1) YouTube is going to open up their branded channels to small business owners. They used to charge

$250,000 to participate in this program, which pretty much limited the experience to big brands. Now, you’ll be able to add tabs to your channel and create more of a social experience. Look how Cleveland Clinic is using their channel to drive traffic to their website and engage their audience via online video.   I circled some items below to help illustrate these points. Subscribe to my channel to get updates.

2) Facebook got rid of “Become a Fan” in favor of “Like” so you now have connections as opposed to “Fans.” The Facebook Connect button and brand will be disappearing and you’ll start seeing Facebook connectivity and features in more locations than ever around the web.

3) Location-based social games are hot for advertisers–Have you heard of Foursquare? The place to “check-in” whenever you’re out and about. It’s kind of like Twitter, only it’s location-based and they reward you for frequency.  I understand most of the users are male, by the way. Well, MyTown is similar but with insane targeting by geo-location and they incentivize check-ins. It’s played by over 1.6 Million people and is the most popular location-based social game ever! Users on MyTown are averaging around 70 minutes of playtime a day and it’s now an Apple Staff Favorite. Local businesses can test it out to capture their target market both by category and location. My Town is at the center of the latest hot trend for casual gaming, according to the San Francisco Business Times.

In summary, companies are spending less time and money on building expensive websites in favor of  leveraging Free social networking sites like YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to expand their audience reach, build trust and engage with their users. Think of it as another way to build word-of-mouth referrals and we all know how valuable those are.  E-mail info@rlevinmarketinggroup.com if you need help with your marketing strategies.

Featured in Inc. Online, Start-Up Toolkit for Entrepreneurs

‘Like’ us on Facebook and network with other entrepreneurs, marketing professionals and small business owners.

Congratulations to Michael Papi from Austin, TX, who is our winner this week.

““Robyn Levin’s eBook and interactive template, Cocktail Napkin Marketing Plan™ is like marketing magic. In less than two hours, I created my marketing plan with specific quarterly goals that were simple, straightforward, and achievable. Robyn has the wisdom of a sage and the ability to communicate like the finest actor.”

Joanne S. Black Professional Speaker and Author

No More Cold Calling®: The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust (Warner Business Books).

Cocktail Napkin Marketing Plan™  was featured this week in Inc.’s online Toolkit for Entrepreneurs. Here’s an excerpt from the author, Howard Greenstein after his interview with Robyn Levin last week.

“A movie magnate was once quoted as saying “If you can’t fit your idea on the back of a business card, you don’t have a clear idea.” Brevity is popular these days – try Twitter. And then there’s the somewhat timeless metaphor – entrepreneur writes out her ideas during a meeting on the back of a cocktail napkin – and success soon follows. There’s entrepreneurial wisdom in brevity.

As a marketing and PR veteran for over 20 years, Robyn Levin found the Entrepreneurs and startup marketing teams she was coaching were missing a simple way and brief way to create a focused marketing strategy.” You can read the rest of the article on Inc’s Blog.

Read this article to learn how you can promote yourself using social media marketing in just 30 minutes a day.

“Thought article was dead on and just what the doctor ordered for me. I get too involved with trying to do everything at once.”

Social Media Marketing in 30 Minutes A Day
Are you overwhelmed with all the social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube) and trying to figure out how to incorporate these tools into your marketing mix? You’re not alone. Many clients often ask me how much time should they devote to social media marketing for business purposes and what’s the ROI. These are very good questions. My suggestion is to devote 30 minutes per day to social networking for brand building, getting referrals and to test the waters. You can’t possibly know if something is effective or useless until you try it for your own business. Best marketing practices include using a combination of social networking sites and other tools like online video, PR, blogs and Webinar marketing, and you’ll improve your results. The key is to think strategically and make it meaningful.

Most professionals want to increase sales and online visibility and those of you in this category should consider using Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube as your main social networking choices. Facebook has some good applications too, like Facebook Connect, however, I’ve found this to benefit big brands in particular. For example, Ben & Jerry’s promotes new flavors and solicits votes for brand building and to drive traffic to their stores through their “fan” page on Facebook. If you can think of a promotion and tie it into a major cause, this could be effective for you. Remember how CNN promoted the presidential election campaign using Facebook and Twitter to disseminate information to their audiences? CNN’s screen still says, “Follow us on Twitter” and, by following, I’m able to keep track of breaking news….

Sign up in the yellow box on the top left to receive the full article and other great tips on Internet Marketing!

I read this blog post and case study by talented author, Timothy Ferriss of The 4-Hour Workweek. By the way, this book is a great read, if you haven’t read it already. After I read his book, I was ready to run to Malta and Italy and run my business from the Amalfi Coast. Here’s a brief glimpse into his blog post so you get the idea of his educational non-profit campaign using Twitter – “Tweet to Beat.” Ferriss says, “The gist: To benefit U.S. public school students, I will bribe the entire world to follow me on Twitter for $3 each.”

“Social media marketing! Twitter consultancies! Conversational communications! Oh, these are exciting times. It seems like everyone and their grandma are getting into social media.
On a whole, I think this is a good thing, but here’s the problem: whenever technology becomes fashion, return-on-investment (ROI) tends to get lost in the excitement of the latest .com catwalk.
It’s going to help “the brand”? Show me data. It’s going to drive more “awareness”? Define it, isolate it, and translate it into a sales increase? In this post, we’ll look at some real numbers (total capital, conversions, redemptions, etc.) from my latest educational non-profit campaign, the Twitter-based Tweet to Beat, which was a follow-up to the blog and leaderboard-based LitLiberation campaign, which outraised Stephen Colbert 3-to-1 with no staff and no material hard costs…”
You can read the rest of his story about Social Media and ROI here.

If you’re struggling with all the new terms and tools and feeling a little stale with your marketing; attend my GET SMART Marketing Boot Camp this Friday, May 15th in San Francisco to jumpstart your social media marketing campaign. You’ll learnhow to cost-effectively improve your results in this 1-day semi-private interactive program. Guaranteed you’ll learn how to grow your business in new and profitable ways!
Learn more and SAVE $100 instantly with this special code– twit515 when you register for the Marketing Boot Camp.

More and more businesses are discovering many ways to reach and connect with their prospects and clients using Twitter and now, Twitter confirms paid pro accounts will be next for ” commercial power users or companies.” Click to read the article from Business Insider here,

Join us at the GET SMART Marketing Boot Camp in San Francisco and walk away with your strategic plan for the year. Learn and leverage new media tools like YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn to grow your business efficiently. Learn PR secrets & how my clients got featured in Money Magazine, NY Times, Wall Street Journal etc. Network with a small group of professionals.

You’ll be entered to win a FLIP Video Camcorder ($139.00) value. View attendee comments on YouTube, taken right after the Marketing Boot Camp.

Date:

October 29th, 2009 -

May 15th, 2009 – Sold Out

January 30th, 2009 -  Sold Out

December 10th, 2008 – Sold Out

FREE BONUS ITEM:

Your copy of the Cocktail Napkin Marketing Plan™ e-book & FREE interactive template ($99.00) value.

Create your money-making marketing plan in 4-steps in less time than planning your next vacation!

In 2004, I helped my client, PENSCO Trust create an eBook and we are still using this today as an excellent lead-generation tool. We offer the eBook on the company website and on the CEO’s blog as a free download.  It’s also promoted at live events. If you ever want to learn how to invest your IRA or pension funds into real estate, private equity, secured notes or more, check out this eBook. Why not do the same for your business and write an eBook on your expertise?
If you’re a small business owner or entrepreneur seeking quick marketing help to get you focused and you want to learn cost-effective ways to grow your business, this product is for you–  The Cocktail Napkin Plan® is an interactive ,pdf document and short eBook that actually generates a strategic marketing plan in less time than a short plane ride. No software needed! Imagine watching your plan unfold, based upon 4 thought-provoking exercises, tips and proven techniques. Now’s the time to look at your business and discover how to grow it strategically without wasting your marketing money. I created this product and eBook from the many requests I received over the years from overworked and overwhelmed business owners. As an entrepreneur, I could relate. They just wanted a simple marketing plan to get them organized and focused. Your custom plan will actually fit on the size of a cocktail napkin, which is why it’s called the Cocktail Napkin Plan to market your business. Read what clients are saying about this unconventional marketing plan.