Community isn’t something that happens once just to help build you up from zero to one hundred or five thousand followers. A real community is there for the long term. They are the people you can count on come thick or thin. They are the people who will build you up, tell you the truth even if it hurts and celebrate your successes because they helped you get there.
How many hours have you spent adding buttons, gadgets and widgets to your new blog or website? You research the right tools, share buttons, share bars, analytic tracking tools and more. You install them with a hope and a prayer that someone somewhere is going to use them. However, unfortunately many business leaders find they don’t get used. The share buttons sit on their site with the lonely zero or default +1. Chances are your pocket book or wallet might be feeling a little lonely too.
It’s easy to get side tracked by all the geekdom in social. From looks (impressions) to likes, follows, retweets, influence scores, views, demographics, insights, conversions and the list goes on.
Underneath all of the bits, bytes, and likes we can’t forget why we like social media in the first place. Social networks connect human beings. They provide a way for us to better communicate, share information, learn, grow, and help others do the same.
What is it about some blogs that you visit and you naturally have a tendancy to want to sit back in your easy chair, read and relax? It may make you feel inspired, relaxed, motivated, smart or even challenge your thinking. Then as soon as you are done reading it you feel empowered, ready to get out there and rock your blog and business?
What makes a good blog? How can you rock yours? Here are 12 easy tips to rock any blog in any industry starting now. You don’t need a developer to do most of these. With a little focus on your audience, your online brand presence and relevant content you can take your blog from zero to zoom speed in no time.
You know the old saying “be a friend, to get a friend.” Social media creates amazing opportunities to connect with real people. It doesn’t have to be a fake world as some assume. I have personally met people on the social streams who I am now tightly partnered with based on life changing relationships.
It is true that social media is about the people. It is something that I have preached since the minute I hopped on Twitter. However, you can’t just say it’s about the people and do nothing about it. Many people think if they just sit all day on Twitter and Facebook and talk to the “people” about “whatever” that it will bring result.
For real results both personally and professionally, you need some skin in the game. This includes having a plan, objectives, understanding your audience etc.
There are some things in life and business that don’t need a long introduction or fancy brand story before cutting to the chase. This blog post is one of them. This week I received an email from a self proclaimed “social media expert.” I’ve been subscribed to her email list for quite some time. To [...]
Tweet this, retweet this, check out this blog post, click here, act now, subscribe for free updates, watch this, share this, like me, follow me, act now. Whoa! There sure isn’t a shortage of folks telling us what to do in the social world.
From bloggers, internet marketing experts, social media gurus, social rockstars, twitterati, to a-listers someone has something that is going to rock your world with a click, like, follow and tweet.
Anybody who blogs can remember your first post, second post and the empowerment you experienced. The empowerment I felt after leaving behind a career of fifteen years in the corporate world to pursue my dreams as an entrepreneur and being free to write about what I wanted to write about was beyond words. I remember getting those little butterflies as I hit send and would wait to see if anyone read those early posts. I still remember the first nice man who commented on my blog.
If you have been online Twitter or Facebook this week it would be hard to miss the chatter on Klout and their new algorithm. We are not social puppets. We must refuse to behave like puppets for any score. We are not defined as a human being by our Klout or any other score. What you do in the lives of others offline is what matters. Social media is simply a way for us to impact business and lives. It’s how we use it and what we use it for that will determine our influence. Our influence in reality is not measured by +Ks, topic lists or other.
When a person takes their life there is a gap that is left. There are missions left to conquer, conversations yet to have and lives left to change.
This past weekend the social media world lost a brilliant and giving man, Trey Pennington. He took his life in the parking lot of a church. He left behind 6 kids. I did not know Trey well but knew of his work, his belief in people. He encouraged others to not give up and to find the strength to reach their goals.
His last tweet read: Sure am thankful for online friends who are real friends offline, too. Love you.
Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t is my mantra of life. I am who I am take it or leave it.
There is not one way to tweet, Facebook, Link or circle. The only way to do social media is the way that works for you. Here is a summary of what works for me and my tweets.
Influence is in the eye & heart of the beholder.
Can influence truly be 100% measured via any tool? My belief and answer to this question is no. Some of the peeps who influence me the most are the ones who make me think.
Yes we can measure what action is taken on the web that may or may not be a result of being influenced by an individual. We can measure if someone inspired us to click, like, opt-in. However, we can’t measure if we truly read, understand, relate or think.
There is definitely no shortage of social data, metrics, measurement strategies, analytics, influence scores, listening platforms, reputation management approaches and experts ready to take your credit card to help you figure it all out.
I have received several tweets and messages recently asking me for tips to help people raise their Klout score.
If you are focused on trying to raise your Klout or other influence score I have only one answer for you… you are measuring the wrong metric!
A word that has been on my mind the past few weeks is relevancy. It is a word we all talk about yet many don’t understand.
I have also received several comments asking me “relevant to who?” on posts that include discussions of relevancy.
Why are they asking me “who” their brand should be relevant to? I think often times people get to the bottom of a blog post and become frustrated they weren’t provided all of the answers to complete their business and integrated social marketing plan.
I have a story to share with you about what one may consider a social media “tool” called Triberr. To me it is much more. It challenged me from day one to put my action where my mouth is in regard to helping others.
For those of us who love the study of human behavior, social media provides a 24/7 real time research lab. Millions of people spend hours a day on social networks. As individuals, business leaders, students, CEOs, research analysts, marketers, and recruiters we all have different objectives both personally and professionally.
Social media offers the opportunity to join groups of people, to create communities where people come together. We come together for a cause, to solve a problem. We join tweet hands to share content and knowledge, to increase the depth and reach of voice or simply connect with human beings.
ROFL, LOL, 
, 
, IRL, <3, Woot!, :0)
If you have spent anytime on Facebook, Twitter or texting you are guaranteed to have seen these characters. Chances are they usually make you smile, maybe even laugh (LOL).
It is important that we don’t let the online LOL’s replace the offline belly chuckles. Or let the smiles replace the smile on our kids face when we do something special with them.
Let’s quit bantering over the semantics & get real with people. Authenticity is a word being over used in social circles. Does it begin to lose meaning to some? Absolutely. However, just because we may be tired of the word “authenticity” does it change the importance and ability to embrace, desire and appreciate real relationships both online and offline? Absolutely not.
Granny has been busy since she last stopped by. She’s been tweetin’ and learning about online relationships. She dropped by recently to share some updated words of advice regardless if we want to hear them or not. Check out Granny’s 40 Tips for Good Social Relationships.
Getting out into world, learning from new perspectives, enjoying the company of others is the spice of life.
So why in business do we find this so hard to accept? Why do we think we’ll accomplish more if we stay inside our corporate and virtual home offices as we fervently turn in our social hamster wheels of marketing strategies, business plans, engagement approaches, audience research, websites, Facebook pages and suites that hoot?
Yes, the economy stinks. However, that doesn’t mean we need to work the hamster wheel 24/7. It actually should drive the opposite behavior.
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