Lip-Sticking

Here's one Valentine's Day Photo Contest that I Love

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

Another Valentine's Day has come and gone. I haven't had the chance to write a post about the holiday this year until now. It appears that marketers are the ones that are in love with the holiday more than any of us. This year especially I received more emails and saw more ads focused on what I should be doing that day with the person I love and what I should buy this person. It's gotten a little out of control, don't you think? However, it is a good excuse to remind someone that you love them.

Here's a very cute promotion that got my attention which involves some of the loves of my life, pets! Sure Fit, a provider of slipcovers and home and pet solutions, launched a Valentine’s Day Pet Kissing Photo Contest! They apparently have had past successes with their Halloween Pet Costume Contest and Holiday Pet Photo Contest, so they came up with a way to celebrate Valentine's Day.

Sure Fit ran the contest on their Facebook page and invited fans to submit a photo entry of themselves with their beloved pet sharing a smooch for a chance to win items from the Sure Fit Pet Collection. Three prize packages were awarded that consisted of Sure Fit products both humans and pets love!

Meet me in Chicago for Game Changers: The Rules are Being Rewritten. Are You Being Left Behind?

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

I’ll be heading back again to Chicago next month to attend the PMA's Annual Marketing Conference taking place March 14-15 at the Westin Hotel. They've picked up the theme from last year's conference, Game Changers, with a new twist, "The Rules are being rewritten. Don't be left behind".

I say this theme statement is right on today. All of us have to deal with marketing in some respect and it's hard to keep up with the latest technologies, let alone understand how to use them effectively. I was just watching the Today Show yesterday morning and they were interviewing Kate Upton, this year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model. She's 19 years old, virtually unknown and was discovered by the videos she has posted of herself on YouTube. She said she has now fulfilled her dream and looks forward to what this opportunity will bring her. I guess you could say she's a Game Changer!

Do You Network Face-to-Face or Online Only

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

Where do you market? If you’re like  lot of entrepreneurs, you find it much easier to simply network from the comfort of your keyboard than to wear something other than sweatpants and slippers, right? Well, if you’re not “out there” shaking hands, passing out business cards and talking about your business face-to-face, you’re missing out on some great ways to network and grow your business; there is no better way to interact with potential clients and business partners than with face-to-face interaction.

Even with the ease and speed of social media networking, to truly brand yourself and your business you need to have face-to-face interaction.  Networking at business events means you will have to perfect your “elevator pitch,” shake hands and hand out business cards, it is a great way to meet potential clients.

And the Winners are.... Super Bowl XLVI Wrap-Up

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

Who came out winners from Super Bowl XLVI? Obviously as we all know now, the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in what was a come-from-behind, great game. The Giants got to parade down Broadway in New York City yesterday to celebrate with their fans. Yes, the fans and New York are all winners here as well. Plus of course we have Eli Manning, the MVP of the game, who now has two Super Bowl rings, one more than his brother Payton as the media was sure to bring up several times.

In the 6th annual Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Contest the two ads that were chosen from the 5 finalists to broadcast during the game were both winners. However, the Sling Baby ad has now been picked as the winner in the USA TODAY/Facebook Super Bowl Ad Meter. Online voting, began after each ad aired during Sunday night's broadcast and ended at 6 pm on Tuesday. Viewers picked from 55 commercials on which advertisers spent up to a record $3.5 million for each 30-second slot. Kevin Willson submitted the ad of the grandmother and baby who snatched a bag of Doritos and he will now receive a million dollars and a consulting contract with The Lonely Island. The other Doritos ad that was broadcast during the game, Man's Best Friend, came in #6.

Small Business Owners: 25 Things You Should Know About Facebook

From the Editor's Desk:  Liz Nutt from Onlinemba.com sent us this information and we think it is more than worth passing along to our readers. 

From an article titled "25 Things Small Businesses Should Know About the New Facebook," Love it or hate it, the new Facebook is coming... Read the rest here

Who, other than the Giants or Patriots, will come out winners from Super Bowl XLVI?

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

This Sunday I will be one of the millions watching Super Bowl XLV1 and hoping for a good game, which it should be. As I've stated in my posts over the past couple of weeks, I'm behind the New York Giants all the way and would love to see Eli Manning get another super bowl win, especially while in his brother Peyton's home stadium. I'm sure Peyton will be there also, just not on the field this year.

I'm also hoping to see some real social media integration with the advertising campaigns that we see. If the advertisers are paying an average of $3.5 million for a spot, you would think they would try and get the most bang for their bucks. Last year I called it the "Social Super Bowl" and was disappointed with the overall advertising experience. Other than posting ads on social media, the brands did very little to really engage people and integrate social media into their strategies.

Other than the Giants beating the Patriots, who else is going to come out a winner? Last year the Volkswagen Darth Vader ad scored the highest in the USA Ad Meter for best liked ad. (What was not to like?) Volkswagen utilized social media to post the ad on their blog, on YouTube and their Facebook page five days before the game and it had 13 million views before kickoff. Sine then the ad as gotten numerous awards and nearly 50 million views on YouTube.

This year Volkswagen has already launched The Bark Side, a teaser video featuring a chorus of dogs barking The Imperial March. If you haven't seen it yet, here it is. I love it and think it's brilliant (especially since I'm a sucker for doggies!). It currently has over 10 million views on YouTube. If you click through to YouTube you will also be given the opportunity to view their new game time ad called "The Dog Strikes Back".

Clarity Leads To Cash

Guest Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

I spent the weekend at an event called LEAP for Success and was surrounded by incredible business owners and dreamers who were making it happen. One part of the event I found originally off-putting was that the leader, Patricia Drain, made all participants move to a different table and interact with new business owners at each segment. It's a bit difficult to get out of your comfort zone and have to meet new people every three hours, but it was a great way to hear new ideas -- more than you'd hear if you stayed put at your original table spot. 

The days were full of inspiration, networking hints and tips and constant tabletop interaction and brainstorming with those around you. From working on ideas for passive income to making a decision on if you're truly following your passion in your business life, I walked away with a notebook full of ideas and a burning desire to implement all of them. 

Chevy's got a Super Bowl App and a big Game Time Sweepstakes

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

For anyone that is a true football fan, last Sunday was by far one of the most exciting NFL conference championship game days you can have. Yes, it will take a while for Raven fans to get over the missed chip-shot field goal and the 49er's to wonder what if they didn't turn over the ball in overtime. We're now moving on to Super Bowl XLVI with a big rematch between the Patriots and the Giants. As I said in my last post, I'm betting on Eli Manning and the New York Giants to be this year's champions.

The Super Bowl has now become the most active topic of the millions of us who write blogs posts and updates on Facebook, Twitter and now, Google+. In 2011, the only Facebook status update topic in the world, amongst 800 million users at the time that beat out the Packers winning Super Bowl 45 was the death of Osama bin Laden. Since many of these tweets and Facebook updates come via a mobile phone, this year General Motors and Chevrolet is adding mobile to their mix to capitalize off this.

How Much Do You Love To Write?

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

As an entrepreneur you wake up every morning with an itch to get in front of your computer and start writing, right? You're looking forward to jumping into your social media updates, writing a blog post or two, putting together a proposal or even composing business correspondence. Raise your hand if you love it. Hhhmm I am not seeing too many hands. Do you find writing to be a chore? Just not something that you enjoy because you don't know what to write about, you stress about grammar and punctuation or is it simply the blank screen that makes you freeze?

Regardless of the reason, there are many of you out there who simply don't embrace the task of writing. Thankfully there are tools out there to help you with your writing tasks and there are writers that will work with you to compose daily correspondence, blog posts and even perform your social media for you. 

Leverage Social Media More Effectively: Use an Editorial Calendar

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

Whether you’re a small business owner or an individual who wants to jump into the social media fray but are worried you simply won’t know what to write about, -- long term – use an editorial calendar as your guide. The implementation of an editorial calendar helps keep track of social media status updates, article marketing efforts and blogging. Consider your editorial calendar much the same as the kind newspaper and magazine editors use.

Knowing who your target audience is will be the first step in planning your editorial calendar. If you don’t know who you want to reach, you won’t be able to effectively put an editorial calendar in place or target your marketing efforts. Spend time determining who your ideal client/reader is then work on your calendar.