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Archive for the ‘How To’ Category

Rules of Engagement: How to get the most out of networking

Posted by Lyndsi | Filed under How To, Social Media/Networking

As On the Ball prepares for Eat. Drink. Think, our networking event occurring the last Tuesday of the month, we highlight the importance of these events and how to do it right. While it is nice to socialize with friends, grab a few hors d’oeuvres, and a drink, networking is about stepping out of your comfort zone and talking to those you do not know.

Steve Nudelberg, founder of On the Ball, can also be crowned the king of networking. He suggests looking around the room, picking three people and approach them with a smile, stating that you want to personally introduce yourself. At the end of the day (or should we say networking event), it’s all about quality over quantity. Having meaningful conversation with three people trumps swiftly handing out your business cards to the entire room.

Networking can open many doors for both business and personal opportunity if it is done right. Therefore, we provide five rules for a successful event:

1. Always say ‘yes.’ Network as often as possible; start out with one event a week and continue to add more events each week.

2. Resist the urge to arrive late. Yes, we know traffic is bad at 5pm so leave work a little early.

3. Start with a compliment; this is a great way to break the ice.

4. Win business for your contact. Zig Ziglar once said, “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

5. Follow Up. This is the best way to stay in touch for all future communication.

We look forward to seeing you at our next Eat.Drink.Think event occurring at the O Lounge the last Tuesday of the month. For more information on this event visit the On the Ball website at www.otbthink.com. Happy networking!

On the Ball tweeters flock to Social Media Week

Posted by Lyndsi | Filed under How To, On The Ball, Social Media/Networking

As Social Media Week unfolds in our very backyard, On the Ball is more than excited to be apart of the digital action. In an age of online information sharing, we would like to provide a quick cliff notes version of todays forum, “Creating Compelling Content for Social Media.”

The panel discussed ways to create an engaging page. The word ‘engaging’ is key. In this panel, the participants emphasized activity is the most important factor. It is better to have a 200-person following with an active page, than a 20,000-person following with a nonactive page. Therefore, the question of the day: how do you create an active page? For a detailed account of the participants and their insight visit: http://new.livestream.com/smwmiami/events/1891351

On the Ball summarized their knowledge in just 5 points:

1. Be consistent, post on a regular basis. However, be prepared for spontaneity!
2. Know your brand and what your audience is looking for.
3. Text is boring. Always include images and pictures within your posts.
4. Surprise/Delight the customer (mention your brand loyal followers)
5. Diversity, post a variety of content to keep the conversation interesting.

Make Your Resolutions Stick

Posted by Lyndsi | Filed under How To, On The Ball

As we enter the year 2013 resolutions are made, goals are set and the promise of a great year lies ahead. We have all experienced big moments in life when you close one door and open another. I am opening a door to a brand new job at On the Ball. I could not be more excited.

My first day I was already thrown into client meetings, pure thinking, story telling and the adoption of the OTB Think blog. Forget sitting back and signing papers on the first day, I was officially an On the Ball thinker. As I place my new thinking cap on, I would like to mold this blog as an opportunity to shed light on the company, share insight of the marketing world and whatever else may find its way into this virtual space.

On the Ball team was quite busy this holiday season! While I thought my holiday break of eggnog and sitting by the pool was exciting, On the Ball employees put me to shame. The stories began with our Social Media Manager Kassie eloping in Key West with her boyfriend from Africa. Zack, our New Business Manager, snowboarding at an elevation of 12,500 feet! Creative Director Andrea vacationing among the historical sites of Israel. Principal Thinker, Steve and Business Development Director, Michelle celebrating the holidays among friends and enjoying a stay at the Atlantic hotel in Fort Lauderdale. Golf is the main focus of our Managing Partner, David, and Jonathon, the Director of Everything Digital spending time with his family.

As we say goodbye to 2012 and the fun memories we created, On the Ball is looking forward to 2013. While you write goals for the New Year, On the Ball is doing the same. In fact, according to a study by Harvard University, students who wrote down their goals were earning ten times as much than those who had no specific goals at all. With the importance of goal setting and start of the new year, On the Ball would like to provide three simple tips for creating resolutions and sticking to them.

Create clear and concise goals: Whether it’s losing ten pounds or quitting smoking, it is important to write details of exactly how you are going to achieve your goals, and when you would like to achieve it.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. By reading and saying your goals out loud everyday you’re training your brain to make it happen.
Old habits die hard. It takes time for one to become acclimated to something new. Allow yourself time to ease into this new lifestyle change. Slip-ups do happen, just remind yourself to stay on track.

On behalf of On the Ball, we hope you achieve all the goals you pursue in 2013! Make sure to follow the OTB Think blog as we will continue to share all the fun we are having. As you embark on 2013, I would like to leave you with a quote by Tony Robbins, “setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”

Facebook For Your Business – Profiles vs. Fan Pages vs. Groups

Posted by Jonathan | Filed under Articles, How To, Social Media/Networking

Things on Facebook can get downright confusing, especially when it comes to using it to market. Recently I have seen a lot of businesses that have created profiles and are using their profile to get their potential customers to follow them. First of all this practice is against Facebook Terms of Use.

Businesses often set up a profile, because it’s easier to add friends quickly – but if it is found that you have two profiles regardless of whether one is a personal and one is a business they can be canceled for TOU violation. Multiple accounts or profiles on Facebook is a serious violation of Facebook TOU. If Facebook discovers a business under a personal profile, they may deactivate the profile as it is against their TOU. Do you really want to run that risk?

You will gain the most from Facebook by setting up a Facebook Fan Page or a Group. There is a difference in the two, so evaluate which will serve your needs and make the most sense for your business.

The Difference in Facebook Fan Pages and Groups

A Facebook Fan Page enables current customers or even potential customers to become fans of your page and by doing so this it allows them to follow you and receive any updates that you post to your page.

A Facebook Group is built around a group of people rather than your business or your brand. You can message those who are a part of your group, but they do not have the feature that allows users to become fans, they only become members. The downfall of this is it will not share as much information with friends of “group” members as they interact with the group.

via about.com

How YouTube Works

Posted by Jonathan | Filed under How To, Social Media/Networking, Video

Top 19 YouTube Tips For Small Businesses

Posted by Jonathan | Filed under Articles, How To, Social Media/Networking

Remember to check you On the Ball’s YouTube Channel

1. Create and Customize Your Channel

First things first,

Tips for Managing Your Online Reputation

Posted by Jonathan | Filed under Articles, How To, Social Media/Networking

1. You Are Your Network

In the course of writing my book, I had a call from a BBC researcher asking for background on social networks. The breaking story that day was that personal details and embarrassing photos of the newly appointed head of Britain

Essential Social Media Tools for B2B Marketers

Posted by Jonathan | Filed under Articles, How To, Social Media/Networking

Like anything else, social media marketing is easier, more efficient and more effective if the marketer has the right set of tools. While hundreds (if not thousands) of tools and services exist for social media marketing, many are still primarily aimed at either consumers or B2C marketers. Fear not B2B marketers