CIMA IT Solutions

Triggering the Expected Results from your Online Efforts.

You are here: Home / Archives for Raul Colon

Chris Brogan #1 on Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers

by

Guy Kawasaki, Raúl Colón (Fundador de CIMA) y Chris Brogan

It isn’t everyday you get Happy Birthday sung to you by one of the Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers but in December, during his show with Joe Sorge called Kitchen Table Companies  #KTCO , Chris Brogan sang Happy Birthday to me in Spanish. I really appreciated the gesture as it was something unexpected and with Raul sending him a message, he gave a great performance.

Top 10 of Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers on Forbes

Since CIMA is a Strategic Partner with Chris Brogan’s company called Human Business Works, we were elated to read that author Haydn Shaughnessy , Forbes contributor, compiled  a list of Social Media users  because he wanted to analyze what these people write about  and the following they have when it comes to Social Media. Feel free to read the article in the link above.

Congratulations to Chris for being named number one on the list. If you have ever heard Chris on KTCO, gone to a conference to hear him speak, or read his blog posts, then you know that he genuinely connects with people.

Thanks to Hadyn Shaughnessy for writing the article.

Shape up your business for 2012!

by

It is a new year and during this month we know that many people will be making resolutions to lose weight, eat healthier, become organized, and enhance their personal lives in all sorts of positive ways.

Resolutions?

What resolutions will you make for your small to medium sized business or organizations for this New Year?

Every business should have a need to re-organize and re-structure for the new year.  Setting company goals for individuals who help run your business is something that should always be done but more importantly to provide focus to those employees on what you expect of them in the coming year.

As a previous employee for companies like Perkin Elmer LLC and Pitney Bowes we had our performance reviews.  In the case of Perkin Elmer, we actually wrote down what we wanted to learn and achieve for the coming months and years. It was up to us in being proactive with our short-term and long-term business goals. Proactive employees means successful projects for the upcoming year translating into a healthier business environment.

Shape Up Your Business

How do small and medium sized companies help shape their business? 

If you still don’t have a website, or feel the one you have is not living up to your audience’s expectations, make sure you get one made by professionals you can trust. The team and I are ready to help small and medium sized companies with enhancing their web presence by starting with a current state assessment of where your business is and how they are using the internet to market services.

Another way you can shape up the company is by looking at your current marketing strategies. If your company needs help with marketing strategies we can provide detailed recommendations and observations of what is being done well or even better yet  identifying areas that need enhancements to meet current business goals and assure the best quality services.

Consulting with our team regarding the content of your website can also help you reach new clients and also put the spotlight on your management and resources while highlighting their expertise and how they can help new and returning clients.

As I have stated before, attracting clients with quality content is important and when it comes directly from your organization it shows that they you are committed towards creating better relationships with your clients and audience.

How has your company started shaping up for this year? How are you involving your resources (employees, management, and staff) to meet those goals?

Photo Credit by by eclipseGrafx

 

 

 

 

6 Ideas to Create Content for Your Corporate Blog

by

It still amazes me on how many people don’t see the purpose in writing a corporate blog. On many occasions someone wants to establish their online presence and they just want a static page. When I ask business owners why there is only a static page, their answer is that they don’t know what to write about on their corporate blog, or even worse that they don’t have time to be online.

When individuals are so resistant to set up a corporate blog it is obvious that they don’t see the value in establishing one. But maybe if they could get an idea of what they can write about it might sound more appealing to them.

5 Suggestions on what to write about in your corporate Blog that can save you time and money:

1. Answering the FAQ’s of your prospective clients

It is great to have a FAQ page on your site but if you can also use your blog to clear answers with more detail, I can guarantee that in the long run it will be useful for you. It can even save time because instead of writing an explanation you can just point them towards the details on your blog.

For example, we answered the question in our blog regarding what music you can play on a website. Thankfully the post has been viewed by many people and in researching the topic, have come in though Google which can be converted into clients.

2. Client or Customer Accomplishments

In our case, customer accomplishments are very important. So if we can find a way to congratulate our customers it might be a good idea to write a few paragraphs about their accomplishment and how that client is tied to you. If the outcome or accomplishment is directly tied to any of your team’s efforts it makes it even more important for you to include a post regarding your client.

Example: When we launched Food Truck Freak a few months ago for a client they received good press coverage andwe highlighted their accomplishment by writing:

“CIMA goes along for the ride with Food Truck Freak in Chicago”.

3. New Products or Services

If you are launching a new product or adding services it is a good idea for you to let your customers know via your blog. Communicating things via your blog can help you reach your audience directly and also clear any questions that your prospective customers might have at a faster pace than publishing a Press Release or any printed material.

Example: We announced how we started our translation services and also changed our website into a Bilingual One.

4. Previous Comments

Make sure your posts have an area to comment. This is another source for future posts. Based on what your audience is asking via the comments area or conversations that are going on in that area, you can generate future blog posts. If you can answer the question quickly answer it in the comments section. If the answer is complex or detailed, I recommend writing a follow up post so your answer can clear the questions of others.

Example: Based on previous questions we had in our comments when @margieclayman offered to write a guest post for us we  took the opportunity to have her straight to the point post on ” Five Keys to Look For When Searching for a Website Development Partner“

5. Partnerships

If you join up with another organization it is great that you share the great news of the new partnership. This not only shows your new partners that you are excited about the relationship, it also allows your clients and customers to know who you are aligning with to serve them better.

Example: Soon we will share more insight into our partnership with our business partners Chris Brogan, Rob Hatch and the rest of the Human Business Works Team. (News & Press area).

6. Tutorials

Similar to answering questions, you can create a post with a tutorial of a process in order to further educate your customers. Instead of running them through the process in an email, you can create a resources section in your blog that is available for everyone to review and understand.

Example: We love to learn from other blogs so we make sure every once in a while we add a tutorial or answer questions that might be useful to our readers like  “Exchanging your LinkedIn Info via QR Code” and “3 Ways To Make Your Keywords Useful On Twitter“

Do you have any other suggestions on what things you can write about on your blog?

photo credit by Keith Williamson

6 Ideas de Contenido para su Blog Corporativo

by

Todavía me sorprende muchísimo cuándo las personas no le ven el propósito de crear un blog corporativo. En muchas ocasiones alguien quiere establecer su presencia online y por alguna razón deciden solo tener una pagina estática.

¿Por que una pagina estática?

Cuando le pregunto por que solo tienen una pagina estática usualmente me dicen que no saben que escribir en su blog o aun peor que no tienen tiempo para estar en línea y actualizar su blog.

Cuando hay individuos que se resisten tanto a crear un blog corporativo es obvio que no ven el valor en establecer uno. Pero quizás si se le pueden brindar ideas de que se puede escribir podría sonar algo mas atractivo para ellos.

Acá comparto varias sugerencias y ideas que pueden escribir en su blog corporativo que pueden economizar tiempo y dinero y quien sabe si ganar hasta nuevos clientes:

1. Contestar las Preguntas Frecuentes

Es Buena idea tener lo que se le conoce en ingles como “FAQ” preguntas frecuentes en su portal para aclarar preguntas con mas detalles. Le puedo garantizar que a largo plazo puede ser útil para usted. Economiza tiempo ya que en vez de estar explicando en cada ocasión es mas fácil que le des tu post de referencia.

Ejemplo: Cuándo un cliente nos pregunto que tipo de música podrían ellos tocar en su portal cibernético. Publicamos la explicación y gracias a Google hasta nos ha traído bastante transito.

2. Logros de Sus Clientes

En nuestro caso los logros de nuestros clientes son bien importantes para mi y mi equipo. Si encontramos como felicitar a nuestros clientes podría ser una buena idea escribir unas cuantas líneas de el logro y la relación que actualmente tienen con el cliente. Si el acontecimiento esta atado directamente a los esfuerzos de su equipo es aun mas importante señalar esto.

Ejemplo: Cuando lanzamos el website de Food Truck Freak hace meses atrás para un cliente ellos recibieron muy buena cobertura de prensa internacional y local. Nosotros aprovechamos la oportunidad de señalar los acontecimientos escribiendo el siguiente post:

“Food Truck Freak en Alianza Para Encontrar Camiones de Comida en Chicago”.

3. Nuevo Servicios o Productos

Si esta cerca de lanzar un Nuevo producto o añadiendo servicios podría ser una buena idea dejarle saber a sus clientes vía su blog. Comunicar a través de su blog puede ayudar a que uno alcanza a su audiencia directamente y abre las oportunidad de contestar preguntas de posibles clientes a un paso mas rápido que simplemente creando un Comunicado de Prensa o Material Impreso.

Ejemplo: Nosotros anunciamos que comenzamos los servicios de traducción cuándo convertimos Nuestro Portal de Internet a Dos Idiomas.

4. Comentarios de Su Blog

Es critico que su blog tenga una área para comentar . Esta área puede ser una fuente para futuros artículos. Basado en lo que su comunidad y lectores pregunten vial so comentarios puede continuar la conversación en un futuro articulo. Si puede contestar la pregunta rápidamente pues hágalo en varias líneas pero si la pregunta conlleva bastante explicación le recomiendo crear un articulo donde pueda detallar la explicación y que le sea útil a sus lectores.

Ejemplo: Basado en preguntas en el área de comentarios cuándo Margie ofreció escribir un articulo le pedimos que escribiría “5 consejos para búsqueda de un desarrollador web” desde la perspectiva de que ella como consumidor busca cuándo necesita un desarrollador para crear un website.

5. Alianzas

Si crean una alianza estratégica en su organización por que no compartirla con otros. No tan solo le muestra a tus socios el entusiasmó que tienes de la nueva relación establecida también le comunicas a tus clientes sobre las relaciones que están creando para apoyar tu empresa.

Ejemplo: Estamos pronto a dar mas detalles sobre la alianza estratégica que tenemos con nuestros amigos y socios de negocios Chris Bregan y el resto del equipo en Human Business Works.

6. Tutoriales

Similar a contestar preguntas puedes crear un post con un tutorial de algún proceso que quieras demostrarle y enseñarles a tus clientes. En vez de correr cada cliente por el proceso una y otra vez puedes publicar un tutorial donde cada cual puede revisar una y otra vez.

Ejemplo: Nos encanta aprender de otros blogs así que de vez en cuándo añadimos un tutorial o contestamos preguntas que puedan ser útiles a nuestros lectores como  “¿Cual es la hora cuándo se publico un tweet?“.

¿Alguna pregunta que te gustaría que nosotros aclaremos en un tutorial?

¿Otra sugerencias de que cosas les gustaría ver en nuestro blog?

photo credit by Keith Williamson

Websites not just your home for the holidays

by

As the holidays approach us we see many people creating content about celebrating Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas Giveaways, and Christmas Cookie Recipe Bake-offs. Everyone wants to create a list of the Top 10, Top 50, Top 100 blogs, websites, and influential people of the year to drive those people mentioned to the source that names them. What better way to get people to visit your website than mentioning them as the best at a specific genre?

Where are you  announcing your events or latest news? What about your holiday party that your company or organization will be hosting as you invite your community of readers and members to join you?

I see many folks using social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google + to make sure everyone reads their holiday experiences. But these networks shouldn’t be your main source of imparting information to your clients or community members. What would happen if these social networks all of a sudden stopped working? How are you going to get information to your readers if you are solely making social networks your home?

Networks and Platforms Should Complement Your Website

Your company needs to make sure that these networks compliment your website which should be your home everyday and not just for the holidays. What we do for our customers at CIMA is create a website that you can call your home.

A Place Where People Can Find You

When customers look for your company or organization, they are going to see if there is a website first. These days one of the first questions we ask people we encounter who state they are a small to medium sized business or organization is the name of their website. It amazes me how many companies don’t have a permanent home where customers can learn more about their product and services.

If you are a small to medium sized business, you need to make sure you have a website to let people know that your brand exists. We also see the other side where small to medium sized companies have a website but it is deadspace or looks outdated. Information has not been updated and the commitment to create content just isn’t there. At CIMA we have created content for our customers. But who knows your business better than you?

One of our clients, RomyBaez.com, sells car insurance, life insurance, and business insurance along with other types of insurance. In his latest blog post, he writes about the importance of having vital insurance information before you purchase a car. The website was made for those looking for all types of insurances in Puerto Rico, created with content in Spanish, and is his homebase for returning and new clients. As a small business, Romy was conscious of having a website where his potential clients could contact him for a quote. Can you upload important documents for your clients to download on Twitter? I have not seen that feature at all.

Although it is great to use social networks to update information about what your company or organization will be doing for the holidays, don’t forget that a website created by our team will celebrate with you everyday of the year.