Social networking – An introduction for beginners
Unprecedented growth of Social Media
As I continue bringing Social Networking and Social Marketing to the masses through my seminars, I find many people are very confused or even intimidated by the sheer number of social network applications available for people to use these days, and the number continues to grow. When we made our “Introduction To Social Networking” training video earlier this year there were around 375 mainstream social networking type applications. It’s now estimated (only 5 months later) to be in excess of 3000 applications and services!
Don’t be confused by Social Networking
Many of the people I’ve met while presenting tell me that they find the whole Social Networking scene really daunting and offputting, and this can be true, especially if you’re a newcomer and you want to get started quickly. Initially there are many things you need to think about and do, and altogether it can seem like a huge, tangled pile of spagetti making it difficult to know where to begin. To help address this Mark Peters (of Star Radio fame) and I are in the process of putting together our Social Networking video training series. We decided to make it easier by breaking everything down into a series of small simple steps that were easy for anyone to follow. So, if you’re puzzled about whether you should be Tweeting or you’re just wondering what all the fuss is about then you’ll find this training video is especially for you.
Sit back, relax and learn
Mark and I wanted to produce something that you could not only give to your Granny to get her to use TwitterTwitter
or FacebookFacebook
,but would also appeal to the fully competent IT “SuperGeek” that doesn’t get out enough, and could even be watched by people who know a little and wanted to learn a whole lot more. The video below is the result of our first module of 20 which will follow over the coming months – and it’s totally FREE!
My advice to you all is “don’t worry” and don’t feel intimidated or put off. Go and make yourself a nice hot cup of tea /coffee, relax, hit the play button, sit back and enjoy!
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Top Ten Tips to Create a Twitter Image That Attracts More Business
1. Creating the right image on Twitter
I don’t know about you, but if truth be told, I find it really annoying when I discover a follower that hasn’t made any effort to upload their photograph to their TwitterTwitter profile. To be honest, I’m not really interested in building any kind of relationship with someone who can’t be bothered to upload their photo, in fact I find myself wondering “Why are you here?”…. On the other hand, if you don’t know how to upload your photograph, click here and I’ll show you how!
2. Make first impressions count
As those of you who have attended my Social Networking seminars will know, Twitter is nothing more than a Social Networking tool and should be used to communicate with your followers in a similar way as you would by attending a face-to-face network meeting. The first thing people see of you on Twitter is your profile image. People form instant impressions, you only have those first few valuable seconds before people form opinions about you. It’s all down to you to ensure it’s the right opinions, in fact you could make it (or break it) if you’re not careful with how you present yourself.
3. Write a killer bio and tell us where you are
Who are you, what do you do, what do you like and why should I click your follow button? Whether you think you’re a sales person or not, to gain followers you need a bio that makes people want to click your follow button and interact with you, and that means you have to sell yourself. There’s no point in following a “Bored mum of 3″ or someone who’s “Watchin’ the world go by…”, that sounds totally uninteresting. If you can’t think of anything interesting to say about yourself then it’s far better to say what you love doing, what inspires you and what you’re looking for in life. That gives people something they can get their teeth into, interact with and get to know you better. It’s also interesting to know where you’re from, “Somewhere on the galactic InterWeb…” may sound amusing (the first time) but it’s really not! I want to know where my followers are in the world and it adds a lot more weight, meaning and colour to Tweets when you know whereabouts in the world they’re coming from.
4. Use a nice friendly photograph of yourself
You wouldn’t go networking with a paper bag on your head would you? No! Why don’t you upload your photograph? It really is important!! It’s not as though it’s rocket science or really complicated. If you haven’t already uploaded your photo then what are you waiting for? If you are one of these people then why not take a few moments to find a half decent photo of yourself, crop it to size with your desktop paint application and upload it. We want to get to know you! If you would like to learn how to know how to upload your photograph, click here and I’ll show you just how easy it is
5. Pay attention to your appearance
When I’m at a network meeting and I meet people who haven’t bothered about their appearance I’m left with the impression that they’re disorganised or lazy, or both. I for one wouldn’t recommend someone like that to my fellow networkers, or entrust them with work for my clients. I’m not saying that they have to be in designer clothes and dripping with expensive bling, just as long as they’ve made an effort to make themselves presentable. After all, they may have to accompany me on a client visit and I don’t want to have my reputation damaged by someone else’s lack of attention to their appearance as this comes across as unprofessional. Having a decent photograph of yourself on your Twitter account makes all the difference, it goes a long way to creating the right impression to people visiting your profile.
6. Don’t use your logo – People buy from people!
One of the most common questions I’m asked at my seminars is “Is it OK to use my logo?” If you’re a huge anonymous organisation like the BBC, I think that’s fine. However, you have to remember that Twitter is a Social Networking tool, and the keyword here is “Social”. Just take a moment to imagine this… You’re at a social network meeting and someone comes up to you and shoves their business card in your face and then proceeds to give you their five minute elevator pitch – Would you be impressed? No! Would you continue a conversation with them after that? Probably not, you’re more likely to smile politely and move on to someone who’s less uptight about selling you their business. I enjoy finding people I can work with, who are fun and likeable and who have things in common with me and what I’m trying to achieve. I never build relationships with businesses; I build relationships with the people who work in them.
7. Don’t wear dark glasses, unless you have to
The first thing I look at when I meet someone is their eyes, so make sure everyone can see yours in your online profile photograph. I find that people wearing dark sunglasses make me feel uneasy, that’s because sunglasses hide the eyes and create a barrier. Don’t wear them in your photo unless you need to for medical reasons, or they’re actually part of your online persona.
8. Don’t change your photo too frequently
I hate it when I get used to interacting with someone and they keep changing their photograph every week, I lose track of them too easily. By all means, if you really have to change it to update your seasonal dress (because you look silly wearing a scarf and bobble hat in the middle of summer) that’s fine! It’s not a good idea to get to finicky with your photograph and keep changing it every five minutes because people lose track of who you are, particularly if they already follow a lot of people. Your photograph is part of your brand and you should build your reputation on it, and change it only when it’s absolutely necessary.
9. Make it “up close” and personal
Your photograph should be up to date and your face should be prominent, in fact the closer the better as it comes across as much more personable. If at all possible, your photograph should also reflect your character and personality. If you’re an approachable, laid back happy person then make sure this is reflected. It should say as much as possible about you so that the right people are attracted to you and it makes it easier for them to interact with you.
10. Be careful your photo doesn’t contain private information
Take a careful look at any photos you upload to your online profile. There are some really unscrupulous people out there who will do anything to get hold of your personal information, so just check that your photograph doesn’t contain any, and doesn’t give too much information away. I’ve heard horror stories where children have posted photographs of themselves onto the internet which were taken outside their house, with their door number clearly showing! Just as you wouldn’t put that nice new PlayStation 3 in your window for any passing burglar to see, make sure that no private information is featured in your online photo for the world to see either, you could be inviting trouble!
If you want to find out more tips and tricks to improve your social networking activities have a look at the training courses available on our site HERE>>>
To get you going with your social networking strategy check out our free course HERE>>>
Blogging is core to your social meda strategy
The most successful online networkers are using their blog as the central key component to their online social networking strategy. I offer attendees to my seminars a free SuperBlog which has special aspects that work in the background to create superb GoogleGoogle rankings, allows you to analyse results and enables you to create a comprehensive online marketing strategy designed to bring business to your door. If you’re interested in a free SuperBlog you can find out more HERE>>>
If you would like me to present at your event or seminar then click HERE>>>
The Star Radio journey begins!
It all began with this interview
In October 2008 I was invited by Mark Peters of Star Radio Cambridge to come into the studios to be interviewed about a new presentation I was giving at a local business seminar. After the Interview Mark and I got chatting about how Star Radio were using social networking and we discussed how some of the new technologies emerging around this could be used by the station. Although Star Radio has a highly informative website, and each of the presenters has a blog, it was clear that a good social networking strategy could really help Star Radio to reach an even wider audience, increase listener-ship, and serve the community even better. We also thought it would be something that listeners would be interested in following especially as social networking brings so many people together, and if we got more people involved then everyone could benefit as a result.
Mark decided that it would be a great idea if I conducted some research into what StarSTAR were currently doing, and to come back and deliver a presentation of my findings to the Board and the stations presenters. At the same meeting Mark suggested I propose a new social networking strategy which Star Radio could implement that would assist them to reach more people, and help to give more back to the community.
So off I toddled…
The presentation
In December I went back and gave my presentation and everyone was duly impressed. After the presentation I was invited by Darren Taylor (Managing Director Star 107) and Mark Peters to help Star Radio implement the strategy that I had proposed. We also decided that it would be a brilliant idea if we were to make regular pod-casts of what we were doing so that the entire community could join in and benefit too.
The future
On 15th January 2009 Mark and I will be meeting to plan how Star Radio’s social networking strategy is going to be implemented, and how we can support what we’re doing through Star Radio’s various radio programs. Once we’ve defined our objectives I will publish them here so that everyone can see what we’re up to, why we’re doing it, and how we go about it. Over the coming weeks and months Mark and I will be working together to implement our social networking strategy, the journey will be documented within these pages and I’m sure we’re going to have lots of fun along the way.
What to expect
We will be looking at using online services such as Face-book, Linked In, You Tube, Stumbler, DiggDigg, DeliciousDelicious, Blogs, TwitterTwitter and many, many more weird and wonderful sounding applications! I’ll be posting all of the pod-casts that we make here on my blog, as well as on the Star Radio website. There will be plenty of information supporting what we talk about, together with links to the services, and even detailed step-by-step instructions that clearly show how these tools can be implemented, configured and used.
Our invitation
Please sign up and join us on our journey, it would be really wonderful to have you on board. Feel free to join in with everything we’re doing and and let’s have lots of fun together as we connect more people, make new friends, and help to build a more integrated and supportive social networking community.
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Ian McKendrick
Social Media Strategist, Broadcaster, Keynote Speaker on IT Strategies, Social Media and Info Security - Founder of KillerSEOSuperBlogs.com
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