Get YOUR Tweet ON! 20 Game-Changing Twitter Chats

Now 2011 will probably go down as the year of social media marketing mania! Really, even Charlie Sheen was #winning on Twitter.
But serious, businesses have shifted their advertising dollars from traditional media to social channels up to 50 percent...and it's growing!

The power of the media is now in the audience's hands. It's all about INFLUENCE.

People can "be the media" and start a revolution ON Twitter....at the very least get a Tweet Chat going. What is a Tweet Chat? Well, if you don't know, it's how to have real-time SMS conversation with your audience with a transcript after the "show" or chat. Fast-paced, fun and highly-viral.

Read the Diverse Business blog (http://www.diversebusiness.blogspot.com) and see the video of how Tweet-Chat Queen, Melinda Emerson has made model work for her business - and garner her tons of media exposure and Twitter FAME.


Want a seminar on how to use Social Media more effectively? Visit www.PerryWilliamson.com. We can help you with online webinars and/or personal consulting.

Amplify’d from socialmediatoday.com

Have you ever participated in a Twitter chat? If yes, then you already know how valuable they are. If you haven’t, then hopefully this post can provide some insights into what they offer and why you should get involved with one.

Twitter chats are one of the most underutilized, untapped resources in social media. This year saw the creation of some fantastic new chats and huge growth in others. As their popularity continues to grow, so does the value they offer to participants. Before we start talking individual chats, let's step back and discuss a few of the awesome benefits of joining a twitter chat. Increase Your Network If nothing else, twitter chats are a killer way of meeting fantastic new people. Fantastic new people who share similar interests to yourself. Fantastic new people who love nothing more than to chat about being an English teacher in Asia (yes, there’s a chat for that #AsiaELT). If 2011 was the year chats took flight, 2012 will be the year individuals and businesses begin leveraging chats for sales leads and increasing conversions. Establishing Brand Expertise There has been A LOT of talk about personal branding over the past few years. A great way to springboard your personal brand and begin establishing yourself as a leader in your industry is by participating in twitter chats. Sharing all of your industry expertise during these chats builds brand equity and credibility. Stick with these chats for a few months and you might find yourself speaking at your industriesnext big expo. Now that we’ve qualified a few of the benefits of twitter chats its time to get involved. Each chat has its own personality and core group of participants. I’d suggest spending a week trying a new chat each day. Think of it like buying a new car. There are going to be chats similar in theme and topic so take the time to see which feels best to you. Here are 20 chats full of value and great people. Monday 1. Us Guys Chat - 3:00pm ET - #usguyschat - If you’re active in the social media space on twitter I have no doubt you’ve already engaged with someone in the Us Guys community. The chat is only a small part of this vibrant group. I’ve made a handful of really special friendships with the Us Guys crew. 2. Marketer Monday Chat - 8:00pm ET - #mmchat - Talented group of marketing minds. Chat typically has a featured guest. 3. Money Chat - 8:00pm ET - #moneychat - Awesome place to get financial advice. Have a question about paying off debt or which investment platform to use, check this chat out. 4. Speaker Chat - 9:00pm ET - #speakchat - Discuss everything from learning principals to creating awesome PowerPoint presentations. 5. Social Chat - 9:00pm ET - #socialchat - One of the featured social media chats. Great way to start the week off. Tuesday 6. Influence Chat - 12:00pm ET - #influencechat - One of my personal favorites. This chat is Moderated by Alan Berkson and Fred McClimans (two of the smartest guys I know). Everything from disruptive technology to klout’s algorithm are discussed. 7. Leadership Chat - 8:00pm ET - #leadershipchat - Like the name suggests, this chat touches on leadership tips, tricks, best practices and so much more. 8. Small Business Chat - 8:00pm ET - #smbiz - This hashtag is used for both the small business chat on Tuesday nights and a very popular reference to all things small business. 9. LinkedIn Chat - 8:00pm ET - #linkedinchat - If you want to learn how to really leverage LinkedIn and grow your business spend an hour in this chat. You’ll learn tons of “secret” features. 10. Get Real Chat - 9:00pm ET - #getrealchat - One of the most popular chats on twitter. Led by the amazing Pam Moore, this chat attracts the likes of fortune 500 companies to participate. Word on the street is Walgreens will be the featured guest this coming week. 11. Customer Service Chat - 9:00pm ET - #custserv - Similar to the small business hashtag above, the customer service hashtag serves for both the chat and customer service mentions on twitter. You can find fantastic case studies of social media used for customer service. 12. Social Media Manners - 10:00pm ET - #smmanners - Another great chat around social media best practices, social good and the latest trends in social media. Wednesday 13. Klout Chat - 11:00am ET - #kloutchat (only first Wednesday of every month) - Looking to learn more about social influence and Klout’s ever-changing business model, check this chat out. 14. Small Business Chat - 8:00pm ET - #smallbizchat - Another featured small business chat with a strong community. 15. Business Chat - 8:00pm ET - #bizchat - A good resource for finding quality business articles. The chat has had some cool featured guests in the past. Thursday 16. Harvard Business Review Chat - 1:00pm ET - #HBRChat - This chat is hosted by the editors of the HBR Magazine. Chats typically center around recent articles published on the website. Some very smart people run in this circle. 17. Empire Avenue Chat - 7:00pm ET - #eavchat - This chat was originally started by the founders of the stock exchange style social network. It has evolved into mainstream discussions around social media, influence, and more. 18. Business to Business Chat - 8:00pm ET - #b2bchat - Chat covers how social media can best be used in the business to business sector. You will find very informative and helpful posts shared by the members of this chat. Friday 19. Pinterest Chat - 10:00pm ET - #pinchat - Pinterest, so hot right now. Pinterest. Sunday 20. Blog Chat - 9:00pm ET - #blogchat - Cream of the crop. Week over week the most popular Twitter chat. Started and moderated by Mack Collier, the chat covers all the things you and your business need in order to create a successful blog. The last Sunday of every month is “open mic night,” where the community picks that weeks topic. Resources Things tend to move pretty quickly during a twitter chat and it’s easy to miss handfuls of comments at a time. Tweetchat is a very cool tool that allows you to see all updates in real-time. It also “smart-pauses” while you scroll down the stream, insuring you don’t miss anything

20 Game-Changing Twitter Chats Read more at socialmediatoday.com

 See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1l2sp

Christmas Video from Pam Perry..... Thank you #grateful

Pam Perry Christmas Message #socialmediaswag

Thank you for reading our emails, watching our videos, following our tweets and commenting on our blogs...   Stay connected...some exciting things coming up!

Thank you to all our clients over the years ~

10 Tips to Help You Sell More Books

It takes more than just great writing to sell books. Matter of fact...most authors would argue that is only about 10 to 20 percent of what makes their books sell. It's the marketing that sells the book....not the write. Being strategic is key. Following these 10 tips will steer you in the right direction. www.perrywilliamson.com

Amplify’d from myblogalicious.beblogalicious.com

How to publish and promote a book If you talk to any author, they will tell you that writing their book was the easy part – compared to marketing it and getting folks to buy it! You can go to any bookstore and get a book on how to publish your book or do a Google search on book publishing. (I recommend Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual – he’s been called the guru of self-publishing). You can even get a good editor to help you with your rough manuscript. If you really don’t want to do that much work and want to get your book out fast, you can go to “iuniverse.com” or “lulu.com” and have books produced as you needed. This is called Print-On-Demand (POD) – great for first time authors; they take your word document and turn it into a book. Kinkos is even in the book producing game. The production of a book is now pretty common. That’s why we see so many people doing books. But are the books selling? After the books are back from the printer/publisher – the real work begins. It’s time to promote and sell your book. You have just opened up a business. Like any new business, you need a business plan plus extensive knowledge of the field you’re in and good advisors. A standard statistic you need to know according to book industry sources: there are over 150,000 new books published every year. And typically we see the same roster of authors on the New York Times Best-Seller’s list. As a book publicist  for over ten years in the Christian literary field, I see what flys and what fizzles. Before you embark on this costly venture (prepare to spend at least $2,500 up to $10,000 for editing, production and promotion), I would like to share with you what I’ve learned on what makes a best-seller: 1. Title – is it griping, interesting? Would one know what it’s about without reading anything else? 2. Cover – people do judge a book by its cover. Make sure it has enough punch to stand out on the shelves among the thousands of other books. Is it clean, neat and crisp – yet interesting? Hire a professional! 3. Endorsements – what others say about you is key. Who these people are is even more important. Pull together the “best words from the best people.” It will pre-sell your book before you even open your mouth. 4. Writer’s credentials – do you have anything else with your byline? Do you blog? Do you have an audience that actually likes what you write? 5. Knowledge of the Market the book will reach – and the author’s reputation in that market. The author must create a market for himself by really addressing the needs of that market, knowing that market and communicating the right message to that market. 6. Timing – in relation to other events going on in the world/society. Are there movies, songs or talk shows that are bringing up the subject you have discussed in your book? Do you read the newspaper regularly and respond with Opinion Editorials when they are discussing “your” platform/topic? 7. Advertising – targeting the right message to the right media at the right time.  Facebook ads work too. Do it Consistently! 8. Media coverage – publicity. The frosting on the cake. Getting on radio, TV and in newspapers and magazine and Ezines. Consistently (with advertising too). 9. Distribution – If you want to be a best-seller you have to have your book available. Make sure you sign up with a distributor or wholesaler so it is accessible to bookstores. (Amazon is not national distribution…it is a website) Best-sellers are sold in real bookstores and they only order from distributors or wholesales. (See Sally Stuart’s Christian Writers Market Guide for distributors to approach. Note: You must have a press kit and solid marketing plan for them to consider you). 10. Word of Mouth – The best advertising. The more “buzz” you have about your book the better. How do you get people talking about your book? By engaging in their culture and creating messages in their media. Social media!!! Be relentless in your goal to be a “best-seller” – and it will happen if you commit to the publicity process and pray for favor. Pam Perry is a ministry marketing pioneer and expert in the African American Christian market. Her public relations and advertising career spans over two decades. She spent the first ten years working in ad agencies and secular media. She has dedicated the past ten to ministry marketing. Her company, Ministry Marketing Solutions Inc., has a roster of some of the most well known Christian publishers and African American Christian authors in the industry. For more information, go to http://www.pamperrypr.com   Read more at myblogalicious.beblogalicious.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1j9y5

How to Get What You Want! (Video)

Get FREE ecourse here: Perry 

Do you have a message you want to share with the world?

Do you know you have a unique purpose that involves helping others?

Are you ready to finally get out there, and do all the things you’ve been
dreaming about?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, we can help.

Pam Perry PR clients are individual, business, faith-based, corporate, and culturally-diverse thought leaders who change the world.

Whether you want to launch your book, hone your message, or
monetize your content, we’ll help you accomplish more in less time
so you’re free to do what you do best.

Our services include:

• thought leadership development
• book marketing
• strategic social media management
• culturally-diverse marketing
• ministry marketing
• digital public relations
• agency services

If you’re a new or emerging author or thought leader, go to www.pamperrypr.com

If you’re ready to launch your book, go big, or want agency
services, schedule an Initial Strategy Session.

Some of our FABULOUS CLIENTS....

 

SEE VIDEO INTERVIEW OF PAM PERRY | Click Here!

Perry + Williamson Agency is a multi-cultural thought-leadership development agency. Interested in a free strategy session? http://www.perrywilliamson.com/workwithus.html

Amplify’d from adage.com

Ken Muench NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- One of the latest buzz words to enter the marketing lexicon is "cross-cultural." It paints an idealistic picture of a color-blind society, one in which consumers' similarities outweigh their differences regardless of ethnic groups. Whereas multicultural means multiple executions -- often from multiple shops -- wouldn't it be simpler to find one truth that reaches across culture? It's a valid question, but critics at multicultural agencies and ethnic shops are quick to point out that the question -- and the concept -- seems to be coming from general-market agencies moving into their territory. Related Stories Minority Content Helped Seal NBC Universal Deal for Comcast But Will Commitment Help Marketers Looking to Spend More Advertising Dollars in the Sector? Sorry State of Diversity in Advertising Is Also a Culture Problem Despite Temporary Hike in Minority Creatives After Recruiting Efforts, Agency Environments Seem to Be Turning New Hires Away This past year there were two significant account shifts that involved ethnic shops losing portions of accounts to general-market agencies. Home Depot moved its $37 million U.S. Hispanic account to Richards/Lerma, a unit created by Home Depot's general-market shop Richards Group, from incumbent Vidal Partnership. And Burger King shifted its Hispanic and African-American accounts from LatinWorks and Uniworld Group, respectively, to its general-market partner CP&B. WPP Group has created OgilvyCulture, a new "cross-cultural strategic-service practice." Last year, DraftFCB's Ken Muench, senior VP-director of multicultural strategic planning, penned a "Cross-Cultural Manifesto" for Ad Age. Pepper Miller, president of the Hunter-Miller Group, an African-American-focused market and research consulting firm, said cross-cultural as a concept is not entirely wrong, but general-market agencies are using it as an opportunity to move into space occupied by multicultural shops. "The people who are focused on ethnic segments are left out of the translation of this code as well as the opportunity to compete for mainstream business," she said. "Cross-cultural is not getting us to the place of understanding the differences between these cultures. It still stands for one message to reach all people and then cultural insights are getting lost." Unsurprisingly, proponents of cross-cultural marketing at general-market agencies say it's a completely different topic from ethnic marketing -- and that ethnic shops won't necessarily get cut out from the system. Mr. Muench, who joined DraftFCB from Grupo Gallegos, said all general-market campaigns should be created from a multicultural perspective. The demographics of the U.S. simply demand it. Once the creative for general-market effort is completed, the Hispanic and African-American creative is then executed. Most "general-market agencies create advertising from a white, middle-class perspective and that is less relevant today than it ever was in the past," Mr. Muench said. "Creating general-market campaigns from a multicultural perspective doesn't mean we don't do Hispanic or African-American advertising on top of it. It means we have to create elements within that campaign that precisely target those other consumers." Multicultural viewpoints "need to be part of the people and need to be part of the mainstream," Mr. Muench said. "Cross-cultural marketing is about creating better general-market advertising." As hard of a time that ethnic shops might have believing that line of thinking, some of Mr. Muench's clients are also skeptical. "Clients have to buy into it, and frankly not all clients do," he said. "A lot of clients see the light and see their consumer base has changed and want to start tapping into this." Alejandro Ruelas, managing partner at LatinWorks, said this is just a different version of the same game that's been going on for years. "General-market agencies are seeing an opportunity for revenue and revenue growth in this space and trying to get in and play, whether it be through acquiring a multicultural shop or creating a dedicated unit within the agency," Mr. Ruelas said. In the case of Burger King, Mr. Ruelas again said the situation was one his agency has dealt with in the past. He said certain general-market agencies that have good relationships with clients will tend to get opportunistic and say they can deliver the Hispanic market. "They promise a more unified message and dangle the carrot of efficiencies in front of them," Mr. Ruelas said. "Certain clients are going to go with that seductive offer and others, those more embedded in the Hispanic marketplace, will see those agencies are not set up to deliver the marketplace the way agencies like ours can." Mr. Ruelas said he will be watching to see what Crispin does with Burger King's Hispanic business. "If a general-market agency can put a model in place and deliver against a target that we claim is our territory, then we need to come away with a lesson learned from that." Pete Lerma, head of Richards/Lerma, said Richards/Lerma started on the basis that the agency could create an operation that would allow its clients' marketing to more accurately reflect the evolving U.S. culture. Richards/Lerma is the Hispanic AOR for Metro PCS, Advanced Auto Parts and Chrysler's Ram trucks among others. Mr. Lerma said cross-cultural doesn't signify the extinction for ethnic shops. In fact, he said traditional multicultural agencies should view "this evolution in the market" as an opportunity to work alongside their general-market counterparts and "positively influence" brands. "We are providing insights, from Hispanic perspective and concepting creative work and ideas that connect brands and people," Mr. Lerma said. "Those ideas supersede language and culture. The greatest common denominators between these brands and customers are what we are finding. And it seems to me that the traditional multicultural agency should see that as a huge opportunity. We can influence the general-market work in a way that makes it a greater reflection of the more multicultural society we live in." That line of thought was on display from marketers at the Association of National Advertisers' Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference in November. Pam El, VP-marketing at State Farm, the country's largest auto insurer said that business is the bottom line and that marketers want help -- rather than agency infighting -- from various sources. "I need to know that Agency X has my back and they can't have my back if they are at it with each other," she said, adding "There is enough business for everybody," so "do your part, bring your best stuff to the table and it will work out for you."

Is Cross-Cultural an Industry Breakthrough or Threat to Ethnic Shops? While Some Praise Concept of a Unified Message, Others Argue General-Market Agencies Are Using it to Move in on Others' Turf Read more at adage.com

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1ikly

Ready to Step Up Your Game in 2012

7 Steps to get your DREAMS fulfilled in 2012

1. Commit. Make a decision to follow your dreams that the Lord put in your heart no matter what others say. Know with absolute certainty that you will see the vision come to pass because you’re determined and God showed you. Psalm 37:5  
2. Be Prudent.  Don’t make decisions before knowing all the facts. Work smart and you won’t have to work hard. Prov. 27:12
3. Be Prepared.  Don’t wait until there is an emergency or a deadline before you get moving on project. Successful people plan ahead. Haste makes waste. Prov. 21:31
4. Be focused.  Get clear on what you want and don’t get distracted. If something doesn’t put you closer to your goal, drop it. Clarity is power. Prov. 29:18
5. Be diligent. Finish what you start. Remember the end of thing is better than the beginning. If it worth starting –finish it! Prov. 13:4
6. Be Teachable. Don’t refuse good advice and accept instruction. Get all the help you can. All successful people had mentors and role models. Get in a Mastermind Group if you can. Prov. 13:18
7. Be persistent.  Be relentless. Tackle every task that God puts before you and expect a blessing. Quitters never win and winners never quit.  Press toward the mark. DREAM BIG! Prov. 24:10

The number one reason most people don’t achieve their dreams is that they don’t have clarity and they listen to the wrong folks. 

There is power in focus and visualizing what you want, confessing what you want and doing what you know to do!  But ...you must have an accountability partner or a coach to keep you on track/

GET  a Dream Team, Mastermind Group or a Coach.  If you've been trying to "make it work" without the right advice and accountability partner, TRY something different in 2012. It will make ALL THE DIFFERENCE. 

 Check us on on Facebook: Perry + Williamson, helping you LEAD the way.

 

  Write your vision, make it plain and keep the momentum no matter how hard it gets – with God, all things are possible. 

It's TIME: 11-11-11 Debuting www.Believely.com and THE CALL #believeDetroit

Friday, 11-11-11 

... people all over America are
gathering in stadiums to pray, fast
and hope in God for the next
generation, our cities and economic
future.



As a person in the marketplace, our
"stadium," one of the greatest
platforms for good in our generation,
is social media.

One tweet, one Facebook post, can
make a difference.

That's why we're mobilizing 10,000
people in the marketplace to pray and
use social media as a force for good.

Consider what happened in New York,
154 years ago:

Churches were shrinking, thousands
were disillusioned with "organized
religion."

Then, a handful of business people
started praying.  Within a few
months, there was a great revival
with thousands and thousands of
people transformed across the nation.

Now imagine what could happen today
using social media... think of the
tens of thousands or hundreds of
thousands that could be encouraged...

Join us for a special telegathering
on Friday, November 11th at 11:11am
to 12 Noon Eastern time.

* why pray as a business person or
professional;

* 3 keys to hearing God
in your business and career;

* practical prayer for business and
professional breakthrough;

Share this with everyone you know...

See you Friday, 11/11/11 at 11:11am EST!

Please share this with everyone
you know...in your social media circles!!!

Thought Leadership in the New Social Media Economy

www.perrywilliamson.com/webinar

Join Pam Perry and Ramon Williamson for an evening of insight, motivation and real-deal training to unlock and launch you into “thought leader” success.

LISTEN to what others say about Pam and Ramon’s webinars:

“Thank you for sharing this information! The energy level is awesome.” – Angel

“I’m flat out excited! The real deal collaboration! Love masterminds!” – Regina

“Awesome advice!!” – Angeline

“Great job tonight. Looking forward to growing together.” – Kadena

“This is amazing!!!!!!” – Andrew

“Awesome webinar; captivated; this is so good and so helpful; thank you!” – Donna

“This is wonderful. Really worth staying up till 2:00 am in London.” – Sue

BLOGALICIOUS ROCKED! 
Here's what one blogger had to say: click here
and see this quick video from two more bloggers

Will post up some video clips from the actual workshop session I did with Lashanda Henry later on  presentation: "How to Leverage Your Content to Monetize Your Blog" in a few days (or next week) but....“””

"”

Right now, sign up for my new webinar this Thurs, October 27th at 8 PM ET:

http://www.perrywilliamson.com/webinar

You'll discover ten strategies to get YOUR message heard, launch your book or product and brand like a superstar using the Internet and social media.

 I'm doing this with my new partner so you don't want to miss our first webinar!

 Grab your Comp Ticket: http://www.perrywilliamson.com/webinar

 Listen, no one can make it through challenging times on their own and come out ahead.

 The ones who reach out for support will be the ones who not only make it through, but come through stronger, more purposeful and more profitable than ever. You need someone to challenge and inspire you. You need someone who will hold the possibility of your big dream even when you lose sight of it.

To grow and change, you need to be around people who have ambition and are playing a bigger game. People who will motivate you to do your best and be your best and will call you on your stuff so you don't get away with hiding out.

That's what Thursday is all about. See there.

http://www.perrywilliamson.com/webinar

P.S. Be sure to type in a question you want us to answer during the Q&A time...

http://www.perrywilliamson.com/webinar

How to Find Media to Talk To Right Now. They're Here

The traditional media loves SOCIAL media too. 

Want media exposure? 

Want to be in their publication or on the air? Follow them on Twitter and you will get to know the reporters and producers. These media folks often tweet when they’re looking for sources. You will get to see their "bend" and what types of people they retweet, talk to and follow. You can then use this info to learn more about each them and pitch them accordingly.



 

We can help you position properly. www.PerryWilliamson.com

  Strategic. Relevant. Effective. @pamperry

Discover what's happening right now in the world of journalism We've got you covered: check out the Muck Rack Daily, an email digest of journalists on Twitter. MAlexJohnson You probably can't use your iPhone 4 case on your iPhone 4S: http://t.co/x3c5oBZ6 The buttons have moved ever so slightly — but enough. 4 minutes ago by Alex Johnson, Correspondent and NBC News Web Projects Coordinator, NBC News OmarKelly RT @smbyakima : Dolphins' defensive struggles on Nolan, players, or injuries?» All three are to blame, so is the offense. 4 minutes ago by Omar Kelly, Dolphins Reporter and Blogger, South Florida Sun-Sentinel TheStalwart RT @daveweigel : RT @GregMitch : Russell Simmons in da house at Zuccotti w/ the legendary Dick Gregory (who I met at demo way back in '68). 4 minutes ago by Joe Weisenthal, Editor, Business Insider ZekeJMiller Reminds me of the Iowa State Fair. RT @SallyPancakes : Check out CNBC's "speakers corner" at #OccupyWallSt http://t.co/r5ziuXa7 4 minutes ago by Zeke Miller, Politics Reporter, Business Insider lfung Did you love 'The Notebook'? 'A Walk to Remember'? If so, join @SparksNicholas for a chat on Thursday http://t.co/YZsDtnoC #film #books 5 minutes ago by Lisa Fung, Online Arts and Entertainment Editor, LA Times digiphile @glichfield Good Q. @antderosa would be a key ask on figuring out post frequency on a @tumblr . Failing that, try @davidkarp ? 5 minutes ago by Alex Howard, Technology Writer davidlidsky If anyone's looking for me, I'll be in my bomb shelter lined with peanut butter bought before the crazy price hikes. http://t.co/0xIQdMhZ 5 minutes ago by David Lidsky, Articles Editor, Fast Company GlobeTrotScott Good while it lasted! RT @thepointsguy : RIP Citi American 75,000 Mile Card Bonuses http://t.co/LCYts4CN… 6 minutes ago by Scott Mayerowitz, Airlines Reporter, Associated Press RiddellSF SunEdison event Belmont http://t.co/OkyBxoIT  minutes ago by Lindsay Riddell, Reporter, San Francisco Business Times ariannahuff Jared Bernstein: "The Self-Imposed Limits of Reaction to a Crisis" http://t.co/Dg2VnLE3 6 minutes ago by Arianna Huffington, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Huffington Post Read more at muckrack.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1ee2b

Infographics: Cracking the Code for the "Information Overload" Era

The internet is flooded with information. This is the information age for sure. Millions of blogs, websites, tweets, facebook pages - and then there's email overdose.

People are really getting weary of reading - they want the info fast and at a glance. And really they want to look at pictures. That's why INFOGRAPHICS are so popular! A quick snapshot of all the facts. Here's an example here: http://bit.ly/infographicpamperry. It's a big business. Learn it or hire someone to do it.

We can help.

Amplify’d from www.socialmediaexplorer.com

A picture is worth a thousand words. In the digital age, the saying has never been more relevant. To cope with the daily onslaught of information we’ve become content grazers, skimming headlines and post descriptions for the promise of bite-sized nuggets of information. As brevity becomes more important, infographics present brand journalists with a great opportunity to deliver knowledge, ideas, solutions, etc., in a manner that can be quickly consumed, understood and remembered. Robin Richards, Information Design Director at the creative firm JESS3, says this about infographics: “The public’s collapsing attention span has given rise to a relatively new content format: the infographic. Infographics – a visual representation of complex data – have emerged as one of the most popular and shareable forms of social content.” In doing some research for a recent presentation I delivered during Social Media Week in Vancouver, I came across a staggering statistic regarding the growth of infographics on the Web. A Google image search for the term “infographics” returned 978k results. Four months ago the same search mentioned in Jeremiah Owyang’s blog post about the need for infographics to evolve returned 570k infographic images. I don’t profess to be an SEO expert or pretend to understand the complexity of the Google search algotythm, but there has to be something going on when 40% more infographics show up on the web in such a short period of time. Popularity There are a few factors that might explain why infographics are so popular: Easy to digest – There is less friction when it comes to consuming information that is (well) presented visually. It requires less time to read, absorb and get the gist of information. Infographics are easy to share – Even if you’re not a visual thinking geek like me, you’d likely agree that this content format can be a pretty cool way to present information. Their uniqueness and compact nature can prompt people to readiliy share them. Learning style – The Visual Teaching Alliance states that approximately 65% of people are visual learners and that the human brain processes visual information about 60,000 times faster than text. R.O.I. Infographics are popular amongst web users for all the reasons stated above, but they are also in vogue with organizations because they can add business value. Some examples: Brand Awareness – The Content Grid, created by JESS3 on behalf of Eloqua, has been one of the more popular infographics published in the last year. Here are some awareness metrics published by Eloqua regarding this infographic: 1168 tweets, 722 inbound links, 58 blog articles mentioning the infographic and 3003 offsite views. Signals – Infographics are one way to create signals in a sea of internet noise. Signals result in conversations … and the right conversation lead to business opoortunities. I’m personal proof that it works – the infographics that I’ve published have helped fuel conversations that have lead to a contributor gig here at SME, sitting on a panel with Jay Baer for the Vancouver NOW Revolution book tour stop, guest lecturing at the University of Toronto and a few consulting projects. If I can do it, anyone can! Improved Results – Visual thinking impresario Dave Gray shares a great example of the power of visualization and how it adds tangible business value. During this interview he talks about how a large hotel chain used visual tools across different business phases to added incremental revenue by cutting 5 months off the time required to launch a new property. 5 Types and Uses For many people the thought of infographics is synonymous with data visualization. For others it represents a form of idea art. Whatever your perspective, infographics come in many different shapes and sizes and can be used by organizations to manage knowledge/information presented to both internal and external audiences. Statistics – One of the most popular infographic types is data visualization. Nothing is more difficult to consume and absord than reems of statisctical data – If your organization is presenting company information and/or industry research consider using infographics to present findings or highlight insights. Concepts – My favorite infographics are metaphors for ideas. These are great for use in illustrating though leadership or organizational philosophy. These conceptual visuals can also be very effective in teaching/training situations. Models – These type of information visuals help describe process. Organizations can use these to explain complex business procedures, workflows, distribution channels, service offerings, information flow, etc. Cartoons – Purists might not agree, but I feel humorous illustration, particularly in a business context, classify as information graphics. Cartoons are an effective way for organizations to transfer information about ideas, scenarios and culture to their target audiences. Information Resources – These infographics effectively aggregate useful and relevant information into a format that adds value. Organizations can use infographics to create industry resources, specifications guides, “cheat sheets,” product comparisons, etc. Getting Started You don’t have to be a graphic designer to start creating effective infographics. Here are few tips to get you started: Explore new ways to inform – always be thinking of your audiences information needs and better ways to help them learn. Think about all the content your organization has – what are some ways to restructure it and present it visually? Record your thoughts – Use a journal, smart phone, sticky notes, etc. to keep track of ideas for infographics. I get a lot of inspirartion from the blogs I read and find it helpful to use a bookmarking tool like Delicious to keep track of concepts for future exploration. The Power of Infographics

Read more at www.socialmediaexplorer.com

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Bestsellers List - October 2011 - Nonfiction

BCNN1/BCBC National Bestsellers List - October 2011 - Nonfiction
1. Game On by Emmitt Smith (Tyndale) 2. The Resolution for Women by Priscilla Shirer (B&H Books) 3. Where Has Oprah Taken Us? by Stephen Mansfield (Thomas Nelson) 4. The Prayer Warrior's Way by Cindy Trimm (Charisma) 5. The Uncommon Life Daily Challenge by Tony Dungy (Tyndale) 6. Finally Free: An Autobiography by Michael Vick (Worthy Publishing) 7. Same Kind of Different As Me, by Ron Hall and Denver Moore (Thomas Nelson) 8. Left to Tell, by Immaculee Ilibagiza (Hay House) 9. I Beat the Odds, by Michael Oher (Gotham) 10. Where Will You Go from Here? by Valorie Burton (Random House)"

 Get FREE gifts here: www.CindyTrimmLaunch.com

Hear the interview of Dr. Cindy Trimm on the Chocolate Pages Show!

Listen to internet radio with Chocolate Pages on Blog Talk Radio

Join www.ChocolatePagesNetwork.com!

Steve Jobs, The Albert Einstein of Our Era

Legacy isn't strong enough. Genius is more appropriate. Steve Jobs dies, his brilliance will be missed but he still shines on. Marketing Brilliance never really DIES......

If you could have a conversation with him, what would you ask? Now that he is gone, the world will know more about him than when he was living.

His book comes out this month. He was a genius...From the Latin verb gigno, genui, genitus, "to bring into being, create, produce."

Well done Steve Jobs. We appreciate your genius. Thank you. Rest in Peace.
  
“Bill Gates put a computer in every household, but Steve Jobs put one in every pocket" #thankyousteve”

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Steve Jobs bio tops Amazon bestseller list

After the death Wednesday of Apple founder and visionary Steve Jobs , his authorized biography became a hot ticket. "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson is Amazon's #1 bestselling book -- and it's not even out yet. Although Jobs has been written about before, the biography is the first written with his cooperation. Jobs' biographer, Walter Isaacson, had been working with the Apple CEO, his family, friends, colleagues and competitors since at least 2009. Isaacson has written biographies of genius Albert Einstein ("Einstein: His Life and Universe"), founding father Ben Franklin ("Benjamin Franklin: An American Life") and powerful diplomat Henry Kissinger ("Kissinger: A Biography"). When Simon & Schuster announced that the book was on the way, publisher Jonathan Karp said, "This is the perfect match of subject and author, and it is certain to be a landmark book about one of the world's greatest innovators." The Steve Jobs biography was originally slated to be published in March 2012, and it was going to be titled "iSteve." The title was changed to the more staid "Steve Jobs," and the publishing date, at one point, moved up to Nov. 21, 2011. This week, it was moved up again, to less than three weeks from now: "Steve Jobs" will be released Oct. 24.

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Fourth Quarter Breakthrough Strategy with Dr. Cindy Trimm

 Dr. Cindy Trimm, one of the featured speakers at Bishop TD Jakes'

WOMAN THOU ARE LOOSED event in Houston this year, 

releases fourteenth book 

Nationwide on October 4, 2011

Bestselling author, motivational speaker, and empowerment specialist, Dr. Cindy Trimm,

releases her newest book, The Prayer Warrior's Way, October 4, 2011. 

The Prayer Warrior’s Way equips readers with the prayer basics necessary for hearing from God. Within these pages the reader will learn how to engage in the most important conversation-taking place in the universe—heaven’s ongoing dialogue about how to bring health and healing to humanity.


This highly anticipated sequel to The Art of War for Spiritual Battle (published August 3, 2010) provides
strategies from heaven for intimate communication with God.

“The Prayer Warrior’s Way is one of the best books that I have read to help believers develop a successful and fulfilling prayer life,” says Cindy Jacobs, CEO of Generals International “It is very well researched and has deep wells to draw from that gives us wisdom from some of the greatest Christian leaders on the subject.”

Published by Charisma House in Lake Mary, FL, this practical guide for praying has two parts: “The Big Picture” and “Praying Heaven Down.” 

GET to finish strong this year by being empowered with a wealth of information on:
• The Great Paradigm Shift: Turning Reality Inside-Out
• What Should Be: The View from the Throne Room
• Enough: Plugging into Heaven’s Provision
• This Day I Will: Two Steps Forward, No Steps Back
• Victory! Fear in the Enemies’ Eyes

Get spiritually, mentally and emotionally engaged by going to www.cindytrimmlaunch.com (get free gifts)


About the Author
Dr. Cindy Trimm, the best-selling author of Commanding Your Morning and The Rules of Engagement,was named to Ebony Magazine's "Power 100 List" for 2011, alongside Bishop T.D. Jakes and President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Cindy Trimm is the founder of Trimm International and host of the World Summit on Leadership and Prayer.

Visit http://www.cindytrimmlaunch.com  for goodies!!!!!!! 

www.CindyTrimmLaunch.com GET FREE GIFTS!

Don't be a "drive by" Blogger. Build Your Tribe.

In October and November, our team will be involved in some social media teleseminars. We will go over Facebook. We will talk about Twitter. We will rave about the new Linkedin. Of course we will discuss Youtube and podcasting, But the hub of all social media marketing and "web 2.0" stuff - is the Blog.



That is our specialty. We help businesses craft their blog brand and build backlinks - which equals traffic - which equals sales. Simple. So, get your blog up and going. Need help? Want a critique? We're here. www.socialmediaprsolutions.com



Join our group on Facebook: Social Media Swag.

Amplify’d from www.successful-blog.com

Reach Out and Touch Someone with Your Company’s Blog

In the small business blogging world, there are good blogs and there are not so good blogs. That being said, how would you rate your blog? As a small business, what is your goal behind having a blog in the first place? Do you use it as an opportunity to promote your company’s products and services? Is it more of a forum for you to get things off your chest or talk to other business owners? Or is it just something you felt you had to have given your competitors have one? Like many small businesses that sport blogs, the initiative to grow the blog is often there, but the time doesn’t seem to be. What ends up happening is the blog takes a back seat to other more important matters, the content becomes stale, and next thing you know you have a blog whose hits become less and less. Growth is Possible If your company’s blog is collecting dust on the Internet, there are means by which to grow it and enhance your company’s online profile. Among the initiatives to employ are: Who is my audience? – If you haven’t already answered this key question, you’d better. You can spin your wheels on your blog if you don’t know the answer to this question. In order to make your company blog stand out, you need a niche, something that sets you apart from the competition; Determine the time factor – It is important as a business owner with a company blog to determine how much time and effort will go into it. If you have a marketing person/team in place, the blog typically falls to them. If not, and you are the one primarily responsible for the blog, set time limits each week as to how much time will go into the blog; Good copy is imperative – Whether you are writing your company’s blog or a staff member is it is imperative that it offers good copy. Your content needs to be interesting, useful and timely. Make sure that the blog provides both current and potential customers with information that peaks their interest, is important to their lives and is up to date. Also, keep the blog postings relatively short, given that the time demands on readers are greater than ever; Just as important as good copy is, your blog needs a clean look. How many blogs have you visited where the design is cluttered, hard to follow and looks like a kindergartner laid it out? If you’re not a design guru, find someone who is so that the blog looks and acts professional; Reach out to others – Another key is linking to other blogs and commenting on other’s posts. When you scratch someone’s back, they will hopefully do the same in return; Respond to comments – In the event you are getting comments on your blog, by all means respond to them. This shows the reader that you are engaged in the conversation brought by others, along with getting you noticed more throughout the blogging community; Know your metrics – If you’re writing a daily or weekly blog but not checking the statistics, what’s the point? Company bloggers want to know how many people are clicking on the blog, what demographics do they represent, when are they clicking on the blog etc. Find the right analysis program to track your numbers and see what your traffic reports look like. While these are just a few of the areas you should zero in on, remember, YOU control the look and sound of your company’s blog. Don’t expect the company blog to itself bring in a ton of revenue, but look at it more as a component of your overall strategy to reach out and touch someone, in this case, customers. Read more at www.successful-blog.com

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How to get Link Love and Media Exposure!

This is social media PR: It's about getting influence, building a movement.


The speed of information sharing is faster than ever before and PR pros have access to a mass of content that's shared with those seeking solutions to a problem.


Here's 8 social media PR solutions to get your campaign buzzing!
We can help: www.socialmediaprsolutions.com

Crowdsourced Interviews – I’ve been in on a few of them and there’s an abundance of potential awesomeness to get from doing interviews like this. First up, you’ll get all the participants linking and sharing socially to their followers. That alone makes it worth doing. Group interviews like this always bring great content to the reader and a lot of social shares and links from them as well. Even if it’s only a dozen links and a few dozen new social followers, if you aren’t going after techniques like this, you’re doing it wrong. Interviewing Someone Great – If you’re a newer brand or an established one, this tactic never fails. We like connecting with the biggest writers in the industry and interviewing them on the host blog. If you’re new in the scene, this can be a great way to “socially surf” off of their followers, gain that extra exposure and pull in some of their followers. These interviews are great content for your readers and it almost always results in a link back from the interviewees website/blog. Offer To Be Interviewed – For those companies with a good rep in their industry, asking fan blogs and industry blogs to get interviewed can’t hurt. Don’t come off desperate but extend yourself to them if they’re ever interested. Getting Cited From News Sites: This is perhaps one of the harder aspects of getting quality links, but there is hope! Getting links from NY Times, Reuters, Huffington Post and others takes planning. While these links happen naturally if your company has a big news event or pulls a PR stunt, you can also get them unnaturally by paying them for it (you’d be surprised how many news corps will let you buy a link). Every big brand should have a PR person who’s in constant contact with media types in addition to constantly building relationships that will get to the buzz you’ll want to get. Link builders can do this but if you’re a large company, you should have someone more suited to keep these relationships alive. Connecting With Reporters - Thankfully, there are a handful of awesome services that connect you to the world of news reporting. I’ve had the pleasure of using all of these with various clients, and it has even netted our company a few links in the past. Some of these I’m sure you’re familiar with, others are hopefully a pleasant surprise to a lot of you. Help A Reporter Out – If you haven’t used this free service yet you’re either daft or living under a rock. This service connects you to over 50,000 journalists from all over the world. They fire off daily emails that you can reply to in hopes of getting quoted, interviewed or even on air exposure! Reporter Connection – This is another service just like HARO. It isn’t as busy but it has a lot of connections in its database and is a great attempt as a different source. There are tens of thousands of journalists in their database so don’t ignore this service one more day. PR Manna – This is another well executed service that was launched by a brilliant mind in the industry. PR Manna was launched to help make it easy for entrepreneurs to get the word out and connect journalists with experts for their news. The service even got on the HARO’s nerves enough to send some legal threats their way. ProfNET By PRNewsWire – Tis is one of the more old school (1992) services out there and it isn’t free, but I can tell you from experience the small price tag is well worth it! They have tens of thousands of journalists locked in there as well, so you’ll not have too much of a problem making the right connections. Flack List – Perhaps the newest kid on the block within the realm of journalist to expert services, but also one of the best handled. First up, it’s free so you can’t go wrong with the price. Secondly, they now have a great user-base that’s definitely worth trying your luck with. News Basis – This is the big boy of the group right next to HARO. They stand out by employing better technology, however, and as a result, it makes dealing with this service a breeze. Where as HARO is a glorified email list for the most part, News Basis actually cuts out a lot of the work for you and make it really easy to connect. They have quite the database of experts and journalists and I’d argue that they’ll grow to be the biggest in a short time. Media Kitty – This is another service but unlike most of the others, it costs $89.95 a month to use. If you’re a smaller brand, I’d recommend you try it out for a month and see how it goes. Otherwise, the price might be a little steep for the results you get. When it comes to getting PR and links, you sometimes have to do all you can to score the good stuff. Check it out, see what others are saying and decide for yourself. Finding Journalists On Twitter & LinkedIn - The best links come from online relationships right? Well Twitter and LinkedIn are your best tools at getting the job done. I’ve got a few tips that will help all of you out and then I’ll let Google and your skills do the rest. I’ll break things down so you can get to the good stuff quickly and sift through the copious amounts of BS I usually fill in between the tips… Twitter – There are thankfully a whole host of resources out there such as lists, using Google to search for specific people and compiled lists on blogs. I had a text file sitting on my hard drive for so long full of my most useful bits and pieces, so here goes. List Of Journalists On Twitter Check Twellow.com for journalists as well as the 5200+ journalists tagged on Wefollow.com Awesome list of the NY Times journalists on Twitter Google search for “list of journalists on Twitter” yields some interesting results from various places Muck Rack is a site built from the Tweets of Journalists and it easily allows you to find who’s who from which organisation JustTweetIt.com has a list of reporters that is kind of scrambled but it’s another source so use it JournalistTweets.com is a great site made up of journalists on Twitter…oh and it’s broken down by country as well Media on Twitter is a great list broken down by news stations and it covers a hefty amount of people Journalists on Twitter via a Wetpaint blog that’s down right awesome LinkedIn – It’s as easy as searching the groups for journalism/journalists and you’ll find over 10,000 LinkedIn members within minutes. A lot of journalists also share their LinkedIn information on their bio, along with their email and Twitter information. I’d recommend starting your own private list and targeting the right journalists in your vertical. Google is also a great way to sift through prospects on this site. For example, this Google search query brings back 30,000+ results that are worth looking through. Press Release Strategies – Start by reverse engineering press releases picked up on big news sites and see where they came from. From there, you can do link analysis on the original press release and see where it got picked up. Each big wire service has its connections and that’s why I always recommend to our clients to release different ones on a few different places. While links from press releases are maybe not the greatest, they can lead to more brand exposure and bloggers writing about your news. Getting your news picked up on various places also relies heavily on the pre-launch options you set with your wire service. The options can be anything from the right tags to picking the right regions and specific industry to the title you choose. Again each service is different so the more you experiment, the more desirable your outcomes will be. A lot of news sites pick this stuff up based on those factors alone so know what you’re doing before hitting that submit button. Here are a few of the wire services we use on a regular basis with clients which hit a lot of big news sites: PRWeb (this is a no brainer) Market Wire 24-7 Press Release PR Newswire PR.com Mass Media Distribution Business Wire

Don’t forget to look for those niche specific wire services that will really get to the people who matter in your micro world. We use a lot of these for our hotel and real estate clients and they all get some really great links from places the big boys other wise wouldn’t touch on. They can be easily found by using your noggin and Google. Search on! Links From Trade Shows/Conferences/Exhibits: If your company is constantly going to any of the industry shows or better yet, speaking at them, then a link opportunity waits at almost every turn. A lot of companies get links simply by asking, paying or just reminding the host to add your company to the list. You’d be surprised how many companies are missing out on a few great links to add some diversity. From what I’ve seen, these links send great signals and add an important asset to your backlink health. For example, a Google query for “2011 Exhibitor List” brings back millions of results. Here’s just one example I pulled from the first page: Natural Link Love There’s no secret with this technique, just something that I find gets neglected or forgotten about when the opportunity is presented. The only reason I remembered it this week was because of one of our clients needed a writeup for a show they’re featured in this fall. They’re going to be rocking another 6 shows before the year’s end and those will all result in some sweet-ass links! They’re also getting tweet’d and blogged about from the host conference which is a bonus. Read more at www.linkbuildr.com

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