9/08/2012

Football, Social Media, & Marketing

In Ft Myers, Florida most of us that live here are from somewhere else.  As a result we have a wide variety of interests, viewpoints, likes, and dislikes ... and this includes the teams we root for in college and professional football.  We don't have the luxury of watching our favorite teams play on local television as the folks "back home" do, and even if they are televised we miss out on the thrill of being able to watch the game with a large group of like-minded fans ...

UNLESS WE JOIN A LOCAL TEAM FAN CLUB!

Fortunately, SW Florida has many of them.  As good as this is for football fans, it's even better for those who are in business and trying to find new clients!  Marketing today is about social psychology,establishing rapport and trust with a potential client before they even walk through your door ... a football fan club is perfect for this!  You already have something in common, that you are passionate about, with every person in the room!

Social Media Get Together At Hemminway's in Estero Fl.



Arrive early and help set up, greet people as they walk in, and introduce yourself.  Make friends and remember names.  Over the course of the season you will find ample opportunity to ...

Hand out business cards.
Distribute flyers.
Offer special discounts to members.
Tell them about your company blog.
Ask them to follow you on Facebook and other social media venues.
Recommend you to their friends.

Just remember that it's about relationship building, not selling!  Don't hit them over the head with everything all at once.  Ask them about their line of work, if they're on social media, and treat them as you would like to be treated.  Let them know that you are someone they can trust, and will always make sure they are treated fairly, and nothing but good things are sure to follow!

Ask around the club and see if anyone is interested in doing some fundraising for local charities.  Chances are, if there are other business owners in the group they will jump at the chance!  Supporting charities not only establishes the club and it's members as valuable "pillars of the community", but also creates numerous opportunities for ... 

Press releases.
Photo opportunities. 
Videos.
Social media posts.
Impressive resume' and profile fodder

I served 2 years as Vice President and 1 year as Treasurer for the Washington Redskins Fan Club Of SW Florida and during that time we raised over $10,000 for local charities.  We raised the money by holding raffles/drawings at halftime for team related items such as jerseys, key chains, hats, etc ... the response was incredible, and we raised a lot of money while having some fun!


Rick Thomas, Social media/SEO Consultant in Ft Myers Florida,Regional Search Engine Marketing For Businesses, Improved Google Search Engine Rankings, Company Facebook Pages Created & Managed, Located in Fort Myers Florida. Yes I am For Hire!

Contact Rick Thomas at 239 896-7020

RickThomas@FtMyersMarketing.com

5/27/2012

The Thrill Of Social Media Perks

I have used Foursquare for SEO (search engine optimization) purposes on an experimental basis somewhat intermittently, and I believe it has credible value for local SEO, but I am not a regular user.

THAT'S ABOUT TO CHANGE!

I recently attended a child's birthday party with my daughter at Chuck E. Cheese's and we were the first to arrive. I gave my daughter a couple of bucks for game tokens to keep her busy until the other kids arrived, and while I waited I checked in on Foursquare just to be doing something. When I checked in a message popped up on my phone saying I was entitled to free game tokens, all I had to do was to show my check-in to the attendant.

IT WAS THE 1ST FREEBIE I'D GOTTEN FROM FOURSQUARE!

I was pretty excited considering it was just a handful of game tokens! As I waited to speak to the attendant my daughter walked up and was curious as to what I was doing, so I showed her the screen on my phone and told her we were getting free tokens and her eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning ... she thought that was AWESOME! She and I had both discovered how good it felt to receive something of value ... for free ... just because we used social media!

It was right about that time (a day or so later) that I was checking my Klout score and saw that because of my score I was entitled to a "Klout Perk" ... free samples of Lipton "Tea & Honey" iced tea mix. I had qualified for perks before, b ut this was the first one I thought I would actually use. I filled out the short form, clicked send, and forgot about it.


Klout social media perks


Yesterday a fairly large package arrived in the mail and I wondered "what the heck is that?" It was my tea! I had expected that if I got anything at all it would be a single sample packet, but, I was wrong. Lipton sent 10 packets of tea and each packet had a coupon for 50 cents off the purchase of a regular sized container of the product.

NOW MY EYES LIT UP LIKE CHRISTMAS MORNING!

It's summer time in Florida, and my family loves tea! Again, social media had provided something useful and valuable just for being a participant! I quickly made a glass for each member of my family to check it out. The flavor was mango/pineapple and I thought it was pretty good ... my wife and daughter thought it was ...

THE NECTAR OF THE GODS!!!

I might have enjoyed the sample and gone right back to drinking regular unsweetened tea, but my family loved this stuff! They were practically doing back flips they loved it so much. I shared a few packets with my neighbor and the reaction was much the same in his household as well. I can guarantee their will be Lipton Honey & Tea in our homes for the duration of the summer, and we may well be drinking the stuff for years!

It has been said that no single word has sold more goods and services than the word ...

FREE!

Now I know what they mean! As I have reflected on this it occurs to me that this is the cutting edge of social media marketing, a blend of new ways of getting the message across combined with the more traditional techniques of discounts/coupons. I can attest that from the consumer's end it leaves one with a pretty good feeling about the product, and the merchant offering it!


Rick Thomas, Social media/SEO Consultant in Ft Myers Florida,Regional Search Engine Marketing For Businesses, Improved Google Search Engine Rankings, Company Facebook Pages Created & Managed, Located in Fort Myers Florida. Yes I am For Hire!

Contact Rick Thomas at 239 896-7020

RickThomas@FtMyersMarketing.com

4/11/2012

Ft Myers Above Board Chamber To Host Panel On Blogging For Business

239-896-7020

Blogging, social media, and search engine optimization have become "buzzwords" lately in local Ft Myers/SW Florida business jargon. Business owners recognize the growing importance of incorporating these platforms and techniques into their overall marketing strategy, however, at the same time have difficulty understanding the "how, what, when, and why" basic's relating to the deployment of an effective online marketing plan. The Above Board Chamber Of Florida is hosting a panel/discussion on Tuesday April 17, 2012 at The Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Myers to address these topics.


Jeanne Sweeney, Founder and President of the Above board Chamber is a firm believer that "Above Board business is not just about making money, it;s about setting an example to those around you, including family, friends, customers, and employees." Over the course of the past two years her Chamber has hosted panels covering a multitude of relevant topics pertaining to business including ...


Social Media: Find Out How You Can Be Discovered!

Why Your Website Is Not Generating Business.
Human Resources/Career Building.
Find Out How To Be Discovered By The Media!
Time For A Business Check-Up!
Ethics in Business.
The Secrets Of Highly Profitable Companies.
Hitting Your Target Market.
and many more!
The panelists for Tuesday's discussion will be ...

Chris Griffith The self-appointed ambassador of Bonita Springs, Florida. Chris engages the public and sells southwest Florida real estate by promoting the city of Bonita Springs via blogging and social media. Chris also is the Owner/ President at LifeInBonitaSprings.com and is a Columnist - Naples Daily News

Rick Thomas is an SEO/Social Media consultant in Fort Myers, Florida. He specializes in a blended strategy of search engine optimization, social media, and content creation designed to establish his clients as "knowledgeable experts" in their field,increase their overall web presence, and place them on the 1st page of the search results for the keywords most likely to increase their sales. Rick is passionate about showing business owners how and why "Blogging and content creation are the most powerful tools available to make that happen"! He currently authors over 30 blogs relating to SEO, marketing, social media, and SW Florida businesses. His articles have been featured on numerous sites such as Technorati, Ezine Articles, Networked Blogs, and Active Rain.

Mike Cathell has a 23 year background in selling Luxury Goods. Ten years ago, he started a new career in Real Estate, the last 2 years in Commercial Real Estate. Mike has been an avid blogger for the past 4 years using several blogs to build his business. In July of 2011, Mike was picked as the 80th top Commercial Realtor to follow on LinkedIn.com. Mike has several blogs currently about Real Estate and is starting a new site to showcase the Leading Real Estate Brokers in SW Florida. Social Media has been a large part of Mike's life not only as a Realtor but also as a husband, father, Youth Minister and a member of the Fort Myers community for the past 28 years.

For more information regarding this event, to register, or to learn more about The Above Board Chamber follow this link -


RSVP MUST prepay on line for the Ft.Myers meeting by Friday, April 13
Hilton Garden Inn
12600 University Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33908
11:30 - 11:55 Networking
11:50 - 1: 00 PM program



Rick Thomas, Social media/SEO Consultant in Ft Myers Florida,Regional Search Engine Marketing For Businesses, Improved Google Search Engine Rankings, Company Facebook Pages Created & Managed, Located in Fort Myers Florida. Yes I am For Hire!

Contact Rick Thomas at 239 896-7020

RickThomas@FtMyersMarketing.com

4/07/2012

SEO/Social Media For Local Business

Social media, SEO, Advertising


Over the past 10 years what works in marketing and promoting local small businesses has changed significantly! Previously traditional marketing centered around newspaper, television, radio, and other print media such as magazines, flyers, and the Yellow Pages. Today consumer's responses to these methods of promotion are steadily declining at a rapid rate. They simply have better options for finding information on the products and services they want! The internet gives them the ability to search for, and find, nearly limitless sources of for the specific information they need to make an educated decision. Consider this ...

Digital video recording gives us the ability to watch TV when we want to ... and skip past ALL THE ADVERTISEMENTS!

Most of us throw out direct mail and circulars without a second glance!

Caller ID allows us to pre-screen phone calls preventing telemarketers from interrupting our lives!

Newspaper & magazine sales have dropped so significantly that publishers are scrambling to establish an online presence!

Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Foursquare and other similar sites give consumers the ability to ask questions and review comments on products and services interactively in real time!

The large majority of people rarely use the phone book because that would mean ... THEY HAVE TO GET UP FROM THEIR COMPUTER TO FIND IT!

The most effective way to reach your potential clients today is an effective combination of search engine optimization (SEO), social media, and content creation! The problem for most business owners is that creating a positive, engaging, online presence requires a significant investment of time ... and time is hard to come by WHEN YOU HAVE A BUSINESS TO RUN!!!

I CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT!

For a free consultation/audit of your online presence call

Rick Thomas

239-896-7020

Twitter - @FtMyersSeo

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/FtMyersSEO

RickThomas@FtMyersMarketing.com

4/01/2012

Naples Florida Panel To Discuss Blogging For Business Purposes

239-896-7020

The Above Board Chamber Of Florida will be hosting a panel discussion on the subject of "It's Time To Optimize Your Web Presence Through Blogging" at the Naples Hilton in Naples, Florida on April 9th 2012 starting at 11:30 a.m.. The program is scheduled to run until 1:00, however panel members will be available to answer individual questions for an extended period of time following the panel discussion. The panel members will be ...

Chris Griffith - Realtor in Bonita Springs Florida, Owner/President at LifeinBonitaSprings.com and is a columnist for The Naples Daily News.

Jennifer Huber - Social Media Marketer with 20 years experience in the tourism industry, Named one of the "101 Inspiring Women Bloggers to Watch" and serves as the Public Relations Manager for the Charlotte Harbor Visitor & Convention Bureau.

Rick Thomas - SEO/Social Media consultant in Ft Myers, Florida. Author of over 30 blogs pertaining to SEO, Social Media, Marketing, and SW Florida business.

The Above Board Chamber of Florida prides itself on being more than just a networking group. The groups primary focus is to be a source of knowledge, information, and education for local business owners in the Naples/Fort Myers area of SW Florida. The Board hosts regular monthly meetings with experts in many different fields sharing insights and tips designed to help individual business owners grow their businesses, increase their market share, and better serve their clients!

For more information regarding this event, to register, or to learn more about The Above Board Chamber follow this link ...



Google Page Rank Visually Explained


Rick Thomas, Social media/SEO Consultant in Ft Myers Florida,Regional Search Engine Marketing For Businesses, Improved Google Search Engine Rankings, Company Facebook Pages Created & Managed, Located in Fort Myers Florida. Yes I am For Hire!

Contact Rick Thomas at 239 896-7020

RickThomas@FtMyersMarketing.com

3/02/2012

iPhone, Android, and YOUR PERSONAL PICTURES! Privacy Policies Falling Under Scrutiny

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Recent stories in the news have singled out iPhones as having flaws in their privacy policies in their apps. In order to upload an app the individual user must agree to give the app access to information stored in their phone. The primary intent being to record the geographical location of the user, however, one of the ways geo-location is gathered is by accessing the locations recorded on pictures and videos stored on the phone. The apps upload the info from your phone to a private server and from that point on ...

THERE ARE NO CONTROLS OVER HOW IT IS USED!

Up until this point Android users have been sitting back and quietly snickering to themselves thinking " I told you so ... ", but guess what ...

ANDROID APPS ARE VULNERABLE TOO!


Android Phone Ft Myers Marketing


Even though phones using Googles android software, which require permission before allowing the upload of pictures or videos, have flaws and loopholes which make it possible for the same breach of privacy to occur. It isn't just phones and ipads that are vulnerable to misuse of permissions granted to apps ... even a laptop, or home computer can one way or another find it's information, stored pictures, or videos available to unwanted sources once an application has been given the standard, commonly accepted permission ...

THEY HAVE CARTE BLANCHE TO USE IT AS THEY SEE FIT!


The good news is ... as users have become more aware, and the news agencies have now begun to track and report the issue, the race is on to plug the holes, and limit access to only information that is necessary, and block access to information, images, and files that individuals and businesses prefer to keep personal. It's a safe bet that both Google and Apple have their best and brightest minds mapping out a strategy already!



Rick Thomas, Social media/SEO Consultant in Ft Myers Florida,Regional Search Engine Marketing For Businesses, Improved Google Search Engine Rankings, Company Facebook Pages Created & Managed, Located in Fort Myers Florida. Yes I am For Hire!

Contact Rick Thomas at 239 896-7020

RickThomas@FtMyersMarketing.com

10/16/2011

Search Engine Optimization/Social Media Consultants Convene In Frederick Md.


During a recent trip to the Washington D.C. area I was presented with an opportunity too good to miss! A group of well respected, expert SEO/Social media consultants in Frederick Md. were gathering to "talk shop" ... and I was invited! The meeting was held at The LaPaz Restaurant in Frederick Md.'s historic district. In attendance were David Bruce Jr., Andrew Smith, Kimba Green, Karen & Chris Highland, Peggy Magnanelli and myself.

A combined Klout score in excess of 320!

David Bruce and I have known each other for years, and worked on several projects together. The rest of the group I had met and communicated with for several months as a result of my association with David and a group he started on Facebook the "Facebook for Business Cooperative". The topics discussed included ...
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Social Bookmarking
  • Photo Sharing
  • Blogging
  • Content Creation
  • Sales Copy
  • Article Directories
  • Business Directories
  • The Panda Update
  • Google's Search Algorithm
  • RSS Feeds
  • SEO in Politics
  • Linkedin

... when the discussion turned to Linkedin several of us at the table conceded that while we understood both the basic premise and inherent value of Linkedin right now, we had not put as much thought into setting up and maintaining our profiles and sharing preferences. I mentioned that most of my "less than optimal" posting came from automated posting that I had set up months ago, and went on to say that I was considering turning it off. At this Point Kimba Green owner of "White Lion Social", a Frederick Md. Consulting/Business service jumped in and stated ...


"Automating your posts to LinkedIn isn't a bad thing as long as you understand that not everything you would post to FB should be posted to LinkedIn. LinkedIn is your most professional image. Use it wisely. In my opinion you should not be selling your products or your services. Speak of your successes or of industry news or of company successes. LinkedIn can be a valuable part of your strategy."

"If you post the same thing 3 times a day or you only post what you have to offer most will stop following your stream of information. DO NOT SELL ON LINKEDIN and that includes your products, services or houses!"

"The value of LinkedIn to your overall Social value is at least 65% (not speaking of Google value), Twitter 25%, and Facebook 10%. Think about that with everything you sent out through your social stream."

"Facebook will give some (mostly RE Agents) brand recognition, Twitter will push out your valuable information to the stream and LinkedIn is the foundation to your professional image!"




2011-09-23_19-23-03_762



Kimba turned out to be a wealth of information, not only on the subject of Linkedin, but in all aspects of social media! The amount of knowledge freely given away throughout the course of the evening would certainly have filled several textbooks. What had started as a casual get together turned into a storm of collaboration, with each of us striving to share our views, and gain a fresh and more informed perspective on what is effective, and why, in social media and search engine marketing.


Rick Thomas, Social media/SEO Consultant in Ft Myers Florida,Regional Search Engine Marketing For Businesses, Improved Google Search Engine Rankings, Company Facebook Pages Created & Managed, Located in Fort Myers Florida. Yes I am For Hire!

Contact Rick Thomas at 239 896-7020

RickThomas@FtMyersMarketing.com