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02
Aug 2011
Posted by Jasmine
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Networking This Week: August 1

Since this is our first post in this series, we wanted to give a quick explanation. Earlier this year, 910 West switched our entire company focus to local marketing. Local marketing involves using online marketing to drive clients to your business in the real world. It ties in nicely with our belief in supporting small and local businesses. The best dollar you can spend is right in your back yard. With that in mind, we will be using the blog to share community news specifically the business and networking opportunities available in the East Valley (and to some degree all of Phoenix Metro). This is the first installment.

ASBA

910 West recently joined ASBA (Arizona Small Business Alliance) and are currently participating in their July membership drive. We are looking for businesses who want to grow their business by joining a very powerful and active support network. Learn more about the benefits in our Post “Get Support for Your Local Business from ASBA (and a Great Deal!).” If you are looking for funding for your business or thinking about joining ASBA we’ve got a great deal for you:

  • Join ASBA this week (click here to join, and when you get to the last page, use my special promo code jasmine711 to join for only $100!) and receive 2 FREE tickets (a $70 value) to the August 10 Meet the Banks that are Lending seminar being held here at ASBA from 1 to 2:30 p.m. The non-member registration price is $35 and the member price is $15. Save yourself the extra $20 and put it towards your membership (that’s 1/5 of the cost). Pair that with their amazing Staples discount program and the membership pays for itself.

Gilbert Chamber

There are a couple of cool events this week and later this month at the Gilbert Chamber.

  • It is kind of short notice but a fun way to support the Gilbert 9/11 Memorial. Networking for a Cause presents Casino Night to raise funds to benefit the 9/11 Memorial being constructed here in Gilbert. The event is Thursday, August 4 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the House of Brews Neighborhood Sports Grill, 825 S Cooper Road (on the Southeast corner of Cooper and Warner Roads). Come meet your Gilbert firefighters, try your luck at Blackjack, and win raffle prizes, including an Apple iPad! Learn more about the event or register to attend»
  • Referral Strategies: Building Your Power Team is a don’t miss event and since it’s not for two weeks you have plenty of time to clear your calendar. Referral strategist, Victoria Trafton,provides training and tools to help business professionals gain financial success through relationship-based referral marketing. Jasmine has taken several of Victoria’s courses and they have completely changed how we approach networking and referrals. In fact, 910 West saw results immediately upon adopting Victoria’s techniques. The workshop is Wednesday, August 17 from 7:30 to 10 a.m. at the Val Vista Lakes event facility located on Val Vista Drive, just south of Baseline. Get details or register to attend»

MidFirst Mixer

The MidFirst San Tan branch is hosting a Business Mixer Thursday, August 4 starting at 5 p.m. If you are not banking with MidFirst you should be (we just moved our business accounts and are so happy—bye, bye fees). Take this opportunity to meet the staff and some local businesses. We will be there so hope to see you too! The address is 2849 S Market Street, Gilbert, AZ 85296. (It is just off the 202 near the San Tan Village mall.)

Posted in: Blog, Resources

07
Jul 2011
Posted by Jasmine
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Get Support for Your Local Business from ASBA (and a Great Deal!)

It has been a while since we have posted to the blog. It is not due to laziness but rather a new focus. Being a small business owner myself, I have quickly come to see the importance of buying from other local businesses. What really excites me is that I have found a way to use my business to promote other local businesses. We have been working in a lot of directions and there will definitely be more to come about it. For now, I want to tell you about a awesome business organization that I recently joined, Arizona Small Business Association (ASBA).

ASBA is all about supporting local and small businesses in Arizona so the group is a natural fit for us. I have also agreed to be a part of their effort to help the small businesses of our area become more successful.  During the month of July, I have committed to share the benefits of ASBA membership with you and to personally invite you to join me as an ASBA Member.

Joining is easy!  Click here to join, and when you get to the last page, use my special promo code jasmine711 to join for only $100! That’s an $85 savings.

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Posted in: Blog, Resources

01
Dec 2010
Posted by Jasmine
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Weekly Roundup: Blogging and Keyword Research

5 Incredibly Useful Research Tools Your Competitors Don’t Know About

Solid research is key to success in the SEO game. Unfortunately, it is not the easiest thing for a business owner to do on their own. The process can be a little complicated and absolutely time consuming and the best tools are not cheap. However, this article lists 5 solid tools for marketing research that are free. I especially recommend the YouTube Keyword Tool and WordTracker Question Search for anyone who is blogging (video or text) and wants to keep their post relevant and optimized to pull in traffic.

Should a Blog be Your Social Media Hub?

If you have just considered adding a blog or already have one but not sure about its use, then read this article. I love the idea of your blog being an online hub especially if the blog is integrated within your website. It is the perfect place to collect resources to share and post your own news and thoughts. If it is built within your website (not a separate site) then it also serves as tool to draw visitors further into the site and encourages repeat visits. It becomes not just an education tool but also a lead capture system.

5 Ways to Make Your Blog Posts Outstanding

Now that you are fired up about blogging, you may need a little help creating awesome content. This article offers five easy to follow and common sense tips for creating outstanding blog content. It is a must read for anyone who is blogging or thinking about starting one.

Blog Your Way to Corporate Success

Though it is a book review for “Corporate Blogging for Dummies,” this post has a nice voice, a few useful tips and a funny intro about spam comments that all business bloggers can relate too. The article is worth a read as is the book for anyone starting out or feeling frustrated.

Posted in: Blog, Internet marketing, Marketing, Marketing tips, Resources

26
Oct 2010
Posted by Jasmine
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Weekly Roundup: Video Resources

If you are thinking about adding video to your marketing materials but are lost how to start or want some tips for better video, check out these two resources.

Add Video to Your Marketing Toolbox Presentation

This first resource is the slideshow from a video workshop we presented in October. We will be adding audio shortly but the slides are pretty clear so should be enough to get you started.

Add Video to Your Marketing Toolbox on Prezi

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Posted in: Blog, Resources

29
Sep 2010
Posted by Jasmine
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Weekly Roundup: Facebook Places

I only have two articles this week but on a pretty important topic, Facebook Places. Use the extra time to start or claim your own places listing. To help you out, I’m including a link to the official Facebook Places FAQ.

5 Reasons Why Facebook Places Is Kind of a Big Deal

If you aren’t familiar with Facebook Places yet, then this article will get you started. It gives some basics about Places and why it’s a big deal for businesses.

The Video Guide to Facebook Places for Businesses

This video not explains what Facebook Places means to your business it also discusses privacy settings (something you should pay special attention to on Facebook).

Posted in: Blog, Marketing, Resources

22
Sep 2010
Posted by Jasmine
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Weekly Roundup: Outside the Box Social Media Uses

This week we have a couple of articles that offer up some overlooked uses for social media: surveys, customer retention, and reviews.

How to Supercharge Your Social Media Presence With Online Surveys

Online surveys are the perfect tool to get to know your audience. Audience intel is priceless is helping you understand how they think, buy, and interact. This article offers lots of advice for administering online surveys using social media and even lists questions to ask.

How to Measure Social Media’s Impact on Customer Retention

Most business owners think of social media as way to get new customers. To me, it is a much better tool for building relationships with current customers (customer retention). It offers an easy, unintrusive way to stay in touch and solve any service issues. This article lists 7 key metrics for measuring social media’s impact on keeping customers.

5 Ways to Get Rockin Reviews

Reviews are an amazing marketing tool. What better way to tell prospects how great you are than to have someone else do it for you. If you are not conducting some type of review campaign then you should be. It’s unbelievably easy with the tools available and will not only help sales but can also boost your search engine rankings. This article gives you several tips for making the most of referrals using both traditional and online marketing.

Posted in: Blog, Marketing, Resources

25
Aug 2010
Posted by Jasmine
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Weekly Roundup: All About Facebook

Facebook is still the hottest (and most difficult) marketing game in town. These articles provide some strong how-tos and ideas to improve your presence and engage your fans.

Facebook 101 for Business: Your Complete Guide

You will find this article helpful, even if you are already using Facebook as a marketing tool. The first half covers how to adjust the privacy settings on your personal profile to prevent any questionable info getting out to your business contacts. I get asked this question all the time and this walks you through the process step-by-step. It is a must-read for anyone using Facebook for business.

8 Powerful Ways to Use Facebook Landing Tabs

I have been talking a lot lately (both in this blog and in person) about jazzing up your Facebook business page. Custom landing tabs are the absolute best way to make your page stand out and grab visitors’ attention. Read this article for ideas on using landing tabs in your Facebook business page.

The Inside Scoop on How Intel Manages Its Facebook Page

I was skeptical when I first started reading this article. Intel is such a large company that I wondered if anything that they did (with their giant budgets) would be realistic for more small business clients. The theme of the article is engagement and that is something that can be done with any budget. If you are having trouble engaging your fans (getting them to respond to you), then this article will give you some ideas on how to solve that problem.

Posted in: Blog, Marketing, Resources

18
Aug 2010
Posted by Jasmine
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Weekly Roundup: Landing Pages, Event Marketing, and Ignoring Social Media Truths

In addition to social media, this week we cover two other powerful marketing tools—landing pages and events. The latter has a strong social media slant for those needing a fix but it should get you thinking outside of Twitter and Facebook marketing for at least a minute.

Landing Pages Are Your Secret Conversion Weapon

Landing pages are an interesting part of the marketing tool box. They have been done poorly for so long (think MLM and direct sales pages) that they are easy to dismiss as cheesy. On the other hand, a well-thought-out page may be just the thing to convert a looker to a buyer. I have recently advised several clients to add strategically created landing pages to their marketing tool box—should you add them too?

12 Ways to Market Your Event With Social Media

I have worked on two sides of the event marketing industry—as a part of the marketing team and also as a presenter. Getting the word out about your event to the right people is crucial for success. Social media presents us with a whole realm of possibilities and people to target. This article provides concrete suggestions on how to use social media to market your event. This is a must-read for event planners and business owners who host events.

7 Social Media Truths You Can Ignore and Still be Successful

If you are just starting out in social media or feel like your efforts are drifting, check out this article to learn what is important and what you can ignore.

Posted in: Blog, Marketing, Resources

11
Aug 2010
Posted by Jasmine
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Weekly Roundup: Social Media Takes a Time Out

This week we take a break from social media and online marketing articles and look at a couple of more generic business and marketing related topics.

Tips for Taking Better Photos

Laura Segall is a Phoenix, AZ wedding photographer who also happens to be a client and good friend of mine. She recently enlisted my help to choose a presentation topic for the local Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC) chapter. She had the brilliant idea of talking about how to take better photos—something any good bridal consultant (and self-marketing business owner for that matter) should know. This post is the written version of that presentation. It is a quick read full of helpful, practical, and most of all easy to follow tips. I often have clients who want to use their own photos in their marketing materials and most of them are just awful. If you are going to take your own photos, then you should absolutely read this article and follow Laura’s tips for improving them.

These Jobs Ain’t Coming Back

As the owner of small but growing business, I am seeing first hand how much small business contributes to our economy. A good friend of mine was recently laid off from her state job, which could have been devastating to her family except that I happened to be in need of a talented graphic designer. We started out working on a per-project contract basis, but if all goes according to plan she will be working full-time for me within a year. This article captures that concept and proposes that supporting small businesses is the way to get more jobs into the economy. I agree!

How To Talk To Small Business

Selling to the small business owner is very different than selling to a larger company. As this article discusses, small business owners are not spending someone elses money (they way a purchaser for a larger company is) but instead taking money from their own pocket and needs. When selling to a small business, you need to keep this difference in mind and tailor your approach.

Posted in: Blog, Marketing, Resources

21
Jul 2010
Posted by Jasmine
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Weekly Roundup: Branding, Facebook Success and More From Blogs

This week’s roundup is a strange mix of marketing advice and how-tos. I am not going to say more than that…read on and judge for yourself.

Mundane Marketing Magic
This article caught my attention because I have recently been asked to bid on a re-branding project and have the topic on my mind. It is a good reminder because I get so caught up in the day-to-day tasks of running a business that I forget that everything I do is a reflection of my brand. When I am on a deadline I am more worried about getting stuff done, than how I am doing it reflects on my company. This article is a good reminder that everything we do in our business is marketing and should reflect your brand.

Hiring a Designer? Eight Things to Look For
If you are thinking about re-branding your business or simply creating a new marketing piece, changes are you will need the help of a graphic designer. Use this article to help you pick a good one!

4 Proven Steps to Facebook Page Success
As a nod to our two very successful Facebook Page workshops last week, this article will help you get started if you find yourself struggling with what to put on the page. It presents a simple formula and makes it easy to make a great Facebook Business Page.

3 Simple Ways to Re-purpose Your Blog Posts for More Exposure
If you are already blogging, then pat yourself on the back. Simply put, it is the easiest, quickest way to make your website a traffic magnet. This article gives you ideas of how you take those posts and give them legs—submitting posts to article directories (linking opportunity anyone?), creating an audio version, or share it with the world.

Posted in: Blog, Marketing, Resources