I’m happy to announce that I’ll be starting the year off by giving a seminar, “Facebook for Business: Build Fans and Grow Customers” at the Cartersville-Bartow County Chamber of Commerce. The seminar will be held this coming Friday, January 13 at 11:30 am in the Anheuser-Busch Community Room.

Facebook is such a vital tool for personal and professional life- I don’t know where we’d be without it. Did you know that Facebook has nearly 800 million active users? More than half of them log on daily. Think of the fantastic potential for networking and marketing!

Whether Facebook is still foreign to you or you’re just looking for some fresh ideas for your profile, there’s something for you at the seminar this Friday. Come join me in navigating Facebook’s newest changes and hear tips for branding yourself and your company.

The event is free to all members of the chamber, and lunch can be pre-ordered for only $8. The cost to attend $35 for non-members.

If you would like to attend, there is still space! You may register online by January 12.

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This year we are going to
experience four unusual dates: 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11, and that’s not all; Take the last two digits of the year you were born and the age you will be this year and the result will add up to 111 for
everyone! This is the year of MONEY.  (So, like Tom Cruise, show me the money!)

Also, this year, October will have 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays & 5 Saturdays.
This happens only once every 823 years. These particular years are
known as Moneybag years. The proverb goes that if you send this to
eight good friends, money will appear in the next four days, as is
explained in the Chinese feng shui. Those who don’t continue the
chain, won’t receive. It’s a mystery, but it’s worth a try. Good luck
to you. This only happens once in 800 years

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Of course, you can always purchase the new version “Social Media for Home Builders 2.0″ for its regular price of $19.95. Besides it is the expanded version with new real estate case studies, more tools and twice the pages.

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Bullet Work is suspenseful from beginning to end. It shows a  side of horse racing that most of us never experience first-hand, the backside of the track. A cast of colorful characters show determination, greed, the hard work and luck needed to win at the races. An unlikely friendship between a gifted boy and an owner develops along the way and through a strange path of twists and turns the plot thickens.  This look at the backside of the track will keep you guessing who is responsible for the horse murders until the very end.

If you are looking for a fun read, I definitely give this a blue ribbon.

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As you probably know, I think you should own your blog. It is the only part of your social marketing program that you can have complete control of. Best of all on a self-hosted site, like www.AtlantaRealEstateForum.com you will control your SEO and your destiny. You are not subject to anyone’s rules and regulations, much less their whims (think Facebook). Your self-hosted blog is sortable, indexable and searchable. When was the last time you tried to find a post you made on Facebook two weeks ago?

Happy Blogging!

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“Surprisingly enough, Likes are trumping reviews when it comes to sharing feedback, but this does not translate to Facebook being the first or only place consumers turn when deciding to try someplace new,” said Kara Nortman, SVP, Publishing at CityGrid Media. “What this means for small businesses on the Web is that they should encourage Likes, but also round out marketing efforts to reach consumers across a variety of touchpoints. The truth is, there’s no one silver bullet to influence people that are choosing local businesses on or offline.”

Key findings:

Likes Trump Reviews; but Face to Face Wins Over All

• Three-quarters of people (75%) tell their friends
• 20% of people say they “Like” it on Facebook to show their support, compared with only 13% who write a review
  • Millennials are even more likely to favor Facebook over reviews, as are women:
    • 40% of people under 35 “Like” a business; that went to 49% in the 18-24 group, versus 18% who said they would write a review
    • 25% of women hit the “Like” button, versus 11% who write reviews

People do Their Homework, but The Deal’s Just Extra Credit

While Facebook may be one of the first places people go to give feedback on a business, it’s certainly not the only stop. Surprisingly, despite a sluggish economy and the frenzied attention as of late, discounts and offers are not a major factor in how consumers choose a merchant.

• More than half (52%) of adults under 35 visit more than two websites before checking out a local business
  • 63% of respondents under 35 head to Google
  • 24% visit Facebook; 21% look at reviews sites and 17% copped to clicking on the first link on the search results page (whatever that link may be…)
• Less than one in ten people (8%) said a deal is the number one thing that influences them to try a local business

People Care About the Face Behind the Name

When doing their homework, those under 35 report that the business owner’s feedback may carry equal weight to input from friends or social networks. So, when doing online marketing—be it Facebooking, tweeting or responding to reviews—be sure your spirit is represented along with your specials.

• Almost half (47%) of people under age 35 are more influenced to try a business from the owner of the establishment than a friend

CityGrid Media commissioned Harris Interactive to field this study, which was conducted by telephone between March 16—20, 2011 among a nationwide cross section of 1,006 adults. For more on the study, visit IAC.

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If you want to create one of your own visit Linkedin Labs and follow the directions!

If you are too young to remember the Spirogiro, guess what? They are still available at Amazon. Of course they call them Spiral Art now!

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Social Media Lab is a five-week program offering the “how to” basics for promoting your business through social networking and blogging. Each week we will cover building a different site in a 3-hour lab. Find out from Carol Flammer of mRELEVANCE how to build your business as you build Friends, Fans, and Followers.

Labs will be held on the Floyd Campus on Monday mornings from 9 a.m. until noon (registration starts at 8:30). The upcoming lab takes place Feb. 7, 14, 21, 28 and March 7. Classes can be taken separately, but for the best overview and value, register for all five weeks together! Register for individual weeks for $79 each or for all five for $289. Register for the complete program and bring a friend, and get $10 off the second registration. Register five or more people together and receive a 5% discount on all registrations! Register at GNTC.

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A group of us started chatting and we quickly realized that Cindy was quite the prepared tradeshow goddess!  In addition to her EMS machine, she pulled out of her brand new rolling bag extra shoes with Happy Feet insoles. These three items will be on the top of my shopping list for the next show I attend:

1. EMS machine
2. Happy Feet
3. A rolling briefcase

If anyone bought the top two items during #ibs2011, I’d love to have contact information for these vendors. I’m definitely in the market for these! And the sooner, the better!

My personal tradeshow survival kit for the show included:

1. Folders for each event or meeting – this allowed me to only bring to the show the files I needed that day and leave the rest at the hotel.
2. A giant case of water – I drank water non-stop during the show.
3. Snacks – apples, granola bars, tea bags, apple chips, yogurt and popcorn made nice quick snacks before during and after the show.
4. Multiple pairs of shoes – I changed shoes almost everyday before evening events. This helped my tired feet from getting too worn out.
5. Multiple changes of clothes – I also changed clothes before going out at night. There is nothing like clean clothes to perk you up for a night of networking, dancing and walking.
6. Take breaks – Make sure to take time out from walking to sit. It is even better if you can sit and enjoy the company of a friend!

I’d love for you to share you Tradeshow survival secrets with me. And please, please comment if you have a great source for an EMS or Happy Feet!

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