St. Louis Missouri (MO) Small Business Social Media Marketing

St. Louis, MO, March 2009:  LTC Expert Publication’s owner Valerie VanBooven RN BSN and her team developed a new social media marketing program called “LTCSocialMark2.0” in February 2009.  At that time Valerie and her staff only allowed 25 clients to initially enroll. They weren’t sure how successful their program might be….but by March 13, 2009- they knew that the program was a huge success.

“Now that we have all of our client’s up and running (now at 50 clients), and have been blogging and posting with them and for them for about a month, we can see dramatic results on Google, Yahoo and other search engines. Our program includes all of the “basics” of social media marketing, including setting up accounts, blogs, videos, squeeze pages, website evaluations, ebooks, free reports, hubs, lenses, and more. It’s a long process and very personal for each client. The goal of the whole program is to give them an outstanding internet presence that establishes credibility and trust within their local community,” states VanBooven.

Originally developed for the busy elder care, home care, or senior service provider business owner, LTCSocialMark2.0 has crossed over into other niches and businesses such as women’s health, real estate, and mortgage lenders. Clients can participate as much or as little as they want, and it still works remarkably well.

Valerie adds, “Right now we find that some people are very “hands-off”, and want us to take care of everything, and others are very involved- learning how to post on their blogs, learning how to use Facebook to their advantage and Twitter too!”

LTCSocialMark2.0 program sets up 11 accounts including: a business blog, Facebook personal, Facebook business, twitter, FriendFeed, Squidoo, Hubpages, Linkedin, Scribd, Ezinearticles, and Ideamarketers.

The bonuses include a mini-webpage to draw leads, a customized ebook, a short customized video, and a free report (pdf).

When asked how Valerie has time to manage all of these accounts for her clients she says that she has 4 very dedicated staff members who work on posts, account set up and video set up each day.  

The cost is remarkably low, only costing $471 to set up and $97 per month thereafter. Even more incredible is that the pricing to add monthly video uploads is only $27 per month.

“We have always maintained that we like to keep our prices low, and our commitment to our clients high. In these economic times, businesses owners need cost effective internet advertising strategies that won’t break the bank. We know EXACTLY how to get them there,” VanBooven concludes.

For more information visit their website at http://www.ltcsocialmark.com  or call 888-898-5828. Valerie VanBooven’s team is now taking additional clients for a limited time.

Grandpa is … browsing your Facebook page
Not everyone is thrilled with the Baby Boomers’ discovery of such sites
By Beth DeFalco
The Associated Press
updated 1:46 p.m. CT, Tues., March. 10, 2009

Original URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29619075/

HAMILTON, N.J. – When your 88-year-old grandfather sends a request to be your “friend” on Facebook, you have two choices: Either confirm it, then quickly take down all those party pictures you thought were so funny, or plan on never coming home for the holidays.

As someone who lists pinot grigio as a hobby, I was seriously concerned about my grandfather joining Facebook.

I was worried my grandfather would get the wrong idea about me. Or worse yet, he’d find out exactly who I was — not the teetotaling granddaughter I try to portray twice a year when I go home.

[...]

I want to share with you some evidence of social media marketing- because THIS IS THE STUFF that brings clients to your phone, and to your door.

http://www.ltcsocialmark.com (there is no waiting list, so just go sign up!)

Interesting happenings today:

1. I just received an email from a colleague of mine in the reverse mortgage industry who found this really great article and wanted to contact the author. So I took a look, and low and behold, it’s one of YOU who wrote and posted this article…and someone in another part of the world found it and wants to send you business!!! (Congrats to Murphy Ortiz and Gary Skole- see article after “the news”) YAHOOO!!!!

2. I just happened to be testing google.com today to see how people were showing up for their local service area- by typing in a few keywords.

• Marcie Jones from Gentog.com completely dominates her keywords for her local area “adult day care tigard oregon”. http://www.gentog.com
• Shawna Reese from Champions Health Solutions shows up for “Home Care in Bedford OH”- 1st page of Google.com http://www.championshomecare.com
• George Fisher- Jubilee Mortgage- in Dayton, OH- 1st page of Google.com for “Reverse Mortgages Dayton OH” , http://www.getmyreverse.com
• Marla Beck owner of Andelcare http://www.andelcare.com in Bellevue WA, #1 on google.com for the search “home care bellevue wa” because she is listed now with merchantcircle….if you haven’t done that- CLICK HERE!!!!!!
•  Jeff Moskovitz -  http://www.homecareassistance.com owner of Home Care Assistance in Bucks County PA- listed SIX times on the first page of google.com: “Home Care Bucks County PA”
• Becky Tanner- http://www.nwphx.rightathome.net/owner of Right At Home in NW Phoenix AZ- completely dominates the first page of google.com for the search terms, “home care nw phoenix az” – she shows up 8 times or more!
• Philip Lipp- owner of All West Mortgage (www.allwestmortgage.com )- shows up in the top 3 (plus plus) for the search terms “reverse mortgage n hollywood ca”. Philip has already done a great job with his own website, but we noticed that now is blog that we JUST created is listed there too!

If you haven’t signed up for the additional video program, please do! That’s REALLY helpful for a lot of the SEO stuff.

Congrats to all of you on this list, and there are more to come!

Valerie- oh here’s the article that is WOWing everyone on the internet….. 

How to Afford Private Pay Homecare When It Seems Out of Reach
Author: Murphy Ortiz

Paying privately for home health care services is often a necessary option for seniors who want to remain living independently in their homes .Homecare is the fastest growing segment of the health care industry. With more people in need of 24 hour care, live-in care allows the elderly to remain at home with a minimum of cost compared to nursing home or assisted living costs. Since Medicaid and Medicare typically don’t pay for long term care, the burden of payment becomes that of the individual or their extended family. How do the elderly afford quality homecare for themselves? There are several possible ways to afford private pay homecare, even when the costs seem out of reach.

Most major diseases such as Alzheimer’s, MS, and Cancer offer programs to assist individuals with that particular illness. Check with your local agency supporting your illness for local community resources. Additionally, many religious organizations have some funds available for its members.

Statistics show that the majority of people are going to need some type of long term care in their lifetime. For those who don’t have the savings available to pay for private pay home care, Long Term Care (LTC) Insurance is an option. Many insurance companies have brokers that specialize in this type of insurance. Make sure your LTC policy allows for substantial home care benefits since that is where most people prefer to remain.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), formerly known as reverse mortgage is a loan you take on the equity you have accrued in your house. This option allows you the funds needed for homecare in order to remain in the comfort of your own home environment. It is not an equity loan that has to be paid back. This is beneficial in that you don’t cause further financial difficulties by acquiring an additional mortgage payment. The lender recovers repayment on the loan from the proceeds of the sale of the property. Your heirs are not responsible for repayment of the loan. You can continue to own your own home and afford the care you require.

The Veterans Administration has established a pension program whereby the purchase of personal care and attendant home services are paid for through a Veteran’s acquired pension title VA Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit. This plan helps senior veterans afford private pay home care. Individuals must have a qualifying medical condition that requires them to need the daily assistance of others for activities of daily living (ADL’s). In addition , to qualify, the veteran must:

• Have received an honorable or general discharge
• Have doctor’s orders stating they need the aide and assistance of others daily
• Meet financial requirements
• Have served 1 day during an active war and had no less than 90 days of service

The surviving spouse of a veteran may also qualify providing they were still married to the veteran when they passed. This veteran benefit process can take 4-6 months to process but all benefits are retro-dated back to the originally filing date. Since this process can be lengthy and confusing, the free assistance of an Elder Law Attorney is recommended.

Your local county Office on Aging is an excellent resource that can assist you with finding information on available funds through your county and state programs. The information they provide is available to the public and free of charge.
Institutionalized care such as nursing homes and hospitals has risen in cost to the point that has led many people to seek alternative care. Resources are available to offset the cost of private pay homecare. Asking your local agencies and seeking all options is the first step to making homecare affordable when it seems out of reach.

About the Author
Murphy Ortiz is the manager of Family Choice Home Care.Family Choice is a senior approved referral agency specializing in Live-In caregivers throughout New Jersey and Philadelphia. For more information, go to www.familychoicecares.com or call 856-273-7700 http://www.familychoicecares.com

It seems like everyone has a different key phrase for the “time” we are in when it comes to marketing, including and especially how we market to seniors, and how we market our elder care services.

This post seems to get it right- and it’s not “new” news, but explains a little about the reason for the current season that marketing is in…

Communicating in an “Age of Authenticity”:
Strategies for Maintaining Trust With Clients
By Dan Logan

www.trinitynet.com
 
“No man can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true.”
Nathanial Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter

These days, much attention is being paid to the ins and outs of Obama’s economic stimulus plan. The President has been very vocal on the subject of taxpayer dollars being used to bailout big companies and he remains focused on making sure that the money does not go to funding salaries or big bonuses—a very public problem in the media. But what about the bigger issue this problem presents for anyone looking to capture and retain the trust of customers and clients?

[...]

Well, I knew that I could modify it, but never quite knew how…and there’s not a whole lot you can do, BUT I learned a few fast tricks.
If you like what you see on my Twitter profile let me know and I’ll jazz one up for you too. (or send you to a place that will do it for you)

See picture below….
Then go to www.twitter.com/vvanbooven
and don’t forget to FOLLOW!

P.S. IF you are reading this on FACEBOOK do me a HUGE favor and click on “like”. Thanks!

http://www.twitter.com/vvanbooven