Facebook Pages the Impact Marketing Way

Facebook Pages the Impact Marketing Way: "

by Guest Blogger, Maria Reyes-McDavis

Whether you need a Facebook Page or not is no longer in question. The real question is how you’ll use a Facebook page in the big picture of your online marketing to create Impact and results. There are 3 steps to get to the right answer for your business. This is the first of 3 posts that will explore the reality of marketing your business with Facebook pages.

Impact Marketing:

Connect + Engage + Impact = Results

Connect

Every business, large and small, must have a Facebook Page, period. There is no way to get around this reality. If you’ve already heard that before, you may not understand why or you’re being told this for all the wrong reasons. So, let’s explore…

First, building business starts with being visible. Meaning, your first task in online marketing is about getting found. If your audience cannot find you – game over. You get found by being where your audience is at all times. Of course you need the right message, but that’s an entirely different post

In the Impact Marketing equation referenced above, getting found is about the Connect. It is the first of 3 steps you have to take to build your business online. A Facebook Page is required because it adds to your Connect along with your ability to be found in the world’s largest social network of people and within search engines since Facebook has opened its network in recent months.

Facebook Page Connect Tip: Your FB page is an extension of your online hub (hopefully a blog site). Make sure your page is not only set up to connect with fans on Facebook, but to also direct them to connect with you at the center of your world, your blog site. One way to do that is to add an Impactful welcome tab to your page:

Note the connection opportunities present throughout.

The Connect game is all about reach and intelligent automation, especially for the time-starved solo-professional. Tie your hub to connect points like your Facebook page by using services like Hootsuite, which ties to Ping.fm, which will then automatically update a significant part of your entire social media presence quickly and easily, including your FB pages.

In the second part of this series, the Engage game, we’re going to take you past the Connect, past visibility and automation into the world of marketing that creates leveraged relationships so that your reach begins its transformation into revenue. See you then!

About the Author:

Officially, they call me the insanely brilliant @WebSuccessDiva. {wink} I’d rather you know that I’m a Child of God, wife, mother of 3, serial online entrepreneur, digital marketer, advisor, teacher, tech-geek, and classic car lover. In that order I help small businessES, non-profits, and ministries build profitable legacies that Impact the communities they serve using blogging, online marketing, and social media.

I work with Impact agents who are leaders not followers, self-believers not self-promoters… We can connect on my Impact Agent blog or at the Impact Marketing Zone. I’m looking forward to it

"

The Course in Mastery – Day 8 – How to Listen

The Course in Mastery – Day 8 – How to Listen: "The Course in Mastery - Day 8 - How to Listen



How to Listen: Day 8 of a 30 day challenge designed to help you gain balance in your life.

Today, Tom Wood describes the amazing impact actively listening has on your ability to communicate and Dr. Tony Alessandra gives specific ..."

The Course of Mastery – Day 7 – How To Take Action

The Course of Mastery – Day 7 – How To Take Action: "The Course of Mastery - Day 7 - How To Take Action



How to Take Action: Day 7 of a 30 day challenge designed to help you gain balance in your life.

Today, Tom Wood gives steps to follow in order to take action effectively and Dr. Barbara De Angelis gives ..."

The Course in Mastery – Day 6 – The Unlimited Power of Belief

The Course in Mastery – Day 6 – The Unlimited Power of Belief: "The Course in Mastery - Day 6 - The Unlimited Power of Belief



The Unlimited Power of Belief: Day 6 of a 30 day challenge designed to help you gain balance in your life.

Today, Tom Wood and Dr. Janet Lapp explain the impact that faith has on your level of ..."

Get Your Brand on Every Social Network with KnowEm

Get Your Brand on Every Social Network with KnowEm: "One of the biggest advantages of social media is the ability to get your brand Web-wide recognition among very active consumers across any number of niches, large and small. One of the biggest disadvantages is the massive amount of time it takes to get these profiles set up and keep them maintained. You can also run into problems when someone else...



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AddThis - the #1 Bookmarking and Sharing Service

AddThis - the #1 Bookmarking and Sharing Service: "

AddThis - the #1 Bookmarking and Sharing Service

Source: www.addthis.com

Increase traffic with the easiest, most popular sharing tool in the world. Served 30 billion times a month to 500 million people in 50 languages.

This looks like a valuable service???

"

Apps for SalesForce: Free, Popular and Downright Nifty

Apps for SalesForce: Free, Popular and Downright Nifty: "If creating and maintaining positive relationships with customers is your focus (like it should be) then you won’t need convincing that CRM software is a key to your success. While there many vendors touting their wares, market leader SalesForce is where many companies are turning. In addition to being the most robust solution available,...



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Web Content Writing Resources

Web Content Writing Resources: "

As promised, I’m also going to share some of my favorite resources for developing web content. Writing doesn’t come easy for everyone, but you may be surprised to learn that even some of your favorite writers use checklists, outlines and even PLR (private label rights) content.

I do myself, and I shared my outline for blog posts in my How to Write A Blog Post tutorial. I also recently shared a detailed PLR Article Rewrite.

And while I’ve been writing web content for years (more than a decade, actually), I am still constantly looking to learn and improve my writing skills. What follows are some of my favorite, and most used resources…

Write That Report

This report by Jonathan Leger is only $7, and is one of my personal favorites. It provides an outline for writing reports, which is the style I work best with, and also teaches you how to come up with topics and the technical side of publishing and selling (or giving away) your reports.

I sell short reports to make money and to build targeted lists of buyers, and I use free reports as part of my affiliate marketing strategy. I have also been creating rebrandable reports lately, which is great for those who have affiliates – or for viral marketing campaigns.

Article Marketing for Beginners

Don’t let the title fool you – this tutorial is not just for beginners. In fact, there are several of us way beyond beginner stage taking and loving this course. It’s by Jeff Herring (THE Article Marketing Guy), and you can read my review here. See the comments after too, to hear other people’s thoughts on it.

Article Marketing is incredibly important to your overall marketing strategy, and is one of the easiest ways to get high quality relevant backlinks to your website or blog (or your individual posts or pages). Considering how successful Jeff Herring is at this particular strategy, from titles to bylines, it pays to study from the best.

PLR Secrets (Free Report)

Another great resource that I read, and found a lot of inspiration in, is PLR Secrets by Jimmy D Brown and Nicole Dean. This is a great free starting point if you’re interested in exploring PLR and/or the idea of creating your own short reports. A great companion to Jonathan Leger’s guide (above).

Easy PLR

This is Nicole Dean’s PLR site, and it’s one of my personal favorites (yes, I’m a customer!) because she offers such a variety in niche content. You’ll find PLR content for niches like fitness, diet, holidays, blogging, frugal living, membership sites, pregnancy, ecommerce, Feng Shui – you name it. She also offers a variety of formats such as ecourses, articles and reports. I do a lot of mix and match there…

Internet Marketing Special Report Club

Another great source that I use is Melissa Ingold’s special report club. She has some quality PLR reports & articles, and often runs special offers. Check out her Free PLR Package here for a test-drive.

Nicheology

This is one of the original PLR sites, and has been around for years. I was a member when it was originally started by Jimmy D Brown and Ryan Deiss. It is now operated by Paul Evans and Mark Thompson – and you’d be hard pressed to meet two nicer guys. Not only do they offer tons of exclusive content with private label rights, but they also offer a lot of training and tutorials as well.

They recently instated a $197 sign-up fee due to the wealth of content and resources available immediately once you join, but this link will give you back door access to join without paying the sign-up fee.

Need-an-Article Writing Service

You can have content written for practically any purpose, including: articles, press releases, blog posts, website content, etc. And you can have this content written for as little as $5. They even offer re-write services for your PLR content. This is a very cost-effective writing or re-writing service for those of you that prefer cheap outsourcing.

I also want to recommend two blogs you should follow – and these two blogs are written by members of my own private mastermind group:

Web Copy Results by Trish Lindemood. She is currently doing a 90-Day Content Marketing Challenge. Also, Affiliate Treasure Chest by Susanne Myers.

Both of these ladies are currently running a content challenge and their blogs are chock full of resources and ideas for developing consistent content. Susanne’s latest post is How To Come Up With Article Ideas That Are Perfect For Deep Linking, for example. Great stuff!

I hope these web content writing tips & resources proved helpful for you, and sparked some new ideas you can use to create fresh content for your blog or website. These are the same ideas and resources that I use every single day across my own blogs and websites.

Best,

p.s. My next post in the Web Content Writing series is a Q&A. Feel free to leave your own questions on creating great content below for potential inclusion. You may also want to sign up for my upcoming report titled Easy Unique Content.

"

June Holley and The Art of Being Rhizomatic (The Practice of Network Weaving)

June Holley and The Art of Being Rhizomatic (The Practice of Network Weaving): "

Meeting June Holley for the first time!

Last week, as part of my work at the Packard Foundation as visiting scholar I had the opportunity to participate in a face-to-face convening of the 'Network of Network Funders,' facilitated by the Monitor Institute. The most exciting moment for me was to meet June Holley face-to-face - the guru of network weaving.

What the heck is network weaving? Here's a good basic definition from a blog post titled 'The Power of Network Weaving' from the Network Weaving Blog

Network weavers are people who intentionally and informally - and often serendipitously - weave new and richer connections between and among people, groups, and entities in networks. They also weave new and richer connections between among networks.

Note that the definition uses the plural form, network weavers versus network weaver. That was one of my ah ha moments from June's presentation and subsequent discussion. You want everyone in your network to do network weaving on different levels. Take a look at June Holley's list of characteristics and you'll quickly see that network weavers wear a variety hats - networkers, project coordinators, facilitators, and guardians. I might also add 'technology stewards.'

June urged us not to think narrowly about Network Weaving as a specific job description, but rather as a role. 'You don't hire someone to be a network weaver. You want someone who is open to learning and a good listener and can teach others network weaving skills. You want to spread the capacity throughout the network.' You extend networking weaving skills by using a peer learning model not a traditional training model.

June Holley used the metaphor of 'Being Rhizomatic' and explains it as where every bud contains the nourishment for other buds. She used an image of a single tree. A single tree can be cut down or die from lack of water. But in a bamboo forest (a unique rhizome) -- the trees are connected through the roots and if one tree gets nutrients and supports others.

The image that came to mind for me was from the movie Fantasia and the scene in The Sorcerer's Apprentice when many brooms come to life from the one chopped up broom. (Go 5:49 in the clip)

Source: Flickr Photos

June Holley emphasized the importance of self-organizing, she said 'Network weavers catalyze small joint actions between groups of two or three people. She talked about the importance of online collaboration and project management tools as a way to support those self-organized actions. (My single next action step is to set up a sand box with June and others to explore some of these tools in the context of network weaving.)

She also introduced a new (to me) concept: Network Guardian. This is someone who isn't doing the day-to-day work, but thinks about how the network could be more than it is. They think about the network structure, evaluation, communication, training, opportunities, and reflection.

June also described some of the tasks that network weaving may include. One might be drawing the map of the network's connections and facilitating a discussion about what the network looks like. Angus Parker from Wiser Earth recently blogged about this in 'How To Weave A Tighter Network.'

One connection I made is that nonprofit social media strategists like Carie Lewis from the Human Society, Danielle Brigida, NWF, Wendy Harman from the Red Cross, Apollo Gonzalez from NDRC, Constance DeCherney from Planned Parenthood, and others are doing some form of network weaving - whether it be their Facebook or Twitter networks or possibly internally between departments. It also made me wonder whether there might be a hunger for a professional peer group of social media network weavers.

I took that idea into a small peer assist session. My question: Is there a network of peers who do network weaving for nonprofits to support external communications? For starters, I'm going to ask Holly Ross at NTEN that we have a birds of a feather table at the NTC10 or if I get ambitious I will sign up to lead an affinity group meeting. As we discussed this, I realized that perhaps the frame was too small.

Maybe we need to do some field building for nonprofit network weavers in general as well as consultants who work with Network weavers. And while this would include those who work for nonprofits on social media strategy for external communications, it would include network weavers more broadly. There might be a sub-group or interest area on technology. Maybe this conversations could take place on an existing community of practice (Iscale).

• Are you practicing network weaving skills in your nonprofit or network?
  
• What are you learning about network weaving?
  
• What inspires you about network weaving potential?

"

Why Companies Shouldn’t Block Social Media in the Workplace

Why Companies Shouldn’t Block Social Media in the Workplace: "Over half of U.S. businesses block social media sites at work, yet 94% of businesses are acknowledging the importance of social media and are starting to invest in it? It’s kind of like being a retail business that doesn’t let its employees buy anything."

Creating Facebook Fan Pages – by Monique Cloutier

Creating Facebook Fan Pages – by Monique Cloutier: "*These videos were created today as a response to immediately helping out a new facebook friend and fan Chris King. She is a great friend and I recommend that you also become her friend and fan on facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/chris.king1 ) and beyond. *



Here is a video in 2 ..."

Social Media for Small Business

Social Media for Small Business: "

Here is my presentation from today, helping to kick off Small Business Week. It was an early morning breakfast with the Summerside Chamber of Commerce and only about 20 minutes long. Enjoy!

Social Media for Small Business

View more presentations from Kerr Consulting.

"

The Leader in You by Dale Carnegie - Free eBooks Download

The Leader in You by Dale Carnegie - Free eBooks Download: "

Gary Gray The Leader in You by Dale Carnegie - Free eBooks Download - http://www.ebook3000.com/The-Lea... 14 hours ago from Facebook - Comment - Like

"

The Course in Mastery – Day 5 – The Power of Associations

The Course in Mastery – Day 5 – The Power of Associations

The Course in Mastery – Day 4 – Taking Responsibility

The Course in Mastery – Day 4 – Taking Responsibility

The Course in Mastery – Day 3 – The Slight Edge

The Course in Mastery – Day 3 – The Slight Edge: "The Course in Mastery - Day 3 - The Slight Edge"

The Course in Mastery Day 2 – The Power of Goal Setting

The Course in Mastery Day 2 – The Power of Goal Setting: "The Course in Mastery Day 2 - The Power of Goal Setting"

The Course in Mastery – Day 1 – The Psychology of Success

The Course in Mastery – Day 1 – The Psychology of Success: "The Course in Mastery - Day 1 - The Psychology of Success"

Vaynerchuk: Use Social Media to "Crush It" in Business

Vaynerchuk: Use Social Media to "Crush It" in Business: "Gary Vaynerchuk, aka @GaryVee, says being successful doing what you love is now much more possible, provided you are willing to work tremendously hard - and leverage sites like Twitter and Facebook."

Fulfillment Solutions for E-Commerce

Fulfillment Solutions for E-Commerce: "For e-commerce business owners, product and marketing are typically core competencies while managing inventory and shipping solutions often are not. But not focusing on these parts of a business can often result in a poor consumer experience. This is where fulfillment companies step in as partners with expertise to allow merchants time to focus on...



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Our Canada

Hi

An example of how doing business in today's world of web 2.0 (social media) technology is changing.

"Our Canada magazine" Part of the Readers Digest Canada family.



The business world is changing. Are you?

Smiles :o)

Gary

Only 12 Percent Leverage Video in News Releases

Only 12 Percent Leverage Video in News Releases: "Despite the growing use of online video among U.S. consumers, businesses have yet to fully leverage the use of video in press releases, according to a new report by PRWeb. The results of a new PRWeb survey showed a huge disparity between those who find it valuable to implement video in press releases and those who actually do it. Of the 1,817...



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Making the Transition to One-to-One Marketing

Making the Transition to One-to-One Marketing

Shared via AddThis

One-to-One Marketing on the Web

One-to-One Marketing on the Web

Shared via AddThis

Must-Have Skills For IT Leaders

Must-Have Skills For IT Leaders: "Seven tips to help you manage effectively."

Creative Facebook Page Marketing

Creative Facebook Page Marketing: "

I like to find creative ways people promote their Facebook fan Page (see the Bath and Body Works Facebook Page - just started this month and over 60,000 fans already).

I went to Bath & Body Works recently (amazing marketers — they get you in for a free product and before you know it you’ve spent $50 on lotion you didn’t even need!), and on the bottom of the receipt…

Facebook marketing

You can see their pitch for being a Facebook fan and to sign up for text messaging. I think they call this receipt marketing.

The other is from an NPR show called, “In the Loop with Jeff Horwich.” He sings a charming song about his Facebook Fans.

What creative ways have you seen people promote their Facebook Page?

"

10 useful video sites to teach you new tech skills

10 useful video sites to teach you new tech skills: "Here are 10 video sites that will improve your tech knowledge, starting from amateur tips and tricks at the top, to more advanced techniques and tech skills towards the bottom of the list."

5 Types of Web Content That Readers Love

5 Types of Web Content That Readers Love: "

There are 5 types of web content that your readers will love - that are also very easy to write.

This quick list, with tips & examples, should get your creativity flowing with fresh ideas for new web content you can add to your blog or website.

A consistent combination of these 5 different types of content will keep your readers interested and coming back for more…

• HOW-TO

How-to Content is instructional, and teaches your readers how to do something specific. This content will usually end up being your most read and your most linked-to posts or pages.

Tip: To find ideas for how-to content, add the word “how” with your main keyword when you’re doing keyword research. For example, if you sell curtains online you could type how curtain into your favorite keyword tool.

Using the ‘how’ qualifier in your keyword research will tell you exactly what people want to read: how to make curtains, how to hang curtains, how to measure curtains, etc.

Example: How to Write A Blog Post

• REVIEWS

Product reviews are the first thing that come to mind, but you can publish a review on practically anything: popular websites in your niche, new blogs or a blog post series, news stories in the mainstream media channels, discussion forums, magazines, meet-ups - basically anything of interest to your readers that you can write an opinion about.

Example: 7 Small Business Ideas Most Likely To Fail

Tip: While you may worry that you’re sending your readers to your competitors, they will actually start seeing you a go-to source for cool new things to check out. Keep an eye out for new or interesting things to share with your readers.

Writing Product Reviews is a great way to monetize your site or blog. Check out that link for the 7 elements that go into a great product review that will help your readers make their buying decision.

Example: Article Marketing For Beginners Review

• QUICK TIPS

Not every piece of content you write has to be a thousand word essay. Sometimes a simple paragraph or two, maybe 300 words minimum, will suffice to share something interesting or to get a simple point across.

Example: New Free Video From John Reese

This works particularly well with blogs or email newsletters, and can be mixed in between your longer meatier types of content. It’s helpful when you need to write in a hurry, and still gives your readers something new and interesting to check out.

Sometimes, if I’m in a real hurry, I’ll simply pick an interesting video to share from YouTube. Example: Internet Marketing Humor

With a blog, you can also use these shorter pieces of content to ask a question and open a topic up for reader discussion.

Example: What do you use to create a website?

• LISTS

Lists are very popular and make for very easy content. You can list a number of resources on a particular topic - such as other people’s blog posts about a particular subject - and just write a short description in a sentence or two for each.

Example: Content Marketing: How To Write For The Web

Lists are fun & easy to write. Some examples to get your ideas flowing: 10 ways to get your ex back (which - that could have more than one meaning), Top 3 children’s gifts for Christmas 2009, 7 best grilling recipes, 20 best short jokes ever, etc.

Tip: To find ideas for lists, try adding the word “best” or “top” to your main keyword when you’re doing keyword research. For example, if your website or blog is all about software you could type best software or top software into your favorite keyword tool.

This will tell you exactly what type of lists your readers want to see most, such as: top 10 antivirus software products, top video editing software, best dvd burning software, best photo editing software, etc.

Example: Magazines for Writers

• INTERVIEWS

Interviews make for great easy web content. You can start with just 3-10 questions, and the person you interview basically creates the rest of the content for you. They’ll be willing to do this for the exposure to your readership, and for the relevant backlink to their website.

Tip: Poll your readers to find out who they’d love to hear from, and what they would most like to know from these people.

Write out your questions. For long answer type questions, 3-5 is a good number. For short answer type questions go with 7-10. You can send an email to potential interviewees worded something like this:

Subject: Hi Nancy - Quick Email Interview?

Hi Nancy,

I follow your work and love what you do. I know my readers would love to learn more about you. If you have a moment I’d like to publish this Q&A with you on my blog. It’s 7 quick questions. Please include a photo and the website URL you would like for me to share with my readers.

You can also record audio interviews over the phone or Skype, with video or at BlogTalkRadio. Get interviews transcribed to turn them into text content as well.

Example: Interview With Social Media Link-Building Specialist, Nathan Ketsdever

—

That should give you plenty of ideas to get started writing great content. All 5 of these types can work well on your website, on your blog, as guest blog posts, as content for a squidoo lens, or for writing articles for article marketing.

If you still need a bit of help getting past that blank page, see my tips for How to Write Really Great Content.

Best,

p.s. Want even more great web content ideas? Sign up to get notification about my new guide at Easy Unique Content.

"

Improving The Customer Experience

Improving The Customer Experience: "

In a previous post we discussed the buying decision, and how to know when you should or shouldn’t buy a product online.

Now we’ll look at it from the flip side, and discuss your website and products - and your visitors’ experience and buying decision.

Let’s start by looking at an example outside of Internet Marketing that we can all relate to: the restaurant experience.

Going out to dinner is not just about eating food. It’s about the experience. Consider all of the elements of that experience - the atmosphere, noise level, service, anticipation, expectation, quality of food, etc.

If even one element is “off” it can easily ruin the customer experience. In Internet Marketing that equals abandoned shopping carts, unsubscribes, or your visitor clicking the back button…

The Customer Experience

The customer experience is directly related to the customer’s expectation. If you meet or exceed that expectation, they have a positive experience. If you fail to meet that expectation, they have a negative experience.

One of the easiest ways you can improve the customer experience is to influence their expectation. The more information you give them about your offer upfront, the more likely their expectation will match their buying experience.

Post-Sale Experience

The customer experience goes way beyond the point of sale. Your goal is to create a relationship with that buyer and turn them into a lifetime customer. A positive experience leads to repeat sales and word-of-mouth referrals.

A positive post-sale experience begins with delivery, quality of product, your follow-up material, and your customer service/support.

Unfortunately many merchants stop at the point of sale, ending the relationship with cash in hand. Implementing a simple follow-up series can dramatically improve both customer experience and profit potential.

As a merchant your job is to design your funnel, start to finish, for the best possible customer experience. This begins with first contact, and continues for the life of the customer.

As an affiliate your job is to add value to that process. For you, happy customers equal more commissions, and in some cases recurring or repeat commissions.

On the front end, affiliates have the power to influence the customer’s expectations and answer any lingering questions that affect the buying decision. This can be as simple as how you frame your product reviews.

On the back end, affiliates can offer how-to content or communities to keep customers engaged and buying product.

Take a good look at your online business, and search for opportunities to improve the customer experience. As a good starting point, I recommend reading these tips on how to treat your customers:

The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service

In the 10th tip, the word “employees” can be interchanged with “affiliates”.

Consider your own experiences as a customer when you set up your systems or your online promotions. Walk through your funnel as if you were your ideal buyer and look for ways to add more value to their experience.

Best,

"

10 Questions to Get You Started Using Social Media for Your Nonprofit or Do-Good Project

10 Questions to Get You Started Using Social Media for Your Nonprofit or Do-Good Project: "

One of the most common questions I'm asked as a social media consultant is, 'Which tool is the best?' Unfortunately, there isn't an easy answer to that question. If you have a do-good project, or a small nonprofit that you want to promote, fundraise for, or build an online community around using social media, your first step is to create a plan.

If the idea of creating a social media plan sounds scary to you, just think of it as: 10 Questions to Get You Started Using Social Media for Your Nonprofit or Do-Good Project.

1. What is the goal I'm trying to achieve by using social media? Raise awareness? Build web traffic? Attract new donors? Raise money for a specific campaign or initiative? Increase membership?

2. Who is my audience? Who are you trying to reach? Are they new members, or your tried and true supporters? Are they already tech savvy, or will they need training to use the tools? What are their interests? How old are they? (Be careful making assumptions about age. Did you know that the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is people who are 35 years old and older?).

3. What are people already saying about my cause, or organization?
Search on Google, Google Blog Search, Technorati, Twitter Search, and Social Mention for your cause, the name of your organization (if you have one), and the URL of your website (if you have one). Search on Facebook too to see if anyone has already created a Facebook Page for your cause or organization. You may be able to achieve your goal, and reach your audience simply by commenting and participating on social networks that already exist.
4. How much time do I have to spend on social media? Check out Beth Kanter's post, How Much Time Does It Take to Do Social Media? to help you estimate how much time you might need, and compare it with the time you have to give. Also, what is the time line for the project? Is it for a short-term campaign, or part of your organization's long-term strategic, communications, or development plan?
5. How much money do I have to spend on social media? Many social media tools are free, or low cost to use. Basically, the more features, functions and customization you want, the more you'll pay. Your biggest cost will be your time, or a staff person's time.

6. What skills do I have? Are you, or the staff person who will be in charge of social media, using social media already, or will training be needed? Are you a natural writer? A blog may be a place to start. Do you love connecting people? A social network like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Ning might be a tool to leverage your talents. If you are a visual person, check out photo or video sharing.

7. What social media tool(s) should I use? Given your goal, the audience you want to reach, what is being said about your cause or organization online, and your time, money, and skills, what social media tools are the best fit for you?:

• Blog (i.e. WordPress, Blogger)
  
• Podcast (i.e. Libsyn, Hipcast)
  
• Video sharing (i.e. YouTube, Vimeo)
• Photo sharing (i.e. Flickr, Photobucket)
• Microblogging: Twitter, Tumblr
  
• Social networking (i.e. Facebook, Ning)
• Social bookmarking (i.e. StumbleUpon, Delicious)
• Wiki (i.e. Wikispaces, PBworks)

Using more tools isn't necessarily better. Putting limited resources towards building community around one tool will be more effective than barely engaging on multiple platforms. That said, many tools work well together. For example, videos can be embedded in blog posts, which can be fed into your Facebook newsfeed.

8. How will you measure success? Based on your goal for using social media, how will you measure your impact? How will you know if the tools you chose are working for you? Below is a sampler of ways you could measure success. Pick 2-3 to track on a regular basis:

• Subscribers
• Page views
• Page visits
• Downloads
• Referrals/links
• Comments
• Bookmarks
• Actions taken
• Money raised
• Number of donors
• Campaigns created by supporters
• Content created by supporters
• Community growth and strength
• Individual relationship growth and strength

9. What is your exit, or growth plan? There are no guarantees that using social media will help you achieve your goals, so when choose your tools, think about how you could stop using them gracefully if they don't work for you. Do you know how to delete your Facebook Page? If your blog is integrated into your website, can it easily be removed? Where will people be redirected to if they come to a site that no longer exists?

On the other hand, what if you are wildly successful and build a bustling online community, or an avid group of subscribers to your Youtube channel? Will the tools you've chosen allow you to grow?
10. How can I have fun using social media? This might seem like a silly question, but the number of clients I work with who come to me and sigh, "So, I guess I have to start a blog," is astonishing. No one wants to read a gloomy blogger, or interact with a reluctant Facebook friend, or subscribe to a YouTube channel that is never updated. Social media tools are social. They require your interacting with other people so pick a tool, or tools that sound interesting to you, and have fun!

For more information about creating a social media plan for your nonprofit or do-good project, check out:

• Thinking Strategically About Using Social Media on We Are Media
• A Five Step Guide to Social Media Strategy for Nonprofits on IMPACTMAX
• Non-profit Communications: Which Media to Use? on Wild Apricot Blog
• Social Media Planning and Evaluation for NGOs on Full Circle Associates
• Social Media Strategy--The Planning Stage on Chris Brogan
• How to Develop a Social Media Plan for Your Business in 5 Steps on Mashable

BlogHer Contributing Editor, Britt Bravo, also blogs at Have Fun * Do Good, WE tv's WE Volunteer blog, The Extraordinaries, and the Global Center for Cultural Entrepreneurship blog. She is a Big Vision Consultant.

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Sharing or Creating Video with Facebook

Sharing or Creating Video with Facebook: "

Facebook is a great way to share information with your community. Most of us use it regularly to provide quick updates about what we’re doing, where we’re going, or a news story that interests us. Most of us also regularly upload pictures to share with our communities. You know what I’ve noticed, though? Not many people are using Facebook’s video features. I’m not sure if that’s because not many people use video (really? I find that hard to believe--where are the vloggers?) or people just don’t know how (which I think is more likely). If the lack of video stems from the former reason, I can’t help; if it stems from the latter, read on! I’m going to explain how you can upload video to your Facebook account or create a completely new video on the fly on your Facebook profile.

If you think video isn’t important, check this out:

161 million U.S. internet users watched online video during [August], the largest audience ever recorded. Online video reached another all-time high in August with more than 25 billion videos viewed during the month, with Google Sites accounting for more than 10 billion. (via Bizzia)

Not only can you post video quickly and easily to your Facebook account, you’ll be jumping on the new wave and making the most of this trend.

Upload video from your computer

1. Go to your Facebook profile. On your wall is the text box where you usually update your status. Below that box is the word Attach with a line of icons next to it.
2. Click the icon that looks like a video camera. You’ll see two choices: Record a video and Upload a video.
3. Click Upload a video.
4. Click Browse, find your video on your hard drive, and upload it to your profile.

Record a new video on your Facebook profile

1. Go to your Facebook profile. On your wall is the text box where you usually update your status. Below that box is the word Attach with a line of icons next to it.
2. Click the icon that looks like a video camera. You’ll see two choices: Record a video and Upload a video.
3. Click the Record a video. You'll see a box asking if Facebook has your permission to access your computer's camera and microphone. If the answer is yes, click the radio button (the circle) next to Allow.
4. Click the 'Close' button in that box. You'll see a picture of yourself in that box. Position your screen in a way that centers you in the box.
5. Click the red button with the dot in the middle to start recording. To stop recording, click the button again (it's a square now).
6. You'll have the option to play the video, save the video, or reset the video. To see how the video came out, push the play button (the triangle). If you're happy with it, click Save. If you want a do-over, click Reset and re-record your video.

Once you've saved your video you will have the opportunity to tag people in the video, give the video a title and description, and choose the thumbnail that will accompany the video (these are stills from the video).

Finally, you have the option to Save (publish to the group), Delete (delete the video permanently), or Skip for now (which means you want to publish the video, but haven't actually given it a title, description, or chosen a thumbnail).

Once you get over the initial horror of seeing and hearing yourself on video, it’s actually quite fun to make a daily Facebook vlog and share a moment or two of you with your community. Why not give it a try? It couldn’t be easier.

Want to learn more tips for Facebook? Check out Why Facebook? by Mari Smith. But before you go, leave me a comment about whether you use Facebook’s video feature or not. If you’re one of the many who don’t, why not? Is it because it never occurred to you? Or because you don’t want to see yourself up there? Or because you weren’t sure how? Now that you know how easy it is, will you try it? How do you see the video helping you promote your brand? Thanks for reading; I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.

Melanie Nelson writes tips and instructions at Blogging Basics 101.

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On Speed #30dc

On Speed #30dc: "

Don’t Worry, I’m talking speed of business, not the drug.

As I was stirring the porridge this morning and using google reader on my iPhone (don’t try that at home kids, I’m a professional!) I read an item from John Gruber about a magazine created full of photo’s about last weeks crazy dust storms here in Australia.

It went from concept to sale in two days.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

Here is the story on how it was done

Wow.

Many of you know I have a horrible view of magazine publishing ( I love magazines but a couple of decades ago I was almost made bankrupt in a good intentioned but horribly naive attempt at creating a magazine - turns out I was just 20 years to early!)

How do you create a SMALL fortune?
Start with A LARGE fortune and start a magazine. It will become a small fortune in short order!
BOOM BOOM (Basil Brush reference for the Commonwealth readers!)

Here’s the problem.

I LOVE MAGAZINES!

Seriously, If magazines didn’t exist I’d probably be working at EB games selling the latest Mario Ware on the Wii.

I grew up in Beechworth, Victoria. It’s a small town (population sub 3000). I had the extraordinary luck to live in a town that had an incredible newsagent (think Magazine stand for my American friends) - when I look back it was an incredible fluke - the shop was my lifeline to the world. The Internet was still and academic oddity and would be for another 12 years at that point.

I was able to read about a world of the Sinclair zx80, Tandy TRS 80’s, The Unobtainable and only for super rich kids Atari 400 and be still my beating heart - the Commodore Vic 20.

Now I’m reading this I realised another extraordinary fluke. I had the one part time job in town - delivering medicine after school, which gave me the cash for the magazines (I was living in a trailer park), the other piece of luck was,
Gwyn Morris - the local chemist and my boss - inexplicably in a town of 3000 decided to get a commodore vic 20 dealership and then offered to let me have one and work it off (which I did over two years!!!) I was dead broke but I had a computer. The rest is history.

Thanks Mr. Morris!!!

Back to magazines.

Fast forward today. Magazines are a horrible business. Their lag times (meaning breaking news is just not possible) are prohibitive, all those magazines in the PC area in particular are closing down with a frighting regularity.

Now, some magazines I grant you have it worked out - look at National Geographic, I can see that being published for decades, it’s secret is the articles and the extraordinary images are timeless and it’s built up it membership over decades.

(notice I said membership - the magazine is a function of your membership to the Geographic society - a VERY important distinction)

Starting a magazine is just terrifying to me, the incredible up front cost, the logistics, the delay in payment (this is what killed me - the revenue lag in publishing is horrific - all our costs are upfront/30 days - your lucky to see any revenue from anyone for at least ninety days - the horror!!) just make starting a magazine an insanity`.

Or is it.

This is where speed comes in to it.

Derek Powazek put together this magazine from photos gathered online, laid out the magazine (put it together on the computer) produced a PDF and uploaded it to
Magcloud - an on-demand magazine service.

The only cost - Time and some sort of deal with the photographers.

20 years is a long time and of course we now have “national geographic” quality on-demand printing!

It’s unreal - if your prepared to wait just over a week - for four bucks you get the magazine delivered to your door - plus $6 for the magazine.

This is extraordinary (and thirty day challengers - trust me - there is a big can of “big-forehead slapping opportunity” about to be opened up here.

Let’s just remember - the costs so far to the publisher - two days of time.

Coincidentally - I’m showing you how to do create magazine style PDF docs at www.thirtydaychallengeplus.com - membership is ridiculously cheap. (Iin fact because you read this far - here is a little code to get a discount “30dc” - don’t spread it around please!!!)

I’m not going to bore you with how much this would cost traditionally, Well over $20,000 dollars at least and you pay up front Laddie!

Now, I was speaking to a very clever chap from Manchester last night… and he was telling me about a very short term, seasonal web site that was doing really well. Sure it was short term, but it will do great in the season.

We also talked about some of the issues with affiliate promotions, remember here in Thirty DC land we use affiliate stuff to test the market - you need to develop your own product when you know your on a good market.

That’s when the idea hit me while I was stirring the porridge.

It’s all about Speed.

With the tools in the Thirty Day Challenge, once you have got the practice under your belt, you can have a test market up in a day EASY. (I did say with Practice and the the holy troika of Samurai, Wordpress Direct and Traffic Bug)

There is a huge opportunity here. If you get over your fear of product creation (I did mention Thirty Day Challenge Plus…) you can move quickly to create product to take advantage of an upsurge in interest.

For Example….

The Leica M9 has JUST been released and it has gone off like an atom bomb in the camera world and in my pants. If I wasn’t busy creating compelling content for you lot, I would create a magazine in the style of the Japanese Camera Mags (They are soooo awesome BTW) I reckon it would take me a week and a bit to produce and it would sell like HOTCAKES.

Let’s say I sold 500 at $10 bucks - $5000 bucks for a weeks work is better than a kick in the head! Up Front Cost to me - TIME.

BUT because I know a thing or two about product creation, what if i spent a little bit more time putting together some videos and perhaps some audio interview with photographers using the M9.

All of a sudden, I have a 97 dollar product and selling 500 of them in a month or two is more than 95% of the population make working full-time.

I LOVE THIS BUSINESS.

BUT

Remember the Magnificent Symphony of Four Parts

Market is first - Product is last.

To make this really rock - you want to be able to have your tribe/ your Fan Base/your community already built.

And we might just have an awesome little surprise for you on that front shortly…

Ed

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