September 10, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Join San Francisco trendsetters, world travelers and social media fans to celebrate Trendy Lime’s first anniversary with the special edition of JETLAG! Over the past year, Trendy Lime, a social media-driven producer of upscale events, has been creating events to suit the most discerning tastes by mixing Fashion, Travel and New Media. Among JETLAG partners: Mashable, Vator.tv, Bub.bliciou.us, 360 Fashion Network, Mesaic and others.

September 13-14, 2010, San Francisco, CA: APPNATION is the first global conference and exposition to focus exclusively on the burgeoning consumer applications marketplace. The event will cover social and mobile apps across all devices and platforms including social media platforms, smart phones, tablets, internet-enabled televisions and other emerging connected devices. Speakers include Adobe, Accel Partners, Getjar, The North Face, Marvel, Sequoia Partners, Smule, Time Inc., The Wall Street Journal and more.

September 13-15, 2010, Silicon Valley, CA: DEMO is the premier launch event with a 20-year track record of successfully identifying and delivering the world’s most innovative new products and services to the market. Companies like: VM Ware, Palm, Skype (), Google (), EA, Microsoft, IBM, Nokia and Citrix have launched new products at DEMO. DEMO Fall 2010 will showcase the top B2B, B2C and vertical innovations coming to market-innovations on track to evolve or disrupt the markets they serve. Don’t miss the chance to experience first hand the latest technology game changers in social and media, health and life sciences, clean and sustainable technology, cloud and enterprise computing and more!

September 14-16, 2010, San Francisco, CA: The social business event of the year, JiveWorld10, will bring together industry luminaries, customers, business executives and leading enterprise vendors to share social business thought leadership and provide a platform to network with peers. Jive CEO, Tony Zingale will keynote and unveil company news highlighting how to enable the social enterprise. JiveWorld10 includes 40 content-rich sessions featuring customer speakers from Alcatel-Lucent, Charles Schwab, CSC, EMC, Intel, Mattel, McAfee, MIT, Premier Farnell and SAP. These customers will share their experiences in adopting and implementing a successful social business strategy that has changed the way they engage with customers, employees and the social web.

September 15-17, 2010, San Francisco, CA: GSMI presents the Social Media Strategies Summit. We have researched the social media buzz to develop and present to you a top of the line marketing conference that you can’t afford to miss. With in depth case studies from the nuts and bolts to micro-blogging and sustaining online communities, you leave with a refreshed vision to take your marketing plan to the next level for 2010 and beyond.

September 17, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Social:Email is a one day conference that offers expert-led guidance on how to engage with customers via email and social media, including tips on how to maximize the impact of your campaigns, insights into new tools and services, how to monitor and measure the results, and trends to watch out for. This is the ultimate event for anyone interested in combining email with social media marketing. Speakers include Brian Solis, Kristin Hersant, Dan Martell, Chase McMichael, Luke Brynley-Jones and Murray Newlands.

September 21-22, 2010, Los Angeles, CA: PPC Summit Presents: Search and Social Media Success. This September, PPC Summit is launching its new conference, a comprehensive look at Search and Social Media marketing. The conference features 27 ALL NEW expert-led classes through three in-depth tracks. You’ll learn the latest techniques for leveraging search engine marketing, search engine optimization, pay per click and social media marketing. Learn actionable campaign techniques and tactics to maximize your campaign results.

September 23, 2010, San Francisco, CA: Mediabistro’s Think Mobile conference explores the broadening mobile ecosystem, the application marketplace and the innovation that drives the industry. Hear from visionaries that reinvented businesses by innovating with unique mobile offerings and gain an understanding of key mobile metrics. Speakers include Starbucks CIO Stephen Gillett, Microsoft Sr. Product Manager Anand Iyer, NPD Group Executive Director Ross Rubin, Evernote CEO Phil Libin and more.

September 24, 2010, San Francisco, CA: TEDxSoMa seeks bring the TED experience to a local level, bringing together innovative ideas and concepts through TED talks and inspiring speakers. TEDxSoMa is organized by members of the pariSoma Innovation Loft and other volunteers whose core beliefs are community, collaboration, innovation, openness, and sustainability. Join us in person or by watching the live stream on the day of the event. Learn more and register at www.tedxsoma.com.

September 30-October 1, 2010, Lake Tahoe, NV: Tahoe Tech Talk is NOT just about assembling an outstanding lineup of speakers (though we’ve done that, including Digg () founder Kevin Rose, Twitter adviser / investor Chris Sacca, and former Facebook strategist Dave Morin). It’s about creating an opportunity for true discussion. Each speaker will return to the stage for a massive interactive session, taking questions from the audience about the technology sphere in 2010 and beyond. Conference registration includes a complimentary night’s stay at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Resort and Casino… all for just $399! Space is extremely limited, so reserve your spot today! For more details, visit www.tahoetechtalkconf.com.

One of the first observations I have is that most entities interacting for the first time with social media marketing truly struggle with the concept that relationship architecture and network analysis MUST be preliminary steps. And this is done using LISTENING tools like Radian6, Buzzmetrics, Trackur, Compete, JIVE and the like. The concept of listening to OTHERS as an INTEGRAL aspect of formulating marketing plans and models lies outside the conventional creative bent. Most of the super-creatives I have run into this last week are hell-bent on THEIR own vision, which is fabulous of course. AND it has been my job to be the listener and translator of what their prospective audiences say each day about their material.

LESSON #1: Transitioning creatives to customer-centric marketing/sales tactics IS JUST AS CHALLENGING as doing so with brand managers, marketing managers AND general managers at major corporations. BUT once both types of individual and entity see lists of top bloggers, top tweeters, top FB groups and top forums in which their audience resides AND the volume of their potential market…ONLY THEN do they wake up to the amazing POSSIBILITY that social architecture and relationship analysis provides. Again, employing strategists trained in LISTENING TOOLS is vital to customer-centric vs. product-centric business. (ie.- A single Key Influencer who tweets to 1.5 million of their prospects OR a FB group of 850,000 entirely populated with their kind of tribe members OR a blogger who over 2 million read every day. Those are NOT numbers to turn away from).

Did you know that a lot can be told about your business by checking out your website?  My first stop was a look at the site itself which I found a tad difficult to navigate (they were running google analytics though, which meant we could potentially get a good look into how well their website was working (read Emilia’s great post about this wonderful tool), quickly followed by a visit to the WebsiteGrader.com by HubSpot, one of the Wild Web Women’s favorite tools!  It’s a free tool that allows you to enter in a website URL (along with a few competitors if you wish) and then it rates the site based on an algorithm taking into account different variables such as social media,  search engine data, the structure of your website, site performance , how long the domain has been registered and when it expires as well as approximate traffic to your site.

It only takes a few moments before your report is created, outlining all that the Website Grader found!   This can be used as a brief guideline on changes that can be made to a site to improve its rank and more importantly the effectiveness!

This is a great jumping off point if you are considering making tweaks or changes to your site-it let’s you know where you can improve as well as areas you are doing well.  I ran the report for Web Marketing Therapy too in order to show my dad an example of how improvements to a site combined with a great web presence through social media and other online efforts can boost a site’s effectiveness .  WMT’s score last month was a 98-great by any standards, but when I ran the report we had improved a point up to 99!  By combining the art and science of web marketing, as well as constant attention to what works and what doesn’t-(if it ain’t working-CHANGE IT!),  we have been able to maintain a strong grade (almost perfect, you might say!)  Just in case you were wondering, the company I was checking out scored a 79-not bad, but leaves plenty of room for improvement!

Take a moment to grade YOUR business.  If you have questions about how to improve your online presence perhaps it’s time to set up a therapy session with The Marketing Therapist!

Another HUGE plus – their customer service has been AMAZING (if you can’t talk to a REAL person to troubleshoot, you most likely don’t meet our list of favorites!)  I was having a slight issue with a plug-in that allows me to upload my files DIRECTLY from my PC in Word, Excel or PowerPoint to my Box account, in the appropriate folder.  My sales rep, Julianne and their  development team, specifically David, worked extensively to fix the issue and it is BY FAR the best part of my experience with Box.  Only drawback here is that they haven’t come up with a plug-in for a MAC….YET.  (Note to the developers at Box-hurry up create this plug-in so my boss lady can love you guys even more than she already does!)

In order to upload a file to my account, I simply select the appropriate icon to save the file to Box, or open a file directly from Box within my Microsoft programs and it allows quick and easy access!  If you are working on MAC or don’t have the plug-in you simply visit your online account and select which file you want to upload-it’s one more step, but still really simple!  Once you have uploaded your file, you can assign tasks, convert your file to PDF, make comments about specific files, get a document e-signed (Box is where I first learned about echo-sign), snail mail something, make edits online, etc-the list goes on and on!  You can also run usage reports, see who has accessed files, which files have been downloaded, etc, which makes for GREAT administrative insight and control!  For a full list of features, check out their site.

If you are looking for an easy-to-use, reliable cloud content management system our pick is Box.net!

Happy Cloud Computing!

I suggest that social networks ARE this transitional space for humanity. During this time of paradox and liminality, individuals get to explore the connections between themselves and others, between worlds hitherto seen as separate, between one’s deepest beliefs and trending topics. Liminal space has been defined as “…a space in which alternate realities meet, in which the past and future are open to us” by Starhawk, a leading teacher of human circle-gathering. Liminal space implies permeability and a kind of communication/discovery which has, up until now, been known by the very few.

Social networks are changing humanity on a fundamental level. In fact, the very fact that boundaries are seemingly more permeable due to swift accessibility in social networks makes discovery of truth both more practical AND more questionable. The kinds of questions emerging out of our burgeoning social networks contain a specificity not seen 20 years ago. An example of this is the explosion of infographics available now to bring previously unseen phenomenon into view (http://bit.ly/infographic_blog_resource).

What is one TO DO amidst this increasing complexity AND swift migration of the human spirit/mind/heart from earth to virtual worlds, virtual economies and, quite honestly, whole new planets (formed and lived within the collective human psyche)?

Brian Solis has produced a fabulous graphic along with JESS3 (http://bit.ly/heart_based_marketing) that suggests the most effective roles humans can play in the social fabric of the internet. He invites us to be Problem Solvers, Producers, Curators and Conversationalists vs. being Marketeers, offering Too Much Information (TMI), being Complainers or Self-Promoters.

In keeping with this are Paulo Freire’s fabulous steps for solving problems and making progress. Find below the steps, along with social tools for aiding you in resolving just about any problem currently facing you in your life. By the way, prior to getting into this, I must add that having courage and belief in yourself is a BIG piece of the puzzle!

STEP 1: IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMS through getting acquainted with the participants in the issue/eco-system/sub-culture/conflict. – Do this using social listening and scanning tools (http://bit.ly/audience_counts) AND flesh-matching tools like http://www.meetup.com. Study focus group agencies and their methodologies: http://bit.ly/egg_strategy_blog

STEP 2: PRODUCE THE CODES - (a) Employ a graphic artist who is intuitive to help you create an infographic + a single symbol to hold the essence of that information OR (b) upload CSV files full of data to a tool like Many Eyes or another data visualization tool. http://bit.ly/many_eyes_tool. The infographic functions as a kind of map of a vicinity within a niche sub-culture or slice of the greater social eco-system AND the single symbol is a kind of talisman or avatar that holds the power of that niche and quickly communicates this in the greater social fabric of the internet.

STEP 3: SEE THE SITUATION AS THE PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCE IT - More on this here: http://bit.ly/listening_is_powerful.

STEP 4: JUDGE THE SITUATION - Read Chinese military classics like these: http://bit.ly/chinese_military_classics. Military leaders are some of the best diviners of truth, out of necessity. It has been un-fashionable and politically incorrect for too long in therapeutic settings to make outright judgements but we live in times when good judgement is more important than ever.

STEP 5: TAKE ACTION TO CHANGE THE SITUATION - Pro-active beings are the ones who make the world go round AND have the most fun in life. Here are some fabulous tools from Behance to aid you in getting IT done, whatever IT is: http://www.behance.com/Products.

The good thing about slumps is that the space created can help get professionals thinking in new and creative ways (not to mention efficient!). Take this as an opportunity to go through your network of contacts, geographic location and the advantages that come with it. And let’s not forget your online presence – especially your search engine visibility.

We’ve compiled 8 great SEO (search engine optimization) tips to help boost your online website visibility and generate buzz about your business.

Tip 1 – Define Your Optimized Key Phrases

The equation to SEO success: Your Business or Service + Location or Region = Optimized Key Phrase

You should make use of optimizing page titles, meta tags, internal and external links, all of which will help bring the right customers to your website.

Tip 2 – Educate. Build Trust and Credibility

As a small business owner, you are passionate about what you do and the products and services you offer. Use online content to transform your passion and knowledge into an authoritative voice. Offering educational materials, content and tips will make you a credible source, from whom consumers would be keen to learn from.

Tip 3 – Craft Valuable Content that Communicates Location

Content is King. Your content can fuel search indexing, build indexed pages for your web site, serve your consumers and boost your visibility.  Adding geo-specific key phrases (if you are a geo-specific business!) to your press releases, blogs and social media platforms helps maximize search visibility.

Tip 4 – Build Internal and External Links

A simple way to boost search engine visibility is to create internal links within content to link back to other pages with your website. To boost external links, take advantage of your contacts and local community to request links in local directories, blog roll of local bloggers and non-competing local websites.

Tip 5 – Low-Cost/No-Cost Local Search Opportunities

Add your business listing on local sites for little to no charge. You should consider Google Maps, MSN Live, Yahoo Local, and Yellow Pages among many more.

Tip 6 – Place Contact Information in Visible, High-Sight Places

This tactic is easy-peasy and will help boost your search visibility. Add names and addresses, even a short geographical description where it fits on pages (doesn’t only have to be the contact page!).

Tip 7 – Re Purpose Your Marketing Assets and Collateral Online

Share your videos, photos and great content on free websites such as eHow.com, blogs and newsletters. When writing your own press releases, make sure you re-post them on free PR wires online. Reuse and recycle your marketing collateral to increase exposure and gain that buzz.

Tip 8 – Web Marketing is NOT About the Tools – it is About HOW you use the Tools

Blogs, social media platforms, banners and ads are great web marketing tools – but the point is not having these tools under your belt, but HOW you use them. Your small business strategy should focus on how to build awareness, maximize relationships and boost your business. Web marketing collateral is a brilliant part of your strategy as it’s low-cost to no-cost and lives online forever (or until you remove it!). Invest in your website and ensure your web marketing builds trust by communicating who you are, what you believe in and what you can offer the consumer.

Read the full (and FREE) eBook “Eight Great SEO & Web Marketing Tips For Business Owners” for details on these 8 tips and lots of helpful web therapy examples!

Follow Web Marketing Therapy’s healthy doses of web marketing tweets at  www.twitter.com/webmarketing_rx

Once they get it, all they have to do is click on the link within the email, review the document and then either type their name and a “signature”  is created OR you can sign using your mouse!  Click send and you are DONE!  Echosign sends a PDF copy to all parties involved.  Best part is you aren’t required to have any special software on your computer and the recipient doesn’t have to sign up for an account, so it makes it really easy to use!  They have free and paid versions – so you can choose what works best!

We are always looking for ways to make life easy in our virtual work world, so let us know if you have something that the Wild Web Women just have to check out!

The purpose of your marketing (both online and offline) is about creating and sustaining healthy and loyal relationships with your customers, target audiences and partners. In the current economic slump, many businesses are inadvertently putting this principle on the back burner and instead focusing their efforts on the $$. The first step to reviving your online marketing efforts is to remember that relationships = $$. Business relies on its clients and customers in making the big bucks. Attracting and sustaining those customers stems from your marketing, online and offline. Your online marketing is therefore indispensable!

Check out the full article on Top Ten Things You Know About Online Marketing – But Forgot! as compiled by Lorrie Thomas, WMT’s “wildest” Wild Web Woman and Web Marketing Therapist. (and for your busy schedules, a quick summary is below to get your brain ready to rock the web):

1. Online Marketing is a Science and Art
Your online marketing must have a purpose: it must matter and pay. In the blissful marriage of science and art of online marketing, you must address the 5 W’s (+ the How): Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. This comprises your strategy, but remember your strategy must sell! Go back to marketing basics and analyze your online marketing strategy, just as when you created your offline marketing strategy. The same principles such as your target audience, your goal, purpose, etc. apply online!

2. Online Marketing is a Commitment
Your online campaigns, strategy and tools need constant attention. You must be committed to your web marketing and continually analyze, manage and refresh it!

3. Websites are now WEB SOLUTIONS
Websites are not just for show. They must do more than occupy a web address; they MUST serve and offer support. They are a key tool in building relationship hubs, sharing information and communicating with your current and prospective customers and serve as service centers where clients can find and utilize the information, product or service they are seeking. Your web marketing must be a solution to your organization,  offer customer service and sell sell sell!

4. Online Marketing = Building Relationships
Online marketing is NOT online advertising. You are ‘paying’ for maximizing exchanges and committing to building lasting, healthy relationships with your clients and customers.

5. Great Online Marketing Ideas are Only Great if They are Executed Brilliantly
Adopt a ‘could’ attitude, not a ‘should’ one. Have an idea? Think critically, evaluate it and distinguish between the feasible and the idealistic.  Don’t  ‘should’ on yourself. If you can make it happen and it makes sense to do so, do it! Also don’t get discouraged halfway or abandon your great idea soon upon completion!

6. Online Marketing can Multi-task
Is your online marketing multi-tasking? Because it can and it should! Multi-channel marketing is now multi-tasking marketing. This means re-purposing your online marketing efforts. Reuse and recycle content and your resources. Link your online marketing with tools like auto-feeds to connect your content on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

7. You Have to GIVE to GAIN
Don’t be afraid of sharing your information and learning! Giving tips, tools, downloads and other valuable content you’ve learned helps bring in loyalty and trust from your customers.

8. Use What You’ve Got (to get what you Want)
Measure how effective your online marketing is. Re-structure content  to address and engage your audience and users in different ways. Use the tools you already have to do so!  You’ll be amazed at how much content you already have (articles, email newsletters, blog posts, videos, photos, etc can be re-purposed for more visibility!)

9. The Only Constant in Online Marketing is Change
All territory is unchartered territory until you charter it! We’re talking taking calculated risks here! Don’t be afraid of new tools and trends.

10. Have Fun!
Life principle, really. Marketing is fun. And a little fun attitude makes a BIG difference!  Fun leaves lots of room for creativity and flexibility. Make your online marketing work for you and have fun with it. Happy attracts happy.  If you want your customers to interact with you, make it a fun and engaging journey!

Read the full (and FREE) eBook on “Top Ten Things You Know About Online Marketing – But Forgot!” for detailed information on these 10 pointers, next steps on what TO-DO and web marketing therapy advice!

Follow Web Marketing Therapy’s healthy doses of web marketing tweets at  www.twitter.com/webmarketing_rx

Like Lorrie Thomas, Web Marketing Therapy’s CEO says: “You want to get people TO your site but also THROUGH your site!”

Minda Zetlin recently wrote for INC’s Technology section and shared a brilliant article with lots of helpful tips how to use your landing pages as marketing tool.  Restoring your website to tip-top marketing finesse that is the perfect place to start your web marketing landing page motivation.  She interviewed several web marketers to gain insight.  Insight like “One of the most effective ways to connect with customers is if they come to a page and immediately see, in bold letters, exactly what they’re looking for,” which was a simple, yet really helpful reminder from Sandip Sarwate, owner of Saffron Marigold.

Minda’s INC article boasts motivational marketing ideas on how/why to give your landing pages a FRESH marketing face-lift including:

• Creating specific landing pages for niche target markets gives you marketing collateral with targeted messages to make visitors buy or act faster
• Increasing conversation rates (meaning the percentage of people who hit your site and take a desired action increases)
• Why dedicated landing pages maximize the PURPOSE of your web pages for maximum impact
• What your landing pages should look like
• What your landing pages should NOT look like
• How to raise your SEO through EFFECTIVE landing pages
• How to test the SUCCESS of your marketing efforts - Are your customers finding the answers to their questions quickly? Web Marketing Therapy’s CEO Lorrie Thomas explained in the article to Minda, “We used to say that you had to grab website visitors’ attention within two to three seconds, but now that’s much too long.” Make sure your landing pages allow for a quick, fun and purpose-driven experience of your website!

For lots of examples on how to create SUPERB landing pages that make your customers happy and coming back to your site, check out Minda Zetlin’s’ article “The Logic of Landing Pages” on INC.com.

I’m Kate or Katelyn (depending on what mood I’m in), University of California Santa Barbara’s very own Wild Web Woman!  Recently, I embarked on a life-changing journey through the wonderful world of web marketing.  Thanks to the help of fellow web women at Web Marketing Therapy, it has already been an invaluable learning experience—one I’d like to share with you.  I am here to offer advice through the eyes of a beginner who’s been WOWED by the world of web marketing. I assume many of you are embarking on this journey with me, and I want you to know—you’re not alone.

I’d like to introduce you to an exciting web tool called FlippingBook-Page Flip Software.  FlippingBook allows you to create and share life-like manuals, books, magazines, and reports via the internet. This tool provides a unique and impressive way to publish your documents to the web.  Even major companies like Gucci and BBC are using it to market their products and relay information to people who visit their websites.

After viewing the demos of the software, you will see why it is a great alternative for print documents. We live in a world where information is easily accessible by the click of a button, so it’s no surprise that print documents are becoming digital.

Trust me, it’s VERY chic, and what’s better is that it can be used an unlimited number of times for FREE for documents under 10 pages. This is a creative and fun way for all web marketing enthusiasts to post online documents that are bound to impress the reader. Overall, it is a great method of distribution and a useful alternative for print media documents, so I highly advise you to check it out.