There’s nothing like a good ‘ol webinar to get the latest news on what’s going on in the social media world. With a zillion changes a month and the creation of other networks and tools, it can be hard to keep on top of everything.
To remedy this, last week I decided to brush up on what’s currently HOT in social media and dedicated an hour to watching Social Media Examiner’s “10 Ways to Grow Your Business With Social Media.” A handful of social media experts contribute to the webinar including: Michael Stelzner, Andrea Vahl, Rich Brooks and Kristi Hines.
What especially convinced me to view this webinar was knowing the Michael Stelzner was contributing. Stelzner is an amazing social media businessman with ideas of gold. Not to mention I previously reviewed his latest book “Launch” this past summer and thought it was amazing.
Although the webinar got off to a bumpy start (someone muted the mike, so a few of the presenters weren’t being heard), it was still a good azimuth test to see the newest social media developments.
Some of the key takeaways from the webinar included the following (which are new developments I did not know about):
Google +
- Only allows one admin at the moment, which means only person has access to update or modify anything.
- Utilizing Facebook to gather email contacts is possible via iFrame Apps, promoting webinars on your Facebook page and running contests which all require submitting email addresses.
- There is also a comprehensive sales cycle for Facebook Marketing called the, “Facebook Sale Pyramid” created by Andrea Vahl which looks like this:
YouTube
- To further enhance your YouTube videos being viewed, one thing to make sure to do is include an audio narrative of the description of the video.
- If your product is localized, make sure to use the geographic search feature on Twitter to search for keywords and distribute your tweet to that location offering special promotions (i.e. Groupon).
- With tons of connections on LinkedIn, the most efficient way to connect with the appropriate people is to leverage the LinkedIn Groups feature. From there, sign-up for a daily email digest to see what conversations you can contribute to from the groups you are a part of. This creates the impression you are an active user on LinkedIn and you know your stuff 🙂
80/20 Rule
- An important rule when using social media as a tool of promotion is to remember, promote other material that isn’t yours (articles, posts, websites etc) 80% of the time and promote yourself 20% of the time. Social media is about sharing and connecting after all.
Blog Topic Ideas
- The basic gist for this concept was to look around at what other people are commenting about in the blogesphere. I personally think coming up with topics should be more organic. Taking a mental note of what you read about online, what you experience at work or see on the news without thinking about it too hard. The ideas will then come to you. I’ve had ideas for blog posts while getting up in the middle of the night while using the bathroom. Once I had the idea I ran to my iPhone and wrote a note about it. Since then it’s been one of my successful blog posts. Whatever works for a blogger though.
The surprise at the end of the webinar included Michael Stelzner revealing the beta launch of Social Media Examiner’s, “Social Media Examiner Networking Clubs.” Expected to launch live in January 2012, Networking Clubs gives social media folks an opportunity to connect on common interests on various social media topics (mainly Facebook, Small Business and Blogging at the moment) and seek advice from a dedicated staff of social media professionals to answer their questions. The best part is that Stelzner promises until the end of the time the service will remain free! Hop on over to Social Media Examiner to be included in the beta phase of Networking Clubs. Also, if you also viewed this Social Media Examiner webinar, share you comments and let your ROAR be heard!
Now Stelzner only allowed the live webinar video to be downloaded to people who registered (I think he wants to sell it hereafter) but I would like to share the slides from the webinar in PDF format. Download below by clicking the photo.
