October 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Since founding Daystar Digital Development, Inc., in 2000, I’ve helped many companies establish an effective business website. But in a web 2.0 world, a website is not enough. I now help clients expand from a website to a web presence using social sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. It’s similar to the concept of “Location, Location, Location” in the real estate industry. I position you and your web content where the people are. I help you place your website content in the best web locations–where the traffic is so you can build relationships, trust and grow your business.
I can help you succeed with social media. Here’s how:
Join Us Tues Oct 13 2:30 CST Facebook for Business Webinar
October 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 | 3:30 PM EDT
Social Networking Best Practices Webinar:
Facebook For Business – Can You Afford to Ignore 300 Million Users?
With an estimated 300 million users, Facebook is THE most prevalent social networking application in the world! As such, it has become an on line community to reconnect with old friends & colleagues, build marketing campaigns and create critical awareness for your business.
For many individuals, Facebook is providing a human element or in essence a “face” to their professional presence. Our pictures, activity updates, circle of friends, causes we care about, all are helping others get a more holistic view of not only what we do when we work, but who we really are – including that which we find interesting, how we like to play, and those who are around us! For many, it’s a platform to engage and influence, and to share stories or perspectives.
How can Facebook help you? Join us-David Nour, Michelle Cullison and Nhat Pham-on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 3:30 PM Eastern (12:30 PM Pacific) for a look inside Facebook best practices to help extend the value of your on- and off-line business relationships.
>>Click HERE to register for this free webinar
Presentation Skills Teleseminar Series Starts Tomorrow
October 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Download Presentation Skills Seminar flyer for more information.
I highly recommend Myra’s program. She is the number one reason I am speaking successfully and for profit today. Take a minute to review her program. Since presentations are so crucial to business success, you won’t want to miss this chance to learn from an expert. —Michele
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Myra says:
I am so happy to share with you a special teleseminar series that I will be hosting, along with talk-show host Monica Pierre, starting next Tuesday (Oct 6) from 4:00 to 5:00 pm CT and continuing at the same time period on Tuesdays Oct 13 and 20.
As you know, I’ve spent the last 25 years helping individuals and organizations develop and articulate their unique messages. Helping hundreds of people find their voice and package their presentations has been extremely rewarding and very enlightening.
I’m often asked “what are the most critical things a person should know/do in order to speak effectively?” Each year, I witness several hundred presentations. There is a real consistency in determining whether a speaker will be exceptional, decent, or just plain bad based on how well they adopt 10 basic principles.
This teleseminar series has been designed around my “10 Absolutes”. I believe, unequivocally, that every presenter can significantly improve his/her performance with the right knowledge, commitment and practice. And those improvements can happen very quickly!
Public speaking has greatly evolved over the last 15 years. Presentation software is now omnipresent (although rarely used to its potential). Multi-media is now easily accessible but underutilized. Audience demands of speakers have changed. They now want crisp, fast-paced, engaging programming. Even technical presentations must now balance a need for concrete information with enough motivation and audience connection to make the message heard, accepted and the new knowledge used. In short, the bar has greatly risen in all areas of presenting.
If someone is relying on principles learned in a college public speaking class 10 years ago, it’s unlikely they are performing anywhere near their potential. I should know. I taught those classes – and still teach them – BUT I also add the “tricks of the trade” that I’ve learned as a professional speaker along with all the new technology and online resources available at our fingertips. Together, it’s a great new way to look at speaking – whether you’re a business development specialist, a non-profit executive, an entrepreneur, a technical expert, or an emerging executive.
If you or some of your colleagues could benefit from some fresh ideas to liven up your programming, join us!! Attached is a flyer for the program and more information and registration can be found at: http://www.FindYourSpice.com/teleseminar . All three one-hour sessions are only $87 AND you get a recording of each session after its completion. That way, you can listen whenever you like – even if you can’t be with us “live” for one of the sessions.
I wish you all the best and thanks for helping us spread the word about this exciting program!
Myra
Myra L. Corrello, PhD
Spice Your Business. Growth strategies designed just for you
Spice Your Career. Knowlege & skills to take you to the top & keep you there
Spice Your Life. Enhance & enrich your personal time and relationships
5721 Magazine Street, #141
New Orleans, LA 70115
Office: (504) 899-8660
Mobile: (504) 453-3466
iPhone: (504) 812-5990
Myra@FindYourSpice.com
www.FindYourSpice.com
SBA 2007 Women in Business Champion of the Year – State of Louisiana
Call today to learn more about our
Presentation Skills training programs
coming in October!
How to Un-Fan a Page on Facebook
October 4, 2009 | 1 Comment
On Facebook, you can become a fan of a business page. However, you may want to bow out at a later date. Here’s how:
- Visit the business page.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the left hand column.
- You will see a link that says: Remove me from fans. See figure 1 below.
Figure 1-Screenshot from facebook fan page
To learn more about social media, sign up for social media bootcamp!
Meeting Planners Q & A about Facebook
September 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment
On Tuesday, August 25, 2009, Plan Your Meetings, sponsored a webinar, hosted by David Nour with Michelle Cullison and Nhat Pham. These questions were asked by the meeting planners:
1. Can a group created by an individual be moved to a public business page?
Moving from a group to a company page is a manual process. Create the page and then invite all group members to become a Fan of the new page. Some Group admins put a deadline on the move and close the group. You may also provide some new content on the page as an incentive to make the move.
2. How are people using Facebook to find potential partners/vendors?
You may find vendors/partners using the advanced search page on Facebook. It allows you to search for people, pages and groups by keywords. You can get to the advanced search page by typing search in the Search field. (Currently, there isn’t a link to advanced search on the menu.)
Another great way to find potential partners and vendors is groups. Join industry specific groups where your partners and vendors are spending time. Need to find the groups, search for them with the advanced search page.
Are they searching like on Google? Yes. Business pages on Facebook are public so googling the company name and the term facebook as search words is a good way to see if a potential vendor has a facebook presence.
How does Facebook rank pages when a search is done?
Facebook doesn’t disclose how it ranks pages on its search results page. However, this page about the new Facebook Search may be helpful to you: http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=923
3. I get feeds on my home page from groups/pages that I am member/fan of, what do we need to do as a company to get our updates to post to our friends pages?
4. Can you create an event for a Cause FB account?
A cause is an FB application. Anyone with an FB profile may create an event.
5. What is the difference between a group and a fan page – benefits of both?
Groups gather people around a topic of discussion and can be a good place for collaboration. FB fan or business pages are like personal profiles but for businesses. They have all the power of personal profiles including the ability to publish a lot of company info, install apps, communicate with and build a fan base.
6. Is it advisable to keep a “personal” Facebook page versus a “professional” page?
Having both kinds of presence on Facebook is important. You develop business relationships personally using your personal profile and as a brand using your (professional) company page.
7. If you post a blog to the notes section how do your friends see it?
Under the Settings menu, Choose Application Settings and then Notes under the Wall tab click on: Allow Notes to publish to Streams.
8. I am the director of communication for a small trade association – we have created a group on Facebook – so are you saying we should create a profile – if so, for me or for biz? How would you do this?
Groups are good for collaboration but do not have as many features a public profiles (business pages) have. As an association, you could benefit from the added features that public profiles have. To create a public profile for your association, go to Facebook.com and click this link: Create a Page for a celebrity, band or business. Having a personal and a business presence on Facebook is helpful as business relationships can be formed personally and organizationally.
9. How can Facebook give an incentive travel company an edge on the competition? Create a content-rich public profile for your company on Facebook Business pages. Make it a page that adds value to your audience and includes links to your website and industry specific keywords for Google. Invite your target audience to become fans. Engage your audience in conversation.
10. I’m looking for a job – any suggestions on how to use Facebook for that? Many times job leads come through the people you know. Make sure you’ve entered all your education and work history info in your personal profile. Communicate confidence and the value you bring to employers in your status updates. Do communicate that you are looking for opportunity. Don’t convey desperation in your updates.
11. How can you use Facebook for education/learning?
12. How can my company keep negative comments off our Twitter account? Controlling negative comments is a common concern across social networking platforms. Some of the blogging/microblogging tools allow you to turn off commenting but then you’ve shut down communication with the exact audience you want to build relationship with. Responding positively to the negative comments may indeed give you an opportunity to build repo ire with your audience and show how you are handling the issues that occur. Google the words “Transparency in blogging” to learn more about how companies are dealing with negative comments in the blogosphere.
13. How secure is Facebook?
I will talk about 3 common ways that FB accounts are compromised and how to prevent it from happening to you.
- Phishing: Do not give you account information to someone who claims to be an FB rep via email. FB will not ask you to update your account info via email ever.
- Hacking via email access. You can reduce your chances of having your account hacked by using a password on your FB account that is DIFFERENT than the password on the email account that you have associated with your FB account. If a hacker gets your FB password and it is the same as your email password, they can then take over your email account that manages your FB account and lock you out of your account.
- Applications are another door hackers use to compromise your account. Facebook is an open development platform meaning applications can be submitted by anyone. One way to reduce your vulnerability is by installing only verified applications. Read more about verified apps here: http://developers.facebook.com/news.php?blog=1&story=247
14. Looking to extend company community aspects while differentiating content on Facebook so it is not a duplication of efforts. With this type of strategy, you will need to communicate what type of content will be unique in the FB arena. I saw a site that week that gives tips on their FB page that they do not post anywhere else.
And, if the company doesn’t have a blog where interaction occurs, then of course, the FB page can be the place for customers to provide feedback and enter discussions with you. Open up your FB page wall for community interaction.
15. How do you get over the legal hump within a corporation to allow use of Facebook for the company and employees? Developing a policy and making sure all parties understand the rules is key to social networking success in a corporate setting. Here is a GREAT site, the Social Media Blog Council, to use a resource in the process of policy development: http://www.socialmedia.org/
16. As a non-profit with few resources, how do we figure out what the best use of Facebook for our situation is? If you have a small budget for education, invest that in learning social media strategy. Then, perhaps you can utilize volunteers or college students for implementation. The leaders must understand WHAT the goals are and who the audience is on these social sites. Social Media Strategy programs are offered by David Nour, Nhat Pham and Michelle Cullison.
17. How do you keep you personal Facebook and business Facebook separate? I don’t want to personally become a fan of a vendor but want to professionally become a fan. Only people (personal profiles) can become fans of pages. However, you can tag another page as Favorite page of your Business page. Go to the Vendor page on FB that you want to support as a business. Then, click the Add to MyPage’s Favorites and select your business page from the list. You won’t be a fan but you will be showing support business to business.
18. What’s the quickest way to add value to the lives of those we contact with in Facebook and to monetize opportunities for all parties involved? To add value, think about what tip you can give your audience today that will help them in business. Monetizing many times comes when a client trusts your business enough to close the deal, buy the product. What can you say today to build trust in your product or service?
19. What is the balance between being effective at promoting events vs. spending all of your time on social media sites?
It is best to determine 2 things before you login to social sites:
1. How much time do I have to give to this social media session?
2. What specifically do I need to accomplish when I login?
I would suggest allowing time to create the event in the FB events app and promoting it on your page and to your targeted friends list. You may also promote the event to select groups on FB that have the targeted audience on FB.
20. How do you show the value and utility of Facebook and social media when executive management doesn’t even understand social media? Case studies are really helpful to show what others are doing that is working. Mashable.com is a good site for breaking info on social media and web 2.0. Here is an article that highlights some big business success stories that you may want to share with your executive management: http://mashable.com/2009/02/06/social-media-smartest-brands/
21. Facebook comes across as a social site – how do you make messages more “business like”? In your status updates, answer questions like these, “What would add value to my audience today? What can I share that will help them professionally?
22. How do I get folks to register for my online training?
You may want to familiarize yourself with FB events. Another great way to get the word out on FB about products and services is to join groups with members who are in your target audience. Start discussions in the FB groups and offer the group members free pre-training teleseminars or webinars so you add value first and then plug the training on the call. You wouldn’t want to join a group and then start selling your training services.
23. How can I advertise my business on FB but not have it so “In Your Face” to my friends. You may want to consider a paid FB ad. You can get significant exposure for $30 a month. Or, segment your friends using Friend Lists and send targeted advertising messages to select groups. However, remember that social networking culture is somewhat averse to advertising. Try soft marketing value add messages that also include links to learn more about a product or service.
24. To me, Facebook is merely a social tool. I want to be convinced of it’s usefulness as a business tool. I’ll give you 3 reasons:
First is location, location, location. Facebook allows you to put your business where the traffic is flowing. There are many people you can touch in FB that will never come to your website. Secondly, google loves high traffic sites and a link to your website from within FB increases your findability on google and other search engines. Finally, on FB pages you are allowed the chance to have people build a relationship with your company or brand.
Getting Started on Twitter by Michelle Cullison
May 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Are you on Twitter? Are you tweeting? Who are you following? Have you been re-tweeted? How often do you get DMs?
These are the questions floating around business networking conversations these days. Newbies to social networking are nervous because Twitter is an unknown territory— a very strange one at that! Who speaks in 140 character snippets? It takes some getting used to. At first glance, it makes no sense. A glimpse at a home page on Twitter shows fragmented, one-sided conversations happening now. You may wonder, “How can this be useful?” But, with all the success stories on Twitter, many are considering a move to this unique new communication platform. How about you?
To get started, create a personal profile and connect with a few trusted people that you know in real life. Practice on each other. Post some updates to your profile. Ask a friend to @ message you. To @message is to reply publicly to a tweet (a status update on Twitter.) To reply privately or send a message privately is DM or Direct Message. Send your trusted friends a DM – a direct message (the Twitter version of email). Get your feet wet with this new tool. Don’t be afraid. Remember that EVERYONE is fairly new to this and even the “experts” will make a “mistake” every now and then.
When you sign up on Twitter, try to secure your first and last name as your username. This will help you establish your personal brand and build your personal online reputation. And, it is cheap (free) insurance to protect you from someone who may want to masquerade as you on Twitter. (If you have a business name, go ahead and create an account for your business also to secure the username even though you may not be ready to use it.
Getting started personally will familiarize you with the tools so that you can better understand how to use this tool for your greater business purposes.
Like most things in life, experience is the BEST teacher.
Feel free to post Twitter questions as comments to this post. Or, better yet, Follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/mcullison and send me a DM!
Are you Googleable?
May 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Yes, Googleable IS in the dictionary-the Urban Dictionary anyway.
So, are you Googleable?
Do you want to be? Do you need to be?
I hope you answered YES to all 3 of the questions above.
In 2009, being Googleable is ESSENTIAL for all who want to lead online and succeed in business.
Professionals must be known as experts in their field.
Businesses must maintain a reputation for producing quality products and services.
Non-profits must demonstrate how they are making a difference in the cause they advocate.
Today, getting word out about ourselves or our organization is done in large part online.
Those who aren’t googleable will miss out on the opportunity to be found in the millions of searches that take place online every minute of every day all over the world.
Stop now and google your name, your company name, brand or product name. How did you do?
Do you dominate the page? If you do, then you are Googleable!
Congrats!
If you don’t dominate the page, I can help.
The answer: Develop a web presence not just a website. Scatter your personal or organizational brand around the web. Social media is one of the best ways to quickly become Googleable.
To get started with personal branding:
- Create a LinkedIn profile that reads like the resume of your dream job.
For best results, edit your profile URL from the random characters to your first and last name. - Create a personal Facebook profile and build it to represent who you are professionally.
- Create a personal Twitter profile using your first and last name.
To get started building an online business reputation:
- Have company employees create personal profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter
- Create a company page on Facebook that highlights your strengths
- Create a company profile on Twitter that links to your website
- Create a company page on LinkedIn
Just creating the profile, even if you aren’t actively using the accounts, can jumpstart your goal to become Googleable. There are many other ways to become Googleable, but these will get you started and move you toward page domination. I’d love to hear how you rose through the ranks to become Googleable. Be sure and post comments here about your success!
Beware of Twishing!
February 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment
I missed one on the WSJ web 2.0 quiz this morning. (I actually guessed it-but only because it was multiple choice!) Here is the question: What is twishing?
A. An online game like whist
B. Scamming users of Twitter
C. Hoping the T will arrive
D. A Wii-based online dance craze.
Answer: B. Scamming users of Twitter
Like me, you’ve probably heard of phishing scams-the emails that imitate messages from banks or other online accounts-and invite you to login. When you do, you are actually logging into a fake site allowing hackers to obtain your login/password combination and access your real account. Well, twishing is just like that-except it is used exclusively to gain access to twitter accounts. You can avoid the problem by not clicking on suspicious links in tweets or in email. If you do click on a link, carefully examining the URL of the page you land on. For example, if someone tweets or emails a website link to you, make sure you look before you login when you land on what looks like twitter.com. Check the URL, if it says this: http://twitterblog.access-logins.com/login or anything other than http://www.twitter.com, don’t login.
Have you been twished? How about phished? Share your story.
5 Ways to Use LinkedIn for Job Search
October 22, 2008 | 1 Comment
If you are looking for a new job, LinkedIn.com is one of the most important places to be. Here are 5 Ways you can used LinkedIn in the job search process.
1. Present Yourself with a Professional Profile
Creating a profile only takes a few minutes but creating a profile that gets you the job you want will require a significant investment of time and energy. Like a resume, your profile should highlight your greatest accomplishments so employers who view your profile can quickly see why they should hire you.
2. Get Solid Recommendations On Your Profile
Get in touch with former managers and request a LinkedIn recommendation from them. Next, if you work directly with clients, you may want recommendations that highlight your strengths from a client perspective. Tip: If you have received complimentary emails in the past from bosses or clients, repurpose those emails by replying back to the author asking if they would be willing to post their words of recommendation on your LinkedIn profile.
3. Use Job Search to Identify Available Positions of Interest
The Job Search tool on LinkedIn is unique from other Job databases because you can see who in your network is connected to someone in the company that has posted the job. Tip: Request a personal introduction to the job poster by someone in your network who is connected to the person posting the job.
4. Use People Search To Identify Hiring Personnel
On LinkedIn, you can search people by various information such as keywords, titles and location. For example, if you are a CPA moving to Atlanta and need to begin your job search. Here is what you could do: Search people by
Industry: Accounting Industry
Location: Near 30303 (an Atlanta zip code)
Title: HR
Your search results will show who fits these criteria in your network and in the greater LinkedIn network.
5. Answer Questions in Your Area of Expertise to Increase Your Exposure
To gain greater exposure and put a spotlight on your areas of expertise, search Answers on LinkedIn for questions related to your expertise. Answer as many as you can to the best of your ability. By entering the conversation, you will be exposed to new contacts many of whom may be recruiters or employers who are looking for an expert in your industry.
If you have specific questions regarding how to use LinkedIn for Job searches, please post them as comments and I will answer them in a future post! Thanks for joining the conversation.
Michelle Cullison, New Media Strategist
Daystar Digital Development, Inc.
We develop and implement measurable web marketing plans to help businesses grow.
Learn About LinkedIn, by Michelle Cullison
May 22, 2008 | 3 Comments
Welcome to SucceedingWomen.com!
My name is Michelle Cullison and this is my first post on the Succeeding Women.com blog. I will be your host on this site for all things web 2.0 and social media. I invite you to post comments requesting information on the social media/web 2.0 topics that interest you. I will present information on how web technology tools like blogging, podcasting, web video, RSS and social networking sites can be used to promote your company and yourself on the path to success in a web 2.0 world.
Today, I want to talk about LinkedIn.com(Est. 2003), the fastest growing social networking site for business professionals that now serves more than 19 million members. It is free to join and create a personal profile. (There are premium memberships available with added benefits for a fee.) On LinkedIn, the profile is professional in nature and can be compared to a dynamic resume. It may include a picture, educational experience, professional experience, honors and awards, and interests. With this profile, you are able to build a personal network of connections by inviting colleagues, partners, clients or others that you know and trust to connect with you on LinkedIn. Traditional networking, trading business cards with strangers or acquaintances, has value over time, but LinkedIn allows you to connect NOW with people you already know and trust.
Many people are asking the question, What are the benefits of joining Linked In?
Many professionals are using it to:
- Locate prospects or employees
- Build rapport with current clients and peers
- Find qualified (and recommended) service providers or employees
- Connect with experts to get questions answered
- Establish yourself as an expert
- Give and get recommendations
- Uncover professional opportunities (jobs or partnerships)
In order to provide content that you want on future blog posts, I’d like to hear from you:
What would you MOST like to get out of LinkedIn and Why? (Pick from the list above.)
—Post Your answer in the comment section below—
Because LinkedIn has grown from 10 million users in April 2007 to approximately 19 million users, business professionals have “millions” of reasons to get connected and benefit from professional social networking. I look forward to learning of your social networking experiences and sharing mine with you.
Michelle
New Media Strategist
MichelleCullison.com
