BizCoachDeb's BizBuzz -

The coffee lover in me has a hard time resisting news about, well, coffee shops in the news. It appears Starbucks has bitten the java bean and will finally offer free Wi-Fi in their some 6,700 stores around the U.S. For any of you that have gone before, you know the big pain getting online can be at their shops.  The question though: how many years have the corner coffee shops already been doing this? When will the copy-catting end? Does this mean their coffee will get better, too? Okay, one mountain at a time.

Now, the true test in serving customers will be when they cease with the coffee lingo snobbery and stop correcting the way I order my coffee, or at least keep said correction to themselves.

“I’ll have a medium sugar-free vanilla latte with skim milk.”

“So that’s grande skinny vanilla latte.”

“Never mind.”

Is it any wonder I drink at local coffee shops whenever possible? 
Photo Credit: Bionic teaching

Why?

Because good copywriters in the social sphere are different than your garden-variety writers.
We listen very well.
We can research and write like mad.
We’re great at conversations.   
We believe in Strunk and White.
We’re well-connected.
We’re communications ninjas.

And while initially we might not know one iota about your business, after carefully considering your company, its offerings, its philosophy and its people, we’ll know more about your business than even some of your employees.
Why?
Because as copywriters, it’s our job.
Our job requires us to get intimately familiar with your business.

Our job requires us to become utterly consumed with what you do and how you do it.  Our job is not doing your job, but doing ours.

And our job is to paint the fabulousness that is you, one character at a time.
And it’s to say it in such a way that engages, informs and builds rapport.
And in social media, when you’re talking written conversation, what you say and how you say it means everything.   The rest of the story...

Everyone and their mom has beat a path down the social media path, and for what it’s worth, we’re still in the process of laying the groundwork. This medium’s mortar has not even dried, and new applications are being built every day to help tap into the minds, hearts and pocketbooks of people all over the world.  Cause-marketers are seeing these spaces as very useful tools for getting their message out and garnering attention for their projects.  Entry is simple and the tools are easy enough to manage, so the notion is getting funds into the piggy bank can be made easier, too.

Fight With Tools
Some companies are emerging with applications that make it easier than ever to support causes you believe and want to support monetarily. In the earlier days, it was clever enough to put a link that went to a PayPal account and have people donate, but things are getting more refined, and donors need to avoid being bamboozled. If you’re a nonprofit and interested in upping the credibility of your cause through social media channels, here are two applications you should consider:   The rest of the story...

Tomorrow I will take part in a panel with colleagues who will have varying opinions on what constitutes “distracted driving”. My friend Kyle Perkins is already weighing in on this, so it will be interesting to see what other panelists think. The panel is assembling at the CBS4 Station in Denver and we’ll get to view a segment on the subject, then share our thoughts and opinions, involving our own social networks in what could be a lively discussion.

Before the panel, I decided I would read a bit more on the subject, just to see the other side. I found a moldy article on the subject and had to shake my head, not just at the silliness of the piece, but the softening of the phrase “distracted driver”:

“Multi-tasking behind the wheel is a matter of degree and all drivers are responsible for determining when they need additional self-training activities.”   The rest of the story...

Recently I was involved with a terrific event put on by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce: Social Media 2010 – The Business Edition. It was a well-attended conference and colleagues such as Vococreative and Misty Montano really helped humanize a topic which can often be taken as the end-all-be-all to marketing. There is so much more to social networking and the use of social media tools which is unrelated to business and strongly woven into issues of personal use. Even during my own segment on the topic of “Geolocation: Foursquare for Retail Businesses”, I was only able to graze the other side of geolocation – that of the importance of personal safety. A couple of people in my sessions raised the question, “Aren’t you worried about people knowing where you are?” For me, it’s not as much a question of fear, but of common sense. Mine is not the first, nor will it be the last, but here is a short list of things to keep in mind when using your geolocation tool of choice:   The rest of the story...