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By Shama, February 9, 2010 1:19 am

Shama Kabani of The Marketing Zen Group, Rick Burnes of HubSpot, the notorious Couch Surfing Ori, as well as other Social Media pros will be speaking at the Aloft Hotel Thursday, March 4th, to a crowd of entrepreneurs, C-level execs, and marketing and sales professionals on social media topics and techniques that businesses are using to achieve real business results in 2010.

Bring your laptop and join Shama for this intensive information-packed full day of professional speakers and workshops. This hands-on one-day conference will give you the inside scoop on emerging trends and ways savvy marketers and business owners are successfully promoting their businesses, increasing sales, generating qualified leads, and recruiting top personnel through social media. Find out why names like Pepsi decided to opt out of  Superbowl advertising after 23 years and reinvested 20 million in social media instead.

This will be the first opportunity to get your hands on The Zen of Social Media Marketing – An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue.  It won’t be available in stores until April 2010. VIP attendees will get to meet Shama personally at an exclusive lunch as well as receive an autographed copy of the book.

General admission also includes a copy of Inbound Marketing- Getting Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs , an Amazon Top Seller for 22+ weeks, presented by Rick Burnes, Inbound Marketing Director at Hubspot.

Plus there will will be a Social Boot Camp Business Panel, an esteemed panel of Dallas-based business owners, entrepreneurs, trail blazers & Fortune 500 companies teaching how they have successfully leveraged Social Networking to support their business objectives.

Shama has spoken with the organizer of the event and since she is all about giving value, you can save $30 on the boot camp by using this special: link until Valentine’s Day.

Moderator: Ori Bengal, Couch Surfing Ori, Event MC
* Katharyn DeVille, Digital Producer WFAA Ch 8
* Shaun P. Wiliams, Editor of Dallas South News
* Kevin Williams, Director of Marketing National Breast Cancer Foundation
* James Pecht, Comm Specialist/Social Media of Interstate Batteries
* Kat Farmer, SticViews
* Bill Knecht, Partner Bengal Coast

Last but not least, after a hard day of Boot Camp Workshops you can enjoy mingling in the private Aloft Hotel Party Pad with other professionals and attendees.

Sign up using this link this week before this workshop sells out.

If you’re wondering why this post was written in 3rd person, that’s because it was written by Neil.

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By Shama, December 15, 2009 1:11 am

Dry cleaners, auto mechanics, accounting firms, moving companies, restaurants, doctors, law firms, and other brick (click) and mortar businesses win and lose new customers every day before the potential customer even picks up the phone. This decision is based solely on past and current customers’ opinions he or she read has online. With so many businesses to choose from, being number one on Google is nearly never the only deciding credibility or trust factor. You’re dealing with an educated customer who does his/her research and does not care what you have to say about your business. They do care what others like him or her have to say. When friends and family aren’t readily available to ask for recommendations, where else can people turn, but the local online community? Welcome to the new word-of-mouth (mouse) marketing. When faced with too many choices, others rely on the “social proof” of what others think. Online reviews are a perfect example. Where are potential customers finding these reviews? The truth is, all over the Internet. There are 1000s of local business review sites and directories, you say? Don’t worry, there are a handful that matter more than the rest combined.

Since a potential customer’s initial search still starts with keywords on a search engine using a service-oriented keyword followed or preceded by the city in which they’re searching (ex: BMW mechanic Dallas). You should first pay attention to the truly important ones already showing up in Google, Yahoo!, and MSN for your keywords. Below are six of the major review and business listing sites which hold weight and have huge online presence. Learn the six biggies.

1. Google Local Business Listings (The “10 Pack”)

You can get your business listed on Google’s map and show up directly on the search results by registering at the Google Local Business Center www.google.com/local/add Describe your business with location info, services, hours of operation and business website link. After you have a listing, your goal is get reviews. If you let Google find your business first, you’ll be rewarded with better placement on the map. Much like Google would rather find your website on its own through links rather than search engine submission, Google Maps will trust and more than likely post reviews from other review sites before submitting or modifying your listing. Often, the Google Local Listing bot will scour the Internet for other reviews sites already touting your company’s offerings and experiences, so start building profiles on some of the other sites first and you’ll already have a diversity of amazing reviews before you expand. Another backdoor is getting your business listed on the BBB’s website or InfoUSA.com to ensure your Google Local presence. Reviews are by far the #1 one factor in achieving top placement in the alphanumeric listing of the Google Local Business Listings/Map Listings. Make sure the reviews are real though. Having keywords in your business name and a complete profile also helps. Get started at the Google Local Business Center.

2. Yelp!

Almost tripling in traffic from 10 to 25 million unique visitors over the last year, this community has exploded becoming a full-on social community with add friends function, reputations, commenting, and picture profiles. Yelp! has recently opened its doors a little more allowing business owners to talk back. Yelp! shows up well in search and they have the trust factor down due to their proprietary algorithm which has been cutting out fake reviews since 2006. To gain control of your profile you should first see if your business is already listed, then you must “claim” the listing with phone call verification. It’s the same process with most of these sites.
See what others are saying about your business and talk back on Yelp.com

3. Yahoo! Local Listings

Similar to Google Local Listings above, Yahoo! now offers the “10 pack,” only it’s three instead of ten. Complete with a map and full landing page, Yahoo! local shows up above organic search and below the top three pay-per-click listings. It’s wise to promote your Yahoo! Local Listing by treating it like it’s one of the family – get reviews, flesh out the profile, add business information. Although Yahoo! only gets 20% of the search engine share, that’s a pretty big chunk of search engine goodness. Get your Yahoo! Map Listing started.

4. Citysearch

This business review site has been around for many years. I can remember at least 10 years ago, when I wanted to be a “City Expert” reviewing restaurants and the like in my area. According to Wikipedia, Citysearch started in 1995 and although much of their content is not user-generated, they do have the notoriety to command attention when they put out a top ten list. Each review, although staff provided, seems thoughtful and specific. The most important aspect of the site — they show up well in search for Google and even better in Yahoo!. Get your business listed, and it may even be worth to have an “enhanced listing” for a monthly fee. Check out CitySearch.com.

5. MerchantCircle

Somewhat new on the scene, this company started in 2005 and has been infiltrating search listings and growing ever since. In June 2008, MerchantCircle announced over 5 million monthly users, 500,000 registered merchant users, and over 5,000 paying clients, with 4.3 million visitors a month according to Quantcast in 2007. Join the circle.

6. Insider Pages

Insider Pages is an online “local search” service operated by IAC/InterActiveCorp. Before its acquisition by IAC the company was based in Redwood Shores, California, and had over 600,000 reviews of local merchants around the country. Insider Pages was founded by Stuart MacFarlane in 2004. On March 27, 2006, the company announced an $8.5 million investment by Sequoia Capital, Softbank Capital, and Idealab. The company addressed a demographic (by its description) of young and middle-aged families who own homes in urban and suburban areas. Add you business. Google Maps definitely picks it up. Be an insider.

Three Important Local Business Review Marketing Tips
1). Never fake reviews or testimonies, it’s not worth the consequences (possible banning).
2). Ask happy customers to review right after he/she has bought, and keep reminding.
3). Don’t freak out if there are some less than 100% positive reviews.
To address the last one, potential customers expect a balance with everything veering on the side of positive and not for your business to be perfect. If there are any negative reviews follow up with that person by contacting him/her and try to make their after experience a good one. Consumer studies and surveys have proven customers are more satisfied with a company in which there was a small issue and the issue was resolved, compared to if there was never one in the first place. The more reviews and complete your business profile the better.

For almost five years, Neil Lemons has worked behind-the-scenes to help create exposure, traffic, leads, and sales through major search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. Calling upon his diverse background in copywriting, advertising, marketing, and sales, he has been learning traditional SEO and SEM tactics since 2004.  He is the lead SEM Strategist at MarketingZen.com, a Dallas website design company. For more information on Internet Marketing, SEM & SEO contact The Marketing Zen Group for a free site evaluation.

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By Shama, October 21, 2009 11:30 am

At this point, I have attended tons of conferences – and spoken at well over a dozen just this past year. After coming back from the fabulous Blog World Expo in Las Vegas, I thought it was time to share some of my tips for making the most of a conference.

1) Stay Hydrated – Seems simple – but I can’t tell you how easy it is to forget when you are running around. Carry a bottle of water with you at all times. It can be so easy to lose your energy by the end of the day. Stay hydrated, and you will thank yourself when everyone else is falling apart.

2) Hire a Private Driver – If it sounds like an extravagance, it’s not. Private drivers are often more reliable and charge less than taxis. Thanks to my good friend, Sarah Robinson, we found an excellent driver named Alex in Vegas. Not only did he charge less than the taxi drivers, he also knew all the hot spots in the city – and had excellent customer service. It made the conference experience much more pleasant.

3) You Don’t have to Stay Close to your Conference – Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t think you always have to stay close to the conference. Sometimes, at the end of the day – you need some room to breathe and do your own thing. Since, I have to run the business while on the road – I prefer to stay a bit further so I can work without distractions. Also, hotels further from the conference center often cost less. To share another example, during SXSW 09, my friends and I rented a house that was a few minutes away from the conference. It was a great experience – and cheaper for everyone.

4) Get a Rolling Bag for your Laptop – I resisted this idea because I thought it looked geeky. I got over that pretty quickly after I realized how hard it was to tote a few extra pounds around on your shoulder. Make it easy on yourself – get a rolling bag for your laptop. Also, expect free stuff. I find that the more I speak, the more free stuff I get. From t-shirts, to boxes of chocolate almonds – to a director’s chair with Shama.Tv written on it. I kid you not.

5) Take your own Billboard – One way everyone recognizes me at conferences is by looking at my laptop. It has a huge laptop sticker that says Shama.Tv. You can get one for less than 20 bucks at http://www.SticViews.com. It’s a great ice breaker.

6) Plan on Getting Less Done – I always think I am going to get a lot more done at conferences than I do. Always expect the unexpected. Conferences are fun because of the spontaneous things that occur. As a rule, you will always get less done than you think.

7) Don’t do Things for the sake of Networking - You don’t have to go to parties if you don’t like to party. This was an important lesson for me. I am not a party person – by a long shot. And, for the longest time I thought I was missing out on a chance to network because I didn’t attend conference parties. Not so. I realized there are lots of other people who prefer a quiet dinner or fun lunch with a small group rather than drink and dance with a crowd. I am not saying either way is the way to go. I am saying do what works for you, and not what is considered “smart networking.”

If you are Speaking, bring Food - I took cupcakes to my last session at the Blog World Expo, and they were such a hit. It made things lively. I gave them away to folks who asked questions, and it added flavor (no pun intended) to the whole session. People like food!

9) Share the Spotlight – Whenever I speak, I try to share my stage with someone else for a bit. It adds variety to the session and gives the other person a chance to provide a different perspective. At Blog World, my good friend Rich Brooks shared his tips for Facebook marketing. If you aren’t speaking, make it a point to connect folks to each other. It allows for win-wins across the board.

10) Encourage Tweeting/Facebooking/Sharing – At Blog World, this goes without saying. But, at other conferences, the rules aren’t so clear. I love encouraging folks to share when I speak, because 1) it allows others to learn and 2) the attendees remember more when they write it down.

11) Bring a Wing-man or Wing-woman – I am pretty lucky that I have Stephanie Cross, our Accounts Supervisor, in tow when I am at a conference or speaking. It makes everything so much easier. Stephanie backs me up for everything. No clicker for the powerpoint? Stephanie will gladly click through the slides for me. Want to attend two different sessions? We each attend one and compare notes. If you have a team member, bring them. If not, buddy up with someone else also attending to support each other.

What are some of your favorite conference tips?

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By Shama, September 23, 2009 2:58 pm

Beginning this September, Facebook will be including a “Like” feature alongside ads on their website. This functionality will allow users to actively rate the different ads that they see, and judge whether specific ads are likeable or not.

This “Like” feature is quite similar to the “Like” feature enabled for other components in Facebook. To make ad-browsing more efficient and user-friendly, Facebook will be adding an “X” on every ad. One tap on the “X” closes the current advertisement and initiates the emergence of the next ad in the chain.

Either you “Like” it, or you don’t

The “Like” system is actually a boon for individuals who are growing weary of giving thumbs-up and thumbs-down ratings for materials they encounter on the Net. If you click “Like”, the system recognizes the rating and records it. If you don’t like an ad and you decide to just close the ad, you will be led to an area where you can give Facebook your feedback.

How the “Like” feature can affect businesses through Facebook

The keyword here is “quality connections”. People who rate particular ads have a whole network of friends. When a person endorses an ad, there is an instant connection. Let’s say John likes your ad. Now Mary, John’s friend, sees that John liked your ad. Mary is more likely to also like your ad.

Capitalizing on Facebook’s new feature

There are simple ways to capitalize on this new feature. This is a challenge for all advertisers- adapt or lose the game. First, make sure that you hyper-target your ads . Additionally, the graphics you use should also be visually engaging. Make everything as fresh as possible- even the text on the ads. Well done humor will also take you far!

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By Shama, September 16, 2009 7:39 pm

Okay guys, I hate to do two sponsored posts in a row – but this one is too good for me not to share! I love it when in a tough economy, big businesses decide to help small businesses. British Airways is doing something just like that! They are offering a Business Opportunity Grant that will help 100 small businesses fly around the world to see their clients, attract new ones, and just do more business in general! And, while I am a huge fan of online marketing (of course), even I sometimes wish I could just go visit my clients and sit down over a cup of coffee with them. You don’t have to British to enter. = )

If you are a US company with a valid federal ID and less than 500 employees, you can enter. If you are an authorized employee, you can also enter. Can you imagine how happy your boss would be? : )

100 Companies will Win:

* British Airways airfare for 10 round-trip Club World business class flights.
* 5 free British Airways World Cargo freight shipments of up to 500 kilos to worldwide destinations
* $1000 toward accommodation at Courtyard by Marriott
* 5 Regus Businessworld Gold Cards providing access to business lounges worldwide
* Canon PIXMA MX860 Wireless Office All-In-One Printer

Go here to enter. Entries close Sept 30th, so you have 14 more days.

In this economy, there is no reason not to make the most of opportunities like this!