Have you have every wondered:  “why bother with social media?”  Great stats  – some very surprising.   Welcome to the revolution.

Intro

• 30 Days of Social Media
• Are you ready to engage in social media?
• Social Media Tool Box
  
• Putting a Face on Social Media – Gravatars

Facebook

• Face It: Why You Need To Know About Facebook
• Facebook-Business
• Facebook Advertising is for Everyone

Social Bookmarking

• What the Heck is Social Bookmarking
  

YouTube

• Good Marketing is About Telling Stories – YouTube Can Help
• How To Setup Your YouTube Account AND My Famous 5 Minute Video Creation Secrets Revealed

Google

• Google Wants to Alert Your Business to New Possibilities for Free

RSS

• What is RSS and Why Do I Care

LinkedIn

• LinkedIn 101 Getting the Most From This Often Mis-Understood Social Network
• What Everybody Ought to Know About Connections On LinkedIn
• Do You Make These Mistakes

Inspiration

• A Little Shift Goes a Long Way
• If the White House Can Embrace Social Media Can Your Business
• Social Marketing Results in Less than 60 Minutes: One Great Example
• Do You Make These Mistakes With Your Customers

Local Search

• If You Are Not In Local Search Engines Now, You Will Regret It Later
• Getting Started With Your Google Local/Google Maps Listing
• Are You Ready to Take Control of Your Online Reputation

Blogs

• Don’t Be Too Quick To Decide a Blog Isn’t Right For Your Business
• Give Me 15 Minutes and I Will Give You The Formula To Blogging Success

Auto Responder/E-commerce

• Do You Get Better Service From An Auto-Responder At An E-commerce Store Than You Do In Person

Photo Sharing

• Create a Vivid Image – Finding the Right Photo Just Got Easier

Twitter

• Is Twitter For You
• Twitter for Your Business

Authenticity

• Do You Have an Identity Crisis

Email

• Do you know what the single most important ingredient is in your business

Protecting Your Information

• The Lazy Mans Way to Hack Into Your Personal Information and Passwords
• There Is A Quick Way to Secure Your Identity On Social Websites

Summary

• How Much Time Should You Spend on Social Media Each Week

Something happens when you get involved with social media.  You change.  You realize that the more you give – the better you feel – and the more you get back.  I am motivated to be even more active!

By the end of the week, I have created some terrific marketing materials that are customer focused.  I have also created a bunch of ineffective materials that will not work, but here’s the thing – my social community helps me determine what is good or bad based on the comments I receive, the number of times an article is retweeted, or the emails that I receive with questions on the articles or tweets.

So – 15 hours per week to develop marketing materials that educate and creating powerful relationships.  I think that is time well spend.  Would your marketing manager be more effective if he/she were to be active in social networks?

My Blog (1 hour a day)

• Write at least three blog posts per week based on research and conversations I have had on Twitter and on other blogs
• Respond to comments daily on my blog
• Write at least 1- 5 comment a day on other people’s blogs

Analytics  (1/2 hour a week)

• Review Google Analytics to identify trends and possible follow-up articles.
• Review click throughs with FeedBurner

Twitter  (1 – 2 hours through out the day)

• Daily- retweet at least one good idea or something enlightening
• Daily – write a response to at least one person I have not talked to ever before on Twitter
• Daily – scan twitter for relevant conversations
• Tweet my blog posts
• Recommend my most active followers on #followfriday
• TweetLater – schedule a #QOTD or #quote for each day
• Twice a Week – Review new followers and follow active Tweeters

Google Reader  (4 hours per week)

• Monitor Google Reader news articles for relevant blog content and Twitter posts
• Comment on relevant articles
• Bookmark with delicious articles for future blog posts and idea generation

Google Alerts  (15 minutes per week)

• Monitor Google alerts for relevant keywords and phrases

LinkedIn  (15 minutes per day)

• Daily- Update Status
• Daily – review friend (connections) status and comment on at least one
• Tuesday/Thursday – Scan group conversations and engage in topics when appropriate
• Wednesday – Ask one question in a group
• Friday – help connect two of my contacts together
• Friday – send one referral, ask for one referral

Slideshare

• Monthly – Upload a new presentation
• Weekly – Review comments on presentations

Facebook  (15 minutes per day)

• Daily – Update Status
• Daily – review friend status
• Daily – At least one non-business related comment to a friend
• Delete any messages that are spam-ish or any polls or applications sent to me
• Review photos of friends

YouTube

• Monthly – Review my videos
• Monthly – Review favorites
• As they happen – Add a new video to my blog

Delicious

• Daily – Book mark daily to share with clients, employees and twitter followers
• Weekly – review bookmarks to generate ideas for future blog posts or future projects

Email

• Check three times a day – morning, noon, and at the end of the day
• Respond to all emails – even if it just says “I will get back to you.”
• Clean up mail from last week and close any loose ends

Other Activities

• Weekly – engage in other social networks that I belong

There are a few other activities that my staff take care of through out the week that include:

• Managing two Facebook communities
• Managing two LinkedIn communities
• Publishing our e-newsletter
• Manage two additional blogs

What are your thoughts?  I would love to hear them!

1.  Create a YouTube Account

• Go to www.YouTube.com and click on “Sign-Up” in the upper right hand corner.
• Complete the sign up form. 
• Once you press “Create  My Account,” you will need to approve the email that is sent.  If you do not receive an email from YouTube within 5 minutes, please check your spam filters for the email.

 2.  Shoot your Video. 

Flip Video Camera - Shoot video, plug into your computer, and upload.

I recommend using a Flip Video Camera.  They are small, easy to transport, and they can upload directly to YouTube.  Go read the reviews on Flip Cameras and decide for yourself. Don’t take my word for it – this is all about social media.   You can see all kinds of reviews and even buy your camera online.  But before you do that, watch the video below to see my explanation of the Flip Video Camera.  Then go buy your own for around $120!  (want more information and product reviews?)

3.  Upload your video to YouTube.

We covered a lot today. 

Your action item for today is to get your YouTube account setup.  If you want more information on creating videos, I will be offering a full day workshop on shooting video, editing video, and preparing it for the Internet.  If you want more information, please contact me today.  Classes are filling up!

Did you enjoy this session?  If so, leave a comment below with your YouTube video link.  I would love to see what you are up to on YouTube!

YouTube is the third most visited website in the US .

To me, good marketers tell stories.  Stories are how we connect with each other.  What could be a better platform for story telling than an online video site?  One of my favorite artists sells paintings for thousands of dollars.  How does she do it?  She tells a video story and documents the process of creating the painting.  Compelling, interesting – you just have to have it!

Businesses are using YouTube in a variety of ways. From a social networking aspect, simply posting video on YouTube and making it searchable makes sense. People spend hours looking at videos posted there, so whether it’s a video of a home for sale or product demonstration, you will get exposure on YouTube. Loyal customers and fans of your business can post video of themselves using your product or service. This is evident in the hundreds of people making videos in support of a specific cause or candidate in the election.

Like most social sites, you can comment on videos, share videos via email, or embed them into your website.  Create the right video, and it can go viral.  What a great way to generate interest and traffic to your business.  Most of the great videos on YouTube are not professionally produced.  I think people want authenticity.  Over-producing your video can be a detriment when you are building a social network.  Create authentic videos that show who you are and what you do.  Make it interesting!

Do you know if any of your raving fans have posted video about your business, product or service?  Take a look at a few videos from great businesses:

MidWest Machinery Company:  http://www.youtube.com/user/MidwestMachineryCo 
Clay Coyote:  http://www.youtube.com/user/coyotepots
Vivid Image:  http://www.youtube.com/vividinsight 

ONE ACTION ITEM:  For today, all I would like you to do is spend time searching www.youtube.com for videos that relate to your business.  See what others are doing.  Tomorrow we will go through the steps to get your YouTube account setup.  We may even have time for me to show you how to create compelling video in less than 5 minutes.

More Inspiration

How do you sell a $400 – $800 blender to a consumer?  I don’t know about you, but my $50 blender does a great job chopping ice for a margarita.  Why would I need to spend $400 or more on a blender for my home?  Well, let me tell you…..

The folks at Blendtec had a problem.  They had a great product, but a perception that it is over-priced.  The solution, create a series of videos on YouTube and embedded on their site was the answer.  This video series is called, “Will It Blend?”  (I embedded the video in the top right corner of this screen for our convenience.)  They blend anything from iPods, glow sticks, or your favorite book.  It is entertaining.  It is social.  It is worth the price.