Lip-Sticking

Correct use of the word Awesome the Lilly Ledbetter Story

by Yvonne DiVita

This is for my daughters, my granddaughters, my friends, and everyone who has ever worked hard through discrimination.

It's the first anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Act where President Obama went to bat for women and equal pay. This video is of Lilly, herself, talking about her story, sharing what brought her to this purpose and showing us all that we need to continue standing up for women to make changes in how business and politics look at us, how they treat us, and how they view us as human beings.

As a woman who understands this issue - and too many of us do - I cannot stress the importance of getting behind this story and sharing with everyone you know. It's not a party issue. It's a people issue.

This isn't a story that is hard to watch or hard to hear. It's a story that is uplifting and encouraging. Despite the setbacks and the long enduring timeframe needed to make this happen, Lilly shows all of us that change is possible and that never giving up makes a difference. I hope you'll share the Lilly Ledbetter story with others and spread the word.

This link goes to President Obama and his words on the Fair Pay Act and Equal Pay For All Workers video. Another video worth watching and sharing.

 

A 2011 Year in Review - a blog post from each month

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

Where did 2011 go? Today is my 50th and last post of 2011 on the Lip-sticking blog. I'm planning to continue throughout 2012 and keep my Wednesday morning spot.

At the end of 2010 I wrote this 2010 Year In Review post that included what I felt were my top posts that helped to define 2010. I decided to continue the tradition so I went back and read through some of the posts that I wrote during this year. Here are my 12 top picks, one per month, that I felt reflected the pop culture of the month or that defined a major milestone or shift in marketing.

January - Social Media Monitoring tool helps businesses track who's winning on Facebook in 2011

I started off 2011 with my first post about Facebook and it's continued to be one of my most popular topics all year. I state here that 2010 was definitely the year of Facebook. The social network dominated the media towards the end of the year and this has continued throughout 2011. If you recall, Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg was named Time Magazine's 2010 Person of the Year. We were speculating a year ago on when Facebook would file for their IPO and now it's apparent that will happen sometime in second quarter of 2012. So if you haven't yet, check out this Social Media Monitor that was developed by Wildfire. It continues to be one on the resources I turn to when assisting my clients with their Facebook marketing.

Home for the Holidays T-Mobile Campaign goes Viral

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

There's no Place Like Home for the Holidays. You know the saying and the song, right?  T-Mobile hired 100 women who joined their corporate spokeswoman, Carly Foulkes, back on December 1 and staged a surprise performance of this song in the Woodfield Mall outside of Chicago. We all know Carly, that striking brunette that appears in T-Mobile ads wearing that signature color, magenta dress. T-Mobile selected 100 women from different races and ethnic background, shapes and sizes, who all got to wear that same magenta dress and surprise shoppers by prancing around the mall singing that song and encouraging all to join in.

The performance was filmed by director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, who has directed several episodes of Glee. It was then edited down into a three-minute video that has now been going viral on YouTube and on the T-Mobile Facebook page. You just can't help but smile when you watch this video which is the same feeling for those that are hooked on Glee.

Expanding your small on-line business to international sales

Guest Post by Colleen Hazelrigs

In my last post I introduced the concept of opening your on-line product sales to international customers. Let’s explore that in a little more detail.

With the internet the world has shrunk. People from every corner of the planet have access to your website and some of those 7 billion people would buy your product if they could. There is growing interest throughout the world to buy from the US because of the shrinking dollar and the lower cost of many items in the US. See this example of shoppers in Switzerland who buy from US stores, or this comparison of online prices in the US and Australia.

Some products available in the US are not even available in other countries. International shopping is growing and not likely to slow down in the foreseeable future.

So, how do you take advantage of that market with your own small, or not so small, online presence? How do you master the complexity of serving such a diverse customer base without putting your core business at risk? The answer is, partner with a package forwarder.

Package forwarders are in the business of serving global consumers. They have systems to deal with customs and duty taxes, and have negotiated the lowest rates with shippers, based on volume, that serve each country.

How would this work for your business?

Let’s say you make widgets. This widget is very useful and has become popular with your target customers. It turns out that there are target customers all over the world, people who find your widget useful. They contact you wanting to buy it.

Stating in your shipping policy that international shipping is available via package forwarding lets anyone browsing your website from outside the US know that they can buy from you. This is one of the first things global customers look for when shopping in the US. Letting them know early and up front that you can ship to them will whet their interest and keep them looking. 

Your package forwarder will work with you to make sure the right information is added to your website that communicates to your customers the process to place an international order.

Your international customers will get a US address from your package forwarder. Then, the customer will place their order with you using their new US address. You simply treat the order as a domestic sale and shipment. The package forwarder will handle the international shipment and communication with the customer about that leg of the shipment.

Partnering with a package forwarder allows you to breathe a sigh a relief as you take advantage of international interest in your product and the new stream of revenue with little or no additional cost to your business. Your product can serve more people and your business can thrive like you knew it could when you envisioned and created it.

Photo used under Creative Commons SA/ND license from Tim Bunce on Flickr

 

iVillage uses Social Media to determine prizes in their Holidaily Sweepstakes and helps Toyota drive "Holiday Traffic"

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

As this holiday season is now fully under way, I continue on with my review of some of this year's holiday promotions. While the majority of the campaigns are from retailers who are hoping to drive consumers into their stores or to their websites, this promotion from NBCUniversal’s iVillage is simply to get women to drive cars. iVillage has partnered with Toyota who is the exclusive sponsor of their "Holidaily” Sweepstakes that is giving away a prize each day up until December 22.

All the prizes being offered were determined by social media input from iVillage users’ who were asked what their most desired holiday season gifts are. iVillage invited followers on their Twitter page to use a special hashtag:  #yourwishisourcommand to tell them what gifts they want. Day one was an Amazon Kindle Fire. Today's prize that I can enter for a chance to win is this Chicco Red Bullet Bike. You have to come back each day to see what the next prize will be. If you peak at the Official Rules you can find out what all the prizes are, however, it doesn't tell you what day the prize will be offered.

The promotion is a good example of marekting to women since it also features a variety of content to assist women with their holiday shopping, including tips, and “can-do” advice, along with insights from celebrities ranging from Salma Hayek to Justin Timberlake.

Somethin' To Talk About: Customer Service

Post by Blog Manager, Robbi Hess

What's the last time you had great customer service? Horrible customer service? What did you do about it? Many of us -- myself included -- typically sigh and walk away, vowing to never visit that store or website again, but we don't usually say anything. If, however, we do speak up, it's usually to complain about the bad, rather than to tout the good, right? 

In the past I was more likely to complain to friends and family if my food was undercooked, the shoes I ordered weren't quite as advertised, or if the book I purchased had so many typos I couldn't even finish it. I rarely went to the source, I simply never gave that establishment my money again. Today though, with so many companies having social media pages, it is easy to voice your pleasure or displeasure at the moment of your unhappiness. I know I've done it, recently. 

10 Tips To Use Social Media To Grow Your Business

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

Social media moves and changes more quickly than the seasons – in some instances it seems to change and morph from one sunrise to the next! As a small business owner you’re faced with the daily task of working in and growing your business, so how to you keep up with the fast moving tide of social media?

Here are 10 steps to get you into the social media mainstream and use it to help grow your business:

1. Are you involved in the social media conversation? Have you signed up for a business page on Facebook? Are you signed into Google+ (you can’t do a business page yet, but you should certainly set up a personal page), don’t forget a business Twitter account, YouTube and LinkedIn.
2. Are you launching a new product or service? Offer a sneak peek online through your social media platforms. Start a conversation about what you’ve got coming out soon and build buzz.

Moms are on Facebook and so is Cap'n Crunch

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

Have your kids allowed you to friend them on Facebook yet? Or, have you allowed your mom, or grandma, to friend you? My daughters have allowed me to be their "friend", however, there are rules I need to follow. For example I shouldn't comment on their posts that clearly don't involve me and I really shouldn't write on their wall at all (except to wish them a happy birthday).

It's funny though that I have become friends with many women on Facebook that are moms of my daughters' friends. Some of these women I've known since the girls were in kindergarten. I think it would have been fun to have had something like Facebook back them to communicate with them more.

Funny NOT Slutty - BWAHHAAAAA!!!!

From a BFF over at All the Single Girl Friends, Lip-sticking brings you:

FunnyNotSlutty.com Blazes New Trails with Its Redesigned Site for Women Who Love Comedy: New Features Make It Even Easier to Find Fresh, Funny Content that Makes Women Laugh

Recognized by many as a pioneering site for women in comedy, web sensation Funny Not Slutty is blazing even newer trails with its recently launched, revamped web site. A sleeker design, fresh content and improved navigation make it even easier to find and promote smart comedy made by women, for women – the main goal, as far as publisher Jacki Schklar is concerned.

“Our comedy targets women, but it’s also created by female producers, writers, humorists and comedians. Our content may be a little smarter and a little deeper than your average web humor,” explained Schklar, who first began the site in 2008 after finding a shortage of online humor appealing to an audience beyond the teenaged boy set.

Go Pink for the Cure! These Companies Are...

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

As the month of October moves on, we are seeing more and more pink than I ever remember. Yes, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we love that so many companies and organizations are pitching in to help spread the word. I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago about this cause and highlighted all the NFL players who are decked out in pink this month. Here's a few more of some of my favorite companies that are supporting the cause.

Yoplait's super-popular Save Lids to Save Lives program is back and and I've been eating my fair share of their yogurt. They are accepting lids through the end of the year and for each lid received, 10 cents will be donated to breast cancer research... up to $2 million! This year they've added a way for us to redeem our lids online to make it real easy for us as well as for the folks at Yoplait. Visit their Save Lids Save Lives website to find out how. Hey, they even customized the page to include a Rochester, NY greeting for me. Plus you can share your story here as well.

On Yoplait's Facebook page they are featuring the Save the Lids campaign and have a "Share with Friends" option. Here you can select a message from a choice of nine to share on your wall to help encourage your friends to save the lids as well. I chose the "I collect Pink Yoplait lids for my mom" message.