Using Social Media To Increase Your Business - Asheville NC 1/17/11

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Cyndi Lauper sings "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" in Asheville NC

Here is a video clip of Cyndi Lauper singing Girls Just Wanna Have Fun at the Orange Peel in Asheville North Carolina. Video by G Social Media.

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Video: Asheville Fashion Show at the Orange Peel by Push Productions

Push Productions put on a grand Asheville fashion show at the Orange Peel last night. Here is the last clip of the evening with more clips soon to be posted on AskAsheville's YouTube Channel and also Push Productions YouTube Channel. All of the videos and social media work on both of these video channels was done by G Social Media based in Asheville NC.

Screenwriter / Actress to speak at Asheville Social Media School May 27th

 The news just came in yesterday that movie maker Angela Shelton will be speaking at the Asheville Social Media School this coming Thursday at the Grove Park Inn. Angela recently spoke at 2 social media based 140 Conferences in New York City and Los Angeles.

May 27th - This is a free event where G Social Media and several other local video professionals teach on social media, and different angles on how to distribute your message more effectively with videos. For more information on this event, please click HERE.

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Video Making & More at Asheville's Free Social Media School - May 27th

 In just a few days on Thursday, May 27th from 5 - 7:30pm at Elaine's Piano in the Grove Park Inn, Asheville is presenting a free social media school on taking, making, editing, uploading and marketing videos to increase the social media awareness of you and/or your business. G Social Media, Asheville Video Productions, Bourne Media, PSAV, and Rev Pictures will be teaching this awesome class. More info can be found by clicking HERE. You can also view the Facebook event page for this class. You can RSVP or just show up as we have more than enough room to accommodate. If you have any questions about social media with videos, please come ready to get some answers. Thank you.

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Push Productions Fashion Show in Asheville Coming Soon - Meet Sonia Hendrix

PUSH ASHEVILLE FASHION 2010: An entire year has passed by the city of Asheville since our first fashion show and now the time has come again for the 2010: Summer Edition of Fashion, brought to you by PUSH Productions, a local AVL entertainment production company, already notorious for the production of the 2009 PUSH Asheville Fashion show.

Last year, over 200 people came through the doors of, The Garage at Biltmore, to see what they were promised would be the best fashion show in town. PUSH 2009 presented 36 models, showcased 14 boutiques with three local designers vending, all from the Asheville community! The goal of the show was (still is), proving to students and citizens of Asheville that shopping local is not only affordable, but the only way to find the clothes that are meant to be worn by YOU. PUSH was supported by the Asheville Citizen-Times, Mountain Xpress, G-Social Media, 105.9 the Mountain, 98.1 the River, The Garage at Biltmore, Bouchon French Bistro, Phi Beta Lambda at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, and ComaGun Music. Since the conclusion of last year's show, word has certainly spread that PUSH ASHEVILLE FASHION is a smash hit that needed to be repeated. Well, ladies and gentlemen---the time has come!

Starting now, the 2010 production of PUSH Asheville Fashion is accepting all business inquires related to participating in the fashion show. To qualify to be in the show, your business MUST be locally owned/operated and in the Asheville area. The staff of PUSH Productions will be personally inviting businesses and local designers to participate, but still are requesting independent designers and store owners to submit applications to be in the show. Please include a personal statement about your business.

This year's 2010 fashion show will be twice the size with two runway shows; 15 local designers and 20 local boutiques, local sustainable jewelery tents, silent auction, burlesque, aerial performances, cocktail party, and dinner. Don’t miss out on this must-have opportunity to have your designer or business name splashed all over Asheville streets, blogs, newspapers, and radio--through a process of heavy promoting and campaigning in anticipation of the show.

Yours in Community Growth,
Sonia Hendrix

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Asheville Architect Wins Online Green House Competition

ASHEVILLE – After more than a month of online voting and a final juried critique, Asheville architect Daryl S. Rantis and associate Robert Stenhouse placed first in an online green home design competition open to participants from around the world.


Their design, A Modern Craftsman for the New South, earned the winning nod from jurists Thursday as the top pick of 12 finalists, which included three other entries from North Carolina architects and designers.

“We pushed hard to promote online voting,” Rantis said. “It was like American Idol, so we really have Asheville and all our friends and family to thank.”

The winning design was among more than 400 initially submitted to the competition. All contestant work is still available for viewing at FreeGreen.com/whosnext.

After online voting concluded Monday, a jury of architects and engineers selected the final winners for FreeGreen, a Massachusetts-based company which features home plans that are sensitive to the environment.

“We were impressed by the way the designer created a unique and strong visual identity without compromising on affordability or livability,” the website co-founder David Wax stated in jury notes. “This proposal was about creating an attainable vision for consumers. From a performance standpoint, our engineers felt that this proposal could be developed into an extremely efficient home.”

The Rantis/Stenhouse design was created for a new development in the Chicken Hill area of Asheville for Bill MacCurdy of Sun Construction. The designers also partnered with Gary Charles of G Social Media to promote online voting via Facebook and Twitter. Although everyone was optimist the design was worthy of winning, it was one of the few submitted with drawings created by hand, Rantis said.

“The competition was heavily weighted toward very modern, very computerized drawings,” he said. “We tried to provide a dual approach. And the hand drawings are a lost art form. It didn’t hurt us.”

The jury found the design’s practicality appealing, satisfying one of many criteria for the contest.

“The representation was precise, clear, and let the design speak for itself,” Wax said. “This design was able to achieve the curb appeal desired by our focus groups without relying on traditional artifice. The architects on our jury found it to be a stylistic hybrid that carefully negotiated modern simplicity with traditional warmth. The result is a building that felt honest, could be built affordably, and could offer a minimal footprint both physically and environmentally.”

The design team wins a cash prize and will submit more detailed drawings of the house to the website for potential homebuilders.

The FreeGreen contest was begun to give emerging designers a chance to show off their talent and gain recognition for designs that bear a lighter environmental footprint, founders said.

View the Website of Asheville Architect Daryl Rantis. See Daryl in the VIDEO last night at the WNCGBC event on Asheville Closets YouTube Channel.

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Asheville Social Media - Class #2 on March 23, 2010

Social media has been on the minds of many people and businesses in the Asheville area. Some have jumped to the occasion, while others are in a sort of limbo. With media communications changing so rapidly; it is not hard at all to get "stuck in the transition." The danger of this is that you are left without a voice and many times without a presence if you are not communicating in this new media language. The longer folks wait to accept the transition, the harder it becomes from businesses to catch up. G Social Media along with Trey Pennington and Social Village will be conducting a free social media school (class #2) in Asheville at the Garage at Biltmore on March 23, 2010. The focus of the class will be Facebook and Twitter and will cover everything from setting up an account to business networking on these platforms. This class is completely free and you will not be charged for anything.

Trey Pennington: "75,000 followers on Twitter and is at the Facebook friend limit, will outline a comprehensive model showing you how to use social media tools to meet friends, potential friends, and prospective clients and customers online. More importantly, he'll share a brief overview of the foundational principles necessary for making meaningful contacts through social media."

Justin Brackett: "Making his mark on a world that desires life change. His experiences with the business world, the non-profit sector, and witnessing life change interpersonally gives him a unique position in the Social Media landscape. If you would like to know more, ask him. He really likes to tell about the epic he finds himself experiencing."

For More Information about these events and other Social Media Info, please click on the "Asheville Social Media" link below:
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Free Asheville Social Media School #socialmedia

Asheville's G Social Media (GSocialMedia.com) is going to be networking with many people and businesses in the Asheville NC area to bring you a free monthly Social Media workshop and class designed to teach you the basics, essentials, and advanced learning needed to initiate or improve your social media efforts for yourself and/or your business.

We invite you to come to Asheville and learn, ask all of the questions you have, and understand why social media is so important for the future of our society and your business. You will also learn some key information about websites, their place and importance, and how all websites are not created equal.

The events will be at different locations around Asheville each month to show you an example of true networking, reaching out, and meeting new people. You WILL learn how to CONNECT! We have about 12 businesses already interested in hosting our workshop meetings, and readily welcome more invitations from other local Asheville and WNC businesses.

Social Media allows all of us to control our own destiny if used properly. Knowing how to set up a Facebook fan page and Twitter account is something you will learn, but that is just the beginning of the road we "must" travel. You will learn about twitter, facebook, blogs, networking, feeds, socializing, people skills, business interaction, friendliness, strategy, and so much more. This is not just needed for marketing; but for life in general! Having someone tell you they "have it covered" is not enough. Asheville... you need to make sure you are doing all you can and in a very economical way. I have a plan! We have been doing social media and networking for companies in different ways for about 15 years now in the Western North Carolina area and beyond. Let us show you how, and help you learn everything you need to know and more about Social Media.

The first event in Asheville will be on February 25, 2010 from 5pm - 7pm. You can view and rsvp to the event on Facebook. (***Location has been set! The Downtown Market on 45 South French Broad Ave, right down the street from the Federal Building)

***Several of us are going over to Barley's Pizza after for a short social time.

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Asheville's Jesse Barry hits American Idol! Videos by G Social Media

Jesse Barry of/and Skinny Legs & All at MoDaddys:


Here is Jesse Barry at Tressas in Downtown Asheville:


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Social Media for your Asheville business

G Social Media has been working with clients in and around Asheville for a few years. Gary Charles helps businesses establish their online interaction and social media presence. It started years ago when a group of Internet enthusiasts were experimenting with SEO, email marketing, and website development. The end result: Connections were made, prospects were gained, and deals were sealed. This was awhile back.. before most companies even had a website. From then on, G Social Media worked as a ghost marketer for a few Asheville businesses that wanted to take the leap of faith online.

Today Gary Charles of G Social Media works with many businesses in Asheville North Carolina, several in other US States, and some on an International level. Making connections online and meeting people where they are in today's world is what "G" loves to do. Using social media platforms that Google supplies, working Facebook, and staying on Twitter are just a few of the things he teaches his clients. There are plenty of social media outlets and businesses need to know which ones are going to increase their reach. After that, implementation and maintenance is put into place according to their schedule.

Social Media for your business is not just something that you quickly add into your mix of online hobbies. Just because signing up for Twitter is "free," it does not mean you will ever be successful without direction. You can look at several businesses in the Asheville area and see that "doing it yourself" is simply not the way to go. One of the barriers that G Social Media sees is that traditional marketers falsely assure their existing clients into believing that they "have the social media covered." The other hinderance is that the traditional media sometimes keeps their clients/advertisers blind to the sm potential because they see social media as competitive & fear losing their ad dollars. Sometimes it is simply because they are not even sm aware themselves. The solution is this: Businesses actually need to embrace social media and then use their platforms to help their advertisers and/or clients. Don't ignore it or hide it from your network. Gary empowers and trains individuals, business owners and marketing departments to be a successful team using social media.

Just like most other things, social media can be easy and profitable once the proper training is in place. G Social Media's mission is to help businesses gain Fans, Friends, and Followers. The individual companies then work their magic and convert these contacts into sales.

You can find more social media information on: www.GSocialMedia.com

Twitter Tips from Asheville Building & Real Estate

Everyone is talking about Twitter and how it is the Craze of Today. Some people who do not know much about it downplay the possibilites because it is "new" and different. I can say right now that everyone, including the "little guys" are exploding because they are "taking their chances" and putting these new tools to use.

If you already have a Twitter Account, here are some great Twitter Tips from G Social Media (of course)

1. Reach Out and Connect - Do not just make your account and wait for people to find and follow you. Start following as many people as you can. Everyone is a potential! Get out of that little box you have trapped yourself in. Network!

2. Follow Your Followers - Check daily, and if anyone has followed you, follow them back. Open up and give some reciprocal love!

3. Add a Photo - A Photo of you, your logo, or your organization goes a long way. Adding that personal touch makes connections so much easier.

4. Description - Adding a good description goes a long way. Do not just say something like "Realtor" or "Builder". Add some spice to it like "I am Crazy about Real Estate" or "I am In Love... with Realty". Add your contact info here! Phone number is good. Your website can go on line for your website, and it is a live link.

5. @Replies - Pay attention to these! This is anywhere you Twitter page is mentioned publicly. You will find this on the right column on your Twitter page.

6. Direct Messages - DM's are many times "Thank You for Following me" etc. Once you start gaining ground on Twitter, the DM's will get better. You can also sign up on TweetLater.com to have a direct message automatically sent to your followers.

7. Communicate - What Are You Doing? Sounds simple, but you could say a lot. "Working with a John on some Asheville Real Estate options on the North Side of town". See the keywords I used? Use Them Too! Also mix business with personal and show the human side "Eating a big steak with Carol from Asheville Home Builders".

8. Communicate Some More - Write back to people and ReTweet other good sayings, news, and quotes. This will teach you to be open! You are not the only one with Great Ideas and News. Learn to Network!!!

Social Media extends your reach and exposure by 100's (Are you listening to me???, I SAID 100's) of percentages!!! It is definitely not something to overlook if you plan on staying in the game.

Some resources: Twitter www.Twitter.com, Twitpic www.Twitpic.com, Tweetvisor www.Tweetvisor.com

Asheville Social Media by G Social Media

Here are a few ways that G Social in Asheville North Carolina can help you and your business, network with you, and compensate you. G Social can produce an effective turnkey solution in Social Media for any business, including yours.

Here are a few ways that G Social Media can help and network with your business:

1. G Social Agents - Registered Agents, whether businesses or individuals, of G Social Media earn up to 20% of the package sold to the client they refer to our company. (Example: a $2000 package contracted would put $400 into your pocket - or with a $900 (basic package) you would earn $180). To register to become a "G Social Agent", simply send us an email with your information, what you do, etc and we will review it and send a confirmation out with some instructions.

2. G Social Benefit - G Social Media will donate up to 10% of the cost of the package you contract to a worthy approved cause of your choice. The donation would be sent from G Social and You! If you live in the Asheville North Carolina area, we recommend that you contribute to a great local cause such as American Rainbow Rapid Response, Hearts with Hands, Western North Carolina Aids Project, Western Carolina Rescue Mission, Red Cross, local Sickness and Injury Benefits, and many others you may know of and recommend. If you do not live in the Asheville area, feel free to present the cause of your choice.

3. G Social Referral - People or businesses can refer clients to G Social Media and receive a 5% referral commission. If the client you refer purchases a $2000 package, you will receive $100. Help a friend or business get all over the Internet and make a bonus at the same time. For proper credit, please contact us and make the connection, or they need to please specify that you are referring them to us.

4. G Social Media Barter - By the request of some local companies: Businesses may offer to Barter with G Social Media for up to 25% of the contracted package price upon approval, if G Social is in need of this certain product or service. We support business so this is a solution to assist company owners with costs, while contributing to their businesses at the same time. Great networking! You would simply contact G Social with your business information and what you would like to offer in exchange.

***Note: these offers can only be used individually. Please pick from either 1, 2, 3 or 4 if they apply. Thank you.

http://www.gsocialmedia.com/

Warning - Asheville Businesses, check your tech person asap!

I woke up with this great urgency today. When dealing with social media (or most professions), you assume that your team has you up to par with the newest and best media avenues available. This is usually not the case. Just because you have a "Prez" or "VP" in marketing, does not necessarily mean you are covered.Here are a few key questions, not to ask your "expert" (we all know the right answers, lol), but to maybe ask yourself... (Please turn the music off, stop yelling at the kids, and meditate on these questions)

1. Does my marketing guru have a Facebook or MySpace page? This is pretty elementary, but a must! If your guru does not use a social network platform to simply connect, I believe it will be a long time before your company properly connects. I feel so weird saying this...but in 2009, you are the dying exception if you do not ride one of the many social networks. I can actually look at someones Facebook page for 1 minute and tell you if they know anything about current 2009 marketing.

2. What are your company's main media outlets? Print is dying, just "having a website" without engaging will not do, and the Internet is growing and exploding daily. Which direction do you think you should head in?

3. Is your company headed toward "Social Selfishness"? They may wear a network badge, but they have "The Lone Ranger" hat on. This is the opposite of Networking. Many times people who do not understand the power of a network, shun away from the "gimmes". Sometimes it is lack of knowledge, sometimes it is pride, sometimes it is an "anti-tech"attitude (just because they are "in the industry", or know how to build websites... does not mean their web faith is perfect and they know what to do). Whatever the reason is, it will choke the life out of your company. Companies cannot breath when they are not properly connecting. This is where G comes in.

I tried to contact a local business friend recently online and someone wrote me back saying "hi... I'm... and I handle all of their online work". I thought "Really?!" You have actually hired someone to keep you "in the dark" and to pat you on the back and tell you "I got it covered" when they really don't. Not trying to discredit anyone where credit is due, but I see what many "marketing pros" are doing and there is not much credit to be given! Of course, I could be positive and say "they are trying, and using what they know", and then I will yell to myself "no excuse". Shooting in the dark may work for businesses who want to stand still, but for us who are all about maximizing the effectivity, it is a dead end... replaced sooner or later depending upon how quickly you realize how important these new Media avenues are. Or maybe, by some tiny chance, your "media expert" may be doing a fantastic job, researching, updating their info weekly, and they know. Make sure of this!!! Some simply need a quick update from our company or another SME. Great! Information is key. We are simply informing you of what to look for.

*What can you do now? As we have said above, your Social Media person may just need some new training. Depending on how "open" they are, it can take a few hours to a few days; depending on what they want to learn, absorb, and be effective in. If I were you, I would require this learning. I could teach most people a nice 4 hour course that could keep them busy for a very long time. If you get familiar fast and want more, I can give it. I offer a support package where I evaluate your platforms once a month with coaching, and a package where I send you the latest possibilities that could fit your business and staff with urgent updates at any time.

Maybe you need a replacement? I watched another business who is pretty big (but struggling some) hire a "nice person" with a nice resume but with limited current knowledge, to fill their marketing position. (a nice person that knows "new media" is so much better). I happened to be at the same dinner table with this marketer one night, and she spoke a whole different previous market language which is fading oh so quickly. Some of the ideas were so old, I pretty much purposely erased them from my mind a few years ago. She was lost and really thought she "had it". I got sad for a minute and moved on without event. She did not get my verbal "crash course". (Why?, they are my friends, but honestly they have a "closed minded" business model that will not listen, even to me, for awhile... and when they do listen, they are sure to use some second class/hand shortcut, and wonder why they are forever behind). Something may be "new to you", but be very old to the industry (very old could be 90 days). This is Business Suicide!

Maybe you just need to source you marketing, media, and social communications out to a firm such as ours, take advantage of our "hands on training", and get it right once and for all. Then, as our client; when we learn something new, we pass it directly to our circle of clients. We can show you results quickly and then set up monthly or quarterly goals to make sure your whole team is moving forward with the plan. This is what we do.Listen To Me! And then simply say "I want to know, Teach Me"... And I Will! Or just come back and find me when you have exhausted all of your other resources that you thought could have helped. But then again... better late than never, they say, lol (I am laughing out loud right now). Me? I personally hate the word late, especially when business lives are at stake. Email me sometime. (Taken from www.gSocialMedia.blogspot.com)

February 2009 Newsletter from Asheville Building and Real Estate

Hello Everyone and thank you for writing and asking where the newsletter was! We are reconstructing a few things in the company and becoming more efficient in everything. Plus with all of this Web 2.0 that some of our team has been doing has made this new year really interesting. If you or your team of Realtors or Builders need any type of training on Websites or Social Networking in the business realm, you need to send me an email and at least request some more info. G Social Media is doing all of our work, and you get so much exposure and so many contacts for peanuts! Anyway... some of you know Gary and what he does, and you cannot find anyone in this field that could touch his expertise. The network team he has developed goes from San Diego, to Asheville, to NYC. Several huge deals in the works including a possible full-tech building in the mountains of WNC. If there is something new out on the market, they know about it, have tested it, and even have evaluation notes on the proper usage of it. Too deep for me, but so easy for them. They can set you and your team up with a social media package, allow easy daily/hourly/whenever live updating for everyone from your desktop, laptop, and even from a text message you send from your cell phone... online in moments, live links and everything. Realtors... do not be left behind or distracted by someone who thinks they know. G does! Let them show you a sample. They just finished a small package for Miss North Carolina and made her the 1st Miss North Carolina to be set up with high tech social media communications. Very nice job guys! See G Social: http://www.gsocialmedia.blogspot.com/

Asheville News - News Goes Tech ... Have you ever wanted a combination of news, blogs, ideas, recipes, small talk, notes... well kind of like a newspaper without paper? One of the biggest newest news sources in the Asheville area is on Twitter.com/AshevilleNews

Asheville Real Estate - Are we coming back? The Real Estate maket in Asheville North Carolina is yearning for a full recovery, but only small sparks of life so far. Several Realtors and Builders have contacted us and have mentioned a small influx of possibilities inquiring. While on the other side, superintendents and project managers from big local companies like Cooper Construction and Construction Logic are now looking for work and sending their resumes into everyone. News is that Coldwell Banker got caught with the bag in their hand in having too many spec projects to cover. Good and bad news comes and goes. What can you do to prepare for the good news and make it happen? If you are not focusing online, you are setting yourself up for failure. The Realtors who will rise are the ones who keep up with the tech times. Who will be the ones to step up?

Asheville Home Builder reaches out during crisis - Asheville Custom Home Builders has recently worked with New Life Options, the Eblen Foundation, and Kimmel to make sure the residential rehabilitation center in Downtown Asheville stayed open. With help from the Fire Marshal and from Harry Taylor; Life on Life's Terms kept its doors open and continue to reach out and help where needed. Thank you Bruce and Asheville Custom Home Builders! Oh, and they are the first Asheville Home Builders on Twitter! Nice Work ACHB. Need a high tech builder to network with? These are They. AshevilleCustomHomeBuilders.com

Please go to AshevilleHomeBuilding.com for a free, completely free, profile where you can put all of your info, live link to other sites, meet other businesses and people, and much more.
Thank you. http://www.abandre.com/