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	<title>Social Media DIY Workshop &#187; Communication</title>
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	<link>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com</link>
	<description>The online workshop to help small business learn to use social media</description>
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		<title>Get Your Message Out On Facebook</title>
		<link>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2012/02/get-your-message-out-on-facebook/</link>
		<comments>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2012/02/get-your-message-out-on-facebook/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:52:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Charlene Kingston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Level 4]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook Page]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook Wall]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/?p=9116</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Facebook is a valuable tool, but you can't rely on it to get your message out to your community. Learn how Facebook shares your business page wall posts and how to increase your post visibility. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Facebook is a valuable tool for many businesses and can help you get your business message out. However, Facebook limits how it shares your business page wall posts in ways that might surprise you. For this reason, it&#8217;s important that you don&#8217;t rely on Facebook alone to get out your message to your online community.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Before You Start:</strong> You have a Facebook business page where you post items frequently each week.</li>
<li><strong>Learning level:</strong> 4 | Creating Solutions</li>
<li><strong>Article Last Updated:</strong> Wednesday, February 1, 2012</li>
</ul>
<div class="line"></div>
<h2>Do You Understand Facebook?</h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-9130" title="getting-your-message-out-on-facebook" src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/getting-your-message-out-on-facebook-261x300.jpg" alt="" width="261" height="300" />How well do you understand Facebook? Check your understanding by answering this question.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Question</strong>: Does everyone who likes your business page sees everything you post on your business page wall?</li>
<li><strong>Answer</strong>: NO!</li>
</ul>
<p>Does this surprise you? It shocks most business people.</p>
<h2>Facebook News Feed Filter</h2>
<p>It turns out that Facebook has a complicated formula it uses to decide what to put into each person&#8217;s news feed. It takes all of the possible items from all of their friends and every business they like, and figures out <strong>which items each person most likely will love to read</strong>. That&#8217;s right! <a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/05/does-anyone-see-your-facebook-posts/">Facebook filters what goes into each person&#8217;s news feed</a>. So what does this mean for your business?</p>
<ul>
<li>Some who like your page <strong>may never see anything you post</strong>.</li>
<li>Other people will <strong>see some of what you post</strong>.</li>
<li>Most likely, no one who likes your page will ever <strong>see all of your posts</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h2>What Is Facebook Thinking?</h2>
<p>Facebook has a good reason for filtering the news feed. They want everyone with a personal profile to have a great experience on Facebook. So they want to provide items in the news feed that are <strong>most likely to delight each person</strong>. Facebook&#8217;s primary concern is not getting your business message out. Facebook&#8217;s primary concern is giving people (not businesses) a  <strong>wonderful Facebook experience</strong>. If that means eliminating your business wall posts from the news feed, they are okay with that. Facebook does give each business another way to reach people, a way that they guarantee will reach your target audience. That tool is Facebook ads. The odds are stacked against your business page wall posts getting the visibility you want. So is it even worth your effort to be on Facebook? And if you decide to use Facebook, is there a way you can still get the most from your Facebook wall posts?</p>
<h2>Should My Business Be On Facebook?</h2>
<p>Choosing which social media tools to use for your business is one of the most important decisions you make for your business. The right social media tools help you business in many ways.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Showcase</strong> your products and services.</li>
<li>Help you build <strong>stronger relationships</strong> with existing customers.</li>
<li>Help you <strong>reach out</strong> to the public and potential customers.</li>
<li>Increase the <strong>visibility</strong> of your business and products.</li>
</ul>
<p>Facebook is the largest social media tool on the planet. It can help you reach your existing customers and find new customers whether you are B2B or B2C. It&#8217;s not a perfect platform for every business or every industry. But having a Facebook presence can help most businesses.</p>
<h2>How May People See Each Post?</h2>
<p>Facebook tells you how many people see each item you post on your business page wall. To see this, you must be <a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/03/use-facebook-as-your-page/">using Facebook as your page</a>. Display your business page wall. At the bottom of each post, right above the links for like, comment, and share, Facebook says: &#8220;X people reached.&#8221; This tells you how many people got this item in their news feed.</p>
<h2>Measuring Post Visibility</h2>
<p>You can calculate what percent of the people who like your page see each wall post. To do this, take the number of people reached and divide it by the number of likes for your page. For example, if Facebook says 48 people reached and you have 287 people who like your page, you take 48 ÷ 287, or approximately 17% saw that post.</p>
<h2>Getting Your Posts Seen</h2>
<p>There are <a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/06/6-ways-to-get-your-facebook-wall-posts-seen/">things you can do to increase the chances of people seeing your business page wall posts</a>. It&#8217;s really worth your effort to do these things. They can double or triple the visibility of each post. With a little effort, you can increase the visibility of each wall post and keep reaching deeper into your Facebook community. But to really reach your online community with your message, you need to be using tools other than Facebook. For example, you can:</p>
<ul>
<li>Share your Facebook posts on <strong>Twitter</strong> with a link to the individual post.</li>
<li>Mention your Facebook posts in your <strong>email newsletter</strong>.</li>
<li>Talk about your Facebook posts when you conduct <strong>conference calls</strong> or <strong>webinars</strong>.</li>
<li>Add a link to your Facebook business page to your <strong>website</strong> and <strong>email signature</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<p>The key to getting your message out on Facebook is to increase the chances of people seeing your wall posts. Then, use other tools to direct people to your Facebook page. Together, these practices will help you reach deeper into your Facebook community. <div class="line"></div><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/subscribe/"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7464" title="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/like-this-article.png" alt="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." width="500" height="275" /></a><div class="line"></div> <strong>Your turn:</strong> What kind of visibility do your Facebook wall posts get? What have you found gets you the most visibility? Share you experience and insights here. <strong>Related Articles:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/06/6-ways-to-get-your-facebook-wall-posts-seen/">6 Ways To Get Your Facebook Wall Posts Seen</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/03/use-facebook-as-your-page/">Use Facebook As Your Page</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/03/connect-with-facebook-tags/">Connect With Facebook Tags</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/07/facebook-status-update-tricks/">Facebook Status Update Tricks</a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Should My Business Be On Facebook?" href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/01/2009/12/should-my-business-be-on-facebook/" rel="bookmark">Should My Business Be On Facebook?</a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Facebook As A Social Media Hub" href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/03/2010/01/facebook-as-a-social-media-hub/" rel="bookmark">Facebook As A Social Media Hub</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/05/does-anyone-see-your-facebook-posts/">Does Anyone See Your Facebook Posts?</a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsocialmediadiyworkshop.com%2F2012%2F02%2Fget-your-message-out-on-facebook%2F&#038;media=http%3A%2F%2Fsocialmediadiyworkshop.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F02%2Fgetting-your-message-out-on-facebook-pin.png&#038;description=Facebook%20is%20a%20valuable%20tool%2C%20but%20you%20can%E2%80%99t%20rely%20on%20it%20to%20get%20your%20message%20out%20to%20your%20community.%20Learn%20how%20Facebook%20shares%20your%20business%20page%20wall%20posts%20and%20how%20to%20increase%20your%20post%20visibility." class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal">Pin It</a><br />
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Social Media Conversation Basics</title>
		<link>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/10/social-media-conversation-basics/</link>
		<comments>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/10/social-media-conversation-basics/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 08 Oct 2011 15:00:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Charlene Kingston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Level 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conversation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conversation Topics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Customer Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Listening]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Messsage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Response]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Speaker]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/?p=8602</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Talking with people on social media is different from talking face-to-face and talking on the phone. Here's some advice for how to master social media conversations.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Talking with people on social media is different from talking face-to-face and talking on the phone. While some people easily adjust to online conversations, most people need a little practice to get really good at this new way to communicate.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Before You Start:</strong> You have one or more social media accounts.</li>
<li><strong>Learning level:</strong> 3 | Building Skills</li>
<li><strong>Article Last Updated:</strong> Friday, December 2 2011</li>
</ul>
<div class="line"></div>
<h2>Conversation Basics</h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-8609" title="social-media-conversation-basics" src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/social-media-conversation-basics-203x300.jpg" alt="" width="203" height="300" />When it comes to conversation, <strong>we all have different skills and comfort zones</strong>. Perhaps you are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Outgoing and gregarious, and feel comfortable being the center of attention.</li>
<li>Shy and retiring, and stay on the edge of conversations.</li>
<li>Able to find conversation topics with anyone you meet.</li>
<li>Uncomfortable starting conversations because you struggle to find conversation topics.</li>
</ul>
<p>In general, a conversation takes place when you have these components:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Speaker</strong>. Someone with something to say.</li>
<li><strong>Message</strong>. The idea you want to share.</li>
<li><strong>Listener</strong>. One or more people who hear your message.</li>
</ul>
<p>People take turns being the speaker and listener, so you sometimes speak and sometimes listen. This is true no matter where you have a conversation.</p>
<h2>Social Media Conversation Features</h2>
<p>Whatever your conversation style, you can be successful on social media. Social media conversations are <strong>different from other types of conversations you have with your customers</strong> and the public.</p>
<p>With social media conversations, you often start a conversation without knowing who is listening or who will answer. You have time to think about what you want to say, and you can include words, pictures, videos, or links to online resources with your message.</p>
<p><strong>Social media conversations tend to be one-to-many communication</strong>. You post a message that you want to engage many people in your online community. In some ways, learning how to talk on social media is more like public speaking than one-on-one conversations you have in real life.</p>
<h2>Responses</h2>
<p>Much of the time with social media conversations, you speak without getting any response. The communication process still took place. You shared a message with one or more listeners. However, the listeners didn&#8217;t share anything back with you. Or, they shared by liking your post, or retweeting it, or sharing it with their friends.</p>
<p><strong>Without responses, it&#8217;s hard for you to know what people thought about your message</strong>. You can&#8217;t tell what happened when they read your message.</p>
<ul>
<li>Did people choose not to respond because they didn&#8217;t see any value in your message?</li>
<li>Did people like your message but chose not to respond because they didn&#8217;t have anything to add?</li>
</ul>
<p>While both of these situations have the same outcome (no response), they are very different situations. It&#8217;s really important for your to get feedback to understand how to talk with your online community.</p>
<p><strong>If you are not getting a lot of responses to your one-to-many messages, shift gears and start building relationships with one person at a time.</strong></p>
<h2>Warming Up Relationships</h2>
<p>One of the smartest ways for you to get great feedback from your online community is to start conversations with individuals. And the most effective way to start conversations with one person is to respond to something he says on social media. This means that you <strong>put aside your agenda and the things you want to say, and listen</strong> to what individuals in your online community are saying.</p>
<p>Spend some time each day reading what other people are sharing on social media. Jump into existing conversations, or reply to something posted. <strong>It&#8217;s important that you add something to the conversation</strong>, and don&#8217;t simply agree or like what they said.</p>
<p>One of the quickest ways to start a conversation is to <strong>ask a follow up question</strong>. When someone posts on social media, ask them for more details, or ask why they feel that way.  Not only do you get the chance to learn more about the topic, but you learn more about that person and start to build a relationship.</p>
<p>As you begin building warm relationships on social media, you start getting the feedback you need to fine-turn your message for your online community. You start to build relationships with people in your community. And you discover that you being getting more responses to your one-to-many messages as well.</p>
<div class="line"></div>
<p><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/subscribe/"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7464" title="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/like-this-article.png" alt="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." width="500" height="275" /></a><div class="line"></div><br />
<strong>Your turn:</strong> Do you spend time with both individual conversations and one-to-many conversations on social media? Share your insights and experiences here.</p>
<p><strong>Related Articles:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/12/find-social-media-topics-for-your-business/">Find Social Media Topics For Your Business</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/05/customers-with-benefits/">Customers With Benefits</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/08/is-your-business-ready-for-social-media/">Is Your Business Ready For Social Media?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/08/should-you-say-the-same-thing-on-different-tools/">Should You Say The Same Thing On Different Tools?</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Should You Say The Same Thing On Different Tools?</title>
		<link>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/08/should-you-say-the-same-thing-on-different-tools/</link>
		<comments>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/08/should-you-say-the-same-thing-on-different-tools/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:00:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Charlene Kingston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Level 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conversation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google+ (Plus)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LinkedIn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/?p=8263</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Cross-posting the same message on several social media tools might seem like a good idea. But is it really a smart strategy?]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There are a lot of social media tools out there. If you are using several tools, it&#8217;s work to post original things on each tool. There are tools that will take your posts from one tool and publish them to your accounts on other tools. Whatever advantage you think this offers, it also hurts your social media presence and you should carefully consider the consequences before using these cross-posting tools.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Before You Start:</strong> You use more than one social media tool for business.</li>
<li><strong>Learning level:</strong> 3 | Building Skills</li>
<li><strong>Article Last Updated:</strong> Friday, December 2, 2011</li>
</ul>
<div class="line"></div>
<h2>Cross Posting Messages</h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-8274" title="cross-posting-social-media-message" src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/cross-posting-social-media-message-reduced-291x300.jpg" alt="cross-posting-social-media-message" width="291" height="300" />Many of the social media tools allow you to post the same message in multiple places. For example, you can:</p>
<ul>
<li>Send your tweets to Facebook and LinkedIn.</li>
<li>Share your Facebook status updates on Twitter.</li>
<li>Automatically share your new blog posts on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.</li>
<li>Posting the same video to your blog and YouTube.</li>
<li>Share your Google+ post to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.</li>
<li><em>And more&#8230;</em></li>
</ul>
<p>The tools allow it, but the big question is: <strong>should you do it?</strong></p>
<h2>Advantages of Cross-Posting</h2>
<p>Many people love the idea of cross-posting messages for these reasons:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Time Efficiency</strong>. No doubt, only posting one time in one place saves time.</li>
<li><strong>Message Consistency</strong>. People who only follow you on one tool get to see the same messages that you share on all tools.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Disadvantages of Cross-Posting</h2>
<p>But there are disadvantages to cross posting messages. Before you sign up with any cross-posting service, consider these factors:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Community boredom</strong>. Overlapping audience members don&#8217;t want to read the same thing twice. In fact, if people see the same message in different places, they may disconnect from you on one or more social media tools.</li>
<li><strong>Different publication rates on different platforms</strong>. Posting multiple times a day works on Twitter, but may appear spammy on Facebook. You have to understand the environment of each tool to know if your publication rate is appropriate.</li>
<li><strong>Dilutes your message</strong>. When people see the same thing many times, you start to slip into the background noise. Your message might have caught their attention the first time, but when they see it a second or third time, they may dismiss it as unimportant.</li>
<li><strong>Doesn&#8217;t take advantage of the features of each platform</strong>. Each tool is different and offers you different advantages. By standardizing your publication across all tools, you no longer can take advantage of the unique features of each tool. You have to aim for the middle ground.</li>
<li><strong>Facebook penalizes automated postings EdgeRank score</strong>. If you cross-post to Facebook, each item you post gets a lower EdgeRank score than if you posted it directly on Facebook. That might sound crazy, but it&#8217;s how Facebook does it. Cross-posted items on Facebook will never get the visibility of things you directly post on Facebook.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Your Business Cross-Posting Strategy</h2>
<p>Many businesses today that use cross-posting say it saves them time. Yes, it can save you a little bit of time. Bu honestly, how long does it take to post something on any social media tool? A minute? Are you really saving that much time?</p>
<p>I believe that <strong>many businesses use cross-posting because they really don&#8217;t understand what message to put on each social media tool</strong>. Posting the same thing across all tools covers up that question.</p>
<p>If you are cross-posting, or if you are considering cross-posting, take some time to think about each social media tool. What advantages does it offer? Who is connected to you on each tool?</p>
<p>Instead of sharing the same message everywhere, come up with <strong>a plan for what items to share on each social media tool</strong>. Make a list so you know what tool should share each type of information you share. This type of strategy planning takes a little thought and effort, but will give you far greater results than simply using a cross-posting service.</p>
<h2>Find Your Own Balance</h2>
<p>I do cross-post items from Facebook to Twitter. There are several reasons why I do this.</p>
<ul>
<li>I only post on Facebook once a day.</li>
<li>The items I post on Facebook are things I do not post on Twitter directly.</li>
<li>My Facebook page has a much smaller following than my Twitter presence.</li>
<li>Twitter has such a quick publication frequency that I don&#8217;t believe many people will see the Facebook item cross-posted on Twitter. In other words, I believe things can get lost on Twitter.</li>
</ul>
<p>While I generally advise businesses not to cross-post, there are some cross-posting strategies that might help your business to get your message out. Like so many other things on social media, it&#8217;s about trying things and seeing how they work with your community.</p>
<p><div class="line"></div><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/subscribe/"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7464" title="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/like-this-article.png" alt="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." width="500" height="275" /></a><div class="line"></div><br />
<strong>Your turn:</strong> Does your business use cross-posting in your social media efforts? Do you follow any businesses that share the same thing across multiple social media tools? Have you ever quit following a business for doing this? Share you insights and experience here.</p>
<p><strong>Related Articles:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/06/multiple-twitter-personalities-1/">Multiple Twitter Personalities (Part 1)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/12/find-social-media-topics-for-your-business/">Find Social Media Topics For Your Business</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/03/twitter-conversation-checklist/">Twitter Conversation Checklist</a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Are You Really Engaging Your  Customers?" href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/03/2009/12/are-you-really-engaging-your-customers/" rel="bookmark">Are You Really Engaging Your Customers?</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>14</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Ebooks And Social Media</title>
		<link>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/07/ebooks-and-social-media/</link>
		<comments>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/07/ebooks-and-social-media/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:00:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Charlene Kingston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ebooks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Level 4]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Goal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Distribution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Launch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Product]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Product Review]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/?p=7979</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[An ebook might be a great tool to help your business reach its goals. Here's an overview of how you can use ebooks with social media to grow your business.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Many businesses today use ebooks to help promote their products and services. For some businesses, an ebook becomes one of your products. Here&#8217;s an overview of how to think about using an ebook in your business, and an overview of the ebook design, development, and distribution process.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Before You Start:</strong> You use social media for your business.</li>
<li><strong>Learning level:</strong> 4 | Creating Solutions</li>
<li><strong>Article Last Updated:</strong> Friday, December 2, 2011</li>
</ul>
<div class="line"></div>
<h2>Ebooks And Social Media</h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-7987" title="ebooks-social-media" src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/ebooks-social-media-225x300.jpg" alt="ebooks-social-media" width="225" height="300" />Ebooks provide a great way to share information with your current and potential customers. They are easy to promote and distribute through social media to your online community.</p>
<p>There are two different types of ebooks people talk about using the same name. The type I&#8217;m talking about today are the <strong>PDF files</strong> that you create and people download to their own computers. In this post, I&#8217;m not talking about ebooks for e-readers like the Kindle or Nook.</p>
<p>I published my first business ebook more than three years ago. Since then, they have become an important part of how I share information with my online community. Here&#8217;s an overview of what I&#8217;ve learned from own experiences and from watching how other people create, use, and distribute ebooks.</p>
<h2>Define Your Business Goal</h2>
<p>You must be clear about the business goal for your ebook. For example:</p>
<ul>
<li>Do you want to <strong>increase your visibility</strong> by writing an ebook that a lot of people will want to read?</li>
<li>Do you want to <strong>increase your email newsletter subscriber list</strong>?</li>
<li>Do you want to prove your expertise so people want to <strong>purchase your products and services</strong>?</li>
</ul>
<p>The business goal for your ebook is a major factor in the following types of decisions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Will you give away your ebook or charge for it?</li>
<li>Will you make your ebook available for anyone to download (low threshold), or will you require them to subscribe to your newsletter or join your website (high threshold).</li>
<li>What topics will you include or exclude? If you want people to purchase your products and services, you only want to give them a taste of what you share in those items.</li>
</ul>
<p>There is one really important idea you must understand to add a successful ebook to your business. <strong>Your ebook must serve your community.</strong> It&#8217;s not about you showing off what you know. It&#8217;s also not about cashing in on your online community. It&#8217;s about giving people something that solves problems, improves their lives, and inspires them. If your ebook meets that criteria, it won&#8217;t matter if you give it away or charge for it. Your ebook will build loyal fans in your online community.</p>
<p>Make sure your ebook provides real value to your community.</p>
<h2>Create Your Ebook</h2>
<p>The most important aspect of your ebook is the content. It&#8217;s not enough for you to write about something you know and are passionate about in your ebook.</p>
<p>You must always keep in mind your reader.</p>
<ul>
<li>What does your reader <strong>already know</strong> about this subject?</li>
<li>What does your reader <strong>need to learn</strong> about this subject?</li>
<li>How can you help your reader <strong>solve a real business (or personal) challenge</strong> with your ebook?</li>
</ul>
<p>You know the saying, &#8220;Don&#8217;t judge a book by its cover, &#8221; but in truth, people will evaluate your ebook by the way it looks. You can have the best content in the world on your topic, but if your ebook doesn&#8217;t look professional, people will discount the contents.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s important that your ebook has a clean, functional layout, consistent design throughout, and that all language and grammar errors are removed.</p>
<p>I don&#8217;t know anyone who has all of the skills needed to create a great ebook alone. Start looking now for people who can help you with the parts that challenge you. You may have to pay for their services, or you may be able to work out a barter or collaboration deal with them.</p>
<h2>Distribution Decisions</h2>
<p>Before you tell the world about your ebook, you have to get your distribution mechanisms in place. For example:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Your ebook is free</strong>. Write a blog post that explains the features and benefits of your ebook to your target audience. Include a link to the ebook file with a download button. You may also want to add your ebook to your blog sidebar for increased visibility.</li>
<li><strong>You require a sign up</strong>. Write a blog post about your ebook, and include the sign up form at the bottom of the post. Set up the form with your membership software or email list service. Mention your ebook in your blog sidebar with a link to this blog post.</li>
<li><strong>Purchase required</strong>. Write a blog post that explains the features and benefits of your ebook and include an e-commerce link in the post. Depending on your site, you may add a purchase button at the bottom of the post, or a link to the ebook inside the e-commerce portion of your site. This is the most complicated option, and may require additional technical assistance. You also want to make your product visible to all of your site and blog visitors.</li>
</ul>
<p>It&#8217;s critical that you test your distribution before you tell the world about your ebook! Make sure that you have things set up correctly and that your customers will have a smooth experience getting your ebook. I can&#8217;t stress this enough! Test it many times.</p>
<h2>Launch Your Ebook</h2>
<p>After you complete your ebook and have the distribution system ready, it&#8217;s time to tell the world. There are many websites, ebooks, books, and courses online today to help you successfully launch your new ebook. Here are a few things to keep in mind.</p>
<p>Instead of saying &#8220;you must get my amazing new ebook,&#8221; <strong>focus on the features and benefits</strong> your ebook provides to its readers. Talk about the problems your ebook solves. Go back to your writing decisions when you were thinking about the readers, and emphasize those points in your launch.</p>
<p>In general, you want to use all of your social media and customer communication tools to spread the news.</p>
<ul>
<li>Use your existing tools and publication devices (blog, mailing list, website, etc.) to announce your ebook to the world.</li>
<li>Send notices to people who can share your ebook with their audience (bloggers, authors, PR agencies, customers, etc.)</li>
<li>Post notices using your social media tools. Post it on your Facebook wall, share it on LinkedIn, and tweet about it.</li>
<li>Include ebook information in your email signature.</li>
</ul>
<p>It&#8217;s really important that you don&#8217;t do anything that seems spammy. If it seems like it might be spammy, don&#8217;t do it. For example, don&#8217;t send an auto direct message (DM) to your new Twitter followers with an ad for your ebook!<div class="line"></div></p>
<p><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/subscribe/"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7464" title="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/like-this-article.png" alt="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." width="500" height="275" /></a><div class="line"></div><br />
<strong>Your turn:</strong> Have you created an ebook for your business? What did you learn in the process? Have you loved an ebook someone else created? Have you been disappointed by someone&#8217;s ebook? Share your insights here.</p>
<p><strong>Related Articles:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/07/getting-started-with-ebooks/">Getting Started With Ebooks</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/06/its-not-obvious-to-anyone-else/">It&#8217;s Not Obvious To Anyone Else</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/12/find-social-media-topics-for-your-business/">Find Social Media Topics For Your Business</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/06/talk-about-your-business-part-2/">Talk About Your Business (Part 2)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/01/social-media-press-releases/">Social Media Press Releases</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Multiple Twitter Personalities (Part 1)</title>
		<link>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/06/multiple-twitter-personalities-1/</link>
		<comments>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/06/multiple-twitter-personalities-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:00:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Charlene Kingston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Level 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Goal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Podcasts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twooting (podcast)]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/?p=7363</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Are you struggling to find your business voice on Twitter? Maybe it's because you need more than one Twitter account. (Part 1 of 2)]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Twitter is a wonderful tool for conversations with your community. Some businesses find that one Twitter account isn&#8217;t enough. There are good reasons to use multiple Twitter accounts, and good reasons to use only one Twitter account. Part 1 of 2.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Before You Start:</strong> You have a business Twitter account.</li>
<li><strong>Learning level:</strong> 3 | Building Skills</li>
<li><strong>Article Last Updated:</strong> Friday, December 2, 2011</li>
</ul>
<div class="line"></div>
<h2>Does Your Business Need Two Twitter Accounts?</h2>
<p>Many large brands have multiple Twitter accounts. But so do many smaller businesses. If you are struggling with finding your voice on Twitter, one reason may be that you are trying to fit too many kinds of conversation into a single account.</p>
<p>Before digging into the details about how your business can decide if it needs multiple Twitter accounts, here&#8217;s an interview I did with Bo Bennett and Ryan Levesque on the <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Twooting---The-Podcast-All-About-Twitter">Twooting podcast</a> on this topic.</p>
<p><object width="400" height="320" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="src" value="http://www.ustream.tv/flash/video/1465303" /><embed width="400" height="320" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.ustream.tv/flash/video/1465303" /></object></p>
<h2>Figuring Out Multiple Accounts</h2>
<p>There are several reasons why your business might have more than one Twitter account.</p>
<ul>
<li>You have several Twitter goals and you can&#8217;t meet them with one account.</li>
<li>You want to engage distinct and separate Twitter communities.</li>
</ul>
<p>For example, you might want to have separate Twitter accounts for these conversations:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Peers vs. clients. </strong>You may want to talk shop and exchange advice or tips with other people in your industry. You may not want to have those conversations in front of your clients.</li>
<li><strong>Clients vs. potential clients. </strong>You may talk more about benefits and the features of your services and products with potential clients, and talk nitty gritty details with your clients.</li>
<li><strong>Friends vs. business. </strong>You may want to arrange tweetups or chat with people you met at a tweetup and not do that in front of your clients.</li>
<li><strong>English vs. another language. </strong>If you speak more than one language, you may want to engage separate communities based on language.</li>
</ul>
<p>Keep in mind that nothing you say on Twitter is ever private. So don&#8217;t get the wrong idea that if you have a separate account for peers and clients, for example, that you can trash talk your clients on your peer account, or vice versa.</p>
<h2>Is One Account Best For Your Business?</h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-7373" title="multiple-twitter-accounts" src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/multiple-twitter-accounts-201x300.jpg" alt="multiple-twitter-accounts" width="201" height="300" />There are also good reasons not to create multiple accounts.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>You like having one voice. </strong>You like the transparency of saying &#8220;this is me&#8221; and sharing both personal and business information in the same account. It&#8217;s part of who you are, no matter whether you are talking business or personal.</li>
<li><strong>Your business is a personal business. </strong>For example, my friend <a href="http://twitter.com/phxreguy" target="_blank">@PhxREGuy</a> sells real estate and has just one account because he believes his clients want to hear about his family activities interspersed with his real estate tips.</li>
</ul>
<p>In the end, it&#8217;s a personal choice you make. There isn&#8217;t any right or wrong answer. It&#8217;s about what works for you and your business, and that may change over time.</p>
<h2>My Business Experience</h2>
<p>When I first started using two accounts (I have four today), I floundered and wondered if I had made a mistake about starting the second account. After some time and experimentation, I found my groove with multiple accounts. I could have decided to go back to one account and I would have made that work, also.</p>
<p>There is no right or wrong answer. It&#8217;s all about what works for you.</p>
<p><strong>Your turn:</strong> Do you have multiple accounts? Here&#8217;s your chance to share with us what works for you, and what challenges you still face. Use the comments to this post to share your experience.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>&gt;&gt;&gt;Like this article? <a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/subscribe/">Sign up for our newsletter</a> &lt;&lt;&lt;</strong></p>
<p><strong>Your turn:</strong> Does your business currently have more than one Twitter account? Or do you have a personal and a business account? Do you follow a business that has multiple accounts? Share your experience.</p>
<p><strong>Related Articles:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Ebook: Twitter For Beginners" href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/05/2009/12/2010/02/ebook-twitter-for-beginners/" rel="bookmark">Ebook: Twitter For Beginners</a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Setting Twitter Goals" href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/05/2010/05/setting-twitter-goals/" rel="bookmark">Setting Twitter Goals</a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Using Your Twitter Goals" href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/05/2010/05/using-your-twitter-goals/" rel="bookmark">Using Your Twitter Goals</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/05/2010/05/2009/12/twitter-profile-checklist/">Twitter Profile Checklist</a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Write A Great Twitter Bio" href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/05/2009/12/2010/05/write-a-great-twitter-bio/" rel="bookmark">Write A Great Twitter Bio</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/06/multiple-twitter-personalities-part-2/">Multiple Twitter Personalities (Part 2)</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Find Social Media Topics For Your Business</title>
		<link>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/12/find-social-media-topics-for-your-business/</link>
		<comments>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/12/find-social-media-topics-for-your-business/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:00:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Charlene Kingston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Level 1]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Advice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Backstory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conversation Topics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Promotion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Questions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trends]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/?p=5042</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Are you having trouble finding things to talk about on social media? Here's a list of places you can look to find topics that will engage your online community.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Many business people get writer&#8217;s block when they start thinking about talking on social media. But with a little exploration, you can find a wealth of topics you already know that your online community would love to hear.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Before You Start:</strong> You currently use social media, or you are planning to start using social media.</li>
<li><strong>Learning level:</strong> 1 | Social Media Basics</li>
<li><strong>Article Last Updated:</strong> Sunday, December 4, 2011</li>
</ul>
<div class="line"></div>
<h2>Social Media Conversation</h2>
<p><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/man-thinking-about-social-media-conversation-topics.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-5125" title="man-thinking-about-social-media-conversation-topics" src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/man-thinking-about-social-media-conversation-topics-201x300.jpg" alt="Man thinking about what to talk about on social media" width="201" height="300" /></a>Social media is all about building relationships through conversation. So what is your business going to talk about on social media? It&#8217;s worth investing a little time to create a list of conversation topics. Here are some ideas to get you started creating your social media conversation topics list.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Customer Education</strong>. Every business spends a little time educating new customers. Why not include this information in your social media conversation and start educating your potential customers, too?</li>
<li><strong>Practical Advice</strong>. You know things about your business and industry that other people don&#8217;t know. Many of these things can help people make better choices, be prepared for potential problems, and resolve problems that happen.</li>
<li><strong>Industry Trends and News</strong>. What can you tell your online community about changes they can expect from your industry? Give them information they can share with their friends before it becomes public knowledge.</li>
<li><strong>Answer Questions</strong>. What common questions do your customers ask? Check with your customer service staff (if possible), your sales staff, and even your receptionist to find out the most common questions people have about your business or industry.</li>
<li><strong>Money Saving Tips</strong>. Everyone loves to save money, so share with your online community how they can save money with your products and services. Don&#8217;t forget to mention your sales, promotions, and discounts!</li>
<li><strong>Share Hidden Treasure</strong>s. You don&#8217;t have to just talk about your business and industry. Share the websites and community resources that you use. If you find them helpful, chances are your online community will also find them useful.</li>
<li><strong>Promote Other Businesses</strong>. Here is your chance to promote businesses that you feel provide great products and services. They might be located in your neighborhood, in a related industry, or even supply your business with essential products and services.</li>
<li><strong>Promote Your Customers</strong>. This is about sharing the accomplishments of your customers with your online community, not about name dropping. Always get permission from any customer before you talk about them online.</li>
<li><strong>Share Your Backstory</strong>. Most of you efforts go into providing products and services for your customers. But what would a customer learn by being a fly on the wall in your business? Did you celebrate an employee anniversary? Get new office equipment? Bring in lunch to celebrate a business goal you reached?</li>
</ul>
<p>You can find many topics that will interest your online community by looking a little deeper into what you already know. People want to hear things that make their lives better. Find these topics and you will develop a growing and loyal online community.<br />
<div class="line"></div><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/subscribe/"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7464" title="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/like-this-article.png" alt="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." width="500" height="275" /></a><div class="line"></div><br />
<strong>Your turn:</strong> What have you learned about finding topics of conversation for social media? Which topics has your online community embraced that surprised you? Share your experience here.</p>
<p><strong>Related Articles:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/07/value-of-your-experience/">The Value Of Your Experience</a></li>
<li><a href="../2010/06/talk-about-your-business-part-1/">Talk About Your Business (Part 1)</a></li>
<li><a href="../2010/01/2010/06/talk-about-your-business-part-2/">Talk About Your Business (Part 2) </a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to How Does A Blog Help My Business?" href="../2010/02/2009/12/how-does-a-blog-help-my-business/" rel="bookmark">How Does A Blog Help My Business?</a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Twitter Conversation Checklist" href="../2010/03/2010/03/twitter-conversation-checklist/" rel="bookmark">Twitter Conversation Checklist </a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Are You Really Engaging Your Customers?" href="../2010/03/2009/12/are-you-really-engaging-your-customers/" rel="bookmark">Are You Really Engaging Your Customers?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/05/customers-with-benefits/">Customers With Benefits</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/07/ebooks-and-social-media/">Ebooks And Social Media</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Use Social Media To Grow Your Business [Webinar]</title>
		<link>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/06/use-social-media-to-grow-your-business-webinar/</link>
		<comments>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/06/use-social-media-to-grow-your-business-webinar/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:00:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Charlene Kingston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Level 1]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Products]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Your Social Media Program]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Goal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Check-in Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conversation Topics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook Page]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reputation Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/?p=3956</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Are you ready to create a social media plan for your business? In this webinar, you learn a five-step process to build and maintain the social media efforts for your business. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Whether your business already uses social media, or you are just in the planning stages, this webinar gives you an overview of how to build a social media plan. You will learn the five basic components of a social media program and how they work together to address your business challenges.  You can use this process to build your social media presence and maintain it as you gain experience with social media.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Before You Start:</strong> You are responsible for social media for your small business, non-profit, or government agency. You are looking for an overview of how to build and maintain a social media program.</li>
<li><strong>Learning Level:</strong> 1 | Social Media Basics</li>
<li><strong>Article Last Updated</strong>:  Sunday, December 4, 2011</li>
</ul>
<h2>How To Use Social Media To Grow Your Business</h2>
<p><strong>5 Easy Steps To Build And Maintain Your Social Media Program</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/grow-your-business-social-media.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-4373" title="grow-your-business-social-media" src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/grow-your-business-social-media-228x300.jpg" alt="" width="228" height="300" /></a>Are you ready to <strong>start a social media program</strong> for your business? Or have you started using social media but you are <strong>not satisfied with the results</strong>? Social media provides tools that can transform your small business.</p>
<p>In this <strong>42 minute webinar</strong>, you will learn:</p>
<ul>
<li>How to <strong>harness the power of social media</strong> to achieve your business goals</li>
<li>The <strong>building blocks of a successful social media program</strong> for any size business</li>
<li>How <strong>social media is different</strong> from traditional marketing</li>
<li>Guidelines for <strong>choosing the best social media sites</strong> for your business</li>
<li>Tips for <strong>building your online community</strong> with existing and potential customers</li>
<li>The <strong>topics of conversation that make you invaluable</strong> to your community</li>
<li>Where to <strong>find hidden conversations</strong> about your business online</li>
<li>Why you need a <strong>reputation management plan</strong> and what goes into it</li>
<li>How to <strong>measure you social media success</strong> in meaningful ways</li>
</ul>
<p>In addition, you get a <strong>12-page workbook</strong> that helps you get the most from the webinar. It contains:</p>
<ul>
<li>The <strong>major webinar points</strong></li>
<li>Diagram of the <strong>5-step process</strong> to build and maintain your social media program</li>
<li>List of <strong>over 50 social media tools</strong> broken out by category</li>
<li>List of <strong>over 30 social media monitoring tools</strong> (mostly free)</li>
<li>Checklist of <strong>over 30 things you can do today </strong>to put what you learned into action</li>
</ul>
<p>Here&#8217;s a short <strong>video trailer</strong> for the webinar that explains the highlights of what you will learn.</p>
<p><object id="player" width="500" height="421" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="flashvars" value="file=http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/videos/how-to-use-social-media-to-grow-your-business-trailer.flv&amp;image=http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/videos/how-to-use-social-media-to-grow-your-business-prev.jpg&amp;skin=http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/stijl.swf" /><param name="src" value="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/player-licensed.swf" /><embed id="player" width="500" height="421" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/player-licensed.swf" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="file=http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/videos/how-to-use-social-media-to-grow-your-business-trailer.flv&amp;image=http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/videos/how-to-use-social-media-to-grow-your-business-prev.jpg&amp;skin=http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/stijl.swf" /></object><br />
<!-- END OF THE PLAYER EMBEDDING --><br />
For easier viewing, click <strong>Fullscreen</strong>. Press <strong>ESC</strong> or click <strong>Close</strong> to end full screen viewing.</p>
<p>Social media isn’t rocket science. With a little background information and a few helpful resources along the way, <strong>you can design and run a successful social media program</strong> that helps you grow your business. Why don&#8217;t you get started today <strong>creating the foundation for future social media success</strong>?</p>
<h2>Purchase The Webinar: 5 Easy Steps To Build And Maintain Your Social Media Program</h2>
<p><strong>Buy without risk! </strong>We offer a full refund for anyone not satisfied with their purchase in the first 30 days.</p>
<p>This webinar sells for $77.</p>
<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
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<p><strong>Your turn:</strong> Do you have questions about this webinar? Or, have you purchased this webinar and you want to share your feedback here? We welcome your questions and feedback.</p>
<p><strong>Related Articles:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Ebook: Twitter For Beginners" href="../2009/12/2010/02/ebook-twitter-for-beginners/" rel="bookmark">Free Ebook: Twitter For Beginners</a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to How Does A Blog Help My  Business?" href="../2010/03/2009/12/how-does-a-blog-help-my-business/" rel="bookmark">How Does A Blog Help My Business?</a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Facebook As A Social Media Hub" href="../2010/03/2010/01/facebook-as-a-social-media-hub/" rel="bookmark">Facebook As A Social Media Hub</a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Are People Talking About My  Business  Online?" href="../2010/04/2009/12/are-people-talking-about-my-business-online-2/" rel="bookmark">Are People Talking About My Business Online?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/05/social-media-secret-ingredient/">Social Media Secret Ingredient</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/07/outsource-your-business-social-media/">Outsource Your Business Social Media?</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<title>Talk About Your Business (Part 2)</title>
		<link>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/06/talk-about-your-business-part-2/</link>
		<comments>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/06/talk-about-your-business-part-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:56:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Charlene Kingston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Level 1]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conversation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Problem Solving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self Promotion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/?p=3917</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As a small business person, you do it all, even promoting your business. Here's the second of two articles to help you learn how to talk about your business on social media.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Social media is about conversation. You must speak out to promote your business. But many small business people feel awkward talking about their business to the world.  This two-part series helps you find your voice to speak about your business. In part 1, you learn the <a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/06/talk-about-your-business-part-1/">causes for your awkwardness</a>. In this article, you learn how to find the most powerful things you can say about your business.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Before You Start:</strong> You have a business you want to promote through social media.</li>
<li><strong>Learning level:</strong> 1 | Social Media Basics</li>
<li><strong>Article Last Updated</strong>:  Sunday, December 4, 2011</li>
</ul>
<div class="line"></div>
<h2>Self-Promotional Strategic Thinking</h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3922" title="your-unique-business" src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/your-unique-business-246x300.jpg" alt="" width="246" height="300" />Here&#8217;s a strategy to help you break down your products and services to talk about them from your customer&#8217;s perspective.</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Make a list of the things you deliver. </strong>When you make a client delivery, what do they have to show for it? Is it a tangible product (a meal, a piece of clothing, a resume, a website, etc.), or is it an intangible product (a change in the way the client thinks or acts, peace of mind, etc.)? Or is it a combination of both types? Do this for every product and service you offer.</li>
<li><strong>Review your delivery item list. </strong>Is your delivery list the size of Carrie Bradshaw&#8217;s shoe inventory, or do you specialize in just a few things? Neither one is right or wrong, it&#8217;s just one aspect of your business. It&#8217;s something you should know and understand about your business.</li>
<li><strong>Clump your delivery items into solution sets</strong>. This is especially important if you have a lot of delivery items. Are they logical groups that you deliver together? The key here is not to group them by their characteristics but to cluster them they way a client might order them as a group. For example, rather than group together french fries and onion rings (as side options), group together a burger, fries and a drink (the way people order them). If you are graphic designer, you might group together a logo, business cards, and letterhead combination as an identity kit solution set.</li>
<li><strong>Write a list of reasons why a client might ask you for each solution set.</strong> Put yourself in the client&#8217;s shoes, and figure out what situation drives the client to need your solution set. If your customers are consumers, why do they want or need your products and services? If you customers are other businesses, what business challenges do they face that you can solve? Really be creative here because this is where you start to connect to your potential clients.</li>
<li><strong>Turn the list of reasons into a list of client problems that you can solve.</strong> Again, put yourself in your potential client&#8217;s shoes. Imagine a potential client sitting at her desk (on on her couch) with problems swirling in her head. Talk about her problem the way way she would talk about it.</li>
<li><strong>Summarize what you do from the list of client problems that you solve.</strong> At the core, every small business or freelancer is a problem solver. That&#8217;s right. If you customer didn&#8217;t have a problem, they wouldn&#8217;t need your products and services. They might hang out with you over coffee, they might tweet and email and Facebook you, but that&#8217;s not the same as doing business with you. Your clients have a problem that causes them pain, and they are paying you to make it go away.</li>
<li><strong>Publicize what you do to the world. </strong>Update your website, all of your social media sites, and your business cards with your updated business services description. Create your new elevator pitch. And prepare for the avalanche of new clients.</li>
</ol>
<p>What are you waiting for? There are new customers who need your products and services today!<br />
<div class="line"></div><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/subscribe/"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7464" title="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/like-this-article.png" alt="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." width="500" height="275" /></a><div class="line"></div><br />
<strong>Your turn:</strong> What tips can you share about self-promotion? How did you learn to talk effectively about your business? Share your insights here.</p>
<p><strong>Related Articles:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/06/talk-about-your-business-part-1/">Talk About Your Business (Part 1) </a></li>
<li><a href="../2009/12/how-does-a-blog-help-my-business/">How Does A Blog Help My Business?</a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Social Media Communications  Audit" href="../2010/06/2009/12/2010/03/social-media-communications-audit/" rel="bookmark">Social Media Communications Audit</a></li>
<li><a href="../2010/04/the-value-of-negative-reviews/">The Value Of Negative Reviews</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/06/splashing-in-the-social-media-swimming-pool/">Splashing In The Social Media Swimming Pool</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Talk About Your Business (Part 1)</title>
		<link>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/06/talk-about-your-business-part-1/</link>
		<comments>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/06/talk-about-your-business-part-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:00:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Charlene Kingston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Level 1]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conversation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Meerman Scott]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self Promotion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://laughingcrowpress.com/socialmediadiy/wordpress/?p=99</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As a small business person, you do it all, even promoting your business. Here's the first of two articles to help you learn how to talk about your business on social media.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Social media is about conversation. You must speak out to promote your business. But many small business people feel awkward talking about their business to the world.  This two-part series helps you find your voice to speak about your business. In this article, you learn the causes for your awkwardness. In the second part, you learn how to <a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/06/talk-about-your-business-part-2/">find the most powerful things you can say about your business</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Before You Start:</strong> You have a business you want to promote through social media.</li>
<li><strong>Learning level:</strong> 1 | Social Media Basics</li>
<li><strong>Article Last Updated</strong>:  Sunday, December 4, 2011</li>
</ul>
<div class="line"></div>
<h2>Self-Promotion Obstacles</h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3902" title="speaker_shadow" src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/speaker_shadow-212x300.jpg" alt="woman speaking about her business on social media" width="212" height="300" />There are a lot of reasons why promoting yourself and your business may not come naturally to you.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>You are naturally shy</strong> so you don&#8217;t like to point out even the obvious things about your business.</li>
<li><strong>You are unsure of yourself</strong> and so you don&#8217;t speak because aren&#8217;t sure what to say.</li>
<li><strong>You are confused about what other people find valuable</strong> about your services and products.</li>
<li><strong>You are reserved</strong> and you want your work to speak for you.</li>
<li><strong>You are waiting for someone else to speak for you</strong> and recommend you to the world.</li>
</ul>
<p>But the reasons don&#8217;t really matter. What matters is that you find a way from where you are today to where you want to be. And that means overcoming these obstacles.</p>
<h2>Self-Promotion Mistakes</h2>
<p>Take a little time to look for examples of businesses that promote themselves well. Look carefully at what they say and how they say it. When you find something brilliant, borrow it. But while you are looking, also take note of what doesn&#8217;t work in your opinion.</p>
<p>Here are the two things that many businesses get wrong when promoting their services and products.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Describe your business from the inside. </strong>Have you ever landed at a website and couldn&#8217;t figure out which of the website menu options contains the information you want? It isn&#8217;t your fault. The person who wrote the website copy wrote about the company from the company&#8217;s perspective. They didn&#8217;t think about you and what you were looking for when they designed the structure. You are not an insider. That&#8217;s why you couldn&#8217;t figure it out.</li>
<li><strong>Describe what you do with a label. </strong>Lots of people give labels instead of describing what they do. What&#8217;s the first thing that crosses your mind when someone says they are an &#8220;expert&#8221; or a &#8220;visionary&#8221; or a &#8220;thought leader?&#8221; These labels are not helpful because no one can explain what an expert or visionary or thought leader actually does or how they provide practical help for your business. <a href="http://www.webinknow.com/">David Meerman Scott</a> talks about meaningless language to avoid in his <a href="http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/37.03.Gobbledygook">Gobbledygook Manifesto</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Now that you&#8217;ve looked at what can go wrong, in the next article we&#8217;ll cover how to break down what you do to create a positive way to talk about your business.<br />
<div class="line"></div><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/subscribe/"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7464" title="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/like-this-article.png" alt="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." width="500" height="275" /></a><div class="line"></div><br />
<strong>Your turn:</strong> What kind of self-promotion mistakes you do see small business people making? Can you add to the list of things not to do?</p>
<p><strong>Related Articles:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/06/talk-about-your-business-part-2/">Talk About Your Business (Part 2) </a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2009/12/how-does-a-blog-help-my-business/">How Does A Blog Help My Business?</a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Social Media Communications  Audit" href="../2009/12/2010/03/social-media-communications-audit/" rel="bookmark">Social Media Communications Audit</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/04/the-value-of-negative-reviews/">The Value Of Negative Reviews</a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2011/05/customers-with-benefits/">Customers With Benefits</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Social Media And Your Employees</title>
		<link>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/05/social-media-and-your-employees/</link>
		<comments>http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/05/social-media-and-your-employees/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 May 2010 13:00:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Charlene Kingston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Employees and Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Level 1]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Your Social Media Program]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conversation Topics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human Resources]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/?p=4518</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Does your business have a social media policy for your employees? It's an important part of using social media. Here are resources to help you get started.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Businesses with employees need to create a social media policy that covers what you expect of your employees on social media, whether they use it on behalf of your business or for personal reasons. It&#8217;s an important issue, and here&#8217;s a list of resources you can use to start building your policy today.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Before You Start:</strong> You have employees. It doesn&#8217;t matter if you use social media for your business currently or if you are just in the planning stages.</li>
<li><strong>Learning Level:</strong> 1 | Social Media Basics</li>
<li><strong>Article Last Updated:</strong> Sunday, December 4, 2011</li>
</ul>
<div class="line"></div>
<div>
<h2><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/employees-social-media_shadow.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3196" title="employees-social-media" src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/employees-social-media_shadow-203x300.jpg" alt="employees" width="203" height="300" /></a>Employees Using Social Media</h2>
<p>Every few months, someone gets fired because of something they said on social media and it makes the news. The truth is that your employees are using social media, and some of them are venting about work. So how do you draw a line that is fair and enforceable?</p>
<p>In a related topic, do you allow your employees to use social media sites from work? Some people feel that its contradictory to have the company use social media but prevent employees from accessing the same tools during the work day. Other people worry about employees wasting time on social media.</p>
<p>If your company encourages people to engage customers and potential customers on social media, what guidelines do you give them? Do they cover the full range of conversations taking place, such as comments your employees make a blog posts?</p>
<h2>Your Social Media Policy</h2>
<p>No doubt companies today are wrestling with the issues around employee use of social media. Here are some recent articles to help you sort through the challenges and create a social media policy that sets appropriate guidelines.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103430385823&amp;s=0&amp;e=001h7rJrEoia51LjYKIKea-I3tuPRnSzER-3j8vf7esYFdzDUt2kKW5mF4tR4aTTE7rJv-r5R69CS6-qUigOfKwdGU36-NW15lbVTLj_nroXkwJJfH1Nn1yI5UW4A4T2zhgkwFzAPW2ySNsUNe-YsNwWva58S7qz7AMTG3pRSlsI9s=" target="_blank">10 Must-Haves for Your Social Media Policy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103430385823&amp;s=0&amp;e=001h7rJrEoia51LjYKIKea-I3tuPRnSzER-3j8vf7esYFdzDUt2kKW5mF4tR4aTTE7rJv-r5R69CS6-qUigOfKwdGU36-NW15lbqERhh1egGJhrtlkWDgQoFJ9Ym9vlcejc-BwbW8gxYgjBLsZHeMH1KcByogr7yyBn" target="_blank">Should Your Company Have a Social Media Policy?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103430385823&amp;s=0&amp;e=001h7rJrEoia51LjYKIKea-I3tuPRnSzER-3j8vf7esYFdzDUt2kKW5mF4tR4aTTE7rk1DSte3ooAf2iRNSn1TDoKbfAS9b-gKLJFflMrjycUh_rWz9mw-XtYcjQipaveglgpZxW1lWzeM=" target="_blank">Is Your Social Media Policy Helping or Hurting Business?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103430385823&amp;s=0&amp;e=001h7rJrEoia51LjYKIKea-I3tuPRnSzER-3j8vf7esYFdzDUt2kKW5mF4tR4aTTE7rJv-r5R69CS6-qUigOfKwdOKNoDowQErFbidv3eBwq8N6YVym6wbxNjj5hVPeLvKpxraP_KbDt0Fm--yQejm7PkBSaEkhTqi2w1NPOSGzX1I=" target="_blank">21 Rules for Social Media Engagement</a></li>
<li><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103430385823&amp;s=0&amp;e=001h7rJrEoia51LjYKIKea-I3tuPRnSzER-3j8vf7esYFdzDUt2kKW5mF4tR4aTTE7rk1DSte3ooAdkgnb6eg48UXNTjDGMUv3nHCJHPlZR-drcwyf0BE1ycwCmya449Tn2dGd0cOcJZNRTP44J_sACVy6doEsPS5hGIetMhJ20yc3amfqMOUgLzEYzN339tq2MQwX2fqcdufZOYiRNuqBG1mLgzD7jjlRF" target="_blank">Social Media in the Workplace</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>I&#8217;d love to see the policy you create for your business. Would you consider sharing your social media policy with the <strong>Social Media DIY Workshop</strong> community?<br />
<div class="line"></div><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/subscribe/"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7464" title="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." src="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/like-this-article.png" alt="Do you like this article? Then subscribe to my newsletter." width="500" height="275" /></a><div class="line"></div></p>
<p><strong>Your turn:</strong> Has your business encountered any challenges with employee use of social media? Does your business have a social media policy? Share your experience here.</p>
<p><strong>Related Articles:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Create A Blog Comment Policy" href="../2010/03/2010/02/create-a-blog-comments-policy/" rel="bookmark">Create A Blog Comment Policy</a></li>
<li><a title="Permanent Link to Social Media Communications  Audit" href="../2010/02/2010/03/social-media-communications-audit/" rel="bookmark">Social Media Communications Audit</a></li>
<li><a href="../2010/03/2010/06/write-great-social-media-goals/">Write Great Social Media Goals </a></li>
<li><a href="http://socialmediadiyworkshop.com/2010/06/use-social-media-to-grow-your-business-webinar/">Use Social Media To Grow Your Business</a></li>
</ul>
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