Social media has become such an essential part of businesses marketing strategy these days and there is sooooo much information out there it can be a bit overwhelming.  BUT, there is hope for those that get dizzy just thinking about their social media marketing and strategy…it is called a Virtual Assistant!

A Virtual Assistant can set up and manage all social media for your business. It is now possible to reach out to hundreds or even thousands in a matter of seconds all through the power of a tweet or a wall post. Maximizing interaction with potential clients and increasing sales is the idea of managing social media profiles of many businesses.

Now take a deep breathe, don’t freak out, and find peace of mind that there is hope in managing your social media and keeping your Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+, etc. active daily.  Just like email (which I know some feel like is an overwhelming task as well) you need to pay attention to the messages that come floating in through your social channels.  Just like email you need to respond to messages and responses, interact through all the groups you are a part of, and keep a happy line of communication to ensure you control your reputation of a good person to do business with. Therefore, keeping up with all your online accounts can take up hours of your time that we know you could be working and making money during.

Shhhhh, here is a little secret….ideally, you should not spend more than 30-60 minutes replying and posting online daily on Twitter. How do you do this? Is this possible, you ask? I have found four Twitter services to make that online work more efficient and allow you time for other tasks in your already busy life.

Hootsuite

A reason people spend so much time on social media is because they have to constantly switch from screen to screen, search for important information to post, think of new ideas, etc. every day. With Hootsuite, possibly one of the most used social media tools out there, allow you to register up to five of your social media profiles to permit interacting with your Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn followers easy.

The interface on all the different accounts has unique designs to allow for less confusion and quick recognition. If you want to send a message to all your profiles, this can be done with one simple click of a button. The messages with automatically appear on the profile(s) you chose.

Another awesome advantage of using this tool for social media is the ability to schedule your posts on specific dates at specific times during the future. This is especially helpful if you won’t be able to tend to any of your social media outlets due to other obligations and commitments. Once you schedule the messages they will post even if you do not log in that day.

InboxQ

Did you know there are Twitter users who are waiting to become your followers, or possibly even clients? The problem is, they just don’t know it yet. When people ask questions about products and/or services that your business offers, InboxQ perhaps the most helpful when it comes to generating leads for your business, allows you to find them.

The application can be downloaded and installed on your browser or Hootsuite dashboard. Once installed, you enter keywords that are relevant to your business and InboxQ will then search questions asked on Twitter. There is no limit of keywords, as long as they help you receive returned questions. From that point, you answer the tweets with relevant information about what your business can offer them in answering their questions.

Commun.it 

This is another social media service that allows your virtual assistant or online business manager to build more Twitter leads, which in turn will increase your sales by focusing on your list of high-value followers. Any user who mentions your business name will
appear on a special list, which will make it easier to engage with those who are truly interested and allow you to strengthen your relationships. The service also automatically populates your different followers into groups for segmentation purposes. Similar to InboxQ you can enter keywords that will then be used to discover new leads for your business. You can sign up for a free account that will allow you to engage 30 times with a single user but then requires payment.

Topsy

Along with social media you are guaranteed to have customer feedback. This will be great for possible clients of your business since most research on the Internet prior to shopping with any specific business and making any purchases. Obviously, positive feedback draws them to your business and negative with repel them. Searching for posts on Topsy and retweeting, liking and commenting on them is important.

If you receive a negative comment make sure you provide a solution and answers. If possible find a way to correct the mistake this way even if you receive a negative comment on social media the manner you resolve it will speak high volumes.

There are a myriad of selections out there that can be used from your online business managers or virtual assistant to help keep you known out there and allow for optimum social media engaging. Your time is your most precious asset and social media should not eat into your business and personal time on a daily basis. Carve out specific time, get these and other great tools and use your time wisely and receive the most value for your minute!

And as always, if this stuff makes you dizzy and you just don’t want to take the time to learn all the ins and out of Twitter, Alpine Small Business, is your one stop shop for all your social media needs.  Give us a jingle or shoot over an email anytime we’re here to help.

When is the last time you sat down just to browse LinkedIn to see what people were saying? LinkedIn is often viewed or thought of as the step child on FaceBook where businesses focus limited social media efforts but can use many of the features available to answer questions regarding their business or the capabilities and qualifications present.

When companies are looking for a specific job to be done they can easily look for it by going into the questions that were asked and responses shared to see who has the most ability to complete this task and see the employees that will be working to know what certification they have in the area they need. They then have the option of contacting the business of their choice to get the best outcome possible.

There are many ways to use LinkedIn for your business but many do not know how. Here are a few ways to use the answers you find on LinkedIn for your business.

1. Learn what questions your prospective clients have and use this to generate content for a blog post, videos, or email content
2. Identify and connect with key influencers who are asking questions to help build your network
3. Develop yourself as a thought leader in the industry by providing helpful answers without sounding salesy
4. Set your company up as a resource for your clients and prospects without pushing a sale so they come to you organically
5. Build brand awareness and generate leads

LinkedIn answers provide a great opportunity to engage with your market during their initial research phase and begin lead nurturing and build brand awareness.

Do you want to shake things up and get the word out of what you offer and do to your connections? Check out these action steps to help those connections notice you.

Ask for Advice. The absolute best thing you can do on LinkedIn is  to ask for advice. Don’t go in and promote a blog post or something specific. Instead, go in and ask for advice by asking, “What are your best social media tips?”, “Do you still make cold calls? If so, what works?” or “How do you use LinkedIn for B2B lead generation?”

Update Your Profile. This is an easy way to get on people’s radar screen. Each time you update your profile, LinkedIn lets other users know. When people see your updates, they know you’re active, vibrant and still in business. Reminding people you are still there is all they need to refresh their memory of who you are and what you do.

Add a Turner Box Around Your Profile Photo. This is a neat little way to grab people’s attention. It’s based on the fact that the human eye notices the color red more than any other color. By adding a red Turner Box around your profile photo, you can make your LinkedIn profile stand out more, which will result in more engagement.

Follow Thought-Leaders on LinkedIn Today. LinkedIn Today is a great tool that keeps you up-to-date on the latest industry happenings. Sign up and stay fresh in all the news and happenings going on in the LinkedIn world.

Use the Alumni Tool to Connect with Friends. The Alumni Tool is one of the better features on LinkedIn. Go to CONTACTS in the menu bar and drag down to your college or university. There, you’ll see your old friends and, more importantly, their jobs and their companies. These connections already know you so if they are following you they are more likely to help promote your business to their friends, for FREE!

 Do not go into LinkedIn expecting great results, especially instantly. It is not like FaceBook in the manor that you go in with an idea and expect certain immediate results. It just doesn’t work that way. Go in knowing you are ready and willing to give and all information and watch how people slowly start to follow you and want to know more about what you offer.

And as always, if this stuff makes you dizzy and you just don’t want to take the time to learn all the ins and out of Linkedin, Alpine Small Business, is your one stop shop for all your social media needs.  Give us a jingle or shoot over an email anytime we’re here to help.

I am a huge fan of Pinterest and am finding that I’m using it more and more.  There are a lot of skeptics out there that think it’s just for girls, or don’t see the business value, but for you Pinterest virgins out there, I really recommend you try it out.

It’s a great tool for businesses (when used effectively) and I’m seeing more engagement, sharing and traffic back as a result.

As Pinterest has grown and become more popular unsurprisingly we have seen a rise of tools that have popped into the marketplace to help manage, measure and enhance the Pinterest experience. Without further ado, here are my favorite Pinterest tools and the reasons I love them:

1. PinAlerts

PinAlerts is a very useful Pinterest tool that allows you to find out in real time whether someone has pinned something from your website. It allows you to quickly respond and say thanks to those who are promoting your work, as well as helps increasing your followers by asking your pinners to follow some of your other boards. PinAlerts is still in its infancy (aka beta version) and they have plans for more features to arrive soon, such as the possibility to broadcast the number of your repins on your website.

2. Pinreach

Pinreach helps you understand better where you stand on Pinterest and how well you’re doing, by calculating your Pinterest “score.” Another useful feature is that you can see the daily trending members and trending pins. This is great for boosting your engagement: repins, comments and increase in followers to your boards. 

3. Hootsuite

Ok, I admit this one is a slight cheat as I use Hootsuite predominantly for Twitter and Facebook but I thought it was worth a mention here particularly as they have now included Pinterest tracking to their portfolio.

4. Followers on Pinterest

Followers on Pinterest is a smartphone/tablet app that costs £0.69.  It’s very similar to another one of my favourite Twitter tools, ManageFlitter. You can use it to find out who isn’t following you back, track new followers, follow and unfollow users and discover new people and boards to follow. One of the most interesting features of this app is that it allows you to keep track of everyone who has everunfollowed you!

5. Pin Search

If you use Google Chrome and Pinterest, then you may find this tool very useful. It’s a Chrome extension that allows you to Google search using any picture on Pinterest. This way you can get all the information there is on a picture as well as similar pictures. A great discovery tool for Pinterest!

6. Piqora

Piqora (formerly known as Pinfluencer) is a great tool for anyone who is serious about using Pinterest for marketing reasons. You can use it to start any promotions on Pinterest, to track your results with their analytics and manage your content (including pin scheduling). Another great feature is Pinner360, that helps you identify your most influential pinners, your brand advocates as well as who engages the most with you. A very useful tool and a must for those using Pinterest for their business.

7. Pinstamatic

Pinstamatic is a great Pinterest tool that helps you make even better boards. Regular images are just not enough anymore to stand out, and with this tool you can get that extra edge over your competition. For example, you can add quotations to your board, which has a much better chance of attracting users to it as well as fun sticky notes. Another great feature is that you can share music on your boards and your friends can play them right from there – a great tool that helps you create more diverse and more fun boards. You can also use Pinstamatic to add a map to your Pinterest board, so that whenever someone clicks on it they are directed to your location on Google Maps.

8. Pinterest Right Click

Pinterest Right Click is another browser extension, but this time for Mozilla Firefox users. Once installed, it adds a “Pin Image” option to your right-click menu, so whenever you find an image that you would like to pin, you can do it very quickly by right-clicking.

9. PinBooster

PinBooster is a great tool for those who want to advertise on Pinterest. It works simply by compensating popular pinners to endorse your business on Pinterest. They can share your photos and videos and promote your hashtags and events to their followers.  It’s a useful way to grow your follower base and even get some leads out of it. And if you are a great pinner yourself and have lots of followers, you can sign up on Pinbooster and actually get paid to pin.

10. Snapito

Snapito is a tool from the Pinstamatic family that has a very simple, yet useful feature. It allows you to pin your website easily, by entering its address on their website and with the click of a button you get a screenshot of the website that you can then quickly post to your Pinterest board. Another very similar tool is a Google Chrome extension called ShotPin, which pretty much does the same thing!

So there you have it a list of my 10 favorite Pinterest tools! I can’t wait for more tools to pop up so I can try them all and do a more extensive list. Until then, Happy Pinning!

And as always, if this stuff makes you dizzy and you just don’t want to take the time to learn all the ins and out of Pinterest, Alpine Small Business, is your one stop shop for all your social media needs.  Give us a jingle or shoot over an email anytime we’re here to help.

 I was part of the social revolution before social media was even cool.  I remember sitting awake on Myspace (remember Myspace?) for hours learning about people, friends and colleagues.  It was captivating to have so much information at your finger tips and such a easy way to promote your passion and lifestyle.

Then over the years , Myspace went by the wayside and Facebook became a common household name.  Currently Facebook has passed the 1 billion active users mark, and is said to be the largest social network in the world. Furthermore Facebook isn’t only for connecting with friends, family and co-workers, but also a powerful place for , many brands and businesses.  Many small and large sized businesses have flocked to Facebook to connect with and market themselves with their target audience.

A large number of social media marketing tools have surfaced to help assist those companies with effectively managing their Facebook marketing activities to help gain the most from their time.

So, being that we love to help folks and businesses, we went out and found 5 of the top Facebook tools that are on the market for your use to help make your life easier. There’re simple tools to assist in engaging with your audience to the more complex tools for the more advanced marketing needs.

Hootsuite 

A reason people spend so much time on social media is because they have to constantly switch from screen to screen, search for important information to post, think of new ideas, etc. every day. Hootsuite is a social management platform for managing multiple social accounts. It separates engagements and keywords monitored by columns known as streams.

The interface on all the different accounts has unique designs to allow for less confusion and quick recognition. If you want to send a message to all your profiles, this can be done with one simple click of a button. The messages with automatically appear on the profile(s) you chose.

Another awesome advantage of using this tool for social media is the ability to schedule your posts on specific dates at specific times during the future. This is especially helpful if you won’t be able to tend to any of your social media outlets due to other obligations and commitments. Once you schedule the messages they will post even if you do not log in that day.

Wildfire Interactive 

Wildfire Interactive is a platform for brands to quickly create and launch Facebook marketing and promotional campaigns such as contests. Sweepstakes, group deals and competitions. Wildfire simplifies the process of Facebook promotions for your Facebook page. With their customizable templates featuring an easy drag and drop interface, you’ll have you promotion up and running in no time. It’s perfect for marketers who do not have their own development team to create campaigns from scratch.

Socialmotus

SocialMotus is a great alternative for those who want a less cluttered interface than Hootsuite, while still being able to manage multiple social accounts from one platform. With SocialMotus you’ll have everything you need to build, manage and measure your social community in one simple interface. Additional features include the ability to get Twitter followers fast, handle priority messages quickly, track conversions and stats from Twitter and Facebook post and more.

Conversocial

Conversocial focuses on helping businesses moderate and quickly respond to customer service and support messages through Facebook and Twitter. Conversocials key feature is its Priority Response Engine, similar to the SocialMotus priority messaging system. This allows priority messages containing specific keywords to be placed in a special priority inbox, making it easier to handle high volumes of customer service and support questions sent through your Facebook and Twitter channels.

Edgerank Checker

This offers straight forward and easy-to-understand analytics of your Facebook page, providing you with an EdgeRank score that ranks objects in the Facebook News Feed. Your EdgeRank score is a great indication of the effectiveness of your Facebook page. Pages with high EdgeRank Scores will be more likely to show up in the news feed, than Pages with low scores. Its pro plans also offer comparisons between your page and the overall industry reports to help provide further insight into what is working across the board.

With so many options out there to help you manage your social media outlets it is much easier to have options available for what fits your lifestyle. We are all rushed for time and need something simple but with many benefits to help our business grow. Facebook is one of several social media interactive platforms that allow our business to be known and grow. Make the best of your time with these helpful tools.

And as always, if this stuff makes you dizzy and you just don’t want to take the time to learn all the ins and out of Facebook, Alpine Small Business, is your one stop shop for all your social media needs.  Give us a jingle or shoot over an email anytime we’re here to help.

2013 is a year for huge goals and even bigger execution.  Just as the saying “It takes a village to raise a child”, the same goes for the growth of your business. To grow to the next level you need to enlist a team and practice the art of teamwork to help build a meaningful business. The problem is many new businesses do not have a full bank account and are often times working a second job or running their businesses off their credit cards.  They just don’t have gobs of money to throw around….YET!

When I first started my own business, I too was working a second job and was just taking on small administrative assistant type of projects here and there to help support my family and my crazy shoe fetish.   After a year or two went by of doing this, I realized that there was a viable market for what I was already offering.  At this time, way back when, the term “Virtual Assistant” was not a main stream term.  When I said Virtual Assistant, I would often get the cocked headed looks, just like what a puppy might do the first time it hears a peculiar sound.  People would often times give me that tilted head look and followed up with many questions on what a Virtual Assistant actually does.  To this day, 9+ years later, people are still intrigued what  a Virtual Assistant does and how they can help their business grow.  You may still be asking yourself what the heck is a Virtual Assistant exactly and if you need further explanation, please check it out here.

So, lets get to the nitty gritty and the real reason you have  landed on this blog.  My first guess why you are here is because you are a small business owner, entrprenuer, soloprenuer, momprenuer or a “preneuer” of some kind and are looking for ways to get everything done and still maintain a healthy work/life balance.  You also have likely heard somewhere along the way that if you are in business for yourself you really should look at partnering and aligning yourself with a top-notch Virtual Assistant. Because there is no way you can do it all on your own, stay sane, continue to love what you do and most importantly still be profitable.  You know what?  Whoever they are, they were right, you can’t do it all on your own.

Remember at the beginning of this blog I referenced “it takes a village to raise a child” well it holds true for your business as well.  I am not going to lie, a Virtual Assistant can be your saving grace and best friend.  It truly is a method to help you stay on the right path and to take the burden of every day mundane tasks off your to-do list and fill your action item list with revenue generating work that you have a passion for.  I mean the whole reason you went into business for yourself was because you have a passion for something, right!  You never want to lose that zest!  So to hold onto that zestiness, a Virtual Assistant is a great resource and guide to help your business grow to the next level, while still staying in love with what you do and as a bonus, stay within your budget.  The best part is that as a Virtual Assistant we get it…we too are entrepreneurs offering a service to other entrepreneurs.  We get what it takes to run a business.

To demonstrate what a great asset a Virtual Assistant can be, my team and I have compiled a list of tasks and projects that a online business manager can do to help you and your business grow.  All this added value will generally only cost pennies on the dollar compared to a traditional assistant that requires an office, insurance, supervision, management, taxes and legalities…just to name a few.

How can a virtual assistant help your business grow?  Well check out these 25 ways a Virtual Assistant can help grow your business.

1. Business Plan Development
2. Small Business Coaching and Guidance
3. Marketing Plan Development and Management
4. Project Coordination & Management
5. Event Coordination & Management (Teleseminar, Webinars, Seminars, Retreats, and other live events)
6. Social Media Marketing and Management
7. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
8. Keyword Discovery
9. Competitor Analysis
10. Writing of Press Releases
11. Writing of SEO rich Blogs
12. Customer and Client Care and Support
13. Online and Offline Research
14. Word Processing and Data Entry
15. Prepare and Create PowerPoint Presentations
16. Update and manage your website
17. Copywriting
18. Proofreading
19. Graphic Design
20. Create and Prepare online Opt In Gifts
21. Create and Prepare Auto Responder Series
22. Travel Arrangements & Logistics
23. Affiliate Membership Site Setup
24. Online Store Management
25. Executive Scheduling

AND SOOOOO much more!  If a task or service is not listed above, just ask.  This list is just the tip of the iceberg.  A well oiled Virtual Assistant who is a leader in their field will always cater to their clients needs and come up with the best solution for you and your business.  If you are a over tired, over worked and unbalanced entrepreneur that is looking for more information, look no further and reach out and contact us today.

As I continue to grow my own business and strive to meet new goals I look back at my journey and am proud of the path that I am on.  I sometimes wonder how I did it and often times scratch my head and am in awe of how far I have come in 9-years of being a small business owner.  I honestly can say I have worked my ass off as a Virtual Assistant and Business Development coach over the years.  I have helped countless entrepreneurs and small business delegate, grow and prosper, but I still seek balance.

But enough about me…let me ask you…When you think of a successful woman who does you think of?  Do you think of Hillary Clinton, Jennifer Anniston, Michelle Obama, or another famous name?

Does being famous mean you are successful or a legend? Sure, I suppose it does, but when I think of successful women I think of someone who can run a successful business empire and also achieve work/life balance.  A successful balancing act of success, family, love and fitness is what I consider SUCCESS!

So in honor of success and the journey to achieve it, I want to give a big VIRTUAL hug and high five to the top three female business owners of 2012.

The Top 3-Female Entrepreneurs of 2012

Sarah Fox has a degree in social work and initially started Krav Maga  as a hobby but has since became heavily involved in the sport and has trained to become an instructor. She says she has never worked so hard for something in her life but it doesn’t feel like a job because she loves it so much. Sarah has started from nothing and worked her way up to a comfortable, successful, life with Fight Fit. Keep moving forward, Sarah!

Rachel Kabb-Effron is a certified elder law attorney for Kabb Law Firm which is an elder law firm offering an integrated, elder-centered solution developed by a team that includes an attorney, a public benefits coordinator and a social worker. Rachel felt helpless when she was in college and her grandmother was in a nursing home, she knew this was a passion of hers and decided to turn that passion into something real. Rachel says that one shouldn’t judge success by what’s in the bank or not in the bank at any given time; do what you’re good at and what you love, and don’t worry about the money. We like the way Rachel thinks.

Darlene Campagna took over leadership at Direct Opinions and immediately began making changes. The team was a bit skeptical at first but then saw that the changes were working and the team was becoming stronger than ever. She cut weaknesses and focused on the capabilities and strengths of the team. Darlene says that one of the toughest lessons is learning to listen to your gut instincts; if your gut says something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. She also says that being a small business she has the ability to choose which business’ to work with and which ones do not fit right and that there’s a comfort level that comes with that. We say, “Way to Go, Darlene!”

Did you Know

• Women comprise 47% of the U.S. workforce from fashion to technical careers?
• That successful Women entrepreneurs start their businesses as a second or third profession
• Women start companies to better balance their work and family lives
• Female-owned companies tend to offer more family-friendly benefit

WE ARE WOMAN HEAR US ROAR!

My heart still weeps for the 26 beautiful souls that started their morning on December 14th in Newtown CT, like any other day.  They woke up, got ready for school never knowing that this was their last morning they would ever hug their mom and dad goodbye.  They were excited for the new day, excited to see their friends, their teachers and were ready to fill their noggins will all kinds of juicy new knowledge at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  As a mom and nurturer by nature I was horrified and tears flowed abundandly after reading of the tragedy. I wanted nothing more than to swoop in and do something, anything to ease the sadness and pain that the country felt at that moment and forever more.

Once I had the courage, I talked to my kids gently about this tragedy.  I wanted to tread lightly as they were still healing their hearts from the Jessica Ridgeway abduction and murder that took place locally here in Colorado, only a few months earlier. My children were understandably frightened, but I didn’t want them to be controlled and guided by that fear. I wanted them to still hold on to their innocence and to know that there is still beauty everywhere they turned.

I wanted to do something that showed my children to never lose faith in humanity and that there is still kind, gentle and wonderful people that walk amongst us.  I wanted to show them this by example.  Then it hit me! I would show my kids what Random Acts of Kindness is.  I did a little poking around on Facebook and the internet and found that I was not alone in my thoughts.  There were groups and communities that were supporting the very same idea of performing 26 random acts of kindness to represent each person who had taken their last breath at Sandy Hook Elementary School that day.

I am happy to report that I have successfully started my 26 random acts of kindness mission.  It was fun to tell the kids about my intentions.  I won’t lie they looked at me oddly, but had this intense sense of wonder in their eyes.  They didn’t quite understand the concept.  They had tons of questions and were genuinely intrigued to see how something like this would work.  I told them, it will come naturally.  I explained in detail to them what types of people I hoped to encounter and I was going to begin this journey right away.  I immediately completed 4 of the 26 random acts of kindness.

The first three random acts of kindness came when the kids and I went to have dinner at one of our favorite little salad bar restaurants.  As we waited to pay for our meals I turned and looked at the three people behind me and said, “I would like to pay for your dinners”. They looked at me baffled.  I continued to explain my 26 random acts of kindness mission.  The cashier, said, “oh I heard about that, how cool that I get to see and experience it happen here at work”.   The three people were so humbled and grateful.  I bought dinner for a single lady who was tired and stressed from the day and was getting a to-go order. The other 2 were a lovable grandmother and her granddaughter duo.  The granddaughter was so sweet as she kept saying god bless you and thank you.  The little girl was hugging and standing behind her grandmother in complete shyness, it was adorable. The cute little girl later came to our table with a plate full of ice cream and sprinkles for us to enjoy as her own token of kindness.  The 4th random act of kindness was a generous contribution to a person that I hold very dear to myself and my Virtual Assistant Business here in Colorado to help her through the holidays while she endures medical assistance. It warmed my heart to know that my contribution will help her sleep better and support her family through the holidays.

The kids have been so excited and are telling everyone about our 26 Random Acts of Kindness endeavors.  They have come up with some brilliant ideas.  We have 22 more random acts of kindness to complete. It won’t be hard, my kids and I are so happy and full of light and love to be able to do this in honor of;

Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden, 7
Rachel D’Avino, 29
Olivia Engel, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Dylan Hockley, 6
Madeleine Hsu, 6
Catherine Hubbard, 6
Chase Kowalski, 7
Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, 47
Jesse Lewis, 6
Ana Marquez-Greene, 6
James Mattioli, 6
Grace McDonnell, 7
Anne Marie Murphy, 52
Emilie Parker, 6
Jack Pinto, 6
Noah Pozner, 6
Caroline Previdi, 6
Jessica Rekos, 6
Avielle Richman, 6
Lauren Rousseau, 30
Mary Sherlach, 56
Victoria Soto, 27
Benjamin Wheeler, 6
Allison Wyatt, 6

Check out this awesome 26 Random Acts of Kindness community facebook page for ideas on how you too can join this extraordinary kindness initiative.  AND Remember don’t stop at 26 – keep it going and pay it forward…always!

Download your copy of 26 Random Acts of Kindness honor cards.
To view file, you must have adobe reader. It is free!

Think of the worst possible thing that could happen to your child. Have that image? It’s not pretty is it? It wasn’t pretty for Jessica Ridgeway’s mother when she realized her 10 year old daughter didn’t make it to school one morning either.  Jessica was a 5^th Grader in Westminster, CO. She was walking to school one Friday morning and never arrived. She was kidnapped and murdered because a predator was stalking her route to school.

A parent’s biggest fear is going through what Jessica’s family is currently facing. Balloon releases to heaven, students going to counseling to deal with the events of their lost friend, neighbors locking their doors and checking them twice for fear of someone taking their own children. The guilt of being thankful it is not your child that was kidnapped…it doesn’t end. We need to educate ourselves on safety; not only on street safety but especially in today’s world, technology safety!

 Internet Technology

95% of teens are online from the age of 12-17.

The world of technology is rapidly growing especially on the internet! 95% of teens are online! What are they doing? They are probably loading the newest pictures onto their facebook page, watching videos with friends on youtube, playing an online game and chatting with new friends. Maybe they are taking advantage of their technology and researching a topic for a History paper. No matter what they are doing, kids love technology but they need to know that just because no one is physically watching them, they can still be harmed through technology.  Sadly, there are a lot of parents who know very little about technology.

1. Monitor use of technology. Keep the computer in a high traffic area of your home.

2. Establish limits for which online sites children may visit and for how long.

3. Surf the internet with your child and let them show you what they like to do online.

4. Never give out personal information on any piece of technology! No one should be asking you for it! If they are, this is a RED FLAG!  Personal information includes, your name, address, phone number, e mail address, what school you go to and even photos!

5. Never agree to meet someone you met online! Remember that people may be pretending to be someone they are not!

6. Talk to your child about “grooming”.  Use examples and show real stories like “Amy”, 15 who traveled out of state to meet the “Love of her life” or “Justin” 13 who set up his web cam to meet friends only to meet a man telling him he’d pay him $50 to take off his shirt and sit bare chested for three minutes! (He even helped him set up a paypal account), reported by the New York Times.

7. Know who is connecting with your child through technology and set rules for social networking, emailing, chatting, web cams, etc.

8. Continually dialogue with your child about technology safety!

9. Be up to date with the new technology out there, if it’s in the schools know your kids will more than likely want one i.e. ipod touch, nook, kindle fire, smart phone. If you get one for your child, know how to use it yourself.

10. Never get involved in cyberbullying or let anyone cyberbully you!  Amanda Todd let it get the best of her and sadly she committed suicide.

Cell Phone Technology

 75% of teenagers and 58% of 12 year olds have a cell phone

How many times have you seen a child on their cell phone texting? It seems to be the new way of communication. A teenager would rather break up with someone through a text than in person or by actually dialing a phone number. Thankfully cell phone carriers offer unlimited texting or else parents would be looking for a second job to pay for texting bills.

The technology available today is overwhelming for parents especially when they can put it in their backpacks and carry it with them. This mobile technology makes it harder for parents to monitor what their children are doing since they can access it at anytime away from home. You can still educate your child and yourself to ensure your children are using technology for a positive outcome instead of getting themselves into trouble. What makes this challenging is that a cell phone is so much more with the internet access, gaming ability and cameras.

1. Talk about cell phone bullying.

2. Be a role model with your own technology. Don’t text and drive!

3. Remind your child that anything they send on their cell phone or any piece of technology can be easily forwarded and shared.

4. Research the security settings when shopping for a new phone for your child.

5. Establish rules for when they are allowed to use their cell phone.

6. Review your child’s cell phone records every month. Look out for late night texts and calls and unknown numbers.

7. Talk to your child about sexting. Sending inappropriate photos to one another can be very harmful.

8. Role play with your child. “Have you ever gotten a text from someone you didn’t know? What did you do?”

9. Put a parental tracker on your child’s phone so you can see where they are at all times. Verizon has an app called “Family Locator” for $9.99 a month you can add it to your plan! Ask your cell phone company if they have an app like this for your technology.

10. Make sure your child has a back up battery if ever they are in a bad situation and need their phone.

Helpful Websites

* You can buy software from sources such as SpectorSoft to monitor your child’s technology use. Of course you want to give your children privacy but at anytime if your gut tells you something may be up this is a great piece of technology for a parent to have.

* No one wants to know the harsh truth of others but it’s important to be aware of your environment! To see a list of sex offenders in your area a helpful site for families is: www.familywatchdog.us. Here you can actually register and receive updates from the latest registered offenders!

* Sadly there are sex offenders around you. If you are concerned and worried for your child’s safety you can find support and tips and Take Action!

* Technology is growing everyday! Parents need to keep up to date of the latest gadgets and gizmos all of the kids are wanting so they learn how to control them and keep their child safe! Websites like www.coolest-gadgets.com can help you see the newest technology devices and you can read reviews. They will even show you what the hot new technology gift is!

* There are also apps for nearly every phone if your child wants to play with it you can set a parental control app on it so kids have limited access. If you have a blackberry you can download a parental app restricting use on your browser and text messaging. For your Droid you can download a parental app to restrict access to certain apps! Cell phones are almost a necessity in today’s world of technology and parents needs to keep up to date with the newest parental apps!

Parents have to do their homework on technology but once you keep on top of it and talk with other parents you can establish a safe technology environment for your child to enjoy the internet, cell phones, cameras, gaming gadgets, and whatever knew technology device may be on their Christmas list!  Using our safety rules we can still experience the world of technology in a healthy fashion!

Prep – The most critical element to weekday nutrition is planning ahead.

• Spend a couple hours, just once a week to plan a weekly menu and take a trip to the store.
• Look for sales and specials on versatile foods that can be utilized in multiple components of the weekly menu. Ex: A $1 bag of whole carrots can make a delicious Carrot Curry soup, add crunch to a Thai Stir-fry, and be cut into hunger-satisfying snacks for break time. Buying on sale and in season each week, can help keep things nutritious while breaking up the monotony of a packed lunch.
• When you get your groceries home, prep ‘em! Pre-wash and cut vegetables and fruits, and place into individual serving containers for on-the-go ease.

Breakfast – Whether you eat first thing in the morning, just after a morning workout, or while checking email at the office, make sure you don’t wait until lunch to feed that grumbly tummy. Eating breakfast wakes up your metabolism, helping your body use food as fuel, instead of precious brain power.

• Oatmeal is a great morning go-to during the workweek. An entire batch can be made on Sunday night, minimizing the need for cooking in the morning. Just pop a serving in the microwave, top with almonds, fruit, and your choice of milk for an easy, nourishing breakfast.
• A good ratio of complex carbs and protein help you function at capacity, as well as stave off hunger pangs before lunch. Good options are, two hard-boiled eggs with a piece of fruit, a Greek yogurt with low-sugar granola or cereal, or even the PB&J standby (on 100% whole wheat bread, of course)!

Lunch – Again, a good mix of carbs and protein is the way to go. Portion sizes are also key. Too little at lunch can leave you feeling drained and lead to afternoon sugar-snack attacks. Too much can set you straight into food coma, inducing grogginess.

• Layered salads are all the rage! Start with a tall container or jar. Place heaviest, sauciest, and most acidic toppings in the bottom. Placing greens on top keeps them crisp. Whip up a batch of a simple vinaigrette and go!  Great salad proteins include chicken breast, tuna fish, shrimp, hard-boiled eggs, chickpeas, kidney beans, grilled tofu, nuts and seeds.

• Leftovers! Once or twice a week, take the time to make yourself and your family a healthy and nutritious dinner. Make at least one extra serving and immediately pack into a single serving container for the next day’s lunch. Excess portions can be frozen into single servings, for those “Omigod I slept through my alarm” mornings.
• Who doesn’t love a bowl of warm soup on a cold Winter workday? On a lazy weekend day at home, simmer a pot of your favorite soup, chili, or stew and portion out into lunch servings for the week, or to freeze for future use. A hearty bowl of soup and whole wheat pita can make the perfect, healthy and nutritious lunch to keep you going until the end of the day.

Snacks – Need a little something in between meals? Don’t run to the office vending machine. Munch on something healthy to keep you functioning at your prime!

• Greek yogurt has become increasingly popular in the U.S. And for good reason! It is highly packed with protein and comes in a rainbow of flavors for every palate.  At 100-200 calories per serving, it makes the perfect indulgent snack
• Try keeping shelf-stable snacks in your desk or car. Almonds and whole wheat crackers can satisfy that afternoon crunch-crave while filling you up on “real” food, rather than sodium filled junk.
• Instead of heading out for your afternoon java with all the fat-filled fixings, take a break from your desk and make yourself a hot cup of green tea. It is a good source of cancer-fighting antioxidants, can help to speed metabolism, and with roughly half the caffeine of coffee, won’t keep you awake when your day is finally done.

It can be tough to make workweek nutrition a priority. By incorporating a few of these tips into your workweek routine, you can enjoy our mornings with less stress, save more of the hard-earned cash, and watch your health improve!

What is a blog, you might ask, well a blog is essentially a journal or diary that is on your website.  It is a place you share information pertaining to you and/or your business. A blog can provide up-to-date news, technical information, political topics, business support, health, wellness, sports and other topics that burn passion in your heart.  One of the most common question asked by businesses and new writers wanting to join the online social blogging community is, “How long should a blog be?”

Many professional bloggers have a different answer for this. The best way to put it is that there is no right or wrong answer! Some may say a blog should be 250-500 words while others say 500-750 words and there are even those who swear by 700-1,000 words! Then you have those that will not give a number and just say however short or long you need the blog to be in order to get your message across!

It’s actually quite natural to have blogs with different lengths. A blog post should be as long as you need it to be to make your point across to your reader. You want to keep your audience engaged. Your topic will determine the length of your blog. If you are blogging about where the best place is to buy eggs vs. who should one vote for, the length can vary greatly!  You will also want to reflect on your blog once finished. Is it too wordy or is it too concise? If you don’t feel good about it you should change it!

You would not want to write 750 words on where to buy eggs. This will bore your reader and you will lose their interest!  However, if you want to write that much when it comes to the heart of politics, especially if it is something you are passionate about, go for it! If you feel that a blog is getting too long and is becoming a book I strongly suggest breaking it down and creating a series of blogs. This will help with your SEO and will keep readers coming back for more.

There are advantages in both short and long blogs. Short blogs take a shorter amount of time to write so if you want to write everyday then a shorter blog would be the way to go. If you expect 800 words or more every day, you may lose interest in blogging soon after starting. However, as easy as short blogs are they will not implement On-Page SEO techniques, which are ultimately, what attracts attention to your page. While lengthier blogs do take longer to write, readers who appreciate the content will value the information and will draw attention to your site. Readers also enjoy images within blogs which allows them to connect more with the topic being blogged about.

Many bloggers like to change it up and have a short blog and later that week they may have a longer blog.  I personally think a variety of blogging is good. You don’t want to be predictable. Readers often enjoy reading short blogs more often because their attention span does not stay on the subject, therefore when writing both short and long, you give the reader reason to check back frequently and even subscribe to your blogs. Keep your readers coming back for the variety you may offer them. As long as your keyword density is intact and you are getting your point across you should be set.

The more the blog is to the point, the easier it is for the reader to extract the information you are relaying. Readers tend to scan not read long blogs, keep the content compelling and strong. The first paragraph of any blog should grab the readers’ attention so they want to keep going. You could create a series of blogs to make your blog grow quicker.  By doing this your readers will be looking forward to reading about what you have to say next. Don’t be afraid to use the thesaurus to find new vocabulary and be ready for the replies you may receive. Keep your own interests in mind; do you like long or shorter blogs? Remember to keep an optimistic mind and you will be a successful blogger! Most of all…Happy Blogging!!!!