• Neptune Festival International Spring Wine Festival – 31st Street Park – Virginia Beach – Save the packing, the passports, and the jetlag…Travel the world with Neptune Festival’s International Spring Wine Festival!  31st Street Park is transformed into a hub of tasting stations from around the world with wines from 9 countries, each featuring blends and styles that are sure to ignite the traveler in you. *
• Chesapeake Jubilee – Chesapeake City Park – Chesapeake – The 2012 Chesapeake Jubilee kicks off Thursday, May 17th. Fun-filled amusements and carnival rides provided by Amusements of America; Live Entertainment; Chesapeake 4-H Livestock Club Show and Sale; Kansas City Barbecue Society-sanctioned BBQ Cook-off; spectacular fireworks by Zambelli fireworks; popular Kids Korner with rides and special projects for the kiddies. **
• Virginia Beer Festival – Town Point Park – Norfolk – For the 11th year Norfolk Festevents and The Virginia Arts Festival are partnering together to produce the ever popular Virginia Beer Festival.  With over 65 breweries contributing to the bounty, festival goers will appreciate the open layout of Town Point Park and easy access to parking in nearby garages. Local favorites House on Fire will provide the entertainment with their medley of classic and southern rock, funk and blues. ***
• Beach Party Bash – Peninsula Fine Arts Center – Newport News – This one is for the teenagers! Haven’t been able to make it to the beach this year?  No problem!  Just come to our Beach Party Bash on the shores of the Pfac!  There may not be sand and surf, but you’ll feel like you’re having fun in the sun!  There will be a Wii and X-box Game lounge. Music by DJ-Daddy!  Plus enjoy some tropical drinks and food that will transport you to the islands.  If you plan to don your flip-flops and join the fun, just let us know!  ****
• Williamsburg Farmers Market - Merchants Square – Williamsburg – Come out to get the freshest produce, seafood, flowers, meats, and cheeses possible! While you’re there, shop historic Williamsburg as well.

 If you happen to make it out to one of these great events, leave JASE a comment below, and let us know how it was. As always, please feel free to share this article with friends.

image credit: stevendepolo on flickr
info credit: Neptune Festival info credit: Chesapeake Jubilee info credit: VA FEST info credit: PFAC

Adora Svitak, a 14-year-old author, educator and speaker, told a Mashable conference audience that social media engagement can be beneficial when marketing to Millennials.

While Svitak is only one member of the Millennial generation, which is made up of 79 million Americans, she does offer some insight into marketing tactics that engage Millennials.

Targeting Millennials through social media marketing and Inbound Marketing tactics.

Target Millennials by getting their attention in the mediums they use, such as social media networks and other traditional mediums. JASE creates a perfect Inbound Marketing plan that is affordable and combines traditional and non-traditional marketing tools. Tools created by JASE use online marketing and social media marketing campaigns that capture Millennials. According to Svitak, online contest and causes work well with Millennials too.

Types of contest include:

• Voting for a product to be included into a designer’s product line.
• Voting for a submission of art or designs for brands by their peers.
• Voting for specific people sharing a story promoted by a brand.

Recent causes that have left a lasting impression on Millennials include:

• KONY 2012
• The Trayvon Martin Case
• Political viewpoints on gay marriage and women’s rights.

Often on different sides of the argument, Millennials make sure their voice is heard by sharing their opinions boldly and repeatedly.

“We can use peer pressure in destructive ways, and amazing ways,” stated Svitak at the conference. “…Not only do we share things we really like, but we share things that we hate.”

If Millennials are in your target market, which they may be based on their buying power, your organization should invest in an Inbound Marketing plan.

A JASE Inbound Marketing plan can create unique and focused online, traditional, and social media marketing campaigns to engage Millennials. Contact JASE to increase engagement with the young and influential Millennial generation.

image credit: by:Paulo Fehlauer on flickr

There are many businesses that have fabulous products or services and they struggle to garner a sale. They struggle to create sales for a number of reasons, but a key contributor can be the ability to create an affordable marketing strategy to inform consumers of their products.

How content marketing can help create an affordable scalable sales solution for your product or service

Creating quality organic content is massively important in SEO today. Search engines tell us they reward the websites that produce quality, helpful, and organic content. So, for your website to be found in search traffic, you must create content. The benefit of creating content is that each piece of content that you create becomes a potential salesman for your business. The more content your business creates, the more the search engines will pick up and promote your website. Which will in turn, increase sales opportunities.

Has your business adopted a content marketing strategy? Contact JASE today to learn how we can help you market your business in a scalable and profitable way. As always, please feel free to share this article with friends.

image credit: arteolite on flickr

Professional Design Templates

Choose from a gallery of creatively designed templates to brand your practice on the Internet. Impress your visitors with a custom logo, professional photography, staff profiles and the latest news from your office.

Easy to use Content Manager

Use the JASE EPR content manager to control the objects on your website from the front desk of your office. Adding and editing text, photos and videos is as easy as using Microsoft Word. No technical skills required.

Powerful Application Plugins

To engage with patients, impressive application plugins can be added that are perfect for displaying videos and photos on your website. Blog about your practice, show interactive maps and directions, and allow your patients to submit appointment requests.

Visit JASEEPR.com for more information on what a JASE Healthcare Website can do for you.

If you don’t have a website or want to upgrade your 2009 design, one of our JASE EPR associates can help get you started. In working with our JASE creative team, we offer a wide range of web design, development and marketing services to help you with your branding initiatives. Let’s get started today integrating your new JASE Healthcare Website with your JASE EPR Patient Portal and your JASE EPR Front Office Portal.

Please visit us at contact.jaseepr.com to reach a sales associate. Or call one of our sales associates today: (757) 962-0134.

It’s also possible to make mistakes on Twitter that can negatively affect how your brand is perceived. Buffer, a blog filled with Twitter tips, created a list of 77 common Twitter mistakes. Many mistakes can be avoided if you understand how to clearly communicate your message.

Here are a few mistakes to avoid from the list of 77:

2.   You didn’t provide a link to your website or blog.

7.   You put an incorrect URL in your profile (you left out the “http://”).

10. If you’re a business, brand your Twitter page with your business graphics.

14. You’re not being active, not joining in. You connected your Twitter account and never updated it.

18. Don’t share links without context.

34. Tweets that start with a username are hidden from people that don’t follow you both. Don’t make a username the first thing in a tweet if you want everyone to see it.

35. If you write tweets over 120 characters long, someone who wants to retweet and add commentary won’t have enough room. Shorter is better.

44. Excessive self-promotion and bragging.

49. Not retweeting others’ content! It’s good karma.

66. Failing to take the time to listen to Twitter conversations before you jump in to promote your organization or cause.

Make sure to read the list of 77 Twitter tips. These steps can assist with your personal and business Twitter pages. Contact JASE to create a successful social media marketing plan.

image credit: by Leo Reynolds on flickr

Why it is important to know if your inbound marketing agency is qualified

There are many digital and online marketing firms that tout to have the marketing solution for your business. The reality is that not every firm has the right answers. They may have answers that are good for yesterday’s online world, but online marketing changes quickly and what worked today may not work tomorrow.

Five Warning signs that an agency is not up on industry news

1. The firm is talking only SEO – While SEO is important, it is a “yes” or “no” science today. Either the firm does SEO right or they do not. Either way it alone cannot make you visible to your target audience.
2. The firm is talking about the future impact of social signal – Social signal will continue to impact online marketing, but like we stated above, it is here now and has to be accounted for.
3. The firm is talking web design with flash – Flash went out years ago. It is not recognizable by search engines and has no impact on your SEO.
4. The firm is talking only social media marketing – Social media is a powerful tool. It is not a standalone, all-encompassing marketing strategy.
5. The firm cannot talk concisely and unequivocally about inbound marketing – If you are meeting with a potential firm about their inbound marketing services, they must be able to communicate clearly their strategy.

These are just a few of the potential warning signs to be alert for when inquiring about inbound marketing. Want to know why JASE can work for you? Contact us today to get started with an inbound marketing strategy that is right for your business. As always, please feel free to share this article with friends.

image credit: Mr. T in DC on flickr

Location based apps and social media networks have increased as the number of smartphone users has increased.

“It has been fascinating to watch how people’s physical location has reentered the picture in their communications patterns,” Pew Internet Research Specialist and report author Kathryn Zickuhr told Mashable. “For a long time in our research, we’ve seen that location didn’t matter to consumer’s Internet use or cellphone use. But the rise of location services and awareness has become a new part of people’s use of these digital technologies.”

Increasing social media marketing through location based apps and social media websites.

Through Foursquare and Facebook’s check-in and location based services, your company can market its services to a larger audience. As each of your customers check-in to your business they share this information with their social media friends.

Using various contests, giveaways, and promotions to reward your loyal customers encourages them to not only check-in to your brand, but it also encourages them to continue to use your service.

Social media marketing is not hard, it simply takes knowledge of what apps and programs to use in order to market your brand best. Contact JASE to take your marketing efforts to the next level. Receive a free Inbound Marketing Assessment to help start your organization down the right path. 

image credit: by Michael Kwan (Freelancer) on flickr

In a move to make sure every Twitter user can enjoy all the new features, Twitter announced last week that they have released the updates for their mobile website to serve a variety of needs.

If you’re accessing Twitter from a feature phone, low-bandwidth network, or an older desktop browser, mobile.twitter.com is designed with you in mind.

The update is a solid move on Twitter’s part to make sure all Twitter users have the same level of access. Ease of access for the user is paramount for social networks. Twitter seems to have fewer complaints about their upgrades than their competitors when it comes to managing the user’s experience.

What do you think of Twitter’s new features? Which social community do you prefer? Leave us a comment below and let us know. As always, please feel free to share this article with friends.

image credit: Jefferey Turner on flickr

According to Mashable the 2012 Presidential election might be the most digitally sophisticated race ever – on both sides.

Positions for Romney’s digital team include a social media and email marketing writer, data analyst, and software engineer among others. The campaign hopes to boost their digital team in an effort to compete against President Barack Obama’s established digital presence.

Establishing a Digital Media and Social Media Marketing Campaign a Step Above the Competition

Similar to the upcoming presidential election, traditional is no longer than the status quo in the marketing industry. Ignoring the need for a digital media and social media marketing campaign for your business will allow consumers and your competition to forget about your brand and product. Social media marketing allows your business to engage with Twitter and Facebook users and establish a relationship between your brand and its consumers.

A JASE inbound marketing plan creates a unique blend of various marketing techniques to capture consumers that are truly interested in your business. A JASE Inbound marketing plan includes traditional marketing tools as well as online marketing, social media marketing, web development, search engine marketing and more. Each aspect reveals your brand to a targeted market ready to establish a relationship with your brand.

Business is similar to politics in the fashion that you must always stay a step ahead of your competition. Take your marketing strategy beyond average with an Inbound Marketing strategy created by JASE to fit the specific needs of your brand. Contact JASE for a free Inbound Marketing Assessment and take your marketing plan beyond average.

image credit: by: mediaite.com