5 tips for optimizing your FB footprint

In the new Social media arena, the very low inexpensive way to market yourself or business is FB (Facebook) more than 200 million people worldwide provides a very large audience. Below are the 5 options or tips to maximize your footprint to create leads from a B2C prospective. Advertising budgets are being impact by the current economy. So here they are:

1. Provide a strong presence, remember 99% of small businesses have a website, so if you do not have one, get one. Create a facebook page so you can be found though friend's profiles, searches, the main key here is grow your fan base "virally". Ensure you keep your SEO in the mix.

2. Spend some budget money on advertising, it is very affordable to promote events or meetings. You can segregate markets from demographics, industries by placing two types of ads, that work like banners, with cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-thousand (CPM) I personally prefer the CPC that enables you to select how much you want to spend per click. Usually from .25 to over $1 per click.

3. Create your customize application, so you can send your ads to a specific location. this will enable you to engage your target audience.

4. Syndicate your message or content, i.e. blogging, Notes etc.

5. Provide an event that your audience can engage, for example: webinars, conference calls, podcasting, video and the usual best face to face events. Select your best quality prospecting activity, if you are better on the phone than in person then the option should be conferencing. If you are a good face to face person, provide events that you can engage your audience face to face. I prefer the latter. The true cost can be found in the creation of your content. The ROI all depends on your strategies and follow ups.

Once you get leads then you should consider how this lead generation strategy will play out and you will nurture them. Good luck

Hannibal Chinchilla
Principal
Barca Financial Group
"Creating Financial Synergy"

B2B marketing using Social Media

We heard lots of chatter on what social media is, it depends who you ask. For starters, we know that it has a powerful reach and it is the fastest growing marketing tool for B2B and B2C platforms. Shrinking budgets, the economy are shifting former media to this newer media and are now valued by marketing teams. I have been experimenting on a couple of the most popular social media sites: LinkedIn and Facebook and have used Twitter. The best social media for professionals is LinkedIn by far and for B2B. Here you can reach decision makers and get to the point and start dialogue for a business contact which may turn to a sale. LinkedIn is overwhelmingly used at 81% of B2B marketers and Facebook coming at a close second. ROI is quite different from these two. A colleague and I experimented on Facebook to see what results you get. For a social event or a meeting or party Facebook proved to provide better ROI. Now the ROI is a question of who you ask. With budget restraints the web provides the fastest and less expensive ROI, which in this case is almost free. As an economist I was taught that there is no free lunch on anything. I guess the investment here is time and market segments, who you are trying to market to. Facebook is better at B2C and LinkedIn is better at B2B. I have gotten great contacts on the latter reaching as far as China and India for my Export/Import business. Going back to the brief experiment, my colleague and I made changes on our Facebook profile to see what effect. I opted on the marital status and he opted on the job status; he received several emails expressing concern and help for his lost of job and provided a quick synopsis of who is reading. My experiment provided me with a funny insight as my sister and family quickly contacted me to see what was going on with my "is complicated" status. I deemed it a mistake but it provided me with the knowledge that whatever you write or post on these sites, whether you get an email response or not, people are reading it. Someone told me that before you post something on the web is open to all eyes. I enjoyed the experiment and it proved that the marketability of this new social media is powerful and is here to stay. So I recommend to do some research, try new marketing for your business or personal development and see what happens.
Happy chatting

Hanniba Chinchilla
Principal at Barca Financial Group.

Business Planning during a recession

Business owners are faced with unusual circumstances and decision making during a recession. Survival, growth and opportunities come with a price. We have witnessed the fall of the auto industry once viewed as ever lasting, we have witnessed the fall of great Wall Street brokerages. Five years ago these events could not be conceived. But they happened. So, what do business owners ought to do during these times? One safe approach is to rethink budgets, liabilities and new market opportunities. Your gate keepers should be open to opportunities instead of shutting the door as if business was usual. As an owner, one must contemplate these opportunities. Think of new market segments in a vertical strategy; revisit your optimal prospect; many companies are receiving stimulus funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These companies, and possible customers will weather this recession. Markets will come back, production will increase. The main question is when? business owners should be placing themselves as the survivors and position themselves as solution providers. Dust off that business plan when you first started and rethink strategies. The old way of doing business is out. Think outside the box and review your customers core needs, research new market segments, use vertical approach strategies.

Failure of The Investment Banks, Brokerage Houses

There is a shift on the balance of power, as in context. the real question is how tarnished is the trust on major financial institutions? we read it everyday, bail out money, toxic securities and the end is not in sight. The shift is going towards the independent platforms and independent model which is in ascendancy right now. What does this means to you? Well, as an economist I learn to always say, "it depends". It depends on your long term resolve. As a society we are accustomed to fast returns, high returns for what we do. Remember the housing market, some bought at the height of the bubble and are now paying for it. Why, because everyone else was doing it; and try to get into it and follow the masses, too late, it is like chasing the stock market, buying and selling at the right times, not even the so call experts can steadily do it. My vision is contrary to follow the masses as we would feel safer with vast numbers doing the same thing, my vision and our meme are steady rate of returns for the long haul. Our meme is the elephant which epitomizes a steady solid culture that will get you there safe and sound, thus our Logo. As an independent, which was my choice from the beginning of this career, I am so glad otherwise I would of being with Smith Barney, Merrill Lynch, it allows me to help my clients to get their best return and look for their interests and life goals. Thank you for choosing us, as we travel a roller coaster in the financial markets. I am happy to say that all my clients are feeling safe, happy and glad they have trusted us with their long term goals, we will be here in this bear market and await the bull market. One thing is for certain, we proactively seek solutions and follow patterns that work, for those who listened and believed in us before the market crash can attest to that. Let us look forward to this vision and prepare for the unexpected. Let us not follow the masses as they follow and could end up facing a cliff at the end. I rather be on the highest point of self-actualization as per Abe Maslow teachings.

Sincerely,
Hannibal Chinchilla
Principal
Barca Financial Group

Sunday is always my favorite after Fridays

Using Ping.fm makes it easier to stay in touch

Using Ping.fm makes all your sites easier to manage, try it.
Additionally, try www.bing.com instead of google you will like it and it is refreshing.
Hannibal

A New Way of Retirement Thinking Part 1

Well, it is not too new it just makes more sense finally. Everyone has seen the turmoil in the financial markets; America has not been able to save to live within its means, and remains spending taxpayer’s dollars at random to bail out ailing corporations. As an economist I believe in there is no free lunch. Someone has to pay for something. The TARF and stimulus money will have to come due someday. It is like mortgaging a house; it has to be paid off. The taxpayers will have to do that, at what cost? Social Security will be in trouble if it is not readjusted. The Fed secretary recommended a constriction on spending. The sad part is that we have to take it as bad medicine, and it usually tastes very bad. Will it cure us? Probably not. It is all assumptions; even the Monte Carlo model of calculating probabilities which are very accurate had failed. Yes that means the modeling for your retirement models have failed and will fail. This will be witnessed for years to come. A solution would be to do your own retirement. The problem is that many do of the public do not know how; here is where we come in. We had helped many successful clients who did not feel the market drop last year; they are sleeping well and happy to have maintained assets and use leverage for their retirement income. We plan for retirement which ultimately is translated into income streams for retirees. Lately we hear that, you have to stay at work for 3-7 years longer; not a nice thing to say to a client. Stay the course; this one always makes me tense up, because the market cycles have change. It may not be enough time to regain what it has been lost, especially at the later years before retirement. Still we have solutions to re-engineered portfolios, for those willing to listen. The good news is that if you have at least 10 years before a proposed retirement date, we can help. Imagine a strategy that you do not have to pay taxes when you draw your money, imagine a strategy that gives you triple interest rate of return. Some may be thinking now, what is that? Well simply, interest gain on the market, interest on the interest and the interest you do not have to pay on taxes. Wow that is sweet. Knowledge is power as long as you know how to use it. We can help. For more information on solutions contact us at 429-5193 or email me at hannibal@barcafinancial.com. It is for real.