It is my belief that everyone has a story.  Stories are powerful; we find out about each other and about our world through the telling of stories.  Perhaps you've never considered the use of your story for marketing purposes, but it can be invaluable.

When you consider your marketing tools you should definitely include have a story about your services or business. Your story can be how you developed your product, service, organization or company. Tell of the trials and challenges along with the successes.

All good stories have a beginning, middle and end - so think that way when you write your story for your web site.  And include some conflict and a resolution if at all possible.

Surely much of the success of blogging and social media is because people can share stories, or alert others to interesting stories. Marketing is more than technique - it is heart. And the heart of your story can be persuasive communication.

A recent newsletter, the Working Solo Minute, emphasized the power of story. In fact, Terry Lonier, founder of WorkingSolo.com, calls it The Most Powerful, No-Cost Tool for Connecting with Customers. She suggests three key points to using this marketing tool: find your story; develop your story; share your story.

It's best if your story rings with authenticity. That comes from you. But if you aren't confident in your writing ability then find a writer who will craft your story for you. Make sure they collaborate with you to get all the pertinent and accurate information.  You should also spend time talking with them so they can capture your "voice" - your communication style.

Use the power of your story.  It is a way to differentiate yourself from your competitors and it is a valuable part of your persuasive communication.

As a writer of life stories as well as marketing materials I regularly with work with clients to craft their marketing message and story for online use. You can contact me to discuss how I can help you share your story.

        

You invest all the time and effort into a web site with quality content, you keep it fresh and you make sure you have the right keywords. Ok. fine and dandy.

But nothing quite as nice as someone from the media finding your site and writing about it. Journalists are always looking for good stories. The most successful on the web have maximized their niche and are doing something noteworthy - even newsworthy!

More Site Build It! (SBI) sites are getting found by the media - including big media like USA Today, Oprah, the New York Times, MSN and the BBC.  See for yourself at the brand new "Big Media" & SBIers page.

I've used SBI for years for my Your Life Is Your Story site (life story capture services) since 2003 and with good results. I have been interviewed by the media about the importance of preserving personal history by local media and the Wall Street Journal. They all find me because I rank high at the search engines and I keep my content fresh. But SBI has been key. It continues to be worth way more than the cost.

        

If you Twitter, do you care whether celebrities are posting their own tweets or using a ghost twitter? That's a question posed by Amy Dean at her Key Word Communications blog. She has a site that looks into whether celebrities are tweeting or using someone else (www.tweetexorcist.com).  The indication so far is that most people want the posting to be from the actual celebrity, although time demands can make that tough. If it is a ghost twitterer, hopefully they are staying true to the celeb's "voice".

One also wonders about companies using Twitter for marketing, branding and communication to customers. Naturally it would be difficult for key people in an organization to handle all the messages, just as nobody really expects President Obama to respond to all his mail, email, messaging, et al.

Certainly there are people who are capable writers and communicators who understand the new media and could provide the "voice" and service by ghost writing for companies, brands, products and services. So, if you are holding back from using the social media because of time constraints consider finding someone who could be your spokesperson and provide that public relations method for you.

        

We always hear a lot about the importance of customer service, but do you realize it is more than a way to do business? Essentially, it is a way you approach life.  Taking care of your customers' needs is really helping people.

And helping people has its own reward. Doing for others gets us out of our selves.  We focus on others and become less absorbed. And ultimately we feel good about the action. Plus, it is good for your business. You should not focus on helping others out of a manipulative way of getting what you want. But people will ...<< MORE >>

When it comes to creating a presence online that attracts return visitors (that ideally translate to customers, partners or friends) you need to think about what personality you are projecting?

Are you the expert? Intellectual? Funny? Sarcastic? Social commentator? Problem Solver?

The blogging and social media networks give you the opportunity to present your personality. But I think you need to consider how that personality changes - or stays the same - depending on the platform. What you tweet on Twitter or post on Facebook can be different than how you present your professional image via Linkedin or your company blog.

People are attracted by honesty and integrity, but it's not often easy to ascertain from online communication. As virtual as the world has become there is still need for conversations and face time. So we'll continue to see video and voice communication grow.

More important than being a social media expert is knowing and honestly communicating your band personality.

        

There continues to be innovation in the active world of Twitter and a tweeting star became a character from a popular TV show (Mad Men) and engaged thousands of followers.

Carri Bugbee was already an active participant on Twitter. She got the inspiration to "be" the Peggy Olson character and started posting. As this Ad Age video demonstrates, it was so successful (she won a Shorty Award) that she is now building a Twitter Ad Agency for entertainment companies.

Seems to me entertainment properties will want to start guarding who can have their Twitter character names (kind of like the rush in the dot com age to register celebrity domain names). This will be interesting to watch.

        

Because of modern technology, and especially business on the web, it no longer takes as many employees or as large a company  to be successful as might have been true just a few years back.

Independent agents - freelancers, writers, contractors (myself included) can often being solo-preneurs and hire out their services when and where needed. Other companies have fewer employees but an agile business model.  Naturally with the current economic climate we are seeing lots of downsizing.  Seth Godin chimes in with a timely entry about business size, scale and units of measure (here).

Much of my work involves << MORE >>

One of the fastest growing sites is Examiner.com.  According to Quantcast the site is now ranked 316 in overall traffic - pretty impressive growth for one year.  They post news and information contributed by writers in cities all around the US.  You can find out what is going on in a lot of different cities and get plugged into the various culture, news, events, religion, sports and other aspects of a cities' life/activities.

It is also a great way for those of you who are interested in a particular area to write, raise your profile and even make some money.  Examiner.com is seeking writers.

I've just been accepted as the Albuquerque Christian Examiner and I've started posting articles and info.  If you are interested in exploring the opportunity visit Examiner.com and look for the "write for us" link.  Indicate you were referred by me, Tom Gilbert, and include my ID# - 4590.  Good luck and maybe we'll see your byline soon.

        

Everybody likes a freebie - especially food.  Restaurants are discovering the benefit of promoting food giveaways through social media like Facebook and Twitter.  Yes, sometimes combined with other media, but ultimately we are seeing that social network sites are having an impact.

This does not surprise me.  It is the power of the referral.  We all like to hear about the latest movie, travel spot, place to eat and so on, and we give lots of credence to what our friends tell us.  Freebies + Social Media = Hot Restaurant Strategy by Karlene Lukovitz, online here at MediaPost, relates recent successes by Denny's, Quiznos and International House of Pancakes.

        

It looks like some good things may be coming out of the recent uproar over Facebook and their previous terms of service changes (since reversed) that would have allowed them to own and potentially exploit user content.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a press conference today to discuss how Facebook will take steps to improve user understanding and ownership of Facebook terms of service.

Looks like users will get a participating voice in all this, which is a good sign.  According to a CNET post, "The Facebook Principles, a set of values that will guide the development of the service, and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities that make clear Facebook's and users' commitments related to the service" - see CNET