Feb 2012

11

How Pinterest Will Really Change the World

by Lani Voivod

Yes, Pinterest is HOT. (January made it the fastest-growing stand-alone site ever, with its 10 million, invite-only beta users driving more traffic to third-party sites than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn…combined!)

Yes, it can be used to boost brands, build communities, increase product sales, drive business, yada yada yada. Everything can, with the right approach and creative gusto. Those who think otherwise are nostalgic for a simpler time, when Ad Investment X led to Measurable Result Y, so they could have dry martini lunches, schmooze with other wildly left-brained folks, and get their kicks with spreadsheet porn. Or else, they’re active proponents and underwriters of SOPA.

(To see how Pinterest can be used for businesses, check out the resources and articles listed below, at the end of this post.)

But it’s more than a social network. More than an ecommerce tool. More than the next feral rave for the wifi generation and app addicted.

Pinterest is a metaphysical triumph for the masses.

Pinterest is a metaphysical TRIUMPH for the masses.For the past couple of years, some of Palo Alto’s finest investors and innovators have been standing on the shoulders of social giants, playing with possibilities, and creating an intuitive, elegantly designed, utterly addictive petri dish for the next wave of human connectivity.

They’ve watched how 800 million Facebook users have turned six degrees of separation into 3.74 degrees of separation.

They’ve seen YouTube become the second most popular search engine on the interweb.

They’ve witnessed the real-time collective consciousness that is Twitter facilitate breaking news, 140-character conversations, and asinine memes faster than any established media outlet around.

And while Flickr, TwitPic, Instagram, and other photo sharing options and platforms nabbed eyeballs, served communities, hosted minutiae, and cataloged memories well enough, they couldn’t help but notice there wasn’t a real easy, breezy, effortless way to cater to our image-driven, connection-hungry souls.

We are not only a visually-stimulated culture. We are, at our core, an image-rooted species.

From the symbols and crude pics of the cave dwellers, through the Renaissance, right up to the inspired works of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, we know this: We have within us, on a cellular level, the knowledge and understanding of common archetypes. These archetypes reach across time and culture through symbols, storytelling, and imagery, straight into the heart of the human psyche.

Sure, thanks to the Gutenberg Press, then newspapers, then blogging, we got a little wordy there for a few hundred years or so.

But Pinterest is bringing us back home.

Pin it to win it!

Pinterest has created a place where we can ditch the stuffy formalities, verbal vomit, and imperfect grammar, and act on instinct. It’s giving us a place to get out of our heads and into our guts. Pinterest is letting us SEE who we are, FEEL what we can’t help but feel, and ACT on impulse, without apology. What’s more, it’s letting us get quick visual glimpses of the friends we know, and the world of friends, places, and possibilities we have yet to experience, but are suddenly right there, right in front of us, ripe for the taking, if that’s how we choose to go.

Pinterest will change the world not because, disclosure or not, it’s one of the only social startups that has figured out how to profit from its platform in its first couple years on the scene.

Pinterest will change the world because it has created the first beautiful, easy, scalable, user-generated, interest-connecting, full-throttle VISION BOARDING paradise.

If you’re a skeptic on the power of vision boarding, read this article by Martha Beck – What The Heck’s A Vision Board—and How Can It Change Your Life? - on Oprah.com.

The need-to-know excerpt is as follows:

To really work, a vision board has to come not from your culture but from your primordial, nonsocial self—the genetically unique animal/angel that contains your innate preferences.

When you start assembling pictures that appeal to this deep self, you unleash one of the most powerful forces on our planet: human imagination. Virtually everything humans use, do, or make exists because someone thought it up. Sparking your incredibly powerful creative faculty is the reason you make a vision board. The board itself doesn’t impact reality; what changes your life is the process of creating the images—combinations of objects and events that will stick in your subconscious mind and steer your choices toward making the vision real.

If you know the truth about how our minds work, and how what we focus on expands, and how our consciousness really, honestly, quantum-physicist-proven DOES shape reality, then you’ll understand why Pinterest is the next game changer for humankind.

Fill your mind with images that fuel your imagination, stimulate your thinking, expand your concept of what’s here AND what’s possible, and NEW, BETTER, EVER MORE AWESOME THINGS are well on their way to becoming reality.

Give this power to millions of unique, social, creative, inspired people, and the whole dang world is in for a ginormous, mind-blowing surprise.

At the very least, I know I’m going to take this Pinterest ball and run with it. Sure hope you join me!

- @LaniVoivod :)

A few of Lani Voivod's Boards on Pinterest.com

*~*~*~*~*

GOOD READS  & RESOURCES ON PINTEREST:

Here’s a nice, convenient sample of online chatter and fodder to get you hip on the Pinterest pulse…

Feb 2012

9

The Great Facebook Revolution of 2012 (Wanna Join Us?!)

by Lani Voivod

“So many social media channels, so little time.”

So often, this is the mindset we all adopt when we’re trying to work IN our businesses while working ON our businesses at the very same time.

The choices are endless. The opportunities are astounding. The tweaks and engagement and upgrades and app-tastic add-ons are never, ever, EVER done.

This is true in any business that’s making a difference – and hoping to make some revenue – in this day and age. And it’s most certainly the case with OUR business, one that’s devoted to social media discovery, possibilities, and potential. We’re constantly learning about the latest strategies, sites, gadgets, resources, and leaders who are taking this wild economy to the next phase of its evolution. What’s more, we do our best to share what we learn with our clients, networks, and online audience.

In life and in business, when we’re seeking to do better, one of the tried-and-true methods is to look at the people we respect and admire. What are they doing right? How are they blowing our minds? What’s grabbing at their attentions? What motivates them, and are their passions and purpose aligned with our own long-held values and vision?

Lani, Mari, and AllenFor us, especially in social media and also in business in general, Mari Smith is one of the people we count on without reservation and with unbridled gratitude. She has access to some of the greatest entrepreneurs and business leaders in the world today. She identifies trends before they break. She nurtures her relationships with her heart flung open and her blue eyes smiling, and does her best to serve her audience, no matter where they meet her, or what level they’re at.

Oh, and the woman KNOWS Facebook and its applications for business like few others on the planet.

(Maybe, just maybe, Zuck himself could take her in a Facebook tete-a-tete, but we wouldn’t bet the farm on it!)

Which is why we have taken every opportunity to work with her in some capacity since 2009. We’ve joined global mastermind groups led by Mari, we’re grandfathered into her “Inner Circle” program, and we spent a big chunk of 2011 in an elite mentoring program, where we spent a few days at her home with a dozen other heart-centered visionaries and passionate professionals from around the world learning, laughing, and sharing in profound and wonderful ways.

Frankly, we don’t know how else we would keep up with the constant flow of information, shifts, and Facebook game-changers without having access to one trusted soul who gives, gives, GIVES with such decisive intelligence and insight.

Yes, there are tons of bloggers, speakers, media, and businesses shooting off their latest opinions about Facebook and all the other social networking hubs cruising the scene. But by far, Mari is the one who has proven to us time and time again that she’s got her finger on the pulse of what’s going on, why it’s important, and how best to navigate the chaos.

Mari Smith's Extreme Fanbase Growth for FacebookWhich is why we are inviting you to be part of Mari’s latest program: Extreme Fanbase Growth.

This brand-new training program starts on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, “the day of LOVE,” and for good reason.

The goal is to:

  • Really, really get to know and use Facebook (the most popular social networking site in the world) to its full potential
  • Invite people to LOVE your brand, products, and services
  • Radically, systematically uplevel your business AND BOTTOM LINE.

There are specific steps you need to take, and there are countless short-cuts, strategies, and tactics you can implement ASAP to engage your audience, improve your reach, boost your visibility, and separate yourself from your competition, once and for all.

Mari is fun, fearless, and fired up to share what she knows with the 1000+ entrepreneurs, leaders, and business professionals who’ve already signed up to take this powerful Facebook crash course. We are soooo looking forward to the adventure, and we want you to come along with us.

Are you in?

(Say YES to your Facebook success today!!!)

Jan 2012

9

[Video] The Value of YouTube’s “Description” Field

by Allen Voivod

Allen Voivod Shares a YouTube Tip From Greg JarboeYes, that’s me, wearing the wig while sitting outside a Boloco in Concord, NH and talking about a little-used YouTube secret that can boost you up in their search results. It came from Greg Jarboe, author of YouTube Marketing: An Hour a Day, but it’ll only take you a minute to watch the video inspired by his session at a previous Social Media Success Summit.

If the place where you’re reading this doesn’t pull the video through, don’t fret. Just jump over to our YouTube Channel to check it out. As of this writing, we’ve got 92 videos posted there, chock full of tips, tricks, and strategies for you. If YouTube is a place you like to play, please subscribe to get notified when we post the latest and greatest!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFjOGx_Js3w

Jan 2012

6

Happy Day of Epiphany 2012!

by Allen Voivod

Jacob Sokol of SensophyHappy Day of Epiphany to you! To celebrate this powerful day, we thought we’d share a little something different. It’s Jacob Sokol,who started Sensophy as a way to help people live extraordinary lives. In his words:

I used to work for an awesome IT company as a computer network consultant in Times Square NYC. I made a nice living enjoying all the cliché token things a “successful” 26 year old would want: A sweet ass apartment, a cool car, a fast motorcycle, a wardrobe that changed with the seasons, fancy dinners with friends, and some extra spending cash for Friday and Saturday nights.

What I didn’t have was an enthusiastic feeling when my day began. All the new techy toys in the world wouldn’t take away that feeling of “Damn, I gotta’ go through this routine again today!”

Everything changed in 2009 when I took 5 weeks off from work to backpack throughout Europe, alone! I came back to New York City a changed man and slowly started to figure out how I would alter my life accordingly…

Get a taste of his energy and enthusiasm for his new purpose in life with this video, The 12 Habits of Happy People. It’s derived from Sonya Lyubomirsky‘s book The How of Happiness, and as you watch it, please ask yourself:

If I practiced these 12 things, one per month for the next 12 months, how much more awesome would my 2012 be?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efx9OYNGmS0

In case you’ve got sensitive ears, be warned – the occasional expletive is dropped in here. Don’t let it take you away from the message. And if you’re reading this somewhere where the video didn’t pull through, you can check it out on YouTube, or at Jacob’s site.

Jan 2012

4

Get Your PR Mojo Rising (Special for New Hampshire Pros)

by Allen Voivod

Savvy Workshop PR BootcampHey there hi there ho there, and Happy Wednesday to you! Have you hit the ground running this year? Or were the first couple days just what you needed to gear up? Drop us a comment and let us know!

Here at Epiphanies, we’re firing on all cylinders so far. We’ve got a couple of cool announcements coming this week, and here’s the first of them. Allen will be part of a Q&A panel (and also presenting for a short bit o’ time) at a PR Bootcamp in Manchester, NH later this month. Thanks to Lisa Landry of Print Savvy and the Savvy Workshop for putting this event together (and for inviting us to be a part of it!). They do monthly in-person workshops on various marketing topics – check ‘em out on Facebook to see what else they’ve got planned for 2012.

But as for the PR Bootcamp in a couple of weeks, here’s the official scoop from the Savvy Workshop headquarters:

Get your PR off the ground with the Savvy PR Pros
Our panel of top notch professionals will get you in top PR form!

  • Discover how to create strong and strategical foundational messaging that can be applied across all media to cement your brand identity.
  • Learn the basics of how to write and format compelling press releases that will stay on message and get picked up by media outlets.
  • Find out how to craft creative story pitches and work with your local media (not against them!)
  • Learn how to plan media campaigns and negotiate the best rates for every dollar you invest in paid advertising.
  • Hear from Media Relations experts about how they work to earn their clients media coverage through story pitches and expert commentary.
  • Leverage social media outlets such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and others new media to get your story noticed…and published!
  • Develop a PR strategy that includes event participation and speaking engagements for positioning you and your business as the “go to” experts in your industry.

10AM-2PM  January 20, 2012 Lunch is included. $40.00 Register: http://www.savvypr.eventbrite.com

Meet Our Experts:

Monica Bardier, PingPR Owner/President

Award winning marketing and public relations executive Monica Bardier is Owner & President of PingPR, a public relations driven marketing communications agency that provides fully integrated multidisciplinary services including social media that build awareness and sales for its clients. Prior to starting PingPR, Monica worked as the VP of Communications at a leading advertising agency in New Hampshire, strategizing and implementing marketing and public relations campaigns for more than a dozen of the agency’s top accounts in hospitality, healthcare, finance, education, legislative and more. Monica was Director of Community Relations at Catholic Medical Center, one of the state’s leading acute-care hospitals; there, she was recognized as the top public relations professional among her peers by the New England Society of Healthcare Professionals for her public relations work surrounding the announcement of the hospital’s da Vinci Robotics. Monica has a strong television news producing background based on a 10-year career at WMUR-TV Channel 9, New Hampshire’s largest television station. Under her leadership as Executive News Producer, the station won its first Emmy from the National Television Academy of Arts & Sciences for Breaking News coverage.

Dale Allaire, Bridgeview Marketing/Founder and Managing Partner

Dale is a founding partner of BridgeView Marketing, is responsible for managing marketing communications, lead generation and media relations campaigns for high-technology clients across a wide variety of market sectors. A 20-year sales, public relations, analyst relations, branding and marketing veteran. Dale has developed and coordinated all aspects of direct marketing, channel marketing, public relations, analyst relations, customer relations, internal communications, sales and lead-generation and has worked for such companies as Cabletron Systems, Nortel Networks, SilverBack Technologies and Pannaway Technologies. Bridgeview provides high-tech organizations with the sales, PR and marketing resources traditionally associated with larger corporate agencies—but with the responsive, high-touch customer care and value of a boutique firm. Dale’s experience and knowledge has fueled the creation of a truly unique agency model which combines the core services that any high-tech organization needs to bridge the gap between sales and marketing.

Allen Voivod, Epiphanies, Inc. / Co-Owner

Hailed as “visionary” and “two of the most creative thinkers in the industry” by the NH Division of Economic Development, Allen and his wife/business partner Lani Voivod share powerful social marketing and success strategies through speaking, events, webinars, workshops and their own online channels. Their company, Epiphanies, Inc., is in the business of engaging leaders, inspiring entrepreneurs and redefining what’s possible for bold brands, innovation businesses and mission-driven organizations in this dynamic, relationship-driven world.

Jan 2012

2

Safety in Numbers: The Crowdsouring of Inspiration [Video]

by Allen Voivod

Allen Voivod, presenting on Crowdsourcing in NH2012 may be the right time to start putting the power of the crowd to work for you.

But how, you may ask? For what business function, and in what industries? Can it work for any business or organization, anywhere, anytime?

So many questions, and only 19 minutes to answer them. So I took my best shot last month, and the video below is the result. From the Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency to a New Hampshire based singer-songwriter, from a real estate development project to a youth retention initiative, and dozens of points in between, here’s a breezy overview of how a wide variety of folks are putting people to work and getting amazing results.

This was originally presented at the 16th Annual New Hampshire Economic Development Summit, and if the video below doesn’t load for you, please hop over to our YouTube channel to give it a listen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECK4m2c5dqI

Dec 2011

19

Chris Brogan Shares His 3 “H”s for Success in Business – Social or Otherwise

by Allen Voivod

Allen Voivod and Chris Brogan at Podcamp Boston 6Whether you use social media in your business…

Whether social media IS your business…

Or you’re a passionate professional in any business…

Chris Brogan has some great advice to share about being successful in whatever you do.

At Epiphanies, Inc., we talk about “Margin Mantras” – 2-3 keywords we write in the literal or virtual margins of what ever project we’re working on, to help keep us focused. The three words Chris shares in this 90-second video could serve as a Margin Mantra for you in your own professional efforts.

Chris was kind enough to record this at PodCamp Boston 6 for attendees at the “A-Ha!” NH Social Media Business Summit earlier this year, and now you get to see it here! Or, here, if the place where you’re reading this doesn’t pull the embedded video along with it. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuRtsVlU-sM

Want more of Chris? He’s posting great stuff at ChrisBrogan.com, and also at his biz, Human Business Works.

Dec 2011

7

[Video] The Skinny on Using Twitter Hashtags at Events, Conferences, and Workshops

by Allen Voivod

Lani Voivod, Co-owner and Ally in Possibility at Epiphanies, Inc.Can you possibly meet everyone you want to meet when attending a trade show, conference, or seminar?

Are there people you’ve never heard of, but if you had, you know you’d want to connect with them?

And what about the events you can’t attend personally? Is there a way to connect with other interested professionals, even if you’re stuck somewhere else?

You bet there is!

It’s through the Twitter back channel, and you can access it through the magic of the hashtag. Not hip to it yet? Lani can tell you everything you need to get started using them, and she can do it in less than three minutes flat. Don’t believe me? Here’s the proof, shot outside the Boston Marriott Burlington, after the Awareness/Exploring Social Media Business Summit in October 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM9FVTk4fmo

And if you can’t see Lani’s smiling face and expressive hand gestures on whatever device or platform you’re using to check this out, here’s the original YouTube link for you – thanks in advance for making the jump!

Dec 2011

5

[Video] How to Build Relationships With 12,000 Facebook Likers

by Allen Voivod

Paul Boynton, author of "Begin With Yes"Can you actually have real relationships with your Facebook Likers – and can you keep it up when your Liker base grows into the tens of thousands?

Paul Boynton, an award-winning human services CEO and author of “Begin With Yes” says – wait for it… – “Yes!” We’ve known Paul for a few years now, and his is a happily practical, action-focused positivity. Consider this: The Begin With Yes Facebook Page‘s “People are talking about this” interaction rate is nearly 3x higher than Dr. Wayne Dyer’s interaction rate, despite Wayne having 577,000 Likers compared to Paul’s 12,000. It seems Paul must be doing something right!

At a recent TEDx event Lani and Paul both attended, Lani asked Paul to share the secret of his Facebook Page growth, which he kindly did in this brief video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv93OX2R8-4

If you’re reading this someplace where you can’t see the embedded video, a hop, skip ‘n click to our YouTube Channel will do the trick!

Nov 2011

28

[Video] Get Hip to “Line of Sight” Marketing Metrics, Courtesy of Christopher S. Penn

by Allen Voivod

Christopher S. Penn of What Counts and Awaken Your SuperheroIt’s beginning to look a lot like planning season for businesses! With 2012 just around the corner, now’s a great time to start thinking about what you’ll be doing for your business or organization in the next 12 months, and how you’ll be able to track your performance at the end of next year.

Christopher S. Penn, the Director of Strategy at WhatCounts, knows a little something about that topic. More than a little something, in fact! So we asked him to boil down his best bit of advice and deliver it in less than two minutes. He rose to the challenge with this terrific riff on what he calls “Line of Sight” marketing metrics. This was first shared with attendees at the 3rd Annual “A-Ha!” NH Social Media Business Summit back in October, and now, we’re thrilled to be able to share Chris’ tips with you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPGjmr8o8t8

(If you can’t see the embedded video from wherever you’re reading this, just take a quick click trip to our YouTube channel to see it. And heck, why not subscribe while you’re there?)

BTW, this interview was recorded at Podcamp Boston 6 in September 2011, which was a fantastic event. If you’re anywhere near the area, we highly recommend checking it out next year!

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