Cshel Chicago SEO, PR and Web Development

How To Reorganize Management For Social Media, Search Marketing and Internet Advertising

Posted on 23. Jul, 2008 by Carolyn Shelby.

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Based on the title, you probably thought this was going to be a long and academic blog entry, but HA! you’ve been had. This is actually a shameless plug for a speaking engagement.

Come hear me speak on Wednesday, July 30th at the Gleacher Center, Downtown Chicago

You might be wondering what management has to do with social media, SEM, online advertising, etc. If you’ve ever worked for a not-online-only company, chances are you know *exactly* what manglement has to do with it — or more to the point what role they play in preventing you, and the people like you who know what needs to be done to get it done right, from doing your job.

This talk is aimed at upper management and executives who either think they know about social media, SEM/SEO and internet advertising, or who realize they only know the buzzwords and need a better understanding of the concepts and ideas.

The goal of the session is to give these decision makers with a better grasp of the concepts involved, and help them start thinking about ways they can modify current business procedures to accommodate these new and emerging technologies.

It’s all great to walk into the marketing department and declare, “Let’s get on Digg! Let’s get a million visitors!”, but seriously, is that really what the company NEEDS? How do you even define what is needed? (more…)

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Silicon Prairie Social 2 - No Recruiters or Job Seekers Allowed

Posted on 11. Jan, 2008 by Carolyn Shelby.

Silicon Prairie Social 2, the TechCocktail of the burbs, is slated for Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at the same place it was held back in September (Mullen’s in Lisle). While the last social was jam packed, this one should be a little thinner due to the ban on active job seekers, recruiters and staffing agency types.

Initially, when I read that part of the announcement, I thought, “that is a great idea!” mostly because I end up getting talked to by recruiters all night long instead of talking to other people who have job-jobs. Apparently, Ron May said something in one of his copious newsletters about how awful the disenfranchisement of those groups is, but I didn’t really read it so I’m not going to attempt to craft a truly well written response. I’m sure if Ron shows up to this event I’ll end up hearing about it anyway.

My guess is the goal of the ban is to encourage more actual tech discussion, and also to limit the number of people who RSVP because the venue is not huge to begin with, and now that it’s winter and we can’t avail ourselves of the outdoor seating, the space will be even more limited than before. Also, the food ran out rather quickly last time and I’m going to attribute that to hungry job seekers as well.

At any rate, I’m looking forward to attending on the 24th to see how the new rules affect the atmosphere, crowd levels and overall utility of the event.

Popularity: 62% [?]

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Have You Ordered Your Holiday Cards?

Posted on 09. Nov, 2007 by Carolyn Shelby.

Even if you’re not a greeting card type of person (or you usually count on your spousal unit to handle the task), mailing holiday cards to your business associates, clients, former clients, and anyone who’s business card you may have picked up at a conference or other networking event is a great way to keep your name (or business name) fresh on their minds.

Here’s Your Checklist:

1. Buy/Order/Make the cards — NOW
   Do not wait until Thanksgiving gets here and the xmas season when no-one-has-time-for-anything craziness starts. Take a few minutes to pop over to your favorite printing website, bust out the craft paper and glitter, or just add it to your list for your next Target run.

   Buy a box of cards — you choose the level of holiday specificity or lack thereof. Select something pretty neutral (unless you’re positive you won’t offend anyone with a religious card), and maybe splurge for some customization (if you’re having them printed) and some foil accents (because shiny says “I care enough to spend an extra $0.25 per card, because dammit, you’re worth it!”).

   Also, if you’re having your cards custom printed, make sure to include your website address on the card someplace. This is especially important if your website address is different from your actual business name. People may only know you by your URL if they don’t see you or do business with you very often.

2. Buy stamps.
   Do not use a mail meter or automatic postage stamping device. Automation screams lazy and impersonal.

3. Once you have your cards, pull out your client list and start addressing envelopes.
   Again, do not use a printer, do NOT do NOT do NOT do NOT use printed labels. Not only are you telling your clients they aren’t worth you hurting your wittle wrist wif all dat writing, you’re telling them they aren’t even worth you feeding envelopes into your printer. Don’t be lazy.

   If you have crappy handwriting, enlist the assistance of someone who does. Don’t know anyone with nice handwriting or printing? Try your mom, your grandma, your teenage sister/daughter, or an engineer (yeah, I said engineer). They all tend to have very nice handwriting or printing styles and can probably be talked into helping (or bribed relatively cheaply).

4. Sign your cards.
   Again, DO NOT just put them into the envelope unsigned because you have your name/company already printed on them. DO NOT feed them through a printer. DO NOT use a sticker label.

   I know your hand is still cramped from addressing the envelopes. Suck it up and just get it overwith, okay?

   Also, make everyone else in your office (assuming you have a small business) sign the cards, too. A bunch of different signatures (in different people’s handwriting) makes a big impression.

5. Mail the cards as close to Turkey Day as humanly possible.
   You want them to get where they’re going before people start leaving for holiday vacations and just generally are too busy or distracted to fully appreciate your gesture of goodwill. If you can put them in the mailbox on your way to Grandma’s house for dinner on November 22, all the better.

One last note of caution: it’s best to err on the safe side and not go with the edgy humorous holiday cards. Some people take their holidays very seriously and it would be a shame to go through all this effort and then end up alienating a client or potential business partner because you accidentally insulted their beliefs.

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