1. He is living proof that if you CARE enough, engage, and work your face off you can become mainstream

Watch CBS News Videos Online

2. He is down to earth, completely honest & transparent

3. He is one of the most energetic hard working hustlers I know (besides myself)

4. He knows how to balance fun, work, and of course family life

5. I had the honor & privilege to meet Gary twice (Boston Gravity Summit and a Wine Meet-up in San Diego)

In summary- Gary Vee has been a great inspiration in my continued jounrey of internet entrepreneurship, social media consulting, and most of all following my passion.  Feel free to leave a comment if Gary Vee has had an impact on your life- I would love to hear your story.  Please leave a comment below.  Cheers

Justin “Results” French

(Click Picture For Large View)

Today was an exciting day for me and I wanted to share my experience with my readers, colleagues, customers, partners, and friends. I started out doing some consulting for a client in the morning, then went to the Handlery Hotel in San Diego where I was speaking on behalf of the Small Business Development Center (or the SBDC) on Social Networking 101 for Business. This is a subject I have been helping the small business community on for quite some time now, and this was probably my seventh speaking engagement on social media so I am becoming less nervous each time. Once I found my groove though, It was all good.

I am extremely passionate about helping small businesses as I have for the last 10 years of my consulting career. Selling your time is not easy to do, and if you ask any consultant (myself included), they will probably say the same. But with social media and social networking this makes selling YOURSELF and your products, services, & company a little easier with what I call “relationship and educational selling” but more on that topic later…..

As promised to the many small businesses that attended today’s Social Networking 101 for Business workshop, I have attached the slides (see below)

I hope today’s session was informative and you learned something to take back and execute in the trenches. If you wouldn’t mind sharing below in the comments section, what is the #1 thing you took away from today’s presentation? If I could get your feedback on this so we can share with other small businesses it would be great. Remember, its all about engaging!

P.S. If youd like FREE Access to Our Beta “Social Media For Business Coaching Program” please send me an email at snsdjf@gmail.com with the subject line “coaching” and I will send you the exclusive invite.

What desktop tool do you use to manage your twitter account? Probably you are using TweetDeck or Seismic Desktop. They are fascinating tools, and love them for multiple account management and multi-column look.

Something I miss is the SPAM control features. Always thought if I could get a tool where I can hide the tweets from people whom I cannot unfollow. I finally got one.

These days I have been using a new Desktop App, Buzzom Desktop developed by InRev Systems. InRev has good web based account management service, Buzzom.com , particularly famous for its people search feature.
I had huge issues with other Twitter Clients particularly while posting Picture and videos, now Buzzom Desktop provides a cool drag and drop.
Next big thing I like about this tool is the cool Twitter Elite groups like Celebrity, Economy, Entrepreneur, Social Media, and Technology etc. These groups have all major Tweeters, and the groups are configurable to fit own interest. Best, you don’t need to follow these folks to get their update 

This Desktop Tool has some really great features, some of them include:
1. Hide users who are spamming with too many or useless tweets without unfollowing them.
2. Get updates on what the twitter elites like GuyKawasaki, BBC etc. are saying without following them.
3. Configure your buddy list and be in touch with them by viewing only their tweets.
4. Find news and people using keyword Search for tweets, location and biography.
5. Auto shorten your long URLs when they’re sent using http://nxy.in.
6. Drag-drop video and pictures to auto upload and tweet about them.
7. Choose how you want to see your tweets, by auto refresh or manual refresh.

I love this tool for its wonderful features. It’s a great time saver. Can’t say if it can compete with TweetDeck and Seismic yet, and establish itself in the elite category, but it deserves a try.

This tool is in its alpha version now, and is available for download . You can try it FREE here:

Entertainment has taken over our society and we need to get back to education. A fellow twitter friend Jeff Perry w/ One Coach really touched on some good points that i elaborate on.

Listen to CEO Justin R French explain this important concept

Warning: This is kind of a rant- BUT I try to touch on some important things. Please forward this blog post to a friend you may now who needs some motivation or personal development.

we will never forget

I take this time out from all the business talk, the tech talk, the healthcare talk, the reality shows, and all the social media talk to reflect on a day that I will never forget. I remember this day of infamy that will haunt me for the rest of my life. It was a disaster on a scale that was un-imaginable to any 21 year old at the time.

I had just moved into my new place, started working as a customer service rep at a local skin care manufacturing company in Carlsbad, and going to Mira Costa College full time. Things couldn’t have been going better for me.

I woke up that morning around 6:30am i think to my daily alarm which is the news station on my TV (though now I usually check twitter first) to a picture of a burning building. My first thought was “am i watching a movie clip or something?” I was still trying to wake up all the way (I’m not much of a morning person i must admit) so it takes me a few minutes to get myself going and become alert. After a couple of minutes, i started switching to some of the other local news stations and the same picture was on the screen. This cant be real! I turned the volume up to listen attentively to the reporters as they start to repeat timelines of incidents unfolding, the plane that hit the first building, and on-going concerns of planes being un-responsive. After a couple more minutes into the events, i see right in front of my eyes the second plane collide into the other tower. At this point, my heart has sunk to the floor. I am absolutely beside myself. I call my mom immediately to express my shock and emotional distress. I then call into work and they say everyone has the day off and should be spending time with their family. I did just that.

It was one of the most depressing days our country has ever experienced, yet the events that followed would be ones that came to a shock to me as well. The days ahead caused Americans to act very differently. I have never experienced strangers holding doors for other people going in and out of convenient stores. I had never seen so many people just going out of their way to be nice or strike up a conversation with a stranger. It was as if our country united around this tragic event and caused people to appreciate their lives more, have a certain respect for others, and really come together as Americans. This collectiveness lasted quite a while, but as we know, people heal over time and forget over time. I guess in a sense I have never forgotten that tragic day and still try to look through all of the pain and suffering in the world, the hurt, the bad economic times, the depressing news, and try to be optimistic in our future. I must say that after getting onto Twitter, it really gave me back that sense of collectiveness on a global scale, forming relationships with strangers on common interests, networking, helping others, and it seems to have given people their own personal communication tool. It allows others to provide their opinion of the news, discuss topics openly and thoughtfully, and even add some positive and inspirational news for once.

A country can only take so much negativity before it really starts getting to people and something needed to be done. I say Twitter in a sense is bringing people together again not amidst a tragedy, but one of the worst economic crisis’s we have seen in a very long time. We will prevail through these tough times, just as we did as Americans after September 11th 2001. This is my reflection.

Please reflect on what you were doing on September 11th 2001 I am very interested in hearing others stories.

Also, if you’d like to use the hashtag on twitter #Reflection i will put together a series of posts of other American’s reflecting on the day. I look forward to your reflections
Justin

How are you building your online business brand or personal brand? I have had the privilege to connect and communicate with Brian Solis on MANY mediums such as Facebook and Twitter, and him and Chris Brogan are one of the most responsive social media and social networking for business authorities who actually respond and communicate with their audience. I know there are many individuals who communicate with their audience as well, but these two have really impressed me in how quickly they can respond and demonstrates they really CARE! Not to mention, they usually respond right back within 3 minutes! this is unbelievable! I can barely keep up with 2600 followers (very humbling by they way- people who actually have taken an interest in me, my company, my thoughts, ideas and opinions about small business, technology and social media for business purposes.) Obviously this is my passion, and that is crucial to building your personal brand- follow your passions EVEN if you are not making money at it YET. Also helping the small business community right now as Chamillionaire mentions is crucial.

Imagine, communicating real-time with actual “people” and engaging in conversation, building relationships, all around a common interest on-line. This is what social media is all about, whether you are building a personal brand or company brand.

Here is some footage I taped on Brian Solis (see his website here) today on Fox Business discussing some good insight on personal branding, building a community around your brand, and actually and MEANING something to the people you are connecting with so you can stand out and build your brand. “This helps transform connections with people from just a fan base to an actual community”- Brian Solis

Here is the video of Brian on Fox- enjoy, and congrats again Brian! Your thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment- Justin CEO Social Networking San Diego

Social media marketing and social networking for business use continues to grow. Thanks to all those social media authorities and industry experts, we are able to reflect and give you the business value of these tools and even teach our customers how to use these tools effectively.

I used to be a personal trainer at Bally’s (among many other things ive done in my career) and I thought to myself “What analogy can I use to help the business community understand social media marketing a little better?” And then as I was going to the gym today, I said, this is perfect! I will relate twitter, social networking and social media to working out. So here are the 3 reasons why social media marketing is like working out at the gym. Enjoy, and please leave a comment at the bottom on some of your analogies.

1. Being consistent with your workouts & wording- I must admit, I am not the most consistent person when it comes to the gym lately, yet I know the importance of working out regularly, eating right, and taking care of yourself. When you’re a workaholic like me, this can be a challenge. But I cannot stress enough the importance of building your online social media presence and personal or company brand online for long term success. This is a long term marketing strategy that goes along with other parts of your marketing mix, so work those online muscles regularly and engage, participate, and build value for the community (your prospects and clients)

2. Change up your online and off-line workout routine once in a while- At the gym, every month or two I switch up my routine because my body plateaus. You should do the same with your online marketing mix or social media mix. Do a podcast, shoot a you tube video, do a webinar, send out a newsletter, but always blog. This mixture of tactics with help you be a well rounded online business professional and help build your content for your user base. Remember, this all takes TIME.

3. Learn from the pros at the gym and the online gurus- We know the famous bodybuilders: Ronnie Coleman, Lou Ferrigno, Arnold, etc. Do you know who your internet celebrities are? What are their specialties? What separates them from the others? Always be following and listening to the gurus in the online world because these people will teach you many tips and tricks of the trade so you can start implementing for your own online marketing tactics or strategies. Believe me, I have been doing this for about a year now and it has saved me so much time in research by understanding what they do. Hopefully you are still one of my readers from the beginning of January when we started this social networking and social media for business journey together and have learned a thing or two from this blog 🙂

If you are a small business owner or business professional ready for a social media marketing survival guide, purchase the discounted version for 9.95$ in the upper right corner (the full version i am still writing) and enjoy. It will be the best under 10$ purchase your business will make all year, i guarantee it!
Justin

Last week, I had to get an oil change in the G35 before going to UCLA for the Linked-in group discussion on social media, social networking for business, and of course measuring ROI and I decided to try something on my own. After all the talk I had been hearing about using social media to measure the customer experience, as a CEO, i wanted to conduct a customer service rating of my service at Mossy Nissan Oceanside and tweet about it. So here is what i did.

1. I tweeted the entire experience i had (good and bad) and used a hashtag for tracking in 140 characters or less

2. I realized the power us as consumers will have and the “social influence” we will have over products/ services/ brands we decide to buy/ use in the near future

3. Me being a social media consultant for business, i was hoping to possibly demonstrate the feedback to the dealership and possibly get them on board with a campaign 🙂

So here is the text from my tweets and a screenshot of the results:

From justins work photos

Real-time results for #twittercase

justinrfrench Getting an oil change on the G35 for tomorrows trip to LA lets see how the customer experience is at mossy nissan oceanside #twittercase 7 days ago from Twit2go

justinrfrench #twittercase so far so good, customer service rep is enjoyable 7 days ago from Twit2go

justinrfrench #twittercase rep just tried to up sell me on additional services (sales 101 ok gotta appreciate that) 7 days ago from Twit2go

justinrfrench #twittercase times must be tough for them- now charging .50$ for coffee and no more water bottles 7 days ago from Twit2go

justinrfrench #twittercase car is ready, signing paperwork and paying now. So far pretty painless, pretty good customer experience thus far 7 days ago from Twit2go

justinrfrench #twittercase ok overall customer experience at mossy Nissan Oceanside (0-10) i give it a 7 bonus car wash im happy http://twitpic.com/bytbc 7 days ago from web

Can you give me any case studies on customer experiences you have tried yourself using twitter? Let me know, id like to feature them on our blog (be a featured guest poster)

Thanks
Justin

Twitter 101 for business has been the hot topic lately, after twitter announced its twitter 101 for business guide. I was kind of shocked they didn’t mention many other business people who have been contributing to the twitter for business movement so I wrote an email or “tweeted” a blog post over to founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams (Click here to view email to twitter founders) to express my views. I don’t mean any harm by it, i just want to be sure credit is given where credit is due.

So if you are still a business wondering how to use twitter to grow your business, or use social networking for business, this video will help put it in much simpler terms. Think of it as “what can brown do for you” like the UPS commercial only with a twitter spin I did “what can twitter do for your business”

Let me know what you think, Thanks
Justin

p.s. Need weekly twitter 101 for business training of your business development department? Sign up here: Twitter 101 for business training