Social Media Strategist and Web Marketer

About me:

I’m a widely-acknowledged top social media strategist and web marketer with a passion and a skill for developing creative and comprehensive solutions to complex business problems. Besides social media marketing, I’ve applied this skill in many areas that include market research, customer relationship management, quantitative marketing analysis, information technology and actuarial forecasting.

Download a PDF Copy of My Bio/CV.

My Three Websites

Online Social Networking
Optimize Your Web Presence
Small Business Network

Please follow me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Contact Information

You can reach me by phone at +1 845-356-4218 or by e-mail.

Social Media Strategist and Web Marketer

Currently, as a social media strategist and web marketer, I focus on social media and search engine optimization for web-based marketing, branding and public relations initiatives, especially for small businesses and real estate.

My approach is to first gain an in-depth understanding of a company’s objectives, customers’ profiles and competitive position. I also help define performance metrics, so that we can monitor progress and, when appropriate, adjust strategies to improve effectiveness.

The journey that led to my immersion in social media, SEO and the web began with my experience in market research. During that period, I devised analytical processes that supported the marketing initiatives of some of the largest U.S. companies, and were instrumental in achieving their growth and profitability objectives.

When I discovered social media in 2006, I immediately realized it would dramatically enhance the usefulness of the Internet. Therefore, I decided to master social media and to see where that mastery would lead me. As I’ve traveled along the path of building my expertise in social media, I’ve continually gained insights into the many ways that businesses can use the social web to achieve their goals.

IDT Corporation

As a business analyst at IDT Corporation, a global telecommunications company and leading calling card vendor:

- I developed and interpreted predictive data models and key performance indicators in order to maximize the profit of IDT's marketing strategies and business rules.

- I specialized in analyzing margin, customer retention, churn and bad debt - the most important factors in determining a customer's lifetime value to a company. Understanding and managing these factors are critical to any company's success.

Eric Marder Associates

I held a variety of positions at Eric Marder Associates, a preeminent market research firm serving Fortune 500 companies:

- I computerized the business and refined many research and operational processes.

- During the years that Eric Marder and I worked together, Eric often sought my opinion, and I reviewed the design and analysis plans of scores of complex custom marketing research projects for clientele that included AT&T, Pfizer, Hewlett-Packard, and American Home Products.

- I collaborated with Eric Marder on The Laws of Choice, a groundbreaking book on market research and choice behavior. Mr. Marder wrote in his Acknowledgments section that I "did the computer work, consolidating studies and generating new analyses as required. He was my severest critic. I felt confident that if I could persuade Larry of something, I would be able to persuade just about anyone else. His contribution was invaluable."

Actuary

Prior to joining Eric Marder Associates, I was an actuary in the pension consulting field at Mercer and Buck Consultants. (Many years later, in May 2009, I had an opportunity to conduct a social media webinar for a group of marketing and corporate communications specialists at Buck Consultants.)

Non-Professional Accomplishments

Ranked #16 U.S. Junior Chess Player (1971); #1 American player & teacher of the oriental Go game (1976-81); NYC Marathon finisher (1984/85).

Achieved basic proficiency in cello (1986-89) and Talmud (1992-94), both as an adult.

What Other People Are Saying

"Larry's business is helping other businesses navigate the intricacies of the web and online marketing. He knows the ins-and-outs of how to market yourself and your business utilizing tools readily available to you on the Internet, such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites. I like that Larry has used these resources effectively to market himself and his business. He doesn't just tell you how to do it; he does these things for his own business, and finds that they work! He has had measurable success, i.e., traffic and subscription to his blogs, fans and followers on social websites, articles picked up and discussed on the web, and clients who hire him based on what he can do in all these arenas." Dana Kramarenko, Principal, NexStep Innovations LLC, April 2010

"Thank you for all of your time and wisdom. I have met many folks through social media, but you are certainly one of my favorites." Chris Patterson, President & CEO, Interchanges.com, Founder, inSocialMedia.com, July 2009

"Larry, your articles are terrific! They show the depth of your expertise on all things Internet!" Ellen Elwell, President & CEO, Elwell Enterprises, Inc., June 2009

"I hired Larry as a coach to help me with social networking. To my surprise he has done that and has done so much more. Larry has shared many valuable marketing insights. He also helped me re-structure my blog, so that I could easily add subscribers and dramatically increase my search engine traffic. In fact, with just one suggestion Larry made, I was able to tweak my site and increase my search engine traffic substantially. It tripled every day for the first week after I made the change and continues to grow. Larry is the best coach I have ever had. His suggestions are very detailed, and he is able to do much of the necessary technical work for me. The time he has given to help me and the sincere interest he has taken in my business have much exceeded my expectations." Linda P. Morton, President, Best Books Plus, Inc., August 2008

"Larry is a highly competent business analyst whose ability to quickly grasp the most complex issues facing a company is a valuable asset. His expertise includes delving deeply to verify the integrity of data that will be the basis for measuring various aspects of business performance. During his years of experience in both the actuarial and marketing research fields, he acquired an extensive portfolio of mathematical, statistical and other analytical tools, which he draws upon to creatively design the most appropriate methodology for a particular project. Larry's creativity is also evident in the manner in which he expeditiously resolves technical and other obstacles. He conveys project findings clearly and incisively, while also providing novel insights into the ways in which they can best be used to increase sales and profits." Moshe Kravitz, Director of Finance, IDT Corporation, June 2008

"Larry is a valuable asset to our marketing group and provides rich, in-depth analysis on many different acquisition and retention campaigns that truly help us plan for future projects. He is intelligent, a pleasure to work with, and reliable. I have learned so much from him and his contributions to our organization have brought us to a higher level of strategic marketing efficiency." Maureen McCormick, Marketing Director, IDT Corporation, August 2006

"Larry is the rare individual with outstanding conceptual and implementation abilities. His skill and creativity were integral to our success." Larry Krauss, Vice-President, Eric Marder Associates, August 2006

"Larry consistently conquered complex data-analysis problems, spearheaded many ventures into new computing solutions, while encouraging the growth and development of his staff." Joseph Berman, Software Manager, Eric Marder Associates, September 2006

"Larry is one of the smartest and most ethical people I know... and I know a lot of people. His analytic power and persistence in pursuit of the right information are rare. At EMA Larry dealt with fast-changing modeling of consumer data, with all its irregularities, and was able to find the patterns in that data (I helped by providing programming skills). I say fast-changing, because job requirements were very fluid, and models needed to change on a dime. Anyone seeking a leading staff member characterized by intelligence and experience in analysis, as well as a good sense of humor, should give Larry a really close look." David Alexander, President, Opal Computing, June 2007