St. Jude Childrens’ Research Hospital (promo code JUDE)

American Red Cross (promo code REDCROSS)

American Cancer Society (promo code CANCER)

Just like last year, 5% of ALL NEW rentals will be donated to one of the three above charities of your choosing. Just reference the promo code online or via phone when placing an order.  And just like last year, Grosh Backdrops will match a % of the proceeds! *All backdrop consultants will also be sure to ask as well when an order is being placed.*

Last year Grosh Backdrops and customers helped raise a total of $24,481 for three wonderful charities!  We’d love your help again and hope to beat last years total!  Together we CAN make a difference!

On behalf of the entire Grosh Backdrops staff, we thank you!

*Pic courtesy of nationalrural.

“Visualize it broken.  Proceed if you like what you see.”~ @susanlynncope

I love this quote. It speaks to me. It’s how I’ve lived my whole adult life. I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge. I love to create and build things from scratch and repair things that have been long forgotten. I love to watch the beauty of it all coming together and I love to see peoples faces light up with amazement. It brings me a lot of pride.

It’s all about the experience. Roller coasters are fun…you laugh, scream, laugh, sometimes get sick, laugh some more and then wait in the long line to experience the thrill of it all over again. Whether it’s a relationship, a job, a side project or an event, if you visualize it outside of that perfectly package box and UNDERNEATH that pedestal and are able to see the creative promise of endless possibilities, I say go for it!

Unconditional support from your true friends, family and network are just a phone call, text, skype, email, tweet and FB message away. Never underestimate.

**Special shout out to Susan Lynn Cope for inspiring me***

My blogging topic: New Media Marketing Promotions and Campaigns:

For my first guest I decided to write about how effective email marketing should actually continue the conversation in new media, strengthen your brand, products, customer experience and relationships while establishing a nice ROE (return on engagement) and ROI (return on investment).

To find out what I think is the Biggest Email Marketing Mistake You Can Make, CLICK HERE ——-> Liz King Events Blog

About Liz King: Liz is a highly organized and logistically-minded event planner who is very experienced with a variety of events from conferences to special occasions. In 2010, she planned a coat/shoe drive benefitting New York Cares, the BizBash Social Media Lounge and many other corporate and entrepreneurial events. She stays active on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Liz is also the main blogger on our blog (Liz King Events) and guest blogger for Event IQ Magazine, Icon Presentations blog, and several others!

Whenever a video camera is turned on, people tend to do one of two things: they either light-up or they clam-up. With today’s success of video marketing and the plethora of opportunities to get your message out by being interviewed, there are a few simple things you can do to ensure a more comfortable experience.

• RELAX - Take a deep breath and remember that the interviewer is on your side and wants to assist you in getting your message out to the public.

• SMILE - Non-verbal cues assist a viewer in determining how they feel about what you are saying, so a natural smile will add a positive impression to your message.

• BE NATURAL - Don’t let a piece of equipment change your personality or how you act on a dayto- day basis. If you act natural, your message will be more readily received.

• HAVE A CHAT - The interviewer is merely asking you questions to assist you in getting your message out to the viewing public. So think of it as having a casual chat as opposed to a serious interview and you will naturally loosen up and be more conversational.

• REALIZE THE CAMERA IS ONE PERSON – Oftentimes interviewees put pressure on themselves by imagining that a huge audience is listening to them. But actually the camera is merely one person with whom you are having an intimate conversation.

• MAKE EYE-CONTACT – Now that you realize that the camera is only one person, make eyecontact with the interviewer and the camera as you would naturally do so while having a chat with two people.

• PREPARE YOUR MESSAGING – Make sure you know what you want to say before you say it, and repeat the messaging every time you are interviewed for consistency purposes.

• BE SHORT, SWEET, AND TO THE POINT – Remember that the majority of an interview ends up on the cutting room floor due to time considerations. So the quicker you make your points, the more of the interview will be included in the final project.

• NO MORE MARKETING MUMBLE JUMBLE - One of the easiest ways to be short, sweet, and to the point is to speak in actual words that people use in everyday conversation. Using big marketing words to appear intelligent actually backfires if your audience doesn’t understand what you are saying, and can actually impart a negative impression if they can’t repeat your
messaging.

Make sense? The more comfortable you are with the camera during an interview, the more responsive the viewing public will be to your messaging.

So sit back, relax, and have fun…lights, camera, action!

Emilie Barta has been a Host / Spokesperson since 1996. She represents exhibitors, associations, and event management companies at trade shows, corporate meetings, and any type of event that requires an energetic professional to create a clear, concise, and consistent message to attract, engage, and interact with their audience. Emilie is one of the forerunners of the virtual and hybrid event industry and is passionate about developing ways to actively engage the virtual audience. She can also be seen on TV, on video, and on the internet telling people’s stories, promoting a product, or training a company’s staff. Whether she is talking to the camera, interviewing a subject, or being interviewed herself, Emilie knows how to connect with her audience through the lens

This past Thanksgiving marked was my 7 year anniversary since I first arrived in LA.  I had no job, no money, no friends or family locally.  No, I was not an aspiring actress.  I just had no direction and was chasing a dream that was TBD….

Pretty much the only thing that separated me from the homeless was my apartment that came with the baggage of non rent paying aspiring whatevers.  And so came the vicious cycle of my rent rolling on to my credit card.  I would go days without eating and without speaking to anyone.  I realized I was losing weight but had no clue how bad I looked until I started having people come up to me and offer me food.  I will never forget the older woman that lived above me.  I had never spoken with her before, but one day she knocked on my door and told me she was going to Trader Joes and just wanted to know if I needed anything.  I politely said, thank you but no I’m ok.  About an hour later she came knocking again.  She had brought me a sandwich and said just in case…

Of course, being Hollywood, I did have the occasional person come up to me telling me how good I looked, how impressed and jealous they were of my small waist and told me whatever I was doing to keep it up.  I wanted to scream at them, “Look at me.  Really look at me!” but I didn’t have any energy or focus so my screams became mumbles to myself.  I began to think, aside from my apartment, furnished only with a futon mattress, how similar I was to the countless homeless I encountered on my aimless walks.  What were their stories?  How did they get to where they were now?   Drugs…alcohol?  Perhaps…but I was a college graduate from a good family and found myself on a similar path.

When I finally landed a job that turned out to be the launching platform for my career, I had sold all of my clothes of value and had nothing to wear for my new business attire work environment so I was repeatedly sent home for violating the dress code policy.  My boss, now mentor, Matt Difebo, invited me out to coffee one day and broached the subject.  He said he saw a lot of potential in me and then shared with me his story.  We both teared up and he said his wife would be more than happy to take me on a shopping spree.  While I appreciated the gesture more than they will ever know, I declined.  Later that night I went to the mall where I prayed I would be approved for a credit card for the Limited.  I showed up at work the next morning, he looked at me, smiled and nodded.  And though it took me 6 months to pay off that $300 credit card bill, I never got sent home again.  I would also later become one of the top sales reps in the department.

I experienced many highs and ultimate new lows over the course of finding myself…Most of which I will not speak of here, not because I am ashamed but b/c this is simply not the place.  I would only like to say that it is because of the kindness of strangers, some of which turned out to be great friends, professional mentors and one, even my husband that I began to lift myself up to who I am and where I am today.

There are many ways to give back without spending money.  This month I challenge you to share.  Inspire others!  What is your story?  What are ways you plan on paying it forward?  Share and comment here for a chance to win one of three $25 Amex gift cards.

Technology overhaul? Nope.  Embarking on journey of self-discovery? Nope.  Why the heck would I give up having internet?  Totally not by choice!  It was a fluke…a change of jobs, moving homes, a broken laptop…I was left with very limited internet access (and little time on the computer).  The more time I spent in the “stone-ages”, the more I realized WHY I missed Twitter.  It had grown to be an important part of my day!  For those of you who don’t quite love the twitterverse yet – here is why you will!

1)      Knowledge Sharing

Boy, did I feel cut off from the world! Not having Social Media access was strange…

I’ve always enjoyed everyone’s posts whether it was about the news or just learning something new.  Passing on information became a fun part of my day.  I enjoyed sharing things I found interesting, and seeing others post what they found just as fascinating to them.  The accessibility 24 hours a day….anytime you log on – it’s all there, all the info you can dive into!

2)      Industry Updates & Community: I’ve missed you, #eventprofs.  Truly!

There are so many of you with such great info.  I learn so much about what is going on throughout the world [of events] just from seeing the tweets.  It’s great to know that #eventprofs have such unique experiences, yet, here this one hashtag brings us together.  I felt as if I was just getting to connect with some of you, and feeling “part” of the #eventprofs community – that is so welcoming, encouraging, and mentoring.  This leads me to say, that I’ve certainly missed the twice-weekly chats!  There are always such interesting discussions happening…I can’t wait to be jump in again.

3)      Experiencing News LIVE

Without Twitter, I was just not hearing enough info!  At any moment, hundreds of tweets are posted.  What was I missing??  I found myself wondering and wishing I could log on.  Often times, Twitter is faster than news from traditional sources, and you could see the real world impact.  It is fascinating to see who is affected (positively or negatively) in real time, at any given moment.

4)      Sharing yourself in 140 characters

Though I don’t often post a slew of personal messages, I missed knowing that I could share with the world.  So many great things were happening over the past few months, and in my mind, I wanted to tweet and shout it out!  It was weird that I couldn’t…For those of you who can, post what’s on your mind!  Don’t regret that you didn’t.

5)      I cannot live without it!

Honestly, the first week seemed easy….but I admit, there were days that I really which I could have logged on to see the chatter going on.  Twitter certainly takes time and effort to enjoy – but you can only get what you give, right?? With limited access, I could see that I just couldn’t participate whole-heartedly as I had before.  I did cave a couple times, and posted a wee bit in the past month…but 2 minutes is not enough time to be in the twitterverse!

I’m back and ready and willing!  I can’t wait to join you all once again, as I come back from my crazy internet deprived journey!!!

Joyce Ma is the Communications & Events Coordinator for MB Designs – A boutique style event & floral design company basedin Toronto. A lover of all things tech and creative (and mom of 2 silly cats), she keeps busy baking and crafting when she is not on Twitter.

Follow her on Twitter Here: @Joyce_Ma

Connect with her on LinkedIn

***Time in the Mirror Pic is courtesty of binaryCoco***

Which leads me to believe that either the brands and/or admins running the social media marketing for the brands do not care, think they are a big enough business and are untouchable, think they do not have enough time to monitor their brand online or simply do not know how to set their Facebook “Like” page default to “company + others.”

When I went to the tab “company + others” on the business pages I was researching, I did see a lot of blatant spam posted on on the walls but I also saw a ton of consumer questions, comments and concerns going unanswered.  Some of which spawned additional angry comments because they felt they were being ignored…which in fact they were (or at least that is what it appears to the public) because they continue to go unanswered on the popular social site when all the while the brands are posting updates on their new products and promotions.

***Note: The major brands that I am referring to in this blog post ALL have their Facebook “Like” pages set to JUST THEM and unlike personal pages “Like” pages are not notified when someone comments so if the pages are set to “just company”, it’s out of sight, out of mind.***  Some companies may choose to keep the default to just them and still monitor the “company+others” or “just others” tab but if that is the case, consumers may find it disengaging or feel like the brand is trying to hide something.  And, if in fact the company is monitoring the other tabs why wouldn’t they delete the spam and answer/respond back to the people in public view so that their target audiences can see that they are engaging and actively listening?***

If you are an admin and/or the face and voice of your brand and simply do not know how to set your company default to “company + others” maybe this nice picture tutorial will help.

Most “Like” pages, you will notice automatically default to posts just by the company.

To change, go to settings.

Select all posts.

While here, this is where you can also select which tab you would like your page to default to.  You can see I have chosen YouTube.

Now the “Like” page is set to “company + others” and you can see my comment from my personal page is now visible to all and admin can either delete it if it is spam or answer/reply back to consumer in plain view.

In this viral, digital, virtual word of mouth age, whether you are a large or small business you can not afford to lose sight of what is important, the people.  People talk, and today, consumers have more influence than some businesses would like to believe.

Congrats to all of our fellow #eventprofs out there!  Thank you for educating, sharing, challenging, motivating, mentoring and inspiring me!  Good luck to you all!

Grosh Backdrops would definitely appreciate your vote!  To vote on all the nominated blog categories, simply click on the link. Click here to take survey

14 Tips To Help Build A Community on your Blog

Is your blog a fun place to hang out? Not every successful blog needs to be a place for community, but the ones that are often enjoy higher traffic, more comments, more retweets and less pressure for the blogger.

What is a blog community? To see an excellent example, visit Liz Strauss’s Successful Blog. Her tagline “You’re only a stranger once,” pretty well sums it up.  Liz’s blogging goal is to do the same thing with her blog that her father did with his saloon – create a place for a community to grow and thrive.

Successful blogging communities share certain traits:

* They are not ghost towns.  The are busy with posts and comments.

* They are places where information is shared.

* They add new ideas to the conversation.

* They are fun places where friends encourage each other and laugh together.

* They are open and receptive.

Creating a place like this on your blog isn’t as hard as you might think, though it will take a little time and effort. Here are a few tips:

1 – Start posting on a regular basis.

This is the only way to let people know you are alive and well and open for business, not a ghost town.

2 – Take a break from your soap box.

Having to write profound blog articles several times a week is a lot of pressure. Blog posts that promote others can take the pressure off and show that you support your community.

3 – Post a guest blogging policy.

This shows you are open to sharing your bully pulpit with others. Guest bloggers add: variation and interest to your blog; new members to your community (themselves and their readers); and content with a fraction of the work it takes to write your own posts.

4 – Seek out guest bloggers.

They might be friends or colleagues, or they may be people you know from social media.  I’ve found many of my guest bloggers from Twitter chats or when people have commented on links I’ve posted.

5 – Comment on blogs

Commenting on blogs of friends and favorite bloggers is one of the best ways to build a community for your blog.  Fellow bloggers usually appreciate comments very much. Often they will take an interest in you and will post comments on your blog.

6 – Retweet

Tweeting or retweeting a link to a good blog post serves to promote the blogger and the original tweeter and provides useful information to your community.  If you know the blogger’s Twitter handle, be sure to include it so that they will know you  tweeted their post, and will be more likely to do the same for your posts.

7 – Ask questions

An easy way to get great content is to do an interview.  You can record it on video and post it or you can trade questions and answers via email. Or, do as Liz King often does,  simply ask a question from you community and encourage them to post responses in the comments. Either way, you are promoting others and sparking conversation.

8 – Promote helpful blog posts of others on your Facebook or LinkedIn page

Again, you are helping your community by giving them great information and promoting fellow bloggers who will come and hang out at your blog. (This tip comes from watching my social media mentor Lindsay Fultz of Grosh Backdrops.)

9 – Think of new ways to promote others

Liz Strauss gives out the SOB award.  I created a “Join these #eventprofs on Facebook” list of links on my blog.  Remember, everything you do to support members of your blog community helps to keep it thriving on your blog.

10 – Keep the dialogue going

Encourage and respond to all comments. If a good discussion gets going, promote it on other social media sites. Whatever you can do to keep the discussion going helps to enliven and enrich your blog community.

11 – Repost

Did someone write a blog post that particularly spoke to you? Write a recommendation as a post on your blog and link to it. Again, supporting other blogs will serve to make your blog community stronger.

12 – Rant

It’s definitely good to get on that soapbox every once in a while. If you have an opinion, share it. The best discussions happen when bloggers are willing to take a stand on an issue. But be gracious and open to those who disagree with you in a respectful way.

13 – Guest blog

Take every opportunity you get to guest post on other blogs.  It helps expose you to new audiences and supports other bloggers who make up your community.

14 – Create a blog roll

Create a place on your blog for links to friendly bloggers who’s sites you frequent and recommend.  Again, this helps provide useful information to your community and helps promote other bloggers who make up your community.

Creating a successful blog community really comes down to two main things: hanging your “open for business” sign and helping others.  If you have any more tips to add on how to do this, please support your community by sharing in the comments.

Jenise Fryatt is the co-owner/marketing director Icon Presentations – audio, video, lighting for events/actress/mom/improv/karaoke and yoga devotee trying to stay in the present.  Jenise is the founder of the #FF alternative, #EIR (Engages, Informs, Retweets) phenomenon on Twitter.

I have looked in your medicine cabinet when you weren’t looking, and have been for the past couple of months.

Say what?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Well on everyone’s Twitter profile there is a favorites link and what I do, is go in and look at all the tweets that you deemed “favorite” worthy.  I first started snooping in your cabinets because I am a compulsive “favoriter”.  My tally was nearing 1,000 and I became a bit self conscience. I was curious as to what the norm was so I did some research.  What I have found and learned from the Twitter medicine cabinets has been invaluable to me.

"Favorites" = Twitter Medicine Cabinet

How I utilize the favorite button as a learning tool:

1.) Twitter to-do list:  When I am busy at the office or out running errands and I have a few seconds to spare I hit up my Twitter stream and favorite tweets of interest.  Then when I have time I use it as a to-do checklist and “unfavorite” each one as I read them.  Yes I read everything that I retweet and you should too but that’s another topic in itself.  I then retweet it if I found the content helpful.  Guess it’s kinda like my Google Reader but on Twitter.

2.) To learn more about my competitors: What #HowTo’s, tips and tricks are they favoriting? Think about it…you can see what your competition has up there sleeves.

3.) To get inside the brilliant minds of thought leaders and my mentors: If thought leaders are favoriting things they want to learn more about or what they have found helpful, you better believe, I’m all eyes.

4.) To decide if you are follow worthy

5.) To learn more period! Yes, I bogart the can man and favorite other peoples favorites!  It’s a great way drown out the noisy Twitter stream.  When I have a particular topic I would like to learn more about and am pressed for time, I will go straight to the favorites of key players in that industry or subject.

Ok, at this point some of you may be feeling a bit violated…or perhaps the jig is up and it’s your Twitter secret too.  Either way, I feel better getting this off of my chest.

So let’s hear it, who snoops?  What are some clever ways you utilize Twitter for benefit?