September 2009

Sep 2009

29

The countdown clock ticking away for the Social Media Kick Start Virtual Boot Camp…

by Allen Voivod

October 5th is just sneaking up on me. Hard to believe it’s only six days away!

That’s when we’re kicking off the latest round of the Social Media Kick Start Virtual Boot Camp (you can even get a free info-packed “6-Step Social Media Kick Start” download at that link as well), and what’s ticking even closer is the discount deadline.

jumpThrough September 30th, you can get full access to the six webinar-style learning modules, plus the checklists, templates, and bonuses to get you started FAST on the road to greater visibility, reach, and revenues, for $100 off. Okay, so I won’t be sitting at the computer to make pricing changes at 12:01am Eastern on Thursday, October 1st. It’ll probably be the first thing I do in the office that morning….

But you’re not gonna roll the dice and wait until the last minute are you?

I just had the opportunity to speak to folks from the NH Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development about using social media both as independent business owners, and as training professionals inside companies and organizations. The honest-to-goodness thing I want to say – and it sounds so earnest, I’m almost self-conscious enough not to say it – is that I love the power and potential for social media so much, it’s even gotten me over my fear of public speaking.

As Lani can testify, I’m usually a ball of nerves before any speaking gig we’ve had, and I usually don’t loosen up until about 10 minutes in. But the thrill I have for Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and LinkedIn is actually overriding that fear of getting up in front of an audience.

Looking back over the summer session of the Boot Camp, I think we managed to catch a good part of that energy in a fun, casual, easy-to-understand, hand-holding kind of way, and I’m so glad it exists for small business owners, for marketing professionals, and the key players in mission-driven organizations. If we can help these passionate professionals get their message, mission, and vision out to the audience who needs to know about them, in fun and profitable ways, then I can sleep a little better at night. (And waking up with the baby in the morning isn’t as tough!)

Please – if you’ve been unsure about social media, if you don’t know where to start, if you fear it’ll be a waste of your time and effort – let us help. And even though the Boot Camp starts October 5th, it’s designed to be a go-at-your-own-pace, on-your-schedule-not-ours experience.

Get your free “6-Step Social Media Kick Start” download today, and check out the deal with the Boot Camp while you’re there. Just think – before Thanksgiving, you could have the nuts and bolts of social media under your belt, and be ready to kick butt for the holidays, in 2010, and beyond.

Sep 2009

25

8 Twitter Resources for Hotels, Motels, Inns, and Other Lodging Joints

by Allen Voivod

bellEarlier this month, I had the chance to talk about the usefulness of Twitter for hotels to the general manager of one national chain’s location here in New Hampshire. In doing a bit of research, I found a number of links to great articles about social media marketing strategy for hotels (thank you ever and always, Google).

After parsing through pages of results, I thought I’d share some of the most useful ones here, in case you or someone you know is in the hospitality industry and considering using Twitter to boost competitive edge, explode visibility, expand reach, and ultimately increase revenues from reservations and event bookings.

(And this serves as a good blogging tip, too. If you have to do research for something in your business that could help a number of other folks – clients, prospects, partners, vendors, etc. – and is worth you being found for online, then put it up on your blog!)

In no particular order…

Hotels That Twitter and Twitter Well

You’re Still Not Twittering, Are You?

When Hotel Chains Use Twitter – Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

Twitter Starter Pack for Hotels (28.5 Users to Follow)

Hyatt Announces Twitter Concierge Service

Hotels and Twitter – Why Some Succeed and Others Fail

Content: The Key to Online Hotel Bookings

Twitter to Your Hotel’s Advantage

Plus a bonus 9th – our own 37 Easy Ways to Boost Biz Visibility, Revenue, & Results With Twitter

And hey! Even if you’re not in the hospitality industry, check a few of these links out. Why, you may ask? Because that’s how inspiration strikes. Cribbing from what’s working for other folks, looking at best practices, and getting fresh ideas from different industries is a great way to revitalize your own marketing and get the results you want and deserve.

Sep 2009

25

Free Social Media Audio Program Aims to Help 50% of Americans to Catch Up and Take Action

by Lani and Allen

(Psst: Grab your seat in the Social Media Kick Start Virtual Boot Camp mentioned in release by September 30th, and you save $100 off your ticket to ride. Sweet deal, eh?)

Laconia, NH, September 24, 2009 –(PR.com)– With about half of all Americans on social networks, the glass is either half-empty or half-full. 50% the country has embraced these new tools, using them in their work and lives with increasing confidence and skill.

And the other 50%? They include entrepreneurs, corporate professionals, and key players in mission-driven organizations, who haven’t been ready to adopt these platforms into their marketing activities. Some don’t see the value. Others can’t see when they’d fit it in to their routine. And still others don’t know how to use them in a way that serves their message, mission, and vision.

6weeksocial_jumpTo help success-minded professionals in that “other” 50%, social marketing firm Epiphanies, Inc. is offering a free audio program, “The 6-Step Social Media Kick Start: How to Get More Leads, Clients, and Results (and Have a BLAST Doing It).” It’s an hour-long digital recording (MP3), available for immediate download at http://www.EpiphaniesInc.com/SocialMediaKickStart.php.

“We created this audio to help make it easy for professionals to move forward in the social media realm with confidence, without the headaches and hassles,” says Lani Voivod, co-owner and Content Lover at Epiphanies, Inc. “Instead of plowing through with jargon and technical advice, we share which four social media platforms are most critical for businesses and organizations to stay relevant and competitive in this global market, and why.”

Lani, along with her business partner Allen Voivod, reveal the #1 Rule, #1 Truth, and #1 Success Strategy for using social media. They also share their own shortcuts for saving hours a day while remaining active on multiple social media sites, and how the six steps became the model for their six-week Social Media Kick Start Virtual Boot Camp, which they’re running for the second time beginning October 5th, 2009.

“The previous Boot Camp attendees included both entrepreneurs at the start-up stage and experienced business owners, plus representatives of non-profit organizations and academic institutions,” notes Allen Voivod. “We’re thrilled to have designed a program that’s proven useful across so many different situations, and look forward to seeing another diverse group of professionals in the Boot Camp starting next month.”

The married business owners have been featured speakers, presenters, and panelists throughout their home state of New Hampshire in 2009, at such events as the New England Professional Development Conference, Small Business Day at the State House, and the Governor’s Conference on Volunteerism. In June, they were sponsored by Public Service of New Hampshire, the NH Division of Economic Development, and the “Stay, Work, Play” Initiative to design and deliver the “A-Ha!” Social Media Business Summit for 100 attendees. They even had the distinction of being the first experts to serve for two months in a row in the “Ask the Expert” spotlight for the Union Leader, the state’s largest newspaper, and the Amoskeag Business Incubator, this past July and August.

“Our goal is to help as many determined folks as possible get out of social media overwhelm,” says Lani. “Whether they get their feet wet with our 60-minute audio program, or take the plunge in our six-week Boot Camp, we aim to make it as easy, painless, and fun as we can.”

Business owners, marketing professionals, and key players at mission-driven organizations can learn more about the Boot Camp, including the webinar-style learning modules, micro-guides, checklists, and templates they’ll receive in the six-week Program, at the same link where they can download the audio program for free: http://www.EpiphaniesInc.com/SocialMediaKickStart.php.

About Epiphanies, Inc.
Lani & Allen Voivod, the Content Lovers of Epiphanies, Inc., help entrepreneurs, global brands, and mission-driven organizations learn and use social marketing and success strategies to boost visibility, community, competitive edge, and profits through workshops, speaking, and consulting. Get their free 6-Step Social Media Kick Start audio program, designed to help savvy professionals get a convenient, no-nonsense overview of how to put social media tools and platforms to work for their own goals, vision, and careers, at http://www.EpiphaniesInc.com/SocialMediaKickStart.php.

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Sep 2009

22

Where does social marketing stop and success begin?

by Content Lover

line

Here’s a question for you:

Where do you draw the line?

In our work today, we talk to businesses and organizations about “Social Marketing and Success Strategies.” Technically speaking, these are two very different topics. “Social marketing” is all about engaging with your target audience with the new and ever-expanding palate of social media tools out there. (And note the word “engaging,” as opposed to simply “broadcasting” your message.)

Then there are “Success Strategies,” which are more about the mental game of being in business for oneself, deciding to become a lifestyle entrepreneur, or being the leader of a mission-driven organization. It’s about who you are, how you evolve, the risks you take, and the commitments you make.

As it happens, there’s overlap between the two, and a lot of it happens at the “A-Ha!” intersection.

Since re-branding in 2006, we defined the “A-Ha!” as “Bold Insight + Joy-filled Action = Powerful, Profitable Results.” The fact is, you can’t separate the feeling from the action. And the results you get often reflect the balance between them. Feel bold, act scared? Usually weak results. Feel desperate, take massive action? Usually no results. Feel bold, act confidently? You’ve got better chances than either of the other two for success.

Even if success doesn’t come walking in the front door, look over to the window. Bound to be a pleasant surprise over there.  ;)

So ask yourself today, “Where do I draw the line between how I feel and what I do?” Don’t be surprised if you can’t tell for sure where you end and the work begins.

Sep 2009

19

The Social Media Revolution – watch and say “Whoa.”

by Lani Voivod

Sometimes 4 minutes and 22 seconds seems like an eternity (like when you had to the the “bent arm hang” for the annual Presidential Physical Fitness Exam back in public school).

Sometimes, though, those four-plus minutes can be souped up with pulsing, mesmerizing trance music and filled a series of ideas, word snippets, data, and discoveries that make you pull a Keanu Reeve’s “Whoa.”

Let’s just say this video ain’t no bent arm hang:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

Another fine example of why “Content is king,” as GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt has said more than a few times.

What message is your business burning to deliver? How could YOU mesmerize 600,000+ people with your ideas in just four-plus minutes?

Think about it…then give it a go. After all, it’s no good if it stays stuck inside!

Sep 2009

2

Is this blog post inadequate…or powerful beyond measure?

by Lani Voivod

September.

If you’re a Mom (like me), or a biz owner (like me), or a wife of a biz owner (uh, like me…again), this month inspires a shift, internally and externally. Like January, there’s a sort of “time to get down to business!” battle cry from the core of my being – a big check list of to-do’s to handle. For example, since I have to pack lunches now, I can’t put off grocery shopping and continue to present Goldfish, a cheesestick, and an apple as an acceptable meal. (Mostly because I don’t want my 2nd grader’s teacher to report me the Bad Mommy police.)

Brushing the sands of the summer beaches off my legs and strategy notebooks, I become much more aware of the clock and the calendar. A vague sense of upcoming workshops, traveling plans, and holiday events creeps into my consciousness. I know the wistful starry nights are getting shorter and colder, and soon leaves will do their cameleon-like color show and then fall gracefully to the ground, begging to be raked and thrown over the edge of our lawn toward the neighbor’s yard, ha ha.

And as I settle into this new phase of the year, checking in on where we are in our business, with our revenue projections, with this ever-fluctuating economy, with client projects, and in our development of products and services designed to help solo professionals, other “imperfect-preneurs” and determined business owners, key members of mission-driven organizations, and global brands reach their Ideal Audiences with powerful social marketing and success strategies, I can’t get the below quote out of my head. It keeps popping into my brain, demanding attention, reminding me to STAY THE COURSE, THINK BIGGER, NEVER GIVE UP, and BELIEVE in what’s possible for those of us with a message, mission, and vision bolder than most are willing to embrace or admit.

So I figured, HECK, I better share this amazing quote by Marianne Williamson, the one that keeps coming at me like a yowling pre-schooler demanding attention, on our blog. At least then, when it bolts into my brain to announce itself, I can say, “Hey- I heard ya. I shared it on my company’s instant publishing platform. If it needs to get to someone else’s brain via me, I’ve done what I can to help!”

mariannewilliamson

 

So, here it is, from me to you:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

by Marianne Williamson, author, speaker, spiritual teacher
from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles

Please, by all means, if YOU’RE one of the people who was supposed to read the above quote, or this blog post, let me know in the comment field, and/or by all means re-tweet it. Not only will you make my day, but I’ll be able to justify the crazy voices for next time. Thanks! ;)

(Getting this message to you, if it’s the thing you need to hear at the time you need to hear it, makes me feel POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE, too. And that’s the dang point, ain’t it? Defeating that pesky fear of inadequacy in order to make a positive impact in the lives of others!)