February 2011

Feb 2011

28

Reserve your seat for the web’s biggest social media event! #SMSS11

by Lani and Allen

The following is from Social Media Examiner, which is deeply tied to a remarkable series of online Success Summits that have been happening since 2009. The one that started it all? The Social Media Success Summit, and the third annual event kicks off May 3rd, wherever YOU want to engage with it!

They sold out the 2,500 spots last year, and as of this post, they’ve got a half-off, early-bird registration thing going on. People who attended last year’s event have already had a window to reserve their spot ahead of everyone else, so the remaining slots are now available to the general public. If you missed it last year, or you’d been holding out on re-attending, please, please, PLEASE do yourself and your business a favor and make the ridiculously cost-effective investment in this Summit and all the materials that come with it.

We’ve already registered ourselves, and we look forward to “seeing” you there!

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Have you heard the buzz about Social Media Success Summit 2011—the web’s largest online social media marketing conference?

Before I tell you how this virtual summit will help your business attract great customers and prospects, gain a unique competitive advantage, and measure your social media results, let me share a story with you.

PROOF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING WORKS…

In October 2009, Michael Stelzner started Social Media Examiner, a blog for marketers and small business owners. Almost overnight, his site became one of the top business blogs in the world.

He didn’t advertise, didn’t rely on the press and almost none of his traffic came from search engines.

Slightly more than a year later, his site has more than 57,000 email subscribers, over 31,000 Facebook fans, a half-million page views a month, and has generated nearly $2 million in sales.

Everything he does focuses on delivering high-quality content coupled with intelligent social media marketing.

Michael’s story is not unique. A significant 73% of business owners and marketers plan to increase their use of social media in 2011 (2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report).

What’s the connection? Your customers (and prospects) are using social media every day. Social media is a new marketing frontier because it bypasses all the costly middlemen and allows you to engage directly with your customers and prospects! AND this presents an enormous opportunity for you.

SO WHAT’S THIS ABOUT?

Michael (and his team) have been working for months to bring the best minds in social media together in a fully online event called Social Media Success Summit 2011.

A significant 2,500 marketers and business owners from around the world attended his last Social Media Success Summit. Businesses were transformed. In fact, 96% of attendees said they’d attend again.

This summit’s focus is to empower you to implement successful social media marketing tactics, track and measure your social media ROI, and see how successful social media campaigns were executed. Twenty-two of the world’s leading social media superstars will be summit instructors.

Presenters include Jeremiah Owyang (Altimeter Group), Brian Solis (author, Engage), Frank Eliason (Citigroup), Mari Smith (co-author, Facebook Marketing), Erik Qualman (author, Socialnomics), Michael Stelzner (founder, Social Media Examiner), Dan Zarrella (author, The Social Media Marketing Book), and experts from Boeing, Intel, Verizon, Cisco and LinkedIn.

Plus join Andy Sernovitz (author, Word of Mouth Marketing), David Meerman Scott (author, Real-Time Marketing & PR), Jay Baer (co-author, The Now Revolution), Hollis Thomases (author, Twitter Marketing), Steve Garfield (author, Get Seen), and Ann Handley (MarketingProfs)–just to name a few.

Attendees at our two last summits included well-known organizations such as General Electric, American Express, Staples, General Mills, Microsoft, Harvard, San Francisco Giants, MetLife, Kraft Foods, Hyatt Hotels, Stanford, Ben & Jerry’s, IDG and Disney. But you don’t need to be a big business to benefit!

This is the world’s largest online social media event designed to empower marketers and business owners to master social media marketing. And the great news is it’s a live online conference you can attend from your home or office.

Go here now to learn more. And as a way of saying “thanks” for checking out the summit, there’s a gift just for marketers called “8 Steps to Creating a Winning Social Media Strategy” by Jay Baer (valued at $59) waiting for you. Go get it!

Feb 2011

19

Epiphanies, Inc. to deliver free webinar on “The Stages of Social Interaction” in partnership with JitterJam

by Allen Voivod

This is the second in a monthly series of webinars, with content designed and delivered by social marketing and success strategies firm Epiphanies, Inc., hosted by and featuring the expertise of social CRM firm JitterJam. To register for this free webinar (and to receive access to the recording, regardless of whether you can attend live), go to https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/976664400.

GILFORD, NH (–PR.com–) The world of business is a world of relationships. Social media hasn’t changed this fundamental fact. What has changed, though, is that there are new ways to create and build relationships and new expectations for how businesses conduct those relationships.

Are you ready for these new rules of engagement? Join Allen Voivod, co-owner of social marketing and success strategies firm Epiphanies, Inc., for “The Stages of Social Interaction,” a free webinar on Wednesday, February 23rd at 11:30am Eastern. This is the latest in a new series of monthly educational webinars for entrepreneurs, businesses, and organizations determined to evolve and prosper in this dynamic Social Age.

Registration is required, and the session will be recorded for people who can’t attend live or who wish to watch the webinar at their convenience. Topics to be covered in the webinar include:

— Why monitoring – silent, defensive, and not relationship building at all – is still a necessary first step

— Passive versus active listening, and how a little of one and a lot of the other

— The difference between an engaged audience and a conversational one

— How to know when you’re in a social media relationship, and what good it’s doing you

— Why the inevitable speed bumps in your relationships can be one of the best things for your business

This webinar, and others in the monthly series, are hosted by JitterJam, a leading Social CRM software company, and will also feature Margaret Donnelly, VP of Marketing and Business Development for JitterJam.

For more details, and to sign up for the free “Stages of Social Interaction” webinar, go to https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/976664400.

About Epiphanies, Inc.
Hailed as “visionary” and “two of the most creative thinkers in the industry” by the NH Division of Economic Development, Lani and Allen Voivod share powerful social marketing & success strategies through speaking, workshops, and their own online channels. Their company, Epiphanies, Inc., trains teams, crafts strategies, and serves as long-term success partners for bold brands, innovative businesses, and mission-driven organizations. To find out how they can help your business boost visibility, community, competitive edge, memberships, and profits, join their Facebook community at http://facebook.com/AhaYourself and introduce yourself, jump into the conversation, or share a biz insight on their FB Wall.

About JitterJam
JitterJam is a web-based Social CRM system that helps businesses and brands Turn Conversations into Customers™. JitterJam combines social media monitoring, an intelligent contact database and a multi-channel digital marketing platform into a single, integrated system. Consumer-facing businesses, brands, agencies and consultants are using JitterJam to capture relevant conversations on the social web and turn them into lasting, trusted customer relationships with new opportunities for revenue growth. Founded in 2008, JitterJam is headquartered in Bedford, NH. For more information, visit http://www.jitterjam.com.

Feb 2011

18

5 keys to prepping a social-media-savvy job search

by Allen Voivod

We’re thrilled to be part of the upcoming “Begin With Yes Career Fest” happening March 15th here in New Hampshire, and being streamed online. Allen will be speaking on the topic of social media basics for job seekers, and in advance of the event, wrote this article with recommendations for what to do before it’s time to start a job search.

Social networks influence our lives in countless and unexpected ways, including how we lose, find, and change jobs.

The stories are out there – good and bad. A Cleveland software architect profiled in Time Magazine who, after losing his position, landed a new one in just 11 days thanks to connections on Facebook and Twitter. A freelancer who lost out on a gig at Cisco because of an all-too-honest tweet.

There should be no surprises here – networking in real life also helps people land jobs faster, and people have been losing jobs for more than a decade thanks to ill-advised emails. But social networks put a much more powerful spin on these concepts in the world of work. So, how do you adapt? Here are five tips to help your cause.

1. Think like HR does. According to a recent survey of hiring professionals, more than 80% use online search and social media profiles to narrow down fields of job candidates. They even use online channels to find “passive candidates” – already employed people who’d consider a better deal at a different company. What will those hiring professionals find out about you?

2. Google yourself. Who does Google think you are? Do the results help or hurt? Regardless of what’s there now, you can affect those results by opening accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social networks. These sites are so popular, they routinely come up on the first page of search results. And search optimization studies show that most people don’t go past the first page on Google.

3. Privacy control. All social platforms offer privacy options to help you control what’s shared publicly and what’s kept private. Use them! Furthermore, you’re already careful about what job-related things you say via plain old email, right? Use that same standard of caution with your social networking updates, and you’ll be just fine.

4. Plan ahead. Develop your networks now, before you actually need them. Add content to social networking profiles, and grow them over time. Like many things in life, creating an effective online presence doesn’t happen overnight. Don’t wait until disaster strikes – build your safety net steadily, so it’s there to catch you when you need it.

5. Creation versus curation. So you have a Facebook profile, a Twitter handle, and LinkedIn account – now what? You feed it content that shows you care about the work you do. If you find creating content difficult to do on a regular basis, go for curation – finding and sharing content from other sources with your own network. Share an opinion about other people’s content, and you get both creation and curation in one shot.

Whether you’re currently employed or currently seeking work, managing your online presence, reputation, and personal brand is critical for your professional growth and potential. If you’re not visible online, you’re essentially invisible to the executive, headhunter, insider, benevolent connection, or hiring manager filling or creating a great position you want and deserve.

Allen Voivod is co-owner of Epiphanies, Inc., a social marketing and success strategies firm based in Gilford. He is one of five featured speakers at the upcoming “Begin With Yes Career Fest,” March 15th at White Mountains Community College. The event is free, but space is limited, so register now! Email lsherman@dred.state.nh.us to attend in person, or go to http://bit.ly/NoBullStream on 3/15 to watch real-time video of the event.

Feb 2011

15

A 15-point quickie guide to the new Facebook Pages

by Allen Voivod

Remember that funny little Facebook glitch back in December, when the Facebook peeps accidentally turned on some of the changes that were still in development for Facebook Pages?

Well, they finally pulled the trigger on those changes for real, and Page owners started seeing the option to upgrade last Thursday. Facebook will force the upgrade on you next month if you don’t do it yourself before then, so we thought, “Hey! Let’s take the bull by the horns and dig into it now!”

So here you go…a handy-dandy 15-point guide to the new upgrade, with our own advice sprinkled throughout.

1. Just do it already! Pull the trigger on the upgrade and get used to it sooner rather than later. Believe us, you’ll feel better about it in the morning.

2. Nav on the move. Your tabs are now over on the left underneath your Page’s main image, just like how it is on your Profile.

3. Photo strip savvy. Those 5 photos up top are completely under your control. As you load new photos into your Page’s photo albums, the photos on the strip will change. But roll over them and you’ll see an “X” to remove them. This only removes them from the photo strip, not from the album itself. This way, you can control what photos are seen by your Likers when they come to your Page.

4. Love the layer. As our fabulous, fantastic social media mentor Mari Smith first flagged for us, when you click on one of those photos, it opens up as a new layer in your browser, akin to a a pop-up window. You could choose to use any or all of those photo spots for promotional purposes, and add links to direct customers to special landing pages on your own website. (Great idea, Mari!!!)

5. Wall gets whacked. Formerly, there were three options for your Wall – only your posts, only Liker Posts, or both combined. Now, you get two options – only your posts, or a News-Feed-like algorithmically-generated “top posts from Everyone” that combines your posts with your Likers’ posts to your Page in new and surprising ways. Since 90%+ of Page interaction happens not on your Page itself, but through a person’s Profile News Feed, you may be safe leaving it at the “top posts” setting for now. But you’ll have to keep an eye on what’s happening, which is easier now, thanks to…

6. Email notifications! This one made me about as excited as Kristen Wiig in those Saturday Night Live skits. Just like with your personal Profile, you’ll receive an email when someone posts on your Page. Fantabulous! (Unless you’re like Lani, who totally despises email.)

7. Oh, but back to the Wall… You may have noticed that, under the “Wall” navigation link on the left, there’s an “Admin View” link. Click that, and you’ll see a view that looks exactly like the old combined version of your posts + your Likers’ posts in precise reverse chronological order.

8. Post as your Page, on other Pages and Profiles. This could get confusing real fast unless I start using examples. Our lovely and talented friend and collaborator Leslie Sturgeon, president and founder of Women Inspiring Women, has a personal Profile for herself and a Page for WIW. In the past, if she wanted to write on the Epiphanies, Inc. Wall, she had to write there as Leslie Sturgeon. Now, she can also write there as WIW. (Look in the “Account”  drop-down menu in the upper right corner to see the “Use Facebook as Page” option.)

9. Post as yourself on your own Page. More examples! If I, Allen, wanted to write something on the Epiphanies, Inc. Page, it used to only appear as coming from Epiphanies. Now, I can have it come from me, Allen, on my own Page. Brilliant!

10. Feature the admins. Or “Featured Page Owners,” as Facebook calls them. It’s another way to put faces to the business Page. This appears in the left-hand sidebar, and you can choose to show who administers your Page (with a link to their Profile).

11. Your “Favorite Pages” are now “Likes.” Really just a name change to conform with the whole “Like” mantra, nothing more. So far.

12. Yet another News Feed. You know how, when you log into your Profile, you see a News Feed based on your Friends, and Likes, and other EdgeRank factors? Well, if you’re operating as your Page and not your Profile, then when you go to Facebook’s homepage, you’ll see a News Feed that’s tailored to your Page and its likes, not your Profile. It adds a whole new dimension to your Facebook experience in terms of access, visibility, and connectivity.

13. Category control. Used to be that you chose your category at your initial Page setup and, short of an act of God or access to a Facebook insider, you were stuck with it. Now, you can change it at will!

14. Everything in moderation. This actually showed up a little bit before the big Page change, but people are just starting to notice it now. In your Page admin panel, you can turn on a profanity filter to different strength levels, and add words and phrases to a moderation blocklist, to help keep things clean on your Page.

15. Static FBML’s swan song. This app has been a business owner’s dream, allowing you to create custom Facebook tabs. Sadly, Facebook is officially warning people that they’ll no longer be able to add this app after March 11th. While they say they’ll continue to support existing installs, they recommend you transition to iFrames as soon as possible. This is a major change on the developers’ side of things, and for now, we’ll have to wait and see how custom tabs will be able to be added in the future. Here’s one good shot-from-the-hip example of how to create a custom tab using iFrames. I expect the excellent folks at HyperArts will chime in with their own guides soon enough.

There have been some unfortunate side effects from the change – most noticeably, reports of spammers and overzealous marketers running amok and posting as Pages on other Pages in obnoxious acts of self-promotion. And some Pages with lots of Likers are becoming difficult to moderate as a result.

But there are a lot of squeaky wheels on Facebook, and usually the social media behemoth will apply enough grease to placate the hyper-connected masses.

All in all, though, “Progress, not perfection” continues to be the name of the game for Facebook and their 600 million users. Take a cue from that, and dive in imperfectly to your own Page upgrade.

And please tell us how it goes for you!

Feb 2011

7

Blowing up your ideas about blogging

by Allen Voivod

Even as we approach the 5th anniversary of our blog, we’re attending the Blogging Success Summit this month to rediscover our passion and refine our skills.

But what is “blogging,” really? I was talking with the executive director of a local Chamber of Commerce recently, who has a PR background but hasn’t been blogging because of the perceived time commitment. To this person, writing a blog post was akin to creating a full-fledged article, something that could be suitable for traditional publication.

I read a great article a couple of years ago (I think it was Inc. Magazine, but can’t seem to find what I remember about it on their site) about how blogging can be as varied and diverse as posting a single photo a day, a 10,000-word treatise once a month, or anything in-between.

There’s video blogging – somehow the term “vlogging” never really caught on – and you could consider some podcasts as a kind of audio blogging (others are more like radio shows). So really, the idea of “blogging” is nothing more or less than having the ability to share new content, in any form, on one’s own domain. That’s as opposed to posting on someone else’s domain, like YouTube or Facebook.

And speaking of Facebook, hundreds of millions of people are being trained to post updates in multiple forms – short-form text (Status Updates), long-form text (Notes), photos, videos, and more. From a functional standpoint, Facebook updating is the same thing as blogging.

Business blogging, then, just narrows down the range of topics about which you might post. Beyond that, the only other thing you need to know is that the content you post must provide a tangible value or benefit to your audience. This doesn’t mean you have to have a sales pitch of some sort in each post! It simply means that, at the minimum, it should reinforce and enhance the reader’s good opinion of you and/or your business or organization.

Give your readers an emotional lift. Let them have an awesome vicarious experience. Help them gain a new perspective. Riff on a quote that has particular meaning or relevance for you. Opine on a news story. Inspire an “Aha!” moment. Share a coupon or two, too. Have fun with it!

That’s not to ignore the deeper, strategic side of blogging – editorial calendars, keyword strategy, audience engagement, and so forth. But if you address these strategic considerations and then never get around to the actual implementation because it seems too daunting to “blog” on a regular basis, then you need to rethink what it means to blog.

Whether you need to hear the negative spin of “Don’t make things harder than they have to be” version of this, or the positive spin of “Make things as easy as they can be,” remember this today:

The only wrong way to blog is not to do it.

Feb 2011

4

“Begin With Yes” Career Fest: Attend on 3/15 or watch it live online!

by Lani and Allen

We love this, and not only because Allen is presenting one of the workshops and Lani will be tweeting and shooting quickie Flip videos to capture highlights of the event. This unique “Begin With Yes Career Fest” is fueled with a very passionate, powerful, positive intention to affect change.

Today the Department of Labor announced the nationwide unemployment rate is at 9%, and an additional five million people have given up looking for work altogether. This event is designed to help folks in New Hampshire get the tools they need to get back on track, get inspired, and TAKE ACTION that’ll lead to new jobs, more opportunities, and happier, more financially stable lives and livelihoods. Plus, Paul Boynton is a WONDERFUL, dynamic, and generous man. If anyone can serve as a catalyst for hope and prosperity in these challenging times, he can.

BERLIN, NH – When developing an effective job search strategy, it’s best to keep this simple theory in mind – Positive attitude plus positive action leads to a positive result.

That’s the philosophy of Paul Boynton, award-winning CEO of Manchester-based social service agency The Moore Center and author of the inspirational book Begin With Yes. Boynton is working with a team of State and private sector partners to help unemployed New Hampshire citizens access the tools and resources they need to return to the workforce.

In tandem with this effort, the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development, White Mountains Community College, Public Service of New Hampshire, Logo Loc and media sponsor New Hampshire Business Review will hold the “Begin With Yes Career Fest” at White Mountains Community College in Berlin on Tuesday, March 15th from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

“The lessons you learn in my book about the power of being positive and setting attainable goals are all good, but there needs to be a corresponding action plan to turn those good thoughts into activity,” Boynton said. “That’s why we’re not only offering free downloads of Begin With Yes* to folks who are out of work, but are also providing them with the concrete set of tools they need to conduct an effective job search. It’s a two-pronged approach.”

In addition to Boynton’s keynote address, there will be four other general session workshops – “Job Search – Applications, Resumes and Cover Letters” (White Mountains Community College speaker TBD), “Effective Communication Skills in the Job Search” (Dr. Russ Ouellette, Sojourn Partners), “Networking – It’s Not Who You Know, But Who Knows You” (Kevin Shyne, North Country Tech Prep Director and Leadership North Country Executive Director) and “Social Media Basics for Job Seekers” (Allen Voivod, Epiphanies, Inc.).

“Recognizing that helping to develop a job ready workforce is a primary goal of education, White Mountains Community College is thrilled to be a part of this event,” said White Mountains Community College President Kathy Eneguess. “We look forward to lending the expertise of our staff in developing and coordinating workshops that provide valuable information to citizens looking for a fresh start backed with new ideas.”

Through a special arrangement with Manchester-based EZStream and Portsmouth-based Kinney Hill Media Partners, the entire event will streamed live at http://bit.ly/NoBullStream.

“Though the event is taking place in the North Country, we are definitely committed to ensuring that all citizens have access to this great information,” said New Hampshire Division of Economic Development Interim Director Roy Duddy. “Whether you’re someone who has been out of work for a long time or someone who is underemployed and is just seeking a new career direction, you’ll truly benefit from the combination of Paul’s book and the interactive workshops.”

“Public Service of New Hampshire is proud to take an active role in sponsoring and being on the coordinating committee of such a creative and proactive event in the state’s North Country,” added Public Service of New Hampshire Economic & Community Development Manager Pat McDermott. “Helping our citizens to get back to work and build a stronger workforce and local economy is a mission that everyone embraces and we’re just happy to be able to do our part.”

Admission to the “Begin With Yes Career Fest” is FREE but is limited to the first 200 people. To register, contact Leslie Sherman at lsherman@dred.state.nh.us.

*Unemployed citizens can download copies of “Begin With Yes” free of charge at http://www.beginwithyes.com/purchase.html. They will need to click the “ebook” option and enter YESNH in the discount code box.

Feb 2011

2

Shifting Into the Social Mindset

by Lani and Allen

Here’s the opening shot fired at the “A-Ha!” NH Social Media Business Summit, about the big SHIFT happening in the world of work. (And in our personal lives, too!) It’s a huge change in the way we all communicate, interact, and engage with each other, with businesses, brands, and organizations.

In this video from our Facebook page, Lani talks about the Shift and how best to respond to it:

(Interestingly, when this post gets imported into Facebook, the Facebook video above doesn’t go with it. But this link will bring you to it.)

Watch for more videos from the Summit in the coming weeks – use any of the subscription options in the top right of this page to have the updates sent to you the way YOU want to get them!