Category Archives: Marketing

Things to Remember When Tagging People, Businesses, Products, and/or Services on Social Media Sites

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Over the last several weeks, we have been experimenting and talking with customers/businesses about “Tagging” with social media sites such as Instagram, FourSqaure, and Facebook, which allow people or businesses to share photos with one another while tagging other people or businesses with you or them. What fun huh? This can be even more fun if you are looking to meet new people or even looking for or selling new products/services, as people and companies can tag you in them if you so choose.
Well, let’s think about that? People and companies can tag you in them if you so choose, as this is extremely important and if you do not change your settings sooner or later in these social network spaces, you will get violated and perhaps even pissed off at your friends, acquaintances, or favorite brands. So, while some social media sites such as Twitter still allow you to @username (much like tagging), which you can’t control, if you are using Instagram, FourSqaure, and Facebook, make sure you make it a point to set your personal or business accounts to private or change your settings to approve tags, communicators, and followers first. That way if you are using or with people or companies that want to display something on one of your social profiles, you dictate what it is or what it is not “APPROVAL” and/or who, what, when, or where you have been.
Here are some other things to remember when using Instagram, FourSqaure, and Facebook tagging :
1.   On FourSqaureyou can now tag location and people by using a person or businesses Twitter namespace. This is NEW, so you may not have tried it but FourSqaurewill even do an auto complete during your check-in, so if you use this make sure you are checking in with the right person just like with Facebook (ANOTHER reason to set this to approval)
2.   On Instagram you can use GeoTagging, which uses a version of “Tagging” powered by FourSqaure for location or the #Hashtag for popularity (Public Posts) in the caption field or a #Hashtag in the comment field for photos you already uploaded through Instagram 
3.   If you want a more target audience (friends, family, businesses) on Twitter make sure to set your feed to private that way those people and companies can’t @mention or @reply directly to you (essentially TAGGING you), which will cut down on direct messages and @connects

While tagging has been around for quite some time, with all the different/new social media sites, people and companies are/will continue to look for ways to communicate with you. “Tagging” or @username @mention @replies @connect are a couple of those ways. Long story short and if you use any of these sites, make sure you continue to check your settings and monitor your pages for tags of people, places, and things (sometimes you are even incorrectly tagged by accident), that way you can dictate what you want or do not want to see and/or promote. Also remember that if you want to promote someone or something to properly tag,  @username, or #Hashtag the other person or business that way they know you are thinking about them.
We sure hope this post helps some of you keep your social media privacy, while sharing with others (make sure they are the right ones) things you are doing, places you are at, and products, and services you love. Now get out there visit some people/businesses, snap some pictures, connect with others, and enjoy. Otherwise, and like usual play nice and don’t forget to keep smiling, as it really does look good on YOU!

David Dandaneau is a Consultant at [SevenTimesSeven]. He specializes in helping business owners “manage their business and not their processes!” For more connect with him via Twitter @ddandaneau or any of the other social platforms you may find him on.



My Top 5 Must Have(s) for LinkedIn Success!

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May 15th, 2012 will mark my five-year anniversary on the social media site LinkedIn, which is the professional social networking medium that allows you to connect with friends, co-workers, and other professionals that at one time would have been impossible, Yes- I am talking about those days before we had computers. Nonetheless and since there are still many people out there that do not have a LinkedIn profile, I thought I would create a post on our Seven Times Seven blog to relay some of the do’s and do not’s of this giant social media platform. Here are the TOP 5 rules of the road!
(1) LinkedIn is Your Online Resume… so treat it as such –– Whether you use LinkedIn for business or pleasure, make sure to update your profile with regularity just like you would your Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest accounts, as this is the first place most people head to in order to check out your credentials. The difference between LinkedIn and other social media sites is that this site is a true representation yourself, views, and of some of the important things you have accomplished, so treat it as such, or just like you would your resume… DO NOT misrepresent yourself or your company! 
(2) Join Interesting (Business or Personal) Groups –– It amazes me how few people know about LinkedIn groups, as they have been around for as long as I can remember. In order to network with other same minded individuals, make sure you join some local, regional, and global groups in order to connect, share, and converse with others about important things happening in yours or another industry. Most importantly with any group or these groups in particular is to participate! Whatever you do… DO NOT join groups just to join groups, join groups to show others you are willing to help them, not just looking for handouts.
(3) Follow Interesting Organizations –– Just like the group format, make sure you are following and interacting with companies. Almost every organization out there has created a company profile on LinkedIn, so make sure you find the ones that you can help, connect with others that work there (you can connect with people through group affiliations), and remember to be found, you have to make yourself found, which following companies will do for you! Just like with the groups, DO NOT just follow companies to follow companies instead follow those you are truly interested in!
(4) Personalize & Tailor your Message(s) –– It often surprises me at how simple this is but how many people fail at this. Instead of reaching out and connecting to others with the generic LinkedIn message to those that belong to the same groups, work at old or like companies, and/or have some of the same interests as you; instead, make sure that you tailor your message to them and give a brief reason for connecting… DO NOT just connect with people and companies to connect with them… do you see a pattern here?
(5) Inform, Revise, and Update –– The most important part of LinkedIn is to inform people of what you think is important. Whether you use this site for business or personal reasons make sure to inform your contacts of important industry trends, news, or things happening in your career or life. Revise these accordingly to those you are trying to reach and most importantly, make sure to update your profile (articles, books, presentation you given, etc) that way more people will want to connect with you and listen to things you are talking about. Whatever you do, DO NOT just set-up your profile and leave it idle, as this like most other social media sites is a social site, hence why you need to interact with others, not just set it and forget it.
Obviously, these five rules of the LinkedIn road are just a few things that you should consider if you have not already and are serious about sharing, connecting, and being a person others turn to for honest advice. Just like with other social media sites, LinkedIn is a vehicle that allows you to connect with people and companies, while engaging them, heck it evens allows you to collect pertinent real-world research (i.e. surveys), as I am doing on the behalf of my Doctoral work. We (I) don’t use LinkedIn for prospecting but many people and companies do, so if you chose to prospect here, just make sure to respect others time, as you would in person or any other site… leave the junk mail at home, as nobody likes to be pestered! Lastly, if you have other accounts connected to your LinkedIn profile, make sure that the information you are relying is information suited for your audience, as this will go a long way in other views of you. I think if you take a little time to understand how this medium works that it can do wonders for you and others you will meet here, as it has for me. I warmly welcome all LinkedIn requests, so if you are alike minded individual and would like to talk or interact, drop me a line and let’s connect. Otherwise, I hope this post helps you achieve some of your personal and business goals. Now get out there and connect, engage, and enjoy your time with others. Until next week, play nice and don’t forget to keep smiling, as it really does look good on YOU!

David Dandaneau is a Consultant at [SevenTimesSeven]. He specializes in helping business owners “manage their business and not their processes!” For more connect with him via Twitter @ddandaneau or any of the other social platforms you may find him on.



5 Tips to Ask in Order to Run a Successful Social Media Campaign with Increases in ROI and Sales? Yes!

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As many of you know, finding an experienced professional to assist you with anything in life can be a daunting task. Also, as many of you probably know there are so many people out there that you speak with everyday that consider themselves “experts, connoisseurs, sales guru’s, geeks” of the trade(s), etc. Well as we both know, these so called experts or what have you, don’t actually have the experience that you may often find yourself needing… good advice, that actually works or saves you money? Yes?
Needless to say, we also continue to run across these same people in our line of work (especially social media), who claim to be experts but are nothing more than users who participate in things in a limited capacity or in social media words… in the basic sites such as Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter. So, for this week’s discussion, we thought we would provide you with a few things (5 Tips) to consider or ask when you are considering putting together a social media campaign.
1)  The very first question you should ask someone that you are considering letting them help you with your online engagement is what sites do you operate personally or for your company and could you please provide me with the links to check them out?
·    Now that you have their attention, see if they provide you with more than just a Facebook or Twitter account. It is crazy to think about but many experts stake their claim on these sites and these sites alone. However, the truth is social media didn’t start with these sites nor are they the answer to everyone’s needs. Look for people/companies that give you links to blogs and old school forums, etc. Also, look at how long they have been ACTIVELY participating in online activities, since participating for 6 months or a year or two definitely doesn’t make you an expert. Just ask Melcolm Gladwell who wrote Outliersand 60 Minutesused to run a great piece on. Think 10,000 or 10 years (well maybe not that many) but at least look for 3,000 or 3 years of activity.
2)   The second question you should ask the so-called expert you are talking to is whether or not they are familiar with or know of any restrictions in online activities for your specific needs or industry segment.
·    Let’s face it much like people would like to tell you, in online or social media activities there is not one size that fits all approach… mush like Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) services, etc. Sure you can participate get quotes for all the companies or operate on all the mediums but most people/businesses should stick with 3-5 networks. A good example is our consulting practice. We consult with clients on PEO, CRM, and Wireless Devices, so these are our ideal clients (companies who offer and those who also need these services), as we know the industry extremely well and any limitations that we must consider on their behalf. However, we don’t run social media campaigns for law, pharmaceutical, alcohol, etc, as we are not familiar with these segments. Sure we could figure it out but you really want a professional or business to help in your social networking that lives, breathes, and knows the industry and more importantly, where your customers hang out!
3)   The third question you should ask your so called expert is their overall opinion (personal opinion) of the industry and how thinks might change in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
·    This is a great question, as it usually lets you know where exactly the person or company started their online activities, why, and what they are trying to accomplish on a personal level. If they say they do it cause it’s their job… RUN! However, if they start out by telling you some of the reasons they started to participate in chat forums, started their own blog, or why they originally joined MySpace or sold stuff on EBay these are more than likely the people you want to deal with, as they have a personal not just a monetary investment in social networking. Also, this should clue you in, as to what other networks that they think will be the next Facebook, much like Pinterest, FourSquare, Scoop-it, etc are becoming. The true expert lives and breathes whatever they are an expert in, so they should/will always have options for you when things are not going as well as you think they should or how they are going.
4)   The forth question you should ask is who will help develop, manage, or engage your specific audience?
·    It still amazes us how many people and businesses think that social media begins and ends with a post or the creation of a Facebook page or Blog or better yet how many likes, followers, or friends you can acquire. Shoot that is the easy part about social networking… creating the sites and adding people, what is difficult part is keeping people interested, engaged, and coming back each week (CUSTOMER SERVICE). This is often the more expensive part of social media but a good investment, if you or your company is really serious about taking the next step online and something more people/businesses should be concerned about if you are looking for that so called Return on Investment (ROI). We cannot even tell you how often we see idle accounts out there that were set-up and abandoned, even some of our client accounts. Why? Cause most of the time just like in person, people and a lot of businesses do not know how to interact with others online or what they want to accomplish even if you tell them. What is the worst that can happen? Someone de-friends, un-follows, or leaves a negative response? Rejection and acceptance are both part of life, so in order to be successful online; you have to interact with others. You cannot just develop an account(s) but you must also manage and engage, so this is a very important question to ask your expert!
5)   Finally the last question, and perhaps the most important (ROI) you have to ask is how exactly social networking will improve a person or business and the measurement scale your expert will use to claim a SUCCESS!
·    This is probably one of our favorite questions to answer because more times than not, our answer doesn’t have anything to do with likes, followers, or friends. Instead we use tools that were created for measurement such as Kred, Klout, PeerIndex,EmpireAvenue, and Google Analytics.  Of course these tools do consider your Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, FourSquare, ETC. accounts but remember that they also measure your level of interaction. Of course, these sites are not perfect but remember the more you interact with your friends, followers, and acquaintances, the higher your scores should go. If you are a business, these should also translate into more calls, sales, referrals, etc (ROI) plus the more you interact the more likely you are to create chatter that is positive even despite any negatives that others may have previously left.
Each week we try to take our daily personal/business conversations and translate them into the online world for others to view and use. This week is no different, as we hope that these five tips can help you decide on a person or company best suited for your online “social media” and other activities. Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg, so if you need any other advice, please don’t be afraid to ask us or contact David Dandaneau directly, as we are here to help. Otherwise, we will see you back here again next week, with another tip brought to you… Well, by YOU! You know the story… Keep Smiling Kidzzz!

David Dandaneau is a Consultant at [SevenTimesSeven]. He specializes in helping business owners “manage their business and not their processes!” For more connect with him via Twitter @ddandaneau or any of the other social platforms you may find him on.


Social Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or (a.k.a Social Media CRM) Can Produce or Increase Sales by 12%. How so?

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As many of you already know Seven Times Seven headed by David Dandaneau is (are) dedicated to bringing answers to questions in our weekly tip each week that we come across. This week is no different, as we continue to navigate (7) difficult but extremely important segments for an organizations long-term growth and survival. This week in particular, we have had a tremendous amount of inquirers into Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and it’s (the systems) effect(s) on business performance & sales, which just happen to be some of the things David Dandaneau has been researching over the last 3+ years, as part of his Doctoral work. What is crazy to think about is that every day we ask clients and individuals if they are familiar with CRM? They usually respond with the answer Yes! So, why the inquires now? Next question… what system are you using and/or what are you doing with the data you collect? Much to our surprise, many of you are still using the basic CRM systems such as ACT, Capsule, etc. Why is it that more of you have not moved yet to Sugar, Salesforce, Zoho, etc. so you can collect more data and sales leads integrated with your website of blog? Well, if you are like most people a CRM system is something you probably bought or subscribed to in order to help you remain better organized and track issues (contact manager)… Yes? Well, if so let’s take a minute to look at some of the latest research trends and “statistics” in order to see if we might be able to make CRM (whatever system you use) work for you “more sales & retention”… not against you in order to produce some sort of Return On Investment (ROI).
So… What Needs are YOU looking for?
When a person or organization begins to look for a CRM provider or system, you will soon realize that there are tons “thousands it seems” of solutions available to fit almost any need, just like with Professional Employer Organizations (PEO), Mobile Solutions, or Social Media (SM). However, the one question you must ask yourself first with CRM much like the others, is what are you trying to accomplish with it (CRM) and how can you pull everything together? If you are like any normal person or organization, you should also be asking yourself what ROI will whatever system I (you) chose produce for me? The answer is simple… pick a system that allows you to retrieve information (i.e. offer white papers in exchange for contact information) and store it, so you can turn this information into leads and a resource, just like with social media… use the data to convert more inquires into sales, Yes? Also, let’s not forget to ask ourselves how can you (we) share information or help your (our) customers with the information and/or analyze the data we (you) collect with a CRM system to produce ROI?
A CRM Implementation is the most Effective way to Maintain Relationships

Just like social media or wireless device innovations (iPhone, iPad, Droid, etc), CRM (bringing systems together) should not be about what other people/businesses are doing but instead about what you and/or your personal or business needs are or in other words “what the customer wants.” With almost any PERFECT CRM implementation (on the behalf of the customer & organization), you should see customer retention and sales COSTs continue to decline overtime and organizational or personal profits increase over that extended period of time if utilized correctly. In a recent study it was found that “social” CRM or in other words social media or mobile CRM can help an organization or more importantly its sales force increase productivity and benefit by as little as +12% if used correctly. What’s more, is that this same study produced by Nucleus Research found that on average 21% of those people (organizations) or sales forces that use(d) social CRM, seen sales increases as much as 20%. Furthermore, this statistic equates to approximately 4 out of 5 companies that use/subscribe to a social CRM approach and integrate external sources such as Facebook, Twitter, FourSqaure, EmpireAvenue, etc with their CRM application(s) could expect returns (ROI) as high as 47%… crazy huh? What is even more shocking is that this particular course of action does not even take into account your mobile campaigns (25% increases), or RSS feeds through Pinterest, Tumblr, StumbleUpon, Etc (additional 22% increases).
So, What are you Waiting FOR?
Since the research and data points to increases in response, interaction, retention, and sales why are so many people (organizations) still reluctant to use and/or subscribe to a “Social CRM” solution? Or more importantly why are you (your team) not using mobile CRM applications “especially on your mobile” to convert leads into sales? The fact is and from our conversations, there are that still many people that still do not understand how all these systems work together or how to put all the pieces together or leave a footprint behind when meeting or following up with someone. In the Nucleus study, it was clear why; as only 16% of the 223 executives actually knew that, this was a total approach to business evolution, retention, and additional sales, which is hard to believe. Perhaps as more people turn to social media to solve customer issues left on sites such as Yelp, Google, Yahoo, etc. and by participating more in sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. more people will understand that CRM (especially mobile, as this has shown to increase productivity by +20%) should/will be an important part of their overall long-term strategy of conversing, linking, and connecting the dots (i.e. or at least a part of the solution) to increase sales.
From this short but direct post, we hope that you (your organization) realize the benefits that CRM, social media, and mobile campaigns can/will have on your overall success. As we continue to move further away from websites and more towards mobile phones, blogs, and social media for interaction, we will continue to rely upon CRM to help us stay connected to our friends, followers, and clients. If you have not yet made a decision on a social media, CRM, or mobile strategy don’t worry, as you still have time to make a decision. The important part is that you now start to think about it and about how all these systems work or can work together to help you and your team excel. Not only are these systems important to you but also to David Dandaneau, as these are large components to his research and the results that will be reported in his dissertation over the next several months. Therefore, if you would like more information or to participate in his study, please feel free to drop us a line or contact him directly by posting a comment. Otherwise, and like usual we will look forward to seeing you right back here next week with another Q&A session brought to you… well, by YOU! Cheers!

David Dandaneau is a Consultant at [SevenTimesSeven]. He specializes in helping business owners “manage their business and not their processes!” For more connect with him via Twitter @ddandaneau or any of the other social platforms you may find him on.


Why you Need to Identify your Social Media Influencers and Competition!

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As many of you know we (Seven Times Seven, LLC) help small business owners navigate seven (i.e. Payroll, Workers’ Compensation, Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs), Wireless Devices, Social Media, CRM, and Website Design & Integration) distinct (sometimes challenging) segments required for any long-term business venture/success, regardless of the industry that you compete in. Needless to say, these seven segments most or the time make business owners want to vomit, as the commitment (time) they all require are more times than not… having you asking yourself if or how you can measure any return on your investment(s) in these things. Well, we are here to tell you that in order to produce greater profits, you need to document, make people/businesses aware of what you offer, and communicate effectively. Communication is key in all these and other segments but none more important than with social media. Before, you say you have tried it and it didn’t work for you, we want you to take a step back, and think of why or why not, as these new mediums are well worth your time and commitment(s). Here’s why!
Who is Using Social Media and What Networks are they?
The first thing you must ask about social media is who in your circle of influence (personally or professionally) is/are using these new tools effectively? Next, what mediums (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, EmpireAvenue, FourSquare, Quora, Redditt, Digg, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc) are they and what are they doing to communicate with their established networks? Once you have found similar (people or businesses) join these networks and start conversing with your influencers and competition to see if they respond to you. If they do, then you know that they are having success and understand the networks they are operating on and if they don’t respond, it’s probably because they too don’t understand how to use these medians to drive ROI and communicate effectively. Either you respond, like, or follow in return or you don’t it’s that easy to tell who is using these mediums effectively. Really, by scouring the landscape and finding others (networks they are using), will help you determine what networks you also need to be involved in… Really it is that simple!
Now What?
After you have found your influencers and competition online, now all you have to do is put together a few time slots during the week to develop, engage, and communicate with others (literally think about a few times either in the morning or evening to do this, 30minutes-1hr daily). Seriously, with almost any social media site they only take a few minutes to set up and most of the time you can also import your information from sites such as Twitter and Facebook to get going. Therefore, whether you think Twitter and Facebook (work or do not), set them up anyway, as these will make your life easier once you find out what sites you want to participate in… heck if you are like us, go for all of them! After all what do you have to lose… increases/increasing in your knowledge and/or Google search rankings?
Get Customers and ROI!
The most important part about social media is producing new customers, acquaintances, and/or ROI. If you stick to your daily or weekly updates (new material, new posts, blog posts, reposts, shares, tweets, retweets, or curated material), you should notice after a couple of weeks (our 90-day rule) whether your material is being accepted or not. Obviously, new friends, likes, followers, direct messages are just some of the ways to judge your success but also remember to watch your Kred, Klout, PeerIndex,and Share Prices to also judge success and potential new customers. Perhaps the most important thing to remember regardless of the mediums you use online is try not to post to much or too little. Instead, you need to focus on providing “VALUE” (daily or weekly industry, academic, or personal postings) to your network and competition, which will ultimately end up building your credibility and endorsements that eventually result(s) in even more friends, ROI, and new customers.   
So, what are you doing with social media online that is helping you grow your business locally, regionally, or nationally? Have you tried these methods in your business? We would love to hear more about how you use social media, CRM, or wireless devices to communicate effectively. So please feel free to connect with us here, any of our other networks (Google Seven Times Seven, LLC), or with David Dandaneau directly through his 25+ social networks, so we can all connect, share, and grow together to provide even more influence. Until next week, keep smiling and we will look forward to hearing, sharing, and engaging online with everyone soon to achieve even more extraordinary results. Cheers

David Dandaneau is a Consultant at [SevenTimesSeven]. He specializes in helping business owners “manage their business and not their processes!” For more connect with him via Twitter @ddandaneau or any of the other social platforms you may find him on.