WEBHEAD20 » Social Media Marketing

24 Hour Cancer Dance-A-Thon – Please Donate!

Webhead20 — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:00:35 +0000

Once again I’m combining my love of dance with a great cause! And this year they’re adding a blues room!

My friends and I are dancing to raise money and awareness for cancer research City of Hope .

So please support us be grabbing your dancing shoes and joining us on the dance floor or please donate to team “Blues Fish”

Last year the event raised $125,000!
This year the goal is $200,000!
As of today the Dance-a-thon has raised $40,542.
Our team goal is to raise $7,000.
My personal goal is to raise $1,000.

I’m asking everyone out there to donate whatever they can. $5, $10, $25 etc. Hell, maybe the cost of a cup of coffee every week for a month, you do the math. Whatever you choose, please, please, please get the word out there! Post on FaceBook, bookmark and RT on Twitter!! Let’s put the power of social marketing to work and see how much we can raise in the next few weeks.

I really appreciate your support and I promise to post photos! Maybe even video

This is for those who have left us and those they leave behind…Please donate.

Title: 24 Hour Cancer Dance-A-Thon /Team “Blues Fish”
Location: Irvine, CA
Description: Dance-a-thon for City of Hope “Lindy Hope for Life”. Please contribute what you can.
Start Date: 3-13-2010
Start Time: 11:00 am
End Date: 3-14-2009
End Time: 12:00 pm

The Dance-A-Thon is a 501(c)(3)

TaxID#20-2805046.

Post from: WEBHEAD20

Carnival Cruise Lines: A Case of Social Media Marketing Webhead20 is always on the lookout for interesting stories...
What IS this Twitter thing??? FYI, City of Hope 24 hour Danceathon raised over...

A YouTube Cinderella Story

Webhead20 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:00:50 +0000

Hoping the holiday season finds everyone happy, healthy and surrounded by friends and family!!

Since we first posted this story last holiday season, the acapella group, Straight No Chaser has become an amazing success! They have a new holiday album out this year, “Christmas Cheer” which you can buy off their new website http://www.sncmusic.com/ as well as find tour dates in your area in 2010! Check them out on the cover of Cosmo! And like any good business, they have a blog, a twitter, facebook and myspace account!

Here’s the article and videos we published last year. ENJOY!

_____________________________________________________

December 24, 2008

YouTube has video greeting cards! So once I again I get sucked in for the rest of the night! One of the videos features an acapella group, Straight No Chaser. And I LOVE acapella! Especially at Christmas. So in the spirit of the holidays, here’s a story of how social marketing and web 2.0 technology made these 10 guys an overnight success….Oh yeah, helps that they’re pretty talented too.

Here’s their quirky version of the 12 Days of Christmas. Happy Holidays!!

Post from: WEBHEAD20

How the West Wing Was Won ...

Why It’s Imperative to Use Social Media

Webhead20 — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:05:38 +0000

What do you think of when you hear the words Twitter, Facebook, and other online social media websites? Do your eyes glaze over? Do you think, “That’s just for young kids!” If so, you’re missing out on valuable and FREE marketing platforms that exist to promote your business. Did I mention that it was FREE?

There are over 251 Million internet users in North America alone, over 1.6 Billion Worldwide! So if you’re not on social media, you risk losing all those potential customers to the smart business folks who are utilizing social media marketing.

Here are Seven Points as to why social media must be used no matter what you are promoting:

Point 1: You Can’t Beat “FREE!”

The current most popular social media platforms being used for business are FREE: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. These are all sites that build relationships with a targeted audience in mind. It’s definitely more cost-effective than spending money on online advertising techniques such as Pay-Per-Click or banner ads.

Point 2: It’s A Small World After All!

It’s a global market out there! Why not take advantage of that? On Twitter you have the opportunity at any time of day or night to see real-time “tweets” from people in Japan, England, the U.S., India and many other countries.

Say you have a book that would appeal to anyone in the world who reads in English, why limit yourself to just promoting in the U.S.? Thanks to Amazon, people outside the U.S. can buy your book even if it is only available in U.S. stores.

Point 3: Targeted Marketing for a Targeted Audience.

Socia l media allows you to join groups of like-minded people with similar interests and goals. You can join groups as varied as Web 2.0 Marketers to Foodies to Sci-Fi Geeks. Join the groups that would most benefit from your product or service, build your own community. This can pay off in increased sales for you.

Point 4: Use Social Media to Let Out Your Inner Guru!

If I’ve learned anything in the 20 years I’ve been in sales, it’s that people won’t buy anything from you unless they trust you first! You could be selling a car that successfully runs on air, but if your client doesn’t feel comfortable with you…good luck! If you share your knowledge with others online via your social media marketing groups, you can establish yourself as an expert, someone confident and in the know.

You may receive invitations for article interviews, guest writership, BlogTalkRadio show interviews or podcasts. This can lead to more free marketing plus more free exposure for your expertise.

Point 5: Birds of a Feather…

Once you have begun building your followers, start your own community of people who are in your niche of choice. Share information, sources, tips, etc. Swap leads and referrals. Share your knowledge within your community. These people can be your loyal fans and help spread the word to their friends and followers.

Point 6: Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?

The face of business is rapidly shifting!! In the virtual world of social media marketing, our would be competitors in the off-line world are collaborating to provide products and services to their combined clients/customers. Marketing is changing from competitive to collaborative.

And consumers are very responsive to these cross-promotions, affiliate programs, joint ventures – especially when another expert is introduced by a first expert they already know, like and trust.

You and your affiliate partner can each benefit from the other person’s clientele list, greatly expanding your customer base.

Point 7: Your Life in Real Time, Anytime in No Time at All!

Updating these sites to let your peeps know where you will be appearing, what you will be speaking about, what products you are endorsing, etc takes seconds! There are even online applications that allow you to update several of your sites at one time or schedule your updates in advance!

So once you take that leap of faith into social media marketing and start building your own communities, you’ll find that it’s not as imposing or confusing as you had thought. In fact it’s a great tool to promote your products and services! In the very near future we will look back at our pre-social media marketing days and wonder how we ever did without it!

Post from: WEBHEAD20

Social Media Marketing in Action!! I’m really seeing that SMO (Social Marketing Optimization) is...
Carnival Cruise Lines: A Case of Social Media Marketing Webhead20 is always on the lookout for interesting stories...
Social Media Marketing: Some Real Numbers So we’ve all been hearing the buzz about social...

How to Find Work When You’re Unemployed

Webhead20 — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:55:16 +0000

The unemployment rate is rising approximately .5% monthly since April 2009. We read about companies shutting down branches, filing for bankruptcy, layoff numbers are increasingly high. Personally I know at least 3 people who were just laid off in the last month.

A friend I hadn’t heard of in a long time wrote to me through LinkedIn to tell me he had just been laid off and if I had any suggestions for him. I wrote back saying I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head but then proceeded to tell him several methods he could look into to find work in his industry.

There are many sources you can use to find work, partners, funding, customers and a general source of support in these economically trying times. We are going to focus on LinkedIn this time.

LinkedIn is a great network for professionals to connect. It’s used to find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone in your contact network. Unlike Facebook, MySpace or Twitter the feel of this network is definitely more professional than social purposes. Although you can link you status updates with your Twitter tweets, for the most part a very professional tone kept.

I personally use LinkedIn. I’ts very important to fill out your profile as much as possible! Resume, education, photo (most definitely!!) And link to as many qualified folks in your industry as possible! But remember, it’s about quality NOT quantity!

But I’ve found that the most important feature to utilize is the Groups!! You can search for groups relating to your region, industry, school, companies you’ve worked for, causes you promote, a large general networking group, etc. What’s great about these groups is you can create your own, join in, start a discussion or post a job listing or request.

Subscribe to a weekly (not daily-too many if you belong to a lot of groups) email summarizing the discussion topics and job listings.

Read what others in your industry have to say.
Leave comments on any that interest you, illustrating your knowledge and expertise in the area or asking further questions you would like clarified.

Note: Make sure you put your website url in your signature and in your profile description so folks can easily check out your site. Always use (http://yourcompany.com) It creates an instant hyperlink to your site.

Take the opportunity to connect with them by adding them into your network if you like what they have to say (and vice versa.)

Join some local networking groups in the area. Often they will meet and you can make some good connections and maybe make some friends.

My brother works with REO’s and is always looking for investors. It took him months before he finally listened and went on LinkedIn and joined some real estate groups. Now for every discussion he starts, he receives over 15 replies! He’s made some very good connections! Come to think of it, he owes me dinner!

Here are some popular groups you may want to join:

TopLinked.com (Open Networkers) (Worldwide)
LinkedWorking Los Angeles (Los Angeles)
E-Recruitment Group (Post Jobs & Resumes)
On Startups – The Community For Entrepreneurs (Worldwide)

There are many tips and tricks on how to best use LinkedIn, including LinkedIn’s own blog. I found this article “5 Simple LinkedIn Actions that Make a Difference” by Sean Nelson on his blog Linked Intuition, clever, huh?

Also check out the different applications you can use. For example, you can link your blog to your profile and everyone in your network can read your posts. You can add a video to your profile (still have to do that one myself

In my online search for photos for this blog I came across this job finding source site. Some links are specific to the Massachusetts but it also includes online resume tips, job sources, etc.

Hope this was helpful! Now there are a lot of other sites where you can go to look for jobs Twitter, Facebook, Craig’s List, these are just a few. If you have other suggestions I would love to hear about them!

Please share this information with friends, family and anyone else who finds themselves out of a job, looking for new customers or just needs to find others in the same situation.

Let’s help each other out anyway we can!

Post from: WEBHEAD20

Social Media Marketing: Some Real Numbers So we’ve all been hearing the buzz about social...
The New York Times Joins the Social Marketing Movement On June 4, 2009 The New York Times, in their...
Top 10 Interactive Tools for Your Website When I talk to folks about Web 2.0 the impression...

The New York Times Joins the Social Marketing Movement

Webhead20 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:00:23 +0000

On June 4, 2009 The New York Times, in their “Practically Speaking” section published the article “Small Businesses Are Taking Tentative Steps Toward Online Networking” by Mickey Meece. That title in and of itself caught my attention because it’s right up my alley, talking about most of the people I end up working with!

Basically the article speaks about how Social Media Marketing has finally caught the attention of small businesses. How SMM has allowed entrepreneurs access to a huge online audience and the interactive component to marketing now allows businesses to create long lasting relationships with their customers. It covered all the points that I’ve been discussing with my clients! What a great article to link to and repost!

But what happened when I sat down to write this post was also very telling of the times we’re in. Originally I had found the article through a posting on one of my LinkedIn groups and followed the link. I briefly read the article and bookmarked it for future content for one of my blogs. When I went back to my bookmarked address a couple weeks later, I could no longer access the article. Instead I was greeted by the New York Times registration login page.

“For free access to this article and more, you must be a registered member of NYTimes.com.”

With the newspapers competing with 24 hour news tv and up to the minute news blogs, the question “are newspapers heading towards extinction?” is widely discussed. This is just one example of how these companies are capturing readers’ emails in hopes of keeping them as loyal customers as well as finding new ones. If the papers employ these social marketing tactics, using Twitter, advertising on Facebook, collecting registered readers, do you think they will stay afloat? Or do you thing that they will eventually become obsolete?

As I’m sitting and writing this, my friend Gwynn (who works for KCET -Public TV and is working on her laptop as well) suggested these stories to reference the newspaper vs online news debate. Ha! Social Networking at work! Pass it on!

“Dying By a Thousand Papercuts” A journalist’s lament of the quiet death of the LA Newspaper Industry.

“Final Edition” A look at thriving small online news companies.

“Tomorrow’s Online News Today” A look at the fate of California news sources and some up and coming ones to keep an eye on.

Personally I’m torn. I have fond memories of lazy Sunday afternoons with the Sunday crossword puzzle, coffee and a bagel. Reading the comics or just getting ink on my fingertips after going through the whole paper. But an online version saves paper, printing and delivery costs. It’s easier to share articles and news with friends. And I can get instant news anytime of the day.

Please let me know what you think about the fate of newspapers!

Post from: WEBHEAD20

Top 10 Must Knows about Web 2.0 and Social Marketing I have found that the world of Web 2.0...
Social Media Marketing in Action!! I’m really seeing that SMO (Social Marketing Optimization) is...
Carnival Cruise Lines: A Case of Social Media Marketing Webhead20 is always on the lookout for interesting stories...

Top 10 Interactive Tools for Your Website

Webhead20 — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:15:51 +0000

When I talk to folks about Web 2.0 the impression I’m left with is that they know that it’s a necessary area they have to venture into but they don’t know where to start. Words like Twitter, Facebook , social marketing are being used more and more. But where to start?

Well first things first, like I mentioned in “An Internet State of Mind,” you need a website or some sort of online presence. And with Web 2.0 technology you can turn your website into a robust marketing tool. But in order to create an online marketing strategy you have to know what kind of tools you have at your disposal.

Now I work primarily with WordPress, an open source blog publishing application…Ok, in plain English, it’s a platform or foundation on which you build your website. It’s the framework of your building. I like Wordpress because it’s user-friendly for non-techies and it’s widely used. This is great because there are a ton of plugins and applications that are built to link with WordPress.

Now having said that, there are other popular platforms out there and although the following interactive tools are based on Wordpress, you should be able to find similar ones that are compatible with your platform. And if you’ve chosen a template that doesn’t allow you much flexibility as far as adding interactive applications, then you may want to consider switching over to something more versatile that will grow as your business grows.

Top Ten Interactive Website Tools

Subscribe2 – Notifies an email list when new entries are posted. Auto responder that creates a drip campaign that keeps you in touch with your customers by giving them valueable information.
Share This – Let your visitors share a post/page with others. Supports e-mail and posting to social bookmarking sites. This is the key to viral marketing!
Simple CAPTCHA - “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.” A simple captcha system for comment system to prevent spam.
Next GEN Gallery/Slide Show – Lets your visitors view your image gallery in the form of a slide show.
Exclude Pages from Navigation - Provides a checkbox on the editing page which you can check to exclude pages from the primary navigation.
Google XML Sitemaps – This plugin will generate a sitemaps.org compatible sitemap of your WordPress blog which is supported by Ask.com, Google, MSN Search and YAHOO.
All in One SEO Pack- Out-of-the-box SEO for your Wordpress blog
FAQ-Tastic – Create and manage your FAQ’s
Wp-Contact form - An easily configured contact form
Forum - Allows your readers to create their own profile on your site and interact with one another through a forum venue

Wow! So I could go on and on and even then by tomorrow someone will have created a new application that can be integrated into your site. But not to slight anyone here’s some other tools put in your internet arsenal:

Tools that link you to Twitter, Digg and other social network sites. Plugins that dispaly Recent Comments, Archives, Categories, Event Calendar and Polls. Create Registration Forms, follow Google Analytics, employ a Shopping Cart, use Free Chat, allow Members Only on your site.

So many tools, so little time! Hope this gets your creative juices flowing! Keep thinking about all the fun ways you can entertain and inform your customers! And If I didn’t mention any of your favorites (and I’m sure I have)…sorry in advance. But feel free to add them to the list!

Post from: WEBHEAD20

Top 10 Must Knows about Web 2.0 and Social Marketing I have found that the world of Web 2.0...
Social Media Marketing in Action!! I’m really seeing that SMO (Social Marketing Optimization) is...
Essential Checklist Before Launching Your Website! Do you fit into any of these categories? Are...

An Internet State of Mind

Webhead20 — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:34:09 +0000

When it comes to internet marketing you have to enter a brand new state of mind! I have come to realize that upgrading your website technology is just the tip of the iceberg!

In the many discussions I’ve had with various entrepreneurs, I have realized several things:

1) Almost everyone is by now aware that the face of internet marketing and the role of the business website is changing. No longer is the static online brochure optimizing their chances of creating new business. They find words like “tweeting“, “SEO“, “Web 2.0“, “viral and social marketing” creeping into their vocabulary.

2) Most have come to the realization that a force larger than themselves is calling them to “doing something about it”. Yet they are daunted, even terrified by the overwhelming task that lies ahead.

3) Then there are those who outwardly, downright refuse to do dive into that nebulous world, but secretly know that they too will eventually succumb to Facebook, LinkedIn and God forbid…Twitter.

4) But what they are all beginning to realize to some degree or other is just how huge a shift this technology is creating. I shift that will not only change the face of the markets they are in, but how they conduct business and even what that business can and will become! Remember what it was like before mobile devices? Bigger than that!

So where do we start? When I sit down with new clients I ask the following questions:

Do you have a website? Is it interactive?

Can you blog and routinely update your site?
Does it capture emails?
Does it have built-in autoresponders? (i.e. everytime you update your site, an email is automatically sent to notify your subscribers)
Can you easily embed video, audio, photography?

What is your passion? Your message?

What is your product or service?

Can it be translated to digital content?

These days if you’re runnning a business, not to overstate the obvious, but you need a website, landing page, squeeze page, some sort of online presence that screams “I’m legitimate!” And not just any ol’ website, it really needs to be professional looking and include the following content:

Your Mission, Passion, Goals!

Personal stamp, who you are, your personality.

Free, Informative, Quality Content!

Call to action, Call to action and Call to action!

Once we can pinpoint these things we can work our way backwards and begin to strategize how to approach the role and functionality of your website. First, we think about content and the best vehicle for online delivery.

Now remember, it’s a whole new world online! It’s the realm of YouTube and the instant news feed! We have to start thinking outside the box. Ok, well what the heck does that actually MEAN?? One of my favorite things to do with my clients is to brainstorm about all the cool fun ways they can use Web 2.0 technology to promote themselves!

Singer/Songwriter: I remember discussing Web 2.0 with a woman who wanted to virally market her next music CD. Her biggest arguement against blogging and updating her website was that she absolutely did not, under any circumstances have the TIME! She didn’t want to write every day, every week or even every month. She only wanted to write music and practice. She hadn’t realized that if she simply recorded a video log (vlog) once or twice every week of herself practicing and post it on her site! Not only would her fans eat it up, they would most likely want to share it with their friends as well! She could use her site to get her fans reactions before the CD is produced.

Home Hospice: This couple has a regional business outside of Seattle and they wanted their site to become more interactive to bring more people to their business in that area. Then the wife says she HATES writing and was just no good at it. But she LOVES talking to her clients and their families! We started playing around with the idea of a vlog, recording the oral histories of their clients! So many wonderful stories and rich history to share! This also opens up possibilities from a regional to a worldwide arena!

Video is a powerful tool! Sharing videos is one of the fastest ways to market yourself to the greatest amount of people in the least amount of time! Remember Susan Boyle from “Britain’s Got Talent”? As of today, from April 11, 2009 she has over 64,559,968 views on YouTube!! That still kinda blows my mind!

We need to think differently about our online content. Whether it’s video, written blogs, photos, audio recordings etc, ask yourself…What do I do in my daily life that can easily be recorded and shared if posted it on my site? What related events do I attend that I could report on? What products or books do I use or read that my customers would appreciate a professional review?

In my next blog I will highlight some of my favorite WordPress interactive tools that you can use in your site to help promote your business!

Thanks for visiting! Please let me know if you would like to hear more about any particular subject. Otherwise feel free to subscribe to the site to stay updated on the latest posts. Or for a free website consultation you can email me at jenn@webhead20.com.

Take care!

Post from: WEBHEAD20

Top 10 Must Knows about Web 2.0 and Social Marketing I have found that the world of Web 2.0...
The New York Times Joins the Social Marketing Movement On June 4, 2009 The New York Times, in their...
Top 10 Interactive Tools for Your Website When I talk to folks about Web 2.0 the impression...

Social Media Marketing: Some Real Numbers

Webhead20 — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:55:47 +0000

So we’ve all been hearing the buzz about social marketing, social media, internet marketing, web 2.0, etc. You see it on CNN, FOX, The Daily Show and even Oprah (how soon will she reach 1 million followers?) Certainly the hype is warranted and everyone and their grandmother are tweeting on Twitter, finding friends on FaceBook, linking on LinkedIn and digging everything they’re reading on Digg!

Maybe it’s a passing fad! If I ignore it maybe it’ll go away…Doubtful!

But let’s put some concrete numbers to all the hype! mashable.com gives us the up to date lowdown dirty in real numbers.

2009 is the year of social media. Once, Twitter was a place where you could read about someone else’s cat. Now, it’s the first place you go to when there’s breaking news. Sites like Digg , Reddit, and Facebook can now leave a huge impact on the real world; lives are changed, important questions are asked (and answered) there… -Smashing Magazine

Read full Article…

Post from: WEBHEAD20

Top 10 Must Knows about Web 2.0 and Social Marketing I have found that the world of Web 2.0...
Social Media Marketing in Action!! I’m really seeing that SMO (Social Marketing Optimization) is...
Carnival Cruise Lines: A Case of Social Media Marketing Webhead20 is always on the lookout for interesting stories...

What IS this Twitter thing???

Webhead20 — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:32:41 +0000

FYI, City of Hope 24 hour Danceathon raised over $129K and boy does my body hurt!! But good fun! Thanks to all my friends on Facebook and Twitter for getting the word out for me and donating to a great cause in such short notice! The power of social marketing at work!

So now I’m going to take a step back. I’ve written about Twitter in regards to politics, charities and even comedy. And the question I’m hearing more and more, time and again is, “What is this Twitter, tweet thing?” So here’s a succinct description written by a colleague of mine at Supanova Training in the UK.

Twitter is in effect an internet based texting service that allows anyone with an account to post messages of up to 140 characters. All Twitter accounts are free and you can add a link back to your website in your biography so that every time someone new decides to follow you they can easily access your site…(read more)

She goes on to to talk about how a local Chinese restaurant is using Twitter as a tool to generate more business by driving readers to their website. Once there it’s up to them to keep them there! I would just like to add that once you get involved with Twitter their any number of Twitter tools out there that help you organize, automate, search and manage your Twitter accounts! Have fun tweeting and if you aren’t already, feel free to follow me on Twitter

Post from: WEBHEAD20

Social Media Marketing in Action!! I’m really seeing that SMO (Social Marketing Optimization) is...
Twestival Fundraiser for Charity:Water via Twitter in Two Weeks Here’s a great interview by PhiLAnthropist for an amazing...
Twitter Featured on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show Twitter has made it BIG! Jon Stewart’s The Daily...

Tweet Congress: We the Tweeple

Webhead20 — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:00:34 +0000

So this is the “serious” follow up to The Daily Show’s hilarious piece “Twitter Frenzy” aired March 2nd (see previous video).

It’s true! Check out Tweet Congress. It’s site shows us which congressman are tweeting, who are non-tweeters and it gives you the opportunity to follow your esteemed senator on Twitter! Hell, you can follow all of them! If you’re into that sort of thing. Did you know there are more Republicans than Democrats tweeting? Who knew? Do we care? Who are the biggest twits? I mean tweeters? Who are the most active?

Ok, here are some stats. John McCain R — AZ (145,929) is above and beyond the most followed with Claire McCaskill D — MO (13,738) although they are not the most active. The most active are John Culberson R — TX (1,943) and Nancy Pelosi D — CA (609). Of course I don’t know if this translates into political clout or not. But the next time President Obama is addressing Congress, hop on Twitter and see how active our acting congress is. Maybe even send out a tweet to your representative. If your lucky you may even get an @reply!

Post from: WEBHEAD20

Twitter Featured on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show Twitter has made it BIG! Jon Stewart’s The Daily...
What IS this Twitter thing??? FYI, City of Hope 24 hour Danceathon raised over...