Author Archive
Meet Me at Builder Books
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Hot off the press! I don’t even have a copy of it yet, but “Social Media for Home Builders: It’s Easier Than You Think” is HOT off the press and will be available at BuilderBooks at the International Builders Show.
Stop by the BuilderBooks Store during “Ask The Experts” on Wednesday January 20th from 1 – 2 p.m. to meet me and ask your social media questions. The BuilderBooks Store is located on the Grand Concourse in the Central Hall. Open Daily.
Social media marketing doesn’t have to be a mystery. My new book will walk you step-by-step through how to build an effective program. Please come by BuilderBooks during IBS to meet me! #IBS2010
Cell Phones, Texting and Your Customers
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85% of adult Americans own a cell phone.
52% of Americans send test messages.
A recent study on Wireless Internet use by Pew discovered that more than 50% of American adults use their mobile phones for non-voice data each day. Non-voice data includes using smart phones and cell phones for texting, taking photos, playing games, surfing the Web and sending email.
And here is a scary statistic: 25% of Americans admit that they text while driving.
Lucky for us, companies like Vlingo have invented “voice user interface” technology that allows people to control their cell phones by talking to the phone. “We often like to say 26 percent of people admit to driving while texting. We are sure that underestimates the problem,” said Dave Grannan, of Vlingo. Click here for more results of the Vlingo survey. Let’s all pledge to text only while parked.
The Pew study says, “Sending text messages remains the mainstay activity for cell phone users.” As companies seek ways to engage buyers through permission-based mediums, texting will no doubt continue to be hot. Read More→
Learning About Finances
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We just opened a bank account for our 10 year old, so that he can start to learn more about managing money and building wealth. There are several things we want him to understand sooner than later:
- Stuff costs money and that money doesn’t grow on trees – you have to earn it, save it and work for it.
- How to balance a bank account. How to both add and subtract money. AND that checking your balance doesn’t account for checks that you have written but that have not cleared the bank.
- Having a debit or credit card should not give you feeling that you can charge, charge, charge. At some point you have to pay for it!
- Saving money and investing is the key to financial freedom and potential future retirement. Saving just 20 cents of every dollar earned can amount to a lot over a lifetime.
Hopefully we can help him learn these lessons as a child. As an aside, I know a lot of children who have cell phones but Read More→
The Tale of 10 Cats and Giving Back
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We just returned home from taking a donation to the Etowah Valley Humane Society and visiting with the staff and cats and dogs in their care. They have the cutest litter of kittens there too. Groups like the Etowah Valley Humane Society work hard year-round to give back. They take in and care for thousands of stray pets while seeking the perfect adoptive families. If you are looking to add a best friend to your family in 2010, please consider adopting one. And for those of you who already have furry friends, please spay or neuter them. There are lots of low cost spay and neuter options available.
This is a photo of Tux. He is one of out 10 cats. I was a “kitty foster mama” for a number of years and while fostering hundreds of kittens, I ended up with a few of my own. Luckily we live on a farm, so there is plenty of room. Here are the stories of my 10 cats and how they ended up at Thistledown.
Josie – If you follow me on Facebook, you will see a lot of photos of Josie. She is our oldest and by far most spoiled cat. I adopted her in 2001 from a pet shop in Marietta for $20. She was born on a construction site and rescued as a stray. At 6 weeks old she weighed about 6 ounces and was flea infested. Now she is a fat, sassy house cat who lives like a queen.
Daisy & Inky – These sisters were part of a litter of 9 that were dumped on our road along with their mother. The rest of the litter we fostered, vaccinated and adopted out to friends. They live happily in the barn and prowl for mice.
Whiskers & Patches – The twins, as my son likes to call them, were dumped on our road on my birthday. My husband arrived just in time to see kittens scampering all over the road. He and another driver scooped them up and home they Read More→
Sell to Women Through the Social Media Grapevine
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Did you know that the average household does 10 to 12 loads of laundry each week? What if you could use this information to Sell to Women more homes to women using the Social Media Grapevine?
Women influence 91% of homebuying decisions, and at the International Builders Show (IBS) Karen Dry, Dina Gundersen, Tammie Smoot and I will show you how to engage them through social media. Find out how social networking sites can help you spread your messages virally through the social media grapevine, build advocacy, create top of mind awareness, listen and engage.
Sell to Women through the Social Media Grapevine is sponsored by Professional Women in Building. Join us on Tuesday, January 19 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center South 221.
2010 Leadership Circle Reception at IBS
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It is already time to start making plans for the International Builders Show! I have my hotel room and still need to book my flight – how about you? Now I’m starting to fill my calendar up with all the important and fun networking events. Here is one that you won’t want to miss!
Join the NAHB Professional Women in Building and Whirlpool Corporation for the 2010 Leadership Circle Reception on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 from 6:30 – 8 p.m. at Casear’s Palace Hotel in the Roman Ballroom One-Three. Best of all, you can bring a guest! I’m going to see if Mitch Levinson wants to go (after all, he is also a member of Professional Women in Building).
Cartersville Chamber offers Social Media Lab
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Do you want to learn how social media can help your small business reach existing customers AND build relationships with new ones? Then join us in January for Social Media Lab at the Cartersville-Bartow Chamber of Commerce. Register for Social Media Lab here.
Social Media Lab is a four-week course offering the how to basics for promoting your business through social networking and blogging. Each Thursday we will cover building a different site in a 2- hour lab. Find out from the experts how to build Friends, Fans and Followers and create an effective strategy for your business. We will help you set up each of the sites and answer all of your questions.
- January 7 – Twitter – create a Twitter account and learn proper twittiquette. Tweeting is like text messaging to the world, just don’t say anything that you don’t want Grandma to see.
- January 14 – Linked In – from building your personal profile to participating in groups, learn the ins and outs for getting the most out of this online rolodex and resume.
- January 28 – Facebook – build a Fan page and find out ways to promote it to your friends and customers. This is one online cocktail party that you don’t want to miss.
- February 4 – Blogging – learn the basics of how to blog on Wordpress. Your blog is the foundation of your social media program. A well-built blog will be one of your Web sites top 10 referral sources.
mRELEVANCE is booking Social Media Labs for 2010 in northwest Georgia and metro Atlanta. Contact me at 770-383-3360 x20 to book a lab or for details on a lab near you. As Labs are booked, we will update the seminar schedule.
Rome’s First Tweet Up
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Can you go anywhere today without overhearing a conversation about Twitter, Facebook or blogging? Are you interested in joining in but have no idea where to start? Or are you Tweeting and looking to find others to interact with both on and offline?
Join us for Rome’s First Tweet Up on Tuesday, November 10 from 6 – 8 p.m. This FREE event takes place at 333 On Broad.
Enjoy light snacks and $2 draught beer while listening to guest speakers share their tips and tricks on how to use Twitter and other social media tools to promote your business and build your personal brand. Not only is this a great opportunity to learn more about social media, but it is a great networking opportunity too. Grab a stack of business cards and a friend and head on over to 333 On Broad on Tuesday, Nov. 10 from 6 – 8 p.m.
For more information about Rome’s first Tweet Up or to sign up to let us know you are attending, visit Facebook or follow @hometown and @carolflammer (that’s me) on Twitter.
Who Got Their Chocolate in My Peanut Butter?
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This article first ran as a MIRM Profile on NSMC eNews in October 2009.
How did earning your MIRM influence the creation of the company mRELEVANCE?
Mitch Levinson, MIRM, CMP, CSP and I met for the first time at the 2007 IRM Commencement Breakfast, the year we received our MIRM designations. Ironically, Mitch had lived and worked in the Atlanta market for 10 years prior to moving to Chicago – where he is now based — but we had never met before! We both attended the NAHB Spring Board of Directors meeting that year, and Mitch gave me advice on some Web site improvements I was making at the time. Soon after that, his company (MLC New Home Marketing) started doing the SEO for my two sites – Atlanta Real Estate Forum and Flammer Relations. Then MLC New Home Marketing hired Flammer Relations, Inc. to write press releases for their company and help with content on their blogs.
This is very much the “who got their chocolate in my peanut butter story,” as the two companies, Flammer Relations and MLC New Home Marketing, complemented each other nicely. Flammer offered content and a strong knowledge of how to blog and moderate sites to attract the search Read More→
Sneak Peek at Social Media for Business
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A sneak peek at “Social Media for Business” will be offered on October 29 from 2 – 3 p.m. by the Cartersville Chamber of Commerce right before Business Expo begins at The Church at Liberty Square. Laura Everett, Social Media Manager with Flammer Relations, Inc. will give a sneak peek at the 4-part series the Chamber’s Small Business Council will host this winter.