* robfrankel   Yes, there IS a Free Clinic today, Monday, February 22, 2010. It will begin at the top of the hour as designated by the clock in the upper right hand corner of your browser.
* robfrankel   At that time, I'll be here for a full 60 minutes, helping anyone who drops by with their business and branding issues, totally free of charge.
* robfrankel   So grab a cup of coffee, limber up the digits and meet us here for some Frankel facts and fun.
- patrick_kilhoffer   'Morning Rob. I hope you have been well.
* robfrankel   Hey Patrick! How is retirement treating you?
- patrick_kilhoffer   Pretty well, I suppose. Mostly goofing off, enjoying my two boys. Getting in shape, etc.
* robfrankel   That's what you're supposed to do!
- patrick_kilhoffer   Back into the same jeans I wore in college. That feels good.
* robfrankel   Yeah, I went from a 31" in college to a 32" today. Something's gotta give...!!
- patrick_kilhoffer   I went from a 34 to a 38, back to a 34.
* robfrankel   Are you pursuing any other ventures? I'm on a quest to find good businesses with easy start ups for people
* robfrankel   These are the same conditions under which FrankelBiz was originally formed, economically speaking, only at that time the web was young and resources were scarce. Now there's too much noise.
- patrick_kilhoffer   Nothing really exciting. Some local folks are complaining about a lack of jobs in the area, so looking at starting a greenhouse to support the local grocery stores.
* robfrankel   Interesting. I think Yosef Rabinowitz was looking for you a while back. Did you guys ever connect?
- patrick_kilhoffer   Biochar looks interesting, so doing some experiments this summer.
- patrick_kilhoffer   Yes, but I don't recall what his project was.
* robfrankel   Hey Patrysha. What's new in your world?
* robfrankel   Patrick, you should e-mail me your info offline. At least the new e-mail.
- patrick_kilhoffer   I'm concerned about people eating a bad diet and just not being able to afford food, so looking at a healthy eating for a dollar a day book.
- patrick_kilhoffer   It's not a secret. My spam filter is bulletproof. patrickkilhoffer@hotmail.com
- patrysha   Not much new really...reevaluating who and what I want to be...tired of living on the edges of disaster
* robfrankel   Researcher pal of mine confirms my suspicion that refined sugar and corn oil are the food on which cancer thrives.
* robfrankel   Well, that's an interesting topic. Now, more than ever, people are reinventing themselves. Completely tossing out their old businesses and starting over. I have family members doing the same thing.
* robfrankel   Of course, I always recommend the high margin thing.
Since you can now swipe a credit card using your iPhone, walk-in consulting seems a natural.
- patrick_kilhoffer   Well, yes. Cancer grows quickly so any excess blood sugar gets sucked up fast and helps it grow. They noticed people with cancer had lower levers of some vitamins and thought maybe a lack of those vitamins caused cancer. Now they think cancer just sucks up a lot of everything while it grows faster than the other tissues in your body.
* anita2306   I have decided that social media comes and goes but organic SEO is forever.
* robfrankel   No billing. You make the appointment, show up, swipe the card, spend an hour and leave.
- patrysha   I don't so much want to start over as do it right...I know I have a lot to offer, but I need to step up and put it out there in a way that works
* robfrankel   I agree, Anita. I've only done organic and it's served me well. I figure the social media can't hurt, but agree that it is likely to be relatively short-lived.
* robfrankel   Patrysha, I suspect a lot of people are missing revenue by waiting too long to charge. Free meetings, pitches, etc.
- patrick_kilhoffer   The nice thing about organic SEO is it still generates leads a half decade later with no additional effort.
* robfrankel   Yep. once it's in there, it's pretty tough to dislodge the organic stuff.
* robfrankel   I just completed a speaking gig and drew two expert witness accounts purely from organic.
* anita2306   Unfortunately, a lot of people and companies do not realize that about organic SEO
- patrysha   yeah, that's part of my problem. I'm way too wishy washy with not enough confidence...
* anita2306   They seem to think that all they need is content and social media to draw traffic
* robfrankel   Anita, that's because their expectations are set incorrectly. To really benefit from organic, you have to settle in and wait. It's like investing in a T-Bill instead of a volatile stock.
* anita2306   Sorry, am bitter this morning
* robfrankel   Patrysha, let me suggest this, because it REALLY works:
"I charge for the meeting, but I apply that charge to any business we do."
* anita2306   I have started charging for consults
* robfrankel   Absolutely, Anita. Why wouldn't you?
- patrick_kilhoffer   I tell people to invest in organic SEO if they think they will be in business a year from now. If they don't think they will be, then go with social media, etc.
* robfrankel   Believe me, the people who don't pay for meetings - especially with a guaranteed rebate - weren't serious about doing business anyway. Just brain picking.
* anita2306   Exactly, and I got tired of that.
* robfrankel   Patrick, I tell them BOTH social and organics are long term.
* robfrankel   If they really want short term, they have to invest a ton of dough into pro-active efforts, including direct and paid media.
* robfrankel   One of my current clients is just starting to work Twitter, which is vital to them. Not just over the course of regular business, but also to drive traffic to their booth at trade shows and events.
* anita2306   Social media is an excellent technique for sending traffic (except for Facebook)
* robfrankel   I still don't see Facebook as a credible venue. I'm waiting to be convinced. Twitter has credibility, but Facebook still doesn't seem serious.
* robfrankel   Not for real business.
* robfrankel   Facebook seems way more social than media.
- patrick_kilhoffer   The challenge I have for B2B with facebook is with B2B I like to target maybe .1% of the population and usually .001%. Facebook, from what I've seen doesn't get that tight.
- patrick_kilhoffer   Now, if I wanted to sell weight loss pills, maybe.
* anita2306   Facebook is not a push technology like Twitter. Some types of buisoness do very well on it
* anita2306   Law of attraction coaches, life coaches, restaurants and bars, etc.
- patrick_kilhoffer   Ya, it's hard to find any form of marketing that doesn't work for anyone.
* robfrankel   Anita, do you know of any specific business success stories on Facebook? Real trackable revenue? I haven't read one yet, but I'd like to.
* anita2306   We will be using the Facebook ads for a new client because you can target a specific demographic on it
* robfrankel   Personally, I can definitely track fees and revenue from Twitter last year. Nothing from Facebook or LInkedIn.
* anita2306   Rob, let me ask my Twitter peeps.
* robfrankel   Right, you can target Facebook ads, but I haven't heard any kind of data on sales and revenue.
* anita2306   I know that the POrt of San Diego did well with an ad they did on FB.
* robfrankel   I agree, Patrick, I don't think Facebook has a handle on business. Eyeballs for sure, but seems like timewasters do best: i.e., Farmville and games.
* anita2306   A lot of the followers of the Law of Attraction people play games. Surprises me.
* anita2306   Facebook is still mostly social, for finding old friends. Considering the views that their CEO has on privacy, I think that biz people will shy away from it.
* robfrankel   Two things:
1. I suspect that Facebookers are people who aren't serious.
2. I suspect that Facebook usage will drop as the economy improves and people have real lives again.
* robfrankel   Facebook, being a time suck, is perfect for a recessionary economy.
* robfrankel   The perfect advertisers for Facebook should be the same guys on day time TV who get you out of speeding tickets or jail.
- patrick_kilhoffer   I don't know if that's completely fair. I do think it's a B2C medium for low commitment products and services, though.
- patrick_kilhoffer   Bankrupcy lawyers, get a job services.
* robfrankel   Patrick, could be. Just haven't seen any numbers and you'd think that if they were there, Facebook would be more public about it.
* anita2306   Restaurants and bars seem to be doing well with both Twitter and Facebook. Dating services are big on Facebook.
* anita2306   I am collecting case studies about social media and will see if I can find any on Facebook specifically.
* robfrankel   That makes sense, anita. But we see them there. We don't know if they're working. After all, facebook and MySpace are pretty much dating sites already.
* robfrankel   I read last week that something like 20% of current divorce docs include the name "Facebook"
- patrick_kilhoffer   I'm just guessing here, but facebook seems to be trying to create the image that they are the next Google or whatever. Giving specific success stories might make them seem less universal, when they would probably all be for well...basically crappy stuff.
* robfrankel   You are correct, Patrick. That's why Facebook is pumping out press releases about their sending more traffic to sites than Google. Misleading at best.
* anita2306   Facebook is not trying to be the next Google, but rather the next MySpace or Twitter.
- patrick_kilhoffer   Whoa. So access to old flames is all it takes to bring down a marriage?
* anita2306   FB is trying to get everyone to have a "fan" page.
* robfrankel   Apparently. Facebook is where everyone you hoped you could avoid comes to find you.
* anita2306   These are not useful as most companies set one up and then ignore it.
* robfrankel   Heh, Anita. I don't need fans. I need paying clients!
* robfrankel   One of the things I find fascinating about Facebook is how it exposes people's beliefs that they're as important as they hope they are.
- patrick_kilhoffer   lol
* anita2306   That is why I still do not have a fan page there. I do not expect my prospects to be wandering around on FB.
* robfrankel   Spouses are stupidly friending their spouses, and then flirting with old flames in full view of said spouses. DUH.
* anita2306   And, besides, unlike LinkedIn, the comoanies on FB are smaller and do not have the bucks to be a client.
* anita2306   so much for spelling today...:(
* robfrankel   Spelling and neatness don't count here.
* anita2306   Another client is catering to the baby boomer market. Should be great fun
* anita2306   They are using teleseminars to build trust and brand.
- patrick_kilhoffer   If I do write a book on eating well on a dollar a day, I will probably try facebook ads. That may be a good fit.
* anita2306   As in http://www.mybbrc.com/cmd.php?af=1141349 (disclosure - affiliate link)
- patrick_kilhoffer   Not so much a book on marketing.
* robfrankel   Yeah, I can see that, Patrick.
* robfrankel   But I couldn't market my book there. Would never work.
* anita2306   Rob, have you tried marketing it on LinkedIn?
* robfrankel   Kind of. Not really. i should look at that.
* anita2306   LI has changed a lot lately.
* robfrankel   I haven't paid for any ads on LInkedIN.
* anita2306   I plan to work more on that side for awhile.
* robfrankel   I'll look into it.
* robfrankel   TEN MINUTES -- lazy Monday, eh?
* anita2306   An article from eMarketer about online shoppers on Facebook :http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007518
* anita2306   Mostly wet.
* anita2306   And Google Buzz went nowhere fast
* anita2306   Why did Google launch without external testing? Do they think that they can do no wrong?
* robfrankel   Yup. I can feel the anti-Google groundswell. They're fast becoming a competitor to Microsoft for the Dark Side throne.
* anita2306   And for over-weeming hubris. (always wanted to use that term)
* robfrankel   It's hubris, Anita. They believe their own press.
* robfrankel   You beat me to it.
* anita2306   On the other hand, I really do like Bing.
* anita2306   :)
* anita2306   Especially since Yahoo has just about screwed up its own search brrand.
* robfrankel   Yahoo is dead. Over. Google is flying high now without a brand strategy, which will turn it into the online version of Microsoft.
* robfrankel   TWO MINUTES
* anita2306   Yahoo still has search left in it...not much, but a little.
* anita2306   Google has now admitted to allowing local biz to buy places in its "organic" results section.
* anita2306   Something that I have known and blogged about for quite some time.
* robfrankel   It's all a scam!
That's why brand strategy always wins out - eventually.
* anita2306   See you on Twitter!
* robfrankel   Alrighty then, glad to have you for the session. You guys have a great week. I'll see you online!
- patrysha   Have an awesome week!
- patrick_kilhoffer   By all!