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The Importance of Social Media and Your Online Persona

June 11, 2012 By Chrisdigital Leave a Comment

Importance of social media audiobook narrators or any industryThis month of June got quite the kick off, as my friend Robin Miles asked me to head down to the Jacob Javitz Convention Center to participate in a speaking panel. This panel was a feature for a crowd of audiobook narrators as part of the annual Audio Publishers Association/Book Expo America event titled “The State of Audio Book Narration.” As she elaborated on the details, she felt the discussion needed an added twist. That’s where I came in.

The panel already had a noted list of industry professionals booked (listed below) and since she had particular concerns about social media, mainly that her members could benefit from some of the “geekery” floating around in my head- she pitched the idea that I should share some of our conversations about the Web with the larger group. I’m glad she did, because I accepted and had a great time.

In preparing my remarks I collaborated with the other panelists about what would best help the group. Robin and John McElroy (our moderator) were particularly helpful in shaping the conversation. Since I was a guest to this community I wanted to be a team player and “help the ball club win.” So after some back and forth, then some last minute tweaks- I was satisfied we had something that was a basis for good conversation. (See slide link below.)

Slides And Goals

Social media is big and confusingMy slides are posted here on slideshare.net. My goals were short and sweet, and goes a little something like this…

1. Communicate the importance of the Web in current American/International culture.
See slide #2 which discusses this in particular, and if you’re interested in the source of some of these assertions- Check out Mary Meeker’s Latest Stunning Presentation About The State Of The Web.

2. Stress the current trends of buying and hiring decisions were being influenced by Internet searches and social media. Those interested should check this out: New Revelations on Facebook, Background Screening, and Privacy.

3. Lay down some rules of the road for setting up your online “persona.”
See slide #3, I make references to “Me 2.0, Revised and Updated Edition: 4 Steps to Building Your Future by Dan Schawbel.”

4. Offer some basic marketing tips. These are disbursed all over the presentation, so click through to get an idea. In addition, “The Thank you Economy” by Gary Vaynerchuk has an interesting take on strategy as it relates to social media.

5. Talk about the paradox of old-school business methods working hand-in-hand with modern day networking. See slide #6 which offers some bullet points of what I mean.

The Take-Aways

World is going backwards as it speeds to futureThe Q&A was lively, the crowd was really into it, and I learned quite a bit about their industry by being there. They also really appreciated my presentation and the “on the fly” commentary on the two case studies I included. I want to give a shout out to Simon Vance that was gratified I thought he was doing several things right.

I think for a lot of attendees, I de-mystified the social media/marketing process when I told them to focus on the target audience they are trying to reach and come up with a manageable plan. Absence of a plan, especially in “social media” will mean you’re at the mercy of whatever Google can scrape off the Internet to tell a story about you. Even worse if you not “searchable” at all you will lose business to others.

In addition, I stressed trying to “talk” to their users and people they are marketing to, watch their page traffic. Get a sense of how they are perceived, and what their audience is asking of them so they can be more responsive.

There were some really great conversations after the panel. One of my favorites was with a gentleman that was quite annoyed that he had to actively participate in some form of self-promotion, which tickled me quite a bit. So I turned his mock anger on it’s head with this series of questions…

“Are there people in the industry that make you life easier? …Make you feel comfortable in the booth? …Perhaps you want to work with again? Maybe you want to talk about that?”

“I’m sure you’ll get a lot of mileage out of that, and give people a behind the scenes look of how you work. In addition, your colleagues will appreciate the positive feedback, and this will give you a bit of a theme and strategy to your social media postings.”

I saw a lightbulb go on over his head.

The Biggest Lesson

John McElroy, Chris Carvey, Dan Zitt afterwards at the mixerThe biggest lesson I tried to convey was: Be an active participant in developing your online brand. Think of others first, and how they can benefit from your posts, (e.g. tips you can share, your unique knowledge on a subject matter), and this will make you shine in the end possibly bringing you more work.

For me personally, this event was awesome. Once we got warmed up the panel really got flowing and we provided great benefit to the assembled group. I especially made a concerted effort to emphasize other panelists points and I got a lot out of it learning the nuances of another industry. Although I deal with clients with varying degrees of tech-savvy-ness all the time, it’s important to remember not everybody is “wired in” to Web-related strategy as I try to be. It was really fun talking to the attendees during the Q&A and afterwards. I will definitely do it again. Someone even came up to me and asked if I was interested in addressing a group of SAG actors :-)

The Noted Panelists:

John McElroyJohn McElroy (our moderator) is President and Executive Producer of Eljin Productions, Inc. In the audiobook industry since the early 1990s, he has produced and abridged hundreds of programs. He has won three Grammy Awards and has been nominated for two others. In 2002 he was co-recipient of the Audio Publishers Association Hero Award for his work with Stephen King on the Wavedancer Foundation. He continues to serve on the board of The Haven Foundation, the successor to Wavedancer.

 

Dan ZittDan Zitt is the Director of Audio Production at Random House Inc. In his sixteen-year career, he has produced well over two thousand audiobooks, and he currently oversees production teams in New York and Los Angeles that produces over four hundred audiobook titles a year. His team’s productions have garnered Audies, Grammys, and Odyssey Award winners. Most recently he recorded First Lady Michele Obama for her audiobook, American Grown.

 

Tavia GilbertTavia Gilbert is a multiple Audie nominee and Earphones and Parent’s Choice Award-winning producer, narrator, and writer Tavia Gilbert has appeared on stage and in film. School Library Journal has called the performances of this highly-acclaimed actress “as close as you can get to a full cast narration with a solo voice.” She has narrated nearly 150 multi-cast and solo voice audiobooks.

 

Christopher Carvey you can read about me here.

Special Thanks

Robin MilesSpecial thanks to Robin Miles (our facilitator.) Here’s a little about her… Robin began narrating audiobooks at American Foundation for the Blind’s Talking Books Studio in 1994 and now boasts over 200 titles covering many different genres. She is a regular narrator for several different commercial audiobook producers, and in addition to fiction, autobiography, sociology and children’s titles, Robin has recorded an exhibit for the Museum of Natural History in NYC, led sexual harassment training on the Internet, imparted New York’s legal codes for disabled lawyers, and she continues to provide dubbing and dialogue for dozens of feature films and television shows.

The Books

Here are some of the books I reference in the slides or mentioned in the Q&A:

Me 2.0, Revised and Updated Edition: 4 Steps to Building Your Future by Dan Schawbel

[From Book Description] There is no job security anymore, which means that the way we manage our careers has forever changed. Now, everyone in the world is your competition and the single greatest differentiator you have is your personal brand. With social media tools, blogs, and mobile applications, there are endless opportunities to become known and connect with other people.

In Me 2.0, personal branding expert Dan Schawbel gives you all the tools you need for building a powerful personal brand that WILL give you a competitive advantage in the marketplace, including:

· A 4-step process for discovering, creating, communicating and maintaining your personal brand.

· How to use all the latest social media tools, including video, blogs, and social networks for job search and career development.

· The secrets to networking effectively – both online and offline.

· Proven branding advice from industry experts and insiders.

Whether you’re looking for your first big job, want to climb the corporate ladder, or are eager to jumpstart your own business venture, Me 2.0 will help you achieve lasting success!

 

The Zen of Social Media Marketing (2012 Edition) by Shama Hyder Kabani

[From Book Description] Social media is a crucial tool for success in business today. People are already talking about your business using social media, whether you’re using it or not. By becoming part of the conversation, you can start connecting directly to your customers, as well as finding new ones, easily and inexpensively spreading the word about your products or services.

But social media marketing isn’t like traditional marketing—and treating it that way only leads to frustration. Let Shama Hyder Kabani, social media expert and president of web marketing firm The Marketing Zen Group, teach you the “zen” of social media marketing: how to access all the benefits of social media marketing without the stress!

With a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Chris Brogan, The Zen of Social Media Marketing outlines the most popular social media tools, from Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn, and teaches you how to use them, step by step. Kabani provides proven strategies for success from the businesses she works with every day, along with shortcuts and tips to help you make the most of your time and energy.

 

The Thank you Economy by GaryVaynerchuk

[From Book Description] Here renowned entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk reveals how companies big and small can scale that kind of personal, one-on-one attention to their entire customer base, no matter how large, using the same social media platforms that carry consumer word of mouth. The Thank You Economy offers compelling, data-driven evidence that we have entered into an entirely new business era, one in which the companies that see the biggest returns won’t be the ones that can throw the most money at an advertising campaign, but will be those that can prove they care about their customers more than anyone else. The businesses and brands that harness the word-of-mouth power from social media, those that can shift their culture to be more customer-aware and fan-friendly, will pull away from the pack and profit in today’s markets.

Extra Credit

Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

[From Book Description] Today’s online influencers are Web natives who trade in trust, reputation, and relationships, using social media to accrue the influence that builds up or brings down businesses online. In Trust Agents, two social media veterans show you how to tap into the power of social networks to build your brand’s influence, reputation, and, of course, profits.

In this revised paperback version, learn how businesses are using the latest online social tools to build networks of influence and how you can use those networks to positively impact your business. Combining high-level theory and practical actions, this guide delivers actionable steps and case studies that show how social media can positively impact your business.

Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions by Guy Kawasaki

[From Book Description] Enchantment, as defined by bestselling business guru Guy Kawasaki, is not about manipulating people. It transforms situations and relationships. It converts hostility into civility and civility into affinity. It changes the skeptics and cynics into the believers and the undecided into the loyal. Enchantment can happen during a retail transaction, a high-level corporate negotiation, or a Facebook update. And when done right, it’s more powerful than traditional persuasion, influence, or marketing techniques.

Kawasaki argues that in business and personal interactions, your goal is not merely to get what you want but to bring about a voluntary, enduring, and delightful change in other people. By enlisting their own goals and desires, by being likable and trustworthy, and by framing a cause that others can embrace, you can change hearts, minds, and actions.

Contact Me

Reach out to me if you’d like me to talk to your group :-)

Read more on ChrisDigital’s Digital Designer Blog:

1. 16 Twitter rules for high performance results

2. My WordCamp NYC 2012 Recap : 800 WordPress fans assemble

3. Responsive Design: WordPress NYC Meetup Recap

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: apac, panel, Slide Presentations, social media, social media performance, social media strategy

16 Twitter rules for high performance results

March 6, 2010 By Chrisdigital 1 Comment

boost your Twitter usage for high performance results, these easy 16 rules will help - get more out of your social mediaI was like most people when I first heard about Twitter;  I didn’t get it and I was dismissive. I said things like, “Oh, this is like AIM, only you’re broadcasting to EVERYONE on the planet.” “What’s with this character restriction… 140 characters?” “This is crap.” Then I realized that it was tied to standard mobile texting character limits. “OK cool, but I really don’t get this Web interface, and why are they asking for my mobile number?”

Life happens, and Twitter moved on without me, time passing by as Twitter’s user base just kept growing. I started to come around slowly. First I put it on my Blackberry. Then I played with Tweetdeck and got immersed in its Matrixlike view of the public consciousness.I got busy filtering for keywords, and I realized I was looking at news and information almost in real time. It was slightly addicting watching this stream of thoughts go by, processing breaking information that I normally would read about online or see on the evening news several hours later. The power of Twitter began to sink in.

“I can use this to research a topic and get timely information, and even tap into public opinion to form a consensus.”

Around this time, I was reading a lot of articles about how social media was a critical promotional and networking tool for anyone that wasn’t a dinosaur. I even read about Dell computer’s recent 6.5 million Twitter strategy that was considered a great success. This is, of course, after they publicly mentioned they’ve made 3 million off Twitter since ’07 earlier in the year. I took notice.

I decided I was wrong-headed about the subject initially, and jumped on Twitter seriously in late October of 2009 adding it to my toolset of online media channels. I was in the planning stages for this blog and it just made sense.

It’s now 4 months later and by observing the rules and guidelines I mention below, by the end of 2010 I should have 3,000 Twitter followers. Sure, that’s conservative by some standards but that’s plenty for me. Racking up a big follower list isn’t so important to me as is finding new people to interact with and learn from.

I’ve compiled this list from lessons learned so far. Some of this is old news to Twitter veterans, but I get asked all of the time for advice about Twitter. So, I threw this together to help the conversation.

Here is my quick list on how to use Twitter effectively:

1. Hunt for your crowd

We like people that have common interests and if you’re a fan of somebody, a hobbyist or a company, you’re looking for a certain audience. One of the ways I find people to follow and hopefully follow me back is by finding what I call “touch points” or connections. Looking for geeks?  Explore the followers of SlashDot. Looking for Flash developers, check out the followers of FlashMoto, etc..  Just like a lion that waits by a watering hole, hunt for friends where there are basic common needs of a community.

Here’s a great post by John Jantsch entitled “7 Insanely Useful Ways to Search Twitter for Marketing” that expands upon this topic. He explores filtering your searches to find the crowd you’re looking for on Twitter.

2. Mind your manners, and avoid TMI

Some people use Twitter as if it’s a personal AIM account, but they should be mindful that if their tweets are public (and possibly even if they’re private), we’re all in the room with you. Ranting about your football team’s loss, your job or your personal life might make you look like a narcissistic child to people who don’t know you  — except, of course, if you’re a celebrity and you make money doing it. I personally don’t tweet anything I wouldn’t say to someone’s face or in front of a client.

Of course, by now we’ve seen the effects of “too much information” being shared on a Twitter feed. Some examples are: Kim Kardashian outing an Air Marshal while she sat next to him on a plane and the college football player that ended his career by sharing that he had a mysterious source of income and inordinate amounts of cash handy.

3. Don’t be a content “bait and switcher”

Tweeting “link lists” of things is a popular thing. This post is a perfect example of a list. However, some Twitter users have taken to LAME behavior, and put up “shell blog sites” (no real original content) and regularly stick them in between you (as the follower) and the list content (what you want to read) as an interstitial (e.g. “here’s a list” link on my Twitter feed —>you arrive at the site saying “here’s a list” link with ads and all kinds of garbage —> the REAL site with the list content) People that do this, suck. Hard. Integrity means something;  don’t lose it for a minor bump in site traffic. Yes, you know who you are. What you’re tweeting isn’t original so eventually you’re just going to lose followers.

4. Respond to interaction, and follow back

If someone is directing a query @you, or retweets you, or references your feed, you should respond. Sometimes you miss something. Of course that happens, but even if your response is not timely, people will appreciate some acknowledgment. When someone follows you it’s nice to follow them back. It’s not necessary but it’s a sign of good manners. I tend to examine my follower list and try to check out if they’re a real person before I do that.

5. #FollowFriday or #FF

This is a great way to find new feeds you might like. Twitter users share feeds they like, or think should get more love by first starting with the hash mark #FollowFriday or #FF then listing users. This is done every Friday as a community.

6. Trending topics

Participate in timely trending topics. Sometimes this results in traffic back to your feed by people who may be curious about you. The Oscars are coming up this weekend. No doubt that will be a trending topic and maybe you’ll find some movie-going friends or followers.

7. Lists and Listorious.com

Lists are a relatively new feature on Twitter and help showcase the things that you’re personally into. Being known as a curator of a good list is a nice way to get street cred, like being a reviewer on Amazon or Ebay. Here’s one of my favorite lists on Listorious: jQuery curated by Paul Wallace.

8. Be relevant

Between Digg.com, Delicious, and Google Alerts you can find something highly relevant to your interests and “meaty” for the followers of your feed to talk about. Mundane stuff only works if you’re really brilliant at it like Conan O’Brian. I’m sure you’ve heard how his feed exploded with followers once he signed up.

9. Avoid spammers

They’re everywhere and especially in your direct message inbox. Do not click ANY link that looks like an advertisement without testing it under high security settings or Googling the service first. There are things you can do to combat the spam, like using a validation service. They can stop spammers from following you but they can only cut down on the DM’s; you’ll have to manually “drop” or ban the spammer via your followers list. As with emails, never click a suspicious link from an unknown source. I’m currently evaluating TrueTwit to cut down on the spam direct messages.

10. Automation, apps and flooding your feed

There’s a whole culture of third-party applications based on Twitter.

One of the issues that pops up for me in regard to “apps” is that some of the people whom I follow use automated services that can flood feeds with posts in rapid succession. This tends to dominate the “conversation.” Usually you can tweak your settings to not “vomit” all over your followers. People will realize it’s not a real person that just tweeted 10 entries in a row in 3.6 seconds. Besides, you’re just adding to Twitter’s maintenance problems by chewing up their bandwidth with this kind of nonsense. Services like SocialOmmph and HootSuite allow you to time your Twitter posts in a schedule. I have a few people that flood my feed and I hate it, but they provide interesting tweets so I tolerate it. On the flip side, use automation to keep your feed alive when you get busy or want to appear engaged when you have to step away.

11. Use short user names and link shorteners

You have 140 characters,and  that space becomes valuable when you’re trying to make a point or re-tweet someone. An example of a popular link shortener is Bit.ly. Bit.ly is cool because they provide an archive of your shortened links for you to examine at your leisure with a reasonable level of analytics you might find useful. It’s also native in some third party apps. Feedburner , Google’s RSS service that posts to your feed for you, uses Goo.gl shorter and Hootsuite has its own called Ow.ly.

12. Don’t solicit people with your widgets or services

It’s possible via automation to send spam about whatever you’re up to in a “welcome” direct message when someone first follows you. There’s a serious problem with this — they didn’t ask for your spam. Your customers want to be reached on their terms, not yours. Twitter is highly intimate and contextual, so you’re basically being rude, barging into their virtual personal space and waving marketing materials in their face and interrupting their day.

13. Geo-tracking

Look Rudolph, no one cares that you’re at the laundromat. Use this for stuff we want to hear about – sharing about parties, events, or favorite eating spots that we can go to ourselves. Then we will appreciate participating in your reindeer games. Also be careful about announcing your where-abouts to the whole world especially if it can compromise your safety or your property.

14. Watch your back

Twitter is great for corporate espionage, as in keeping tabs on the competition and what they publicly announce. It’s also a great way to keep tabs on your own reputation online.

Just as recruiters advise to regularly Google yourself and address negative information, so too should you do this on Twitter. Check your @replies and references regularly to make sure you nip problems in the bud early, or encourage praise.

15. Be yourself

Even if you think you have nothing to say, you’re wrong. You have likes and dislikes, and you’re an authority on something even if it’s 80’s TV stars, Hello Kitty collectibles, or vintage video games. You can certainly weave yourself an online persona that has a place in some niche sub-culture. Just be yourself and people will find you.

16. Brand your profile page

Everything from your Twitter profile page background to your Twitter icon is scrutinized. If you care at all about first impressions, put in the same effort into setting up your Twitter account as you did into your resume. It’s also been said that using a nice photo of yourself as your icon is preferable; it helps to make you seem more “real” to your Twitter followers.

Granted, many Twitter users access feeds from mobile devices, but trust me if they’re considering doing business with you, it’s highly likely they’re googling you and reviewing any public information about you. I personally do really quick assessments based on available information, and a Twitter page tells me a lot about you…

My advice is that if you need help with your “presentation,” kick it up a notch and ask for referrals for a designer and a photographer (shameless plug for the wife).  If you’re doing a portrait, go with quality. It counts.

Bringing it all together

Your compliance with these guidelines speaks volumes about you, and sets off a chain reaction of assumptions that will be made by people who don’t know you personally. Granted not everyone uses Twitter the same way. But, people who are consider associating themselves with you for any reason are accessing all kinds of data about you to make a decision if it’s a good idea or not.

You don’t want what you’re doing in your social media channels to undermine the message you’re sharing with people in person.

You can even manipulate this to your advantage, of course, by using your appearance in your social media channels to support your story. For example, you may want your profile to APPEAR as if it were a personal account (e.g. as part of a viral ad campaign), a small start-up, a BIG corporation, or a collective of people that share a feed ON PURPOSE. But, it should be your choice what that communicates to your audience, not general ineptness.

Tell me what you think of the list. One Love.-C.

Add your own tips in the comments. I’m here to learn and I’d love to hear them.

More Resources

1. Here’s a fun tool that gives your Twitter profile a grade.

2. 50 Cool Twitter Profile pages courtesy of Indeziner.com.

3. 100 Fantastic Twitter profiles for your Inspiration from Splashology.com.

4. 5 Mistakes to Never Make on Twitter courtesy of American Express’ Open Forum.

5. Here’s a post by Margaret Mason from 2008 on polite Twitter etiquette.

6. You rebels will enjoy this post about breaking Twitter etiquette rules by Robert Scroble in 2007.

Read more on ChrisDigital’s Digital Designer Blog:

1. The Importance of Social Media and Your Online Persona

2. My WordCamp NYC 2012 Recap : 800 WordPress fans assemble

3. All the single ladies

4. Blogging kids, something to think about

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: How to use Twitter, Rules for Twitter, social media, social media performance, Tips, Twitter rules, Twitter tips