Learn How To Use Social Media To Attract New Business
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Random Thoughts From the ANLA Clinic in Louisville First off, I was blown away by Scott Stratten's keynote this morning. Damn, that guy can deliver the goods! He's a great one to emulate as a professional speaker--he's funny, passionate and authentic. His core message: Your business doesn't have to be fully immersed in social media, but you at least have to have a broad understanding of why it is important and how it is being used (along with other new technologies like QR codes, etc.). Here are some other random thoughts from the ANLA Clinic . . . keep reading
Get the Word Out: Pitch Your Company as an Expert With PitchEngine.com Chris Heiler | January 19, 2012 Recently, I've taken to writing more press releases, primarily for one reason: To provide green industry publishers with unbiased, timely insights into current news and events that I think are relevant to professionals in the green industry. My hope in writing these is that the publishers find value in them and ultimately share them with their audiences. In this post I talk about the service I've been using to create my press releases . . . keep reading
Special Giveaway: Let's Meet in Louisville for Some FREE Bourbon and Education Chris Heiler | January 17, 2012 It's that time of year again. Yup...time to get your education on! And one of the best places and events to do that is at ANLA's annual Management Clinic in Louisville, Kentucky. I'm giving you a chance to "feed your mind" for FREE by giving away a couple of Clinic registrations, complements of my friends at ANLA. Get the details here . . . keep reading
A Tweet in Time: The Importance of Timing in Your Social Media Chris Heiler & Paige Worthy To be successful with social media now, people must trust you enough to invite you into their networks and, really, their lives - and that means being a consistent, constant presence. That presence doesn't have to be huge, and it shouldn't be disruptive. But it should be noticeable, and it should be enriching. Because you're not just pushing advertising and marketing copy to customers now, there's a different set of rules that apply to timing your social media, too . . . keep reading
Closing the Book on 2011: Some Candid Thoughts From the Past 12 Months Chris Heiler | December 15, 2011 To say I've had a challenging past 12 months would be an understatement. My divorce was finalized in early spring. We sold our home at a huge financial loss (all mine, lucky me) in early summer. I sold practically everything I owned two weeks later, said goodbye to my friends and family in Michigan, then hopped a plane to Texas to be with my son. Then 70 days of 100+ degree temperatures followed (it was the hottest three months ever!). Along with those challenges I managed to pick up some insight along the way. I'd like to share this with you here . . . keep reading
How To Get the Most From LinkedIn - Part 1: What Not To Do Chris Heiler | December 9, 2011 LinkedIn seems to be the most misunderstood social network. It certainly lacks the flash and buzz that constantly surrounds Facebook and Twitter. But everyone seems to be on it. It was the first social network I joined, and I would bet the same is true for many of you. Estimates put the LinkedIn user number around 135 million (and they're adding about 1 million users per week). As a green industry professional you can get a lot out of LinkedIn--if you understand the best ways to use it as well as its limitations . . . keep reading
Podcast: Suzi McCoy of Garden Media Group Chris Heiler | November 18, 2011 I recently had the privilege to speak with Suzi McCoy, founder and president of Garden Media Group, the leading public relations and social media firm in the "green" outdoor living industry. Garden Media Group works with big name clients such as Ball Horticulture, Costa Farms, Hines Growers, Campania International and the Conard-Pyle Co. The PR agency also helped introduce The Knock Out Roses and Endless Summer Hydrangeas. There are some great take aways in this interview with Suzi, so give it a listen! . . . keep reading
My Top 5 Favorite...Mobile Apps for Social Media Chris Heiler | November 9, 2011 Apps, apps, apps...I'm a big fan of apps. I go through apps on my Android smartphone like...well, I'll spare you the dirty Walt Chamberlain reference. I've been through a lot of them. Narrowing my list of top social media mobile apps down to just five wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. These are the five that I use most for "business" . . . keep reading
Case Study: How 4 Landscape Industry Companies are Sharing Pictures of Their Work on Facebook Chris Heiler | September 29, 2011 Did you know that Facebook is the world's largest photo sharing site? More photos are uploaded to Facebook than even Photobucket, Flickr and Picasa--each of which is solely a photo sharing site. Did you know that consumers absolutely love looking at pictures of the creative work we do? Notice all the home and garden magazines? HGTV? In our line of work we have an endless amount of creative imagery we can share. And Facebook has proven to be the absolute best place to share it. Here's how four companies in the landscape industry are sharing images on their Facebook Pages . . . keep reading
Packaging Your Expertise: How to Get the Most Impact From Your Content Chris Heiler | September 16, 2011 Every single one of you reading this has extensive experience and knowledge of our industry. If you can learn how to package your expertise you can boost your credibility and grow your business exponentially. We are now our own publishers and PR agents. We control our message. This is a huge opportunity that requires you to create a lot of content on a regular basis. Read more to learn exactly how to do this . . . keep reading
Case Study: Landform Design Group Leverages the Power of Facebook Chris Heiler | August 29, 2011 We can learn a lot by watching what other companies in our industry are doing on Facebook. Case in point: Landform Design Group in Salt Lake City, Utah. I've been following the company's Facebook Page for over a year now and continue to be impressed with how they share images of their landscape work with their Facebook fans. Learn how they "tell a story" through pictures and engage their fans over an extended period of time . . . keep reading
How to Combine Yard Signs with Mobile Technology to Gain More Customers Chris Heiler | August 15, 2011 I've always been a big believer in using yard signs on landscape projects. It's an easy way to "brand" a project site and create buzz before and during the landscape construction process. Now there is an easy way to combine this traditional marketing strategy with mobile technology that will allow you to give project passerby an interactive and memorable experience right from their cell phones. . . . keep reading
