I’m excited to be offering this seminar for the DC Small Business Development Center on June 25, 2013 (Date Change.) I plan to teach small business owners, who often have little to no money to spend on the marketing they so need, ways to get the most marketing bang for their limited bucks.
If you or someone you know is a small business owner (or plans to be) in the DC area, please plan to attend. Register here. 
TESTIMONIAL
“I am pleased to recommend Tamara Rasberry to my clients and for all my consulting engagements. She not only knows immediately how to engage each client, but also she delivers to each client–ahead of aggressive deadlines–quality, thorough social media services. As one who is organized, professional, and a skilled communicator, Tamara has an acute business sense to lead teams in maximizing business relationships and increasing profitability through social media platforms. Tamara exemplifies both teamwork and leadership. Also, she has a strong grasp on the customers’ business objectives and requirements. She demonstrated these skills while revamping my company’s Facebook and Twitter business pages, and she marketed them well to my current and prospective audiences. Tamara possesses the attributes of one who is extremely goal-oriented—true visionary. Needless to say, I will–without hesitation–hire Tamara Rasberry to satisfy any social media management requirements!”
Melanie Parker
CEO, QualityOne Communications Consulting, LLC
My first Glyder post.
If you’re anything like me you use your mobile device just as much, if not more than, you use your computer. I also always have a million and one things to do and am always on the lookout for things that will help me get those things done easily and efficiently. Enter Glyder.
Glyder is a small business social marketing app for the iPhone and iPad. It’s designed to make it simple for small business owners to create and share effective marketing messages via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Email, Text Message, MailChimp and Passbook. Ingenious, right?! There’s even an option to share your completed post to Pinterest on the backend. Given the popularity of Pinterest, that was a brilliant addition. I wish Tumblr was also included but I guess we can’t have everything.
Glyder is very intuitive – no need to read pages of instructions to figure out how to use it. The current version includes five templates and the app promises “many more to come.” Glyder focuses on visuals and “short and sweet” updates which, the app says, garner 80% more engagement when compared to longer posts. We all crave greater engagement, right? There is also the option to create a custom Glyder design to match your existing branding. Another great addition.
So what makes Glyder stand out among the many other social sharing apps? Co-Founder Glenn Allen had this to say: “Very small businesses still struggle with the complexity of online marketing – they have to reach their customers on multiple platforms and are underserved by existing web-based tools. They don’t have the time required to figure out all the platforms or the money to hire an employee or consultant,” says Glenn, whose experience starting OpenTable helped develop the idea for Glyder. “After meeting hundreds of business owners and seeing the same issues over and over again, it became clear that these businesses need a faster, easier, more affordable way to communicate with their customers. We’re putting the power of professional design and proven customer communication into their pocket at a price that puts the interests of the business owner first.”
As a social media coach, I think Glyder will be a great option for my clients to use as a low-cost way of implementing some of the strategies I provide. Though I’m looking forward to seeing the expansion of this app it’s simplicity is part of it’s beauty. You want to do something, you do it, you share it, it’s done. Try it out and let me know what you think. Glyder is available for free at http://www.glyder.co and on the iTunes app store (short link: http://glydr.co/AppStore).
I’ve spent a lot of time recently thinking about passion and purpose. As you know, I’ve been providing social media management and image consulting services but I’ve decided that, in order to be in better alignment with my passions AND my purpose, I’m going to slightly change the focus of my business.
Take a look at this video then contact me!
I had the pleasure of attending a social media call held by the Shakespeare Theatre Company to present scenes from the play ‘Black Watch.’ I wasn’t familiar with the play so I didn’t know quite what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. The scenes that were presented definitely made me want to see the full play.
I was quite impressed with Shakespeare Theatre Company for allowing press and social media the opportunity to preview and discuss the play prior to the run. It’s great to see the importance of connecting to your audience via social media being recognized.
Check out this video clip from one of the scenes called “fashion’ about the changing uniforms of the Scottish soldiers. I also created a short Storify story about the event – see below.
Remember when I said I had a fear of public speaking? Well, those days are long gone. Thanks to reading the first three principles from ‘The 7 Principles of Public Speaking’ I have been able to conquer this fear not only in theory but in practice.
In the past several months I’ve presented in front of audiences for the DC Small Business Development Center, the Washington DC Economic Partnership and the University of DC Community College on the topics of branding, social media and resume writing. Each experience was fantastic and the feedback was extremely positive. I can’t believe I wasted so much time being afraid!
I’m on a roll now and I don’t want to stop!
Need a speaker to talk to your group about branding, social media or image consulting? Contact me today! I am officially a speaker for hire. 
YOU are your brand. Represent!
TESTIMONIAL
“When it was time for me to take the marketing of my board game, The Debate Game, to the next level, I knew I wanted to incorporate videos but I had no idea of how to get people to actually SEE the videos. That’s where Tamara came in. She set up a YouTube channel, uploaded each video – including applicable tags – and gave each an attention grabbing title. She then 1) created multiple email campaigns to promote the videos and reach out to potential customers and 2) shared the videos with various local and national media outlets.
One of the videos caught the attention of the Smithsonian Institute’s ‘Art of Love’ project, resulting in The Debate Game co-sponsoring a groundbreaking event with them. For the month leading up to the event, Tamara created and managed a Twitter account to promote the game/event and to also reach out to and engage with people and entities discussing similar topics. Through Tamara’s use of strategic and targeted outreach, not only was the event a success but we were contacted by organizations around the globe wanting to share The Debate Game with their audiences.
Tamara’s advice is timely and relevant. She sees the big picture and thinks of multiple options, possibilities and outcomes. She definitely helped me take The Debate Game to the next level and put it in front of a wider audience resulting in more sales. I would not hesitate to recommend her or work with her again. In fact, I’m looking forward to it!
Dawn Taylor
Inventor, The Debate Game
@DebateGame
It’s been a while since my last DC Social Hues interview but when I met Leon Harvey, Jr. at a recent event celebrating Social Media Day I knew he’d be a perfect candidate for the next installment of the series.
Harvey runs LifeStyleFeed.com, a website and mobile app that provides consumers, or as Harvey prefers to call them, guests, with short videos of various local venues. It’s a great way to get a feel for a place before you get there. I’m so glad Mr. Harvey (as it says on his business cards) took time from his busy schedule to sit down with me to discuss LifeStyleFeed.com – present and future.
“In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us.” - Flora Edwards
A child of a military family, the “being of service” bug bit Harvey early on. Through his early jobs as a restaurant server, he discovered that he got genuine joy from seeing people enjoying themselves. As he told me, “Not only do I want to be happy, I like seeing other people happy.” During our lunch meeting, I could tell this was indeed the case. He was more attentive to me than our server was!
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” - Bill Gates
Harvey’s 15 years of restaurant industry experience have served him well in his entrepreneurial pursuit. Throughout his successful tenures as a concierge and private dining manager at numerous local establishments, he kept his eyes and ears open behind the scenes and was the go-to person for answering customer questions. The first-hand knowledge he gained of the complaints and concerns of both venue management and customers planted the seeds for the development of LifeStyleFeed.com
Rule No. 1: Meet people where they are.
One thing about stats is they’re always changing but just to give you an idea about the popularity of online video (data from Hubspot Blog):
As you can see, the smart money is on video. Though there are multiple online outlets for searching and reviewing restaurants and other venues, Harvey realized that no one had developed a service that focused on videos. That’s where LifeStyleFeed.com comes in. Harvey envisions the service serving as a web/mobile concierge for his “guests” – providing not only video previews but information on daily specials and other resources. The mobile app will also be integrated with Google Maps for your added convenience. In Harvey’s words, “I want the site to do all the work for the person.” Who wouldn’t love to have a personal concierge in their pocket?
As is my way, Harvey and I had more of a conversation than a traditional interview, but I made sure to ask him some key questions.
TR: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned as an entrepreneur?
LH: Entrepreneurs must be willing to sacrifice. Your willingness to sacrifice correlates to how serious you are about your venture. I’ve also learned the time period from idea to concept fruition must be short. If you take too long you give someone else the opportunity to take your idea and run with it.
TR: Who’s the ideal LifeStyleFeed.com “guest”?
LH: The “ideal” LifeStyleFeed.com guest is sophisticated, savvy, intuitive, needy, cultured and is an actor vs. being a reactor. He/she is that friend everyone turns to find out what’s going on. Of course, if you don’t currently possess those traits or are not “that friend” LifeStyleFeed.com is prepared to help you change that.
TR: Other than the videos displayed on the site and the app, what role does social media play in LifeStyleFeed.com?
LH: Social media puts people on an even playing field. It gives us the opportunity to connect and engage with a much wider audience as well as potential collaborators. Our Facebook page and Twitter account are fairly new but please connect with us there to find out all about what we’re up to.
TR: What does the future look like for LifeStyleFeed.com?
LH: We’re planning to branch out into other cities and to reach beyond hospitality into the retail and fashion sectors. To that end, we’ve started an IndieGogo campaign to help raise funds to support these initiatives. We also plan to eventually include promotional groups such as meetups, brands and promoters.
“Harvey. Leon Harvey.”
The five words Harvey used to describe himself were Relentless, Passionate, Intense, Perceptive and Empathetic. I can’t think of any better traits to have for someone dedicated to making life easier for others. Download the LifeStyleFeed.com app today to get a firsthand glimpse of how it will feed YOUR lifestyle.
*Special shout-out to the fabulously talented Anthony Tilghman for the photo accompanying this post.
As you may know, and I hope you do, I am a HUGE fan of the virtual pinboard website, Pinterest. I am on there daily- pinning, repinning, liking and commenting. It’s definitely one of my favorite social past-times.
I initially joined Pinterest for personal use but, as tends to be the case with me, I started to add business related pins as well. Me and my business are so intertwined it’s almost impossible not to overlap. The things that interest me enough to pin- beauty, fashion, social media – are also my business. My MO is always to show myself as a complete person. I believe that people choose to do business with people, not logos. If you follow me on any social network, you’ll know that I do social media and image consulting but you will also know that I like music and tattoos. Same goes for Pinterest. After all, I AM MY BRAND. I also pin my blog posts with links back to my sites.
I consider myself to be pretty well-versed in using Pinterest for both personal and business use, but when I heard about the event ‘How DC Business Does Pinterest’ I thought it might be a good idea to attend just to get an idea of what other local businesses are doing with this exciting visual platform.
The event seemed to be pretty well attended but it was certainly lacking in some areas. I would have loved to have seen more diversity on the panel and use of technology to actually show the attendees the functionality of Pinterest. Some of the attendees weren’t too familiar with Pinterest so I’m sure having visuals would’ve been helpful, especially considering that Pinterest is a visual platform. On a personal note, I would’ve greatly appreciated some refreshments.
I used Storify to compile my tweets from the evening. If you’re interested in seeing more of the tweets from the event, check out #DCWWPinterest
Do you use Pinterest for business or are you considering doing so? Please share your thoughts/experiences. Have questions about using Pinterest for business? Contact Me.
Entrepreneurs who are active on social networks and/or write blogs often worry about the fine line between transparency and TMI. When it comes to sharing information with your audience the question arises, “what is too much and what is just enough?”.
While you will of course want to provide your audience with valuable content, you should not be afraid of allowing your personality to shine through. Your personality and your spin on topics is what makes you different and will hopefully be what keeps your audience coming back, and if you are selling a product or service, it will hopefully help close the deal.
I recently read a post on Big Feet Marketing – Why You Should Stop Trying to Write Unique, Original Content. This post really spoke to me because when you think about it, as the saying goes, “there’s nothing new under the sun.” There’s almost always going to be someone who is doing or saying something similar to what you are doing or saying. What is going to make you stand out is being true to yourself, your point of view, your spin on things, your sense of humor, etc. Don’t whitewash your content because you are afraid that people won’t take you seriously unless your blog posts, tweets or Facebook posts are “strictly business.”
Be yourself. Let the real you shine through (within reason) and it will help people to see you as more than a talking head. You know what they say, “people do business with people the like” and people like people who are real. So go out there and be transparent!
Have you dealt with this issue? Do you have any questions about maintaining an appropriate level of transparency online? Please share your experience/questions in the comments section.
YOU are your brand. Represent!
