#Social4Social - Social Media Strategy for Social Enterprise

As part of my "getting to be awesome at all things social media" I will be attending the Social4Social Event on Thursday May 12 from 2pm - 5pm (networking from 5pm - 7pm)!  For all those potential employers out there I will be bringing my resume! I'm also hoping to get some good ideas for my freelance Social Media Professional job as I want to be even more amazing for my client while learning to be the best at what I do! I will definitely blog about the experience afterward so be on the look out for that! Tomorrow I'll also be reviewing at least one more movie.... Huzzah!

#FollowFriday

Yay! I was a mention in Follow Friday! (virtual pat on the back!)

SEO & Why Marketers Should Be All Over It!

Hey there readers (or so far no readers!)
I am slowly working through Inbound Marketing University's training program and one of the assignments was to write a blog about how SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is so important in today's web marketing and so that's what I'm going to do!

So why is SEO so important? Well there are a a few different reasons. First of all, would you believe that over 14 BILLION people perform searches online each month? That is a lot of searches. Searches that you or your business could be utilizing! Honestly, everyone goes to the web for information these days. In fact, I use Google on my iPhone to settle friendly debates with my friends at least ten times a month and that is just when I'm out and about with no computer in front of me! Think of how many times you search a topic and look for information online each day.... yes it's a lot. Any business owner should want to jump all over that and make sure their voice is heard when their target market searches for what they sell! So how do they do that? Well a must is to find keywords that potential buyers type in to search products and use them in the most relevant and smart way possible so that their content on websites are reachable by search engines.
To make it a little easier to understand, Lee Odden, who is known as a SEO and Social Media GENIUS defines SEO as

"A set of methodologies that make it easier for search engines to find, index, categorize and rank web content"

So what should you as a business owner be doing to utilize SEO? 

1. Make sure your content is reachable by search engines. (If you don't know how here is a helpful little article that may help!
2. Add content often! The best thing to do is add content at least three times a day!
3. Organize your content logically (themes/categories)  unlike my blog at the moment, but I promise in a few months it'll get better and much more topical!
4. Make your keywords exist in content and in internal text links (Keywords in links, pictures, videos..etc)
5. Having a lot of excellent websites linking in to you
6. Monitor and Adjust and then do it all over again!

Now finding the right keywords may take some time, but as you continue to build your website and monitor your customers needs you will be able to find them! Another great way is to survey your customers, poll them, talk to your customer service staff and research, research, research!

There are keyword tools that can help you in this process. Here are a few that are free:
Google Keyword Tool
Double Click Ad Planner
Wordtracker

A good start would be to look at your competitor's websites as well and find out their keywords!

Once you get the hang of SEO you can really start to maximize and use your keywords in all sorts of places within your website! Here are some areas to consider:

• Title Tags
• Headings
• Paragraph Titles
• Keywords in body of your copy
• Anchor texts in links
• Image ALT texts (image descriptions and file names)
• Meta description tags (description of links below search results)

As you can tell I have not optimized this website yet, but that's why I started this blog. So I can learn and become awesome at it! Prepare your mind to be dazzled as my expertise gains momentum!

If you would like to learn more take a look below! This is the video of the Inbound Marketing University Class on SEO by Lee Odden... I suggest you watch it to learn more! It sure taught me a lot!


SEO Crash Course to Get Found (GF102)

Animals and Letters in the Sky

High Park in Toronto - May 5 2011

Yesterday in Toronto was such a beautiful day so I took my dog Ninja to High Park. I managed to walk around the whole park in about two hours and saw so many little creatures! I did not get pictures of the toads and frogs, but the snake sighting was my highlight of the day! I recommend going next week as the Cherry Blossom tress should be in full bloom by then, however you can check the status of the different plants, including the Cherry Blossom trees, by going here: http://www.HighParkWeb.com or you can join High Parks twitter feed by following @High_Park_Web


BLOG UPDATE: As for this blog... I know I don't really have a definitive theme yet, but I figure this is a good practice until I get into the groove of things! To be honest, so far I'm just using it to get to know Google Analytics, AdWords and expand my working knowledge of all things Social Media! Do not worry random readers, I promise I will become more interesting and topical soon enough or hopefully some of you will come to enjoy my random ramblings!
Feel free, (in fact it is encouraged) to leave comments, suggestions and all that jazz.

According to Greta - Greta, a thinly-veiled anagram for "great."

According to Greta... I'm surprised. I came into this movie expecting it to be some MTVish, the kids are alright type thing and it was for the first half hour. However as the movie progresses and the deeper you get into Greta's background, as well as the background of the other characters in the film, the more you get pulled in. Hilary Duff, eeeeehhhhh... I definitely can say she was better then I thought she would be and she did not play the typical Duffy type character that you would expect. I enjoyed that Greta somewhat carried the narrative of the film which helped me get to know her character better and the soundtrack was perfect. The star of the film to me was Evan Ross as the turned around juvenile delinquent and Greta's boyfriend. I guess I've always been a sucker for the bad boy that's gone good. The film touches on a lot of subjects that one could identify with; abandonment, suicide, growing up and learning to evolve in a world where you feel that you don't belong. Basically Greta has been shipped of to stay with her Grandparents (played perfectly by Michael Murphy and Ellen Burstyn) in a small, sleepy town on the Jersey Shore (and no, there are no overly pumped up GTLers to be seen). Greta, bitter and somewhat suicidal that her Mom always chooses her current husband over her, uses all the powers a bratty 17 year old has to offer to disengage herself from her family and the town. When she meets Julie, a line-cook who is trying to change his bad-boy ways, she feels herself being torn in two different directions and whether she chooses to commit suicide or to stay on this earth and learn to enjoy herself and life is for you to learn while watching the film. The ending leaves one to imagine what happens after the cameras go away and the DVD/Blu-Ray offers an alternate ending as well!
I know most people who come across this movie will just pass it by, but give it a chance... it actually is a touching and interesting little film.


 Interesting Links
According To Greta Trailer
Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
Anchor Bay Canada - According to Greta

Blah Blah Blah and Then Some!

Not much to talk about today. Weather is blah, today in general is blah... so blah even my dog is just laying around and ignoring me. If you want me to write about anything leave your suggestions in the comment section and I'll try my best to come up with something awesome and at least slightly relevant.

Later I'll post my review of According to Greta starring Hilary Duff (yeah, I know... not really my style but I will always review movies that land in my lap for free - Thank you Anchor Bay!)

Until then, I'm off to make dinner and vote!

TeamBuy.ca Contest

Enter for a chance to win one of two Apple prize packs of a 15" MacBook Pro, a 16GB iPad 2, and a 16GB iPhone 4 (ARV $3,567).
Restrictions: 18 or older - Canada

Seth Meyer - White House Correspondence Dinner

Loved it! Great digs, Trumps puckered face was to die for and my fuzzy bear beau Zach Galifianakis was there looking as cute as ever as well as my man on the side Jon Hamm. They both got a hilarious shout out from Seth Meyers (see 9:55 minute mark)

DinoShark - Exactly What It Sounds Like

If you are going to watch this made for TV movie from SyFy Channel (also released on DVD and Blu-Ray from Anchor Bay Entertainment) you better be ready for some over the top, kitschy silliness, but honestly the title gives that away. DinoShark comes to be as global warming sets the beast free from it's glacier prison and it immediately sets it's sights (and stomach!) on Puerto Vallarta and it's beach loving community. Starring Eric Balfour as Trace McGraw (love the character name!), a boat tour guy, and Iva Hasperger as Carol Brubaker the scientist, the movie follows DinoShark as it rips through the water to sink it's teeth into anything and everything from helicopters (don't ask!) to the local policia!

Full of cheese and lame-in-a-good-way, digi-effects, this movie is perfect to watch with a group of friends before embarking on a spring break trip to Mexico or to have a few laughs at the expense of the walk-on actors that get eaten by DinoShark.

Fun Fact - the white-coated expert on prehistoric sharks is played by none other than B-movie guru Roger Corman himself!

Interesting Links
DinoShark Trailer
If you liked that you may like Sharktopus!
MovieMoxie Review of DinoShark
DinoShark on Twitter
DinoShark Vs Sharktopus...a what if!

Meet Monica Velour - Turns Ons.... Chest Hair & Customized Vans

Meet Monica Velour features Kim Cattrell as an aging, loose skinned, broken down porn actress whose hey-day was in the late 1970s and early 1980s and a 17 year old Napoleon Dynamite-esque backwards geek named Tobe, played by Dustin Ingram. Although sometimes slow and definitely depressing the film carries some charm and low-key vibe. Tobe, looking to break free from his constraining small-town life, finds that his x-rated screen siren love obsession, Monica Velour, will be making an appearance at a seedy strip club the next state over from his. Taking the Hot Dog family van given to him by his "Pop-Pop", played by Brian Dennehy, Tobe goes to see Monica perform and almost forcibly becomes entangled in her life. Tobe involves himself with her fights and custody battle with her ex-husband, her potential money making endeavours and of course tries to insert himself into her love life as he tried to fulfill his fantasy of loosing his virginity to his fantasy woman.

All in all Kim Cattrell does a fantastic job, really getting into the part and taking a 180 from her ultra-powerful, sex obsessed "Samantha" character from Sex in the City. The viewer can see that she threw herself into the part and really made the effort to become a woman that has just given up on everything and who barely trying to survive. Dustin Ingram was alright. Something seemed missing from his character and unfortunately what was missing could not be pinpointed. Maybe it was his lack of passion as an awkward virginal nerd wanting to save his damsel in distress or his lackadaisical way of arguing with his "Pop-Pop", but there was no chemistry between him and the other actors on the film. The two old acting veterans of the film Brian Dennehy and Keith David were both excellent choices to stick into the film by Writer-Director Keith Bearden. They brought interesting and out-there attitudes in a film that desperately need them. Although, it would be a blessing to never see Brian Dennehy's ass again! It was definitely refreshing to see something different instead of the same old female character of a fresh faced, hard-bodied 20 year old and I look forward to Anchor Bay churning out and improving on some unexpected, interesting new ideas.

INTERESTING LINKS
Meet Monica Velour Trailer
Photos from the Canadian Premiere of 'Meet Monica Velour'
Meet Monica Velour Facebook Page
Extra - Interview with Kim Cattrell
Directorsnotes.com - Interview with Keith Bearden