Staying on top of what’s going on within your industry, the industries of your clients and competition and what is being written or broadcast about you is a necessity in today’s world of business.
To stay on top of trends in your industry you can read trade journals, blogs specific to your industry, and various online resources. Additionally, you can do the same to gather information about your competition and your clients.
It’s amazing how many people in business don’t do this. Then they wonder why they might be left behind when the next important change happens in either their industry or that of their clients.
Have you ever wondered what is posted about you on the Internet? Wondering if your articles are getting listed in directories? Want to find out what sites your information might be showing up on?
A very handy tool to get information sent directly to your inbox is Google Alerts. Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.
Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
-finding out what is written about you
-monitoring a developing news story
-keeping current on a competitor or industry
To sign up for your own google alerts go to http://www.google.com/alerts
Another handy way to get the information you want is to subscribe to specific blogs. Most blogs will have a way to subscribe such as FeedBlitz, FeedBurner or any number of RSS feeds.
Subscribing is as simple as clicking an icon or inputting your email address.
The greatest benefit of subscribing to specific blogs is that when a post is made to the blog you get a notice. This saves time and energy in that you don’t need to continually search out valuable information.
If you are not yet utilizing these methods you would likely benefit from doing so immediately.
Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Marketer
www.streetsmartsmarketing.com
