I was with some colleagues who said they attended a Social Media seminar. Not only was the event below-beginner, but they had already created their profile, and at that seminar were tweeting ABOUT the seminar.

It’s all relative, I guess. But who should take a seminar? Is the material covered accurately described at sign-up? Are you more advanced and you end up taking a class that is really designed for SoMe 101?

If you’re like some that I have talked with, you try your best to ‘touch’ each of them – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…for some it includes regular postings of YouTube videos, checking in on FourSquare (can I tell you how frustrating that is??)..and more.

How do you keep up? Having a plan or strategy is one way to manage Social Media marketing. You could spend x amount of minutes y days of the week, creating, re-tweeting, engaging, posing questions, posting photos, and more.

Another avenue is to use some of the scheduling shortcuts like TweetDeck, SocialOomph or others to assist you in pre-scheduling some words of wisdom, tips for your industry, or thought-provoking questions. Tying accounts together can save time, thus your LinkedIn postings, push to your Facebook page and fly over to your Twitter followers.

One key is to ‘stay real’. Genuine. Honest. Truthful. Otherwise, it could come back to bite you. Just like in real life!

Yeah, we’ve picked the ‘colors’ and the graphic and already have vendors lined up. We offer our chamber members opportunities to be:sponsors, vendors, exhibitors, taste-test sponsors, or flyer sponsors. And there is always that volunteer op which builds relationships with other members.

Have you heard of a Man-cave? Sure, there are guys who have turned their basements into a “Boys Only” area…or should it be called “area-that-only-boys-want-to-enter”? What does this have to do with a wedding expo? We will have an area nearby so that brides-to-be can BRING their men without boring their men. They can be in the MAN-CAVE which is down the hall, able to be reached for important consultation on a wedding decision. Or not.

Why would an engaged female want to attend? The atmosphere will have them IN THEIR GLORY…it’s all about THEM. They can choose many items on their TO-DO list and check them off after this event.

Giveaways, vendors, food, fashion show, focus on the bride — a perfect venue to visit for the bride and her friends!

What is your favorite piece or feature of this type of event? I’d love to hear your ideas!

Chamber members and prospects….if you could benefit from this exposure…visit the website and say “I DO!” — fill out the Exhibitor Application for “the wedding expo” at the Holiday Inn in Carol Stream.

This uniquely designed event was meant to let all worlds collide: chamber members, LinkedIn contacts, Facebook friends and Twitter followers. What did they do in the two hour time period?

Checking in at the registration table, each attendee was given a blue lanyard and a nametag. Attendees could paper-punch their business card, to let it hang from the lanyard around their neck. They proceeded to the next ‘station’ where I explained a bit about QR codes. Had they seen one? What were their uses? Want to generate one?

And generate they did!!! Using the QR code generator on the http://zxing.appspot.com/generator/ they entered their contact info. Those with Smartphones downloaded Barcode Reader apps and a demo was done to show how effective this way. See, when they entered their contact info in the ‘form’, it generated a QR code. Right-click, copy, paste to Word doc and PRINT ..and..voila!! This cute, unique-to-them squiggle-box-shape contained their contact info. All they had to do was the old-school CUT and PASTE onto the back of their biz card hanging from the lanyard and they were ready to share with others.

I’d like to think this is a “GREEN” biz card exchange. By the way, we did the non-green biz card exchange, too. They dropped a card into each of the 40 ‘french-fry-cardboard-containers’ and while they were networking, our staff gathered and rubber-banded them. On the way out they each had a neat stack of everyone’s info who attended.

But there was more before they left. Oh, yes, there was food and soda included in the $10 fee, but more importantly there were two distinct opportunities for them to take advantage of.

SOCIAL MEDIA – Dana Plazyk/No Excuses Mobile Marketing and Heidi Thorne/Thorne Communications were on hand, ready to answer those burning questions, such as “I have NO idea why, how or when to use Social Media” and “Ok, I’m trying it, now what???” Both SoMe gurus, Dana and Heidi gave one-on-one attention to those who needed it.

ACCELERATED NETWORKING, OUR WAY – We do it at our ‘Business Before Hours’ and we did it here: face-to-face networking. This is how it works:
Two lines are formed, facing each other, taking care that each person is lined up with just one across from them. A ‘noise’ is made (could be a yell, whistle, bell, etc) and the right side line begins their 45 sec. infomercial. Yes, they say their name, company, what they do and what is a good lead for them. Always repeating their name and company at the end, the ‘noise’ is made again and the opposite, or left line begins their spiel. After another 45 seconds and another ‘noise’, the movement is initiated. Resembling the Ice Capades or Rockettes portion where the last in line fervently tries to catch up with the line, one person on the end ‘drops off’ and goes the the head of the line, with everyone shifting over one person. And thus it begins again. Effective? Heck, yes. Noisy? You got it. Valuable? Absolutely.

Will we hold the Networking 2.0 event again? DING-DING-DING!!!!!!!

Dear Chamber Members,

Cool fall weather is knocking at the door and summer vacations have come to an end.
It’s back to business and the chamber is offering a lot in the next months. Grab your
calendar and ’make an appointment’ to spend time on building business relationships at
some of the upcoming events.

The “What Women Want” Expo gives our local businesses face-time with the
community on September 22nd. October is very full – three After Hours, one Before
Hours, a Progressive multi-chamber luncheon, and our 2nd annual TopGolf Outing.
Social Media/Networking and QR codes…are you ’up’ on these topics? Social media isn’t
going away anytime soon and taking even a little time to get your feet wet in one or
more (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) is a good idea. Experts will be on had for the new
event, “Networking 2.0: Social Media Face 2 Face Meet Up” at the Holiday Inn/Carol
Stream. Our fans, friends, followers, contacts and members are all invited to network on
October 6th.

Getting to know fellow members is always a positive step towards making and deepening
business relationships, but when we hold multi-chamber luncheons, we find it benefits
members even further. October 13th, we will hold a Progressive Multi-chamber
luncheon with several other chambers. Try to make some time for this; it’s a favorite.
Speaking of ‘MULTI”, how do 12 chambers and free food sound? Our October 27th
event at Elgin Community College will bring members from chambers in Algonquin,
Huntley, West Chicago, Hanover Park, as well as North Kane, St. Charles and Bartlett.
Mark your calendar for this After Hours.

The Women In Business events are open to both men and women and the November
17th “Polka Dot Progressive” affords attendees a chance to mingle with three tables of
biz professionals, but don’t look for three table numbers on your nametag. Tables will be
determined by a quick throw of the dice. The dots on the dice become the POLKA
DOT theme and many will be found wearing them in one fashion or another. Join us!

What does your advertising say about you or your company? Is it relaying the right message?

Watching Superbowl 44, like many others, I look forward to the newest commercials. They are often fun, creative and….expensive! And everyone talks about them the next day. Certified Guerrilla Marketing expert and co-author, Al Lautenslager, is always sought after on the DAY after — the Monday after the Super Bowl. Why? Everyone wants to hear what got a ’10′ and who the failures were.

But why is an ad a failure? Does it drive customers to your website, door or phone? Does it turn prospects off, offending them or insulting their intelligence? Did you chose the best avenue — the medium you picked was visible to and visited by many?

What do you remember of those $2.5 million-per-30-second bits of entertainment? Was it the house constructed with beer cans? The violin-playing beavers? The Motorola phone photo-snapping bathtub occupant, the dog-collar-swapping-Dorito-eating pet, or the straight shooting movie trailers?

Some sensed a theme of testosterone vs. estrogen.

Lois Martin/LoisMarketing.com found the ‘manly man commercials’ for Dodge Charger and Dove Body wash very entertaining. Tweeting comments on Twitter during the game (or maybe not!!), she noted that the men at her gathering did some chest thumping, retreating to the patio for a beer and a cigar after some of those.

I think the economic downturn was reflected in decrease spending on wardrobe. Budget allocation decreases were noted in the attire, or lack of it, in both Career Builder and Dockers ads.

As for the Coca-Cola ad with the sleepwalking dude who went overcame danger just to get their product; this strongly conveyed that “gotta have it” message.

Whether you portray your product or service as something that people cannot live without, or show what sets you apart from the competition, it’s important now more than ever to GET THE WORD out about your biz. Besides, with so many budget cuts, less competition is out there. Like the Superbowl time slots, prices can come down and be more affordable (!?!!).

Shout it from the mountaintops! And let others shout for you, too! Leads groups and referral organizations entice membership because of the fact that fellow members refer business to you. Other groups, like chambers of commerce, also refer business through website listings, phone call inquiry responses, electronic newsletters and ADS! Whether it’s a banner ad, ‘physical’ flyer stuffed into a mailing or your name on a sponsor sign, consider your options, be creative and relay the right message!

A lead by any name is still a lead!

Or is it?

What do you do to get new business? How do you reach out to companies that could benefit from your products or services? Who is that ‘gatekeeper’ and why won’t she let you talk to the ‘Big Kahuna?’

It is definitely the challenge of most business professionals to reach way down, deep into their souls, down to their toes and come up with ways to grow their business.

What do you have to offer that sets you apart from others in your field? Be ‘known” as the one who goes that extra mile, offers a quirky item or service to your customers that endears you to them. A local auto business thanks their patrons with a note on the invoice, a thank you card, and candy with a giveaway — a holder for your auto documents in the glovebox that is easy to spot. It’s more than giveaways, which are also a plus to most — it’s the extra caring and kind words that bring repeat customers.

Do you help others? Are you able to connect business colleagues in another field with one in need? In “The Go-Giver”, Bob Burg and John David Mann tell a story of a man seeking success. He’s at a desperate point, the end of the quarter, and he needs to GET, GET, GET more sales–he’s a real ‘Go-Getter’. But when he happens upon a wise man who points out the benefits in giving, rather than receiving, he is in for a life-changing lesson.

Do people know how good your product is? Do you give ‘free samples’? Years ago, I was in local craft shows, selling home-cooked caramels. Making samples, however small, was nearly as time-consuming as cutting and wrapping the real thing. But people, who had no pre-conceived notion to buy, would happen upon my display, take a free sample (who can turn down a FREE SAMPLE??), and declare that they needed to buy a bag! Bingo! Does a free sample of your product reach out, draw in, tantalize, and seal the deal? For many, this is a successful venture.

Getting your business’ name ‘out there’ front-and-center to prospects can be key. Partnering with others in associated industries and joining in on cold-calling, presentations or even some forms of advertising can be a way to think outside the box to cut costs and open doors.

You’ve heard the list of groups to join — local business associations, your town’s chamber, the next town’s chamber, the gym. Being a part of an organization, even socially, brings you to meet others with whom you have a common bond. When you bond on a different level or subject matter other than business, relationships form, trust ‘happens’ and business can follow. Now, if you sell steel for a living, and you’ve joined a knitting club, you may be stretching it a bit, but you get my drift.

Your luncheon or “After Hours” events at the local chamber afford great, warm networking opportunities. More formal leads groups take the networking and kick it up a notch. Whether it be a national organization such as BNI or LeTip, or a group of community businesses who band together, focusing on quality leads for your group-mates helps grow their business, while they do the same for you. The frequent meetings — weekly or every other week — benefit all by the repetition of the ‘elevator speeches’. You get to know and understand exactly what the other members of the group have to offer and you are able to, pardon the term, regurgitate it, when you run across someone in need of their type of product or service. The one ‘in need’ is happy they have been helped; the group-mate is ecstatic that they receive a solid referral for business. Win, win, win! It is a reflection on you. You win, too.

Whatever your plan of attack, best of luck as you forge forward and do what needs to be done to grow YOUR business.

This is what we look like!

If you were a QR Code, what would you look like? Here is what the Carol Stream Chamber looks like ‘in QR.’

They say some cell phones with special software, when waved over these codes, can scan and process them. It launches their internet browser and takes the ‘scanner’ to the information intended by the code owner.

Wikipedia says, “The “QR” is derived from “Quick Response”, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.”

A QR Code can be created or ‘generated’ by a QR Code Generator site, such as http://qrcode.kaywa.com/

The code can be put on company business cards, newspaper or magazine ads, a special mailing and much more. You could drive prospective customers to a specifically designated site, easily trackable, to determine the success of this marketing idea.

Have you seen such a code? Where?

So what will we put our QR Code on? Well, tell us what you’re putting YOUR QR Code on first.
Very truly yours,

Sources:

http://qrcode.kaywa.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code

How will you make the most of this year when it comes to business? Will you vow to be more organized, spend more time with family, improve follow-up on leads, seize opportunities you have otherwise taken a pass on?

Realizing the economic situation affects most of us, how do you view your chamber membership? Do you look at the luncheons as the most efficient 1.5 hours you can spend per month? Do you check out the chamber advertising and sponsorships and consider them when planning your year? Are you taking full advantage of the free online resources and free Business After Hours and Ribbon Cuttings?

What will 2010 bring? Speaking for the Carol Stream Chamber, I can tell you it brings some new and unique opportunities. Watch for Member Benefits such as the new Mobile Alerts, a Leads Group beginning, a Candidates’ Night and a ‘meeting’ to help introduce you to ‘power partners’ and beneficial connections. We continue our Chamber Video Opportunity, New/Prospective Member gatherings and multiple Expos, so that you can have the chance to meet others, learn from others, and build your business through others.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season, new decade…or not!