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Everyday, I explore the web for current articles and blog posts about social media strategies. These posts are usually divided into helping businesses sell to businesses, businesses sell to consumers (ranging from large corporations to small business solutions), or personal branding techniques to land a role helping with the B2B/B2C listed above.
Blogging continually comes up as an optimal solution for communicating with your audience. With over 133,000,000 blogs indexed on Technorati since 2002 and more than 400,000,000 people who read blogs globally, it can feel like your blog is just a small node on an information super-highway.
I don’t know how many times I have read the following words, “Content is King”. This means that if you create quality content, eventually readers will gravitate there. My opinion on this subject can be left for another post, but I tend to believe that a successful blog needs a lot more to get it going. With that being said, you still need great content.
Last night I went to Toronto to see the most awesome, most expensive cars in the world at the Gumball 3000. It was last-minute, but totally worth it! I have some cool shots of some of the beautiful cars that were there. Umm…does anyone have about 50,000 US dollars …and a Porsche or a Lamborghini to loan me so that I can enter next year? Enjoy the pics!
eMarketer.com
recently featured an interview with Ed Linde II about How IBM uncovered “Millions of Dollars” Worth of Sales Leads with Social Media. It was a great interview, and I think that considering a few of Linde’s comments in more depth will add even more value to the interview.
Based on my reading of Linde’s respondes, I’ve extrapolated a lot about how one should be spending time in social media for maximum profit results. It is important to note that taking this type of content strategy would definitely take more than one person on a social media team.
I have only just begun working as the online community manager for Engine Communications but I would like to take this opportunity to personally say hello to all of you.
Now, I know the stats that date back to about 2006. In most online communities, something around 90% (if not higher) enjoy just sitting back and reading the content. I am glad you enjoy the content. After this post, I will let you go back to reading! Furthermore, about 9% will contribute sporadically and maybe 1% will contribute most of the interactions.
What I am proposing is that you simply say hello and a link back to your company, website or twitter profile (anything really) in the comments section.
I can guarantee you will be happy you did. That is the power of hello.
Over the past weeks I have been helping you create your brand online from square one. I have provided tips and tricks for using social media to get noticed in a positive way. Last week I provided you with a Quote Flow that can not only be applied to using social media, but to life in general. I want to take some time now to elaborate on my last post. The main point I was trying to illustrate by carefully selecting and grouping these quotations was the idea of ‘Focus’. By now, many of my readers probably have some idea of the direction they plan to take for their careers, hobbies, volunteering, passions, etc. My advice to you is to do everything in your power to go forward and minimize the frequency of going backwards. All of you have decided to use social media as a channel of communication. For instance, you have used some form of SM to find this blog entry. Now, how do you use social media to help you towards true happiness? Use it to help you grow as a person. This means having goals and staying focused on these goals. I find myself coming across tons of articles on how to make money on Twitter, increase your follower count (or lists is the new follower count), donate to my Movember cause, and so forth. The big picture is that all these people have a goal of personal growth that they are achieving through social media. How about we simplify this idea with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a model.
Well, what better way to have a great meal this weekend, than to try Perogies – Tom style. Over the past few years, while I was a student there were a few simple, economical meals I learned to make and love; spaghetti, pizza, and asian noodles became the three base food groups that my diet consisted of. Being a vegetarian, I was forced to think a little outside the box, and had to cook for myself a little more frequently than your typical student. These perogies aren’t your usual meal, and if you’re a fan of spicy food (like buffalo wings) these will quickly become a favorite. disclaimer: this isn’t a guide on how to make perogies from scratch, although if you did that I’m sure this would turn out better – this is simply how to prepare perogies in a way that turns them into the single greatest hedonistic pleasure known to man.
I know there are many blog posts and news articles addressing the morality of internet privacy, but there seemed to be an influx of key issues recently. Browsing through my reader, it seemed like every second article Mashable was publishing had to do with privacy issues dealing with Google. I have always had the opinion that if you “have nothing to hide, then there should be nothing to worry about”, but those sentiments are slowly starting to change as the company continues to grow. At what point is there too much information available online?
Last week I promised to provide you with a questionnaire to help give you insight into who you are and exactly what you are trying to achieve. You can find the questionnaire here.
The Questionnaire
The questionnaire is by no means all-encompassing. The sole purpose is to get your ideas flowing about how you should go about spending your time in the social media space. In the end, time becomes your largest constraint. There is a method to my madness! Answering the questions will allow you to reflect and establish your voice accordingly.
In the words of my son Ayden, “Pie, I love Pie!”
Now I don’t know how keen he is on key lime pie (his favorite is pumpkin pie made by none other than his Grandpa), but it is one of my favorites. I have to admit that I have never made one from scratch, but this recipe is well worth the try.
Shaun Fillmore, one of my collegues at Engine, made this pie for his wife Holly on her birthday last year, and I remember quite clearly his description of the process and the outcome! Sheer brilliance. Thanks for sharing Fillmore!
