Websites for Small Biz » social media

Web News at Rutgers

Leora Wenger — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:05:11 +0000

Rutgers Jewish Studies has a new look for their website – the home page has a header with a slide show, the News & Events page lists events open to the public, and via the Online Studies section you can learn Israeli Political History, Jews Under Islam, Bible and History and more without paying a penny and in your pajamas (if you choose).

You can see the same template on other department sites, such as these: Political Science, Life Sciences and Women’s Studies. One could play a game of: how are these sites alike? how do they differ?

On the social media front, Rutgers Business School is sponsoring a social media marketing program.

Greg Jarboe, the President of SEO-PR, one of the industry experts in Social Media who will be teaching some of the modules in the Rutgers Online Mini-MBA: Social Media Marketing Program, shared this article:

Online Mini-MBA: Social Media Marketing Program Offered by Rutgers

By Greg Jarboe

According to Justin Leshynski, the Vice President of Davanti Digital Media, 75% of U.S. households use social media. In 2010, 68% of small businesses increased their social media marketing, which drove immediate results to their business. 20% of tweets are about products or brands and companies that blog receive 55% more traffic to their website than those that don’t. To sum it up, 85% of social media users believe companies should interact with their customers.

These statistics came from a video entitled, “Social Media for All: How Social Media Changed Small Business Marketing,” created by Justin after attending the first in-class Rutgers CMD Social Media Marketing Mini MBA certification course in December 2010. Social Media is quickly becoming one of the most important marketing channels and customers expect businesses to have a presence in the conversation.

In response to many requests, the Rutgers Center for Management Development (CMD) will be offering an Online Mini-MBA: Social Media Marketing Program starting on February 28, 2011. This unique Social Media Marketing course is the first online executive education program to be offered as one of the Rutgers Mini MBA programs.

“While some people have flown to New Jersey from as far away as Seoul, South Korea, to take our in-class social media marketing course, we are excited to be able to offer our online course to a global audience. We will continue to increase the in-class offerings to additional locations, including China, but the online format will allow people, regardless of their location, to take advantage of our unique faculty and programs,” says Eric Greenberg, the Faculty Chair of the Online Social Media Marketing Mini MBA Course.

This program addresses questions such as:
• How much should a firm invest in social media?
• What are the best social media strategies and tactics to employ?
• How can a firm measure and track social media?
• How can a firm integrate social media into the overall marketing plan?
• How can individuals employ social media to further their careers?

Designed for executives or teams of professionals working in marketing, advertising, branding, communications, or sales; as well as individuals seeking to employ social media to further their business careers, this course will give participants the knowledge, experience, and practical skills to immediately apply their learning in the workplace. Affordable, for an MBA certification, the 12 week course will only cost $3,500.

Are you involved in a similar program, or know of any?

See previous post: Social Media at Rutgers with Greg Jarboe

Social Media at Rutgers with Greg Jarboe

Leora Wenger — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:34:44 +0000

Greg Jarboe will be one of the instructors at the
Rutgers Social Media Marketing Course scheduled for December 6-10, 2010 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Greg is president of SEO-PR, author of YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day, and member of the Rutgers faculty. I asked him some questions about the Rutgers course and about social media in general.

1) Isn’t social media just for kids? Or at least for the twenty-something set?

According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, young adults continue to be the heaviest users of social media, but the growth in their use of social media pales in comparison with recent gains made by older users. Social networking use among internet users ages 50 and older nearly doubled—from 22% in April 2009 to 42% in May 2010. By comparison, social networking use among users ages 18-29 grew by 13%—from 76% to 86%.

2) Will people be able to learn some analytics in the one work course? Business people often ask, how can I measure ROI on social media? Will the course help answer this question?

Yes, participants will learn about analytics in the course. In fact, one of the sessions is Measuring & Tracking Social Media ROI. And one of students of an earlier course talked about what she had learned in a YouTube video:

3) What sort of skills or background should a person have to take this course?

The only requirement for enrolling in the Social Media Marketing Course is an undergraduate degree. It would be illogical to require additional skills or background. As former Secretary of Education Richard Riley has observed, the top 10 jobs that are in demand in 2010 didn’t exist in 2004. In fact, Facebook was founded in 2004, YouTube in 2005, and Twitter in 2006. So, if you took a marketing course in college before 2004, don’t blame your professor for not covering social media.

4) You seem to know a lot about video marketing. Can you state a few tips on a business can get their video watched?

First, you need to get your video discovered before it will be watched. Why is this necessary? Because 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute. So, you need to optimize your video for YouTube search in order to help it get discovered. Then, after viewers watch your video, a significant percentage need to share it with their friends and colleagues. YouTube is a social medium, not a broadcast medium. It enables users to share videos by embedding them in blogs and sharing them on Facebook and Twitter. So, your video content needs to be compelling enough that users will share it with others.

5) Can you show us some great examples business videos? Or other noteworthy social media uses by a business?

Here are half a dozen examples that I cover in my session on Videos & Social Media:

Blendtec (www.youtube.com/blendtec) increased Total blender sales 700%
Monty Python (www.youtube.com/montypython) increased DVD sales 23,000%
Dynomighty Design (www.youtube.com/user/tkelleman) sold $130,000 of jewelry
Orabrush (www.youtube.com/orabrush) sold $1 million of tongue cleaners
Michelle Phan (www.youtube.com/user/MichellePhan) sold millions of dollars of beauty products
Expert Village (www.youtube.com/user/expertvillage) made millions of dollars in advertising revenues

As for other noteworthy social media uses that I cover in my session, Piper Aircraft used a $50,000 social media campaign to sell $2.1 million of PiperSport light sport aircraft in less than 90 days — providing Piper with a return on marketing investment (ROMI) of 40.0.

Thank you, Greg, for sharing your knowledge with us! You can learn more about the Mini-MBA in Social Media at Rutgers Center Management Development.

7 Social Media Blogs for Small Biz

Leora Wenger — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:03:32 +0000

This post is a sequel to 8 Small Business Blogs – look there for more great small business resources. You should also learn about Twitter chats.

Your small business or organization website is online – but is anyone finding it?
Learn the ins and outs of social media networking from some experts.

Larry Brauner

Larry Brauner is always coming up with great online networking ideas – last week he ran a worldwide networking party in honor of his 58th birthday. He talks about why one should have a blog for one’s business and 10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Blog or Website. Larry doesn’t just spout out his ideas and then walk away; if you ask him to give you feedback on your own business or organization, he will give thoughtful suggestions and ideas. Follow Larry Brauner on Twitter.

Shari Weiss

I met Shari Weiss through Larry Brauner (see, online networking really does work, if you take the time to have a conversation with people, listening to them and adding your observations). Shari writes in a friendly, easy-to-connect manner about how one can use social media to develop your business. And Shari has even more blogs for you to read. Follow Shari Weiss on Twitter.

Debra Askanase

Debra writes a blog called Community Organizer 2.0. The description says “a forum for discussion and opinions on web 2.0 and non-profits” – I found the information Debra presents to be useful to small businesses as well. When you leave a comment on Debra’s blog, she responds in a thoughtful, intuitive manner. Check out her category called Listening. Follow Debra Askanase on Twitter.

Janice Tomich

Janice Tomich has a blog called Calculated Presentations. Here’s how she introduces her site: “Ever experience death by PowerPoint? Find people falling asleep when you present this year’s financials? I will help you build better presentations and create messages that stick.” Find out Why Being Yourself and Passionate Trumps Distracting Habits. Follow Janice Tomich on Twitter.

Shirley George Frazier

Shirley Frazier has a blog called Solo Business Marketing. I particularly liked her post Marketing and Free Advice Doesn’t Always Mix – what do you say if someone asks you for all sorts of free business advice? Shirley might have some business advice that is just right for marketing your business. Follow Shirley George Frazier on Twitter.

Chris Kieff

I feel like I *almost* met Chris Kieff, as he runs a networking group in northern New Jersey, and we talked via Skype at recent Tweetup. Chris writes about internet marketing, web site promotion, advertising, blogs, SEO, and social networking. He provides great information such Top 10 Social Media Guides or his predictions of Social Media Trends in 2010. Follow Chris Kieff on Twitter.

Eva Abreu

Eva has recently started a column for the Home News Tribune in Central New Jersey. The information she writes about may be local to New Jersey, but anyone anywhere in the world can take Eva’s ideas and apply them to their location. Eva has been great about organizing Tweetups in New Jersey, and her enthusiasm is contagious. You can also read more at her website New Jersey Social Media. Follow Eva Abreu on Twitter.