Web Business Woman

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

I usually write here on Wednesdays, but Yvonne really wanted to get word out yesterday about Fotobabble, a new app, so I got bumped a day. Here’s my post:

The Pepsi Refresh Project
got quite a bit of buzz around the Super Bowl for the fact that Pepsi
decided not to run a Super Bowl ad. I wrote about the Super Bowl and
Pepsi in this post
and many others bloggers and columnists did as well. The program was
just beginning and as I said then, this is one social media marketing
initiative that I want to follow.

Well a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet with
someone who currently has a project being voted on in the program. To
review, the Pepsi Refresh Project originally launched on Jan. 13 and
invites people to submit their ideas online for their projects that
will refresh their communities to make a better world. February has
been the first month that visitors to the site could start voting on
projects that have been submitted. Pepsi estimates they will fund
thousands of projects spending in excess of $20 million dollars with
the hope to start a movement where others will begin funding community
projects in the same manner.

The specific project that I’m referring to is called “Elastic Park” which was submitted in the Arts and Culture category by Larry Moss of Airigami, LCC.
Larry is an artist who builds balloon sculptures, so this project is
basically a Jurassic Park made out of balloons! His goals are to
demonstrate what can be accomplished by working together and building
community through art, science and “pop” culture. His plan is to build
an exhibit at Exploration Place
in Wichita, Kansas that will serve as a template for a national museum
tour. To accomplish this he will need to recruit 100′s of community
volunteers which will hopefully result in 1,000′s of visitors all
learning about pre-history and art in a very unique way. Check it out:

Larry has displayed his work in 12 countries, and has been
recognized by the Associated Press, CNN, Smithsonian Magazine, the Wall
Street Journal and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! He has appeared on The
Martha Stewart Show and NBC’s “Today.” He created  Balloon Manor
here in Rochester last Fall, which was a haunted house for Halloween
all in balloons. Also this past December he participated in the DARPA Network Challenge
which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Internet and the way
social networking now plays a role in communications. For that he had
cupcake balloon structures flying over various major cities in the U.S.
including New York.

February is now winding down with only a few days left for voting.
What Larry told me that I didn’t realize at first is that visitors can
come back every day to vote. So those projects that are associated with
a large organization have the advantage of sending out reminders to
people to go back and vote again. Therefore, there does seem to be a
disadvantage for the small biz or entrepreneur.

So please vote here
for Larry and Elastic Park. He’s ranked #18 today, down from #15 from
when I met with him. The good news is that if he doesn’t win this month
he’s received enough votes to come back for a second try. February winners from
all six categories will be announced on Monday, March 1.

 These boots were made for walkin' and that's just what they'll do  .. It's funny the songs that get stuck in our heads. As I prep for a trip to San Antonio boots and cowgirl hats spin in my mind. And girlfriend, those Texas boots are red and sassy! Wondering if Nettie will be wearing a pair ..

Social media is walkin' and some might say runnin' through our business practices. Sadly, it's barely crawling in terms of an integrated process through out most enterprises.

As our understanding of
how our customers, the media, prospective employees, current employees,
share holders and more use the social web it becomes evident that BBF Shel Israel was right. Social media does not
live only in the world of marketing. Public relations, customer service,
operations and human resources are exploring ways to incorporate online digital
conversational tools.

Comcast is using Twitter as a customer service channe; while the business-to-business company
Indium has tapped its engineers and scientists to create twelve niche topic
blogs. Small local businesses like Atlanta restaurant Pizzeria Venti are on Twitter, Facebook and including blogger relations outreach to
build relations with neighborhood patrons through special offers and
conversations.

Isipho, a small nonprofit that’s
mission is to improve the lives of the children in Nzinga, South
Africa, has raised its awareness
and brought in funding through its Facebook page, blog and tweets. Dell is a marketer's dream selling millions of dollars of computers through special Twitter offerings.

All too often, enterprise social conversations are grassroots efforts .. which might seem like it would dovetail with the social media culture. And perhaps it does.  However, with so many areas of the enterprise joining digital
conversational exchanges With customers and stakeholders we inadvertently created a set of expectations.

Limited planning and neglect in creating a comprehensive enterprise social media direction results in disappointing customers and in the disconnect of the brand promise. Why? Because we can't sustain the same level of engagement since too frequently no one knows what all of those social media experiences entail.

A few questions for you to consider at your next department meeting:

 Is service better on the Twitter channel than in your call
center? 

Does a blog or Facebook post provide more relevant information than
your website or brochures or trade shows? 

Do your enterprise bloggers or twitters understand
the needs of your customers better than your traditional sales force? 

Is the HR
specialist bringing in more qualified candidates through LinkedIn than ads or
recruiters?

Please, please, please .. keep in mind: Every time a customer or
client interacts with your employees (or -gulp- agency .. you are transparent about that I hope!) within your social media assets (Twitter, blogs, Facebook, YouTube, etc. You do consider then assets and not resource drains?) it creates not
only a new experience for that One person but it is viewed by hundreds if
not hundreds of thousands of people. That secondary audience
also experiences your brand and builds expectations of how they assume you will treat them. 

More questions:

From the customer perspective: If my friend receives a comment from you on her blog post or my neighbor gets his problem resolved from a tweet But I do not .. how is the disconnect in service and the brand promise resolved? Not to mention the "feeling badly" emotions that may occur.

From the enterprise point of view: How in the world do you scale this stuff without hiring a cast of zillions?

One of the benefits that
social media brings to the enterprise is  … a we can not wait any longer .. critical need to ensure cross functional
communication systems are in place.

Processes should be developed to capture the
learnings and information occurring from each social media touch point.
Ideally, that information should be analyzed and placed in a common, let’s call
it digital repository.  In addition,
critical information should be directed to people who can quickly provided a
response and begin a solution process.

  “Un-soloing” an organization,  whether it is a Fortune 100 enterprise with global
divisions or a small business with three employees with distinct
responsibilities, takes time, commitment, often a change in culture and team work.

These boots are made for walkin' .. or perhaps we should change the song to these shoes were made for runnin'!

If I were writing on the petblog, I’d be shouting, “Barking News!” Or, “Breaking Mews!” BOL and MOL

But, let’s get serious. This is GREAKING NEWS of the best kind! It’s a fun new app for adding voice to pictures, that I can see using a lot! Imagine this:

• Being the cool friend sending talking photo status updates on Twitter and Facebook!
• Adding voice to a photo while shopping, and sending it right off to your “friends” group!
• Adding voice to a photo while you’re in Paris on vacation (or anywhere else), and sending it to friends in a matter of seconds!
• Capturing a funny or touching moment experienced with friends.

If you’re in this for the $$, if you’re an entrepreneur, imagine using a talking photo to market or advertise your products and services. Video, but especially talking video – with your voice – is totally engaging.

Well, Fotobabble allows you to do just that, and more.

You can use your iPhone to instantly send talking photos to anyone. Or share on Twitter and Facebook. Use it to include your voice on a greeting card, or send talking pictures of your kids, from Disney or the lake or wherever, to Grandma. (this grandma would love that! “Hi, Grandma, wish you were here!”)

The ideas are limitless. This new app is sure to be a winner. AND, they’re Twittering and have a Facebook page, but of course!

So, what would you use it for?

p.s. no, I haven’t used it yet – we just learned about it, but Tom is very excited! we’ll let you know how well we think it works!

by Guest Blogger, Lena West, Chief of Social Media Strategy at xynoMedia

I’ve decided to step out and say what few people are willing to say: women business owners need to approach social media differently than male business owners.

This is not based on some “shrink it and pink it” mentality that I’ve adopted. This idea comes from YEARS of working with (for the most part) only women business owners — and actually BEING a woman business owner myself. Call it generalizing or gender-based stereotypes (or any other politically correct label you want to give it), but women think differently and we LEARN differently. Period. I’ve seen it every single day for the past 13 years I’ve been self-employed.

I got sick and tired

of reading blogs written by guys (and gals, but mostly guys) giving advice like:

• “Just jump in and get your feet wet.”
• “Send a note to your friends and connect.”
• “Just create a Twitter account – it’s free and easy.”
• “Find people to follow on Twitter and then talk to them.”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time to do stuff to “get my feet wet”. I want to know what the hell I’m doing right from Jump Street and if I can’t know that, I ain’t doing it. I also have NO desire to connect with my pals and family on Facebook. This is BUSINESS, not some crazy chips and dip get together. And, if you create the account, what then?? How do you know who the right people to follow on Twitter are? How do you talk to them? All of this advice is so GENERAL and AMBIGUOUS that it makes me ill.

After getting tired of ranting about the problem (and because I’m someone that doesn’t like people to complain without offering a solution), I started the Real Women Do Social Media Revolution — and it kicks off on March 4th with the Real Women Do Social Media Program. We’ve already got a handful of Real Women signed-up and we’re almost at our limit – I’m keeping the classes small. This isn’t the kind of thing where there are 100 women on the call. No way. This ain’t that kinda party. You know me and you know I’m all about quality and no B.S.

Here’s where it gets interesting…

When I starting putting this idea together, I talked with some of my guy pals about the program – namely Jim Kukral and Jonathan Fields. They were 100% supportive, and in fact, have already been Tweeting about the program and doing give-aways (#RWDSM).

I also talked to someone else whom I thought was a guy pal (no names necessary, he knows who he is). In the past, he’s asked me to retweet a thing or two and I took a look at the content, believed in it and what he was trying to do and so I retweeted. Yesterday, I asked him for his help in promoting the Real Women Do Social Media program and was told that he doesn’t send people links to sales pages through Twitter or Facebook. He said that if he were following someone who did this, he would unfriend/unfollow them. Reeeeeally? How convenient.

Here’s what I know: when people who you’ve helped and who made a commitment to help you start backing out — or they try to stop your “shine”, you’re onto something — and I believe I am onto something with the Real Women Do Social Media program. Thanks to all the guys who recognize the need for this program for women entrepreneurs and are promoting the hell out of it. And, of course, you know the women are doing their thing to spread the word, too!

One-size-fits-all only works for baseball caps and t-shirts. I hope you’ll join me and the other Real Women who have signed-up to be part of the Real Women Do Social Media Revolution.

It’s that time of year. While some of us are knee-deep in snow, and others are grabbing the umbrella before they head out, we’re all dreaming of spring and summer – for the warmth, the green grass, and the sunshine.

With summer, comes the need for Host Families at the Fresh Air Fund program. Last year, in 2009, the volunteer host program, Friendly Town, gave nearly 5,000 New York City boys and girls, ages six to 18, free summer experiences away from the concrete and noise of the city.

For a few weeks each summer, host families open up their home to these children, giving them a peek into a world they would not otherwise see or understand (except via television or the net, and that’s a sad thing to even think, let alone admit – that some children never get to experience the true “fun” of summertime, just because of where or ‘how’ they live).

Fresh Air children are boys and girls, six to 18 years old, who live in New York City. Children on first-time visits are six to 12 years old and stay for either one or two weeks. Youngsters who are re-invited by the same family may continue with The Fund through age 18, and many enjoy longer summertime visits, year after year. A visit to the home of a warm and loving volunteer host family can make all the difference in the world to an inner-city child. All it takes to create lifelong memories is laughing in the sunshine and making new friends.

The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities. These are often families without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. Most inner-city youngsters grow up in towering apartment buildings without large, open outdoor play spaces. Concrete playgrounds cannot replace the freedom of running barefoot through the grass or riding bikes down country lanes.

I write about them every year because I hope some of my readers will be willing and able to participate. My sister, who lives in a very rural area, has hosted children numerous times, and she has always said those summers are the best ones ever. Memories of having these children visit, abound with joy, happiness, and that true sense of having done something rewarding. It’s for sure, she got more out of having them in her home, than they got out of being there. At least, from her perspective. I suspect the children would turn that around and say they got the most out of it.

The Fresh Air Fund also has camps, for kids who can’t make it to host family homes. So, even if you can’t host a child, you can donate to this worthy cause and make sure it continues to support the least among us: the children. Hop over to the Fresh Air Fund Facebook page and get the full scoop. It’s worth your time.

Regular readers know that I’m not much of a frou-frou femme; however, I do like to look good.   And, hair is a big part of looking (and feeling) good for women.  In fact – back in my corporate power suit, frou-frou days, I said I could handle anything that went wrong as long as I knew my hair and nails were right. 

Feelings. It’s ALL about feelings.  And, that’s where the beauty salon can make or break your day (and teach a marketer.)

I no longer obsess over my nails (they had to be perfect at all times, back in the day) but I do care about “the hair.”  Most women do; this is why we get that panic-stricken look if our hairdresser tells us he or she is moving to another state. It’s also daunting to go to a new salon, no matter how renowned. Particularly since – let’s face it – so many of the “high-end” ones act like they’re doing you a favor by taking ( a LOT of) your money.   I’ve been to several throughout the years that – while some of them actually did a great job – I didn’t go back, due to their ‘tude.  If I’m spending that kind of money, I shouldn’t be made to feel like Eliza Doolittle pre-makeover.

This past week I decided I simply must do something with the hair, so I called Salon Helena, which got top honors in a recent Albuquerque The Magazine “Best of” reader survey.  The shop was also in Elle’s  “top 100 salons” which caused me some trepidation (see above re “high end.”) However, I was very pleasantly surprised. Helena comes from a long line of hairstylists and understands the customer salon experience is as much about feeling as looks.

1. I didn’t have to wait.  I showed up a little early, but they were ready for me.  No cooling my heels and reading water-stained magazines as I waited for a Mr. Alberto to finish with a more important client.

2. The salon was cheerfully decorated, in warm colors.  It was obvious they put some care and thought into the ambiance.  No sharp modernist edges…or junky-looking signs of anorexic models, with heroin addict haircuts.  It felt stylish yet comfortable.

3.  The salon was CLEAN.  How many times have you been to a supposedly top salon where hair floats through the air and piles around the chair? 

4.  The restrooms were CLEAN and nicely decorated, stocked with clean cloth hand towels. No sinks full of hair coloring bowls or dusty faux flowers. (which I’ve faced in even the most expensive salons…or maybe they sent me to the “Eliza” section…;-)

5.  No hard sale. They’ve got products available and Helena used a couple, but I didn’t feel like I was a loser if I didn’t buy them. 

They also asked me several times if I wanted something to drink (pay attention to the customer, don’t want for them to ask)…and I could (and did) help myself to a fresh-brewed cup of java while I waited for the color to set.

And the cherry on top?  It’s in my neighborhood – I can even walk there if I choose.  And, I will, in about six weeks for a trim….maybe a pedicure…and…(customers will sell themselves if they feel good about the experience.  Duh.) 

In full disclosure, I will tell you that I have never visited a Build-A-Bear Workshop. Yes, I’m guilty. I’ve known about Build-A-Bear and even have friends who have taken their kids – and proudly show off their precious bear, when you meet them. But, I’ve never had the pleasure of building a bear.

So, I have no vested interest in this post, today. Except to congratulate Build-A-Bear Workshops on their Huggable Heroes program. This program, according to my resources, has been around for seven years – and I think it deserves a space here on Lip-sticking.

Each year, for the past seven, Build-A-Bear Workshop, through the Huggable Heroes program, has been on the search for young leaders making positive contributions to their communities – here in the U.S. and around the world.

Ten Huggable Heroes will be chosen this year, recognized and honored for their good deeds. We’re talking kids – between the ages of eight to 18, from the U.S. and Canada (somehow, Canada doesn’t make up “around the world” but that’s what the press release says). The winners will receive a prize worth $10K (divided into $7500 as an educational scholarship and $2500 from the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation to be donated to the 501(c)(3) charity of the winner’s choice.)

They also get to visit St. Louis, home of the Build-A-Bear Workshop Bearquarters (that is really cute!), along with their parents.

While there, the 2010 Huggable Heroes will also meet each other (priceless), be honored for their good deeds and they will also participate in a photo shoot for the 2011 Build-A-Bear Workshop Huggable Heroes Calendar! W00t!

Entries are being accepted only through February 26th… at this link. Or, by visiting a Build-A-Bear Workshop store in the U.S. or Canada and picking up an entry form there. If YOU know someone who deserves this honor, get moving. Share this idea, get involved, be part of the good deeds we do, in 2010 and beyond.

NOTE: this is non-gender! Get your sons involved, too!