The Right Way To Harness The Power of Social Media
First, some administrivia.
I got some email feedback after the 45 Home Business Resources post from people who were stoked about the Site Build It! thing but were spazzing about the price. I just got a ping about an hour ago from SBI saying they were doing a special until June 21st that let’s you get a second one for another hundred bucks. (Are they reading my email?)
I said to myself, “Self, you should tell your readers about this.” Then I responded, saying, “If they can’t afford one, they sure as shit can’t afford one plus an extra hundred bucks.” I commenced ignoring the email.
But then Jamie decided to buy a couple for himself and it occurred to him — because he is smarter than I am and FUCK OFF I’M TRYING TO GET AN EBOOK WRITTEN HERE!!! — that two people could split it. (I checked with SBI and this is totally legit. They’re actually recommending it themselves.)
So if you’re on the fence, see if you can find someone else who’s on the fence and you can each save yourself some cash. From Steph in the comments: “My husband is already using Site Build It now and he swears by it. It’s totally incredible how much they prepare you before you even start and how detailed the steps are. The money is very, very worth it. I’m quite impressed!”
Site Build It info specially for WAHMs is here.
Now For The Social Media Stuff
Speaking of cool shit that happens in the IttyBiz comments, remember the other day when we talked about how social media sucks? If you were paying attention, you’d have noticed the charming and handsome Mr. Copyblogger himself say this:
The “conversation” is not between seller and buyer, but between buyers. And buyers are now media participants and producers.
Now take a look at this comment thread about InMotion Hosting from the home business resources post:
Thanks for the recommendation for InMotion!! I have been using GoDaddy and they have been great, but InMotion looks less expensive and if it’s great too, then wa-hoo!
Thanks!
@ Blume – I fully recommend In Motion over GoDaddy. I also believe In Motion is in the top five of hosts.
Thanks for the InMotion recommendation. I was leaning hard toward them thanks to James & Harry’s recommendation, but knowing of two businesses who like it is even better.
In Motion hosting allows hosting for 6 websites on their $10 Pro account. I called for clarification and they really mean 6 separate sites, with unique domains and separate content. Quite different from other hosting sites that promise the same, but it’s actually just 6 domains pointing to 1 website.
Which beats the hell outta GoDaddy. The In Motion Power Plan hosts 6 sites for what I pay GoDaddy to host 2-3 sites. Upgrading to the In Motion’s Pro Plan, it’s 16 sites on one account for $20.
Yah. That’s what I said.
Wow!! That is just awesome about InMotion. I am so excited I could pee my pants! I am switching today. I just looked through all of their info last night and it sounds incredible. Thanks again, you guys just made my week!
When was the last time your hosting made your week?
How about “so excited you could pee your pants”? Huh? Yeah, that’s what I thought. THIS is how to “harness the power of social media”. I have a feeling the very nice people at InMotion are digging this newfangled social media craziness.
Somehow I missed all of that — I must have been playing with a baby that day…. I hadn’t even heard of InMotion, but I’m definitely going to check them out!
I’ve been using oneandone.com because they’re cheaper than GoDaddy, but it sounds like InMotion has THEM beat, too.
Thanks!
Hey, yeah, for anyone who does want to contact me about Site Build It for first-hand info, feel free. Naomi had a good point about Steve Pavlina as well, who advocates SBI. Because Steve’s my hubby’s fave, he’s how we heard about SBI, and he’s so successful and smart I’d probably never doubt anything he says. SBI’s even better than we anticipated. It’s not pricey when you find out what you get! These guys really hold your hand: it’s a very well-built and thorough program.
Very interesting but the social networking user discussion doesn’t jive with my experience with GoDaddy. My GoDaddy “Delux Linux” hosting account is $80 a year and allows unlimited domains to share the same account storage and bandwidth. I have no experience with InMotion. All to frequently posts on the web state flawed interpretations rather than facts. Posts are like rumors that grow and change with sharing. Be careful and verify before taking action on anything you read on the web. I’m not dissing Naomi for this since her purpose wasn’t to compare hosting companies but to show the marketing value of social networks. When you market a product you’re held accountable for the proof of any product statement you make. 3rd party testimonials aren’t legaly held to the same standard even when published as testimonials by the seller. Social networking posts are testimonials.
Social media can certainly be great for the reasons you mention above. No doubt the folks at InMotion and SBI are thrilled with you right now, but in this regard social media cuts both ways. At least as frequently, bloggers are posting scathing reviews and editorials about this product or that service. Any idiot with $5/month can broadcast to the world how much he/she hates a certain company (I should know, I’ve been that idiot more than once on my own blog).
To me, however, the trend that is most impressive is the companies finally figuring out how to use social media to improve their reputations. True, it may be difficult to leverage social media in order to start a conversation with potential customers, but it’s a great way to keep in touch with EXISTING customers. I wrote a post not too long ago about Dell’s terrible reputation for service and the steps they’ve taken to repair that image. They’ve got blogs now and seek out critical tweets on Twitter, and seem to monitor the blogosphere in order to respond when their name pops up. In fact, a rep from Dell left a comment on my blog in response to my post about their efforts. Kinda cool…
Kyle / OnYourBusiness
I don’t quite get how this post has anything to do with harnessing the power of social media. Is it that your host determines how much social media spikes you can sustain?
Maybe it’s just that I’m half asleep and haven’t had my coffee yet. =/
Naomi have you seen anyway halfway decent templates from Site Built it? I have only seen ones that look like they were built in 1995 and for this reason I would never recommend them.
@Jonathan – She’s telling us how the social networking happening in her comments section is helping InMotion gain new business. It’s not something they have much control over, short of making sure their business is something so great that people talk about it and recommend it to other people, but social media is definitely working out for them!
Want to know something else about In Motion? A very small piece of information was lacking on their site – the type of information that only I would think of looking for and most likely be the only person who needs it or even cares it’s missing.
I sent an email. I received two responses within an hour. Not one, but two. Not only that, the email responses included full contact information for each person, including direct line.
Not only THAT, but they both answered my question by providing the information I needed AND they went and created a brand-new page on their site with that information and then some – IN THE SAME DAY.
They said, “If you’re looking for it, other people may be as well and it’s in our best interest to provide good service.” Okay, not in those words, but damned close.
Now THAT is what I call service.
@ George, I get what you’re saying here, but I trust Naomi’s opinion, therefore, I definitely enjoy getting advice from her and IttyBiz. Prior to the post I had never heard of InMotion. After hearing about them, I did my own research and decided that they are a better option than GoDaddy.
I’m looking for customer service above all else (even price) and it’s even better when the price is low too. See James C’s comment about their service. They are wonderful, they have already helped me three times with questions I have about transferring my site over.
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