All posts by Shari Weiss

I have been writing and teaching most of my life -- and have enjoyed both vocations. However, the advent of the Social Media Revolution has turned my life around in the most exciting fashion. Rather than think about retirement, I want to help change the world -- particularly the business world -- into a "kinder," more ethical, transparent, and authentic place to help solve people's problems.
Interview, Sharisax Is Out There

“Please Contact Me If I Can Be of Assistance” — Gregory Stringer

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With TEN LinkedIn groups in common, it is no wonder that Gregory Stringer and I have become online buddies. We met on the Future Social Media group in response to Endaf Kerfoot’s invitation to introduce ourselves. Here was Gregory’s response:

Hi! I am a student of e-Commerce, currently seeking my AAS in Web Design. I will be going forward to earn undergraduate and advanced degrees in e-Business. I’m always open to connecting with like-minded others. Please contact me if I may be of assistance.

I took him up on his “offer” — not so much for assistance but just to connect and share ideas . . .  and we have, i.e., commenting on each other’s blogs; emailing questions & answers; tweeting updates; and Gregory even contributed an article for this blog: Tips for Teachers who want to blog

His background in both technical and business disciplines combines “high-tech adroitness with industrial métier” [from his LinkedIn  profile] as he seeks a career as an E-commerce specialist.

Here are some of Gregory’s views on the Social Media Revolution and his role in Future Social Media.

Interview:

Gregory Stringer, Social Media Learner & Thought Leader

What inspired your interest in social media?

My own induction to Social Media began with an off-hand remark from my Introduction to Communication Technologies professor, Walt Reedy, at Pellissippi State Community College in 2009, where I am currently seeking an AAS degree in Web Design.

Professor Reedy mentioned a course on lynda.com about Social Media Marketing. I was very new to Social Media, and it was part of the course to write a blog. I began to explore such sites as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace. I was immediately hooked by the concept of Internet community, and since I already had earned an Institutional Certificate in e-Commerce, decided at that time that this was what I wanted to specialize in.

What qualities and traits make for a good social media evangelist?

I think first and foremost a love for the ability to communicate. One must be companionable and have a genuine attentiveness in the interest of others. Also, an understanding of Internet technologies is paramount. These two dissimilar disciplines should be mastered to some degree, ideally achieved through a post secondary education.

To have a passion for the phenomenon goes without saying. e-Mail, updates on Twitter, and maintenance of a presence on Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as other lesser known social Internet communities are commanding aspirations.

What advice can you offer others who want to embark on this “Long and Winding Road”?

My personal suggestion would be to study subjects that are consistent with Web design, e.g. HTML, Photoshop, Internet technologies, site design, etc., as well as courses in psychology, sociology, communications, and all aspects of e-Business. Predominant among these would be elucidation, expression, and interchange.

In addition, there is no substitute for practical experience. Starting a blog on Edublogs.org, a site known for student blogs, and where there is a wealth of assistance for beginners, Twitter, by reading the tweets of others and doing a few of your own, establishment of Facebook and MySpace pages, again accessing the sites of others more experienced, and most importantly, becoming a member of LinkedIn.

What kind of tips do you have in writing stories?

When I first became a magician, my mentors explained that in creating and performing a well performed illusion should be like a story: that is, it should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Therefore, a great assistance for me when I started was to read the blogs and tweets of others. Two of the best I can recommend are Sharisax is Out There and (growl) Practical Marketing Solutions. Also, for the beginner, edublogs is hard to beat.

Give us one of your biggest accomplishments? What are your future goals?

My own greatest accomplishment in the field of Social Media would likely be my gaining an assignment as a Social Media Marketing intern. Of course, having the assistance of mentors/teachers such as Shari Weiss, Mark Schaefer, Walt Reedy. and many others have given me the guidance and instruction which made this possible. My future goal is simply to finish my education and gain my undergraduate and advanced degrees. Only then will I consider myself a true Social Media professional.

What do you have to say to those who want to use your ideas to promote their business?

One of the greatest things in Social Media is the fact that so many successful participants are willing to share. This is how I learn. I welcome others to do the same with me. My own blog, Grannelle’s Social Media, currently a school project that will evolve into a personal project, is a great way to see how I have developed. I invite everyone to read it to see how things can and will improve with time and effort.

Sharisax Is Out There

Can This Blog Help My Sister and Her Beau Win a Global Honeymoon?

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Not only is social media the answer for business, but it’s a lot of fun as well . . . especially when sisters can help sisters.

My sister Connie and her “fiance” Arne are entering a contest to win a Honeymoon Tester trip around the world sponsored by the Irish Times and runawaybrideandgroom.com.

Why not take a few minutes:

Read her post, view her video and vote for my sister:

Arne de Beaufort and Connie Balcher are in love and want to share their joy with the world and particularly people who want to discover romantic getaways all over the globe.

“We are not your average contestants… Look at our ages.

Although we’ve never been to Ireland, we are inspired by the writings of James Joyce, especially Ulysses and Dubliners.”

They are entering the Runaway Bride & Groom contest — which ends April 7 — and would love it if you vote for them:

SEARCH for Arne de Beaufort on the site and VOTE http://www.runawaybrideandgroom.com/ultimatejob/search/tag/arne

You’ll need to CLICK on the part that says RATE VIDEO


“We are also great fans of the Irish custom on celebrating a honeymoon with a bottle of Meade (Bunratty Meade in this case).

This honey-based drink was believed to have powers of virility and fertility, and it became custom for bride and groom to drink Meade for one full moon after their wedding, hence the word “honeymoon”. (from the bottle)

We also want to represent other honeymooners, especially the BabyBoomers.”

Here’s the link to Connie’s own blog post

Sharisax Is Out There

Your HR Department Can & Should Help You Become a Human Talent Organization

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The Buzz about our world’s Big Shift [i.e. the New Normal in business] is filtering through to some company executives who are now looking to their marketing departments for guidance and appropriate strategies using Social Media.

Hold on a minute . . .

Many of you are missing an even more important benefit of the technological improvements available through this “thing” called Social Media:

The Ability to Recruit & Retain Top Talent

or the Human Relations Identity Crisis

Today’s workplace environments are extremely complex, but most Human Resources departments are sticking to a “business as usual” mindset, according to Adrienne Corn who discussed “Social Media & The New Human Resource Department: Leveraging Human Talent with Web 2.0” with the current Leadership Class group at Social Media Academy.

Factors like globalization, technology, and a tough economy all contribute to today’s challenges — and organizational structure needs to adapt to 21rst century demands.

“We need to let go of the Efficiency Model that took us through the last century where people were ‘assets.’ Today, however, we need to realize that People are People. Processes must change. Human resource departments must stop focusing on filling cogs in a wheel.”

“People are not cogs. They need a sense of purpose in an organization. They need to feel invested. Research shows that when people lack engagement, productivity suffers.” — Adrienne Corn

Human Resource Departments need to become Human Talent Departments

Here are are the six key functions of HR — or HT, as we should begin to call it:

  1. Finding Talent
  2. Attracting Talent
  3. Training Talent
  4. Benefits Management
  5. Retaining Talent
  6. Refreshing Talent [exit mitigation]

Social media tools can be used to help companies perform all these functions to bring in the right people for the right places.

“Everyone brings strengths to an organization, but they are not always utilized. When you bring the right people ‘on the bus’ and identify their key strengths, you can put them in the right place and you will get ‘default’ productivity.”

“The purpose for compensation should not be to get the right behaviors from the wrong people. Companies need to look for people to FIT inside their community — whose values reflect what the organization stands for and whose participation will contribute to building the brand.” — Adrienne Corn

Younger generation is making a huge impact on the Future for all of us

The new workforce is more tech savvy, has different work ideals & priorities, and less automatic respect for authority. They have more choices concerning Where, When, and Whom to work for. They have “social capital” and value networking and building community. Companies need to “get with the program,” according to Adrienne. They can do this only by letting go of static, linear, impersonal processes that set the company/HR department apart as an adversary. Trust needs to replace control and suspicion

Social Media tools can gather real information and build trust

Here are some of the strategies successful HT managers will be using to find and hire talent:

  1. Create community spaces
  2. Cull & Comb those spaces for talent
  3. Communicate with talent interactively and transparently
  4. Convince talent to join through value-matching (birds of a feather)
  5. Interactive interviews through social media conversations

Training via manuals will be replaced with interactive learning communities like Employee Wikis with Q&A’s. These same communities can offer engaging and motivating process that build trust in the people and the organization, increasing the likelihood of staying at the job and being engaged and productive on the job.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Good to Great by Jim Collins

NOW, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton

The Living Company by Arie de Geus

Therefore, to cope with a changing world, any entity must develop the capability of shifting and changing, of developing new skills and attitudes: in short, the capability of learning — Arie de Geus, The Living Company

Adrienne Corn is an instructor/founding faculty member at the Social Media Academy where she lectures on the intersection between social media/web 2.0 and Human Resources/Human Talent.

Adrienne founded VENTUS, a career development, education and research company that provides career pathing for individuals, career education for organizations and research in these areas for the industry at large.

Guest Post, LinkedIn

Social Web to Get More Social

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One of the coolest social networking activities I’ve been enjoying lately is a discussion on the LinkedIn group “Future of Social Media.”

Member Endaf Kerfoot posted a great topic in April 2009:

“Introduce yourself to members of the group – who you are, what you do, where your social media strategy is at/going, what you want to know more about, where you see your own Future of Social Media.”

At last count, 405 of the 3000 members had introduced themselves — including me and Michael Sherman.

Michael is from Long Island, NY; currently resides in South Florida; and has worked in marketing positions for seven years. Like me he is enamored with All Things Social Media, so I asked if he’d like to contribute his insights to my blog . . . so here’s Michael . . .

The Future of Social Media for 2010 and Beyond

Guest Post by Michael Sherman

So many people think Social Media is in its infancy. I don’t agree. I think it’s been around longer then you think.

Back in the late 1990s when I first experienced the World Wide Web. I would come home from school and jump onto my father’s computer and go on those famous AOL chat rooms. It was great. Instantly, I could interact with people from all over the world.

To me, that was social media — real time conversation.

Now when you think of social media today what comes to mind?

Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn: Amazing communication platforms with capabilities we haven’t even thought of yet. Hey, I wouldn’t have met Shari without using them.

The thing with learning social media is that you can’t just read a book and become a genius. Technology is changing faster then you can change your clothes.

Anyone who considers him or herself a social media expert is just bragging. It is impossible to be an expert in this area because of the constant changes.

If I was writing for this blog last year, the article would have been about MySpace and Friendster. Next year it may be Google Wave or something we can only dream about today.

So if I had to make some predictions for the future of social media I would have to say that it’s a medium that isn’t leaving us anytime soon. It is going to keep getting better and better.

Two Predictions

Social TV: Video will become even more important and relevant as we go forward. It will be intertwined with live television like never before. No longer will you need to vote for your American Idol on the phone. You will be able to do it right from Facebook and be able to interact with the hosts and producers in real time to turn Reality TV into Social TV. Television is made for consumers, and they will have a say on what they want to see. Social media can make that happen.

Even more social: People will be partying virtually. No matter if you are in New York, San Francisco or Hong Kong — social media will allow you to experience the same party experience no matter how far away you are from the other people. The amenities will be the same, and everyone can see and hear everyone else: A Tweetup on Steroids.

In a nutshell, social media is going to allow people to be able to interact with each other faster and quicker then ever before — in ways that they never thought were imaginable.

Michael can be reached via his LinkedIn profile. If you want to make predictions for the future of social media, you can join our LinkedIn group FUTURE SOCIAL MEDIA [check out Groups Directory] and/or write a guest post for this blog.

BTW, if you click the photo of the panel above, you will get to a past story on a panel discuusion of the Roadmap for Social Media’s Future featuring Steve Rubel, Michael Brito, Angela LoSasso, and Richard Brewer-Hay.

LinkedIn

How To Help Your LinkedIn Group Members

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Creating your own group on LinkedIn is one of the advanced strategies [Video 5] that the professional site’s members can implement to build their reputations and accomplish other business goals.

A “not-so-advanced” technique, and one that is extremely important and valuable, is participating in groups. LinkedIn allows users to join as many as 50 groups, and another 50 subgroups.

But once you have joined a group — especially if you are new to groups — you may  not automatically know the etiquette and accepted behaviors . . . unless the group has a manager like Stephen Coates who wrote the following guidelines for posting on the eMarketing Association Network’s group page.

New Posting Guidelines for eMarketing Association Network

As this is the eMarketing group, it is for posts relevant to electronic marketing. If your post has been removed, see below. Here are the rules:

1) Posts must be by real people with real names – pretend names will be removed from the group. Real persons must have a surname.

2) Discussions must be relevant to eMarketing (no wineries, face cream or handbags)

3) The title must be brief (1-2 lines with no blank lines or underlines etc.) with the bulk of the information in the additional details section of the post.

4) The following are not permitted in any tab:

  • “we have lots of jobs”
  • join our group posts
  • expanding my network
  • MLM schemes and other get rich schemes
  • “vote for me”
  • “review my Internet site”
  • overly broad or unfathomable questions
  • “seasons greetings” (Robert Fleming excepted, of course)

5) Redirection URLs (tiny.cc, bit.ly etc.) are not permitted. Why? because although a few might lead to a site with malware and no one knows until it’s too late and they’re used when multiple people flog the one site but want to hide it.

6) Any URL must be accompanied by some explanation of what’s there (eg. “read by blog” or “take this survey” must include a few sentences summarising the blog topic or survey objective).

7) Posts must be posted only once, the deleting of old posts notwithstanding.

8- As 6/5/10 is the 6th May in the entire world except the USA and the 5th of June in the USA, dates are to include the Month by name (6 May or May 6).

Discussions Tab

9) Posting multiple posts with different titles and text but all of which contain the same message from different persons are equally unacceptable.

10) Ads for services must not hide that they are ads, must clearly state the product or service being advertised and must not be titled with a leading question.

11) Business opportunities (in the discussions tab) must state:

  • that they seek people to sell services and/or products
  • that the scheme is not multi-level
  • what products or services are to be sold (and these have to be relevant to eMarketing and no snake oil)
  • what a prospect will have to do (and “invest time and effort” is insufficient)
  • provide genuine contact details of yourself (a gmail address will not do)
  • include the phrase “business opportunity”
  • be posted only once
  • must not be titled with such grand statements as “be your own boss,” “make lots of money,” “ride the wave,” “take control of your life” or other such gibberish
  • the name, address, phone number and URL of the company advertising (“it’s on my profile” notwithstanding).

Job Tab

12) Only actual jobs that pay a salary or contract ($per day or per hour) are to be posted in the job board.

13) Posts must state:

  • the location where the person would be working (city and country)
  • what the job entails
  • what experience is required
  • the salary range
  • the name, address, phone number and URL of the company advertising (“it’s on my profile” notwithstanding).

14)  “I’m looking for a job” posts belong in the jobs tab.

15)  Jobs posts must be removed when the job or the search for one has been fulfilled.

News Tab

16) Event notices are to be put in the news tab and they, too, are to be removed when the event has occurred, unless there is significant IP such as conference proceedings on the site referenced.

Comments

17) Comments must be relevant to the post and not be used to flog an unrelated site, product or service.

18) Personal insults will be deleted and may lead to the person being removed from the group.

If your post has been removed:

  • I cannot restore it
  • I won’t pre-vet something you want to post or explain the rules further
  • please DO NOT send me a note either to say sorry or to object
  • just ensure that your next post is in accordance with the rules and all will be well.

Many of the group members who commented on Stephen’s guidelines suggested that All groups post such suggestions, and Stephen agreed to allow me to re-publish his.

What do you think? Would this be helpful for all groups? Are there some other guidelines you might suggest? Does your group publish such guidelines?

Facebook, Featured, LinkedIn

Social Media Victories — and how to win them

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Bay Area Consultants hear SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS from popular speaker Patrick Schwerdtfeger

Back by popular request, Patrick presented more detailed online marketing tactics — building from his earlier talk on social media basics delivered last fall.

Author of Webify Your Business, Patrick spoke at 127 events around the globe in 2009. He shares social media success stories and practical strategies that inspire his audiences to go home and start creating plans of their own.

Below are 14 videos taken at the 90-minute presentation — from how to introduce yourself online to maximizing the professional opportunities on LinkedIn.

First, however, read the reactions from 10 of the more than 70 entrepreneurs in attendance.

I went into Patrick’s presentation knowing nothing about social media except that someone told me I was being reviewed on Yelp and joined LinkedIn because I was invited.

The one step I decided to implement was making a video for YouTube on how to do something specific in QuickBooks and start a blog to connect to my website.”  — Pamela Lyons

Pamela teaches companies to leverage technology with their accounting practices using training,  part time CFO, and bookkeepers onsite or remote.  She takes QuickBooks to the next level to get results on your financial information.

“I’m going to follow-up on Patrick’s suggestion that we choose one standard head-shot photo to use in all of our online media outlets, as these will become our brands.” — Steven Tulsky

Steven offers financial Expertise for the Nonprofit Sector: The Benemetrics Consulting Group partners with nonprofit executives, directors, and finance staff to develop, evaluate, and communicate meaningful financial information, enabling them to implement good decisions that assure the financial well being and mission effectiveness of their organizations.

“Patrick’s presentation showed me that “doing” social media could be easy and fun!  The big thing – get started!

The best tip for me was to create educational videos for You Tube, leverage them with similar related videos, match my current branding and then, get the word out there.  Patrick is a great speaker – he loves “this stuff” and enjoys sharing the information.” — Deborah Myers

An acupressurist and Health Educator, Deborah unravels the mysteries of the body, bringing health and wellness to your personal and business life.

” Patrick has a wealth of useful information on Social Media Marketing; he has a gift for simplifying and giving practical tips. I immediately put to use his tips on doing a YouTube video.” — Diane Parente

Diane’s company Image Development & Management, Inc (IDMI) is The Professional Image Resource based in San Francisco providing services and products to fit every aspect of your image from visual to verbal.

“Here is my One Tip that we will be implementing: Adding a Yelp profile for our company and asking clients to write reviews.” — Terry Gault

Terry’s organization, The Henderson Group, helps business professionals transition into high visibility roles where communication skills are critical for success.

“One powerful tip I got from Patrick’s presentation is the fact that there are 400 million users on Facebook and that I need to start utilizing that resource.  As a result of hearing him speak, I plan on creating a Fan Page on Facebook to help direct people to my website.” — Carrie Cheadle

Carrie has dedicated her career to helping athletes of all levels enhance their athletic experience by coaching them on how to approach their sport with more confidence, more enjoyment, and empowering them with the necessary support and skills to achieve their goals and perform to their potential.

“Social media can be so overwhelming – lots of choices with little understanding of real marketing value.  Patrick’s presentation made both sense and cents, as I feel I can better implement social media to my advantage.” — Bruce Burtch

Bruce, the Cause Marketing Catalyst, develops cause marketing campaigns, joining for-profit and nonprofit organizations, with the focus of building win-win partnerships for the greater good.

“Instead of getting overwhelmed by social media, I plan to commit to taking one step forward each week!  ” — Carol Seebach

Carol’s company Executive Gears provides support for executives and boards to bring order and efficiency to organizations.

“The main idea I took away from the presentation was to be redundant on the web: Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, YouTube, all are excellent platforms for getting the word out about your business. I feel more confident about moving forward with this branch of our marketing efforts after listening to Patrick.” — William Buchanan

Bill’s 51 years of federal law enforcement experience combined with an efficient business model assure our corporate and law firm clients the highest quality of investigative services.

“I suppose I have to put my business on Yelp, which I have resisted doing for years. It still doesn’t seem to me like the kind of place people look for my type of services. (After last time, I created a Facebook Fan Page for the Podcast Asylum, though I refuse to have a personal profile on Facebook.) Patrick is a convincing guy.” — Sallie Goetsch
Sallie’s service, The Podcast Asylum, helps you podcast without losing your mind — or driving
your listeners crazy.

SOCIAL MEDIA VICTORIES – and how to win them

  • More and more people are searching online every single day
  • Driving traffic to a website is a difficult challenge
  • Introducing yourself online will spread your influence

Outrun your competition

  • It’s not difficult to outshine your online competition
  • Do more than them
  • Example: 40% of Tweets are useless babble

Raging Rivers – post info for people to find

  • Understand how every action online can support your business objectives

Digital Divide — embrace the new media

  • Centerpiece is your blog
  • Your website meets your customers on a different level
  • Examples of how “age” shapes opinions:

“If an online transaction goes wrong, I have no recourse VS. If online transaction goes wrong, I can personally destroy their business”

United Breaks Guitars — online payback for customer neglect

  • YouTube gets real results
  • Lots of things may fail, but some things really work

Conversations are Markets

  • Is marketing dead? Of course not, but it is changing
  • Find the conversation and participate
  • Awareness leads to interest . . . and more

Facebook — and what to do with it

  • Your headshot online becomes your brand
  • Difference between Profiles, Groups & Fan Pages
  • Facebook ranks really HIGH on Google
  • Google Juice is the SEO value of what we are talking about

Building Facebook Pages

  • Do people read updates?
  • Posting on the Walls of friends
  • Increasing number of companies have Facebook rather than traditional website
  • You can create Groups & Fan Pages for your business on Facebook

Tagging People in Photos

  • Successful winery case study
  • “That looks like fun” – Fun events to share

Get to 300 Facebook Fans

  • Viral effect of people engaging will grow your page
  • Run campaigns and ask questions to grow exposure
  • Interactions lead to trust

Facebook URL & stunt that “worked”

  • Losing friends and gaining Whoppers

LinkedIn – searchability

  • Stats
  • Excellent Google visibility
  • Allows for precision email communication
  • Go to Google: search for LinkedIn success stories
  • Make sure technical keywords are included in profile

Maximizing your LinkedIn profile


LinkedIn Recommendations

  • Mixed views on recommendations, but get them

Having a LinkedIn Profile – is not marketing

  • You have to work
  • Ask and answer questions
  • Join and create groups
  • Post your blog URL in group news items


Members of BACN are independent consultants who are interested in expanding their professional practices through effective networking and professional development programs sponsored by BACN. Attend a BACN meeting to become a member.

LinkedIn

10 Videos on How to do LinkedIn

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LinkedIn Video Series by Butterscotch.com

LinkedIn definitely merits its place as one of the Top Three social media sites that business people — and those seeking to enter the workforce — ought to understand how to use and benefit from.

I imagine we all know lots of people who “think” they are on LinkedIn . . . but aren’t sure. Or is that you?

It did take me awhile to discover just how robust this social media platform is, expecially,  if you “work” it.

Preparing to teach a LinkedIn workshop on GROUPS, I found a set of wonderful video tutorials from Butterscotch.com, which go from the most basic steps like signing in to more advanced ones like adding applications to your profile.  Below  the listing of the ten topics are the videos themselves, which you can view by clicking on the appropriate screen. All the videos have been embedded from YouTube where you can learn how to do just about everything:

  1. How to Sign In to LinkedIn
  2. How to Make Connections on LinkedIn
  3. How to Fill out Profile
  4. How to Search for Connections on LinkedIn
  5. How to Join and Create Groups
  6. How to Get Introduced
  7. How to Add Applications
  8. Your Home Page
  9. Privacy Settings
  10. Paid upgraded account features

Video 1 – How to sign in to LinkedIn

Video 2 – How to make connections on LinkedIn

Video 3 – How to Fill out Profile

Video 4 – How to Search for Connections on LinkedIn

Video 5 – How to Join and Create Groups

Video 6 – How to get Introduced

Video 7 – How to Add Applications

Video 8 – Your Home Page

Video 9 – Privacy Settings

Video 10 – Paid upgraded account features

FURTHER READING:

How to improve your Linked ROI by tweaking your profile

728 FAQs, Who knew?

So you’ve joined a LinkedIn group . . . now what?

What you need to know about LinkedIn Q & A

Making your LinkedIn profile work for you

Guest Post

The Future of Advertising: A Google AdWords HOW-TO

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from My Friend & Guest Poster Deepak Gupta

Savvy marketer Deepak Gupta has become a great friend through Twitter, and when I read about what he learned from two days at a Google Grants Workshop at their Headquarters in California earlier this year, I wanted to learn more about how to implement AdWords.

Google AdWords also known as Pay Per Click can have numerous benefits if planned, executed and monitored properly. However, we must also be aware of the pitfalls

How do you go about running an AdWords campaign?

Step-by-Step

First — You and your team need to define attainable goals like these:

1) Increasing donation volume

2) Recruiting more volunteers

3) Raising brand awareness

Second — Set up campaigns appealing to relevant geographic and or demographic targets. So that you can track your campaigns efficiently, do not duplicate or move around keywords once you are up and running.

When you set up your Ad Scheduler, you have the choice between Accelerated and Standard Delivery (evenly delivered ads throughout the day).

Third — Develop tightly themed Ad Groups. The more relevant your ad text is the higher the CTR (click through rate), the Quality Score and the Page Rank.

As for Ad Text Optimization, place catchy calls-to-action and inter-capitalize your display URL. For instance, instead of having www.helpmyresume.org, show www.HelpMyResume.org. In addition, rotate various ads and you can track individual performance.

Fourth — Keyword research requires careful thought. Use the Google Suggest Tool to find relevant keywords. Try to come up with keywords from the User’s perspective, not yours. Be sure to look at all match types – broad, phrase and exact.

Fifth — Landing Page Optimization. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen an ad, clicked and then be lead to page that has nothing to do with the product/service I looked for. There are numerous resources available on Landing Page Designs. Here is a good presentation from AlexDesigns.com:

Landing Page Design & Optimization

View more presentations from alex harris.

The bottom line is you can have great goals, campaigns, ad groups and good keywords, but if you cannot convert (close the sale), you are spinning your wheels.

Possible Pitfalls of Running AdWords Campaigns in a Vacuum

Google AdWords cannot be done alone.  It is only one aspect of Social Medi Marketing. I would highly recommend for any business or organization, at a minimum, to be present on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and show up organic search results in addition to running AdWords.

When people do searches, 75% of the time they click on the organic content found within the search engine results page (SERP). Only 25% click what they see on the sponsored links section. Users tend to trust the organic content more because of the independent review. If you show up in both areas, that is in your favor.

Branding: Keep in mind that if are well-branded and have good press, you will have a better chance of performing better than an up-and-comer.

As for Keyword Research, use the Google Suggestion Tool and brainstorm with your team or others to generate ideas. Do not be embarrassed if you think your term sounds funny – you can surprise yourself!

Once your campaigns are up and running, use the reporting features and Google Analytics to monitor and track your performance. Every so often, adjust your campaigns. Eliminate low performers, refine your keywords, and refine your ads. Repeat this process often.

Budget how much you want to spend on your AdWords Campaigns. Be sure to allow enough extra sums in case your competitors decide to jump in and bid up the price for keywords. Calculate the ROI.

Some obstacles I have come across professionally are that (a) some of your team members may not have the time to read your reports or(b)  working with AdWords is a lower priority than designing a direct mail campaign.

If you have Administrator access and are in an Organization that appreciates enterprising people, then take the Bull by the horn and be a one-person shop.

Posted by Deepak Gupta

Deepak Gupta
Chat Google Wave: dgupta5150

Sharisax Is Out There

Inbound Marketing: Build Genuine Relationships for Mutual Gain

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Are you a HubSpot Fan?


If you are, then this article will be “speaking to the choir,” but if you don’t know anything about HubSpot AND you’re trying to learn everything Out There about Social Media, read on.

Initially, I “stumbledupon” HubSpotTV, which is a weekly Friday afternoon podcast featuring Karen Rubin and Mike Volpe, two 30-somethings who chat about social media issues of the week and often bring in social media influencers for “expert” viewpoints. You can review past segments by going to the archives on Itunes — or clicking on the thumbnails to the right.

Then I began subscribing to the HubSpot blog, which in addition to sending me a constant stream of articles like these:

The Importance of Google Page Rank: a guide for small biz execs

Marketing Budgets Shifting to Digital

Tweeting to Women, Try Entertainment; Tweeting to Men, Try Opinion

. . . and often sponsors great webinars like

State of Inbound Marketing 2010

How to use Video for Online Marketing

Blogging for Business

Finally, I’d like to recommend a recent book by HubSpot founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah — Inbound Marketing — Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs.

“We look to those in our communities for recommendations and referrals before we make purchases these days.” [authors]

The fact that industry gurus David Meerman Scott, Seth Godin, and Guy Kawasaki have recommended the book — especially in light of what we know to be true today— guaranteed me that reading Inbound Marketing would be a valuable investment of my time.

Part of a series of books called The New Rules of Social Media, Halligan and Shah’s book offers both elementary lessons and more technical information, from —

  • (A) how to grade your current website and set up a blog to
    (B) building LinkedIn groups, gathering followers on Twitter to
  • (C) hiring “Digital Citizens” and using the right tools to make better marketing decisions.

One dozen take-aways from the book:

1) Google users search for specifics, and that is why your keywords need to be specific to increase your find-ability.

2) Your website is “1 to many” while your inbound marketing efforts are “many to many.”

3) Ten years ago, your marketing effectiveness was a function of the width of your wallet. Today, your marketing effectiveness is a function of the width of your brain.

4) The great thing about a blog article is that the page, the Google rankings, the links, and the subscriber are all durable assets — they give you value forever.

5) You have to make it easy for customers to spread the word about you.

6) The “authority” of academic papers can be determined by number of other papers that cite it. The “authority” of a web page is calculated based on teh number of inbound links from other web pages and the authority of those pages.

7) The next time you host a business event (conference, webinar, training session, etc.), use Facebook events to invite people and get RSVP’s.

8 – Use tools like Twitter Search to find influential Twitter users in your industry. Begin forging connections.

9) “Conversion” is the art and science of encouraging site visitors to further engage with your business. The true power of inbound marketing lies in its ability to not only stretch the top of your sales funnel (and pull more people in), but also to stretch the middle (get more to convert).

10) Every page on your site should have a Call To Action.

11) The idea behind lead nurturing is to maintain ongoing communication and dialog with these leads so that when they’re ready to buy, your product is at the top of their mind.

12) The good thing about inbound marketing is that everything is completely measurable.

FURTHER READING:

19 steps to getting found in social media

8 questions to ask job prospects re: their online experience

8 Give-Aways that companies may use as Calls To Action

4 SEO tips for creating great page titles

LinkedIn

How to Improve Your Linked ROI By Tweaking Your Profile

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How do I love LinkedIn?

Let me count the ways — and share them — so everyone can improve their Return on Time Investment.

This week I’m conducting workshops entitled:

“I’m on LinkedIn . . . Now WHAT?”

Below is a list of what we discussed until time ran out. So this article is two-fold:

1) For those who may be missing some key tips and features for maximizing their LinkedIn profiles

AND

2) For those who already know how robust this platform is — and can add more  suggestions.

8 Ways Updating a LinkedIn Profile Will Increase Find-ability

1. PROFILE HEADLINE: Too many people, myself included, initially neglect to maximize the power of the Title or Headline. That is the 120-character message to the left of your photo icon. When you post on group discussions and Q&A, your photo AND that title will “brand” you.

At first, I simply wrote “Community Manager at Performance Social Media” because I was proud of that label. But what did the “label” do for my readers, i.e., anyone who viewed my profile?

Nada, really. Most people don’t even know what a community manager is.

And, then, there are my friends who are proud to tell people they are the CEO of this or that consulting agency.

Daah? What does that do for me? How can they help me?

The key here is to use those 120 characters to broadcast exactly how you personally [because it is all about people helping people] can help me, i.e., give me a reason to want to find out more about you.

So what should you do?

One recommended format is to aim for two “problem solutions” and one “descriptive title.” Here’s how I changed mine:

Social Media Strategist: training&blogs I PR2.0 writer/editor | Chief Blogger: SHARISAX IS OUT THERE I sharisax@aol.com

Here is how my friend Kay Karchevski, the H2o Water Lady updated hers:

Source for purified water | sustainable&healthy | Independent Distributor of Multi-Pure water filters

Another friend Diane Castro, senior living consultant, changed hers from “Founder of SOS4Seniors” to this:

Senior Living Consultant | Finding the Right Fit For a Vibrant Healthy Life

Don’t tackle this “simple” fix alone. Ask a friend or two. You’ll be amazed how their suggestions can help you frame just what it is you do.


2. YOUR UPDATES: Remember that your updates, i.e., the messages that you write on your LinkedIn Home Page appear beneath your name, photo, and headline.

So, post accordingly.

Some people love automated tools to post the same messages on every social media site they belong to.

Not a good idea, especially for your LinkedIn connections.

I love the analogy I’ve heard that MySpace is like meeting your friends at a bar; Facebook is meeting them at your backyard BBQ; and LinkedIn is meeting them at the office.

Post accordingly.

Twitter does allow you to add the hashtag #in to the end of your Tweets and they will automatically post on LinkedIn, but be deliberate how you use this.

While you may post many times a day on Facebook and Twitter, Common Wisdom & “Business Etiquette” would suggest that you not post more than once or twice a day. That being said, DO POST. Let your connections know that you are engaging in valuable activities that will support your value in their minds.


3. POSITIONS & EDUCATION: Let your resume help here . . .  AND in achieving the sought-after 100% completeness.

Fifteen percent of the total is devoted to whether or not you have imported your resume.

LinkedIn helps you upload the information on the right sidebar under “Edit my Profile”:  you will see a link to click on with instructions.

But don’t stop there — like I did.

“After the fact” i.e. a few months after my profile was 100% complete, I learned that several of the “past” positions had errors — either repetitions or the incorrect company name. SO BE CERTAIN to go back and check those entries.

How do you do that?

You are in Edit Profile and you CLICK on the word Past [see below]:

Carefully read through each entry and click the “edit” link where a change needs to be made.

4. RECOMMENDATIONS: This topic probably needs an article article on its own, but your profile must have recommendations — to achieve the 100% completion, but, more importantly, to show that people do value your expertise.

How to get those recommendations? Do good work, of course.

In the beginning, however, you may have to simply ask customers, clients, and friends who know your accomplishments. Many times if you offer an unsolicited recommendation to someone else, they may reciprocate.


5. CONNECTIONS: The magic number is 500. Once you surpass that number, your total will remain 500+, whether you have 501 or 5,001.

Whom should you connect to?

Some people choose to keep their LinkedIn community close, i.e., only folks they know personally and would be happy to recommend.

On the other side of the LinkedIn world, you will see “LIONS” — LinkedIn Open Networkers, who accept every LinkedIn invitation and display their email addresses.

I, myself, fall in the middle. In addition to people I know in person, I like to “meet” people in Group Discussions and through Q&A, check out their profiles, and send invitations if I think we can support one another in some way.

If you, personally, are FOR or AGAINST being a Lion, please add your opinion in the comment section below.


6. WEBSITES: Here’s a big opportunity that many people miss when they opt for the default titles “My blog” or “My company” or “My website.”

Edit this section, and in the drop down box, click on OTHER. Then you have the chance to write the actual NAME of your blog, company, and website — another opportunity for key words on your profile AND increased “Find-Ability.”


7. PUBLIC PROFILE: Another simple “fix”: Edit the default URL from a long unwieldy string of numbers and letters after your name to just your name. Of course, like me, someone with your exact name and spelling of the name has probably already secured that URL, so add something like your city.

Here’s mine: http://www.linkedin.com/in/shariweisssf — I merely added “sf” for San Francisco after my name.


And Here’s the Biggest Opportunity – Fine-tuning your Summary

8. YOUR SUMMARY: Last October I wrote an article titled “The Magic of LinkedIn: Making your Profile work for you,” based on a presentation I’d attended.

But, like most of you, I’m learning a ton of new things every week, and so I’m going to “sum up” the meat-y part of that article and add a bit more.

A) Here is the 3-paragraph format I believe is effective for most of us:

  • FIRST PARAGRAPH: Communicate quickly and clearly the type of opportunities you are seeking.
  • SECOND PARAGRAPH: Highlight 3 or 4 key career accomplishments that demonstrate your qualifications. [Don’t use bullet points. Make it a friendly narrative.]
  • THIRD PARAGRAPH: Answer the question: How are you UNIQUE? How are you DIFFERENT?

B) After these short, clear, and concise paragraphs, include a COMMON MISSPELLINGS line like mine:

[Common misspellings: Wise, Wiess, Sharon, Sheri, Sherry, Shari Sax]

If people are looking for you, don’t let them miss you simply because they don’t know how to spell your name.

C) Finally, there is the SPECIALTIES section which is hugely important.

Here you put the KEY WORDS that employers are looking for when they search the LinkedIn site. My latest understanding is that keyword PHRASES are better than single words  — to help you differentiate yourself from the many others who mostly put in single words.

YOUR TURN: How can you help the rest of us love LinkedIn even more? Add your thoughts and suggestions, and connect with me on LinkedIn.

PS I just found this Video on Filling Out Your LinkedIn Profile from Butterscotch.com

And here are a total of TEN videos on How to do LinkedIn



Guest Post, Sharisax Is Out There

Online Relationships Lead to Lots of Learning: Guest Post on Art of Selling from one of my new fav Tweeple

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Justice Marshall aka @SocialNature on Twitter believes that relationships are the foundation of business and happiness, and that makes lots of sense as Justice and I are Tweeting one another — learning from one another — and supporting one another.

When Justice recently Tweeted about a conference he’d attended about the Art of Sales in response to one of my Tweets on the Art of Marketing, I asked him to Guest Post his findings.

Voila . . .

There are no bathrooms in New York:

What I Learned at Art of Sales, Vancouver BC 2009

When Shari asked me to write a guest post on What I Learned at Art of Sales in Vancouver BC, 2009  http://www.theartofproductions.com/events-salesVancouver09.html it naturally made me ask myself “What DID I learn?”

I don’t generally take notes at these sorts of events (not my learning style) so I have to look inside my brain to see what stuck. And as I look inside, I notice an internal distinction between what I learned… and what I enjoyed.

I certainly enjoyed all four of the presenters. And interestingly, the speaker that I learned the most from was also the least interesting in terms of presenting style. He sat at the side of the stage and basically gave a slideshow. But his slideshow rocked. Max Lenderman — http://www.experiencethemessage.com/ — taught me something new about experiential branding, with visual examples and stories from all over the world.

Dipping their toes in

I work mostly with natural health and wellness businesses. These folks are accustomed to more “traditional” forms of advertising and marketing, and are now dipping their toes in the digital and social media spheres. My mission is to help them use social media to support what they’re already good at, and tie it all to their overarching business vision and objectives.

Along the way, I also get to learn about and influence their strategic planning process. In his presentation, Max showed me —

How some companies are creating remarkable branded experiences in real life that can be extended and deepened through digital mediums like social media.

His most striking examples were pop-up stores and unusual branded installations like the Charmin public restrooms in Times Square.

Smart brands worldwide are creating events and contributing and participating in the lives of people in ways that are way more far-reaching than being just about the features and benefits of any particular product.

It got me thinking —
  1. How can my clients bridge the gap between real-life and social media in a meaningful way?
  2. How can we create deeper branded experiences, drawing people into something that is valuable, compelling and worth sharing?

So – What did I learn?

I learned to stretch my thinking about what a branded experience can be. I learned that branded experiences can be pretty elaborate… and pretty far removed from the original product offering. Branded experiences can take a wide (and long!) meandering path. They can be generous, humorous, touching and inspiring. The best branded experiences work on a feeling level, and push the envelope of conventional marketing and PR thinking.
Nearly half a year later what I learned is still sticking, and has in fact taken root and continues to grow.
Shari – Thanks for asking!
(Justice Marshall is a Social Media Director and Web Strategist for Natural Health and Wellness brands. Find him on Twitter @SocialNature