SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS | July 29 Boot Camp

I was recently interviewed on http://www.vividliferadio.com/ following my amazing Boot Camp in Whitby Ontario. I get this a lot, "You look like that guy Danny from American Idol!"

Due to popular demand, I am hosting a 'Hands on' Social Media Boot Camp on July 29 in my Burlington Studio. This is an expert session so make sure you contact my assistant sara@redchairbranding.com 905.528.6032 to register your hot seat. We are only working with 25 people at this workshop so be a part of the social media craze and learn how to harness the power of these tools. Social Media is helping me become one of the top speakers in Canada and i want you to learn how to make these tools a part of your marketing mix.

I just returned from being WIRED in WHITBY. I love this crowd, I love the intersection with Whitby, every time I leave this venue, I get more inspired to reach a new level. This was a diverse crowd, fully engaged, wide awake with new ideas and new possibilities for their brand. So to recap, we focused on the creative laws to help you build your brand, now that you have that in the works, you will be able to start focusing on building your new brand image on the web. I recommended the use of 3-4 social media tools:

1. FaceBook for business

Facebook actually started at Harvard as a means of sharing photos in prep schools. It is a great and user-friendly tool to connect with old friends and associates who share a common interest. It provides your viewers with an inside look at your personal interest. I like to think of it as a way to humanize your profile in business.
2. LinkedIN

Where Facebook is more personal, Linkedin is for business. It is a great tool to connect with the business community on business matters. One of the great features of LinkedIN is that you can endorse/recommend other people. Many job recruiters use this tool to cyber-surf great candidates. Many of them will only go by the recommendations that you have in your LinkedIN account.
3. YouTUBE for video uploads

Is referred to as a video sharing site which is now owned by Google. You can upload unlimited videos, create a channel, add comments and response to other videos that you review. It has revolutionized how we view, upload and download videos on the net. Even media channels are now broadcasting TV shows and movie trailers on YouTUBE. It is a great way to get your message across especially if you tie it into your BLOG. I like YouTUBE as a search engine enabler, it really helps optimize how your website is found, especially if you link your videos into your website and BLOG, cross pollination.
4. TWITTER

Twitter is the new kid in town and a micro BLOG that allows you to share what you are doing in 140 characters or less. Twitter is designed to help quickly start building a larger social network. For instance, with Twitter, you may be following a user that has over 10,000 followers, that user is connected with you and decides to post a comment about you to their 10,000 person network, that is awesome. I recommended that you connect with Trevor Rudd, CEO of JobQuirk.com, follow him on Twitter, he is a social media king and helped me get started a while back. More importantly, I was able to offer him great value and in turn he broadcast a series of messages on my behalf to his large social media network.

So the following are some of the major tips that I wanted to leave you with today:
1. Use the right tools for you.
2. Take breaks, set a schedule for updating your social media tools, ie. 3 times a week.
3. Allocate 20 minutes to do this, schedule it in.
4. Form Alliances and Look for ways to collaborate on line. ie. Groups that you should join.
5. Help others by spreading the word. For example, at the Whitby Boot Camp, I spent some time with Ken, 'The Real estate Research Guru' New, AKA Ken the New Guru! Ken is with Re max and he can be reached at ken@teamnew.com he is outstanding as a result of his unique approach to research.
6. Cross Pollinate
7. Provide Value
8. Use a daily BLOG to enter information that is valuable to your audience.
9. Do a weekly video tip and upload that to your YOUTUBE channel.
10. Look for innovative ways to connect with the masses online.
11. Integrate areas on your website dedicated to allowing people to share opinions and insights.
12. Discover where your target audience is hanging out online and join them.
13. Build a business profile on your Facebook and link your suppliers, friends and associates.
14. Build in a social media mix into your marketing plan by stepping back and strategically assigning resources to this initiative.

Most importantly, Web 2.0 is about a 2 way communication. So Sheppard your brand online by actively listening to and participating in the conversation.