SubscribeThanks @infinitinews for an Amazing Afternoon at San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival
Social Media is amazing! I keep receiving opportunities that prove this to be true over and over again. From Social Media driving my business, to sending me all over the world to places such as Hong Kong and Beirut, Lebanon to getting me cast in a Microsoft Commercial to connecting me with like minded, awesome nerdy friends, I can definitely say that Social Media play a significant positive role in almost every aspect of my life!
The weekend before Thanksgiving, Social Media and Infiniti sent me to the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival! It was such a gorgeous, sunny day in San Diego and I was given the opportunity to enjoy it while sampling some of the finest food and wine. As an aspiring foodie I was in HEAVEN being surrounded by 170 Wine & Spirit Purveyors and 70 of San Diego’s Top Chefs!
How did this opportunity come about? I’m connected to someone from Infiniti on Twitter. She knew I lived in San Diego and wanted to offer me the tickets on Infiniti’s behalf. Infiniti offers a full-line of luxury performance automobiles that inspire at every turn. They sponsor several culinary events around the country to connect on the epicurean side of inspiration. They were at the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival to promote Infiniti’s Road to Inspiration sweepstakes for a chance for a two-night getaway in a culinary city.
I’ll let the photos speak for themselves showcasing what a gorgeous day it was in San Diego and how much fun I had!
Gorgeous Day at the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival
A full plate at the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival
Having fun at the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival!
We met Sam the Cooking Guy!
More delicious tastings at the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival
Aftermath
Thank you again to Social Media and Infiniti for sending me to this amazing event! I’m so grateful and honored each and every time I come across opportunities like this! If you’re reading this, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at any time!
Better than Black Friday Specials! Technology Tools that Fuel My Life
I enjoyed a really relaxing Thanksgiving this year. I dined out at a nice restaurant in San Diego. It’s the first time I’ve ever eaten out on Thanksgiving and it was definitely a nice change of pace than cooking at home. I also enjoyed a gorgeous sunset and amazing view!
Upon returning home from dinner, I couldn’t help but notice “Black Friday” pop up on every social media update . Since Thanksgiving is the start of Holiday shopping we all know it goes hand in hand with Black Friday! Although I have shopped on Black Friday, it’s not a regular routine for me. For many, Black Friday is all about getting the best deals! It’s a great opportunity to save on all the things you love. But I’ve got an even better idea on getting the best deals and saving: Free technology tools! I’m so thankful for so many technology tools that don’t cost me a penny! From entertaining me, helping me grow my business and keeping me connected with friends, I’m so grateful for these resources. Here are 5 of my favorites and how they seriously fuel my life!
1. Hulu- Many of you are probably Black Friday shopping for a new TV! I watch all of my TV through Hulu and definitely don’t mind watching commercials when I’m saving on my cable bill! Hulu is an online video service that offers a selection of hit shows, clips, movies and much more. I watch TV sporadically, whenever I want to relax so I don’t watch any particular show on a regular basis. My favorite shows to watch on Hulu are Iron Chef America, Cupcake Wars, Diners Drive Ins and Dives (Yes I’m addicted to food porn!) Luckily my favorite shows don’t require me to watch a previous episode to get it since they’re not series so I can watch any episode at my leisure.
2. Pandora-Music to my ears! I love Pandora because it helps me discover new music in the genres I love. Their new interface is amazing! It shows me song lyrics, gives me information on the artists and allows me to share my favorite songs with others. On my current playlist I’M YOURS RADIO! I’m sucker for romantic soft rock!
As you can see with my favorite technology tools, I save money on my cable bill, my music playlist, my phone and my phone bill! I’m also more efficient and more organized. Better than Black Friday Specials? Well I’d definitely say so!
10 people I’m Thankful for this Thanksgiving on Twitter
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! For me, today is a day of gratitude and a day for expressing my appreciation for everyone who’s had a positive impact on my life. My Twitter family has provided me with unbelievable support this past year. I am honored, humbled and so grateful for my Twitter community. I have learned so much, expanded my business, grown personally and I really can’t imagine being where I am now without some amazing people I’ve connected with online. Here are 10 people in my Twitter community who I’d like to give thanks to. If you’re not on this list, just know that I’m grateful for each and every single follower, and that includes YOU.
Grateful on Thanksgiving 2010 and still grateful today!
In alphabetical order….
@AllisonSchummer- She’s a rising star in the marketing world! She’s about to graduate from SDSU in December and for the past couple months has been training with me to be completely well versed in all things Social Media when she’s done with school. Allison is one of the most efficient and fast learners I know and helps me be more efficient as well.
@AnneDorko- Anne is amazing! I’m so happy that she recently began her venture as an Entrepreneur by launching her own business dedicated to helping small businesses succeed through their websites and online presence. My website has improved so much because of her and it’s only going to get better!
ChrisKirkman- My Design Guru! Thanks to Chris for not only being a great friend but also helping me out with all my design needs! Whenever I have a Design question for myself or my client, Chris is there to help. He’s done great work for both my clients and myself and for that I’m grateful and will continue to recommend him for anyone who needs creative work.
@DowntownRob- Rob is so generous and always gives back to his Social Media community through volunteering, raising money for great causes and just sharing information that’s useful. He’s helped me plan and produce awesome Tweetups such as TwestivalSD which raised money for San Diego After School All Stars, Foursquare Day San Diego which spread the word about Foursquare and he helped me host my last Digital Media Dinners by opening up the doors to his office Nik Software to host the event!
@ItsMeJoolie- Julie and I know each other through @JenFriel’s @TNTML Community. I’m so proud of her for being brave and sharing her story online. Reading her stories has been instrumental for me in healing myself and continuing on in life despite personal challenges. I know she’s not writing with a mission to inspire, but she truly does inspire me. She also has an awesome job where she gets to attend concerts and fun events all the time.
@JenFriel- What Jen does on her site Talk Nerdy To Me Lover and now GirlsIRL is too awesome to describe. You just have to check it out! She’s provided a forum and creative outline to connect nerds from all over #NerdsUnite! Her writing, adventures and life story have really motivated me to take action in doing what I love and sharing on a more personal level!
@LaurenHuston- I’ve never met Lauren in real life but I feel like she’s my Social Media sister! We both LOVE sweets (mmm froyo, cupcakes), both work in Marketing and both love supporting each other online. I can feel her ambition all the way across the country! Keeping up with her blog and work is truly inspirational. I definitely admire other women in the space who are Entrepreneurs and getting things done!
@robotfaith- Rebekah is good friend of mine who I actually convinced to join Twitter a while back when I invited her to a Tweetup with me! I told her she couldn’t attend unless she had a Twitter account. Since then she’s built her own twitter community and is always there for me to support and volunteer at my events! My events wouldn’t be run so smoothly if it weren’t for Rebekah’s help. She also invites me to awesome movie screenings where I get a sneak Peak of flicks before they even come out!
@ryanscottlum- Helping me check off one bucket list item at a time! Ryan is the founder of Forward Motion and being connected to him has really inspired me to not be afraid of reaching my goals no matter how extreme them seem. Sadly, Ryan is moving out of San Diego soon, but Forward Motion continues to grow and provide amazing opportunities for everyone. There are so many fun events that allow you to experience things you’ve always wanted to try but somehow never got around to.
@SI_JimTrotter- Jim and I connected on Twitter earlier this year then met at a Tweetup. I was honored and humbled when he reached out to me for advice on branding himself through Social Media. Jim is a rockstar in the sports world, if you follow sports, you probably already follow Jim. Jim generously volunteered his time to speak at my Digital Media Dinners event and he always provides me with all the insight I need to know about sports! If only he were a Chargers Fan 
.
Thank you again to everyone on this list and so many more who aren’t! Twitter is an amazing tool and if it weren’t for Twitter I wouldn’t be connected to anyone on this list! Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy a wonderful day filled with friends, family, food and of course technology as I’m sure people will still be tweeting away! I leave you with an image I find quite amusing!
Learn How To Integrate Social Media Into Your Marketing @DigitalMediaNow
After successfully hosting Digital Media Media Dinners and Digital Media Now seminars, I’ve received many requests from people who don’t live in San Diego in addition to people who do live in San Diego but don’t always have evenings free saying they wish they could have attended my previous seminars. Well the power of the internet makes this possible! To provide more people the opportunity to attend I’ve created Digital Media Now WEBINARS! You can attend from anywhere and from the comfort of your very own work or home! And I’m so excited for December’s topic because this is an area that so many businesses want to improve on! And what I’m covering will seriously help you make more money when you see your marketing strategy working for you!
December’s Webinar Topic:
How to Integrate Social Media into your Marketing
Intention: You will learn how to leverage the power of your other marketing tools by understanding how to effectively integrate social media
You’ll leave the webinar with these takeaways:
- How to create cohesive marketing campaigns that incorporate Social Media
- How to integrate social media into your existing marketing plan (Events, PR, Email, SEO etc)
- How to ensure you’re consistently branding your business to build community and attract qualified
Here are all the details!
Date: Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
Time: 10am- 11am Pacific Time
Cost: Pre-Registration- $39, Day of Price- $49 (You’ll receive instructions for attending the webinar after your registration is received)
How: Register HERE
I’m really looking forward to connecting with you virtually at my next webinar and am so glad I can provide an opportunity that more people can access. If you have any questions about the webinar please don’t hesitate to reach out to me!
The Art of Learning Something New Everyday
Being an Entrepreneur and Marketer in today’s day and age can definitely be challenging but also extremely rewarding. I create my own opportunities and LOVE what I do but I can’t dismiss that there are so many things to manage including new technologies that pop up by the minute (meaning I must learn and be well versed on them before everyone else so I can educate others about them), challenges of running a business itself: finances, marketing, business development, etc and then of course balancing everything with my personal life that I cherish!
Something that really inspires and motivates me daily is the knowing that I literally LEARN SOMETHING NEW EACH AND EVERY DAY! This to me is priceless and it usually happens when I’m teaching others, giving advice or recommendations. I come to the realization that “HEY! I needed to learn that too!” Or “Wow I really need to take my own advice!” I truly believe the world is a mirror and what I encounter is a reflection of myself and where I’m at in life. I’ve recently learned so much while teaching and interacting with others for my job so here are a few things I’ve learned in the past couple weeks I feel are worth sharing .
1. Networking Tip: No selling at mixers and have a 2 sentence opener that sparks interest! I often avoid going to business mixers because I’m just not a fan of the whole “What do you do?” question being asked to me a hundred times. I realize it’s important for me to get out there and meet people face to face so I got myself to go out and I attended a 6 Degrees San Diego networking event last week. I met a guy who works in insurance. He immediately started to try and sell me policies. This also immediately made me lose interest. But it made me re-evaluate the way I connect with people at business mixers. It’s important to be authentic while being able to describe what you do in 1-2 sentences to peak people’s interest so you don’t get flustered (because it’s easy to get nervous when you’re on the spot!). If you start by bombarding someone by selling, you’ll lose the connection and thus I came up with my opener to spark interest when I get asked the Question “What do you do?” “I’m a Marketing professional; I specialize in Digital Marketing and Social Media. I teach businesses how to utilize digital tools to grow their business.” Then I stop. THAT’S IT! I couldn’t believe that before this week I really didn’t have an efficient way to describe to people what I do without selling! Thank you to the guy who sold to me at an event and encouraged me to rethink my approach when I introduce myself at business mixers.
2. Social Media Tip: Update your LinkedIn profile! I have gotten more business from people finding me on Linkedin than any other social network. If you’re not already on LinkedIn, sign up! I recently hosted a Digital Media Now seminar teaching people how to optimize their Social Media profiles, including LinkedIn. I discussed using keywords in your profile so you have a higher probability of coming up in searches. Of course you would think since I’m teaching this, my profile would be completely optimized with all the proper terms. Well I realized I have never, ever added anything to the “Skills” section! I had zero skills listed, which means zero key words. Moral of the story is that I need to be mindful of keeping my own marketing tools up to date especially if I’m teaching everyone else to do the same. After I updated this on my profile, I IMMEDIATELY had someone hire me for a project based on being impressed with my profile and she mentioned my “Skills” listed! Anyway, even if you only spend 10 minutes doing this, go update your LinkedIn profile as soon as possible!
Marketing Melodie's LinkedIn Article for the San Diego Reader
3. Peace of Mind Tip: It’s ok to do nothing because doing nothing is actually accomplishing something!
This last tip comes from my Yogi side! I practice yoga several times a week and try to meditate daily (daily is more like once a week). I recently found myself recommending yoga classes to someone who really felt stressed out and had no time to do anything. While I was saying this the thought popped into my head. “How is it possible that I’m a yoga instructor but have the hardest time practicing yoga, meditating and staying present myself?!” Do as they say, not as they do right? Working in an industry that’s constantly changing while at the same time being an entrepreneur means my mind is always racing! It’s difficult for me to take a break and often when I do take a break, I feel like I’m not getting anything done or I’m wasting time. My tip to all of you and to myself is that when you take a break to meditate, read, wind down, whatever it is you do to relax, try your very best to know that it’s OK to be taking that break and be doing nothing. This “doing nothing” is actually doing wonders for your body in terms or helping you recharge, rejuvenate, relax, all sorts of positive things your body needs especially if you’re a busy body!
I leave you with a quote I find very inspirational that’s aligned with my belief that I really do learn something new every day!
“No day in which you learn something is a complete loss” ~David Eddings
Please help me choose a logo for Digital Media Now @DigitalMediaNow
Hey everyone! My seminars and webinars have really been taking off! I hosted Digital Media Now- Personal Branding on Social Media earlier this month and I plan to host more events, in addition to webinars very soon. With my seminars and webinars in full swing it’s time for me to have an official logo but I need your help choosing one. My good friend and savvy Designer Chris Kirkman provided me with these design concepts.
Please share with me your thoughts, favorite logo, ideas etc! You can comment on this blog post, tweet @MyMelodie or let me know on Facebook what you think! There are 2 different things I’m deciding on. First is the color scheme. Do you like Color Scheme 1: Blue and Orange or Color Scheme 2: Dark Blue and Red? Next I need to decide on the actual logo. Option A, B or C? Or perhaps you have some insight on tweeking the logos in general? I always sincerely appreciate help and feedback from my community so thanks in advanced for letting me know what you think!
