May 22nd, 2013 
admin I’m often asked to be interviewed and particularly on the back of Forbes I’ve been very fortunate to have several requests. I was particularly delighted to be interviewed by my good friend Dan Purvis, a leading digital marketer for his Digital Musings Blog. If you want to know what my thoughts are on social influence tools and what I do first thing in the morning plus much more read it here.
May 16th, 2013 admin 
Benefactor: noun
1. a person who confers a benefit; a kindly helper.**
“One who supports.”
___________________________________________________________________
As a social media company, we’ve recently felt a strong urge to see if we can impart real change with our day-to-day promotion efforts. We support our colleagues and clients rain or shine, and they return the favor. Maybe it could go beyond that.
For years, behind the scenes, people from other continents have grown close to each other thanks to social media. Some real bonds — even if considered “weak ties” by the public at large — have been forged in groups and on pages on Facebook. It still happens.
Tweetchats, if unearthed, show some extraordinary human compassion in mere moments, most often archived and forgotten — except for the people who felt connected at that time.
These last few weeks have been especially intense for so many people in so many ways, and it helped us realize a new direction: to focus on helping other social good projects by providing our assistance on the 5 major social media networks… and in the process, highlighting — here on the Steamr site — the crowdfunding campaigns that affect us deeply.
What if we could help cease the social media spam, and spark the true support? What if we could make #steamwork happen?
SocialSteamr is making an effort to execute on one concept: if another cause needs a special boost of honest-to-goodness, high-quality folks to sing their campaign’s praises, we want to be able to lend a hand. Our entire social presence will give you an idea of how committed we have been to this concept.
_____________________________________________
Crowdfunding, also known as “crowdsource” funding or “social funding”, is the new way for small and medium-sized enterprises of all shapes and sizes — from school projects to urban renewal plans to emergency community relief — to realize their financial objective. On these platforms, the innovation is astounding!
According to Forbes Magazine, here are the Top 5 crowdfunding sites. Note that each has its own pros and cons.
Indiegogo allows you to raise money for absolutely anything — using an optional “keep what you raise” model; if you don’t reach your funding goal, you’ll pay 9% in fees… or you can pay less to use an all-or-nothing funding approach. (Hint: from experience, it’s better to shoot “low” ($5000 versus $50,000) and reach your funding goal quickly — and make sure you get a handful of donations in the first few days — this gives a fantastic boost to the campaign, making it more visible in Indiegogo’s search. People can still donate way beyond your funding request, so 60 days allows for considerable fundraising if promoted properly, especially via social media.
Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing model. You must raise all of the money that you set as a goal in the time allotted, or it is returned to the campaign supporters. And the money you do raise won’t come to you for 60 days — which for most bootstrap-phase start-ups is not soon enough. The site is designed and built for tech entrepreneurs and creative art projects alike and was made semi-famous for the wildly popular Pebble watch, which raised $10.2 million in a month but ensured several production delays that annoyed folks who gave the $115 donation (or more) to get at least one.
Crowdrise is a site for 501(c)(3) charities to raise money, with the novelty being that anyone can sign up to volunteer to launch a fundraising campaign for a charity already registered on the site. Everyone can instantly become a social entrepreneur for a cause they believe in.
Razoo is exclusively for social good causes but is not limited to 501(c)(3), using a “keep-what-you-raise” model, charging just 2.9% of the total money raised (versus 4% to 9% with Indiegogo).
Causes is designed specifically for 501(c)(3) registered nonprofits to raise money. The fees are low, and all donors on the site understand that all of the contributions will be tax-deductible. Causes is widely used to launch “action” campaigns, like boycotts, petitions and pledges rather than fundraising campaigns.
After doing research on these crowdfunding sites, it became apparent to us that many of the campaigns were “stalled” — the Social Media Share buttons had a low percentage of activity. Then the light bulb went off. We recognized that these campaigns do not have the resources, time or expertise to manage an effective Social Media Campaign.
The concept is simple. The Benefactor donates funds, we design a Social Media Campaign for the crowdfunding project of their choice, and it receives much needed social media exposure.
We have set up our own Indiegogo Campaign with various levels of gifting. We have given deep discounts in the spirit of giving. That is our financial contribution to all crowdfunding projects we can help support.
We would love for you to take a look at our concept — hey, maybe even buy us a cup of coffee — or better yet give a much needed boost to an existing campaign.
For community support in all ways,
Jackie Bigford and Rob Nielsen
** thanks to Dictionary.com for helping us clarify our vision!
May 13th, 2013 admin 
Send to KindleThis is a guest post courtesy of Roye Okupe.
While branding really isn’t rocket science, it is an area some businesses tend to fall a little short in.
Luckily, there are examples of bangin’ hot brands out there that know just what the frack they’re doing, and they do it well.
They might not be perfect all the time, but they are consistently doing shite right, and you can learn very valuable lessons from them. With that, I leave it to Roye to take it away.
Please make him feel welcome by commenting below.
Apple is arguably at the top of the list of companies that get branding right.
From its innovative products to packaging, customers experience something different from this leading tech giant. How can you make your business stand out too?
Apple makes complex technology products for simple people. Determine your offer and how will it help your market.
Offer customers a great experience when interacting with your product or company. Keep customers first and foremost.
Why are you serving your market? Define your mission and let it guide you in building your business.
Your logo, website, and other branding materials should stand out from the crowd. Use consistent colors across your marketing materials and offers.
Determine what you are really good at and make it your mission to be the best in your industry whatever you have chosen to focus on. I cannot stress this enough!
Offer your customers more than a product or service. Give customers a reason to choose you over your competition.
Know your industry, be an expert and deliver. Connect with your customers at various online channels and educate them on their problems and how you can make their lives better.
Make your offer different from that of your competition. Do not be afraid to do something unconventional to be different.
Analyze how your competitors deliver their products and do it better than them.
Have a precise, easy-to-remember name. If you can get a single word name, this is best. If not, find a combination that will stick in your client’s heads.
Brand your business beyond the logo. Use your slogan and other short messages that define your company in your products.
Package your product to offer a unique experience to your customers. If you are providing a service, have a unique manner of starting or finishing your task that will leave an undeniable mark on your customers.
Advertise your offer on the Internet and traditional media. Reach your prospects through all avenues you can.
Provide excellent product or services that will help your company become recognized in your area or industry. Customers love associating with winners.
Identify the pains of your market and come up with the best solution possible to the problems.
Work with partners that will make your work easier or help you in offering a better experience to your market.
Let prospects know when you are about to launch your service or product. Use the Internet to generate buzz on your launch.
Have a way of doing things that customers will identify with. Customers should know what to expect when they buy your product, visit your store, or contact your office.
Have a clear experience that you want customers to have right from when they come into contact with your brand up to when they buy.
Make your products or offers different from that of your competition. Offer a unique value.
The above are just a list of some ways Apple makes their business and products stand out. You can use the same techniques to help differentiate your own business. Or even better, come up with a few of your own! Craft a branding strategy that you can implement over a duration of time to achieve your business objectives.
Please do Roye and BGB the honor of sharing this post with your pals. He thanks you, I thank you, we all thank you!
