Communication Nation: The best technology ever invented
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Communication Nation: The best technology ever invented
2009
11.07
11.07
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Wise Network Marketer Is The Guest Star Of The Giant Peach
2009
05.24
05.24
I got an email newsletter from Liz Monte, a dear friend and role model of mine who has been a busy bee lately (no wonder I haven’t heard from her in awhile! She’s got a lot on her plate.), of Wise Network Marketer a few days ago. She explained that she just did her first podcast and how nervous she was. Well Liz, you had nothing to worry about.
You were great and I’m so proud of you!
She was interviewed on “Kevin And The Giant Peach” (A “Blog Talk Radio” show hosted by Kevin Mastaw) on May 23 (See: “Kevin and The Giant Peach: The Blog.”). If you want to hear an honest and inspiring network marketing story, make sure to give Liz and Kevin a listen. Liz’s experience and wisdom will provide insight rarely found in online MLM marketing content because the bulk of her years as a network marketing professional have been spent offline. Yet she has an open and forward thinking mind and braved the Internet world, full of digitally gifted “new media marketers” from a whole other generation than she came from.
Think about how challenging a concept this can be for anyone who has lived and worked for the bulk of her life, completely content and efficient as the next person, without the aid of technolgies and resources that the “digital generation” takes for granted.
I met Liz about a year and a half ago (?) when I did the blog post offering my “Social Media Marketing Academy” course “scholarship program.” The idea came to me after the previous year long web 2.0 empire research and development phase which blossomed into a passion and online identity I fully embraced. Liz was the first respondant.
Despite the issues I ultimately faced (although said issues were eye-opening and valuable learning experiences I wouldn’t trade for anything) and unfortunate turn of events, I am pleased to have been even a small influence on Liz.
When I met her, she was pretty frustrated and a bit intimidated by technology and the Internet’s changing landscape. Just when she had a handle on her SBI website building skills (she’s a fantastic writer, by the way.), here comes a whole new ballgame: Social Media. I explained to her what I did during my research and testing and what I planned to provide my students and what was expected of them. I did not realize, at the time, that the sheer volume of different sites that I tried (as listed and rated on The Social Media Butterfly) during the course of that year and beyond could be a source of intimidation at first glance.
It almost looks as though social media marketing, in order to be effective, is a life sucking 24 hour a day job. That wasn’t my intended message nor is it a reality but, I realized later that I needed to be more clear about the required level of commitment as well as the ability for my students to create a personal social media presence as individual and diverse as they are.
Despite popular opinion, I have arrived at a position which goes like this:
With the exception of a blog, the central hub of a powerful social media presence, it’s a personal thing based on several aspects of individual elements of the participants, themselves. Social media participation, in terms of which sites, which media formats, which platform type(s) (networking, bookmarking, video, etc.)
In order to effectively determine which sites and platform types (i.e. open social networking sites, niche social networking sites, social bookmarking sites, wikis, video sharing sites, blogging communities, microblogging services, podcasting options, etc.) and in what capacity, I interview each student in depth and in an ongoing, natural way that is geared toward forging a lasting, honest, and open relationship. is best determined by individual personality, desired results, target market and product(s) and services provided, time allowance, strengths, passions, communication preferences and levels of comfort (i.e. are you terrible at writing but a gifted conversationalist? Are you terrified of putting your face on video?), and other factors best discussed in detail elsewhere and as a topic in and of itself.
I’m Not An Expert But Some Of My Friends Are.
2009
04.30
04.30
I’m just taking a short Twitter break (just a day or 2 more) to get back to some of the things that I do that I talk about on Twitter. That way I can actually get back to work and help people do what I help people do in the first place.
Also, I was supposed to do my “Twitter Running Start” (stay tuned for new scheduled date and time as well as download link and password) webinar on Tuesday with @the_gman as my special Twitter rock star guest.
The next morning, I got a call at 7:30 am from Sister Mary Agnes, the principal at Ethan’s (my 13 year old little man) school, to please come down and help with some important volunteer work that had not been claimed by enough parents. The school is very small and a private school which must rely on volunteers for many things. In fact, we are required 10 hours a year (I like to get involved in everything now that I have the time freedom to do so).
The beauty of being a work at home mom is that Ethan’s school knows that I can show up and help in within 10 minutes of being given notice when there’s work that needs helpers.
So, as I was getting my little guide together for the people who were attending the webinar to download, I was also keeping my eye on my Tweet Deck and writing down great Tweeple to follow and why people should follow them (not based on the number of followers they have, but the value they offer) and tweeting to them about the fun little thing I was planning to do.
By the way, I am NOT a “social media consultant” or a “social media expert” just because I do well with Twitter suddenly and because I was a marketer in My Space before all of the marketing started happening there. I am just telling a story of what I did, what worked, what didn’t, what the problems were, what I’d do differently, etc. and giving it as a story because that’s my “job.”
I am a marketer and I use social media simply as a branding tool. I’m just a regular girl who has figured some things out after 4 years of doing this full-time. Nothing more, nothing less.
Suddenly, I’m accused of spam, accused of calling myself an expert by someone I had really been supportive of and said very nice things about since I’ve followed them. This person really acts like it’s all about the “Tweeple” and proved to me that it’s all about him, as far as he’s concerned.
All of this was simply for wanting to share a list of people I like and some links that may help. I also had created a second account for focused @NewbieBizCenter “helping hand tweets” (NOT SELLING ON TWITTER!).
I would NEVER start doing something, @NewbieBizCenter is a certain feel different from my own @web20empire style, after being so vocally opposed to direct sales on Twitter (I even got hell for saying bad things about Magpie) and have proven right again and again by other “experts” and their social media marketing advice.
All I was doing was creating a helpful stream I would follow (and do personally) and a place for for people who wanted information from sources that I have found very trustworthy. The Twitter streams I want to follow are going to be people that I personally know that have great information to share because I read their content myself.
These are also people who I know I can ask for help from if I (or anyone who follows me and asks me something) can get real answers from without a hidden sales pitch behind it.
I’m not creating a guru stream. I’m not doing a “secret” to social media angle.
I’m just sharing value and I see the value of Twitter in a very big way.
Nothing really secret to it, just look a little deeper and try to see what I see and it will be a lot more clear for a newbie to social media if I have another stream they can see from my follows @NewbieBizCenter instead of sorting through all the people I follow for so many reasons @web20empire.
I just be myself, share my story, share the struggles, make it fun and make it available to other people.
That’s my big “expert social media” stuff. That’s it. I’m not a “social media consultant” whatever in the world that means. I just use this stuff and have been using it for 2 years now, to build my business to a point where I can say I have done well enough to have an opinion on what works.
I’ve gotten way too unfocused because of the way I have allowed people to bother me on Twitter. I’ve got to step away for a day or 2 and finally launch my ConfessionsOfATwitterAddict.com domain and start explaining myself one time and not in 140 character bits that have to be re-explained again and again.
The lesson here?
Twitter is awesome and powerful and can really give you a voice that can be heard. But, you must be sure to treat it as a “teaser” and just be able to shout about whatever it is on your own blog and be able to put the tweets to work as your little breadcrumbs that lead the readers to your explanations and insights in their entirety. I’ve been being too much voice on Twitter (see over 4,000 updates in about 3 months) and not enough voice everywhere else I used to be sharing my voice (blogs, other social networks, etc.)
So why do I love Twitter?
It’s a huge whirlpool (and can also be a cesspool as well) of:
- Information
- Insight
- Personality
- Fun
- Diversion
- And most of all, PEOPLE. Really cool people are what make it all happen. People who care about one another and who do things not only for themselves, but for Twitter as a community.
I tell stories.
That’s my job.
I’m just me and I do what works for me. I may have some nuggets of info that may help other people. So I share what I do badly and what I’ve done well. I learn every single day so it’s only fair to share what I learn, right?
It isn’t that I have some “secret” to social media marketing.
It’s just a story of what I do and what the results are, period.
The minute you know it all, it’s all over. Think about that next time you try and tell me how to be me and do what I do every single day. I always look for ways to be better than I am, not better than anyone else.
So, that’s why I created a “business stream” for my Twitter self. @NewbieBizCenter will share what I have found of value via Twitter and elsewhere that’s for business people online and @web20empire will always just be me being me, in all of my passionate, yet insightful and well read and experienced insanity and Twitter “almost famousness.”
I have a voice, some people want to hear it. So, here it is.
Don’t like it loud, opinionated, and very knowledgeable and with plenty of passion, love, and truth?
Do you know everything already?
Or do you have an issue with fun and personality being mixed with business?
Then I would suggest you don’t follow me and those I suggest on #FollowFriday because we’re a real rowdy and real witty (and smart) bunch.
Otherwise, follow @web20empire for the feisty part of my business and my own personality and follow @newbiebizcenter for the list of tools, content, and companies that I model and learn from. I’ll show you what I really see in Twitter and who the true (and at times, unsung at other times very well-known, heroes of Twitter are in my life.
The Only Must Have Social Media Element, A Blog.
2009
04.22
04.22
In my last post, I went on about how important it is, for anyone wanting to include social media marketing tools in their small business strategy, to have a blog.
Actually (and I’m going to be crucified for saying this, I’m sure) I feel that a blog is really the only true “must have” element in your social media presence.
I know, everyone says that you MUST be on:
at the very least.
I simply don’t agree.
But my views on which social media platforms to use (hint: it’s a very personal decision) is another post all together.
So, let’s get started with the hub of all of your social media activity, a blog.
There are several choices out there, some better than others (like anything else), but I want to talk about just two:
If there is any way at vall that you can swing a domain of your own (only $9.99 a year for .com domains and $1.99 a year for .info domains) and hosting ( Host Gator lets you pay by the month instead of a whole year all at once AND has no set up fee even if you pay month to month) then I would strongly suggest you host your blog on your own (ideally, keyword rich) domain.
While there is nothing wrong with a free blogger blog, there are several reasons why having a fully customizable hosted Wordpress blog is a smart business investment (and, at a very small price for such a powerful business tool).
- Having your own domain name, such as MyKeywordPhrase.com, is a branding tool that is owned by YOU. MyKeywordPhrase.blogspot.com (the format which a Blogger blog will be if that is the platform you choose), is owned by Google, technically.
- People who visit your blog will take you more seriously as a business owner if you have your own domain name than if you are using a free blogging platform for your business blog.
- As I said above, Wordpress hosted blogs are extremely customizable. The Wordpress developer community is HUGE so if there is anything that you want your blog to do, there is a very good chance that there is already a plugin in existence that will fit your needs.
- There are thousands and thousands of magnificent themes for Wordpress blogs (there are even tons that are free) and designers who will do custom themes and logos. You can make your blog reflect your personality and/ or make your blog a fierce branding tool.
- You can write whatever you want and not have to worry about getting your blog shut down. Although it’s never happened to me, personally, I’ve heard of Blogger blogs getting taken down with no warning for violation of terms of service. It is YOUR business, YOU should own your content, not Google.
With that said, there is nothing wrong with starting a Blogger blog for practice if you’re just not ready for the commitment. However, I have step by step videos that I will be posting that will walk you through the process of creating a hosted Wordpress blog. You may want to start writing at Blogger and figure out what you want to focus your business blog on.
Blogging should NOT focus on pitching products or opportunities. It should be about sharing knowledge and stories and experiences that are relevant to the audience you are trying to reach.
Pick a topic that you are knowledgeable about. Your blog should be focused on a small niche that needs what you have to offer. Don’t try to write just bits and pieces about every topic you can think of, try to write a lot about the topics that you know about so that your content is genuinely valuable to your audience.
Next Time: Setting up a Blogger Blog.
How Many Links Are Too Many Links On Twitter?
2009
04.09
04.09
As you may already know, I’m an extremely active “Twit” and I’m always looking at ways in which I can provide more value to my followers.
I know, that sounds cheesy and cliche, but I’m serious.
I’ve been scouring @joelcomm ’s book, “Twitter Power,” for way longer than it usually takes me to finish a book. The reason is because there are so many Tweeple and sites referenced in “Twitter Power” and I read it while I have Tweet Deck and Firefox open so I can check everything out.
Then, I end up engulfed by the web after awhile.
So, this morning, I was finally near the end and reading about tracking on Twitter (bear in mind that since the books release, there have been, and continue to appear, many more tools to make things easier) and it’s got me thinking…
Even though I rarely post my own links, I do post a lot of links to blog posts as I read through my feed subscriptions as well as retweeting links that my Twitter friends post.
“Twitter Power” says that when tracking links on Twitter, the tweets that come before the tweeted link have a big impact on the clickthrough rate.
Now, obviously (or maybe not?) you’d want an affiliate link or a newsltter sign up link (if you choose to post that sort of thing AND assuming you’ve already built up a trust with your followers by sharing valuable information and plenty oif engagement), placed carefully and soften it up by posting useful information or personal and relevant anticdotes that make the link a helping hand, not a sales tactic.
But what I’m talking about goes something like this:
Usually, I’ll either see a great post scroll by on my Snackr or else click on a link via Twitter and end up finding yet another feed I want to add to Flock (I’ll explain in a later post why I put different feeds in different readers). Once I start reading more and more blog posts, I’ll continue until I at least put a nice dent in my Flock feed reader.
Now, while I catch up on the day’s feeds, I like to keep Tweet Deck open and a browser tab with Tr.im open as well. When I find posts that I feel my readers would enjoy, I Tr.im the url and say something or just post the title and then tweet it.
On good reading days, this can produce quite a lot of blog link tweets.
Since I only recently started using tr.im (accidentally one day when the “shorten” feature on Tweet Deck was not working), I don’t yet have any data to compare multiple link tweets and sparse link tweets.
The links actually do pretty well according to Tr.im, however, since many of the blogs belong to people who are part of my personal Twitter network, I’d be interested to determine whether or not I could help them get even more clickthroughs.
So, do I save my favorite blog posts I read each day in a list and tweet them sporadically throughout the day or do I continue to update my followers to what I am reading as I am reading it?
Well, this is definitely something I will be testing out in the comings days/ weeks and I’ll report back here with my own “analytic” findings.
In the meantime, I would love to hear what you are doing to track on Twitter and what you think about the sharing of blog posts you’re enjoying via Twitter. Also, how are you tracking your own clickthroughs and what have you discovered about clickthroughs in your own experience?
Sheree Motiska @Web20Empire
Who Are You trying To Brand?
2009
04.06
04.06
As I was looking through the profiles of a whole weekend’s worth of new Twitter followers today, I was noticing an alarming number of profile links leading to an online branding disaster.
OK, let me explain.
Now, we all know (or have at least heard) that Twitter is just one of the many social media tools available out there. That means that it (or any other new or traditional media based marketing tool) should NOT be the only piece of your marketing puzzle.
As I’ve said many times before, the hub or brains of any online business operation which is implementing social media marketing needs to be a blog. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t have a company profile website or a static content website. It’s simply that a blog IS social media and it’s the place where your social media connections can go and see what you’re all about AND they can provide feedback (publicly) via comments. There’s nothing more powerful than pointing your social media connections toward a centralized location that is all you.
Your blog and YOUR name is a major part of your own brand.
Even a one person home based business should be working toward a self brand. If you think that potential clients and customers aren’t going to “Google you,” you better wake up.
That said, I keep seeing more people engaged in social media who are putting “gurus” and “marketing systems” in the place of their own self brand.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing at all wrong with learning from industry leaders and promoting (recommending) affiliate products. There are plenty of people as well as their information products and software that have played a part in helping me get to where I am.
But I have learned an important lesson through it all…
There is NO ONE ANSWER!
You’ll probably have to look at many different ideas and perspectives before you come up with the best solution for YOU.
I have no problem at all giving credit where credit is due and recommending blogs, newsletters, and products that have brought genuine value to my business and life. I do it all the time (even if the person is NOT a guru but just someone who has talent that has yet to be widely discovered).
The problem I see is when people use their social media channels (blogs, profiles, videos) to do nothing but go on and on about one “guru” or one “system” that has “made all of their dreams of financial freedom come true”
First of all, any leader in the world of marketing who truly wants to help you would NEVER say: “OK, Step 1- Turn your entire online presence into a billboard for ME!”
Look around.
Do some digging and see how many other people are promoting themselves as the “__________(<<<insert system here) master” or a “personal student of ___________(<<<insert guru here)”
Is this an effective way to stand out among the masses online?
Clearly, the answer is no.
So, if you want to start moving toward a more long-term direction for your business, stop being a poster child for the latest “next big thing” and start telling YOUR story.
Yes, your story.
No one has had the exact same experiences as you and no one has the exact same perspective as you. Start spreading your wings and thinking outside the box and creating YOUR brand, not strengthening someone else’s.
Now go start a blog and put THAT link in your profile.
P.S. Next thing I’ll do is put back the Blogger and Wordpress help that I had up on the original Web 2.0 Empire blog. Until then, at least start thinking about what strengths you have, what you have learned so far, and how you can use all of your experiences to tell a story. Oh, most importantly, try to learn at least something new every single day. All of the learning you do is all part of your story. no one starts off as an expert and success takes work.
How To Backup And Restore A Wordpress Blog
2009
04.04
04.04
This video will show you:
- How to backup your Wordpress (hosted) blog using the Wordpress Database Backup Plugin
- How to restore a Wordpress (hosted) blog.
This is useful if you would want to, perhaps, move your blog from one server (host) to another or move it to a new domain. But, ideally, you should backup your databse from time to time anyway. I lost an entire blog once before I knew how to do this and it’s definitely no fun at all. So, at the end of the video I’ll also show you how to do sceduled backups using the same plugin.
In the video, I also mention the PHP My Admin plugin and wanted to include the link in case anyone was interested in being able to access their blog database from the WP admin.
In the video, I am using Host Gator to host my blog. It is affordable and works as well as a more expensive host. The most important thing is that it uses CPanel and it doesn’t get any more user friendly than that.
“Social Media Marketing” Is More Than Just “Social Networking.”
2009
03.30
03.30
Today on Twitter, John-Paul Hatala (@jphatala) asked the question “Do people get confused about social media versus social networking?”
The answer to this question is a definite YES!
Technically, social networks include sites like:
I constantly hear “social media experts” saying that they have the “answer” to the social media marketing puzzle. For example, I just recently heard:
“To use social media effectively, you need to be on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.”
Now, I agree 100% that anyone who is using social media as part of their overall marketing strategy should at least consider joining the communities of Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter…
BUT, social media marketing is so much more than this.
First of all, there is NO one answer to “how to use social media marketing to grow your business.”
Why?
Because social media is not a one size fits all strategy.
Where you engage in social media marketing dependson your business, your personality, your interests, your target market, your skills and strengths, and the rest of your marketing strategy.
So, besides social networking sites like the ones above, social media also includes things like:
- Blogs
- Video sharing sites (i.e. You Tube)
- Social bookmarking sites (i.e. Digg, Stumble Upon, Del.icio.us)
- Squidoo
- Hub Pages
- Wikis
- Forums
- Microblogging (i.e. Twitter-yes, technical;ly twitter is NOT a social networking site, it’s a microblogging community. But, IMHO, the lines definitelytend to blur (just look at how Facebook, Linkedin, and My Space have status updates, which look just like Tweets.)
Social media is simply any site which relies on “user generated content.”
This means that instead of a typical web 1.0 website where the owner is “broadcasting” their message to readers/ potential customers, the individuals who make up the community are the ones who provide the content.
So, how are blogs social media when the author writes the posts?
Well, the thing about blogs that makesthem so valuable and interactive is that the readers (usually) are allowed to (encouraged to) comment on the content, thus producing even more (user-generated) content.
Again, there is no “magic formula” for the “right” social media communities to participate.
You need to do your research and figure out where you will feel like you are part of the community and therefore will be a willing and active participant. Your chosen social media channels should be places where you feel comfortable generating content and participating in conversation because you WANT TO, not because you HAVE TO because it’s supposed to help you “make money.”
Branding Yourself (Not Your Company Or Affiliate Products) In Social Media Marketing.
2009
03.21
03.21
In the age of social media, we are ALL still navigating the landscape and trying to find the balance allowing the “marketing” into social media. This whole community feel that is becoming so powerful a part of the “new web” is still developing right now and we are all a part of it.
Personally, I still learn something new, just by listening and sharing ideas, every single day.
I am seeing (especially on Twitter lately) a huge market for the “social media quick fix” and many staking claim to having such a fix getting a lot of attention right now.
Trust me, there are NO quick fixes. Building a business, whether through traditional marketing methods, social media marketing, or (ideally) a balance of both, takes time and hard work.
The key is to never stop learning. As soon as you “know everything,” it’s all over for you.
To get back to my original point, the importance of branding yourself using social media marketing channels, let’s look at what we mean.
Many people who are just starting out in Internet marketing, in general, make a common mistake. They find a company, a “system,” a “guru,” or a product and they make their social media presence into a billboard for their “great Internet marketing hope.”
Just remember, there is never “just one answer” to finding what will work for you as an upcoming online entrepreneur. While it’s a great idea to take your blog and make it focused on one or more general marketing strategies that YOU have personally used and found to be useful and that you have a strong talent in using, it’s better to make your presence your own, not an advertising campaign for someone else. It’s also important to remember to always be open to trying new strategies that may fit into your overall marketing plan instead of just relying on one strategy.
The point of social media marketing is to:
- Listen to your fellow online entrepreneurs and find new ideas that will help you to find your own voice.
- Explore what your audience and possible future customers or business associates are asking about that, perhaps, you can honestly help them with. This will show that you are a valuable member of the community and not simply there to sell things.
- Share your new ideas or share ideas that have honestly helped you. Instead of sharing sales pages or “commercial” videos in social media profiles (eg. Twitter, social bookmarking sites, You Tube), share blog posts and “how to ” videos that have helped you.
- Be yourself! Share what you believe in, share your stories, share your failures and bad choices to help others avoid mistakes and scams. But don’t try to be something you’re not because, you’re not fooling anyone.
- Ask questions. There are plenty of people out there in the world of social media who are more than willing to help. The more you learn, the better off you’ll be. NEVER stop learning.
Everyone is an “expert” in something. Once you figure out your true strengths and weaknesses, social media marketing will become less “marketing” and more of a chance to become part of a “collective intelligence” like it’s meant to be. Once that happens, you’ll b e amazed at the results.
Remember, once you stop worrying about the “making money online” part, then, and only then, will you ever begin to move toward building a real business and making real money online.
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