Social Sofrito tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-81247186417456907 2010-01-01T00:01:00-05:00 My name is George Torres (aka The Urban Jibaro). I am a bi-lingual social media consultant and founder of Sofrito Media Group. For over 13 years, I have created places online where people can interact with each other and share cultural experiences. Today, our portfolio includes a Latino cultural blog, an online radio show, an events development / management segment as well as an extensive presence on emerging social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. We also provide consulting for organizations such as Por Tu Familia, The American Diabetes Association's Latino Initiative Program. This blog was created for me to continue a dialogue that began on twitter and took life at the 2009 Latinos In Social Media Summit in NYC. TypePad A new day... a new year: 2010 tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453c6e969e201287695e321970c 2010-01-01T00:01:00-05:00 2010-01-01T00:01:00-05:00 Today is a major day of reflection for me...but it is more about looking forward than looking back. Thank you for joining us for another year of cultural celebration here @ Sofrito For Your Soul. Happy 2010! Buen Provecho As I am, George Torres The Urban Jibaro Connect with me Skype: urbanjibaro Artwork by Malikat Zamany Urban Jibaro

2010_by_malikat_zamany 

Today is a major day of reflection for me...but it is more about looking forward than looking back. 

Happy 2010!

Buen Provecho

As I am,

George Torres
The Urban Jibaro

Connect with me

Skype: urbanjibaro

LinkedinFacebookTwitter

Artwork by Malikat Zamany

 

 http://sofritoforyoursoul.typepad.com/sofritomediagroup/2010/01/a-new-day-a-new-year-2010.html Perfecting Your "Twitter" Pitch... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453c6e969e20120a6a13768970c 2009-11-02T15:06:28-05:00 2009-11-09T15:02:13-05:00 Elevator-with-people-main_Full Why is twitter so successful? Because sometimes less is more... What would you say if I told you that applying "twitter principles" to your verbal interactions you would get you better results? Some of you that are expert networkers may chuckle...so I am not talking to them, they are too set in their ways. I am talking to the people with open minds, that are driven to get results and care about really attracting the right client/partner to reach their goals. The same kind of people that understand the dynamic of social media. so are you ready to find out how? My first question is... Do you attend networking functions? If your answer is yes...my next question is; Do you know how to pitch what you do in a 12 second time span? ** Many will say yes, but few can actually do it. I thought about this after a friend of mine, Robert Fernandez Bucheli VP of Mobile Matters brought it to my attention as we discussed his takeaways from a recent conference he attended. I started to question myself. Am I losing opportunities to find new clients / strategic partners because I am too busy selling them what I do? I could not honestly answer the question, so I decided todo two things upon attending my next networking function. The first thing I did was revise my introduction / elevator pitch from 30 seconds to a 12 second personal brand statement. I used to sound like this... "My name is George Torres. I own Sofrito Media Group a multicultural social media consulting and event management company...blah blah blah blah....for 22 more seconds and blah blah blah." Applying the twitter principles to the same message, It now sounds like this... "My name is George Torres. I help companies improve their brand visibility, I specialize in multicultural niche markets by creating content that connects their brand to the unmet needs of their targets" It probably was not the best pitch but it was my first and it sure was a departure from what I was doing, and this networking event called for this kind of pitch. What really changes is that I give them a Unique Value Proposition in one brief soundbyte with enough "keywords" to stimulate a dialogue instead of "reciting a resume". Next, I decided that I would not elaborate on any business any further than my pitch unless asked. That resulted shorter conversations (mainly because we were not competing to talk) and but I also had extra time to just LISTEN and UNCOVER opportunities with these prospective customers. The person that really "gets" your pitch and connects with it, will start asking you questions right away, which is a good thing and will probably get you closer to some type of collaboration. The person who does not get it and decides to talk about their business for 30 seconds is also giving YOU an opportunity to find out more about what matters to them. You still have opportunity, it will just require a follow up when they are not in "networking" mode. As a result of my experiment, I landed two opportunities after I followed up and referenced some of the talking points they had during the meeting. Not too bad huh? I should also mention that I was able to talk to many more people than usual in the allotted time span. In conclusion, I have decided to test different pitches using different buzz words moving forward to see which get the best responses...or conversion. I would love for each of you to share your twitter pitches in the comment section. What works for you? ** The 12 second time span was based on the concept of video tweet service http://12seconds.tv/ Urban Jibaro <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><div style="text-align:center;"> <a href="http://aweber.com/?333679" title="Email Marketing"> <img src="http://www.aweber.com/banners/email_marketing/468x60_an.gif" alt="Email Marketing $19/Month!" style="border:none;" /></a> </div> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://sofritoforyoursoul.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83453c6e969e20120a6a11242970c-pi" style="float: left;"><img alt="Elevator-with-people-main_Full" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d83453c6e969e20120a6a11242970c " src="http://sofritoforyoursoul.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83453c6e969e20120a6a11242970c-200wi" style="border: 2px solid black; margin: 10px; width: 200px;" title="Elevator-with-people-main_Full" /></a> Why is twitter so successful? Because sometimes less is more...</span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size: 16px;">What would you say if I told you that applying "twitter principles" to your verbal interactions you would get you better results?</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 16px;">Some of you that are expert networkers may chuckle...so I am not talking to them, they are too set in their ways. I am talking to the people with open minds, that are driven to get results and care about really attracting the right client/partner to reach their goals. The same kind of people that understand the dynamic of social media.</span><strong><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></strong></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 16px;">so are you ready to find out how?</span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size: 16px;">My first question is..</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">.</span><strong><span style="font-size: 16px;"><br></span></strong></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 16px;">Do you attend networking functions? </span></strong></p> <p>If your answer is yes...my next question is;</p><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Do you know how to pitch what you do in a 12 second time span? **</strong></span><p>Many will say yes, but few can actually do it. I thought about this after a friend of mine, <strong>Robert Fernandez Bucheli</strong> <em>VP of <a href="http://www.mobilematters.org">Mobile Matters</a></em> brought it to my attention as we discussed his takeaways from a recent conference he attended.</p> <p>I started to question myself. Am I losing opportunities to find new clients / strategic partners because I am too busy selling them what I do? I could not honestly answer the question, so I decided to do two things upon attending my next networking function.</p> <p><strong>The first thing I did was revise my introduction / elevator pitch from 30 seconds to a 12 second personal brand statement.</strong></p> <p><strong>I used to sound like this...</strong></p><blockquote><p><em>"My name is George Torres. I own Sofrito Media Group a multicultural social media consulting and event management company...blah blah blah blah....for 22 more seconds and blah blah blah."</em></p> </blockquote> <p><strong>Applying the twitter principles to the same message, It now sounds like this...</strong></p><blockquote><p><em>"My name is George Torres. I help companies improve their brand visibility, I specialize in multicultural niche markets by creating content that connects their brand to the unmet needs of their targets"</em></p> </blockquote> <p>It probably was not the best pitch but it was my first and it sure was a departure from what I was doing, and this networking event called for this kind of pitch.</p> <p><em><strong>What really changes is that I give them a Unique Value Proposition in one brief soundbyte with enough "keywords" to stimulate a dialogue instead of "reciting a resume".</strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><br></strong></em></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 17px;">Next</span></strong>, I decided that I would not elaborate on my business any further than my pitch unless asked. That resulted shorter conversations (mainly because we were not competing to talk) and but I also had extra time to just <strong>LISTEN</strong> and <strong>UNCOVER</strong> opportunities with these prospective customers. </p> <p>The person that really "gets" your pitch and connects with it, will start asking you questions right away, which is a good thing and will probably get you closer to some type of collaboration.</p> <p>The person who does not get it and decides to talk about their business for 30 seconds is also giving YOU an opportunity to find out more about what matters to them. You still have opportunity, it will just require a follow up when they are not in "networking" mode.</p> <p><strong>As a result of my experiment, I landed two opportunities after I followed up and referenced some of the talking points they had during the meeting. <br></strong></p> <p><strong>Not too bad huh?</strong></p> <p>I should also mention that I was able to talk to many more people than usual in the allotted time span.</p> <p>In conclusion, I have decided to test different pitches using different buzz words moving forward to see which get the best responses...or conversion. </p> <p><span style="font-size: 17px;">I would love for each of you to share your twitter pitches in the comment section. What works for you?<br></span></p> <p><em>** The 12 second time span was based on the concept of video tweet service http://12seconds.tv/</em></p> <p></p> <p></p><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>George Torres</strong><br>The Urban Jibaro</p><p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>Sofrito Media Group</strong><br>Social Media I Branding I Event Management</p><span style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="padding: 10px 0pt 5px; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3px;"><span style="color: gray;">Chat</span> <img alt="" src="http://www.images.wisestamp.com/skype.png" style="vertical-align: middle; padding-right: 5px;" width="16" height="16" /><font style="color: gray; font-weight: bold; font-size: 9pt;">Skype: </font><font style="vertical-align: middle;">urbanjibaro</font></div><div dir="ltr" style="padding: 5px 0pt; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3px;"><span style="color: gray;">Contact Me</span> <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/sofritomediagroup" style="padding: 0pt 2px;" target="_service"><img alt="Linkedin" src="http://www.images.wisestamp.com/linkedin.png" style="vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 5px;" width="16" border="0" height="16" /></a> <a href="www.facebook.com/urbanjibaro" style="padding: 0pt 2px;" target="_service"><img alt="Facebook" src="http://www.images.wisestamp.com/facebook.png" style="vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 5px;" width="16" border="0" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/urbanjibaro" style="padding: 0pt 2px;" target="_service"><img alt="Twitter" src="http://www.images.wisestamp.com/twitter.png" style="vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 5px;" width="16" border="0" height="16" /></a> </div><br><br><div dir="ltr" style="font-size: 10px;"><span style="color: gray;">--- @ <a href="http://www.wisestamp.com/email-install" style="color: gray; text-decoration: none;">WiseStamp Signature</a></span>. <a href="http://www.wisestamp.com/email-install">Get it now</a></div></div></div></div> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SocialSofrito/~4/p86y6NMWH8U" height="1" width="1"/> http://sofritoforyoursoul.typepad.com/sofritomediagroup/2009/11/perfecting-your-twitter-pitch.html Rewind...Read my interview with Lori Gama! tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453c6e969e20120a693ade3970c 2009-10-30T13:36:48-04:00 2009-10-30T13:44:05-04:00 REWIND.... So many things have happened over the last few weeks that I felt the need to rewind... Today I will be sharing a great interview I had with my new friend Lori Gama (follow @lorigama on twitter) on her website just a few days before this website launched. Lori Gama's website explores topics surrounding Website development, SEO, (search engine optimization), Social Media marketing and training, Social Networking consultation, Latina and Latino/Hispanic Social Networking, training and implementation, keyword research, flash animation, database programming, content management systems, and Digital Marketing (touch-screen kiosks; Gesture Technology; Digital signage). Aside from all that she... Urban Jibaro

Rewind

REWIND....

So many things have happened over the last few weeks that I felt the need to rewind... Today I will be sharing a great interview I had with my new friend Lori Gama (follow @lorigama on twitter) on her website just a few days before this website launched.

Lori Gama's website explores topics surrounding Website development, SEO, (search engine optimization), Social Media marketing and training, Social Networking consultation, Latina and Latino/Hispanic Social Networking, training and implementation,  keyword research, flash animation, database programming,  content management systems, and Digital Marketing (touch-screen kiosks; Gesture Technology; Digital signage).

Aside from all that she does, Lori is just a great person...very active in the twitter and social media worlds. Her "day job" consists of developing brands and web presence at DaGama Web Studio, a company she established in 1997.

 http://sofritoforyoursoul.typepad.com/sofritomediagroup/2009/10/rewindread-my-interview-with-lori-gamas-website.html Be The Change You Want To See In The World.... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453c6e969e20120a636e79c970b 2009-10-29T16:33:13-04:00 2009-10-29T16:33:13-04:00 It has been a tough few days for Latinos in the media and I have been very critical of CNN and the Latinos In America series. I have had this website for more than 13 years and I have never let the website dwell on boycotts and political statements. Instead I have pushed harder to promote positive Latinos in our communities. Let's explore why... via www.sofritoforyoursoul.com Urban Jibaro
Be_The_Change_by_ScarsAreAlwaysThere It has been a tough few days for Latinos in the media and I have been very critical of CNN and the Latinos In America series. I have had this website for more than 13 years and I have never let the website dwell on boycotts and political statements. Instead I have pushed harder to promote positive Latinos in our communities. Let's explore why...

via www.sofritoforyoursoul.com

 http://sofritoforyoursoul.typepad.com/sofritomediagroup/2009/10/be-the-change-you-want-to-see-in-the-world.html Papi has a brand new blog.... tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d83453c6e969e20120a68a750b970c 2009-10-29T11:36:50-04:00 2009-10-29T14:55:57-04:00 Never say never... Who would have thought? I always said I would never start another blog but here I am, my first post on a brand new blog. This blog "Social Sofrito" is really a solution to a problem that started earlier this year when I started getting really active on the consulting side of Social Media. I used my existing platforms to promote my participation in several events including LATism NY and that did not go over too well with my readers that have been with me for some time. You see...my existing readers want to connect...but they are using the platform as a means to a connect, they did not like that the conversation shifted to "how to have the conversation" instead of actually having it. So out of respect for them, and a renewed commitment to helping those people solve the problem of how, where, when and who to connect with to have them fill that cultural need, I have decided to start this blog that will continue the dialogue of people looking to engage with their brand loyalists. I am open to collaborations and guest posting of people for different cultures and niches, not just Latino. I feel that we truly need to learn from people from all niches. This blog will evolve into what YOU want it to be...if you should choose to take this journey with me. I would like to thank all of my #Latism friends but especially Nancy Marmolejo from Viva Visibility who continues to be an incredible inspiration for me daily as I continue my journey as a professional. As I am, George Torres The Urban Jibaro Chat Skype: urbanjibaro Contact Me Linkedin Facebook Twitter "Listen" Graphic by Mo Willems Urban Jibaro

Listen

Never say never...

Who would have thought? I always said I would never start another blog but here I am, my first post on a brand new blog. This blog "Social Sofrito" is really a solution to a problem that started earlier this year when I started getting really active on the consulting side of Social Media. I used my existing platforms to promote my participation in several events including LATism NY and that did not go over too well with my readers that have been with me for some time.

You see...my existing readers want to connect...but they are using the platform as a means to a connect, they did not like that the conversation shifted to "how to have the conversation" instead of actually having it. As I stated in my blog post earlier today at Sofrito For Your Soul, I have decided to be the change I want to see....

So out of respect for them, and a renewed commitment to helping those people solve the problem of how, where, when and who to connect with to have them fill that cultural need, I have decided to start this blog that will continue the dialogue of people looking to engage with their brand loyalists and discuss trends in new media.

I am open to collaborations and guest posting of people for different cultures and niches, not just Latino. I feel that we truly need to learn from people from all niches. This blog will evolve into what YOU want it to be...if you should choose to take this journey with me.

I would like to thank all of my #Latism friends but especially Nancy Marmolejo from Viva Visibility who continues to be an incredible inspiration for me daily as I continue my journey as a professional.

As I am,

George Torres
The Urban Jibaro

Chat Skype: urbanjibaro

Contact Me Linkedin Facebook Twitter

"Listen" Graphic by Mo Willems

 http://sofritoforyoursoul.typepad.com/sofritomediagroup/2009/10/papi-has-a-brand-new-blog.html