Working From The Basement

Sorry for the month long absence folks, but I’ve been working on a few things and trying to catch up with some other projects.  Anyway for those of you that know me I’ve had this side thing going on for awhile now where I got out and listen to local music on the weekends.  Well a few weeks ago while I’d been working on the website (which isn’t finished), I decided to promote my fan page on Facebook.  Initially I had convinced 4 of my friends to join but hadn’t posted anything, but with about 50 videos up on YouTube I finally had something for people to see.

Initially I sent invites out to about 100 people that are my friends this generated about 50 people signing up within a day or two.  Well I wasn’t exactly happy about that number, but eventually it organically grew to about 100 fans.  Considering I have slightly more than 150 friends on Facebook that’s not a bad number, but I really wanted to see if there was any interest in what I was trying to accomplish.  So I decided to take the plunge and set aside some money for a Facebook advertisement.

Well I am a newbie at this but Facebook has a really easy system for creating an ad, especially for Fan Pages.  I am not going to go into detail on how to do this part because it is really simple and Facebook has some great help documents on how to do it.  The biggest decision I had to make was in the pricing section either Pay per 1000 Impression (CPM) or Pay per Click (CPC).  Based on Facebook’s advice I went with CPC which means you only pay when somebody clicks on your Ad.  I targeted my Ad with the criteria listed in the image below, which gave me a pool of around 175,000 people.  Wow really, that’s a lot of people to reach, what’s the circulation of a typical daily paper?  No wonder the paper’s are losing advertising revenue, and remember these are targeted.

So after about a week and a half of playing with the daily maximum that I was willing to spend, along with the cost per click out of 175,000 people, 77 people clicked on the Ad and 42 people signed up for a total cost of $54.99.  The Ad actually was displayed over 175,000 times but that is irrelevant because I choose CPC, it would only have been a factor if I had chosen CPM. 

So here in a nutshell is what I learned:

• It was in my mind over 50% effective in getting people to become a fan when they clicked on the link.  This was with hardly any effort in producing the Ad, I took my logo and mission statement and did a cut and paste.
• Fan Pages have a viral quality, since the people who joined the Fan Page also had friends with similar interest for each person that became a fan other’s joined. This is because the newsfeed now posts when somebody joins a Facebook Group or Fan Page.
• I wasn’t selling anything so your results may vary if you are promoting a product or service.
• People on Facebook don’t click on the Ads very much, but this is irrelevant if you select CPC.
•  Know your target demographics bid as close to the suggested maximum and keep an eye on it; reduce it when you don’t think people will be into what you have to offer.  I increased my bidding in the afternoon, because if you’re into local bands and have been out I doubt you’re going to be up early.
• I now have the confidence to go through with the project, based on the feedback and people I have met through the Fan Page.

So the inevitable question becomes will I continue promoting the Ad and I have mixed emotions on this one.  While I want to promote the community the final website isn’t up so is it worth paying a $100/month, I’m not sure.  Once the website is up, yes I would use Facebook advertising to drive traffic to the Fan Page, then ultimately to my website.

Anyway I hope everyone is having a great year so far and check out my Local Band Review Fan Page and the Local Band Review YouTube Channel.  Also make sure to go see some of our hard working local talented bands most of them work  for little money and they put on a great show.  Technically all band members work from the basement or at least the garage.

WFTB
Michael Lawson

I would like to share something that happened this past week with one of my clients.  I’m working with a local family.  The wife works for a large multi-national company and the husband works as a handyman.  They became my clients this past summer and they recently asked me to research the husband’s current business insurance.

Of course, I agreed and the first thing I noticed in their current policy was that the husband was classified as a carpenter.  So I asked him…are you a carpenter?  Well guess what he’s not, because in the course of his work week he does do some light carpentry, some electrical work, and minor home repairs, etc… In fact he is a handyman!

The commercial “class code” on his policy was wrong.  This means that if he had a claim while doing something un-carpenter like he ran the risk of having the claim being denied by his insurance company and having his policy cancelled.  On the other side of the coin, his current agent (no, not me…but a LARGE state-wide chain) has a possible errors and omissions exposure.

As a quick side note-a class code is the code for a type of business.  This code is in turn associated with a rate.  Each business type has a different code which means each code has a different rate.  For example a carpenter is generally a less expensive rate than a roofer.

Sometimes an agent might misclassify a business deliberately because the rates are more favorable.  An agent that does this might lose the ability to sell insurance for that company, especially if he/she does this often. While this may save you money on your insurance it could cost you a good deal more if your business is not classified correctly.  The point is; check with your insurance agent to make sure that you are correctly covered for what you do.  When you receive your commercial policy, please review the declaration page(s) carefully to make sure the information about your business and its operations are correct.   Commercial insurance policies are very specific about what they will NOT pay for.  If you see something there that either does not make sense, or you don’t understand…ASK.

When you receive your commercial policy and you have questions, your agent should be very willing to answer any and all your questions about it.  By the way, when shopping for commercial insurance, you may want to consider using an independent insurance agent (like me!).  They have more than one company they work with and if the rates go up with your current carrier, they can always “shop” your business with another company.

Charlie’s Info:
Hi my name is Charlie Schein and I’m an independent property/casualty insurance agent.  I’ve been in the insurance industry since 1988…but have been working “from the basement” since September.

Charlie can be reached via his contact information listed below:
(860) 513-1055
(860) 819-9810-Cell
(877) 513-6363-Fax
charlie@starschein.com
www.starschein.com

To keep up with Charlie follow him on Twitter or Facebook.
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cdschein
FaceBook Fan Page

WFTB – Charlie Schein

We all know the story of the cobblers kids walking around shoeless.  Well, I have been feeling that way for awhile now.  While Diana has had the B-Law LLC Fan Page up, I’ve been negligent and hadn’t done one for either WFTB or 2ndot, so last week I took the plunge.  The experience so far has been interesting in that, while I am used to getting followers on Twitter, a Fan Page can be a one-way street.  Twitter encourages conversation, while Fan Pages are more passive and the only way to talk to people you don’t know is to become their friend – unless they participate, which kind of defeats the purpose.  You can start a discussion, but there is no guarantee that anyone will participate and sending a Facebook email seems too invasive.

So what use are they, you may ask? Well, it does provide you with a fairly low-maintenance way to interact with potential clients and build a referral network without much work.  I have always found it annoying when people update their personal Facebook status from TweetDeck or some other Twitter-related tool because most of the time it is Twitter speak (lots of @ symbols and short talk).  Facebook now provides a link to go the other way, which seems more effective as long as your first 120 characters gets your point across.  (The other 24 characters get turned into a shortened link pointing back to the Facebook post). It is also easier to update than a Blog, which actually takes time to think about, write, add links, and check your spelling and grammar etc., while adding an external link, photo or status update in Facebook with a comment is a fairly quick and easy process.

So the next question is what do you put up there? Do you just rehash the same thing that you put on Twitter?  My answer is no.  Since I started with the 2ndot Fan Page, let me explain a little bit about what I did with it.  Since @2ndot is my primary work-related and personal online personality, I wanted the page to reflect that persona.  So I decided to provide links to information that an everyday computer user would find interesting or useful.  My business normally doesn’t provide home computer support, just business-related services. But I have a wealth of information that can help home users, so a Facebook Fan Page provides a perfect platform for this.  A bonus here is that I don’t need yet another website to maintain, and it’s a totally opt-in relationship.  Also being able to use the discussion feature allows people to ask home computer related questions.  Facebook is also a great product to use for event scheduling, with attendance tracking and just notifying people in general, so having a Fan Page opens up another communications avenue.

While my personal profile on Facebook is very active, I don’t like spammy Fan Pages, so I have decided to limit my posts to only one or two a day maximum.  I think this may even be too much and I will adjust it if I get complaints.  As for the WFTB Fan Page, well, for now I will probably use it to promote the site much in the same way I do in Twitter.  Since WFTB is a blogging website I think you would use it to direct traffic to the blog, but only time will tell.  I am really interested in any feedback about my techniques used here and how other micro-businesses use their Fan Pages, so feel free to comment.

Again thanks for visiting WFTB…

WFTB – Michael Lawson

Last week, I attended the Middlesex Businesswomen’s Alliance monthly event.  The presentation that evening was “LinkedIn 101,” by Gateway Financial Group’s President and resident social media expert, David Wood.

First, let me tell you what Little Dave got right:

1.  Put a picture on your LinkedIn profile. His reason – take the profile seriously.  My reason – what does your face look like?  Have we met before?  It creates a personal connection, which is what internet connections are supposed to facilitate.

2.  Groups, groups, groups. Little Dave hit this on the head.  In fact, he said this in a presentation a year ago and, honestly, this was the first time it had occurred to me.  Groups can be your greatest way of connecting with those who need your services.   Join groups whose mission and values appeal to you, develop real connections, and then when those people need services of the professional nature you offer, you will be the first name that comes to mind.

3.  Don’t advertise.  It annoys people. That’s why it’s called “spam.”  Create valuable content with real benefit to the end user, and that person will seek out your services.  Don’t come right out and say “Buy my 3bed/2bath ranch in West Hartford.”  Instead, provide the people following you with useful information, such as, “The tax credit ends on November 30.  Did you realize that’s on the Monday right after the five-day bank vacation of Thanksgiving?  Better aim for the beginning of the month.”

Now, let me tell you what Little Dave got wrong:

1.  His advice, “Connect with people whose connections are valuable to you, pick up the phone, and call them.”

He missed the whole point of Web 2.0 (soon to be Web 3.0).  He advised to apply traditional methods of networking – figure out who people know, whether you can use them or who they know, pick up the phone, and start a dialogue.

Don’t call me.  Email me if you’re really brave (caveat emptor), but definitely don’t call me.  Connect with me online – follow me on Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn, and join my fanpage on Facebook.  But don’t call me.  When I need you, I’ll find you.  If you call me, you’re getting yourself blacklisted for cold-calling me.  When you need my help, find me and tell me you need my help.  You’ll already know what I do, because we’ve legitimately connected, shared resources, and discussed ideas.  But definitely don’t call me.

2.  Judge people by their connections.

I disagree completely.  LinkedIn, to me, is like a virtual exchange of business cards – in one direction only, in my viewpoint.  If someone invites me to connect, I connect.

Caveat – I am NOT an open networker.  I do not follow people on Twitter, simply because they follow me, and I don’t connect with everyone who wants to connect with me.

But why is he wrong?  Three points:

a.  LinkedIn profiles are dynamic.  Just because someone is not valuable today does not mean they might not be valuable in the future.

b.  When someone invites me to connect, that person is allowing me to pump their head full of my propogand…..er, marketing materials.  That, by itself, is a value.  And once I spread my prop…er, marketing materials to that person, the viral nature of the internet means that it’ll end up exactly in the hands  of the right person.  So, the more, the merrier.

c.  Database.  By connecting with the person, I can see the details of his/her connections when I’m using the database feature of LinkedIn.  (A hidden secret, for later discussion.)  So, we all know people who are Division 3 in the world of business.  But, since we all know them, then they all know us, right?  When I need another Division 1 or 2, I can find them through the database feature, which gives me much better information than a simple Google search.  I can figure out quality, education, background – everything – by using the person I don’t want to connect with as a filter.  (Thank you, LinkedIn, because I know that wasn’t intentional.)

3.  I do really have 300 friends.  They’re Facebook friends.  It’s a different category.  Facebook friends are, again, people with similar interests, with whom you have crossed paths at some point in your life.  They are people whose kids’ photos you actually do want to see, whose ham sandwich you do know about (because she’s vegan and shouldn’t be eating ham), and whose thoughts and interests you are genuinely interested in.

I want to see pictures of my college roommate’s kids, because when am I going to get back to Pittsburgh again anytime soon.  I want to hear Jochen’s adventures in whatever crazy European country he is now.  I want to hear about Isaac’s adventures teaching English in Korea.  Because that is interesting to me.

I don’t want to be Facebook friends with the Governor, because I don’t think she’s giving me the cow I need for FarmVille, and she’s probably not going to challenge me to a game of Farkle or Bejeweled.  That’s not a Facebook friend; that’s a LinkedIn colleague.

Facebook friends are the ones you would sit and chat with, laugh with, and play with, if time and geography were not limiting you.

The future of business:  Real relationships with people you like

I say – this is the dialogue, connecting online is the dialogue, the relationship.  Business is no longer about who you know and how powerful you are.  Business is about who you are. Be yourself, and the people who want to do business with a person just like you will find you.

Connect with people you like.  Do business with people who like you, just the way you are.  With the advent of social networking technologies, you can now locate and develop relationships with people just like you.  Under traditional networking approaches, you were limited in scope to those you could connect with physically.  Now, remove those boundaries and use the internet as a network to connect with those most like you.

Do business with people you like.  Enjoy life.  Because life can be amazing, if you just let it.