Psst... Have you heard...

...about this thing called the internet? It's not going away. It's always there. It doesn't sleep.

And it never forgets. (Marty Fahncke has a great example.)

What's your brand reputation? Do you know? Do you google yourself to see what the masses are saying? Do you know that doing just that, googling yourself, is part of marketing? (Here's something to get you started: sign up for Google Alerts. Put your business name in as the criteria and see what ends up in your inbox each day.)

You can spend big bucks on big agencies to advertisie your product. You can spend massive dollars on focus groups, pilot projects and traditional marketing campaigns. You can spend years trying to tell the world how your product is different than your competition's. The thing is, you're no longer in control. This isn't traditional media. It's the "new" internet. It's Web 2.0. It's social. It's collaborative. Consumers aren't just sitting back believing what the masses are telling them. They are the masses. They're connecting with others, networking online, creating and sharing information - on Facebook, on Digg, Twitter, forums and message boards...the list goes on.

It's a shift from advertising to PR. It's consumer-driven. It's fascinating. It's exciting.

We find it thrilling!

Shake it up. Do things differently. See where it takes you!

Let us help you, this is what we love, this is where we shine!

Don't just think out of the box. Step out of the box.

Blogging for Business

Are you not getting the attention you deserve? Do you need to get a new product in front of a crowd? Have an announcement to make but don't know how to tell the world? Don't even know how or where to start?

You need a blog. And we can help!

A blog is like an online dairy. It can be about, and be used for anything at all. It can be used for personal thoughts and opinions, news, reviews, keeping in touch with family... but we're talking about Blogging for Business.

Quite simply, it's a method of quickly updating content on your website. And the search engine spiders LOVE eating up fresh content! It automatically increases your exposure.

Automatically.

There are many ways to get your blog seen and read by people, not just via the search engines. There's a whole new world out there, Web 2.0, where people are collecting information and sharing it with their friends, contacts, etc. It's a digital word-of-mouth. And you know you can't pay for word of mouth.

At Scratchpad Secretaries, we can set up a Blog for you. Better yet, we can update it for you if you're too busy to write yourself. We can submit it to social bookmarking sites. We can add the RSS Feeds. We can make it happen for you.

Make sure you get noticed. Call us for your free 30-minute consultation!

Social Networking

Facebook. Ryze. Linked In.

Networking associations. Trade publication memberships. Online forums.

So much to do!

But what exactly is it? What is this buzz that is Social Networking. Social Marketing. Social Media?

It's networking.

To infinity.

Six degrees of seperation.

The concept is you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who may be interested in your services. Right from the comfort of your own home/office.

Globally!

You set up a profile, people visit, you add each other as contacts, connections, fans, friends, or whatever it may be called in that particular medium (pretty much, you're making business contacts). Next thing you know, one of their contacts peeks at your profile and adds you as a connection, friend, etc, and we're back to the basic concept of knowing someone who knows someone who knows someone!

There are also various groups you can join within the social networking group (for example, with Ryze I joined multiple groups: Women Business Owners, Small Business Owners, Small Business Think Tank... the list goes on!), and now, what do you know, you're connected to all of this particular groups' membership base. You're shopping your business, globally, from the comfort of your computer and you haven't had to balance appies, wine, business cards... you get the drift.

Perhaps it may just be that you meet alot of interesting people doing interesting things. You grow your network, in whatever way, shape or form you choose. The boundaries are simply not present that exist with traditional networking (and you don't have to suffer the embarrassment of having 1/2 of an appetizer stuck between your teeth!)

You may learn new tools, not just make new business contacts. You learn of new technology. New associations. The latest trade publication. The list goes on. Everyone is wired in. And it's global! It's 24-7. I might pop into one of the groups I belong to on a Thursday night at 11pm, and I'm online with many, many people who are plugged in, starting their day or 1/2 way through their day on the other side of the world.

It's a global marketplace. It's a global community. It's fantastic! It has unlimited potential, and we're just at the tip of the iceburg. How exciting!

I can see why there are virtual assistants who are offering Social Media Management as a service these days. It can be terrifically time-consuming. You can get lost in the networks, groups, profiles, connections.... give me a couple of weeks to delve further, and I do believe I'll be offering it as a service as well. It's not just the latest trend, it may very well be the future.

Won't you be my friend?