Networking – Virtually

So, you are sat at your computer on the Internet and chances are you are on your Facebook site “working”.  However, you don’t have to pretend you are working.  These so-called “Social Networking” sites can do wonders for your business – all at no cost!

If you do not know what Facebook, or indeed know what Social Networking sites are, then… where have you been living over the past few years?!  These such networking sites (such as Facebook and LinkedIn) can do wonders for your business.  You can find out some information about the business, plus it’s extra promotion and marketing for your business – at no extra cost!

So, where do you start?  Both Facebook and LinkedIn are both .com domains (that’s the easy part).  Then, all you do is enter in your information, such as Name, Password, your Postcode/ZIP-Code; and then click enter – and start networking!  Both of the sites mentioned have business accounts available (at no cost), and you can also have direct URLs to your profile pages, too! (Unfortunately, you can’t do this on Facebook, however, if you enter in your company name in the search engine, then your page should pop up).  Another Social Networking site that you can use is Orkut, which is affiliated with the famous Google brand.

It is worth mentioning that Virtual Networking only accounts for a small number of enquiries, so it is still recommended that you still carry on with your “offline” networking – this includes face-to-face and offline promotion to get your business name out there. 

 Office Butterfly is pleased to announce that it is now a member of the very popular Social Networking site Facebook!  You can find our business page by accessing our page – just search for “Office Butterfly”.  Office Butterfly can also be found on LinkedIn (again, just search for “Office Butterfly”.  A “Personal” page (affiliated with Office Butterfly) can also be found on The “Radio Talent” website (UK).

Office Butterfly’s First Press Release!

Office Butterfly is proud to publish its first Press Release!  The release will be published to the media on Wednesday, 2 January 2008 but readers of the blog and visitors to the Office Butterfly website will be able to view the press release from today! To view the press release, simply <a href=”http://officebutterfly.com/Documents/press%20release%20dec07jan08.doc”>click here</a>.

Finally, Office Butterfly wishes all its prospective clients and visitors to the website/blog a very Happy Christmas and a Prospective New Year!

Direct e-mail – the greener way to direct mailing

Another day, another load of marketing to do….

Actually, it might not seem that bad…  Before, when you do Direct Mailing, you first need to think about writing your letter, then you will need to get that darn database sorted out, and then after printing a ream of the same letter you will need to put all the letters in the envelopes and then post them… seems like a chore, doesn’t it??

With new modern technology, it doesn’t have to be a chore, plus it does save you a lot of time and money!  It’s a win-win situation, isn’t it?

Not exactly.  Yes, you will still have to think about the content of the letter, and you will still have to have a list of adresses to type up… but it’s not all that bad!  Think about it this way.  With e-mails, you can now send your direct mail to prospective clients the modern way, without spending the afternoon stuffing your envelopes with the letter.  The letter can be typed up on a new e-mail (like you normally would when sending an e-mail), and then you can insert some prospective clients by entering in their e-mails separately (if you are only sending your direct mail to a few prospective clients), or you can insert a mail group, e.g. prospective clients, and then, with a click of the mouse, the mail has been sent – no more stuffing those envelopes!

So how do you create a mail group?  Simple – just go into your contacts section in your e-mail box, click on “add new group”, then enter in a name for your group, e.g. prospective clients, clicking on enter once done.  Then, to enter a new contact in the group, just click on the group name and then click on “add new contact”; and follow the instructions.  Simple and Easy – without the use of a Spreadsheet for a mail merge!  In fact, the only information you really need for a contact page is the company name, e-mail address, web address, and, if desired, a contact number.  It really is that easy!

The fun doesn’t end there!  Why not make your direct mail stand out from the crowd, and use a colour template, like the ones used for a e-newsletter?  There are some great, free sites that offer this service.  These sites are very user-friendly and are simple to use.  A great link include Bravenet, although I use a small brand called Toggle.

In fact, Office Butterfly will be offering a e-newsletter creation service for your business!   We can also use the same format to create a very bold, eye-catching direct mail for your prosective clients.  Why not take a look at our site today for more information?  The url is www.officebutterfly.com

Testimonials – Get New Business!

We all know that search engines such as Google and Yahoo can generate extra traffic to your website (and can generate new business), but did you know that you can do the same thing with Testimonials?

Testimonials.  The “Virtual” method of word-by-mouth.  A simple web page that can be easily inserted into your website with information such as the company’s/client’s name, website and comment is all that you need!  Take a look at this example:

“I found Office Butterfly to be extremely professional in their work and their attitude.  I was very impressed with the work that they produced for me.  I would definitely work with them again”.  A Nom, nameofbusiness.co.uk

A Testimonials page would look really good with a couple of testimonials on the page – if you only start out with one, that’s great!  You can always add to the page at a later date.

Another thing that is useful is that you can also do exchanged testimonials - a client can do a testimonial for your business, whilst you can do a testimonial for the client.  You then send the testimonial back for approval before posting on the respective websites. 

This is a good (and free!) form of marketing as not only will you be linked on another website, you could also win some extra clients from your client’s industry!

Why not try it today?  Who knows, tomorrow you could gain another customer – and it’s all down to 5 minutes spent writing a testimonial for your client!

(p.s. Office Butterfly will have a specific Testimonials page on-line soon!  All clients who will use Office Butterfly will be given a chance to write a testimonial for publication on our website, our media packs, etc…  For more information about the company, then please visit our website, www.officebutterfly.com)

thank you to www.ukava.co.ukfor the inspiration behind this blog!

officebutterfly.com – launch

The official webpage of officebutterfly.com has launched!  Please click on the link to access the site.  The web site has been created so that I can have an ‘virtual presence’, whilst still being in the process of setting up the business; so if you have any enquiries, then please do not hesitate to contact me on info @ officebutterfly.com 

The official launch of Office Butterfly is due to take place very soon – please do not hesitate to e-mail me on the above address for more information.  The official launch date will be published nearer the time.

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This is where you can find the latest news relating to Office Butterfly and Virtual Assistant industry news.