What do you think when you see someone following / doing what you think is a silly trend?  Do you ignore them, do you read up and research it? What exactly do you do?

I know looking at the pictures to the left of me “planking” on a guard rail you are probably laughing and puzzled. I was inspired to write the post based on a recent photo I look following a trend “planking”. You can read all about the trend online. They even have a Facebook page.  I took some “planking” pictures over the weekend to have a laugh with a friend who spent Saturday taking his 13 year old son “planking”. Some trends are silly and come and go quickly, however some trends are here to stay. 

Here are a few social media trends that most people ignored and they are still around and thriving:

• Facebook was started by some college students. People thought it was a trend for kids.  Facebook now has over 800 million users. Quite a trend! Wouldn’t you have liked to say you were one of the first, I know I would have. 

There are businesses that just focus solely on building Facebook applications and games. Any website that doesn’t have Facebook “Like” and the other social media integrations they offer are considered behind the times. If you have a business and don’t have a Facebook Business Page you are behind. If you don’t have a Facebook Profile you are even more behind.

• Twitter was started in March of 2006. The first Tweet was sent at 9:50 pm PST by Jack Dorsey. At first there were only a few regular users, now they have over 200 million users. I remember the first time someone mentioned Twitter to me I had never heard of it. I needed a training lesson and live demonstration to see what it was all about (a far cry from my Twitter addiction today). This Wikipedia post about Twitter is quite interesting.  

Developers are now continually building the new latest greatest Twitter tools to manage your following, grow your following, Tweet, etc.  I personally have used and use many of them.  To name a few of my favorites – SocialOomph.com, Tweetdeck.com and Tweepi.com.

If a trend is something that could affect your business look at it a little closer before just dismissing it.  Follow it!  I am not saying act on it, but watch it a little closer than turning a blind eye. 

This is my approach with a new technology trend:

1. Does it make sense?
2. What are others saying about it?
3. Could it be applied to your business?
4. Would it damage your reputation?
5. Does it cost you little or nothing to implement the trend for a short time to test it?

I usually will test a new social media trend, so I can support my clients and friends with answers to their questions. I like to know the positives and the negatives. I then will think about the strategies that can be used with the new trend for business owners.

These are just a few thoughts I have on trends.  I know you have some great feedback also. Now, it’s your turn! Please comment and share!  Thank you!

P.S. I realized after taking the “planking” photos last weekend, I was actually doing it wrong. To me, that made it even funnier! If you want to see the rest of the photos I made, check out the album on Facebook. Also, for those that are thinking I am losing my mind, I was “planking” on a guard rail in a park, not on the side of the highway!

Are you ready to STOP diluting your network and STOP polluting online?

I recently spoke with a great group of ladies at Essential Energy.  I was presenting the “Not So Secret ‘Secrets’ of Social Media Marketing”.  Their experience level with social media ranged from zilch to aficionado. 

One of the attendees asked me “What can I do about friends that take photographs of me and post them on Facebook.  I told her “unfortunately, you are at their mercy”. 

Etiquette tips about Digital Photographs:

• Show the digital photo to those in the photo when it is taken. Anyone that doesn’t approve of the photo can speak up.
• Email those in your digital photographs a copy.  Give them the opportunity to request you don’t post the photograph.
• Crop the picture.  Look at the picture closely at all those in the picture. If the picture isn’t flattering or shows someone in a bad light, cut them out of the photograph.
• Tagging photos on Facebook. Don’t tag your friends on Facebook in the photos. Let them do it.  Send them a link to the album via a private message on Facebook and say “You are in a couple of these photos. I didn’t tag you, but go in and tag yourself in the ones you want to.”

More about this  … “Is this Photo of You? Are You Protecting Your Digital Footprint?”  for suggestions how to avoid getting photos snapped of you don’t want out there.

Another asked about ”Proper Online Etiquette”.  I have been thinking about this topic quite about since this time. A few thoughts …

Proper Online Etiquette:

1. Get permission. Before you share something a friend told you privately via a message, email or Twitter Direct Message get their permission. Give them the chance to say “No”.
2. Facebook Tagging. So you post an article or something on Facebook (a note, photo, status update, etc.) and you want to tag some friends so they see it.  Make sure you have an understanding in advance with those you tag, so they don’t care that you do it.  Send them a private message and say, “I posted a Facebook Note I wanted you to see, I tagged you. I hope you don’t mind”.  Once they give you the ok a few times when you ask them in advance, from then on tag away!
3. Facebook Event Invitations. I don’t know about you, but I am getting so many of these on a daily basis it is hard to keep track of the ones I actually want to receive.  Here is my advice on this:  Spend some time when you create an event and actually select the people that would be interested in going and live in the area of the event. You can target this event invitiations by lists and area. Put this tool to use and STOP diluting your network and polluting online.
4. Twitter Mentions. This is like Facebook tagging and it is just as annoying when someone mentions you in a Tweet and all they want to do is drive you to their article.  Especially, when you don’t even give them a name of the article.  I myself will do some mentions like this, but it is with friends that have told me they don’t read their Direct Messages and the best way to get their attention is this method.  I myself will send a Direct Message to someone if I have some content I have written I want them to see.  There is a fine line between spamming and annoying with this, so be cautious on doing too much of this.
5. Give credit where it’s due! When you are on Facebook, Twitter, etc., if you have a friend / business page that has shared a piece of content via a status update or tweet and you share it with your network – give them credit for it.  Your friends can tell when you have taken their content and shared it to your profile without giving them proper credit. Tag them on Facebook or mention their Twitter id in the tweet. (If the Facebook tagging isn’t working, put their name in the update and if they see it, they know you tried!)

More about this …. From Chris Brogan – Etiquette in the Age of Social Media and from eHow – Social Media Etiquette!  

One final thought to keep in mind …. I have found in using many different social networking sites, people do things online that are not proper online etiquette, but that is not their intention. They usually don’t realize what they are doing or how it affects and possibly offends you and others. Keep that in mind and be patient, gentle and tactful in letting them know.  (You could just send them a link to this blog post and say “see item # and so on”. LOL! #Joke)

I hit a few of the high spots. It’s your turn …. Now! Share some of your Online Etiquette Tips and lets help each other to grow and develop online!

Do you use social media as a communication crutch? Are you saying things in 140 characters that you should NOT say at all?

I was inspired earlier today to write this post after several direct messages back and forth with a fellow social media professional/friend. All of us techies and social media junkies have become addicted to being casual about our communication.

We need to stop having conversations online via social media networking sites and email that should be done in person, or at least via telephone/Skype!

How many times have you sent a Direct Message (DM) on Twitter and realized it didn’t send as a DM, but instead to all of your followers? Now everyone that follows you could be reading it. Go in and DELETE it promptly and apologize PUBLICLY to the person you shouted the message to. (Twittiquette Tip: Remember, you sent in to the public, be prepared to admit your failure to the public!)

How often have you seen someone post something negative on Facebook that made you want to HIDE them from your News Feed or even UNFRIEND them? I know I see it all the time … I saw two updates just yesterday that made me cringe. You could be turning OFF your friends and followers with your negative tweets or Facebook status updates.

We have gotten comfortable about what we say to others online. We have learned to say it short and sweet (sometimes not-so-sweet). We have gotten so use to character limitations in our tweets and status updates that we even think in 140 characters. I feel like I am talking in 140 characters sometimes.

Ask yourself these questions before communicating online to others:

1. Does the communication contain anything negative?
2. Can what you have to say be misinterpreted?
3. Can you say it unless than two sentences and the person understand what you are saying and feel good about your message?

If you have to consider the above when communicating trust me and make a phone call, have a Skype conversation or have a meeting in person instead! Perhaps, maybe you shouldn’t even say it at all. There are many times I will type something to vent and then hit DELETE immediately. (That is right guys …. you read that correctly – I get frustrated too. Did I run my perfect image you had of me? Hope not! LOL!)

Tips to good online communication:

• Write it and take pause. Read it again before hitting send. (Then read it again afterwards.)
• Type it in a Microsoft Word document first. This will also help with catching typos and grammar errors.
• Preface the message with how you want to delicately discuss something and thought a email communication might be the best way to communicate effectively (for those that feel a phone conversation might make it even worse).
• Get a neutral third party to read it and give honest feedback and critique!

I am definitely not a communication expert; my focus as you know is social media! These are just my ideas and strategies that have helped me along the way. Hey, you, communication experts please chime in and give us your expert opinion!

Now it’s your turn … Successful communication starts with all of us collaborating and sharing our secrets to success. Can’t wait to hear from you! Comment away!

Do you really understand Your Facebook News Feed, User Profile and Business Page? What are the differences?

First, I have to address a statement a prospective client said to me last week, which has inspired this blog post:

“Every time I post an update on my business page it posts to my Facebook Profile too.”

My response:

The status update you are posting on your business page is not posting to your Facebook User Profile. The reason you are seeing the updates that you post on you business page is because you have clicked “Like” on your business page and the update is appearing in your Facebook News Feed.

That was a tongue twister to say as you can imagine …. at this point I usually recommend to the prospective client they consider my two hour Facebook Social Media Coaching session in which I explain all these nitty-gritty details.

Understanding Your Facebook News Feed ….

When you are logged as your Facebook User Profile the updates in your News Feed consists of status updates of your friends and business pages that you have clicked “Like”. You sometimes will see (based on your friends privacy settings) the new connections your friends have made, comments others have made on their status updates and pages they have recently clicked on “Like”. You will also see your status updates that you posted on your Facebook Wall Tab. This is not an all inclusive list of what you will see in your News Feed, but it gives you an overview.

Understanding Your Facebook Profile ….

When you click Profile while logged in as your Facebook User Profile (not as your business page) you are viewing your recent status updates and Facebook activity. The Profile tab will show your new friend connections and “Likes”/comments you posted on your friends’ status updates and other business pages you like. You will also see the business pages that you have clicked “Like” recently and blog post on 3^rd party websites that you clicked the Facebook “Like” icon.

Understanding your Business Page ….

First I must say that on March 10 Facebook will convert all business pages to the new layout. That is right … if you haven’t already moved your page to the new format you might as well do it before Facebook does it for you.

Before you convert your business page to the new format, do you have any Facebook photos added to your albums? If not go ahead and load up the ones you want visible at the top of your Profile Wall tab now. It’s better to have some pictures up there then the default blue box. If there are pictures in the panes that you do not want to show simply scroll over the photo and an X should appear in the upper right. Click the X on the photo and it will be removed from the pane view. It’s still in the album where it was originally added, it’s just not in the pane view on your Facebook Wall.

Your custom Static FBML tabs still work with the new business pages. You can still have a custom landing tab be the default for new visitors to your page. Instead of the tabs to view listed at the top of your business page going across, they will be in a column on the left. The names of those that like your page are only visible to the admins of the page. The visitors to the page will only see a total count of how many “Likes” the page has.

Once you convert to the new business page you can post on the page as the page or as your Facebook User Profile. You can post a status update as the page then as your Facebook User Profile post a “Like”/comment underneath. The default setting is to posting as the page when you are your business page.

To change this setting:

1. Click Edit Page on top right hand side
2. Click Your Settings on upper left hand side
3. Uncheck the box that says “Always comment and post on your page as Page Name even when using Facebook as Your Name”.

You receive notifications with the new business page format. It shows you those that have liked your page recently, clicked “Like” on the page’s status updates or commented.

To view these notifications you have to be logged in using Facebook as the page. To do this click “Use Facebook as Your Business Page Name”. You can switch back to your Facebook User Profile by clicking “use Facebook as Your Name”.

Business Page News Feed

On your business page News Feed you will see status updates of any pages that you have clicked “Like” when logged in as your business page. Just to clarify … you will not see status updates of those that “Like” your page in the business page News Feed, only the pages that your business page “Likes”.

Business Page Profile

On your business page profile you will see the status updates and recent Facebook activity of your business page, which would include comments posted on status updates of other pages and pages that you have clicked “Like” as the business page. Business pages cannot comment on Facebook User Profiles, at this point, pages can only communicate with other business pages.

As you have seen from all the specifics listed about … Facebook has many intricate details. I could go on and on about Facebook User Profiles and Business Pages. I am going to end with this and trust I have answered your questions.

It’s your turn … what did I miss? Share what you see as essential for other readers of this blog post to know. Looking forward to your feedback and questions!

Moving Friends to Fans or “Likers” as some might say

– I had to include this line, as I have had too many laughs about it with friends who also specialize social media marketing. When Facebook changed to the “Like” button for Fan Pages, which they now call Business Pages we all made lots of wise cracks.

At the end of last year, I shared One of My Facebook Secrets and I feel the need to share another one today.  Perhaps I should call this a Facebook Strategy verses a secret. I have many secrets still hidden away to share with you in my Facebook Training sessions.

I am inspired by the questions asked by my friends, fans, followers and well, you.  It motivates me to help you solve your problems, answer your questions to help you and others grow their network and brand strategically via social networking sites.

Last week on Twitter, Angela Shelton, after reading my blog post Are you a RULE BREAKER? Know Your Facebook Rights and Wrongs  she had lots of questions for me.  She wanted to know how to convert Facebook Friends over to her Business Page (Fan Page).  She said she had tried to move them over in the past, but they usually ignored her request, didn’t see it or were offended because she wanted to unfriend them of Facebook. 

What they didn’t understand is she was not trying to unfriend them, she was wanting to follow Facebook’s Statement of Rights and keep her Facebook Profile for personal connections and her Business Page for professional connections.  I had no quick answer to solve her problem in the 140 characters that Twitter allows. I decided to write a blog post giving suggestions how to entice them to “Like” her Business Page.

Here are the strategies:

• Post a status update on your Business Page that would get “Likes” and comments. Something about your business of course, not personal.  Perhaps a new client you landed or recognition you received for your business. Go to your Facebook Profile and say “Just posted some exciting news on my Business Page (link to business page)”. Make sure and go check it out. Don’t forget to click “Like”.
• Post a status update on your Facebook Profile that says “Friends, I truly love connecting with each and everyone of you.  I have recently been made aware of Facebook’s Statement of Rights regarding Facebook Profiles and Business Pages. I want to keep you updated on my business, but according to Facebook I must do this on a Business Page. Please go click “Like” (link to business page here) and let’s stay connected there also.  We’ll still have some fun on my Facebook Profile, but it will be focused somewhat different.”
• Post a status update on your Facebook Profile saying “I am having so much fun connecting on my Business Page, if you haven’t already checked it out, please do (link to business page here)”

These are just a few strategies to get your friends moved across to your Facebook Business Page.  I hope these ideas inspired a few other statements you can use to entice them.  You can repeat these statements of course from time to time (maximum once per week) at different times to catch all your friends.

As your friends click “Like” on your Business Page, assign them to a list (Read how here) on your Facebook Profile that limits the status updates they see on our Facebook Profile. They will get use to not seeing your Facebook Profile status updates regularly and gradually been communicating with you on the Business Page. Eventually, (wait several months), you can unfriend them on your Facebook Profile if you want and they probably won’t even notice.

Another quick something to know …. at this point Facebook Business Pages cannot communicate with Facebook Profiles, only other Business Pages, so if you unfriend someone from your Facebook Profile, the only time you would be able to communicate with your them from your Business Pages is when they comment/”Like” something posted on your Business Page or as you from your Facebook Profile via messages, etc…. (This will be limited based on how they have their Facebook Privacy Settings established.)

It’s your turn!  What tips did you come up with for moving friends to fans?  How are you going to entice them to “Like” your Business Page?  Look forward to hearing from you!

P.S. Special thanks Angela Shelton for the inspiration of this blog post! You should give her a follow on Twitter and check out her Facebook Business Page. Her background is quite interesting.

Are you really secure online? or Do you just think you are? In teaching social media training sessions, I discuss online security and safety. I especially discuss sharing personal information and privacy settings on Facebook and other social networking sites, i.e. LinkedIn and Twitter.

More often than not, clients and attendees are absolutely convinced their social media profiles are safe and secure. I immediately have them check a few Facebook settings. Then they start to listen closer and start making adjustments to their privacy settings. I haven’t found anyone that doesn’t have at least one thing they should be doing differently. A new set of eyes can provide a perspective and insight you hadn’t thought about.

Before I get started, I need to recognize Michelle Ketterman of The Inventory Experts. Her company inventories residents and business property, furnishings, equipment and valuables. In case of theft, fire, flood, tornado, etc …. Her clients will be able to quickly get their inventory to their insurance company and get all their damaged inventoried items replaced promptly and at a the right value.  As Michelle says, “a picture can be worth literally a $1000.” Every time I hear her say this I snicker. What a tagline …. that is another whole blog post! LOL!

While Michelle’s focus is on offline security, she suggested I write a blog post about online security, specifically relating to social media because like many others, she thought her profiles security settings were configured correctly. Needless to say, she realized how unsecure her settings actually were after only 10 minutes of reviewing basic settings with me.  With the seemingly constant changes, as part of her normal business, Michelle now has me regularly double check her social media security settings. 

I couldn’t cover everything one post, but the following are the most common security threats:

Facebook

• Date of Birth.  Facebook requires your date of birth, and often people have it set to visible to their Facebook friends.  Change this setting to make the year of birth not visible. Several of my clients use a fake year making them a few years younger or older.
• Address.  Don’t list your physical address on Facebook and don’t share your real city if you live in a small town.  i.e. Frisco, Rockwall, Royse City, Allen, etc….  List a major metroplex area like Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, San Francisco. You get the idea. Yes, again, they could probably go out to Google and find your exact address, but let’s not make it easy on them for Pete’s sake!
• Information your friends are allowed to share about you. See One of My Facebook Secrets for details how to view and correct this issue.
• Friends. Restrict who can see your friend list to at those that are at least your friends already. You can even break this list down further and make it so they can only see mutual friends.

Passwords

• Check Microsoft’s website for a strength test on your password .
• Still want more on passwords – read this blog post - How I’d Hack Your Weak Passwords by John Pozadzides 

Do you need a Facebook Privacy Tune Up? In one hour I show you hands-on techniques to optimize your Facebook Privacy Settings (order the Social Media Evaluation). This social media consulting session can focus on what you choose to discuss from Facebook Privacy to content to share on Twitter. You can also get a Tune Up of your Facebook Profile and Privacy settings that I complete independently. Contact me for details Lissa@LissaDuty.com.

In my consulting sessions, the client tells me their needs and the training is focused on those areas. Yes, you read that RIGHT, a social media consultant that will teach you what you want to learn, vs. what they think you need to LEARN!

Now it’s your turn – share a tip below regarding something you learned about your online security and how you fixed it! Look forward to hearing from you!

When you post a photograph online do you realize how easy it is for someone to save it to their own computer? Do you realize that in the Terms and Agreement of Services for many photo sites like Flickr and Picassa, you are giving your rights to the photograph to the site? Do you know that when you text someone a photo of you they can email it to themselves and then publish it online?

Yesterday I was researching a client’s online presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and the other social networking sites, checking his completed social media profiles, photos, etc … I surprisingly came across a picture of him uploaded about two and half years ago.  Wow, was I surprised!  It was a very provocative photo, but not part of the image he wanted to portray online any longer.

I immediately removed the photo, and of course had several laughs about it with him! He was embarrassed and explained that it was uploaded as a joke several years ago and he  had forgotten about it.

I couldn’t resist explaining the importance of your online presence and digital footprint.  I saved the picture to my hard drive and emailed it to him. I wanted to show him how easy it was for someone to save and modify it; changing it to suit their needs.  Jokingly, I said that we should keep an eye out for it on a future ad for getting rid of belly fat! LOL! I believe I got my point across and he probably won’t upload those type of photos again, even as a joke.

Ask yourself these questions about your online photos:

• Are you willing to share it with the world?
• Would you mind seeing it at your high school graduation, wedding, etc…. on a video screen?
• Would you be embarrassed if your boss, client, or mother saw it?
• Would you have objections if your child shared a similar photo of themselves on or offline?

All photos of me must pass the above screening process before I upload or allow anyone to take my photo.  You can’t control every photo or even know every time a photo is taken of you, but you can be aware of your surroundings and observe when others are taking photographs.  Ask the person taking the photographs to please let you see them before posting online, try and put your back or side profile to the photographer, it will be a little harder for you to be recognized online.

Being seen at social events is an important part of branding and your online presence, but the photos need to be photos you would share with the world. Not a photograph you would regret later.  Taking crazy photographs with your friends can be fun, but they can also have an impact later.

Try to limit being snapped in these photos:

• Drinking what would appear to be an alcoholic beverage.
• Talking with your hands making certain gestures.
• Photos with your tongue sticking out, making crazy eyes, rabbit ears, etc…

These are all fun for now, but I promise there is a very strong possibility that those fun pictures can be damaging to you in the future. Your client might decide you are not serious enough, or perhaps drinking is a NO-NO in their book.  I had a photo snapped of me where I was talking with my hands (as I often do) and it appeared from the angle of the photo I was grabbing the chest of the person next. Of course, I knew the photo was innocent, but everyone that would have seen it online would not have known that!

Here is your assignment, if you haven’t already done so:

1. Login to each one of your social networking sites, even the old ones (Myspace, etc…) that you don’t use anymore.
2. Read through your profile and remove anything that could be offensive, misleading or misinterpreted.
3. Check each photograph of you, ones you uploaded and ones you are tagged in.  Remove anything questionable; always play it safe when in doubt. If the photos of you aren’t ones you uploaded and you can’t remove them, ask the account owner to kindly remove them.  If they refuse, you could report the photo as spam on many social networking sites.
4. Think back to social events you attended and recall someone taking photos. Email the photographer and ask them to see the photographers.  Ask if the photos are stored online and ask for the link.  You want to see them online also.

Now, let us have some fun! Do you have a crazy photo story you want to share with the readers of this post? Tell us about a time when you had something happened to you online that you didn’t expect. Tell us how you resolved the situation.  We all need to make sure our online presence is top quality, and sharing scenarios will help all of us!

As always, looking forward to your comments!

• Are you their go to expert for your industry?
• Are you branding yourself effectively?

• Do I let my audience know I specialize in social media marketing?
• Do I talk enough about Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter?
• Do I talk too much about Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter?
• Do I share information that allows my audience to connect with with me on a professional and personal level?
• Do my connections recommend me to their network because of my expertise?
• Do those connections turn into emails, phone conversations and clients?

I teach Facebook using the phone/Skype and remote connection software to teach my clients how to use and customize their Facebook accounts hands on. I also teach Facebook in a classroom environment. Facebook users from all skill levels take my class and they always learn something new; even long-time users. I have to admit I love, LOVE, love it every time and it does good for my ego!

Last week I was talking with my friend on the phone, Jane Doe (she will remain anonymous in this blog post)! She is quite social media savvy, on Facebook and Twitter both. We were discussing Facebook lists, fan pages, etc … I asked her this simple question:

“Have you customized your privacy settings on Facebook?”

Of course, her response was yes.

I followed up with “Have you gone into Applications & Websites and customized the settings to limit what information your Facebook friends can share about you?”

She responded yes, but I could tell she wasn’t quite sure of the question I was asking.

I walked her through checking her settings and we found that she hadn’t tweaked this area. According to her current settings, her Facebook friends were allowed to share everything about her with third party applications (i.e. games, websites, etc …)

She hadn’t even seen this area before, just as many times in many other conversations I have had, others haven’t either. Of course, we fixed her settings and she is nice and protected now!

Have I tortured you long enough to share the secret yet? Here are the instructions and screen shots to show you how to check your settings for this area and fix them.

• Log into your Facebook account
• Click on Account on the right hand side
• Click Privacy Settings

Click Edit Your Settings under where it says Applications and Websites. It’s on the bottom left hand side.

Click Edit Settings

I recommend deselecting all boxes, except your Website, Education and Work.

I figure if third party apps want to know my website and share it somewhere, more the power! I also welcome them to share the name of my business, since I am self employed.

Of course, click Save Changes! This is important!

I recommend you look through each of the areas on this page and customize your settings. It is important you understand what you are sharing with Facebook, but also with all social networking platforms I pay close attention and detail in all my training sessions what each item means and how to determine what you want to share.

Now that I have shared one of my Facebook training secrets with you, share with me! Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I really understand Facebook? Do I know the difference between a Status Update, Wall-to-Wall update and a private message? Do I feel vulnerable when I am online?
2. Do I know how to customize my status updates by targeting lists? When I share something personal about my family am I sharing it with everyone? What kind of risks am I exposing myself to? Also, what about your friends & family? What are you allowing others to know about your Facebook friends?
3. Do I have my photo album settings set so that I only share what I want and with whom I want?

If you answered NO to any of these questions, check out the details for my Facebook training session. I am extending some #BlackFriday special offers on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn trainings through December 31st. You can buy the training sessions NOW and use them through February 28, 2011.

Get the social media help you need TODAY …. Before you REGRET it in the FUTURE! You might not even realize you need it until we talk! Feel free to email me any questions.

Friends, I would ask one last thing: Please share will me if you feel comfortable, did you have this setting already adjusted properly? If so, did you find it on your own or did someone tell you to look for it? Do you have a Facebook secret you want to share? Comment away …..

Every year I go shopping on Black Friday and I have been planning my route and purchases, it got me thinking about my clients’ social media and what I do to help them get out of the RED and into the BLACK. I decided I am going to share some information to help YOU get out of the RED and into the BLACK, I am going to be offering some BLACK Friday specials for social media coaching sessions. First, let me give you a little background on BLACK Friday.

BLACK Friday has many meanings. The one that triggered this blog post is the one for retailers.  The Friday after Thanksgiving is known to be one of the largest shopping days each year and many stores run huge sales and open extra early to encourage extra foot traffic. It got the name BLACK Friday because many retailers that were running in the RED often sell enough merchandise to put them in the BLACK on this day and throughout the remainder of the holiday shopping season that follows up to Dec. 24^th.

I want to ask you to read the following and consider is your social media in the RED or the BLACK?

1. Do you log into your Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account because you feel obligated? Do you think to yourself I have to go in and post a status update/send a Tweet because I haven’t done it today, this week or this month? Are you only doing enough to get by?

If you are using social media as a strategy to grow your business, consulting practice, sell books, websites, whatever your business may be and you are posting status updates because you feel obligated – STOP! If all you are doing to work your social media is an obligatory daily, weekly or maybe even monthly update DON’T bother.  For social media to work for you and your business you need to have a presence ONLINE on a repeat basis. Remember, customers do business with those they “Like, Know and Trust”. You are not achieving this goal with your obligatory updates. You are wasting your time and energy. (Sorry to be so direct, but part of my relationship with my readers is based on honesty and forthrightness!)

You need a structured plan, great content, ideas and a presence that one update will not get you. You need to be using groups, discussion boards, chats, conversation and comments to establish a relationship with your connections and a rapport that you can not achieve with an obligatory update.

2. Do you tweet on Twitter, post status updates to Facebook, or LinkedIn, etc…. on a regular basis, but only have 20 people following/friends/connections? Do you get any “Shares”, “Likes”, “Comments” or “Retweets”?

Part of social media is a numbers game.  I am not saying you need to have 10,000 etc… connected to you online for social media to work, but you do have to have an audience, i.e. when on Twitter your Tweets are seen by those following you. A new person to Twitter doesn’t always understand/realize that if you only have 20 followers only 20 people are seeing your Tweets, maybe.  If they are not online when you send the Tweet they may never see it.  I will see many times someone on Twitter sharing great content, but have no audience. I immediately realize (1) they don’t understand this concept or (2) don’t know how to get more followers.

Shares, Likes, Comments and Retweets: This is a great way to know and see if (1) people are actually seeing your updates and (2) see if you are sharing the kind of content  your followers/friends/connections are interested in reading.  If you don’t know what I mean when I say “Shares”, “Likes”, “Comments” or “Retweets”, or ever get them, your social media is in the RED.

3. Are you still logging into Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc… via a web browser? i.e. Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, etc…. to view and post status updates.

Using the web browser to access your Twitter account is good for some things, however there are better tools available to help you manage your social media accounts. Tweetdeck is my favorite! Hootsuite is another popular tool for this purpose. There are many to choose from. You can actually use Tweetdeck to view Tweets of those your are following, and the Facebook and LinkedIn updates of your friends/connections.

You can use a Tweetdeck to post updates to your Twitter, Facebook Profile, Fan Page and LinkedIn accounts.  You can select which accounts get which updates and you can even schedule them in advance. It’s important to have activity on your social media accounts throughout the day at peak times, not just when you have the opportunity to be online.

I hardly every log into Twitter through the web browser, Tweetdeck has integrated all most all of the features available on Twitter through the browser to work with the Tweetdeck.  You still will log into your Facebook and LinkedIn for important aspects of social media.  I actually just teach/coach on using the Tweetdeck to schedule updates to Facebook and LinkedIn.  Everything else within these social media networks you will do through the browser for the most part.

4. Have you heard of the tools I mentioned above and you keep thinking to yourself I need to learn about them and be using them more? Or are their names Greek to you? Have you tried to use these tools and they confuse you?

Ask for help!!! Ask friends using these tools to teach you, go to YouTube and search for tutorial videos others have made on how to use them. You may find the best and most cost effective route in the long run, when you consider your time, energy and frustration is to hire a social media professional to teach you.

As part of the social media coaching services I offer training on Tweetdeck. I coach my clients on how to create a presence on social media, how to use each social media tool and understand whatever thing means. We focus on marketing strategy and maintenance, which can be performed mostly through a Tweetdeck, one centralized area.

5. Have you claimed your business listing on Yahoo Local, Google Places, Bing Local, etc …? Are you using Ping.Fm, Google Reader, Social Oomph and Twellow? Do you even know what these sites/tools are?

 If you aren’t REGISTERED on them this is a sure sign your social media is in the RED.

Does this blog post trigger more questions for you? I am going to stop here and close with this advice:

Learn the best way!
Increase your followers/friends/connections!
Stop with the obligatory updates!
Share tips, content and resources!
Ask for help!

If you want to get your social media out of the RED and into the BLACK use the acronym above as a guide! Learn more about the BLACK Friday social media coaching packages I have available!

I look forward to your comments, feedback and tips! It’s an important part of learning for all of us! So comment away!  Thanks in advance for “Commenting”, “Liking”, “Sharing” and “Retweeting”! LOL!