SubscribeA Word with the Marketing Nerd @stef_funny (Sharing what I’ve learned about Foursquare)
<Editor’s Note> I’m very excited to introduce you all to Stephanie Trinh aka @stef_funny! She’s the newest member of my team here at Marketing Melodie. She’s an ambitious Business Marketing Student at SDSU, is filled with positive energy and is even a fellow marketing nerd! I’ll let Stephanie take it from here. HIT IT STEPHANIE! </Editor’s Note>
I’ve recently just started really using my Foursquare account and I had a ton of questions for Melodie. Why should a business have a Foursquare account? What is the point of Foursquare when I can just check-in on Facebook? Apparently, I had much to learn so I’d like to share a few awesome things I recently learned about Foursquare.
Foursquare is a location-based social network used mostly on mobile devices. You use your smart phone to check-in at the venue you’re currently at. Check ins can earn you a new badge, points (that I still don’t know what they’re good for) and some businesses offer special deals when you check-in at their venues. With Foursquare, you can simultaneously post on Facebook and Twitter, something that checking in just on Facebook doesn’t allow. Facebook check-ins which I have been using offer none of these, only a new status update to show your friends where you’re at so I was happy to learn about the foursquare benefits.
As a business, you wouldn’t necessarily create a Foursquare account to be part of the fun. You would claim your business instead. Once the business is claimed, business owners can add specials to help bring in more traffic to the business location. One thing that businesses should keep in mind is that when a special is created, employees need to be aware of the special. This helps avoid confusion when a customer comes in and shows them the unlocked special. It makes the experience less frustrating for the consumer.
I found this Foursquare comedy skit on YouTube, and I thought it was funny so I wanted to share. Also, I drive a Toyota Camry and I noticed that the car the guys are driving is a Camry! Enjoy. 
You can connect with Stephanie on Twitter, Google+ and check out her blog, Marketing Nerd!
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Adventures in LA with Talk Nerdy To Me Lover IRL #NerdsUnite
A few weeks ago I had the honor of visiting some of my favorite people in Los Angeles aka LA LA Land aka the City of Angels- the place that’s so close yet so far away! The lovely @JenFriel and @ItsMeJoolie hosted me and I got to catch up with the rest of the Talk Nerdy to Me Lover (TNTML) crew! They adventured down to San Diego a few months back and we had an amazing time talking nerdy in San Diego!
I’ve been meaning to make my way up to LA for a while so when Jen announced that she was launching her very first live show: Talk Nerdy To Me Lover- The Dirty Truth About Nerdy Girls, I knew this was the perfect opportunity for me to make the trip up.
I love how even though I don’t get to see my TNTML friends in real life (IRL) often we still keep up with each other’s lives and know what’s going on thanks to social media and the community we’ve built! When I arrived at Jen’s place, she was hoping in the shower so handed me the remote. I immediately switched to the Food Network. She came out and said “of course you’re watching Food Network”. An hour later, Julie comes home and sees Food Network on TV, same comment “Ha, you’re watching Food Network”. Yep they both know I’m addicted to food porn just from reading my post. Oh and I was so excited to see the LIME GREEN WALL! I’ve read all about the lime green wall at Jen and Julie’s but got to experience it in real life!
Lime Green Wall, Food Network and @ItsMeJoolie!
Other highlights of my Adventures in LA include: Dinner at Grub with @MegCorbs, @iamrachelwho, @HeatherBorges. The food was great! Comfort food with a fresh twist! They have awesome potato chocolate chip cookies we enjoyed for dessert. But better than the food was our conversations!
Veggie Burger at Grub LA
Dinner consisted of nerding out over Foursquare, Twitter, Social Media jobs and the Facebook page created by @iamrachelwho, Nothing Rhymes with Orange! We brainstormed some ideas on growing the community and taking it to the next level! But seriously if you haven’t seen this page, it’s one of my favorite humor pages.
Nothing Rhymes with Orange Facebook
After dinner we walked over to the Little Modern Theater to see Jen in her first live show! I’m so proud of her for making this happen. The show started with dramatic interpretations of OKCupid emails, then the dirty truth about nerdy girls! I can definitely can see this show taking off because it was such a great production that was real, raw, authentic and everything was created with passion! Of course it was also interactive with a Twitter board for people to tweet questions during the show via the hashtag #nerdsunite.
@HeatherBorges @MegCorbs @iamrachelwho @MyMelodie
Talk Nerdy To Me Lover Live Show
I see Jen and Julie checking into Barney’s Beanery all the time, so told Jen that I definitely wanted her to take me there during my visit to see where all the magic happens. To my delight, she scheduled the after party there! A good time was had with everyone in the TNTML community!
Talk Nerdy To Me Lover at Barney's Beanery
Before leaving LA the next day I had an opportunity to take a yoga class with Julie! You guys all know that I’m extremely passionate about my yoga practice. Julie and I both nerd out over yoga all the time so we found a class time at her studio that worked out perfectly.
@itsmejoolie and @MyMelodie
I had such a great time during my short visit to LA. Hanging out with everyone just made me appreciate social media so much more since it keeps me connected to everyone that I can’t see in person all the time. I’m definitely looking forward to more adventures in 2012. So much greatness has already happened this year with social media fueling my awesome experiences!
Ringing in the New Year with List of 12s for 2012!
Happy New Year! 2011 was amazing! And I’m excited for what 2012 has in store. For my first post of 2012 I’m sticking with the “new year” theme!
I love making lists. To-do lists are the most common for me. I make these daily to stay on task with both my personal and professional life. In fact I’ve even added things to my to-do list after I already accomplished them, just so I can check it off. C’mon I know I’m not the only one who’s done this before! Fess up if you have!
Instead of resolutions, I shared with my network that 2012 means making “Lists of 12s”!
I’m working on lists of 12 new restaurants to try, 12 new places to go, 12 marketing goals for my business and first list I made is of course related to tech and social media: 12 tech/web/social media related things I’d like to accomplish in 2012!
1. Pinterest- We all know about my food porn addiction. I recently joined Pinterest and wow, it’s any food porn addict’s DREAM! I have 2 boards related to food. My Sweet Tooth is filled with gorgeous, mouth-watering sweets. Rather than just look at these images and drool, in 2012 I’m going to actually make at least 2 desserts I’ve pinned on Pinterest. (Give me food and I’ll cook but please note I have virtually zero experience when it comes to baking sweets so this is something new for me!)
2. Facebook- Part of what I do for my Marketing clients is work with them to create customized social media profiles that are cohesive with their brand and website. You know the old saying “The Cobbler’s children have no shoes”? I spend a lot of time helping clients create a marketing strategy that effectively integrates social media and Facebook is one of the main tools I use. However, even though I help clients with this, I personally haven’t had an opportunity to customize my own Facebook page. In 2012, I’m going to redesign my Facebook Page so it’s cohesive with my website and brand.
3. Yelp- Write a minimum of 12 new Yelp reviews in 2012
4. LinkedIn- I’m grateful that I’ve received so many positive recommendations from my colleagues, clients and partners on LinkedIn. I’m truly humbled by reading the things people who have benefited from my work. I’ve been meaning to create a “Testimonials” section on my website by transferring many of my LinkedIn recommendations. In 2012 I’m going to create a “Testimonials” section on my website based on my LinkedIn recommendations.
5. Gmail- I’ve created folders and filters for many emails, but not all. I have thousands and thousands of unread messages in my inbox. I’ve trained myself to skip over unimportant emails such as ones from newsletters I don’t recall signing up for or emails related to people connecting with me on a social network but this still means there’s clutter in my inbox. In the past few days I’ve already unsubscribed from about 15 email lists and removed over 4000 messages from my inbox. I have over 8000 to go! In 2012 I’m going to get my gmail inbox down to zero, for the first time ever!
6. Foursquare- I’m a total Foursquare lover! I was traveling internationally in 2010 on Foursquare Day (4/16) and still manged to organize and host Foursquare Day in Hong Kong! In 2011 I hosted Foursquare Day San Diego in America’s Finest City! I’m currently a Super User- Level 2. The highest Super User Level is 3 and I’ve read that it’s virtually impossible to become a Level 3 Super User but my wordplay mind gets turned on because in the word “impossible” I just see the words “I’m possible” so in 2012 I’m going to become a Foursquare Superuser Level 3!
7. Evernote- While Evernote helps me stay organized; my Evernote itself needs to be organized. Whenever I forward an email to my Evernote the email doesn’t get categorized into a folder immediately. This is the main ways I update my Evernote so I definitely have some cleaning up to do. In 2012 I’m going to clean up my Evernote account.
8. YouTube- I’m not a regular YouTuber but I’m currently working on an awesome Social Media related video that will be published soon. My goal is to get at least 1 million views on this video. I know that sounds extreme especially since my current YouTube videos have views only in the hundreds. I’ve got a good feeling about this video and in 2012 I’m going to get 1 million views on my social media related YouTube video.
9. Twitter- All of my Twitter followers were gained authentically through people finding my page and being interested in topics I tweet about. I’d like to continue being a resource on Twitter but also build up my Twitter following with more people who are engaged in conversation and content I post. In 2012 I’m going to grow my Twitter following to over 5000 while keeping in mind this must be done authentically through just being me!
10. Phone- My Droid 2 just isn’t cutting it! Rather than continue to complain about how my phone is slow in 2012 I’m going to get a new phone!
11. Laptop- My laptop and all the information it contains is literally my most valuable possession. It contains photos, music, confidential documents etc. It used to be backed up on the cloud but my subscription ended and I haven’t had a chance to renew. Whether on the cloud or on a hard drive, in 2012 I need to make sure I back up my laptop again!
12. Blogging- My last in my list of 12s is something that will keep me accountable for 1-11 on this list! And that’s to write a follow up blog post in 6 months and then right before on 2013 on what items have been checked in on this tech/web/social media list of 12!
Wishing everyone the best of the best in 2012! Thank you to everyone who reads my posts. I’ve really appreciate the comments, tweets, Facebook Likes, Subscribes and emails! It makes me happy to hear from you so please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time!
Marketing Melodie in 2011: A Year in Review
Happy 2012 everyone! I can’t believe another year has gone by. The start of a new year is always a great time for me to reflect on the previous year and set goals for the upcoming year but also appreciate the present moment and everything that’s led me to where I am today.
At the end of 2010 I decided to write Marketing Melodie in 2010: A Year in Review. I have a habit of discrediting many of my accomplishments because I feel like I can always do more. Writing this really allows me to appreciate and be grateful for everything that I have done rather than focus on what I haven’t. Just like I did for 2010 here’s a year in review of 2011 highlighting noteworthy events, clients, blog posts, friends, accomplishments, adventures and amazing opportunities.
*JANUARY*
While marketing is my expertise and passion, I have another passion; YOGA! I’m very grateful for one of my clients this year, La Jolla Yoga Center. Creating marketing campaigns and strategies for a yoga studio I love definitely makes me happy. I trained their team on using social media to grow their business and helped them get set up on Facebook and Twitter. They’re definitely doing a great job connecting with yogis on social media!
I’ve been practicing yoga for a few years and really wanted to strengthen my practice and take it to the next level. I contemplated getting my yoga teaching certification for a while. It’s a huge time commitment and I was really on the fence. Well I made the decision to go ahead with yoga teacher training and can now say, if you are ever on the fence, DO IT! I am so happy I completed my Yoga Teacher Training and wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. I began my training in January and completed my 200 RYT Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training at the inspirational La Jolla Yoga Center, located right on the beach! I met so many amazing new friends, learned so much about myself and really took my yoga practice to the next level.
*FEBRUARY*
I hosted the 2nd event in my Digital Media Dinners series. The topic: Social Media Branding. This was a great milestone because it officially turned Digital Media Dinners into a series rather than a one off event. I taught strategies on how to strengthen people’s brand across various social networks including review sites such as Yelp, group buying sites such as Groupon and location based sites such as Foursquare. I incorporated a variety of sites because marketing and social media is growing beyond just Facebook and Twitter.
*MARCH*
Since I learn and receive so much from my online and social media community, I really want to give back. I did this by hosting Twestival San Diego. This event is hosted all over the nation using social media for social good by connecting communities offline on a single day to highlight a great cause and have a fun event. It’s entirely promoted via social media. Twestival San Diego was hosted at the Keating Hotel and all proceeds benefited the San Diego After School All Stars.
Me and a few other lovely Yogis were featured on KUSI demonstrating Bootcamp for Yogis run by my fellow yoga teacher trainee, Body By Mags. Check out the video below where I get my 5 minutes of fame while I’m smiling through holding a yoga tough pose and demonstrating yoga boot camp moves (Warrior has got nothing on me!).
VIDEO: Yoga Boot Camp Video
I successfully pulled my second April Fool’s Joke on Social Media! Everyone decided to wish me a Happy Birthday on April Fool’s this year!
The first annual Foursquare Day celebration took place in 2010 and I hosted Foursquare Day Hong Kong. This year I was in my home town, San Diego and had the opportunity to host Foursquare Day San Diego for my community at R Gang Eatery. Check in specials, complimentary wine, cocktails, delicious comfort food with an upscale twist, friends, badges and a good time was had! Foursquare Day on 4/16 (Yep that’s 4 squared which equals 16) is officially, my favorite geek Holiday!
Oh not to mention, I met my first Celebrity Chef, Rich Sweeney @ChefRicSweeney from Season 5 of Top Chef who is also the head of R Gang Eatery. You can read all about my addiction to food porn and cooking shows here.
*MAY*
I was interviewed by the San Diego Reader on using LinkedIn for Job Seekers. I shared my insight, advice and was gratefulto have my article published both in their paper and online! You can read the full article here.
Another Geek Holiday takes place in May! Star Wars day on May 4th! May the Fourth be with you! I celebrated with some fun posts on Social Media!
*JUNE*
I really want to help others with yoga passion so I hosted my first yoga event: Yoga For the Busy Body at Hera Hub! I really want to provide an opportunity for other busy professionals and entrepreneurs to have a chance to experience the benefits of yoga while teaching them poses they can do on their own despite their busy lives. That’s exactly what I accomplished at this event.
*JULY*
I was cast in a Microsoft Commercial! It was such an amazing experience to work a full day on set as talent! You can read all about how I was casted in the Microsoft Commercial and then watch my commercial when it finally aired below!
VIDEO: Marketing Melodie’s Microsoft Commercial
VIDEO: Digital Media Dinners- How To Build your Social Media Community
*AUGUST*
I attended BlogHer for the first time as it was hosted right here in America’s Finest City. I connected with inspirational bloggers from all across the nation. It was great talking to so many people about their passions and seeing them creatively share it with others through their writing. I had a good time at the conference itself, attending workshops, checking out the booths, the networking events, parties and left with more swag than I knew what to do with!
Oh and I met another Celebrity Chef, Brian Markaley in the Season Final of Top Chef Season 3. He was hosting a BlogHer party!
*SEPTEMBER*
Marketing Melodie is growing quickly! I sent out a call for interns and bring Allison Schummer @AllisonSchummer on board to help me!
Allison recently graduated from SDSU and I give her my highest recommendation to anyone who’s hiring as she’s currently on the market for a new job!
San Diegans experience a MAJOR BLACKOUT! But we united and got through it while making new friends! We proved that even during a black out social media still shines!
*OCTOBER*
Fall is in the air (even though it’s always sunny in San Diego) which means time for a new fall wardrobe! I attended one of my favorite tweetups ever, an Epic event at the Nordstrom Rack Plaza Bonita Grand Opening. I’m a very lucky person, I always win things and that night I won a pair of Designer Hudson Jeans.
In 2009 I said to the universe that I want to meet my favorite author, Keith Ferrazzi. I finally met him 2 years later in San Diego at the Entrepreneur Challenge Fall Kickoff Event at UCSD. He autographed both my books and I learned some awesome networking tips from meeting Keith Ferrazzi.
The Nerds United! I tweeted and connected with amazing new friends from the Talk Nerdy To Me Lover community by hosting @JenFriel and the #nerdsunite crew in San Diego. We had a fun night at the Tilted Kilt San Diego and a nerdy sleepover!
You can read all about the things that make me a nerd here.
*NOVEMBER*
After completing a successful Digital Media Dinners series, I hosted my first Digital Media Now Seminar- Personal Branding on Social Media at Pangea Bakery Cafe. Attendees learned how to make their personal brand cohesive with their business brand.
I was honored with an opportunity to speak to NATAS- National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at their Social Media Workshop. Teaching television professionals how to use Social Media in their industry.
Thanks to the luxury car company, Infiniti and Social Media I enjoyed an amazing afternoon at the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival. I also met my 3rd celebrity chef this year, Sam The Cooking Guy!
*DECEMBER*
I hosted my first Digital Media Now Webinar on How To Integrat Social Media Into Your Marketing. It gave me a chance to share my knowledge with people who can’t always be available and in San Diego to attend an in person seminar. While there were challenges to work out with my first webinar, I received great feedback and plan to host additional Digital Media Now Webinars in 2012!
I celebrated my Birthday on my lucky day, December 13th (It’s clearly not on April 1st). In the photo below I’m dressed as a Monster, holding a class with an M and Minty Wonderland and Mozart cupcakes. Yep M THEME PARTY!
I began my new venture at National University. I was hired as a Course Developer and Adjunt Professor at National University. My first class starts in January where I’m teaching a marketing class on Interactive Strategies.
Wow a lot has happened in 2012! If you read this entire post or even part of it, THANK YOU! As I reflect on 2011 I just can’t help but smile and be grateful for everyone and everything in my life right now. I am truly blessed and so excited to ring in 2012!
I’m pretty sure that makes me a Nerd, right? #NerdsUnite
It’s on the internet so that must mean it’s truel! I’m a nerd!! It all started a couple months back when I connected with the lovely @JenFriel from Talk Nerdy To Me Lover. We planned an awesome nerdy meetup in San Diego at Tilted Kilt Mission Valley and had an amazing time connecting with other tech/web/social media nerds. After spending a weekend with Jen and many amazing #NerdsUnite ladies, I felt both inspired and compelled to be even more involved in my community and continue telling my story on perhaps an even more personal level.
Well now it’s official! I’ll be guest posting on TalkNerdyToMeLover.com. My first post was me introducing myself: #NerdsUnite: Inside the Marketing Mind of @MyMelodie. First things, first. Who am I? I’m a passionate Technology Entrepreneur, a Marketing professional, Speaker, Educator, Social Media Socialite & Enthusiast and many of you wouldn’t know this but I’m also a Yoga Instructor! Ooommmmm…..
As far as the nerd in me. I’m not 100% sure I’m a nerd but I’m pretty sure the below list of things I do make me one (At least a Social Media Nerd!). You be the judge.
- I get excited when I find out one of my friends uses Evernote and immediately start comparing lists them
- I’m thrilled to meet my favorite authors to get my books autographed! Most recently I met Keith Ferrazzi who wrote Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your Back
- I am ecstatic when I unlock a shiny new Foursquare badge and admit that I’ll go to places that help me unlock more badges!
- Twitter has my answer for everything! I know there are things I can easily Google but I’d rather get person replies and recommendations from my network so I ask Twitter and Twitter delivers!
- When someone with a verified account follows me on Twitter, I do a little jump for joy.
- Getting a LinkedIn recommendation to me is what I consider WINNING!
- I love being on the Words with Friends Facebook page to learn new words every day!
- I was Carmen San Diego for Halloween! The Nerdy Super Hero with teleporting abilities, Computer/Video game character who taught 5th graders geography.
Hey look! Marketing Melodie is on Mashable!
Who doesn’t love being featured on Mashable? It’s the top tech/social media website out there. Any appearance on Mashable is exciting and phenomenal exposure! My friend and business alliance @ChrisKirkman received thousands of downloads for his Digital Business card iPhone App uME when it was featured on Mashable . My nerdy friend @JenFriel who I had the honor of hosting in San Diego this past weekend, states that having her screenshot on Mashable was one of the greatest moments of her life! Well now I’m joining the Mashable Fame club!
I read Mashable articles almost daily but I don’t read every single one so I actually missed the post I was in. It was written by my friend @jbruin about essential apps for your iPhone. Reading iPhone articles aren’t a priority since I have a Droid, although I do keep up with Apple and even honored Steve Jobs in my reflection on his life. Either way, this particular article made me Mashable famous, so I just wanted to share the great news with everyone. Of course my screenshot was from Foursquare which made me happy because I’m such a Foursquare enthusiast!
Before I end this post, have I mentioned how grateful I am for my Twitter community? I really can’t emphasize this enough. I would have never known about my feature on Mashable if it weren’t for a tweet I received. My followers are awesome and break news to me before I hear it anywhere else! They also look out for me and keep me informed when they see things that remind them of me. I had no idea that my very own Microsoft commercial aired until I received tweets from followers who saw it! Same goes for this Mashable article. I received a tweet from a follower who recognized my itty bitty avatar! Wow @swenggirl has a good eye!
Have you ever been excited to be featured somewhere? Have you experienced finding out news about yourself on Social Media? Well there you have it, my first appearance on Mashable!
