Brotherton Cadillac creates a Twitter focused campaign, Race for a Ride to raise awareness, and up to $140k for a Seattle non-profit. The idea takes donating through social media to non-profits to a whole new level, by offering one lucky tweeter a brand new car (2010 CTS).  I personally was very impressed with Brotherton Cadillac for taking the pludge into the deep end of social media to use it for good. The shiny car dealership will get a lot of buzz, and awareness, while making a difference in local non-profit and those it serves. The Race for a Ride campaign website is clean, fresh and fun. Further, type in “Race for a Ride” in Google and the first result will be Brotherton’s campaign  -  Nice SEO.

The Race for a Ride will benefit these five Seattle area non-profits:

• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
• The Moyer Foundation
• Seattle Children’s Hospital
• Arthritis Foundation
• Special Olympics Washington

Connect:

Website: RaceForARide.com & www.BrothertonCadillac.com
Twitter: @RaceForARide & @BroCadillac

Brotherton Cadillac Goes Social

Nology Media had been providing social media services to Brotherton Cadillac for a number of months. Brad Brotherton of Brotherton Cadillac had been pushing the Nology Media team to come up with ways for auto dealers to use social tools.  We wanted to develop a campaign that would highlight Brotherton Cadillac’s community involvement and philanthropic focus – with a big return for one lucky participant. The contest took four weeks to develop from inception to launch – that included on-boarding all five charities, sponsors, legal approval and website design and development.

The Idea for Race for a Ride

The idea originated from a charity golf tournament over the summer. On one of the golf holes, Brotherton Cadillac had a grand prize of a new Cadillac SUV for anyone who could make a hole in one on a difficult golf hole.  This type of contest happens all the time and almost no one ever wins.  We looked at the contest and asked ourselves – could we do something similar, but on Twitter? Race For A Ride was the idea we pitched to Brotherton Cadillac.

Tools For the Campaign

We’re using a number of commercial and proprietary listening and engagement platforms to manage outreach and engagement. Of course, Seattle’s own RowFeeder is the official data tracker of RaceForARide.

Brand & Campaign Values

Brad Brotherton, President of Brotherton Cadillac, devotes an incredible amount of time and resources to a number of local and national non-profits.

Not on Twitter? That’s okay

People may mail in entries on a 3″x5″ card. Entry by mail details are outlined in the Official Contest Rules page of the Race for a Ride website.

Strong Support Team

Nology Media developed the concept, campaign and contest for Brotherton Cadillac. Other sponsors of the contest include Seattle Met Magazine, Pacific Place, and RBC Wealth Management.

Tips for Running a Social Media Campaign for Non-Profits

Non-profits are asking to be educated on what’s possible through social media.  Start with educating them on the power of social media first and the power of the contest second. In addition, educate them on the residual benefits of increased awareness, larger lists, etc. no matter what the outcome of the contest.

Be creative – think about what’s possible, what’s not been done before, and don’t be afraid to take risks.

Connect:

Website: RaceForARide.com & www.BrothertonCadillac.com
Twitter: @RaceForARide & @BroCadillac

• True love lives in appreciation.
• Non-Profit Full of Fur, Feathers & Social Media
• 5 Lava Hot Social Media Must Reads

Fall is around the corner which for many of us brings back the memory of school starting but more importantly sports. Every year to be eligible to play sports off to the doctor kids went to get the doctor’s stamp of approval that this kid was indeed “A-Ok” to jump, run, take a few tumbles but most importantly was ready to take on what the sport required of them.

The more serious the sport required of the athlete the more throughout the checkup and the list of recommendations for training and nutrition increased.

Answer These:

Is your website in the right shape to take on what you need it to do?

Does your site meet the requirements to get the job done?

I get it. I can picture most of you thinking. “Well, maybe the site needs a face lift.”

Could you imagine if a kid went into the doctor for a sport physical and the doctor took a look at the kid dangling his feet on the examination table and said “Nike shoes, ooo nice color! Oh yea, great blue basketball shorts, and that t-shirts looks comfortable. You are good to go!” and sent the kid on his way? No way! Crazzzy talk! However, in the business world, people okay pretty websites everyday that don’t meet even the basic requirements to get the job done.

[Hops on soap box] Frequently I shake my head at local business websites with gorgeous websites that are stuffed with fancy bells and whistles but forget the simple requirements of what they want to communicate and the funnel they want their customers to start down the path of.

1. Way to contact the business on the home page: Phone number should be at the very least posted in a location that is easy for visitors to find.
2. Slow loading flash splash page: Delete it, doesn’t work on mobile devices and there is nothing on this splash page that does anything but delay the visitor from DOing what you want them to do. Like call, email or buy.
3. No SEO: Basics – unique title tags for pages, meta tags/description, alt text for images, links with titles, the basics here buddy the basics.

[end rant]

Wearing fancy clothes is not going to make someone any more in shape as slapping a bunch of new fancy design on a website is going to make you more money.

Think Simple:

Filter down the requirements of your website. Start with the very beginning, because it is a very good place to start. What do you want a visitor TO DO when they get to your site?

1. Contact you
2. Buy something
3. Sign up for something
4. Interact with the content
5. Share the content

DO = Action. Beyond just read and say “oooOOOooo… AwwwWWWwwww.”

Write a list steps a visitor would need to take to accomplish what you want. No more than 5 things you want someone to DO when they come to your website. For most small businesses they want to start the visitor down the tunnel of a purchase.

Once a year at the very least have a website physical, have a review done by someone that can offer insight on what you can improve on and make your website a better experience for your visitors and a greater positive impact on your business.Similar Posts:

• Website Fit for Social Media
• Build Websites for Flexibility
• 12 Ways to Save Time & Money On Your Next Website

Fresh, Unique Content

As a blogger, marketing person, small business with a website you need to take the “social” in social media seriously. Every day is another opportunity to experience, learn and then share. Creating fresh, unique content doesn’t need to be a chore, as it is something you are most likely already doing. If you are thinking your website is just a small fish in the ocean snap out of it. People want unique fresh content and so do search engines like Google, so give them both what they want and you will find yourself delighted to share your experiences creating value for both your visitors online and for the search engine titans.

Don’t forget what you learned in Kindergarten

It is good to share. Share, share, SHARE! Attending a conference organized by the North Mason Chamber of Commerce, where Rabbi Daniel Lapin shared his idea that “you must always be ready to tell people how you can serve them”, sticky sort of idea that when you share you are sharing knowledge that could help them, be in the mindset of sharing, and improving the lives of those around you with your experience, energy and talents. When you redesign your website, publish a whitepaper, organize an event, and even when you post on your blog post don’t be bashful – share! Share your post through Twitter, your Facebook fan page, Amplify, share through Sphinn, on industry forums and even through email lists. Also be sure to listen to your friends, other businesses and news and share their content as well. Get in the habit of sharing, appreciating and spreading the word about how you can serve.

Skip through meadows and giggle.

Spend time reading blogs related to your industry as well as your interests. If you like the post, share the content and comment on the piece. Actively engaging in commenting on other blogs has lots of great benefits, from sharing your ideas with the post, to encouraging other visitors to comment, to having a link that goes back to your website and allows the author to get to know you as well. Think of it as time to enjoy learning and interacting with authors, enjoy the time together. When commenting be sure to be genuine, and professional.

Real Estate for Friends not Ads

Your website is your vehicle on the web to promote your brand, business and ideas. Would you drive a car to your client’s office that had tons of flashy sparkly ads all over it for other companies? What if someone came up to you at a party and said “Hey, you! Look over here! Want to buy this random thing for 3 easy payments of $19.95?” Neither are “social”, nor are either example a good way to develop a clear brand. Keep your site, blog posts and social media channels clean of anything that isn’t supportive of your brand and providing value to your visitors. You only have so much space on your website, use that extra space to promote your favorite blogs, your friend’s websites and other content that would be of value to your visitors.Similar Posts:

• Social Media Trick: Schedule Content
• The Annual Website Physical
• Social Media Chocolate Lava Cake

Living in what used to be a fairly small town, Maple Valley has grown. The growth is so huge that small businesses that for years, even generations that were able to depend on word of mouth are finding themselves a bit overwhelmed competition with some big name brands. Our local Johnson’s home and Garden found itself competing with a brand new Home Depot down the road. The local bakery is now not the only place to get great baked goods. Three grocery stores, a shiny new Costco all have great breads, donuts and pastries that are frosted with convenience. The small bakeries like Cj’s Bakery and the Black Diamond Bakery are sitting in what seems to be the shadows of these big brands.

News Break: Small businesses are the economies core! In small businesses you find creativity, talent and hard working passionate and knowledgeable people that truly understand how to build great relationships. Yet, when it comes to marketing, without even bringing in terms like SEO, social media or PCC these small businesses are all hands on busy helping customers, maintaining their stores and balancing checkbooks to keep the doors open, marketing often becomes a chore job or even buried under a hundred other tasks. Most of you know, however these small businesses need to understand that Val-Pak isn’t their only or best option.

In the case of CJ’s Bakery they depend on wedding cake session. They have an amazing pink lemonade cake that with Bavarian cream in the middle amazes, inspires and makes me drool just thinking about it. Even if you lived a mile away how are you going to know about that great cake? How are you personally going to make the decision to choose CJ’s Bakery as your wedding cake maker over places like Safeway, QFC or one of the hundreds of cake makers that you will meet at a wedding show?

Shaking Hands & Kissing Babies.

There has to be time to invest in building relationships. Last time I checked a wedding cake isn’t a product that will be routinely ordered from the same customer. However, it is a great gateway product into their great coconut donuts and fresh breads. From setting up a sampling booth at the local city celebration days, and at the farmers market to offering open house evenings where people can sample and network.

Get Online

The investment of getting a website is often something that scares small businesses. Having a website built doesn’t require taking out a home equity line of credit it means, just like shoes you need to find a web designer/developer that understands the budget, needs and like a pair of shoes “fits, and wears well when you walk around” with the idea. In CJ’s case in less than a week a site could be up. Raising your eye brows? In a case like CJ’s I would recommend installing an easy CMS like WordPress that keeps costs low, creating just a couple of pages that has display photography of the cakes, store and owner and clearly post on the site the phone number, address and have a contact form. Keeping it simple keeps costs down, time to develop short and gets the message to potential customers to contact them.

Social Media?

The reason I haven’t thrown in some kind of curve ball about the importance of social media is that in this case CJ’s doesn’t have the time, talent or budget to maintain social media. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t consider social media, however I would recommend they start paying close attention to all of the online reviews about their bakery. Their online presence is being shaped by reviews on iKarma, Merchant Circle, Yelp, Wedding wire and many many other places.

Being a brick and mortar building it is important to reach out into the community, build relationships and make sure to create at least a basic web presence that clearly communicates to customers what services and or products you offer. Being online and paying attention to your business’s online reputation will only help shape your business to be competitive and stay stable even when the big brands move in.
Similar Posts:

• Social Media Chocolate Lava Cake
• Engage Foursquare Customers
• 5 Lava Hot Social Media Reads

Pleased to introduce to you an entrepreneur in the online marketing world. One who understands the benefits of search marketing, social media and collaborating with a strong supportive network. As you get to know Mark you will find his dedication is second to none, fearlessly diving into the world of his own business while running one of my favorite search marketing blogs StayOnSearch with incredible success. Mark is also a frequent writer for the well known search marketing blog Search Engine Journal.

The journey of online marketing has taken many marketing professionals through quite the storm, while Mark has been able to ride the wave and share and apply his experience to inspire and create true measurable success for businesses.

Connect with Mark!

@m_thompson | www.searchcreatively.com | stayonsearch.com | Contact

Bio:

I am originally from Buffalo, went to college in Syracuse then followed some friends down to Raleigh after I graduated college. I absolutely love living in Raleigh (not to mention the weather) and it is a great place for young business professionals. Once I moved down to Raleigh, I found a job with a SaaS company in their marketing department. Little did I know that would be the job that got me hooked onto Internet Marketing. They gave me control of a $60k/month PPC account (which I probably had no business working with at the time) and they let me learn the ropes of Google Adwords. Once I started to learn how Adwords worked, I became addicted to learning how to drive traffic to websites.

My next two jobs were both with Internet Marketing agencies where I really improved my skills as an SEO and overall marketer. I was able to take the things I have learned through reading various industry blogs/books and put them to use.

Just recently I just started my own internet marketing company called Search Creatively about 4 months ago and am in the whole entrepreneurial mode. I will say that running your own business is a lot different than just the normal 9-5 job, but is has been a fun adventure!

About StayOnSearch

I started StayOnSearch in 2008, as a way to not only help other internet marketers with things I have learned throughout my experiences, but to actually practice what I preached. As I started working with clients, I would always say you need to be adding new, fresh content to your site. When a client asked me…”Well where is your blog?” I said it was about time to start doing what I was recommending to clients.

Over the last 3-6 months, the blog has grown so much in terms of content creation, daily traffic and subscribers. I have also launched the Link Builders Toolkit, which is a an awesome reference for anyone who is involved in building links for their website or clients websites. Personally, I am really excited about the direction it has gone and have a number of great things in the mix that will be getting rolled out soon.

We are also looking for part-time bloggers to help contribute to StayOnSearch. Please contact me via the blog if you are interested in becoming a part-time blogger.

Small Businesses & SEO

Small businesses should be paying attention to SEO and Internet Marketing in general more than ever before. Here is the reason…Google, Yahoo, Bing Local Business Centers, Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, Groupon, LivingSocial, Twitter, Meetup, and the list keeps going. We are seeing that internet marketing is becoming more localized and targeted than ever before.

I think one of the hardest tasks for an agency to do, is pull small-business owners away from what they are comfortable doing. Shifting their mass-market mentalities into extremely relevant and trackable marketing. Someone who has been doing Yellow Page ads for years, is starting to see that it is not doing what it once was for them. So as Internet Marketers, we need to be educated them on the new tactics small business owners can take to reach out to their target market.

Easy SEO Wins

This probably has been said only a thousand times, but having keyword-rich title tags. Especially for a small, localized business you may be able to add a local keyword-rich title tag to your homepage and your site may show up on the 1st page of Google (of course it is not always that easy).

The other would be content, content, content….it really needs to be something that every business owner should work into their daily schedule. Have a place on your website where you can share industry ideas, events going on, company news, specials/promotions, basically anything that would help build your overall credibility and keep the site fresh and dynamic.

Social Media SEO Tips

Recently I wrote a post titled How SEO and Social Media are Joining Forces which speaks directly to the question you are asking. But to answer your question in short, it goes back to again…CONTENT. Yes social media is a way to build relationships with other people in your industry, but it is also a great way to spread your content and keep people coming back to your site. If you have new blog posts, tools, whitepapers, videos, inforgraphics, etc…you can leverage the social media presence you have been building to drive people to your site/blog.

The other thing would be to try and optimize what you are saying in your Tweets and social profile updates. Mention other peoples Twitter profiles (@twitterhandle), share other peoples content, use keyword-rich titles along with headlines that are compelling. Don’t forget many social profile pages and upates are being indexed by the search engines, and I only see that playing a larget role in organic search in the future.

Mark Thompson Offline

I got married last year and have two awesome dogs (lab/retriver mix and aussie/boarder collie mix).

I am a huge sports fanatic (unfortunately it is the Buffalo Bills, but at least I am loyal) so I tend to be watching some sporting event going on.

I love to travel when I have the opportunity and visiting new places I have never been before.

Two People to Follow on Twitter

Kristi Hines
Twitter: @kikolani
Website: Kikolani.com

Ann Smarty
Twitter:@seosmarty
Websites: MyBlogGuest.com & SearchEngineJournal.com

Two people who are extremely genuine and love to help others in the industry. Personally I try to surround myself with positive people who are passionate about what they do. Kristi and Ann are definitely two that fit the bill and I have enjoyed getting to know them both.

Connect with Mark!

@m_thompson | www.searchcreatively.com | stayonsearch.com | Contact

Read More Interviews

Eric Goldstein – CEO of Amplify

Kyle Lacy – CEO of Brandswag

Mack Collier – Social Media Consultant

Nadine – Owner of Curious Light

Raven Pratt – Search Marketing Expert with Raven Tools

Joanna Lord – Director at SEOmoz

Similar Posts:

• Find The Best Tweeters
• Listening – Pillar of Social Media
• Meet Kyle Lacy – CEO of Brandswag

Technology has given us an unlimited amount of potential to market, share ideas, build community and drive our world closer than ever before. One of the great inspirations in my life is a young woman that even today uses social media, her expertise in SEO and online marketing to aid her passion to literally change the world.

This is a snap shot into a story of faith, determination and standing up for what you believe in. I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know someone who has truly been able to utilize social media, seo and technology to shape the world we live in.

The Formula:

SEO/Social Media expertise + Passion + Network + Website + Wet Paint + Press = Join the Impact

On November 15, 2008 a worldwide protest took place in over 400 cities in every state in the country and in ten countries around the world. The protest was attended by an estimated one million people worldwide.

The Back Story:

A couple of years ago I found myself in a whirl wind of needs from a local startup company. I was lucky enough to find myself well supported in a team of highly energetic, talented and creative individuals. One of those individuals had an unlimited amount of faith my potential as well as appreciated the joy I found and expressed for online marketing. She was my first experience with a true “SEO expert”.  She created a platform that would overtime make that particular company lots and lots and lots of money.  As well as carve out a competitive edge for the company using SEO, social media and blogging as key channels for small businesses around the country.

Every morning she came in with a spunky carefree attitude. The whole office loved her, admired her however had no idea that she was about to shape the world with her skills and passion. I never for a second doubted that this young woman would do anything pave a legacy of ridiculous epic proportions.

Who is this wonder woman? Her name is Amy Balliet. Her passion for equality, determination, and appreciation for her community became a voice for change. Creating space for people to be themselves and becoming an idol of what life is really about, relationships and love.

To this day I am personally inspired by Amy. She is not only a woman to watch, but to join in her journey as she hammers and forges the world we share into a better place.

>> Read more on the success of Amy & Join the Impact
Prop 8 Exclusive: Young gay marriage activist leads national protests
Meet Amy Balliett: Prop 8 Activist Taking on the SystemSimilar Posts:

• Share by Storytelling
• True love lives in appreciation.
• Meet Kyle Lacy – CEO of Brandswag

Sure plastic filled eggs with candy inside is okay, what is better is finding clues that lead you to win an Apple iPad.
RavenHunt II is officially live!  Follow Raven Tools on Twitter & Facebook to get TWO riddles daily that give you the clues to the ultimate winning word.  Join at anytime! All riddles will remain live for you to comb through.

Each day you will be given at least one letter that will spell the ultimate winning word and you will uncover the name of the next clue location.

The juicy part is the prizes of course:

• Apple iPad
• 1 year Pro subscription to Raven Tools
• Premium Membership to Search Engine Land
• Copy of The New Community Rules by Tamar Weinberg
• Copy of Web Analytics 2.0 by Avinash Kaushik
• Official RavenHunt t-shirt
  And more!

Good luck you creative sleuths!

Find out more about RavenHunt.

Similar Posts:

• Enticing Late Adopters, Like me.
• Find The Best Tweeters
• Meet Eric Goldstein – CEO of Amplify

Humor, wit, energy, experience, natural talent and a splash of pure genius is what you get when you meet Taylor Pratt. With a passion for working with people, SEO Marketing turned out to be his glass slipper – the perfect fit. His energy, positive outlook as caught my attention and I am thrilled to be able to introduce him to you.

Be sure to connect with Taylor. He is one of those people you can quickly connect with, be inspired by and learn a great deal from.

Connect with Taylor

@RavenPratt | Blog: raventools.com/blog | /in/taylorpratt| Email

What is SEO?

SEO For All Business Sites

SEO Focus Points

Responding to Online & Social Media Marketing Hesitant

Who is Taylor Pratt Offline?

BEST Content Management Tool

Working with Andy Beal

Excitement of SEO

Two Favorite Websites:

• Twitter – this has been the best way for me to meet new professionals in the industry, to keep existing relationships in tact and to stay up to date on the latest developments/news/tips/tricks in the Internet marketing world

• Lifehacker – I think Lifehacker is my favorite blog, and thus it is vital to me. Lifehacker really lets me express my inner geek and is a nice break from the work day to keep me sane

Two Most Inspiring Tweeters

The first one that comes to mind is Casey Yandle (@cyandle). Casey does everything I’d like to do with my Twitter account: he’s super friendly, interacts with everyone and on a consistent basis answers peoples questions and posts great resources.

I’d say the second one is Lisa Barone (@lisabarone). Lisa has done an amazing job at establishing her personal and professional brand and I am always inspired by her wit, writing style and opinions.

I hope to one day harness the awesomeness of both Casey and Lisa on Twitter.

Career Vision

Staying Inspired

It’s a combination of my faith and my perfectionism. My faith is something that keeps me motivated each day, and something I am most proud of and most important to me. It’s something that is part of my daily life and something that I make my decisions around. I consider myself a perfectionist because I have high expectations for myself and for anything I work on. I was raised to always do something you’re proud of, and that is something I strive to do with everything I work on. Whether it be a press release or working on how to improve Raven, I’m putting my all into it.

Connect with Taylor

@RavenPratt | Blog: raventools.com/blog | /in/taylorpratt| Email

Similar Posts:

• Meet Mack Collier – Social Media Consultant
• Online Strategy Forget-Me-Nots
• Know Your Social Media Facts

Meet one of my favorite social media, SEO, Search Marketing — you name it all around super star marketing ladies. Drum roll please for Joanna Lord!

Meeting and following Joanna through Twitter has been incredibly inspiring.  You will find her attitude to be positive, upbeat and—my favorite—genuine.

For the past two years Joanna has been an internet marketing consultant while launching her own site at YourJobStop.com, a job board for job seekers trying to gain an advantage through using social media. Recently she has taken a job as the Director of Customer Acquisition and Engagement at SEOmoz.org, a Seattle-based SEO software company.

I asked Joanna to share her thoughts on a variety of topics and she was kind enough write the responses you’ll find below.

A big thank you to Joanna for this excellent interview.

Connect with Joanna

@JoannaLord | Blog: www.joannalord.com | /in/joannalord

The Pros & Cons of Twitter:

Ha. I could go on for hours about this to be honest, but when you really nail it down I think the pro of Twitter is the con of Twitter. It is a new form of communication that enables you to connect at all hours of the day with as many people as you choose to connect with. The motivations behind that are what make Twitter either a great resource or a complete drain on your time. For me Twitter is an amazing marketing tool. I have always said it is above all a visibility engine. You can use it to push links, to drive traffic, to draw attention to a cause, or to get user generated feedback. On the negative side I do believe Twitter has saturated the value of the opportunities listed above. Anytime a new tool is discovered there will be a subset of people that abuse its value. Twitter has enabled certain people, companies, and brands to spam us, insincerely engage, and inflate their value with little to sustain certain claims. Just like any tool before it I believe Twitter holds an unprecedented value for those that use it correctly, and can be a dangerous advantage for those that abuse it. But for my uses I see Twitter as nothing but a great way to research things, learn new things, share what I’ve learned, and connect with others in an informal yet personal way.

Social Media Helping Professionally:

Like many of my marketing counterparts I have to admit that there are FEW ways it hasn’t helped me professionally. Marketers have the unique opportunity to use social media in two very important ways– to assist us in building other brands while also building our own brand. Social media has helped me broaden my professional network and strengthen my personal safety net of friends. I also use social networks as search engines throughout the day. These networks are key resources when it comes to competitive research, audience segmentation, not to mention they are a focal point in all of my press relation initiatives for brands or clients. I look at social media as an old rolodex on steroids, and if used correctly it can take anyone’s career and help them rebrand, revamp, and succeed in ways previously untouched.

Advice to Those Interested in Entering into Online Marketing

I actually get asked this one a lot and over the years my answer has stayed the same for the most part—learn as much as you can from wherever you can. Absorb it all. Read blogs, books, watch videos, attend conferences—do whatever your budget allows for. The more you expose yourself to, the more you understand the trends, the underlying strategies, and the foundational components to online marketing. As much and as quickly as it changes, some pieces really stay the same and by constantly exposing yourself to new information you can begin to gain a marketer’s perspective that will allow you to adapt as online marketing continues to evolve.

Dealing with  Negative Engagement

I am going to be honest here and say that I don’t have as much experience in handling negative comments on a blog as I do in handling just negative brand attention in general. I think everyone needs to know their answer to this question “Where do I stand on transparency?” For me personally I believe in engaging when the outcome could add a value that has yet to be explored. There are times on Twitter where I may get negative backlash on a personal statement, or on a client’s account and I don’t engage unless the discussion is a worthy one. Some people would say well if I am deciding what is worthy isn’t that bias? Maybe. However I really focus as much of my online efforts as I can on one thing—return. I see every discussion, exchange, conversation online as some sort of spend—time, information, energy, money, etc. What kind of return comes out of a negative exchange of personal opinions that send readers in circles? Not much. Now if they have a valuable point and exploring it in a public arena can shed light on a topic…that is a return. A great return. I handle them when they need handling in a professional manner, and I don’t engage where I feel it would offer no value for me, them, or the online community.

Staying relevant in PPC, SEO and Social Media

Ha. It’s hard right?! Our industry more than any other is constantly moving, changing, shifting, combining, and on and on…for me reading blogs and attending conferences has been a huge advantage by staying up-to-date on this industry. I also take great interest in the entrepreneurial community. If you actually look at the people I follow on Twitter or the people I exchange with daily you will be surprised to see that it’s not as many big names as you would think. I am always amazed by what newbies are doing, what they are trying, and what is working. They have a fresh perspective to the space that has loads to offer. So for me I really think it’s a matter of staying involved with your space now while keeping an eye on the new sites, networks, ideas, and technologies that are gaining momentum.

Top 2 Twitter Inspirations

Oh wow just two huh? Okay so…Ian Lurie (@portentint) has got to be one of them. He is a marketing consultant and the primary over at Conversation Marketing. Ian’s tweet stream is an exact replica of the man himself—it is full of amazing industry insights, great data from specific applications of complex marketing initiatives, and laced in there is a humor you will come to depend on. He has a unique ability to make me laugh in 6 words or less. He also offers up his moments of personal frustration which remind me that we are all in this together just doing what we can, trying our hardest. I definitely suggest following him. Second one would be Mack Collier (@mackcollier). He is a social media consultant for both small and large companies. His blog has been a favorite of mine for some time. Mack’s stream is a great example of what it means to really dedicate yourself to the potential of Twitter. He not only sends out great information keeping a personal voice, but heads up Sunday night #blogchat on Twitter which is a group conversation via Twitter on rotating topics related to online marketing, content, and social media. He is dedicated to bringing the community together in hopes of combining great brainpower. Mack has been an inspiration to me and many others for years.

Overcoming Objections to Social Media Marketing?

There are so many different objections to social media marketing. Whereas before people questioned if it had value, now they question can the value be quantified. I have a sneaky suspicion that the next argument will be in the form of backlash—has the industry swayed too far toward social and cannibalized the other channels at a detriment? Whatever the latest objection is I usually just take it with a grain of salt. For clients I do the usual competitive analysis and show them where they are missing out on conversations, action potential, and return. To the actual people who pose a question, like at a conference or over a glass of wine (yes that happens), I usually just blanket statement them with “well it has a lot of value; you can either explore it or ignore it.” I am a believer that social media holds value for anyone simply because it’s another way to hold a conversation, and from all my experience in interpersonal communication and marketing I can honestly say—communicating will always be more valuable than being silent. Silence is a key ingredient in chaos—chaos personally, chaos for a brand, etc. Social media is just another tool to help brands and users break the silence.

You Are a Superhero Marketing, PPC and Social Media Wonder Woman! Who is Joanna offline?

Okay I almost didn’t answer this because I in NO WAY am a superhero of marketing. But I will admit that I am a busy lady online. Offline…I think it really depends when you catch me. Some days I am kind of a nut—way too sarcastic, way too caffeinated, and way too curious. Other days—I sleep in, wander quietly, and just take it all in. I’m still trying to find the balance in it all…just like everyone else I suspect.

What keeps you inspired?

Finally an easy one! My family. My mom and dad raised us to know we can do anything if we work hard enough, my two brothers remind me to stay grounded and enjoy simple things, and my sister…well she is perhaps the best friend anyone could ever ask for. Anytime life gets crazy online all I have to do is call her and none of it matters. Everything online just stays online, and I am transported to some place with no inboxes, deadlines, or ROIs. Family for sure…best inspiration out there.

Connect with Joanna

@JoannaLord | Blog: www.joannalord.com | /in/joannalord

• Meet Kyle Lacy – CEO of Brandswag
• 5 Lava Hot Social Media Reads
• Find The Best Tweeters