At a recent social media workshop I attended, I heard the presenter make a point that really resonated with me. She had been discussing the need for a potential client to have a social media page. The person was resistant to that suggestion, the reason being that all of their business was word of mouth and, therefore, social media would not be helpful. The presenter's response was that social media is the new word of mouth.  The more I thought about that, the more I realized that she was right.

How many of us have Facebook or Twitter accounts and have checked out a business simply because we saw that someone else "liked" or "followed" it? Or seen a post about someone's new dress, stove, car, etc. and asked where they got it?  I have on a regular basis. And I have eventually made purchases from some of those businesses.  A "like" is akin to an endorsement from a friend.  Social media really is the new word of mouth.

No matter whether your customer base comprises consumers or other businesses, social media could likely benefit you.

What is Blogging?

First, let's start by defining what blogging really is. Easier said than done. In my opinion, a blog has two components:

1. The content is regularly updated, rather than being static, with content arranged chronologically.
2. Readers can interact with the content through comments, voting, social sharing, etc.

Not all blogs are updated daily or even weekly. Not all blogs have posts that are structured in a traditional format. Not all blogs have comments open. Not all blogs feature Twitter/Facebook/etc. share buttons. Some blogs feature the author's opinions very prominently. Others are more objective news sources.

Your Blog Content

Despite the inability to firmly describe what defines a blog, one thing is certain: you can't have a blog without content. Individual pieces of content are called "blog posts." You can also record video posts or podcasts.

You can also blog in a more journal style. Online diaries are extremely difficult to monetize unless you're a celebrity or well-known personality, but there are no rules to blogger. You can write about whatever you want.

Your Blogging Goals

I always recommend that brand new bloggers start by defining your blogging goals, since that will dictate the type of content you write, your monetization efforts, etc. Here are some goals you might have:

• Teach others something you know
• Inspire readers in a certain area
• Provide entertainment
• Promote a business, product ,or service
• Establish yourself as an expert in your field
• Make money online
• Vent your feelings and voice your opinions
• Network with other people in a specific niche

Many blogs do more than one things on the above list, but it helps to establish your main goal so you can ensure that every single blog post you write helps you achieve that main goal. A good way of figuring out what you goal is to ask yourself this: When my readers think of me and my blog, what impression do I want in their minds?

Do you want to be the opinionated girl who teaches others about gardening? Do you want to be the blog that has the awesome country music community? Do you want to be the go-to source for information about new ice cream products?

We get this question a lot from our clients. Here's a recent scenario and how we suggested to handle it.

A client was interested in directly communicating with fans as they like their business page. Each week they get a Facebook Insight report and it tells them how many more fans they gained in that week. If they get 10 likes in a week, they wanted to know how to sort them so they can send a direct message to the fan thanking them.

Here's one way of accomplishing this using our page as an example. In this case, we received 7 likes in this week's time frame.

I opened our Facebook fan page and went down on the left column and clicked the "like this" hyperlink.

This opened my Insights page. I then clicked "See Likes"

This then opened up my Fan Dialog window. This list is in order from newest to oldest Likes. So I simply count backwards.

Then i simply click on their name, which brings me to their Facebook profile page and I send them a direct message thanking them for being a fan and then asking questions in which I am interested in collecting data including:

• Why did you choose to like our page?
• How did you come about learning about our page?
• What would you like to see posted on our page?

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to export this list into a format that you could use more efficiently. You probably have to do this manually, which is tedious if you have a lot of fans. (Highlighting all and copy/pasting into an Excel sheet isn't as easy as it should be either, as every other line will say 'Make Admin.' But if you are patient, it can be done.)

There is a lot more to being a successful business than just knowing your specialty skills... ESPECIALLY if you are the owner of that business.

For me, I have naturally always had strengths in communication, design, marketing and understanding the larger picture of a scenario. But having owned my own business for almost a decade now, has definitely required me to step out of my comfort zone on many an occasion.

My Income Detail relates to my P&L and therefore there is a cash projection of what as it relates to my sales funnel? LOL Any of this sound familiar?

Well, being a member of TAB (The Alternative Board) now for over 3 years really has helped me grow my business in countless ways. Whether it be on understanding financials, staffing questions, strategic business leadership, goals or just having a caring group of other business owners support me through all the ups and downs of business ownership... Seriously, TAB is the answer!

By Lindsay Gallmann

January 2012 - a clean slate.  How will you use it?  Developing an annual marketing plan is one way to start the year off on the right foot.  And a plan balanced in structure and flexibility will pave the way for your journey through a year of triumphs. We know the hardest part to any project is getting started, so here are some tips.

Review and Reflect. Before deciding where to go, take a look at where you've been.  Reviewing the past year will help you sort out priorities.  Set aside time to answer the following questions:

• Did you achieve desired results?
• Which specific marketing activities were effective?  Which ones were not?
• Did you use proper resources?  Were they reliable?
• Has your target audience changed?
• Did you stay within budget?  Where do you need to cut costs?  In what areas should you invest more?

Reflecting on last year's strengths and weaknesses will reveal themes, which you can use to help set more practical goals for this year.  But don't spend too much time dwelling in the rearview.  That was then, this is now.

Organize. Now it's time to build your plan.  Start by pinpointing essential categories for the structure.  Some typical examples include:

• Advertising - print, online
• Collateral - sell sheets, brochures, business cards.
  • Events - trade shows, webinars
  • Direct Marketing - email, direct mail, list generation, promotional incentives/contests
  • Research - focus groups, surveys, marketing reference books.
  • Social Media - Twitter, Facebook

Choose components most suited for your company, and be sure to identify all potential categories as well.  You may not see a need for a social media category now, for example, but you should brainstorm how to handle this area if, for instance, loyal customers become more involved in social networking.

Set goals.
You are now ready to set objectives - what does your company want to achieve and when do you expect to accomplish results?  If you need direction, try setting goals within the bounds of financial budgeting.  Also, make your goals quantifiable, something you can measure - volume, money value, percentage.  This will help later when evaluating your strategies throughout the year.

Strategize. It's game time.  If a touchdown is the objective and a 20-yard pass is the strategy, one tactic may be to fake a pass to left.  Another tactic may be to block for the receiver.  Your marketing plan strategies and tactics should state how you are going to achieve your goals and objectives. For example:

Objective 1: Increase product awareness among audience by 30 percent.

Social Media Category: Facebook Page

Strategy 1 - centralize Facebook Page theme on the product.

Tactic 1 - Post a product-related trivia question in status daily.

Tactic 2 - Add a Facebook "like" button to each product-related post on web site.

Tactic 3 - Start a Facebook group for the product.

When strategizing, don't forget to consider the audience. Who are you trying to impact? Determine tactics to reach them. Do you need to diversify your approaches between potential customers and loyal customers?  Also, timing is everything. If used at the wrong time, a great strategy will go unnoticed, but a decent strategy used at the right time could make your year.  Schedule activities according to the cyclical seasons - economical, natural, commercial - that influence your audience.

Evaluate. You should also develop methods for tracking your activities throughout the year. Doing so will help you monitor the effectiveness of your tactics and strategies.  When evaluating data, don't be too hard on yourself.  There are always variables working against you.  Just work even harder to find the variables that are working for you.  You may also need to make adjustments to your annual plan throughout the year, and that is ok.  In fact, it is essential to successful marketing.  Look at each change as an opportunity to improve your strategies.  And as you fine-tune throughout the year, always look up with optimism.

By Lindsay Gallmann

It is time.  You've put it off long enough. It's time for you to get that new-you feeling- LinkedIn.  A profile on LinkedIn will re-identify your professionalism, expand your network and fine-tune your interconnectivity.

Professional

-LinkedIn membership includes executives from all 2010 Fortune 500 companies.

-According to Jesse Noyes, Corporate Reporter for Eloqua, LinkedIn's hiring solutions - which includes recruiting, job posting and subscriptions services - represents 41% of its net revenue.

Expansive

-LinkedIn's membership grew by one million new members every ten days since fall 2010.

-Its 100 million members reside in over 200 countries, and over 50% of these members live outside the US.

Interconnected

- LinkedIn uses information on the site to acquire data about your companies listed on your profile.  Your job listings will automatically reveal links to profiles of all those who have been and continue to be involved with the particular company.

-With options to display business presentations, upload and manage files, link your Twitter account and synchronize your blog to your LinkedIn profile, third party applications on LinkedIn keep your colleagues close and your customers closer.

How to begin?

Your profile will be the first thing people associate with you.  Upload a crisp headshot to prove you are a credible source and list all areas of experience to promote your qualifications.

Optimizing your profile will increase relevance on search engines. When you hyperlink URL addresses to your company's site or your personal blog site, make the default display text the name of the actual site ("Dezinsinteractive" for example.)  Also, using keywords in your experience descriptions will make your profile more searchable.

Recommendations from co-workers and employers will reveal how others value your expertise. Utilize the option to ask select contacts to recommend you on LinkedIn.  Simply click on the blue "Ask for recommendation" button on your profile, and follow the directions.

Build your network by adding connections! You can either browse your e-mail address book to find contacts already LinkedIn or search for people you know in the box on the top right.

Post your profile URL address to relevant Web sites, blogs, cards, email signatures, Facebook pages, etc, in order to promote your LinkedIn identity.  Don't forget to update your profile regularly.  The less you update, the less likely people are to interact with you.

Create a company profile following the same steps for creating a personal profile. To leverage your company's likeability, share information about your industry by creating a group LinkedIn and inviting others to join.

By Lindsay Gallmann

The next time you are stuck in a traffic jam, think about this - on average, people spend 15 minutes per day on YouTube®.  And according to a website monitoring survey, 24 hours of video is being uploaded to YouTube® every minute.  So, in the time it takes you to tweet about your business, a full day's worth of YouTube® material is infesting the Internet.  Let's face it, YouTube® is viral.  And you should catch the bug.  If Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" video can get 185 million views, think of how much traffic you can drive to your site with a popular YouTube® video.

Buckle your seatbelt - here are some helpful tips when using YouTube® to drive traffic to your website:

1. Drive carefully: One way to attract people to your site is to first, drive traffic to your YouTube® video.  It may seem tedious, but if you map it out carefully, the end result will be bumper-to-bumper traffic on your own web site.  The more you entice people to your YouTube® video, the more likely you are to get those viewers browsing your organization's web site.  So, how do you let people know about your YouTube® video? Bookmark it, refine its description, tags and SEO titles, "like" it on Facebook® and "tweet" about it until you run out of gas.

2.  Directing traffic: Final destination? Your web site, of course.  Point your video's viewers in the right direction.   Attach a link to your site in the description portion under your YouTube® video. Keep in mind YouTube® does not accept the html address for direct linkage.  You must insert the full URL.  If possible, add the link toward the beginning of your video description so viewers don't miss the exit.

3.  Leave them hanging: We have all experienced the agony after reading "to be continued" at the end of our favorite show and the anticipation that consumes as we wait for the next episode.  You can also use this theory with your YouTube® videos.  If your video presents a tutorial, split it up into two parts, giving your viewers a reason to come back.  Or, even better, post the second portion on your web site.  This will force viewers to click the link to your site in search of part II.

4. Offer gifts: Valentine's Day may come and go, but the what's-in-it-for-me mentality is forever.  Use this to your advantage when strategizing for your YouTube® video.  Offer viewers a gift correlated with your video, and make the gift available only on your website.  Design a helpful PDF document related to the content in your virtual tutorial.  Maybe the PDF features a list of the video's main points, or maybe you want to include useful links and guidelines about your topic.  Be creative.  Everyone cherishes a homemade present.

5.  Be straight up! In your video, tell your viewers there is a link to your web site below, and tell them to click on it.  You won't be stepping on anyone's toes.  Also, repeat the announcement at least two times, and you will be more likely to get viewers to click.  But don't over-do it.  Too much advertising for your website may run some people off.  Stick to two or three web site references per video.  Promoting the link to your site more than three times may come off as pushy.

6.  Sharing the wealth: There is no harm in using other successful videos to draw attention to your site.  You can take a popular video with 4 million views and tag it to your site, "like" it on Facebook®, blog about it or even incorporate it into an online article for your organization.  Think about your target audience and what they want to watch.  What will they think is funny?  What will give them goose bumps?

7. If you tube it, they will come: If the Internet had a mysterious voice, my guess is it would sound a lot like the unknown soothsayer in Field of Dreams telling you to have a little faith.  You've done all you can at this point - enhanced your video, posted follow-up documents on your site, tagged links and videos, tweeted, "liked" and tied up all lose ends.  Now, let your viewers do the rest of the work. Be patient and persistent with the goal in mind.  More YouTube®-ers means more traffic on your site.  Can you hear the horns honking?

For a brilliant example of how dezinsINTERACTIVE helps other companies brand themselves, look no further than the design agency's
own logo.

A green and gray sphere embossed with a leaf, the symbol perfectly conveys the natural flow that's taken dezinsINTERACTIVE from humble origins to award-winning web design and marketing agency. The idea of synergy even extends to the firm's branded office interior with fresh greens and tans, representing their organic approach to client relationships.

Founder and managing partner Orhan McMillan uses words like "spherical" and "synergy" to explain how dezinsINTERACTIVE helps clients discover and deliver their message through design, technology and marketing. Far more than just website designers, dezinsINTERACTIVE's full menu of identity, internet and exposure services are tailored to reinforce each client's market presence.

The circle of success is powered by collaboration.

"From the moment a new client calls, I am listening-to their goals, to their personalities, to everything that makes their company unique," McMillan explains. "Then our creative director comes in and listens. Then our programmers. We are all collaborating to determine what their company's identity is and how to brand that."

"A lot of designers try to make the customer fit the market. We do the opposite," McMillan adds. "That's why our slogan says we 'revolve the market around you.' "

The process is a lot like the evolution of dezinsINTERACTIVE itself.

It began as a freelance graphic and web design business McMillan started while working as a designer for the Gonzales Weekly. In 2005, he partnered with Paul Keesler to take dezinsINTERACTIVE to the next level. Since then, the company has grown 200% each year to become a fullservice web development, custom programming, design and marketing agency.

dezinsINTERACTIVE clients encompass a diverse range of privately owned businesses, corporations, government agencies and nonprofits. As managing partner, McMillan leads a team of creative, IT and marketing specialists. Most of them joined the company almost serendipitously through one connection or another.

Creative Director Natalie Gillis, with a bachelor's degree in visual arts and experience in graphic design and marketing, is one of the right people who happened to come along at the right moment. " I take great pride in being able to conceptualize a design that is unique and personal to each and every client," Gillis says.

The job of revealing a client's identity through technology falls to Sam Razi, director of programming development, who also came to join the team in a very natural way.

"We are always two steps ahead in terms of innovation, whether it's social networking or a technology our clients haven't even thought of," says Razi, an information systems graduate of LSU and IT manager with 15 years of experience. "We get our clients thinking in new areas."

McMillan notes that dezinsINTERACTIVE is also unique in that it has "an amazing set of designers and an amazing set of programmers. Usually you only get one or the other. "

The results are plain to see. dezinsINTERACTIVE recently won a silver ADDY from the Baton Rouge Chapter of the American Advertising Federation, an impressive feather in a young agency's cap.

McMillan is also proud of dezinsINTERACTIVE's proprietary content management system (CMS) that allows customers to update their own websites. "Most CMS programs are cumbersome, complex and non-intuitive. We designed a CMS that is simple to use yet just as powerful." Thanks to its staff's expertise, dezinsINTERACTIVE websites are truly customizable far beyond the standard templates. dezinsINTERACTIVE also excels at campaigns for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn, as well as iPhone apps to increase brand awareness, customer loyalty and traffic.

It all goes back to dezinsINTERACTIVE's mission of revolving the market around its clients.

"Our clients are at the natural center of all we do," McMillan says, "and from there we empower their market relationships, new ones and the ones they've had for years."

The American Advertising Federation-Baton Rouge (AAF-BR) hosted its annual ADDY® Awards show on Saturday, February 19, 2011 at the Varsity Theater. Inspired by a speakeasy establishment from the Prohibition era, the 2011 ADDY® Awards featured a "Work Hard, Speakeasy" theme.

The ADDY® Awards recognize and award outstanding creativity in the advertising field. More than 66 local agencies, individuals and students entered the ADDY® competition this year, for a total of 475 entries. 45 gold ADDY®s, 53 silver ADDYs, six Special Judge's Awards, Best of Show and Best of Category Awards were presented.

The team at dezinsINTERACTIVE was awarded a Silver ADDY® Award - Interactive Media for the web design for The Corbel Distinctive Gifts and Interiors of Jackson, La.www.TheCorbel.com

Lose 20 pounds. Eat more vegetables. Get more sleep. New Year's resolutions can get old fast. This year, instead of slaving away at the gym, try focusing on how to improve your marketing plan for 2011. Last year's economic slump may have caused a set back in your good intentions to market successfully. But the following resolutions will guide you in budget-conscious ways start your 2011 marketing plan off on the right foot.

1. Socialize: The holiday parties may have died down, but your New Year marketing plan still calls for building new relationships and tending to old ones. According to Dawn Berryman, successful marketing blogger, social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are free and fast ways to expand your network in order to reach potential business partners, customers and employees. In 2011, social media is your number one way to jumpstart your marketing plan.
2. Stay in Touch: After establishing your relationships, it is crucial to stay in touch. E-news is a great way to maintain consistent contact with your site visitors and potential customers. By offering a sign-up box on your web site, visitors can easily subscribe to a monthly newsletter email. You can thank subscribers by sending them coupons or updated promotion. This strategy is sure to build loyalty between your business and its clients.
3. Link up: When trying to increase your Search Engine Optimization, it's all about links. By adding links to your site, you will improve your search engine results. Some sites are even willing to share links at no cost, according to Berryman, who also suggests taking advantage of free online directories. Adding links to your social media sites can also benefit your SEO.
4. Get Real: The ease of digital communication often leaves us feeling detached. Before we know it, the relationships we've built online are only a part of a pseudo network lacking human contact and verbal communication, criteria that are vital to a successful marketing plan. In 2011, pick up the phone, attend local meetings and networking events, visit your local Chamber of Commerce, shake hands, get face-to-face. There is nothing old-fashioned about introducing yourself. By getting real with your community, you're more likely to leave a lasting impression.