DISQUS

No probs - all good now anyway.

I'm actually not that worried about Twitter spam filters - without any filter there would be the potential for p0rn spam to clog up the trending topics. Simple human oversight solves the problem - presuming they can o'ride the filters.

I think the story is more, what are the trending topics for and how should we react to people and esp. companies 'gaming them'? It's foreseeable that as more companies use twitter to promote comps etc... that almost the entire trending topics list could be brand terms.

At that point it's no longer useful - unless you want to enter loads of competitions.

The original 'vulgar' now back with scored through text - better :)

I think it's important that the original text is left as is - even if updates are added or score thrus used.

OK, so it was a mistake and I can appreciate the updates in the body and headline - and even the scored through copy - but I don't think you should have changed the text:

"This time, an odd, vulgar hashtag has appeared in the trending topics"

to

"This time, an odd, hashtag has appeared in the trending topics"

The newly added closing paras are a good point but a mea culpa might be better.

It's not spam.

British actress Mollie Sugden died yesterday. She played Mrs Slocombe in UK comedy Are You Being Served and 'Mrs Slocombe's Pussy' was a running joke. This is a tribute from fans.

TechCrunch just ran with the same, story: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/02/once-again... and got quite a backlash.

Thanks for the nice review.

You're right in saying that Iddictive is brand new - in fact it's only about a month old and its popularity has caught us a little off guard. That said, we'll be adding some quirky little features over the coming weeks and months - including a rather funky 'pimp my idea' feature which we're working on at the moment.

For now though we want to focus on building a great library of cool ideas that people can use for inspiration for their own ventures - so any submissions are very welcome.

Thanks again for the mention!

As someone who already works freelance from home it's certainly tempting to hit the road. I guess it's a combination of the practicalities and non-work commitments holding me back.

That said, a few more posts like that one and I may just convince myself.

Cheers.

<abbr>Mark Nagurski´s last blog post..<a href="http://www.iddictive.com/2009/01/20/howcastcom-how-to-videos-on-any-subject/" rel="nofollow">Howcast.com - How To Videos on Any Subject</abbr>

How to use content to market your business.

I suppose the other side of the coin is to 'chunk up' the value elements.

I take this to mean painting an effective picture of the real value of what you deliver.

I write content. Many of our clients use us to create content as part of their lead generation program - a special report to 'incentivise' newsletter sign ups for example.

Attracting a handful of registrations a day doesn't sound like it would warrant a large investment BUT if you ask 'what could you accomplish with a database of over 1000 interested prospects' (i.e. 1 year of modest sign ups) their eyes light up.

The real value is almost always achieved in the long term whereas the costs are almost always more immediate.

And everything always look bigger up close.

Painting pictures of both the costs and relative value helps buyers bring the two into perspective.

Excellent point.

I'd go so far as to say that this kind of thinking should be employed at he planning stages of a business.

'Average products for average people'* don't work like they used to - it's just difficult to get 'everyones' attention.

People pay attention to businesses and marketing messages that are designed for them. A sharp focus can help define a marketing message, reduce wasted marketing expense and improve results.

Short, sweet, great post.

*Paraphrased Seth Godin quote I think

@chris

I'm still undecided on the sponsored post idea.

Too much display advertising annoys and distracts. Advertorial doesn't sit well with many.

Taking some inspiration from the trade mags cluttering my desk I think a dedicated paid review section could be something of an imperfect solution.

It would be separate from main blog but still highlighted via twitter et al so as to provide value for the advertiser.

Just a thought ...

I think some of the comments here are a pretty good example of being misunderstood.

Jim's first paragraph is pretty balanced but I wonder how many of the commenters took a minute to read the original post that was referenced?

Just a snippet:

"I'm merely pointing out that the medium has to be appropriate for the message. Using microblogging (like Yammer) to share your quarterly review or to fire someone or to make an important, nuanced announcement is just sort of dumb."

"Using it for keeping in contact with an ever-widening circle of friends and colleagues is brilliant"

Whether Seth chooses to use Twitter should be a matter of how it helps him achieve his goals - but I don't think it can be said from the original post that he is anti-Twitter.

Sounds great - I'm in.

One question though if it's one blog every two weeks it'll take an awful lot of time to get through. Twenty-one years if only the 545 commenters above were featured - assuming they are all worth reading ;) .

Or am I reading this wrong?

A great list of basics which I think could be applied to most industries - suggesting there might be a more general point here.

As more people and businesses come into the social media fold so to speak, there's a need to do business more on their terms. i.e. 'educate people from their side of the fence' and 'don't just do your own thing'.

If social media is a tool just for 'social media types' to use amongst themselves then there's no need to try and relate it back to others - no need to make a business case. You're preaching to the choir.

If social media is to become increasingly adopted in more traditional business circles we need to show those businesses how it relates to them. Often that'll be through incremental, not fundamental change.

Thanks for the link Jim - a useful podcast on a topic that's more vital now than ever. I specifically like the point that your existing customer want to be loyal to you - the job then becomes making that both easy and rewarding.

The one thing I would add would be the use of content as a low cost strategy to continue adding value and building customer relationships. As an example, you mention sending newsletters as something that a lot of businesses would be doing anyway - I think the trick here is not using newsletters as a way of 'telling them about the business' but rather as a way of delivering really useful information. Information that makes them smarter, helps them make smarter buying decisions and builds a relationship.

Becky also mentions the need to understand the customer. I think content has value here as well - you can use content to become a trusted resource and answer their biggest needs. Instead of sending a basket from Amazon as a gift, how about sending a useful case study specific to their industry?

"Further, what if you became the place to go for people to see pictures and video of the latest houses on the market."

I think these kinds of ideas fit neatly with some of your previous posts on content marketing. Being 'the place to go' for trusted, interesting and relevant content cuts through a lot of promotional noise.

I agree with the general point as to the 'true test' of an offering.

Clearly not everything can be advertising supported - which ultimately means they'll have to sell something. The idea of creating an audience (or user base) and then finding a way to monetise it is false luxury that most small business owners would do well to avoid. Even some of the biggest players have trouble turning eyeballs into cash.

That's not to say you need to charge from 'day one' but without a clear idea of how, when and from whom you'll generate revenues you'll be hard pressed to create a real business before the funding coffers run dry. Which is why I feel many of the VC funded businesses we see profiled are poor examples for most small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Having seen and worked with a lot of startups, the best advice I ever heard was actually a question, "But who's going to buy it?"

I think the trick in using service as a differentiator is being able to "sell your customer service" as you mention in point 4 - to do that you need to be concrete and back up claims with tangible action.

I agree that customers are wary of service claims - mostly because everybody makes them. There's hardly a business out there that wouldn't claim to 'put the customer first' and whatnot.

I suppose selling customer service as a differentiator is a bit of 'put your money where your mouth is'. Your pizza delivered in 30 minutes or it's free - that sort of thing.

But as you rightly point out, even if you have no intention of actively promoting service as a point of difference, great service always delivers great word of mouth.

I think the key phrase is "a systematic approach".

Most business owners would agree that generating referrals is a good idea - as are PR and advertising. What makes one business successful over another is their ability to put these into practice as a whole and consistently over time.

I think the first two points are very valid - I know when I first started blogging my posts we almost carbon copies of articles I'd prepared for print media (in fact they still are a little too much in that direction).

I've only recently begun to venture back into blogging after spending the last months reading everyone else's.

Kaizen - I'll have to remember to use the term as it's something I talk about a lot with clients.

For a lot of small business owners, the sheer number of marketing options - and the risk of getting it wrong - create a form of marketing paralysis.

Short of having someone to take it all off their plate (an unhealthy option IMO) small daily improvements has to be the best option.

An inspiring post for both small businesses and small business marketers.

In my experience working with small businesses, the problem often comes from terminology and the preconceptions that this post addresses.

However, if you ask any small business owner would they like to find better ways to relate and connect with their customers the answer is 'yes'.

Likewise if you ask whether or not their personality plays a role in attracting and keeping customers the answer is also a resounding 'yes'. This is even more vital for the very smallest of businesses.

And that's what social media should be for small businesses - better tools for doing what small businesses have always done; building relationships with their customers.

It's also a great way to differentiate yourself from the multinationals and big box retailers.

Interesting post. Funnily enough it's essentially the same - but reversed - view from inside a sales and marketing startup. We began with an experienced business development team and so getting clients on board has never been as issue.

On the other hand, we've had to work hard at building the infrastructure, technology and client management processes that we had more or less taken for granted in previous employment.

I'd suggest that every startup needs to take a cold hard look at its core competencies, plan ahead and look to plug the gaps as soon as is practical.

Also, just to emphasise, I think the linked post "Launching a Startup is Barely Step One" (Instigator Blog, Feb 6th) is certainly worth a (re)read.