“Isn’t it funny?” Girl Friday thought to herself this morning over her double-Sanka with CoffeMate and a Tang chaser.

“Online marketing is about communities. But you are using a “machine” (your computer, PDA or mobile device) to participate in that community. And that “machine” is a barrier – so your perception of the experience is that you are looking in to the group, and not truly of the group. Geez, Louise, that’s a bit depressing!  So…you’re actually using a “machine” to create the illusion of human community and heartfelt interaction? Darling, bring me another Sanka so I can chew on this a bit more!”

That desire to truly belong to the online community is what businesses need to tap into when they decide to go with an online marketing or social media plan.

Make your online community (blog, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) a place where we want to belong. You are the expert. We want to trust you and like you. We really do want what you have, whether it’s a product you’re offering, a service, or just the coolness of belonging to your groovy group. You just have to remind us that you’re just like us, we’re just like you, we all want the same things. Help us remember our desire.

And it occurred to Girl Friday, just this minute, that THE KEY to creating that place of belonging online, is to RE-HUMANIZE the experience.

Since you can’t take away the computer – the barrier –  be online who you are in person. Write like you talk. Deliver your message or product or cool factor with humor. Make your point matter-of-factly if you are a stiff, dry, nerdy type. Hey, that’s who you are? Revel in it, honey!

I betchya dollars to donuts the MadMen guys and gals never had to RE-humanize their ad campaigns in order to create that desire in their magazine ads. They didn’t have to “create a community.” Everyone seemed to belong to the same group, and the message brought them even closer together in their shared desire for the product.

But we’re going with digital dots dashes bits and bytes these days…

So the short moral of this long story?

We’re all human, baby…
act like one online
You’ll gather your community in no time!

Twitter. Facebook. Social Media. Blogs. Search Engine Optimization… Let’s face it…for most business owners, the new world of online marketing technologies is intimidating and overwhelming.

You’ve heard about it, you might have even have tried to figure this stuff out on your own – but you don’t have the time, you don’t have the resources and you don’t know why it matters to you. Right?

Wrong. The majority of your prospects and customers are ALREADY using online tools EVERY day to find information and to make purchasing decisions. In fact, 98% of buying decisions today involve some form of online search or inquiry. If you’re not there – where the conversation is ALREADY happening – you miss out on a vast pool of potential customers/clients. Additionally: an overwhelming 93% of social media users expect companies to have an online presence. What’s yours?

NeighborhoodNow.com founder Roohi Moolla, and Girl Friday Virtual Marketing founder Elaine Lucia are combining their 40+ years of Online Technology and Marketing experience to bring you a Powerhouse of Professional Knowledge and Tools that you can implement IMMEDIATELY to create a successful Online Marketing Strategy (read more about Roohi and Elaine below).

In this 3-part series of workshops, we’ll walk you through the process of creating and implementing an Online Marketing Strategy suited specifically to your business – and we’ll make it painless, simple and effective.

WORKSHOPS BEGIN NEXT THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5! REGISTER HERE

We’ll help you navigate the maze of Online Marketing Tools that are on the internet today, and we’ll work WITH you to select those tools best suited to promoting YOUR business, show you how you can easily incorporate simple marketing steps into your schedule and teach you how to turn online prospects into real paying customers.

At the end of the Workshop Series, you’ll have:

1. A solid understanding of why you need to use Online Marketing Tools for your Business
2. The right mix of Tools to attract prospects and customers for your business
3. How to implement those Tools easily and effectively

Each Workshop includes a Training Session, followed by Lunch and a Question/Answer Session, where you can finally get answers to your own questions about Social Media, Your Website’s effectiveness etc.

Workshop 1: Thurs. Nov. 5
Navigating the Maze –
Which Online Tools Do You Need for YOUR Business?

• Intro to Online Marketing: What exactly is it? We know, and we’ll tell you. Take away solid facts, and a list with links and resources.

• An A to Z of Online Marketing Tools: We’ll show you the best and the most effective. Take away a glossary of terms and definitions.

• Your Online Toolbox: Complete your Business Profile and we’ll use it to help you figure out which online tools are right for your business and your goals. 

Take away: your own Online Marketing “Toolbox.”

Workshop 2: Thurs. Nov. 12

Stake Your Claim –
Determine Your Best Online Presence: Website, Blog, E-commerce?

• What makes a good website? What’s better for your business and goals? We’ll tell you which type of site you really need and why Take away some solid facts that will help you decide your next step:

• Starting Over?: We’ll tell you what you need to know and the steps you must take BEFORE investing time and effort in a website that gets no visitors and no customers. We’ll help you turn your website into an effective and dynamic marketing tool that WILL attract prospects, leads and customers.

• Work with What You Have: Complete a Website Health checklist so you can find out if your website is really working FOR you and what to do to get it into shape.

 Take away: The Key Factors to an effective Online Presence.

Workshop 3: Thurs. Nov. 19
Raise Your Banner High–Drive traffic and customers to your site with Social Media

• Twitter: What exactly is it and how does it work? Is it right for your business? We’ll help you figure it out and tell you how to get started.

• Facebook: Should you use the most popular social media tool? How can your business benefit?
• LinkedIn: Professionals use this for networking. Can you use it for your business? If so…how? Take away: A Roadmap for an effective Online Social Media Strategy

THURSDAY: Nov. 5, Nov. 12 and Nov. 19
10 am – 12 pm: Workshop
12 – 1 pm: Lunch (provided) PLUS Question/Answer Session

WORKSHOP FEE (Includes Lunch):
$95/workshop; OR
$240 for all 3 workshops ($80/workshop)
if you pre-register by November 2nd 
-
use discount code WSALL3
on the 3rd workshop to receive your discount ($45 value)

Workshops are limited seating.
Register now to reserve your seat.

WORKSHOP LOCATION:
Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce
6 Petaluma Blvd. N., Suite A-2
Petaluma, CA 94952

Questions? Need More Info?
EMAIL: info@neighborhoodnow.com or CALL: 707.338.8900
info@e-girlfriday.com or CALL: 707.696.9404

So, you’ve got your SEO website. Gotchyer blog. You’re posting there regularly. And you’ve got TONS of customers and…..no?? That’s not what’s happening? You mean…you need to do even more Inbound Marketing?

Yes, folks, that is correct! Social Media Marketing is a super important, but easy and free way to bring traffic to your site/blog.

“OK OK what is it, Girl Friday? you may ask. “And is it also truly easy and FREE?”

Today is your lucky day! Social media is cheap AND easy! Now, how often does that happy to you? (I mean that in a good way, of course. This is a family newsletter!)

1. What it is: Social Media Marketing is using on-line communities to create conversation, build credibility, and increase your brand presence to an audience that is interested in your products and services, and to new customers who would not have heard of you otherwise.
2. It IS easy. Here is a simple example: Let’s say you own a small restaurant in Santa Rosa – a routine Social Media Marketing plan might work like this…
   1. Your website contains menus, information about you as a chef, location, etc. And you have an on-line to go menu (a very cool tool, so SEO!).
   2. On your blog, every day, you post the evening’s new menu, or the day’s specials. Or the soup. Whatever. What is important is that since you have to create and print a new menu daily anyway, you simply copy and paste that menu text onto the blog. It takes 2 minutes of your time but builds enormous internet presence, because you are now publishing content on your blog every day. As a result, more customers learn about you, start to check your menu on a regular basis, come in to the restaurant, or click on the on-line to-go menu to order.
   3. You have joined a Sonoma county Facebook group (because that’s where your customers are), where you invite people to your blog to check the day’s menu. You mention your on-line order system for take-out. You toot your horn, baby!
   4. You have a Twitter account under your restaurant name, where you post your blog URL and direct people to your blog and site. Or you mention (in one sentence) the debut of a new, incredible dessert. Short, sweet tweets on Twitter are quick and easy.
   5. You have a profile on Yelp! (the local business site that allows users to recommend businesses they like to the site’s visitors). Your customers rave about your menu, the service, the easy on-line order system, etc. Visitors to Yelp! read those rave reviews, visit your site, order take-out, make a reservation for dinner….you get the picture!
   6. When you get a great review, mention it on Twitter. Post it on Facebook. See how it works? I TOLD you it was easy!
3. What about the FREE part?? Well, it’s free. No money required. What is required is a plan,  your time, consistency.
   
4. Do I have to do this?? I really don’t want to!! (No, but it’s good for you. Just try it, and if you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it. But have I ever given you anything that wasn’t good for you??)
5. How to start?:
   1. Identify your audience by researching blogs and social sites by industry, location, etc. THIS is most important! You can use search tools like Google, Technorati, Google Blog Search, Ice Rocket, Bloglines, Twitter Search, AideRSS.
   2. Sign on to at least one industry-specific group or site, and one social, casual site Better to participate regularly in two or three groups rather than sporadically in eight groups.
   3. Don’t just advertise!! GIVE information: answer questions, respond to another’s post with expert advice, post info about OTHER businesses you like. You’ll gain credibility this way for when you DO post an event, a sale, a product launch.Now…get started!!! Here is a partial list of the most popular Social Media Sites: Digg, Reddit, Stumbleupon, YouTube, Del.icio.us, Propeller, Facebook, Twitter

“Girl Friday!” you may ask. “What the HECK is Search Engine Placement? How is it different from Search Engine Optimization? What does it do for my website? How does it work?”

What is SEP? How is it different from SEO?

1. Search Engine Placement (SEP) is a paid program that Google and Yahoo provide to businesses and individuals through approved affiliates (ask Girl Friday).  This program places your website on the first page of search results, and you stay on that first page, for as long as you are in the program.
2. Unlike Search Engine Optimization (SEO), SEP does not require that you re-program (or ‘optimize’) your website, or re-design your actual site (although it’s a good idea to do so).

What SEP does for your website:

1. Places your website at the top of the first page on Yahoo!
2. Places your Website on the first page of Google.
3. These are guaranteed placements within 5 to 10 business days of starting the program.
4. You do not pay for the placement until your website URL actually appears on the first page of the engine(s).

That’s amazing! How does it do that?!:

1. It is based on the best keyword phrases for your site (there’s that WORD again!!);
2. When those keyword phrases are ‘searched’ your site will come up at the top of Yahoo and/or the first page of Google, guaranteed, because you’ve ‘locked in’ those keywords for your site;
3. You design your own program by selecting as many key word phrases as you like, allowing potential customers to find you on the engine(s) in a variety of ways;
4. The “relevance” and “weight” of those keywords determine your monthly cost (so, you control the budget);
5. It’s NOT pay-per-click: you pay one monthly fee no matter how many people click on your website URL;
6. Once the key word phrases are selected and the program set up, it takes about five to ten days for your site to get top ranking.  It’s almost like magic, except that it isn’t! It’s really more like a technological wonder!

OK, Girl Friday…what does it cost?

1. You pay an initial set-up fee (for Google, Yahoo, or both);  Contact Girl Friday for details
2. Then, you pay a fixed monthly fee which does not change for a guaranteed 12 month period – you can set your monthly budget (minimum of $150/month for 3-month minimum time period).
3. Your site will appear in the ‘sponsored areas’ of the engine’s first Page
4. This is not a “cheap” service but it is relatively affordable; it has high value and high return on investment when you compare it to other forms of advertising, including pay-per-click, AdWords, print advertising, etc.

That’s IT?? Why…It’s affordable, easy, AND guaranteed. Life truly CAN be good again! Thanks, Girl Friday!