"...And Now We'll Open the Floor for Questions"

I get a sense from our customers (and people that we talk with around town), that there are still a lot of unanswered questions regarding digital marketing, web strategy, social media and whether or not it's a good time to be spending money on such things. This is normal. At one point or another, we all have questions about our businesses (whether you own it, or just work in it). It's good to have a network of people that you can rely on to bounce questions and ideas off of.

One of the roles that we routinely fill for our clients is one of advisor or consultant. This service costs money, and can range from a one-time meeting to an ongoing monthly retainer-type agreement. But what if you could ask questions about the process and get a straight answer WITHOUT the cost or structured agreement? Would you do it?

Here's what I'm proposing:

If you have a question about business—specifically something related to design, marketing, technology, brand development, websites, social media, etc., post it in the comments section after this post or on our Ideavise Facebook page. Chances are that you're not the only person wondering, and we'd like to help get those questions answered.

Another thing; we're straight shooters. We've been around the block and we've got a lot of experience. But if we don't know the answer to a particular question, we'll tell you that we don't know and we'll make a few phone calls to try and find out. We know people. Smart people.

In a nutshell, our goal is to help you make infomed decisions about how to market your business. That's what we do.

So let's hear it. What questions can we answer for you?

—Jason @ Ideavise

Shut Up About Work Already!

Leaving business conversation at work can be difficult for some of us. We're fortunate in that we love what we do. But in order to build lasting professional relationships, sometimes you need to leave work at the office.

If all you talk about is work—even in semi-professional settings like company dinners, coffee with vendors, etc.— you're neglecting an opportunity to connect with people on a level outside of their profession. Find out what makes them tick—better yet, find out about their interests, hobbies and goals. You just might find a common thread that will strengthen the relationship and give you a leg up on closing the sale.

Who says relationships aren't important in business?

When it Comes to Social Marketing—Are You Wasting Your Money?

Recently, I was sent an article on the effectiveness of marketing via social sites like Facebook and Twitter. The article even went so far as to break down the data to show distinctions between the B2B (Business-to-Business service providers) and B2C (Business-to-Consumer providers). I'm sharing the gist of the article, but if you'd like to read the full article you'll find it here at eMarketer.com.

Marketing via social networking sites is the hammer that you use to build the house, not the house itself.