social networking

Sally Falkow, Bulldog Reporter’s social media columnist and PRSA National Capital Chapter and PRESSfeed teams up to gather social media experts and anyone who is interested in the ever expanding world of social media in Pasadena, California on December 1, 2009 for a special professional development workshop in order to determine what is in store for social media in the coming year 2010.

There is no doubt that social media activity has skyrocketed over the past years. Today over 80% of internet users are sharing content and going online. Since people are now adopting social media, companies and businesses have migrated to the online world as well. Almost every major brand name now has their own Facebook page, Twitter feed and YouTube channel.

If you are in to social marketing through social media it is recommended that you attend this workshop. This is not just another panel session that would give you only theoretical overviews. The workshop is a practical how-to session with a case study that illustrates the best social media strategy that you can surely use.

You will be getting specific information about the right influencers, results for measurement, example of how to add a social media press release and how you can use a social media newsroom to increase your online coverage.

Sally Falkow is one of the two finalists nominated by PR News as PR Trainer of the Year and has hosted the Social Media Club. She has taught over more than 300 corporations how to plan and implement a social media strategy. She is currently the president and chief strategist at Expansion Plus, an Internet marketing and PR agency that is based in Los Angeles. If you need the best social media tips and advice then she is the person that you should listen to.

Using social media is the best way to promote your business brands. And with the explosive growth of social media, it is no wonder that a lot of companies are using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

A lot of marketers are now using social media and the numbers keep on growing. But these companies must understand how to employ effective methods and tactics in order to make the most of using a social media platform.

Remember that setting up an account is not enough. What is important is that there is participation and interaction among you and your audience. If none of this is happening then you are wasting your time. If you commit to making an account on a social networking site then you must be able to stay visible and active to your audience by doing regular updates. Keep them interested by constantly giving them useful information that is at the same time relevant to your brand.

Be humane. When people go to your account do not slap your company’s logo everywhere. Post a face to your profile, have a person’s name and have a good description. Make it more personal. Without doing so, people might think that you are becoming too self promotional. This could instantly make them lose interest because they will be thinking that you will just be pushing your products on them. It is ok to promote something but it should not be the main focus of your account.

You must be able to engage with your audience. Try to start conversations by posting articles, videos and links that is relevant to your business. You should also comment on other people’s sites or pages so that they can check your own site as well. Having a social networking account is also a great way to listen to your customers and potential clients. By interacting with them, you get to harness trust and loyalty from them as well.

Aside from making use of social networking sites, you can also set up a blog. It is actually a great place to start employing social marketing strategies and you can set up links going to your blog from your profiles. Your blog can be your home base wherein you can directly promote your products to entertain those audiences who are interested and want to know more about your business and the services you have to offer

If you’ve been on the Social Media Landscape, then you know there are hundreds, even thousands of great sites out there.  Social Media is about connecting with people.  That connection is important when you’re trying to engage in conversation.

There are so many places on the Social Media Landscape to engage in conversation, it’s hard to figure out where to go.  Well not any longer.  Here’s a “Yellow Pages” type book out there that lists over 3,000 social networking sites.

You may get it for free, by clicking here or by clicking the image of the book.  All you’ll have to do is register then login to download the mega book.  It has over 500 pages, if you can believe that! It’s also, NOT a bunch of links either.  So many of these books are just a bunch of links, but that’s not the case here. Each entry has a short description of the site.

I know you’re into Social Networking, but the people over at Meetup.com have started a new campaign to get you away from your computer.  It’s time to get out and BE Social.  It’s time to get away from your “Screen Addiction”.

Social Networking Offline

This is an Awesome video.  Don’t you think it’s time to end your addiction?

It’s time to Unplug Your Friends!

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When it comes to Social Networking Sites people generally belong to at least 10 of them. I personally have profiles on well over 20 Social Networking Sites. However trying to choose the top 10 Social Networking Sites is a difficult task.

In fact, I don’t think the task should be done by just one person, but by the Social Media Landscape itself. I think the main thing is to break them down into categories. Since there’s so many different types of Social Sites out there even categorizing them is a daunting task.

So this is what I’ve come up with:

CATEGORIES:

• Community

• Sharing

• Communication

• OddBall

PLEASE GO TO THIS LINK TO TAKE THE SURVEY: http://socialmedialandscape.com/cms/survey-top-10-social-networking-sites/

Since this is only a top 10 list, I think there should be 3 sites listed in Community, Sharing, Communication. There should be that one Oddball site that you think is cool, but also thinks it’s odd, so just one entry there please.

Once I receive all of your recommendations I’ll compile the results for all to see. I’ll also let people know how to reach you on your favorite sites. Make sure you put your Profile URL or name next to each site you list.

(Example: Twitter.com – http://twitter.com/mscopeland)

What I would like YOU to do is post 3 of your favorite sites in each of the categories in order of favoriteness.

PLEASE GO TO THIS LINK TO TAKE THE SURVEY: http://socialmedialandscape.com/cms/survey-top-10-social-networking-sites/

Not only do you get to vote for your favorite site, you get to have A LOT OF FOLLOWERS on those sites!

Who is going to win out of the 2008 Presidential Candidates? The Republican Presidential Candidate? The Democratic Presidential Candidate? A Libretarian Presidential Candidate?

Well if you know me, I’m not one to get into politics. Why can’t a “real” person run for President of the United States of America?

Well the thing is, YOU CAN!

WATCH THIS VIDEO:

Michael Copeland for President

So with all my friends over at PalTalk there were over 50,000 people all talking about a new presidential candidate.
So why is that person me? Perhaps it’s because of my last post stating that Social Media IS for Business. Maybe it was the video I did, making fun of marketers, “How NOT to be Social”. It could even be the blog post where I was called a Social Media Maven. Or maybe it’s something even MORE Viral!

If you want to market yourself or business, using the Social Media Landscape is an absolute must!

Presidential Candidate Barack Obama has been all over the Social Media Landscape. He has distinct groups on many Social Networking Sites working towards getting supporters. Presidential Candidate John McCain is doing the same, although not as much. He’s picking up speed now though. I guess it all depends on your targeted market.

However, could a Presidential Candidate, born FROM Social Media, really make a dent in the US Presidential Election or any country for that matter? I guess we’ll see what happens. It’s an exciting time.

So would you vote for me based on my blog, or my profile on Facebook, my Tweets on Twitter, or my Chat Room on PalTalk? Would you vote for anyone that way?

From: Michael S. Copeland at http://mscopeland.com

I was talking to someone about a blog post where I was sort of tagged as a Social Media Maven. They asked me “Is Social Media for Business?”. To me, that’s like asking “Is oil for the car?”.

Then I got to thinking. I came to the conclusion that a lot of businesses do not know what social media, social marketing, social networking, and web 2.0 are. They don’t know what it can do for them and their business.

So I started to explain to him with a lot of questions and a story. I’ll try and retell it as best I can here.

Say like Bob decides to start a business in a town. It’s a bagel and lunch place. They close at 5pm M-F. In order to get people to come to the shop, he joins the Chamber of Commerce and the downtown neighborhood association. He decides to host the next Chamber get together. He gets a write up in the paper. The mayor was there. It was a good time. He’s at all the local events talking with people. Making sure to wear a Bob’s Bagels hat and shirt everywhere. He hands out cards to adults, balloons for kids. He’s doing it all right.

Now imagine that Bob makes the best Olive cream cheese people have ever tasted. He’s done surveys and people love his Everything Bagel with Olive Cream Cheese. It even won a county award. One of the things Bob does, which is unique for a bagel shop, is he gives recipes to his patrons to complement his cream cheeses. Like the Olive stuffed chicken breast, stuff like that.

Then someone asked if he had a website. He didn’t at the moment but was in the middle of creating one. His website would have order placement and drive by pickup. He even set up prepayment, shipping, and a newsletter. All of his recipes were on there.

You see, Social Media IS for business! It doesn’t matter what you’re selling. People buy from PEOPLE!

I drive 30 minutes to another Best Buy instead of the one 8 minutes from my house. Why? The people!

What Bob did was SOCIALIZE with the people in his town. He talked to them, shook their hand, and LISTENED to what they had to say. Since this was a brick and mortar business he did this all in person, whether it be him or one of his employees.

So now take that to the online world. What are you selling? Who are you selling it to? Where are they hanging out?

Don’t walk into the bar screaming “I’ve got the training course you want, get it now for 20% off!” That’s not being SOCIAL.

Join the conversation. If you happen to be able to help someone then tell them about yourself and what you can do. If you can’t help them, tell them where they can get the help! It’s being Social!!

I had a client who wanted more SEO work done and some training. I can get around with SEO but am not an expert. I was happy to steer them in the direction of some SEO Gurus.

Things like that are appreciated and will be returned 10fold. Because when that person hears someone in need of business building help or social media marketing help, I’m sure they will send them my way.

YES! Social Media is for Business. Just be REAL and get in touch with your peeps.

The Social Media Landscape is a big big place consisting of thousands of social networking sites and other forms of communication. The term “Social Media Landscape” has been used for years, but it really hasn’t been defined.

So I ask you to join in and let us define what the Social Media Landscape is.

• Is it a website? A series of websites? A feeling? A way to communicate?
• Who uses it? Can it be used? What is it used for?
• How do you use it? What do you use to traverse the Social Media Landscape?

So let’s start the conversation and see where it goes. If you have sites to recommend they will be added to the site list. If you have tools you suggest, they’ll be added to the tool box. If you have ideas that you haven’t seen in your travels, then we’ll put them in the idea factory.

This is YOUR place, so come on in, pull up a chair, and [click to continue...]