How can a company create social space for coworkers? Is it possible to create a place where employees feel as though they have a voice that will be heard?  Is it possible to cultivate an environment where frank discussions can take place without turning into total chaos? Yes.

One company that has ventured out in internal social networking waters is Bestbuy.  Bestbuy has an internal website where employees can login and talk about things that make work better or worse.  It’s called BlueNation.  The success of BlueNation is that it is supported by senior management and provides space for voices of the 1000s of BestBuy employees across the country.  BestBuy understands that people want to feel connected to the success of something larger than themselves.

Is it possible for a small business with less than 50 employees to have the same kind of web 2.0 internal communications without spending $250,000? Yes, the tools are emerging! Yammer is a tool that is available for as little as $5 per month per user.  Here are a few screen shots to give you an idea of what Yammer can do to improve your company’s communication, interaction, and efficiency.

Social Community for Business

Yammer is a simple way for employees to connect and share by posting messages. As employee participation grows, Yammer becomes a corporate social network, discussion board, and knowledge base all rolled into one easy-to-use interface.

Create and Organizational Chart

Social Community for Businesses Yammer

Organizational Chart

Social Community for Small Businesses

Create Discussion Boards

Social Community for Small Businesses

Expandable Applications

Social Community for Small Businesses

For more information on Yammer visit their website for free download

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Despite the controversy surrounding Craigslist sections called “Casual Encounters” and “Erotic Services,” the fact remains that Craigslist is a peer to peer community driven web portal.  Created in 1995 by founder Craig Newmark, Craigslist has more than 20 billion page views per month and projected revenue of $100 million this year.

I think it is ironic that the Business (for sale) category is less than one inch to the right from the Casual Encounters category.  Craigslist defies all the rules of ecommerce when it comes to website design:  no banner ads; no Google Ad Sense; no big banana buttons that scream, click here.  So why is it so successful? I believe one of the central reasons for its success is the constantly updated content created by Craigslist users.

Automotive, Jobs and Real Estate are some of the top categories with large volumes of inventory.  As a Tallahassee small business digital media consultant, I have worked with automotive and real estate companies who have listed inventory and/or properties on Tallahassee Craigslist.  One of my clients who owns several rental properties has leased a property in less than one hour on Craigslist.  Another client lists their automotive inventory priced below $12,000, and receives multiple calls per day.

Similar to its cousin Ebay, the success in listing on Craigslist is photos, descriptions and multiple points of contact.  I have seen listing after listing with no pictures, poor descriptions and no phone or email listed.  Putting a link to your business website or blog is another “best practice” and allows for good web traffic tracking through tools like Google Analytics.

Tallahassee businesses posting job listings are reporting over 300 to 500 responses per listing! If you are looking to hire and are looking for a low cost alternative, Craigslist is a great resource.  Taking the time to write a good job listing, including detailed job description, educational requirements and skills needed will help reduce the number of unqualified applicants.

If you haven’t started listing your products or services on Craigslist, your competitor probably has.  One tool for monitoring Craigslist is CL Desktop.  CL Desktop is an application built on Adobe AIR.  This tool is a very well designed tool for searching and tracking listings by topic.  CL Desktop is a free application to download from Adobe AIR Marketplace.

Craigslist Social Media Monitoring Tool

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“Confidential Shredding & Recycling, Inc. is the premier mobile document shredding service which values client’s privacy and time.  Our mobile unit is equipped with a hydraulic lift system, which instantly feeds your confidential materials directly into the shredder.  With this state of the art equipment, our bonded professionals are able to shred your sensitive materials, hands free.  The shredding process may be viewed on our security surveillance camera system.  Clients’ are then provided with a Certificate of Destruction.” csrshredding.com

CSR gets it. Do a Google search for Confidential Shredding & Recycling in Tallahassee and you will find many reasons why they are deservedly the winner.  Take one look at their digital footprint and the evidence is clear: Social Media is an essential component of their marketing strategy.

Winner Small Business of the Year 1-4 Employees:

Website: Confidential Shredding & Recycling, Inc.

Facebook Fan Page for Confidential Shredding & Recycling

Twitter: http://twitter.com/CSRShredding

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/confidentialshredding

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/confidentialshredding

Trusteria.com: http://www.trusteria.com/csrshredding/contact

Blogger: http://csrshredding.blogspot.com

What makes CSR a winner in my book is not just the fact that they have tackled Social Media head on, but that they are very involved in the Tallahassee community.  Within the same Google search, one can see CSR’s involvement with the Tallahassee Red Cross, Keep Tallahassee Leon County Beautiful and the Children’s Home Society.

Congratulations Confidential Shredding & Recycling! I am a big fan and a follower.

Best wishes and prosperity to you and your staff!

#1 Tallahassee Small Business Leveraging Social Media

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The debate is whether these sites are just a trend or are they new channels of communicating in a modern digital era.  Regardless where a business stands on the social media platform, the answer is that millions of new users are exploring these sites every month.  Social media users are not just teens, college students or businesses either.  It’s everyone from every demographic.

With the growing number of newcomers to the digital communities, the world has become a more connected planet.  The once essential long distance phone plan barrier has been removed and replaced with open lines of communication.

With keyword search capabilities built within Twitter, it is very easy to jump into the specific conversation topic you are most interested in.  Rather than having to search Google page after page looking for websites for information, keywords are now delivered straight to your desktop: Getting in on the latest trends and updates has never been easier.

If it is so easy to gain access to this information, why are some business locking the doors to these social media channels?  Just because people spend personal time on the phone, do you take the company phones off the hook?  Just because employees send personal emails from work, do you turn off the email servers?  Just because staff members often hang out in employee offices for long periods of time, does that mean you lock all the doors until 5pm everyday?

No.  In each given situation, a progressive company views each channel of communication as a way for people to connect with the business or organization.  A proactive company will develop a strategy of how to best use each channel and provide training for maximizing each channel.  Whether it is direct policy or an outline of best practices, the best use of communication tools should be developed and optimized.

If you have locked Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace out, who else have you locked out of being able to interact with your company or products?  One huge benefit of social media sites is the fact that they are open 24/7.  Leveraging social media can allow your clients and/or prospects to weave in and out of the purchase or service life cycle.  Just because the front doors are closed after 5pm, doesn’t mean the customer has to come back later.  In fact, they might just go down the street, or in the digital world just click to the next tweet if you keep them out!

What is your Social Media Strategy?

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This week I was enjoying a cup of coffee when I noticed four people on the other side of the café huddled over their laptops.  One of the four was showing the other how to navigate through various areas on a website.  Just as I was about to leave, I asked the young lady being tutored what she was learning.  She explained that her company, Catch Your Limit Consulting, had a very strong belief in mentoring.  It was quite obvious that she was excited and passionate about the opportunity to learn in this mentoring business philosophy.

Mentoring traces its roots back to Greek mythology.

“Mentor (Greek: Μέντωρ / Méntōr; gen.: Μέντορος)^[1] was the son of Alcumus and, in his old age, a friend of Odysseus. When Odysseus left for the Trojan War he placed Mentor in charge of his son, Telemachus, and of his palace. When Athena visited Telemachus she took the disguise of Mentor to hide herself from the suitors of Telemachus’ mother Penelope.^[2] As Mentor, the goddess encourages Telemachus to stand up against the suitors and to go abroad in order to find out what happened to his father.  When Odysseus returns to Ithaca, Athena (in the form of Mentor) takes the form of a swallow and the suitors’ arrows have no effect on him.” Wikipedia

Regardless of Athena’s intentions in taking form of the elderly man “Mentor,” something noble happens when someone assumes the role of teacher.  As a mentor, Athena empowered Telemachus to move forward with self confidence and determination.  Telemachus benefited greatly by the advice and wisdom passed on by his mentor.

Throughout my life, in every area, I have had a mentor to show me the way.  There is no better time than the present to partner and collaborate with someone who has already walked the path you are traveling.  I am inspired as I look into the future that I might once again find myself walking step by step with someone I admire.

I applaud “Catch Your Limit.” You can be sure that they are not just another consulting business that will come and go with the tide.  Their core business commitment to mentoring will surely prove to be a solid foundation.  Visiting their website, you can believe it when they say they can help your company build leaders.  It’s not just a fish tail.

Thank you Catch Your Limit Consulting for continuing the ancient tradition of mentorship!

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Seth Godin – The Tribes We Lead

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Then they moved.  Often when businesses move, the cost of upgrading and the move is beyond the scope of the budget.  Not only did my orthodontist complete the upgrade to the building, but careful detail was taken into consideration in the service experience.  Dr. Stevens must view his clinic’s service as a brand in and of itself.  If my middle school daughter is willing to risk fashion ridicule by wearing her Stevens Orthodontist t-shirt to school, then Dr. Stevens has successfully created experience as a brand. Watch out Holister, Abercrombie, and Guy Harvey, DoctorSO is crashing the fashion party!

When I go to Stevens Orthodontics, I know that I have a fresh ground cappuccino waiting. If my youngest has to go with me to wait on her big sister, she will be completely entertained by a beautiful beach mural, or the plasma TV mounted at kid eye level, or the huge aquarium filled with colorful, exotic fish.  If one of the little ones gets hungry, there is a mini fridge loaded with juices, fresh baked cookies on the counter.  Dr. Stevens has successfully taken his orthodontics clinic to the next level.

You see, Dr. Stevens gets it.  It is about the experience.  It’s not just about the patient experiencing a positive and professional level of service, but it’s also about the experience of those who are waiting, enjoying the atmosphere and amenities.

How many times have you visited a place of business and experienced a less than satisfactory visit?  There’s nothing more frustrating than going to buy your favorite item or product and having a blah blah blah experience.  How many blasé experiences will it take before your favorite is no longer your favorite?

If you are a local business and you’ve spent a lot of time and energy building a great physical store, you can’t neglect the digital landscape either.  Dr. Stevens understands that a comprehensive business will have a deep digital footprint, as well as a solid concrete foundation. Well done doctor!

Dr. Stevens has his blog at http://drlucasstevens.blogspot.com/

Dr. Stevens MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/drlucasstevens

Stevens Orthodontics primary website at: http://www.stevensorthodontics.com/

Ps.  Don’t forget to brush!

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Brilliant movie!  The story is heartbreaking and inspiring.  I connected with the character Steve Lopez more than I would like to admit.  The bar scene between Mary and Steve hit very close to home!

The real life story commentary by CBS – 60 Minutes : How Mr. Ayers and Mr. Lopez Became Friends

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