Long Time, No See

It has been a while since this blog has been updated. I know what you are thinking... Why has it been so long? Well... things have been changing in all aspects of life so keeping up with the script we call life is busy enough... let alone having to write about it.

Here are the highlights:

Social Media Bootcamp is being offered in 12 cities in 2012.

Hosting 2-4 Constant Contact Seminars a month.

Social Media has been changing faster than anyone can keep up with!!

There it is in a nutshell folks. Busy is an understatement. Never again will we have a blogging hiatus like the previous.

Hold us to it!

No Where to Go

Notes from our CEO:

Have you ever wondered how the Queen of Social Media manages to keep her personal life private?

Well.. of course it is only as private as I keep it, there are things I will share here and there RE: family, dating etc. But I can definitely say I am NOT an open book.

There is a fine line a Social Media Maven such as myself must adhere to. People are watching your every move.. waiting for you to do something that will be gossip worthy enough for the next networking meeting.

Your photos, videos and content must stay presentable. Every time something is posted that is below standard... you begin to lose creditability.

Granite, we are not at work 100% of everyday.. seems a bit unfair to hold a person to that standard ALL the time.

That's the beauty of Social Media.. It never stops. Even when we are asleep.. It keeps going!

I am a real person with flaws, feelings and personality..... Most of it does not make it to my social networks.

- TM

Let's Get Movin' OKC!

2012 is off to a great start!!!! More things are going on than I can describe.. all pointing in the right direction!!

Already scheduled to talk 12+ times about Social Media/Email Marketing. I dig speaking... but often times get bored with just explaining why businesses should utilize:

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIN

Youtube

Yes, there are a ton more social networks out there but I am ready for Oklahoma to get into the new stuff... when its still ACTUALLY new....

I am talking Google + at least! A cool new way to interact on a personal and professional level.

I am also looking into how businesses can use Pinterest to promote their business and products!!!

We will get there slowly but surly.. Just taking more time than I want!

Follow me on Google + (Social Media Mack) and Pinterest (TessMackOKC)

- TLM

Keepin in Constant Contact

Email Marketing has become a hot topic now days. Email can be checked in may ways and is instantaneous. Many companies have replaced direct mail with E-mail.

Perhaps because email marketing is less expensive and and easier to track.

Constant Contact, The world's most used email client began in 1998 to provide affordable, easy-to-use email marketing tool that would help small businesses build successful, lasting customer relationships.

With Constant Contact, small organizations can communicate with current customers and members easily and affordability, build loyalty, and generate repeat business.

Today, more than 450,000 customers worldwide from all types of small businesses and organizations—from retail, restaurants, and spas to business services, consultants, nonprofits, and associations—use Constant Contact for Email Marketing, Event Marketing, Online Surveys, and Social Media Marketing.

Each state in the U.S. has a state contact. Within those are several regional directors.

In November 2011, Social Media Mack became an official partner with Constant Contact. SMM serves all of Oklahoma as Email Marketing and Social Media "Expert"

Check for seminars on the "Power of Email Marketing" coming in 2012.

To view our seminar schedule visit www.socialmediamack.com/socialmediauniversity

Advertise your business this BLACK Friday

Tons of people will be out fighting crowds and standing in long lines...

But the smart ones will be at home shopping on-line in their PJ's.

SMM is releasing the #1 email blast of 2011...

SOCIAL MEDIA MACK's NEWSLETTER:

BLACK FRIDAY EDITION

For businesses or service providers, this is by far the easiest method to take full advantage of this Christmas.

Be seen by our 6,000 subscribers and let the world know what your business has to offer this Holiday season.

Space is limited...

This is only offered once a year!!

Call our office 405.921.8609 or email socialmediamack@gmail.com to sign up!

DEADLINE IS NOVEMBER 21st, 2011

Panic Attack via Facebook!

Facebook dropped a bomb on its users this week.

Our office has received tons of emails with questions about the "New Facebook" and we have been working around the clock to try to get things figured out.

The bottom line is... Facebook is going to continue to change. That's how they keep it FRESH.. and in the process make it hard for you to figure out how to use it.

So.. everyone just calm down.. Take a chill pill. Everything will be O.K. Hey, think of it this way... now is a perfect time for you to try Twitter out. (Shameless plug.. yes I know!)

Throughout the course of the past few days, Facebook users have updated their statuses with warnings and caution.

My personal favorite, obivously a spoof was this:

Tomorrow, Facebook will change its privacy settings to allow Mark Zuckerberg to come into your house while you are sleeping and eat your brains with a grapefruit spoon.

To stop this from happening, go to Account > Home Invasion Settings >Cannibalism > Brains, and uncheck the Tasty box.

All this hype will die down soon. So just wait for it....

5 excuse as to why businesses don't use Social Media

Being in the Social Media field almost two years has really let me see things from a business prospective. When the recession hit, people were getting laid off and companies were cutting their budgets.... Advertising budgets that is.

Advertising is a big part of if your business will succeed or fail. You gotta spend money to make money. This scenario becomes interesting because start-ups usually don't have alot of capital to begin with.

This is where the creative mind shall come into play.

Business owners give me excuses as to why they are not on Twitter or even Facebook. I have complied a list of the TOP 5 EXCUSES AS TO WHY BUSINESSES DON'T USE SOCIAL MEDIA.

5- "It's too time consuming"- OK... so you have a point, it takes some time. There is a thing I like to call a schedule that works really well and can even keep your organized. Schedule time everyday to work on your SM.

4- "I don't want to get farmville requests" - Well .... it can not be guaranteed that you won't get requests but you could IGNORE them.... works every time.

3- "Security is not tight enough" - I hear this often. People don't want their identities to be stolen or don't want others to know where they live. You can change your settings... what information you choose to share with the world is YOUR choice

2- "It won't work for the industry I am in" - NOT TRUE. Social Media can work for anyone. You might have to get creative with your content, but there is something for everyone.

1- "I don't know how to use it" - Well now I have just the answer for you... training classes. There are several people who give tutorials and classes all over the country. From conferences, to one on one, you can learn with the style that fits you best.

Check out our training classes on our website: http://www.socialmediamack.com/social_media_university

Start using social networking... NOW!

Celeb Sighting- Kevin Rudolf

My job has to be the most fulfilling one I know. Media Consulting opens up the door to so many opportunities and experiences.

Recently got to meet Rocker Kevin Rudolf , who has hit singles "Let it Rock" featuring Lil Wayne and "I Made It" with Cash Money!

Kevin is an overall sweet guy and really chill to be around. I was so close to him at his concert I could see his nose hairs. Hanging out with him and his crew was nice and gave me an inside look at the music industry, this time with Star status.

Club Albee is always doing something fun and interesting. Thanks for an epic time!

"I Made It"

STOP. and Watch this Video.. Listen to the lyrics. If you don't have 3 minutes to watch it let us help you with them.....

"I look up to the sky
And now the World is mine
Ive known it all my life
I made it, I made it!
I used to dream about, the life I'm living now
I know that theres no doubt.
I made it, I made it!"

You will always have people that dislike you because of your success. It matters not if you are nice or if you are rude. They will point out your every flaw and plan for your demise.

So just so EVERYONE knows... Social Media Mack. Com has "made" it.

Happy watching.

Is Social Media a Fad?

Check out our promo video featuring Social Media Mack. Com and with a special shoutout to Vintage Coffee from Oklahoma City.

Look at me... Look at me!

All people everywhere are fighting for attention. In their job, relational status, family, party life, whatever it is, people are wanting to have all eyes focused on them.

In marketing, that translates to branding. You want the public, when they think of your company name, to see your face in the back of their heads.

Some business have gone to great lengths to make this a reality and in the end, surpass their competition with their outrageous antics. In the OKC metro, there are a few that stick out.

(Going to use twitter/business names to keep anonymity)

ALL these tactics are copyrighted (so don't get any ideas ... )

@bonddaddy gives out a "million" dollars with his biz name and contact info (man, wish that was real)

@blogging4jobs carries a knapsack with her twitter name on it.

@thatmightyGguy-slogan is a play on words: "don't call a geek when you can hire a hero"

@lamarokc- uses a billboard on the side of the highway to update tweets that could potentially cause a 10- car pile up.

There are tons more but these are the ones that keep popping up over and over. Needless to say they have the branding thing down.

Social Media Mack. Com is working on a lil thing of their own. Have to be innovative and different.

Just call me Mack- Momma.

Social Media Quality vs Quantity

Social media: Quality vs Quantity has come up quite often in the past couple of week. I recently had my own run in with this controversial topic and felt inclined to set the record straight.

Visiting with a potentital client last week, he posed the question: "how realistic is it to have 100,000 fans on a business Facebook page in a 12 month period"?

My answer to him was.... Let me check on that. Not wanting to say something that I would later want to take back, I went home, did some research and this is what I came up with....

Quantity vs Qualitative objectives like those related with corporate reputation or conversations relevancy require a particular measurement approach.

If you are questioning which is more effective, begin asking closed questions to benchmark the brand:

Within our sector/product category, are we part of conversations?

Are we compared with our competitors?

To measure Social Media success, we may ask:

Were we able to build better relationships with our key audiences?

Are we participating in conversations where we previously weren’t?

Is our brand keeping still running monologue or is it moving to a meaningful dialogue with customers?

These questions begin to put every thing in place and it was clear that quality prevails.

In terms of social media you can focus on ROI, but that's result. Rapport, trust, leadership and relationships drives those results. - @shanegibson

OKC CRUSHIT

Friday, November 20th, was a day that will go down in Oklahoma social media history. Social media and wine enthusiasts came together for "Crush it" at Will Rogers Theater.

Gary Vaynerchuk, social media guru and wine connoisseur brought down the house, speaking on personal branding, tweeting, networking and the effectiveness of a web presence. Gary V intrigued his audience with his larger than life attitude and hard core verbiage, leaving them wanting more.

Questions from the audience and real time tweeting were the highlight of Gary V's presentation. People not able to attend the event could participate in the question and answer portion via Twitter by using hash tags linking to #OKCrushIT.

The event was sponsored by various Oklahoma businesses, all of which were showcased. Attendees pallets were able to experience food from Deep Fork, Rococo's, Iguana Grill, Bruce Rinehart's, Ryan Parrott's Season's Catering, various wines, Coop Ale Work beer, Gekkeikan Sake and coffee from Cafe Evoke & Elemental Coffee.

Gary V is know for his winelibrarytv.com web show that focuses on wine education. Gary V was simply doing what he loved back in 2006, little did he know he would end up writing a book about "Crushing it."

The night ended with book signing and photo opportunities. Rococo's Restaurant hosted the official "after party" and kept the energy flowing.

Oklahoma City was one of 10 cities that Gary V will visit on his book tour.

Social media in Oklahoma will never be the same. Now, everybody will be "Crushing it" !

To view Twitter real-time results from the event visit www.twitter.com/okcrushit

Are You Connected? ....

Here is my published guest blog entry from www.blogging4jobs.com. All about networking and my transition from unemployed to C.E.O.

Last week marked the two-month anniversary of my arrival to Oklahoma. After being in California six months, missing home and nowhere to use my degree in communication, it seemed best to go back to the 405.

Leaving California with just a pocket full of money, no job, and nowhere to live, I certainly had my work cut out for me. Prior to coming back to Oklahoma, I spoke to a friend about my job concerns. She told me her boyfriend was on a website called Linkedin and had success with it. Having never heard of the site, I dismissed the idea of checking it out.

Putting in applications at retail stores and call centers got old after a few weeks and I finally decided I needed to up my game and start thinking outside the box. On a whim, I decided to check out LinkedIn to see what my friend was talking about. Being an amateur on the site, I just browsed for a few days and slowly built my professional profile. I posted a message that I was looking for a networking event to go to in a group called Freedom Networkers. Frustration was starting to take over and I needed a different way to meet potential employers.

Members of the group emailed me a schedule of events. I attended my first event on a Thursday and before I knew it, I was a networking machine. During my first week, I attended nine events (four in one day!) and met as many people as possible. I began to tailor my pitch as far as what kind of job I was searching for and really began to build a rapport with the people I was seeing frequently.

Presently, I am working for myself as a Social Network Developer and met my first client while at an Oklahoma networking event. I also have contacts that refer their clients to me for their social media needs, all because of networking. They say it’s not what you know; it’s who you know and now I am living proof!