Jay, I am trying to figure out how to start our social marketing as you recommend. Our information is so technical that we cannot hire someone off the street to blog or answer questions in the different medias. Our technical staff is so overwhelmed with work that they really have no time to monitor the different sites. Help?

Here is my reply:

Not all Social Media needs to involve a two-way conversation. For example we could develop YouTube videos. A series of 8-10 videos explaining common tips for your target market could gain a lot of popularity on YouTube, we would search engine optimize the videos so they would come up in Google and YouTube searches and they could be easily uploaded to your website and blog. Did you know that YouTube is the #3 website in the world and the #2 search engine!

Speaking of blogs, they are primarily a  1-way informational medium, they don’t require a lot of moderating and conversation. I check the comments on my blog a couple times a week or so, it only takes a minute to approve comments.

I love podcasts!!! These are another 1 way medium, primarily. You could do a series of 7 or 10 podcasts with tips for your target market. There are very few podcasts on any topic, but there are now millions of iPhones, iPods and iTouches – 25% of users download podcasts. It is a great way to build a following with an audience looking for this content, very few competitors are podcasting. You could also add the shows to your website. Here’s how we do it for our internet marketing podcast.

Another good tip, take 5-10 minutes every couple days and log onto LinkedIn. Click on the ‘More’ tab, and click ‘Questions’. You can search for questions in your niche, provide answers and position yourself/the firm as experts. You will likely generate leads and build your valuable LinkedIn network.

We should create Facebook ‘Fan’ Page. By offering valuable tips and including the videos this page would gain a small but loyal and valuable following among your target  community.

One last idea. We could create a community for you, like the Internet Marketing Club . You could have your experts develop a short webinar, if you have 5-6 experts,  they could do 1 webinar every 2 months, and you could invite authors of books and some complimentary professionals to do a webinar once in a while – voila! You’ll have an active community, a weekly webinar series with more content to add to your website, more leads and more links! The webinars keep the site growing because they are very viral, people tweet about them and tell friends. We just landed a great new customer thanks to Internet Marketing Club, it really works!

All of these approaches will get noticed and build links for your website and support search engine optimization.

Please let us know if you’d like to test drive any of these new mediums.

Best regards,

Jay

Chris is over 75 – he looks great, he ski’s double black diamond runs and cycles in the moutains.

Here’s a few notes on living well and aging exceptionally:

• 70 percent of aging is voluntary
• 50% of heart attacks, diabetes, most cancers etc are avoidable
• Behavior can improve your health 50%
• We have two choices after age 32 1/2 — we send signals to our cells ‘Grow or Atrophy’
• The tide of aging seems strong – every year after 33 we get a little slower, a little fatter,  a little less sexual
• Send counter signals, grow signals:
• We are designed for movement. Do aerobic exercise 45 minutes 4 times per week .  Get your heart rate up to 60% of its max. “Put in the damn time”
• Inflammation is the great killer. Your own blood can be inflammatory. Make good blood with strength training You can double the strength in your legs in 6 weeks. GO TO THE GYM! We’re saving your life here.
• As you age you lose balance  because you signaling system stops working correctly. Strength training reconditions it and prevents falls and lessens the impact
• The great hallmark of aging is pain.  With strength training you reverse it . Get a good trainer and put in the time.
• You have your hands on the controls every day you can get up and get a little older or a little younger.
• There are 300 million Americans. 147 million are overweight, 67 million are obese
• Cut out white breads, starches, eat fish, oatmeal and blueberries for breakfast.

It’s hard to live this way. Working out, eating well, but the alternative is way worse.

If you make these changes in your life, you get to be yourself all over again. You have energy, you are more sexual and you enjoy life without pain.

I agree. Facebook skews young and trivial.
Twitter may be a passing fancy.
YouTube can be a time waster.

But LinkedIn is the business network for your Dad, your boss, and my friend.

For the over 50 Executive who wants to put his toe in the water, but feels generationally challenged, suggest that he tries 2 simple things on LinkedIn

1. Set up a profile (many have already done this)
2. Answer some questions. (Click on More > Click on Answers > Click Answer Questions )

Answer questions. Help people. Be a selfless giver. And position yourself as an expert in your field. Make a few connections. Try it you might love it.

My friend is a financial specialist, here is an example of questions people are asking in the category of Finance and Accounting right now.

Can having more new products in the pipeline substantially increase the perceived value of a company for M&A purposes?

We have been considering a number of ways to apply a proprietary technology for new product development that works across all industries. It would seem that a company seeking a buyer might be more attractive, and thus have a higher valuation, if it had a number of potentially profitable new products under development. Is this actually the case? If so, what metric would potential buyers likely use to evaluate such intellectual property?

Microfinance entrepreneurship & paying it forward vs. creating indebtedness

Friends, I endeavor to get involved with micro finance, am familiar with Grameen Bank and similar orgs. Given the concerns regarding interest in heavy-inflation zones, I am taken by what this group is doing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAK_members_bank
Who do you know that is doing great work in this regard?
Thank you!

Comment about the state of corporate access in today’s marketplace.

It seems that “corporate access,” which consists of arranging meetings between executive managements of public companies and institutional investors, is getting more competitive. Is that perception true? Who’s getting most of the corporate access business–large broker dealers, IR firms, niche players, firms using new high-tech approaches?

Do you want to connect with Internal Auditors, Recruiters, Employers in or around Chicago? The Chicago Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditing has the group for you.
I am on a committee with the IIA Chicago Chapter with a goal to increase membership to the IIA Chicago LinkedIn Group. The goal of the group is to facilitate the sharing of ideas and virtual networking. You don’t have to be an IIA member to be in the group… you don’t even have to live in Chicago.

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1123977

I have noticed it is taking longer for CPA candidates to get certified. It used to take 2-3 years now it is taking 4+. Any thoughts as to why?
Clarification added 1 day ago:
This question refers to years post graduation. Thanks

Adding Credit card payment to website

How can I add credit card payment to my website? I have used PayPal so far, but they take almost 3% of the transaction value, while you don’t incur this expense with wire transfers.
How much is the commission with credit cards? How do you get started? Is there a set up fee?
Thank you, will rate all answers and honor the best!

What Accounting Software Does Your Firm Use?

Looking to find the most popular accounting software, as to better educate our staff.
Which software and version does your firm use?
How many employees do you have?

PA Tax Amnesty Program…Any luck?

Has anyone had any positive experience with the PA Tax Amnesty program that began on April 26th? Some of my clients are receiving the Amnesty notice for businesses that are out of existence, or where there is no tax due, no returns due, etc. Contacting the state is nearly impossible…any thoughts????

CAIA Designation

The CAIA designation (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) is a new one I was just exposed to and I wanted to know who has one and do you know what reputation do they have in the marketplace?? For what I offer, I think they might be a better fit for an advanced designation than the CFA but I’m checking both out. All opinions welcome and Thank you in advance.

Let me know if your Dad, or your boss gets into LinkedIn

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A big part of my social life is through social media. My friends and family mostly live many miles away and I keep in touch through Facebook, Twitter, text, email etc. I also have a number of real genuine friends I have met through social media.

Just this weekend I had the following very enriching social interactions:

- A friend sent a tweet that he was going for lunch with another friend, I tweeted him. I joined them for lunch. We cooked up a new business venture, a podcast, we’re going to work on it this week.
- A friend mentioned he needed a lead gen expert. I sent a note to a friend. She Facebooked me from Spain that she’s out of the country. I sent an email to connect the two of them.
- My friend John in Atlanta (who I met through my podcast) sent me a shout out on Twitter just to say Hi. I sent him a tweet – we connected.
- I discovered a great little Yogurt place on the location based networking site Foursquare
- I saw a link to Barak Obama’s speech at the White House Correspondents dinner. I watched it on YouTube. The President was great Jay Leno tanked.
- A friend recommended that I see a speaker named Jared Spool. I watched his SouthXSouthwest Presentation on YouTube – he has a great audience interaction method
- I listen to podcasts while I workout, walk my dog, commute etc. Just this weekend I listened to:
o Marketing Over Coffee Two social media friends of mine (Christopher S Penn and John Wall) cover interactive marketing. I learned their perspective on the new Facebook ‘Like’ functionality
o I listened to another podcast called Dishy Mix and learned about virtual seminars
o Cliff Ravenscraft who I met at a podcasting conference has 30,000 listeners to his GSPN Lost Podcast

I replied to my friend with an email, and now I am sharing my thoughts as a blog. I’ll tweet about it and Facebook about it. A few people will Re-Tweet and ‘Like’ my post and spread it to their friends. I look forward to some interesting feedback and conversation. Very Social

Personally I believe that since moving to Florida 8 years ago I lost a lot of social connection. Social Media has given me back a lot of human connectedness.

How about you? Are you more social or less human?

I'm not a blogger I Tweet a lot

Erik Proulx an ex-ad agency copywriter created Please Feed the Animals a blog which has become a community and now he is making a film about the people who have found creative ways to survive (Listen to the great American Copywriter podcast interview to hear this amazing story )
4. Give them a practice interview. Ask your friend to come into your office, interview him/her and give them constructive criticism. Did they arrive early? Did they bring a resume? Was their dress professional and appropriate? How did they answer the tough questions? How did they explain their time out of work?
5. Help them make some money while they are between gigs. There are several online sites that bring freelancers and companies together. We use Guru.com, eLance.com and Rent A Coder when we’re swamped and we’ve had great results. Your friend could set up a profile at these sites and find freelance and contract work working out of their house or the neighborhood Starbucks. Other online money making options include becoming an affiliate and posting Google AdSense links on a blog.
6. Encourage them to create content about something they are passionate about. They can use this as a way to demonstrate their passion and to get the creative juices flowing in-between jobs. Do they like to write, help them set up a WordPress blog. If they are photogenic or an aspiring filmmaker YouTube videos are powerful communication tools.
7. Help them find local meet-ups and job hunting groups. If there isn’t a job hunting group close by – what a great way to become the hub of one of these groups by creating it at www.Meetup.com
8. Share Air Miles if the need to fly to an interview (this tip courtesy of http://www.twitter.com/sistermary )
9. Help them reinvent themselves/see themselves in new light (this tip courtesy of http://www.twitter.com/sistermary )
10. Refer them to a podcast and blog post we did (with the help of our community) where we shared Ten Strategies for Job Hunting in a Recession

The number one reason to help people is that by giving with no expectation of return you will often get more back in good Karma than you could imagine. Get some good Karma in your favor today!

As Nike says in their marketing, “Just Do It!”. Take Action. Jump in. Immerse yourself in the new websites and activities. Here is the best news, it’s free to use most social media and blogging sites and 10 year old kids are kicking butt. So what’s holding you back?

You can set up with your own website with a WordPress blog – it is free, it takes about 15 minutes and you can pick a format that looks just like a fancy $20,000 website. Here’s the best part, you can update it yourself – for free!

Once you have a website of your very own you can try out different internet marketing skills. Get started by picking a topic that you are passionate about and start posting short articles called ‘blog posts’. Learn how to link to other blogs and websites (also VERY easy), set up Google Analytics to track how many people visit your blog/website and you’ll be able to see which websites they come from and what keywords they searched to find your site.

You can create your own revenue generating ads with Google AdSense and affiliate banners from Cj.com or ShareaSale.com

You should also be engaged with one or more of the popular social media sites such as: Facebook, LinkedIn, You Tube or Twitter. Pick the one that people in your circle seem to be talking about the most, sign up and create a good basic profile about yourself.

I love Twitter, if you’d like some basic tips on how to get started with Twitter account and a few advanced tips read my Ten Tips Twitter Beginners Guide. http://www.tengoldenrules.com/10-beginner-twitter-tips.htm

Good Luck Just Doing It – Please let us know your new website address!

Jay Berkowitz preparing for a FREE Webinar

The internet has become the central hub for all business and personal communications. The University of San Francisco’s Internet Marketing Course and Bintro.com have asked me to host a Webinar to help us all figure out what is coming next called “Thought Leaders Forum – What’s Next in Internet Marketing”.  It will take place on Thursday, April 30th at 12:30 EST.

You can sign up for this FREE Webinar at: Thought Leaders Forum – What’s Next in Internet Marketing

We have convened an amazing panel of marketing all-stars including:

- Rohit Bhargava, Well-known marketing blogger and Author of “Personality Not Included”
- Maria Harrison, Founder of iClarity
- Jim Kukral, Your Biz Web Coach
- Search Marketer Joe Laratro
- Multi-Million dollar internet entrepreneur David McInnis Founder of PRWeb and Personal SEO website People Pond
- The Amazing Facebook Goddess Mari Smith
- Web Semantics expert Richard Stanton, CEO of Bintro.com

What you will learn:

* Twitter is the rage – do I need it for my business
* How to monitor and actively respond to what is being said about you through Social Media
* How to use social media websites for business?
* How to do personal brand search engine optimization (SEO)?
* What are the best approaches to market your personal brand?
* Targeted advertising within videos, Search engines being better able to search video and social video recommendations

Registration is limited, please click here to sign up now for the FREE Webinar Thought Leaders Forum – What’s Next in Internet Marketing on Thursday, April 30th at 12:30 EST.