I attend a meeting weekly (or almost weekly if there are so school delays or sick kids) in which we talk about the various uses of social networking.  Many of the members of the group are currently using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc but some of the people who come are there so that they can learn about these mediums and how they can use them to better market their business.

My first response to anyone is “don’t just use it to market your business.  Use it to build relationships.”  And I’ll stand by that until the day that I die.

However, there are certain people who I feel are excluded from the advice that I give and they are the News Media outlets.  Yes, I would LOVE if the local paper or tv stations would engage in conversation, but the reality of it is, very few do.

And that’s okay.  I follow them because I don’t have time to sit down and watch the news, but I want to know what’s going on in the area that I live.  With Twitter, I’m able to scan the headline and see if it’s something that affects me.  If it is, I can read it.  If not, I simply ignore it.

So while they don’t follow the “rules” of why these types of sites were created, I do believe that they have every right, and there is a demand for them.

However, I don’t feel they are get the most out of them and feel that they are failing their followers, and losing out on the potential that they could have.  In other words?  They’re missing the boat.  And they’re missing out on potential viewers, which in turn means their missing out on potential ratings points.

And in the TV world?  Rating points equals profit.

We all know that tv stations are most notable known for their news.  Weather is the umbrella.  Most people chose their news station based on who they feel does a better job in the weather arena.  Ok, fine.  That’s just how it is, for the most part.

However, there is more to a TV station than just news.

In looking at the three local ABS, CBS, and NBC stations… all of which I follow, only tweet their top headlines.  All are done through TwitterFeed or API.  They are working off of the set it and forget it mode.

Ok, fine.

But you’re missing something,

As someone who doesn’t watch much TV (as I’m sure many of you can relate), I don’t know new programs that are coming out.  I don’t know the dates and times that they premiere.  I’m not up to snuff on the dates that the holiday kids specials air.

Last night was a perfect example.

Did you know that Charlie Brown’s Valentine was on?  I didn’t.  And I’m sure many of you didn’t either.  (Not sure how many of you cared, but I did.  Those are things that my family enjoys.)  Promoting shows on the TV is great, if people are watching already.  We aren’t.

But on a much larger scale, if I don’t currently watch any shows on CBS, how am I to know that the Heros vs Villans starts tonight?

As a former TV gal, one whose job it was to make the ratings look good, the best way to get people to know about something new is to promote it.  Running a promo in the news?  That costs money.

Tweeting it out to your followers?  That’s free.

This morning, WDRL, a local television station not associated with the top 4 networks, posted the lunch time programming that they were airing.  Because the kids were out of school, I passed the information on to them.

It’s not uncommon for WDRL to post the sporting events or special programming that they are airing.  It’s not uncommon for WDRL to retweet something or to personalize their message.

But I also know that the “twit” behind @WDRL24?  He’s personally responsible for every tweet that is sent, and 99.9% of the time, it’s from his cell phone.

To me, that’s impressive.  He’s reaching out to a larger audience.  And the chances of him gaining a new viewer, unfamiliar with the programming on WDRL, has increased.

He gets it.

So TV program directors?  I’m challenging you.  Get involved in the tweeting.  Tell your potential viewers what you have to offer!  Engage in a conversation with your followers so that you can see what they think of your programming.

In a hypenated, diary market, such as the Roanoke-Lynchburg DMA, you can’t always rely on Nielsen to tell the truth.

But you can depend on the vocal residents that are literally, right at your fingertips.

Just some food for thought…

Until next time…

You knew this.

We all “know” this.. in theory.

I say in theory because I hear people talk all the time about how important relationships are, but I don’t see the actions to back the words.

In essence, we’re talking the talk, but are we walking the walk?

We’re busy, things are going on, and sometimes, maintaining those relationships can, reaching out to our clients or customers gets pushed down a little further down on our to do list.

We think about sending that card to congratulate our client on their award and some how, some way, it moves right off our never ending to-do list.

But there are people that are walking that walk every day.

And people are noticing.

I urge you to head over to Josh Perrington’s blog and read his latest post about “our” place.  Only it’s not just “our” place.  (He business cheats on me with the likes of some other guys.  Clearly, he has a few issues.  But don’t hold that against him.  And I’m pretty sure he’s never referred to it as “our” place.  But when Josh and I have ideas to pour over?  That’s where we go.  Short of the families getting together, I’ve never met him anywhere else!)

It’s a post that, while I wanted to expound upon, I can’t seem to find the words to say it any better than he did.

It shows the value of excellent customer service while tugging on the heart strings.

And makes me very excited about #MargaritaMondays.

(Read the post and you’ll understand.)

When walking that walk?

Just remember…

Investing involves more than just money.

The return is greater than you will ever expect.

Blogging for business purposes is always a great idea if you (a) keep up with it and (b) have something relevant to say.  If neither holds true then, don’t bother.

That’s probably something I should’ve told myself when I put up this site so many years ago.  This was yet another blog, and one that I didn’t have time for, but I needed a place that I could bring together all the pieces of my online life in to one spot; a portal if you will.

HeatherJacobson.com was born.  I moved over the articles that I had written and posted in various locations, threw up the links to the books that I wrote and the websites that I ran, and then?

With every good intention of coming back here to blog about business or post articles from my newsletter, etc, I walked away.

Until I needed this space again last February.

With the new found knowledge that I was going to lose my job, I came back to this site and decided that I was going to revamp it.  No longer was it going to be a blog, because, clearly, I wasn’t keeping up with the upkeep, but rather, it was going to serve as my online resume.

I started mapping out the site, writing brief placeholder content, and figuring out how I could showcase the talents and abilities of Heather Jacobson to the online world.

When in reality?  I just thought it was different to put a URL that had my name on it on my resume.

I secured employment before I finished the site and never returned.  Yes, I had plans to come back to it; to finish what I started, but I never made it.

That is until last night and even up to that point I hadn’t really thought about it.

But a friend and I were talking and I realized that I have so much to say about marketing, social networking, and business relationships that I needed to write them all down.  Truthfully and honestly, do I think that by writing this down it will bring me customers?

No.

I’m an Account Manager at a Technology Infrastructure firm.  If I were writing about how to configure a network or solve IT headaches, then yes.  Maybe a local audience would find it and we would be well on our way to establishing credibility and expert status.

But what I feel the need to write about has very little to do with getting more clients or padding my paycheck.  It has everything to do with my mind swelling with ideas that I feel the need to share with others.  Do I use some of these things in my own realm?  Of course.

Should you use some of these ideas in your business?

Maybe.

I say maybe because just because something works for me, or I think I’m a pure genius for coming up with something, doesn’t mean it will fit with your business.  It might.  It might not.

If you like what you read, try it!  If it works… great!  (Please let me know, of course.)  If it doesn’t?  Can you take an idea I have and spin it so that it can work for you?

The sky is the limit when you’re out there working on building you customer base, your business, your youth group, your blog readership, or what ever it is that you’re trying to build up or market.

So, with that, I’m going to make sure that I’m coming back here to spill my brains.  Maybe people will read it.  Maybe people will talk about it.  Maybe I’ll help someone in their business or career.

Or maybe I won’t.

But, I will at least release the ideas that so often weigh my mind down because I just can’t get them out.

I do hope you’ll subscribe and keep coming back for more.

If nothing else, I’m kinda funny.

Until next time…

In my newsletter today, I bragged on Swype File.  It was great.  I was making a little extra money by way of Adsense and book sales, and gaining new commenters on my articles and new newsletter subscribers.

It was generating traffic which was the whole purpose of the concept.  I wanted others to sign up, too.

But I just went to log in to kill some time before my doctor’s appointment and found the following

Unfortunately, swypefile has been shut down for the time being. Things weren’t going as planned, and we are re-thinking the swypefile concept. Thanks to everyone who supported what we were trying to do!

I must admit that I’m a little bummed.  I understand that concepts go awry but I think we all knew that this was a new concept, a new site, and that changes would be forthcoming.  I’m also dissappointed that there was no email notification that was sent out.  Had I gotten it, I certainly wouldn’t not have recommended it to the masses.

So for now, if you’re an internet marketer and have great articles to share you’ll have to go back to the article directories, your blogs and newsletters.  At least for the time being.

(or you could submit some to me… I’m always looking for great content to share with my readers!)