Learning To Be Social Media Savvy: Day 1

" You can't do today's job with yesterday's methods and be in business tomorrow."

"Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision."

-- Peter F. Drucker


 As I wrote in my previous post, I'm taking the information that is coming across my Timeline in Twitter,
and LinkedIn, using those tips, tricks, steps, secrets, etc. and I'm going to see if I can use them
for my small business...my VERY small business and write about the results.  I'm going to
attempt to take at least one piece of advice per day and apply it to my little one-man-show.
One person I follow on Twitter is Brian Moran, Executive Director for the Wall Street Journal,
and an expert on small business.  His mantra is: "Social Media is a 'means to an end'. I've
watched his 'Tweets' and have watched as he relentlessly takes questions through Twitter from
around the globe on the subject and recently relayed to his audience 6 reasons why we, as
a small business should engage in Social Media:
Lead Generation, Customer Service, Market Research, Competitive Analysis, Networking and
Public Relations. It's within those 6 categories that I'll be measuring my level of success or failure
during this project.
Another great resource I follow is Jeff Bullas.  www.jeffbullas.com Jeff's blog is completely
about everything to do with Social Media, Online Marketing, Blogging, Facebook, YouTube,
LinkedIn, SEO and Inbound Content Marketing. Today, I'm following his "37 Tips for Optimizing
Your Blog" which he relays via TopRank Online Marketing Blog, written by Lee Odden. You can
read what I'm reading through this link: http://www.toprankblog.com/2009/03/blog-feed-seo-sesny09/
Some things I'll need a little assistance with, like adding 'deep links' to my RSS Footer, so
for those things, I'm making a list for when I see my geek niece, who understands that stuff better
than me.
My next marketing tip(s) are coming from Rosh Sillars, who I also follow on Twitter. Today,
he has shared "Six ways photographers earn income through Facebook". The link to his
blog is: http://www.roshsillars.com/2011/01/six-ways-photographers-earn-income-through-facebook/
1. Network with other photographers to trade leads and referrals. (I do this already)
2. Share photographs on Facebook as a passive form of advertising. (I do this too, and find
    that it really is a great way of advertising your work.)
3. Tag people. Offer clients a free image to share if they like your Facebook page, which
    will lead to more referrals. (I haven't been doing this, so this is one item to begin today.)
4. Use Facebook to advertise and directly target your demographic, make adjustments
    quickly, and control budget costs.  (I think this is the whole reason you have a
    Facebook page, so I don't really see the value here; correct me if I'm wrong.)
5. Promote other people related to your industry. Theory being that when you promote them,
    they will promote you.  (I do this already also - so this one is a 'check')
6. Create events.  Facebook has an excellent event notification system, so take advantage
    of it to invite people to your next show, party or networking event. (I'm going to use this
    advice and perhaps create a photography exhibition event with fellow photographers; I'll
    keep you posted.)
Next, an advice post on Word Of Mouth Marketing by Zenologue. Website link:
http://www.zenologue.com/blog/2011/11/photography-business-word-of-mouth-marketing-solutions/#more-5144 
(Yes, I know it's a very long link)
The one thing that really stood out for me in this column was a quote about changing the game on
word of mouth marketing.  "What will change the game is actually changing the game. Changing

the experience of talking about you so fundamentally that people will choose to do it."  

That's a powerful statement. We need to create something worth talking about! Is the experience in

my studio so great that people will talk about it after they've completed their session with me?

I realize word of mouth today, isn't what it used to be. It's not likely to be Rose who sees 

Martha at the meat counter in the local grocery store, telling her about the studio shoot she

had in my studio.  Today, that word of mouth has morphed into 'word of thumbs' - texting

and Twittering her experience to her friends (The article uses the phrase "word of mouse") and you 

can COUNT on Rose putting her experience up on her Facebook wall!  Another great point 

within this article is this excerpt: 

"Interestingly enough, the closer the referring person is to you in social terms, the more likely 

you are to act on the information they give you. In other words, the influencing power of the 

message is dependent upon the social distance of the messenger from the receiver."

I agree with this statement to a certain point; however, I have gained clients through sharing
photos on Facebook; the person in the picture shares with cousins who live far away, and have
been asked to photograph the cousin when they come to town. So - -

The end point is to build a WOMM Strategy (Word Of Mouth Marketing). The book that will

expand on this idea is called "Word Of Mouth Marketing Secrets For The Professional

Photographer" and is available in three different versions (Kindle, Nook or PDF.

I believe this book will have a great impact on my marketing efforts.  If you buy it and you like

it, let me know. 

All of the articles from above are about marketing efforts - getting the word out about your

brand or product, targeting your demographic and the resulting interaction between your

clients and THEIR audience - - of whom hopefully, will become your future clients.

Not too shabby for Day 1.

The Sea of Social Media & My Very Small Business

Recently, I began to ponder the true effects of Social Media sites like Twitter, Facebook and 
LinkedIn - within the small business world, the VERY small business world.
Yes, there are literally THOUSANDS of articles on how you too can become a 
Marketing Mega-Star, best tactics, lead generation, how to engage your audience, 
and it goes on and on.
Strategically, any business I believe thinks about the best way to reach their demographic. 
The question I have is do we [ me ] really need to follow these media experts and jump on 
every social wagon out there? Almost daily, there's a new 'latest and greatest' that somebody 
tells me I need to be a part of.  Quite frankly, sometimes it makes my head spin and I begin 
to envision little mice running from one corner of a box to another in packs!
As you probably already know, I'm a photographer.  My small business staff consists of, 
well - me.
I'm not a famous photographer by any means, but my little business has started to grow, 
and I'm actually able to make a living from it, albeit barely.  So, how will all of this social media 
mumbo-jumbo help somebody like me? I have a Facebook page for fans to "like" and I 
jumped head-first into the Twitter world; which, by the way has allowed me to make fast 
friends within my field and out and for that fact alone, I'm grateful.  I don't have a huge 
following yet, but I've decided I'm not going to pay any agency to help me find followers 
and I'm not going to say "I'll follow you if you follow me."  ...I think that's bullshit.  I want folks 
to follow me who are truly interested in what I do for a living and what I have to say about it.  
I also want to find comradery in special interests I have, such as sailing, music, discovery,
and global news.  I follow lots of professional photographers from around the globe and 
follow almost anything to do with sailing -oh, and don't forget the comedians.. I do love to laugh.
But does that really do anything at ALL towards marketing efforts and my business?  I don't think 
so. What it does do for me is this: It brings information TO ME. 
Is that narcissistic? Probably, but hear me out.  I'm a one-person show. Marketing with a big 
budget just isn't in the cards for me right now but within this particular venue, some of the 
best of the best are giving me FREE advice on how to build my business.  All day long, 
there's a steady stream of professionals who have made it and want to share with you how
they did it; some used social media, some did not, but either way, they want to share that 
information with me, you and the world!
One day, I'm sitting at my desk editing photos from a shoot and half paying attention 
to the Timeline on my Twitter. I wondered....what if I tried to actually take all of the advice 
that came through my Timeline in a day and actually do it. ??? Would it improve my business 
and how?  Whose advice would prove to be the best? Perhaps I should have been doing
all of these things all along?  Why HAVEN'T I been doing these things?  Well, for one thing, I 
know where my audience is; about 1/3 of that audience doesn't use a computer
for anything other than to receive email from grandkids, but the other two-thirds do, and
that's who I'm going to target. In the past, the best marketing for a photographer has been 
word of mouth, slowly building through the years, and exhibition venues.  Let's see how 
photography fairs in this fast-paced sea of social media.
Everyday, I'll tell you who's advice I'm following, any links that are offered, how long the
anticipated results should take and if they do, and within what venue i.e. Facebook, Twitter, 
LinkedIn, etc.
If you decide to do this with me, I want to know and I want to read your comments.
Ready? Let's do this.

What’s with all these earthquakes?

What’s with all these earthquakes?

More on the America's Cup Racing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHIAFfpHRYk&feature=player_profilepage

AMERICA'S CUP RACING

ABSOLUTELY MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR!
Don't know about you, but I LOVE watching the Americas Cup / AC World Series. I'll try to post updates from their websites. Forgive the RSS Feed size, I don't have much control over this one.

OUTBREAK NOTICE: Polio Outbreak in Tajikistan, Cases in Russia, Risk of Spread to other Central Asian Countries

Current Situation:

The Tajikistan Ministry of Health continues to respond to an outbreak of poliovirus imported from India. The outbreak was confirmed on April 21, 2010, by the World Health Organization (WHO). It represents the first importation of polio into the WHO European Region since it was certified polio-free in 2002. All countries in the Central Asian region and the Russian Federation are at risk of additional poliovirus importations until this outbreak is over. Central Asian countries include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Transmission in the northern Caucasus area of the Russian Federation indicates a possible risk of spread to the Caucasus countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Tajikistan
Tajikistan reported 712 cases of acute flaccid paralysis in 2010. Of these cases, 457 have been laboratory-confirmed as polio. Of the confirmed polio cases, 298 are in children under 5 years of age; 29 deaths in 2010 were attributed to confirmed polio As of June 7, 2011, 12 additional acute flaccid paralysis cases with onset in 2011 had been reported but none have been confirmed to be polio as of date.

Confirmed polio cases have been reported in the capital city of Dushanbe, Districts of Republican Subordination, and Khatlon Province, all in central and southwestern Tajikistan, and one district and the provincial capital city Khudjand in the northern Sogd province. The government of Tajikistan has received technical guidance and support from WHO, which is communicating with neighboring and other countries about the outbreak. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and the People's Republic of China to the east.

Russia
Russia has reported 14 polio cases to date, 5 of which are linked to travelers, but a substantial spread in the country has not been reported. Cases have been reported in Moscow, as well as Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, and Khabarovsk regions, the Chechen Republic, and Republic of Dagestan. The latter two are Northern Caucasus republics that have each reported 3 cases of local transmission, without any known travel link to Tajikistan. The most recent confirmed case in Russia had onset on September 25, 2010, in the Republic of Dagestan. A total of 166 cases of acute flaccid paralysis have been reported since January 1, 2011, and 115 of those that have test results have been negative for polio.

Turkmenistan
In 2010, Turkmenistan reported 50 cases of acute flaccid paralysis, including 3 confirmed cases of polio. All these cases had onset in June and occurred in Lebap province, which borders Uzbekistan. As of June 7, 2011, 10 additional acute flaccid paralysis cases with onset in 2011 have been reported, and all tested negative for polio.

Kazakhstan
In 2010, Kazakhstan reported 113 cases of acute flaccid paralysis and 1 confirmed case of polio, with onset August 12, 2010. The case was reported in South Kazakhstan close to the border with Uzbekistan. As of June 7, 2011, Kazakhstan reported 41 acute flaccid paralysis cases with onset in 2011. None of the 30 cases that have test results tested positive for wild polio.

Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan reported 147 cases of acute flaccid paralysis in 2010, including some near the country’s borders with Tajikistan,Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, but none have been confirmed as polio. As of June 7, 2011, 66 additional acute flaccid paralysis cases with onset in 2011 have been reported.

Kyrgyzstan
In 2010, Kyrgyzstan reported 68 cases of acute flaccid paralysis. As of June 7, 2011, 19 additional cases with onset in 2011 have been reported. No cases of polio have been confirmed.

Recommendations for US Travelers to the Caucasus countries, Central Asian countries and the Russian Federation
Polio is a disease that is most often spread through contact with the feces of an infected person. Poliovirus can also be spread through oral fluids, contaminated items, water, and uncooked food. The disease mainly affects children less than 5 years old, but unvaccinated people of any age are at risk. Signs and symptoms of the illness may include paralysis of limbs and respiratory muscles.

Travelers should take the following steps to protect themselves from polio:

Get vaccinated for polio

* Talk to your doctor to find out if you are up to date with your polio vaccination and whether you need a booster dose before traveling.
* Even if you were vaccinated as a child or have been sick with polio before, you may need a booster shot to make sure that you are protected. If you are traveling with children, be sure that they have been appropriately vaccinated, too.

Follow safe food and water practices

* Eat foods that are fully cooked and served hot.
* Eat and drink dairy products that have been pasteurized.
* Eat only fruits and vegetables that you can wash with safe water and peel yourself.
* Drink only bottled or boiled water or beverages that have been bottled and sealed (carbonated drinks or sports drinks). Avoid tap water, fountain drinks, and ice.

Practice good hand hygiene

* Wash hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, you can use an alcohol-based hand gel.
* Wash hands especially before eating, drinking or preparing food and after using the bathroom, and changing diapers and coughing or sneezing.

Information for Health-Care Providers
Vaccine Recommendations: Infants and Children traveling to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the Russian Federation

* The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that all infants and children in the United States receive 4 doses of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), administered at 2 months, 4 months, 6–18 months, and 4–6 years of age.
* If accelerated protection is needed, the minimum interval between the first three doses is 4 weeks (28 days), and the minimum interval from dose 3 to dose 4 is 6 months.
* A dose of IPV should be administered at age ≥4 years regardless of the number of previous doses.

Vaccine Recommendations: Adults traveling to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the Russian Federation

* Travelers who have received the complete series with either IPV or oral polio vaccine (OPV) as a child without an adult booster dose (either OPV or IPV) should receive another dose of IPV before departure.
* Available data do not indicate the need for more than one lifetime IPV booster dose for adults.
* Travelers of any age who are unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or whose vaccination status is unknown should receive 3 doses of IPV (2 doses at 4– to 8-week intervals, followed by a third dose 6–12 months after the second dose). (See Chapter 2, Poliomyelitis, CDC Health Information for International Travel 2010, for details.)

Why Facebook's Friends May Fade

Just when businesses are catching up with social media through Facebook, I think I'm sort of "fading off". Why? I don't want to "like" every single website, or news article I'm reading. I don't want these businesses jumping into my personal social life! I don't want them to steal my Friends List and start spamming them!!!

Is it just me? In addition, Facebook isn't really that user friendly. Apps don't work correctly half the time, and I've received more virus threats through those posts like "If you're an American, you'll repost this...." I hate those.

This morning, I came across this article regarding Facebook, Google and customer satisfaction Index. I thought it was worth reposting.

Writen by : Mikal E. Belcove for Entrepreneur

THE DAILY DOSE
Why Facebook's Friends May Fade

This won't come as welcome news to the folks at Facebook, but its customer-satisfaction ratings aren't much to boast about.

Among its social-media peers, Facebook landed at the bottom of the keeping customers-happy list, according to the 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index E-Business Report. With a score of 66 out of 100, only airlines, subscription TV and newspapers fared less favorably with consumers.

If you're unfamiliar with it, the ACSI E-Business Report enables businesses to track customer satisfaction in three categories: social media, portals and search engines, and online news. And -- as in last year's report -- social media sites continue to lag significantly behind other e-businesses in maintaining consumer satisfaction rankings. The category earned a paltry 70 score out of 100.

While Facebook remains at the bottom of the heap, the social-networking utility did actually make a modest 3 percent gain over last year's score of 64. ACIS surmises that Facebook's size domination might be a factor in the improved figures. After all, Facebook is approaching one billion users. Wikipedia and YouTube scored 78 and 74 in the latest report, respectively.

So what does this mean for you and your business?

In my experience, consumer dissatisfaction with e-businesses comes from user concerns about their privacy and security. They also appreciate when businesses understand the difference between social networking and social selling -- generally, consumers don't like hearing a sales pitch when they're not expecting it.

Keeping these and other concerns you're aware of in mind when developing and executing your business-communications strategy is key. And it's more important now than ever. If you're old enough to remember when email first emerged and then evolved as a marketing tool, you'll recall that similar concerns surrounding spam, phishing, viruses and formatting plagued consumers right from the get-go. My thinking is that as email evolved to include certain protections and standards, so too will social media-related platforms, but only you -- the business owner -- can set the tone surrounding the proper mix of social networking and social selling.

Even though Facebook remains the dominant player in the social-media spectrum, the ACSI study does suggest that they may need to worry, as users have few other choices for social interaction. In particular, the recent launch of Google+, a social networking platform that boasts an enticing video-conferencing feature, among other things, is expected to give Facebook a run for its money.

And, since Google routinely scores at the top of the ACSI report in the search engine and portals category -- climbing to an astounding 83 rating in customer satisfaction this year -- a continued poor showing by Facebook could give Google the leverage it needs to topple the social-networking giant.