Essentially, I outlined why I think it is important to start with who you serve. So many times, we get caught up in very generic expectations of what we should be doing to market ourselves thinking that we have to conquer the entire world. In reality, most of us need to reach a steady, committed set of clients with whom we can be connected over time. Mass marketing can be very effective, but it is also very expensive. And even when you are engaged in mass marketing, you are really carefully targeting your audience.

So when in doubt, start with thinking about your ideal client. Focus on who is a good client or customer for you and you may find that you can be much more efficient with your time and talents.

Positioning Presentation 7Nov11

–Editor

Tips for dealing with kids who say, ‘I’m coming back’

Guest Author: Jessica Swanson

As a small business owner, you’ve undoubtedly heard that your business needs to have a strong Twitter presence. So, you have dutifully signed up for a Twitter account, have a some followers and have even sent out a few Tweets. Now, you’re wondering how in the world Twitter will actually help your business.

Here are 12 reasons why your small business needs to be on Twitter:

1) Build Authenticate Relationships. Twitter allows you to begin building authentic relationships with your prospects, clients and customers. As a small business owner, strong customer relationships are one of your greatest assets.

2) Share Your Expertise. If you provide valuable, interesting and compelling Tweets, you will begin positioning yourself as an expert in your particular field and industry.

3) Generate Traffic To Your Website. As you build a strong presence on Twitter and offer valuable Tweets, your followers will begin to take notice of you. Consequently, they’ll naturally want to visit your profile to learn more about you and your small business.

4) Obtain Qualified Leads For Your Business. If your Twitter profile gives your followers a compelling reason to visit your landing page or website, they will take action. Make sure that your landing page is set up to collect their name and email address (in exchange for a free downloadable offer) to begin building your list.

5) Allow Others To Spread Your Ideas. As others retweet your quotes, ideas and strategies, your ideas are spread to hundreds, even thousands, of fresh, new eyes around the world.

6) Extend The Reach Of Your Brand. If your Tweets are filled with expert tips, advice and strategies, Twitter becomes an amazing tool for establishing a strong presence for your brand.

7) Discover The Latest “Buzz” About Your Company. What’s the buzz about you and your company? If you subscribe to www.TweetBuzzer.com you can keep abreast of everything that is said about you in the Twitter world.

8) Get In Front Of High Profile Individuals. There is simply no better way than Twitter to connect with high-profile individuals. As long as a high-profile individual follows you back, they have access to your Tweets. Think of all the possibilities!

9) Track Your Competition. Twitter is a wonderful way to keep an eye on what your competitors are doing. As a marketer, it’s imperative to understand what is happening in your industry, and your competitors are a great place to start.

10) Conduct Market Research. Big companies pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to perform market research. But, through Twitter, you can perform market research for free! Through the use of quizzes, polls and surveys, you can discover, first-hand anything that you want to know about your target market.

11) Keep Current Within Your Industry. As a small business owner, it’s essential to keep current with the latest trends in your industry. You can subscribe to the Tweets of bloggers, PR professionals and others Twitterers connected to your industry to stay fresh and updated.

12) It’s FREE. As a Shoestring Marketer, there’s nothing better than tapping into a low-cost, high-impact marketing tool to help build your small business.

So, take the time to build your Twitter presence, tap into its power and build your small business on a shoestring marketing budget!

***

Jessica Swanson, “The Shoestring Marketer,” has helped entrepreneurs, all over the world, explode their businesses using cutting-edge, proven and completely free marketing strategies. To receive your FREE Shoestring Marketing Kit, which has helped thousands of entrepreneurs, just like you, learn the exact techniques for marketing their businesses for no-cost, visit: www.ShoestringMarketingKit.com

When I hear about job postings, I will put them up on this site and you can search the Blog Postings under the Resources category for the sub-category called “Job Postings” to see anything I have found.  I will title them with the month so that you know how fresh they are.

Here are a few jobs in North Carolina that I have heard about recently:

• Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, NC) - Senior Web Designer
• Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, NC) – Associate Director, Marketing & Communications
• Agency Account Director/New Business Development Consultant psoting with Paladin, a Marketing, Creative & Communications recruiting firm.  This is a CONTRACT position in Charlotte, NC.  See their website at www.paladinstaff.com for more about their services as a recruiting firm and contact norma@paladinstaffing.com if you are interested in this position.

Good luck with your job searches!

The topical index for the site includes:

• Architecture/Planning
• Arts
• Biotechnology
• Defense/Military
• Economics
• Education
• Engineering
• Environment/Energy
• Exploration/Travel
• History
• Innovation/Invention
• International Affairs
• Business/Leadership
• Media
• Medicine
• MIT
• National Security
• Public Policy
• Science
• Technology

Browsing through the videos, I found several that caught my eye:

• Linda Mason, Chairman of the 1.3 billion dollar Bright Horizons enterprise talking about how she and her husband came to launch and build their business during a tough economic time.
• Timothy Brown, from IDEO talking about “Innovation through Design Thinking”
• “Innovation Leadership during Economic Crisis” by Emmanuel Maceda from Bain and Company

What a rich resource of learning and all so easily available by downloading the videos whenever you are in the mood for a little knowledge or inspiration.  Looking through the list, I also saw Thomas Friedman, Bill Gates, and Barack Obama.

Here’s how the site describes itself and its mission:

“MIT World™ answers that question by publishing key presentations by the MIT faculty and guest speakers who are shaping the future. These free, on-demand videos, available 24/7 to viewers worldwide, reflect and extend MIT’s educational mission—to provide the best education in science, technology, and related fields—to engaged learners anytime, anywhere.

More a publication of thought leadership, and less a news site, MIT World aims to capture the pulse and excitement of the range of ideas discussed at MIT every day and share them with the world. A growing archive of more than 585 works offers insights on topics ranging from architecture to innovation to technology and sustainability. Cumulatively, these presentations by world-class thinkers and doers map great ideas in the making.”

So, when you need a little brain boost, check it out!

Yes, you can use this post in your newsletter, blog, or ezine as long as you post the following bio box with it:

Barbara Demarest (BarbaraDemarest.com) received her MBA from the Babcock School of Management at Wake Forest University and her BA from Duke University. After 20 years at the Center for Creative Leadership with executive roles in global marketing, new product development, knowledge management, and fundraing, Barbara launched her own executive coaching practice.  She helps executives, entrepreneurs, and individuals in career transition to leverage their ideas and position themselves, their products, and their organizations.  Barbara is also the co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job.  You can find Barbara’s profile on TheCoachingAssocation.com

The information below is straight from LinkedIn and as you can see, some of you are seeing the new layout and some are not, so don’t be surprised/thrown by this.

And another FYI, some of you asked me to let you know when the new dates were posted for upcoming Labs.

Here’s the link to the page on my site called COURSES with the information on both LinkedIn Labs and TwitterLabs  (and how to register):
http://www.barbarademarest.com/courses/

LinkedIn Labs:
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at Noon (Eastern Time)
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 5 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 9 a.m. (Eastern Time)

TwitterLabs:
Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 9 a.m. (Eastern Time)
Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 5 p.m. (Eastern Time)

Please send your friends!

*************************From LinkedIn about the new layout *******************************

Have you changed the navigational bars on the site?

You may have noticed a new site navigation experience on LinkedIn. We are in the process of doing limited testing on a new design that should wrap up over the next few weeks. During this testing phase, some users will see the new design, while others will not.
Here are some of the new things you could see:

Happy networking!
- Barbara

Barbara Demarest
Executive Coaching, Seminars & Keynotes,
Online Networking & Positioning for Career & Business Growth
info@barbarademarest.com
Ph/vtext.com 336-303-1577
Twitter @barbarademarest
LinkedIn /barbarademarest
Coaching Profile: www.thecoachingassociation.com
Blog: www.barbarademarest.com

My e-book with Joyce Richman, Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job is now available at www.GettingYourKidOut.com

If you are someone who has not searched for a job in several years, you may need to brush up on how to use online profiles to position yourself for career advancement or transition.  In addition to being a helpful tool for your actual search, using LinkedIn also shows employers that you can navigate social media.  Don’t scoff!  Social media is working its way into the workplace and employees at all levels will be using these platforms within their organizations.  Don’t be surprised to see the technology behind social media showing up in your knowledge management systems, your internal and external communication tools, and your orientation, learning, and development structures.  Make sure you keep learning!

My approach with the Labs, both Twitter and LinkedIn Labs, is to do some information sharing on the phone and then dive in and have participants try things out on their computers.  I take questions and we don’t follow a prescribed format.  Instead I try to respond to people’s questions and make sure that they come away from the session having tried something on the site.

That which I hear, I forget.

That which I see, I remember.

That which I do, I understand.

– Confucius

To sign up for the LinkedIn Lab, please choose one of the following methods:

1 – Send me an email: info@barbarademarest.com and let me know which session you would like to attend.  Then please send a check to BarbaraDemarest.com 1577D New Garden Road, Suite 161, Greensboro, NC 27410.  Please make checks payable to Barbara Demarest for $15.00.

2 – If you would like to pay online, all you have to do is use the PayPal button here and in the box let me know if you are planning on the Monday, Nov. 16th session at 5 pm or the Thursday, Nov. 19th session at 9 am by typing in the word Mon or Thur so that I have a count.  You can also send me an email at info@barbarademarest.com so that I have your email address to which to send any instructions.

Looking forward to working with  all of you on LinkedIn!

I am attending (Mon or Thur)

Well done FIRST Line folks, this is quite an impressive compilation:

FIRST Line Unemployment Resource Guide this is a pdf focusing on unemployment and job-seeking resources in Winston-Salem, NC.

Recently after he had fixed a Twitter Feed problem that had been particularly frustrating, I thought he might like to take on something a little more thought-provoking.  So, I introduced him to Peter Drucker, the renowned and revered thought-leader about all things “management.”

I was already a fan when I met Peter Drucker in the 1990s at a conference my organization was hosting. Although stooped and having trouble with his hearing, Drucker remained a powerful life force.  It was clear to me as soon as I shook his hand and he began to speak why he is so often referred to as the “father of modern management.” I worked in a leadership organization for 20 years where we sometimes struggled with how to talk about management, especially in relationship to what we considered to be larger and more elusive concepts of leadership.  Peter Drucker had no such struggle.  I appreciated how much he valued simple, straightforward and effective management practices and how clearly he thought they served as a foundation for strong, effective leadership.

So, I handed Matt a copy of The Daily Drucker and pointed out a few words from Jim Collins in the Foreword that capture my appreciation of Peter Drucker’s work:  “Drucker’s genius shines best in the short paragraph or single sentence that cuts through the clutter and messiness of a complex world and exposes a truth.  Like a Zen poet, Drucker packs universal truth into just a few words; we can return to his teachings repeatedly, each time with a deeper level of understanding.”

This morning I asked Matt to pick out a few of his favorites from the 366 readings in The Daily Drucker. I think he pulled a pretty nice list:

• The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.
• Company cultures are like country cultures. Never try to change one. Try, instead, to work with what you’ve got.
• Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.
• Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.
• People who don’t take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.
• The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.
• Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window.
• Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed.

So here’s to Peter Drucker, gone, but not forgotten and still teaching us all.  In the words he is said to have offered frequently, “Go out and make yourself useful.”