Another Marnie Minute

Welcome back to another week in the life of yours truly. What has been going on with me? Thanks for asking! 


Chamber Love 

Amplification, Inc. (www.AmplificationInc.com) recently joined the Davie-Cooper City Chamber of Commerce (http://www.davie-coopercity.org/) and our newly established membership has already paid dividends for us (join their fan page, please, by clicking here and follow along on Twitter, too!). We attended their free Business & Community Expo and loved the seminars provided by BrowardSCORE. Apparently we weren’t the only ones to reap the benefits. 

“The expo was a hit!” says Gina Leggiere, who represented her business, Davie SIGNARAMA (http://www.daviesignarama.com/), at the expo. “I got a solid six contacts that I am confident will lead to new business soon.” Follow Davie SIGNARAMA on Twitter and Facebook.

John with Chase Roofing & Contracting (www.chasefl.com), who was adamant about only getting his picture taken with his business associate by his side, got two sizeable clients from the expo. “It was a homerun for me,” he says. “Great event!”

Really? Two sizable clients from a FREE event? How could you go wrong? Right on, Davie-Cooper City Chamber!

Another fellow Chamber member of note is Kathy Blanton, owner of Ameribiz.net. Check her company out if you need website hosting, design, or promotion thereof. We look forward to freshening up our website after we get our video-sharing division up and running later this month. Yes, this is big news, and yes, you should stay tuned to learn how this will positively impact your bottom dollar!

Security Concerns

I recently learned that approximately 96% of new security system purchasers buy because their house was recently broken into. This nugget came courtesy of fellow Shenandoah Business Group member, Richard Reid with GoToMyControls.com. Seems to make a lot more sense to buy a security system before you get robbed! Please welcome Richard to our area. He is here adding to our economy as a recent transplant from Canada. Email him if you have questions or need info on how you can better secure your home today.

Location, Location, Location

Have a brick-and-mortar place of business? Want to attract and retain new consumer-customers? Then you’ve got to understand and embrace location-based marketing. Why? Because people are constantly using their GPS-enabled smartphones to “check-in” and “like” your place of business via social media platforms like Facebook Places and Foursquare.

“People are interacting with your brand using social media, and if you don’t own your presence and take control of the messaging and leverage it to your benefit with photos, specials, incentives, and other important information, you’re missing a huge opportunity to connect with people who are demonstrated and enthusiastic customers!” my partner Steve Cabeza (Idea Man at Amplification, Inc.) likes to say all the time.

What’s all the fuss about? Consider this:

78% of people trust a peer recommendation (one of your friends checking in on Facebook Places for example), whereas a measly 14% trust traditional advertising methods, such as newspaper ads.

So, spend money on social media (that is what Amplification, Inc. does and we want to help you!) or spend money on advertising? We think that’s one of the easiest choices you could ever have to make!

To see someone who does location-based marketing right, check out McSorley’s Beach Pub’s Facebook presence (http://www.facebook.com/McSorleysFTL ), courtesy of Amplification, Inc., and please “like” their page while you’re there. They are a great and fun bunch! And check out their rooftop and beachfront sundeck if you like tasty cocktails and rooftop beach vistas like I do! Oh, and almost forgot, I love the beautiful scenery, too. Wink, wink.

Boys, Girls, and Labradors

In case you don’t know, the Boys and Girls Club of Broward County knows how to throw an enjoyable happy hour. Their recent event at the Riverside Hotel (love that place) on Las Olas was made even more enjoyable because the usual suspects: Anja (VP of Business Development at Dauerflora USA Inc.), Jonathan (attorney with Rosenberg & Pinsky), and Sharon (#1 Bully with Social Media Bullies) were there to keep things fun and interesting!

I’d also like to give a shout-out to Steve’s friend, Heidi, for giving Club Cabeza some love on her blog page. Thank you, Heidi, we are getting traffic to our blog from your blog! I guess I need to send you a friend request! LOL! Friends, please check out Heidi’s blog (http://themindthatneverstops.blogspot.com/). You may find something interesting there, like the photos of her gorgeous Labrador retriever!

We finished up the week by hitting a GBLX networking event hosted by King’s Cup. They are a coffee (and so much more!!) delivery service, and they really know how to put on a great event. Thanks go to Shawn, and Will, and the entire crew. The food, bar, prizes, networking, and entire event was fabulous. And thanks to Eco-Friendly Auto Center (check out the news coverage) for bringing us into this great group.

Help & Health

Friend of the Club Gary Hough asked us to throw some love his way. I’m here to oblige! Gary is taking part in The Make-A-Wish Dream Date Auction event on July 29 at the Opium nightclub. The website is www.dreamdateauction.net. He is part of the board and is tasked to help find sponsors. It is great exposure for a truly worthwhile cause. If you are interested and willing to be a sponsor, connect with Gary on Facebook by clicking here! Gary is a bo-hunk firefighter (must be all that delicious MonaVie he drinks!) and all-around super guy. If that isn’t enough to convince you to be a sponsor for the event, how about this? Gary spends a lot of time in the gym and will be flexing his abs in the upcoming firefighter calendar. Gotcha now, didn’t I? He also gladly takes part in fundraising date auctions, and is a loyal supporter of Club Cabeza (www.ClubCabeza.com).

If you are interested in MonaVie and the fabulous health benefits purportedly contained in each bottle of the delicious juice and weight loss product, attend a meeting and see if it’s for you. The next one is set for Tuesday, June 28, 2011, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Renaissance Hotel & Resort, 1230 South Pine Island Road, Plantation, Florida 33324. Cost is $5 per distributor, and guests are free. Speakers are Brian & Jackie Thayer.

This blog post was written by Marnie Goldberg, Amplification, Inc.’s Social Medium. Thank you for reading. Please subscribe to this blog, connect with Amplification, Inc. on Facebook or Twitter, and email me if Steve and I can help you AMPLIFY your message and increase your billing. Daniel K. Brantley is the freelance-writer/magician who keeps our grammar in line and makes our posts SHINE! Visit danielkbrantley.com or connect with Daniel on Twitter.

Are you active on Facebook and Twitter and interested in working part-time for Amplification, Inc.? Email me and tell me why I should consider hiring you, and we can take it from there.

The Marnie Minute #Amplify

Paris has a great Derby Hat! 

Hi everyone. Marnie here. I finally found the time to sit down and give you an update on happenings at Amplification, Inc. I’ve not been home a single night this week. And although I love it, it’s tough on an old broad like me.

Going Derby 

Steve and I were fortunate to have met some wonderful folks this week. We started on Saturday by attending the 3rd Annual Rock the Race, a Kentucky Derby bash benefiting The Ann Storck Center (http://www.annstorckcenter.org/). They’re dedicated to enriching the lives of children and adults with developmental disabilities, and I was introduced to the great things they do from our friends at Mickey Byrnes Irish Pub. This bash was held at Passion Night Club at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. In case you’ve not heard, those folks know how to throw a party!

This was my first Derby party, and I was mesmerized by the beautiful women and gorgeous hats floating around the room. As we made our way upstairs, we were instantly drawn to a true gem: Debbie Batts, owner of Silver Stone’s Throw (www.silverstonesthrow.com). She is an enthusiastic supporter of Ann Storck and a great person to have at any party! We also met another cool character, Safeea Maloney, who works for John P. “Jack” Seiler, the mayor of Ft. Lauderdale. She was fun, charming, and delightful in her beautiful orange dress and hat. She was also remarkably easy to spot across the room, thanks to her two sidekicks wearing plastic construction hats! From the food to the attire to the venue to the effort and care that went into it, this was a first-rate event that certainly raised a considerable amount of money for the Center. 

Eating and Meeting

I belong to my community homeowner’s networking group, the Shenandoah Business Group. Through the group, I’ve met some really fabulous people. One who has taught me a great deal about networking is Donna Caccioppo, president and CEO of Trusted Tek, LLC. (http://www.trustedtek.net) More powerful than Wonder Woman, Donna runs her company effectively, sits on the Board of Directors for The Boys and Girls Club of Broward County (they throw great events, too!), attends too many functions to keep up with, and includes me in any and all pertinent or current networking events. She makes for a great example and I find her very inspiring!

Donna recently invited me to attend “Link and Lunch” at Attorney Michael Wild’s (http://wfplaw.com/Michael-D.-Wild,-PA.html) office. They are a great group of professionals, and I look forward to getting to know them all very soon. Donna also invited us to Networking with a Cause (NWAC) sponsored by The Boys and Girls Club of Broward County (http://www.bgcbc.org/). This was my third NWAC event, and I was again impressed with this fun-loving group of people that takes raising money and sharing business seriously. What’s really cool about their events is that they give you the opportunity to sponsor a child to go to afterschool programs for a whole year at their facilities for only $15. It’s a great feeling to help someone else while experiencing new places, meeting cool new people, and potentially drumming up business. Amplification has been extremely fortunate to have been included in this group, as we have amplified messages for several companies and helped children in need.

It was nice to see Steve (Steve Cabeza, Idea Man & Marketing Ninja here at Amplification, Inc.) re-kindle some relationships at a recent Greater Plantation Chamber of Commerce breakfast (http://www.plantationchamber.org/). I guess we will be joining their chamber soon! It doesn’t matter what time of day it is or where we are, we always run into someone who knows, misses, and approaches Steve. 

Good Morning! 

I’m still figuring out how to look presentable, awake, and alert by 7:30 a.m., but getting out there continues to bring great people into our lives, so setting the alarm a little earlier is well worth it. The breakfast at the Plantation Chamber rocked! They held a Teacher of the Year Recognition event for Broward County and honored students of American Heritage School for their great strides in robotics and science. Thanks to the chamber and especially their primary sponsor, Motorola, for doing such great things to empower learning and excellence in our schools. The students demonstrated the robots they built, and I gotta admit—I’m a little jealous of the knowledge these kids have tucked in between their ears. Dad always said if our children are not smarter than us, then we are moving backwards. From what I saw, we’re moving full-steam ahead. Thanks again to the Plantation Chamber and Motorola. It was an inspiring event.

I also attended a networking event for the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce’s GBLX Group. I met so many great people there, but Denise Spivak, president of Women in Network (WIN—www.womeninnetwork.com) stood out. This organization is dedicated to the development, leadership, and empowerment of LBT women, their friends, and supporters. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Denise and her partner. I left that conversation with a ton of great ideas, one was to refer to Steve as my “partner” at their events and I’ll never get picked up!

Well, enough of my rambling. We are half through this week, and I’m just recapping last week! Amplification, Inc. is out and about at many events, but our primary mission is to help friends and clients broadcast their message to our ever-expanding, diverse social network. We love what we do and the relationships we are forming.

Thanks for reading, and special thanks to Daniel Brantley, our freelance editor, writer, and partner-in-amplifying-crime. Without him, we wouldn’t be as cool as we are, but pretty close! Connect with Daniel via email, Twitter, or his website (www.danielkbrantley.com). Please subscribe to our blog, follow us on Twitter, and join our fan page by clicking here. Oh, and don’t forget to check out Steve in the latest Critical Condition, especially if you have an opinion on cigarette smoking and civil liberties. This is easily the most controversial video he has done yet! http://www.mdnews.com/video?video=20187&page=1