Here’s a link to the Twitter activity during my panel discussion: http://twitter.com/#search?q=londonink%20growsmartbiz
And here’s an archive of the live feed of the panel discussion:
http://growsmartbusiness.com/small-business-news/2009/09/growsmartbiz-video-panel-1-driving-small-business-performance-w-marketing-and-innovation/
Enjoy!
There are still some tickets available to hear Wired mag’s Chris Anderson, Sen. Mark Warner (& yours truly) next week…at the big GrowSmartBiz conference in Washington, DC on 9/29.
Based on the preparations for the event, including the conference calls to prep for our panel discussion on small business marketing and innovation, I can tell this is going to be a top flight event with practical tips and tools for business owners and others.
To register at the special rate of $99, please go to http://bit.ly/hK1IC and register using the code ‘GSBReader’.
Hope to see you there!
The GrowSmartBiz conference on 9/29 just keeps getting better. Virginia Senator Mark Warner just announced as special keynote. Warner, Wired’s Chris Anderson, Bob London. What more could you want?
Click on http://bit.ly/z4If4 to register now.
Virginia Senator Mark R. Warner Will Speak at the GrowSmartBiz Conference
Network Solutions® is pleased to announce Virginia Senator Mark R. Warner as the special keynote for the GrowSmartBiz Conference.
Senator Warner was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2008, and serves on the Senate’s Banking, Budget, Commerce and Rules committees. He served as Governor of Virginia from 2002-2006 after spending 20 years as a business leader in the high-tech industry. He also is the co-founder of telecommunications firm Nextel Communications, now known as Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S).
“Senator Warner has been a well-known leader in the high-tech industry for more than 20 years,” said Melina Formisano, vice president of marketing at Network Solutions. “He will provide GrowSmartBiz Conference attendees with a unique perspective due to his vast experiences.”
Just a reminder about what promises to be an educational and fun event (where I happen to be speaking!) on August 5th. The event is part of the Unintentional Entrepreneur program which was conceived and is being underwritten by Network Solutions and Outright.com–two companies at the forefront of helping entrepreneurs and small/growing businesses–and is being held at the Johns Hopkins University–Montgomery County Campus.
I have the honor of joining another speaker, Shashi Bellamkonda, who is an expert on helping entrepreneurs and small businesses use technology for marketing, communications and overall productivity. Shashi was also recently named to Washingtonian Magazine’s list of Top 100 Tech Titans (http://www.washingtonian.com/print/articles/6/173/12164.html) and is a popular speaker on the tech/marketing/small biz circuit nationwide.
Please check out the Unintentional Entrepreneur site and register for the event at http://uedc.eventbrite.com. Remember it’s on August 5th and space is limited! Hope to see you there.
Later this week, I’m reprising my highly rated (by the audience) presentation, originally given at this summer’s National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) Strategic Growth conference.
The topic is social marketing but not from a “slam dunk,” “gotta have it,” “full speed ahead, damn the business case,” perspective. Rather the presentation examines whether there is any “there” there yet regarding revenue (specifically for credit unions, member acquisition, retention and non-account revenue).
Here’s the abstract from the NAFCU Annual Conference site, and I will post the presentation on SlideShare in the next couple weeks.
Social Marketing is Free so it Must be Worthwhile… Right? Well maybe, but BEWARE— don’t be drawn in by the ‘coolness’ of using Facebook, Twitter and interactive applications to market your credit union without some investigation. Before you launch a social media campaign that you’re sure will “go viral,” don’t forget these three simple letters: R.O.I. Even though setting up a Facebook or Twitter account, or even a blog, is free, there are hidden costs in terms of time, resources and budget. This presentation will explore how credit unions and other organizations are using social media and other Web 2.0 tools and to what degree they are successful.
Presented by Bob London, President and Founder of London, Ink, LLC
See NAFCU Conference site at bit.ly/fdMyl
Great info from destinationCRM.com and supports why companies should consider solutions like e.SSENTIALS from London, Ink, a fixed-price bundle of online/social marketing programs. See e.ssentials.net for more info.
Given the state of the economy, Lamba writes that social networking is a relatively low cost solution that could help in fostering, “steady communication with existing partners, and clients as well as incubating new relationships” — a function both desired by consumers networking with friends and with employees in the workplace. The aforementioned IDC social networking survey, in fact, indicates that the majority of social networking users list communication as their number one reason for usage of such sites.
http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=51944
The Six ‘C’s of Social Influence Marketing
http://chiefmarketer.com/cm_report/social_influenc…
Social networking has opened up new formats brands to engage with consumers. Marketers are experimenting widely as they get better attuned to consumers’ opinions of their efforts. Click here to learn what Dave Friedman says are the six ‘C’s of social influence marketing. http://chiefmarketer.com/cm_report/social_influence_marketing_0421/
And now in an ill-conceived attempt to develop a corollary to the famous 4-P’s of marketing, Chief Marketer magazine introduces “The Six C’s of Social Influence Marketing.”
It is always amazes me when hard and fast rules or guidelines like these all happen to start with the same letter. I can just imagine the editorial meeting at Chief Marketer:
Person 1: “We must have at least 3 C’s, but 6 is too many.”
Person 2: “But what if the 6th C is the most impactful one?”
Person 3: “Then we should make the 6th C the first one and drop the 5th C.”
2: “But I really, really like the 5th C.”
3: “We can’t let personal feelings interfere. You have to remember, A-F-O-T-R.”
2: “What’s that stand for again?”
3: “Always Focus On The Reader.”
1: “Um…we’re going to be here for awhile–can someone go on a Starbucks run?”
2: “Ooh, have you seen the design on their new cups? The logo’s all brown. They always have such dreamy branding. (Sigh…)”
3: “Then maybe you should go back to being a barista.”
Bob London is president of London, Ink, a Maryland-based marketing and communications consulting firm, and serves as a Virtual VP of Marketing for growth stage companies that need an injection of marketing experience and leadership to drive key initiatives and results.
