As a Bay Area Consultant myself, I was thrilled to attend my first BACN breakfast meeting and hear Patrick Schwerdtfeger tell 80 of us all about his “Social Media Victories.”
Patrick’s one-hour talk featured case studies where organizations leveraged Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube to increase revenue and brand awareness . . . but what most enlivened the audience were Patrick’s own experiences and lessons along Social Media Revolutionary Road.
Below are my videos from the morning as well as reactions from some of the attendees.
Video 1
Social Media Sites are Raging Rivers
People are on the “raging rivers” of the Web, and they are looking for things.
Are you putting things out there that they can find?
If you do it right, people in New Zealand will find you.
Demonstrate your expertise.
Video 2
Driving traffic to a website is expensive
Use a blog as a Hub and social media platforms as spokes.
Twitter studies show lots of “babble.”
It’s not difficult to stand out as a valuable resource.
Video 3
Twitter is about getting out the right TITLES
Twitter allows consumers to “sample” the goods
4 reasons to tweet: Community; Business; Expertise; Life
Corporate success stories: Whole Foods, Dell, Jet Blue
Video 4
Get the most out of Twitter & LinkedIn
Twitter tools: Tweetlater, Twellow, Tweetdeck
Kogi BBQ story
LinkedIn: people are 7 times more likely to open a LinkedIn email than a regular email
Join LinkedIn Groups to be able to email members “without” being connected.
Video 5
LinkedIn & Facebook: overcoming hurdles
Write recommendations for LinkedIn connections and they may reciprocate
Learn from the best; use model Linked profiles to design your own profile
Use Advanced Search in LinkedIn to send business proposals
Learn the different opportunities offered by Facebook Profiles, Groups, and Fanpages
Video 6
Create a Facebook Fanpage
Post and promote cool events
Take photos and tag people
Video events and post them
Video 7
Facebook and YouTube
Facebook all about Engaging your community.
YouTube: authentic videos are the ones that get watched.
Case study about The Best Job in the World
Video 8
Don’t have time for social media? Integrate Everything
What did the attendees “take away”?
BACN founder Harry Chapman
“The session on social networking prompted me to look more deeply into using iTunes as another vehicle for providing though leadership about my practice. I am seriously looking into this and planning to FINALLY actively use at least iTunes to get more visibility to the Bay Area Consulting Group LLC and our deep expertise in IT management.” — Harry Chapman, BACN founder
Follow Kerry Rego @kregobiz on Twitter
“I learned that I had underestimated the power of YouTube and its rightful place at the Big Kids table of social media. It is in fact now part of the Big Four: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn AND YouTube.” — Kerry Rego, Kerry Rego Consulting
Dr. Maynard Brusman, Consulting Psychologist
“WOW! Patrick Schwerdtfeger presented a one-hour energy Social Media workshop packed with scores of tips and tricks to create social media success. He motivated me to take action and create Executive Coaching YouTube videos to attract more clients.” — Dr. Maynard Brusman
Sallie Goetsch - "If podcasting is driving you crazy, we can help."
Patrick did a great job of presenting the core information about Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube. The material was all familiar to me, but I appreciated his arrangement of these four social networks as spokes around the hub of your blog. What stuck with me most was the advantage of going where your prospects already are, rather than strugling to build up traffic on your own website.” — Sallie Goetsch, The Podcast Asylum
Susan Bercu, "Let's talk. I'm a good listerner."
“My take-away from Patrick’s lively, easy-to-follow presentation was his emphasis on the integration of social with your marketing strategy. I especially liked the tips on using YouTube. Very smart.” — Susan Bercu, graphic design and illustration
David Weissman, Bay Area Paralegal Services
“The content of the presentation was thought-provoking and useful. The speaker was very knowledgeable, and I definitely intend to use the information to positon and promote my business services in a more effective manner.” — David Weissman, Bay Area Paralegal Services
Alice Cochran, Fast Forward Facilitation
“Everything in the presentation seemed so practical that I wanted to learn it in a step-by-step process, so I bought Patrick’s book Webify your Business. I particularly liked his approach which came from being self-taught — and convinced me that I could learn from him.” — Alice Cochran, author of Roberta’s Rules
Neil Schaffer, Windmill Networking
“The one take-away I had was the “raging water” symbolism. It really does give justice to how viral and quick the pace of things in social media — and how you need to throw yourself into the water and go with the flow. I also liked his case studies, which really drove home his points.” — Neil Schaeffer, Windmill Networking
“Patrick’s enthusiasm and passion for social media tools are infectious. Many thanks to BACN for a wonderful presentation which has inspired me to ACT.” — Yael Schy, Dramatic Strides Consulting
Marla Rosner @ManagementMavin on Twitter
“I loved listening to Patrick. He’s a font of wisdom about social networking. I’m close to posting my first YouTube video and I got some great ideas about tagging.” — Marla Rosner, Helping teams listen, learn, and lead.
Steven Tulsky, Financial Experts for Nonprofit Sector
“What I liked about Patrick was that he comes to this stuff with the same scepticism as I do. He doesn’t preach, but rather shares his amazement that using Web 2.0 can actually be very helpful in establishing one’s personal visibility and respectability, and therefore ultimately one’s business. The credibility of his low-key, easy-going style made me want to look further into what he was telling us about–and buy his book!” — Steven Tulsky, The Benemetrics Consulting Group
BACN Mission: To improve business and professional development success through networking and programs for consultants.
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.
You’ve played with Twitter and perhaps gotten past the “Emperor’s New Clothes” feeling that there’s a lot of Buzz about nothing.
You have gotten past that, haven’t you?
Let’s chat
Today’s Getting Started lesson is going to “resemble” a conversation . . .
However, since I’m the only one in the room, I’ll have to make up your part, i.e., the questions.
That gives me an edge — especially if I select only questions I can answer 🙂
Our Conversation Begins:
“Describe Twitter & what it does”
Twitter has often been described as “Micromedia’ or “Microblogging.” As a user, you are provided with a tiny notepad — think IM on your computer and text message on your cell phone.
What Twitter DOES: (a) forces the writer to be concise, but (b) allows messages about an unlimited number of topics for an unlimited number of uses.
What you DO: (a) decide Who is worth “listening” to, i.e., following AS WELL AS (b) choose what you broadcast according to Why you have chosen to use this online tool.
Find out if your customers, and prospective customers are on Twitter: (1) Follow them; (2) Hope they follow you back; (3) In the meantime, engage them in conversations by using the @name function [after you have read their tweet]; (4) Offer VALUE with your own tweets — give them a reason to click on your website link.
Build a closer community feeling with your customers?
See answers (1) – (3) above, but this is your new (4) Your tweets should show that you are listening by offering sincerity and solutions — inspire trust and offer value from the relationship.
Establish or change your organization’s reputation?
This requires LOTS and LOTS of “communication auditing,” i.e. listening. TIPS: (a) Go to search.twitter.com and begin by simply putting your company name in the search box. You will see a REAL-TIME [i.e. as it is happening] stream of the Tweets that mention your name; (b) Click on the icon; read the person’s tweets; follow him or her; and monitor their tweets.
LATER you will want to engage them in Twitter conversations. This is where the “community-building” will offer an opportunity to spread good will and good words.
Find out what your competitors are up to?
Again, search.twitter.com for mentions of those “others” in the marketplace.
Know how to find and hire the best employees?
Of course, LinkedIn [Step THREE] will be your best source to act on this objective. However, you can tweet your job opportunities and then check our responders by their other online presences — as well as their personal tweet streams.
Discover trends as they are happening?
Here are some Twitter-related websites to check out the Trend Landscape:
Here is where you can shine — and promote that “lustre”: Blog about your expertise, start a Squidoo lens, answer a question on Linkedin. Whatever you do, tell the Twitterverse with a teaser and a link in your Tweet.
Monitor the marketplace to see what people are saying about you, your products, and/or your industry?
Search.twitter.com ONCE AGAIN: Put in who and what and see what’s being discussed — and the tone of the discussion. Whom/what do people like, and what don’t they?
Learn how to be a better, more efficient, effective business person?
Love this one. Find smart people to follow; then click on the links they suggest; find time to read the information. [Bookmarking won’t be enough. Do you ever get back to those bookmarks?]
“And now, I want to know . . .”
Ooooops, time is up for today’s session. But don’t you have some homework to do? And, besides, you can always add those questions to the comments, and we can look at them next time.
When I first read chapter 13 in Putting the Public Back into PR, I had my doubts as to whether Twitter was really the place for great convo — i.e. conversation.
But two recent experiences convinced me that rapid-fire, off-the-cuff, succinct wordings could in fact power “engaging” and “enlightening” experiences — not to mention the opportunity for community-building.
Last night I moderated the #smbookclub discussion for Part 3 of Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge’s Putting the Public Back in PR. This morning I participated in their discussion at #PRStudChat. Both complete discussions are archived and be followed simply by searching the hastags.
Content/conclusions from the book discussion:
“Relax and let chaos reveal its relevance to you.”Susanna Stinnet
The conversations [“convos”] are happening. If you are part of them, you can affect change and make a difference.
Companies that use today’s tools will be ahead of the game, even if those particular tools change or lose their vitality.
Social media will continue to evolve; it will not go away.
Social media platforms are great ways to meet people.
Before engaging anyone, first observe and understand the cultures and behaviors necessary to participate in these communities.
Marketing jobs have moved from monologues to dialogue.
Avoid the clutter and build relationships.
Build meaningful relationships that will contribute to company’s brand equity, resources, and overall bottom line.
“Twitter and Facebook are really good for listening and developing relationships — and then driving to where you can talk in more depth either via email or phone.” Paul Salinger
“Social media is forcing changes that should have happened a long time ago in everything related to business.” Cherisse Rivera
Notes for further “conversation/content”:
1) Check out #PRStudChat for hour dialogue between Brian, Dierdre, PR students and pros.
2) Read my reviews of Putting the Public Back in PR:
Sharisax Is Out There has been featuring a series of reviews on the book Putting the Public Back in PR, but one of my most conscientious SFSU students wrote this wonderful article on Gen Y and social media.
Social Media has changed the way we communicate and stay connected. Not that it will ever replace face-to-face interaction, still it has become a popular way to communicate for Generation Y. 90% of U.S. adults are online and 80% of U.S. online adults participate in social media.
“Social Media is no longer the cool and fun thing that fascinates imagination with all the bells and whistles, it is more like a necessity for Generation Y.”
Who is the Generation Y? I am the Generation Y, my generation created Facebook and Twitter and my generation will dictate the future of social media.
The idea behind Web 2.0 or social media revolution was to change the way our generation communicates, we now decide what’s worthy, what to vote up and what to vote down. Being more well versed with Facebook and Twitter, this is what I think our future will look like:
Facebook ID Implementation Across Major Platforms
Most websites are implementing an excellent feature on to their websites, it is called Facebook Connect. In plain English, if you go to a website and have to register to login, you won’t have to create another user id and password. You will be able to connect using your Facebook ID and Password. Still in its earliest stages, most developers are implementing this concept into their programming because of the immense power of social media. You can read more about Facebook Connect here.
Twitter Household The idea behind Twitter Household is that everything in your house can communicate with you if you provide it with the right tool. The tools are still in its early stages but the technology is already there, it is Twitter. If that was vague, here are couple of examples:
Laundry:The Washing Machine Hack, created by Ryan Rose, sends text message (SMS) notifications over Twitter when clothes are done. You can follow his Washing Machine here.
Power Usage: In future, if you are energy conscious or plain curious about the power usage in your household, you can use Tweet-a-Watt which will update you using Twitter on your power usage.
Both Facebook and Twitter are immensely powerful in what they can accomplish and with time they will evolve and become more mature. What do you think your life will be like around Facebook and Twitter two years from now? What else do you think you will be able to do on Facebook and Twitter besides information sharing and gathering?
Check out Zahid’s blog: his most recent post will help you convert your WP.com blog to a self-hosted one at WP.org in five easy steps.
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I read the above question as the title for a Forum topic, and I got excited
I’d expected some great answers to this challenge . . . but it turned out to be merely the question.
🙁
So I reasoned that I ought to spend a minute or two developing a workable strategy.
Read on for the “magical” answer.
But, first, how do YOU manage your Online/Social Media presence?
Pick one or two responses if they apply:
A. “I don’t.”
B. “Hey, that’s why I linked to this post.”
C. “I stay up late at night to go through the day’s email, RSS feeds, network friend requests, etc. etc. etc.”
D. “I go to sleep early so I can get up at 5 a.m. (or thereabouts) to do what Responder C [above] does.”
E. “I just DO IT!”
F. “I have a regular To Do List that I follow regularly.”
Basically, all of those responses could apply to me, but the last one — Response F — is the one that I suspect would work the best.
So I’m going to imagine an ideal Social Media Regimen:
1. Devote ONE HOUR in the morning. If that means going to sleep earlier, so be it.
2. Check email for action-required messages, i.e., work-related or family requests.
3. Keep jokes and noncritical email for some other time.
4. Select one or two blog posts [either because the title is intriguing or the poster him/herself typically has insightful things to say]: then READ and COMMENT.
5. If time, go to (a) Twitter/FriendFeed, followed by (b) Facebook, followed by (c) LinkedIn and WRITE AN UPDATE.
6. Finally, read through Tweets and other platform updates and COMMENT and send DMs.
Oh, only if the World were So Perfect!
Does a “plan” like what I’ve suggested work for any of you?
Do you have a different one?
What ONE TIP would you offer me and others about making the most of your Online/Social Media presence?
Next post: Guest Article from student-mom Shijia Yu, who discusses Twitter for Business
Since Twitter will be changing all our lives, according to Time magazine’s recent cover story, I was thinking about how my use of Twitter differs from other Tweeple — and whether anyone could really publish a Best Practices for Using Twitter.
Don’t most of us think we are right most of the time?
If I, personally, was “right” on Saturday, May 23, when I posted my first tips on What to Tweet About — a blog entry that has so far been my most popular [732 views to date] — then I’d like to re-visit one of my Tweeting suggestions, i.e. “Share an insight that you’ve gotten all on your own and are dying to share.”
Today’s post will feature a dozen of the personal ideas I tweeted since joining Twitter this past March. My hope is that readers will find at least one of these thoughts that resonates with them in a way that invites validation through a personal story.
So tell me if any of the following ring true for you:
About Business in particular:
1 – People are NOT numbers. When businesses fully understand this, their strategies and tools will adjust.
2 – Participation is today’s Marketing & tomorrow’s Loyal Customer Base
3 – To be an effective manager: Realize that you are smarter OR wiser OR more knowledgeable than your staff . . . and coach accordingly.
About Blogging in particular
4 – Quality of content wins over fitting into someone else’s box.
5 – Content-rich means both “key words” and total substance.
About Life in general:
6 – Multi-tasking is vastly over-rated.
7 – Motivation often comes after the Hard Work is done
8 – A Work in Progress: doesn’t that describe Everything?
9 – One cannot give from a depleted state
10 – We are what we think about
11 – We like doing what we do well: when we focus our efforts on our strengths, we build our reputation and loyal followers.
TWO: Twitter creator Jack Dorsey has told us Twitter WILL one day [probably sooner rather than later] be as ubiquitous as email.
THREE: The only question, then, is HOW to use this amazing and “simple” technology to ReShape and ReVive Business in America [and all over the Globe]?
The BEST ANSWER is by Reading, Listening, Talking, Thinking, and DOING!
(A) Try search.twitter.com — put in “twitter for business” and VOILA! real-time URL’s to check out
(B) Study the Tweet Streams of progressive companies like @wholefoods, @jetblue, @homedepot, @SouthwestAir and “team” members at places like Dell, e.g. @ChrisBatDell
(C) For more company Tweeple, use Twibs or one of the other listings in Lee Odden’s 12 Directories
Twitter will help marketers get measureable results
Because Twitter updates in real time, you can reach an audience on the spot. It’s a great platform for asking for assistance, getting opinions, and answering questions. Much less expensive than a focus group — and so much more personal.
Twitter builds communities, and this will be especially fruitful for retailers — both local and global — as companies have the opportunity to tell customers about attractive sales and new products.
Use Twitter to engage with customers and create advocates. It really is all about People Helping People.
This reminds me of one of the greatest pieces of advice I have ever received . . . decades ago, and I am still often sharing it with stressed-out students and friends:
Whenever Life bombards you with more challenges than a human being should have to handle, you pick ONE to focus on, and all the rest will magically and mysteriously fall into place.
Eeeeny meeny miny mo. I picked this topic:
Do’s and Don’ts I learned through my social media “research” this week:
DO’S
1.LISTENvery, very, very carefully. You never will learn if you don’t. And you will learn so much more than you ever thought if you do.
2. ENGAGEwith an open mind. If you are going “out there” — whether on the Web, in the classroom, at a meeting, or in a gym — expect to give and take, which means you may actually change your mind about something.
3. THINKthings through. Knee Jerk reactions are for “jerks” — be deliberate and responsible and know that if someone is really listening to you, he or she will appreciate words that are carefully considered.
4. SINCERITYcan never be overrated. Genuine passion wins friends and influences all sorts of people.
5. LOVEwhat you do and do what you love, and as my mom always said: “The money will come” =D
DON’TS
1. This one is easier than I thought it would be: Do NOT do unto others as you would not have them do unto you.
PS Now I’m thinking of dozens and dozens more DO’s [and maybe a few DON’TS] but I’d rather share the stage: What social media strategies work in your day-to-day lives?
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**GUEST POST** San Francisco State University senior Roxanne Cobbs has been an active member of this semester’s public relations class — and has functioned as a very responsible leader for two small groups, the 2nd of which investigated the topic of “Facebook for Business.”
Roxanne’s group put together an excellent power point presentation, and she agreed to write a Guest Post for my blog. She told me she’s having fun observing the social media craze and hopes to play a role in changing the world of advertising.
Facebook is COOL, but it has a way to go to reach the polish and professionalism of LinkedIn
As the world of SM keeps growing, so does my desire to obtain more knowledge about it. Every day I learn something new, enforcing the message that I need SM in my life if I want to be cutting-edge in the business world.
Having just completed a group project advocating the use of Facebook for business, I’ve gathered some interesting tidbits to add to my ever-growing list of SM need-to-knows.
So why use Facebook for business?
One key reason is its viral nature. Facebook can further assist companies in finding their target market by browsing or searching personal profiles through keyword usage. It’s also great for advertising because of its amazing reach — 276 million members and growing daily.
Facebook has a huge assortment of business applications like the demographic filtering which allows extreme precision in targeting your desired market. Of the more than 15 apps we researched, I chose my top three to help you and your business:
RSS Connect
Promote your blog — with RSS feed you can add your blog or any RSS feeds to your wall, with feeds being updated automatically and easily shared.
IEndorse
Use this app to help build relationships and your personal reputation by sending and collecting endorsements, and then post them on your Facebook Professional Profile.
My LinkedIn Profile
Keep the networking system flowing with the use of this cross-promotion app. Input your LinkedIn url or profile name and a LinkedIn badge will appear on your Facebook profile.
Though my research taught me that Facebook can be a good SNS for business purposes, I remain by my opinion that LinkedIn is much superior. LinkedIn is a polished site that resonates professionalism. It lacks the clutter and distractions of Facebook, focusing solely on professional connections — and the experts available on the site. It is not a personal, social site with information about your friends and families, but rather a site where you can network with other professionals who can aid you in your business endeavors.
by Roxanne Cobbs
Click link for an upclose and personal view of the team’s research on Facebook for Business.
