Business Finds You on Twitter from Mark Gehrke on Vimeo.

One of the greatest challenges as a new small business owner is people finding your business.  Michelle Mangen is a virtual assistant that has used Twitter networking successfully to find and build her  small business.

We find Twitter to be one of the best networking tools to discover like minded people and kindle new relationships.  Twitter can be confusing in the beginning.  If you’re just getting started on Twitter we can give you a jump start on understanding how to best use the tool and help you develop a Twitter strategy.

Social Media Panelists Cindy Herbert & Cheryl Detrick from Mark Gehrke on Vimeo.

Renew Summit 09 featured an engaging social media panel discussion with Greg Linnemanstons, Mark Gehrke along with Cindy Herbert and Cheryl Detrick who appear in this video share their excitement around social media for business.

Renew Summit 09 – NEW END from Mark Gehrke on Vimeo.

Renew Summit 09 is a time for NEW North businesses to come and review key accomplishments throughout the year at the KI Center in Green Bay. Presented by New North and NEW END.

Debra and Mark Gehrke where asked to video blog the event.

@mmangen – Twitter Goddess from Mark Gehrke on Vimeo.

Debra Gehrke talks with Michelle Mangen about Twitter, the #newend hashtag and how to use Twitter to follow along with the NEW END event during the day and after the event.

Ross LaRocco Rocks Social Media from Mark Gehrke on Vimeo.

Ross LaRocco, a video blogger at the NEW END event, shares how he uses an iPhone w/ an OWLE video add on device to capture quick videos and upload them almost instantly to the web.  With Ross’s setup, his video blogs went live within minutes after recording them at NEW END.  Video blogging is an excellent way to share your events, create buzz on line and give your event attendees a place to re experience the day.

Interview by Debra Gehrke, Mandala Life Media

Getting More from Twitter Starts with Asking for Help from Mark Gehrke on Vimeo.

Twitter is a great networking platform to connect with your audience.  Twitter can be valuable to build stronger relationships with your customers and your brand.  Twitter’s benefits really come through continued use and building a relevant network.  When you first start using Twitter is can be very confusing.  I believe this is why many people quit the service before they see the benefits.

In this video Debra Gehrke, of Mandala Life Media, talks with Kim Sippola ( @ATWairport ) about how having help with Twitter from Michelle Mangen ( @mmangen ) made a big difference to her understanding of how to make best use of the platform for her.

A valuable thing you can do when you’re first getting started on Twitter is find a knowledge user that can explain it to you.  If you have someone show you how to make sense of the terms, technology and practices you can get a huge jump start. Tweeting can be an enjoyable and valuable experience for you with a little support.

Our Recommendations:

• Find a Twitter mentor
• If you can meet in person
• Be open-minded and curious to learn
• Ask lots of questions
• Do be afraid to try
• If you don’t understand ask for clarification
• Jump in and practice, it’s not about perfection
• Think about how you can add value
• Participate in the conversation
• It’s not all about you
• It’s an evolving medium, keep learning

Want a jump start with Twitter?  We can help.

If you’ve been using Twitter and would like to expand  your Twitter strategy we love to help.  For small businesses using Twitter, getting clear about what you want to accomplish is essential.  Evaluate your strategy up front and remember that strategy to action is a continual cycle.   Your strategy needs continual attention if you want to see results.

Outagamie Co. Airport Uses Social Media from Mark Gehrke on Vimeo.

Outagamie Co. Airport Uses Social Media from Mark Gehrke on Vimeo.

Debra Gehrke talks with Kim Sippola, Outagamie Co. Airport Marketing Manager, about how the airport uses Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to connect with travelers and the community.  Interview conducted at Renew Summit 2009 presented by New North and NEW END.  We love to help support the local North Eastern Wisconsin social media business community.  Social media is still very new for most businesses and navigating these ever changing waters can be challenging.  We hope this video and the story we shared recently about how Grassroots A Salon is blogging to get their story out to the community will give you a little inspiration to jump in and participate.  And if you have more questions we are happy to help.

One of the big questions about social media is, What is the Return on Investment?  This video shares examples of many great positive returns from social media.  With a bit of creativity and innovation you too can see a positive ROI from social media.

We believe social media tools can be hugely empowering for small business owners.  Social media done well, forges stronger connections and better feedback with  the potential for greater understanding of what your business really means in the minds and hearts of your customers.  How valuable is a better understand your customers?  What if your passionate fans would be empowered to become your best sales people?

Social media is not just about marketing and sales.  Social tools can be used for:

• customer service
• research
• trend forecasting
• inventory planning
• internal communications
• crowd sourcing
• and more… What else can social media be used for?  Share your ideas in our comments.

Nice little story about how the communication and connection tools of social media are giving anyone the opportunity to share their business with the world and tap into valuable feedback from their community.

Social media is not a fad and the Social Media Revolution video explains why.