Feb
28

#SoxUp Recap

soxup Boston, MA event

(Picture courtesy of Derek Wilmont on Flickr)

First of all, it was great to meet each and every one of you on Thursday night (February 25th) at the Boston, MA Soxup event at Fenway Park Absolute Clubhouse hosted by Awareness. It was really neat to watch the ‘Twitterverse’ come to life during an event like this. Going into the event, I only had met three people that I knew were going to be there, and left having met about eight more.

The environment on Twitter before the event almost mocked the types of conversations going on during the event. Before the SoxUp, all attendees, including me, were using the hashtag #soxup to locate others who were going as well, so as to ‘meet’ them beforehand. After I did this, I then engaged in conversations on Twitter with several people whom I connected with via the hashtag.

This then allowed me to locate these people immediately at the event, either by facial recognition or by their Twitter username printed on their name tag. I was then able to immediately engage in a conversation with these people, as we had already ‘met’ on Twitter. This saved the time of introducing myself, working the room, and making small talk. Instead, the time was used more efficiently by engaging in meaningful conversations regarding the Internet marketing industry, social media, or the event itself.

Sites like Twitter have truly revolutionized the networking environment to make it more open via the Internet, and more efficient in person.

Overall, I think the event was fabulous. Awareness’s Christine Major did an excellent job facilitating the welcoming speech, introducing featured guest Steve Garfield, and interacting with everyone there. The environment was a great place to meet with everyone (and it kept us out of the rain!). I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone I met there on Twitter and at future events!

How do you find that Twitter is a valuable networking facilitator?

Feb
24

Are You Socially Active?

Ready to jump onto the social media bandwagon?!

Do you consider yourself technologically savvy or very socially connected? Make sure you are using the below social media sites, and using them correctly!

1. Facebook: If you are a business, create an informative but not overwhelming Fan Page. Connect with others in your demographic market and geographic location, interact with them, and post valuable and meaningful information for fans to read. If you are an individual marketing yourself online, ensure to clean up your profile, i.e. no bad pictures, create appropriate status updates, and watch what pages you become fans of and what groups you join. Then, start networking with professionals and professional groups through Facebook.

2. Twitter: If you are a business, develop an original background that conveys the image and look and feel of your company. Interact with others in your industry, thought leaders, key consumers, and proponents of your brand. This will help you disseminate your information in the most direct way, and those people will be more receptive to it. Make sure you do not over-promote yourself, or followers will be turned off. Post valuable information about your industry in general, and make sure to interact with people! If you are an individual, create an original background that conveys your personal brand online, connect with friends, co-workers, favorite brands, and even those in your industry that you want to network with. Search for topics or industries in the search box to get involved with people doing involved with that on Twitter.

3. LinkedIn: If you are a business, create a strong description of your company and join all relevant groups to your industry/product/brand, etc. Post your blogs to those groups and ask others for their feedback. In the same way, respond to others and interact to be seen as a thought-leader and a ‘socialite’ on LinkedIn. If you are an individual, create a strong description of what you do or what you hope to achieve by networking with others. Get involved with groups that are relevant to your area of interest or speciality, post your blogs, and respond to others as well. The more active you are on here, the more recognized you will be, and you may even land a job offer!

4: Blog: Today, blogging is more important than ever for everyone to be doing. Blogging allows you to be seen as a thought leader or expert in your field. For blogging success, read Chris Brogan’s blog titled 40 Ways to Deliver Killer Blog Content.” Tell Facebook friends about your posts, Tweet it out to the Twitterverse, post it to your groups on LinkedIn, and even make them into video blogs to post them on YouTube for additional exposure!

5. Commenting on Blogs: You know it feels good to see that someone has commented on your blog, so as common courtesy, comment on other blogs as well. They appreciate it as much as you do. By reading other blogs, you can learn more, learn about different perspectives on issues, interact with new people, share that information with others, and get your name out there.

6. Pictures/Videos: Giving a visual representation of your daily activities or thoughts is a great way for a reader/viewer to interact with you and learn more about you. For example, if you are traveling into Boston for the day and want to take a video of you recapping the conference, people will want to see your video blog review if they were not able to attend. Also, if you are at a really cool restaurant, saw a neat car, etc. you can take a picture and upload it to TwitPic or Flickr to share with all! Visual representation of what you are doing is more powerful than you may think!

For those of you starting off in social media engagement, take these steps slow and carefully so you develop your content in a planned out and effective manner. It does take time, so don’t rush it. To monitor your online presence, occasionally search Google for your own name to see how much content is on the web about you. If you are getting involved with Internet technologies for a career, future employers may be Googling you more than looking into your resume.

For those social media gurus reading this, any other suggestions to add?

Feb
23

7 People I’d Like to have Coffee With

Usually this list would be about famous celebrities (singers, songwriters, actors/actresses, etc.) that I would want to meet just to say that I had met them in person. This post is quite the contrary. I have developed a list of seven people in the Internet Marketing/Social Media Industry that truly inspire me based on their entrepreneurial spirit, blogging success, high twitter success and interactivity, and overall helpful personality.

Help me to have coffee with any of them!

1. Brian Halligan of HubSpot is an excellent entrepreneur with a innate inbound marketing spirit. As an MIT grad, he is a very intelligent and entrepreneurial person who inspires me to think out of the box and create something new.

2. Dharmesh Shah is the co-founder of several companies, including Hubspot and OnStartUps. He is a very personable, helpful, and highly intelligent entrepreneurial man who truly knows the in’s and out’s of inbound marketing, and expresses it in all of his business ventures.

3. Chris Brogan is a high-profile blogger who has received many accolades in the Internet marketing field. I find his writing style very inspiring, and have read his 27 Tips to Blogging Success and utilized them to achieve success with my own blog.

4. David Meerman Scott is a great author and new marketing practitioner. I first read his book New Rules of Marketing and PR in my senior marketing class, and then read his intro to the Inbound Marketing Book. I would love to find out how he got into new marketing techniques and practices it today aside from writing books to educate others.

5. Laura Fitton (Pistachio) is a female entrepreneur in the Internet marketing field. She founded oneforty, a Twitter app company. I am truly inspired by female entrepreneurs who become very successful and well-known in their industry, as I hope to become one myself one day.

6. Rand Fishkin is an expert in the Internet marketing field. He specializes in SEO and blogging, and I learned a great deal from him during the Inbound Marketing classes through HubSpot.

7. Erik Proulx is the founder of the Lemonade film. I am inspired by his amazing video producing abilities and the ability to provide inspiration to the jobless. He did a great job of publicizing his film on the Internet and has been interviewed by many companies in the area about his idea, including the AdClub of Boston.

I love to find people in my field of interest where I can find inspiration and ideas, and try to converse with them to hear about their success from their point of view. One day I envision myself being as successful as some of these amazing people above!

Feb
19

How I Spend my Time in Social Media

This is my first of many video blogs where I discuss what I have been doing each week in regards to blogging, social media advancement, guest blogging opportunities, freelance work, people I have met, etc.

I hope you enjoy!

Feb
18

My take on the Future of Google

Below is my first video blog, featuring my take on how Google is adapting to the changing Internet environment, and how they may be changing it as well.

I discuss the following topics:

Search trends
Social searches
Google Buzz- flop or success?
Google Wave
Beta tests
Location-based applications

What is your take on Google?

Feb
17

Millennials Need Instant Gratification

Why is it that Millennials demand instant gratification?? If you put yourself in our shoes, though, can you blame us? We grew up on technology. I used a computer for the first time in the fourth grade, primarily for computer games, and grew up as the Internet evolved. We are extremely technologically savvy and love exploring the web.

We desire instant gratification in other ways as well:

When we turned 16, we expected to get our license and a car.
When we hear a song we like, we want to download it instantly.
When we took a test or wrote a paper, we wanted results quickly.
When we send an e-mail, we expect a message immediately saying it was sent.
When we call someone, we expect them to pick up.

Now what is it about technology that everyone loves?

Instant access.
Confirmation that an action was received.
Quick responses.
The ability to compute things fast.

Since us Millennials grew up on computers and the Internet, and the above four components are major benefits of fast computers, that explains our need for a quick reward from every action. It is almost an innate instinct of ours to receive instant feedback from something we do, not because we are greedy, careless, or selfish, but because we great up that way. Many people criticize our age cohort because we are this way, but consider how you would respond to things if you grew up experiencing feedback or rewards after everything you did.

Feb
16

Taylor Swift’s Swift Rise Inspires Me

Taylor Swift (@TaylorSwift13) is an amazing, young country music superstar that has already achieved everything and more that she has wanted, and she is only 20!

From a young age, she knew that she wanted to be a country singer, and her parents supported her endeavors 110%. With her curly blonde locks, genuine heart, beautiful voice, and innocent look, she quickly found her way into Nashville and won over the hearts of producers and fans alike.

One of my favorite quotes of Taylor’s was in an interview she had with USA Today, “I’m so lucky to have these experiences.” In fact, it was such a meaningful and inspiring quote that I actually cut out that article and hung it above my school desk for two years after the article was published.

Taylor is the ideal representation of someone passionate about achieving their dreams with hard work. I can relate to her dreams exactly because I have found my true passion, and love doing it every day, all day. Although she is in the music industry and I am in the Internet marketing industry, our passions still shine in the way we work and discuss our accomplishments with friends and families.

I became a fan of Taylor just after her first album was released, and have been able to relate to a majority of her songs and take to heart all of her award acceptance speeches and YouTube videos displaying her work ethic. She is the idealization of what I want to achieve in my lifetime.

I have goals, dreams, and passions that I know can get me far. I know that great accomplishments can’t come without hard work and dedication, something I definitely have and will practice everyday. I see what I want for my life and am inspired by how Taylor envisioned that as well. I want to live out my dreams, be surrounded by amazingly supportive people, and realize my passions. Ten years from now, I want to look back on my work and see where it has brought me at that point and say to myself, “I feel like I have never ‘worked’ a day in my life.” I want to do what I love each day, and feel that it is not work but doing what I do best and enjoying it at the same time. I have gone a long way towards getting there already, and know that with time and hard work, I WILL be there soon.

Who is your idol or hero and why do they inspire you?

Feb
16

Social Cause Marketing and Generation Y Involvement

After reading David Hessekiel’s article on AdAge on the Most Influential Cause Marketing Campaigns and speaking with @JoeWaters, blogger for selfishgiving.com , I was inspired to comment on how cause marketing is evolving today with the help of social media and word-of-mouth.

I think cause marketing campaigns are an amazing way to gain public support for your profit or non-profit’s initiatives. And with the emergence of social media outlets to disseminate information, it seems like a perfect opportunity to combine the two. In addition, Generation Y consumers can be the ambassadors of these efforts, if done properly.

We are a generation that likes to stand out and make a change for the better. We tend to get criticized for being ‘misinformed’ or ‘uncaring’ about hot topics of news, but that is not the case. We just may not have the same passions and interests as others. If you have a campaign that we would be affected by, such as green energy or healthy eating efforts, we will be much more willing to support and spread the world about your organization’s humanitarian project.

A very recent example of cause marketing was the Red Cross’ mobile marketing campaign to raise funds to assist Haiti. $20 million was raised within a week through social media and mobile advertising alone. Mashable reported about the amazing outpour of support with an interview with the Red Cross. “The speed and quantity with which the American public retweeted and posted to Facebook the need for donations to help with relief efforts in Haiti was (for anything we’ve seen at the Red Cross) unprecedented” reported Wendy Harman, American Red Cross’ social media manager.

Another recent example of cause marketing which I find very captivating and interesting is Pepsi’s Refresh program. They use younger consumers in their ads, play interesting music, and make a clear link to the website campaign. This flawless integration of Internet, social, and mainstream media to reach all generations, and Generation Y in particular, has allowed it to become a much-discussed project. What do you think of their program?

(From YouTube) You’ll notice if you visit their website for this campaign, there is a prominent link to share this great cause, hence social cause marketing.

Another great cause marketing campaign that is supported by word-of-mouth is Nike and Lance Armstrong combining to create a powerful campaign that has been socially advocated for years. This commercial was found on YouTube.

The ownership of Livestrong bracelets skyrocketed a few years ago and everyone was talking about the cause and selling bracelets. This shows the power of influencers and buzz in regards to supporting a meaningful cause.

What are some of your favorite cause marketing efforts? Do you think social media advocates can help advance these projects?

Feb
16

Generation Y Perspective Guest Posts

This past week I had the opportunity to be featured in two guest posts. The first was for a marketing agency in MA called Fire Alarm Marketing, New England based consulting group focusing on marketing and business development for high-tech business-to-business organizations ranging from start-ups to large enterprises. I was asked to write a blog post for them about how Generation Y learns about companies. You can read the post here.

I then wrote a second guest post for Fire Alarm Marketing about how Generation Y consumers establish trust with companies today. You can view the blog here.

A second guest post I had the opportunity to write was for Subcat Marketing, a company that blogs about research and ideas regarding marketing to subcategories of the general population, including the youth culture (kids, tweens, teens and young adults), parent and family dynamics, and the Hispanic demographic. The CEO interviewed me about various opinions of how companies should market to Generation Y consumers. You can read the blog post here. CEO James Flores reported to me that because of my blog post, they experienced the highest volume of traffic that their site has ever seen!

I have been doing freelance work with a new start-up company in the Boston area called Convertiv. They recently asked me to write a guest post on location-based technologies and what the future holds for these applications. Read the rest of the post here.

I will be doing a research video blog for Subcat Marketing in the next few weeks, links will be posted.

If you are interested in having me write a guest post for your blog, please use the Contact form on this site and I would be more than happy to discuss the opportunity with you!

Feb
12

Businesses Must Understand Generation Y

A powerful and informative video on who Generation Y is, what they want, how they work, what they buy, and what they want from YOU, the business. This video sums up a lot of previous blog posts I have written explaining their habits and desires. You must understand why this generation is different and what this means for your marketing program.

What are some questions your business has in regards to marketing towards this eclectic and different generation?