Category Archives: Guest Post

Blogging, Guest Post, Journalism

Blogs as Catharsis & More: here’s how one journalist started his

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There’s nothing like commenting on someone’s blog post to get the ball rolling, i.e. building online relationships. As part of re-strategizing my own blogging, I am revisiting my first posts to republish those with content that’s as relevant today as it was when I first began.

One of those blog articles answered a student’s question “How Do I Build a Blog Audience.” After two years, I’ve learned enough to streamline those posts AND promote them in ways to get more readers and comments. I reposted commenting on other blogs — and then promoted it through social media.

On one LinkedIn  Group Discussion,  “laid off” journalist Ted Schnell shared his process of building blog readership via social media. Read all about it in his Guest Post —

Using social media sites to build a blog audience

Guest Post by Ted Schnell

I started my blog, Laid off at 51: Seeking joy in change two weeks after my notice. Initially, I promoted it by email blasts to friends, family and former colleagues. The first entry took on a life of its own, generating hundreds of page views in the first couple of weeks.

The three posts I wrote in the last two weeks of December garnered 869 page views, but my traffic dropped to 453 for all of January. I had been following Steve Buttry’s blog, The Buttry Diary which offered some very useful suggestions.

So I started promoting it on Twitter, then added Facebook and LinkedIn — now I use Hootsuite to set up all three at once, although I still send out the email blasts. I’ve seen four months of progressive growth in page views, hitting a high of more than 1,000 for the month of May.

My metrics have shown a shift — initially, most traffic came, unsurprisingly, from email accounts and, as the month of December wound toward an end, from Google. I think as far as Google was concerned, “Laid off at 51” was branded by mid-January.

By February and March, much of my traffic was coming from links via Twitter and from Google searches. Since adding Facebook and LinkedIn to my promotional effort, my metrics show a fluctuation between Facebook and LinkedIn as my top sources, although Twitter sometimes surges high as well. Google searches still draw traffic, but not as much as the early months.

In terms of measuring the success of my blog, I have no basis of comparison. I did not start it with the intent of making money off it, but to work through some of the issues I’ve faced as a middle-age guy who got the boot in an industry that is languishing. Besides the catharsis, I was hoping perhaps to use it to encourage others in similar straights. I hope the increasing readership reflects that.

In terms of comments, they have been few and far between, although the first post was an exception. Typically, if I comment on a blog — or for that matter, on a discussion board like this, I like to approach it with a well thought-out comment that either offers encouragement or adds to the discussion. I personally feel it serves no useful purpose to jump in with a snide remark or a comment that berates the author for expressing an opinion.

***

Here’s the discussion where Ted and I connected:

***

So here are some questions:

1 – Why do people blog, especially if there is no financial payoff?

2 – Do you have some advice for Ted to get more comments on http://tedschnell.blogspot.com/

3 – Do you have a comment strategy for other people’s articles?

 

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Blogging, Guest Post

How Social Media Works: it really is all about engagement!

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No, this is NOT going to be “the” answer to the subject “How social media really works” — only one, but an interesting one.

I just met freelance copywriter David McCauley via LinkedIn when he responded to my post How to increase blog readership. Now we are connected on both LinkedIn and Facebook, and we’ve begun to support one another’s efforts. David’s website Passionate Copy contains articles on business topics from lead generation to marketing via email, video and SEO. Check him out, but first read his Guest Post, which suggests how to best get noticed by paying customers.

Plan for the right discussions if the “payoff” is your goal

Guest Post by David McCauley
Shari –
Your article brings up great advice on blogging, and it reads quite well. The only thing I would add (even blogs like pro blogger miss this one):

“People need to be seen in their Target industry — not Career industry — in order to get noticed by the right ‘paying’ audience.”

Does this make sense?

For example I belong to several copywriting and Social Media groups (my career groups). I constantly see “Experts” talking/promoting either SEO, Linkedin, Blogging or Social Media advice and services.

Unfortunately, they are doing it to each other. What they see is a group like eMarketing or Social Media Marketing that has 310,000+ or 160,000+ members, and start to market their services to those groups.

What ends up happening is that they get caught up in discussions that talk about what Expert or SEO really means, which is fine, if you are trying to learn or have a lot of time to waste.

This is where the problem is – everyone is struggling to market to each other, and no one is listening – or buying.

If one is going to be marketing such services, pick a niche or two that actually needs help, say dentists, veterinarians, sporting equipment marketers, etc. Join those groups if they are business oriented.

If they are private groups then make sure to explain that you are joining to learn more about them and possibly assist them in learning more about Social Media, Blogging, etc.

More than likely group access will be granted. If denied, just move on to the next. Once in, then one can start the process of networking, becoming involved, and getting followers that would eventually become ‘paying’ clients, by following advice you have in your article.

If a person is struggling to find a niche, just write down the top ten hobbies they are interested in, research those groups to see how many marketing directors/ business owners are in those groups, then join if it is a business oriented, move on if it isn’t.

Bottom line – don’t be afraid to get out there. We all get too comfortable in our own environment, but sometimes we don’t realize that our hobbies are as much part of our environment as are our careers.

**

NOTE: David responded via this LinkedIn post:

If you are a social media maven, please join us there. We may not “pay” you, but we can share valuable info, and of course support your efforts.

 

 

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Guest Post, Journalism

10 Easy Steps to Creating Your Own LinkedIn Group

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Starting a LinkedIn group is fast & easy

Just ask Billy Rivera, one of my star students in the Social Media for Journalists online course that I teach for 33 students at Laney College. We have a great  Facebook group for student discussions, and it was my intention to add a LinkedIn group as well.

But Billy beat me to it. Here’s his story with 10 easy steps you can take to set up your own LinkedIn group.

Why and How to start your own LinkedIn group

Guest post by Billy Rivera

After two weeks on LinkedIn, I think I have found my rhythm. As a newbie with limited work experience, I knew I had to overcome the fact that I just wouldn’t have 500+ connections anytime soon. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and discouraged, I came up with a game plan that would make people want to connect with me. I realized that having a status bar tell me that my profile was only 75% complete isn’t a reflection on me, my skill set, or my ambitions.

As part of last week’s assignment, we were asked to join a selection of LinkedIn groups (i.e. #journchat, Online Journalism, and Online Reporters and Editors), contribute to the discussion, and finally, write a blog post with highlights from the conversation. The first thing I noticed was that in order to join some groups, I first had to be approved. So instead of waiting for their approval, I decided to create my own groups, starting with one for us journalism students. What sets my group apart from many out there is that it is open; no approval needed, just your mind and your love for social media and journalism.

Reasons to start your own LinkedIn group

· Create a community that doesn’t already exist

· Establish more connections

· Free PR/marketing for your business

· Conduct research on a topic

· To inspire people

· Create a fan club

· Branch off from a bigger group with a niche

· Network to further your career goals

· Recruit people for your business

· Start a dialogue about something you’re passionate about

10 steps to start your own LinkedIn group

If you have a great idea for a LinkedIn group, starting one is fast and easy. Once you’ve created the group, you have the option to send a mass invite to your connections and have a discussion flowing within minutes. Here’s how:

1. Go to your LinkedIn homepage. On the top menu bar you will see these categories: Home, Profile, Contacts, Groups, Jobs, Inbox, Companies, and More. When you put the cursor over “Groups,” a drop down will appear. Click “Create a Group.”

2. The next page is the most important. For now, skip over the Logo option and come back to it last.

3. Think of a group name that will stand out from the rest. For example, when I created our group, Social Media for Journalism Students, I didn’t want to title it the exact same as our class because I wanted it to be open to anyone and everyone who may want to discuss social media, as well as journalism students.

4. Choose a Group Type that best reflects the type of “activity” you feel you want. When I created our group, I felt that none of the options were a good fit, so I chose “Other” and then typed in “Class Group.”

5. Write a brief summary that will attract people to join. IMPORTANT: Choose keywords that people will use when searching for groups to join.

6. Here’s where you can go deeper into the group topic. When I created the group, I went back to our class syllabus and used a quote from Shari Weiss (and, of course, cited her) that I feel best summed up why we journalism aspirants should study social media.

7. Enter an email address that you check on a daily basis, so you can monitor group activity as it happens.

8. Website: this is optional. I chose to enter my Journ65 blog as a way to show group members that I’m the Real Deal striving, to be the “resident expert” on the subject matter.

9. Modify the Access of the group to fit your needs. You have two choices: Auto-join, or Request to join. Click on “Display this group in the Groups Directory,” “Allow members to display the logo on their profiles,” and “Allow members to invite others to join this group.” This will make it easier for people to find your group.

10. For the logo, search for an image that is public domain (copyright and royalty free) from a site such as www.freedigitalphotos.net or upload a photo from your computer. Choose a photo that catches the eye and is a spot-on representation of the subject matter. Read through your Summary and Description for inspiration for finding a logo that works for the group.

When you’ve completed the 10-steps, click on “Create an Open Group.”

Once you’ve created the group and sent invites, managing it will be simple and rewarding. As people join, make sure to invite them to join in on the discussion. Introduce yourself as the group owner, and make them feel welcome. As the group owner, it is up to you to think of discussion topics and post them to the group “wall.” The more people that join, the bigger the discussion.

[Note from Shari: I just read how important it is for you to choose the right NAME for your group: “On LinkedIn you want to win the mindshare of your target audience and attract them to become members of your group. You can only do so by naming your group appropriately.” Hubspot ebook Learning LinkedIn from the Experts]

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Guest Post, Journalism, Twitter

Mother Nature Attacks, Social Media Assists!

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Revolutions, earthquakes, and tsunamis: What do they have in common?

Answer: Social media

“What fascinated most Social Media analysts was the speed at which information traveled all over the world regarding the earthquake.”

Is it a coincidence , or simply the New Normal, that typically hot journalistic topics like violence and devastation are now being reported most effectively through Social Media rather than Traditional Media — at the same time that 33 Laney College students are actively participating in my online course Social Media for Journalists.

Our Facebook Group discussions are lively and revealing like the one evolving around the earthquake and tsunami in Japan that lead to this student’s coverage of the events and their reporting.


Mother Nature Attacks, Social Media Assists!

Guest Post by Champa Mulchandani

Mother Nature is seriously upset. And to show us the extent of her unhappiness, she decided to throw an earthquake at Japan. You know she means business when it’s an 8.9 magnitude earthquake which is soon followed by a massive tsunami. If the earthquake hit any other country in the world, this situation would have been a horrendous one.

However, because Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries whose architecture and infrastructure is designed with earthquakes in mind, the earthquake was unable to cause heaps of destruction.

But no matter how large a catastrophe, Social Media never fails to assist and connect. Phone lines may come crashing down, but Facebook and Twitter will be up and rollicking waiting to be used. And so it did. While reporting and giving viewers the most up to date news from north east Japan, they insisted on family and friends from around the world on utilizing all forms of Social Media to stay in touch with people in the earthquake hit Japan.

Japan hashtags trending

In the last 24 hours, the hash tags #Japan, #earthquake, #tsunami and #prayforjapan have been trending and how. CNN went on to display a number of tweets from all over the world where people explained their feelings towards the earthquake. While locals in Japan tweeted about how their homes swayed, how they were scared and how they were looking for family in parts of Japan where communication was down, people in Chile, were getting ready to be hit by the tsunami waves and thus, were expressing their fears. These chilling firsthand accounts not only gave the media an insight into how Social Media has not only become a source for news, but a diary even where users are able to convey their experiences.

But when it comes to Social Media assisting and informing people of the earthquake, it was Twitter all the way. Most avid Tweeters received news of the earthquake via Twitter. And then realizing that there was no way of communicating with people in Japan any other way but through Twitter, Facebook and Skype. But Twitter didn’t just come in handy for people abroad; local Japanese citizens flocked to Twitter for aid and information. Non-Japanese speakers residing in Japan were all over Twitter looking up alerts, altered train schedules and even places for shelter.

What fascinated most Social Media analysts was the speed at which information traveled all over the world regarding the earthquake. Tweeters, in and out of Japan, rapidly updated timelines; eyewitnesses used YouTube and uploaded videos by the minute of any visuals they had while Facebook pages were put up by the dozen asking for aid, funds and relief much before even the Red Cross could get on board to call on the world for help.

Google too, quickly gathered resources and launched their People Finder site for Japan as soon as the earthquake hit. And it seriously does rock – not as much as the earthquake though, thankfully. Presented with two options, to look or provide information, users can fill in necessary information regarding people they may be looking for. This information is added into a public registry which allows people to search for missing loved ones. Google clearly moved quickly with their site as it is not only available in English and Chinese, but in Japanese too.

Traditional media relies on social media

Ultimately, what Social Media did for the Japan earthquake was provide information so quickly that even news channels sought their help. This would explain why CNN promoted the use of Social Media and encouraged citizens of the world to hop on the Social Media bandwagon. What this ultimately tells us, as Social Media journalism students is simple: the power of Social Media cannot be underestimated and more importantly, besides connecting, it comes in handy during any or all catastrophes. We’ve seen how Social Media has created revolutions in the world. Today we witnessed Social Media come in a totally different dimension. It didn’t just allow people to stay in touch despite an earthquake and tsunami, but it also allowed us to stay informed.

Sadly, Social Media will not be able to save or protect citizens who are in harm’s way. Nor will be ever be able to predict and prevent earthquakes from occurring. But it certainly can assist when Mother Nature goes rather into frenzy with us.

In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers are with Japan. We’re sure they will come through it all stronger and more resilient.

 

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Facebook, Guest Post

Is playing Farmville a social media marketing necessity?

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So what do you know about Farmville?

For most readers of this blog — i.e., serious or somewhat serious business types learning how to use social media marketing — Farmville is a nuisance, a game played by people with nothing but time on their hands.

However, it’s just possible that “we” are wrong.  According to Feb 18 stats, Farmville has 80 million users; 15% of Facebookers play Farmville, and 31 million do it daily.

The implication for marketers is clear. Your target consumer could be on Farmville and perhaps you need to be there as well. One friend recently told me  that her mom spends HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS, i.e., Real American Dollars playing Farmville to buy “things.”

Knowing nothing about Farmville myself, I called upon my British colleague  Mike Maynard, one of those 31 million daily players. Here’s one thing he said:

 Imagine American kids learning to speak English; cool, awesome, mega, outrageous and heavy; man… If you notice kids getting up really early in the morning and saying Ar a lot; don’t worry they are getting up to do the Farmville milking. Farmville cash – is it real money?  

 . . . and here is the rest:

Farmville cash: How “real” is it?

Guest Post by Michael Maynard

Zynga the makers of Farmville and other games running via Facebook is in the news trying to raise up to $500M in investment and analysts now value Zynga at $10 Billion.

I checked the price of Farmville cash and Farmville coins this morning:

  • For comparison I have chosen 115 FV cash for $23 and also 33,500 coins for $23.
  • You can get it cheaper by buying 650 FV cash for $115 and people are buying in that sort of quantity on a weekly basis.

But is it like real money and should governments regulate Zynga and its virtual money?

It is certainly big business when you have a license to print money! It is thought though that only the Federal Reserve in the US and the Bank of England in the UK have a license to print money; so is this ‘real’ money? If it is like real money, could you go to prison for stealing ‘virtual’ money?

Zynga also has an online poker game, and hacker Ashley Mitchell from the UK hacked the Zynga server stealing 400 billion chips worth around $12,000,000, which he set about selling cheap on the black market. He sold them for a fraction of their “value’”and still made $100,000 from a third of them. Should he go to prison for stealing virtual money? It’s not real is it? The judge at his trial in the UK thinks it is.

Mike’s Farmville Millions

I’ve been writing my Farmville Millions blog articles telling people how to make millions of coins at Farmville with screen shots showing that I have done it.

Now I am working on the Farmville Billionaire. Yes, I am going to make a cool 1,000,000,000 coins:

  • 33,500 coins according to Zynga cost $23 and so what are a billion worth?
  • I make it $686,567 and so far I have over 377,000,000 of them.
  • I have made $258,835 and change… well over $12,000 a day.

It’s not taxable is it?

Bugger… I have read that there is a black market for most virtual money in some countries; but I see no way of transferring it to someone else; so it isn’t money.

If Zynga made FV cash and coins interchangeable and then allowed people to buy other things with the virtual money, that would be different. If I could buy a state of the art laptop for say 13,000,000 coins; worth $13,000, I could just about afford that today and I could buy a few for my family over the course of the week. I wouldn’t mind an Android phone, and a new car would be nice. I think 100,000,000 coins for a car is fair — they are worth $68,000 at Zynga prices.

Zynga did offer me FV cash at a discount, though, just after I checked out the prices. They offered me 115 FV cash for $10, and so even they don’t think it’s worth the money.

I suppose some people would say it is worth whatever people are willing to pay for it.

I know that people do go in stores and buy game cards in the USA for amazing amounts of money; I’m amazed anyway! In the UK we are expected to use a credit or debit card. 115FV cash for $10; that’s about £6.00 and what would I get for it? I could have a bakery and make loads of stuff and sell it for coins and an orchard for my trees!

Cool… I have two orchards already though and I have a winery; I don’t really have the time to run a bakery.

If you still think Farmville is silly with these amounts of money involved, consider the themes. The French theme not long ago had American kids asking for croissants for breakfast and learning to Parlez Français; we also had a Tuscan wedding theme. I still have a “holiday tree” on my farm – Zynga talk for a Christmas tree; I think and we are into a Valentine’s theme now.

There is also farming in the English countryside theme coming soon. Imagine American kids learning to speak English; cool, awesome, mega, outrageous and heavy; man… If you notice kids getting up really early in the morning and saying Ar a lot; don’t worry they are getting up to do the Farmville milking. If they offer you the keys to their combine harvester and sing, ‘I got a brand new combine harvester and I’ll give you the key all day’ they’re hooked!

Zynga games like Farmville appeal to different types of personalities. The more macho go for mafia wars and it takes a particular type of personality to be good at Farmville. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg would have no chance. Bill Gates says young people should start off flipping burgers and work their way up, but he never did that. He started by getting mommy on the board of IBM to give him a hand up – right to the top! I have flipped burgers; it was only for a few hours but I did deal with a drunken security guard. It taught me a lesson: people look down on you as a burger flipper. The next day I had him fired on my way to the office… They don’t teach that stuff in Harvard…

People who have learned the hard way and are used to starting with nothing can take that small bit of land they give you in Farmville and work their way up to a big farm and a billion coins.

I need 69 friends for a larger farm; I’ll get there, we work our way up by being friendly and helpful. If you walk all over people or are narcissistic, as many people are on Facebook; then you languish at the bottom. I need 100,000 XP to go up a level and many of my neighbours don’t have 100,000 XP in total. I will actually get 10,000,000 XP when I spend my billion on mansions and things; it a shame I can’t buy a train…

I had a message from one of my neighbours this morning, it said “hey hi,” she is only 13 years old; her vocabulary will develop. I will have to send her presents to help her get started; she isn’t doing very well. If Bill Gates’ mommy can help him become a billionaire then I don’t see why I should engage in a little nepotism and send a few Farmville cows to my great niece. I wonder if she knows I’m her great uncle.

I’ll be back…

In the meantime you can check out Mike’s blog-with-a-blog: In which you get to meet Mike Maynard and his Farmville strategies

And, of course, tell us your own Farmville stories and tips.

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Guest Post, Journalism, Sharisax Is Out There, Twitter

How NO INTERNET is Re-Defining the News

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Photo by Susan Ambrosini

The beauty of our Social Media Revolution is that every one of us can become a publisher . . . and spread our opinions, insights, and wisdom.

Though we’ve only had two weeks of classwork for the online Social Media for Journalist course, several of the students have shown their passion, intelligence, and leadership in helping us all co-create the New Normal, i.e., the way to communicate, learn, interact, and act — Now, and in the Future.

One of the outstanding students has been Suzzanna Matthews, who grew up in Boston and studied English Lit at Goldsmith’s College in the UK and at Mills College in Oakland. She currently resides in Oakland and is studying Journalism and Social Media. Here are her thoughts on the explosive situation in the MidEast and the role of social media.

The Internet Shutdown in Egypt:

How the Definition of News is Changing

GUEST POST by Suzzanna Matthews

On January 27th, 2011 – after days of disruptions in internet service, most internet connections went down in Egypt. This shutdown targeted social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. This was an unprecedented event in history, a country in protest and a government shutdown of all major social media communications.

Why? Because, social media sites are viewed as dangerous. These sites were being used as a primary means of communication to rally people to protest. News of these protests was able to reach thousands of people at the stroke of a key.

If an entire country’s government  has such a great fear of what social media can do. then you have to concur that it is indeed powerful.

SPEECH is powerful, and these social media platforms are important in letting people’s voices be heard uncensored.

In various articles I have read about the situation, journalists are reporting that there was and is misinformation being reported about the protests via Twitter and Facebook, but that there is also much more information available to them — and many more leads that they are able to follow up on because of Tweets and Posts. Particularly information coming out of locations that maybe unsafe for foreign journalist travel.

The social media platforms also allow us to read the news from Egyptians living in the midst of the turmoil and to get a sense of what is actually occurring without perhaps a government veil or ‘toned down’ diplomatic version of the events.You can see why it would behoove a government with waning power to halt these types of communications that they may view as damaging and, yes, dangerous.

Even with the shutdown, the people’s voices still found a way to be heard on the web with google’s Speak2Tweet. News of what is happening is being reported by the people — most are not trained journalists and many are just expressing their frustration.

  • Are the voices of Egyptian Tweeters and bloggers less newsworthy as they are not professional journalists?
  • Does the misinformation being reported via social networking sites outweigh the viable information?
  • There is no question that the way news is being related has changed, but as we move away from traditional forms of reporting, how do we need to re-think what ‘news’ actually is?
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Guest Post, Sharisax Is Out There

Do you have an ONLINE PRESENCE or merely a website?

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The terms web (or online) presence and website are often used interchangeably but they are very far from being the same thing. Web presence is the collective existence online of a company or individual. A website is one example.

So began an excellent article by my blogger colleague Michael Cohn, who serves clients by building a content-rich web presence, applying Internet marketing techniques, and utilizing blog and social media technologies.

Michael’s blog CompuKol Connection is a treasure trove of social media Best Practices, and I’m honored to be one of his Guest Posters. Here is one of his recent articles that should be required reading for anyone wanting to establish a business online.

What is an Online Presence?

Guest Post by Michael Cohn

Many businesses have websites with their branding and customized look and feel. There are millions of websites that range from simple and small to much more intricate and interactive. Everyone understands what a website is and what purpose it serves. So, what is an online presence and how do you go about establishing one for your business?

There is so much that can be a part of your web presence. An online presence is any existence of an individual or business that can be found via an online search. An example of an individual who is not active on the Internet but who has a online presence is one who is a member of an association that has a member directory listing online. Another example is an individual who only has a LinkedIn or Facebook profile. How do you leverage and enhance their existing web presence to boost their exposure and reputation and market themselves and/or their business online?

One way is to design and build a compelling website or a blog. Once the concept of the web presence has been established, it is time to start building it, including the all-important keywords that are essential to that market. Without keywords, the website will not be successful and will essentially stagnate. It is important to understand that it takes a lot more than a beautiful-looking website to cultivate the success of a particular business through its online presence. Another way is to capitalize on their existing web presence and enhance it with additional social media marketing interactions. A third option is a combination of the two.

Targeted keywords: Well-placed keywords are critical for both options. You might ask how you go about identifying the most effective keywords that will be recognized by the search engines and that will continually drive more and more online traffic to your web presence. Careful research is very important because finding the best keywords for your niche must be the absolute first thing that you do. That is your initial step in establishing your web presence.

Once you have built the foundation, you can begin to build your web presence. Of course, the information must be presented in a way that is visually appealing and compelling. However, there is a great deal more that goes into it. It is well beyond merely designing and creating a web presence. If the content in your online presence is presented correctly, the result could potentially be huge regarding your success at selling your products and/or services.

Web presence visitors: Once you have established your web presence, the next critical element is getting people to visit. The more traffic you are able to drive to your online presence, the better it will be for your business. Of course, this ties back to when you were choosing keywords and key phrases. If you have placed them effectively, the people will visit and visit often.

Capturing and converting leads: Your online presence has an important job to do. It needs to effectively capture leads (leads are people who have the potential of eventually becoming your clients). Once the leads have been captured, it is important to go through the conversion process in a manner that is appropriate and sensitive. An important part of the success of converting leads lies with the design of the web presence, the compelling nature of the content, the aesthetic appeal of the graphics, etc.

Interacting through social media: Having interaction with your online connections is extraordinarily important and it adds a deeper layer to the relationship that you will be establishing through your online presence. The more you interact with people, the more they will start to trust you and to find you to be credible and knowledgeable. You will start to understand how much the interaction contributes to the success of your business.

So, how do you enhance your web presence?

The following are elements that will help you to improve your web presence:

  • A clear market definition
  • Understandable and appropriate keywords
  • Website and/or social media pages that are properly optimized for the search engines
  • A website and/or social media pages that are aesthetically appealing and properly organized so that any of your visitors immediately understand what your business offers
  • Complete social media profiles
  • A clear focus on your target connections and target market
  • A strategy on how to gain fans, followers and business connections
  • A strategy on how to promote yourself and/or your business and disseminate your marketing messages
  • Compelling content and effective calls-to-action
  • An effective social media marketing campaign for your business
  • A high volume of traffic on a consistent basis
  • Effective lead capture and conversion strategy

If you review this list and find that any of the concepts are missing, in all likelihood, you just have a website and not a web presence. With some adjustments, you can make your web presence more effective.

Conclusion

Now that the distinction between a website and a web presence has been carefully explained, you will be able to analyze what you have and what you need when it comes to your online exposure and reputation. Your web presence is an entire suite of online elements that should be used together to create a successful marketing campaign. The more you share of yourself and of your business, the stronger your presence will be and the greater your success and the success of your business will be.


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Guest Post, Sharisax Is Out There

Brands are “failing” to engage properly online . . . and you should forget about geo-location: LeWeb conference highlights

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When Parisian student Cyril Renaud spent a year “abroad,” we at San Francisco State University were fortunate that he enrolled in one of my marketing classes early in 2009 —  both he and I were just beginning our immersion into All Things Social Media.

Cyril is now an international business student at  The American Business School of Paris and has a personal website where he recently posted a report on the seventh annual meeting of LeWeb, a noteworthy social media conference that attracted more than 3,000 participants on December 8 & 9, 2010.

TRENDS and HIGHLIGHTS from Cyril’s report:

1. LeWeb is the Number One Internet event in Europe according to its founders and organizers Geraldine and Loic Le Meur. Loic is a blogger and entrepreneur who also established the popular Twitter client Seesmic.

2. The two-day conference featured  keynote speakers, panel discussions, and a variety of workshops organized by Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, RIM, and PayPal among others.

3.  Two significant themes impressed Cyril: First, brands are failing to engage properly on social media. Second, the web is moving towards a web of context, and the new trend in social media is social curation — forget about geo-location!

4.  Carlos Goshn, CEO of Renault, opened the conference, explaining how Renault, employing over 2 million people, is struggling to find more social marketers and community managers to develop their presence online. It is interesting to see how brands are trying to cope with a “medium that is evolving faster than we can understand it,” according to Brian Solis.

5. Most brands nowadays have a website, a facebook page, a twitter feed, a Flickr gallery and/or a YouTube channel, but many misuse those means of communication. They fail to engage with customers who take time to comment, and fail to plan content relevant to their audience.

Here is the main thing to understand:

Brands finally have the opportunity to listen to their consumers.

6.  The 4Ps of the marketing mix have added the 5th one — PEOPLE. And the smart brands are increasing their social interactions. They retweet and mention on Twitter, add Facebook LIKE button on their websites, and most important share relevant content with their fans.

7.  It goes beyond sharing a status, it’s fcommerce. Brands should not forget the notion of continuum: You need to cut through absences. “Business should be listening 24/7” said the influential Gary Vaynerchuk.

So we have seen the Web is about people. It is also about content. We share statuses, links, photos, videos and more. But the Web is shifting toward a Web of context. Think for a second of the number of friends and followers you have (almost) never met. Still, you do have a relationship with those people based on a common theme, a shared topic.

In my case, I barely know the people I follow or those following me on Twitter, but we contribute to the same topics (media, tech. or photo in my case). And that shift toward a contextual relationship is setting up a new trend in social networks. Social curation. We are now gathering links, articles, or lists of what matters to us. [Cyril’s quote]

Social Curation

  • A first step leading the way to curation was Twitter’s use of lists (in addition to the existing retweets or favorites).
  • Paper.li offers you your twitter feed in the form of a newspaper. Daily, weekly, that is up to you; you are the chief editor. They won the virality prize for start-ups at LeWeb.
  • Storify allows you to collect posts, tweets, links or photos of a common theme, and to embed them into a story.
  • Scoop.it Same concept for this French start-up. You collect, you share. Simple and easy concept for those social networks.

Cyril’s Conclusion

What was also interesting at LeWeb is the entrepreneurial aspect of the conference. Many people went there to find investors and business angels. It’s incredible to see how many venture capitalists are willing to invest in start-ups.

To conclude, if you work as a PR person, focus on being relevant. As a simple user, monitor social curation. And finally, as a entrepreneur, not only should you believe in what you do, but don’t forget to concentrate on your business plan.

If you found this link because you know Cyril, please say HI. If you found it because you were at LeWeb, please offer us your takeaways. and if you found us via some other means, please tell us that as well.

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Guest Post, LinkedIn, Sharisax Is Out There

Saying NO is easy in “cultivated” relationships — 5th in series

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The final two “chapters” in my Saying NO series will be based on input from LinkedIn members who helpfully contributed responses to my question:

How do you say NO to a client or customer?

I’m writing a blog post on Saying NO to Customers/Clients.
Do you have any tips or experiences on WHEN to say “No” and HOW to say “No”?

The question closed with 49 ANSWERS! Several of them will be included in my final chapter, but this post features one of the early responses I liked a lot — and hope you will as well.

Saying “No” is easy

Saying “No” in an effective and constructive manner is a function of a cultivated client relationship

Guest Post by Kenneth Larson: SCORE Volunteer Counselor and Founder, “Small to Feds”

Below are two examples of frameworks for “cultivated client” relationships.

Saying “No” is addressed in Step 3 of EXAMPLE A.

It is addressed again at Step 6 of EXAMPLE B.

EXAMPLE A – CONSULTANT AND CLIENT

1. Do not promise what you cannot deliver

2. Do not overextend your resources and get a reputation for poor performance.

3. Do not tell the customer what he or she wants to hear. Tell them what they need to know. They will respect you for it.

4. Network constantly on professional sites such as Linked In. Hit the “Answers” feature and accumulate an “Expert” rating from your peers in your field.

5. Blog like there is no tomorrow. A blog is quite different than a web site. Provide good, solid information free of charge and use blog searches for synergistic businesses to team with. Teaming is an absolute necessity these days.

6. Be prepared to provide information, samples and valuable service gratis as a marketing tool. Introduce yourself and then immediately engage the client with your presentation tools available to bring your expertise to whatever topic they are interested in. Let them take you where they want to go with their concerns and their needs. Apply your presentation tools and expertise dynamically on the fly in a sincere manner to those concerns and needs and you will be in demand for follow up business.

7. Quote and bill what the client can afford and grow with him (in content and resources).

8. Be dedicated to working yourself out of a job with a specific customer and having your client take over by training him. He will remember you and recommend you to 10 others.

9. Remember growth is a function of persistence and foresight. Know where your market is headed and get their first – then write and speak about your success indirectly by helping others. Demonstrate humility and a satisfaction in helping others succeed. They will find ways to give you credit. There are ways of tooting your horn without making peoples’ lights go out.

10. Word of mouth advertising from pleased clients is a sure ticket to success.

EXAMPLE B SMALL BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCY

1. KNOW – The contract value and its ceiling amount

2. KNOW – The incurred cost to date and commitments

3. KNOW – The scope of work and whether or not your current efforts are supporting it or some other objectives

4. KNOW – The estimated cost at completion based on where you are at today

5. KNOW – Your customer and who among the customer population is prone to direct out of scope effort.

6. KNOW – WHEN TO SAY “NO” to “Scope Creep” and say it officially in writing to the contracting officer specified in your contract.

Ken’s Link:

Previous Series Posts:

Post #1: Saying NO to a prospective client may be the Best Business Move

Post #2: Avoid future problems by saying NO Now

Post #3: Investigate client/project before saying Yes — or making it a NO.

Post #4: Three main reasons to say NO to new client

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Guest Post, LinkedIn, Sharisax Is Out There

Three Main Reasons to Say NO to New Projects – 4th in series

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The subject of turning down new business has “hit a nerve.” So many people have weighed in on this topic that I wanted to share as many opinions as possible — hence this series, which began with Saying NO to a new client may be your Best Business Move. My friend Mike Van Horn, whom I met at Bay Area Consultants Network [BACN], responded to the article submitted as a Discussion Topic in the BACN LinkedIn group. His comment began with these words:

“I think I ended up writing my own blog post here!!”

How to Say No to a Prospect

Guest Post by Mike Van Horn

First of all, you must know what kind of clients or work you want . . . don’t want . . . and why.

Define your core expertise, and who your services are best for. Create a brief mission statement out of this. Then re-read it when you are talking with a marginally qualified prospect.

In my experience, here are the three main reasons you should say NO:

1. Unprofitable

2. Off target for you

3. Don’t like them

If you think a prospective client isn’t right for you, you might ask, what would it take to make them right?

For example, raising the price. Or being able to hand the work off to a subordinate. You propose that to them. They’ll probably say no, but if they say yes, you can have a good client.

If you’re turning down work because you’re too busy, then:

— Take the most interesting and challenging and lucrative work

— Raise your prices

— Hire a qualified associate, and bill them out at 3 times what you pay them

You’ve got to deal with your own resistance to saying no. For example:

“In these tough times, I need every client I can get (even the unprofitable ones).”

These clients suck up the time and energy—and profit potential—you should devote to profitable clients. Your profitable, desirable clients end up subsidizing your unprofitable, aggravating ones.

“Maybe they’ll grow into a bigger client.”

Occasionally true, but make sure you price high enough so that it’s profitable now.

“They really need me, but don’t have the money.”

To keep your own business healthy and profitable, yet still help out the cash flow-challenged, set a percentage (5 to 10% of your work time) for pro bono or el cheapo work you will do, and stick to it. Oh, and if you notice that this “poor” prospect is driving a new BMW, then bill them full rate.

“Wow, this may be an interesting new thing I could get into!”

After all, we can really do anything! Not true. Stick with your core expertise. Go back and read your mission statement.

It’s important to qualify — and disqualify — and prospective client early in the interaction. You don’t want to spend several hours with somebody then discover that you won’t be working with them.

Finally: All the above applies to firing an existing client as well.

Further reading– Check out the other articles in the series:

Post #1: Saying NO to a prospective client may be the Best Business Move

Post #2: Avoid future problems by saying NO Now

Post #3: Investigate client/project before saying Yes — or making it a NO.

Further writing — Add your own comments or experiences below.

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Guest Post, LinkedIn, Sharisax Is Out There

Considering a new client/project? Investigate before saying “yes” or making it a “NO” – 3rd in series

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In this third article in my series of “Saying NO to prospective clients,” the content featured is the detailed response from JJ DiGeronimo, Strategic Manager for VMware, a cloud computing company.  She was responding to the CompuKol version of my story introduced as a discussion topic in the LinkedIn group ForbesWoman:

Discussion: Say No Like a Pro — When You Must Turn Down New Business

Thank you for this post!

I agree – it is difficult to say no especially now but I have created a process to make my “No” easier based on what is already in motion. I’ve learned to use my time wisely and to choose projects carefully. It is easy to create buisness sprawl but as Stephen Covey puts it:

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

So, when you are asked to lead, start, or participate in something –- or any other ask of your time -– give yourself permission to investigate the query, review your findings, and then decide.

Now, before I agree to spend time on any project or event, I take time to:

* Get a handle on how much work is ahead of me and clearly understand what is expected of me. What are the expectations?

* What are my other commitments that could interfere?

* Ask good questions and get serious about getting answers that will alert me to how the project or event fits with my business goals.

* I give myself permission to say yes or no based on this kind of investigation.

This list is a starting point. You can add to it, based on other commitments and goals.

Here are several other questions to consider in discerning what is and what is not a good use of your business time and I even use this in my personal choices:

* Is funding for this initiative already approved? For what items? What is not funded?

* What does taking on this project mean to my everyday life? How will it impact other responsibilities and commitments?

* Should I take on the project as-is or is it better to break it up to get it going?

* Who are the decision makers, key contributors, and partners?

* Do I need to realign myself with other people, tools, or resources to be successful?

* Who is critical to the success of this project?

* What does success look like?

* How prepared do I need to be when I show up?

* Can I meet or exceed expectations?

* Do I need to adjust the success lens to represent something different than their current expectations? Can I see other possibilities that they may not see?

* What are the timelines and what will they mean in my everyday life?

* Is this doable based on the objectives and the timelines already established?

* Do I need to reprioritize other commitments to make this successful?

* What will suffer if I accept this project?

* Am I the best person for this task?

* What personal wins do I expect from this taking on this project ?

* Do I need more information before I start?

* What assumptions do I need to discuss?

* What needs to be documented and signed by both parties before we start?

It’s always a good idea to explore new opportunities as long as you’re diligent about asking these kind of detailed questions upfront. This will minimize your chance of over-committing your business and life; then once you have decided, you can use one of the techniques in the article to say “no, thank you”

[Read more from JJ for similar posts: www.purposefulwoman.com]

Stay tuned for more LinkedIn responses to “How to Say NO”; these will be from LinkedIn’s Q&A section.

PREVIOUS ARTICLES in series:

Saying NO to a prospective client may be the Best Business Move

Avoid future problems by saying NO Now

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Facebook, Guest Post

20 Facebook Mistakes You Should Avoid

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Have you ever been “scolded” for committing a Facebook faux pas? Did you seek out an Emily Post to figure out what to do and NOT do on the most popular social media sites? I said “Yes” to both those questions last year and then wrote this article.

However, today I found the best article on What Not To Do on Facebook, written by my good friend and social media colleague Karen Clark.

Stop Annoying People on Facebook

Guest Post by Karen Clark

I’ve gotten great reviews of my Facebook Do’s and Don’ts report that you can get when you subscribe to my newsletter. Since writing that though I’ve noticed even more “bad behavior” on Facebook! A lot of it coming from so-called Social Media consultants. I decided to poll people on my Twitter and Fan Page to see what the most annoying Facebook behaviors are.

Here is what we came up with – do you see yourself in any of these? Then knock it off! :)

1. If you’re an active Twitter user, do not have your Tweets feed into your Facebook Profile or Fan Page – it’s too much, too often, and uses too much Twitter lingo – it’s annoying. Disconnect the auto-publish and either use Selective Tweets to share occasional Tweets, or turn it off completely.

2. Don’t constantly send gifts, badges, eggs, hearts or other “cutesie” items to people. Once in a while, and for a reason, is OK, but not over and over and over.

3. Don’t tag people who aren’t actually IN the picture, note, or video. That’s “tag spam.”

4. Don’t authorize your game apps to post to your Wall (and therefore OUR news feeds) every time you score, win, kill someone or need help. If you must share, post manually not automatically.

5. Don’t post something dramatic leaving out crucial information – such as “Oh my gosh I can’t believe it!” – without giving the details. Don’t make us beg, it’s annoying and manipulative. If you don’t want to tell, don’t post. If you do want to tell, then tell!

6. Don’t post your own self-promotional junk on someone else’s Fan Page wall. Would you go into a brick and mortar store and plaster posters about your business?

7. Don’t use Facebook Mail (private messages) to spam people you don’t even communicate with. Messages are for friends who want to have a more private conversation.

8. Don’t use the Events as a way to promote a non-event such as running an event that runs Nov. 1 to Nov. 30 and the event is “Join My Business Opportunity” – bad form!

9. Repeatedly negative posts – whining, ranting, venting, complaining about how bad your life is. How is this adding to anyone’s life?

10. Constantly inviting friends to participate in games – Chances are if we ignored or blocked one, we won’t agree to any of them, so stop inviting us please.

11. Don’t repost something original and brilliant I said without asking permission and/or giving me credit for it. Use the “Share” link so it says “via so and so” or tag me in the post or at least say “Thanks to Susie Q for this great tip” for example.

12. Don’t keep suggesting I become a Fan of your Fan Page over and over and over. If I am ignoring you, I am IGNORING you. There’s no way for me to block the suggestion so please take a hint. A general rule of thumb is to invite someone once, and maybe once again in a couple weeks and then stop. A generic “share” of your Fan Page link to your wall occasionally is enough to remind people and give them a chance to choose whether to join you.

13.If you’re using FB for business, and aren’t a good speller or have a decent command of your primary language – consider having someone proofread for you  – or compose in Word and use spellcheck/grammar check. A minor typo here and there is one thing, but improper English and obviously misspelled words reflects poorly on you as a business.

14. Don’t put your personal problems out there on Facebook and then get mad when people jump in with advice or their opinion. If you don’t want a discussion, don’t bring it up.

15. Don’t start drama on Facebook. Do you know how that makes you look to others?

16. Don’t reply to a status update or a post on your wall by going to the other person’s wall and starting a new post. Just click ‘Comment”

17. Don’t post personal things on someone’s wall or status update that should be private or could be embarrassing.

18. Don’t post overtly sexual remarks or use profane language. If you wouldn’t say it in the company of strangers or friends of friends, don’t say it in public on Facebook.

19. Do not post business related items over and over on your personal profile. We tune you out!

20. And last but not least, we do not need a play by play of your day, every 5 minutes!

:-) What would you add?

Check out Karen’s other Facebook Guest Post on this blog:Tips & Tabs for Facebook Fan Pages.

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