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!

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.