attendees, mostly small business owners looking to leverage technology and a slew of service providers. The keynotes reminded us all of the state of the economy – uh thanks? We’re in a “Five Class Rapid, a Financial Earthquake . . .” and a few other bad analogies in case anyone was sleeping through the 24-hour news cycle.

The main keynote of the morning, Tim Feriss was pushing a new book “Four Hour Workweek” despite this his address was hopeful as he pointed out the advantages of being a small business in the current turmoil.

• Talent will be cheaper, as there will be more unemployment.
• Service providers will be cheaper as they try to remain competitive.
• Hiring small businesses as consultants will be cheaper than staffing a full time position.
  

His recommendations were to leverage sites like elance.com to secure talent for projects. To learn more “Four Hour Workweek”

Most attendees were business owners looking for free or low cost solutions to stretch tight marketing and operating budgets. Social Networking remains a buzz among the tech set as a means to leverage low cost of free solutions to network.

We have set a free Ning.com network called FITbiz to allow business owners to network, exchange business lead, chat and more.

Overall, the conference offered some interesting technologies (many of which we may be already using – blogs, networks, newsletters) that will allow small businesses to leverage technology without spending a lot of cash.

Welcome to our experiment in social networking

As online social networking continues to evolve beyond the MySpace teenage crowd - we will continue to explore Web 2.0 solutions that help small businesses work smarter, not harder.

Small businesses can easily get out of shape — just like their founders – too easily tired to keep up with what’s required, flabby with stress and saggy where they should be taut. Day-to-day demands can take the focus off the core. Are you relentlessly sweating your receivables? Have you even begun to sculpt a marketing plan for the frame and shape of your business? Can you go the distance without huffing and puffing?

Check out FITbiz and FITbiz Tools

We'd love your input. Melinda & Mike