ShrimpTank Productions

June Idea Xchange

// June 17th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // SEO, idea xchange, marketing, social media

June Idea Xchange

Guess who’s the guest speaker for the Idea Finishing School Idea Xchange on July 30?
Yep, that’s right, it’s ME!

Each month the Idea Finishing School hosts an open house called the Idea Xchange. Each month, they have a guest speaker to talk on a different topic in relation to small business start-ups. So far they’ve had Matt Reedy, a hugely successful San Antonio entrepreneur,  John Bray and Court Allen, lawyers from Cox Smith, and Rudy De La Garza, who’s specialty is in taking companies public.

So this month they wanted someone to talk about how to make your company visible and get your name out there. Since I do most of the blogging, tweeting and social networking for the Idea Finishing School as well as several other companies, I guess I was the natural choice…

I believe in using a combination on SEO, social media marketing and face to face time to build a brand. I don’t think you should put all your efforts in one area, but I don’t think you should spread yourself so thin with being social that you’re not getting any actual work done. So, at this months Idea Xchange, I’ll be discussing how to use all of these methods to build your brand, create awareness of your company and most importantly, how to build relationships with your clients.

Social media shouldn’t be used just to blast out what you’re doing.  It’s not just about advertising. It’s also a great way to see what people are saying about you. It’s a way to connect to people, to interact with them.

We’ll also go over the myths of public relations, like “all publicity is good publicity”.  Having just come back from Australia, and been on the cover of several magazines, I can give first hand accounts of why your reputation is more important than any giant publicity blitz. We’ll also talk about how to pick who’s going to be the one who’s doing your social media. It’s important to have someone who really cares about your brand. You never want the type of person who says “never let the truth get in the way of a good story” to be in charge of your reputation….

So, if you’d like to hear me speak, or just want someone else’s opinion on all things publicity/marketing/social, come along to the Idea Xchange.

Idea Xchange

Wednesday, June 30th 4-6pm

3463 Magic Dr, suite 245
San Antonio TX 78229

RSVP HERE

Social Media and the Haiti Earthquake

// January 13th, 2010 // No Comments » // social media

The earthquake that hit Haiti yesterday was terrible and we’re still not too sure how bad the devastation is yet. What we have seen so far on CNN and FoxNews has all come from people’s use of Social Media. People in Haiti are using Twitter and Facebook to let people see images of how badly damaged the country is.

Facebook already has pages up to let people post photos of missing loved ones, in the hope that people will respond and let them know if they are found. The couple of videos on CNN last night and this morning came from user videos posted to YouTube.

So while people may scoff at Social Media as merely a time waster, in this tragedy in Haiti, Social Media proves once again that it can be a powerful tool. Just like in Iran, the first messages out, before reporters can fly in, are coming from Twitter and Facebook. The images that we’re seeing are actual eyewitness accounts, from locals on the ground. We no longer need to wait for Anderson Cooper to get his bearings in a new country, we can be fed the news almost immediately, by those most affected by it.

I predict that Social Media will only continue to grow into a news force. Sure, people will still use FaceBook to play Farmville, but when dister stikes, they’ll also use it to get their important message out.

Hopefully, with the use of the internet and Social Media, people will be able to find their loved ones quickly.

Happy New Year

// December 31st, 2009 // No Comments » // SEO, social media, video production

Can you believe it’s already New Years Eve?

Where did the year go? It seems every year just goes faster and faster! I did a lot this last year. I started off with Matt up in Iowa, freezing my butt off. We headed to Tampa for my birthday/Easter and to take a break from the Iowa cold. We were also seriously considering moving to Florida, so it was also a scouting trip. Then Matt got a new job in San Antonio. So we came back home to our nice house. It seemed so big after that little corporate apartment in Iowa.
I got a job teaching acting classes and working for a SEO firm. I was also going to do a bunch of filming and diving, but the jobs got in the way! So, after a work trip to New York City, which was also a first for me, I finished with that company and added SEO services to ShrimpTank. The beauty of the web is that I can work from anywhere, so now if I have a weekend shoot, I can take my laptop with me and work on the road. It’s probably much less distracting than working in an office where everyone is playing Wii tennis anyway.

So I’m looking forward to doing a bunch of stuff in 2010. I hope we’ll get several more episodes filmed for Going Down. I’d like to see a few more cities I haven’t been to yet. I’d like to get healthy and back into shape. I hope this is the year my folks finally visit me from Oz.

What are you hoping the New Year brings?

Here’s wishing you Health, Prosperity and Good Times. I can’t help you with your health, but if you need support for the Prosperity or Good Times, give me a shout. We can work on your SEO and Social Media campaign over a cold beer!

As Seen on TV

// November 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // caveat emptor, marketing, social media

The Importance of Celebrity….

In today’s culture, being on TV is king. Everybody wants to be famous. So, it’s absolutely huge when someone says “As Seen On TV” right? Well, that depends…

How many times have you been standing in line at Wal-Mart and they have a bunch of stuff that has the “As Seen on TV” label on it. You know, stuff like the Snuggie. Or that thing that cleans your windshield. Or any other bunch of stuff that you’ve seen on an infomercial at 3am. In this case, just because it was on TV doesn’t make it good. They just bought airtime.

The same can be said for companies. You can buy airtime on the news. You can also buy a slot on somewhere like Great Day SA. You might also get on TV for free if you do something special or silly enough. So when someone posts on their website, “As Seen on TV”, you might investigate further. What were they on TV for? Was it free? Was it paid publicity? Did it have anything to do with what they are doing now? Was it even for doing something good?

I could post on here “As Seen on Channel 7″. In fact, I do. I disclose that I have been on TV in my About Me page. In my case, I’m giving a general history of myself, not trying to sell anything in particular. Some places will advertise a As Seen On… on their website, but it doesn’t have anything to do with what they’re doing now. They’re just trying to add credibility.

Here’s an example from another company in San Antonio:

Whilst it’s true that they were mentioned on all the above sites, they’re advertising is still a little ingenuous. You see, what they were on all of these sites for has nothing to do with what they are currently advertising their services as. They are currently selling a web based SEO tool, whilst all the “Mentions” were for a “twitter study”. Most of the mentions weren’t even very flattering.  If you’re going to hire someone based on all the so called credibility of being famous, ask them to show you copies of all their mentions. See if it’s even good publicity. Bernie Madoff, if he were to ever be released from prison could start working as a broker again and state that he was seen on CNN and Fox News. He’s not lying. It just doesn’t mean that he was on there for the right reasons.

So always do your research. On Google, it’s easy. Type in the company you’re thinking of hiring, then do a news search. See if the news search matches up with what they’re saying. After all, you’d hate to send your kid to some summer camp because they said they were featured on TV, only to find out they were on the news because they failed their health inspections or a bunch of kids went missing on a hike….

Caveat Emptor.

Alienating for Aliens

// November 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // marketing, social media

Are you Alienating for Aliens?

San Antonio is a very Latin town. It’s expected that you’re going to see signs here in Spanish. Many companies have realized that the minorities are a very valuable market. In the greater US, it’s PC to show one of each color in commercials. When was the last time you saw a commercial for anything that didn’t have an AA, an Asian or a Latin person in it?

However, have people gone too far to reach the “minority” market? Have advertisers in San Antonio forgotten the English speaker?

After going to Honduras on student exchange, I don’t even notice when sign are in Spanish. I just read them and move on. My husband however, does not. We have noticed more and more that there are many times when signs are not only in both languages, but when they are ONLY in Spanish. At HEB yesterday, there was signs on the self check out announcing the Thanksgiving Hours. The problem was, the signs were only in Spanish. I have also encountered coupons on items that were only in Spanish. Do they think that only Spanish speakers deserve/need/want a coupon?

While in San Antonio the Latin population is over 70%, that doesn’t mean that all the Latinos actually speak Spanish. Many do not. Or they only speak Spanglish. So while companies try to embrace the “Latino” market, they are missing the mark. They are alienating a huge market share in favor of Aliens. Not all aliens either, since I’m an Alien myself, just not a native Spanish speaker.

On my side of town, which is actually predominantly African American, they are alienating the Blacks, the Whites, the Asians and all the Latinos who don’t speak Spanish. I stopped shopping at HEB for almost a year after feeling discriminated against because they only put out coupons in Spanish. (And I speak Spanish) But, I figure they weren’t interested in my money, so I stopped shopping there.

So unless you are a business that is specifically targeting Aliens, or Spanish ONLY speakers, don’t alienate your customers by only having signs in Spanish. Or Chinese, or Greek or Swahili for that matter.  In trying to appease the minority, you may infuriate your majority.

Cutting through the Crap

// November 4th, 2009 // No Comments » // social media

Who do you believe?

Last night when I headed over to my local bar to meet some friends and business associates. There was a lot of buzz about the drama that had happened the night before. The first story I heard was that my friend Brandon, who own a giant Truck had run over a girl in the carpark. They then told me it wasn’t him, but that a girl had indeed been run over.  Apparently I missed the news reports, so we brought up the story from 3 different news sites, who all had vastly different stories about the events of the night before.

From WOAI:
“The driver was leaving the bar with a group of people in her car. Police said she ran over a 25-year-old woman in the parking lot, pinning her underneath the car. According to police, a large group of people started banging on the driver’s car after the accident.”

From Kens5:
“Cameron said when she tried to leave the scene, a friend of Cates jumped on the hood of her car, but then jumped off again.

Cameron told police she was afraid she would be attacked, and tried to take off. But, as she did so, Cates jumped in front of her vehicle. Cameron said she tried to stop her car, but ended up hitting Cates and trapping her under the vehicle.”

from MySA.com
“The witness told police she jumped on the hood of Cameron’s car before Cates attempted to join her. Cates tried to jump on the hood as Cameron started driving to get out of the parking lot and that’s when she fell beneath the car, the report states. Cameron tried to stop, the report states, but Cates was already trapped.”

So WOAI made it sound like she ran over the girl, and then people started banging on the car. Other reports say she drove off because people were banging on her car and she was scared and was just trying to get away. There was also some need for the reporters to buy a compass, since each news service put the Crazy Ape in a different section of town.

What this tells you is that you can’t believe the reporters, since none of them were actually there at the time and their “eye witnesses” gave a different report depending on which side of the scuffle they were on. It also seems apparent by the comments on all three stories that people have different opinions based on the type of bar it was. The Yuppie crowd thinks it was because it was a low class bar. The regulars think it was because the 2 women were fighting over a guy and it had nothing to do with the bar. Others just blamed it on the alcohol, even though the driver passed a sobriety test.

What does any of this have to do with anything? Well, when you’re looking for a new company to do business with, you need to get several different opinions. If someone gives you an opinion about a company or service and they’ve never actually dealt with that company, then maybe it’s not valid. They only have hearsay, and it may be heavily biased. Ask some people who have actual first hand experience, and then ask someone else. Ask people who’s opinion you value and trust. Remember that people who comment on those companies on the web are people who are passionate about their love or hate for that company. The only in betweens are people who are bored web surfers and wouldn’t know either way. They just want to say something. Anything.
Some people may have  a vested interest in making a company sound good. Maybe they’re getting a kickback, or they’re a sales company who’s paid to make someone look good. Or they may be in competition and will say something negative, even if it’s not true. So get several opinions and take them all with a grain of salt. Or, talk to people like Matt and Chris at KarmaSpoon, who have actual working experience with a lot of these companies and will tell you their unbiased experiences. They started KarmaSpoon after several good and bad experiences  in San Antonio and wished that someone had clued them in to some of these companies first.

What was sad about the whole story  at the Crazy Ape and all the comments, was the only person who said that they were actually worried about the girl who got run over was the Bartender Bridgette….

In the meantime, if you’d like to come and have a happy hour drink with me, I’ll still be at the Crazy Ape. It’s just off San Pedro at Ramsey, about a mile outside Loop 410. This is a good way for you to experience the difference between what’s said on the web and actual reality. Come and make your own opinion.

Street Smarts v’s Book Smarts

// October 29th, 2009 // No Comments » // social media

So which is better? Street Smarts or Book Smarts?

No doubt, you’ll get a different answer, depending on the person giving it. Usually going with whichever they were blessed with. Just like the beauty and brains combo, rarely are we given both.

There’s some people I prefer book smarts from. Like, a Doctor. People in technical fields need their book smarts. I expect NASA astronauts to be book smart.
However, people who work with the public are better off with street smarts. When I work promotions, I notice the ambassadors with scientific college degrees just don’t seem to “Click” that well with the public. Maybe they just use the other side of their brain. Or maybe they look at everything in atoms and don’t take people’s individual personalities into account. Maybe it’s just that the street smart people are more adaptable to each situation and can read each individual person better. Maybe the street smarts person isn’t locked into a way of thinking about a situation.

When starting a new approach to anything, always get several opinions. If you’re lucky enough to work with several people, get all of their opinions. Don’t dismiss someone just because you have a college degree and they don’t. They may have life experiences that you don’t. For example, I don’t have a college degree. I started working as a model at the age of 3 and was working full time as an actress by the age of 6. I had to juggle school and work. I had to deal with the public. Extensively. I have continued working my whole life, in several different fields. I may only be 32, but I’ve been working for over 26 years. Compare that to a 32 yr old who didn’t get into the workforce till after a bachelors degree. They only have 10 years experience. Minus  a couple of years to work out that everything they learnt in college isn’t gospel and that’s not that long out in the field. I’d hire the experience over the degree anyday.

Life isn’t long enough to learn everything from your own mistakes. It’s OK to learn from someone else’s. So, ask someone else’s opinion. Get several different perspectives. All of them are valid. Don’t judge or dismiss someone just because they don’t have a degree. They may have learnt from the School of Life.

When working on your Social Media campaign, make sure you’re picking the right people to communicate your brand message. If you get a technical question, let the Book Smart answer. If you get a customer question, let the Street Smart person deal with it.

Follow through is Key

// October 28th, 2009 // No Comments » // SEO, social media

It doesn’t matter how great your site is SEO’d, if your product or service sucks.

During my long years of working, I’ve seen some great companies and some really crappy ones. Some had a great concept, but lacked follow through. Others only had a so-so product, but such great customer service, people stayed loyal to them.

Social Media is a great way to improve your customer service. It gives you a chance to interact with your clientele. You can see what people are saying about you, and it gives you a chance to address any questions or concerns. For example, I tweeted out that I was having issues with putting wordpress on my GoDaddy hosted server. I got a Tweet back from GoDaddy with a link to instructions on how to resolve my issue. I was impressed. I went from listening to co-workers diss GoDaddy to defending them. On the other hand, I once worked for a company that was spending a bunch of money to launch a product at at Trade Show out of town. After spending many thousands of dollars, the product wasn’t ready. They weren’t ready for the launch and all they did was upset a whole lot of potential customers.

While you’re working on the Search Engine Optimization for your website, make sure you’re also working with your employees on customer service. It doesn’t matter if you show up number one on Google if you can’t follow through with your service.

New Services!

// October 21st, 2009 // No Comments » // SEO, social media, video production

We are launching a new arm of ShrimpTank Productions this week.

ShrimpTank Productions started off as a Media Production company to produce “Going Down“. We are now expanding to encompass Social Media and Search Engine Optimization. These days, all three work together to help you get noticed. There’s no point having some webmaster build you a beautiful website if it doesn’t contain any keywords or content that target what you do. Everybody is on Twitter. We’ll help you make sure your posts aren’t pointless babble. Got a message that really goes over better face to face? Put it on video! We’ve got the cameras and the editing equipment to get your message online.

After attending SMX East in New York City earlier this month, it’s obvious that there’s some major changes going on in the search world. Make sure you stay visible.