The Earth Organization (TEO) has joined forces with Milt and Edie’s Drycleaners to help raise awareness in local children about the impacts of pollution on animals. “When we approached Milt Chortkoff about helping us to educate children in the Burbank area in celebration of Earth Day on issues related to water pollution affecting wildlife, he and the company’s Manager, Robert Shapiro, immediately offered to support our efforts,” said Barbara Wiseman, International President of TEO.

An ecological non-profit, TEO was founded by Lawrence Anthony, acclaimed South African conservationist, as a result of experiences during his world-renowned rescue initiative of the Baghdad Zoo at the beginning of the Iraqi War. “Edie and I are passionate about animals and it is just terrible what the effects are of unthinking people to the wildlife around us,” said Chortkoff. “The Earth Organization is effectively helping people and groups become better partners for survival with the natural world and we are happy to be one of their sponsors.”

Dedicated to high environmental standards long before it became a popular stance, Milt Chortkoff and his wife Edie, iconic figures in the Burbank business community, have consistently supported efforts to protect animals and the environment. Their business recently won the “Award of Excellence” from the Clothing Care Council, for which one of the criteria is a commitment to environmentally-friendly practices.

In just the past two years, the official endangered animals list has increased by 50%, from 1000 species in danger of going extinct to over 1500 now registered. “This alarming statistic is in large part due to the drastic modifications of wildlife habitat by a wide variety of pollutants that are released into the environment either intentionally or by accident,” said Wiseman. “During this difficult economic period, Milt and Edie’s are setting an example for other businesses that, despite the hard times, it is vitally important to continue to pay attention to the bigger picture.” As one of their key focuses, TEO is using sponsorship funds to bring environmental education to schools and after-school programs around the world. Funds donated by the drycleaners will facilitate Earth Day presentations to local elementary schools, as well as the piloting of new courses TEO has created on the subject of endangered species.

Dubbed “The Indiana Jones of Conservation” by CNN, BBC, CBS and other major media, Lawrence Anthony’s vision is to expand from the 13 countries they are currently operating in to a worldwide network of chapters. Each chapter focuses on their personal passion related to wildlife and environmental issues but whose underlying purpose is to educate individuals and groups about the vital partnership for survival we have with the natural world.

Drycleaning clients are treated to an amusing declaration of Milt & Edie’s passion for the natural world – a sign prominently displayed over the counter which says “If we were any more environmentally friendly, we’d be beating your clothes on a rock!”

They are more than a product reminder on Facebook. They have fun talking about many different topics! Check them out on Facebook!

Think the distinction between Facebook profiles, Pages and Groups is confusing? Add a new wrinkle to the mix: the Facebook Community Page.

The new feature looks a whole lot like the Facebook Pages businesses and brands create, but there’s one key difference: It’s for the hordes of “unofficial” Pages that have been created by users in support of topics or causes (like “Can this pickle get more fans than Nickelback?”).

There’s a big difference in functionality too –- Facebook (Facebook) says that if a page becomes popular enough, administration will be handed over to the Facebook community. In other words, Community Pages become a whole lot like a wiki once they reach a certain threshold.

Another goal for Facebook is to keep official Pages in the hands of their respective brand owners. A company spokesperson tells us that Community Pages “give our users opportunities to express their enthusiasm and creativity, while allowing for Official Pages to continue representing official entities such as businesses, bands and public figures.”

At the same time, this means that we might start to see a whole lot more “unofficial” Pages crop up for brands and public figures, free of nasty naming rights issues (remember that girl who claimed Baja Fresh in the Facebook name land grab?).

You can create Community Pages here. What do you think of the feature? What might you use it for? Let us know in the comments.

Facebook Killing ‘Become A Fan,’ Embracing ‘Like’
By Christopher Heine, ClickZ, Mar 29, 2010
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Facebook is scaling back on the word “Fan” and ramping up usage of “Like” on brand pages. According to a confidential e-mail sent to ad agencies today, the social media site will change the “Become A Fan” button to read “Like” within the next few weeks.

When asked about the change, Annie Ta, spokesperson for the Palo Alto, CA-based company, confirmed via e-mail that the words on the button would be changed. But she wasn’t able to offer other specifics about whether “Like” would replace “Fan” in other places on Facebook. “We’re still working on some of the details, but brand Pages can still be referred to as ‘Fan’ Pages after the change,” Ta replied.

Facebook, in the note to ad agencies, said it wanted to give the agencies advance notice about the change that could affect upcoming advertising campaigns or Facebook strategy.

Part of the confidential e-mail read: “Over time, as users adapt to the language change, we recommend that you invite people to connect to your Page by saying ‘Find us on Facebook’ or ‘Like us on Facebook’. You may also choose to put more emphasis on your custom URL than you used to.”

The e-mail also explained how the new “Like” button will be differentiated from the “Like” feature already seen in user updates.

How it may affect ads was also addressed in the e-mail to ad agencies. “Users will understand the distinction through explicit social context, messaging and aesthetic differences. An Engagement ad unit, capable of making connections, will feature the ‘Like’ button and show social context above it such as, ‘John Doe and 3 of your friends like [Page Name].’ Standard ad units, not capable of making connections, will simply feature the word ‘Like’ by itself, and may show social context above it that says ‘John Doe and 3 of your friends like this ad.’”

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Facebook users have been clicking the current “Like” feature nearly twice as often as the “Become A Fan” button, according to the memo. And the social site appears convinced using “Like” more often will increase engagement between consumers and brands.

The e-mail read: “‘Like’ offers a simple, consistent way for people to connect with the things they are interested in. These lighter-weight actions mean people will make more connections across the site, including with your branded Facebook Pages. We believe this will result in brands gaining more connections to pages since our research has shown that some users would be more comfortable with the term ‘Like’. The goal is to get the most user connections so that you can have ongoing conversations in the news feeds of as many users as possible.”

Scott Kleper, CTO for the San Francisco-based social marketing firm Context Optional, suggested that the change could indeed create greater engagement as Facebook intends. “Becoming a fan of a brand is perceived as a large commitment and is an important measurement metric… ‘Liking’ can be another great driver of awareness and an opportunity for users to show an additional form of affinity,” he said.

Scores of brands, such as Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and Skittles, have cultivated online communities on Facebook.

You can follow Christopher Heine on Twitter at @ChrisClickZ.

Any seminar should have some value associated with the cost! Do the research and ask the questions beforehand! Is the seminar producer interested in speaking, adding to their portfolio, or making instant cash?

Is the company or person seeking a long-term relationship? Sometimes seminars are a way to get the business. If the company holding the seminar is giving you something worthwhile to get your business, consider it a business cost to get in the door! Ask for a credit from the seminar to be applied to services rendered in the future!

Consider free seminars also! If a company or person has a seminar that you are interested in and you have done the research to find out where their data is coming from. Take it! Sometimes people are learning how to give seminars, trying to understand their market, trying to get your business, or they could be looking for data from the attendee. This creates the illusion that you get what you pay for. Rethink this! We expect to pay and receive something worthwhile, since we have paid. Seminars without a cost should not be undervalued. Ask why it is free! Especially in this economy!

Your blogs need to be on your own website to help increase your visibility on the internet. Using another blog engine or other website does not create visibility for you! You are helping that company create more buzz for themselves by having your content on their site.

Do not assume that because you have a blog for your community on your site, that it creates buzz for you! You are not sharing your ideas with your community and the internet community. You need to tell others what you think, feel, and why. If they are spending the time blogging on your site, you should also! Be an authority to your blog community and in the internet community.

Social Internet Marketing: Reaching your audience and consumers through your website via blog with connections to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Flickr. You can also use additional sites in your market to let consumers know what events, announcements, product launches, or information that is happening with your business.

Advertise: You need to let consumers know you are here! Advertising sends the message of what you have to offer, what you are about, and how to find you! Advertising needs to be consistent. One ad here or there is not going to get ANY return! It takes frequency and familiarity for a consumer to see you. When they finally need your product or service they are going to look for you. If you are no longer advertising they will think you are no longer in business and find someone who is advertising to buy that product or service. Advertising can be considered web ads or print ads. Find where your best audience is. Capture that business!

Free Press: I will say up front it is not free! Connecting with magazines, newspapers, or other media takes money. Typically you need to find someone who has the connection to the publication you want to have a story presented in. You need someone to “pitch” your service or product. You may also need someone to create press releases. This includes copy, distribution, and follow-up. It can be as costly if not more than advertising.

1. Don’t go running off without a plan. Meet with your marketing folks/committee and decide what kind of presence you want to project and how much information you want to share.

2. Decide if/how you will measure your effectiveness. If you just want to know if your website visits jump, be sure to benchmark your hits before you start any new web activity.

3. Remember that anything you do or say WILL get read by “someone” and that “someone” could be that person’s best friend or be “connected” to them through their social network.

4. Put someone in charge. You wouldn’t put multiple people in charge of updating your website, so don’t put more than one person in charge of the same social media sites. Make sure you all agree on what you want out there … perhaps the lead marketer emails your Social Media Team (SMT) to ask them to post “the attached” and that they do it within X number of days. That way the news breaks evenly across the board and it’s a consistent message.

5. In addition to putting yourself or business out there, use the RSS feeds, groups, and searching areas of the sites to see what’s going on around you. Maybe your competition is posting info that you’ve missed. Maybe you missed a really great article that someone is touting. Maybe there’s an event you want to join. Plugging in words to a Twitter account bring up untold numbers of “tweets” that include the word in their posts. These searches are global and go outside your own ring of influence.

6. Does your website include the ability to create a Blog? If so, put someone in charge of posting news and information on it. Be sure to use key words that will help search engines find you.

7. Monitor how it’s working. Get feedback from your web administrator (are hits going up?), from your registrar (do people check “found you on the internet” when they sign up?), and from those charged with each of the sites you’ve chosen to involve yourself in (does anyone ever comment? When you search your name, does it appear anywhere new?). Make judgments about continued use and time against that. The services are free, but you don’t want to overdo the amount of time (it’s easy to get sucked into these sites.

The message here is this: if your customers have several choices in your expertise, you NEED to stay current and be the business that everyone is talking about. You need to be the business that communicates with those interested in your product or service. Using social media helps get you there.