Dean's InnerArchitect Blog

Facebook Viral Marketing Strategies: Fan Prominent Facebook Pages

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:12:09 -0600

Social media Marketing Directors often concentrate their efforts on building brand awareness through blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. One strategy is often forgotten: becoming a fan of a prominent company or blogger’s Facebook page.

Done strategically on Facebook pages, the simple act of becoming a Facebook fan could produce great viral opportunities for your products and services.

Become a Fan of a Prominent Facebook Page:

Many blogs with massive traffic (Mashable), have Facebook fan page widgets. These Facebook widgets, sitting in a prime area of the blog, display pictures of each new registered fan (or logo) as well as the link to that fan’s own blog or website.

New blog readers, who come to these blogs, can simply roll their cursor over a picture, within the Facebook widget, to find the name and link back to that person or company’s blog. This becomes a pathway to content providing instant viral marketing possibilities.

Mashable.com: Viral Marketing Dreams Are Made

See the shot below of the Mashable Facebook widget:

With over 60,000 Facebook fans and an Alexa ranking of 483, Mashable.com is one of the most well read sites in the world according to the statistical sampling done by Alexa. Likewise, Dan Schawbel is one of the most prominent social media writers in the blogosphere today.

The Results

Our CEO of Inner Architect’s Susan Hanshaw was displayed in the Facebook fan page widget on the Mashable page for Dan Schwabel’s article. This placement helped bring an additional 40 readers to our blog the day the article was posted.

We also found on the Mashable widget friend and associate Pat Kitano principle of Domus Consulting Group and former workshop attendee Ellen Richman.

Twitter Should Make "Follow" Widget a Blogroll

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:03:45 -0600

What fixes or features would you implement on Twitter if you were one of the principles? If I could fix something simple it would be to give each user control over the “blogroll” aka people you follow list that shows on the right side bar. This “following” widget shows the last 36 people or companies you have followed. What if you could choose the 36 people or companies who are displayed in this widget? This widget then becomes a true blogroll and it’s functionality becomes very important. This is what I could accomplish with this new feature:

8 Reasons to Make “Following” Widget a Functional Blogroll

Showcase: I could provide exposure for my most influential people-companies I follow
Best of Class: my following widget could be populated with the best providers of information
Perception: the perception of me or my company suffers in the eyes of my followers if less than appropriate or different people are showing up in my following widget aka blogroll
Change: provide each user the ability to change their “blogroll” daily, weekly, or monthly. This would allow me to run blogroll themes. Examples would include best of social media; social media companies, best hyper local resources, best regional information, niche information
Hashtags: I could feature the most prominent Twitterers from hashtags
RT: I could feature the most prominent RTers of my information as a recognition and thank you
DM Abusers: I could feature companies or people who use the DM as a spam messaging channel; This would be a warning system for users
Unfollowing: this could be a list of people or companies I am about to unfollow

Blogging Myths & Push Backs: 6 of The Most Common Reasons Why Realtors Do Not Blog

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:21:04 -0600

Courtesy Little Engine That Could Wiki

In my last post, I outlined 10 Reasons why Realtors should blog. The post was well received and anointed featured status. As a follow up, I will outline 6 of the most prevalent reasons or push backs, I have heard, on why Realtors do not adopt blogging.

6 Reasons Why Realtors Do Not Adopt Blogging

Misconception articles must be long:
- A: Blog articles according to usability expert Jakob Nielsen are best very short, succinct, and written in a "short writing" style. My average post run 200-350 words. Further evidence according to Nielsen is the results of his study on reading habits. According to Nielsen, online readers “users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely”
Misconception you must write everyday:
A: Wrong! Everyday is great but even if you write 1x per week you are ahead of most competitors. If you publish a monthly newsletter, that document alone usually will hold 2-3 articles
Fear to write publicly:
A: That happened to me the first few articles. But once I began to formulate a plan (you should do this first) I felt far more comfortable.
Resistant to take on new technology:
A: This is often the biggest reason people do not blog. In reality like any other learned skill, if you practice you become more familiar with the blog software. This familiarity breeds confidence which in turns makes your more efficient.
What do I have to say that has not already been said before?
A: Most likely nothing. BUT if you can prove you are willing to give people valuable content, many have not read what has already been written. Many people want to understand how you will react in a certain situation. Saying what has already been said is fine--you will develop your own voice
Who will see my blog?:
A: Possibly nobody if you do not know how to promote your blog, make it more visible, and be patient. The most important benefit of a blog is the fact it is a delivery system for your ideas and content. By delivering url-hyperlinks you can send people your information through other social networks, via email, or any number of sites like Active Rain

10 Reasons Why Realtors Should Blog: There Are No Excuses

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:54:07 -0600

Jorn Barger Blog Pioneer

Courtesy Jorn Barger Wiki

As Business Director for Inner Architect, my first priority is solidifying relationships with prospective clients in our industries of choice. Before we focused on Direct Marketing driven social media marketing strategies for corporations, our first niche of focus was the employment niche.

As early as June of 2008, we began writing about how important blogging would be to job seekers in finding a new position. Throughout 2008 and through Q1 of 2009 we continued to postulate and support blogging as the near perfect method for job seekers to differentiate themselves in landing a job. Unfortunately our messages mostly fell on deaf ears–leaving us no choice but to look for other niches more willing to leverage blogging in their businesses.

Although many Realtors have adopted blogging, the vast majority (like job seekers) have ignored the benefits and failed to adopt blogging for their businesses. If you plan on staying in real estate for 5+ years, the following list of "Reasons" should make the payoff worth the effort.

In today’s world, Corporations, small businesses, and entrepreneurs have adopted blogging in a steady stream since the advent of Web 2.0. The actual number of established blogs is in debate, yet the rough estimate is that their are over 150,000,000 blogs in existence today.

The vast majority of Realtors are not adopting blogging as a method and tool in their job search. Although this group has the need, and blogs are the nearly perfect application, the move to adoption is almost non existent. The following are 10 reasons why Realtors should blog.

10 Reasons Realtors Should Adopt Blogging

Publishing Platform: a blog is the writing platform to begin creating content about you
Control: blogging allows job seekers the opportunity to control their own information about their expertise and experience
Delivery: blogs are delivery systems for a job seeker’s content. The url for articles can be delivered to potential employers that currently blog
Networking: a blog allows Realtors to meet other bloggers; hopefully those new connections work for their targeted companies
New Skills: by adopting blogging, Realtors begin to learn about Web 2.0, social networks, blog software, delivering links, and how the new paradigm shift of information is being formulated everyday
Perception: Realtors that blog are perceived as being more savvy, as younger due to the perception that social media-blogging is a young person’s activity, and more relevant to employers because of these new skills
Visibility: blogging allows Realtors more visibility as a blog is “open” 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. It is a organic, living resume
Reputation Management: blogging provides a tool for Realtors to deliver messages that can correct or challenge erroneous information about them online
Due Diligence: when people perform due diligence on a Realtor, the first place they begin is with a Google search. Prospective clients are looking for information in Google (and online) that will give them a clue as to that Realtor's understanding of the internet. Equally important is the fact that prospects are also searching for any bad behavior or personal information that might signal the Realtor is unfit to become a service provider
Research: blogging requires research. Research requires skills in searching and finding information online which is a new skill for many job seekers. Research into specific subject matters that pertain to a job opening will increase a job seekers knowledge base on that subject

Hubspot Offers Two Free Measurement Tools For Your Online Marketing Efforts

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:45:12 -0600

The following article first appeared on my blog deansguide. It documents the benefits of utilizing Hubspot's free measurement tools in determining your blog's effectiveness and overall condition. Hubspot also features a free online marketing report at the end of your Website Grader report. You receive two free tools at no cost.

Realtor blog sites are being created everyday to support careers, businesses, and communities. But do you know how to measure your progress once you have launched the blog? Do you have analytics in place? Are you measuring through Google Analytics, WordPress statistics, Alexa, Quantcast, Sitemeter and other traffic measuring sites?

Website Grader Measures

The best tool you can use to analytically measure your blog or website is hubspot’s Website Grader. Hubspot, a Boston based social media analytics marketing firm, is one of the leading industry think tanks devoted to everything social business.

On Page SEO: analysis includes meta data, headings, images, & interior pages
Off Page SEO: analysis includes domain info, Google Page Rank, Google Indexed Pages, last Google “crawl” date, traffic rank including Alexa ranking, Inbound links, blog directory listings
Blogosphere: includes analysis of url established, Technorati ranking
Social Mediasphere: analysis includes listing in bookmarking sites del.cio.us, digg
Converting Leads: determines whether your site has RSS feed, Conversion form
Competitive Intelligence: keyword analysis and info on competing websites closely related to your site

Realtor Networking Strategy: Foster Relationships With Employment Agencies

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:19:59 -0500

Handshake Wiki

One of the most intriguing networking strategies for Realtors has yet to be truly leveraged here in Northern California. The idea is simple: Realtors should seek partnerships with employment agencies and individual headhunters as their next referral niche. At the same time, employment agencies and their individual headhunters should be targeting successful relocation agents for referral opportunities

Benefits of Networking with Employment Agencies

Lead Generation: employment agencies deal with job loss which often results in a necessary quick sale of primary property, investment property, or vacation home sales
Partnership: Realtors who partner with employment agencies could have an added value over their competition if they are privy to jobs, the hidden job market, and can guide people to those positions
Value Add: relocation agents could market their services with the special value add of employment information via their employment agency partnerships. They become the go-to source of employment information for their region or niche. Ex: Silicon Valley would be a prime place for an aggressive agent to become a go-to source of employment information
Employment Agency Associations: by networking with employment agencies the possibility of involvement into employment agency associations could accelerate the referral process
Speaking Engagements: joining or being invited to speak at Employment Agency Associations would provide more opportunities to broadcast your business to a new audience

Location, Location, Location: Use Pictures-Video To Elicit An Emotional Response

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:49:29 -0500

Real estate is all about location, location, location whether it means the location of a property or the location of your marketing efforts. We toil long and hard to ensure we are utilizing facebook, twitter, linkedin, blogging and other social networks. If you have a social media marketing strategy, you are already ahead of the masses that are sure to continue to adopt all of these networks. Whether you have a social media marketing strategy or not, here is a “location” that inspires me.

This is a shot of a vineyard row, taken in November of 2008, during late harvest in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley on the Silverado Trail. This picture represents the passion and love I have for this location–do you use pictures and video to elicit an emotional response?

Twitter Strategies Experiment: Combining RT & Recommendations

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:41:30 -0500

The following experiment was documented on deansguide. The #1 Twitter resource I use is http://Twitter.com/Twitter_Tips . Although the following idea is not new, as pointed out to me by Twitter_Tips, it is important to think outside the box. I believe if you follow the instructions, you will be able to leverage your relationships on Twitter even more than in the past.

In what was purely a chocolate meets peanut butter accident, ReTweeting took on a new possibility for me. I am not sure if this is a new Twitter strategy or simply a “renaming” of something old. With that spirit in mind, I decided to combine a RT with a with a blog article I produced. For lack of a better phrase, let’s call this new experiment: ReTweet Combos or RTC for short.

What is a RTC?

A ReTweet combo is the combination of a tweet you feel is valuable enough to recognize, by ReTweeting, and one of your own articles or that of another resource. Here is an example of my first ReTweet Combo:

In the example, I am ReTweeting @mashable’s tweet about UCLA’s Study that describes how searching on the internet activates your brain. The second bit.ly link is to my deansguide article “Twiter Strategies: How Smart Do You Want To Be?” which describes how research on Twitter will make you smarter and more relevant.

Benefits of ReTweet Combos

Recognize Your Resources: your RT recognizes your resources of people and companies
Building: by adding your own article or an outside source you are building upon the original RT idea
Authority by Association: by adding a link to your work you could be tied to that person-company’s concept
Networking: this could open up the lines of communication for networking

Possible Negatives of ReTweet Combos

Authority by Association: the original source of the tweet may not want to have a “partner” in a RT
Disagreement: the original source may not agree with your link regardless of whether it is your work or that of a 3rd party
Recognition: the original source’s information could be overshadowed by your information if it is stronger or more relevant

Twitter Strategies: Grow Your Brain On Twitter Research

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:33:41 -0500

Before Twitter became my biggest resource for research, I was an old schooler stuck with a library card. From that library card, came the advent of the internet and portals–places information flowed from with little structure. And from that evolution came the dawning of the Web 2.0 social media paradigm shift we have today. Although Twitter.com is not the biggest or the baddest social network on the block–they do hold one major distinction–real time instantaneous access to valuable information.

Why Twitter Is The Resource for Information

Real Time: instantaneous information links
Multitude: information from every niche, subject matter, topic, and genre can be found on Twitter
Freemium: the information is free, it is not charged for except in the case of the “old school” news agencies unwilling to understand that information is becoming an “open source” commodity
Authority: forgetting the welebrities for a moment, some of the smartest most brilliant new thought leaders from many niches share their research, expertise, studies, and cases
Crowdsourcing: information can be examined, commented upon, and scrutinized via the masses with new information formulated based on these “group” efforts
Courtesy The Big Cartoon Database

Grow Your Brain On Twitter

Twitter is like your diet. If you choose to consume junk and crap you will end up with a bad body. But if you choose to be careful and mindful of what you consume, perform your due diligence, and be open minded–the sky is the limit. Here is how to get started:

Identify Niche(s): before you can learn you must target the niche(s) you want to learn about in depth
How: that is up to you so look within for this answer
Create Lists: once you have your niche(s) you need to create rough lists of people-companies to follow that fit your research needs. These lists will change as you become aware of more resources. Note: always be willing to experiment & tweak your list(s)
How: you can use any number of Twitter applications to create lists. Some of the favorites are Tweetdeck, Hootesuite, and soon to be “Lists” function on Twitter
Search For Sources: roll up your sleeves and begin looking. Start with wefollow.com, try Twazzup.com, utilize Twitter’s internal search engine, & look on Google
How: list your keywords & keyword phrases relevant to finding your sources; input these keywords with relevant factors like region, geography, or demographics if they apply
Due Diligence: once you have your list of resources, begin to follow their tweets. Perform some due diligence by going through their tweets to make sure they are the right source for you
Mine The Blogroll: after finding each important resource (person-company) mine their blogroll of people-companies they follow. Note: this is often an accelerated way to gain new resources to follow
Save Your Links: once you begin to utilize Twitter you will find massive amounts of important links containing great information. The fastest way to bookmark, bank, these links is by using the “Favorites” button. By favoriting a tweet you automatically save it in your “Resource Bank” for later consumption

Twitter Security Issues: Are You Safe Tweeting That Information?

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:28:12 -0500

Courtesy Bouncer Wiki

Have you ever been stalked? I have. Have you ever had your home robbed? My parent’s home was robbed. Have you ever been confronted by an unknown person? I have. Security in today’s world is often a consideration we fail to understand. Either we feel safe, we reason we are not celebrities and thus immune, or we do not worry about the subject altogether. Twitter is a wonderful real time communication tool with ramifications if you are not careful. Like real estate, location-location-location, security begins with protecting your plans or location.

Personal Security Risks: Tweets That Tell Too Much?

Transparency is a staple of Web 2.0 and social networks yet how much information is too much? The following are the type of tweets that could be security risks to you or a loved one:

Locations: tweets that divulge your exact location
Why: you have no idea who is following your tweet stream and monitoring your whereabouts-giving exact locations places you in a position to be approached; add a close likeness in your bio picture and you are “findable”
Times: tweets that provide exact times of your location or a location you will be in the future
Why: these tweets can provide a possible unwanted someone enough information to locate you
Future Travel: tweets that outline specific travel activities with time or time frames
Why: the possibility of a burglary, although remote due to address information and other logistics needed, is not impossible considering the amount of information available about you especially when criminals know you are leaving your home

Business Security Risks: Lose Your Job, Business, or Advantage

Like our personal safety, our businesses should remain secure. The following tweets could be a security risk to your business or your job:

Partnerships: tweeting your new partnerships before they are solid business arrangements
Why: competitors looking for partners could be monitoring your efforts with an eye on your business partner
Sales: tweeting your new accounts, new contracts, new consulting gigs
Why: competitors can quickly act to attempt to under cut price, provide better product or service, and steal your new clients who are yet to be sticky to you or your company
Future Niche: tweeting your intention to pursue a new niche
Why: this alerts your competitors of new or fertile ground to be examined. If you believe you are first to the party–don’t tell anyone or you will have company
Business Travel: telling everyone you are attending a conference filled with your prospects is a sure fire way of attracting added unwanted competitors
Personal Opinions: As the Ketchum PR disaster already taught us, if you have an opinion detrimental to your customer you would be best to zip it and not say a word.
Why: if you have to ask why you truly do not get it
Realtor Open Houses: this is especially ominous. Be careful to have security measures in place before tweeting your open house information
Why: Incidents of open house crimes are on the rise nationally with murder, rape, attempted rape, assaults, and burglaries some of the felonies committed

The Newspaper Business Model Is Failing: Blue Angels' Cancellation A Perfect Example

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:36:14 -0500

In what became a perfect example of why newspapers are failing business models, the Navy’s Blue Angels were forced to cancel their show, in San Francisco, yesterday due to fog conditions. The simple fact that fog was present forcing the Angels to cancel is not the reason American newspapers are going to go under–it’s the lack of breaking news delivery speed. Even worse? I wake up this morning and buy my local newspaper, the Marin Independent Journal a Gannet property, paying $1.25 for my “news.” Yet the news I wanted to read about, the most dominant story in the Bay Area, was not covered. Not even a mention in my Sunday edition.

Why Newspapers Will Fail

Mobile News: while a crowd of thousands stood around waiting for the Angels to reappear (after an initial flyover) one of the audience members announced that the show was canceled due to fog–he received the information off of his iPhone
Real Time vs. Their Time: if the “IJ” had run a story the next day on the show’s cancellation it would have at least been the opportunity for the paper to be more thorough by providing interviews or additional information.
Google Indexing-Where Are They?: In the most telling reason why newspapers will lose, a Google search “Blue Angels Cancel show” the top 10 results:
- SF Chronicle #7 with no other newspapers in the top 20 first two pages of results
- CBS, ABC, and bloggers dominated the news capturing the other 9 spots on page one

#1 Reason Why Newspapers Will Fail

Newspaper braintrusts do not understand that breaking news is not a commodity for monetization any longer. Bloggers and more agile online sources are crushing the newspaper industry at their own game. Even the name newspaper is no longer accurate. There is very little news in the papers that has not already been reported hours or even days before online.

Conclusion

Newspapers should monetize and sell their ability to create valuable commentary. Produce expert opinion, how to, or resource information. In essence, newspapers should follow the model of the most successful bloggers who have built audiences based on their ability to be perceived as a go-to source of information important to the audience

Twitter Strategies: 3 Ways Viral Happens & The Results

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:26:57 -0500

Courtesy Twitter Wiki

What does viral word of mouth exposure for a blog post look like? It happens when you use bit.ly, url shortener, to spread the word about your article on all of your social networks like facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. Viral happens when:

You write solid, helpful content that provides value to your readers
An influential Twitterer like Twitter_Tips ReTweets your article
You leave your content on all of your social networks

The Results

The following article "Twitter Strategies: #FollowFriday To Recognize & Attract New Followers" written September 25, 2009 was RT today (Oct 9) by Twitter_Tips and broadcast to his/her followers: 137,099. The article has 385 page views with 7 1/2 hours to go before the end of the day. I hope this helps you understand a tip about Twitter and one about viral marketing on Twitter.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you understand how to use Twitter’s #FollowFriday hashtag event? There are many strategies involved before beginning your Twitter account and many once you have started. One of the best Twitter strategies is to participate in what is called #FollowFriday.

What is #FollowFriday?

#FollowFriday is a hastag group event that happens every Friday. The mission of #FollowFriday is to help people discover new Twitterers to follow. It is not only a rather social event but it is also a strategic tool.

Benefits of #FollowFriday

Testimonials: by asking people to follow your follower(s) you are providing them with a testimonial
Value: you add value to your network by making people aware of valuable resources (other Twitterers)
Networking: by providing a #FollowFriday recognition for someone you are opening the lines of communcation for others to thank you, contact you for information, or ask you a question

#1 #FollowFriday Tip

If you want to get noticed, provide the best value for your network, and create a new stream of followers for you:

Do NOT do this- .@deansguide .@susanhanshaw .@innerarchitect #Followfriday. This is lame and does NOT give anyone a reason to follow these people
DO THIS: “If u want great soc media info #Followfriday .@deansguide .@susanhanshaw .@innerarchitect” Simply put, you want to write a short description about why people should follow your friends. Give them a reason and be creative. This is like writing ad copy for the very short attention span person.

Social Media vs. Traditional Media: Are You Ready To Believe Yet?

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:31:26 -0500

If you ever want to understand why the paradigm shift of Web 2.0 Social Media is taking over the advertising, communications, and marketing world, the following post is for you. Written by Innerarchitect.com CEO Susan Hanshaw, the video tells the story of where we are going. As social media marketing strategist, we are often bombarded with naysayers who do not believe in the paradigm shift. These same folks are still utilizing outdated website platforms, email as their main marketing tool, and print advertising for "reach."

Reality shows us that many mass media stalwarts are going away, with over 800 magazines eliminated in 2009. The 70 year old "Gourmet" magazine is the latest failure with parent Conde Nast indicating more to come. Here is Susan's article-consider it a solid piece of evidence that things are changing:

Every week Dean and I meet with a number of companies who are at various levels of exploring social media as a serious marketing channel. More often than not, there is one person in the group that is a bit skeptical about the longevity of this revolution.

Erick Qualman, author of Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business, is behind this eye-opening video that details how social media has changed the world. This kind of development reminds me of the music and cultural revolution of the 1960’s—a transformation that will likely have a long-term impact. Are you ready now to take social media seriously?

ShareThis

Twitter Strategies for Membership Based Businesses: How Can You Leverage Twitter?

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:43:32 -0500

Courtesy CharlesAtlas.com

Twitter strategies are applicable to a vast array of businesses in need of a broadcasting, lead generation, marketing, and audience engagement channel. The following is a Twitter strategy that can be utilized in a business niche that is extremely competitive: the healthclub industry. The primary focus for healthclubs are membership retention and new membership sales. Here are a few simple strategies to help these clubs connect with their audience in a step by step process:

Connect On Site: Laptop

Place two laptops at the front desk- one open to the club’s Facebook page, the other open to the clubs’ Twitter account
Place open laptops next to each bank of large TV monitors
Place a laptop in the Women’s and Men’s locker rooms

Benefits: Members and Management

Laptops provide open immediate access to club members, and prospective members, to fan the club’s Facebook page and follow them on Twitter
Allows members to immediately comment on their experience in the club
Encourages members become involved in social media networks if they are not already using them
Provides a voice to club members who know that the club management is monitoring their comments and engaging
Builds your list of current club members and prospective club members by making the sign up process as a follower or fan as simple as possible

Twitter Hashtags

Initiate hashtags for Pilates, Aerobics, Ballroom dance, Karate, and any other classes or activities offered at the club
Create a #Followfriday type of hashtag day such as “#workoutwednesday”

Benefits: Members and Management

Provides specific feedback for each class taught
Gives members a voice as well as a “Twitter club” specific to their favorite club activity
A hashtag day like #Workoutwednesday could act as a networking event for members to meet new members, manaagement to comment on members or instructors, and prospective members to “meet” people from the comfort of their homes first

Personalize Your Staff: Make Everyone Accessible

“Celebritize” instructors by initiating Twitter accounts for individuals. Follow the bar-nightclub strategy and make your instructors “stars” that people follow and prefer
Tweetups-have staff-instructors organize “Tweetups” at the club like a party to act as a lead generation event, networking event, and to showcase the club facilities

Broadcasting: Hyper Local News, Discounts, Deals, Specials, & Events

Become the go-to source for community information about your state, county, city, town, district, or neighborhood
Vary the messages to include issues outside, but effecting members, the health field
Broadcast your club discounts, specials, deals on memberships, gear, food-beverages, or events
Broadcast events or news pertaining to your vendors, affiliates, sister businesses, local businesses, or networking partners

Benefits: Members and Management

Members will consider the club a source of valuable information and comeback to read club tweets and club Facebook entries
Management will be able to engage with their audience, sell their products and services, while adding value to their marketing efforts
Management will be able to point to their efforts to gain exposure for their affiliates, vendors, and networking partners
Management will be able to partner with networking partners by providing links for cross marketing
Members will be able to take advantage of discounts, deals, specials, and events specifically created for their Facebook fans and Twitter followers

Twitter Strategies: How to Share A Link For Immediate ReTweeting

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:06:29 -0500

Our deansguide article “Twitter Strategies: #FollowFriday to Recognize and Attract New Followers” was RT aka ReTweeted today by the powerful and important Twitter_Tips Twitter service. The results have been excellent with 195 page views from this one RT. The viral passing of this link is also impressive with the Twitter_Tips network of followers numbering 136, 050 and counting. During my due diligence in investigating where my traffic was originating, I discovered a neat trick that Twitter_Tips uses to save time and create more recognition opportunities. This is a great Twitter strategy that everyone should utilize.

Twitter Strategy: “Share”

Above is the RT by Twitter_Tips of the deansguide article. Twitter_Tips provided this RT without the traditional “RT”and they used it for #Followfriday further showcasing our article. Here is the cool tip:

1st Shortened URL: this is the http://mp/mtdNg and it is a direct link to the deansguide article
Share: here is the cool tip. After the word “Share” is a bit.ly link that when clicked on brings the reader directly back to Twitter with the RT already written out ready to be tweeted like so:

The finished product above makes it extremely simple and compelling for readers to:

Virally pass your article along to their network
No need to write a RT as it is already prepared for the reader
Waste time positioning links
Waste time deciding whether to RT or not to RT

Realtors & Lawyers Face Stress & Pressure: 6 Keys to Peak Performance

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:30:02 -0500

Realtors are under tremendous stress to produce results for their clients, maintain their seat in their brokerage, and to put food on the table. The challenges of the current market and over saturation of the real estate field make for a tough go of it for most Realtors.

Lawyers & Realtors

Attorneys are not unlike Realtors in the challenges they face to win business, perform for their clients, and put food on the table. The stress of trial and the stakes of contingency arrangements, can lead to heightened pressure.

The following article provides 6 Keys to Peak Performance for Lawyers but it completely fits the challenges Realtors face everyday. It was written by our client and friend Gary Gwilliam. Gary is a nationally recognized plaintiff attorney and principle in the Oakland, California lawfirm of Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli, & Brewer. Gary has been featured on ABC Nightline, in major newspapers and magazines, and he is a columnist for Plaintiff magazine in Northern California. Please welcome Gary!

I have been a trial lawyer for over 40 years. My entire career has involved nothing but litigation, first as a prosecutor for several years and then as a plaintiff’s lawyer since 1966. I have tried over 180 jury trials to verdict. I learned how to try cases the hard way; through trial and error. I had very little mentoring or teaching about trial techniques. I learned them on my own and through the trial lawyer seminars. These days, there is much more information available to lawyers, yet we still learn the most from other trial lawyers who have been there before us. In that vein, I hope you can benefit from my experience.

6 Keys to Peak Performance

Good energy
Mental alertness
Strong concentration abilities
A good memory
Knowing how to speak articulately
Top-notch listening skills

What Holds Us Back?

These should be the goals of every lawyer. Why is it that we can’t always be at our best? What holds us back? The literature is full of good articles and books on the negative effects of stress, yet so many of us seem to ignore the symptoms of overwork and overstress. Instead, we work even harder, get more tired, overstressed and irritable. We act as if the well-known effect of not taking care of ourselves doesn’t apply to us because we have a law degree. We think we can get away with ignoring these symptoms.

The Simple Truth: We Don’t Take Care of Ourselves

The truth is if we don’t take care of ourselves physically, our mental abilities suffer. The same is true of taking care of our emotional selves. Negative emotions can cause a drain in our energy. They make it difficult to concentrate and be at our best. My goal is to share what I have discovered as critical to performing at peak levels.

What Is Cloud Computing: Web 2.0

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:37:03 -0500

What is Cloud Computing? You may know the answer or you may actually think you know the answer. The following list of Web 2.0 experts know the answer. They are bringing the answer to you in various ways, with many benefits, and in a creative interview style. The question "What is Cloud Computing" was asked at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco in September.

The Players

Tim OReilly Dan Farber Matt Mullenweg Jay Cross Brian Solis Kevin Marks Steve Gillmor Jeremy Tanner Maggie Fox Tom McGovern Sam Lawrence Stowe Boyd David Tebbutt Dave McClure Chris Carfi Vamshi Krishna and Rod Boothby

Social Media Networks: How to Advance Your Social Media Marketing In The New Channel

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:56:08 -0500

Guest article by Susan Hanshaw Founder & CEO of Inner Architect, Co-Founder BreakingNapaValleyNews.com

I think we all pretty much agree that social media as a marketing channel is in its infancy. Most businesses are like babies taking their first steps—excited, unsure and perhaps with a bit of fear. Having grown up in the direct marketing industry, I honor the brilliance of those who are developing the tools that are shaping social media today. Yet having participated in a marketing channel that has evolved into a science, I see some steps we need to take to advance social media to its next stage of development.

Approach social media as you would a small child with much potential. Invest in its care and feeding and don’t expect it to support itself until it has a chance to grow up.
Shift the focus from the concept of influence to the idea of propensity. Look towards building connections with people who have proven to take the action you want rather than rely on their friends to influence them.
Invest in developing methods to identify and reach out to your target customers. Don’t allow your social networks to evolve on their own. Manage your networks from the perspective of building the most valuable list you can. Don’t skimp on the time to do some digging as that is where you will discover your gold.

Twitter Is Making The Web More Sensory: Tim O'Reilly Talks Next Revolution

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:02:44 -0500

Tim O’Reilly, the driving force behind the concept of Web 2.0 and a genuine social media thought leader, details why Twitter is becoming the leading social network in today’s social media world. The interview is conducted by FORAtv.com President & CEO Blaise Zerega. Asked to compare social networks to human “senses” and to name the most important social network, O’Reilly nails it with these ideas:

Unexpected impact: “I don’t know if there is a single new thing, right now, or if we will notice it right away. People didn’t know how big Google would be in 1998. . . if there is anything in that category today I would say it’s Twitter.”
Twitter’s Impact: “The thing that has impressed me the most about Twitter is it’s brought real time to a peak on the web”
Trend: Twitter’s impact on how we expect real time information is “making the web more sensory like. . . “
What Does it mean?: “It means you start to build systems for stimulus and response.”
Humans & Computers: “There is a whole part in what we’re building here, is this new hybrid human computer machine”
Constant Factor: We are moving toward a “Collective Intelligence” which will cause a “Revolution in Business.”

Realtors Selling San Francisco: DataSF.org

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:48:04 -0500

The latest tool available to San Francisco Bay Area Realtors, selling San Francsico real estate, is the new site DataSF.org. Launched by city government, the site is a comprehensive housing mechanism for data sets about San Francisco. The data sets provide Realtors with crucial information that can detail life in the city down to the neighborhood.

What is DataSF?

“DataSF is a clearinghouse of datasets available from the City & County of San Francisco. Our goal in releasing this site is:
(1) improve access to data
(2) help our community create innovative apps
(3) understand what datasets you’d like to see
(4) get feedback on the quality of our datasets.”

Datasets

The following is a list of the data sets collected by DataSF.org:

LinkExaminer: Free Robust Link Checking Tool

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:41:30 -0500

For all of you SEO fans there is a new link "examining" tool that provides tons of valuable information to help you maintain the health and success of your site. In a fantastic article "LinkExaminer: SEO Friendly Link Scanning Utility" by Webguild.com's Ann Smarty, we given a step by step instruction lesson on how to use LinkExaminer.

Basic Steps to Using LinkExaminer

There is no way I can improve on Ann's launch instructions; here they are right from the source

Under the menu Scan choose ‘Set URL‘,
Enter in your main URL,
Under the same menu click ‘Start’.

Stats Returned

URL
Http Code
Http Message
Internal
Robots.txt content
No Follow
Dynamic
Relative
SEO
Title
Depth
In
Out
Content Type
Page size
Last Modified
Link Type
Duration
Similarity

San Franciso Italian Tradition: Sodini's In the Heart of North Beach

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:08:11 -0500

Sodini’s owned and lovingly operated by my friend Mark Sodini is the closest original thing to Billy Joel’s “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.” It is a combination of old school San Francisco tradition, a well established San Francisco restaurant running family, and Cheers–a place where you belong the moment you walk through the door.

The mouth watering home made gnocchi, stone oven fired crisp buttery pizzas, the rack of lamb, or any one of the ravioli dishes make me forget my mom’s cooking. Sodini’s is an incredible value with prices, see the menu, which defy San Francisco’s stratospheric restaurant price structure.

Atmosphere is what sets Sodini’s apart from the rest. Mark Sodini is an engaging, honest, home spun, funny, and charismatic host. As the captain of the ship, Mark runs his restaurant from behind the bar which faces to the open dining room. He greets everyone and I mean everyone who comes in and out the door. Mark provides an atmosphere where you feel you are truly amongst friends.

It is the Cheers of San Francisco. Thanks Mark for the memories!

Realtor Writing Tip #1: Top 10 Blogs for Writers

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:59:57 -0500

If you need tips on how to become a better writer, you may be acquinted with Copyblogger. If you need more resources to help your writing, the following Top 10 list is sure to provide the content you are looking to read. Michael Steltzner the author behind WritingWhitePapers.com chose his “Top 10 Blogs for Writers-The 2009/2010 Winners” awards. This list can be a content library unto itself. Congratulations to Coppyblogger the winner of this years competition.

Michael Steltzner’s Top 10 Blogs for Writers

The following is Michael’s list in his own words on why he chose each site:

Copyblogger: This site is the heavyweight champion of the world four years running (and one of the top blogs on the planet)! The brain-child of Brian Clark, his blog keeps winning because of its insightful articles.
Men With Pens: James Chartrand and Harry McLeod maintain the number two slot with their inspiring content and rich community discussion.
Write to Done: This blog nearly always delivers a home run with its excellent articles for all writers and is the product of top blogger Leo Babauta.
Editor Unleashed: Inspired by the former Editor-in-Chief of Writer’s Digest, Maria Schneider explores writing, social media and community on her excellent blog.
Freelance Writing Jobs: This site is the first stop for freelance writers seeking new work and great articles (and it remains a top winner since this contest began). Congrats Deb Ng!
Confident Writing: Joanna Young delivers rich and useful articles that will help you take your writing to the next level.
Urban Muse: Susan Johnston covers a wide range of excellent topics that all writers will enjoy.
WordCount: Journalist Michelle Vranizan Rafter explores the challenges freelance writers face on her excellent blog.
Quips & Tips for Successful Writers: A true cornucopia of ideas for writers, Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen provides endless content and freelancing tips.
Fuel Your Writing: This site will certainly fuel you! Michelle Krasniak Oxman and her huge team of contributors provide great content for writers.

1980's Most Dominant Era in NFL History

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:56:21 -0500

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TEDnG4FCHk&rel=1]

All due respect goes to Tom Brady, a local Nor Cal guy, and the Boston Patriots. Great team but not the greatest ever. That designation, in my opinion, goes to the San Francisco Forty Niners voted team of the 1980’s. Why are the Niners my choice as the dynasty of all dynasties?

1. 1980’s: Coming off the heals of the NFL’s greatest era the 1970’s, the decade of the 1980’s included some of the greatest teams in NFL history. Powerhouses included the 49ers, Redskins, Giants, Raiders, Bears, Cowboys, Steelers, Eagles, Dolphins, Broncos. The talent level on each team was deep and Hall of Fame quality.

2. No Cap: Teams in the 1980’s were loaded. They could pay players without salary caps to hamstring their efforts.

3. Parody: In the 1980’s there were at least 8 great teams operating every year. Parody was not part of the equation as the philosophy without a cap is to produce the “super talented super deep” teams.

Today’s Patriot’s team, like Jordan’s Bulls, does not have enough quality foes to test themselves against nor enough quality rivals. The Patriots, like the Bulls, walk through mediocre (by 1980’s standards) schedules. They do not have the competition to compete against to consider them the greatest team of alltime.

Twitter Strategy #8: #FollowFriday The Right Way

Dean Guadagni (Inner Architect; Inner Architect Media) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:43:18 -0500

Twitter is a fantastic opportunity for a number of reasons. Yet so many people do not understand how to plan or strategize their Twitter efforts. There are many strategies involved before beginning your Twitter account and many once you have started. One of the best Twitter strategies is to participate in what is called #FollowFriday.

What is #FollowFriday?

Benefits of #FollowFriday

Testimonials: by asking people to follow your follower(s) you are providing them with a testimonial
Value: you add value to your network by making people aware of valuable resources (other Twitterers)
Networking: by providing a #FollowFriday recognition for someone you are opening the lines of communcation for others to thank you, contact you for information, or ask you a question

#1 #FollowFriday Tip

If you want to get noticed, provide the best value for your network, and create a new stream of followers for you:

Do NOT do this- .@deansguide .@susanhanshaw .@innerarchitect #Followfriday. This is lame and does NOT give anyone a reason to follow these people
DO THIS: "If u want great soc media info #Followfriday .@deansguide .@susanhanshaw .@innerarchitect" Simply put, you want to write a short description about why people should follow your friends. Give them a reason and be creative. This is like writing ad copy for the very short attention span person.