25 random things social media can do for your business

(graphic from mattbites.com)

1. Social media will help you face the consumer.

and it will help:

2. Protect your reputation.

3. Protect your products.

4. Protect your trademarks.

5. Protect your branding.

6. Create relationships.

7. Improve customer service.

8. Monitor direct consumer feedback.

9. Make you transparent to the consumer.

10. Recruit qualified employees.

11. Communicate in the quickest manner possible.

12. Keep an eye on the competition.

13. Find ideas to grow your market.

14. Find money. (Yes, it IS out there.)

15. Defuse potential unpleasant situations.

16. Share ideas-and incentives.

17. Attend events you couldn't afford to travel to.

18. Increase collaboration.

19. Decrease costs.

20. Create buzz for your company.

21. Listen to your market.

22. Make you nimble.

23. Identify loyal consumers and new consumers.

24. Increase your influence.

25. Embrace change.

Steve

shsworks@sbcglobal.net

Are you swimming in the dead pool?: http://ping.fm/RqGtH

Are you swimming in the Dead Pool?

(image from http://www.homeschoolstudentplanner.com/)

...or are you just holding your nose

and hoping you come up OK?

Better look around before you jump in:

15 major US business concerns were put in

a dead pool of sorts for 2009 over at

Seeking Alpha.

Reading a little like a review-Circuit City, Chrysler and Blockbuster-

there were some interesting candidates for the floater crew:

Krispy Kreme-come on, I thought I was throwing them a line

the last time I got on the scale;

Rite Aid-you can't make money selling Viagra

...AND overpriced SoBe energy drinks?

Station Casinos-where DID the money go here?

All of those and the rest on the list deserve the attention they are getting.

And then some.

One stands out: Realogy.

No big secret. The general opinion is they have had

a very, very hard time since last year.

Not to oversimplify, but the obvious question:

With their premier franchises and branding,

it makes you wonder what is going to happen

to those franchises, Brokers and Agents-

and one-in-four homes (or so) bought and sold

Realogy says involved/was touched by a branded affiliate of theirs.

Right now, no one is buying much of anything.

And it is getting harder for Realogy

and a whole lot of other businesses to buy time.

Many of them up to their noses in debt, interest payments

-and a lack of effective consumer engagement.

The ripples in the water have yet to turn into

the froth and confusion of a feeding frenzy.

So, are you treading water in the dead pool,

or are you growing your social networks?

Steve

shsworks@sbcglobal.net

Don't throw up on your market...

...or on anyone else.

Really.

It's just good etiquette

to keep it down after you have cleared your plate.

Learn how to do it:

Now:

Take a deep, deep breath.

Exhale.

If you are still feeling queasy, uneasy and confused-

imagine how your consumer feels.

Face your market. Listen. Learn.

(And don't forget to pick up the tab once in a while-:)

Steve

shsworks@sbcglobal.net

facebook: http://tinyurl.com/c7f27d

twitter:@stevenstearns

blog: http://realestateisreallycrazy.blogspot.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenstearns