Think Local Market has announced that they will be holding a new session of their popular “Byte Sized” seminars in McLennan, Alberta on January 31st and February 1st.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) - Jan 24, 2012 – Think Local Market – an Alberta online store where northwestern Alberta businesses showcase and sell their products and services locally and around the world – has announced that it will repeat its popular “Byte Sized” seminars on Internet marketing on January 31st and February 1st. The sessions will once again be led by Calgary entrepreneur, web designer, and online marketing expert David West, and are available for immediate registration at: http://svy.mk/thinklocallab

According to Think Local Market Project Manager Brad Rabiey, the decision to have David West back as the featured speaker and presenter was an easy one. “The response we got from our attendees about the November sessions has been overwhelmingly positive. People really seem to appreciate getting practical advice on things like social media, and finding customers over the Internet, and they also like that David gives it in a fun and easy style.”

He also adds that the upcoming sessions will be structured differently than they have before: “Instead of working in half or full-day sessions, we have decided to break things into one hour, forty-five minute blocks this time. That way, attendees can choose the exact programs they want to hear, and can stay for more advanced sessions if they choose to. ”

West, who has previously spoken for companies, business associations, and even government audiences throughout Alberta, says that the Think Local Market events are amongst his favorite. “There’s nothing quite like getting to work with these types of audiences, hearing their questions, and seeing how the information we give can help them to grow their businesses. Whether you have one employee or hundreds, taking advantage of opportunities on the Internet is usually one of the fastest ways to become more profitable.”

Attendees to the event will have the option of attending a number of sessions, ranging from basic web design and online marketing tips, to advanced presentations that build upon earlier lessons. Topics to be covered in these “Byte Sized” seminars include:

Search Engine Optimization Basics: Reaching the First Page of Google and Beyond

As the world’s leading search engine, Google registers more than 2 billion hits on a daily basis. That already makes it – along with the other major search engines – a marketing tool with nearly unmatched power. With the recent growth of local searches, it’s becoming even more important, whether your potential customers are just down the street, or halfway across the globe.

Social Media Marketing: From Facebook to Twitter and Other Social Sites

There are tens of thousands of business owners and managers throughout Alberta who have found that they greatly enjoy using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, but have no idea how to use them as marketing tools. As more and more business – both online and off – is driven by personal relationships and recommendations, it’s important that every company know how to take advantage of social sites as part of their overall strategy.

Using YouTube and Video Marketing to Get New Customers to Tune in

Because of the extraordinarily high volume of traffic it receives, and the fact that the site plays more than 1 billion clips each and every day, YouTube is sometimes referred to as “the world’s second-largest search engine.” While that’s not its biggest role, technically speaking, it can help Alberta businesses to find more customers if they know how to use the site as a marketing medium.

Blogging as a Bottom Line Business Tool

Even though there are literally millions of blogs in existence, many business owners and managers discount their value as marketing and promotional tools. Few online marketing avenues require so little in terms of investment, and offer so much in customer retention, market positioning, and search engine benefits as business blogs do… but only if you know how to put them to their best uses.

Registration Now Open

Due to high demand for the sessions, talks have already started to bring David back again later in 2012. Business owners, managers, and their employees who are interested in attending the January 31 sessions should register online at http://svy.mk/thinklocallab, or visit http://bit.ly/yLoDHA for more information.

Public Seminar Series in Calgary

Continuus has also updated it’s public seminar series and registration is now open to the public for 11 Byte Sized Seminars in Calgary, Alberta. Visit the public registration site here – http://bit.ly/continuuspc

For more information, including interview and photo requests, contact David West at Continuus Internet Consulting

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As we have written in the past, the sheer amount of work involved in Internet marketing – and especially social media – makes it nearly impossible for business owners and marketing managers to handle on their own. But, since so much of social networking involves personal communication, we are often asked which parts of your social media strategy you can safely outsource to others.

The quick answer is “anything you don’t have time to manage yourself.” Typically, that involves things like writing posts and updates, researching keywords and links, and responding to routine inquiries from clients and colleagues. In truth, you can probably outsource as much or as little of your social media marketing campaign as you would like, so long as you keep these three rules in
mind:

It’s still about your voice and brand. Although another person may be writing your posts or looking after your updates, they should be familiar enough with you and your organization to stick to a theme and voice that is similar to the one you would use. In other words, they should be working under your direction, not simply generating content.

You should still be involved. In addition to helping your social media consultant or community manager to come up with topics and ideas, you may want to step in and personally post updates and tweets from time to time. That will help your social media marketing be more authentic, and also keep you in closer touch with your customers.

Make it clear that you’re getting help. There’s no reason to shy away from the fact that you have others involved in your social media marketing accounts. That’s especially true in this day and age, where your customers and colleagues are going to expect that you have a team working for you. Be upfront about these relationships. In our organization, we designate our tweets with initials, for example, so it’s easy to tell who is posting a particular comment or responding to a question.

Social media marketing can be easy or difficult, highly effective or a waste of time, depending on what sort of professional help you have on your side. Keep these tips in mind and outsource the parts of your social networking plan that you would rather not handle or don’t have time for.

Do you need a professional online marketing and social media team on your side? Contact us today for a free meeting.

In keeping up on the local Calgary online marketing community, we’ve noticed an interesting trend: Roughly once every three days, a new job listing is posted by a major Alberta employer for a professional who can help them to manage their social media marketing.

What do they know that you might not? What can a social media consultant do for you?

Also referred to as a “community manager,” a full- or part-time social media consultant can help you grow your business online in a number of ways. Here are just a few of the most important ones:

Social media marketing content creation. Most managers and business owners don’t enjoy writing things like posts. Having someone else handle it for you can save a lot of time and take a great deal of stress out of the process.

Respond to inquiries and requests. From colleagues wanting to link with you to customers tweeting questions about your products, a social media marketing consultant can ensure that inquiries are answered quickly and completely.

Issue press releases and other statements. Are your customers getting the good news about your products, awards, and testimonials? If not, then it might be time to make sure that someone else is staying on top of these activities.

Looking after your online reputation. Internet reputation management is a quickly growing field, and there’s a great reason for it: What your customers are saying about you on sites like Facebook and Twitter – whether it’s good or bad – can have an enormous impact on your ability to increase your sales online. A community manager can keep an eye out for feedback to see what kinds of impressions are being shared, and make sure they’re accurate.

New positions for social media marketing are popping up all the time, because social networking sites have turned into big business. Who’s looking out for you and your company?

If you’re looking for a social media consultant you can trust, or a speaker who can explain the process of finding customers over Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to your audience, then don’t hesitate to contact us today.