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Posts Tagged ‘Blogging’

Word of Mouth Marketing for Local Businesses

It’s very exciting that Be Visible Associates’ client Dr. Michael Sinkin was featured in print and web in the New York Daily News yesterday.

The article is about how small businesses are seeing success by using Social Media marketing. Dr. Sinkin has increased his practice by using Facebook, Twitter and Blogging. Don’t think a sole medical practitioner can use Social Media effectively? Think again!

Read the article:

Word of mouth: Scores of businesses are joining the conversation with Twitter, Facebook
Photo: NY Daily News
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Posted in Local Business, Social Media | 1 Comment »

November 2nd, 2010

Twitter is the New News

I spent the day yesterday helping my good friend Elizabeth Beskin at The Ultimate Engagement Bridal Event in Manhattan. Besides being one of the best friends a girl could have, Elizabeth is also a brilliant and inspiring business owner. She runs two flourishing photography-related companies, Fifth Avenue Digital and The Album Boutique, yet somehow, she also found time to plan, coordinate and launch (with Maya Kalman of Swank Productions) The Ultimate Engagement, too

My job was to tweet for @UltimateEngage, cover @ElizBeskin while she ran around doing her thing, and live blog for The Album Boutique. So, I got a little taste of what Elizabeth does every day: multi-tasking big time! But what really struck me is how real time online communication is changing the event world.

In the  recent past, the only way people could find out what was happening at an event they didn’t  couldn’t attend was by coverage through traditional media. Yesterday, by using Twitter and live blogging, I was able to communicate what was going on at The Ultimate Engagement in real time!

So, this morning, as I look through the Twitter hashtag feed (#UltimateEngage), I see that lots of people were following along. This one event on a rainy Sunday in NYC was actually being “attended” by hundreds, if not thousands, of people around the world!

I don’t think we have even brushed the surface of what real time communication technology can do. I am so excited to see how people use it once it becomes totally mainstream.

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Posted in Blogging, Twitter | 1 Comment »

March 15th, 2010

I Hate Writing Blog Posts!

Today is Friday March 5 and this is the first blog post I have written since December. You may be wondering, “why the long hiatus?” Is it because I’m really busy? Well, I am busy, but that’s not it. Is it because I have nothing to say? Nope! Got plenty to say.

The reason I haven’t written a blog since December is because I really hate writing blogs! I love working on marketing campaigns.. Love, love, love working on website usability, social media programs and seeing results. But I hate writing blogs.

So, instead of beating myself up about my lack of creativity and momentum, I decided just to write about what I am feeling right now. And what I’m feeling right now is: I am so grateful to have found an industry where I can use my skills and talents and where every day I get better at what I do. And that is going to translate into being good at writing blogs, too!

And…thank goodness it’s Friday! Have a Great Weekend.

Betsy

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Posted in Blogging | 1 Comment »

March 5th, 2010

Social Media Helps NYC Dentist get New Patients

How can Social Media help my business grow? This is a question I get asked a lot. And I can quote lots of examples of how businesses are successfully using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But use Social Media to grow a medical practice? That may seem a little far-fetched, right?

I have a client who is a dentist. Not only is he a great dentist, he’s also a lot of fun. His personality combined with is skill is the reason why his patients (myself included) love (and don’t dread) going to the dentist.

I helped him develop a website, and now create a blog. For many months, he asked me over and over, “I don’t understand what blogging is going to do for me”. I really felt, and so did his friends, that my dentist’s natural love of conversation and pontificating on any subject is the perfect combination of traits to make a great blogger!

So, finally, armed with a laptop, the doctor began to blog, usually on train on his way home. In the meantime, I set up a Facebook Fan Page for him and invited all his personal friends to become his fans (of course, his children were his first fans!).

The first blog was posted last week and simultaneously appeared on the doc’s Facebook Fan Page. Lo and behold! On her wall, some of his daughter’s Facebook friends saw the post and said “Hey! I didn’t know your dad is a dentist! I need a new dentist!” Guess what? New patients!

So, what’s the moral of this story?

• Blogging increases the visibility of your business, even if you are a medical professional.

• Your friends’ friends are a great source of new customers (patients).

• Social Media works!

Do you have any similar experiences you can share?

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Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Local Business, Social Media | 4 Comments »

December 3rd, 2009

What is Social Media?

I was honored to be part of a panel discussion about Social Media for the event planning industry yesterday at the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel. So many people want to know more about how to use Blogs, LinkedIn, and Twitter for business. My close friend Elizabeth Beskin and I were the presenters. Here are slides from the presentation. Video will also be available soon!
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Posted in Blogging, Social Media, Twitter | No Comments »

August 13th, 2009

Should I Start a Blog?

Question: A patient of mine who is pretty web-savvy has been repeatedly telling me I should start a blog. Should I? What would it consist of, given my profession as psychotherapist and marriage and family therapist and trauma specialist?  Dr. Barbara Nadel, D.C.S.W., Ph.D. www.drbarbaranadel.com

Your patient may be right. She could be urging you to start a blog because she believes that you have something to say that would be valuable to people. I can imagine that you could help a lot of people by sharing what you learn in your practice.

Your blog can be your place to voice opinions, give advice, answer questions, post videos, and anything else you can think of. But blogging is mostly sharing information.

Don’t know if you have anything to share? Then ask yourself a couple of questions:

1. Who is your audience? Is it your current patients, your colleagues, your friends, all of the above?

2. What are the benefits of having a blog?

There can be a lot of benefits to writing a blog, and many of them are incidental. Here are just a few:

  • Credibility: your blog gives you a platform from which to set yourself apart from others in your field.
  • Visibility: your blog can help you become more visible when people are looking for you online because search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing) love fresh content and look for websites that are regularly updated.
  • Supports Word of Mouth: For me, this is a biggie. Let’s say someone refers you to a new patient. Your blog, more than even your website, allows that prospective new patient to find out who you are before he or she calls.
  • Fun: Your blog gives you the opportunity to share your successes and tell stories that are meaningful to you. And, that’s a lot of fun! (see my post about co-writing a blog http://tinyurl.com/mdv7lr)

Once you identify who your audience is and what the purpose of your blog will be, it will be a lot easier to figure out what the content should be. Get your inspiration from reading other blogs (this is a list of blogs about psychology for you to peruse: “40 Superb Psychology Blogs” http://tinyurl.com/kmgp8u)

Plus, I recommend that you write some blog posts even before your blog is setup. Just to get a feel of it and see if blogging is something that you want to do. Then when your blog is ready (or when you are ready to publish) you will already have some content to upload. I recommend this wonderful eBook: 31 Days to a Better Blog to help you find your “blog voice”. http://www.problogger.net/31dbbb-workbook/

In Social Media, a blog is often where everything else revolves: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and many other social network channels can be set-up so that your blog posts are automatically fed into them and that people who are your followers, friends and fans, can see what you are saying.

Want to know more about blogging? Just ask me a Question!

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Posted in Blogging, Social Media | 2 Comments »

July 21st, 2009

Your Blog: Is it a Good Idea to Co-Publish it with a Colleague?

Question: I am an interior designer and I have a friend and colleague who is a real estate agent. We each would like to start a blog. Would it be effective for us to do a blog together since our two areas are related?

One of the first things to ask yourself when conceiving your blog is: “Who is my audience?” “Who is going to get benefit from the information I can share?” In this case, a combined interior design and real estate bIog may not be a very good idea. Are the people who are interested in interior design the same people as those who are interested in real estate? Not necessarily.

For instance, if your friend the real estate agent posts a blog about, say, the perils of buying a home in foreclosure, the person who is interested in buying vintage furniture for their living room will probably think “this blog doesn’t give me the info I’m looking for” and not come back.

However, that doesn’t mean that you should never co-write a blog. Many bloggers invite guest authors to post on their blogs if the content is valuable to the audience. For instance, I recently co-wrote a blog with Elizabeth Beskin of Fifth Avenue Digital. We attended the O’Reilly Twitter Boot Camp together and wrote “10 Things I Learned at Twitter Boot Camp” (see blog from June 18th) and posted it on our blogs. The subscribers to both of our blogs found the information very useful.

I recommend31 Days to Build a Better Blogwhich is a terrific e-Book published by ProBlogger.net. It will really help you identify what you bring to the table in Social Media and get you on track.

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Posted in Blogging, Social Media | No Comments »

June 26th, 2009

Getting Back to Basics: Blogging, Tweeting, etc.

If you Blog, if you use Twitter, if you use Facebook and LinkedIn, you know how easy it is to lose your direction in the maze of information coming in. And, what to say, how to add to the conversation, what’s the best way to be a part of it? If you are anything like me, you could use a few extra hours every day just to keep up!

Sometimes, we just need a reality check. I got my reality check this morning when Chris Brogan led me to an article he wrote WAY BACK in November! If I Started Today by Chris Brogan. Thank you, Chris!

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Posted in Networking, Social Media | No Comments »

April 14th, 2009

Instant Social Media Packages Now Available!

Be Visible Associates is proud to announce the introduction of our newest service:

The Instant Social Media Package

Get your business on:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Your Own Blog

and have it all work together for you!

Training included.

Call us today!

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Posted in Social Media | No Comments »

April 3rd, 2009

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