Archive for Social Media – Page 2

Have you taken the Social Media LEAP?

By Lissa Duty

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

Have you taken the Social Media LEAP? Taking a LEAP is sometimes what using social media is all about.

Are you LEAPING today? Have you taken the big LEAP? What’s LEAPING for you? What is the big LEAPING deal? I can sit around all day thinking of LEAPING puns (ahhh! There was another one!), but what would be the good in that? Waste of time perhaps …. Wrong… you need to be different … stand out from everyone else ONLINE!

Taking a LEAP, otherwise referred to as being creative, entrepreneurial, inventive, etc… with WHAT you say and HOW you say it, is exactly what you need to be remembered by your prospective clients and current clients ONLINE and OFF!

Using Social Media when you first start out is about taking a LEAP of faith. There is so much out there about ROI – Return on Investment. Let’s call it Return on Influence for the sake of this blog post!

I tell all prospective clients your ROI is going to be new friends, followers, connections initially when using social media. There are not any promises or golden ticket to success as some social media professionals promise. Social media is about branding yourself ONLINE. (I am not going to go into this topic more at this time – been there, done that! Read it here. )

Before I go forward on LEAPING Social Media, I must mention the importance it is to have your ONLINE and OFFLINE presence in sync from your logo, your business card to your website design and layout. The image you present to your customers needs to say Who You Are and Give them a Message that will help them to remember you! See my friend Robin’s blog post – 7 Marketing Tips for Leaping into your Customers Hearts and Minds for more on this important part of branding yourself and your business.

The questions I get most often from someone using or considering use social media are:

Where should I be? i.e. Should I be on all the social networking websites
What do I post?
Why would someone want to Follow, Subscribe, Friend, Like or Connect with me?
How can I do it easiest?
When should I post?

I am going to give you the quick self promoting answer first! Yep! I am getting straight to it – Hire me – I do social media coaching and I will answer all these questions and more in a private training hands-on!

Now for the long answer, that I will try and make not to confusing!

1. Where should I be? — What social networking sites do your customers use most often? That is where I would start out. I can’t answer this for you as I don’t know your product/service.

2. What do I post? Content that would interest your ideal client (usually that means it interests you also). Use Alltop.com as a resource to find content that would interest your audience.

3. Why would someone want to Follow, Subscribe, Friend, Like or Connect with me? Because people are hesitant to say right off they are interested in your services/products. They are concerned you’ll try and sell to them. They want to get to know you, your products and services before they put themselves out there with the “I am in interested in knowing more commitment.”

4. How can I do it easiest? First, I must say here “You only get out of social media what you put in to it, the less you put, the less you get”. With that being said, using a social media tool such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to update your Facebook Profile, Facebook Page, LinkedIn and Twitter is the easiest method. (This blog post links you to social media tool reviews for doing this easier.)

I actually recommend in my social media coaching sessions, that you do a little of both. You definitely want to use a social media tool to monitor Twitter all the time, but because Facebook groups updates from other 3^rd party tools together during high volume times, I recommend you post directly on Facebook when you can from your computer or Smartphone with the Facebook App. LinkedIn doesn’t do this grouping yet, but I just think it looks better for people to see you care enough about LinkedIn to actually log in and post a physical update now and again. Using Hootsuite to post in your LinkedIn groups is just awesome and easy! Ask my dear friend, Ana, if you don’t believe me. She loves it.

5. When should I post? That is always a difficult question to answer quickly. It depends on who your audience is and when are online. With Facebook I post at random times and see which posts gets more comments/likes and interactions. With Twitter the best time is usually between 10 am EST and 12 pm EST from my experience. There are 3^rd party tools you can purchase to optimize this for you. I recommend checking out the free ones first – Tweriod is a Twitter tool and Buffer is another tool you can use to do this analyzing for Twitter, Facebook and more.

Now that I have given you the Where, What, Why, How and When to get you moving forward successfully I am going to close with some advice I gave in a blog post – Is your Social Media in the RED or the BLACK? I published almost two years ago!

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

It has stuck with me, but perhaps that is because it spells my name L – I – S – S – A! LOL!

It’s your turn … Let me know what you are going to do on this LEAPING day, tomorrow and every other day to keep you LEAPING forward for social media success!

Categories : Social Media

Tags : facebook, Hootsuite, linkedin, Marketing Tips, Social Media, social media coaching, Social Media LEAP, Social Media Questions, Social Media Success, social networking, Social Networking Sites, Tweetdeck, twitter

Do You Love Yourself Enough?

By Lissa Duty

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

How do you love yourself? Do you give yourself permission to seek training, education and resources to expand your knowledge base and online presence?

As a social media coach that has trained privately and in groups’ adults since 2009 on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, I’ve been told over and over how the style of my social media coaching, the patience and focus I extend to the participant during the training pays off in dividends. Unfortunately, many have spent countless hours in time, and often financial investment before they ask for help! Are you one of these individuals / small business owners?

So many adults in today’s world know they need to be online, but don’t give themselves a chance to learn before diving in full force. You wouldn’t jump in a lake without swimming lessons would you? What about skiing? Lessons for that too … right!

Often times, you dive in unprepared and become overwhelmed, discouraged and intimidated. You spend day after day using social networking sites, getting limited or no results and all they are getting is nowhere fast!

This is where loving yourself comes into play! You need to give yourself permission to not be perfect in everything. You worry about what other professionals think if you don’t have all the answers, so they don’t seek out the training, education, information and ask questions to help you succeed online.

You can’t be all things at all times – at least not without some training to get you started. Perhaps the investment isn’t monetary. It’s an investment of your time.

Reading blog posts is a great way to learn more about the power of social media. I recommend Social Media Examiner, Social Media Today, Windmill Networking and of course my own blog, LissaDuty.com, to get you started. There are countless other ones out there that I love and read.
Google – use Google and search out your questions! Seriously, I use Google all the time and ask it questions like “HTML Code to change Link Color”. Google will come back with tons of references that I can review on how to complete this action.
Follow Other Social Media Influencers and see what they are doing online. I have to add here, realistically, you are not going to be one of these influencers anytime soon, just follow them and learn. You will get ideas to incorporate into your social media strategy.
Seek out a Social Media Coach. This is where I come into play. I teach individuals and small business owners step by step hands-on how to use and understand these social networking sites. The 1^st part of each one of my trainings focuses on understanding what each aspect, link, word, etc. means to the individual / small business owner. To effectively use a social networking site, you need to understand what everything means and does – no assumptions! The 2^nd piece of that is teaching them how to use the site for their purpose.

So do you LOVE YOURSELF enough to INVEST in yourself?

If you need some social media coaching and have decided to invest in yourself I can help you.

Your turn …. What steps are you taking / have taken in your business and online to expand your knowledge. What kind of training have you taken?

PS. Those that follow my blog know that stuff that happens in my day to day life is my inspiration … a friend (a guy – not a date, but kinda, maybe a date – if that’s possible) cancelled on me for tonight – Valentine’s Day of all days! He had a last minute business trip – duty calls – I guess! I must thank him since he inspired this blog post – he’ll remain anonymous at this point. I knew I wanted to write a Valentine’s Day post, but wasn’t quite sure how to spin it. When he cancelled – I loved myself enough to tell him “Ok. Be safe” and move on. I didn’t spout off any tacky comments to guilt him. (Notice, I didn’t say I didn’t think any tacky comments! I came up with a few! LOL!) Hence, the title of this post, “Do You Love Yourself Enough”!

Categories : Business

Tags : do you love yourself enough, facebook, linkedin, love yourself, Social Media, social media coach, social media coaching, social media training, twitter

Trends: What do you do when you see a new trend developing? Ignore, implement or keep a watchful eye.

By Lissa Duty

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

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:

Does it make sense?
What are others saying about it?
Could it be applied to your business?
Would it damage your reputation?
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!

Categories : Branding

Tags : business, facebook, Facebook Business Page, Facebook Page, Facebook Profile, Jack Dorsey, new trend, planking, Social Media, social media trends, trend, twitter, Wikipedia

Are you ready to STOP diluting your network and STOP polluting online? Tips for Proper Online Etiquette

By Lissa Duty

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

Are you ready to STOP diluting your network and STOP polluting online? That is right … I just said online pollution – the trash we put out to our friends and about our friends online via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, etc.

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:

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”.
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!
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.
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.
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!

Categories : Social Media

Tags : facebook, Facebook sharing, Facebook Tag, Facebook tagging, Online Etiquette, Social Media, social media marketing, tagging Facebook photos

Do you Digg it? How to Leverage Social Media and Make it to the Front Page of Digg

By Lissa Duty

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

Do you “Digg” this or how about I “dugg” that? Social bookmarking is a great way to get exposure and link backs to your website. Many predict social bookmarking is a dying cause. All trends and tools come and go. Go with your gut, use the tools you like and don’t use what you don’t.

I started using social bookmarking in the last 9 months, when I started blogging more and more. I actually had something to social bookmark, or at least I thought so.

Last week in a Skype conversation with Dean Bairaktaris, known as TheDudeDean online, we talked about Digg, an important social bookmarking site and the value you behind it. As one of the former “top Diggers” he had lots to share with me. These are my take away thoughts from the conversation with TheDudeDean.

Here is how to make it to the 1^st page of Digg:

1. Don’t be the first to submit your content to Digg. The Dude said “This just looks bad and doesn’t encourage other Diggers to want to ‘Digg’ it.”

It is always better if a friend or a follower submits your content to Digg.
You do not want this to be the same person every time to submit your content.
You can get buried if you do make it to the front page using poor tactics/poor content.

2. Be the first to submit a hot news item to Digg. The first one to submit an article gets all the credit. The ones that “Digg” it afterwards helps you make it to the first page.

Make sure it is “Digg” worthy.
Don’t just click “Digg” to be doing it.
When you “Digg” something read it, know what & why you are clicking “Digg”. Post a comment on why you like it.
Search for your submission before you submit. The Dupe Detector will often screw you. Try to avoid Duplicate submissions(Dupes) as much as possible.
Learn about canonical URLs (read URL normalization). Sites like YouTube and WordPress can generate different URLs for the same post. Especially YouTube. While this does allow you to Dupe posts, this is generally frowned upon. For novice level users this isn’t a bad thing, but if you’re on the top active list, Digg Support will notice you doing it. Digg Support always bans you without any warning.
Submit from “WhiteList” sites, in other words don’t try to get a brand new site to pop right from the get go, that takes time. Its a lot easier to get a main stream site to go popular on Digg than it is for a new site. Use di 66.net and ~~socialblade.com~~ [update – link reported as bad] they’re both great tools for finding out whats REALLY going on over at Digg.

3. Follow other Diggers and “Digg” their submissions.

This is a great way to get their attention and eventually if you submit the right kind of content, get them to “Digg” your submissions.
Their followers will “Digg” your submissions if the “ Diggers” do.

Special thanks to TheDudeDean for the great conversation and education last week about Digg. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter. He is quite an interesting, knowledgeable techie for the rest us #geeks to know.

Being the Online Marketer that I am, the conversation with TheDudeDean gave me all sorts of ideas how to use social media to get my submissions and my clients submissions “dugg”.

How to leverage social media to make it to the first page of Digg:

Ask your social media connections to follow you on Digg and follow them back.
When you submit to Digg let your social networks know you did, use the hashtag #DiggUser on twitter.
Form an alliance with as many “Diggers” as you can that are in your social network.
Ask different connections “Diggers” in your network to submit your blogging content. (Remember, you don’t want to submit your own blog posts to Digg.)
Once another “Digger” submits your post, let your network know about it, so they can go “Digg” it also.

Now that I have given you my Digg marketing ideas, a few sample Status Updates or Tweets to ask your network gently to “Digg” your submissions. You want to be cautious, so they don’t tune you OUT and turn you OFF.

When you submit someone else’s post to Digg: Just submitted (title & link url) to Digg by (Twitter ID or tag on Facebook). I hope you “Digg” it to!

When someone else has submitted your post to Digg: Just noticed my post (title & link url) was submitted to Digg. So excited & flattered. Do you “Digg” it?

If you know the Twitter ID or are Facebook friends when the person that submitted you to Digg make sure you thank them for doing so. Let them know you appreciate them! (And don’t forget to submit them and “Digg’ their other submissions also.)

Many of you may have heard me say this, and I am going to say it again: Ask for what you want, all they can say is NO. Remember, people want to help you succeed. You just have to give them the idea how they can help you.

It’s your turn! Fire away … what Digg tips and ideas did you come up with while reading this post?

(P.S. Did you Digg this post? Be the first, second, third and so on … wherever you fall in line I will “Digg” it. One thing you can count on is I will not be the first. I have to follow the most important piece of advice I learned from TheDudeDean.)

Categories : Social Media

Tags : canonical URLs, Dean Bairaktaris, Digg, Diggers, dugg, front page of Digg, leverage social media, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, The Dude Dean, twitter

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