How to Create Killer Social Media Content

# social media | February 15, 2012 Portland Online Marketing Examiner + Subscribe

People are always asking me how to get more Likes, Comments and Shares on their content (not to mention having “viral” content).

Instead of focusing on getting something to go viral, focus on creating great content! Anything that solves a problem for your audience in the format they most desire (whether that be videos, Tweets, Facebook posts or blog articles) is what will generate those Likes, Comments and Shares – and ultimately what will close that sale. If it goes viral, great! But don’t make that goal the main focus of your content marketing strategy.

Somewhere out there, your ideal prospects are lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, wondering how the heck they are going to solve “X” problem.

Your job is to create content that not only entertains and educates, but also shows them that YOU have the solution to “X” (if you indeed do have the solution).

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Tags: Content, Social Media

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 Financial News No Comments

Non-Deductible IRA Contribution & Roth IRA Conversion Rules

Mrs. MMB and I both contributed $5,000 each to a non-deductible Traditional IRA again for the 2012 tax year this week, with the intention of converting it into a Roth IRA in the future. Are you eligible to do this as well? Of course, we had to wade through a ton of IRS fine print to try and achieve a bit of tax savings.

First, can we just contribute directly to a Roth IRA? Per this , because we are married filing jointly and will most likely have a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $183,000, we are unable to contribute to a Roth IRA. How many people know what their MAGI is? Its not impossible to figure out, but if I was closer Id rather wait and have TurboTax figure it out for me when I filed my 2012 taxes.

Can I contribute to a Traditional IRA, even if I have a work retirement plan? Yes, it doesnt matter if you have a 401k or 403b or whatever.

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Tags: Ira, roth ira

Sunday, February 12th, 2012 Uncategorized No Comments

Broke Gal in NYC, Part 5: Love (of Fiscal Goals) is in the Air

Welcome to the “Broke Gal in NYC” blog series! For the next six months, we’ll be following Kate from the Broke Gal in NYC blog in her progress to pay down debt, make a career change and do it all in a financially savvy way!

Keep track of Kate’s progress each month on the Credit Karma Blog. Read Kate’s first, second, third, and fourth posts, then come back and read this month’s update.

January was another great month where I took the opportunity to evaluate my financial goals and came up with a plan for 2012. I paid for my move completely out of my savings so I didn’t incur any more debt, which was great. I decided to take the ReadyforZero New Years Challenge which meant that I would not use my credit cards and would put 10% more towards my debt.

Debt/Savings Update

Thus far, I’ve been credit card debt free since October 2011 and have started paying my student loans, which are currently deferred. I am opting to

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Tags: Broke Gal, Nyc

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 Financial Consultant No Comments

Surety World Still Urging Improvements To Government Bond Programs

In many cases small businesses and federal construction jobs mix like water and oil; they avoid each other. The government seems to gravitate to larger contractors as they have relative ease getting bonded in standard surety markets. The small contractors avoid the government funded SBA (Small Business Administration) Bond Guarantee Program, which is in place to help bond them, because of how cumbersome the SBA program is when compared to standard surety. Something has got to give.

The SFAA testified a few weeks ago before the U.S. House Armed Forces Committee concerning the obstacles that small businesses face while attempting to do business with the Department of Defense (DOD). One of the witnesses that testified was SFAA President, Lynn Schubert.

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Tags: Government, Improvements Government

Monday, February 6th, 2012 Financial Glossary No Comments

Is It Really Time to Buy that Home?

Past articles in Forbes and The Wall Street Journal say yes.

Forbes.com

In a report to their subscribers, Capital Economics reported that:

“The previous declines in house prices and the more recent drop in mortgage rates to record lows have created an unusual situation in which the median monthly mortgage payment is more or less the same as the median rental payment.”

Why is this important? Las

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Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 Financial News No Comments