MSTCAA Alumni Newsletter

Alumni Association

www.mstcaa.org

Welcomes MSTC Alumni to The McCombs School of Business

DeanGILLIGAN

Highlights and Insights on the Future of Social Media

MSTCAACONFERENCE

HarlanBeverlyWhat it is like startingagain for the second time, direct insights on entrepreneurship

Vol. 2 Issue 1 Jan 2011

Social Media Trendsget plugged in!

Time to reconnectwith your networkfor the New Year

A new directionfor a new year

Think& Drink

The latest updateson Alumni milestonesand what is in store

Alumni inACTION

EditorsN ote

Contents see what is inside

www.mstcaa.org

Features

Editors Note 3

2010 Conference Recap 5 Social Media Strategies 7-14

Alumni in Action 15

Fireside Chat - Harlan Beverly 16

Social Media Insights 17Social Media Insights 17

Additional Resources 19

Alumni Association Update 20

Austin Think and Drink 21

Dean Gilligan, McCombs School of BusinessKeynote Speaker, MSTC 2010 Alumni Dinner

Editor in Chief Lisa McDonaldLayout Editor Rubén CantúPhotos by Virgil McCollough

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editors note a new directionfor a new year

www.mstcaa.org

With 2010 gone, many of us are left asking, “Where did it go?” So much happened last year and reflection on it brings forth both excitement and anxiety for the next. Deficit, budget, small business, economic recovery… all buzz words that truly reflect the mindset of much of our country and leaves entrepreneurs asking themselves, “where do we go from here?” A good place to start answering the question of where do we go is to look at some trends from 2010. The question of where do we go is to look at some trends from 2010. The uprising of the customer as brand ambassador and manager naturally leads to social networking- like it or not.

Many people roll their eyes when asked, “What’s your social media strategy,” but truth be told, in today’s world of instant feedback, replying to those Tweets and Fan pages is crucial to your product. Realizing the benefit of social media to entrepreneurs and establishment, the Annual Alumni Conference focused entirely on establishment, the Annual Alumni Conference focused entirely on social media and brought in some industry heavy weights to deliver key note presentations. A conference summary will be provided in this issue.

2010 was also a year of big changes for the MSTC program and the Alumni Association. Some of these changes include the MSTC move to McCombs and the addition of a few new faces to the program. Before we talk about the McCombs move, I would like to welcome Vanessa Manley and Daisy Cantu to the MSTC family. Vanessa is our new Marketing Coordinator and has been very active in getting the Alumni Association off on the right foot this year. She was instrumental in planning the getting the Alumni Association off on the right foot this year. She was instrumental in planning the December Conference and is a contributing editor to the AA Newsletter. Daisy was also instrumental in the planning and execution of the Conference and is the new Marketing Administrative Associate. Daisy is quite a trooper as she volunteered to work the MSTC Conference on her graduation day. Daisy, we all congratulate you on your accomplishment and thank you and Vanessa for your time.

The move to McCombs has, by all accounts, been a successful one and the integration is mutually beneficial for both parties. During the Annual Alumni Conference this past December, is mutually beneficial for both parties. During the Annual Alumni Conference this past December, Dean Gilligan (McCombs School of Business) was a guest speaker and addressed some of these benefits and spoke highly of the MSTC program, its leadership, and alumni. Highlights from Dean Gilligan’s speech will be addressed later in this issue along with specific benefits of this move for MSTC students and alumni. We were also incredibly fortunate to have Ingrid Vanderveldt as our keynote speaker for the Friday night’s dinner at the conference. She is a fellow McCombs alumnus, mentee of Dr. George Kozmetsky, and a managing partner with VH2 Energy Investments LLC. Among her thought provoking Kozmetsky, and a managing partner with VH2 Energy Investments LLC. Among her thought provoking topics was the fact we all have 24 hours a day and the difference in success stories depends on how we use each of those hours and who we share them with.

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editors note a new directionfor a new year

www.mstcaa.org

Some of the additional changes and momentum from last year was the resurgence of the MSTC Alumni Association. The Steering Committee spent 2010 organizing themselves, putting together an official website, committees, and projects for 2011 and beyond. This issue will highlight some objectives and projects outlined by the Alumni Association for 2011.

Assuming the role of editor for the Alumni newsletter is a task I am not taking lightly as I want to improve the means of communication amongst the group and the value we get from these exchanges. One of my first goals is to reorganize the content and message of the newsletter- it will no longer be One of my first goals is to reorganize the content and message of the newsletter- it will no longer be a recap of what is going on with MSTC, but rather a tool for MSTC alumni and prospective students to use in their business dealings. In the upcoming issues, you will see a concerted effort to highlight more issues alumni have regarding entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, commercialization, and specific topics.

This issue will be dedicated to social media, but the upcoming issues will be a direct reflection of topics alumni expressed as important on the survey they answered in 2010. Volume 2, Issue 2 will focus on Consumer Technologies and following that will be IT. I am always open to feedback and involvement Consumer Technologies and following that will be IT. I am always open to feedback and involvement from our fellow alumni; after all, the point is to strengthen our knowledge base and network.

As 2011 unfolds, entrepreneurs around the world will continue to buck trends and push creative and innovative ways to prosper and shape the future and I know the MSTC alumni will be no different. With that, I encourage each of you to take Ingrid Vanderveldt’s comment to heart and run with it; “There are only 24 hours a day- what will you do with yours?”

Warm regards and sincere wishes for a prosperous 2011.

HOOK ‘EM!HOOK ‘EM!

~Lisa McDonaldMSTC 2009

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2010 Annual Alumni Conference Recapa landmark event worth remembering

The 2010 annual Alumni Conference was without a doubt one of the most successful and highly attended conferences MSTC has experienced. “Get Plugged-In” was this year’s theme and social media experts delivered topics such as crowd sourcing, location based marketing, social intelligence, and the future of social media.

As in years past, the conference was divided into two days; Friday evening hosted a dinner to approximately 100 attendees and the Saturday info sessions catered to almost as maalmost as many alumni and their guests. This year we were honored to have Dean Tom Gilligan join us for the Friday session and address the move to McCombs.

Dr. Gary Cadenhead introduced Dean Gilligan’s two short years at McCombs as having, “restored McCombs to entrepreneurial excellence.” Prior to assuming his position with McCombs, the Dean held positions with the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California and the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His resume’ can be found on the McCombs website.

As the Dean addAs the Dean addressed the conference, he highlighted some of his top priorities since taking the helm of McCombs- among those being how to train entrepreneurs and why MSTC was not integrated with the business school. With MSTC fully integrated into McCombs, Dean Gilligan noted how pleased he was to have MSTC onboard and how MSTC adds value to McCombs ability to act as an authority on how to manage change and innovations.

Dean Gilligan went on to further discuss some of the benefits of the MSTC move to McCombs, such as better access to the high caliber of professors McCombs houses, student assistance with career goals and objectives, and moving McCombs and MSMcCombs and MSTC into different areas of entrepreneurial endeavors. One of the most notable endeavors is the creation of the Texas Venture Labs, a venture where MBA students interact with students from other departments around the UT campus under professor supervision to take real UT intellectual property and work it along the product life cycle development. In November (2010), ten teams were on exhibition during the first TVL Expo; another expo is planned for fall 2011.

Other endeavors were highlighted, as well as the fact UT does $3.25 billion in rresearch per year and the need to better commercialize those efforts. Reinvigorating the relationship between McCombs and the Engineering school was a primary step in those efforts and from that a focused effort on energy management innovation has been born. Dean Gilligan proudly highlighted the Energy Management and Innovation Center with the mission to empower leaders to more effectively manage energy demand and resources while enabling innovative technologies grounded in sound business principles. The MBA program now offers a Green Tech concentration and is pand is paving the way for innovation in research.

The keystone to Dean Gilligan’s speech was there are now more ways than ever for entrepreneurs to work with UT researchers and intellectual property- and MSTC is leading the way.

Gary Cadenhead, MSTC Director

Dean Gilligan, McCombs School of Business

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Our keynote speaker for the evening was Ingrid Vanderveldt, notably known to McCombs as the emcee for the Moot Corp competition and a perpetual entrepreneur. Mentored by Red McCombs and MSTC founder Dr. George Kozmetsky, she shared some of the great insights on what has allowed her to have so much success in her life.

She shared a key components to her success: "Everyone has twenty-ffour hours every day to do as they please. The difference between what people do in those hours is what allows them to be successful or not." When she asked Dr. Kozmetsky what she could do in return for all the support and guidance she received from him, he simply replied "Ingrid, just be successful." Ingrid had much more to share with the group, but for those who were unable to attend, the idea of passing knowledge and support on to the next generation of ententrepreneurs is key for a greater society, and the ability to harness and discipline your time so that is works for you instead of you working for it is the difference between those who over achieve and those who don't.

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Ingrid VanderveldtKeynote Speaker

2010 Annual Alumni Conference Recapimplementing social media strategies

Alora Chistiakoff of Indigo Heron kicked off the day with a realistic discussion about how your personal and professional images should remain separate. She urged all entrepreneurs to make sure that their LinkedIn profile is up-to-date and that it reflects what they would llike other people to see about them. Because of Google's rankings, LinkedIn might sometimes place higher than even your own website. Therefore, let LinkedIn work for you.

Ms. Chistiakoff is a digital business strategist who has been working in eCommerce since 2000. With a background ranging from bootstrapped startups to publicly-traded large enterprises. Alora's specialty is helping businesses understand the organizational change necessary to support tchange necessary to support transformational technology implementations. Over the past decade, Alora has worked with brands ranging from Electronic Arts and Urban Outfitters, to Scott & White Health Plan and JetBlue Airways. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Alora and her husband moved to the AAustin area from New York City in 2008.

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Alora Chistiakoff, Indigo Heron

Jim Rumbo, MSTC ‘08


Simon Salt of IncSlingers and Aaron Strout, CMO of Powered, discussed Location Based Marketing and Geo-Location Services and their importance to accurately capturing customer profiles. They went into detail about the origins of geo-tagging and concluded with ways businesses can leverage this technology to increase traffic and revenue. If your business is not using geo-location to incgeo-location to increase your awareness to early adopters, it was recommended as a valuable tool to integrate into your social strategy.

Aaron is the chief marketing officer for the Austin-based social media agency Powered Inc. With Powered, Aaron not only focuses on the day-to-day marketing activities, but also provides a social voice for the company. In this role, Aaron continues with his speaking,blogging (recently syndicated on socialmediainformer.com), podcasting and social networking activities with an eye toward ccreating awareness and lead generation for the company.

Prior to joining Powered, Aaron was the Vice President of Social Media for Mzinga, a Boston-based provider of online communities for businesses. In this role, Aaron focused on tapping into the power of social media for business. In addition to his knowledge of the interactive and new media landscape, Aaron has more than 17 years of online marketing and advertising experience, with a strong background in integrated and online marketing. Before joining Mzinga, Aaron worked for Fidelity Investments in their retail division with a focus on onon online and acquisition marketing. Aaron's work at Fidelity revolved around Web strategy and marketing, as well as the development of interactive and print campaigns, including direct mail, e-mail, online ads, and event marketing. Aaron is also a founding member and former president of (BIMA) and a member and former board member of the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (MITX). Aaron is also on the advisory board member of the prestigious Social Media Club. Last but not least, Aaron and his podcast partner, Jennifer Leggio, host a weekly podcast called The Quick-n-Dirty every week on Thursday at 3 PM ET.

Mr. Salt is the CEO and founder of integrated marketing communications agency IncSlingers (www.theincslingers.com/blog). He is an author, writer, blogger, entrepreneur and a nationally-recognized speaker on the hottest topics in social media. His book, “Social Location Marketing,” which covers how marketers can best mamake use of social location sharing sites such as Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp, Whrrl, etc, will be published by Pearson publications in January 2011. As a Social Media influencer,Simon has been sought out by both large brands and international PR companies. Most recently, he has worked with Hanes and Chevrolet as both an advisor and social media advocate. [email protected] Twitter: @incslinger

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Simon Salt, IncSlingers

Aaron Strout, Powered Inc


Sam Decker, CEO at Mass Relevance and former CMO of Bazaarvoice, talked about why it is important to listen to the customer and how to respond to their feedback. Most online users research product reviews and comments before making a purchase. Good and bad feedback is good for business, if you are not listening to your customer, your customer shouldn't have to listen to you.

MMr. Decker is a recognized expert in eCommerce, word of mouth marketing, and direct marketing. A frequent speaker at marketing and eCommerce events and author of an award-winning marketing blog (www.deckermarketing.com), Sam brings more than 15 years of marketing and online retailing experience to Bazaarvoice. As Chief Marketing Officer, Sam is responsible for leading Bazaarvoice’s corporate marketing and PR. BBefore joining Bazaarvoice, Sam spent seven years of leadership at Dell, Inc. in marketing, eBusiness, CRM, and customer-centricity. From 1999-2003, he led Dell's consumer web site, building Dell.com into the largest consumer eCommerce site at $3.5B in annual sales, and established global best practices in merchandising, analytics, product management, and operations. Sam pioneered Dell's customer-centricity strategy and customer segmentation using Six Sigma methodology. He subsequently directed Dell's $1B+ installed-based marketing division, responsible for eBusiness, marketing communications and brand management. Before Dell, Sam spent momore than six years leading marketing at B2C and B2B startups and became a pioneer in online community building. Prior to that, he consulted with companies such as Apple, Claris, Adobe, and Borland to help them develop word of mouth and loyalty marketing strategies.

Sam has authored two books on word of mouth and guerilla marketing, serves on the board of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), is president of Austin Texchange, and serves on the board of advisors for the Web Analytics Association. He holds a BS in Business Marketing Management from California Polytechnic University.

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Sam Decker,, CEO at Mass Relevance


Jennifer Duncan from the Texas Exes spent the lunch break letting us know how to tap into the larger Texas Exes network and how extensive it really is. Some new resources from the Texas Exes have allowed MSTCAA to blossom through this transition to McCombs and we have to thank them for their support. Jennifer noted that a "Life Membership" can be purchased for $750, but it can be acquired for $50 down and $25 e$50 down and $25 every other month.

Information can be found here http://www.texasexes.org/join/levels.aspx or anyone interested in this membership option can contact the Texas Exes at 800-369-0023.

The McCombs Alumni representative Robin Valillee explained how to access the Career Services at McCombs is a great opportunity ffor those looking to advance their careers. Additionally there are affinity groups we can join to share ideas around emerging fields and technologies.

The MSTC Alumni Association was represented by Ruben Cantú and David Warwick with the debut of the official MSTCAA.org website.

The concept and driving force behind the website was focused on gathering the Alumni agathering the Alumni around a single location to share and grow the community.

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Jennifer Duncan

Robin Valilee


After lunch, Paul Walker (Pulse Point Group) shared how new communities online are spurring social innovations. Corporations are leading the effort to not just capitalize on these new ideas, but to find a way to give back through innovation management. Mr. Walker was involved in the recently created Texas Ideas, a collaboration with UT solidifying the uniuniversity’s innovation management strategy. This alliance was formed after President Powers issued a challenge to stay on the cutting edge of society and technology by leveraging both existing students and alumni to give back to the community. You can find out more about Paul Walker and Texas Ideas at(http://www.pulsepointgroup.com/) and(https://ideas.utexas.edu/welcome)

MMr. Walker has more than 25 years of experience in general management, brand management, market development, communications, digital and social media, business development, sales and venture capital. Paul leads the digital transformation practice for PulsePoint Group, a management and digital consulting firm. Global 1000 companies seek the expertise of PulsePoint Group and Mr. Walker to achieve brand reputation, marketing, innovation and collaboration objectives through social media. PulsePoint’s clients include Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, UT Austin, Nokia, Dell, VMware, Delta Air Lines, The PAC 10, Lucchese Boots, and the U.S. Chamber of Commeof Commerce.

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Paul Walker, CEO, PulsePoint

Gary Cadenhead, MSTC Director


Tim Hayden CSO of BlueClover gave us an insight on what Social Media will evolve into and how we can make it work for us. As he said "God didn't make us to be sitting in front of a computer all day." The coolest part of his presentation was when he demonstrated how QR codes will begin leading the augmented reality revolution.

MMr. Hayden is an expert speaker and marketing advisor to both B2C and B2B brands. As a marketing scientist, he studies communications behavior and the technologies that reshape it every day. With more than 15 years experience in interactive marketing, entertainment and media consulting, Tim brings innovative strategies to life through the integration of mainstream media, events, mobile and social media. Currently, Tim leads business development efforts, client strategy, and directs execution in national and international marketing efforts for Blue Clover, servicing brands such as Hyatt, IBM, Jackson Family Wines and Rackspace. Prior to Blue Clover, Tim spent seven years as CEO of GamePlan Marketing, an Austin-based experiential marketing agency where he coined the term "Live-Mobile-Online." In 2004, he produced a guerilla marketing campaign for the Bluetooth SIG heralded as "The Greatest Tradeshow Marketing Stunt Ever" by the editors of MarketingSherpa. In the years since, Tim has overseen production of Bacardi's first social media/event marketing campaign, Dell's first social media widget, and AMD's mosfirst social media widget, and AMD's most-viewed online video, while achieving other innovative accomplishments for clients such as IBM and Nintendo.

Tim holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Texas State University, and lives in Austin with his wife, Halea. www.linkedin.com/in/saddleup

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Tim Hayden, CSO, Blue Clover


Our final keynote was Brian Massey. In a section called, "Get Plugged In so you can Cash In," Brian explained how certain metrics are the barometer of a successful or unsuccessful campaign. If you can't track the effectiveness of an email, Tweet, or Facebook post, you are wasting your time. The key is to have a 360 degree loop around from the people who have experienced your product/service to those who aare looking for it and what you do in between that is what makes the difference.

Mr. Massey calls himself a Conversion Scientist and has the lab coat to prove it. “Conversion” is the process of converting Web Traffic into leads and sales; his practice, Conversion Sciences, brings these principles to businesses of all sizes. A “coA “conversion” veteran of more than 15 years, Brian began by developing open source marketing automation systems for companies seeking to build their online channels. Brian frequents speaking opportunities with corporations and universities and also national conferences including PubCon, OMMA, Innotech, Destination Design Management, and PIA's Converge Conference. He has developed training curriculum for professional organizations such as the Direct Marketing Association and Webmaster World. BBrian is the author of the The Conversion Scientist and is a columnist for ClickZ.com, Search Engine Land and the Content Marketing Institute. He lives and works in Austin, Texas where life and the Internet are hopelessly entwined.

[email protected]:www.conversionscientist.comtwitter:www.twitter.com/bmasseylinkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/bmassey

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Brian Massey, Conversion Scientist


We wrapped up our event with a panel moderated by Ruben Cantú, on the future of Social Media. Panelist Brian Massey, Tim Hayden, and Simon Salt each gave their take on what will be coming around the corner, what privacy will look like, and how the internet mirrors reality in respect to influence and decision points. We had a great conference and look forward to next years MSTC Alumni Association Conference.

Thank you all for those who supported and helped put this event together.

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Tim Hayden, Simon Salt, Brian Massey

Adam Bates, MSTC ‘08

Ray Cone, MSTC ‘08

Michael Waugh, MSTC ‘07

Cliff Zintgraff, MSTC ‘06

Florence Wong, MSTC ‘10

Alumni in Actionupdates and milestones from our MSTC comrads

Elaine Jones- MSTC Class of 2009 Elaine Jones has joined the Washington Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to provide small business advising services in the Bremerton service area. The position has been vacant since the departure of the previous advisor in 2009. Jones brings a unique skill set to assist Bremerton area small businesses. She is a Washington native who is coming “home” from Austin, Texas after owning a technology commercialization advising firm there since 1996. She holds an MBA and MS in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas and has served as a reviewer for Small Business Innovation Research grants. She is fluent in Spanish, providing translation services for the office of the President of Mexico, and has worked with Native American communities.

“Elaine is engaging and energetic and we believe she will provide outstanding advising services to the Bremerton area,” says Brett Rogers, SBDC State Director. “Her interesting and diverse background will enable her to reach a broader range of businesses and address their individual issues. The additional expertise available to her through our statewide network of business advisors will further enhance the quality of the service she will provide.”

The Bremerton SBDC is co-located with the WSU Kitsap County Extension Office at the Norm Dicks Government Center in Bremerton. Advising services will be available by appointment.

Elaine Jones, MSTC ‘10

Dr. Steven Nichols – MSTC Professor Dr. Nichols was nominated for the Educator of the Year Award given by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). This is one of the most distinguished awards and is given selectively; there are a number of years it has not been given. According to the USASBE, there was a sizeable pool of nominees and it was an excellent group of distinguished individuals. The committee went on to say that Dr. Nichols, “Epitomize(s) what this award is all about and is indeed a deserving winner. Congratulations.”

Jorge Alberto Galvez Choy- MSTC Monterey Alumni On October 21, 2010, Mr. Galvez was awarded the Bicentennial Medal “Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara” from the Governor of the State of Tamaulipas. This award was established to recognize citizens who have performed exemplary services. Mr. Galvez was presented this award for "academic achievements and contribution to the development of Industrial Engineering in Mexico and Latin America".

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Steven Nichols, MSTC Professor

Entrepreneur’s Fireside Chatfirst hand entrepreneur insights, second time around

We asked Harlan to provide us with an update of his first startup and what he is working on now in the social media space. In his own words, he provided us with some motivation for 2011.

“Have you ever wanted to start your own business? I have. Twice. Want to know what is really fun and really frustrating about starting and running a startup? I constantly smell amazing success around the cornethe corner, taste a daily sample of victory, and feel the continuous frustration of “not quite yet”.

Each year, I get the great pleasure to guest lecture for the MSTC class on entrepreneurship and marketing. Usually I speak about my first company, Bigfoot Networks, which is a hardware gaming startup that makes the Killer Network Card for faster online gaming. I started and ran Bigfoot for 5 years, raised $12MM for the company, and closed a huge deal wand closed a huge deal with Dell. The deal with Dell ultimately changed the company’s business model, which can be a very difficult challenge. Most recently, Bigfoot has raised another $11MM ($23MM total invested), and moved its headquarters to California. Bigfoot is still going strong, although I’ve left the company about a year ago to start my latest venture, Karmaback.

Karmaback is a Social Network technology company that has figured out a way to “measure” the direct benefits of social marof social marketing and advertising. “Social Attribution” will become a buzz-word soon, and Karmaback will make a billion dollars: at least that is what I can smell in the air… it’s the excitement of a new startup! In the meantime, Karmaback is making money running contests and sweepstakes for businesses on Facebook and Twitter to get them more fans and followers. It is a daily victory to sell something people want…just sample of what is to come. And the frustration? Yes, it is frustrating to be living on Ramen noodles again. It is frustrating to have this great technology, and nobody really understands it yet. It is frustrating to have to to raise money in this climate… but the smell, the daily victories, and the huge chance at a big upside make it all worthwhile. My advice if you’ve got an idea you think is good, go for it: It’s not about the destination, it is the journey!”

-Harlan Beverly Founder of BigFoot Networks and CEO of Karmaback

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Harlan Beverly, CEO of Karmaback

Social Media Spotlightinsights on how to leverage social media tools for more revenue

We asked Los Angeles marketing and design firm Chiaroscuro Concepts to discuss how a social media strategy plays into a successful Search Engine Optimization campaign. They obliged us with the following article on why a relaxed social media strategy won’t bring the desired results and included seven steps to put your Facebook SM strategy in the right direction.You can visit their website at www.chiaroscuroconcepts.com where they hthey have more information on this and additional resources and topics.

Utilizing Social Media to Optimize SEO

Social media has been reviled, misconstrued and misunderstood by many companies until it was recently seen as a marketing strategy that could have a clear dollar value assigned to it. In fact, it was only until a few years ago that many companies were spending millions on internet security to prevent their employees from logging into social media hubs during work hours. Nomedia hubs during work hours. Now, those same companies have either greatly relaxed those restrictions or done away with them entirely after seeing the benefit social media can bring to their brand and marketing strategies.

While some companies have come to understand that simply having a Facebook page or a Twitter account won’t net them the results they want to achieve and have enacted entire marketing campaigns built on social media, other companies are still toeing the water when it comes to delving into social media. Whatever the reason why, either because they don’t understand the concept fully and are therefore reluctant to investigate ffurther or they can’t see how it would benefit their customer base (and bottom line), there is one benefit to enacting a social media campaign that has a universal appeal—search engine optimization, or SEO.

There are many tactics that companies use to increase their website (SEO) rankings on search engines, tactics like PPC advertising, landing pages, microsites or link building, but one of the most effective (and cost-effective) means of accomplishing this challenge is by harnessing the power of social media. By constantly generating new content, whether a new blog post, Tweet or Facebook posting and allowing search engines to crawl and index their sindex their sites for new content, companies have discovered that social media is a brilliantly simple and effective means of keeping their name at the top of search results and a way to consistently push out new content to engage their audience.

Test the theory—do a Google search on a large nationally known retailer that has a Facebook page or a Twitter feed. Within the first ten results that get returned by the search engine, at least two of them will be dedicated to their social media sites. This is incredibly valuable web rreal estate that might have otherwise gone to another site that has a high search engine ranking but has nothing to do with the actual brand. Sites like these could include consumer review websites or newspaper sites that happen to mention the brand once or twice. By enacting official social media sites for your own company, that valuable web real estate can be reclaimed and your search engine rankings optimized.

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Social Media Spotlightinsights on how to leverage social media tools for more revenue

Depending on what you want to achieve for your company’s marketing strategy, social media can be a means to almost any marketing end—gaining brand recognition, positioning your company or self as an industry thought leader, hosting special promotions accessible only through your fan pages, gathering valuable insight and data about your online community and search engine optimization—the possibilities for social media to accomplish your goals in our digin our digitally connected world are endless.

Below are a few tips and pointers on how to start your own Facebook marketing campaign off on the right foot.

1. Claim your Facebook URL: claim a permanent Facebook URL under your company name by registering it at: http://www.facebook.com/username NOTE: You CANNOT change this once you register it; so choose carefully.

2. Understand that customer interaction on Facebook is a two-way street. You want to encourage posts to your page and sharing among your users. So make sure that they know a live body is on the other end of the page.

3. Don’t incentivize your followers—Facebook actively discourages this and could lock your account if you continually violate this rule. Instead, offer them rewards, such as access to exclusive content in the form of videos and photos.

44. Understand that Facebook is not the place to put your entire product inventory—that’s what your website is for. You don’t want to overwhelm your visitors with a huge amount of material. Instead, be selective and publish only the items you think best match your fan base.

5. Alternately, don’t underwhelm them with a lack of content either. If nothing is going on with your page for a while, people will lose interest and stop checking in. A good rule of thumb to post on Facebook is a few times a week.

6. Don’t restrict your visitors from commenting or sharing your content. Yes, you might run the risk of some negatinegative feedback, but view customer issues brought to your attention on Facebook as another means to service your customers and show them that you really do listen to their concerns.

7. And perhaps the most important rule of all when trying to actively engage users on your page, ask yourself this—would YOU want to receive this content? If the answer is no, you might need to alter your communications strategy and spice it up with more interesting content and graphics.

With a little creativity, some hard work and by following some basic rules of thumb, you can get your Facebook campaign ocampaign off and running with a loyal fan base that wants to actively engage with you and share your content with their own Facebook friends. The possibilities are limitless when it comes to how much your fans can help promote your brand and their loyalty is priceless!

Contact Chiaroscuro Concepts to see about customizing a Facebook marketing campaign at [email protected] Twitter: @chiaroscurocon

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Additional Resourcesfor all the information we weren’t able to fit in

Sam Decker: http://deckermarketing.com/

Tim Hayden:http://bit.ly/haydengraph

Brian Massey: http://conversionscientist.comhhttp://www.slideshare.net/bmassey

19courtesy of Brian Masseyconversionscientist.com

Alumni Association Updatethe work continues and we want your help

The Steering Committee adopted a Mission Statement, goals, and projects to guide the Alumni Association for this coming year. While we see this as a positive move, nothing is without the ability to change. The goals, mission, and committees all serve as a guidepost to strengthen our group. We have tentatively selected a mission statement to give us a starting line for all our mission statement to give us a starting line for all our endeavors. For the time being, we will move forward with this Mission Statement:

To strengthen relations amongst MSTC alumni and continually foster entrepreneurship and the creation of wealth by building on the principles taught at IC2 and MSTC.

To help accomplish this mission, we are pledging to To help accomplish this mission, we are pledging to provide opportunities to fortify and expand our network, offer a platform to encourage dialog amongst alumni, and bestow value to all members by continually striving to be better and more efficient.

If you haven’t already done so, we encourage you to visit the new MSTC Alumni website. http://www.mstcaa.org There you will find information on how to get involved with the association, upcoming events, blogs, and professional organizations.

LinkedInLinkedInThe MSTC Alumni Association has established an official LinkedIn group. MSTC Alumni and Fellows is open to all alumni and we encourage each of you to join.

Get InvolvedHere is your opportunity to become more active in the Alumni Association. It can only get better from here and it can only get better with you. Below are some committees and projects we would like to complete this year. Afterall, the platform to encourage dialog is built on dialog.

Web DevelopmentWeb Development Social ActivitiesMarketingNewsletterSpeaking Engagements (opportunities for alumni to act as subject matter experts)Guest speakers (targeted topics)MSTC mentoring program (mentoring current MSTC students)Anyone wishing to join any of these committees, or has a suggestion for other endeavors, please email the Anyone wishing to join any of these committees, or has a suggestion for other endeavors, please email the Steering Committee at [email protected]

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Don Carroll and Rubén Cantú

Think and Drinkbecause some of the best business ideas come in a group

The ever popular Think & Drink has returned. This year, the T&D will be held the first Thursday of every month. The scheduled can be found online at the mstcaa.org website.

We are still looking for volunteers to help organize the Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas T&D. If you are interested, please contact Lisa McDonald ([email protected]) to get involved.

For convenience, here is the Austin Schedule

Austin T&D Schedule – FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH, 6 PM

FFebruary 3, 2011 J Blacks 710 W 6th http://www.jblacks.com/

March 3, 2011 Iron Cactus 10001 Stonelake Blvd (512) 794-8778 http://www.ironcactus.com/north-austin.asp

April 7, 2011 Paggi House 200 Lee Barton Drive (512).473=3700 http://www.paggihouse.com/index.php

May 5, 2011 Cool River Cafe 4001 Parmer Lane (512)835-0010 http://www.coolrivercafe.com/

June 9, 2011 The Belmont 305 West 6th Street (512) 457-0300 http://www.thebelmontaustin.com/

July 7, 2011 The Gingerman 301 Lavaca St. (512) 473-8801 http://www.aus.gingermanpub.com

August 4, 2011 Ranch 616 616 Nueces (512) 479-7616 http://www.theranch616.com/index.php

SSeptember 8, 2011 Trudy’s 409 W 30th St (512) 477-2935 http://www.trudys.com/

October 6, 2011 Cuba Libre 409 Colorado (512) 472-2822 http://www.cubalibreaustin.com/

November 3, 2011 Opal Devines 700 West 6th Street (512) 477-3308 http://www.opaldivines.com/

Mike Parmer MSTC ‘05

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MSTCAA Alumni Newsletter

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