Social Media Marketing Business & Friends to Be Thankful For This Holiday Season

Social media marketing brings us all so much to be thankful for. It brings us a platform to learn and grow business, with people who we want to work with.

A good friend of mine sent this to me. I met her through business, as she
and her husband own a company that is a client of Rostin Ventures.

I have never seen her face to face, just communicated through email, mail - yes people still use snail mail. We are real friends on Facebook, a social media application we both enjoy using to learn about fun things our families are doing, and yes, we - and our companies - do real business together.

We are two business owners communicating in social media to develop relationships and do business together - yes even on Facebook.

This year, she and her husband are going to spend about a month in Hawaii, two
weeks together alone and two weeks with their family joining them for the
holidays.

What a joy it is to work with people like we come in contact with.

Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy reading this.

Julie Ross
President, CMO
Rostin Ventures, Inc.

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Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because
they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't
know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who
passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut
back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women and men out there will eat at home because their
husband or wife didn't suggest going out to dinner until after
something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing
to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while
you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said , 'How about going
to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I
have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known
yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain' And my personal
favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have
lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule
our headaches.. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to
ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve
toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet.
We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of
college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter,
and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we
awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going
to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to
adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas.
Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five
minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of
Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's
just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a
spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped
the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the
way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not
something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had
only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would
you say? And why are you waiting?

Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this
to you.

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to
the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic
flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through
each day on the fly? When you ask 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply?


When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred
chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it
tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let
a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi'?


When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened
gift....Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the
music before the song is over.


Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider
a FRIEND including me if you consider me a friend. If it comes back to
you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

To those I have sent this to... I cherish our friendship and appreciate
all you do. We have some history together.


Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we
might as well dance!

Social Media SEO - Content is Driving Search Engine Optimization Value

Social media is driving search engine optimization, as quality content is proving to add relevancy to search engine usability and relevant search results on Google, Bing, Yahoo, and hundreds of other search engines online.

Search engines are focused on driving the best possible user experience.

If you are marketing online, launching a new business online, or a brand social media marketing professional, you can not afford to ignore this. Building content which will feed consumer interests online in social media, is proving to increase B2B and B2C consumer interests of products and services online.

Content is driving social media and social media is driving content. Once again, the consumer is driving brand value, proven by social media interest.

Social Media + SEO = Brand Value in 2012

Food Sweepstakes Building Consumer Loyalty Through Social Media

Food sweepstakes, free food giveaways and contests are gaining in response of consumers communicating in social media.  The Free Grocery Giveaway offers consumers a chance to win free groceries for a year, with a dozen other free grocery store certificates and free food offers available to consumers who first download the sponsor company's free mobile grocery coupons app.

The Free Grocery Giveaway is primarily promoted within social media.  A Blogspot blog on coupons, the Wordpress community blog on grocery coupons, Facebook and Twitter social media users are responding to these free food sweepstakes and contests.  You will even find videos promoting food sweepstakes ranking on Google, Yahoo, and Bing within hours of distribution to video sites like YouTube.

Consumers are responding to campaign offerings, like "WIN free groceries for a year!"  They are looking for ways to save money in a down economy, with a market threatening another recession.  Grocery store brands, food and consumer products which are providing discounts, rebates, and promotional offers such as free food sweepstakes are building consumer loyalty.  Consumers appreciate brands that are making the effort to help them in this down time.  And - as always - they are telling their friends.

Social Twist Friend Referral Program

Friend referrals account for a high number of promotional registrations and consumer entries into contests.  Platforms such as Social Twist allow brands to increase consumer loyalty by connecting to the social networks of their loyal consumers.  Consumers who are loyal to a brand will spread the word and enhance the effectiveness of promotional marketing within social media.

See more case studies on brand marketing for social media at Brainy Blonde Brands.  Get the inside scoop on how to obtain first page rankings in search engines to social media search and Video SEO.

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Social Media Revolution Update

Social Media Revolution: Is social media a fad?



Or is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution? This video details out social media facts and figures that are hard to ignore. This video is produced by the author of Socialnomics http://www.socialnomics.com

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Social Media Outreach Leverages Social Media to Pay It Forward

Social Media Outreach is a program that uses social media to promote different causes dedicated to social justice and helping people who need it most. Social Media Outreach was launched in 2010 as a way to help different organizations and people around the United States.

Social Media Outreach participates in the Facebook Causes program, and encourages people on the world's most poplar social network to give, participate, and share their interest in helping these particular causes.

In 2010, Social Media Outreach helped organizations like the National Coalition for the Homeless, Child In Need Outreach, Art From the Streets, and Oak Lawn Community Outreach Center.

What Does Social Media Outreach Do?

Social Media Outreach uses its social media presence to help refer people in its network to various websites to make donations and give support to the various organizations. Through different promotions and outreach efforts on Facebook and Twitter, as well as its different blogs, Social Media Outreach was able to help solicit donations for the homeless; help grant Christmas gift wishes, feed, and clothe children in need; promote and sell art created by homeless people, which in turn benefitted them; and, helped raise funds to build a greenhouse at Oak Lawn.

The program was created to take advantage of the rapid growth in social media. Now that Facebook has topped 600 million members, Twitter has more than 150 million, LinkedIn has 100 million members, and 490 million unique users on YouTube, social media is clearly the best place to be to reach potential donors and volunteers for different organizations.

People are using social media to do more than just play Farmville or share funny videos. They are using it to share reviews of favorite restaurants or new products. They share heart-warming stories and urge their friends to support their favorite causes. Rather than trusting marketers and the mainstream media, people now turn to their friends (and even complete strangers) in their social networks for advice, news, and ideas. It is this citizen activism that Social Media Outreach wants to tap into. It takes advantage of the trust we place in the recommendations of our friends.

Social Media Outreach Is All About Building Community, Leveraging Social Media

Social Media Outreach is also a way to connect with people who want to help their neighbors, but may not have enough time to volunteer on a regular basis, so they contribute to the cause. Or the people who want to donate, but do not have enough money, so they either volunteer their time, or even spend some extra effort doing their own social media promotion.

This grassroots movement has turned into a larger community of people who joined to leverage their own social media communities. Rather than one small organization doing its best to raise donations and increase volunteerism, Social Media Outreach uses the power of its network members to use the power of their own networks to reach as many people as possible.

Helping Your Neighbors Is Just a Click Away

Whether it is a matter of posting a message and a link to their chosen cause, program members are encouraged to occasionally reach out and "ping" the people in their network. They are also encouraged to write about their own chosen cause on their blog, and share that with their network as well.

Just like the old "they tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on" shampoo commercial, Social Media Outreach quickly reaches thousands of people to promote the different causes they choose to support.

Think of Social Media Outreach as a giant web of connectivity. If there are 100 people in the network, and they each have 100 people in their own networks, that means there are 10,000 people who can hear about the Social Media Outreach charities and participate and donate.

Social Media Outreach has tried to make a significant impact on different causes, by helping its neighbors in need, by leveraging the different social media networks it has joined. Although it is still early in 2011, they have already begun looking toward November and December to make an even bigger impact.

Is Social Media Marketing Right for Your Company?

Is social media marketing the right approach for a company right now? Everyone has been hearing a lot about social media these days as restaurants start asking fans to "like" them on Facebook, news programs want viewers to follow them on Twitter, or nonprofits asks donors to read their blog.

Social media marketing is everywhere, and a lot of companies are starting to wonder if it is right for them. How can companies, organizations, and even solopreneurs decide whether or not to start using social media as a way to reach their customers?

The first step to take in determining one's social media marketing readiness is to see whether customers are using social media. Do customers and visitors frequently ask about whether the company is using social media? Do they ask about a Facebook page or Foursquare discounts for checking in? If these questions are coming up, then chances are there are more than a few customers and fans who want to see the company have a social media marketing. On the other hand, if the customers are not computer users, do not have social media accounts, or are Amish, then a social media marketing campaign will not do well.

The next step in a company's social media marketing is to see whether the company's staff and culture is ready for handling social media itself. Does management believe in social media marketing, or are they still debating the pros and cons of using a fax machine? Do the employees have the time to manage the social media marketing efforts, or are they all doing the work of more than one person? If it is the latter, then social media marketing is probably not going to be a good idea. Conversely, if the company is a young company whose executives are always willing to try something new, or if the employees have an entrepreneurial spirit who take the initiative to insure the company's success, then a social media marketing program can have a positive effect both on company morale, as well as the company's bottom line.

Third, establish some goals for the social media marketing. Know what it is the campaign should accomplish, whether it is is increased sales, increased web traffic, reduced customer service costs, or even improving public relations coverage.

Once these goals have been established, then it's important to measure whether they are being met. Use Google Analytics or a similar web traffic measurement program, as well as a social media monitoring service like Radian6 or Vocus to see if the social media campaign is working. Measure sales obtained from social media, whether marketing costs shrank, or even whether the number of customer service calls have been reduced.

After 6 - 12 months, it is necessary to make some decisions. If the goals are being met, the customers are responding favorably, and it has been easily incorporated into the marketing mix, then it should continue as a regular part of customer marketing and service. If the goals are not, then the company needs to reconsider whether to put more effort and energy into it, or whether they should drop it completely.

For the most part, companies ought to participate in social media, even if they are one of the first in their industry to do it. Social media has grown exponentially within the last few years, and it shows no signs of slowing down. That means that even if other companies have not embraced social media in that industry, the first company to do so can completely own it and dominate what will undoubtedly become an emerging market. Soon, most industries will have companies that are winning at social media marketing, and making a big impact on their bottom line.

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Apple Leads Smartphone Race, while Android Attracts Most Recent Customers | Nielsen Wire

Apple Leads Smartphone Race, while Android Attracts Most Recent Customers January 3, 2011

The race for the lead in U.S. smartphone operating system (OS) consumer market share is tighter than it has ever been. According to November data from The Nielsen Company, the popularity of the Android OS among those who purchased a smartphone in the last six months (40%) makes it the leading OS among recent acquirers.

Apple Leads Smartphone Race, while Android Attracts Most Recent Customers | Nielsen Wire