small business marketing online – Small Business Odyssey

February 21, 2012February 21, 2012

Force Field Analysis: A Strategic Approach to Goal Planning

Force Field Analysis is one of many goal planning techniques that you can use as a small business owner or online marketer.

Often you will find that your approach to goal planning and goal achievement proves to be inadequate or incomplete (the evidence lies in the fact that you may not achieve your goals). The beauty of Force Field Analysis for goal planning is that it offers a strategic way to approach your goals. It is easy to use, but incredibly powerful. It can give you new insights into what is getting in the road of your goals, including lack of awareness of your strengths and the inability to capitalise on them. It will also help you identify the things that you need to work on and strategies you need to employ to achieve your goals.

I’ve used this approach, as an organizational consultant, since the early 1980’s with small business owners, managers in organisations (public and private sectors), university faculties and doctoral/masters students. I have also used Force Field Analysis with colleagues in action learning groups as we planned our career transitions.

[Image credit: Goal by Sean MacEntee]

How to use Force Field Analysis for goal planning

Force Field Analysis was first used by Kurt Lewin in 1946 when he was working with minority social groups. What struck him was how people were becoming stuck in their disadvantaged position in society. He needed a way to help them move beyond where they were now – to achieve their life goals.

Lewin was acutely aware that many things conspired to maintain the status quo. He realized that what gave effect to the current situation for these people was a group of hindering and helping forces that created the current equilibrium represented by the status quo. He recognized that if you analyzed these forces and put in place strategies to address them, you could change the equilibrium and move towards your goal. Hence the name, Force Field Analysis – analysis of the helping and hindering forces within a particular arena (field). Lewin was able to create major social change by using this method with people who were suffering social disadvantage.

So it is with any goal you wish to pursue, whether expanding your small business, developing your small business marketing online or improving personal productivity. Once you identify what is helping you move towards your goal (helping forces) and what is hindering you (hindering forces), you can plan concrete strategies to address these forces.

Specifically, you can work out ways to strengthen the helping forces and weaken the hindering forces – thus changing the equilibrium of the current situation and enabling you to move towards your goal. It’s this two-way approach that creates the major shift. So it is not enough just to work on the hindering forces, you also need to strengthen the helping forces.

Force Field Analysis: An Example of Goal Planning

Let’s assume that you have set a goal, “To be effective in small business marketing online”. I have developed an example Force Field Analysis based on an imaginary set of forces (helping and hindering) that are impacting on your goal achievement. Ideally, you would do this analysis with at least one other person, but you can definitely do it by yourself.

So what you have here is the second rung of goal planning – you have a goal in mind and now you have to establish sub-goals and strategies to move forward. Force Field Analysis helps you to do this as illustrated in the example below:

FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS

GOAL: To be effective in small business marketing online

Hindering Forces	Helping Forces
1. lack of time	1. good brand recognition
2. lack of knowledge	2. motivated
3. don’t know where to start	3. have a good speaking voice
4. not a good writer	4. have friends who are good at small business marketing
5. have no presence on social networks	5. access to good online resources
6. don’t know how to create a WordPress blog	6. prepared to have a go

So now you have to decide which helping forces you will strengthen and which hindering forces you will work to reduce. So some options might be:

In relation to the helping forces, you might employ two or more of these strategies to strengthen the things that are working for you:

develop a podcast blog (to build on your speaking capability)
set clear, achievable milestones to maintain your motivation
use specialists in online branding to strengthen your brand online
talk to your friends about what works for them
study up on your online resources with a particular focus and goal in mind
join a small business online forum or group on one of the social networks.

To reduce the impact of hindering forces you might decide to do two or more of the following:

work on improving your productivity
use your online resources to build your knowledge (in a focused way)
purchase a resource that covers “small business marketing online”
outsource your writing
start with one social network that you are comfortable using, e.g. Squidoo or LinkedIn, and build from there
outsource the design of your WordPress blog to a web design service.

Force Field Analysis has many applications including evaluation of outcomes and processes. MindTools.com explains how to use Force Field Analysis for decision making and offers a free worksheet for using the tool.

Force Field Analysis offers a comprehensive approach to goal planning and has been proven over many years to help small business organisations and individuals achieve their goals.

February 2, 2012February 9, 2012

How To Be Productive: The Internal Challenges

If you are a small business owner engaged in small business marketing, it is absolutely critical that you learn how to be productive.

There are many demands on your time through email and phone communications, staff management, stock control, product and service development, accounting and taxation, relationship building with clients and strategic planning – to name just a few demands.

On top of these demands, you may be faced with the all-consuming task of developing tenders to generate new work from existing clients or to expand your market to capture new clients. If you are engaged in writing tenders, you will often have to demonstrate nowadays that you have a Business Continuity Plan and a Business Sustainability Plan (as well as policies for every conceivable area of operations).

So just to operate effectively and profitably, it becomes important to learn how to be productive. Improving your productivity becomes even more critical if you are trying to grow your business through your small business marketing online,

However, there are very real internal challenges that you have to face if you are to learn how to be productive for the sake of your business and its development.

The things that block you from learning how to be productive

There are many internal things that get in the road of you increasing your productivity – being able to do more with less. Fundamentally, they come down to your fears. Here are some ways that your fears may be manifested:

Fear of failure – you tell yourself that if you are not successful at your endeavour, then people will think ill of you or you will think poorly of yourself
Fear of success – you are worried that success will bring increased visibility, unwanted attention and major changes to your lifestyle which, though desirable, are themselves very challenging
Procrastination – you put off things that you know you should do to be successful, but there are often more attractive things to do
Being busy on the wrong things – you spend all your time on things that are not important for your small business but you feel productive doing them (e.g. wasting hours on YouTube or Facebook or spending hours talking to your neighbouring business owner)
Perfectionism – this is a hidden form of fear and relates to fear of success or failure as it stops you short of achieving your goals or dreams
Feeling overwhelmed – this can be because you are anxious or fearful and are not prepared to make a commitment to a course of action.

Unless you learn to overcome these internal challenges in the form of your fears, you will not be able to be productive.

The following free course on how to be productive helps you to identify and address these fears:

http://www.how-to-be-productive.com

This e-course on productivity is like dipping your toe in the water to see what it’s like. If you want to make a real commitment to becoming productive and to realizing success, you could wade into the water and try out my productivity membership course:

http://www.how-to-be-productive.com/join

Audio on how to be productive

If you want some idea of what this course on productivity covers and how it will help you, listen to my introduction for subscribers to the membership course (4.56 mins):

[display_podcast]

I have added audio to many of the lessons of this how to be productive membership course so that you can download them and listen to them at your leisure (on your morning or evening walk?)

January 16, 2012January 17, 2012

Google is Integrating Google+ With Search Engine Results

Google is changing the whole landscape of Internet search through integration of Google+ with organic and paid search results.

A number of prominent Internet marketers have reported recently that they are seeing this integration of Google+ in the search results and have screenshots to prove it. Mike Brooks, for example, shows a screenshot where a number of paid search results are shown above the organic search results, but on the right hand side are the results from Google+:

Game Changer: Google Plus Changes Search and Social Media

He points out that Mari Smith, because of her Google+ activity, holds the number one spot in the right hand column for the search term, ‘Internet marketing’ – a spot usually held by people who pay $100 per click via Google Adwords. It is likely this positioning of Google+ results will change. However, it shows that Google is experimenting with the integration of Google+ with its paid and organic search results.

It also means that Google is seeking to give prominence to its own social network as a source of quality information. This understandably is upsetting both Facebook and Twitter. It is interesting that my own observation, and that of a number of my connections, is that the information shared on Google+ to date is more focused and of a higher quality than that shared on Facebook or Twitter – it tends to be enlightening, educational or practical. From what I have experienced from the circles I have created, Google+ posts tend to challenge my assumptions and expand my thinking. This may be a function of the fact, that because it is early days, I have been able to include people in my circles who are prominent elsewhere but excluded from access because of their number of followers.

[Image source: Pixabay.com]

The Implications for Small Business Marketing of the Google+ Integration with Search Engine Results

As many commentators have pointed out already, the implications of this Google+ integration move by Google are not entirely clear for a number of reasons. We do not know what the final configuration will look like – only some people have access to the new format which is in a testing mode at the moment. We do not know how Facebook and Twitter will respond, but respond they will! We are uncertain whether the Google+ results shown will be just those from your own circles or those from Google+ generally. What we do know so far is that a lot of old assumptions and processes about search engine optimisation (SEO) will need to change.

We can also assume that some of the implications for small business marketing will be:

if you are not on Google+, you will be at a considerable disadvantage when it comes to search engine results in the future – you may actually disappear from the search results that you are currently achieving
when you share on Google+ via your stream, you need to ensure that your content matches the primary niche(s) or keywords that you want to be visible for in search engine results
it will no longer be enough to be on Facebook only – it is interesting that Mari Smith, known widely as a Facebook guru, is prominent in the new Google+ search results (she has around 50,000 people in her Google+ circles)
Google+ is effectively integrating list building with search engine optimization (SEO) – through Google+ you will not only build your list, you will also increase your chances of appearing in Google’s integrated search engine results
Google’s shift from page rank to people rank is happening in earnest – another level of integration will be when Google integrates Google+ results with organic search results based on people rank
small business owners will no longer be able to ignore social media if they want to appear in Google’s search engine results
your Google+ business page will assume greater importance in terms of how often your business will appear in search results and what keywords/search terms will influence the search results for your small business
your images on Google+ (photos, graphics, illustrations) will feed Google’s integrated search results and feature in its increased focus on multimedia
the Google+1 button will assume even greater importance because of its indication of how your content is valued by your connections
your personal profiles on social networks will become even more important (you need to integrate them into your Google+ profile to strengthen their capacity to demonstrate your social connection)
social connections along with quality content will assume even greater importance – it will not be enough just to create quality original content, you will also need to be connected to people who “value” that content.

As Mike Brooks commented, a core meaning of the integration of Google+ with search engine results is that we are facing the era where “content and connection is king”.

We have moved over time from thinking of Internet marketing as a linear process to a circular process (with web rings, blog rings, lens rings, etc). I think we now have to visualize Internet marketing like concentric circles formed when a drop of water lands in a pool of water (as the image above shows).

Internet marketing can now be visualized as concentric circles formed when content is dropped into (shared with) our pool of connections.

The integration of Google+ into Google’s search engine results has profound implications for small business marketing that cannot be ignored by small business owners.

Postscript: Since I wrote this blog post, top Internet marketer, Bill Guthrie, has come out with his Google+ Manifesto, where he asserts that, “We’re witnessing the quick death of SEO as we know it” and that “Google+ is now mandatory”. He released his PDF Manifesto as a Warrior Special Offer (WSO) which explains the principles behind Google+, their implications and offers heaps of tips and ideas to take advantage of this massive change which will change small business marketing and affiliate marketing. You can grab your copy at the WSO discounted price here:

http://www.warriorplus.com/linkwso/4kbjzp/7888

Grab your copy now so that you can get in on the ground with the game-changing Google+ which will influence the course of small business marketing into the future and have a serious effect on your search engine results.

January 15, 2012

Google+ Photos – Share Your Photos to Promote Your Personal Profile and Small Business Brand

Google+ photos adds another dimension to the Google Plus social network and provides additional opportunities for small business marketing and branding.

The Google + photos option is accessible via your Google Plus home page by clicking on the photo icon as illustrated below:

When you click on the photos icon, you will see a menu on the left hand side which gives you some options for what to display:

As the default option is ‘Photos from your circles’, these will be shown as a collage with the number of comments in the top right hand corner of each photo. If you click on the photo, you will see the image displayed in a Lightbox with the comments listed on the right hand side. You can also add your own comment at the bottom. Here’s an excerpt from a display of photos from my circles:

Uploading your own photos to Google+ to create albums

On the right of the Google+ photos page, you will see the large icon – Upload New Photos. Once you click this, you will be able to add photos to an existing album or create a new one and then share the album with your circles, the public or individuals. They will be able to view your album as a slideshow. In the process, you can tag the photos with your own name or that of someone you are connected to.

It is important to check out the “Your albums’ option when you are on your Google+ photos page. Even if you have not personally uploaded any photos to Google+, you will probably find some albums created by Google from its own index (as I have mentioned before, Google is watching you!). I checked out the ‘Your albums’ page on my Google+ account and discovered I had 11 albums, some of which I did not want and others which needed a name change. You can delete albums and change their names from the “Your albums’ page. You can also change the “sharing” settings via the dropdown menu (it looks like the photo albums created automatically by Google are set as ‘private’).

Uploading photos to Google+ from Picasa

In December 2011, Google integrated Google+ with Picasa so that you can now upload photos directly from Picasa to your Google+ account. However, you will need to upgrade to Version 3.9 of Picasa to do this. This recently released version of Picasa also provides expanded ways of editing photos (e.g. cropping and effects) and allows for uploading different sizes of your photos. You can choose the smallest size (800 pixels) but retain the quality of the original photo from Picasa.

To download the latest version of Picasa, click on the following link:

Picasa Version 3.9

To upload photos from Picasa to Google+:

Log into your Google+ account
Highlight the photos or albums you want to share from Picasa
Click the “Share on Google+” button (at end of the page)
Choose a name for the album
Choose image size
Select the circles you want to share the photos/album with
Click ‘Upload’

Picasa 3.9 makes it even easier to share your photos with your circles through Google+ photos and thus build your personal profile and your small business brand.

January 11, 2012

Google+ Business Page for Your Small Business Marketing

Since November 2011, Google has offered small businesses the opportunity to create their own Google+ Business Page. This is a direct challenge to the supremacy of Facebook Fan/Business Pages. It is a wise addition for anyone engaged in small business marketing. The Business Page is really valuable if you actively build your circles on Google+ and update your stream regularly.

When you join Google Plus, you will see an image in the right hand column of your Home page which enables you to create a Google+ Business Page (or Brand Page):

When you click on this button, you will see a range of options for categorising your business page as illustrated in the image below:

The category you choose determines the initial information your provide to develop your Google+ business page.

Google gives examples of the types of businesses that fall within the various categories (pass your mouse over the relevant button to see these). Here are the examples given for the first three categories:

Local business or place – hotels, restaurants, places, shops, services … basically places that you go to (if you select this option, Google can automatically pick up your Google Places and Google map details via the business phone number that you enter)
Product or brand – clothing, cars, electronics, financial services…(where recognition is via an established brand or where you are developing a brand)
Company, institution or organisation – includes not-for profits … (might also apply where you are offering a range of brands in different niches).

Once you have completed the basic set-up of your Google+ business page, you can then add photos and videos and begin to add content to your stream. When you enter a URL as part of your stream content, Google+ picks up the relevant thumbnail and image and some intro information.

Sharing your Google+ business page

Google provides a special URL for your business page which enables you to guide other people to your page and/or to share with your business page circles. With your Google+ business page, you can create circles that you name, while the default circles for business pages are:

Customers
VIPs
Team members
Following

Google offers you the option of sharing your new page with your circles. However, I would set up some content in your stream before sharing, so people have a reason to use the Google+1 button to recommend your Google+ business page (and/or share your content with their own circles). Their +1’s will show up as recommendations on Google’s search results and in Google ads.

When you post to your stream on your Google+ business page, it also updates your Google Plus stream on your personal home page. This means that the content from your Google+ business page is shared with your circles.

How do you delete a Google+ business page?

Many people enquire about this issue but there is a lack of information around, and what is available is often out of date (as this advice will be if Google+ changes again).

To begin the process to delete a Google+ business page, click on the arrow below your name on your Google+ home page (see image below):

Then follow these three steps:

Choose “Manage your pages’ from the drop-down menu
Select the Google+ business page you want to delete
Click on “Delete’ at the bottom of the relevant business page (see image below):

A Google+ business page gives a boost to your small business marketing by enabling you to get closer to your customers (current and potental) through sharing your business message with the right people.