Valerie Jennings, CEO of Jennings Social Media Marketing, Presents at KARL Graduate Program Winter Summit 2012: Presentation Available via Download
Posted by: Megan Spreer, social media marketing manager at JSMM
Valerie Jennings, CEO of Jennings Social Media Marketing, addressed participants of the Kansas Agriculture and Leadership program this Tuesday during the KARL Graduate Program Winter Summit in Manhattan, Kan. Jennings spoke about the importance of social media, message boards and blogs to the Smartphone society, a society that is quickly including farm and agriculture leaders.
Her presentation covered numerous important key points such as:
- Stats about mobile usage: 91% of mobile Internet usage is to socialize
- Who uses this technology: The average American spends 2.7 hours a day socializes on their mobile device
- How to use it for their best results: The best mobile apps for the Agriculture industry
- Case studies: A farmer tweeted a photo of dying soy beans and soon has a response from a plant pathologist
- Why it’s important to them: Farmers and ranchers can connect to the community
Download a copy of the presentation now.
Thank You to David Day from ithinkbigger.com for Featuring Valerie Jennings’ article: Promoting a Green Brand
Posted By: Jamie Sutera, VP of R&D
Thank you to David Day from ithinkbigger.com for featuring Valerie Jennings’, CEO of Jennings Social Media Marketing, article: Promoting a Green Brand.
How to drive a key message without greenwashing.
By Valerie Jennings
Most businesses that are focused on sustainability are doing the right thing for the right reason. These businesses also want to share their efforts with consumers without looking too self-promotional.
In April 2008, a corporate sustainability study sought to determine the greenest eco blogs, websites and other social networks.
The research scored more than 100 green websites for recommendations on which blogs, websites and other communities were the “darkest to lightest” green. This scoring model is not new. In fact, in 2008, Experian announced the greenest (most committed to the environment) to the brownest (very little concern for the planet) consumer markets.
Both of these projects required reviewing corporate green behaviors, attitudes and other forms of promotion to get the word out that green was important to companies. The lessons learned through these types of studies by national brands and large corporations can be applied by small businesses in promoting their own green efforts.
Key Lessons in Marketing Your Greenness
-Be truthful, and you don’t have to worry about greenwashing (i.e., making misleading claims or promoting superficial environmental efforts). Use disclaimers, be honest and use your brand to advance education, awareness, media exposure and promotions. -Use social media to promote green messages, connect with green bloggers, tweeples, social networks and press.
-Reach out to the Earth Day Network.
-Marketwire, a PR distribution platform, works. Green reporters research subject matter experts online for article sources. Use this tool to connect.
-Measure success via Google search results, media coverage, Twitter followers, blog traffic, contests, Web video views, Facebook likes, e-mail opt-ins and leads.
-Reach out to green bloggers who are appropriate for your brand. The most green or most liberal environmentalists may not want to hear about a medium-green product, company, service or expert.
-Stay focused on where the key listeners are around the product. Use blog or PR research to speak with the appropriate reporters and engage the right community.
Learn from the ‘Big Guys’
Proctor & Gamble has made a continuing commitment to greening its corporation. Its website has a long list of eco goals, but the reporting is still lax, difficult to read and challenging to evaluate.
The best online green results from a major brand, on the other hand, are from Coke. At a green conference several years ago, a presentation by Coke’s VP of marketing was packed with data, published timelines to make an impact on cutting back on Coke’s water usage in developing countries, information on their execution plan and ways they were working to get the plan moving. Coke’s website still has the goals published, and the results from the past few years are available. Go Coke! It appears Coke has decreased its water usage every year since it launched its sustainability plan.
Follow Coke’s example and share your green goals, timelines and progress with consumers by posting on your website. Promoting your green efforts is another way to differentiate your company from the competition.
Valerie Jennings is CEO and founder of Jennings Social Media Marketing, a full service company that utilizes the art of online storytelling with the science of measuring quantifiable results. Valerie@jenningssocialmedia.com // Twitter: @valeriejennings //www.facebook.com/jenningssocialmedia //www.linkedin.com/in/jenningspr
Kansas City’s Data Center & Internet Hub Increases Website Traffic With Social Media and Cuts 75% of Google Adwords Budget
Posted By: Jamie Sutera, VP of R&D
1102 GRAND, Kansas City’s data center and Internet hub, saw a 200-300 percent increase in its website and blog traffic, and cut 75 percent of its Google Adwords budget. The marketing ROI is part of an ongoing social media campaign with Jennings Social Media Marketing (www.jenningssocialmedia.com).
Darren Bonawitz, principal of 1102 GRAND, said that Jennings Social Media Marketing helped 1102 GRAND have a better perspective of online marketing strategies. “We were in need of marketing experts and that is exactly what we found in Jennings Social Media Marketing. We have worked with Jennings Social Media Marketing for approximately two years. In that time 1102 GRAND has had an increase in website traffic, saved 75 percent of the budget on the Google Adwords campaign, been requested for more interviews than we can handle and been able to realize significant quantifiable results through additional revenue,” said Bonawitz.
Bonawitz added that the focus on social media is extremely beneficial. “Jennings Social Media Marketing implemented many facets of social media marketing including Facebook, Twitter, e-newsletters, blog, case studies, organic search engine optimized press releases and Web videos. Social media is such a vital tool because it is constantly working. We have had so many great results, and it is hard to argue with results,” said Bonawitz.
1102 GRAND is a Midwestern carrier hotel and network neutral collocation facility specifically enhanced with the infrastructure to host and provide services to an array of global network operators including carriers, service providers and enterprise customers who demand highly secure and connected, customized solutions for their core networking equipment. 1102 GRAND offers a wide array of collocation options including cabinets, cage space, suites and space for private data centers, all of which are connected to a carrier neutral Meet Me Room, housing nearly 30 carriers and service providers including AT&T, Level 3, TeliaSonera, tw telecom, Zayo Enterprise Networks, and Hurricane Electric (http://1102grand.com/).
4 Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2011
Posted By: Jared Cook
2010, often referred to as “the year of social media,” has come and gone. As we move forward into 2011, we will continue to see social media evolve and grow.
Below is an article from Mashable.com, written by Tim Ferriss, providing his insight into-
4 Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2011
Ah, social media marketing. Fewer things are so lavishly spent on, yet so poorly measured. Here are a few predictions for 2011 related to where the smart money and dumb money will go. Special thanks to a number of high-volume retail experts for their insights, including Ryan Holiday, director of marketing at American Apparel. Read on for our predictions and let us know in the comments what you think social media marketing will look like in the year to come. 
1. YouTube Beats Yahoo — Video Will Convert
YouTube
is the second largest search engine in the English-speaking world. That’s right: YouTube is bigger than Yahoo. Zappos, as one example, added simple videos of people holding shoes and moving them around to its sales pages and increased conversion rate from 6% to 30%. When I look at the traffic sources for my book trailer on YouTube, the biggest referrer isn’t my own blog. It’s The Huffington Post. I customized the video and text content to a niche (but sizeable) outlet that didn’t exist two years ago: Huffington Post Books. With proper targeting and syndication, this 50 second video almost immediately propelled my book from an Amazon rank of approximately number 150 to 30, now stabilizing at number four in all books. We usedRankForest to track this sudden change.
2. The Full Resurrection of E-mail
Groupon has an e-mail list of at least 15 million strong in the U.S. (the company says it’s 30+ million if you include international), which goes to show that a true permission asset can be worth nearly $6 billion on the bidding table. E-mail addresses are a safer long-term investment than social media features. Think about all the money companies spent advertising their MySpace
pages in 2007. Even on Facebook, your direct messages to fans are relegated to a second tier inbox no one reads. This is something you don’t have to worry about happening in e-mail marketing. Among 20- to 35-year olds, at least, their physical addresses change more frequently than their e-mail addresses. The smarter marketers will budget “social media” acquisitions based on lifetime value (or a set duration, like 6 months’ retail purchases) of e-mail addresses. One major retailer did the math and learned that an e-mail subscriber is worth roughly $20 a year in annual online revenue. Knowing this number allowed the retailer to: 
- Calculate the value of the real estate it gives the e-mail signup box at the register in stores. It turns out to be one of the most lucrative converters in an already competitive area.
- Easily say “Yes” or “No” to requests to participate in contests/sweepstakes by judging return on new e-mails acquired.
- Calculate what the company can spend to build its list.
There are companies like Opt-Intelligence that can be paid a CPA (cost per action) for what are called “co-regs.” Co-reg example: If you’re signing up for an account at NYTimes.com, and it says “Get 4 issues of Golf Magazine FREE!” someone paid for that because they knew it will make money based on lifetime value. After the above-mentioned retailer quantified what an e-mail subscriber was worth, the company was able to double its subscriber base in less than eight months. The majority of that growth came not through spending money upfront, but from the redirection of already existing resources in ways that weren’t possible before calculating that number. Let’s say that added 500,000 e-mail addresses, each worth $20 in 2011; that means an additional $10 million in revenue with no significant capital outlay. Aaron Ray uses the same tactics for the “free agent bands” (major acts who’ve left a label) at The Collective. He figures out how many tickets you sell through your fan club, how many downloads come from your e-mail list, and how much traffic you can drive through Facebook and Twitter. It’s critical for two reasons: 1) For accurate revenue/sales/attendance predictions, and 2) As ROI metrics to justify investments for growth. This also allows loss-leader campaigns. Even if the math on a Groupon deal is razor thin, a smart retailer (online or offline) can acquire e-mails through a special form they set up and add an extra $20+ per transaction, per our hypothetical example. Many companies can afford to give product away for “free” if they have the right metrics. Most companies don’t, which leads us to number three.
New Social Media Business Trends for 2011
Posted By: Jamie Sutera, VP of R&D, Jennings Social Media Marketing
Social Media is an important aspect to many businesses. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, blogs etc., are among the most popular ways to communicate and network. Business owners everywhere are utilizing social media in order to grow and manage their companies. Below is an article from http://venturebeat.com, written by Gary Halliwell, that reviews social media business trends for 2011.
According to the article, social media is always changing so it is important to stay on top of social media trends. Haliwell compiled a list of social media trends for 2011 to “help entrepreneurs make the most of this exciting marketing opportunity.”
Social marketing will move beyond Facebook and LinkedIn – A recent Harvard research study showed that information and influence travel up to three degrees across a social network. The information you communicate to friends, family and colleagues is often passed on beyond your network – possibly to thousands of people, most of whom you will not even know. Similarly, the information you receive each day may have traveled two or three degrees before it reaches you.
This is where the meat is for social marketers. In our connected world of Tweets, blogs, emails and posts, this information transmission is captured in electronic form, and what we know as “word-of-mouth” in face to face interaction has become “word-of-digital”, and it’s incredibly track-able and useful.
2011 and the years ahead will be a time when marketers start to get away from thinking of social marketing in terms of the limited information posted on Facebook or LinkedIn, and start to figure out how to influence and encourage the transmission of information across the vastly larger real social networks their customers inhabit.
Socially adept companies will align the needs of employees and customers – Social is about “we” – a dimension that few companies are used to operating in. “We” includes the inter-connectedness of customers on the internet, airing complaints and raving about things they like, creating resonance for brands both positive and negative. Just as importantly, and perhaps less intuitively, is that “we” also embraces employees.
I’ll again refer to Zappos, as it achieves customer excellence by ensuring employees and customers are aligned by delivering happiness to both employees and customers. Management knows that reacting to customers in real-time requires employees who are motivated, empowered and creative across the whole organization.
In 2011, we’ll see more companies embrace Zappos’ approach to social as integral, and large corporations relying on their inertia will feel the hot breath of excitement from fully motivated competition.
Millennials will take another step forward into the breach - The shift to greater social connectedness will continue to move forward in 2011. In 2010, at a recent conference about social media in Boston, not one of the 500 attendees was below the age of 30. As a result, a lot of the discussion about social media was that of fear, uncertainty and doubt.
As younger people begin to turn up at these sorts of conferences, expect the conversation to change into discussions and enthusiasm for the possibilities of social media, as opposed to the threats. Help is on its way, but it may be too late for larger more static companies where management think social is a cocktail in a bar.
Social will penetrate deeper into company structures – The Fall 2010 NetProspex Social Business Report analyzed over 2 million contact records of folks within the largest companies in the nation. The trends offered an interesting view into 2011.
Not surprisingly, marketing decision makers had the heaviest use of social media. Interestingly, our study also showed human resources professionals ranking 2nd for social network usage. CEOs, meanwhile, were number 11 on the list, outpaced by office managers and customer service reps. This is a trend that will hopefully reverse, as more CEOs see the power of social media to network and to amplify their thought leadership.
Go live or go home – In his recent book, Real-time Marketing and PR, David Meerman Scott gives many examples of companies that suffer from not reacting in real time to customer issues. Going “real time” means preparing an organization to react to what’s happening in their world, cohesively and adeptly. It requires planning for the future with room for ambiguity and change, and the flexibility to react from the top to the bottom of a company.
Going real time is something most companies, especially large ones, are not geared to do. Generally, management selection is based on planning, organizational and political skills. Now that customers have the power they do with social communication, in a conversation that is visible to all, Scott’s premise is that creativity and improvisation is required in the real-time culture that customer relations now demand.
The good news is that this pressure will create excellence seen in live performance, but 2011 is still the beginning of painful transition for the majority of business.
Thank you to Becky Bosshart, Writer for Recharger Magazine, for Featuring Valerie Jenning in a Recent Article
Posted By: Jamie Sutera, VP of R&D
Thank you to Becky Bosshart, writer for Recharger Magazine, for interviewing Valerie Jennings for a recent article. During the interview, Jennings discussed social media trends. According to the article, Valerie Jennings, who created a blog for InkCycle, said the company is building brand awareness of its eco-friendly ink cartridges using online reviews, and Sarah Thompson, LaserNetworks’ marketing manager, explains what new bloggers should expect from social media (hint: it’s a long-term investment).
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.
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.
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.
Chiropractic Social Media Marketing: Dr. Robert Patterson of Overland Chiropractic Reviews Benefits
Posted by: Micah Pratt
Dr. Robert Patterson, Chiropractor & Internal Health Specialist of Overland Chiropractic assesses how social media marketing has helped his busy, Overland Park, Kansas practice gain maximum exposure.
Dr. Patterson first began working with Jennings Social Media Marketing about six months ago and has utilized a range of Jennings’ services including viral videos, website design and development, search engine optimization, social networking site management, blog posts & graphic design. Overland Chiropractic has already seen measurable results which they continue to track, such as an increase in e-newsletter subscribers, increased website and blog traffic, increased Twitter followers and TV interviews. Jennings Social Media Marketing booked Dr. Robert Patterson for an interview on one of Kansas City’s local news channels, FOX 4.
According to Dr. Patterson, “Valerie (CEO of Jennings) is very high energy; she really keeps things moving. I need somebody to push me and to give me deadlines and she does that.” Dr. Patterson views Jennings Social Media Marketing as an extension of his staff and looks forward to a long term relationship.
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.
For more information on Jennings Social Media Marketing, please visit jenningssocialmedia.com
For more information on Overland Chiropractic and Dr. Robert Patterson, please visit overlandchiro.com
Entrepreneur and CEO Valerie Jennings Discusses Social Media Marketing Strategies & Sales
Posted by: Micah Pratt
Here is a podcast from Valerie Jennings, entrepreneur and CEO of Jennings Social Media Marketing, regarding social media integration with sales.
“Hi this is Valerie Jennings, CEO of Jennings social media marketing. I want to review some social media marketing strategies with you that include sales and social media marketing integration. One way we do this is by looking at a current companies sale system. We need to know where there needs are coming from rather that be ecommerce, direct mail, phone calls, it could be advertising. It could be promotions they are currently running. And we want to understand how those needs are being processed in order to best accommodate the sales team and the sales system.”
Click the play button above to listen to the rest of Jennings’ strategies for social media marketing integration.
Facebook Posts to Appear in Real-Time Search Results
Posted by: Micah Pratt
I would like to share an article from mashable.com about how Facebook posts will now be available in real-time searches through OneRiot.
Facebook Posts to Appear in Real-Time Search Results
As of today, real-time results from millions of users’ Facebook posts will now appear in search results on OneRiot, one of the world’s leading real-time search engines.
These Facebook posts will also be accessible through OneRiot’s API, which powers more than 100 real-time apps around the web and on mobile devices.
OneRiot already pulls data from blogs, Twitter, Digg and millions of other sources all over the social web. Having access to Facebook’s nearly 500 million members, however, takes these search results to a higher plane by pooling a much larger dataset when finding and ranking links for search results.
Facebook data that will appear in OneRiot search results include publicly shared links on user profiles and publicly “liked” stories from all over the web. For example, a search for “World Cup” on OneRiot will reveal the most popular links about the soccer tournament being shared by Facebook users right now.
AP Stylebook Now Includes 42 Social Media Rules
Posted by: Micah Pratt
I would like to share an article from BusinessInsider.com about the new “Social Media Guidelines” section in the AP Stylebook.
Journalism Rules 2.0: AP Stylebook Now Includes 42 Social Media Guidelines
The AP Stylebook caused a bit of an uproar back in April when they announced, via Twitter:
Responding to reader input, we are changing Web site to website. This appears on Stylebook Online today and in the 2010 book next month.
Well, the new Stylebook is out, and it includes some additional webby updates. Namely, a new “Social Media Guidelines” section.
AP announced:
The new Social Media Guidelines section includes information and policies on using tools like Facebook and Twitter, how journalists can apply them to their work and how to verify sources found through them. Also included are 42 separate entries on such terms as app, blogs, click-throughs, friend and unfriend, metadata, RSS, search engine optimization, smart phone, trending, widget and wiki.
Jennings Social Media Marketing Releases Case Study Video with 180° Urban Design & Architecture
By Jared Cook
Jennings Social Media Marketing in Kansas City, Mo. recently released its second case study video within a series of social media videos focused on measurable results. The second video, with 180° Urban Design & Architecture in Kansas City, features the evolution of 180°’s blog into an online news community.
Click image to view video.
Social Media Can Change The World Through Common Ground
By: Valerie Jennings
I would like to share the words of JR Johnson with you all from his blog post on Mashable. I’m compassionate about the views he’s expressed, and I hope you find them beneficial as well.
Social Media Can Change The World Through Common Ground
November 15th, 2009 | by JR Johnson
J.R. Johnson is founder and CEO of Lunch.com, a user generated content platform focused on finding common ground, and host of the Lunch for Good event series.
There’s been a rising interest in the concept of “social media for social good.” In large part, that discussion has been focused on cause-related social good. I have a different take, related more to the greater good of humanity as a whole. To my view, the Internet, specifically social media, has the potential – and responsibility – to make the world more thoughtful and tolerant by showing people their shared common ground.
Valerie Jennings 
Cassie Stubs
Katie Stumpf
