Social Media Revolution

Some Fascinating Points From The Video:
* 60 millions status updates happen on Facebook daily
* We no longer search for the news, the news finds us.
* While you watch this 100+ hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube
* We will no longer search for products and services, they will find us via social media
* Social Media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate
* The ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in 5 years
* The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube

Twitter with a Purpose

When Twitter first started, I took a look and did not get it. I could not imagine who would want to know what I was doing every moment, ie drinking coffee and working or feeding kitties. As well, it encouraged my mischievous side that wanted to tweet things like: Dancing Can-Can on dining room table. So I put away Twitter and moved on.

Last year, as I began making more and more political contacts, the question was: Are you on Twitter? And, of course, the Obama campaign certainly brought Twitter into the living rooms of America. I revisited and joined the 140 character craze and I have not regretted one moment.

Twitter with a purpose is how I explain it as people ask me: What do you tweet?

Twitter is the ultimate tool for purposes; Political, Photography, Cooking, Music, Entertainment, Events - you name it, you can find your little niche of the Twitterverse and tweeps that share common interests.

For those new to the Twitterverse, I recommend a few things to get you started and give you some ideas to Twitter with a Purpose:

• Make sure you follow your friends - tweeting is more fun when you know people who are also on Twitter
• Hashtags - hashtags are how you can sort Tweets by ideas or groups - Just add the # and the tag. Example, for photography, common hashtags: #photography, #photos, #photogs, #photooftheday. You can then follow hashtags through Twitter and find other tweeps that have are interested in the same things.
• Interact with other Tweeps - broadcasting is boring and Social Media is about being ... well ... Social!
• Don't be discouraged - the first few times on Twitter is like stepping into a different world where noone seems to be speaking your language. Stick with it and soon you will be dropping comments like #FollowFriday and RT casually.
• Use the search and read timelines from other Tweeps. Find out what people are tweeting.

I have gotten over my initial aversion to Twitter and have found it to me incredibly useful in connecting with people, getting the word out about my business and my causes and sometimes, well, sometimes I do tweet about doing the can-can on the dining room table.

If you are just joining Twitter or an old hand at it - Follow me! I would love to chat!

Creating Your Social Media Plan

A Social Media Business Plan is vital to the exposure and future growth of most businesses. From small home businesses to large corporations, the goal is to get your message out to the masses and where are the Masses? On Facebook...and Twitter...and Linkedin...and tons of other Social Media platforms.

I recently completed a proposal for an auto dealership to handle a Social Media project for them. I explained the importance of a blog to increase SEO and provide more than just sales information to your target audience. We talked about using Twitter to not only get their products in front of people but also to get out information - be more personal. The goal - Engage your Audience!

The very cool part of this discussion is that I came away not only with a new project but also an interview and guest for my next political podcast to discuss the government bailout of General Motors. And the dealership? Well, we are going to put them in the conversation at the dinner table of the locals here in Utah County - not just because they have great products but because the dealership was smart enough to reach out through Social Media & present themselvelves as a vital information source for everything from buying a new or used car to why Americans need to buy American.


In my tiptoes through Twitter this morning - I came across this article from one of my favorite follows: Amber Naslund at Altitude Branding and @ambercadabra on twitter. These are all vital points when considering a Social Media Plan and mandatory for setting up conversations with any new clients.

From altitudebranding.com: 20 Questions To Start a Social Media Discussion

1. What do we do and why, in your words (not a vision statement)? On what could we, as a business, spend more time, energy, and focus?
2. Are you passionate about your role? If so, why? If not, what would help you be?
3. What goals do you have for your role this year? How do you hope to impact the success of your department? The company?
4. How would you describe the culture of our organization?
5. How do you use the internet in your work life? In your personal life? Where are the overlaps?
6. How do you believe your team uses the internet for their work? Have you heard ideas or feedback for ways they’d like to use it more or differently to do their jobs better?
7. Where do you turn when seeking resources or information about your role? Our company? Our industry?
8. What does our ideal customer look like, aside from demo/psychographics? What do they seek from us?
9. If you could ask our customers whatever you wanted, what questions are on your mind? What would you like to know about them and their relationship to our company?
10. How is your function in the business most impacted by customer satisfaction and loyalty?
11. Do you think our brand presentation aligns with our reputation in the industry? Why or why not?
12. How strong do you think our internal communication is? What would make it better? What information do you wish you had more of?
13. What kind of marketing or promotion do you think we do really well? What’s gotten you excited about the way we put our company out there, and why?
14. How well do you think we communicate with customers overall and solicit their feedback? What strengths and gaps do you see? Does it impact you, and if so, is it for better or worse?
15. What sorts of measures do you use in your current role to evaluate the success or impact of your work/department?
16. How flexible and adaptable do you feel our internal processes are? Are there some that are outdated? Cutting edge?
17. What’s your perception about social media based on what you know/have heard/have read?
18. Do you believe social media has a place in our work and business? Why or why not?
19. What are the worst case scenarios you can imagine from social media? What scares you, and what are the risks you’re most concerned with?
20. What excites you about social media, if anything?
altitudebranding.com, 20 Questions To Start a Social Media Discussion, Dec 2009

You should read the whole article.

The Grammar & Spelling Nazi Rant

Twitter and 140 characters bring my little Grammar & Spelling Nazi bubbling to the surface. Actually, the blogosphere and online articles evoke it as well.

The Grammar & Spelling Nazi was created at the hands of the Ursuline nuns over ten years of my early life. In third grade, I had a teacher with particularly long nails who would drag those long nails down the chalkboard at every grammatical infraction. Being a voracious reader, the Spelling Nazi developed a bit more organically without screechy nails but the cringe is the same.

I am fine with shortening words for text or twitter. The Nazi gets that. The Nazi even gets obvious typos and typing too fast errors. The Nazi allows for creative license with blog and conversational style, so long as it is spelled correctly! I will even confess, I enjoy creative spelling if it is purposeful and clever.

The Grammar & Spelling Nazi does not get those who choose not to use spell check or other assistive devices - like a brain.

The repeated makes-me-want-to-stab-someone-with-scissors infraction is the Your versus You're.

I am always completely flabbergasted on my political twitter/blog how many times I get this from those who disagree with my stance: "Your a Moron."

Right. I'm a Moron because you can't even insult me properly? I started sending the comments back after correcting them. One guy continued to spit at me and in every tweet, he had incorrect usage or spelling errors. I finally ended it with: "YOUR KIDDING - WRITE?"

Kim's Other Pet Peeve - the automatic thank you's that are generated when you follow someone that are spelled incorrectly. My most recent favorite: "Thanx for the follow. Let me asist you in creasing your business."

Thanks, but I will reserve my business for someone who uses spellcheck properly. The person who sends this kind of thank you is the same person that uses those advertised services for thousands of followers in one day or sends out tweets about white teeth. Junk in, Junk out.

OK. Tuesday rant is over and I will leave you with two great links from Brian Clark on copyblogger. If you have not read Brian's posts, I highly recommend them!

Five Grammatical Errors that Make You Look Dumb by Brian Clark

The Inigo Montoya Guide to 27 Commonly Misused Words by Brian Clark

Writer's Block - What happens when ideas go MIA

A blank screen and a blank mind can be a death knell for a blogger but we all run up against it.

How do you get your creative juices flowing? How do you get all those great ideas out of your head and onto the blog?

• Notepads - I make notes and carry a notebook with me everywhere. That way when the brilliant idea strikes, I can jot it down for a future post
• Use a word generator or idea generator on the internet to spark inspiration
• Read the news - Comment on what is happening in the headlines (and sometimes create an entire blog around it! See my political blog - Lady Libertas )
• Check out the trending topics on Twitter and write a post around that - of course, make sure you tweet it with the appropriate hashtag!
• Don't be afraid to be controversial - Controversy attracts comments and readers!
• Check out what the Gurus suggest - below I have listed a link to Chris Brogan's "100 Topics I Hope You Write"
  
• When all else fails - post cute pictures of your kitties / doggies / kids - Have you seen Anabella?
• Write a review of a product that you have used or a restaurant that you have visited
• Ask friends and families for a topic - asking other people what they would like to read can be a great idea generator

The most important guideline is not to give up. Writer's block strikes the best of us but you can't let it get you down. And sometimes, you can blog about not having anything to blog about!

100 Blog Topics I Hope YOU Write

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So What Does A Blogger DO All Day?

When I was working full time as a recruiter, I used to get the question - So, you are on the phone ALL day?

Now, when I tell people that I am a writer or blogger, I get - what does a blogger do all day? or another of my favorites - do you ever run out of things to say?

So...what I do all day...I drink coffee - ALL day. I am on the internet & computer ALL day. I read alot ALL day - blogs, news, articles.

Sometimes I have really productive days where I knock out posts for several blogs in one day and some days I lay on the living room floor and play with the cats. and take pictures of them. So I can torture my readers with cuteness, or at least what I think is cute. By the way...this is Air Anabella, my new kitten...

The Nemesis

Teasing the Nemesis

And we have Air Anabella!

Ninja Air Anabella - HIIIIIIIIIIYAH!

Mostly, I am working on ways to improve my blogs and building contacts and trying to recruit new clients. I work hard - sometimes more than 12 hours per day - I just do it in my pajamas. I spend alot of time writing and alot of time networking - Twitter with a Purpose.

And do I ever run out of things to say? HA - there is a reason that I have gone into the fields that I have - like recruitment - because I can talk - ALOT. And writing is like that for me - talking. Give me a topic and point me in the direction and off I go. Writer's block does strike so I have developed all kinds of weird little tricks to get my brain to produce an idea - random word generators, photography, playing with the cats, reading and more reading and sometimes I actually have a conversation live on the phone.

Now...I have to go play with Anabella ... err ... work!

Anabella waiting for Mommy