NaPodPoMo Starts Tomorrow!

Get those microphones ready. Blow the dust off those vocal skills, or pretty yourself  up if you prefer video, but it’s that time of the year again for NaPodPoMo (National Podcasting Posting Month). This is basically the mad dash for all podcasters to commit to create content everyday for the entire month of November.

Jennifer Navarrete, an organizer for this worldwide event, has written a very compelling post which explains and encourages everyone to jump on board. It can be as easy or complex as you want to make it, or as long or short as you decide.

Go the semi-professional route with tools like Blog Talk Radio or Talkshoe, or on the fly tools like Utterli which you can call in by phone. All of these tools are free and easy for you to use.

If you’re interested in joining after reading this post and Jennifer’s post, then feel free to join the Ning Group and get ready to record!

Accuracy Builds on Transparency

The idea of accuracy does not necessarily reflect solely on the idea of correct information, but it will also include how we keep in touch with our community and how we represent ourselves.

There are many segments of social media that build on the concept of transparency, the idea of being understood, known, and recognizable. A single part of this entire foundation is accuracy, and the way we report and convey who we are and what we do to others online.

Accuracy becomes vital in social media for two reasons:

• The first is because social media deals with online communication as opposed to face-to-face communication, so it’s easy to attempt to hide your true identity and agendas, but it’s not a generally accepted practice to deceive in social media. You might say what keeps people from doing that? 
• Well, that brings me to the second reason, which is that social media is community governed. That means that once the community has realized you have double-talked, or misled people with your interactions, the community will immediately revolt and turn against your advances, and word WILL spread.
  

How Will I Be Found Out?

It may seem like with so many people online that it would be a small chance that anyone would discover you. That is not the case. Users tend to attach themselves to communities with similar interests, and because of that people tend to run the same circles. The whole idea is to simply be yourself; the honest, true, accurate personality that is the true you. If you are one way with your friends, one way with your co-workers, one way with another group and so on, are you really being true to yourself or are you attempting to be the person you think others want you to be?

That type of thinking, and that type of behavior can lead to people becoming suspicious you, question you, or talk about you negatively because two different people saw two different sides of you. There’s nothing wrong with being yourself with everyone; it lends itself to attracting people knowing that they know what to expect and that you have nothing to hide.

Is It That Serious?

The negativity for your lack of accuracy will not necessarily bring you a horrible back-lash, it depends on your status within your community. If you represent a company or personal business, the self you share must be dead on when you interact with the community. Not doing so can severely cause your business to suffer if the community does not trust you.

So when you take that step out into the online world, make sure the you that you present accurately reflects who you really are. You’ll reap the benefits much more than trying to be something you’re not.

Headlines Matter Most

The age old question, "what comes first the chicken or the egg?", can be likened to that of a blog post. What DOES come first the post or the title?

I know as a writer that sometimes titles and headlines can stifle your writing because you've psychologically put yourself inside a box, and for some, ideas may not come as freely. Rather then letting the writing flow and let it form itself, thinking of a title for your writing ahead of time may also keep you from really developing your ideas to the utmost of their potential. I personally have always looked at developing the title after my writing is edited, complete, and ready for posting. Then and only then do I take the necessary steps to develop a title that encapsulates the post as a whole.

Picking the Right Keywords

Believe it or not, your choice of words can greatly impact your post. Rankings for your site can be greatly increased based on the right keywords that were integrated into the title. There are various tools you could use in order to discover what the search engines define as highly sought after queries. Using tools like Google's Adwords can help you select the right words based on the number of times the word has been searched for on http://www.google.com/. When you select the words you'd like to use, not only will get the ranking of those exact words, but other suggestions will be listed to give you a better pick of which words might give you more of an edge in having your post listed. Other tools that I've seen used are Good Keywords, a tool that can help you find the right words, and also manage the long lists of prominent keywords so you can return and find exactly what you need when you need it, and Wordtracker which is a simple, no nonsense site where you type in a word and it will list the most highly sought after words involving your query.

No matter what you use to find just the right word, the tools are just supplementary and provide assistance. Ultimately the decision is yours and by making the right choices you will see your post shoot up the charts!

Capturing the Reader's Interest

A blog is only as successful as the number of people that find value in it. Readers are the vital life force for a blog. Once you've got the readers you can build conversation which strengthens the community which can drive even more traffic to your site. But the first thing to capture a reader's attention is the title of your post. The title is the sum of all the parts for a blog. If you can nail the right words and attract the attention, a reader will most likely click and read the post. If you've chosen lackluster words, or if the title is just poorly written with no link to your content, the reader will either leave the site, or simply not click on your post.

Sure some will say that readers are fickle, but traditional media experienced the same problem. Journalists strive to write headlines that entice readers to pick up their paper, to read their articles, and stay engaged enough to do it again the next day. Depending on how often you post, you want your readers to come back, so essentially, the title will be the face for your site, if you can seal the deal then you've got yourself readers.

I recommend experimenting with titles, use different words, and see what attracts more readers. Using the tools listed above can give you a head start in the right direction. Depending on whether you write the title before or after, the right words can make or break the post.

Photo Credit christopher.woo

Who's In Your Network?

There’s an old saying that I remember hearing time and time again when I was growing up, “tell me who you are with, and I will tell you who you are.” Basically, you are whom you surround yourself with.

This concept was the core of a conversation I had at the recent Social Media Club San Antonio meeting. Social media has been an arena where users can interact with anyone in the world and connect with people they would otherwise have never been able to talk to. Generally accepted practices say users should be honest, transparent, and accountable for who they are and what they do online. Unlike real life social situations, social media allows us to “block” or “flag” people we choose not to interact with little to no backlash.

The question at hand is, is it worth it?

Guilt by Association

One of the members argued that blocking was better then completely denying or deleting them because their posts will not show in your timelines, with respect to Twitter specifically.

Many of us typically cull our lists to weed out people that spam links, spam unwanted information, or simply do not engage us. Someone new to the social media scene may feel guilty for denying someone all together and allow those users to remain on their “friend” list.

To counter, when people look for someone to follow, it’s natural for them to see who they are following and who is following them. I concur with that assessment because I myself have looked through people’s follower list to see if I could further connect with like-minded professionals.

What message do you send when you have individuals that make your profile look less than desirable? Is there really truth in the idea that by association you can decrease the value of your online presence?

Trimming the Fat

I have always been of the mind to only keep the number of people that I can fully interact with. Another member stated their mantra as being “if you’re not adding to my life, I’m subtracting you from it.”

Number hunters aside, for those of us seriously engaging in conversation across the various social networks, what are your thoughts on the associations you make online. Is there a detriment to not culling your list from time to time?

Speak out!

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"Best Practices" Too Corporate for Social Media

It's amazing how much a person can filter and distill once you've had enough to digest an excellent conversation and an even more remarkable mentoring. I was honored to have been able to meet with Chris Heuer this past weekend, and of the many things that we discussed, "best practices" within social media became a topic.

Let me lay the ground work for what "best practices" is in general and why it is important. "Best practices" is a term used when describing the best method or way to do something; think of basic rules and guidelines for performance, which will specifically be attributed to social media in today's post.

"Best Practices" Scares People

Chris made an excellent point when he stated that in his experience, the term "best practices" is a frightening word, something used primarily in the corporate world which has the same connotation as a law. In people's mind if you say something done following "best practices" people will assume that it was written somewhere in blood and must be the absolute only way for something to get done.

As we all know social media is an ever expanding, ever changing tool that many of use daily; and even still a great many of us approach with our own methods. But overall there are generally accepted behaviors and some obvious faux paux's.

It was mentioned by Chris in a conversation with both Dave Evans and myself that "best practices" within the social media community is known as "best known methods" or BKM for short.

BKM Instruction

Deal within the realm of best known practices, it's still easy to see that there are wrong and right ways to interact within social media, even if the title is easier to swallow. Those of us who have weathered the industry from beginning to it's transformation to today, welcome constructive criticism from our network of friends, but those new to the foray are typically unwilling or offended when corrected.

Make no mistake, constant and consistent errors in your participation in the social conversation and destroy your credibility very quickly. Before long those in error will be talking to no one but themselves.

It's important to educate yourself in the best known methods for social media and participate positively and constructively in the conversation. Whether you are a company or an individual, there is something for everyone, and making errors is expected from time to time, but learn from them. The community in the various social networks that I am involved with are very helpful, and if you feel like a marketing decision is questionable, don't be afraid to turn to the networks and ask the right questions.

If you work for a company, how have you approached the best known methods for your social media marketing plan? As an individual, have you learned or been educated through your experiences on the do and don'ts within social media?

Share with me!

Photo Credit Capture Queen

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Nurture vs. Noise? A Real Social Media Question

Last night I had a great conversation with Chris Heuer while he and Kristie Wells were in San Marcos, TX. After spending a long day at a conference in Austin, it was amazing at how much energy this guy still had!

Chris, Dave Evans, and myself were discussing issues in social media, specifically how a person filters all the “noise” in the field. By “noise” we mean the various social networks, the multitude of communities, and the plentiful methods of communication that we interact with on a daily basis.

Chris admitted that he does not use RSS Feeds for any news whatsoever because he would simply be overwhelmed by the vast amount of news being exchanged. Rather, he focuses on the news that his contacts share between one another personally, at conferences, or through certain industry sites. This is an effective method for Chris to filter through the “noise” that can easily overwhelm the uninitiated.

Finding the Signal

Just how is someone supposed to fight all that noise and find the signal that will occupy, entice and eventually encourage interaction?

For starters, nurturing your existing network is a place to start and quite frankly a rule of thumb when venturing into the global mediascape. Your contacts more than likely will be on one of two major social sites, Facebook and/or MySpace. Create a profile, it’s free and easy, and soon you’ll amazed at how quickly you’ll start to connect with long lost friends, family members, and others with similar interests.

After that, venturing out further can be a bit of a strain for some, but for others, who delight in taking themselves further into the conversation have a wide variety of choices such as Plurk, Twitter, Ning, LinkedIn, Hi5, just to name a few.

Any attempt to join them all can by a dizzying effect unless you are disciplined enough to truly manage all your contacts. But for the casual user, the question becomes where do I go? My recommendation is you go where your closest, trusted contacts go. It’s a great way to get your feet wet in something new and will feel comfortable because you already know someone there.

Focus on Nurturing

Aside from eating, drinking, and breathing, there is no bigger need then the human’s need for interaction and communication. Out of the gate you may feel overwhelmed by all the social interaction across the networks, but remember, don’t spread yourself out too thin.

Focus on nurturing the networks you feel you receive the most benefit from. Personally I nurture my relationships on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I’ve maintained a strong presence in all three and feel comfortable with that. I’ve just recently joined a Ning group to experiment with what Ning has to offer, but I went because similar friends started a group so I felt comfortable making the jump.

The one major factor of Social Media that you must keep in mind is that it’s never a numbers game; it’s about real people with real relationships. Focus on those that care for you like you care for them and you’ll be amazed at the avenues that can open up just because you took the time to build that bridge.

For those of us involved in social media, how did you filter the noise? With so much out there, no one has the time to be involved in everything that happens, but with a few key decisions, there is little we will miss.

Photo Credit Pensiero, puck90