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The January SOBCon Report: Chats, Webinars, Soda Pop Parties, and Chicago Beckons

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Hi all!  Starbucker here, filling you in on all the SOBCon goings-on.

The Main Event

First,  SOBCon Chicago on April 29 – May 1 is rapidly approaching – our lineup and program is stellar, with the theme of “Building the New Leadership and Loyalty Business”.   Liz and I love this program so much that we decided to lead two of the 6 “Model” sessions ourselves, so we’re really looking forward to that.  Ticket sales are well ahead of past years (thank you!),  so if you are thinking about coming, make your plans now – remember, last year sold out.

(Pssst…Here’s a secret for you – sign up for our newsletter and you’ll get a ticket discount code)

Also, we recently announced our host hotel and event partner, Hotel 71.   We have rooms available at the great price of $169, so get them while they last.

The FREE SOBCon Preview Webinar

On February 1oth, from Noon to 1PM EST, our great friend Chris Garrett will once again be hosting “The SOBCon Preview Webinar“.  There, you’ll meet 4 of the speakers that will be at SOBCon Chicago (Me, Liz Strauss, Michael Port, and Derek Halpern), get previews of their presentations, hear more about this year’s event, and get a chance to ask a few questions.  We’ll also have a couple of surprises for you.  If it’s anything like last year’s Webinar, it should be an interesting, informative, and entertaining hour.   This Webinar is FREE, but the only way to get the dial-in code is to be on our Newsletter list – so if you are not signed up, do it now!  We’ll be releasing the code a few days before the event.

The 2nd Annual SOBCon SXSW Party (and a Cool Road Trip)

On March 13th, Liz and I will be hosting our 2nd annual SXSW party in Austin, Texas, at the Key Bar on 6th Street  This year we’re pleased to announce a co-sponsor, Jones Soda Co.  They will have plenty of their product at the event, and, as was the case last year, there will be some fun activities to go along with the great conversations and networking.   If you are going to be at SXSW and are interested in attending,  sign up for our Newsletter and drop us a note at sobevents@gmail.com, because this is an invitation-only party, and you need to be a Newsletter subscriber to get one.

Our friends at Jones have a cool opportunity surrounding SXSW that we’d like to share – they are looking for a blogger to accompany them on a RV “road” trip from Phoenix to Austin
Here’s what they are covering:
– Airfare from your hometown to Phoenix, AZ
– RV Road Trip from Phoenix, AZ to Austin, TX
– One night accommodations in Phoenix, AZ
– One night accommodations in El Paso, TX
– All meals on the RV Road Trip
– All the WhoopAss and Jones Soda you can drink on the RV Road Trip
– Airfare from Austin back to your hometown

If you are interested, contact Todd Martini at Jones at tmartini@jonessoda.com It sounds like a fun trip!!

The #SOBCon Chats are Growing!

Every month we’ve seen a growing number of folks participating in our #sobcon Twitter chats – just today we had a Twitter chat hosted by Heidi Thorne and Lisa Petrilli on blog inspiration, and it was a great conversation, with over 600 Tweets.

Mark your calendar for the next one – February 17th, at 12 Noon CST.   We’ll be Tweeting out the topic as the event approaches.

That’s it for this month!  Don’t forget, if you haven’t already, sign up for our Newsletter, so you are eligible for our Webinar, the SXSW party, and the special Newsletter SOBCon Chicago discount.

Join Us For The #SOBCon Chat: Our Upcoming Schedule

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#sobcon chatIn August we started the “SOBCon Twitter Chat“.  Because of your great participation and support, and the efforts of our great friends Heidi Thorne and Amber Cleveland, we’ve now made it a regular monthly event. 

If you missed the excellent October chat on blog accessability featuring Glenda Watson Hyatt, author of “I’ll Do It Myself”, click here for the transcript (scroll down to 5PM PST for the start of the chat).

Here’s our chat schedule for the next three months. Mark your calendars and see you in the chat room!
(Note all times are Central)

And remember, the Twitter hashtag for the chats, and all things SOBCon, is:  #sobcon

“How Do You Measure the Success of Your Blog?;” SOBCon Chat, Thursday, November 18, 2010, 12:00–1:00 p.m. CST
For our November chat, Wendy Cholbi will be hosting, and we will be discussing the topic “How Do You Measure the Success of Your Blog?” With the end of the year just around the corner, this is a good time to take stock and plan for 2011. Here are the questions we’ll be addressing:

  1. Does measuring traffic, comments, etc. for your blog matter to you? Why?
  2. What metrics (i.e. Google Analytics, comments, resulting sales, etc.) do you use for your blog?
  3. Has one metric been more helpful than others? Why?
  4. What blog course corrections have you made as a result of metrics?
  5. Have you set any metric goals for your blog?

“Social Media Tools;” SOBCon Chat, Thursday, December 16, 2010, 12:00–1:00 p.m. CST
Shelly Kramer is a 20+ year marketing veteran. She’s a strategist, brand builder, deep thinker, information junkie, communicator extraordinaire, buzz builder and lover of all things related to digital marketing and social media. On December 16, this incredible marketing resource will join us on the monthly SOBCon chat to discuss various tools to use for Social Media, from messaging to measurement. 

“Where Do You Get Inspiration for Your Blog?;” SOBCon Chat, Thursday, January 20, 2011, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. CST
Get your blog off on the right start for the New Year with our first SOBCon chat of the new year. Our perfectly timed topic will be “Where Do You Get Inspiration for Your Blog?” Share your best strategies and learn some new ones. Here are the questions we’ll be discussing:

  1. What is your #1 source for blog post inspiration?
  2. Do you read other blogs or news feeds for ideas? How many do you follow?
  3. Do you primarily get ideas online or offline?
  4. What tools do you use for your blog idea “brain dump?” Lists, journal, software, etc.
  5. What strategies have you used when you have “blogger’s block?

The Carlsen Resources Social Media Strategy Contest! Win a FREE trip to SOBCon2011!

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A Contest

On September 18th, at SOBCon Colorado, we announced a contest featuring our Colorado sponsor, Carlsen Resources.

Carlsen-Resources-Logo-1024x244

The prize?

A FREE trip to our flagship event, SOBCon 2011 in Chicago!  (registration, 3 night’s hotel, air up to $750)

The contest?

Propose, in 500 words or less, a Social Media strategy for Carlsen Resources.

Why does Carlsen need a strategy?

Right now, aside from their website, they have no other Social Media presense or activity.

How to enter?

Post your proposal on your blog by October 31, 2010  (make sure you link it back to this post, and/or Tweet it with the #sobconCarlsen hashtag)

Update (10/19/10): Or, just e-mail it to sobevents@gmail.com

How will the winner be selected?

A team at Carlsen Resources will review and determine which proposal best suits their business. The SOBCon social media team will act in an advisory role only.

Any other rules to know about?

The 500-word limit INCLUDES text in any illustrations that are part of the proposal (graphs, charts, pictures, etc)

How do I find out more about Carlsen Resources?

Click here to visit their website.

Meet Carlsen Resources

Carlsen-Resources-Logo-1024x244

Founded in 1989, Carlsen Resources, Inc. is a premiere executive search firm in the ever-expanding arenas of cable television, global media and telecommunications. Carlsen offers an array of executive search, candidate assessment, workplace diversity, career development and HR services across a wide range of business disciplines.Carlsen Resources helps its clients grow their business using innovative techniques, over two decades of experience and the broadest network of quality professionals in the industry today.

Carlsen has developed a reputation for delivering superior client service with uncompromising integrity, attention to detail, and an always professional , yet uniquely personal approach to the science of executive placement.

Recently we also interviewed Ann Carlsen, founder and CEO, and Sandy Ramunno, President and COO, about the company and their desire to use Social Media to help their business:

 

SOBCon: 

We understand you’ve built your business and your contact list the traditional “analog” way, and most impressively at that (a list in the 10’s of thousands).  How did you do this?

Ann:

  It was one person and relationship at a time. We started with lower levels, and built relationships through a methodic process of staying in touch once a month through the phone, sending out birthday and all holiday greetings,  and most of all, being there for them when the chips were down. Then it was “Rinse and repeat”.  The database was 120 people when we started.

SOBCon:

Sandy, tell us about Ann – describe her personality, and the values she brings to the company.

Sandy:

 Ann is one of the smartest, most generous, and funniest people I’ve ever known.  She is extremely hardworking & well read, has impeccable integrity, and is steadfast in her commitment to our clients.  She has grown up with the industry so knows its history, evolution and people.  She sets the tone and pace for the entire team.

We all take our work very seriously – strive to always under promise and over deliver. I have the utmost confidence in every last person on our team and the job they do each and every day.   We measure our success by our clients’ success.  We are constantly evaluating the process so that we are confident that we are doing the job better than anyone else.  And we have a lot of fun while we do it.

And, I love this story despite all her successes– 5 years ago – 6 kittens were born under my house and something had happened to the mother.  We bottle fed them for about 2 weeks before I had to go to what must have been my 5 year HS reunion. 🙂  When I told Ann that I was on my way to Petsmart to find a pet sitter she asked what was going on.  To make a long story short – she and her kids bottle fed them while I was gone….and for the next month… AND 4 of the 6 never left her house again!  Huge heart, wonderful person.

SOBCon:

  Let’s talk about the business itself.  What is the “extraordinary value” Carlsen brings to their clients?

Sandy:

 Our mission statement is to build enduring relationships to create great matches of opportunity and talent that grow businesses and careers. We know the people in the industry better than the competition and understand the business.  And we make every effort to keep it that way.

Ann:

 It’s high touch, caring about the person above all else, understanding the business from the inside out, and performance and results.

SOBCon:

  Lastly, can you describe why you are interested in using Social Media, and what you believe you can get out of it?

Sandy:

We KNOW we need to use it and it’s not like we’ve done nothing but we don’t have an overall strategy on how best to approach it.  I’ve heard all the reasons TO use it and know that a traditional website is 90s technology…still good to have but not exactly cutting edge.  The “reasons” for using it that are most compelling are that we could better communicate with our market – both to speak TO them and to hear FROM them.   We learn more from feedback than anything else.

Ann:

We want to expand our reach among younger people. As AC (Ann) has gotten older, so have her contacts.  The team is all about the same age, so we all have similar contact base.  We need to cultivate the younger people who will be the decision-makers of the future.  We want to stay relevant and on top of things.

Any More Resources to Share?

Click here for a great interview with Ann Carlsen by The Cable Center.

Good luck, and may the best proposal win!

Remember, the deadline for entries is October 31, 2010

Support the Friends of SOBCon – Vote For Their SXSW 2011 Panels

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PP_Voting_OpenWe are pleased to support all of our SOBCon friends who are now part of the 2011 “Panel Picker” process for the popular interactive conference in Austin, South by Southwest, better known as SXSW.

Here is a list of panels up for vote that feature friends of SOBCon, including two to be hosted by SOBCon Co-Founders Liz Strauss and Terry Starbucker. Please support ALL of these great people because we know they will “bring it” at the event.

Remember, voting ends on August 27th, so do it now. And if you have a panel and would like to add your name to this list, Tweet or DM us at @sobcon, or add a comment to this post.

Thanks, and let’s bring the spirit of SOBCon to SXSW!!

@lizstrauss @starbucker @caroljsroth Build, Buy, Partner: Time is Money
@starbucker @lizstrauss @caroljsroth From Jobbies to Businesses: Strategies for Irresistible Success
@ericlukazewski Confessions From Social Media Event Organizers
@JasonFalls Social Media: The Pink Collar Ghetto of Tech?
@renewabelle Making Sustainable Attainable: Energy Efficient Computing
@DaveMurr Have Fun to Increase Customer Engagement
@jeanniecw X Marks the Spot: Mapping The Customer Experience
@LisaPetrilli @judymartin8 Conquer Your Kryptonite: Superpowers Fueling Kick-Ass Business Deals
@LisaPetrilli @conniereece Resources Roulette: Winning Social Strategies for Shrinking Budgets
@ScottMonty @Schwen & @ShannonPaul Socially Regulated: Social Media in Regulated Industries
@jonathanfields Fear and the Art of Creation
@LucretiaPruitt @DaveTaylor Killing Clark Kent; When You Outgrow Your AlterEgo
@GlendaWH The untapped iPad Market: Is Your Site POUR?
@armano Why PR’s Future May Not Look Like PR
@BeckyMcCray Micro-Business Rapid-Response Success-Failure Q&A
@incslinger Converting Checkin’s to Cash: Why Location Marketing Matters
@SheilaS Tourism Catches On: Old Industry Meets New Media
@barrymoltz What We Can Learn from Small Town Entrepreneurs
@webby2001 Everything You Know About Social Media is Wrong
@unmarketing F U 2.0
@prebynski Leveraging Mobile Marketing Methods In My Strategy
@prebynski How To Get A Job Using Social Media
@dustinj Checking in with Successful Location-Based Campaigns
@technosailor Shattering Secrets with Social Media
@hardlynormal A Conversation About Social Change Through Social Media
@jeremywright Naked Dating: Finding Love in 140 Characters or Less
@tedmurphy Check-in, Get Paid: Rise of Cash-sponsored Social Media
@debworks Resistance is Futile! Assimilating Local Marketing
@CathyBrooks Who Are You And Why Should I Care?

The FREE SOBCon Colorado Preview Webinar: August 16th, at Noon EST

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Hi all – In anticipation of SOBCon Colorado on September 17 and 18, 2010, in Broomfield, our great friend and online guru Chris Garrett will be hosting a preview webinar on August 16th, 2010, from Noon to 1PM, EST.

His guests will include SOBCon Colorado speakers:

Liz Strauss (SOBCon Co-Founder)
Terry Starbucker (SOBCon Co-Founder)
Jonathan Fields
Shelly Kramer
Erika Napoletano
Sally Hogshead

We’ll be talking about the magic of SOBCon, the Colorado event, and how this “one-day business incubator” will give you a lot of tangible content from which you can learn, take home, and use in your busines.

And of course, we’ll be sharing some of our tips too!

Register here for this FREE event