David Nelson

Launch Your Own Social Network in 15 Minutes Using Ning.com

by David Nelson March 6, 2011
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Have you ever thought about building your own social network? You can do it in 15 minutes for less than $3 per month. Imagine everything that Facebook offers, tailored to your specific purpose, totally under your control. I’ve built five such networks and will likely build many more. The secret is www.Ning.com. Q: Why would [...]

Be Known For One Thing – How to Use the Google Keyword Tool

by David Nelson February 5, 2011
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In today’s crazy, noisy, hyper-accelerated social media world, your choice is to be known for one thing… or none. Social media is fabulous in that, in contrast to your email blasts, newsletters, and direct mail, Google sees your blog posts, Tweets, and Yelps. That helps your business get found at the very moment when someone [...]

Upgrading Your Sales Team With Social Media

by David Nelson January 5, 2011

The best sales people don’t work at your company. Fighting words? Read on and decide for yourself. The Internet recently marked its fortieth birthday. For the first, say, thirty-eight years, it brought us an exponentially increasing tsunami of information with one big caveat. The source of much of that information was unknown, suspect, or worse. [...]

ESP for Business – Using Advanced Twitter Search

by David Nelson December 16, 2010
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When I was young, the one super power I deeply desired was extra sensory perception — ESP. I wanted to know what people were thinking. Now, thanks to Twitter and other social media services, I’ve acquired an ability that very closely approximates it. It took the Twitter team three years to figure out that this [...]

Advertising That People Will Recommend to Their Friends

by David Nelson December 2, 2010
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I have seen the future of advertising! It’s interesting and interactive, and at least for the moment it’s free. Welcome to the rapidly evolving world of social media for business. Two excellent examples of such “ads” are by Blendtec, a commercial blender manufacturer (B2B), and by T-Mobile, a cell service provider (B2C). You might not [...]

Ten Social Media Mistakes – Do’s and Don’ts

by David Nelson November 18, 2010
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Social media and social networking are quickly becoming “de rigueur” for business. A recent study by the Chicago-based firm, Slack Barshinger, showed that small and medium businesses are getting “heavily involved with social media, with about half using blogs, wikis, Twitter or other social media channels for business purposes.” If your company and team are [...]

Facebook For Business, Seriously?

by David Nelson November 11, 2010
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Facebook… Business… Facebook… Business… These words don’t go together, do they? In the early days (so many weeks ago), Facebook was just about connecting with “friends”. Let’s face it; your business does not have friends. Ideally, it has satisfied or maybe even delighted customers given that you fulfill their needs more effectively than do your [...]

How to Use Twitter to Build Business in 140 Characters or Less

by David Nelson November 9, 2010
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In my previous column, I talked about using social media to build your small business.  In this second column about using social media to accelerate business growth, let’s talk about that sizzling new sensation called Twitter. Twitter Explained For the Small Business Owner and CEO Twitter is an effortless service that allows you to broadcast [...]

Open Your Eyes to the Business Aspects of Social Networking

by David Nelson November 4, 2010
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This is the first column of a continuing series of articles addressing new developments and applications in the world of social networking and social media services, with an important twist. It isn’t for kids and consumers as you might expect; rather it’s all about how businesses and organizations are using these new tools to enhance [...]

Hey! Your Electronic Device REALLY is Interfering With Airplane Equipment

by David Nelson October 30, 2010
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I’m writing this column for the first time directly on my iPad. I’m using this device in places I’ve never used a computer before: On my sofa reading The Wall Street Journal, in my bed streaming NetFlix movies, and presently propped comfortably on my Southwest Airlines tray table flying from the ‘Burgh to the windy [...]