On January 23, Chris Brogan began these “Kitchen Table Talks” series in hopes of nurturing people new to social media who have “big ideas”. So far, this is my favorite one.

I thought it was very appropriate to share with others who have a small business that is “growing up” with social media.

To: My Virtual Assistant and Online Business Friends
From: Amber Whitener

Subject: FREE online classes and a certification test you’ll want to take advantage of.

Today, I received my Inbound Marketing Certification from Inbound Marketing University.

What does this certify me (and you when you take it) for?
Information about the certification directly from http://inboundmarketing.com/university/certification:

“The Inbound Marketing Certification acknowledges the recipients proficiency in Inbound Marketing principals and best practices. These principles include: blogging, social media, lead conversion, lead nurturing, and closed-loop analysis.

In order to receive the Inbound Marketing Certification, the recipient must pass a comprehensive certification exam with a score of 75% or higher.“

I had the opportunity to attend two FREE classes (in a webinar form) live online:

First Class

Class 14: Advanced Marketing Analytics (AZ501) Taught by: Avinash Kaushik, Google and author of Web Analytics 2.0 I feel VERY fortunate to have began my experience at Inbound Marketing University with this particular course. Mr. Kaushik was an incredibly engaging lecturer on the semi technical topic of web traffic analysis. There are few teachers who can make this sort of topic humorous and informative.

Second Class

Class 15: Passion-Inspired Video & Other Creative Content (GF502) Taught by: Gary Vaynerchuk, Wine Library TV, and author of Crush It! This was also a very interesting course, less about the tools more about the message. Gary made some very excellent points about how stiff the corporate condition is and how it stifles the possibilities of social media and video campaigns to market business.

Archived Classes

I perused the notes and many of the videos (15 in all) for all the rest of the classes to make sure I was ready to take their test. Each course is very content rich. It was all good review with extra tips tried and proven true by the speaker. Each well-selected speaker is a current expert in the field of the chosen topics.

About the Test

The test was 50 questions, and you only get an hour to finish it. There are only true/false and multiple choice questions. I liked the mix of technical and marketing knowledge required to pass this test. It was a good challenge. I ended up with a 92%. (YAY!) I highly recommend going to http://inboundmarketing.com and take advantage of some of the resources that are available. Let me know what you think. The next Exam session is scheduled for January 2010. I am hoping they have more classes available!

Virtual IT Assistants proudly presents a brand new WordPress website we designed for Community Connect Indiana. This is a new community coalition organization that is providing opportunities for community growth in central Indiana! If your business is in need of a new website, or upgrade: Contact Virtual IT Assistants to get started.

Six Important Features of a Community Outreach Website

1. Home Page Introduction

The homepage of any website should answer two very important questions:

1. Who are we?

and

2. What can we do for you?

2. Interactive Calendar

Community Connect Indiana needed to have an interactive calendar to share meeting and event information. We give you a website address to create, edit, and remove events.

Calendar Options:

Creating events via SMS

Offer subscriptions to the calendar RSS feed

Private Calendars or limited share calendars are also available if you need them.

3. Request for Information Forms

Whether you are providing a service, asking for volunteers, or updating interested parties with event information, you will need a RFI form. This can protect your email address from being found and added to a spam list etc.

RFI Options:

Get an email as soon as you receive a message from your site

You can choose which information is required when someone completes and inquiry.

4. Free Resources

Share resources, and link to other valuable resources if you would like to.

This could also serve as a “Services” or “Products” page where you are able to showcase your business products and services.

5. Future Plans

Share your plans for the future of your organization.

We do not recommend uploading pages that are “Under Construction”. However, it is perfectly acceptable to share products, services, and events that are being planned to make sure your audience comes back and check out your site again when you reveal or release new resources.

If you need volunteers or other personnel to help with a specific project, you could make mention of this on the page introducing the plans.

Let your community know you are here to stay.

6. Site Maps

You also will need a dynamic, automated sitemap that will send Google, Bing, and Yahoo any updates and additions to your site.

This is very good search engine optimization (SEO).

Special Thanks

To Amy Kirkpatrick of Community Connect Indiana for choosing Virtual IT Assistants to build this site.

To Virtual Assistance by Jen for pulling together an inspiring mission statement for the homepage.

Does your business need a new website, or upgrade? Contact Virtual IT Assistants to get started!

Category: Information Security
Region: Global
Target: Anyone Who Conducts Any Type of Online Business (E.G. Online Banking)
Website: http://www.virtualitassistants.com/CyberCrime

Purpose: This petition calls for your attention and proof of support by clicking on “sign and tweet” above to raise awareness of cybercrime and encourage education for prevention. According to http://www.crime-research.org “Cybercrime is defined as crimes committed on the internet using the computer as either a tool or a targeted victim.” These tools include: spyware, phishing, adware, spam and unsafe websites that are used for identity theft and fraud. As you can see here at http://vil.nai.com/vil/newly_discovered_viruses.aspx, new malware and virus threats are discovered ALL THE TIME at the McAfee Threat Center.

Action: It is unfortunately obvious that this problem is not going away. In fact it is growing exponentially. The FIRST step is admitting we have a problem that we need to take seriously. The only call to action in this twitter petition is simply tweet to sign and spread the word further. Please click on the “sign and tweet” at http://act.ly/uo. Whether you are a business owner or a stay at home mom, you have the right to education and resources that will protect you from these crimes.

How does just tweeting to sign this act.ly petition help?
The more awareness that we can raise will result in more corporate and private resources to sponsor and initiate education and fraud detection programs. Also, you can visit this link http://www.mcafee.com/us/about/corporate/fight_cybercrime/ for a Global Plan to Fight Cybercrime from McAfee.com.

Thank you for your support,

Amber Whitener
Virtual IT Assistants Inc.

Free Education Resources:

McAfee Multipoint Strategy to Fight Cybercrime

http://www.mcafee.com/us/about/corporate/fight_cybercrime/resources/

Government Action

Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2008

Cybersecurity Act of 2009

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We, at Virtual IT Assistants, devote our business to be customer focused and orientated. We go the extra mile to ensure we understand our customers’ needs as well as the basics of their business.

When you have a vision for your business logo, it is so important to find a graphic designer who will work with you and understands how to ensure your logo will represent your business correctly.

Here are a few questions to answer before you begin to design or search for a logo designer:

1. Do you have colors chosen for your website or business cards?

2. Would you prefer to have an image drawn or do you have a photograph that can be edited to make your logo?

3. Do you have a font chosen? And if so, make sure that it is very read-able.

4. How big would you like it to be?

5. How simple or complex would you like your logo to be?

6. Do you have a motto that you would like incorporated into the logo?

The last thing you want to do is copy another business’s logo, however, you should definitely look around at other logos or graphics to see what inspires you. It is perfectly OK to get input from friends, partners and family. These are the people who know you best and will be able to help you decide what represents you and your business style.

Click to read: Primo Assistance’s story by Diane

January 2, 2010
Primo Assistance upgraded to their own domain PrimoAssistance.com!

One of the most important parts of getting a website setup for your business is to make sure that you have the best search engine optimization possible. Virtual IT Assistants make sure that your site has the right setup to make sure your business can be found online when someone is searching for a product or service your business provides. A recent website that has been optimized is http://www.virtuallyassistingyou.com/

We had our first consultation with Virtually Assisting You LLC. on September 16, and this is the original grade this site received from HubSpot’s Website Grader.

Before

63/ 100 – This score is not terrible, but you want your site to be as close to 100 as possible.

This is the latest grade we captured before sharing in this post.

After

The search engine optimaization tools we put in place will raise your score consistently over a period of 30 to 60 days. See the lastest score below:

(You may need to use the scroll bar and navigate all the way to the far right to see the most recent score.)

These are the kinds of improvements you can expect for your website from Virtual IT Assistants Inc.

Contact us today so we can discuss how you can improve your website’s SEO and search engine visibility.

The first step in establishing your company in the virtual world is by utilizing the intricate web tools (e.g. social media, web 2.0 and so many more. . .) that are available to specify what you are all about. Begin by defining and back it up by branding.

Visit virtual IT assistants on wikipedia to learn more or contribute to virtual IT assistant’s definition.

Defining Your Business Processes:

¹ Defining is explaining or identifying the nature or essential qualities; and determining the fixed boundaries of a word, phrase or object.

Branding Your Business:

² Branding is establishing kind, grade, or make, as indicated by a stamp, trademark, or the like, it is distinguished by some distinctive characteristic.

Answer these questions for your business:

• What products and services do you provide?
• Do you guarantee your work?
• What are your business’s distinctive characteristics?

* For verification purposes we are providing references to validate the accuracy of our comparison.

branding. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved October 19, 2009, from Dictionary.com
website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/branding

defining. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved October 19, 2009, from Dictionary.com
website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/defining

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Internet Company Announces Services to Provide Businesses with Innovative Internet Technology Services that Streamline Social Marketing and Web Design.

Indianapolis, Indiana, September 14, 2009 – Virtual IT Assistants are the resources small businesses can tap into in order to take advantage of new internet tools to the fullest of their potential.

“Technology is ever-changing.” said Amber Whitener, CEO of Virtual IT Assistants, “Businesses are coming to a crossroad where they can continue with the same old marketing strategies, or delving into the social media and internet 2.0 marketing. Virtual IT Assistants are here to make this as smooth a transition as possible.”

“The services available are guaranteed to add value to your marketing mix”, Amber said. “We want to help businesses take advantage of these social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin.”

“These tools can offer businesses a whole new view on public relations and marketing”, explained Amber. “Your customers or clients can stay up-to-date with your newest offers and provide valuable feedback that you can use to make your business better.”

The services available can be viewed online at http://www.virtualitassistants.com/services

The Virtual IT Assistants’ web site also provides more detailed information on these services and a contact form to request a customized quote for services that will best serve your business needs.

About Virtual IT Assistants Inc.

Virtual IT Assistants is a global, virtual corporation specializing in web development and social networking for businesses and high profile professionals. Assistants are based all over the world. They have already begun to make their mark on the controversial decision to bring companies up-to-date with the newest technologies. You’ll wonder what you ever did without them!

SOURCE: Virtual IT Assistants Inc.

Amber Whitener, 317-670-9977
Fax & alt. Voicemail: 206-984-4821
Email: a.whitener@virtualitassistants.com
http://www.virtualitassistants.com/contact-us

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