Archive for July, 2010

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Talks Business With Diane Sawyer

Posted by: Micah Pratt

Last Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg sat down for a rare public interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer to discuss the continued success of Facebook along with the latest pressure it has faced. Facebook, the largest social networking site, recently hit a major milestone of 500 million users but along with fame has come issues dealing with privacy and a lawsuit that Zuckerberg sold a portion of the ownership in exchange for work in the early years of Facebook.

Watch the interview here.

Picture 43 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Talks Business With Diane Sawyer


Jennings Social Media Marketing Promotes Michelle Jennings-Camber to President

Jennings Social Media Marketing recently promoted Michelle Jennings-Camber to president.

Picture 13 Jennings Social Media Marketing Promotes Michelle Jennings Camber to President

Picture 11 Jennings Social Media Marketing Promotes Michelle Jennings Camber to President


Entrepreneur and CEO Valerie Jennings Reviews Social Media Marketing, Branding & Website Traffic

Posted by: Micah Pratt

Here is a podcast from Valerie Jennings, entrepreneur and CEO of Jennings Social Media Marketing.

Picture 46 322x252 Entrepreneur and CEO Valerie Jennings Reviews Social Media Marketing, Branding & Website Traffic “Hi this is Valerie Jennings, CEO of Jennings Social Media Marketing. I want to offer a few tips about how you can use social media to protect your brand, build awareness on the Internet and drive traffic to websites like your blog or primary company website or even a landing page. Some of the things that we look at are competitor analysis reports, so that we can see how competitors are appearing on the Internet in comparison to some of our clients. Additionally, we try to make sure that we have all of the holes plugged as far as having a Twitter account, Facebook page and do they have their LinkedIn site set up properly. These are some simple things you can do as a business owner to make sure that you have all of your social networking sites reserved so that a competitor does not try to take the name or hijack your brand.”

Click below to listen to the rest of Jennings’ tips on how to use social media to protect your brand and drive website traffic.

 

Google Buys 20 Years Worth of Wind Farm Energy

Posted by: Micah Pratt

In recent years, Google has built its image around its environmentally conscious stance. Now, it has purchased clean energy from wind turbines to become more energy efficient. Here is an article from mashable.com about Google’s recent contract with an Iowa farm that will help it decrease its carbon footprint.

Google Buys 20 Years’ Worth of Wind Farm Energy

windfarm Google Buys 20 Years Worth of Wind Farm EnergyGoogle has just signed a contract with an Iowa wind farm to purchase clean energy at a set rate for the next 20 years.

This move is in keeping with Google’s strong environmental stance; with specific regard to energy consumption and wind-generated energy, the company has been championing PowerMeter and has invested $38 million in wind farms this year alone.

In fact, Google gained the ability to buy and sell electricity like any other public utility in February in order to achieve its goals for carbon neutrality and more efficient energy use in its massive data centers. This Power Purchase Agreement is the first deal brokered under the auspices of Google Energy.

On the official Google blog, Google’s SVP Operations Urs Hoelzle wrote, “On July 30 we will begin purchasing the clean energy from 114 megawatts of wind generation at the NextEra Energy Resources Story County II facility in Iowa at a predetermined rate for 20 years… This power is enough to supply several data centers.”

The company’s long-term commitment will generate a significant amount of capital for NextEra to develop more wind projects.

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How to Increase Your Search Engine Optimization With LinkedIn

Watch this entertaining video and see why so many people, including celebrities, professional athletes and billionaires like LinkedIn.

Picture 39 418x252 How to Increase Your Search Engine Optimization With LinkedIn

With more than 70 million members in 200 different countries, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network.

Not only is LinkedIn great for building a professional network, but it is also recommended by social media professionals to increase search engine optimization, also known as SEO.

Here are a few tips to search engine optimize your LinkedIn profile. First, complete your profile with search engine optimized keywords. Second, customize the URL to your LinkedIn profile with your name or your company’s name. Third, be sure to include the maximum amount of allowed hyperlinks in your profile.

LinkedIn is one of the best sites to take advantage of to improve your SEO. Sign up for LinkedIn today, complete your free professional profile and watch your search engine rankings increase. To join LinkedIn, visit linkedin.com

This video brought to you by Jennings Social Media Marketing, a global company located in Kansas City, Missouri.

Jennings Social Media Marketing is a full service company that utilizes the art of online storytelling with the science of measuring quantifiable results. Jennings creates comprehensive social media marketing and Web advertising strategies from website design and development to viral videos. The company represents publicly traded to medium-sized businesses across the U.S. and overseas including technology, sports, sustainability, entertainment, travel, financial, health care and real estate.


A Facebook Rival in the Making? Google May Stir Up Social Networking

Posted by: Micah Pratt

For years Facebook has been a growing trend for people of all ages. Most recently “FarmVille” has been the latest craze, allowing people to create their own online farm, animals and all. Google and partner Zynga, the creator of “FarmVille” and other popular social media games, may now be in the process of creating Google Me, a site that may lessen the popularity of Facebook. I would like to share an article from cnn.com by Doug Gross about the making of Google Me and its potential impact on social networking.

‘Google Me’ site may be in the works

farmville 329x252 A Facebook Rival in the Making? Google May Stir Up Social Networking(CNN) — If online reports are to be believed, Google could be cooking up a rival for Facebook — and bringing the maker of popular social games like “FarmVille” with them.

Google Games, built around some sort of partnership with casual-gaming company Zynga, is in the works and would be part of a larger social network called Google Me, according to technology blog Tech Crunch.
Statements from notable internet players, including Digg founder Kevin Rose and a former Facebook chief technical officer, have suggested in recent weeks that the search-engine giant is working on a social network geared toward rivaling Facebook.
TechCrunch this weekend reported that unnamed sources said Google has invested between $100 and $200 million in Zynga, the maker of successful online social games like “FarmVille” and “Mafia Wars.”
The investment part of the deal was confirmed last month and a “larger strategic project” is still in the works, according to that report.
A Zynga spokeswoman said Monday that the company has no comment on the reports. A Google spokesman referred questions to the company’s media-relations e-mail account, which did not respond to inquiries.

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Kraft Foods Pushes Facebook & Twitter Campaigns

Posted by: Micah Pratt

Two popular Kraft Food brands are increasing their social media marketing efforts with campaigns on Twitter and Facebook. Here is an article from nytimes.com, by Stuart Elliott, about Oreo cookies and Wheat Thins revamping their brands on social networking sites.

Food Brands Get Sociable on Facebook and Twitter

The number of advertisers with presences in the social media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are increasing faster than the lines at the supermarket when the values of the cents-off coupons are being tripled.

Now, two familiar brands of baked goods sold by Kraft Foods are stepping up their marketing efforts in social media.

One brand, Oreo cookies, is going to be giving its Facebook page a global look, effective on Monday. The other brand, Wheat Thins crackers, is starting a campaign to reward fans of the brand who discuss it on Twitter.

Picture 22 353x251 Kraft Foods Pushes Facebook & Twitter Campaigns

Oreo has been on Facebook since last August with a page that has been primarily American-oriented. But the many comments left on the page from other countries — reflecting that more than half the brand’s 5 million Facebook fans are from outside the United States — led to a rethinking of how Oreo is presented on the Web site.

“It was an ‘A-ha’ moment for us,” said Mark Clouse, senior vice president for global biscuits at Kraft Foods in Northfield, Ill., reflecting that the company understands Facebook “is now a global vehicle and a platform we can use to have a global dialog” with consumers.

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10 Beautiful Social Media Infographics

Posted by: Micah Pratt

I would like to share an article from mashable.com, by Grace Smith, about 10 infographics that present social media tools in an appealing format.

10 Beautiful Social Media Infographics

This series is supported by Ben & Jerry’s Joe, Ben & Jerry’s new line-up of Fair Trade and frozen iced coffee drinks. Learn more about it here.

Infographics help communicate information in a digestible manner as they creatively present data in an understandable and engaging format. With social media growing at an ever increasing pace, there is now a wealth of data about how people interacting with one another on the web. Naturally, infographics have proven an excellent aid in expressing high volumes of social web information in a clear, visually appealing manner.

Here are 10 infographics that prove as beautiful as they are interesting.

1. Social Web Involvement

Picture 14 441x252 10 Beautiful Social Media Infographics

This is a global map of social web involvement which illustrates that hundreds of millions of web users are creating and sharing content every month. It provides a clear visualization of the ways in which social technologies are adopted differently across the world, showing the number of active bloggers, social networkers, video sharers, photo uploaders and microbloggers.

Interestingly, it reveals that despite the Twitter hype, microblogging is still not a mass social activity and is nowhere near the size and scale of blogging.

2. Social Marketing Compass

Picture 16 466x252 10 Beautiful Social Media Infographics

A compass is a device for orientating oneself and guiding physical direction. The social marketing compass points a brand in a physical and experimental direction, allowing them to connect with their customers, peers, and influencers, where those users already interact and seek guidance online.

Created to illustrate social marketing within the book Engage: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web, this infographic was also available as a poster to celebrate the book’s pre-sale.

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Chiropractor Dr. Robert Patterson Reviews Social Media Marketing for Health Care Industry

Posted by: Micah Pratt

Dr. Robert Patterson, Chiropractor & Internal Health Specialist of Overland Chiropractic recently reviewed social media marketing for the health care industry, which showed up on bussinessweek.com.

Read it here.

Picture 8 389x252 Chiropractor Dr. Robert Patterson Reviews Social Media Marketing for Health Care Industry


Six Ways to Manage International Relationships Online

Posted by: Micah Pratt

As the world becomes a more global place, businesses are increasingly building relationships with international clients, which can often be difficult. I would like to share an article from mashable.com about six ways to manage international relationships online.

6 Ways to Manage International Relationships Online

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

flag globe 302x252 Six Ways to Manage International Relationships Online Sometimes the hardest part of having international clients is finding a way to connect with them. Small businesses often have to worry about different time zones, different languages, and even different customs and traditions.

While there’s no catch-all, golden resource that can solve every problem a small internationally-minded business could have, there are some easy ways to keep your business up-to-date and in the overseas loop.

Here, we’ll help you through the basic steps of interacting with overseas clients, from translating pleasantries to tracking shipments to making sure you don’t accidentally call them in the middle of the night.

1. Basic Information
Before you even get started, it’s important to know the basic information about your client’s country. Usually the most thorough and reliable way to bone up is through the country’s official webpage. England, for example, has a good site with lots of information. Unfortunately, most of these sites are geared towards tourism and less so the time-pressed businessperson.

Wikipedia can actually be a great, quick and comprehensive alternative. Wikipedia pages exist for most major countries and include a helpful info bar on the right side of the page (usually just below the country’s flag). This information includes official languages, government make up, population estimates, GDP, currency, time zone, and calling code.

Also check out The World Factbook, maintained by the CIA. It includes “information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 world entities,” according to their website.

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