Google was showing that the Associated Press had posted about it. The only other news was from Perez Hilton, who had posted a photo of her leaving a club the night before. No other mention of her passing appeared.

Two minutes later, another blog post was indexed. The ABC post was next. I was amazed to be witnessing how quickly Google was indexing such an “of the moment” event. Within 15 minutes, most of the major media outlet posts were listed.

When my friend arrived at 5:30pm to pick me up for dinner, the internet was a buzz and confirmation and a few details of her death had been received from her publicist.

The moral of the story? Google indexing just books it, trucking along at lightening speed. If people are searching for it, Google’s going to make sure it’s available.

What does this mean for business? Make sure your blog articles are topical, of the moment, and using keywords for which people are actually searching.

I know, I know…there’s a lot of monologues going on out there. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are lots of opportunities to:

• Stay up-to-date on what’s happening in your industry
• Hear about what clients and competitors are doing
• Find out what’s being said about you and your company (the good, bad, and ugly)
• Keep your ear to the ground for the next “it” thing
• Get news first (online news of Steve Jobs’ passing beat traditional media by over an hour on the West Coast, by even longer for media in other time zones who had to wait for the 11 o’clock or morning broadcasts)
• Receive first-hand information about news items (e.g. the Arab Spring, Japanese Earthquake, and much more)

There are many ways to get listening. Here are five:

1. Follow the Key Players: Choose 20-30 people who are “in the know” and follow their Twitter stream.
2. Twitter Lists: I like to check out other people’s well curated lists rather than painstakingly build my own. How does one find these? Well, you can look for lists on accounts of those you think may have built one or you can go to Listorius.com and search for them using keywords. What’s a Twitter List??
3. HootSuite Filters: Hootsuite lets you build continuous searches for keywords. That means that it’s always looking in your choice of program (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, of course, but also mixi and PingFM) for those words and streaming the results in real time. Pretty clever, huh? Keywords can be a company name, an industry, or anything else you’d like.
4. Google Alerts: These are brilliant. Google scans its index for new mentions of your keywords each day and sends you an email. That’s it. Brilliant. More on Alerts.
5. RSS Feeds: Build a stream of blog posts so you don’t have to visit individual sites everyday. You just log into your reader (Google offers one, Outlook 2007/2010 have one built in, the Firefox browser has one), scan through to find interesting headlines and read the blog articles that entice you. More on RSS

Do you find this overwhelming?

Don’t worry. Start with Google Alerts — they’re easy to set up, they arrive in your email at whatever interval you choose, and they link to information that you can either read right away, save for later, or ignore. This article gives step-by-step instructions.

Use Social Media without Saying a Word

It’s true. You can use social media for listening and never send out a Tweet, a Facebook update, or even fill in your LinkedIn profile. That’s the beauty — you get to choose how deep you go. However, if you do engage in the talking bit too, think how much more interesting your interactions will be if you listen and engage in conversations rather than just send information into the cyber-world. This is, after all, they type of behaviour that build relationships, trust, and networks.

Whether you’re constantly on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn or they are programs you set up in July and are hoping to get back to one day, social media needs a bit of housekeeping.

Here’s my list of easy-to-do, high-impact cleaning that will get your 2012 off to a fresh start.

All Social Media

• Update Your Profile: Just take a quick look and make sure it still sounds like you. Replace the head shot from 2001 and do any other quick dusting that needs doing
• Go Through the Contact Suggestions: All of the major social media sites make suggestions about who you might know or might want to connect with, based on your current connections. These can be long lists, but make some time to sit down with a cup of tea and run through these. You’ll be surprised at how many people you know but haven’t connected with

Twitter

• Purge the Follow List: Quickly run through and unfollow anyone you find annoying or unhelpful. Spend your time communicating with people who either offer interesting information, great conversation, re-tweets, or just general support. Release the rest
• Work the Follow List: Is there anyone in there you haven’t communicated with in a while but would like to? Make a note to keep a special eye on their tweets in the next while to start an exchange or send them an @ post
• Review the Followers List: Run through your followers list and “Follow” anyone who seems intriguing or anyone who has engaged with you in an interesting way

Facebook Pages

• Review Your Likes: Take a look at who likes you. If they also have a Page and you find them intriguing, why not Like their Page back? This interconnection is what builds the social networks to a level that supports business growth
• Work Your Likes: Do you have a Like from someone you’d like to get to know better? Make a note to send them an email, a message, or write on their wall
• Take a Look at Other Pages: This is a good opportunity to find some other Pages you’d like to stay current with and comment on. Like them through your personal account and their posts will show up on your Newsfeed for easy . Simply comment, share or “like” their posts from which ever account you’d like them to appear

LinkedIn

• Review Your Contact List: Go through your contact list and make a note of anyone you need to touch base with. Make an appointment in your calendar to send these people an email, give them a call, or reach out on social media
• Check Out Your Contacts’ Contacts: Click on their contact list and see if there’s anyone they know that you’d like to connect with. Already know that person? Just send them a contact request. Want to know them? Ask your contact for an introduction. This is one of LinkedIn’s most under-used functions, in my opinion
• Take a Look at LinkedIn’s Newer Features: So, you think your LinkedIn profile is up to date? Well, LinkedIn constantly adds new sections. Peruse some of their newest such as “Skills” and “Company Profiles”

The trick is to communicate effectively with your photographer. They want the photos to be great too. Here are a few tips to getting exactly what you need:

1. Look at the Photographer’s Portfolio: This seems basic but is key. Every photographer has a different style of shooting and finishing the photos. Make sure you choose the photographer best suited to your vision of the final product (side note: liking your photographer’s personality is really important too, as is feeling like they “get” what you want)
2. Ask your Photographer What You’ll Get: Make sure you know how many finished photos you’ll actually receive in the end and approximately how many proofs you’ll have to choose the final number from. You probably won’t need printed photos for marketing material — just finished photos on a disc. You should also know how much additional photos will cost. Let’s say you get 25 digital photos in your package but you love 30 — you will be able to buy those additional 5 but should know how much each will cost before you fall in love (after all, love can be fickle)
3. Figure Out How You’ll Use the Images: Are these only for a website? They could be used for many, many things: packaging, bus ads, print ads, brochures, social media, online directories, and the list goes on. Will some of the photos be head shots? It’s better to think of too many uses now than to realize you don’t have a photo appropriate for use X because you hadn’t thought of it
4. Write a Shot List: Sounds professional, doesn’t it? You are a professional! Knowing how many finished images you’ll get, plan out how many of each photo you’ll want…5 head shots, 2 building shots, 5 overall product shots, 5 product detail shots, 4 of people making the product, etc. This is not to say that the photographer will only take 5 head shots and 2 building shots. They will probably take several hundred snaps to get your short list of finished images
5. Be Prepared for the Shoot: You’ll have an hour or two with your photographer, so make the most of it. Be prepared. Have the “head shot” people ready to go with their hair done and clothes looking nice. Clean up the garden in front of the building. Have the products you want shot out, shined up, and ready to go. Remember, fingerprints show in photographs. Your photographer will have ideas too and you’ll probably need to go grab things you didn’t anticipate but if all the basics are ready, you’ll be golden.

Most of all? Have fun! Happy energy makes for happy photos. These images will represent your brand, company, and products for the next while and a little planning will make them great.

Looking for a photographer? Let me know; I know a few I can refer you to. Do you have any tips for getting great business photos? Please let me know in the comments!

While struggling to make the switch a few days ago, I asked around on various media to see what other entrepreneurs do. I was pretty sure I wasn’t the only one who got stuck sometimes.

I was right. Here are some of the tricks people use:

• Assigning blocks of time for specific tasks
• Making a game out of completing a task within a given time frame
• Do something completely not work related, like taking a shower, to delineate between busy work and focused work time
• Looking at how many invoices could be generated, if only you could get moving on those projects
• Leaving your usual work space and finding a new environment
• Going to a cafe where there are lots of people diligently working away
• Take a break and go for a long walk (or yoga class)
• Making a meal or snack
• Getting over yourself and just doing it already
• Spending a predetermined amount of time on Facebook or Pinterest
• Taking a nap

Thanks to everyone who offered their tips and tricks. I really appreciate it (and will even be using some of them myself!)

Do you use a trick that isn’t included in the list? Please share in the comments!

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When the comments are good, the results can be fantastic — word of mouth recommendations, new clients, more people visiting your website. Generally, good reviews equate to a level of advertising you couldn’t ever buy. It’s easy to engage with these customers and thank them for their time and good thoughts.

But what about those who leave negative comments?

Now, don’t break into a cold sweat just yet. Yes, bad reviews can take a chunk out of your business but they don’t have to. There are several things you can do to when this happens. Remember, they’re not the only one with the power to communicate. You have it too and with a few pointers, you can deal with anything a Negative Nelly throws your way.

1. Be Open and Non-Defensive: Reply back to the comment or review. Calmly thank them for taking the time to send feedback and let them know that you will take their constructive suggestions into consideration. Let them know that you strive to serve your clients in a high-quality, professional manner and will continue to work towards achieving these standards.
2. Offer a Solution: Are they complaining about a broken product? Encourage them to exchange it — no hassle. The key to this is to treat them as if they were standing in front of you. Don’t brush them off. Let them know that you want to make their experience with your company a pleasant one. As well, this does not have to be done publicly. Feel free to email or direct message them during this piece of the interaction.
3. Invite Other Comments: Don’t agree with the comment or think it was harsh or from out in left field? If you have good traffic to that comment area, others will often disagree and neutralize it’s affects. If you’re concerned that none of your cheerleaders will see the comment in good time, send out a Tweet or Facebook post asking your network to take a look at the comment and let you know what they think about it.

Negative comments and reviews that are left alone (or left for too long) are assumed to be correct. Take the time to check the review sites, your blog comments, and the social media sites for comments on your company or products on a regular basis. Remember, a negative comment is the opportunity to improve somebody’s experience and to show that you take pride in your business and your customer service.

Your Turn

Have you replied to a negative comment before? How did it go? Let us know in the comments.

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