Learn How Your Small Business Can Sell To the Government

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMay 31, 2013 Blog government contracting, naics, sba, selling to the government, size standard tool

I’ve written a few blogs on becoming an 8(a) certified small business so we can compete in the government’s marketplace. Just recently the Small Business Administration (SBA) shared a video on how small business owners can learn how to sell their products or services to the federal government.

The SBA has a Size Standards Tool (http://sba.gov/size-standard-tool)you can use to determine if you qualify as a small business. Before you use the tool, you may want to find the NAICS codes that apply to your area of expertise and business profession. NAICS means, North American Industry Classification System, which is the standard used by Federal statistics agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing and publishing statistical data related to the US business economy. http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/index.html

A couple of other links mentioned in the video to assist small businesses are:

http://sam.gov (System for Award Management)

http://sba.gov/contracting

http://sba.gov/gcclassroom

However, one of the major themes that run through our experiences is networking. Just as any organization, the federal government is a group of people. As the saying goes, “People do business with people,” not with a business. So, make the calls, forge the relationships and work them.

You don’t have to be a large company to sell your products and services to the federal government. You just need to learn how and get to know the right people.

Hey That’s Mine! What About My Content Copyrights?

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMay 29, 2013 Blog content copyright, copyright law, copyrights, hubspot

As I am beginning to blog more often, I’ve wondered about the content I share and whether or not it’s copywritten. Isn’t it funny how you think of something, or you may have been talking to someone about a particular subject, and at that very moment… Bam! a piece of information lands before you? Well, that happened to me while I was searching for information on a particular subject.

I came across a slideshow presentation prepared by Hubspot entitled, “Are People Stealing Your Content? How (and When) to Fight Back.” This is a very informative presentation and answered my question – is my content copywritten? – Yes, as they indicate in one of their slides – my blogs are covered under the Copyright Law.
If you are starting to blog, you should take time to read through Hubspot’s presentation. It will give you a better understanding of how to handle “content thieves” should your content be “stolen” and used.

Are People Stealing Your Content? How (and When) to Fight Back from HubSpot All-in-one Marketing Software

What is Public Relations?

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMay 27, 2013 Blog pr, prsa, public relations 2 Comments

Glad you asked that question! As an accredited member (thus the APR after my name) of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), I am often prompted to come up with a simple answer. People are generally unclear, and the lines between marketing and public relations are often blurred.

To help my readers understand what we do at Visibility Marketing Inc., I will share it in our upcoming weekly series on public relations.

The following information is an excerpt from PRSA’s national website (http://www.prsa.org):

PRSA’s Widely Accepted Definition of Public Relations

The formal practice of what is now commonly referred to as “public relations” dates to the early 20th century. The earliest definitions emphasized press agentry and publicity, while more modern definitions incorporate the concepts of “engagement” and “relationship building.”

In 2011/12, PRSA led an international effort to modernize the definition of public relations and replace a definition adopted in 1982 by the PRSA National Assembly. PRSA initiated a crowdsourcing campaign and public vote that produced the following definition:

“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

As a management function, public relations also encompasses the following:

Anticipating, analyzing and interpreting public opinion, attitudes and issues that might impact the operations and plans of the organization.
Counseling management at all levels in the organization with regard to policy decisions, courses of action and communication, taking into account their public ramifications and the organization’s social or citizenship responsibilities.
Researching, conducting and evaluating, on a continuing basis, programs of action and communication to achieve the informed public understanding necessary to the success of an organization’s aims. These may include marketing; financial; fund raising; employee, community or government relations; and other programs.
Planning and implementing the organization’s efforts to influence or change public policy. Setting objectives, planning, budgeting, recruiting and training staff, developing facilities — in short, managing the resources needed to perform all of the above.

We hope this answers the simple question of, “What is public relations.” In the following weeks, we’ll discuss the process a little more. That’s the fun part.

Shark Tank’s Daymond John on Lessons from His Worst Mistakes

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMay 24, 2013 Blog businessman, daymond john, fubu, shark tank

Daymond John is the founder of fashion brand FUBU (For Us By Us) and an investor on the reality television show Shark Tank. He sits down with “Behind the Brand” host Bryan Elliott to discuss his background and business philosophy.

I met John when he came to Cleveland last year for an event sponsored by our local business chamber of commerce. John is a very positive, engaging and inspiring businessman.

When you get a chance, watch the video and let me know what you think.

http://youtu.be/2ST6cnXgQhM

Six Free Tools to Help Measure Your Social Media Activities

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMay 22, 2013 Blog backtweet, facebook, facebook insights, icerocket, klout, pinpuff, pinterest, twitter

Some of my clients are small businesses. Does this mean they should not participate in social media? Does it mean that return on investment (ROI) doesn’t matter? Of course not. I hear it all the time… “It’s not in my budget. My budget won’t allow that expenditure.” If you want to measure your social media ROI, there are many tools you can use.

Some typical products used for Facebook, Twitter, blogs and websites are:

BackTweets.com: BackTweets is a Twitter time machine which enables you to search through a tweet history for tweets that link back to your site. It doesn’t matter if the sharer tweeted your domain name or it was hidden in a tiny URL, BackTweets will be able to find it. This can come in handy when searching for people who love your product/service or who are out there complaining about it – you can immediately address those issues.
Facebook Insights: Facebook Insights provides Facebook Page owners with metrics around their content. By understanding and analyzing trends within user growth and demographics, content consumption, and content creation, page owners are better equipped to improve their business and create better Facebook experiences. Only page administrators can view Insights data for the business pages they own or administer.
Icerocket.com: Icerocket works like a typical search engine – except it searches on Facebook, Twitter and blogging systems.
Klout.com: Klout for Business is a set of tools designed to help you unlock the reach and power of your most influential audience members. By joining Klout, you will have access to free cross-network statistics, tracking and measuring your audience’s influence, and discovering moments and topics that matter most to your social media audience.
Pinpuff.com : On Pinpuff you can measure “Pinfluence,” your popularity, influence and reach on Pinterest. It also decides monetary value of your pins and the traffic your pins generate. It’s similar to Klout and offers perks for popularity.
Pinterest Web Analytics: Pinterest helps people collect and organize the things they love. It allows you to see what people are pinning from your website.

I haven’t used Pinterest yet, but I hear a lot of great stories about it. I think I will make that one of my work-weekend activities – to think of things I may want to “pin,” join Pinterest and start pinning.

What about you? Are you on Pinterest? Let me know so I can see what you’re pinning!

Project Work Plans – How to Make Them Work

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMay 20, 2013 Blog business plan, communications plan, IT plan, marketing plan, public relations plan, work plan

I have been working with my web developer for several years. One of the things she did for us was to develop a project work plan. After carving out and documenting what services we needed, she then took the contract and turned it into a project work plan.

It’s important to have a plan. There are all types: public relations plan, business plan, marketing plan, communications plan, IT plan…You name it. The most important thing is to have a plan, and try to stick to it. A plan is like a map on your GPS system. It leads and guides you to your destination. Sometimes you may get off course, but you can always get back on course.

Some basic elements of a project work plan are:

~Dates: When an item is scheduled to begin, how long it may take, when it should be completed

~Task: What is to be done. This should be as comprehensive as possible

~Responsibility: Who is responsible for completing a particular task? Who will sign off?

You may add other elements as needed. For example, some plans include budgets.

Remember, the work plan is not meant to be a static document. It can be revised as needed. As you move along with the project, you may see other tasks that should be added or deleted. It may take a particular task longer or shorter to complete, thereby changing the due dates.

The project work plan, like any plan, is meant to assist and guide all parties in completing the project. No project is meant to go on forever. If there is no project work plan, you run the risk of never completing it.

With many people handling many responsibilities at once, project work plans are a good tool to stay focused, on task and ready to check the “project completed” box.

Did You Know Mister Rogers Also Taught Business?

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMay 15, 2013 Blog business impressions, good business, mister rogers

I was reading a blog by Peg Fitzpatrick, “12 incredibly inspiring quotes from Mister Rogers.” All of a sudden, I could hear him singing:

It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor,
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?

It’s a neighborly day in this beautywood,
A neighborly day for a beauty,
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?

I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you,
I’ve always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you.

So let’s make the most of this beautiful day,
Since we’re together, we might as well say,
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won’t you be my neighbor?

Won’t you please,
Won’t you please,
Please won’t you be my neighbor?

If you go back and look at some of his shows, not only was he teaching the children how to be good neighbors and stewards, he was also teaching them how they should conduct themselves as business professionals.

Fitzpatrick reminded me of several quotes from Mister Rogers that resonate as a business owner:

Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.

Has there ever been a time when your focus has been on one thing and then you think of something else – but because you started on the first thing, you don’t want to move on to the next thing? Well… you may need to stop what you’re doing and start the next thing – that next thing might be the key to whatever you are trying to achieve.

There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.

No matter how hard or difficult it is to transact business – always be kind. Never let the other side see your frustration or anger. It’s difficult to hold it – but it will be worth it in the long run.

Try your best to make goodness attractive. That’s one of the toughest assignments you’ll ever be given.

Goodness, always show the goodness in yourself to others. First impressions are lasting ones. The goodness you show now will definitely be worth it in the end.

As she asked at the end of her blog – what lessons did you learn from Mister Rogers that you live by today?

Please let us know what you think.

LinkedIn Endorsements: Another Form of Poking

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMay 10, 2013 Blog endorsements, linkedin, references

A few months ago, I began to get emails from LinkedIn that said, “Such-and-such has endorsed you.” I thought, “What is this? What does such-and-such know about our business. I guess I must be doing something right.”

Well, back in September 2012, LinkedIn announced a new profile feature called “Endorsements” which allows co-workers, clients, business associates, etc., with the ability to recognize an individual’s skills and expertise.

How does it work? By visiting a connection’s profile, you are presented with an Endorsement box. In the box you will see skill sets the connection has placed in their profile. If there is a skill set for which you would like to endorse them – and it is not there – you can add the skills or expertise. However the connection must approve these before they will go LIVE and appear under their endorsement area.

So how reliable are these endorsements? Over time, I have had to opportunity to sit back and peruse various profiles of people I know both personally and professionally. At first, I saw endorsements that I believed. I knew that the connection had those skills. I either know them from working with them directly or I know someone who has. However, as the feature has grown in popularity, I have started to notice it has turned into a form of “poking” someone so that the other person will endorse them. Poking is a feature on Facebook that was designed to nudge another person or to attract attention to a friend. It seemed fun at first, but then people started to get angry and wondered why that feature was even there – “it’s annoying” most people have said. And… Facebook has now removed the featured and most people haven’t even noticed it.

People are starting to loosely endorse connections . They may not necessarily know their skill sets. They want endorsements.

The bottom line: Know who is endorsing you and know who and why you are endorsing a connection. You want your relationships on LinkedIn to be authentic.

Introducing LinkedIn Endorsements from LinkedIn

Updated FTC Guidelines for Disclosures

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMay 8, 2013 Blog digital advertising, ftc, marketing, promotional activities

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has updated their guidelines for disclosure in online advertising which prohibits unfair and/or deceptive acts and practices. It covers advertising claims, marketing, and promotional activities.

Entitled “.com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising,” the free document can be downloaded from here.

The guidelines provide information that businesses should use when developing ads for online media to ensure they are in compliance with the new law. Particular attention should be focused on the “proximity and placement” area of the rules, as well as “hyperlinking” the advertisement or endorsements.

Disclosure statements should be noticeable to all consumers. They should be sized, colored and include graphics when and where applicable.

Also included in the updated rules – use in advertising, endorsements, etc., when using space-constrained areas and social media platforms (i.e., Twitter’s 140character limit). If you share reviews on products and point a link to a particular product or service you are endorsing, you must follow these new rules.

If you are unsure how this affects your business and/or blogging activities, the guidelines provide 22 examples to assist you.

Click here for your guidelines and don’t get caught without them.

http://ftc.gov/os/2013/03/130312dotcomdisclosures.pdf

Webinars: Another Great Way to Brand Yourself

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMay 6, 2013 Blog teleconference, web conference, webinar

Companies, especially small businesses, are always looking for ways to set themselves apart from the pack.

A webinar or web conference is a good way to offer a service. Webinars or “web seminars” are conferences conducted over the Internet. It allows you to remotely share presentations, products and services.

How can a webinar help you promote and brand your business? If a free (or small fee) webinar is offered, you can reach hundreds, if not thousands of people in real time. You can share your knowledge and expertise on a particular subject matter, recent events or whatever may be trending in your business industry. You can include your audience by engaging them in Q&As and polling, and with some systems, allow audience members to actually speak.

There are many web conferencing software and service providers. Features vary by vendor and may include:

Slideshow presentations
Streaming of LIVE video
Real-time recording of your presentation for archive purposes
Whiteboards for highlighting and/or making notes
Text chat for Q&As
Screen, desktop or application sharing

Some notable service providers include:

Adobe Acrobat Connect
Cisco WebEx
CitrixOne (provider of GoToMeeting & GoToWebinar)
Google Hangout
LiveStream
Oracle Beehive
ooVoo
Skype
TeamViewer
UStream

One of the great things webinars…depending on which vendor you select, your presentations can be recorded and shared over and over again. You can keep it forever and it will be out there for anyone to see at any given time. Using “embed” features can help spread the word by making your presentation viral content.

If you’ve never done a webinar, you should consider one or two. It is a great way to share who you are and what you do – and can help build new Likes, Follows and Shares on social media.

When you try it, let me know what you think.