Show Details

Biography

Social Media: Cheap and Easy with Conrad Hall

Conrad Hall is a master carpenter and retired field engineer.

In October 2007, he retired from a career filled with successes:

• a residential renovations business advertised solely by referral (“customer evangelism” in today’s vocabulary)
• working almost exclusively in the demanding niche of fixing what other contractors had done poorly
• advancing to the position of Field Engineer in high-rise construction without holding a formal engineering degree
• employed by the premier residential high-rise construction company in Ontario, Canada

Conrad retired from construction to pursue a simple career as a freelance copywriter. His skills as a communicator, teacher and marketer have made that simple career blossom into:

• publishing 4 business how-to titles in 16 months
• becoming an international speaker and small business mentor
• developing a client list that includes March of Dimes Canada, American Writers and Artists Inc., and the Ontario General Contractors Association
• hosting the nationally syndicated radio show…Social Media – Cheap and Easy

Today, all of Conrad’s efforts are focused on helping his fellow business owners make their marketing strategy effective and profitable. That’s why Conrad is working to show small business owners their real options and what they can really do with social media marketing on a local level.

His entire focus is working with small and medium size businesses to maximize their return on investment in traditional, online and social media marketing channels.

In 2008, Conrad saw the need for a clear, easy to read and understand social media guide for business owners. He has spent the last two years making that guide a reality: Friends, Followers and Customer Evangelists: The Business Owner’s Guide to Social Media is his 5th business title.

Join Conrad each week as he clears away the mysteries of social media marketing. Listen in as he and his guests discuss what is working, what’s not, and how to apply it to your small business.

Archived Shows

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Social Media Politics, Agencies Admit Failure, Yahoo For Sale

  Social media is used in Egypt to change the government, and in Mexico to keep people safe. But in the U.S. it’s being used by politicians to bicker and throw mud. Is it just me, or does this seem incredibly out of whack? As politicians of all stri...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Social Media And Small Business Marketing – Joining The Conversation

  Word of Mouth marketing is the ultimate goal of every business owner. Social media is supposed to the golden ticket for small business marketing, yet less than 1% of small businesses are succeeding with social media? Why? The flat out truth is that ...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Can Social Media Ever Be Profitable For Small Business?

  It feels good to see research coming out that social media marketers believe a social media presence is more important than social media ads. It’s good because I’ve been saying that ever since Facebook introduced ads and called it social media mark...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Real World Lessons For Why Less Is More

  Sounds like a load of crap, doesn’t it? “Less is more…” 86 people paying $97/month equals $100,104 per year. Small number of people paying a fairly small sum. Groupon says 80% of people actually redeem their daily deal coupon. And retaile...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Social Media For Survival, Amazon Listens, And Facebook Makes Changes

  Can tweeting get you killed? The rise of violence in Mexico has caused news outlets, and even the authorities, to stop covering what criminals are doing. In response, citizen journalists are spreading the news and helping to keep people safe. But th...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Facebook Killing Music Sharing, Daily Deal Profits Drop Further, and Google’s Getting Slapped

  Facebook is talking about bringing music sharing services such as Spotify, Rhapsody, Rdio, MOG and Deezer onto their site. The idea is to make your profile an entertainment hub. But how much of a hub will it be if it drives these businesses out of busi...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Amazon’s New Library, Google’s Review Site and Cable’s Going Mobile

  Is capitalism dead? The stories this week are all about companies that claim to be capitalist. Are they? Or are they just profiteers and opportunists who no longer understand the meaning of capitalism? In the latest effort to establish an e-book ...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Amazon Makes Social Media Better, And Listeners Get Their Questions Answered

  When Forrester Research hosted the Customer Experience Forum, they asked Tealeaf to do some research with attendees. They discovered that 87% of attendees believe online customer experience management is more important now than ever before. Yet only ha...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Customers: Why You Should Separate Them Like Sheep And Cows

  Sounds a little brutal, doesn’t it? And yet it regularly proves to be the difference between a business flourishing and perishing. We know that our customers naturally split into different groups. This week, we look at how that’s happening right...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Magazines For Social Media, Groupon’s Into Real Estate And Facebook No Longer Leads

  It’s a week for big changes in the world of social media. Jerry Lewis is making his last appearance on the MDA telethon this year. It’s being broadcast for only 6 hours, and is slated for September 4. It’s the end of an era. One that began ...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Google Likes Motorola & Games, The New York Times Claims We’re Too Plugged In, And IBM Says The PC Is Dead

  Now that’s quite a week! Google drops 12.5 Billion on a cell phone, a newspaper rants against social media, and IBM declares the end of the PC era. If you’re Google, what do you say to agreeing to pay 12.5 Billion for a company – and then havi...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Groupon, Living Social And Daily Deals – Are They Worth The Effort?

  Flat out, there’s no way any business owner can stay in business by giving away 75% of sales through daily deal sites. That’s a model built for bankruptcy. The unfortunate part is that the daily deal sites – Groupon, Living Social, Google Offe...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Google, Facebook and Amazon Are In The Same Business – Plus, USA Today Is Listening To The Show

  Imagine picking up a copy of USA Today and seeing them pick up a story you’ve been trumpeting for months. That’s what has happened to me. And it turns out 75% of investment bankers are thinking like me, too! Kinda gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Life After Facebook, Hackers Attach SMBs, and e-Books Outsell Print On Amazon

  Facebook is now FaceBroke, although they don’t want you to know it. But what does the rise of such an information storehouse mean for local business owners? That people are willing to share their information is a boon to every business owner. Big ...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Borders Closes Forever, eMarketer Drops The Ball and 5 “Proven” Ways to Use Social Media

  It’s big news when the second largest bookseller – Borders – gives up and decides to close their doors. Their remaining 399 stores will be gone by the end of September along with 10,700 jobs. And there’s a lesson here for every business owner w...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Is Dr. Oz Fudging On Your Privacy? Is Social Media Actually Helping Your Business? Is Google+ Really Worth The Wait?

  Your day is already busy, and your schedule is already full. The answers to these questions help you protect your privacy, make use of your time, and build stronger relationships with everyone you meet. Dr. Oz is the “front guy” for RealAge. A s...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Amex Partners With Foursquare, MySpace Is (Finally) Sold, Cyberattacks On The Rise, & Google Gets License To Drive

  Amex and Foursquare are getting the jump on all the mobile wallet providers. They’ve teamed up to harness the power of social media with credit card spending. The great thing is that you can do exactly the same thing in your business. News Corp ha...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Google Launches a Facebook Killer, Xaxis Comes To Life, And Social Networking Goes In-House

  Google launched Google+ last week, and they’re off to a roaring start. It’s their third swing at the piñata, and they may have found the formula for knocking Facebook off its pedestal. Google’s first two swings were Wave and Buzz. They both w...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – YouTube Closes Accounts, Amazon Security Issues And NCF – A “New” Technology

  Some internet celebrities had their YouTube accounts closed last week. David Jenyns, Jeff Herring, and Darren Rowse to name three. Listen to find out how it happened, and how you can keep it from happening to you. We also send you to two special interv...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Google Adds Features, Twitter Users Want Answers, and Banks Try Coupons

  Groupon and Living Social have interesting competition in the online coupon market. Bill Shrink has teamed up with more than 2,000 banks and is a case study in how to do coupons the right way. Google has added some cool features to their local and m...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Facebook and Privacy, Groupon and Coupons, and the Future of Marketing

  Imagine that – Facebook is back in the news over Privacy concerns. Fortunately it has an easy fix, and I walk you through it step-by-step. Protect yourself in under a minute. Groupon – Is it a revolution or evolution in marketing? Coupons have been...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – YouTube’s Getting Better, e-Mail’s Getting Harder, and GroupOn’s Getting Richer

  It’s a great week in social media. YouTube is doing a lot to improve their service, and that means a big opportunity for business owners. E-Mail is getting more dangerous with spear phishing. Fortunately, the fix is simple – more simple than the ex...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Awesome Ain’t Valuable, YouTube Stardom and Useful Facebook Pages

  Two offers for free reports came across my desk this week. They got me thinking about how much information we see every day, and helping you sort out what’s likely to be useful from what’s just a shiny object. The reports came from InfusionSoft ...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – LinkedIn Explodes, Twitter is Stupid and Highlights from AM2.0

  LinkedIn has had their IPO, and enjoyed huge success. Of course, the pundits automatically assume this means all other social media sites will enjoy the same success with IPOs. We’ll see about that. And a new study suggests Twitter is making us stupi...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Facebook Privacy Blunders, Google Auto Cars And Real Social Networking

  In one day, Facebook managed to shoot itself in both feet AND the head over privacy issues. With excellent timing, several startups have launched that focus on real social networking – they connect us privately with our friends. And Google is testing...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Apple is Publishing Oprah, Google Likes Quality Content and We Answer Listener Questions

  Apple’s idea to publish magazines through iTunes has been sputtering, but they recently managed to sign two big publishers. Google is in the news again. This week we look at the changes they’ve made in their ranking system and explore how you can u...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Social Media’s Gleam Is Fading, Google Looks For Profits and Small Business Is Growing

  I just arrived home from the largest annual marketing conference in the U.S. A roofing supply company turned $5,000 worth of marketing into more than $600,000 in sales – and that’s just one example. I also spoke to a lot of business owners make goo...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Amazon Struggles, President Obama Friends, And The iPhone Is Tracking

  Amazon struggled with down servers recently, but they’ve rebounded. Listen to find out what Amazon S3 is and how you can use it. President Obama made a splash with Facebook. Now hear what it means for your business. Tracking customers continues to be...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Social Media Isn’t Integrated, Facebook Makes You Lonely, and YouTube Is Broken

  eMarketer thinks integration means making sure your mobile and social media marketing are working together. They completely missed the boat this week by failing to show readers how to successfully integrate social media with direct mail and other “tr...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Epsilon, Barack Obama and Google – all a little crazy

  Epsilon lost your name and e-mail address so watch your inbox for fake e-mails. And I tell you how to stay safe. Barack Obama is running for re-election. Pay attention to what he does with social media this time around. CEOs are afraid of social media ...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Google Gets Social, Facebook Gets Political, and Acer Lays Down Dead

  Google is tackling the idea of a social network yet again. Buzz flopped, but Plus One has some real potential. Google did a cool April Fool joke with Google Motion, and that highlights how Prime Access is making the internet accessible to everyone – ...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Facebook, Groupon and Google are Doing Good Things

  Facebook is expanding their reach with Snaptu. Google is making Google Voice easier with Sprint. Groupon is maturing as a business. And Amazon is looking at producing an Android Kindle. That means the ability to publish in full color – a great thing ...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Groupon vs. Facebook, HarperCollins Hates Libraries & Obama Calls for Privacy

  Groupon and Facebook are battling for online advertising revenue. But the real question is: Do you know how to use a coupon? And President Obama is calling for a Privacy Bill of Rights. Could it be because online advertisers are thumbing their noses at...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Week 031411

  Week 031411

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Privacy in Advertising, Social Media Profits and The PC is DEAD

  The Wall Street Journal spent almost 2 years looking at online privacy. Now the Feds are looking at it, too. Facebook, Microsoft and Google are all staking their territory around online privacy, and some companies are making it possible for you to make...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Facebook & Firesheep and Amazon & Netflix – What Do They Have in Common?

  There’s a new social media security threat – and Facebook’s right in the middle of it. A new program called Firesheep allows you to hijack any social media profile, so we’re looking at how you can protect yourself. And security is the big topic...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Direct Mail and Social Media – Small Business Marketing on Steroids

  The future of social media marketing is very different from what we’re seeing today. This week we explore what social media will be when it grows up, and how direct mail still has more muscle than any other marketing tool. Make your small business ma...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Social Media vs. Direct Mail – Who Wins?

  We’re all ga-ga over social media, but is it the best place to invest your advertising dollars? This week we look at some surprising truths, and an example of marketing gone wrong. We kick off with 2 stories from USA Today – one about social media ...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Rupert Murdoch and Google Revolutionize Media

  Google brings freedom of expression to Egypt, and Rupert Murdoch puts newspapers back in the game. It has been a wild week. News Corp launched The Daily – a newspaper that combines print, TV and radio in an easily accessed – and cheap – digital p...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Facebook Goes Pop, Twitter Falls Down, And The World Survives

  David Zax from Fast Company says Facebook’s bubble can’t burst. I say “Wanna bet?” Vocus gave us there State of the Media Report and we’re having a look at it this week. Join Conrad Hall this week to see how social media is changing the way w...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – The Social Media Tech Bubble Expands Again

  More social media companies are getting venture capital, and banks continue to put high valuations on social media sites. The trouble is that while social media use is up, few of these sites are making money. This week we answer why Groupon turned down...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Facebook: Tech Bubble or Investment Ploy?

  Join Conrad as he walks through some of the week’s top social media stories and how they impact your business. Is social media becoming an echo of the Dot Com boom and bust? Is the increased use of e-mail a wake-up call to making your marketing strat...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Social Media Case Study – Photography and Meetup

  Imagine two competitors who don’t, 10 more “competitors” who voluntarily support the first two, and the largest photography group in the U.S. – online or offline. Rob Domaschuk and Rick Hicaro, leaders of the Chicagoland Digital Photography Mee...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Non-Profit Proves Profitable

  Applying good business sense and traditional marketing has paved the road to success for The Rotary Club of Naperville’s Soup’s On event. It’s also giving them solid footing to incorporate social media. Hear how they’ve done it from event found...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Social Media in Action

  4 business owners putting social media to use – successfully – in their every day activities. Plus we look at a new report from ExactTarget, 4 resource sites, 3 upcoming guests, and how to integrate multiple channels into your local business market...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Your Membership Site on Steroids

  Membership sites work for internet marketers, condo associations and non-profits. That’s because they engage your audience and give them a reason to keep coming back. And setting up a membership site has meant using a lot of different tools. Today yo...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Relationship Marketing Means Team Building

  There are 2 big parts to your small business relationship marketing team. You have the folks who work with you (team builders) and the folks who buy what you offer (team players). Today we visit with the owner of Matrix Media – an excellent team buil...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Do You Get The Gist?

  Imagine the ideal tool that helps you get started in social media, and gives you a deeper understanding of your customers at the same time. It collects all the information that’s on the internet about every person in your address book…and you can u...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Relationship Marketing is Business Gold

  Word-of-mouth advertising. Today we call it Relationship Marketing, and even Customer Evangelism. Whatever you call it, it’s the pinnacle of small business marketing and Terry Bass knows how to get it done right. Author of Relationship Marketing 3.0,...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – The Centre of Your Online and Social Media Presence

  Small business advertising online takes the same kind of marketing strategy as you use offline. You need to think things through. This week we’re joined by Sarah Bruns (www.youravocado.com), and she’s walking us through what we can do for ourselves...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Advanced Help for Getting Started

  Let’s start with why Facebook sucks, and you should keep your business off it. Then we’ll look at a couple places you can start – when you’re really at the beginning. I have two tools for you when you’re just starting to explore social media....

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy – Small Business Advertising with Social Media – The Business Case

  There is a business case to be made for using social media in your small business advertising mix. This week, we have both sides of the coin – an employee who made the case for his board of directors, and a business owner who makes the case for other...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy - Social Media Marketing Step-by-Step

  Wondering where to get started, and whether you can do this yourself? David Spark shows us the 4 steps to using social media, and Jon Hansen shows us how to do it ON OUR OWN. Then we cap off the show with Dana Gardner. Dana shows us how to get multiple...

• Social Media: Cheap and Easy - Social Media for Small Business Advertising

  Social media is all the rage for small business advertising. And rightly so because it is an effective part of your marketing strategy. But are you using it correctly? In this first episode of Social Media – Cheap and Easy, we walk through th...