Lisa Chapman – Page 13 – Management Library

September 15, 2011March 27, 2023

Free Public Domain Images

No Copyright Protection – Use at Will

This post will fulfill your desire for completely FREE images that are not under copyright protection! Now you can fill your marketing with great images and save hundreds or thousands of dollars.

You’re sure to find what you need somewhere within this list. Be careful to read the details, because some of these sites may include copyright protected works, too, as designated. Sites that collect free public domain images include:

Picdrome – Public Domain growing picture collection, no copyright, licensed under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication. All items free to download and use, without restriction.
Pixabay – Public domain images without any limitation (private and commercial use)
/ Alegri Photos – Public domain and Creative Commons images
Public Domain Photos – Free for commercial redistribution and alteration – From January 1, 2011, public-photo.net was moved to a new domain: publicphoto.org. All photos from this site are 100% free for use. The site has more than 1,000 galleries, in over 13 thousand unique photos, and at least three galleries are added daily, that is up to 30-40 photos per day. Each images can be downloaded at least four dimensions: thumbnail, normal, large and very large. Photos are up to 4752 x 3168 maximum resolution. (old domain: moka.t2i.info – Moka Gallery) !
TotallyFreeImages.com – Totally free public-domain images – Largest archive on the Internet with over 494,000 hi-res professional-grade royalty-free images, 100% public-domain and ok to use with Wikipedia
Public-Domain-Photos.com
Public Domain Cliparts Over 8000 public domain cliparts.
4 Free Photos Public domain images.
Free Stock Image Site Collection of public domain stock images.
Montenegro Photo Free images of Montenegro (Former Yugoslavia).
FreeStockPhotos.biz A large collection of Public Domain, GNU, Creative Commons & custom licensed stock photos and clip art.
BestPhotos.us Search millions of public domain photos or browse the best
Ars Publik – A great collection of public domain images from around the web, hand-selected for use in web and graphic design.
Public Domain Pictures A large collection of high quality pictures for free. Possibility to contact the authors for original files.
Easy Stock Photos – Royalty free stock photos, pictures, images and information in the public domain – Collection of public domain photos organized by category in image galleries.
Reusable Art – An ever-growing collection of vintage drawings, illustrations and photographs from books, magazines and other printed materials. Original publication information is included with each image for copyright verification. All images meet or exceed the Berne Convention standard for a creative work to be in the public domain.
GIMP Archive – 32,000+ Royalty-free photos, organized by keyword.
Open Clip Art – This project is an archive of public domain clip art. The clip art is stored in the W3C scalable vector graphics (SVG) format.
Public Domain Clip Art– 25,000+ Public Domain Clip Arts (great for printing). Categorized & searchable.

Whew! Happy Hunting.

Let us know if you have some favorite collections to add to this list.

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

September 8, 2011July 1, 2022

Copyright Compliance

A note saying copyright claim on a vintage type writer

Are You Engaging in Copyright Violations?

Since all of us are now publishers online, it’s extremely important to be aware of, and abide by, U.S. Copyright Law.

Technical Aspects of Copyright Law

According to our often-qouted source Wikipedia, ” Today copyright laws are partially standardized through international and regional agreements such as the Berne Convention and the WIPO Copyright Treaty. Although there are consistencies among nations’ copyright laws, each jurisdiction has separate and distinct laws and regulations covering copyright. National copyright laws on licensing, transfer and assignment of copyright still vary greatly between countries and copyrighted works are licensed on a territorial basis.”

Laymen’s Language

What you need to know as a Marketer is this:

Works by a creator are protected from others’ use for a certain period of time.
Works are not just limited to text, but include photos and other images, video, maps, sound recordings, computer programs, and many other types.
Most works do not need to be registered to be under copyright protection. Hence, even if you don’t see the familiar symbol (c) , the work may likely be protected.
After a certain period of time, the copyright protection will end, and the work will “enter the public domain”.

Exceptions to Copyright Protection

Some uses may be covered under limitations and exceptions to copyright, such as fair use. As such, they do not require permission from the copyright owner to use the work.

But be careful. This is tricky stuff. I highly recommend that you consult a copyright attorney before you use any material that is even remotely possibly a copyright protected work.

Copyright owners can license or permanently transfer or assign their exclusive rights to others. Usually, the owners charge a licensing fee, which is never predictable and always at the sole discretion of the owner.

Copyright Infringement

“Copyright infringement, or copyright violation, is the unauthorized use of works covered by copyright law, in a way that violates one of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.” (Wikipedia) Infringement is a serious legal violation, with serious consequences. Just DON’T do it!

Have you encountered instances of copyright infringement, or piracy?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

August 30, 2011March 27, 2023

Your Blog

Set Yourself Apart from the Pack with a Style Guide

If you want to make a great first impression with your marketing blog, pay attention to the details. If readers encounter typos, inconsistent voice, posts that are too long to read, and other deal killers, you’ll lose them. Not just once, but forever.

Blog Style Guide

Not only that, but if you have more than one person writing blogs in your company, those “blogs require a consistent style guide so that anyone who writes and edits posts will be able to adhere to the same rules. Some blogs choose to adopt the AP Stylebook and others prefer the MLA or The Yahoo! Style Guide.”

As Jonathan Bailey suggests, you’ll also want to decide up front how you address specifics such as:

post length/frequency,
post titles (length, capitalization),
formatting (subheads, lists),
images (sources, sizes),
links (number, format),
attribution (quotes, photos), and
author information/bio.

The Band-Aid AP Stylebook

The Band-Aid AP Stylebook (by Dave Feldman, The San Diego Union-Tribune

and Stan Ketterer, Oklahoma State University) is a summary of the most commonly used items in the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual. It includes helpful reminders, but it is not a substitute for it.

When in doubt, look it up in the AP Stylebook!

Does your blog have a style that sets it apart from the pack?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

August 25, 2011July 1, 2022

Competitive Advantage

Do You Have an Effective One?

According to Wikipedia, “Competitive advantage is defined as the strategic advantage one business entity has over its rival entities within its competitive industry. Achieving competitive advantage strengthens and positions a business better within the business environment.”

How do you know if your company has an effective competitive advantage – either offline or online?

I’ve compiled a list of Step One questions that will help you determine whether or not yours is strong, and if you are capitalizing on it.

Competitive Advantage Assessment

1. Are my company’s mission, vision and values clear, and do all employees embrace them?
2. Is our strategy for success up-to-date, and understood by management?
3. Who, exactly, are my competitors?

4. What are my competitors’ weaknesses? Do they matter?
5. Do I monitor my competitors’ activities?
6. Do I take advantage of competitive opportunities?
7. Does my company possess a uniqueness that easily separates it from my competitors?

What, specifically, is it?

If you don’t know the answer to these basic questions, take time out to get this foundation firmly in place. You might even ask a few of your managers these questions … just to gauge their understanding.

Put it into Play

With the above basics in place, go on to Step Two – how does your competitive advantage play out in the marketplace? Answer these questions to give you an idea of how you can increase sales by strengthening your competitive advantage:
1. Would I pay my prices to use my own products or services?
2. How do my prices compare with my competitors’ prices?
3. Who, exactly, are my paying customers?

4. Do I have a comprehensive, up-to-date profile of them, and their buying habits?
5. Do I have a loyal customer base (repeat sales, or positive word of mouth)?
6. Does my customer service rank world class?
7. What trends do I see for my industry in the future? Is my company – and my product mix – aligned with those trends?

If you answered “no” or “I don’t know” to more than one of the above questions, you may need some assistance with discovering and/or leveraging your competitive edge.

Don’t delay – it’s EXPENSIVE to wait. Work on any weaknesses you uncover and watch sales climb!

What sets you apart from your competitors?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

August 17, 2011July 1, 2022

Facebook Engagement Tactics

How to Interact with Your Target Audience

On Facebook, like any other social networking site, one of your highest priorities is connecting with your Target Audiences.

Plan to interact with them at least daily, by:

Posting Updates. 90% of Facebook engagement is achieved through Updates.
Inviting your Target Audiences to interact on your site via the Tabs. This is a powerful community-building tactic.
Asking and answering questions. It’s a GREAT way to establish real relationship, position yourself as an expert, and offer value. When you offer expert information – your Target Audiences will respect you and come back for more.
Commenting – on your Page and your Fans’ Profiles and Pages.
Thanking people who engage and/or Like you.
Liking other Pages’ status updates (a new capability with the 2011 update).
Polling your audience. Example: what content do they want? Rate their effective use of Facebook. Surveys show that Facebook users LOVE to engage on Facebook topics.

Many Facebook Profiles and Pages are active – but do they really grab the attention of your target audience? Below are examples of tactics to engage your Fans.

Use a calendar to plan Facebook engagement tactics in advance.

Post Facebook Updates to ask your Target Audiences:

To broadcast their news, announcements, events, stories, etc.
To share tips that make their jobs easier, free tools they find helpful, learnings from past seminars or events, employee hiring/firing issues, etc.
To share stories about how they achieve greater success (management/motivational insights, sales increases, marketing tips, etc.)
For questions they want to ask each other
For favorite tweets from supporters
To post PHOTOS and tag them
To post links to: their site’s Home page, their mission statement, their blog, their Twitter name, videos, photos from previous events (again, tagging people in them), etc.
To recommend like-minded individuals in their networks
To Tweet your specific messages
To subscribe via SMS

The key to all this Facebook engagement activity is to calendar it, then monitor it. When conversations start and comments build, your activities are fruitful!

What Facebook engagement tactics have worked for you? Share one of your biggest success stories.

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

August 10, 2011March 27, 2023

Your Organization Needs a Social Media Policy

The Motherlode of Social Media Policy Examples

Every organization is affected by social media, whether you are aware of it or not. Your employees, customers, vendors, and everyone with whom you do business is already on the Internet. And they’re likely mentioning your organization.

Consider these questions:

Do you monitor the Internet for use of your name?
Are they saying good things – or not?
What do you do when your name is associated with negatives?
Do you allow your employees to mention your organization in blogs, comments, or other online discussion?

Employee posts online

You may not have thought of it in these terms, but when your employee adds content online – to any discussion, on any platform – they are potentially affecting your brand and reputation. If you allow employees to post your organization’s name, at the very least, they should also be required to clearly state their position & title, and that they are not speaking on behalf of the organization.

Many, many issues should be carefully considered when exploring the best social media policies for your unique organization, its culture and goals.

How to get started – The motherlode

One of the best places to start is researching other organizations’ social media policies. Many large corporations have spent tens of thousands of dollars on high-level executive and attorney time and expertise.

You can find a list of 177 sample social media policies from an array of organizations on Social Media Governance’s website . Here are just a few of the organizations’ social media policies they offer:

American Red Cross
Ball State University
Cisco
Fedex
Ford Motor Company
IBM
Nordstrom
RazorFish
Thomas Nelson
Many more!

What policy issues are you struggling with? What solutions can you offer?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

July 24, 2011March 27, 2023

What is a Facebook “Like” Worth? Part 2 of 2

Update – July 2011 Facebook Fan Value – Another Perspective

In the last post, we discussed that Facebook Fans are a different kind of customer. They have segmented THEMSELVES – because they self-proclaim their endorsement of your brand, your products, your service, and/or your company – they are VALUABLE. You cannot buy this type of customer.

According to EContent Magazine, Syncapse Corp., a Toronto-based social media management software provider , studied and quantified that the total value of a customer who is a Facebook Fan is worth $136.38 more than a customer who is NOT a Facebook Fan.

A Simpler Way for Marketing Managers to calculate the value of a Facebook Fan

Vitrue, Inc, an Atlanta-based provider of software for social media management, conceived another approach to calculating the value of a Facebook Fan page.

Vitrue’s formula is based solely on the number of impressions the fans enable.

For example, if a company has 100,000 Facebook fans and posts to Facebook two times every day, then the brand appears twice on every Fan’s newsfeed. This creates 200,000 impressions per day, and about 6,000,000 impressions per month. Using the assumed cost of $5 per thousand, those 6,000,000 impressions translate to about $30,000 in revenue per month, or $360,000 each year. Now divide this number by the 100,000 fans, and the resulting value per Facebook fan is $3.60 annually.

Compound the Value of a Facebook “Like”

Reggie Bradford, Vitrue’s CEO, claims that the twice-a-day messaging is only the beginning of the marketing value. Now that you have their “Like”, marketing efforts to boost this value could include:

Polls
Coupons
Videos
Photos

Use these tactics to further engage your Fans. Get them to comment and share. Now “you’re creating enormous impression-to-earned media value.”

What are YOU doing to engage and exploit the marketing potential of your Facebook Likes?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net Powered Entrepreneur -A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

July 6, 2011March 27, 2023

What is a Facebook “Like” Worth? Part 1 of 2

Update – July 2011 Facebook Fan Value

The internet evolution keeps marketing managers on their toes. Is it really worth it for a brand to spend time and money to strategize and execute a Facebook marketing plan?

The short answer is a resounding “Yes!” Facebook Fans are a different kind of customer. The have segmented THEMSELVES – because they self-proclaim their endorsement of your brand, your products, your service, and/or your company – they are VALUABLE. You cannot buy this type of customer.

Treat Facebook Fans Differently

It is enormously important to recognize that these Facebook Fans need to be treated differently. The true benefits lie in the company’s ability to actively engage this customer and provide meaningful value.

Examples include:

Provide them links to helpful info – and make them available only on Facebook.
Offer personal customer service contacts such as a phone number that is actually answered live, instead of auto-prompts.
Tell success stories about individual customers (Facebook Fans) – and post them on Facebook, the company’s homepage, etc. Recognition makes for loyal customers.

Now these Fans have something of value to tell others about, and unwittingly become your Brand Ambassadors! These customers that engage are considered high-value.

But what is the monetary value of a Facebook Fan?

The Average Value of a Facebook Fan

According to EContent Magazine, Syncapse Corp., a Toronto-based social media management software provider, studied and quantified fans’ and nonfans’:

Product spending ($71.84)
Loyalty to a company ($43.71)
Propensity to recommend a company ($13.57)
Brand Affinity and Earned Media Value ($6.79)
Acquisition cost ($47)

The total value of a customer who is a Facebook Fan is worth the sum of all these: $136.38 more than a customer who is NOT a Facebook Fan.

What is the total value of YOUR Facebook Fanbase?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

June 29, 2011July 2, 2022

How To Make A Social Media Campaign Go Viral

Young adults reacting to posts on their phones

Run a Successful Social Media Contest

No matter if you have a small business or a large business, you can run a social media contest and achieve viral results.

What does “viral” mean? In social terms, it’s a very good thing. Viral campaigns are those which take off on their own, passing from one person to the next, without your contact or intervention. It’s the holy grail of online marketing.

Travel Industry Example

I was the unwitting participant in a contest that went amazingly viral – all over the world! A travel site to which I subscribe (for sheer pleasure) asked for participants to submit “Their Best Travel Photo”. I was instantly intrigued.

After looking through the long, long display of photos already submitted, I just KNEW that my photo was better than the others, and that I would win. (My sister won the lottery, after all, it runs in the family,
right?)

Here’s the magic: After I made up my mind to do it, and selected my photo, I clicked through to submit it. But first, I had to “Like” their Facebook Page. Brilliant! There was absolutely NO cost, and they increased their fan base enormously. (I didn’t win the contest, but I won this story to share with you.)

Before you jump into launching your own contest, consider these important points:

What do you want to achieve?
Start with the end in mind. Is it more traffic (awareness), subscribers (larger database), reaching new audiences, or something completely different?
What is your budget? It may cost very few dollars, but there is generally a significant commitment of time and expertise. Do you have it?
How will you measure success? Many metrics can be tracked, if you’re clear about what’s important to you.

Have you run a successful contest? If so, please share the link or your tips.

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

June 16, 2011July 2, 2022

Plan and Build Your Social Media Presence

Stacking wooden blocks creating business growth

It All Starts With a Plan and Goals – the Basics

In addition to your primary site, social media sites leverage your messages online. The wonder of social media is that it naturally connects people who have similar interests. You want to reach your friends, and your friends’ friends.

When you engage in discussions online through social media, your message can even “go viral”, gaining momentum and reaching well beyond your friends’ friends. The ultimate goal of an internet marketing campaign is to create a meaningful message that reaches its target audience and is virally spread to others who are interested in the topic.

Build your social media presence and interaction very deliberately. Certain basic fundamentals will make your social media efforts most rewarding:

Write down your business goals.
Find and listen to the conversations that are already taking place online about you, your products, your competitors, and your competitors’ products.
Find and listen to your ideal customers’ needs. Remember, when you offer a solution that solves a pressing problem, fulfills an urgent need, or gives them hope and joy, people will eagerly buy it.
Choose key social media sites for your target niche and establish your online profile.
Integrate those sites for maximum exposure, brand-building, and traffic.
Engage in conversations.
Build your network or following. Build your email database.
Track and monitor activity and results.
Tweak to continually improve results.
Repeat.

Tell your story – the social media way

You have a unique story to tell, and social media is your opportunity to join conversations. As we discussed earlier, social media is NOT one-way ‘push’ marketing. It IS about finding online platforms where people have conversations about specific topics of interest, and engage in meaningful, two-way discussion.

A site that allows users to interact and add content (comments, links, photos, video, etc.) is social. Use first person. Make your interaction sound and feel genuine. The people you meet online will be attracted to you (and what you offer) when you add helpful, meaningful input. If you’re new to social media, it is widely recommended that you first LISTEN to the conversation in order to become familiar with its unique style and flow.

What is YOUR unique story?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman: