Here at TrevNet we’re always trying to find ways to improve the lives of our staff and our clients by adding simplicity to our daily routines. We needed a better way to collaborate with clients and keep track of all our projects. Like most companies, we relied too heavily on email to manually manage everything. This isn’t always necessary, and we’re here to prove it to you.

After weeks of research and planning, we’ve finally setup TrevNetCollab.

TrevNetCollab is our way of bridging the gap between client communication and project planning. It allows the team behind TrevNet Media to collaborate on projects in a single location, with our clients. You, as a client, can keep track of our progress and leave us any note’s along the way.

Before TrevNetCollab, we heavily relied on email and this can be very unreliable at times, especially with the amount of email we all get in our inbox. When you depend on email for project tracking, data storage and client communication, you lose the ability to maintain a circle of communication between all parties. On top of that, emails, attachments and any special notes often get lost, or missed because too much is going on at once between too many people.

Not to worry, our new system does not eliminate the use of email, if you reply to any email sent from our system, that reply will automatically be inserted into TrevNetCollab under your profile or current project. And, if you have a smartphone, or iPhone, then you can access the mobile version of TrevNetCollab as well. Keeping you informed of your project with us where ever you go.

If you are a current client and haven’t received your login information for TrevNet Collab yet, give us a call at 800-841-7380 and we’ll get you setup so you can enjoy the great benefits of this new system for your next project!

We just installed a few more servers last night and thought we'd take a few pictures to show everyone where their websites, emails and databases are stored.  Enjoy!

Social Media has increased in popularity over the last year, especially in terms of businesses adding them into their marketing mix.  In a recent study done by University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing; 49% of Businesses polled in 2008 utilize Social Networking. In 2009 that same group increased to 80%. In that same study they found that in 2009 52% of those businesses utilize Twitter. Interestingly, In 2008 they didn’t even ask about Twitter. So the trend of adopting social media into normal business practices is definitely increasing, but once you have it setup are you executing and maintaining your social media campaign so it works for you?

Most companies that I come across have some sort of social media presence, they just don’t have the time to continually update it or just don’t know how or what to do to make their social media sites work for them. I always tell them to think of your social media sites as an extension of your marketing mix. If you send out a weekly newsletter via email to your customers, well put that same newsletter on your Twitter or Facebook Fan page. If you write a monthly blog, again post that on your social sites as well. All of this helps increase your marketing reach and starts your social media sites working for you. Of course when you do all of this you will want to track your links, but that’s a whole other blog I will get into in the near future.

Remember you aren’t trying to hard sell your fans or followers. Rather, you are trying to build a community, create a “voice” for your company, and become a trusted source of information in your field. When I say “voice” that doesn’t always mean speaking, as it’s very important to listen to your community as well. Why “follow” someone on Twitter if you aren’t interested in what they are posting. If someone you are following posts something interesting or it relates to your business then let them know. Respond back to their posting letting them know you liked it or what your thoughts are on the issue or “ReTweet” so your followers can see the posting or article as well. Trust me, they will most likely return the favor on the “Retweet”, it’s like Twitter etiquette, and if they have a large number of followers well then viola! The power of Twitter is now working for you as all his/her followers can now potentially view your posting and if interested follow you.

These are just a few examples to help your social media campaign work for you. Feel free to shoot me any other questions you might have or follow me http://www.twitter.com/MikeSKing. Also, let us know what’s working for you we would love to hear your input.

I’m sure many of you have heard the buzz about Social Media by now and thought “Is this right for me and my business?” or “That Social Media stuff is for teenagers” or how about “I’m gonna wait to see how it pans out” Well I wanted to offer this blog and help dispel some of those reasons and offer some insight on the importance of Social Media for your business. Below are 5 Reasons I have put together to help prove that point:

Top 5 Reasons your business should be involved in Social Media

1. Social media allows you to go directly to your consumers:
   • Unlike traditional media Social Media provides a direct outlet to your consumers allowing you the opportunity to engage in conversation, obtain feedback, provide industry news, and even counter pesky rumors or respond and alleviate a customer complaint
2. You can show your brands true colors:
   • Participation in social media shows the human side of your company. Consumers feel they can directly relate with your companies interests and they may look to you as an expert in your field.
3. Increase your marketing reach:
   • Add a Social media campaign to your existing marketing mix for a greater impact. With an effective Social Media campaign you have the potential to reach thousands, even tens of thousands of consumers. Social Media is fast becoming a standard element in the marketing mix of major consumer brands. Never before has such a creative landscape existed for people and the brands they love to interact, share stories and build relationships.
4. Truly Understand your demographic:
   • Think of Social Media as the ultimate focus group, but rather than a small segment of your demographic you have an entire community to gather “real time” data from. As well, you can now engage and interact directly through social media communication tools.
5. ROI (Return on Investment)
   • In a recent study by “King Fish Media” the most effective way to communicate with customers and prospective leads was the company website, while Social Media was ranked the 2nd. I recommend a combination of both for the most effective internet marketing campaign.

The worst thing you can do is nothing at all, or have the thought “I will just wait and see what happens” because I guarantee your competitors are online and active in Social Media, and the longer you “wait and see” the more market share they are taking from you.
Majority of business owners I come across say “Well I have a Facebook Fan page set up, so I’m involved in Social Media right?” Well, having a Twitter account or a Facebook Fan Page etc is not enough. You need to be active EVERDAY in Social Media. If you want to build a successful community, and most importantly have it help you increase your bottom line than you must be proactive rather than reactive.

I hope the above examples helped to show a need for getting started in Social Media. Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions mike@trevnetmedia.com also you can follow me http://www.twitter.com/mikesking or our TrevNet account http://www.twitter.com/trevnetmedia for further updates.