Jan 262012
 

The “Job” of  a Lifetime!

Traveling a Rocky Road with Love, Faith and GutsIt isn’t often in life that we are presented with an opportunity to do something and not only get paid for it, but also be able to get incredible satisfaction and more fulfillment than we ever thought possible. I was fortunate enough to have been given this opportunity just recently.

A few days ago I received an invitation to connect with a woman named Sylvia Ramsey on Linkedin who indicated that we worked together at The American Bladder Cancer Society. Now, I know that my memory is not as good as it used to be but I knew I would remember if I had worked there and I didn’t :) The email right below that one was the explanation. (I really shouldn’t read my emails from the top down anymore LOL). Sylvia wrote a book called “Traveling a Rocky Road with Love, Faith and Guts” (to be published in the very near future) and was looking for someone to create the video trailer for it. Aha, so now it made sense. I reached out to her and she hired me. This is rather interesting in that my Linkedin profile does not indicate that I actually do create videos for inspiration and other more personal messaging. Instead it focuses on business videos, however, that did not stop Sylvia from contacting me. We both find this interesting and she said she really doesn’t know why but she felt compelled to reach out to me.

Lesson number one here is use Linkedin. It is a great professional resource/networking site!

I was able to get a sneak preview of her book and read it in total amazement of how a woman, having gone through tragedy and hardship one after the other, over and over again, could not only be as uplifting and positive as she is, but also has dedicated her life to helping others with bladder cancer. I have met a woman who has truly inspired me and feel honored to have been able to create her book video trailer.

AND, she liked the video so much, she will be sharing my services with her HUGE network of authors who have already talked about needing a video book trailer. How’s that for Karma? :)

Below is her video in – that’s right – you guessed it – a video email! I encourage you to keep a look out for when the book is published. I will be announcing it as I have donated my time and resources to helping Sylvia get her book and message out to those who REALLY need the support offered by The American Bladder Cancer Society. I am sure you will be as moved and inspired as I was when I read her story!

sylvia ramsey

You can see Sylvia’s other books on Amazon HERE! Her website is SylviaRamsey.com  and her blog is HERE!
Dec 212011
 

Behance Network: The Creative Professional Platform

Oh no, not ANOTHER social network! Yup – only this one is different – it REALLY is!

What is the Behance Network?

It is a platform where creative professionals can:

  • Showcase their creative work
  • Build unlimited multi-media projects
  • Unlimited images, text, audio, and video
  • Display any kind of creative work from Graphic Design to Fine Arts to Industrial Design
  • Promote instantly to Facebook and Twitter
  • Display on your Linkedin Profile

Take a Look at the 16th Way to Leverage Your Linkedin Account

A Behance Portfolio Makes a Stunning Addition to Your Linkedin Profile

Stay tuned for a tutorial on how to create and post your portfolio directly on your Linkedin profile…

Sep 062010
 

LinkedinLinkedin is a very powerful professional ONLY networking site. Unlike Facebook which is HUGE having a Google page rank of 10/10 and an Alexa rating of 2, Linkedin doesn't share photos of our children, latest vacations and what we had for breakfast with our professional connections. To me, this is a good thing :)

How can we make sure we are utilizing our Linkedin profile to its fullest potential? Shari Weiss in her blog post How to Improve Your Linked ROI By Tweaking Your Profile offers some extremely valuable tips such as giving special attention to your profile headline and status updates.

Check out her article and get started enhancing and maximizing your Linkedin profile.

How to Improve Your Linked ROI By Tweaking Your Profile

Jun 252010
 

puddingSocial networking works. Period! If you participate in social networking groups you will benefit in one way or another. If you are engaging with others in your industry, networking sites like Linkedin are a great source of idea sharing and learning.

Connections you make might not always immediately lead to increasing your bottom line, but the knowledge you can gain is invaluable. The relationships you make on social networking sites can and will lead to referrals. People like to do business with people they know and trust. 

The more people you know, the more likely you will be referred to potential customers.  It is not always easy to keep up with all the networking opportunities and discussions going on so we have to be selective and use our time wisely. When something pops up that attracts our attention, we should jump into the conversation and participate. 

One such conversation about web hosts was started recently on Linkedin. I have been having "issues" with my web host and was very grateful for the opinions and suggestions offered to me and others on this particular post. The conversation was so insightful and valuable that it inspired Sherryl Perry, who started the conversation, to write a very helpful blog post for anyone who is interested in what things they should consider when choosing a web host. Read Is Website Hosting More than Just a Server? for some great insights to what things you should consider before choosing or moving to another website host.

Apr 172010
 

Guest blog by Barnabas Nagy | FurlongDesign creative design studio | furlongdesign.com | barnabas.nagy@furlongdesign.com | twitter.com/furlongdesign | +44 77 99 56 56 26

internetToday I dared to open one of the archived newsletters from Entrepreneur. Since I am a web designer I don’t like reading titles such as this: Does Your Business Still Need a Website?

The article discusses the idea of establishing accounts on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn instead of a website. They evaluated an individual for whom this business strategy worked out. You can read the whole article here. Before giving out my space to social networks, I would like to look into this discussion further and let you know my opinion.

 

Rudy Mendoza totally abandoned his corporate website saying “We spent tens of thousands of dollars on our website and got almost nothing out of it” I’m really sorry for the designer team who created the website for Rudy Mendoza. They didn’t do a great job. A good website can be profitable.

3 Main Reasons Why Businesses Shouldn’t Ditch Websites for Social Networks:

1. Social networks serve a different purpose than a website. They serve as a tool to communicate directly with customers and achieve real time feedback. The functions of third party applications are complementary to a website but should not replace them.

2. Most social networks are found to be useful when companies and individuals link to additional information about them. Social networks are just a platform to jump from, not to jump into.

3. A website can drive as much sales as, and often times more than these social media networks. Although I have achieved leads and sales from social networking sites, the majority of my business has come from my website.

A brand cannot live without a good website that provides their customers additional information or the ability to purchase the product/service they are interested in. If the company tries to remove this component they risk damaging their branding. Who said you can’t have your cake and eat it too?

Companies should use websites and social media networks to market their products or services. Why should you have to choose when you can use both?

Note: I use social media networks and find that they have been useful in increasing brand awareness for Furlong Design but I would never forgo my corporate website for those sites. Let me know what you think by leaving comments below. Original source: http://furlongdesign.com/2010/04/14/does-your-business-still-need-a-website/

Jan 262010
 

A research from a national survey conducted by Cision and Don Bates of The George Washington University’s Master’s Degree Program in Strategic Public Relations found:

 

  • 89% read blogs
  • 65% go to social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn
  • 52% use Twitter or similar services
  • 61% use Wikipedia

Read more about how social media marketing is entering the traditional marketing model.