Summer usually brings a few of our favorite things – like sunshine, days at the lake, hiking and grilling. This summer also brings the RSA office a few jackrabbits. Not the little fluffy ones that munch on your garden (put down the BB gun!), but rather three lovely summer interns from South Dakota State University.

Kandi Moulder – Account Management, SEM

Kandi

“I may not believe in myself, but I believe in what I’m doing.” – Jimmy Page

Kandi is a senior at SDSU in Brookings majoring in advertising with a minor in art. She originally hails from Jeffers, a small town in Southern Minnesota. She’s not kidding when she says small; there were more people living in her dorm hall at SDSU than in her hometown.

Kandi is a bit of an art addict. Spending the summer without her art supplies – or her cat, Kitty – is going to be tough. She made her first trip to Art Alley a few weeks ago and fell in love. She plans to make it down there a few more times this summer.

When she isn’t at RSA you can find Kandi roaming the Hills. Living West River is a whole new experience for her and she’s excited to take advantage of the great weather and do some sightseeing.

Kim Hartman – Graphic Design

Kim

“If you can’t convince them, confuse them!” – Harry Truman

Kim is a senior at SDSU majoring in graphic design with a minor in art. Albany, Oregon (pronounced Or-e-gun) is where Kim grew up and she has no intention of returning after graduation. Why? “There’s too much rain!”

In a job interview Kim was once asked to describe herself in one word.  Her answer: “Kim is the bomb-diggity! Wait. Is bomb-diggity considered two words? If so, I’m using it as one. If that doesn’t work, I can make up another word.”

One of Kim’s goals in life is to be happy no matter where she ends up. She considers moving to South Dakota one of her best decisions, and she finds Rapid City to be a great town for networking.

Tiffany Oliver – Account Management

Tiffany

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest until your good is better and your better is best.” – Tim Duncan

Tiffany was born and raised in western South Dakota and left to study advertising (and boys) on the other side of the river. In December she will graduate with a degree in Journalism from SDSU.

Tiffany grew up a tomboy with G.I. Joes and toy race cars. Her poor Barbies had their heads shaved right before they disappeared under the bed. Today she still loves the outdoors and playing in the mud.

Tiffany is obsessed with eating healthy and staying fit, and sports are a big part of that. She loves sports of all kinds and would rather be in the action than watch it on TV; however, she’s hoping to make it to her very first Rockies baseball game this summer.

Welcome to the team ladies!

Meet the RSA fresh meat…er, interns! is a post from: RSA Blog

Ericka Heiser speaks to 1000+

Yesterday a few of us had the opportunity to attend the first Day of Excellence in Rapid City. Hosted by Leadership Rapid City, the one-day conference focused on fostering personal and professional growth.

We showed up to the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center yesterday, coffee in hand, interested to see if the speakers would have anything to teach us (and praying they would be funny). More than 1,200 people had the same idea, and luckily, we weren’t disappointed.

Aubrey says:

Developing a sense of purpose for everything you do: Mike “oooooh-stir” Oster, Lieutenant Colonel for the South Dakota Army National Guard, began the day with an outstanding discussion on self improvement. Helping others realize their maximum potential is Mike’s strength and the crowd enjoyed it.

Through demonstration and audience participation, Mike showed us the effects of negativity on your mental and physical strength. He said some things are obvious (like not frying bacon naked), but others, like determining your goals and knowing your purpose, are more difficult. My favorite take away from the speech is Mike’s advice to start the day out right by “smiling yourself out of bed.”

The Five Powers of Leadership: As an experienced trainer in the practice of building partnerships, Malcom Chapman provided conference attendees with many useful tools – or powers – that can help anyone become a stronger leader.  Malcom expressed that if you are willing to change, then you can make it happen – a point that touched me and many other members of the audience.

Tarah says:

What goes around, comes around: I had read V.J. Smith’s book, “The Richest Man in Town,” a few years ago, but listening to him tell the story of Marty, a Walmart cashier who touched thousands of lives, still put a lump in my throat. V.J. impressed upon the crowd a few VIPs (very important points), including 1) you get what you give; 2) you don’t need money to be truly rich; and 3) never ever forget to say thank you.

Side note: If you haven’t read V.J.’s book, I highly recommend it! Aubrey even bought a copy, so if you ask nicely, maybe you can borrow hers.

I’m a Sally: Bryan Flanagan, a corporate trainer for Zig Ziglar in Dallas, took us through a series of exercises to determine our personality types (David, Irene, Sally, Charles).  While identifying a working personality is nothing new, Bryan did give practical tips for relating to other personality types – including what words and tones to use to communicate most effectively. Bryan also encouraged us to bring out other parts of our personalities in the workplace, meaning I need to work on bringing out my inner Irene.

We left Day of Excellence feeling happy and uplifted – and impressed that so many people in the Black Hills community turned out for the event. Leadership Rapid City was able to donate $44,000 to local charities, making it a truly excellent experience.

Did you attend? What was the best part of the Day for you?

Never Fry Bacon Naked….and Other Important Lessons is a post from: RSA Blog

That's right. Dinosaurs.

I’ll be driving through eastern South Dakota next week. It’s a drive I’ve made many times, though I’m usually on my way to Minneapolis. This time Sioux Falls is my destination, and I’m pumped.

I’m heading out that way to attend the OTA Sessions–an event that, if you’re a small (or large) business owner, marketer, salesperson, PR pro, or creative in the Midwest, you should not miss.

OTA is the first conference of its type in South Dakota, as far as I know. From the website:

The OTA Sessions are a chance for all of us Midwesterners to shatter the perception that creativity and thought leadership live solely on the east and west coasts. They are a chance to hear and interact with the most innovative and creative minds in the country. Most importantly, they’re a chance for YOU to be a part of something bigger than “just another conference.”

I was witness to plenty of great talent when I lived in Minnesota, and have seen plenty more since moving to South Dakota. But I’m still familiar with the perception that being “truly successful” means moving to the coast, and I think it’s a myth.

I’m excited to meet other creative professionals from the midwest, to learn from and share ideas with them. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I hope to meet you there.

–

Photo courtesy of gimpbully

Midwest Creative Professionals Unite is a post from: RSA Blog

Twitter overload...

I was reluctant – VERY reluctant – to write this post. Do we really need another post about Twitter? I’ve run across some Twitter users (for biz) lately that tells me perhaps we do. After all, some people are just now signing up, and may not have read any of the twizillion “Twitter 101″ posts available.

So… here we are. How to set up and use Twitter for business.

1. Use your real name.
When you sign up your account, include your real name. It can be your username or not, but include it in the “name” field at the least.

If you don’t want people to know who you are, social media probably isn’t for you.

2. Fill out your bio.
In general, I don’t follow people who don’t have a bio, and I’m not the only one. Why? Because the only reason I would want to follow you is because of who you are. If I don’t know who you are, I’m far less likely to follow.

Beyond just telling other people who you are, the bio can also help explain why you’re on Twitter in the first place. Many people use Twitter for business, so they naturally include their occupation and position in the bio, along with interests pertaining to their field of work.

If you don’t want people to know what you do, go ahead and skip Twitter.

3. Fill in your location.
Some people are leery of this because of privacy issues. But consider: 1) if you’re using the internet, your location is already compromised, and 2) no one really cares where you are except that it somehow relates to themselves.

In other words, the fact that I am in Rapid City, South Dakota only matters to other people in this area, and can already be found out through other means (see: Google).

The advantage of posting your location is it will be much easier to network with locals, and associates you with your region in searches. So use your city and state (not GPS coordinates, you geeks – no one knows what those mean!)

If you don’t want people to know where you are, avoid the internet. And mobile devices. And electricity.

4. Don’t protect your tweets.
This is bad enough for personal use, but for a business? You might as well not bother with Twitter.

So many people will say “no one gives a crap what you think,” and maybe there’s some truth in that, if all you are posting is a useless stream of narcissistic minutiae. But I think people are more interested in each other than we’re willing to admit, provided what you have to say is relevant to others.

Tweets I can’t see are not relevant. Part of how I decide whether or not to follow someone is by looking at what they’ve been talking about. If I can’t see that, I’m just not going to bother.

If you hop on Twitter and protect your updates, it’s like walking into a mixer and standing in a corner whispering. Are you here to network, or what?

If you don’t want people to hear what you have to say, don’t bother with the internet at all.

5. The only thing that matters about your avatar is consistency.
People will tell you to post your real picture with a smiling face, and they’re not wrong. But if you can’t bring yourself to do that (I’m working on it), then at least make sure whatever you post as your profile picture is something you want to keep there for a while.

Your profile photo should reflect your company somehow, to keep things consistent. A variation of your logo is a good choice. Just try not to change it often.

When I scan my Twitter feed (at a certain point you will have to do this), I find myself stopping at specific tweets because of the person’s avatar. Either the picture stands out, or I’ve grown accustomed to paying attention to that person’s tweets. Either way, the avatar is what keeps me from overlooking that person.

The problem is these people may change their profile photo frequently. Now I don’t recognize them, and am more likely to overlook them when scanning the feed.

If you don’t want people to know what you look like… uh… you’re probably like me.

6. Use a custom background.
The default backgrounds make me sleepy. Change it to a solid color, if you have to, but PLEASE use something custom. You can Google search for pre-made backgrounds, too, but keep in mind the background should also fit your company or brand.

Change your background under Settings, in the Design tab.

If you use the default backgrounds, you’re boring. Or lazy.

7. Engage!
Now you’re set up so people know who you are, what you do, and where you are coming from. These are all good things when you’re networking, especially for business.

Twitter isn’t a role-playing game. Be real or begone, ye foul beast!

Use Twitter search to find others like you or people having conversations about topics of interest to you. Find people to learn from. Find people to teach. Find people to laugh with, argue with, or people you can help or who can help you. Use TweetDeck, Seesmic or Hootsuite to streamline your efforts.

And have fun.

Seriously? Another “Twitter For Business” Post? is a post from: RSA Blog

Is full transparency really a good idea?

Almost every “how-to” or list of tips on using social media includes some kind of advice on being authentic or transparent. I’m not convinced we all agree on what things like transparency and authenticity mean in this context.

Transparency
No one is really serious about full transparency. Full transparency would entail communication of every detail of your life. I don’t know about you, but I’m not too keen on the idea I should tell you when I use the bathroom or what my email password is. If I update a social app with the fact that I’ve left work, I don’t think I’m obligated to tell you where I’m going. Or who I’m meeting. Or what kind of drugs I’m buying. What?

Yes, the truth is there’s stuff I don’t want you to know about. Stuff you *shouldn’t* know. Not drugs, exactly – I’ve been clean for at least a few weeks. The point is “transparency” is sort of a misnomer – no one really means it. Translucent? The reality is probably more opaque.

Authenticity
When people tell you to be authentic in social media, I don’ think they’re saying what they really mean. For example, if I was “authentic” all the time, I’d probably be a brutally critical, abrasive, elitist, condescending douche. What’s that you say? How would that be different? Oh, you wound me. I am wounded!

But you see the point, don’t you? We each have personality traits that just aren’t suitable for social settings. This is why drunk people are so annoying. Unless you’re drunk, too. But if you’re drunk on Twitter, you’ve other problems beyond the scope of this blog (and don’t be looking back through my Twitter feed, now – that was just the one time).

What We Really Mean

I think what people really mean when they say “be authentic” is “don’t be a fakey liar.” Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. I might be an abrasive ass, but I’m also a compassionate, helpful person. Which side should I show, socially? Am I being less honest by presenting the “good” side? Well, I’m probably not going to make many friends by letting my inner ass out. Wait, that came out wrong. Alright, it’s better to be nice, even if you don’t feel like it.

Be Nice
There’s truth in the saying “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Without my “inner filter,” my Twitter stream would be very different. Is this less honest or authentic? Absolutely – and that’s okay. It’s still me. All the best parts, in fact, with less of the crazy.

Be Helpful
Yet there’s more to it. It’s not just about showing the “best” side of you. It’s also about being helpful. We are social by nature, and being social means participating in community. Community is based on, among other things, the fact of mutual aid – that we’re interested and concerned in the doings of our neighbors, and have a stake – however small – in their successes and failures. Being social *is* being helpful, and it’s part of being yourself; being “authentic.”

Some of you will cry BS on that, and you’re not wrong. “Community,” per se, doesn’t have a place in business. But if you take a step back and look at the big picture, you might see that business does have a place in community.

Be You
So how do we wrap this all up in a nice little package? Well the questions is too subjective for all that. “Helpfulness” is different for everyone, as it depends on perception, reality, and a sort of social feedback loop. In my case I try to keep things lighthearted, because I think there’s not enough laughter in this business. We take ourselves too seriously.

For others it might make sense to be a bit of an egotistical elitist, because maybe that’s what inspires others in some way. Still others may remain strictly professional in manner, because that’s how they are helpful to their peers. Perhaps a combination of these and more.

So when we’re talking about social media, and we think of being “transparent” or “authentic,” it really just means “be honest, be nice, be helpful, but do it your way.” Be yourself, but be mindful of your community.

I’ve muddled through this landscape quite a ways, and I’m not sure where we ended up. Help me out in the comments.

–

Photo courtesy of Yuliya Libkina

Transparency, Authenticity, and Social Media is a post from: RSA Blog

"People are in social media to be socially active, not to be sold."

Earlier this week, I attended a Social Networking seminar at Western Dakota Tech, put on by the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce.  It was really quite interesting with approximately 85 people from local businesses in attendance.

I was particularly interested in what Adam Beshara (Marketing Specialist at Golden West Technologies) would share about Twitter and then how Realtor Lee Alley (with Prudential Kahler Realtors) would talk about Facebook for business.  Both of these presenters impressed me with their realistic take/talk about social media for business in general.  So much so, I want to share some of their key (form my perspective) points.

Twitter
Starting with Twitter, Adam introduced the social site with a pretty basic definition – perfect for the audience who was largely unfamiliar with Twitter.  He then went on to explain some of the benefits of Twitter for business and how to use it.  These are my favorite points he made:

1. Monitor Twitter for local and industry related questions.  By answering these and being involved, you not only gain followers but begin branding yourself/business as the authority on the matter – not to mention build relationships.
2. Watch your tone! “People are in social media to be socially active, not to be sold.”
3. Contests!  Hold some sort of contest or giveaway to encourage participation and gain followers.  (I really like this idea…I really like to win stuff.)
4. He then made it clear that you shouldn’t just hop on and proceed to waste your time.  He gave the following tips to help make it work (each applies to all social media platforms):
   - Define your goals.
   - Follow like-minded Tweeters.
   - Listen and learn.
   - Create effective tweets.
   - Develop unique content for your audience.
   - Grow relationships.

Facebook
Lee Alley’s got the idea right!  His use of Facebook is not overly extensive; he keeps it relevant, and he does not stretch himself thin with time spent there.  Mr. Alley also made it very clear that your #1 aim should be to be helpful.  He has a Rapid City real estate blog where he analyzes and writes about local real estate market trends – and it is not promotional.  “If I gain some friends along the way, well great,” he said.

My favorite points and quotables from his presentation are cautioning to not get caught up in the tools and buzz words of online social networking.

1. This is a good one–  “If the medium is your message, your message will be medium.”  Lee emphasized to not just get involved in Facebook because everyone’s doing it, but asked, “Do you really want to get involved in social networking?”
2. “Social networking is not all about Facebook.”  There are many other tools and platforms out there – Facebook is not the be all end all of social media.
   
3. “Do you want to have a long-term strategy to incorporate social networking into your overall marketing?”
4. “The issue [online social networking] is not Facebook.  Facebook will eventually be replaced by something else” – as will any other tool.
   

Lee did an excellent job laying out Facebook and how it can and is being used as a marketing tool, while walking through and demonstrating many different points that he’s learned along the way.

Overall, the presentations these two men gave were entirely encouraging.  People do get it, I thought to myself as I walked back to the car with a little bounce in my step.  I hope more local businesses start doing contests on Twitter. I hope I win.

Social Networking Presentation at WDT is a post from: RSA Blog

Most of us who are active in social web spaces (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc.) do it privately – that is to say, we’re engaging online with friends and family. But what if you’re doing it for a business? How should you present yourself?

It can be difficult to know where to draw the line between the personal and professional when dealing with brands, vendors, clients, customers, etc. After all, you are YOU, and though you may represent your organization, you’re still a person. And people engage with other people.

Look, I “tweet” personal stuff all the time. Granted, I’m not the principle of the organization, or even a high-level operative (so to speak). So although I do represent my company to a degree, I’m safe from being seen as “the company voice.” Not so, for others. Being seen as the representative of the organization can put you in a tight spot where the line between personal and professional gets a little blurry.

But this is why I’m always talking about strategy (for those of you I have actually spoken to). Dipping into social media just to experiment is fine – in fact, a good idea. When you start to get serious, though, you need to step back and take the strategic perspective. It’s within this view you’ll be able to answer the question “Where’s the line between personal and professional?”

Because it really comes down to how you plan to engage the social web. If your plan is to present a corporate voice maintained by multiple team members, the line is drawn well within the “professional” space. If you plan to just be You, who happens to work for Company A, the personal element should and will naturally spring to the surface.

On to The Good Stuff

Keeping in mind this all depends on your objective and strategic approach, here are some basic tips for keeping that balance between the personal and professional in any social web space.

1. Don’t over-disclose. Pretend you are talking to a customer. In other words, keep it on a professional level, even if the content is more about you, personally, than the business.

2. Careful what you say. Political/religious content can offend your customers. Unless the issue directly affects your business, pass on it (as opposed to “pass it on”). Again, pretend you’re talking to a customer in the store or on the phone.

3. Don’t get carried away. “Personal” is good in moderation, and if it’s still useful somehow. “I’m eating a turkey wrap” isn’t useful or even interesting. “This is the best turkey wrap I’ve ever had – got it from [some restaurant] in [some place] – try it out!” might be both.

4. Be prepared to engage. If you post or tweet personal content (or anything else, really), you may get replies. If you ignore or walk away from it, you’ve missed an opportunity. Once again, pretend you’re talking to customers. Expect questions, and answer them. Have conversations!

5. Don’t have conversations. Wait, what? “Kyle is contradicting himself again,” you say? Yeah, sorta. What I mean to say is don’t hold long public discussions about personal things. If you do want to have such a conversation with someone, take it to private messages, email or instant messaging. The rest of your audience will thank you.

So there are some loose guidelines for keeping that personal/professional balance. Hope this is helpful to those of you just starting out, and if I left anything out please post it below in the comments. Thanks!

Social Media: Personal or Professional? is a post from: RSA Blog

Why are any of us in business? I think that’s a question more people should ask themselves. Sometimes, I don’t know why some businesses bother to go on.

Lately service, or rather a lack of it, has really got to me. I recently ordered some replacement glass for my new house from a local (nameless) company. One of the windows was cracked when I moved in. It was delivered after two weeks which is when the trouble started. Not only was the glass too big, but I also had to pay a Glazier for a window that wasn’t fitted.

The glass company happily took the window back, admitting that it had measured it wrong (good so far). They said that they’d let me know when the new glass was ready. Fast forward six weeks; one more incorrectly measured pane of glass, and I am now fuming. For some time they weren’t even answering my calls; even the shop was closed when I went to visit. Eventually after several phone calls – and a call to the owner’s personal residence – I have a new piece of glass that is supposed to be going in this weekend (I’ll keep you posted). What really annoyed me was the lack of contact and severe delays with no explanation or apology. Rest assured I won’t be going back!

If I contrast this with another story of poor service, it illustrates how things can start out bad, but turn out for the best…

In 1998 my niece was born. She was living in Germany and I was living in England. At the time I wasn’t flush with cash, so, saving for a flight took some time. Nevertheless, I couldn’t miss an opportunity to see my sister’s first child, a beautiful baby girl. So I ended up in Dusseldorf, Germany, and spent a week there, taking pictures of my new niece and having a generally great time (I am a big beer drinker, eater of fresh pretzels, ahh… Ahem, that’s another blog).

So I got back to England and rushed the pictures to the developers – I didn’t have a digital camera at the time and in England, I used to use a well known chemist who also developed photos. Unfortunately, I did not use the 1-hour service which means that your photos stay in the store. Instead, I used the more affordable option, which took longer, but meant the photos were sent away to a processing center. The developer then lost the photos. I angrily explained the importance of these photos as they were of a newborn far away in Germany; therefore not immediately accessible for more snaps.

A week went by and I received a letter from the company’s Operations Manager, who apologized for the loss and gave me a check for £100 (about $155). While it was nice to receive a check, and also a signed letter, it did not bring my photos back. So I wrote back and enclosed the initial check, explaining that the photos were worth far more than this. A few days later, the company called me, and suggested that they pay for first class plane tickets back to Germany over Christmas for me and my family (three of us). I couldn’t believe my ears – I was ecstatic and accepted the offer – we spent a delightful Christmas and New Year in Dusseldorf.

Even after all of these years, I recall this story easily; it truly restored my faith in this company and it also demonstrated that humanity and dignity are a considerable element in quality service. It also proves a point, that while some customer experiences are negative, they can be turned into a positive if managed in the proper way.

Everyone accepts that things go wrong, we all make mistakes; doctors remove the wrong kidney; our troops are hit by “friendly fire”; it’s not intentional – it’s regrettable. I don’t for one minute believe that the harsh realities of modern warfare or mistakes in the medical profession are comparable to my customer service stories. But ultimately the most important thread in all of these analogies is how we deal with the aftermath, how we deal with difficult situations. In my view we need to embrace our mistakes; put measures into place that eliminate their reoccurrence and constantly evaluate our performance. Ultimately, a great customer experience should be at the heart of all we do. We just need to remind ourselves of that sometimes because in this day and age, customer service is a matter of survival. Customer service should never be an afterthought.

Why Good Customer Service is so Important is a post from: RSA Blog

Though people have been finding ways to market on the Internet for years, its broad marketing potential is still pretty new.

In my experience, most small business owners aren’t yet familiar with what internet marketing is and how it differs from/relates to traditional marketing media. I hope to answer some fundamental questions, or at least paint a clearer picture with this post.

Since we are talking about the world wide web, there are many advertising and marketing possibilities.  But what’s best for your business?  Well, that depends on your desired outcome (and budget). I’ll highlight three of the most common ways to market on the internet.

In addition to a company’s website, search engine marketing, social media marketing, and banner ads have proven to be highly effective in generating both web and foot traffic.  All of these are useful marketing elements that enhance a company’s internet presence to promote offline business and online sales.

1.) Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
This is largely organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization). A comprehensive SEO plan is an essential component of any online marketing strategy.

SEO is all about relevant links and content – making both people and search engines happy. When a site’s content is laid out in a way that is easy to navigate, provides valuable/relevant  information and stays up-to-date, people are happy when they land there, stay there, come back, link to it, etc.   Search engines know what makes the people happy within a site and are programmed to promote sites that people will find valuable when they search.

Every website has a ton of SEO content potential, but few small businesses take advantage of how the internet works and how people can ultimately end up on their website.  Without SEO in mind, small business websites are close to useless (as no one will find them).

SEM also encompasses PPC (pay per click) sponsored search results.

Tracey’s written previously on the value and process of SEM/SEO.  If you’re thirsty for juicier SEO details, take a look at Tracey’s Google and the Basics of Search or How to Get to the Top of Google?.

2.) Social Media Marketing (SMM)
A very hot topic, this one is kind of tricky to nail down and can be broken into multiple levels and methods.  Marketing in social spaces is not cut-and-dry; you can’t just get on and broadcast your message.

Social media is fundamentally about social people, but it can function as a marketing tool for relationship and reputation building/management – and there are many ways to go about it.

But why should you bother?

• TOMA (top of mind awareness)
• Customer service
• Brand management
• SEO
• …the list goes on.
  

The stronger a company’s online interactive presence, the stronger its relationships will be with the customer, and the more loyal the customer will be to that brand.

3.) Banner Ads

Of all internet marketing platforms, banner ads are the most similar to traditional marketing and advertising.  The concept is actually fairly simple, initially.  You pay a relevant web site owner to post your ad and hope that people will click through to the advertised website or simply show up at the store to buy the advertised product.  Banner ads can also be placed as PPC (pay per click) and incorporate geo-targeting, etc.

4.) ***Bonus: Email Marketing

I don’t really consider email as a type of internet marketing, but many marketers do and it is certainly worth mentioning.  For the most part, it seems that people are more familiar/comfortable with email marketing (because it’s not new) than with the things that I mentioned above.

Email is a great opportunity to precisely target/personalize/adjust your messages, track results, stay in touch, etc.  From newsletters and tips to promotions and coupons, email is a consistent marketing player and has a strong ROI potential.

Most of the online marketing strategies that we’ve seen to be effective include one or more of these elements.  Plus, when used in conjunction (and right) each piece will complement the efforts of the others.  And if approached properly, internet marketing can be a win-win situation for both companies and customers.

Please comment with any questions that are still unanswered!  I’d love to hear what you have to say, even if you don’t have questions (i.e. you love this post, hate it, disagree; we’re 100% on the same page; I missed something, etc).  Say hello.

Elements of Internet Marketing is a post from: RSA Blog

The RSA Interactive team recently presented, “Hands on Social Media” during the South Dakota Telecommunications Association’s (SDTA) annual meeting in Deadwood, SD.

Our focus was to demonstrate the use of various social tools and spaces – Google Reader, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and iGoogle – as well as show our audience how to integrate these social spaces and streamline their online efforts for both business and personal use. Though most of the presentation was “hands-on,” here are a few takeaways:

1. Don’t jump right to the technology; form an objective, and a strategy to achieve that objective.

2. Social web endeavors should not be message-centered, as traditional marketing is. Rather, the focus should be on the people you are talking to, and what they need.

3. There’s no right or wrong way to “use” social media, but there are consequences for certain things you might do; potentially negative consequences.

4. The future will bring an even larger, growing, more tech-savvy online audience than ever before. New technologies will launch, replacing current tech and services. Getting into it now; getting familiar with not only the tools, but the relationships and interactivity behind the tools, will aid you in moving forward and keeping on top of these changes as they happen.

Below is our accompanying deck.

Hands-on Social Media is a post from: RSA Blog