social media

First Ever Small Business Community Chat: Join in!

March 28, 2013
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social circlesThe Small Business Community on Google Plus recently broke 1,000 members and to make the most of it, we’re kicking off the first ever Small Business Chat. The chat events will be held weekly, and each week it will cover a different topic.

The first chat will be on Tuesday, April 2nd at 8pm to 9pm EST in the Google Plus Small Business Community. Please RSVP HERE.

TOPIC:
Come meet and share with likeminded people about how you became an entrepreneur, what makes you tick, wild stories, personal strategies, and more! Thinking about going off on your own? Not sure if you have what it takes? Circle Up and have fun.

Don’t Get Banned by Your Target Market

March 19, 2013
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kicked out?I’ve watched this happen a lot over the last several weeks, particularly on Google Plus. Businesses both large and small join a community, start posting links to their blog and then they get banned. Some are posting crap and others are posting genuinely good content, but the good content is being pushed on people and nobody likes that.

Communities and forums exist for discussion, not for marketers to disseminate their blog posts with titles like 10 ways for small businesses to maximize profits. Now there are a few instances where it makes sense to post a link to your website, but only if it truly results in a healthy engaging debate and shares. If that doesn’t happen, then you’re probably in trouble.

I have actually had to watch a few people I know in financial services get the boot in communities, and there was nothing I could do to help them. Their brands have literally been BANNED from talking amongst their peers and potential customers and that’s probably the worst thing that can happen. I’ve all seen hundreds of small businesses make the same mistake, younger businesses that have finally decided to give social media a shot, only to be shown the door 10 minutes after they jump in. It’s disheartening. Many communities don’t offer a warning, so the best chance to let sometime know the basics of human interaction, is to do it before they join anything. If you were thinking of joining a community or have been banned by one, particularly on Google Plus, I’ve written up a little road map titled: Banned from a Google Plus Community?

– Merchant Processing Resource
https://debanked.com
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