I couldn’t be more pleased with my first experience at TechCamp Memphis.  Southwest Tennessee Community College is a perfect location and set up for learning and sharing.  The presenters were varied in their talents and topics covered the needs of beginners to advanced.

My friends insisted that I wouldn’t be bored or feel out-of-place – always something you think of when you’ve never attended an event and don’t know exactly what to expect.  They were absolutely correct. Everyone welcomed me with enthusiasm.  Yes, I’ll be back.  You should consider attending next time as well.  There will be something on the agenda for your tastes.

Beth Sanders presented Words, Pictures and Pixels:  Your Best Foot Forward. How you present yourself online is important when you represent your brand.  Actually, it is always important and should always be considered before you publish either in print or online.  Yes, even in social networking tools like Facebook.  Watch your grammar and spelling/use of words.    This was a lively and well prepared presentation.  I enjoyed it very much.  Thanks Beth.

Liz Jostes shared Tips & Tools for Building you Brand Online with those of us who are working hard to build our online presence correctly.  Lots of good information here.  Thanks, Liz.

Group discussions in the afternoon were full of participation by the attendees plus Liz, Joe and Beth kept the conversation interesting and ideas flowing.  Matthew Coulter – Arkansas State University and James Crow from Faultline Studios in Jonesboro were interesting and contributed to the conversation.

I want to give a special thanks and shout out to Joe Spake for insisting that I attend and meet new people.  Seth Agranov is a long time friend but meeting everyone else was really special.  I won’t soon forget my first TechCamp Memphis experience.

Seth Agranov, Liz Jostes and Joe Spake pose for the camera.

We are happy to have Patrick Healy contributing to the Social Web Learning Blog.  Patrick is a thought leader in business tech, an active blogger and networker; his posts are always useful and thought provoking.   His company, Phacient provides consulting for business.  Enjoy!  ~ Joe Spake

Recently, I’ve gotten a few questions from people who are looking to get into blogging but don’t know where to start. It can be a bit intimidating and overwhelming. I recommend that they start off by guest blogging,  if possible, so they can get their feet wet by just writing. After all, that’s what it’s all about, right? And while I can’t help you write, I can help you at least look like a pro – you’ll have to bring the brilliance. There are a few things you should do before submitting that first post though in order to make your life easier – as well as the lives of your readers. These are, in my opinion, basic staples that I’m surprised many people just don’t do. Read on, you’re probably missing at least one of these.

First things first

This is not a post to teach you how to set up a blog; this is about how to set up your appearance on a blog – and look like a pro doing it. Most blogs are not custom built – and although all of these would apply even if yours were – these tips apply particularly well for things like WordPress blogs which are the most popular blog platform on the web.

1. Fill out your user profile

Once some you have been asked to blog anywhere, the first thing that the site administrator will do is set you up a user account so they have someone to associate those posts with. Fill in as much info as you are comfortable with but there are a few items that are critical: email address, bio, and links to other places you live. You’ll notice that I have my business email, I list my Display Name as ‘Patrick Healy’ (not Pat, Patrick, or Patty Boy), and I have html in my ‘About Yourself’ along with links to other sites you can find me on. This also helps in terms of SEO and creating links back to my other sites through Google search but I digress.

2. Get a headshot

People want to put a face with the work. This should be a no brainer for most but you’d be surprised how many writers don’t have them up there. My opinion is that it should be professionally done – that’s just my preference. The image you use should be square in proportion and a good picture of yourself that you are happy to share. Don’t make it too big (50k in file size is plenty). You in your Halloween costume from last year or rocking the banana hammock while on vacation in the Riviera are not your best choices. It should look like what you’d put on your LinkedIn profile since you don’t know who will be reading your work and decide they want a gander of the author’s mug.

3. Set up a Gravatar

Once you have that headshot, you need to go to Gravatar (short for Global Avatar) and create an account. It takes five minutes and will follow you throughout your blogging life. Have you ever seen this image to the left in lieu of someone’s picture in a comment thread? These people did not set up a Gravatar. Many blogs will automatically check for a headshot by referencing the email address you list in your user profile on the site you are writing for. (see why it’s important to make sure you have an email address in your profile?) This is not just for authorship but also when you are commenting. I’ll get to that in a bit.

You can associate any number of email addresses with any number of pictures. So if you are blogging/commenting on a corporate level you can use an email address associated with your formal picture or go more casual if you are guest blogging/commenting on your favorite hobbyist site. Just keep them straight if you are going to use a less than professional photo.

4. Write a bio

When you read a good piece by an author, there should be a few sentences about them to give the reader an idea of who they are and what they do. This is also a great opportunity to make that reader fall in love with you a little more – maybe even enough to follow your writing regardless of where it appears. Of course you should have links to other places you write, your website(s), or any other place you would like to drive  people to connect with you. The site you are writing for should be fine with this. It’s the least they can do for you in exchange for your work.

I would also recommend writing a full bio highlighting any major accomplishments, your ideology, and maybe a few personal nuggets about yourself that will help readers identify with you. This could be about 500 words.  A bio like this would go on an author page not at the end of each post.

5. Collect your social links

You are probably on at least a few networks where you would like to encourage folks to connect with you like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn. Get a list of all of these links and determine which ones are appropriate to share with the audience of the site you are writing for.  Some sites, such as this one may have places in the user profile to put these links so that they show up at the end of each of your posts. This gives readers a quick and easy way of connecting with you once they have read your latest slice of brilliance. Who knows, your fans may become friends, which would be cool.

6. Sign up for commenting services

This isn’t really critical but it will make your life a bit easier when you need it so you can probably do it as the need arises. There are third party services that will actually manage the comments sections of a blog.  Popular ones include Disqus, LIvefyre, IntenseDebate, and there is even a rumor that Google will be getting in on this. These systems make it easier to comment and share those comments across several social networks. You will need to be signed in to them to take advantage of all of their features, hence why I am including this. It will also enable you to better connect with others that frequent the site and maybe even join conversations on other sites. Part of the reason for this is because you can link your social networks to them and sign in with any account you like. A few clicks and you are commenting without having to remember any additional passwords.

7. Subscribe to your post

This is one of the most important ones. If you write something that is good enough for people to comment on then you should at least be informed when they do to continue the conversation. Some blogs will notify the author when a comment is made on their work. Some require you to opt in. Some commenting systems (another reason  to like them) will inform you on behalf of the site. Still some will do none of this unless you have actually commented on the post so you may have to do something like leave a short initial comment or just keep checking back until someone finds what you said interesting enough to comment on and then respond. You want readers to know you are listening and responsive.  If they have questions or want to know if they can get a meeting with you, you’ll want to be listening.

When you have all of this done, the information can be pulled together pretty easily and displayed in a nice, neat author box where anyone can connect with you in just about any way they like:

If I were to update any of the information or images those changes would automatically update here in this box. No muss, no fuss.

What this means to your business

Whether you are guest blogger or writing on your own site(s),  you will want to look your best at all times. You are also, hopefully, writing for a reason. When you blog for business you are (or should be) showcasing your brainpower. Your brilliance will come through in your writing and when it does you should make it as easy as possible for someone to pull the trigger and reach out to you. Doing the above things will make you look more professional and serious about you business. You’ll also make their lives easier to do business with you by being more accessible and that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day.

By this point you probably noticed that there are not actually ten tips. That’s because I am leaving the last three slots for you, the readers, to decide. Add your favorite below in the comments and I will pick the three best to round out the top 10. What do you do as an author to get better noticed and help your readers to contact you?

-PH

Originally published on the Phacient Blog on April 10, 2012 written by Patrick Healy

We have read Patrick Healy’s blog posts at Phacient – for some time and think Social Web Learning readers will learn from him too.  Patrick advises small business people like doctors, lawyers, insurance agencies, restaurateurs, real estate brokers and accountants so we are confident that his information is valuable to us all.  Patrick has graciously agreed to allow us to re-posts his wisdom periodically so if you like his posts, please leave him a comment.

Enjoy,

Sheila Hensley

Reputation Management: Why It’s Sometimes Hard to Be You

I’ve gotta get this off my chest

I’ve been considering writing this post for some time but recently there were just too many reminders throughout the course of my day to not. I find reputation management not only critical to business today but also fascinating. I guess the whole thing started back in the fall when one of the folks on the RE BarCamp planning committee told me that someone reached out to him to warn him of “who he was dealing with”. As it turns out, there is another Patrick Healy in the New York real estate world. The gentleman told my colleague that he recently won a judgment against my brother involving a real estate deal. Besides the fact that my brother has nothing to do with any brokerage in New York State (or any other state for that matter), the time of that judgment would be some time around the middle of my brother’s senior year of college. He didn’t work during college. Clearly, this was not my brother and the person was mistaken. Nonetheless, he was still bashing me publically.

This is not the first time someone has mistaken me for someone else by name alone. For what it’s worth, I am not a Broadway critic for the New York Times nor am I an NBC San Diego reporter – two other people I tend to see when I get my daily Google Alerts. The problem is my name, Patrick Healy, is the Celtic equivalent of the American John Smith. At any given time, there are dozens of Patrick Healy’s in New York City alone. So the problem is, how does someone like me keep an eye on his reputation? As I mentioned, Google Alerts and Google Search aren’t much help to someone like me. I suppose I could get fancy with the Alert criteria and eliminate results involving The New York Times and NBC San Diego but if I did get a mention on either of these two fronts I would sure as heck want to know about it since they are huge.

Your reputation is YOURS

I’ll go out on a limb here and guess that just about everyone has a name twin. For that reason, reputation management has become more and more important. The world has gotten smaller with the help of the Internet. If you are thinking of doing business with someone or making a new hire, you’d be crazy not to do some recon on these folks. There are some popular services out there that make this pretty easy and they are free. Rapportive is one that was so smart that they recently were purchased by LinkedIn. Ironically, their blog is on the Posterous platform whom was just acquired by Twitter. Hopefully that link in the last sentence works in six months time. Twitter has some reputation management to do in the acquisitions department but I digress.

There are more specialized tools out there for example the Australian-based real estate reputation management service Real Satisfied. **Disclosure: I guest blog for Real Satisfied but have no financial interest in the firm.**  Reputation is really all you have in the real estate business so suffice to say there are lots of eyes on these guys. If someone is saying something good or bad about you, you want to know it and acknowledge it. Reputation is something that takes years to build up and can be ruined overnight. It is a valuable and delicate asset.

So back to my problem, how do I deal with this?

If I were writing this a year ago my answer would be “you can’t, you just control what is in your power to control and take it as it comes” but things, they are a changin’. Much like social search is changing the SEO game, it will also help with the reputation management game. Think about it, how did we check someone out in the past – other than run a credit report and criminal background check? So what if their credit score is 750 and they have no priors. How does that speak to them doing their job or fulfilling on their promises? We ask people we know whom we think could know that person. Networks like LinkedIn help out with that to a large extent in that we can look at recommendations on their profiles and see which contacts we have in common. Social Search will help that along immensely – particularly if you are not all that well connected on LinkedIn. The Patrick Healy that your friends have mentioned or had contact with will be the social results that come up vs. the fire hose that Google normally asks you to drink from.

I’m happy about this because I work hard on my reputation and look forward to it being easier come across that. Realistically, the only time you don’t want anyone to find accurate information about you is if you are an unsavory character hoping to pick up some good press off of someone else’s efforts. To all of them I say, “Good Luck” since at some point that all falls apart when you are asked to prove it. It’s easier to refute a negative piece of information than vice versa.

What does this mean to your business?

Although there is more work involved in managing the reputation of a brand or business than an individual but at least you know what you are working with. How many Cronin Phelan pubs are there in Queens, right? Even if it were called John’s Bar, there wouldn’t be more than one or two in a single city. So absolutely use Google Alerts and Google Search to keep tabs on your business. When you find good press, capture it (get permission of course) and publicize it. Work on your social network and make sure your customers and patrons ‘like’, +1, tweet, and talk about you whenever possible. All of this contributes to your organic SEO but, more importantly, also to your Social SEO.

Absolutely check out your potential business partners and new hires with the methods mentioned above. A word of caution when checking out people with common sounding names: take those results with a grain of salt. If you can find someone you know and trust that worked with this person then that’s your best bet. Blind references and recommendations are fairly unreliable so don’t bother with them. Do you have any techniques you use to manage your reputation or vet others’? I’d love to hear about them.

-PH

Originally published on the Phacient Blog on March 14, 2012 written by Patrick Healy

Social Midas – 15 Golden Keys to Stellar Social Media Success, lead by Guy Kawasaki and Mari Smith, begins tomorrow – but there is still time to register. I’ve just read the orientation material and am very impressed. Tuesdays and Thursdays we listen to a pre-recorded session with either or both of the presenters answering questions in the chat area during the session.   Impossible for these two to be live together twice a week so this is such an ingenious way to have organized instruction while one or both presenters are available within the chat.

Each session last for 30 minutes then afterwards students schedule 30 minutes for homework with downloads and assignments to prepare for the next session.  Don’t be fooled by the thirty minute session.  You must maintain discipline to keep up as you want to immediately implement what you’ve just learned.  Thus the reason for scheduling 30 minutes afterwards to go through downloads and transcripts to get the most from the information.  Believe it when I say if you don’t implement right after the session, you will not be prepared to absorb the next session.  Great educational experience.

Those who’ve not experienced this type of course before are not aware that preparation prior to the event is essential.  I learned this during Mari’s Extreme Fanbase Growth course in February.  I was skeptical at first.  Would I get full benefit from just “watching” a taped video session?  I soon learned that Mari Smith was not only watching us learn but simultaneously contributing by answering questions during the video session.  Double access – brilliant!  Add the energy of Guy Kawasaki and you best hold on to your seats!

Social Midas – 15 Keys to Stellar Social Media Marketing -promises to be exciting and fast paced. Check it out here:  http://bit.ly/HCQTLf  or click the banner above.

Brian Solis – no secret – is one of my favorite authors.  He writes prolifically about marketing but often his research and analysis speaks to general audiences as both consumers and business people.

This information is specific, in my opinion, to every real estate agent that “thought” they knew about generational marketing.  Learned either from National Association of REALTORS® designation course – I’ve taken and taught it –  or from a book that made them an expert in communication with ALL the generations, forget what you think you know and study this article – times have changed through technology. “Nowadays, age ain’t nothing but a number.” is one of my favorite quotes and there are many.

Meet Generation C: The Connected Consumer is packed with information you need so take advantage of the knowledge and research offered.  If it doesn’t make you think twice about what you’ve been taught in the past, you may be doomed to die on the real estate vine.

When generational marketing first became popular, it was cool to know the cultural differences in age groups that influenced their buying process.  That has all been clouded by technology and you should update your information.  Sadly, that update is not coming from your industry sources, real estate or otherwise.

Fortunately we have Brian Solis and we all should pay attention. Enjoy his new post and learn from a genius.  2015 is only three years away.

Meet Generation C:  The Connected Consumer

For those of us who need a step by step guide to Mari Smith’s webinar and course offerings, I’ve placed descriptions of each here with my own comments. I urge you to check them out if you are interested in strengthening your social media presence properly and with confidence.

Mari Smith, well-known as the Pied-Piper of Facebook, has authored several books – most recently The New Relationship Marketing - free webinar accompanies purchase of the book. She is also well-known for producing fantastic free webinars covering Facebook strategies and today’s new marketing techniques.  There is truly no one like Mari Smith in this space.  I follow others, but she is always in the know and presents information with such enthusiasm that no one denies her place at the top.

Now Mari has teamed with Guy Kawasaki to develop a new dynamic course Social Midas – see link below.  Guy is a leading content curator with his Alltop, an expert at Twitter and has now published What The Plus! Google+ for the Rest of Us. The free webinar listed below – Seven Hottest Social Media Business Trends – with these two giants is solid.  Take the time to watch it.

Note: Many of these links are Social Web Learning affiliate links. Social Web Learning does not recommend (affiliate with) any paid courses, books or webinars without experiencing the product first hand.

In January, I attended Mari’s free webinar Facebook 2012 – What You Need to Know, fantastic webinar!  Then I attended the paid course Extreme Fanbase Growth which was rigorous training with assignments outside the course. In February I committed to the follow-up course Facebook Money Mastery available to me as a graduate of EFG.

Recently I attended the free webinar with Guy Kawasaki,  The Seven 7 HOTTEST Social Media Business Trends, great webinar!  These two together can only be experience but not accurately described.  I’ve heard Guy many times, but as he says “Mari brings out the best in me”, and he’s right!  I anxiously await April 17th when I begin to learn from both in Social Midas – 15 Golden Keys to Social Media Marketing.

I highly recommend viewing the free webinar replays to get all the information Mari, and now Guy, offer and to get a feel for their presentation style.  It may not work for you . . . but it certainly works for me.  Registrations for Mari Smith webinars run not in the 100′s but 1000′s so we all can’t be that misguided

Content description of replays and upcoming courses

Extreme Fanbase Growth – focused exclusively on *growing* your Facebook fanbase and increasing your engagement levels using 21 different methods. Available in replay – most popular so far. Graduates of this course have a fantastic private group on Facebook with lots of support by Team Mari.  The depth of knowledge among the participants is staggering.  We are affectionately known as the EFGers or EFG Group.

Facebook Money Mastery – Currently for EFG graduates only – this course is designed as a natural progression for Extreme Fanbase Growth where the focus is now on monetizing your fanbase. Mari is teaching a 4-step process showcasing each of 8 different case studies and how you can apply the same process to generate profits from your Facebook marketing – starts June 5th for four weeks.

Social Midas – with Mari Smith and Guy Kawasaki – this course begins April 17th and during the four (4) week course walks you through 15 sequential steps to successful social media marketing, including branding, business models, content marketing, community building, systems, tracking and monetizing, too.  You can expect a lot of tactics in this course from both Guy & Mari.  You get to see the exact day to day actions they both take without being at their desks 24/7!  Plus, in terms of platforms, they cover primarily Google+, Facebook, and Twitter and a number of ancillary tools.  This will be packed and, of course, I’ll have my review here so stay tuned to Social Web Learning.  Sign up for new posts via RSS or email form – upper right corner of site.

Both Mari Smith and Guy Kawasaki, separately and without knowing me or each other, hold a warm spot in my heart.  The extended connection still amazes me.  But that’s another story – post for another day.  For now stay up to date on these educational opportunities.  They are affordable and absolutely necessary in today’s fast paced social media arena.

Banners below are links also so enjoy, do your research and come join us if you find yourself so inclined.

~Sheila Hensley  April 2012

No Banner for Facebook Money Mastery – coming soon for Extreme Fanbase Growth graduates!

Over 6,000 already registered! Click on banner to register for this free Webinar, March 28th.

I just heard breaking news about a FREE prize drawing that Mari and Guy have added to their LIVE webinar; they’re making things even more exciting by giving away a stash of goodies to the live participants!

That’s on top of the livestreaming webinar itself, a wonderful opportunity to hear two social media superstars together in the same (virtual) room. Guy is a master at building devoted communities for long-lasting business development, and Mari will be sharing many of the trend insights she’s discovered that will continue to shape her renowned social-media-based business, too.
Find out more by clicking  the banner above or here.

Watch Mari Smith’s FREE webinar replay Facebook 2012 and then decide . . .

1.  sign up for Mari Smith’s FB2012 Free Webinar replay! 
2.  consider investing in the Extreme Fanbase Growth Course!
3.  do the home work!!!

Mari’s takeaways in the Extreme Fanbase course equals more value than the cost of the course – and we’re only going into module 3 next week! You’ll find yourself understanding Facebook and genuine ways to increase your income. Great free webinar replay and extremely good course.https://marismith.infusionsoft.com/go/fb2012/a2722/

Facebook 2012 – Instant access webinar with Mari Smith.

www.marismith.com

Would you like your Facebook fans, subscribers and friends to become your BEST customers and clients? Learn from Facebook marketing specialist, Mari Smith, and discover how to dramatically increase your visibility, engagement and GROWTH!

The Free Facebook 2012 webinar held January 31, 2012 had OVER 12,000 registrations, at last count, and more than 5,000 people attended the Live event.  Mari Smith did a beautiful job with a new format and outstanding information.  The big announcement during the webinar was her LiveStream webinar beginning February 14th offered twice a week for four weeks -EXTREME FANBASE GROWTH.

There is no doubt that Facebook has changed the landscape of business and further changes happening at the speed of light means you have to use every available opportunity to stay up to date on all changes.  There is no one better to help you do just that than Mari Smith!

I registered for EXTREME FANBASE GROWTH before the January 31st webinar was over.  As one of the first to register, I have a chance to win a 1-1 session with Mari to evaluate my Facebook profile and pages.  Fingers crossed.  3 of the first few people registering for EXTREME FANBASE GROWTH will be randomly chosen for the 1-1 session with Mari Smith – a value I could not afford if not chosen.  Again, fingers crossed.

I’m sharing this with my readers because I think the value of $197 is an EXTREME value.  Please consider elevating your business using Facebook techniques from the respected Facebook Ninja, Mari Smith!

Leave a comment or question below if you need more information.  Thanks!

As I consider backing up my aging computer to avoid the inevitable – losing all my stuff – with an online service, I’m looking at the different offerings, advantages and disadvantages.  A Mashable Google + post referencing this post got my attention.  Megaupload Data Could Be Erased This Week  by Stan Schroeder which led me to Christina Warren’s, Mashable post of January 20, 2012:

What Megaupload Teaches Us About the Cloud SOPA and Backups.

Topics covered: “Could a Service Like Dropbox get TKO’ed Megaupload Style?” and “The Cloud isn’t always forever.”  A must read if you are working in the cloud or are thinking of backing up your valuable data online.  If you do, be sure to have other sources as advised.

I’m off to update my backup system that stays with me and I’ll have another copy at a different location.  Just makes sense if you are in business.  It makes sense if you value your family photos, financials and history as well.

Security issues and the “where’s my data if I need it and who has control of it” feeling is keeping me out of the Cloud.  How about you?

Leave me a comment if you have a strong feeling either way.  I’d love to read your opinions.