Prince, or the performer known as Prince said so. The online tabloids are saying so.

Do I believe it?  I think people’s habits have changed.

People just have other priorities and the social fever is gone. Like in Dentistry or business everyone is looking for that instrument that solves all the problems of a procedure. I used to have a room full of those solution tools.

The same holds true for Social Networking and prior to that Video’s, as being the latest fad.  But I have found Mobile Marketing, as I have talked about for months, as a real engager of people and solid list builder. Take a look at LocalMobileEngine.com; They have a free trial and no credit cards are needed.

Truth be told, what we really want in online marketing is an integrator of tools that will make everything work together and engage more than 150 people. We can only have 150 people we can keep in touch with consistently and personally on social networks. Not much for all the money and time we spend.

Ok, so why are your social lists made of 15k people or followers, not worth $1.50 per month? If you do not engage the person in a conversation and get to know them then social networking can be a waste and you may be paying someone to much money to implement it or you are spending to much time doing it.

Let’s keep track of our goals.

1. Sell more cases to patients or clients in a tough economy.

2. Attract new people and contact information to funnel them to get them to your office.

So if it is Implants, Botox, Lanap or a Car dealer, you all have high ticket items that you want to sell and use other perks or incentives to get them to do so. The latest marketing technique that finally has statistically significant results to help you today is Mobile Marketing; Text, QR codes, Coupons, and a scheduled autoresponders series.

Your follow-up over a year on potential clients, lead, increases by 400% if you just do what I have been and continue to write about. You may have text reminder’s already through your computer for your patients or clients and this software is not what we are talking about.

I want to create a “Lead Generator” in my business. Ok, you do a mail coupon, quarterly newsletter, ad or sponsor a team etc. Nothing compares to Texting, and interacting with a person. Take a look at some marketing examples that LocalMobileEngine shows. I have found Clint Steiner, who Like Brian Spaeth many of you used in the past, is an expert at Mobile Marketing. He is Level 2 and works with an aggregator, which means his services are more complete and less expensive for you to use.

Remember Social Networking at $2k or more per month to maintain. This starts at $97 per month and he will do a mobile website for our group for free! Bottom line start a Free Trial at LocalMobileEngine.com . There are no credit cards needed. I will be going through the details of the whole system in each posting you read. Talk Thursday, Ciao! Fred:)

As you might all say to Fred Weiner, the marketing planner you have listened to for a while, “I do not want to be bothered my clients or new ones with text messages”.

Now keep in mind this is what we said about email, direct mail, newsletters and all the other marketing tools that have worked for our businesses. What I see is the constant shifting through the years of what works and what starts to lag in effectiveness as times change. These are simply called changing advertising Trends.

So at least look at the numbers that back up why you should text and then we can go through how to use it in a tasteful manner, just like an online banner, Facebook ad or direct mail piece.

• There are 52,083 Text message per second. Yes that stat is every second.
• There are 4.1 Billion Phones worldwide.
• 86% of Americans own a phone.
• 90% of emails are never read. I threw that in to remind everyone that email is considered spam to a high degree these days.
• 80+% of text messages are opened within 1 hour of receiving it.
• How am I doing here for stats? I wish I did the study, but I didn’t. A company names Swigg did and spend millions doing it. More about them later.
• Last year there were 1.56 Trillion text messages sent in America alone.
• 68.7% of Americans are frequent text users.
• Lastly, text message has tripled in the last 3 years.

Ok, good guy Fred Weiner gave you got all the stats about texting; are you sold on the idea that maybe you need to incorporate that into your marketing plan? Believe me it does not matter if you are a doctor or a Mortgage Banker, you need to jump on the bandwagon.

Today I want to introduce the idea to you and then in the next posting I will start talking about strategy.

Take a look at this video that reinforces my stats. Please think about this subject a little, with an open mind and send me some comments. This is new frontier marketing for most of us.

Until next time,

Fred Weiner

I was concerned that I had already changed my credit card account 3 times in a year because of identity capture or being falsified.

So I did my research and came across some sites I found from Mashable. And if you do not know him by now, he is one if not the top leaders of Social Media.

What I found was a number of websites that did a few things besides say they were going to protect my name.

Essentially they were going to give me backlinks by putting me almost everywhere, but not at once to avoid Google logarithms. That way I did not jeopardize being accused of spamming.

There are 100’s of sites that can host your profile, but prevent automated sign-up processes, you need to manually create one profile at a time.

KnowEm is a site that will search over 400 popular social networks and over 40 domain names to instantly check if your name is being used and that is free!! Then if you of course they will charge you to secure your brand across the social web and then….

KnowEm will Grab your name and secure your brand before someone else does.

But there are differences in how these companies keep you up to date as new social sites emerge, as only one feature

It is good to be back talking to you after a long summer techno break.

So many things have happened online and off that it is hard to pick one thing to speak about.

As promised this Etouch broken into two parts.

Part #1 Being something that can help you tomorrow in your business.

Google Places (Maps)SEO tips and Avoid Identity for Optimization

Part#2 Will be some Techno information that will help the advance people and those that want to learn more about the Internet.

Some of Part#2 Highlights first:

SEO Header and Footer keywords beating the Meta tags in importance!!  We have Google changing all search, Google TV,  Pay per Performance Networks, Group buying on Facebook or TrialPay. Blogger versus Google Sites, YouTube only allowing better Video’s having better rank??  That is just,”User Easy”, material.

Part #1

It may seem boring but Maps was in Maps then Google Business.

Now it is controlled by Google Place. Oh Boy, what does this mean, you can get back your map, like the old days to position A Or B. Maybe, but it will take more work and cost you.

It is not like lifting weights harder, but it will take time and they are making you pay to be special. Yes they developed something called Tags. You may have heard about it. You need a owner verified account (simple to get) and $25 per month.

Oh, I forgot you must have giveaways things or coupons; the list goes on. Just go to Google Place.com and they will walk you through it.

The nice part is if you have a good niche you really stick out with the yellow arrows or identifiers. That is one reason they charge you. First you have better position again means 6% more clicks. Then the Tag gives you an additional 6% more clicks.

Places is a another name for a Google Page or mini-site. You put everything here, web links, blog links, video’s, review etc. That is why you need the tag it will work faster than filling up places with content until it busts or tells you that you are 100% complete.

Ok Fred so how does this effect me tomorrow. I put someone in it and he got 975 additional clicks that month. NOT BAD. Divide that by 30 days and he got 3 or so new clicks the next day, ok the next few days.  That extrapolated into an unbelievable ROI.

Call or contact me on the contact sheet on the website for guidance or help.

Press here to get to the contact area. A little talk on the phone or email will get you through this. If you need more help I can help implement it for or with you.

These Etouchs get long so for the Identity Seo Optimization and Theft identity registration information just please go to my website engagetheory.com and go to the blog and you will see it Friday.

The techno information will be there also.

Tags you may know of already, but Places is evolving so lets act as a big group and

discus this openly. I am going to try and set up an open forum next month. So we can all communicate on apps, optimization and general marketing.

Talk soon, go to the site for the other info on Friday.

Cheers,

Fred

After I wrote an article saying I would not go back to Starbucks because of the non-free Wifi, paying $5 for a card and getting $2 off a drink at the time, both the CEO and Frank Buzzo contacted me. I was astounded by the fact these people, high on Starbucks executive ladder took the time to answer me, a commoner.

Well we all know what happened within 2 weeks of my email with them; big announcements about Free Wifi coming July 1st. I got so many emails about what I helped change. I would have loved to believe all of them.

Yes I would like to believe that I had something to do about making that happen. I felt like I did. I even gave it 5 minutes from my Andy Warhol 15 minutes of fame we all get in a lifetime. Of course Andy did not include child birth and my son took more than 15 minutes.

OK, Free WiFi, it is time to go back to my favorite coffee establishment. Of course I am now an expert on how to help Starbucks. So I am looking at things much differently. I am even feeling taller as I walk in the door.

But Did I Really Help Starbucks Last Time?

Most people know I am an online marketing director and was director of an offline advertising company back in the day. So wherever I go I look at things from a marketing standpoint. I love the subject of marketing and always will.

So I am back in Starbucks awaiting my fantastic new experience. Now it is time to sign on for my “FREE WIFI”! No more $5 Starbucks card check ins to get free WiFi. So I went to add a new network connection and nothing says Starbucks? HMMMM.

When I go to Panera Bread or Charlie’s Italian Castle they say both those names on the sign in for free WiFi.

Now I see many networks but no Starbucks? The first one says att as a network.. But what is att? So I connect to that network, then open Chrome and there is a Starbucks page. Luckily I knew the relationship and guessed the network correctly.

My point is Starbucks execs seem like really great engagers and care about their customers, but levels below them someone is missing the details or they do not exist.

Most in the ad world know one of the major motivations for businesses to offer Free Wifi is to get a customer’s name and email and give them some offer. Starbucks now has no more sign on and no product offers on a sign in page.

So is Free the idea and Starbucks does not need to increase its list of clients to contact and get return business?

I am in Starbucks and I got my Ice Coffee, which is great there, and I get a stamp for $2.00 off something on my receipt. I could not read because it smeared on my receipt. Then I notice a receipt on the floor and I wanted to pick it up but felt guilty someone would come back looking for it…….

Then I said am I crazy, I am picking up receipts on floor for coffee products?

So time went buy and now at 12 noon there was only one seat, which I luckily got, and there were laptops everywhere, so different than before. This was great Starbucks, you really filled the seats at noon. That is really a great feat.

I was at Starbucks to meet some potential clients. They were late so I went to get another Ice Coffee. A nice women was there and got it for me and handed me my receipt. Guess what happened, she forgot my stamp. Now feeling like a 4 year old, I looked at her and almost cried and asked for my free stamp. She said how sorry she was, bla, bla, bla….

Would it have made more sense to put a special offer coupon with a unique number at the entry of the att sign in, or could she have given me a unique number? Well the last idea already lead to human error, so forget that. Of course all this unique number stuff takes computer coding and a lot of money. But Starbucks has $120 million to spend on a truly brilliant newspaper, TV ad campaign to attract new customers.

So is the strategic marketing plan to get people into a store and keep spending money doing that? No email offers for new visitors. No follow-up? Or are new customers one shot wonders?

Ok some icing on the marketing cake. I go to show new potential clients how smart I am about what is happening with online advertising and how great Starbucks is leading the way with validating Foursquare and guess what happens.

I am in Lincolnshire Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, there is no Starbucks listed on Foursquare. I went through the listing twice. The stores around it were listed. They looked at me I looked at them. Well maybe they changed their telephone number, or are not registered ????…..

Just as an addition, I tried it at another Starbucks the next day and got the same thing, no listing.

This is not a bash of Starbucks. This is to help any way I can. My wife is a shareholder and I have to watch her interests. My wife is essentially a Starbucks partner.

WHO monitors their Facebook Fan Page? A team, a person?

Is there an online philosophical statement that Starbucks implements that says do not pay attention to the companies complete Fan page?

Starbucks Fan Page monitors missed the pornography ads for starters at this LINK and this LINK. You can go to a picture the 4th one from the left in your picture area and you have a girl advertising pornography. How did I know to go there. I have used Facebook, Twitter and others for a number of years, you develop an idea what looks like porn.

Is the answer you cannot catch everything or whoever is in charge is not training or having people screen the information consistently? Or is no one or some one not paying attention?

Lastly, there are two sections on the Fan Page under Discussions and Notes.
The notes section has not been updated since January 9th 2009 and is a confrontation about whether or not Starbucks supports the war and does not send coffee. They apparently support the war, but, as I understand it, the kids don’t qualify for coffee??

That is their philanthropic area and it is not updated since 2009.

Lastly, the discussion section about Starbucks issues updated in January 2010 slams the Starbucks Gold Card. Whatever that is.

In the last two sections no one is watching or updating some sensitive material and it looks like no one who is monitoring this area cares about those issues. OK so who cares, about pornography, war issues and bad criticism with no rebuttal or elimination?

Just ask what your favorite Ice Cream is? People look beyond the polls section of a fan page. Although the polls help you tell what your customers want. The other stuff they don’t want and the image can become we don’t care! Just buy coffee.

Unofficially I am working for Starbucks. Just working for small beans:)

Thank you Starbucks for allowing people to speak up and talk to you. You are truly a Great American Institution and I would not shout out like this if I did not care about your company.

I think it is great that Starbucks has given credibility to the Foursquare Game on Facebook.

They are making offers for great Starbucks products if you, “Shout out”, you are at Starbucks at that moment.

What a great day for online marketing techniques becoming as a real source of getting clients, “now”, to your business. Emerging technology emerged. This of course has encouraged many other companies to advertise online using Foursquare.

However, you make free or discounted offers to consumers but charge for WiFI??

Let us put aside the fact that you can have your own online service through many vendors who supply this service. But why increase spending for consumers when most people and businesses are making Free WiFi a standard in business operation.

I did very small research project and in the last two weeks have gone into Starbucks and a competitor at 12 noon.  When I got to Starbucks I was about to order and was told that WiFi was $5 on a Starbucks card? There were 5 people in the store and not a computer to be seen. I left because Free WiFi is very common and thought I would check this out.

The competitor down the street had free WiFi was packed, hard to get a seat and there were a lot of computers.  They had no offers of free or discounts for using FourSquare.

So why give a free item or discounted one and charge $5 for WiFi? Am I,or someone in the marketing department missing this. Starbucks truly great idea, I am not sure has been thought out by Starbucks or many consumers. But then again the Starbucks I went to were almost empty at 12 noon.

For a company that cut back everything to save themselves and even jobs, is this really missed something in their offer to the consumer?

Are consumers even paying attention?

Personally, I want this to work for Starbucks and business all over the country. Helping out economy is really the main goal here.

Thank you Starbucks for making it possible for open constructive discussion to occur.

Fred Weiner

www.engagetheory.com

P.S. I believe  Burger King will have WiFi next week or so, and I think they have great coffee drinks! :)

Newest Online methods to get New Customers

I am about to get into one subject that you may have heard me talk about on several occasions. Except now in more detail. To coin a phrase, ” I promise not to play Games with you”.

As a Bonus I will tell you how to make you job of doing blog posts super simple, no matter what level you are in online knowledge.

Ok, it is Foursquare time. Wait, Wait it is not your typical game. Yes it applies to all business and doctors.

“Mayors of Starbucks Now Get Discounts Nationwide with Foursquare”

Why are they doing this? Starbucks is legitimizing Foursquare as the key player in the space for now.

Considering Facebook is offering Location features next month, Foursquare is there now and in a fun way.

Foursquare had over one million people join last month. So how do you use it?
Promote it on your fanpages, website, blog, Tweet it, Linkedin update, Facebook post for sure; all with a compelling offer.

One offer is for a first time visitor, repeat customer and the “Mayor”. Who in the World is the “Mayor”? That is the person who comes to you as a customer the most often, in a certain period of time. That is what Starbucks is doing.

Everyone online wants local search so bad, here is your best local search possible in real time!

Ok for many to promote this is simple, for other it means being more creative. What in the world could a dentist offer someone to come in more often; “Drill Slower?”

No but how about whitening for life, free tooth paste, Starbucks cards, Free Wifi,
or just a cleaning at a discount. You want a custom plan call me, I will help you.

But you Surgeons, accountants, Lawyers, professional people are tough. Many times I have heard people in this area of business say, ” this will effect my image….!”

It really doesn’t since only you and the Foursquare new clients and old ones who think you are cool, because they play Foursquare.

You have to lighten up a little, be flexible and remember this is one technique, but with a compelling offer you will get customers now.

Those customers should give a tip when they come to you. So great service and a special offer for foursquare and you will see a response. You will be so far ahead of someone try to use pages of this or that directory to get local search.

One last note, the way the people know you are on Foursquare is the satellite in the sky. They tell the Foursquare app on your phone what location the phone is in. So no offer people may say something not as great as you like. Make it fun you and you are a winner.

I am throwing in an extra tip for today. How to Make your Blog Post Simple and Fast.

“Google Talk”

Of course you have to have a Gmail Account. If you do not already you should, or you are missing out on more than this eTouch has time for.

Google Talk is a way to send another person a talking email. Ok, so what else do I need or how does this help speed up my blogpost?

Well Google Talk also transcribes it into an email. So if you are driving in the car, do not like writing, etc. All you have to do is talk into a microphone or built in mike on your computer and talk about what your Blogpost is going to say and here is a transcribed copy of your blogpost. Edit it a little, then past into Google Docs or Micro Word, etc. check spelling and grammar, then the transcription is ready to be sent directly to your blog.

Need help with Talk, no problem. Open your account with Gmail and call or better yet email me a time that is good for you and I will walk you through it. I may even post a link with a short video explanation for Thursday.

Until then, open your local search control with Foursquare and do your blog posts the easy way.

Let us look a number of reasons to have it in your office.

First, I want thank you so much for the incredible response to the last course offering. So many old friends signed up. Then so many of you all were left on our waiting list. So we opened up one more set of class offerings.

We still cannot get everyone enrolled, so it will be first come first serve. Please go take a look at the offers if you have not yet. The registration will be open until 5/17/10. Go to This LINK and register now. Then read about how you will only win by using the Free WiFi.

Free WiFi Client Offer:
You might be saying if you were a dentist, physician or Lawyer, that my client is in my chair or I am sitting in my office talking to them, how can this help me? I already have them as my client. A restaurant, coffee house, spa, might say I do not want people just to come here for free stuff…..

Let’s for a moment keep an open mind and see what can happen if you use this idea!

Ok, let us look at this a little closer. Let say you put a sign on the door Free WiFi. That is a start, but does not cause people to be waiting outside your business door to get in.

But being in all the Free WiFi listing on the internet does. Not to minimize all the backlinks and Google pages that professionals and businesses of all kind are getting.

Still not impressed, ok I will try harder.

The day of treating a patient or client with spa like treatment has not died. If anything we are looking for more ways to make our business stand out beyond our competition. People like coffee or tea in any business. This coffee house mentality has only been popular since 1998.

Ok, what about offering customers headphones, TV and free telephone? Again, we started offering that in 1999 again. We need some new, good idea to attract and impress people.

So What is this new Free WiFi idea?

Let us say some new person comes to your business and they sign into your Free WiFi connection. Part of their understanding is for this nice privilege you get to keep their name, address and email, with permission to send them things. That is the least they can do. Now you are building a new list. Believe me, statistics show people are looking for Free WiFi.

Businesses utilizing this kind of internet access can also benefit from additional advertising and promotional opportunities by placing key messages on the welcome screen at the login stage.

Also, if you are in a building other people may hook into your network by not even being in your office. Free advertisement compliments of another office. For that matter it can be established how far, in distance, you want to offer the free service.

It is more than a cup of coffee, TV or other commonly used office accoutrements.

Myself and much of the population, is commuter based with internet needs. Ok we have Iphones, and all the online devices. Have you ever worked on a document or spreadsheet on a handheld? How about all the other things you need a laptop for.

Many people have wireless remote access for their laptops. The majority of laptop owners don’t have this luxury. Soon enough it will be free for everyone everywhere; or so the government said a month ago. So this window of opportunity is going to be short lived-maybe 2 years or so.

So would I pick my dentist, physician, chiropractor or restaurant, based on his WIFI free service? Maybe. He or she is showing me they are state of the art in technology; so they are probably keeping up their education!

Let us say all the above is true and people will pick your business because of Free WiFi. In this highly competitive world, you now have the opportunity to build a list of new people, advertise, get Google ranking increase, gain local directory free publicity and impress people how much you care to make it convenient and comfortable for them to come to you!

I think you can even raise your fees a little once you engage and get to know these people. You are setting yourself apart from your competition.

Advertise Free WiFi on your website/door/menus/receipts and any other creative place you can think of.

When adding your business to local online guides and directories, always mention the free Wi-Fi so that if a potential customer googles “Free Wi-Fi Bellevue” you will appear in the first few results.

So how do you get around having a bar full, reception full, of laptops at 11 in the morning all sitting around one table sharing a single coffee…?

For me the clever options above handle all of these problems.
After all, you have more chance of selling something to someone in your bar, restaurant, dental office than someone who’s not, so another opportunity to bring customers back to your business is worth serious consideration.

This means that while you might have a sea of customers accessing the internet, you will also have an ever-growing list of names and email addresses of customers you know work or live in your area that you can add to your email lists and keep them informed of your special offers, latest news and more.
I got this from a techie, and I am not one.

Unlock your Wi-Fi Connection so that it is available for everyone.
Rename your Connection so that it appears on an iPhone or Wi-Fi finder device like this:
Mary’s Spa – Free WiFi
Mary’s Spa – Free WiFi/Great Coffee (if this fits)
Mary’s Spa – Free 4 All Wi-Fi

Be sure you mention your business name so that in a crowded street with many connections, the mobile traveler will know it’s you offering the connection.

I will leave you with a personal story. I went to my physician recently for a series of blood tests. I did not know I had to be there two hours. Oh, that was great customer service; I love my physician, but not that much.

I lost 2 hours being there and two 30 minute car rides, to the office and back. So I lost 3 hours of work time. I was very unhappy about that. However, if I could have used my laptop during that time it would not have bothered me as much, probably not at all.

You Implant, and outpatient docs this is great for the care-taker.
This idea is a win, win for everyone.

If you are interested, there are 11,000+ who read this. If we get enough docs we can probably make our own deal as a group to get great rates. It is not expensive per month to have the service, this would make it pennies.

No obligation, Just send us an email and Iwill put you on the get info list. Then we can tell a service how many customers we can bring them and see what they say.

Until Thursday, Part 2 in the Ongoing Series
Regards,
Fred

The reality is there are at least 10 methods to do so.
The next series of eTouchs is about the methods to do so.

Some of the methods may seem silly or you feel they will not work. I would try to keep an open mind and remember at one time the thought of the world as round was a joke. That is how the internet is working these days.

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1. Should my office offer Free WiFi?

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In this Part 1 there are two sections, one giving you ideas of how great of an idea Free WiFi is for a business and Thursday, How does it apply to your business?

The answer to the question of should I have Free WiFi in my office for marketing is, absolutely.

First how may businesses have Free WiFi available?

Ok, for a restaurant, or coffee house this is great, people come and sit all day and buy very little, but use your Wifi. Right?
A doctor, accountant, car wash, having Wifi available, how is that going to get them new clients?

The first for-pay solution provider agreed that the culture was embracing the notion of free Wifi in coffee shops and restaurants.

Although they were still required to create an account, they were no longer required to supply billing information.  Everyone was happy. Is the picture of how this will work coming closer?

“Table Camping”, and other unauthorized usage, should not be a concern in most businesses. Free WiFi solution  helps a venue’s customers connect to the Internet and enables venues to connect to their customers.

Each week, you can receive an email summarizing your customers’ usage of their Wifi service.  They can see how many individual customers connected and for how long.  They can see how many are repeat customers and how many are new.  Graphs and charts help  see which days of the week and hours of the day got the most WiFi usage.

The telecommunications giant, which is the official U.S. wireless provider for Apple’s popular iPhone, last week announced that iPhone users will get free WiFi access at all of its hot-spot locations.

A car wash typically generates $10 per visit and a hotel generates $60-$300 depending on the market.  But regardless of the business, there’s no doubt that commercial-grade free WiFi pays. Because the measurements of usage have gone up 236% in one year.

It’s also clear that commercial for-pay WiFi will impact your bottom line if you have

a nearby competitor offering free WiFi.(If you missed it there were three, not two, methods to market already mentioned and not the strongest methods yet!)
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Next Tuesday’s Post: Using WiFi for what it is: A sales and marketing tool!

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Always looking for new Marketing Techniques for Business.

Buy the way, there are 5 Seats left in the Online Marketing and Facebook Class

All other programs sold out. So Press this link until Friday May 17th and you might get one of the seats available.

Best!

Fred:)

Something that’s going to inject virtual steroids into your digital marketing efforts – the type of thing that will literally floor you when you see the results, i.e. all the new patients calling to make appointments.

(Not only that, but I’m giving you a few of the hottest mobile gadgets on the market right now completely for FREE. Keep reading for that info!)

Why now? And more importantly, what is this amazing program???

Excuse my sense of drama, but I’m not ready to tell you all the details just yet.

As to the timing, that’s a simple answer – the digital marketing landscape has changed drastically over the past six months. You’ll be pleased to hear that these changes – while dramatic – have also been definitively positive.

All the great things I’ve told you about and helped you implement – online video, SEO, social networking – have gone to the next level in terms of how effective they are.

And me…? Well, I’ve been work-shopping, and testing, and working tirelessly to figure out the master plan you can plug right in and use to bring in new business quickly.

Now…before this is all thrust upon you, I need to ask you for one thing. Next week I’m going to be putting up a survey right here on this very site.

I’ll be looking for your feedback – what you know, what you don’t know, what you want, and what you don’t want. It won’t take too much of your time, and you’ll find you actually learn quite a bit about your own business by taking it.

Keep an eye on your email Thursday for more info on that free gift, and then of course on Tuesday for the link to the survey.

And of course, one or more of you is gonna end up with a valuable little gadget that EVERYONE is talking about. Let me know if you want the scoop early – shoot me an email and I might blab a bit to you early – I’m that excited about what’s coming up.

I wanted to go a little more in-depth on this by showing some of the various choices that are out there.

The biggest and brightest these days are Twitter, Facebook, and Google, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some others that have a lot of value, also.

1) Foursquare – Foursquare is a social network that is highly mobile, and the basis of it is that when you go somewhere, you “check in” via your phone.

Foursquare also internally keeps track of who goes where the most, and people become ranked customers of participating establishments. Basically, companies can give out regularly updated prizes to their best customers, and those customers are showing off that status to all their friends.

Imagine your practice is on Foursquare – this is a fun way to thank your best patients and encourage them to not only come in, but to help promote your company via Foursquare.

2) YouTube – Everyone more or less knows what YouTube is at this point – the world’s largest video hosting service. What people don’t know as much is that YouTube is a handy little social network of its own.

Not only that, but it’s owned by Google, which means your videos are tied into everything else they do, including Google Friend Connect, the main hub of their social networking ecosystem.

3) Yelp – Yelp incorporates different aspects of several other social networks, including Foursquare. The thrust of their existence is consumer-supplied reviews, and they’ve recently started including “check-ins” and such.

This one is changing quite a bit, but as a place where people can quickly and easily review your practice for their network, it’s one I’m keeping a close eye on.

As you can see, the options here are basically endless as far as ways to interact with your current patients and expose your practice to new ones. Simply having a presence in these spaces generally costs nothing other than the manpower needed to run them.

What is undeniable is that it’s essential to be there NOW, and I want to help you understand why exactly that is. If you hop over to our courses page, you’ll see we have some very affordable introductory courses to social networking and digital marketing, and I’m also available simply for consultation – I invite you to pick my brain.

If you want more info just like this delivered to your inbox on a regular basis, please make sure to sign up for my eTouch Email Newsletter as well.

(You can read more about it here on their site, and if you missed the last eTouch where I broke it down a bit, just shoot me back an email and I will send you a copy.)

The other thing I talked about was how you – as a practicing dentist – can take a little inspiration and strategy from Pepsi in order to get your practice seeing the benefits of a social media marketing program, i.e. new patients.

When I lay out strategies and concepts for our clients at Engage/Theory, there are three main questions I always ask myself.

1) Which networks do I want to be on and what purpose does each of those presences serve, both in the overall strategy, as well as in relation to each other.

2) How long do I expect the building of the network and its followers to take before serious marketing efforts can begin taking place?

3) What measurable goals can be presented once the program is running in order to assess whether the plan is working, needs to be tweaked, etc?

I realize that probably sounds somewhat vague and perhaps even overwhelming. In truth, that’s why people like myself and my company exist – to walk you through this process, and in some cases, handle the whole thing for you.

My big push for every new or potential client I talk to is that they really should understand what’s happening in these spaces.

Same as you wanted to know the who/what/when/where/why of the newspaper ads in the old days, if you’re putting time and money into social media marketing, you need to know the details and theories behind it. The nice thing is it’s not that complicated – in fact, it’s fairly simple.

One of the best things I can offer you today is more knowledge. Through this link is my Facebook Courses Page I offer through my company, Engage/Theory Digital Business Marketing.

The classes are affordable, simple to work with, and will leaving you knowing definitively what this stuff is all about and whether it’s time for you to dive in with your practice.

We also have Twitter and Google classes, and I recommend those, as well. Twitter, Facebook, and Google are the three hubs of social networking for now and the future. Whether you know it or not, you need to be there – let me show you how and why.

Once again, here is the link for the Facebook classes – take a look and see what it’s all about.

Thanks again, and if you click through to this new blog post, I’ve written up in some more detail how some additional options beyond Twitter and Facebook – I think you’ll find it a helpful and interesting read, as I look at each of these as possibilities for every client, as well.

If you have any questions about anything, please email me or call any time!

Pepsi’s big marketing move this season is their Refresh Everything program, which is ejecting the traditional Super Bowl commercial in favor of a $20M social media driven program.

Trading in the highest rated television broadcast of the year for Twitter and Facebook? If that doesn’t tell you how much the times are changing, I don’t know what does.

The question I promised to answer in this post was how a smaller business might copy this strategy to engage its own consumers.

The baseline key is engagement – by creating a compelling program, Pepsi is encouraging its customers to contribute content, talk about what Pepsi is doing, and essentially do their advertising for them.

A smaller local-based business could have even more success with this type of movement and engagement. Here is just one tiny example, and let’s assume “Joe’s Deli” has built itself a nice presence on Facebook and Twitter.

(This is essential and a massive mistake that I see continually made – you can market to and/or utilize your network until you’ve built it!)

Now, Joe is obviously not changing the world on a mass level and funding $20M programs like Pepsi, but that doesn’t mean Joe can’t make his current customers ambassadors for his company.

What if Joe’s Deli posts a notice that he offers 10% off to anyone who buys anything and sends out a Twitter or Facebook update about it on the spot?

Every single one of those updates is a free ad, coming from someone who isn’t Joe – how valuable is that? Word-of-mouth from people you trust beats an advertisement every time. This could be happening all day, every day.

The key here? Have a network and know how to use it. You do that, and you can make it work for you all the time, at no cost other than keeping up with your Twitter and Facebook. Let your network do the work for you by providing value to them for doing so.

First thing to do is get your network built. If you have’t yet, please check out our course page – we offer some very affordable intro and advanced courses that will make you an expert in no time.

We also offer a totally free digital marketing analysis and consultation, so feel free to get in tough with me here.

Pepsi= sugar = cavities = trips to the dentist.

Don’t just to that conclusion just yet – I’m talking about Pepsi’s marketing tactics, not their delicious and refreshing line of cola products.

(By the way, it’s been a couple weeks since you heard from me – I hope the start of the year was a good one for you.)

Back to Pepsi – you may have read that Pepsi is ejecting all plans to purchase Super Bowl ad time in favor of a $20,000,000 social media outreach program.

Yes, instead of millions of people worldwide watching the latest innovation from their ad agency, the second largest cola brand on Earth is hanging out on Twitter and Facebook. (The thrust of the movement is called Refesh Everything – you can read more about it here on their site.)

Now, obviously Pepsi is such a worldwide institution that one could easily argue that them not doing a Super Bowl ad will net them more publicity than any ad they actually ran.

The fact remains, however, that this act is game-changing.

I’ve felt for some time that 2009 was the year that businesses noticed social media and dipped their toe in, and that 2010 would be the year they started really, truly utilizing it in noticable and measurable ways.

What Pepsi is doing is absolute proof of that – these tools are real, and if you’re not using them, your competitors who are will steamroll you.

Details, details, though. What does this mean for you and your practice? What are you supposed to do and how are you supposed to do it?

The first thing you need to do is is at least get up to speed with 2009 practices and dip your toe in. One of the easiest and best ways to do that is to learn what the heck all this stuff is.

I want you to take a look at the line of Facebook classes I offer through my company, Engage/Theory Digital Business Marketing.

There are three levels, and they’re the perfect way to get a grip on what exactly this Facebook stuff is all about. There are full outlines on this page, so you can see exactly what you’re getting into.

(We also offer Twitter and Google classes, and yes you can take all three programs at once.)

I cannot stress enough – social networking is the future for business marketing, from the largest companies on Earth to the smallest. These courses are being offered at a discount rate through the end of next week – that’s January 23rd. Get in now – 2010 is here, and it means business.

Thanks again, and don’t drink Pepsi – it’s terrible for your teeth!

If you came from my latest email newsletter, you know I’m talking about Google Wave. (if you don’t get my newsletter yet, you can sign up in the sidebar. Free and full of useful info. A lot of what is talked about here is expanded upon there.)

Google is what some people are calling “Email 2.0″ or “an email killer”. Basically, it takes the best of email, instant messaging, and the sharing of Google Documents, and throws it all into one pot of information and collaboration.

Rather than explain it in words, I think the best thing you can do is watch this quick video, and then join me below, where I have an assignment for you.

Before you go running off into the wilderness in a flurry of confusion, listen to these two statements:

1) It’s not as complicated as it seems.

2) You’re going to need this.

It’s all about baby-steps, which is why I am offering my Google Level 1 course (nicknamed Pre-Wave) at a special low price from now through the end of the calendar year.

The Google Level 2 course is in there also, and you can feel free to sign up for both. I’ll get you through the first level, and then we’ll get Waving in the second.

Email me directly with any questions at fred@engagetheory.com, and I’ll be sending my first eTouch of 2010 a little after the first. It may just come through Google’s system, also – it would behoove you to connect with me through there.

Happy holidays, friends.

In Tuesday’s eTouch and blog post, we tackled Gmail and how it can enhance the ease of running your practice a bit.

One theme presented therein was that of sharing information via Google, and that’s something I want to expand on today.

The goal for Google – much like Facebook to some extent – is to get you to have your entire life or business to run through Google in an easy and inexpensive manner.

Documents, email, contacts, maps, photo/video hosting, etc. If they have their way, one day soon your phone bill will disappear in favor of a free Google phone service. Yes, look up Google Voice, and just this week, the Google Nexus One Phone.

It’s here in a very early phase of testing, and I can tell you from experience it’s going to be amazing when it’s fully rolled out.

(The reason Google can give you all of this for free is because they’re basically an advertising company. They give you free applications that help you, and in exchange, you never leave Google and put up with the occasional advertisement.)

In any case, all of these things are meant to work together, and the reason is simple – collaboration. Whether it be collaboration within your own work, or in business, or in family matters, allowing Google to “run your life” enhances things immensely.

Share a document with a new colleague in Google Documents? They’re now automatically in your address book and elsewhere. Have a patient database stored in your company’s Google account? Now you can share it with the other members of your office no problem.

Buy a cell phone that runs on Google Android? Turn it on for the first time and all of your information is there already. See where this is going?

I do – and that’s Google Wave. It’s where all these applications collide, and it’s in an early beta-test now. I’ve been talking this up for awhile now, and it’s time to finally explain it – click through to my latest blog post to learn exactly what this wonderful new tool is.

Now, I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed, and there’s no need to. I want to help, and I’m here to help. Helping is what I do for a living. This is that link again to my exclusive Google Level 1 course – it starts running in January, and I assure you, I make you walk before you run in it.

I cannot stress enough – Google is the future – click here to read more about Google Wave at my company blog. There just may be a Google Wave invite there for you…and they aren’t easy to get – I had to go through multiple hoops to get these for you.

(If you haven’t yet signed up for my personal eTouch Newsletter, you can do so in the sidebar link. It comes out on a regular basis, is highly informative, and of course, we keep your email private.)

The first thing you need to do is sign up for a gmail account. It’s a free email account, it’s easy to set up and use, and it’s your main gateway into all things Google. Once you have gmail, you’re basically linked to all the other amazing apps that Google has to offer, and you automatically are in the Google Friend Connect network.

What to do then?

First of all – connect with me! Shoot me an email from your gmail account at engagetheory@gmail.com, and I can start showing you some amazing things.

These are issues that are directly addressed in our introductory course on Google, which you can see more about right here. Don’t forget, anyone that signs up before the end of 2009 will see a HUGE discount on this program.

My next eTouch will be out on Thursday the 17th – it’s a good one. Time to talk Google Wave, which is where this movement is really heading.

The number of messages, notes, and questions was astounding, which is why when I say “overwhelming” I mean it in a good way. Knowing you’re reading, taking an interest, and learning something is what keeps me engaged and motivated to keep sharing.

Last week’s eTouch and corresponding blog post dealt with the onslaught of new tools and applications Google is throwing at us. All of them – in their own way – can become essential elements in our lives, and especially in your practice.

This is all leading to something like this Forbes article’s title, When Google Runs Your Life. Don’t let that scare you – this is not a bad thing. It sounds like a bold statement, but a Google-run life may be infinitely easier to manage!

Let’s say that you, as a Google newbie, are ready to start wading into the waters of this Google-facilitated lifestyle. Where to start and why?

Tackling the “why” first, it’s because Google is, in addition to everything else, establishing itself as a social network. Those of you who have taken my Twitter and Facebook classes know how important this movement is on both personal and business levels.

Google’s social network spans across all of their applications via what they call Google Friend Connect. It’s an essential tool for you to have, and will be such whether you become a heavy social networker or not.

I think you know what I think about that, and what I want to do is guide you through it with some baby-steps. Take a look over at my blog for something you can do in a matter of two minutes that will be a massive first such baby-step for you to take.

A couple notes before you go.

But before you do that…I am offering a course in all things Google that starts running in January.

Anyone who signs up before the end of 2009 will see a nice discount on this. Slots are limited – those of you who have taken my Twitter course know I like to keep it small and intimate.

Now go click over to Engage/Theory to read our latest blog post – I think you’ll find an interesting (and quick!) task ahead of you.

(If you’re coming in fresh, hit the link in the left sidebar there to suubscribe to our newsletter, where I go much more in depth on some of the topics covered here. Also lots of freebies.)

In any case, in today’s eTouch the topic was Google and their roll-out of real-time search, and how the moves they’re making right now in all areas are changing quite literally everything.

The question becomes then, how to start participating in that change? I’d say hop on board with these tools first. (And don’t be intimidated – keep reading to the end of this post and your fears will be soothed, I assure you.)

1) Gmail – This is Google’s free email service, and to say it revolutionized email a few years back is a vast understatement.

2) Google Reader – This is a utility inside your gmail account that will allow you to aggregate all the RSS feeds of all the various sites you visit. All the information comes to you, in one handy place.

3) Google Documents – Google’s versions of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. Again, it lives inside your gmail account, which means you can access and update your documents from everywhere.

4) Google Wave – Quite simply, one might call this “next generation email”. It’s a way to share and collaborate in ways that would have seemed space-age even last year. This one is true innovation.

This doesn’t even touch on Google Maps, Google Voice, and the many other applications and utilities the company seems to roll out on a monthly – if not weekly – basis.

It’s all about making your life organized and easier, and if you’ve noted, all these various things are tied to one another. This is a key point – Google never wants you to leave Google. And hey, if they make it such a great place to be, why would you?

The key is going through the learning process to be able to use these tools. Believe me, once you’ve done it, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.

Scared yet? Don’t be – we’ve got not one, but two separate Google-based courses we’ll be introducing next week, and we’re giving special pricing for all 2009 sign-ups.

Stay tuned to that next eTouch, which is coming Tuesday, December 15.

Oh, and for that exclusive (and free) Google Wave invite, make sure and email fred@engagetheory.com, and put “WAVE ME” in the subject line. They’re hard to get ahold of and going fast, so get in now.