Sazbean

Software Development Management

Main navigation

You are here: Home / Archives for News & Notes

News & Notes

/

11 Ways to use Social Media for your Business

socialseier

Now that you know a little more about what social media are, how do you use them for your business?

  1. Listen to what your customers are saying, not just about you, but what their concerns and problems are.
  2. Network with other companies and customers in your industry.  Get to know people.
  3. Connect with potential customers and partners.
  4. Share your expertise and information valuable to your niche.
  5. Answer questions and help others.
  6. Leads, for your company, but also for others in your network.
  7. Market subtly within your areas of expertise by being a part of the conversation.
  8. Reputation building, both for your company and for your personal brand.
  9. Content to add to your website, blog, resources, etc.
  10. Research what people think, what the next big thing will be, how to position yourself for the future.
  11. Traffic being directed to your blog and website.

How do you use social media for your business?  Please add to this list in the comments section.

(photo by seier+seier+seier @ Flickr CC)

Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,

/

Why Every Business Should Have a Content Management System (CMS)

cmsdandelucaYou may not be aware of whether you have a content management system (CMS) for your website.  However, if you have a system that allows you to change and add content to your website without coding in HTML or some other language (php, asp, etc.), then you probably do. I think having a CMS is key to making your website work for your business goals and here’s why:

Ease of updating content

Having great content that is updated regularly is key to attracting visitors to your site and getting repeat visits.  A good CMS will give you the ability to regularly update your content without having to have a developer hand code everything for you.

Multiple types of content

Sometimes it makes more sense to create a video to show how a product works than just having a written article.  You should be able to easily add different types of content to your website with a CMS, enhancing the customer experience.

Ability to publish to multiple channels at once

Most readers still come directly to your website, but others will read your content through an RSS feed, or on an aggregator site.  Having a CMS which supports XML (RSS) feeds will make it much easier for your content to get out into the wild and give your customers the option to read it however they want.

New features

If you choose a CMS with a good development cycle, you’ll be able to implement new features and ideas as they hit the market.  While a website doesn’t need to be cutting edge, it’s a good idea to keep up with features that most visitors expect.

Accessibility

While it isn’t dependent on a CMS, most CMS’ include good accessibility practices which allow your content to be visible to people on a wide variety of devices (mobile, text readers, etc.).  This will become even more important in the near future as the mobile market continues to grow.

Portability

A CMS usually stores all your content in a database so even if you move to another CMS it should be possible to migrate your content.  Many CMS’ have the ability to export your data in a way that can be imported elsewhere as well.  Having a site in HTML or some other language is also portable, but a CMS separates your content (important!) from the design and functionality of the site, making it much easier to switch to something else.

Focus development on differentiators

Having a CMS lets your developers focus on features that may differentiate you from your competition.  This helps put expenses into projects which are more easy to measure return on investment (ROI).

Let experts work in their expertise

Designers, programmers and consultants can still be very valuable to your business, but now they can focus on what they do best – making great, usable designs and functions to help you attain your business goals.

Support

A CMS is a product that comes along with its own support system.  If you have a custom-coded website and it breaks, you have to spend time and money getting it fixed, instead of running your business.

Summary

Even with a CMS there is a time for custom-coded features, but a CMS will give you the ability to spend effort on those features that will make a difference to your business instead of re-inventing the wheel.  One caveat – if your website is a product or service, you’ll obviously want to spend time developing that product.  But even then, you should still have some way to create and edit content on your site, and that still means a CMS of some kind.

(photo by dandeluca @ Flickr CC)

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

/

What is Social Media?

crowdvictoriapeckhamI had an interesting conversation recently about social media.  It seems that a lot of business owners kind of know what it means.  If you ask them about it they’ll say “oh is that like facebook or something?” or “it’s media that’s social”.  But if you try to dig deeper into what that actually means you’ll get a mixture of answers.

Social media is media that is social.  But it goes beyond Facebook or MySpace.  Social media is any type of media in which there is, at least, a two-way conversation – usually a multi-way conversation.  Social media is about engaging the audience and having them respond to you and to each other.

Social media is also about a philosophy of listening (instead of shouting).  Just using media that is social does not make it that way.  If you have a blog but never reach out to your readers and never respond to what they are saying, you’re not being very social.  Even if you don’t have a blog, you can listen to what your customers are saying on their blogs and respond to their concerns.

Social media are primarily Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings. The term most often refers to activities that integrate technology, telecommunications and social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and “building” of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories and experiences. – Wikipedia – Social Media

Let me highlight the most important aspect of this definition:

“building” of shared meaning among communities

Social media is not just about your story or your company’s story.  It’s about the shared meaning you create with your customers as you interact with them and they with each other.

What story are you building with your customers?

(photo by victoriapeckham @ Flickr CC)

Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,