That Computer Guy

As any marketing strategy used by a small business must provide a decent return; social media with its low entry cost, has quickly become a must-have tool for marketing small businesses.

Of course, as with everything new and shiny, there is always a level of uncertainty, distrust and maybe even fear. Even though the entry cost is low to none, this uncertainty can cause the biggest barrier to its widespread use: that of putting a dollar figure on its returns. Indeed, to some it is akin to finding ‘The Holy Grail’.

Last week, my good friend Rick posted up an interview with Scott Williams, one of Australia’s top personal trainers. In it, Scott talks about how he used Facebook to generate a $40,000+ boost to his bottom line, costing him little more than an hour of his time. You can read the interview here, and once you’re done, please feel free to let me know if you still think Facebook is “just a waste of time”!

Quick update: I caught up with Rick for a chat about this and other things last night; he told me that in the 10 days since he launched his own Facebook Fan Page, the increase in his site traffic has exceeded all his expectations and he now believes it will be a cornerstone strategy in the growth of his business.

Ouch.

Much like going to the dentist, backing up your data is something you know you should do regularly, yet regularly gets forgotten.

A wiser man than I once said:

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

In today’s day and age, Ben Franklin’s statement could also include “…and losing your data”, because believe me, at some point in your computer life, be it through hardware failure, theft or “Oh shit, I hit the wrong key!” it will happen.

(I feel qualified to say this as I used to run a data backup service)

And to bring us back to the dentist analogy, when it does go wrong, you know it’s likely to cost you a small fortune (think circa $2K for a dead hard drive).

Why you shouldn’t be using a USB drive

You’ve probably discovered the idea of using a removable USB drive by now. I like them because they’re simple, and they do solve the immediate issue of duplicating your data. For my mind though, they offer a false sense of security.

Sure, you’ve got a copy of your data, but unless you are super vigilant and doing your backups every night, and then taking that USB drive somewhere away from your home or office, a fire or theft is still going to leave you back at square one.

Look Out, Here Comes A Time Saving Tip!

Here’s a much simpler idea: Online Backup. Download the client software, tell it what you want to backup and when, and you’re done. No really – that’s it; your data is automatically backed up at whatever interval you set, whilst also being offsite and far away from any localised threats you may experience.

As far as choices of online backup services go, there are many. I currently use a free service from Mozy; ideal for a single PC, it allows up to 2GB of data to be backed up (rising to US$4.95/month for unlimited data). A business oriented version called MozyPro is also available, priced from US$3.95/month; it allows you to back up multiple PC’s and servers.

If you’re looking closer to home, there is also a company called Carbonite, offering an unlimited plan for AUD$71.99/ year. If you have more than approx 3.5GB of data, Carbonite is the better value offering; they also have an offer running until the end of January: sign up for a year and get two extra months for free.

Yes, there’s a catch…

Just a quick heads-up when using an online backup service for the first time – you will need a decent internet usage plan, plus a bit of time, depending on how much data you wish to upload, for the first backup to complete.

Got a data backup service you use that you’d like to recommend? Have a data loss horror story you’d like to pass on? Tell us all about it in the comments box below.

Photo: Topato

The picture? That’s my TV remote.

What’s that got to do with anything you say? See the worn away patch? That’s the mute button. And it’s telling you that traditional methods of marketing, such as TV ads, are failing.

When I Was A Lad…

Back in the old days (y’know, like the 80’s or something), with no mobile phones and only a handful of TV channels, the way to win the race of getting to the customer was to shout the loudest. Known as “interruption marketing”, TV was the champion.

These days of course, we are bombarded with information everywhere we care to look, wander or listen.

This also means there’s been a shift in who holds the power over what we choose to pay attention to. And guess what – it’s us that are holding the power (or the mute button!).

While there are certain outlets for which the interruption method still works (yes, I’m looking at you Harvey), falling revenues, tougher competition and shorter attention spans mean that they are not as effective as they once were. The good news is that its evolution leaves us with something called “permission marketing”.

Permission Marketing? Wassat?

Based on the idea of creating a relationship with those interested in your service, via ‘opting-in’ to information you produce; it’s a boon for small business owners as it turns the ‘one-to-many’ of interruption marketing on its head, giving us a much more budget friendly ‘many-to-one’ relationship instead.

Thankfully, building that relationship is not as hard, or better still, as expensive, as it may sound. For example, email-marketing is hands down the most cost effective form of permission marketing there is, and can be had for free. Yes, FREE.

Calling All Control Freaks!

Another reason to use permission marketing is control. With many methods of permission marketing being internet based, you have the ability to change something you don’t like at your very fingertips. Try doing that with the copy you supplied Yellow Pages three months ago that has the wrong phone number on it…

And building on this, is your ability to test and measure – vital to knowing if your marketing is working. Running an ad on Google AdWords and its not working as well as you’d hoped? Well then, start tweaking! You may see results in as little as 10 minutes.

The Wrap

Permission marketing comes in many flavours, and while I am (obviously) an advocate of its methods, unless you have the type of business that can support it I wouldn’t recommend sealing the coffin on your traditional advertising just yet. Instead, for now look upon it as a secondary channel of marketing; it won’t break the bank, but you will find it earns its keep a lot quicker than other methods.

If you have any comments or questions about this topic, feel free to let me know in the box below. Alternatively, send me an email via the contact form.

Recently, Google made some hints that page load speed may start becoming a factor in search results next year – their thinking being that the quicker a site loads, the quicker the searcher finds the information they are after. And given this is what Google does, better results reflect better on them.

So following a quick review of this site in the newly released Site Performance section of Webmaster Tools and not liking what I saw:

Ouch!

So I’ve decided that it’s about time for TCG to get a bit of a site refresh. In the coming weeks, I’ll be making some changes to the site – and re-launching it on the awesome Thesis Theme from DIYThemes.

The iNove theme I have been using has served me well this past 9 months or so, but I’ve been building a few sites on Thesis of late, and all I can say is that if you are wondering whether there is a difference between free and paid Wordpress themes – the answer, when it comes to Thesis, is definitely YES!

One of Thesis’ major strengths is its impeccable coding; and having the right code in the right place in the infrastructure of your site, well, it’s like the concrete in the foundations of your new apartment building – you want it there!

(Oh, and before I crack another bad metaphor, good coding can also make your website load quicker.)

I also be launching some new services, so look out for the new site in the new year, and have a great festive season!

Image: Comedy Central

If you’re not aware of the joke around the image above, or the TV show it comes from, the character (known as Cartman), is attempting to have people respect him and his own imagined authority by abusing and screaming at them – reaching a crescendo of “You will respect my AUTHORITY!” Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t meet with much success.

The perception of authority

Unfortunately for you or I, the perception of authority is not something that can be controlled, for it is part of how others see you in your chosen field. There are things you can do however, that can influence a person’s mindset to see you as a trustworthy and authoritative figure.

Someone who has that authority with me is Brendon Sinclair of Tailored Web Services. I first met Brendon around 3 years ago, when I asked him to build the website for a new business venture I was starting up.

Impressing me with his humble nature (Ha!), the way he approached my needs, and his level of knowledge that enabled him to clearly explain the web design & marketing process, I have since happily referred a couple of people his way, safe in knowing they’d be looked after.

Why do you suppose this is?

In short, through those simple actions, he built with me that level of trust and authority that I was looking for, so much so that I still read his newsletters and blog posts today. Oh, and to say he wrote the book on running a web business isn’t untrue – he actually did.

I see naked people

One of his recent emails included a roundup of methods he’s found effective (or not so) in marketing his own business; of all Brendon’s points, the one that stuck out the most for me was this one:

Attending networking events gives some value. Giving speeches and talks generates more business than you can poke a stick at.

Why does this approach work so well?

It all comes back to that level of trust and authority. If people perceive you to have authority over a subject they will come to you first. And standing in front of a room full of people that are listening to you, and you only – well, they’re going to think you must know what you’re talking about, right?

Fortunately for those of us that are scared witless by the idea of standing up in front of a roomful of people, today’s online world allows us many ways to convey our authority of a given subject, without having to imagine everyone in front of us is naked: blogs, videos, emails, and social media such as Facebook & Twitter can all help build your profile.

Why should you use these things?

Advertising is changing; the old methods are dying (which if those furniture and electronic superstore adverts are anything to go by, is a good thing), and if you can get a head start over your competitors by using them now, your name and authority will become synonymous with your industry; much like Brendon’s name is today.

And if your name keeps popping up when a client is looking for the service you provide – who do you think they are most likely to call?

Want to grow your client base? Grow your authority!

P.S. If you are interested in imagining naked people, looking up your local Toastmasters group or chapter of BNI are great places to start.

P.P.S. On second thoughts, please don’t imagine naked people if you go there, I don’t want to be held responsible.