Announcing Fall Workshops!

by "Get it Done Girl" on August 27, 2010 · 0 comments

in small biz,Social Media,Workshops

For most small business owners, myself included, time and money are in short supply, especially when it comes to marketing. The “Social Media for Small Business” workshop series will begin with a free workshop focusing on why it is important to engage in social media as a small business owner. We’ll also discuss which platforms you should engage in to get the most out of your time. Bring your laptops to subsequent workshops where we will create a WordPress website/blog, Twitter account, Facebook FanPage, LinkedIn Profile and a MailChimp e-newsletter. I’ve also designed a workshop which will introduce you to the tools necessary to manage all of these platforms and to create content to share with your consumers.

All workshops in the series will take place from 6-8pm in the Conference Room of the Worldwide Amplified Studio located on the Skywalk Level of the Partnership Building at 700 Locust Street in Downtown Des Moines.

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*FREE* Social Media for Small Business Workshop Overview,7-Sep

In this FREE workshop, learn why it’s important to engage in social media as a small business owner and how best to engage in which platforms to get the most out of your time. Register for Social Media for Small Business Workshop - Overview in Des Moines, IA on Eventbrite

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Create a WordPress Website/Blog Session I, 14-Sep – $25

Bring your laptop and we’ll create a basic website/blog for your business using WordPress. WordPress allows you to develop a website/blog for free. If your business does not currently have a website or blog, this is a great start. We’ll create a few critical pages for your site and focus on the techniques of blogging. Prerequisite: General computer skills. Register for Social Media for Small Business Workshops - Create a WordPress Website/Blog Session I in Des Moines, IA on Eventbrite

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Create a WordPress Website/Blog Session II, 21-Sep – $25

This is a continuation of the first session which took place on 14-Sep. Bring your laptop and we’ll continue to create a basic website/blog for your business using WordPress. In addition to the pages we created in Session I, we’ll create a few side-bar widgets. We’ll take a look at the blog posts people wrote for homework and critique. Prerequisite: General computer skills. Register for Social Media for Small Business Workshops - Create a WordPress Website/Blog Session II in Des Moines, IA on Eventbrite

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Create a Twitter Account for Your Business, 28-Sep – $25

Bring your laptop and as a group, we’ll go through the steps required to set up a Twitter account and profile for your business. You’ll learn Twitter etiquette and how to engage Followers on the platform. If you attended the fist two sessions in this series and developed a website, I’ll show you how to create a link on your website to your Twitter account. When you leave, you will have a firm grasp on how to find and follow people and how to create relationships that will help you in your business. Prerequisite: General computer skills. Register for Social Media for Small Business Workshops - Create a Twitter Account for Your Business in Des Moines, IA on Eventbrite

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Create a Facebook FanPage for Your Business, 5-Oct – $25

Bring your laptop and as a group, we’ll go through the steps required to set up a Facebook FanPage for your business. We’ll talk about the tabs and Facebook Ads, edit the Bio section, upload your business’ logo and add some content to the Wall so you can begin inviting your friends to become FANS of your FanPage. If you attended the fist two sessions in this series and developed a website, I’ll show you how to create a link on your website to your Facebook FanPage. Prerequisite: General computer skills and a personal Facebook page. Register for Social Media for Small Business Workshops - Create a Facebook FanPage for Your Business in Des Moines, IA on Eventbrite

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Create a LinkedIn Profile and Company Page, 12-Oct – $25

Bring your laptop and as a group, we’ll create personal LinkedIn Profiles and Company Pages for your business. We’ll spend most of our time on the profile, but we will also talk about how to search for people you can build relationships with to help you in your business as either a customer or connector. If you attended the fist two sessions in this series and developed a website, I’ll show you how to create a link on your website to your LinkedIn presence. Prerequisite: General computer skills. Register for Social Media for Small Business Workshops - Create a LinkedIn Profile and Company Page in Des Moines, IA on Eventbrite

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E-Newsletter Creation using MailChimp, 18-Oct – $25

Having an e-newsletter for your business is a great way to stay in touch with customers – especially when they’re not quite ready to buy. We’ll set up an e-newsletter template using MailChimp (free for up to 500 email addresses) and you’ll leave with a firm grasp on how to draft your first e-newsletter and send it to your email database. If you attended the fist two sessions in this series and developed a website, I’ll show you how to create a newsletter subscription link on your website. Prerequisite: General computer skills. Register for Social Media for Small Business Workshops - E-Newsletter Creation using MailChimp in Des Moines, IA on Eventbrite

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Content Creation and Management Tools, 26-Oct – $25

I consistently hear from those not engaged with or new to social media: “I don’t have the time to do this” and “I don’t really have anything to say”. Bring your laptop and we’ll download TweetDeck to make it easier to manage your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles and we’ll set up your GoogleReader so you can subscribe to blogs and searches relevant to your industry as RSS feeds. Prerequisite: General computer skills. Register for Social Media for Small Business Workshops - Content Creation and Management Tools in Des Moines, IA on Eventbrite

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Beware of Facebook Places

by "Get it Done Girl" on August 20, 2010 · 0 comments

in How To:,Social Media

Facebook just launched “Places”. It allows Facebook users who have a SmartPhone (for the most part) to share their  location with friends, find out where their friends are (if they’re using Places), and discover new places.

For those of you using Foursquare, Places is similar, but different. Places isn’t concerned about checking-in to a coffee shop the most in order to become mayor and earn the coveted free espresso; it’s concerned with providing an interface for users to share Places they discover.

Read Mashable’s full write-up on Places here.

But Beware: As a Places user, you can add places, check in to places that already exist, and tag people who are with you.

Let’s say you’re out at Hessen Haus for lunch with co-workers and someone decides to order a Boot. You run the risk of your boss knowing where you were, who you were with and what you may have done before going back to work for the afternoon. All it takes is for one person within your group to share their location with Facebook Places and “tag” you. Your location will show up on your Facebook Wall without you doing a thing.

Here’s how to change your Facebook privacy settings to ensure that this doesn’t happen:

  • Log in to your Facebook Account
  • Click on the arrow next to “Account” and choose “Privacy Settings”
  • Click “Customize Settings”
  • “Disable” Include me in “People Here Now” after I check in
  • “Disable” Friends can check me in to places

Here’s something I do to stay on top of these types of issues: I’ve got a reminder on my Outlook calendar that pops up monthly that tells me to check the privacy settings on all of my social media accounts. These sites change what’s “private” and what’s “public” on a whim.

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How To: Check your Privacy Settings

by "Get it Done Girl" on August 11, 2010 · 0 comments

in How To:

Facebook and LinkedIn allow you to set your privacy settings (to a certain degree) to what you want to share with the public and what you want to keep private.

If you’re ever unsure if you’ve got your privacy settings set up correctly for Facebook (follow the same procedure for LinkedIn), follow the steps below:

  1. Log out of your account
  2. Google yourself, for example, “Suzanne Hull” Facebook
  3. Click on the link

Now you see what the public sees when they Google your Facebook or LinkedIn profiles. If you don’t like what you see here, revisit your Facebook and LinkedIn privacy settings to make the appropriate changes.

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The Gobbledygook Grader

by "Get it Done Girl" on August 6, 2010 · 0 comments

in Super Tools

HT to Tom Flynn III at Lessing-Flynn for sharing the Gobbledygook Grader in a recent blog post.

HubSpot’s Gobbledygook Grader, created together with David Meerman Scott, evaluates your written content (press release, brochure copy, etc.) and checks for use of gobbledygook, jargon, cliches and over-used, hype-filled words. You’ll receive a grade together with a full report.

I copy/pasted the content from the front page of my website and got this report. If you write your own copy for press releases, marketing materials or your website, make use of this tool to ensure that you’re not “fluffing up” your content.

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Free Agent Nation by Daniel Pink

by "Get it Done Girl" on July 28, 2010 · 0 comments

in Free Agency

I just finished reading Free Agent Nation by Daniel Pink. Had I read this book when it was first published in 2002, I wouldn’t have gotten as much out of it as I have reading it in my current Free Agent infancy. It’s almost as if I’m living his book right now…

When I was looking for a job in 2009, I was networking with amazing people, who, surprisingly enough, were and still are Free Agents. I’d heard the phrase mentioned quite often, but didn’t quite fully grasp the concept until I began reading Free Agent Nation. I’d had about four people recommend that I read the book.

If you have an open mind and are interested in getting out of cubicle-world and living your life now, this book is a must. Daniel Pink talks about both the pros and cons of free agency, but he definitely makes compelling arguments FOR becoming a Free Agent.

At the end of the book, Pink includes an exercise that aspiring Free Agents can go through to discover their direction. Interestingly enough, I’d gone through a similar process of discovery with the help of the mentors I’d discovered while networking before I ever picked up the book…

I still network with the Unemployed of Des Moines and am nudging them towards becoming Free Agents in lieu of, or in addition to, traditional W-2 jobs. But I truly believe that every person comes to discover free agency in different ways. There are some cons that go along with the pros, so this is really a lifestyle that you have to be comfortable with in order to make it work.

Are you a Free Agent? How did you discover free agency? Are you a Free Agent evangelist?

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