Get Yourself a Website

About half of the contractors we meet through our firm don’t have a website.  Most of these contractors are small one-man operations who don’t understand why a website is necessary.  If you’re in the same boat, we would like to share what a website can do for you:

• A website will act as an online calling card. This means that people can find information that will allow them to contact you for quotes and dates of availability

• A website will give you an online presence. This is particularly important as fewer and fewer people are hitting the phone books and newspapers to find contact information for contractors like you. Think about it: why would they bother flipping through the Yellow Pages when they can simply type “Plumber in Naples” into Google and get an immediate result?  

• A website can be your very best selling tool. You can tell people about yourself, what you offer, and show them examples of your previous jobs. Include customer testimonials, too!

Don't stay behind the times. Make sure you are a presence where your customers are searching. 

Facebook Timelines

As of today, March 30^th, all Facebook business pages will be converted to Timeline. There are a lot of new features that are incorporated to the Timeline and overall will allow users to access past posts a lot easier than previous pages. Read on for some of our favorite features:

-          Admin Panel:  The area at the top of the page makes it easier to see updates that you need to respond to. You will need to click on "Updates by others" to see some of them. You can also see new "likes" easier, so you can welcome them by name.

-          Cover Photo:  This prominent photo allows you to choose a unique image to boldly express what your page is all about. There are differences between personal Timelines and page Timelines, so what you know about personal Timelines may not necessarily apply to the page one.

-          Milestone:  Now you are able to pinpoint an exact date of a special occurrence. These special dates will be accessible via a special list.

-          Private Messages:  Pages still aren’t able to send messages, but if they choose to allow their fans to message the page then admins will be able to privately respond as the page.

-          Highlighted Applications:  Admins can choose what page information is highlighted by adding the box to the top of the page. They can also drag and drop to choose the order.

There are many more features to be excited about. We found this article that we think is worth sharing <Click here to read more.>

As always, many people do not like the change. We believe this to be a step in the right direction. Stay tuned and we will continue to provide you with up-to-date information about these changes. Use them to your advantage! 

Sand Dollar Awards

As chair of this year's Sand Dollar Awards Committee for the Collier Building Industry Association (CBIA), our very own Lisa Adams played a significant role at this year's banquet and awards presentation. The Sand Dollar Awards is the equivalent of the Oscars for local building contractors. It's a major gala event with 59 awards granted this year in categories ranging from best home design to best kitchen remodel to best website for an associate member.

Lisa and her committee put together a spectacular event with an oriental theme of Good Fortune. The night included the awards presentation, a silent auction and a performance by the Robert Williamson Band. A reward for all of her hard work, Lisa got to enjoy a beautiful evening at the formal event.

Lisa (2nd from right) with friends at the 2011 Sand Dollar Awards Gala. Photo by John Sciarrino, Giovanni Photography.

We're proud of Lisa and all she's done with the Sand Dollar Awards and the CBIA. Well done, Lisa! We'd also like to say congratulations to all the winners, including client The Lykos Group for their multiple awards!

CBIA is a local chapter of the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Local chapters are located across the state. If you're not a member of your local building industry association, you ought to consider it. Numerous benefits include continuing education offerings, networking events and promotional opportunities, such as annual awards like the Sand Dollars.

Social Media Seminar for Key4Women

Thank you to everyone who attended the seminar yesterday!  Key4Women is a group started by KeyBank that provides customized business advice, access to capital, ongoing education, and networking opportunities.  Lisa was invited to be a guest speaker presenting information on Facebook, LinkedIn and the usage of social media in general There was an amazing turnout of 42 people to this breakfast meeting!  A few of the topics discussed were:

·         Actions to take to promote businesses

·         How to use Facebook to increase customer traffic

·         How to use referral marketing to outsell competition

·         Ways to use Social Media to increase brand awareness

·         How to increase your knowledge of customer attitudes and preferences with Social Media

 To see the presentation in its entirety, go to http://www.slideshare.net/lisaadamslicenses/key4-women-presentation.  There are active links within this presentation, so click away!

If you have any questions after watching this (or would like to hire us to perfect your social media message), please don’t hesitate to call Lisa at 239-963-5369!  



Lisa Adams with Joe from KeyBank



QR Codes – The Newest in Marketing

A new technological buzz is on the street and is spreading rapidly. The new advancement is called a Quick Response code, more commonly heard and talked about as a QR code. It is a specific matrix barcode. The words “quick response” refer to the fact that the code can be read quickly by a cell phone or reader and then can transmit unlimited data. They were originally created and used in Japan and are now being used throughout the United States in both commercial tracking applications and convenient applications for cell phone users.

QR codes can be placed on many mediums including magazines, business cards, buses, signs, and any objects users could need or want information from. The type of information that can be accessed by the individual scanning the QR code includes contact information, text, a website, a video, and more.  These codes are so advanced that they can even direct the user to compose a text message or e-mail or to receive a coupon for that specific business.

The QR code works very simply. The consumer needs to open the correct code reader application and hold their mobile device up to the QR code. The application then takes a picture of the code and directs the device to the information the code has been programmed to access.  

Download your reader application.  Choose yours based on the type of phone you have.  Each site lists the phones that support their apps:

·         KAYWA Reader:  http://reader.kaywa.com/

·         Mobile Tag:  http://www.mobiletag.com/

·         NeoReader:  http://neoreader.com/

Quick Response codes help you as a consumer and they can also help your business, no matter how small or large it is. By putting these codes on your products, flyers, invites, print advertising, etc. you can connect your clients to endless information. The potential growth for your business and possibilities to further service clients are endless.

Social Media Seminar Presented for the Interior Design Society

The Interior Design Society recently offered a seminar on social media at the Miromar Design Center in Estero, FL.  Lisa presented a beginner class in the morning and an advanced class in the afternoon.  In these presentations she touched on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  Accompanying her was Bronson Taylor of DumbPunk who spoke about websites and search engine optimization. 

About 60 individuals came to learn, making this a highly successful event.  The crowd had very insightful questions and everyone learned something.  Beth Ann Tuyls, President IDS Naples Chapter, said, “I feel a huge THANK YOU is in order!!! What a wonderful, successful event today! We have received so much positive feedback from this event.” 

To see the presentations in their entirety, click on the links below:

·  Beginners - http://www.slideshare.net/lisaadamslicenses/ids-social-media-for-beginners-seminar

·  Advanced - http://www.slideshare.net/lisaadamslicenses/ids-social-media-for-beginners-seminar

There are active links within this presentation, so click away!

If you have any questions after watching this (or would like to hire us to do the work for you), please don’t hesitate to call Lisa at 239-963-5369!

Electrical Rule Changes

Changes have just occurred in the electrical licensing world.  The following rule changes went into effect on Sunday July 17, 2011.  In a nutshell:

·  The Statement of Bonding Limits or Irrevocable Letter of Credit is no longer required.

·  Personal Financial Statements no longer need to be notarized.

·  Forms on the DBPR website have been updated.

Here are the actual statutes now in place at the ECLB.  The crossed-through portions have been removed from the requirements.

61G6-5.003 Requirements for Certification.

 (2) Every applicant must submit:

(a) A comprehensive financial statement reflecting the financial condition of the individual applicant during the previous fiscal year; provided, however, that the statement must have been prepared within 12 months of the date of filing of the application. The financial statement shall include a balance sheet. Unless prepared by a certified public accountant, the financial statement shall be signed in the presence of a notary by the individual applicant.

61G6-5.004 Requirement for Business Organizations.

In order that the Board may carry out its statutory duty to investigate the financial responsibility, credit, and business reputation of an applicant proposing to engage in contracting as a partnership, corporation, business trust, or other legal entity other than a sole proprietorship, an applicant shall be required to forward the following to the Department for review by the Board:

(1) A statement signed and sealed by an officer of a surety company licensed to do business in Florida, certifying that the company would issue a performance or payment bond in an amount of at least $10,000.00 to an applicant for a specialty certification and in an amount of at least $25,000.00 to an applicant for unlimited electrical or alarm certification at the time of application. However, an applicant may substitute an Unexpired Irrevocable Letter of Credit from a responsible financial institution in an amount of at least $10,000.00 or $25,000.00 respectively, in lieu of this requirement.

As always, look to the gals at Licenses, Etc. to help you get through the licensing process quickly and easily.  We are always looking out for what affects you. 

Facebook for Advanced Business User

There are more than 750 million active users on Facebook.  50% are active users that log on to Facebook in any given day.  The average user has 130 friends and people spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook.  Last night we discussed how to leverage this information to benefit businesses.

A few of the topics discussed were:

·         Facebook Advertising

·         Check - In Deals

·         Custom Applications including Fan Only Applets

·         Posting as Your Business

·         And much more...

To see the slide presentation in its entirety, go to http://www.slideshare.net/lisaadamslicenses/score-facebook-for-the-advanced-business-user-workshop.  There are active links within this presentation, so be sure to click on the pictures!   

A big thank you to Whole Foods Market Naples for donating the snacks for this event.  What an amazing spread they made available last night.  Yummy!

If you have any questions after watching this (or would like to hire us to do the work for you), please don’t hesitate to call Lisa at 239-963-5369!

Privacy Invasion?

Facebook’s new facial recognition software is being called an invasion of privacy by some.  This software looks at photos of you to gather information about your face to store in a database.  The kicker is that this happens whether you have an account or not. 

Why are they doing this?  Photos that are uploaded now have automatic suggestions of people to tag in them.  It recognizes the face of your friend that you have uploaded and tagged several times and eventually will recommend tagging them the next time you upload.

Once again Facebook has angered the public at large because they didn't tell us they were going to use all those photos we uploaded to make its facial recognition software better.  What some think is even worse is that all accounts were automatically defaulted to an enabled status for this feature when they installed it recently.  Many think they should have been asked if Facebook could use them for this reason.

What can you do?  While you can't delete the information Facebook already gathered and stored about your facial features, you can turn off this feature if you would like to. 

How to opt out:

1. Go to Account Privacy Settings.

2. Click "Customize settings."

3. Scroll down to "Suggest photos of me to friends" and click the Edit Settings button.

4. Click the box where it says "Enabled" and select "Disabled."

5. Click "Okay".

Facebook for Beginners

The crowd that came to the Facebook for Beginners Workshop proves how many individuals understand the need to learn about the biggest social media site on the web.  This class really delved into topics that most think they understand, but many would be surprised to find how many little nuances there really are. 

A few of the topics discussed were:

·         Privacy Settings

·         “Checking In” – How and Why?

·         Uploading

·         Mobile Devices and How They Differ

·         And much more…

To see the slide presentation in its entirety, go to http://www.slideshare.net/lisaadamslicenses/score-facebook-workshop-for-beginners.  There are active links within this presentation, so click away!   If you are looking for more advanced techniques to apply to your business, please join us for the Facebook for the Advanced Business User on July 13^th!

If you have any questions after watching this (or would like to hire us to do the work for you), please don’t hesitate to call Lisa at 239-963-5369!

The Inner Workings of Twitter Workshop

Thank you to everyone who attended the workshop last night!  We were able to discuss in depth all of the inner workings of Twitter.  The crowd had great questions and wonderful discussions were started!  We are so appreciative of these opportunities.

A few of the topics discussed were:

·         Creating custom pages

·         Using hash tags

·         Organizing Tweets with Tweet Deck

·         Twitter parties

·         And much more…

To see the presentation in its entirety, go to http://www.slideshare.net/lisaadamslicenses/twitter-workshop-for-score.  There are active links within this presentation, so click away!

If you have any questions after watching this (or would like to hire us to do the work for you), please don’t hesitate to call Lisa at 239-963-5369!

 

Upgrades to Facebook Business Pages: We Requested, They Delivered

Some really cool upgrades have enhanced Facebook for those who have business pages.  Developers have been asking admins how they can make business pages easier to use.   We responded with a number of things that we would like to add to the capabilities of business pages.  The developers listened and as of mid February they sent out emails detailing the new features they would be revealing.

The developers allowed us to see what our business accounts will look like and upgrade the pages ourselves if we would like.  All pages will automatically be upgraded on March 10^th. 

Here are some of the new features:

·         Notifications when fans interact with your page or posts – Previously an admin would need to visit the page to see if a fan posted to their page, now it will give you a notification of this just like a personal page.

·         A place to showcase photos along the top of your page – Just as the personal pages now have, pictures will be showcased along the top.  Admins can choose to hide a certain picture if they would not like it showcased by rolling over it and clicking on the X button that appears.

·         A news feed for your page - News Feed — the center column of your home page — is a constantly updating list of stories from people and pages that you follow on Facebook.  You can “switch” to the business account to see this.

·         The ability to Like and post on other pages as your page – “Switching” to the business account allows you to post on other business pages as your business.  This gives your page more visibility.  At this time you cannot post on personal pages as your business.

To “switch” between personal accounts and business accounts:

·     You must be an admin of the page

·     Go to the business page

·     In the upper right hand corner of the page, find the link that says “Use Facebook as [Business Name]”

·     Repeat steps and click link that will now say “Use Facebook as [Your Name]” to switch back

These changes allow businesses a lot more freedom and visibility with their pages.  As always, if you would like to discuss options for marketing your business with Social Media, contact Lisa Adams at 239-963-5369. 

Congratulations, February licensees!

Congratulations to the following Licenses, Etc. clients who were approved in February:

·  Michael Wiecinski at Rohl Networks, LP of Pompano Beach, FL

·  Bob Stull at Stull Contracting, Inc. of Cape Coral, FL

·  Evan Gorny of Fort Myers, FL

·  Rodney Locke at Locke Builders and Contractors, Inc. of Margate, FL

·  James Brann at The Porch Factory, LLC of Fort Pierce, FL

·  Omar Pareja at AB&P General Contracting And Engineering, Corp. of Doral, FL

·  Michael Whitehouse at Oceanic Air Conditioning, LLC of Cape Coral, FL

·  Michael Utley of Fort Lauderdale, FL

·  Thomas Tomarelli at A/C Guys, Inc. of Ocoee, FL

·  Gregory Wellet at Key King Enterprises, Inc. of Key West, FL

·  Dazhi Yu at Unimeso, LLC of Gainesville, FL

·  Ralph Collazo of Miami, FL

·  Ernest Charles Miles at DR Swanson/Titan Golf JV of Port Charlotte, FL

·  Lowell Jones at Action Air Conditioning of South Florida, Inc. of West Palm Beach, FL

·  Josh Frank at Integrity Pools, Inc. of Port Charlotte, FL

·  Robert Ruck at Environmental Demolition Partners, LLC of West Palm Beach, FL

·  Russell Colodny at Excellence Property & Lifestyle Management, Inc.

·  Jeff Brieler at Karlsen Corporation DBA The Window Professionals of Jupiter, FL

·  Phillip Lee at Orion Merchant Solutions of Miami, FL

·  Gerard Reed at Reed & Co DBA DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen of Naples, FL

·  Jimmy Bowen/Michelle Apholz at Sun Star Energy, LLC of New Smyrna Beach, FL

·  J. Mark Nash at True Mark Builders LLC of Naples, FL 

We're also pleased to share the newly created or revamped Social Media Networking pages for these fine businesses we get to call clients:

·  TEC Plumbing and Construction

o    Facebook:  www.facebook.com/TECPlumbingandConstruction   

Be sure to connect with them all on Facebook and Twitter.

Would you like to be set up on Social Media Networking sites, too? Call Lisa at 239.963.5369 for more information.

The Power of the Press Release

You are constantly looking for the best ways to market your business… but I bet you are missing one of the most obvious ones:  The Press Release!  And guess what, other than the time put in, they are free.  Plus a newspaper article holds a lot more credibility in people’s eyes than an advertisement because it appears to be coming from a trusted, third-party source, rather than the company itself.

Let’s start by saying what a press release is.  Wikipedia defines it as “a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value.”  This means if you have something that people would want to know about, the press wants to hear about it.  This can be anything from a charity event you are hosting to the hiring of a new employee.

Press releases have a very regimented format and will only be considered by the media if written correctly.  There are many online sources to guide you, and there are even entire books written about this topic.  Take a moment to read up on this to be sure that you don’t waste your time.

Once your press release is written, choose the media contacts that you will be sending it to.  They are usually listed on the websites of the papers and trade associations.  Remember, not all of the media contacts out there are looking for the same stories.  A charity event would be directed to most of the contacts, but a new employee would go to the business section writers and trade publications.  So think about what you are sending and be realistic.

Thank them when your article is used.  This is such a simple thing, but so many people forget to do this!  You like to be thanked when you do something nice. They do, too. 

The last tip I will leave you with… Only send a press release once.  You may not hear back from your contacts even if they plan on using your story, but do not hassle them.  Nothing will put you on their block list quicker.

So take a moment and learn to use this powerful tool.  Or give us a call.  We offer press release services.  Isn’t it time to see your name in the headlines?

Beating the Marketing Drum - Blogging (Part 2)

A couple of weeks ago, we discussed the benefits of having a blog for your company. Today we'll look at what you can do with a blog. Because you're probably questioning what you're going to blog about and who's going to read it, right? We know. We were once there and now we hear the same questions from other contractors.


Who Will Read Your Blog?
There are basically two types of people who will read your blog - those whom you tell about it and those who find it on their own, probably through a search. Since the purpose of your blog is to have conversation with (and market to) prospects and customers, this is who you want reading your blog.

This means you need to tell everyone about your blog, via social media networking, such as Facebook and Twitter, a link on your email signature line, in your newsletter...basically the same places and ways you tell them about your website.

The people who discover your blog on their own will find it by searching for certain keywords or because of comments you've made on others' blogs. (Aside: commenting on others' blogs is the key to gaining new followers who you would have otherwise never reached.) So, basically, they find it based on the content of your blog - what you have to say.

Which brings us to...

What Will You Blog About?
The beauty of blogging is that you can write about pretty much anything you want to at any given time, just keeping in mind your audience and what they would want to know. Ideas:

• Your current specials
• Pictures of a recent project you completed
• News about your company
• New products you can make available to your customers
• New ways of doing things that benefit your customers
• Informative articles that help your customers
• Industry trends

For example, a home-builder can post pictures of a home recently completed one time, announcement of a new employee another time and information about how customers can help keep their home within budget yet another time. An air-conditioning contractor can share tips on keeping units maintained and working efficiently one time, a special on service another time and the addition of a new manufacturer yet another time.

If you keep a regular schedule - the best is to post at least once a week, preferably more to keep people coming back - you can plan out a month's worth of posts in one sitting. For example, week 1 - pictures on Monday and that month's special on Thursday; week 2 - a new industry trend on Monday and company news on Thursday; and so forth. Frequency is more important than length - in fact, readers like short blog posts that they can read quickly.

With twice a week posting, you just need 8 topics to cover one month and some topics can be repeated. And if something comes up that you feel compelled to share on your blog immediately, go for it! That's what we mean about the beauty of blogging - it's quick, varied and can be done immediately, on the fly, or scheduled in advance.

Interested in having a blog but don't where or how to start? Need help with the writing part? Contact Licenses, Etc. via www.LicensesEtc.com because we can help! We can get you started and keep you going.

Beating the Marketing Drum - Blogging (Part 1)

We briefly discussed some of the benefits of Social Media Marketing (SMM) in the August issue of our ETC newsletter. Benefits such as:

• Opening conversation with prospects.
• Keeping your business in the fronts of people's minds, so when they need your type of work, your business is the first that comes to mind.
• Improving search engine rankings for your website.

We mentioned Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, YouTube videos and contractor-specific forums. What we didn't discuss is blogging and e-zines/e-newsletters. Although the latter isn't necessarily social media marketing, it goes hand-in-hand with blogging.

Why should you blog? It took us a long time to realize the potential benefits of having a blog for Licenses, Etc., and you're probably thinking the same things. What do I blog about? How is that helpful to my business? We already do a newsletter, why should we blog, too?

If nothing else, blogging boosts search engine rankings for your website. Every time you blog, you're putting up a new web page with a link back to your main website. Google and other search engines pick up on those links as increased popularity of your page and, therefore, increases your ranking. If you use Blogger, which is owned by Google, your blog itself ranks high on the search engine results. People click on your blog, like what you have to say and either call you right away (assuming your phone number's on your blog!) or click through to your website for more information.

Like other SMM sites, blogging allows for conversation with your prospects and customers. See that Comment form below? That allows you to leave comments to us, replying to what we have to say in our post. Then we can reply to your comment and...voila!...we have a two-way conversation going (and when more people comment, it can be even more than two-way). Newsletters/e-zines are a one-way conversation - you speaking to your prospects and customers without the opportunity for them to chime in.

Newsletters are still plenty useful, however. Think of them as ways to create questions so prospects/customers must contact you for answers, giving you opportunity to solidify your relationship and close the next sale. You can make your blog and newsletter work together by including links in your newsletter that point back to info-packed posts on your blog. And every click-through on each one adds points to your search engine ranking.

Still not convinced? Still questioning what to do with a blog? We'll talk about it more in future posts. If you're ready to get started, though, and don't know how, contact Chrissi (chrissi[dot]jackson[at]licensesetc[dot]com) or Kristie (kristie[dot]cook[at]licensesetc[dot]com) at Licenses, Etc. about our new SMM services.

Long Weekend

We hope everyone has a safe and fun Labor Day weekend! Of course, we will be closed Monday to rest from all our labors this year. :-)

It seems that things start to pick up after Labor Day. Kids are in school, we've settled into new routines and the snowbirds and tourists start to return. It's the perfect time to get back to work on growing your business, finishing your licensing process (ahem) and looking for new opportunities. Perhaps it's time to look at different kinds of licenses - remember, there are new home inspection and mold-related licenses in Florida - or other states.

Make sure your marketing and advertising is ready for Fall home improvements, seasonal homeowners needing repairs and renovations while they're here, the holidays, etc. Think about using social media marketing to reach out to your customers and prospects and keep your business name at the top of their minds.

For now, though, enjoy the long weekend break. We will be!