http://carltonzone.com/blog For the Hottest Discussions on Business, Technology, and Marketing Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:55:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 en hourly 1 ©Carlton Flowers 2003-2006 carlton.flowers@gmail.com (Carlton Flowers) carlton.flowers@gmail.com Business Marketing 1440 technology, gadgets, business, social media, marketing, sales strategy, advertising Technology, Business, Marketing discussion with Carlton! A fun podcast centered around the discussion of technology, gadgets, business topics, and marketing strategies from a business owner's standpoint. Join me to keep up on the latest trends, and for great ideas on helping you to market your business and expand your customer base on a shoestring budget. Carlton Flowers Carlton Flowers carlton.flowers@gmail.com No no http://carltonzone.com/blog/uploaded/images2/c-zone-itunes-podcast-box.jpg http://carltonzone.com/blog 144 144 http://carltonzone.com/blog/social-media-marketing-a-cost-control-measure-in-2010/ http://carltonzone.com/blog/social-media-marketing-a-cost-control-measure-in-2010/#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:47:34 +0000 Carlton Flowers http://carltonzone.com/blog/?p=195 http://carltonzone.com/blog/social-media-marketing-a-cost-control-measure-in-2010/feed/ 3 http://carltonzone.com/blog/dirty-twitter-follower-list-building-tactics/ http://carltonzone.com/blog/dirty-twitter-follower-list-building-tactics/#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:42:46 +0000 Carlton Flowers http://carltonzone.com/blog/?p=167 http://carltonzone.com/blog/dirty-twitter-follower-list-building-tactics/feed/ 2 9:07 TWITTER LIST BUILDING - TAKE THE DIRTY SHORTCUTS, OR BUILD NATURALLY? In today's podcast presentation we'll talk about building your following on Twitter. Do you prefer ... TWITTER LIST BUILDING - TAKE THE DIRTY SHORTCUTS, OR BUILD NATURALLY? In today's podcast presentation we'll talk about building your following on Twitter. Do you prefer to ramp-up the speed of your follower list growth artificially, or do you prefer "organic" follower building methods? With artificial Twitter follower list building, people hire consultants to handle the grunt work of collecting masses of new followers. Others pay an outright fee for a bulk amount of followers. But with organic building, these Twitter citizens prefer to meet and connect with others based on common interest and 1-on-1 interaction. We will discuss the difference between the two methods, along with the following topics: When Twitter becomes nothing more than the Chicago phone book What happens when cheaters, scammers, and con artists all get together in one community The advantages to organic Twitter follower list building Why trust is vital to Twitter marketing for businesses The "Instant Rock Star Bait-and-Switch" dirty Twitter tactic As always, feel free to post your comments and questions below, or call our Google Voice line at (636) 377-0006 and leave a short message to voice your opinion!Download Dirty Twitter Follower List Building Tactics ##QuanSiteCats## Carlton Flowers no No http://carltonzone.com/blog/how-to-drive-customer-traffic-to-your-twitter-presence/ http://carltonzone.com/blog/how-to-drive-customer-traffic-to-your-twitter-presence/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:12:32 +0000 Carlton Flowers http://carltonzone.com/blog/?p=160 http://carltonzone.com/blog/how-to-drive-customer-traffic-to-your-twitter-presence/feed/ 3 9:50 THE SIMPLE STEPS TO CULTIVATING CUSTOMER TRAFFIC USING TWITTER This week, Kim of the Kingdom City, Missouri Comfort Inn hotel posed a simple yet important question ... THE SIMPLE STEPS TO CULTIVATING CUSTOMER TRAFFIC USING TWITTER This week, Kim of the Kingdom City, Missouri Comfort Inn hotel posed a simple yet important question to me that many businesses and sales professionals often ask... "how do you drive traffic to your Twitter presence on the web?" This is an excellent question! I have a simple,  straight-to-the-point strategy that you can use right now. In today's podcast, I'll cover the details of getting quality customer traffic to your online business presence using Twitter as your main tool. The steps are as follows: First, make a nice Twitter landing page for your bio address Do not sell directly on your Twitter page. Make it fun. Get to know people! Give benefits, features, or special offers for your business AFTER your introduction Give people a reason to contact you on Twitter for a special offer or giveaway Give a link to your company website and tell people what they will see if they visit your site Give a steady tweet stream daily, but do NOT overdo your frequency Interact with as many people as possible via Twitter Create a Facebook fan page and link to it on the Twitter bio page Give every customer that visits your place of business a reason to get on Twitter BEFORE they leave your store The details are covered in the audio podcast. Do you have questions or comments? Post them below. Or, if you would like to call and leave a 30-second message, use our new Google Voice number by dialing 636-377-0006. I'll be looking forward to hearing your comments!Download How To Drive Traffic To Your Business Presence On The Web Via Twitter ##QuanSiteCats## Carlton Flowers no No http://carltonzone.com/blog/seizing-social-media-opportunities/ http://carltonzone.com/blog/seizing-social-media-opportunities/#comments Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:49:26 +0000 Carlton Flowers http://carltonzone.com/blog/?p=117 http://carltonzone.com/blog/seizing-social-media-opportunities/feed/ 1 http://carltonzone.com/blog/the-truth-about-twitter-list-building-for-businesses/ http://carltonzone.com/blog/the-truth-about-twitter-list-building-for-businesses/#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:40:32 +0000 Carlton Flowers http://carltonzone.com/blog/?p=66 http://carltonzone.com/blog/the-truth-about-twitter-list-building-for-businesses/feed/ 1 9:41 BUILDING A MASSIVE TWITTER FOLLOWING - IS THIS THE BEST WAY TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS? In today's podcast, the topic of discussion centers around Twitter marketing. ... BUILDING A MASSIVE TWITTER FOLLOWING - IS THIS THE BEST WAY TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS? In today's podcast, the topic of discussion centers around Twitter marketing. Is it really advantageous to spend time building a huge Twitter following for business exposure? We'll discuss the pros and cons of Twitter "list building", and whether or not you are really getting the most bang out of your buck. Also up for discussion: paid list building services and what you really get for your money. We are now seeing everything from website sales pages to even eBay auctions promising to add a certain number of followers to a Twitter account for a certain fee. Some are even charging an exorbitant amount of money for their service, but what do you end up with? What is the quality of the list that you have paid your hard-earned money for? And who's to say that the list sellers aren't pulling a scam on their customers? As easy as it is to create fake Twitter accounts, I would be cautious about the validity of purchasing guaranteed followers. Even with real accounts, there's still no way to qualify the list members. I caution any sales professional or business owner to seriously think about delving into list purchasing before wasting their money. Many Twitter community members now frown on others who participate in artificial list building. In the end, you may not be able to "buy" your online reputation back if your fast-track idea turns sour. Last but not least, I give my insight on what metric you really SHOULD be tracking instead of the size of your Twitter following or the number of clicks you generate from your link posting. Most marketers gauge success by the number of clicks they receive for an online advertisement or pitch. However, there is one metric that goes far beyond click counting. What is it, you ask? You'll have to listen to the podcast to find out! Click the podcast icon below to listen in and then share your thoughts, questions and comments on the blog!Download The Truth About Twitter List Building For Business ##QuanSiteCats## Carlton Flowers no No http://carltonzone.com/blog/twitter-in-business-world/ http://carltonzone.com/blog/twitter-in-business-world/#comments Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:58:06 +0000 Carlton Flowers http://carltonzone.com/blog/?p=54 http://carltonzone.com/blog/twitter-in-business-world/feed/ 0 http://carltonzone.com/blog/local-business-owners-wheres-your-wallet/ http://carltonzone.com/blog/local-business-owners-wheres-your-wallet/#comments Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:14:49 +0000 Carlton Flowers http://carltonzone.com/blog/?p=29 http://carltonzone.com/blog/local-business-owners-wheres-your-wallet/feed/ 1 http://carltonzone.com/blog/can-twitter-penetrate-local-business-markets/ http://carltonzone.com/blog/can-twitter-penetrate-local-business-markets/#comments Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:52:29 +0000 Carlton Flowers http://carltonzone.com/blog/?p=12 http://carltonzone.com/blog/can-twitter-penetrate-local-business-markets/feed/ 0