With registration for the 2012 Ideas to Profits Conference under way, I wanted to introduce our speakers. FIrst, I am pleased to announce that Karen Monfre will present two workshops at the Ideas to Profits conference, which will be held April 19-20 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. 

The first is “Valuation of New Technology: connecting development decisions and market value.” Offered in the "Invention Development" focus area, this workshop will help inventors and innovative product developers within companies understand how to establish the potential value of a new product idea. Knowing the value of a new technology enables developers to make informed decisions about how much time and money to invest in the idea. As a certified public accountant accredited in business valuations and certified in financial forensics, Monfre regularly provides valuation assistance for new technologies. 

The second breakout session that Monfre will present is part of the "Funding Soltions" focus area. It is titled, "Funding New Developments: investor equity options and availability." For conference attendees seeking angel capital or other investment equity, this session will detail what possibilities exist and how to optimize your appeal to investors. 

Monfre  has spent more than 20 years assisting clients in acquiring a business or in the sale of their closely held business. Her time is spent exclusively doing business sell-side brokerage, buy- side brokerage, transaction support, valuation, litigation support, and related engagements. Valuing technology is part of this process. She is also accredited by the American Society of Appraisers as a senior appraiser. Karen has been working exclusively in the valuation, corporate finance, and litigation support field since 1994. Wipfli reports that Monfre is highly sought after for her experience and forthright consultation services. Click here to see Monfre's complete bio online.

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A while back we talked about search engine optimization, and I quoted one of my favorite authors, Wayne Breitbarth. He said “if I search for your company and you are not there, it must mean you are not open for business. Case closed!” Well, what if a potential client searches for your company, and your website pops up, but is hard to navigate or unappealing?! Isn’t that almost as bad as not having a website at all?

One of the most important parts of designing anything is the feedback and evaluation stage. Not sure how to go about testing your website? Check out this great article by Jacob Gube, on Mashable.com, which provides great resources for entrepreneurs and business owners who are in the market for testing tools to determine if their website is “user-friendly.”

22 Essential Tools for Testing your Website’s Usability 

Facebook is informal and has no size limit which makes it a great brand ambassador. LinkedIn is full of professionals and is great for business-to-business marketing and professional networking. Twitter is great for quick messaging and news updates because of its character limitation (140 characters goes so fast, doesn’t it?).

So once you decide which social media platforms to use, and what you want to accomplish with each account, then you’re ready to give each platform a purpose. Let’s look at Redbox, and see what they do with their social media. They use Twitter to drive traffic to their Facebook page and Blog.  Redblog builds brand loyalty. Redbox uses its blog to keep fans up-to-date on new releases, and entertained with quizzes and contests. Redbox’s Facebook Page is used to gain and keep new customers. Currently, they’re running a deal where if you ‘Like’ the page, you get a coupon for a free one-night rental. Current customers will keep coming back, and new customers get introduced. (Pretty smart, huh?)

So how do you make your strategies work for you? Do you create an advertisement on Facebook to draw in new customers? Do you use Twitter to keep customers reminded about upcoming events, or to drive them your other online platforms? Do you use LinkedIn to land new accounts and build sales, or to find new and talented employees? Participate in the discussion in our LinkedIn Group!

by Rachel Shulick

Interested in learning more about patents or other forms of intellectual property? Join us at Ideas to Profits 2012 to learn from the best and brightest! Click here to register.

What happens when you don’t show up on that list? To quote my favorite LinkedIn author, Wayne Breitbarth, “If I search for your company and you are not there, it must mean you are not open for business. Case closed!”

Social media can be a huge boost to the way you show up in searches. The higher your ranking on the search page, the more people will join your social media circle and learn about the features and benefits of your product. This means more business for you! The more people in your social media circle, the more chances for people to talk about your product and link to your website. This raises your search ranking.

Now some of you may be thinking, “That sounds like a vicious Catch-22. How do I get a better search ranking if I don’t already have a social media presence?” Fear not! This is where the art and science of Search Engine Optimization comes into play. Combined with an aggressive marketing strategy to drive people to your social media accounts and website, you can be as successful as the most popular brand that you know.

Have I convinced you to beef up your web presence by getting into social media yet?

No? Here are three other reasons:

1. Keep up to date on the latest industry news by following groups and professionals.
2. Stay competitive by seeing what other businesses are up to.
3. Learn about events that could be beneficial to your business like the Ideas to Profits Conference 2012! (You saw that coming, right?)