Listeners of the World,
As we approach the launch of the newly revamped OurTown site we wanted to take some time and focus on the people that will make the site worthwild.............which are the local editors! They are the ones who provide that great stories and information on the individual sites that bring people to OurTown.com. Without these special individuals we wouldn't have a site!
So now that we are getting closer and closer to the release of the new site it's time to ramp up the search for new local editors to expand our reach on the US. So I decided to write a post listing all of the qualities that we are looking for in potential local editors.
Potential Local Editor Qualities:
- Must care and be involved in your community.
- Must be able to dedicate 5-15 hours a week working on the site.
- Must be 18 or older to be a local editor.
- Must live or spend over 80% of your time within community that you are reporting on.
- Must be able to keep "fresh" content on the site each week.
- Goal oriented is a plus!
So if the above describes you then why not check out OurTown.com to read in full the great opportunity that OurTown.com offers!
Your OurTown Superhero,
Chris
Local News, Views, Search, and Commerce
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Is Social Media Enough?
Listeners of the World,
One may wonder is social media enough of a marketing tool to only focus on Facebook, Twitter, linkedin, and etc or do you need more? That is a question that many small businesses and major marketing departments are asking themselves. I know because I have asked myself this question over and over again within the past few months.........and the verdict is still out!
Many small start-ups with little to no marketing budget have done wonders using just social media sites to create relationships and to promote their product. They have been able to create the same amount of audience that some companies have spent thousands to obtain. But the question is still there for if this is enough as they grow!
Now the bigger the business the bigger the NO on this question! It took a long time for many of the bigger businesses out there to even recognize social
media as a marketing tool. Now they are creating positions just for social media (social media marketing, community manager, etc) to help keep their companies up with the latest online trends. But is this them phasing out other marketing strategies to focus in on social media?
The real answer is both depending on where you are at with your business! I think that only using social media while your business is starting up is a great idea to help save money and to help manage time. This way you can focus most of your time to building your brand and making relationships instead of investing money you don't have into different marketing schemes that don't work out. Once you have build your brand and actually started making money you can focus on hiring marketing firms, marketing associates, etc to help expand your brand!
In the end I think before you answer this question you should take a look at where you business is in the marketplace, because sometimes the answer will be yes and sometimes the answer will be no!
Your OurTown Superhero,
Chris
One may wonder is social media enough of a marketing tool to only focus on Facebook, Twitter, linkedin, and etc or do you need more? That is a question that many small businesses and major marketing departments are asking themselves. I know because I have asked myself this question over and over again within the past few months.........and the verdict is still out!
Many small start-ups with little to no marketing budget have done wonders using just social media sites to create relationships and to promote their product. They have been able to create the same amount of audience that some companies have spent thousands to obtain. But the question is still there for if this is enough as they grow!
Now the bigger the business the bigger the NO on this question! It took a long time for many of the bigger businesses out there to even recognize social
media as a marketing tool. Now they are creating positions just for social media (social media marketing, community manager, etc) to help keep their companies up with the latest online trends. But is this them phasing out other marketing strategies to focus in on social media?The real answer is both depending on where you are at with your business! I think that only using social media while your business is starting up is a great idea to help save money and to help manage time. This way you can focus most of your time to building your brand and making relationships instead of investing money you don't have into different marketing schemes that don't work out. Once you have build your brand and actually started making money you can focus on hiring marketing firms, marketing associates, etc to help expand your brand!
In the end I think before you answer this question you should take a look at where you business is in the marketplace, because sometimes the answer will be yes and sometimes the answer will be no!
Your OurTown Superhero,
Chris
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
First look at the New Site!
Listeners of the World,
We have been in the process of revamping the OurTown.com site. It has been a process that has been under way since last December which has been nothing but exciting! The site was suppose to be finished at the end of April, but this just didn't happen for many reasons. We now are very close to having a lot of the site completed with some elements missing and we wanted to give everyone a sneak peak to the new site!
If you search for "masonville" you will be able to access a test site that show the layout of the new material. Like always please send me and comments, suggestions, or problems you may have.
New Site
Masonville Site
Your OurTown Superhero,
Chris
Friday, August 6, 2010
Win a New Flip Video Camera!
Listeners of the World,
Today I wanted to talk about another site that was recently created and developed by my parent company (Chicago West Pullman) to help with small to medium sized businesses video advertising needs called vADz.com. Now I have had posts in the past describing the service and how it can benefit you, but today I wanted to talk about something that they are running on the site...........a Contest!
Starting Monday August 9, vADz will be running a promotional contest to see who can create the best vADz video ad. The contest will allow everyone two weeks to enter a video to be judged by the Home Office. Once all video's have been submitted, we will pick the top five videos to be placed on the vADz facebook fan page to be judged by our fans.
Our fans will have two weeks to vote on which video they like the best, with an update on the standings being tweeted everyday via our vADz twitter account. At the end of the two weeks we will tally all the votes and announce the winner who will receive a Free Flip Video Camera, and have there vADz video ad showcased on the vADz homepage.
Now there is one more way to get your video to the vote on the vADz facebook fan page by winning the "At-Large Bid". Now this will go to the person who referred the most people to the contest. When you submit your vADz video ad we have provided a section to enter in who referred you to the contest. So this way you are guarantee to get your vADz video ad one step closer to winning!
So remember come Monday lets get to work on a brand new vADz video ad to have a chance to win a Free Flip Video Camera, and remember that you can use the Free Trial option on the site so that the contest is completely FREE!
Your OurTown Superhero,
Chris
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
4 Part Social Marketing Series.
Listeners of the World,
About 2 weeks ago I started a 4 part series on how I have used social media marketing to my advantage. Today I am going to finish up with the last installment of the series with my focus on foursquare. Most people have heard of foursquare, but do people really know how to use foursquare!
foursquare - With today's "on the go" society many people have relied strictly on their phones for social media communication thus bringing up the idea for foursquare. This application lets you check in to different places and awards you different badges based on how many times you have checked in. You can even become the major of certain establishments to receive discounts!
Tips on how to maintain a foursquare account:
- To maintain an account is very simple in the world of foursquare! You just need to check in to any important places you go and have it post to your twitter or facebook accounts. Then connect your account with all of your friends to be able to share the information.
- Now make sure that you are not just checking in to everyplace you go or it will become tired-some and time consuming. I like to check in at work, home, and if I am out at a nice restaurant or a sporting event.
- Now many businesses have offered awards in the past for becoming the major, even if the businesses is a big business like Starbucks! Now for all the small businesses I would recommend you sign up and offer an award for becoming the major at your establishment. It doesn't have to be a big award, most places were just offering something small like a dollar off.
Overall foursquare is a rather simple application, so there is not really too much to go over with maintaining an account or trying to use it to attract customers. But, it is a much needed application that will help tie together your social media marketing.
Now that I have covered the basics on 4 of the most popular social applications I want you to step back and think about how to tie all of this together to help promote your brand. The first thing you should realize is that it will be time consuming and not to rewarding in the very beginning. But once you have worked at it for about a month and followed through on all the different sites, then you will see a huge reward!
Your OurTown Superhero,
Chris
About 2 weeks ago I started a 4 part series on how I have used social media marketing to my advantage. Today I am going to finish up with the last installment of the series with my focus on foursquare. Most people have heard of foursquare, but do people really know how to use foursquare!
foursquare - With today's "on the go" society many people have relied strictly on their phones for social media communication thus bringing up the idea for foursquare. This application lets you check in to different places and awards you different badges based on how many times you have checked in. You can even become the major of certain establishments to receive discounts!
Tips on how to maintain a foursquare account:
- To maintain an account is very simple in the world of foursquare! You just need to check in to any important places you go and have it post to your twitter or facebook accounts. Then connect your account with all of your friends to be able to share the information.
- Now make sure that you are not just checking in to everyplace you go or it will become tired-some and time consuming. I like to check in at work, home, and if I am out at a nice restaurant or a sporting event.
- Now many businesses have offered awards in the past for becoming the major, even if the businesses is a big business like Starbucks! Now for all the small businesses I would recommend you sign up and offer an award for becoming the major at your establishment. It doesn't have to be a big award, most places were just offering something small like a dollar off.
Overall foursquare is a rather simple application, so there is not really too much to go over with maintaining an account or trying to use it to attract customers. But, it is a much needed application that will help tie together your social media marketing.
Now that I have covered the basics on 4 of the most popular social applications I want you to step back and think about how to tie all of this together to help promote your brand. The first thing you should realize is that it will be time consuming and not to rewarding in the very beginning. But once you have worked at it for about a month and followed through on all the different sites, then you will see a huge reward!
Your OurTown Superhero,
Chris
Monday, August 2, 2010
Great Tips!
Listeners of the World,
Last Thursday I was going to post my final part of a 4 part social marketing series, but I have saved that until tomorrow. Please look forward for the conclusion of the series tomorrow, but today check out these tips to help with creating a great OurTown site!
http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/technology/article/simple-linking-strategies-for-better-seo-steve-strauss
Please let me know if you think these tips help!
Your OurTown Superhero,
Chris
Last Thursday I was going to post my final part of a 4 part social marketing series, but I have saved that until tomorrow. Please look forward for the conclusion of the series tomorrow, but today check out these tips to help with creating a great OurTown site!
http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/technology/article/simple-linking-strategies-for-better-seo-steve-strauss
Please let me know if you think these tips help!
Your OurTown Superhero,
Chris
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