Video, Journalists & PR: 3 Keys to Local Small Business Marketing ...

Competing with the big names, giant retailers, and pop up chains can be a tall measure for any small- to medium-sized business (SMB), especially when resources, namely time and money, are at the heart of it.

At Pubcon, which is taking place in New Orleans this week, presenters are providing a treasure trove of information about online marketing for local, small businesses.

What are three key things you should consider adding to your marketing plan, according to the experts? Producing videos, establishing relationships with media/journalists, and evaluating when you'll get the most exposure from your press releases.

Video, Just Do It!

Video can be one of the easiest and most influential ways small businesses can market to local, repeat customers, business owners just have to get over the fear of being on camera. ?Everyone has a story to tell,? explained Sage Lewis of SageRock Consulting. ?I?ve yet to find a boring story from a business in a video yet and I challenge businesses to make me find one!?

You Tube is the second largest site where searches are conducted and just crossed the threshold of having over 1 billion users and offers a world of opportunity for marketing a small business.

With little more than a smartphone and some video editing software, a small business can produce a video with a limited budget that can be uploaded to YouTube for free. From there they can share the videos on their websites, social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and in Google+.

A video can be much more engaging to tell your story with and drive the foot traffic in to sell your wares rather than just a text story on a webpage.

Make Friends With the Media

?Journalists are people too,? explained Jay Berkowitz from 10 Golden Rules. ?But it takes time to build those relationships. Like their stories, interact with them, become friends!?

That advice can take you a lot further when you have news you need to get out about your business to the local media and local media can be a lot more effective to what you are trying to accomplish than national media. Not only that, local journalists will be more inclined to connect with you because you are local ? a connection that you wouldn?t have with reaching out to national outlets. The main thing you have to remember though is that it?s not about your audience, it?s about how you can provide value and entertain their audience.

Know Where They Look for Stories

When surveyed about where they are connected the most, more than 92 percent of business journalists said LinkedIn, according to a 2011 Arketi report. Facebook and Twitter were in the high end of 80 percent but what this should indicate is that small business owners wanting to connect with journalists should really look to building relationships with their local journalists on LinkedIn first.

In fact, according to Sean Jackson of Copyblogger, trying to connect with journalists on Facebook is actually frowned upon. Ninety-two percent of the people they look to for story sources are industry experts, so establishing yourself on LinkedIn as an expert in your business area on LinkedIn if you are trying to connect with the local media could be a well spent use of your resources.

You need to create the trust factor though. It?s definitely not about ?hey join my network? and you start pummeling them with your business information. There has to be a careful balance of reading their work, complementing their work, sharing their work and then relating their work to your business. Figuring out how to become legitimately part of a story can go a long way once you?ve established a relationship with the journalist.

They Still Need Stories on the Weekend

While most PR specialists don?t want to work the weekend, Greg Jarboe from SEO-PR gave a great argument why small businesses should take a closer look at releasing their press releases on the weekends.

?There?s not a lot of competition, and guess what, the journalists still look for stories then too!? He detailed information about how it wasn?t really about the links in the press release, it was about the distribution and the readership of the press release.

Jarboe went on to site a case study his company did with New Orleans local deals site Get City Dealz (Disclosure: I am the CTO there) and BusinessWire, in which they did three press releases all sent out on Saturdays.

Each release was tagged in Google Analytics tracking, and each release had a different spin. One had video, one had images, and one was just text.

For a Saturday alone the results (release views, headline impressions, video and image views, and links clicked) were impressive. But when multimedia was added to the press releases it made for a great point ? multimedia, in particularly video ? gets results ? 30 percent more views than either photos or text-only.

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Presenting Digital SES
Want to view one of the sessions you missed or listen to an especially informative presenter a second time? SES New York sessions were recorded and are available for purchase on ClickZ Academy's new e-Learning site.
Watch SES on video!

Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2263885/Video-Journalists-PR-3-Keys-to-Local-Small-Business-Marketing-Pubcon

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Memorial Service for Fallen Firefighters | Business Risk Management

Memorial service for 12 firefighters who died battling the West, Texas fire and explosion

To the Baylor Family:

Tomorrow afternoon, representatives from the Texas Line of Duty Death Task Force and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation will host a memorial service to honor the twelve firefighters who gave their lives battling the recent fire and explosion in West, Texas. Attending the ceremony on the Baylor campus will be President and Mrs. Obama, Governor Perry, and other dignitaries. Baylor President Ken Starr will greet guests and bring remarks from former President George W. Bush. Thousands of firefighters from around the nation are also expected to attend the memorial service which will take place at 2 p.m., Central Time, in the Ferrell Center.

Those on the Baylor campus, and in surrounding communities, will have numerous options for viewing the service on our campus. There also will be extensive local television coverage. Those living outside the Waco area may watch a live stream of the service at http://firehero.org/westtexas.

We are honored that the Texas Line of Duty Death Task Force and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation have chosen to hold this ceremony on the Baylor campus. The Baylor family continues to hold up in prayer all those who have been impacted by this terrible tragedy, including some of our own students, faculty, staff and alumni. We invite the entire Baylor community to join in the remembrance of these firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice by laying down their lives for others.

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Source: http://fin4335.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/memorial-service-for-fallen-firefighters/

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Poll: Aging US in denial about long-term care need

Graphic shows AP-NORC poll opinions on living assistance

Graphic shows AP-NORC poll opinions on living assistance

WASHINGTON (AP) ? We're in denial: Americans underestimate their chances of needing long-term care as they get older ? and are taking few steps to get ready.

A new poll examined how people 40 and over are preparing for this difficult and often pricey reality of aging, and found two-thirds say they've done little to no planning.

In fact, 3 in 10 would rather not think about getting older at all. Only a quarter predict it's very likely that they'll need help getting around or caring for themselves during their senior years, according to the poll by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

That's a surprise considering the poll found more than half of the 40-plus crowd already have been caregivers for an impaired relative or friend ? seeing from the other side the kind of assistance they, too, may need later on.

"I didn't think I was old. I still don't think I'm old," explained retired schoolteacher Malinda Bowman, 60, of Laura, Ohio.

Bowman has been a caregiver twice, first for her grandmother. Then after her father died in 2006, Bowman moved in with her mother, caring for her until her death in January. Yet Bowman has made few plans for herself.

"I guess I was focused on caring for my grandmother and mom and dad, so I didn't really think about myself," she said. "Everything we had was devoted to taking care of them."

The poll found most people expect family to step up if they need long-term care ? even though 6 in 10 haven't talked with loved ones about the possibility and how they'd like it to work.

Bowman said she's healthy now but expects to need help someday from her two grown sons. Last month, prompted by a brother's fall and blood clot, she began the conversation by telling her youngest son about her living will and life insurance policy.

"I need to plan eventually," she acknowledged.

Those family conversations are crucial: Even if they want to help, do your relatives have the time, money and knowhow? What starts as driving Dad to the doctor or picking up his groceries gradually can turn into feeding and bathing him, maybe even doing tasks once left to nurses such as giving injections or cleaning open wounds. If loved ones can't do all that, can they afford to hire help? What if you no longer can live alone?

"The expectation that your family is going to be there when you need them often doesn't mean they understand the full extent of what the job of caregiving will be," Susan Reinhard, a nurse who directs AARP's Public Policy Institute, said. "Your survey is pointing out a problem for not just people approaching the need for long-term care, but for family members who will be expected to take on the huge responsibility of providing care."

Those who have been through the experience of receiving care are less apt to say they can rely on their families in times of need, the poll found.

With a rapidly aging population, more families will be facing those responsibilities. Government figures show nearly 7 in 10 Americans will need long-term care at some point after they reach age 65, whether it's from a relative, a home health aide, assisted living or a nursing home. On average, they'll need that care for three years.

Despite the "it won't happen to me" reaction, the AP-NORC Center poll found half of those surveyed think just about everyone will need some assistance at some point. There are widespread misperceptions about how much care costs and who will pay for it. Nearly 60 percent of those surveyed underestimated the cost of a nursing home, which averages more than $6,700 a month.

Medicare doesn't pay for the most common types of long-term care. Yet 37 percent of those surveyed mistakenly think it will pay for a nursing home and even more expect it to cover a home health aide when that's only approved under certain conditions.

The harsh reality: Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor, is the main payer of long-term care in the U.S., and to qualify seniors must have spent most of their savings and assets. But fewer than half of those polled think they'll ever need Medicaid ? even though only a third are setting aside money for later care, and just 27 percent are confident they'll have the financial resources they'll need.

In Cottage Grove, Ore., Police Chief Mike Grover, 64, says his retirement plan means he could afford a nursing home. And like 47 percent of those polled, he's created an advance directive, a legal document outlining what medical care he'd want if he couldn't communicate.

Otherwise, Grover said he hasn't thought much about his future care needs. He knows caregiving is difficult, as he and his brother are caring for their 85-year-old mother.

Still, "until I cross that bridge, I don't know what I would do. I hope that my kids and wife will pick the right thing," he said. "It depends on my physical condition, because I do not want to be a burden to my children."

The AP-NORC Center poll found widespread support for tax breaks to encourage saving for long-term care, and about half favor the government establishing a voluntary long-term care insurance program. An Obama administration attempt to create such a program ended in 2011 because it was too costly.

The older they get, the more preparations people take. Just 8 percent of 40- to 54-year-olds have done much planning for long-term care, compared with 30 percent of those 65 or older, the poll found.

Mary Pastrano, 74, of Port Orchard, Wash., has planned extensively for her future health care. She has lupus, heart problems and other conditions, and now uses a wheelchair. She also remembers her family's financial struggles after her own father died when she was a child.

"I don't want people to stand around and wring their hands and wonder, 'What would Mom think was the best?'" said Pastrano, who has discussed her insurance policies, living will and care preferences with her husband and children.

Still, Pastrano wishes she and her husband had started saving earlier, during their working years.

"You never know how soon you're going to be down," she said. "That's what older people have a problem understanding: You can be in your 60s and then next flat on your back. You think you're invincible, until you can't walk."

The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey was conducted Feb. 21 through March 27, with funding from the SCAN Foundation. The SCAN Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization that supports research and other initiatives on aging and health care. The nationally representative poll involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,019 Americans age 40 or older. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

___

Associated Press writer Stacy A. Anderson and News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Government long-term care primer: http://longtermcare.gov

AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research: http://www.apnorc.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-24-US-Aging-America-Long-Term-Care/id-abff3d442c6b4691bcf9f2c90d1c4f0e

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[Drunk Music Reviews] SXSW Travelogue: Part IV - Each Note Secure

Drunk Music Reviews?is exactly what it sounds like: Caitlin Behle reviews shows while progressively getting drunker, while illustrator?John Sebastian?turns the drunken reviews, which could be ridiculous, sloppy or just plain insulting, into a comic.

?

Part of the charm of SXSW is the people-watching. Austin?s motto is ?Keep Austin Weird? and they ain?t shitting you. There are some lovely characters floating around, and like a kid in a candy shop, John wanted to draw all of them. As John put it, ?There were a lot of real life caricatures there, it was really hard to not want to draw everybody.?

A sampling (with notes by John):

Nasty Canasta

?Nasty Canasta? is a dude working the door at some bar next to Mugshots.?He had a cut off shirt and shoulder hair, and looked like he needed a head tattoo of a sailboat to be riding the sea of head fat.

(Author?s note: Mugshots is?an oasis of dirt cheap whiskey with a shady patio. It?s a welcome break from live music if you just need to hang out and get drunk in the quiet of your own shame.).

Junkie Chic

Some girl I saw. She kind of represented the typical SXSW-ian you?d run into there.

?

(Author?s Note: Other typical SXSW-ians included Overdressed Hipsters, Confused But Delighted Broes, and for some reason, Topless Ladies Riding Pedicabs.)

Shitty Tommy Lee

Shitty Tommy Lee was some guy in spandex animal print pants, hat, and boa, a leather vest, lots of guyliner, and a mesh tank top. He was stuck in LA in 1986 and looked coked out of his fucking mind.

The Melting Girl

We saw The Melting Girl outside of The Russian Room.?She was named as such because it looked like her face was melting.

The Pinstripes Sketcher

Meta-DMR sketching! This nerd was drawing The Pinstripes while they were busking on 6th street. His illustrations weren?t great.

?

About Caitlin Behle

Caitlin has been with Each Note Secure since her days at WOXY as an evening DJ beginning in 2008. As a senior contributor with ENS, most of her live reviews are centered on Cincinnati's local music scene. She also provides the words for Drunk Music Reviews, a series of reviews written in collaboration with illustrator John Sebastian in which they both get hammered and write/draw their live concert experiences.

Source: http://www.eachnotesecure.com/drunk-music-reviews-sxsw-travelogue-part-iv/

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Minka Kelly Goes Blonde: Caption This Photo

Minka Kelly has gone blonde! Yep the actress has traded in her dark locks for a lighter color and I have to say she looks pretty darn good. This new change has made her the object of Right Celebrity’s Caption This photo contest for the week, woot woot! A major make-over happened for the former Friday Night Lights actress and I am going to give you my two cents on it in one hot moment. First though I want to tell you all about our Caption This photo contest. It is super easy, as I am sure you are already aware. All you have to do is take a little looksy at the above pic of Minka and caption it by leaving your witty remarks in the below comments section. Then next Tuesday when a hot new topic and picture are posted be sure to check back her to see if your name is in black and white as the big winner, woohoo! See I told you loads of fun and lets be real who doesn’t want to comment on her new look. On Monday Minka debuted a new look. It was a big change for the actress, she went [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/oSI7P_M5aDc/

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Factory data a new sign of slowing U.S. economic growth

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Factory activity expanded at its slowest pace in six months in April, the latest sign that economic growth continued to lose momentum early in the second quarter, though the recovery has not been derailed.

Even as the economic picture has dimmed in recent weeks as the effects of government austerity started to filter through, strength in the housing market has provided an anchor.

New home sales in March were at their second-highest level in three years and overall house prices rose in February, other data showed on Tuesday.

"The numbers are not suggesting that the economy is surging, but none of them are really showing that the economy is falling off the cliff," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York.

Financial data firm Markit said its "flash," or preliminary, factory purchasing managers' index fell to 52.0 this month from 54.6 in March as output, employment and new orders pulled back.

It was the lowest index level since October, though a reading above 50 does indicate growth.

While the Markit PMI has a shorter history and has been trending higher than an established, competing index from the Institute for Supply Management, its direction is in line with other surveys showing a cooling in manufacturing activity in April.

The Richmond Federal Reserve Bank said on Tuesday its gauge of factory activity in the central Atlantic region dropped into negative territory this month, pulled down by weak shipments and new orders.

The region covers the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and most of West Virginia. These are among states expected to be hardest hit by deep government spending cuts, known as the sequester.

SLACKENING ACTIVITY

Taken together with other weak regional manufacturing surveys released so far this month, Tuesday's factory data pointed to a slackening in activity at the start of the second quarter, economists said.

Although manufacturing accounts for only about 12 percent of the U.S. economy, it has played a pivotal role in the recovery from the 2007-09 recession.

The government is expected to report on Friday that the economy grew at a 3.0 percent annual rate in the first quarter, according to a Reuters survey, rebounding from a paltry 0.4 percent gain in the final three months of 2012.

Economists, however, are looking for an expansion of only around 1.5 percent or so in the April-June period.

Data ranging from employment to retail sales and manufacturing weakened significantly in March, when the sequester began to take effect, and the Markit and Richmond Fed reports suggested the soft patch carried into the second quarter.

"This year is setting up to be very similar as far as the first-half story of the past few years, where an early start in economic activity was not able to be maintained," said Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Even so, the economy is not collapsing.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed new home sales increased 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000 units last month.

The increase was encouraging in the wake of data on Monday that showed home resales slipped in March and a report last week that said sentiment among homebuilders dropped in April for a third straight month.

"This is a good report that supports the view that at least one part of the economy is not being battered too greatly by Washington's attacks on growth," said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania. "The housing recovery keeps on going, but don't expect further surges in activity."

The momentum in the housing market has slowed somewhat because of a lack of supply of homes for sale in some major regions. Last month, there 153,000 new homes on the market, not far from record lows.

The inventory represents sales supply for only 4.4 months, below the six months that is normally considered a healthy balance between supply and demand.

Another report, from the Federal Housing Finance Administration, showed prices for houses financed with mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rose 0.7 percent in February after advancing 0.6 percent in January.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani in Washington; Additional reporing by Steven C Johnson in New York and Margaret Chadbourn in Washington; editing by Andrea Ricci and Leslie Adler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/factory-activity-six-month-low-april-markit-130145227--business.html

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