Whooah-Biz

Networks are bit confusing especially as there are so many of them. I tried Xing for while on a recommendation, but it seems to be a bit restrictive unless you pay full whack. Of course 5 Euros a month is not a great deal to pay. So may be one should just pay that and be happy.

It is cheaper after all that ecademy.

If price is not question which one should you use? I quite often see people posting all sorts of job adverts/advertisement in forums on LinkedIn. I know this happens on all networking sites. I suspect still that the problem is deeper than the question which site should you use?

As one may still not be sure whether they are reaching the most productive audience (or any audience). In short I guess it is better to have all these discussions on your own website.

Which is what work connexions is about, we can build that sort interactive market for business consumers in there choosen field.

Thoughts

This is the last blog in a series of questions that I asked back in August here:

You can choose to ignore social media, many people do. Old networks are still in place. If you are university professor or an expert in a particular field than why bother. If you have more than enough work too, you could argue that you have no need. While it is true very few deals are closed on the internet. There is one problem, with more and more people using the internet for locating information. They may well ask the queastion, where are you?

The world is changing and ways of doing business are changing too. Already we are starting to see the disappearance of regular telephone lines as more and more information gets assimilate into internet protocols. Media is is not the same anymore, TV and Newspapers are all seeking to do more business online. One thing is clear while the message may be the same, the medium is different.

Social media is quicker, more intense, and direct. Like any company that trains and prepares it staff there are advantages to be had. You can choose to ignore and ban the use of Social Media in the work place or you can train your staff in how to make the best use of it.

Some ideas worth considering are:

Ask your staff what sites they use/like? – These could be the places where you should be advertising, or maybe have an online presence.

Encourage participation after having set guidelines –Your Company is as good as its employees, if they interact online than it can be used as effectively as free publicity.

Encourage employees to share their experiences – Gives insight into the company.

Managers as bloggers – Open up a different form of communication in managing departments. Want to find out more. Here is the fictional account of what Social Media manager does, read it here:

Here is a good example of how social media has helped one business in the travel industry Mark Hayward sums up his answer to how social media has helped business by the following below:

How do I think social media can help (really) small businesses? Pretty much the same way social media can assist large business and mega-corporations:

• promotion
• networking
• branding
• as catalyst for collaboration

What other ones would you include here?

In hard times people get a little bit more creative about making money. As there is less money to go around one wants to insure that what one has can go a long way. One might be tempted to visit markets and a sell some products or maybe open an online shop. As Owen, a friend of mine, pointed out that online businesses or websites tend to be seen as a cheap option. no rent, no expensive layout costs, staff recruitment cost. Is that so?

It is common misconception that online stores are cheap and easy. It can be best be summoned up by you get what you pay/put in. For example Ebay provides excellent e-commerce facilities. The only down side with it is the cost. All our clients that use that service are trying unsuccessfully to get away from it. They are tired of Ebay taking their percentage. Unfortunately building up customer trust on there own website is proving difficult. But that need not be the case with  the right planning and investment.

This is where the shop comparison comes in. If you would spend ten thousand pounds setting up out high street retail shop, you will need to spend at least that on an internet retail business to make it successful. There are few shortcuts that really work. If you want to create a successful business you will need to either spend the money to employ somebody to set it up for you in the way that create positive sales, or you will have to spend the time yourself. If you thing that just buying a domain name and putting some e-commerce software purchased for a couple of hundred bucks is going to create an online business, I have news for you. It ain’t going to happen. Pity you may say, but the good news is that with the right tick sheet you can solve many of the problems.

Before you’ll begin you may want to think about the following:

Customer registration and account management, News letter signup, Automatic email confirmation, Search feature, Secure user login, User behaviour statistics, Varied Payment options, Email to a friend

Or maybe not, How about this:

1)Target Audience:
Who is your website directed at? Other businesses, older people, all age groups? It is important to understand who you are talking to and what goals you have for the site.

2) Number of Pages:
Do you know the number and types of pages and how they relate to each other? You don’t need to know the exact details but try and think about what types of pages you should have.

3) Content:
This means the text inside the pages and it is the most important part of the website. The rest of the site builds what we call in the industry rapport, but the contents are what sell your product or services. In fact if your site looked horrible but had great content it could still be successful, but not the other way around.

4) Design:
Do you know what colors you would like or the type of graphic contents? Do you have logos ready to be used? Your site can be graphic heavy as we say or it can be clean and sparse. It is your choice and is very much a personal decision. If you don’t know what you want, you can surf the internet and find some sites you like.

5) Images:
Do you have all the pictures for the site and are they in a digital format?

6) Forms:
These pages are the ones that collect information from your visitors and then send you this information as an email. You can contact us to discuss your options. We will guide you through the process, one step at a time.

When you have considered this you will then need to discuss with an expert in this field who can help you and guide you through this market.

Advertisement: At Wcx we know social media and online business, we know what works and what does not. We have the expertise and contacts to create a site that will fulfil your Gaols. Take a look at www.WorkConneXions.com or our company Site www.wcx.me for more information.

Having your finger on the pulse is what separates good ideas from successful ideas. Timing is absolutely everything in life. If you launch an e-mail campaign when everybody is talking about spam, except you, subscribers are not going to be flocking to your list.

Choosing the right sort of events is paramount if you want your company to grow. Sometimes you can be too clever and choose someone when the market is just not ready. Choice is all about getting it just right.

For example I wanted to bring Andy Beal over to the Isle of Man to speak at an IOD event. The concept seemed strong, the Isle of Man encouraging e-commerce, this, in theory could have benefits for everyone as whole. Unfortunately having contacted all the local companies the response was mute. There are a number of possible reasons for this. Perhaps we are not quite developed enough in the e-commerce market to realise such an opportunity. May be the companies are feeling the pinch financially. I do hope in the future that he will come.

On the other side we have had a number of visitors from participants from the Dragons den. The inventor of the reggae sauce Levi Roots, Yo sushi entrepreneur. Of course doing another event in that line could possible be old hat.

So what sort of event would be on the pulse now?

Over the weekend I joined two clubs on face book. Both were the schools that I went to in my childhood. Now there is nothing amazing in that. There are lots of website where you can find a lost friends on the internet. But that is not the point of this post.

Some of my younger friends who are at university have over 3oo hundred plus friends in their face book profile. As the saying goes “school is the best time of your life”. I know that I had a particular good time when I was prep school. With out doubt I would relive it all again. My point is that people who are in education having the time of there life’s will now be able to stay in touch much easier, due to social networking groups. (Facebook, My space, etc) What will be the effect of this?

I remember when I had to change school. Of Course at school we all swore that we would stay in touch. Letter writing starts of well but after a year becomes less and less. I do think these social networking sites are going to make individual people very powerful indeed in the relationships they form and maintain. Giving people the exact choice of people to stay in touch with unparallel ease and comfort. It does have a downside too possible. People you may rather forgot will be able to find you easily. but with so many top friends will anyone notice. Enjoy enjoy I say.

There is a great  new competition over at Wcx where bloggers can win a hundred dollars and a month of free advertising. All they have to do is to post there best blog on www.workconnexions.com to enter. Work connexions focuses on business development and has become a resource community center of information to grow your business. With high page rank and quality information just posting on the website will increase your Internet presence. Success!