From the desk (and BlackBerry) of Keith Parnell

I’ve talked with 3 or 4 clients in the last month or so that had apprehensions about blogging. Each of them had their own legitimate reasons for questioning whether they should blog or not. After we talked through their reasoning and a few case studies I was able to relay to them, each proceeded with their blogging venture.

The bottom line is that you need to get content out of your head and onto a platform so the search engines can help work for you. Content, content, content is a process that I preach constantly as one of, if not the, most important aspects of inbound marketing.

Okay, so. How can you get past the demons? Let’s list a few ways.

1. Keep a notepad handy. When a thought pops into your head, scratch it down. Complete it now or come back to visit the thought later. Doesn’t matter. Just get it down.
2. Read your thoughts aloud. Sometimes it helps to ‘hear’ your thoughts to make sense of them.
3. Read other blogs and RSS feeds. You will get many thought pearls from other folks.
4. Don’t procrastinate. Just do it.
5. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. Two-way blog commenting communication is valuable on many levels.
6. Remind yourself of the value of inbound marketing!

Do you have other ways you have exorcised your demons?

* Image credit: Newsweek.

Social Media blog, grim reaper, inbound marketing, RSS

Here are a few quick blogging tips to keep in mind so you don’t bore your readers stiff:

1. Write for your audience. Not for you. Not for your boss. Write for your readers.
2. Don’t write a book. Booorrring. If your readers want to read multiple pages, they’ll download a new book onto their Kindle.
3. Have a purpose. Don’t just ramble on your blog. You can do that on Twitter, JASEzone or some other microblog platform. Write blog articles that have a point to make or a question to ask. Which leads to the next point …
4. Ask questions. Get your readers involved in the communication.
5. Share information. Don’t fall into the old school mindset that you need to hoard your “mojo”. Believe me, it’s not yours. Someone else has already thought of it.
6. Be Switzerland. This one is hard sometimes. I know. But try to be neutral.
7. Publish your articles on a schedule. Or atleast a semi schedule. Don’t sweat missing a beat or two but try to be considerate and thankful of your readers that are coming back to you for information.
8. Link. Link. Link. Out. Link to your competitors. Link to other ‘experts’. They will appreciate the recognition and do the same back to you. Trackbacks work. I promise.

What are some other tips you can think of?

Social Media Amazon, blog, JASEzone, Kindle, microblog, mojo, reader, Switzerland, Twitter

Nicole and I cannot begin to express the sincere thanks for the thoughts, sentiments and prayers we have received from our social media family over the past week. Your thoughts and comments have been almost overwhelming during this tough time of loss for our family.

To our blog, JASEzone, Twitter, FriendFeed and Facebook families: We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your friendship and prayers.

May God bless you all for your dear friendship.

Family, God, Social Media blog, cancer, Facebook, Family, father, father-in-law, FriendFeed, friends, illness, JASEzone, leukemia, prayer, thank you, Twitter

Did you happen to see the amazing speaker lineup for September’s New Media Conventions event? Wow!

Get your tickets now. Don’t wait.

• Keynote: Keith Parnell from JASE Group Marketing & Advertising
• Session #1: The Role of Public Relations in Social Media, Michelle Rogerson from Reina Communications
• Session #2: Successfully Monetizing Your Blog, Julie Maloney from Momspective
• Session #3: How to Benefit from the Power of Google, Kurt Noer from Customer Magnetism
• Session #4: Successful Social Media Marketing Campaign, 14 Characters at a Time, Renee Alexander Hamilton, Operation Smile

Community, Social Media 140 smiles, blog, convention, Customer Magnetism, Facebook, Google, JASE Group Marketing & Advertising, JASEzone, Julie Maloney, Keith Parnell, Kurt Noer, LinkedIn, Michelle Rogerson, Momspective, New Media Conventions, Operation Smile, PR, public relations, Reina Communications, Renee Alexander Hamilton, RSS, seminar, Social Media, social media marketing, Twitter

New Media Conventions

Agenda

Community, SEO / SEM, Social Media blog, Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club, Facebook, FriendFeed, Google, Hampton Roads, JASEzone, LinkedIn, marketing campaign, new media, PR, public relations, search engine optimization, SEO, Social Media, social media marketing, Twitter, VA, Virginia Beach, Wi-fi

Stay tuned for the excitement! New Media Conventions is coming to Virginia Beach this fall. Check the New Media Conventions website for more details. Make sure to sign up for the email list to get details as they are unveiled.

Community, Social Media Advertising, analytics, blog, branding, Chesapeake, conference, convention, Delicious, Digg, Facebook, Flickr, FriendFeed, Hampton, inbound marketing, internet marketing, JASE Group, JASEzone, Justin Hitt, Keith Parnell lead generation, LinkedIn, Marketing, marketing plan, microblog, Naoma Doriguzzi, new media, New Media Conventions, new media marketing, Newport News, Norfolk, online advertising, online marketing, photograph, Portsmouth, public relations, ROI, RSS, search engine marketing, SEO, Social Media, social media marketing, social network, Success with Technology, Suffolk, summit, traditional advertising, traditional marketing, Twitter, VA, Viddler, Video, Vimeo, Virginia, Virginia Beach, vlog, Williamsburg, YouTube

I attended an event last night that included panelists and audience participants from many different verticals. Each member in the group was an entrepreneur at heart and by living the life. Each member has a passion for entrepreneurship so much that sharing those experiences is imperative to portraying their vision.

When we entered the panelist event room after a half hour or so of casual networking, I snapped a few pictures (see photo below) with my BlackBerry to send up to TwitPic >> JASEzone >> Twitter >> FriendFeed >> Facebook.

While I was doing so, a friendly woman sat down next to me. Here’s how our quick conversation went -
New Friend: Who are you here with while taking pictures?
Me: No one. I’m just taking them to send to TwitPic to get onto Twitter to share with my network of friends and colleagues.
New Friend: Really? [short pause] What is Twitter?

Since the event was getting ready to start, I spent all of 20 seconds explaining Twitter to her, its purpose, and its popularity. She seemed interested, but not really very interested.

Not thinking much more about our quick encounter, the Twitter conversation entered my thinking again when my new friend raised her hand during the panel discussion to ask a question. Her question was not what intrigued me; her introduction actually astounded me. She introduced herself as a “marketing” entrepreneur in Hampton Roads that has owned a marketing agency for over 20 years.

Huh?! Are you serious?! And you’ve never heard of Twitter? Do you do online marketing at all? Do you know what inbound marketing is? Have you heard of social media marketing? Immediately I had 30 questions for her running through my head.

Here’s the lesson for my readers: Question your marketing / advertising agency. Don’t take for granted they know your audience, much less know where your audience lives.

I’ve talked about this lesson a lot on this blog and on my vlog at Coffee with the CEO. Read through here. Watch a few videos. Don’t let my new friend be your marketing guru. Because they’re not, not matter what they say. Call our team at JASE and let’s get your organization on the right (successful!) track.

Advertising, Community, Entrepreneur, Marketing, Social Media Advertising, advertising agency, BlackBerry, blog, Coffee with the CEO, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurs Forum of Hampton Roads, Facebook, FriendFeed, inbound marketing, JASE Group, JASEzone, marketing agency, marketing team, online marketing, social media marketing, TwitPic, Twitter, Video, vlog

I had the great privilege of speaking at last week’s South Hampton Roads Museums Forum meeting.

We talked on social media, how social media fits into an inbound marketing campaign, how inbound marketing fits into an online marketing campaign, and how online marketing fits into an overall marketing plan.

Catch the video and slideshow of the seminar here: Social Media’s Role in the Marketing Plan.

Many thanks to Holly Carson at Keep Norfolk Beautiful for the invite.

Brand, Community, Marketing, Social Media blog, Brand, Facebook, Filtrbox, FriendFeed, Google Alerts, inbound marketing, internet marketing, JASEzone, LinkedIn, marketing plan, organic search, pay per click, Radian6, Social Media

Feel free to extract from, copy or talk about any slides in the slidedeck. Enjoy!

Brand, Marketing, Social Media, Speaking blog, Brand, Facebook, Filtrbox, FriendFeed, Google Alerts, inbound marketing, internet marketing, JASEzone, LinkedIn, marketing plan, organic search, pay per click, Radian6, Social Media, social media marketing, Twitter, Viddler, Vimeo, YouTube

Professional golfer, Anna Rawson, becomes GoDaddy girl number four. Is this the right PR move for GoDaddy?

From golf.com’s Press Tent -

GoDaddy.com, a web domain registration service sometimes in the news for its racy commercials (think Danica Patrick in the shower during the Super Bowl), announced that the LPGA’s Anna Rawson is the company’s newest spokeswoman. Rawson joins current spokespeople Patrick, poker player Vanessa Rousso and model Candice Michelle.

Rawson, who also models, made headlines in February when, in a radio interview to promote the LPGA, she said, “[Fans] still think we’re at 25 years ago when the tour was full of, you know, a lot of dykes and unattractive females nobody wanted to watch.” Ouch. She later apologized.

And in case you’ve been wondering what the Aussie has been up to, she’s blogging on GoDaddy.com. In the first installment she talks about modeling during L.A. fashion week for David Alexander and eating Korean kimchi tacos at the Alibi Room after the show.

Rawson is teeing it up at this week’s J Golf Phoenix LPGA International, where she’ll play in the pro-am with GoDaddy.com’s CEO and founder Bob Parsons and rocker Alice Cooper.

See Anna’s profile and GoDaddy blog here.

Advertising Alibi Room, Alice Cooper, Anna Rawson, blog, Bob Parson, Candice Michelle, Danica Patrick, David Alexander, GoDaddy, golf, golf.com, LPGA, model, Vanessa Rousso

Our team has setup our new Facebook Page.

Join us: http://www.facebook.com/pages/JASE-Group/75656084112

Become a fan on our JASE Facebook Page and get inside (early) information on JASE’s free conference videos, slideshows, seminars, webinars, videocasts, podcasts, white papers, and more.

Marketing, Advertising & Technology Resources

Conferences / Seminars

Social media marketing presentations from various conferences and seminars.

Videocasts

Short video sessions hot issues such as social networking, blogging, search engine optimization and online advertising.

Podcasts

On-the-go podcasts discussing software, lead generation, Twitter, JASEzone, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Webinars

Marketing, advertising and technology webinars on a variety of topics including inbound marketing, blogging and network security.

Whitepapers

Internet marketing whitepapers on strategies and results-driven tactics.

Social Media Advertising, audio, blog, conference, Facebook, inbound marketing, JASE Group, JASEzone, LinkedIn, network security, online advertising, podcast, search engine optimization, seminar, slideshow, Social Media, social media marketing, social networking, Twitter, Video, videocast, webinar, white paper

No time to go check the web? That’s okay.
No time to check the news? That’s okay.
No time to go check your list of blogs? That’s okay.

Let us deliver the news to you.

Subscribe to our email delivery feed today. It’ll land in your inbox each morning with coffee.

Subscribe to our RSS feed in your favorite reader today.

Social Media blog, email, feed, news, RSS

Inbound marketing is fun. Inbound marketing is creative. But what makes inbound marketing so special?

First let’s understand what inbound marketing is. Inbound marketing focuses on creating powerful content that will lead potential customers to your brand, product or service line through online methods like searching, referrals, and links from other web entities such as blogs, video and social media communities.

For this reason, inbound marketing can generate quality leads because it focuses on the people that are already interested in your brand, company, and product or searching for your services.

JASE specializes in the perfect mixture of inbound marketing with traditional marketing. By combining your current advertising initiatives with inbound marketing you can lower your total cost of advertising and increase the effectiveness of your campaign.

Our suite of Marketing Solutions & Strategies

Advertising - Online & Traditional, Brand Development & Management, Broadcasting - Radio & Television, Collateral Development, Inbound Marketing, Interactive Solutions, Market Research, Marketing Strategies, Product Positioning, Public Relations, Publication Design, Search Engine Optimization & Management, Social Media, Statistical Analysis, Web Design & Marketing

Relative info: What is Inbound Marketing?

The Basics of an Inbound Marketing Campaign

Advertising, Brand, Marketing, Social Media, Video Advertising, blog, Brand, inbound marketing, JASE, Marketing, marketing campaign, product, quality lead, search, service line, social community, Social Media, traditional marketing, Video

2009 Advertising Apple BlackBerry blog Brand CEO Christ Christmas CIO Coffee with the CEO commercial economy email Facebook God Google IT JASE JASE Group JASE Marketing JASEzone Javelin Jesus Keith Parnell Linux Lord Marketing Microsoft Norfolk Pearl RSS small business social community Social Media social network T-mobile Technology tv Twitter VA Video Windows Wireless YouTube

SEO / SEM 2009, Advertising, Apple, BlackBerry, blog, Brand, Business, CEO, Christ, Christmas, CIO, Coffee with the CEO, commercial, Community, economy, email, Facebook, God, Google, IT, JASE, JASE Group, JASEzone, Javelin, Jesus, Keith Parnell, Linux, Lord, Marketing, Microsoft, network, Norfolk, Pearl, RSS, small, social, Social Media, T-mobile, Technology, tv, Twitter, VA, Video, Windows, Wireless, YouTube

This weekend I did zero blogging. Zero. Wait, I did do a bit of twittering although most of it was from the BlackBerry.

We had three 75+ degree days here in Hampton Roads and we spent most of our time outdoors. It was absolutely gorgeous!

Here a few of the tweets I sent across the airways. Hope you have a great week.

parnellk63: Reading Ad Age while hanging out. Brought up a thought: do you know your competition? Do you know what makes them strong?

Sunday, March 08, 2009, 1:25:55 PM

parnellk63: My gosh, what a beautiful day. God is good!

Saturday, March 07, 2009, 7:06:28 PM

parnellk63: Our bike & skateboard ride around the neighborhood today. - Photo: http://bkite.com/05hsL

Saturday, March 07, 2009, 6:03:35 PM

parnellk63: @TraciKnoppe - Wonderful. Checking on things, getting ready to head out on a beautiful 73 degree day. And you?

Saturday, March 07, 2009, 12:49:49 PM

parnellk63: @TraciKnoppe @amcmoore @gadgets4geeks @3dizzle @janiebehr @daddyclaxton @KimDeanArt @wizzlewolf @smball804 @SharonALavy - Good morning!

Saturday, March 07, 2009, 12:43:35 PM

Community, Social Media blog, Family, sun, Twitter, weather

I get this question quite a bit. Becoming a better blogger assumes you want to blog and you care about the task at hand: blogging - communicating - interacting. I’ve mentioned below a few points that I try to follow when blogging but I can’t say I’m perfect at all of them. I try. But I fail at times. So I keep trying.

The big rule of thumb though to remember when you’re searching for this kind of answer is to remain patient. You won’t turn your blog or your blogging skills or your blog traffic around overnight. Stick with it. And you’ll succeed.

So, how do we become better bloggers? Read on -

1. Define the pupose of your blog. Even if your topics are varied. Define them and stick to the scope of the definition(s).
2. Create visual appeal. Use graphics, photos or art in your posts.
3. Stay in one place. Once you establish a place (e.g., blog.keithparnell.com) on the Internet, stay there. Don’t make people hunt you down. They won’t.
4. Engage and involve your readers. If your posts are not of interest to your readers they won’t stay around or come back. Get them involved in commenting on your blog. Even if you keep most of them hidden (like I do) conversations on your posts are crucial.
5. Establish a blog schedule. I’m not real good at this but I try to get up a post at least 3 or 4 times per week. I blog on several blogs so sometimes it’s hard; it doesn’t matter. You must be consistent to keep interest.
6. Proofread your work before hitting the airwaves. Please! If you have this inadequacy and you know it, have someone proofread for you.
7. Syndicate yourself. Use RSS feeds extensively. A lot of blog readers use feeds to scan many blogs quickly just like the morning newspaper. Personally, I have about 350 blogs that I check daily. I could not and would do this without using RSS feeds.
8. Make sure you have an “about me” page or a home page link. People want to know that you’re a real person.
9. Get involved in the blogosphere. Getting involved means post comments on other blogs. Get involved in conversations and when possible link back to your blog.
10. Submit your posts to other social web 2.0 communities. Reddit, Digg, Delicious, Netscape, and Stumble Upon are a good start.
11. Interview industry experts. This sometimes bring in a new audience to your blog from which you may pick up new loyal readers.
12. Interact with your readers. Just as I’ve done with this new post, its origin is a comment from a client on another post. Interaction and conversation is always good.
13. Write about something you love. This is the only way to keep your own interest. Believe me, if you don’t love what you’re talking about people will notice.
14. Include lists in your posts. Use bullets or numbers. Readers scanning your blog will be attracted to lists more than thousands of words on a page.
15. Have fun. Blogging doesn’t have to be work. Feel free to make your posts fun and entertaining without wondering what people are thinking of you.
16. Give lots of link love! Link to many different web pages and websites. Link to competitors. It’s okay, there’s plenty of traffic on the Internet for everyone.

Hopefully this list didn’t bore you too much and maybe even struck some interest and other questions. As I said, have fun with your blogging. Talk soon.

Social Media blog

The age old question - okay, maybe not age old, but Internet 2.0 age old - why should I blog is one we hear all the time. True that blogging is not for everyone but it’s a great way for people and organizations to obtain a presence in the online world. Blogging is a great way to be heard, to spread your message and to find out information fast.

Here are few reasons why people blog:

• To share thoughts about a particular topic such as a product you’re interested in or an experience you had.
• To communicate your satisfaction or frustration with a product or company.
• To drive traffic to your other web properties. SEO!
• To earn money through advertising and sponsorships.
• To obtain links from other sites and blogs pointing to your blog. SEO!
• To add valuable content to your web presence.

Remember how you used to write notes in class and maybe even wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper? Blogging has the same goal except with a greater result - faster delivery to a larger audience.

Here are few reasons why organizations blog:

• To interact with clients and potential clients.
• To build your ‘verifiable’ authority on specialty topics.
• To announce the launch of a new project.
• To build brand awareness.
• To address reputation management issues (we can talk at length about the increased value of blogging to handle and manage(!) negative press).
• To build trust and alliances with other organizations.
• To provide almost real-time feedback about strategies, products and future initiatives.
• To generate a viral buzz about a product or topic.

So you see? Blogging is good. Yes, it can be time intensive and definitely addicting if you get the fever. But what better way to network and build your web of trusted individuals and organizations.

Brand, SEO / SEM, Social Media blog, brand awareness, SEO, Social Media

Java time! Today is a discussion for small business owners and the fun of determining how, when and where to spend advertising dollars.

Advertising, Coffee with the CEO, Video Advertising, blog, CEO, Coffee with the CEO, JASE Group, JASE Marketing, Keith Parnell, ROI, small business, SMB, ustream

I’m a little late this morning so grab your second cup of coffee and let’s talk about social networking.

Driving point: “Twitter doesn’t make you. Your network makes you.”

Brand, Coffee with the CEO, Social Media, Video blog, Brand, CEO, Coffee with the CEO, Facebook, JASE Group, JASE Marketing, Keith Parnell, Social Media, social network, social platform, Twitter, ustream

Coffee time! Let’s chat about inbound marketing for a few minutes and where it belongs in our current marketing plan.

Advertising, Brand, Coffee with the CEO, Marketing, Video Advertising, B2B, B2C, blog, Brand, CEO, Coffee with the CEO, consumer, direct mail, email campaign, inbound marketing, JASE Group, JASE Marketing, Keith Parnell, Marketing, marketing plan, online advertising, outbound marketing, product line, radio, SEO, service line, social community, social network, traditional advertising, website

Grab your coffee and let’s talk about building your personal and professional brand through social communities. Online and offline!

Social community references in this video:

• JASEzone
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Plurk
• FriendFeed
• blog
• Hampton Roads Internet Marketing & Technology Group
• Entrepreneurs Forum of Hampton Roads
• Virginia Opera Guild
• Tabernacle Church of Norfolk

Brand, Coffee with the CEO, Social Media, Video blog, Brand, CEO, Chesapeake, Coffee with the CEO, Entrepreneurs Forum of Hampton Roads, Facebook, FriendFeed, Hampton Roads, Hampton Roads Internet Marketing & Technology Group, Harrison Opera House, JASE Group, JASE Marketing, JASEzone, Keith Parnell, LinkedIn, Marketing, opera, personal brand, Plurk, professional brand, social community, social network, Tabernacle Church, Technology, Twitter, Victory Nissan, Virginia, Virginia Opera, Virginia Opera Guild, Williams Mullen

Coffee time! This morning I’ll talk about the importance of working to build your brand during tough economic times.

Advertising, Brand, Coffee with the CEO, Marketing, Video Advertising, Advertising Age, Audi, blog, Brand, car lines, cars, CEO, Coffee with the CEO, consumer, dollars, economy, flyer, GM, Hyundai, JASE Group, JASE Marketing, Keith Parnell, local, Marketing, newspaper, Nissan, recession, search engine, small business, Toyota, Video, WebVisible, Yellow Pages

Do you have your coffee ready? Grab it and let’s talk about Facebook. Here’s an earlier post that I’ll reference during the video.

Coffee with the CEO, Social Media, Video blog, CEO, Coffee with the CEO, Facebook, JASE Group, Keith Parnell, LinkedIn, social community, Terms of Service, Terms of Use, Video

Good morning. Grab your cup of coffee and let’s chat.

Advertising, Coffee with the CEO, Marketing, Video Advertising, blog, CEO, Coffee with the CEO, digital, JASE Group, Keith Parnell, Marketing, online advertising, traditional advertising, Video

This is the first in the video series, Coffee with the CEO. Hope you enjoy.

Brand, Coffee with the CEO, Video blog, Brand, CEO, Coffee with the CEO, dashboard, digital, Facebook, JASE Group, JASEzone, Keith Parnell, LinkedIn, Plurk, social community, Social Media, Twitter, Video