What a nice surprise I had this morning when I checked my Twitter stream to see this wonderful #FollowFriday shout out from my fellow Twitterer, Peter Mello.

The highlighted link took me to his blog where I found the following:

First and foremost, I have to say a big THANK YOU to you, Peter. I appreciate the generous acknowledgment.

I love how you blogged about it and then tweeted it out accordingly. At times, #FollowFriday can lose it’s appeal and the meaning behind the gesture can get easily skewed for marketing and spamming purposes. You’ve rekindled my hope in the #ff movement. So thank you kindly. All of your efforts are great appreciated.

And just for the record, I’ve only tweeted 7,000+ updates. Seems Twitter’s Glitch of the Week is Update Counts Gone Wild. Okay, okay…7,000 is still excessive, but not quite as manic as 24k. *smiles*

We worry that IM, texting, Facebook are spoiling human intimacy, but Stefana Broadbent’s research shows how communication tech is capable of cultivating deeper relationships, bringing love across barriers like distance and workplace rules.

Teachers are quickly harnessing the power of the Internet to disseminate information and connect with their students quickly and effectively.

I’ve created this blog post as a way to aggregate links as they pertain to Social Media and Education.

• 85+ Resources: Educator Guide for Integrating Social Media
• 50 Terrific Twitter Tutorials for Teachers
  
• 25 Excellent Social Media Sites for Teachers
• How to Use Twitter on Campus
• Cautionary Tale For My Fellow Teacher
• Connecting Students, Teachers Through Social Network
• Free Social Media Tools for Educators

Simply put, Twitter enables people to engage with one another in a real-time environment.

Tweeting as a marketing strategy is well worth the effort if you know what you’re doing and how to do it.

Ahhhh, yes. WHAT to do and HOW to do it.

I came across this great article that covers a lot of FAQs in a straightforward, concise way using descriptive examples.

If you’re interested in learning how to develop a social media campaign incorporating Twitter in the equation, check out this article:
Tweeting for Companies 101.

For more how-to tips on Twitter, please see:

• How to Twitter When You’re Brand Spankin New
• How to Leverage Twitter for Business
• The Ultimate Guide to Everything Twitter
• The Twitter Bible: Everything You Need to Know About Twitter
• The Twitter Guide Book via @Mashable
  

If you’re using Facebook and Twitter to generate leads for your business, it’s easy to experience —what I affectionately call— virtual overwhelm.

I’ve developed a valuable e-report called YOUR 15-MINUTES-A-DAY MAINTENANCE FORMULA. This step by step guide will show you how to effectively network on a daily basis in order to sustain your online momentum.

Social Networking doesn’t have to take up your entire day in order for you to reap the benefits.

Let me show you how I maintain my online momentum and generate weekly inquiries using this simple formula.

>> Sign up for my monthly newsletter to receive it instantly.

When was the last time you used the Yellow Pages to find a local business?

Nowadays, people are using the Internet to find what they’re looking for; making the phone book almost obsolete.

If you’re a local business owner and you’re trying to figure out how to utilize Social Media, I’ve created this short list of Social Networking accounts you should include in your overall marketing strategy to help potential customers find you.

1. GOOGLE MAPS. With the majority of the people using Google to find what they’re looking for, it would only make sense to list your business on GOOGLE MAPS. Sign up for an account and get your business listed within 24 hours. Take the time to upload a few pictures and, if you have them, a couple of your videos. Spend a few moments to fill out your profile in its entirety.

GET STARTED HERE: http://bit.ly/j7lc7

Here’s a picture of my own listing on Google Maps:

2. YELP. This is the first place I go when looking for highly rated businesses in my area. Yelp is a User Reviews and Recommendations directory. In other words, customers become reviewers.

Their comments and testimonials can become one of the most effective types of marketing your business can generate: word of mouth.

Create an account, list your business, and review your favorite local picks.

Sign up page: http://bit.ly/sGFZy.

3. FACEBOOK PAGE. Your business Page on Facebook gets indexed on Google. This means that, in many cases, your Page will rise up farther on Google than your own website. My Page on Facebook drives almost all of my business.

Go to http://google.com and type in “Virtual Assistant Facebook”.

My Facebook Page—not my website—generates the majority of my inquiries.

Assuming you have a Facebook profile, you can create a Page by clicking through this link while you are logged into your Facebook account: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php.

If you don’t have a Facebook account, you’ll need to create one before you can create a Page. If you need help setting up your profile, check out my QUICK SET UP GUIDE for Facebook Profiles: http://acumenva.com/e-products/. If you already have a Facebook account but need help setting up your Page, check out this link for details: Creating and Optimizing Your Facebook Page.

Pick optimum keywords when naming your Page. You can name it after yourself: First and Last Name. You can name your Page after your product. You can have multiple Pages, if you wish. (I recommend one and focusing all of your attention on it.)

Think about what people will type into a search engine when they attempt to find you. I recommend running a search within Facebook AND on Google to see if any of your competitors show up and what keywords they’re using in their Page titles.

Don’t be surprised if you don’t find any Pages in your search. Business owners are JUST starting to realize the significance of Pages for search engine purposes.

4. TWITTER. If you’re currently using Twitter, than you already know the power of micro-blogging and its ability to connect people from around the world. If you’re not on Twitter and you want to find out what the fuss is about, I recommend jumping on board. Here’s a link to help you do so: http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/.

Once you’re set up and ready to go, if you want to use Twitter to help promote your local business, here are some applications that will help you find potential customers in your area: http://twitter.pbworks.com/Apps.

Scroll down to Directories to find these links below. Take a moment to create a few accounts on the applications you like the most.

Once you’ve had a chance to connect with locals on Twitter, eventually, you’ll have an opportunity to meet up with them in person. We call those “TweetUps”. This is a great way to establish a growing connection with other like-minded business owners in your area.

While not everyone will become a customer, they can become, what I lovingly call, “referral machines,” referring you onto people who might need your services.

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Social Networking success comes from consistent maintenance. If you haven’t already done so, sign up for my newsletter at the top of my homepage and you’ll receive my once-a-month newsletter filled with tips and suggestions on how to maintain your online energy.

Stick with it and you’ll see business opportunities increase by engaging others through the use of Social Media. It’s not a fad. It’s here to stay and with more and more people using the Internet to find what they’re looking for, it’s the perfect time to jump on board.

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Thanks to all of you who were able to attend my call yesterday with Ron Hudson, of Immediate Influence Blog.

We discussed my new 15 MINUTES-A-DAY MAINTENANCE FORMULA for Facebook and Twitter.

Click here to download.

Here’s the replay information.

Simply click on the widget for Video Recording and Transcripts.

If you’re viewing this blog post as a NOTE on Facebook, you’ll need to click through to my actual blog to view the widget.

The good news is that the links work.

The bad news is that I forgot to record the phone call.

Yep, you heard me right.

I remembered to hit the video RECORD, but not the audio RECORD. Darn it!

You should still check out the cool and nifty widget from DimDim.

If you attended the call, I would love to hear your thoughts on the entire process.

Again, thanks so much for your interest.

This has been a wonderful learning experience for me and I am grateful for the opportunity.

- – -

You can also find Ron Hudson on Twitter.

Thanks to you, Ron, for inspiring me to do this. I appreciate the nudge!

So you’ve set up your Facebook and Twitter accounts—now what?

This Tuesday, August 25th at 11:00am PT/2:00pm ET, I’ll join Ron Hudson to present:

THRIVE ONLINE: Simple Steps for Facebook and Twitter

Click on embedded video for details or this link: http://su.pr/1LfCfP.

Register for the event using this widget:

♥
♫ Happy birthday to you! ♪
♪ Happy birthday to you! ♫
♫ Happy birthday, dear Jaaaay-son ♪
♪ Happy birthday to you! ♫

If you like the idea of using symbols in your posts (and you have a PC), take a peek at this link and it’ll show you how to use ALT codes: http://su.pr/1zr2yI.

If you’re a Mac user, you can still use these symbols, you’ll just have to copy and paste them, instead of using keyboard commands.

To obtain an ALT Character:
1. Make certain that the Num Lock key has been pressed to activate the numeric key section of the keyboard.
2. Depress the Alt key.
3. While the Alt key is depressed, type the proper sequence of numbers (on the numeric keypad) of the ALT code from the table above.
4. Release the ALT key and the character will appear.

Voilà!

If your keyboard doesn’t have NUM LOCK on the keypad, check out this link for a possible solution: http://bit.ly/1vSFIy.

I just finished reading and responding to a great blog post over on StartupNation by Rich Sloan about cybersquatting.

It’s an unfortunate downside to the Social Networking world and I’m seeing more and more of it lately.

But take heart!

There’s something that can be done about it NOW.

Does it surprise me that someone would come along and scoop up the StartupNation Twitter handle?

Nope, not at all.

The good people over on SuN didn’t see a use for Twitter at the time and didn’t register an account in their name.

They can say that their Twitter handle got ripped off, when in reality someone else beat them to the punch.

Yes, yes…in SuN’s particular case, the cybersquatter asked for $15,000.00 in return for the account (CLEARLY in bad taste).

The good news for Rich and SuN is that they had a trademark on their name, enabling them to claim the account legally.

But for the rest of us who don’t have legal trademarks on our business names (or real names) for that matter, it’s important to make sure to sign up (across the board) for the name you want to brand (even if you don’t plan on using that profile right now).

If you’re using Social Networking for professional purposes, I recommend using one account name and one avatar across the board for branding purposes.

**TIP** Use your First Name capitalized and then your Last Name capitalized (i.e., MiaChambers). DON’T use your business name as your profile name or your logo as your avatar. Be a person first and stand in front of your business. **

Take a look at this website to help you determine if your username is being used on other sites: http://knowem.com/.

While each site will have their own guidelines on how to “reclaim” your username, here’s some guidelines to follow if you find that your username has been taken on Twitter: How to Snap Up the Twitter Username You’ve Always Wanted.

Take a Saturday afternoon and register yourself on a few of the more popular Social Networking sites.

If you don’t have the time or interest to do this for yourself, have a Virtual Assistant do this for you.

Ask me how I can help.