Friday, June 27, 2008

Facebook for Local Wisconsin Business Owners

Shari Voigt's Facebook profile
You’ve probably heard - Facebook isn’t just for college students anymore. No, the once exclusive domain of the college crowd has been adopted by parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and increasingly by business owners.

28% of small business owners have registered with at least one social networking site, according to a 2008 Warrillow & Co. survey. It also found that fast-growth companies were much more likely to participate in social networking than slower-growth companies. Could there be a correlation?

Read Full Post: Are You On Facebook?

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Announcing Paperfest Battle of the Bands, Kimberly WI

In keeping with Saturday's post about publishing press releases, I'll add the first one. Please help us spread the word about a worthwhile event in Kimberly, Wisconsin. If you have a band, or know any members of bands in the Fox Valley area, let them know about this opportunity:

Bands seeking exposure, prize money, and a chance to play in front of thousands at Appleton's Octoberfest celebration should sign up now for Battle of the Bands at Paperfest.

Eighteen bands with three songs each will compete in the opening round on Saturday, July 19. Five finalists will advance to play a 45-minute set on Sunday. Cash prizes go to all the finalists, with the winner playing a paid gig at Octoberfest.

Official judging to be provided by the Lawrence University music department. A Fan Favorite award will also be presented to the band with the most fan votes on Saturday.

Openings remain, but not for long. Bands wanting to compete should sign up now. Entries must be received no later than July 5. A complete list of guidelines and entry forms are available at www.paperfest.org/battle.htm.

Battle of the Bands is part of Kimberly's annual Paperfest celebration. Paperfest has raised and donated more than $500,000 for community and civic organizations. Learn more at www.paperfest.org.

For more information, contact Cindy at info@Paperfest.org or call 920-882-1788.
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Saturday, June 7, 2008

Wisconsin Business & Event Press Releases Welcome Here

Early morning in northeast Wisconsin is awe-inspiring ... at least in my backyard. We live on the edge of town, meaning there's farmland behind us. Mornings are noisy, but not from people-noise. We have a wonderful, diverse bird population, an adventurous chipmunk that likes to tease my dog, at least one large rabbit, horses in the distance, and the occasional deer and coyote. It's peaceful and satisfying. All winter long, I look forward to this short sliver of time when I can sit on my patio with notebook and coffee and just be.

Everybody needs a recharge now and then, especially business owners. We tend to obsess out the day-to-day stuff at the expense of nourishing our souls. Your recharge may look different from mine, but mine requires nature ... spending time outdoors in Wisconsin's natural beauty ... acknowledging and thanking the One who created it all.

Thank YOU too, for hanging in there while I gave this blog some more thought. Local-Wisconsin SEM Blog started with a flash of inspiration, before giving much thought to the sustainability of writing more than one blog on the the topic of marketing while managing a growing business of my own.

This morning, I woke up with a solution. Do you ever do that ... mull something over, set it aside and just let it marinate, then wake up knowing exactly what to do? That may be a topic for a future post, but for now, I'll just share this: Writing about marketing isn't enough. Through this blog, I want to help people who own businesses in Wisconsin to improve their marketing results in a tangible way.

In addition to a stockpile of local search opportunities that I have yet to cover here, I'm going to begin featuring local businesses and events in my home town of Neenah, as well as Menasha, Appleton, Oshkosh, Green Bay, Milwaukee, and throughout all of Wisconsin. Send me your Wisconsin-based business press releases, success stories, questions or comments, and if they're appropriate to my audience, newsworthy or just plain interesting, I'll publish them here. You'll find my contact information on my profile page.