Buzzflikr Blogs: Debra’s Interviews

“There’s a fine line between being informative and annoying,” says the childrenswear founder of Mimi and Maggie.  This truthful nugget popped out as we were chatting this morning about the value of online communication.  For these industry vets, it’s a top priority to ensure that everything they do is consistent with the distinctive flavor of their handcrafted kids brand.

On one hand, there’s tremendous opportunity to reach retailers, editors and consumers thru all the many exciting channels of new media now at our disposal. On the other, just one eblast or tweet too many, and you’ve tipped the scales into unredeemable spam.

Don’t forget, you’re creating a permanent, trackable brand presence on the web.  These links, comments and posts never go away.  How will you use these communication tools today?

Mimi and Maggie Create Artistic Gear for Fearless Girls

You know what they say, 80% of the time we’re successful by using just 20% of our abilities. In other words, our genius lies in focusing on our areas of expertise and leaving the rest to others.

In this Digital Era many small business owners They feel unsure about using online communication to promote their brands. They know it’s important but it’s not their expertise or focus. Neither should it be.

Here’s our 2 cents: Concentrate on running a great business and delegate these functions to someone who can commit to doing it. Planning meaningful blog entries, posting news to facebook or twittering about your latest buzz is quite possibly the most effective strategy for promoting your company. It should be conducted as a cohesive part of your business growth strategy and handled by someone with a passion for these activities.

Need help figuring out your 80/20? Let’s talk!

Zappos CEO Uses Facebook to Connect

Face it, a proactive twitter campaign IS time consuming. First, you need followers then you need something compelling to talk about. And of course that all-important time element to make it a regular gig. But this new media DOES generate worthy return on your hard-earned investment because of consumer interest. Tweets are simply the hottest newest thing, and this immediacy is exactly what our market requires today.

At Buzzflikr we tweet editors and clients with news, event reminders and updates plus run these campaigns for clients. It has definitely generated new leads and eyeballs to our business and can do the same for you. Want to start your own Twitter campaign? Let’s talk!

Follow us here: Facebook | Twitter

You’ve read about it in the New York Times, Selectism, Men Style and many others.  Pantone is red hot and actively collaborating with the world’s hippest brands to bring its color vision to life.  

Recent hook ups with Uniqlo, The Gap and Fine Paints of Europe have galvinized cult status for the world’s leading color authority.  Now, the New Jersey-based firm makes tracks to the West Coast in partnership with Seavees to launch a limited edition range of sneakers debuting tonight at Fred Segal.  An installation based on vintage paint chips hangs in Conveyor where the California Cool kicks are on display.  Don’t miss it!

Design for Seavees x Pantone Display at Conveyor

Flinging open the newly stenciled doors to its expanded 7,000 sq ft Resource Center, Fashion Business Inc. hosts its open house tonight and invites one and all. This event marks a significant benchmark for the non-profit organization that serves as a small business incubator for fashion and textile brands. By partnering with Microsoft, Brother International and others the FBI is poised to offer much-needed seminars, retraining programs and business coaching to fledgling brands in this changing economy.

Buzzflikr is pleased to support the FBI with PR and marketing oversight. We invite you all to attend this evening’s celebration and design your own custom tee at the On Demand Printing Center, courtesy of our fab friends and organic tee shirt makers, bgreen.

BGreen Sponsors FBI Open House Tonight

Catch a Buzz with Buzzflikr this week at the FOCUS ecolounge during LA Market Week. Meet our busy, buzzy team of cute interns and enjoy complimentary coffee all day or beer and wine all evening. We’ll share tips for building your brand’s online profile, making the most of blogs, SNs, Tweets and the many amazing web tools we use everyday. Join us and take the sting out of PR!”

Catch a Buzz with Buzzflikr

The buzz is all about Pantone x Seavees and the launch of their 1963-PMS inspired limited edition sneakers. Don’t miss the debut at Fred Segal this week, Thursday 19 March from 5-8p. Music by Irons, a color-infused bar hosted by Skyy Vodka and powered by our Buzzflikr team.

Pantone x Seavees Limited Edition Sneakers Launch @ Fred Segal

If you’re anywhere near Lalaland on Earth Day (and heck its practically the birthplace of all things eco), then head to The Way We Wore on April 22 for a celebration of reclaimed, revived and repurposed.

Legendary proprietress Doris Raymond debuts her Out of the Ordinary collection, a celebration of restored 20th century fashion. Participating designers include many of my personal faves including Katayoni Adeli, Madga Berlinger and badboy Jeremy Scott (thx for the front row tix @MOCA!).

Susan Henry of SHADES is the night’s hair mistress and will showcase her non-toxic all natural hair care range while green expert Paige Padgett handles makeup. To find out more, follow us here and see you there!

French Presidnt Sarkozy and his actress-model wife made international headlines today with the news of their lavish vacation at El Tamarindo, a luxury resort just south of Puerto Vallarta. Invited by Mexican president Felipe Calderon and his wife, the French couple spent two nights in total secrecy. A longtime enclave of discreet decadence, breathtaking real estate and exquisite geography, the Puerto Vallarta region is weathering the global economic downturn better than most, including neighbors like Cabo.

Clients of Vallarta-based home furnishings brand CRATE by Carlos Alberto seek out this private region while trading down from the expense of the Hamptons or the hassle of trekking to the Caribbean. Attractive pricing and high season flights from Los Angeles, New York and the midwest provide a welcome alternative in this turbulent economy.

Search engine optimization could very well save the day in this turbulent economy. And according to Sally Falkokw (fellow South African PR guru, prolific speaker and blogger) it’s possibly our greatest PR weapon for helping brands build buzz.

The results of proper SEO can be astounding. No surprise there since search engines help us find everything we need these days. And while dollars are tight, we’re conducting more pre-purchase research than ever before.

So, what’s your online profile like? Are you maximizing key words on your company’s website, blog, press releases and product information? Do you know how to drive consumer traffic and click-thrus directly to your site?

As the industry’s first “online publicist” Buzzflikr offers web expertise across a broad platform of brand building services. Our SEO Package is a healthy diagnostic for your business, providing clear insight and support for getting your company noticed. Call us and get optimized today!

According to the gurus at Bulldog Reporter, the impact of new media has revolutionized the way companies promote their brands. Just think about the Dove soap commercial stumbling onto YouTube or how President Obama used Twitter to broadcast his campaign news.

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This momentum is propelling us into a new era of brand messaging and marketing called PR 2.0 - the nextgen of online public relations. Are you effectively using social networks to deliver your company messages? Does your corporate blog contain the content most relevant to your readers? Want to pump up visibility and readership thru SEO techniques?

Let us help. We’re working hard to be the industry’s first “online publicist” and leverage our interests and natural skill as online addicts on behalf of our editors and clients. And as we say around here, that’s sweet!

Fashion Business Inc and Microsoft made headlines in the LA Business Journal for their newly launched apparel training program. Providing retraining and job support for displaced garment industry workers, office staff and executives, the program is free to qualified businesses and is already in its second phase. Buzzflikr congratulates Executive Director Frances Harder on her efforts!

Buzzflikr is pleased to welcome our fave wordsmith and road warrior from Time Warner Mexico City to PV this weekend. She’s covering real estate trends in this market including the collaboration between CRATE and Rio Amapas. The first ecoluxe resort in this region, the project has caught the attention of local rock glitterati and environmental jetsetters alike.

One of our fave finds at the Pool Tradeshow many years back was WRecords by Monkey. Their recycled vinyl chic has been editorialized in our trend reports for Trend Agitator and FashionFacts Folio for several seasons. Happily, the buzz is building as more stylistas discover their creative wizardry with old records.

We’re thrilled to report their debut on Design Nomad this week with a cacophonous trio of graffitied cuffs. Keep up the great work, guys, it’s music to our ears!

We are very pleased to welcome SHADES Natural Color Studio to the Buzzflikr colony today. SHADES is the first and only all-natural, non-toxic color salon in Los Angeles. It’s hard to believe, but this beautiful Beverly Hills salon offers the only truly non-toxic beauty experience we’ve ever encountered.

From non-chemical hair colors to all natural manipedis and reflexology, stylistas will be treated to the best in eco-friendly pampering here. Watch this space for more news on the creative team behind the SHADES brand!