Dec 0904
Matrix Group worked with Accession Point to design and launch a blog for CEO Jill Stelfox. As a recognized consultant, Stelfox wanted a platform to share her blunt insight on how to help companies and CEO’s take their businesses to the next level.
Matrix Group work includes the following:
- Designed a blog that reflected Accession Point’s identity, as well as captured Stelfox’s personality
- Incorporated a content management system (CMS) to allow Stelfox to update her content on a frequent basis
- Assisted on content development, ensuring posts were effective and worked well on the Web
- Added a “share” function, allowing visitors to share Stelfox’s blog posts through social networking/bookmarking sites
Visit the Accession Point Blog
Oct 0901
Matrix Group collaborated with author and certified financial planner Kelly Campbell to launch a redesigned Web site for Fire Your Broker. The redesign features Kelly’s book Fire Your Broker, a practical guide to help individuals take over their financial futures and find the right broker.
Our work included:
- A new blog where Campbell addresses financial issues, and offers insightful tips on how to prepare for retirement and sustain financial security beyond one’s working years.
- The incorporation of other social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter to help establish a fan and follower base.
- The implementation of Expression Engine as the CMS.
- A fresh look and feel that serves that highlights Campbell’s expertise and perspectives on the nation’s brokerage industry.
Visit Fire Your Broker
Sep 0929
I had the pleasure of being part of a panel at today’s Grow Smart Biz conference, sponsored by Network Solutions. Our topic was “Integrating Traditional Marketing with Social Media.” Despite being the last panel of the day (we started around 4:20pm), I estimated that over 80% of the conference attendees attended the panel. And by the number of questions raised, this is a hot topic for sure.
You can read a nice recap of the panel on the Solutions are Power blog, but here were my take-aways: Read the rest of this entry
Aug 0925
From homemade movies on YouTube, to movie and book reviews, comments on blogs, and entries in Wikipedia, user-generated content (UGC) has changed the Web forever. I can’t imagine the Amazon shopping experience without comments and ratings from other moms, the posts from the 500 or so people I follow on Twitter could keep me occupied and interested all day, and I thank God every day for the thousands of homemade Thomas the Tank Engine movies on YouTube that keep my five-year old enthralled on a rainy day. Mashable reported that more than 82 million people in the US created content online in 2008.
So how come most organizations shy away from incorporating UGC on their sites? Read the rest of this entry
May 0923
I’m headed out for a short vacation today. Before I left the office, several co-workers asked me if I will be tweeting while I’m out. I had to pause for a second before responding with a “no, yes, maybe.” Hmmm….. Just what are the expectations these days about being on vacation and tweeting or maintaining your status on the various social networks?
When I’m on vacation, I like to really unplug, which is why my husband and I go to places like Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Prague, Costa Rica. We go to places where we’re not tempted to go online and work because there is so much to see and do; often, the time difference makes it difficult to stay in touch. Read the rest of this entry
Mar 0926
Candidate Obama ran a great campaign and made amazing use of social networking services to get the word out about his campaign, mobilize supporters, create viral messages, and raise money. When the campaign ended, I wondered if President Obama would continue to use social networking tools or if the constraints of the White House or security would put an end all that open communication and engagement.
I’ve been so happy to see that President Obama is being just as innovative and engaging online.
Mar 0919
I tell my staff (especially Project Managers) to jump at any chance to share a meal with a client, vendor or partner. Why? Because I’m convinced that once you’ve shared a meal with someone, it’s a lot harder for them to demonize you, blow you off, ignore your calls and e-mails, or fire you for a small mistake.
A meal, however, is simply a metaphor for creating, nurturing and maintaining a relationship. The relationship is what matters. A meal is one really great, fun way to establish or further a relationship. Face to face meetings and social events are others. Can social networking help you nurture your relationships? Here’s how.
- A really great blog lets you connect with your staff, customers, members. A blog lets you share your perspectives, talk about what’s important to you or your field, speak more conversationally about a highly technical or complicated topic.
- An authentic social networking strategy lets you share aspects of your organization’s culture and values. So don’t just tweet about your press releases! Share tips and tricks through a video, tweet about Web sites that move you, and upload photos of your staff in action.
How about you? How are you using social networking to support your relationship goals?
Feb 0912
By popular demand and client request, I conducted a webinar on Tuesday with esteemed Project Manager Cat Lee from Matrix Group on “Creating a Social Networking Strategy (SN) for Your Organization.” Why do a webinar on a topic that is already getting a lot of coverage? Our reasons: Clients are looking for help, they want to know why and how to set up their social networking toolbox, and they’re looking for best practices on ways to use SN to help them achieve their overall goals.
The key take aways from the webinar were the following:
Feb 0904
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a keynote session by Chris Sacca, former Head of Special Initiatives at Google, during the ASAE Technology Conference. Boy was it fun to hear about what it’s like to work at Google, Google’s core values, the perks, and the future of search. I was so inspired by Chris’ words that I decided to follow him on FriendFeed. I’m relatively new to FriendFeed, but it feels like I’m stalking Chris Sacca. I can now follow this guy’s tracks as he views, posts, comments, and bookmarks across the Web. Do I really want all this information about one person? Even for me, this is starting to feel like TMI (too much information).
But first, let me tell you about Chris’ speech, which was terrific. Among the things he talked about:
Jan 0927
I had the pleasure of speaking at the ASAE Technology Conference, taking place until tomorrow at the DC Convention Center. My topic? Dealing With Big Trends in a Small Staff Organization. Here are the 5 big trends I discussed:
- Your Browser as the New Operating System. The Web browser is increasingly the platform for mission critical applications, like association management systems, intranets, document management systems and e-mail.
- Conversation is King. We used to talk about creating a communications strategy. Today, we need to create a conversation strategy because customers are interested in engagement, in two-way conversations.
- Unified, Integrated Data. I call this the Amazon Effect. Our customers expect us to know who they are, communicate with them in a personalized way, and give them personalized offerings. We can’t do this unless we have a unified view of their activities and interactions.
- Zen Tech Warrior. These warriors want information on specific topics, when they want it, on the device(s) of their choice. Take me, for example. I might want my magazine in print, news via e-mail, and alerts via text. Can your database handle these preferences and can you execute on this information?
- Green Computing. We all know that we need to do our part to reduce energy consumption and save the planet. Data centers represent 1.5% of the electricity demand in the US. Think green when you buy computers and peripherals.
Read the rest of this entry