Comments on: SES NY: Social Media for the Little Guy

By: Marc Dula

Marc Dula — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:07:05 +0000

Ahmet, I agree with Lee. The videos don’t have to be professionally made. The “flip” video camera is a great inexpensive camera you can get a hold of. The classic example of something that’s been highly effective on Youtube is the Blendtec blenders series, and it worked because of how unique it is, not because of broadcast-quality editing.

By: Lee Odden

Lee Odden — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:00:28 +0000

Ahmet, the thing is about online video, they DON’T need to be professionally made. Many “viral” videos on YouTube for example, have been shot with a digital camera and used free or low cost editing tools. The important thing is the creativity and entertainment/information value of the video. Plus the ability to share the video with a network.

By: Ahmet

Ahmet — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:23:36 +0000

Hi, really useful post.

I am an online bullion dealer FalkosGold.co.uk trading online for 3 years now.

I am trying to grow online presence and have some great ideas for videos which can be put on Youtube etc…

The problem is that in order to promote the business, the videos need to be of high quality and professionaly made. This costs quite a bit of money to do. Do you have any suggesions?

MAny thanks

By: Marc Dula

Marc Dula — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:21:57 +0000

Wow, Jolina, I love that last statement. I’ll be using that one!

By: Jolina

Jolina — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:54:17 +0000

Agreed, Marc.

Many SMB’s aren’t sure where to start because Social Media can be daunting.

When working with clients, we recommend that they listen first, engage second. Free tools like Google Alerts are a great way to start. It’s easy and can start to give you an idea about what people are saying about your brand online.

No effective conversation starts with both people talking at the same time.

By: Sharon Wilson

Sharon Wilson — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:08:21 +0000

I never really thought of using youtube. Great recommendations.

By: Stuart Preston, Chandler/Gilbert Business Coach

Stuart Preston, Chandler/Gilbert Business Coach — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:12:47 +0000

I have recently dived into the Social Media (http://twitter.com/Stuart_Preston) and have found that it is very useful for one thing: building relationships. As a small business owner, I know that people hire ME, not my company. Sites like Facebook and Twitter help me connect with my prospects and help them get to know me.

I believe this relationship can be built w/o a conversation, per se. In reading through a profile, looking at pictures, reading recommendations, and so forth, people can get a really good feel for each other.

By: Marc Dula

Marc Dula — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:05:18 +0000

I completely agree that social is all about the conversations. I think business owners understand that they need to jump on the bandwagon of social media, but are very confused about how to proceed, especially if they’re small.

I think the best thing they can do to jump in and get a feel for how powerful it is is to task a customer service person with finding anything online related to their company and contributing to the conversation. I just had an instance come up where a client found some horrible reviews about their company online, and I had to stress that they have to respond to them. As Christina and Amber mentioned in response to the last question, people are already talking about you, and it must be viewed as an opportunity to improve your company.

-Marc @ Brand Labs