Judge hands down 6-year sentence for prescription fraud scheme | Healthcare Finance News

BIRMINGHAM, AL – A leader of a prescription fraud scheme has been sentenced to six years in prison for healthcare fraud, HIPAA violations and aggravated identity theft.

Judge C. Lynwood Smith Jr. of the United States Attorney's office of the Northern District of Alabama sentenced Isaac Earl Smith, 38, on May 25. Smith, who had pled guilty to the charges in November 2009, will also serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison term.

According to investigators, between September 2008 and April 2009, Smith engaged in a criminal conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud that resulted in HIPAA violations and aggravated identity theft.

During that time, according to court records, Smith and others accessed the personal information of individuals who had flexible spending accounts administered by United Healthcare and were also covered by a prescription drug plan sponsored by the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan.

Smith and others used the information to create counterfeit prescriptions that were presented to pharmacies in order to illegally obtain controlled substances, investigators said. Those drugs were then sold to third parties.

By using stolen identities on the prescriptions, Smith caused the federal employee's prescription drug plan to pay for the controlled substances, resulting in a loss to FEHBP of $72,746.

"Not only did the people involved in this scheme illegally obtain and sell prescription drugs, they used stolen identities to cause insurance plans to bear the cost of these drugs, as if they had been issued for a legitimate purpose," U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance said. "This office remains dedicated to prosecuting individuals who illegally distribute prescription drugs, as well as those who cause the fraudulent submission of insurance claims, which result in higher insurance premiums for us all."

"Today's announcement demonstrates the price to be paid by those who engage in fraud and deceit to obtain and distribute prescription drugs," said David W. Bourne, special agent in charge of the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations. "We commend the United States Attorney's Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedicated and collaborative efforts in pursuing this prosecution."

"When it comes to helping people with their medical needs, the healthcare industry relies on the integrity of the Postal Service," said Martin Phanco, inspector in charge of Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. "When fraudsters undermine that trust, they hurt not only the healthcare industry, but also the people who really do need medical attention. To add insult to injury, this scheme also involved the identities of victims. It is only fitting that for all his efforts, Mr. Smith also received a healthy dose of justice."

Judge Smith also ordered Smith to pay $72,746 in restitution to FEHBP and forfeit the same amount to the government as proceeds of illegal activity.

via healthcarefinancenews.com

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11 Twitter Mistakes That Can Get You Fired

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Twitter Mistakes to Avoid at Work Twitter is a great way to pass the time. It's also a great way to get into hot water with your 140-character rant. Check out these cringe-worthy examples of inappropriate tweets. 1. Lying on the Job Read more » 7 Facebook Updates You Shouldn't Make 15 Stupidest Ways to Lose Your Job 10 Worst Work Time Wasters Find Your Dream Job! Food and Bev Director Pharmaceutical Sales HR Consultant	Career Paths Break into one of these exciting careers: Art Director Sales Manager Paralegal See more... 5 Steps to Handling Rejection Like a Pro Rejection can be tough to handle, especially when you're banking on a positive outcome. But avoiding it by staying in your comfort zone can be worse. Here's how to turn a "no" into a "yes". Read more » Smart Travel Plans for the Summer Season If you want to avoid the "what to do" warm weather anxiety, don't wait until the last minute to book your summer plans. Here are some tips to help you plan some seasonal getaways. Read more »

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13 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Worth Your Time

13 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Worth Your Time

When comparing social media traffic to other forms of traffic, such as search engine, the numbers typically are going to look rather bleak. While you’ll hopefully see a spike in number of visitors and pageviews, that will often be accompanied by higher bounce rates, lower pageviews per visitor, and a lower average time on the site. With stats like this many bloggers wonder if social media traffic is even worth the time and effort.

Despite the tendency of many social media visitors to quickly exit your site and move on to the next one, there are still some very convincing reasons why you should care about social media and why it is worth your time.

1. It’s Free

Unless you’re paying for a consultant or a link bait specialist (both can be good options), marketing your website with social media is free. It will cost you some time, but that pales in comparison to the value of the traffic that you can get in return. There are countless ways to market a website or blog. Just about all of them involve spending money (which isn’t a bad thing), and of the ones that don’t involve money, the vast majority of them are a complete waste of time. I’ve never tried any other type of free marketing that brought even 1% of the results I’ve gotten with social media at my primary blog. Most bloggers are on a tight, or non-existent, budget when it comes to marketing. If this is the case, social media is for you.

2. Quick Results

Building a successful website takes a considerable amount of time and effort. Search engine rankings, for instance, can take years to build in a competitive niche. On the other hand, with social media you can develop content and be seen by thousands of visitors within the same day. For this reason, social media is a great option for getting a new website or blog noticed right away .

3. It’s Flexible

There are so many different social media websites that just about every imaginable niche is covered in one way or another. There are social news sites, bookmarking sites, and general networking sites. Whatever your needs and your audience, there should be an option to use social media for your benefit.

Also, you’re not stuck to using the same social media sites over and over. If you’re not getting results in one place there’s usually other options that you can try out.

4. It Gets Easier with Time

If you’re new to blogging and social media and you feel like everyone else is getting traffic but you, understand that it takes some time and effort, but it will get easier. Once you have established a bit of a reader base and you’ve hopefully attracted some social media users to your blog, it will be much easier for you to get votes and ultimately get more exposure. The more you use social media the more you will understand about how it works and how users will respond.

5. It Will Lead to Other Valuable Sources of Traffic

Although visitors from social media sites may be less responsive than other types of visitors, success with social media will likely increase the number of inbound links you receive. Links will boost your search engine rankings and they’ll also drive click-through traffic your way. Both are generally high quality traffic sources.

6. Building Links with Social Media is Safer than Buying Links

If you plan to cut out the need for social media by purchasing links from other sites, you’re running the risk of being penalized or banned by Google. For some, this is a risk worth taking, but in most cases I would strongly discourage taking this chance. Personally, I focus on building links for my primary blog through the combination of content and social media.

7. Social Media Users are Predictable

The whole concept or link bait or Digg bait wouldn’t even be possible if social media users were unpredictable. But the truth is you can usually have a good idea of what is likely to draw a response and what is not. This will come with time, and of course there is no 100% guarantee. However, once you know a social media audience pretty well, you can cater content to their preferences with a pretty high success rate. What you learn about social media can easily be duplicated to your other blogs or to serving clients.

8. It Doesn’t Require as Much Time as You Might Think

Personally, I use social media every day, but on a very limited basis. If you think that you have to spend all day on Digg or Stumbling pages to get some results of your own, you may be surprised. With the right approach you can get fantastic results with just a few hours per week on social media sites. To be a top Digg user you’ll need more time than that, but being a top Digg user isn’t necessary to draw social media traffic.

9. Branding Through Social Media is Possible

One of the great benefits to the exposure that you can get through social media is the result it has on the branding of your blog. Branding is key to building a success blog in the long-term, and social media is an excellent, free option for helping visitors to see your blog in a particular light. (For more, see my post at ProBlogger A Blogger’s Guide to Branding with Social Media.)

10. Links Can Help Your Search Engine Rankings Rise Quickly

Earlier I mentioned to social media can provide instant results. Well, in addition to sending loads of traffic directly, the links that result from social media success can get your new posts ranking very well with search engines almost immediately. It’s not uncommon for me to see a very respectable number of visitors from Google searches to a brand new post that just drew a lot of links through social media. While it will take a while to build search engine rankings as a whole, it is possible to create specific posts to rank well right away.

11. It Allows You to Leverage Your Existing Traffic

Do you already have a solid blog with a steady flow of traffic? If so, chances are you could leverage that traffic to draw even more visitors with social media. You may want to use voting buttons on your posts or ask some of your readers and friends to give you a vote occasionally.

12. Some Visitors Will Be Targeted

The biggest knock on social media traffic is that it’s not targeted, and that is typically true. However, visitors from niche social media sites can be very highly targeted, and on top of that, a portion of visitors from general news sites will be targeted as well. For example, if you get 25,000 visitors from a post on the Digg front page, maybe only 5,000 of them will have much of an interest in your site. Still, that’s a quick 5,000 visitors that you wouldn’t have had without social media. Just because a smaller percentage of the visitors will stick doesn’t mean that they are irrelevant.

13. The Future of the Internet is Social

Social media and social networking aren’t going away any time soon. The major players and the types of social sites may change of the course of time, but this is a trend that online marketers need to adjust to. Without finding ways to build a website or blog through social media you could be left behind by your competitors.

Originally Published August 10th, 2008

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47 Responses

1. Pradeep Kampani | August 10th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
   

   Usefulness of Social networking given in nutshell

2. Brisbane Internet Consultant | August 11th, 2008 at 2:48 am
   

   A very useful list of benefits. Thanks. You forgot to mention that in general, bloggers are very nice people

3. rexxgriffin | August 11th, 2008 at 3:05 am
   

   usable list! increase my knowledge ’bout social network.
   thanks

4. real estate marketing blog | August 11th, 2008 at 3:11 am
   

   I agree with some of what you are saying here, although it is very easy to waste an awful lot of time for very little benefit on many of these social networking sites.

   For me, the long-term benefits of substantial amounts of traffic to link bait posts are well worth the effort, but I miss the boat as often as I hit it

5. Niche Social Networking site | August 11th, 2008 at 3:14 am
   

   Using the right site to attract the right sort of traffic is also vital

6. Doug Heil | August 11th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
   

   I can’t agree with most of your points at all. Sorry. I laugh whenever I see SM geeks try to rationalize SSM with the best foot forward. Don’t get me wrong though, as I love to read it.

   I think every article I have read about this exact same topic always says something like “free”…. but it takes time. Not that much time though. LOL

   In my book, TIME is the most expensive item and drain and resource hog on a business.

   Also; most all articles point out the se boosts with links ,etc. Too bad these so-called links are slowly but surely getting devalued all the time. What will people do then? Maybe build good sites? Oh no.

7. Steven Snell | August 11th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
   

   Real estate,
   I completely agree that it’s possible to waste a lot of time. That’s why it’s important to have a plan (one that works) and to stick to it. There’s probably more people wasting time with social media than there are actually benefiting from it. But it doesn’t have to be that way, it’s just poor planning and execution in my opinion.

   Doug,
   You don’t have to agree, and thanks for sharing your thoughts. However, I know for a fact that social media does work for link building and improving search rankings because I’ve seen it firsthand for over a year with consistent results. You’re right, not all the links you get this way will be high quality, but some will.

   I agree with you that time is a very precious and valuable asset, but for those who are just getting started with a blog, time is probably more readily available than money. That should change with time as the blog/website is built to be more successful.

8. Getting good links to improve Pagerank | August 11th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
   

   [...] 13 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Worth Your Time – Unless you’re paying for a consultant or a link bait specialist (both can be good options), marketing your website with social media is free. It will cost you some time, but that pales in comparison to the value of the traffic that you … [...]

9. Charles Heflin | August 12th, 2008 at 10:45 am
   

   This is a good post that should reduce some self imposed barriers that people have regarding social interaction online.

   I would like to point out that link building in social platforms for the sake of link building is a bad practice that leaves an ugly footprint that Google will slap.

   Focus on content and communities and your link building will happen as a natural result.

   Charles Heflin
   Twitter @CharlesHeflin

10. SEOAly | August 12th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
    

    A very well-written article that outlines the potential impact of SMM on site traffic and promotion. I think the most important point to remember is the final one – the future of the Internet is social, indeed.

    We’ve been seeing this movement gaining momentum for some time and the tidal wave will surely be upon us soon, if it isn’t already. Those that are already comfortable with SMM will certainly have a decided advantage moving forward. Long-term business success is about building relationships and rapport…SMM gives people a medium to accomplish those goals, but on a much larger scale.

11. TheWebpreneur.ca | August 14th, 2008 at 9:08 am
    

    Good stuff, but one should remember to only focus on a couple social media sites for marketing. If you try and be everywhere, you’re going to lose something very important – frequently providing good quality content. Yeah you want traffic, but what good does it do you if they’re only there for a second or two and leave. Focus more on having a sticky website with good quality content where visitors would actually want to stay on your website and buy a product or click on an ad. So far I’m only focusing my social media marketing efforts on digg, stumbleupon, and mybloglog.

12. Steven Snell | August 14th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
    

    Webpreneur,
    I agree that you should only focus on a few social media sites at a time. For most people Digg is a waste of time. If you don’t get to the front page it will send next to nothing, unlike StumbleUpon.

13. TheWebpreneur.ca | August 14th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
    

    @Steven I can see how Digg can be a waste if they only focus on being on the front page all the time, but if they learn how to harness the power of Digg and the other ways you can create buzz for your website(s) with it, then I think you can get something out of it

    I use Digg mostly because of its shouting feature; add a bunch of friends constantly, reply back to their shouts, send a few friendly messages here and there, “Digg” the links they send you, leave comments, and every once in a while, shout them up about your latest article (if u have a blog) or your updated website, asking them to check it out and asking them to shout your message to their friends as well, it does wonders for traffic, especially if you’re a newcomer

    some people might see it as spam, but it’s not, Digg decided to have this feature for a reason, if you are constantly “shouting” people, then yeah that would be spam, but if you’re interative and use it once in a while, it can be a very powerful advertising medium for your website(s) with no costs!

14. Kathleen | August 14th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
    

    After creating a “business” profile on Facebook, I could not be happier with the results. I log into Facebook in the morning, give nods and winks to “friends”, update my info and then get to work. I don’t count on Social Networking being my main source of clients, but it sure has increased traffic to my site. I am completely sold!

15. joel davis | August 20th, 2008 at 7:37 am
    

    We have found that social media marketing can be more effective than most other digital channels, including Search PPC. We have some examples of our social media campaign results on http://www.agency2.co.uk

16. eTc :: El blog de Marketing en Español » Blog Archive » Algunas razones por las que realizar una estrategia de Social Media Marketing | August 21st, 2008 at 3:44 am
    

    [...] internautas que hacen la visita salen con rapidez del sitio. A esta idea tratan de dar respuesta en Traffikd (un muy buen blog sobre social media e internet marketing) con las siguientes [...]

17. Por qué hacer marketing social online | August 22nd, 2008 at 5:09 am
    

    [...] sitio Traffikd resume en 13 puntos las razones por las cuales vale la pena hacer marketing social online en estos [...]

18. remowill | August 22nd, 2008 at 5:58 am
    

    Traffic to my site has increased and i hope this will keep up.

19. freek | August 23rd, 2008 at 5:26 pm
    

    Up next: 13 ways to keep those visitors in?

20. Cremark » Blog Archive » Por qué debes usar el Social Media Marketing? | August 24th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
    

    [...] en eTc un resumen de un post de Traffikd, con algunas razones básicas sobre el porqué toda empresa debe contemplar la comunicación [...]

21. Hillel | August 26th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
    

    Great article – It is important to point out that social media traffic with time will convert better then it does today. Many people lose faith in the social media marketing because they see no results. Social takes lots of time in order to build a reputation and for people to trust you.

22. Spreading Love - September 08 Week 01 | Mr. Javo dot Com | September 6th, 2008 at 5:31 am
    

    [...] 13 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Worth Your Time by Steven of Traffickd. [...]

23. Razones para apostar por el Social Media Marketing en Blog de Xplora comunicació visual, estudio de diseno Web, marketing on-line y multimedia. | September 9th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
    

    [...] internautas que hacen la visita salen con rapidez del sitio. A esta idea tratan de dar respuesta en Traffikd (un muy buen blog sobre social media e internet marketing) con las siguientes [...]

24. Golfpro | September 19th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
    

    Thanks for the tips. The key is niche sites, and SU is working pretty good for me as well.

25. A. Longo | September 23rd, 2008 at 2:20 pm
    

    Loving this post. I feel so good about myself now that I know I havent been wasting too much time “playing” online!

26. Chris | September 23rd, 2008 at 11:15 pm
    

    Social media is surely a boon for the newbies in the net zone. It has never been as easy as this. But one should have a clear plan before getting into the social media circle. For a wrong strategy could backfire and can also affect one’s business.

27. Five Favorite Stumbles of the Week, Vol. 7 | PR Prowess | November 1st, 2008 at 9:42 am
    

    [...] As loyal readers know, social media remains a fascination, if not an actual marketing tool, for me. I’ve seen various arguments for and against Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and sundry other sites. But the folks at Traffika offer a compelling argument on the overall importance of using social media marketing. [...]

28. daylightz » The Smart Marketing Pros Bookmark list | November 27th, 2008 at 12:20 am
    

    [...] 5. 35+ Examples of Corporate Social Media in Action 6. 50 of the Best Websites for Writers 7. 13 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Worth Your Time 8. 10 Tactics That Could Save Your Online Reputation 9. 25 Free Stock Photo Sites 10. 11 Habits of [...]

29. The Marketing Professional’s List of Lists : ..:.:.. Todd And = Marketing + Media ..:.:.. | November 28th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
    

    [...] 7.    13 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Worth Your Time [...]

30. Why bother with social media marketing — eClick Performance Blog | December 17th, 2008 at 11:13 am
    

    [...] Traffikd has an interesting post on their 13 reasons why social media marketing is worth your time, including “it’s free,” which is, of course, everyone’s favorite part. They also list: [...]

31. 12 stumblade sajter för webbutvecklaren | Björn Sennbrink | June 10th, 2009 at 6:02 am
    

    [...] 13 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Worth Your Time [...]

32. Steve Soucy | June 22nd, 2009 at 11:20 pm
    

    I have seen remarkable increases in our traffic since adding Twitter and Facebook to our daily marketing. Our visitors keep coming back to our sites and are constantly given more reasons to talk about the experience of going to our website. Our social marketing friends are becoming our clients. Every communication is another opportunity to remind blog viewers why they like our product.

    Steve

33. Why social media marketing is worth your time | andrew hillman dot com | July 1st, 2009 at 4:19 am
    

    [...] came across this great article that points out 13 reasons to use social media marketing. Social media marketing is time consuming [...]

34. Webolutions | July 1st, 2009 at 10:07 pm
    

    It seems that social media sites are a great way of marketing. The best part about these is that it is essentially all free, as pointed out by this article. As this world of Web2.0 continues to grow, I believe that you will see more and more businesses expanding this way. It’s very interesting how beneficial these sites are and how little they are being used by companies.

    -Webolutions

35. Lori | August 8th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
    

    The tremendous growth of social media over the last year (since this was originally posted) attests to the truths written here:)

36. April Sims | October 1st, 2009 at 3:44 pm
    

    Great article. Glad I came across this post.

37. Ryan Lucia | October 14th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
    

    My issue with this article, as with many articles on the same topic, is that it over simplifies the situation of marketing and developing your brand via Social Media. Without a clear marketing strategy and clear vision of what your brand will be or is, the time spent on social media is a waste. You can tweet, blog, share and post all day, but little mis-steps with your “social stock” (I had a business call me a “hater” and say that I “#fail” yesterday because I called him out for spamming a hashtag…that was stupid to attack potential clients), or not having a clear plan and goal is a sure fire way to fail.

    There really isn’t anything new here that hasn’t been said numerous times before and just as each time before it fails to deal with the core. You need a strategy and direction before just jumping into anything. Maybe that should be a “gimme,” but most people that don’t understand sales and marketing think that spending time on social media is going to help them. That isn’t the case.

38. Steven Snell | October 25th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
    

    Ryan,
    Maybe it is oversimplified, but it is just a blog post, not a book. Covering all of the relevant topics to social media marketing and developing a plan was not really within the scope of this article. I was simply trying to say why it is not a waste of time, like many people say.

39. Using Social Media as Part of a Balanced Plan for Blog Growth | Traffikd | November 17th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
    

    [...] pages, to click on ads, to buy any products, or just about anything else you want them to do. This doesn’t mean that social media traffic is useless, it’s always good to get more exposure and to help people to become more familiar with your [...]

40. Anne | November 22nd, 2009 at 3:50 pm
    

    While it’s been hard for me to get over “showing” what I’m doing to my contacts in Facebook and Twitter (some wierd fear of people laughing at me…), I’m seeing so many great results from doing so. I’m learning a lot from networking with others in the same boat as me, but also learning how to just put myself out there… Plus, it’s great when someone becomes your pilates student after following you on Twitter!!

41. Dryer vent cleaning guy | December 22nd, 2009 at 7:41 pm
    

    Great article clad I stubled upon it

42. What Social Media Can Do For Your Business | Social PR | December 29th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
    

    [...] on the Traffikd blog social media is touted as free. I wouldn’t go as far as that. Nearly free is better. [...]

43. What to expect from a social media marketer « Cathydunham's Blog | January 18th, 2010 at 12:34 am
    

    [...] LINKS: 7 Reasons NOT to engage in social media 13 Reasons Why Social Media is Worth you Time [...]

44. Social Media Master | Simon Maselli | June 6th, 2010 at 8:19 am
    

    Social media is free. Social Media is where it is at for 2010! Everyone understands the importance of a “Targeted” audience and that is exactly what Social Media Provides. The author here has also given 11 other reasons you need to get involved in Social media Today.

    Don’t get left in the dust!

45. Nikki May | Web Content Writer | September 10th, 2010 at 4:48 am
    

    I am taking my Social Media marketing efforts to the next level – and this post has given many compelling reasons to go for it!

    Thanks.

46. Vizz Media | March 30th, 2011 at 8:07 am
    

    Very nice article. Social Media Marketing has revolutionized the marketing communication model. Social Networking over the web is not a new thing. Its surprising that not many companies are discovering the benefits of it. Having an online presence and then interacting with target audience is much more effective than any other conventional way of promotion like advertising. Companies should integrate Social Media Marketing with their existing promotional efforts to maximize its benefit and effectiveness.

    http://www.facebook.com/vizzmedia
    http://twitter.com/vizzmedia

47. Ecommerce | April 26th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
    

    Nice article. Social is a key part to any online strategy.

Leave a Reply

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Take a break from social media | WTNH.com GMC Weekend

Take a break from social media

Updated: Saturday, 28 May 2011, 1:58 PM EDT
Published : Saturday, 28 May 2011, 1:58 PM EDT

New Haven, Conn (WTNH) - Social Media expert Kris Ruby joined GMC Weekend to talk about taking a break this Memorial Day Weekend from Four Square, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media.

At what point is all of this technology too much? It can create an alternate universe, where people spend more time in the digital world than the real world.

At some point, you have to put down your devices and be "in" the moment rather than "capturing" the moment, and then broadcasting it.

Here are some tips to help you tell when it's too much technology.

FIRST... LOOK AT YOUR MOTIVES.
Look at your motives behind your Foursquare check ins and Facebook status updates. Are you more engaged in broadcasting where you are then actually being where you are?

SECOND... WHAT ARE YOUR MOTIVATIONS?
What are your motivations for telling your whole network where you are, and tagging people? If they are ego driven, then power down your devices, soak up some sun, and focus more on being in the moment. Social media is about being "social" after all. That means the real world, not just the digital world.

THIRD... IS THIS CREATING AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE?
Are you creating an alternate universe where people spend more time in the digital world than the real world?

For more tips on social media from Kris Ruby, you can find her online (after you take a break, of course) at http://blog.rubymediagroup.com/

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domain-b.com : Twitter acquires TweetDeck for $40 million

The acquisition of London-based startup TweetDeck by Twitter on 25May has increased the following of the micro-blogging site.

Rumors of a TweetDeck takeover by Twitter had been doing the rounds on the internet for the past week, but on 25May, the service announced, appropriately enough, via Twitter that it had been acquired by the microblogging site. 

The acquisition comes following the end of a bidding war with UberMedia, owners of Twitter applications such as UberSocial, with Twitter reportedly paying  around $40 million for TweetDeck. 

Essentially with TweetDeck users can organise the feeds of brands, celebrities and people they follow on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media accounts. According to estimates, 13 per cent of all tweets are sent from TweetDeck.

The acquisition has led to around 2000 social media fans to adding the service on Twitter over the past week, which makes the brand,  according to data from www.fanpagelist.com, the seventh most followed, in terms of daily fans, this week.

According to data from social media monitoring site www.famecount.com the brand has experienced a 2.85 per cent growth in terms of weekly fans, much above the average of 1.62 per cent for most brands.

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Amex Talks Facebook, Foursquare, and SMBs | ClickZ

American Express launched in 1850 and quickly became a mail delivery powerhouse before evolving into a financial juggernaut decades later. With that pedigree, perhaps it's not surprising that Amex today still makes waves in the messaging game, most recently via social media.

Few consumer brands have a tighter relationship with Facebook than does the credit card marketer. For instance, the New York-based company is running a contest this spring and summer called "Facebook Big Break for Small Business," giving small businesses the chance to win $20,000 cash and a trip to Facebook's headquarters. Five winners will fly to Palo Alto, CA, where they can attend a "boot camp" on Facebook advertising and marketing. In addition, 10 runners-up will win a $2,500 credit for Facebook Ads.

And Amex has recently partnered with geo-social players Foursquare and Scvngr. For the latter, its payment procurement system is enabling Scvngr's "LevelUp" deals subscribers to redeem offers at Levi's stores without showing the clerk a paper voucher, barcode, or message on a mobile screen.

Because of the robust activity, ClickZ News sat down with Amex VP Julie Berkun Fajgenbaum for a Q&A focused on what SMBs can do in social media. Here are excerpts from the conversation:

ClickZ: American Express has a strategic and fairly deep relationship with Facebook. Can you describe how it has evolved?

Julie Berkun Fajgenbaum: We are working with them on a number of things. Our big initiative last year, of course, was "Small Business Saturday." It was a movement to help drive consumers to small businesses. The No. 1 need of small business owners is to find new customers, and we wanted to make sure there was a shopping day dedicated to small businesses. When we were beginning the movement, we asked ourselves where to start this. And of course, we decided that Facebook was a place where like-minded people could gather around this cause… Of course, small business are an important part of [Facebook's] business as well.

CZ: How can the "boot camp" contest help small businesses?

JBF: What we have found most useful for business owners is when we get really tactical. So we get very specific on steps to implement right away for your business, whether it's Places or Deals or beyond Facebook social media tools to grow your business… There will be videos of what the [contest winners] end up learning at Facebook. That will be helpful to business owners…to learn what they did, what worked for them, what didn't.

CZ: Part of the pitch is to get small businesses to apply for an Amex Plum credit card, correct?

JBF: What I'd say is that we do a lot of things in [branded SMB community initiative] Open Forum to help small businesses. Programs like "Small Business Saturday," our government procurement program where we help business owners get contracts with the federal government…all of these things fall under the same category of helping business do more business. So of course we always like new customers, but I wouldn't think of that in the same context.

CZ: Why is Facebook a good platform to target business owners compared to Twitter, LinkedIn, or any other social site?

JBF: I would say they all are good sites, but Facebook is a good place to start. One of the reasons is lot of businesses owners we talk to are on Facebook for themselves, for their personal lives. So they are used to the interface and how it works…Another reason is because small business owners' customers are on Facebook.

CZ: Amex runs a lot of Facebook Ads. What has your team learned?

JBF: We find digital advertising to be generally effective, and we have found Facebook Ads to have good targeting.

CZ: What else is Amex doing with social media?

JBF: We have the Open Forum Twitter handle. We have the Open Forum Facebook Page and the "Small Business Saturday" Facebook Page. With those, we engage small business owners and small business enthusiasts with topics that are relevant to them. For instance, it might be "10 Tips for Using Twitter for Your Small Business."

CZ: You did a South by Southwest campaign with Foursquare. Was that for SMBs, or was it a consumer marketing play?

JBF: It was definitely for small businesses. Austin, Texas small businesses could sign up to do deals through Foursquare that American Express card members could access by registering their card on Foursquare… The local business owners were very excited about it because it gave consumers a reason to walk through the door.

CZ: How important is location-based marketing, in the eyes of Amex?

JBF: Certainly for small business, I think location-based is huge. We are seeing more and more that location-based deals are a way to get consumers - who are heading down the street towards their large retailer - to stop and head into the smaller retailer. As much as discounts offer value, I think small business owners are just taking advantage of being on those maps, whether it's Yelp, Foursquare, or Facebook Places. All of a sudden, consumers who wouldn't have thought of them are finding the small businesses in their pathway.

CZ: Visa is testing its own location-based program, partnering with retailer Gap in a program that began during the holiday season. Does Amex have plans to launch a location-based platform?

JBF: I can't comment on future stuff, sorry.

via clickz.com

Posted via email from Soulcial Media Evolution

10 Tips to Build an Effective Staffing Website

As you probably know, there is a great divide among staffing firms, the haves who have great job recruitment websites and the have-nots who maintain a simple online presence. As the job placement market becomes more crowded and job seekers’ expectations grow online, how can you make your staffing website more effective? Here are the top 10 tips to build an effective staffing website.

Washington, DC -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/27/2011 -- As you probably know, there is a great divide among staffing firms, the haves who have great job recruitment websites and the have-nots who maintain a simple online presence. As the job placement market becomes more crowded and job seekers’ expectations grow online, how can you make your staffing website more effective? Here are the top 10 tips to build an effective staffing website.

Provide Job Tools and Job Resources for Candidates

Job hunters often require guidance and assistance in defining their work experience and marketing themselves adequately. Staffing firms typically prepare and guide candidates to potential employers in person or with welcome packets. By automating the frequently asked question process online, staffing firms can help reduce repetitive requests and quickly help candidates. Effective job resource sections should offer clear and concise guides to style, job etiquette and interview questions. A large percentage of job candidates also find job search firms simply by searching for resume templates. Having useful downloads and online application tools can help your website retain and attract additional visitors and, ultimately, attractive job candidates.

Automate your Staffing Social Media Presence

If you’re already creating compelling content, one of the most challenging aspects of maintaining a corporate website is updating and distributing content. Modern websites benefit from content management systems – , software infrastructures that include tools to effectively automate how content is distributed. Updating a job in the job section can instantly post to blog or social media websites (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), alert visitors by email, or send a text message directly to a mobile device. What required multiple staff members and tens of man hours now can be completed by a staff member in a fraction of the original time. A social media content distribution strategy will also improve readerships and free services such as Technorati (blog aggregators), actually do all the work for you.

Reduce Candidate On-Boarding Time through Form Automation

A typical temporary staffing candidate must complete an application and waiver process that usually requires a large amount of paperwork. A completed on-boarding file may take days to finish and often has forms that are missing, inconsistent or outdated. While some companies scan an application to a PDF, that information is typically un-editable once it’s reentered. To resolve this human resources nightmare, staffing firms are turning to powerful application automation systems that allow candidates to access and complete all their on-boarding requirements. A full automation-compliant website may offer the ability to authenticate candidates, watch important videos, complete disclaimers, provide approved electronic signatures for forms and alert supervisors of the application process. On-boarding automation systems ultimately allow staffing firms to control verifiable digital records and remain compliant to all new laws and regulations.

Integrate On-Demand Recruiting Software to your Website

A staffing-compatible, customer relationship management system can effectively update and manage new staffing positions and vacancies by automatically posting updates directly to your website. Instead of relying on manual or batch updates that are cumbersome and prone to data irregularities, integrating an automatic system can give your website more visibility and relevancy. On-demand recruiting software such as Bullhorn integration can offer real time updates that allows firms to respond to your changing business environment. Systems like Bullhorn generate, source and fill job orders, and provide seamless and secure website integrations. Ultimately, posting job orders online will help increase search engine rank and boost job wanted ads.

Use Superhero Strategies to make your Staffing Website Stand Out

In today’s media and service-soaked environment, standing out is even more vital in capturing the interest of qualified candidates and companies in need of staffing services. Staffing brands need to take center stage just like our favorite superheroes. By branding an identifiable persona along with a user experience that is consistent in every client touchpoint (email, newsletter, website, brochures), it is possible to enhance your brand’s presence and offers a superhero to rally behind. Personalizing the brand experience with a reinforceable icon or character will catapult awareness and ultimately boost your staffing website’s online and offline brand recognition.

Use job search websites to build effective mailing lists

Maximizing website traffic is essential in building an effective and robust online marking strategy. Job recruitment websites such as Monster, CareerBuilder and LinkedIn can be a tremendous source of traffic. More importantly, recruitment websites can be a tremendous source of highly targeted web traffic, given the professional nature of the networks. A while back we posted an article about how LinkedIn can be one of your most valuable traffic sources. Leverage their traffic by placing backlinks to your company’s online job board. A single national job ad on Washington Post can bring in excess of 5,000 visitors. By implementing a call to action next to every job post, giving visitors a reason to leave their email or cell phone number, you can effectively build a large mailing list. If only 10% were willing to opt in, you would have a list at the end of the year with over 6,000 new newsletter contacts. Maximizing recruitment website traffic is essential in building an effective and robust online marking strategy.

Use Geolocation to Target to New Applicants

How does a staffing firm serving multiple counties, states or countries help candidates identify the jobs they are geographically qualified for? One answer is geolocation services – the ability to recognize a visitor’s digital point-of-origin and offer them geographic targeted jobs positions. One client in the Washington, DC metro area was deficient in the number of applicants from the state of Virginia even though the number of available jobs in Virginia exceeded Washington, DC And Maryland combined. A closer look identified the problem that job candidates simply were not using standard search tools. A switch to a geolocation service within two weeks netted a 240% gain in Virginia job applications.

Simplify Resume Uploading for New Applicants

A recent staffing survey indicated that 67% of all job candidates find completing a staffing firms online application to be the number one reason they didn’t upload a resume. Instead of making job candidates complete extensive forms, try on-demand recruitment services, such as Bullhorn’s website integration, that offer staffing companies resume-only uploads. That’s right, a candidate can simply upload their resume to Bullhorn’s application parsing system, which automatically categorizes and organizes your candidate’s work history and relevant job experience. There are many on-demand services, so make sure you find the one that offers the greatest amount of workflow flexibility and online integration.

Make your Website Build Marketing Lists

Out of the thousands of applicants visiting staffing websites only a fraction will ever submit a resume or connect directly. While many job seekers will return, thousands will look elsewhere for job listings and be unaware of potential matches. Every staffing website needs at least two homepage call-to-actions to inspire visitors to learn more with the ultimate goal of leaving contact information and permission to be contacted in the future. Examples of this may include:

A. A simple promotional give-away along with an easy email signup form.
B. Integrating social media tools to allow visitors to automatically connect on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, allowing you to populate future prospects with job updates.
C. Utilizing text messaging to alert job candidates of job openings within a particular geographical area.

A well crafted marketing strategy will ultimately allow you to convert visitors to future clients and create a valuable company asset.

Build a Mobile Staffing Website

Linkup, a job search engine, reported that 21% of job seekers use mobile devices to search job boards. The trend is representative of a larger shift towards mobile devices such as smartphones and mobile tablets like the iPad. Washington, D.C. showed the largest percentage of mobile users, boasting 56% of all job seekers searching from a mobile device. A mobile recruitment job website also indicates to your prospective candidate how serious your company is about showcasing job openings – especially if those are IT or technically related. If your company’s budget doesn’t include a line item for a mobile website, then consider a content management system that can be easily viewed on a smartphone such as Drupal. Drupal offers a number of unique web development features including a highly scalable infrastructure with built in mobile support.

At Alliance Interactive, we advise our clients on the best ways to market their staffing and recruitment activities through social media, websites and with mobile applications. For additional information, please contact us at 888-222-9056.

via sbwire.com

Posted via email from Soulcial Media Evolution

Breaking News: Social Media Will Replace Business Websites - Jim Blasingame - The Small Business Advocate - Forbes

Being successful with social media is as easy as falling off of a log – for individuals; for small businesses, not so much.

The goals of these two groups are very different: Individuals use social media to connect and share with friends and family. The return-on-investment expectation is pretty low – just “hit” them back, and they’re happy campers.

Businesses develop a social media strategy to connect with and ultimately sell to customers. And that last part – sell – is what makes their social media ROI so tricky.

But the social media landscape – and the technology – is evolving, which should make it easier for businesses to wrap their marketing plans around. And just like the initial craze and subsequent evolution of websites, businesses are figuring out how to use social media as a customer acquisition tool. Ironically, while websites aren’t going away anytime soon, they may be the big loser to social media. Here’s why.

Websites have two things working against them: 1) most are not easy for the typical owner to update, which is increasingly important to customers; 2) they don’t come with their own community, nor help you build one.

One of the most troubling statistics in the 16 years since the first commercial website is that half of small businesses still don’t have one. My prediction is that within three years, over half of small businesses will have a social media presence, because this strategy comes with both of the elements lacking in a website: easy to create and update, and community-building tools. For example:

Facebook.com – makes it easy to create a business “fan page” and update it without direct expense. Plus, it comes with a growing global ecosystem of half-a-billion Earthlings.

Twitter.com – has content size restrictions, but it’s free, easy to use and update, and also has a built-in network of innumerable communities.

Remember, as the original social media heretic, I don’t even like the term for business, preferring “building online customer communities.” Regardless, while social media is a craze, it isn’t a fad; it is real and it will last. In fact, here’s another prediction:

Within five years we won’t talk about social media. Businesses that thrive in the second decade of the 21st century will naturally build customer communities seamlessly across all platforms: online, mobile, and, yes, even traditional media and the original social media, face-to-face.

Write this on a rock… It’s not too early to start building customer communities seamlessly across all platforms.

via blogs.forbes.com

This is why I got into this business!! Ultimately engaging people and building the community is what will sell the business.

Posted via email from Soulcial Media Evolution

Want Publicity? More Exposure? Create Buzz with the "Welcome To Atlanta" Hospitality Suite... - Eventbrite - The Only Ja

Use discount code "tweetsuite" to see daily discounts and savings.

Southern and social hospitality at its best!

We're rolling out the red carpet when facebook friends and twitter followers come to Atlanta for conferences and conventions.  A great way to create buzz, enjoy face to face connections, build stronger relationships; and conduct better business.

The hospitality suite serves as a meeting ground before and after conference sessions.  It is especially attractive to guest not residing at the host hotel.  The suite provides an opportunity to stop and dock to recharge technology; enjoy face to face connections; and complimentary food and beverage in a social and business atmosphere.

We invite you to join DryerBuzz.com @DryerBuzz (twitter) in hosting the next hospitality suite Monday, May 23, 2011.  In town during the next hospitality suite is the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference (expecting over 1500) as well as a host of local downtown events.

Our hospitality suites are not officially affiliated with events and conferences, but compliment the experience of attending.

Upon registration, event coordinators will finalize submission of materials and details.

DryerBuzz.com is a full service news blog with multicultural headlines updated several times daily. Headlines are syndicated across the web with partner affiliates, media streams, and a daily e-news blast to subscribers. Under the same brand since 2002, our business is creating a buzz.

Spread the Buzz with www.DryerBuzz.com News Podcast and NetTV

FAQ

How does a hospitality suite work?

A hospitality suite is offered in collaboration between entrepreneurs to create buzz via promotion and hospitality.  A themed time slot is designated to each participating business at the partner level and above.  The business enjoys being the center of attention with suite visitors enjoying complementary services, food and beverages.

How is the suite promoted?

Hospitality suites are promoted via invitations, signage, and social media.

How to Create Buzz In the Hospitality Suite

Buzz Bag Inserts

• Send A Box of Business Cards for the Business Bundle included in the Buzz Bags
• Create a visually attractive postcard of book covers or products to include in the Buzz Bags
• Product samples create instant buzz as guests browse contents of Buzz Gift Bags
• Include a discount code on cards, postcards, and samples to increase the value of instant traffic

Partners

• Suite Break Partners are featured at designated hour(s). 
  
• Guests are invited to the suite via social media and marketing campaigns for meet & greet
• Complentary food & beverage offered during meeting breaks.
• Use this time for face to face connections, presentation, book signing, product demonstration, or create video buzz.

Co-Suite Partners

Receive all of the above including brand visibility in suite signage and marketing materials.

Use discount code "tweetsuite" to see daily discounts and savings.

via dbsuites052311.eventbrite.com

via theonlyja.com

Posted via email from Soulcial Media Evolution