Then you have come to the right place, almost… Technically you want to go to Echelon Media (www.echelonmedia.com).

This project has been in the works for some number of months now, and I have to admit it is coming together quite nicely. I have teamed up with three other amazingly smart and talented people to bring the best possible service and information for those looking to gain a footing in Internet marketing and social media.

Who are these people?

Allyn Hane – Master of his own domain located at www.bloggerillustrated.net
Steve Sherron – Media Entrepreneur www.bloggerlens.com
Brian Matson – Mr Fargo/Moorhead when it comes to social media www.fargomoorhead.org
Josh Whitford – Myself, with an emphasis on marketing techniques and startegies www.joshwhitford.com

What is our goal?

We want to bring the world of social media and Internet marketing to real people running real businesses. How can a mom and pop flower shop use and gain a return on investment from communities like Facebook, Twitter or local sites. This would include using all kinds of different methods for promoting that include a little bit of everything, SEO, community websites, video and cross platform marketing and advertising techniques.

Who are we trying to serve?

The team we have assembled is very good at many different marketing techniques and we want to bring that knowledge and experience together to better serve more people. We are here to serve businesses of all size and have quite a foothold is some prominent industries already. We will also be creating products and services that everyday people can use to better utilize and leverage these social and marketing techniques to their advantage. This isn’t going to be another fly by the night membership site or service or just an excuse to be invited to conferences to speak. No, we are trying to further other people and businesses to the next level in the ever-changing landscape of Internet marketing and social media.

Where can you find info on the other guys?

Our Blogs

http://bloggerlens.com/ (Steve)
http://bloggerillustrated.net/ (Allyn)
http://www.joshwhitford.com/ (Josh)
http://www.fargomoorhead.org/fmnews/ (Brian)

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Monroe-Scoop/142453226861?ref=nf (Steve)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blogger-Illustrated/127955991346?ref=ts (Allyn)
http://www.facebook.com/therealjosh (Josh)
http://www.facebook.com/FargoMoorhead?ref=nf (Brian)

Twitter

http://twitter.com/hyperlocalblog (Steve)
http://twitter.com/AllynPaul (Allyn)
http://twitter.com/therealjosh (Josh)
http://twitter.com/fargomoorhead (Brian)

Echelon Media Links

http://www.echelonmedia.com/
http://twitter.com/echelonmedia
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Echelon-Media/372799737541?ref=ts

What do you think?

We’d love to hear your feedback and ideas. What do you think of the site? What topics would you like us to cover?

I hope that everyone is enjoying the eggnog with loved ones next to a warm fire and some good food. This year Lindsay and I continued our tradition of having Chinese Buffet for Christmas lunch. We started going 3 years ago when both of us used to work on Christmas. This year is a little different.

I quit my last job a year ago this week. Hard to believe where life has taken me since. Quitting my job was the guttiest thing I have ever done, leaving behind a secure dismal paycheck to pursue a life of business and Internet Marketing. It was the best choice I have ever made. Deciding to strike out on my own definitely came with its ups and downs, but over all has been extremely worth it.

Looking back over the last year makes me very thankful that I get to spend time relaxing with my girlfriend Lindsay and for all the support that family and friends have given over the years. I hope that wherever you are, you are with the ones you love and cherishing every moment. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. God Bless you and may this year be more fruitful than the last.

-Josh Whitford

P.S. This year I am changing the focus of my newsletter to better help and encourage others to pursue a better life through marketing.

What a busy week. I feel like I have been running around with my head cut off and completely slacked on getting a post up. Yesterday I decided to take the whole day off from anything that resembled work, with the exception of helping to shovel snow. Such is life sometimes. Now without further adieu…

Susie Asks: How much emphasis or value do you believe social networking is for companies? I believe it’s really good for brand building, but conversions are a different story, especially when you are limited in your “territory”. What are your thoughts and ideas.

Josh: I think social media and social networking are huge for companies to get involved with. When you have a brand that has been established over time it is very important to monitor that brand and encourage open discussion. One of the best tools I have seen for brand management and tracking social networking trend is an analytics software called SM2 Techrigy. I won’t go into huge detail about what the software can do other than it is top of the line for online brand management.

Recently, I have been trying to use Techrigy to help in planning marketing campaigns for clients versus just as a brand management tool. I will have to tell you about the results after I am done.

If you are limited to a territory I would seek out the noise makers in that area and work on building a positive working relationship with them. If you are an online retailer I would look for the Twitters and Bloggers in your area and build the best relationship possible with them. Don’t be afraid to be fully honest about why you are talking with them and see what different kinds of ideas they might have. That alone is enough to make them talk.

Jeff Asks: love your stuff- you must work with some talented people. who are these stalwarts of creative energy?

Josh: Funny that you ask Jeff. I do as Jeff says surround myself with many people with creative energy. Here in no particular order are those people.

Jeff Nyquist – former marketing director of The Marcil Group and current marketing director of Black Knight Marketing in Fargo, ND.

Sue Long – who specialized in marketing and design also formerly with The Marcil Group and currently with Black Knight Marketing.

Lindsay Stordahl – Lindsay is the author of That Mutt: A Dog Blog and provides marketing assistance for local companies via SEO, content and editorials. P.S. Lindsay is also my girlfriend and chief editor. Thanks, beautiful.

Justin Moen – Who we imported from Norway as a little programming gnome that helps with our automation processes and SEO. (Actually, he returned from a Norwegian hiatus and we snatched him up quickly after).

Sherry Asks: Since I am going to start a contest end of Dec at my blog. I like to know what’s the best way to choose the Winners. Beside using random.org, is there other way to do it?

Josh: Another way to have people win a contest is to make it so difficult that the only person to finish it wins by default. Or, you could have a set guideline that must be followed in order to win. There are always the contests that you purely decide who the winner is based on your own opinion or that of a panel of people (your friends or closest Internet companions). I think all work fine as long as you specify how people are chosen.

stores open on christmas Asks: My question is how do you brainstorm for good marketing ideas to test out on your blog?

Josh: Mostly out of boredom. I usually see what other people are doing and then see how I can apply that to my blog or other sites with the least amount of work possible. I usually just try something because I think it is cool and want to do it. Like my Marketing Ideas En Masse idea where I just wanted an easy way to post frequently about Marketing Ideas to help with my search rankings on that term. Yes, it helped and also got me a boat load of new visitors. I just kinda stumble through this as I see fit, like my own little Internet Marketing / Social Media experiment.

If you have a question and would like me to take a stab at it go ahead and shoot for the next round of Ask Josh or use my contact form.