SubscribeSocial Networking Strengthened In Real Life
Last week I had the honor of attending Twiistup, a premier event in Los Angeles that connects people from technology, media and entertainment. I met a plethora of amazing people from all walks of life who share a passion for staying at the cutting edge of technology.
Attending events and networking in person goes hand in hand with social networking. While we have a myriad of ways to communicate virtually, the power of a handshake still adds a personal touch that can’t be achieved through online communication. Having both is essential for me to build credibility and authenticity to strengthen my relationships. Read more
Cool Twitter Conferences World Tour in Full Swing
The Cool Twitter Conferences World Tour is in full swing! Making it’s debut in Washington DC and now to the west coast in San Diego where I’m currently live tweeting and blogging at the conference. What makes The Cool Twitter Conferences standout is that the event highlights industry leaders in all different fields such as Green, Non- Profits, Customer Service and how they specifically use Twitter for their industry. Read more
Why I Created Marketing Melodie’s Facebook Page
I officially launched my new Facebook Page less than a week ago and am honored to already have over 100 fans meaning I was able to claim my official Facebook domain: http://www.facebook.com/marketingmelodie! I will be providing most of my Facebook updates through my Page instead of my profile. Many of you have asked why I chose to create a Facebook page so here’s the scoop along with my commentary on the benefits of a Facebook Page. Read more
Building Customer Relationships Through Twitter
Hello to my regular readers and new faces who are finding this from my TV segment! I promise I’ll be writing another blog soon that’s non Twitter related. It’s been such a hot topic recently that it’s impossible to avoid the hype! I was invited to be on Television tomorrow morning at 9am on CW6′s San Diego Living to discuss Twitter and it’s opportunity in the dating scene. I’ll be appearing with local dating coach, DeAnna Lorraine. What excited me is yet another traditional media portal, television is recognizing and embracing new media. Read more
How To Maximize the Power of Your Avatar
As a marketer I’m always thinking of ways people can enhance their image to be more impressionable and memorable. This is especially true in cyberspace where images definitely trump text. Your avatar is your face in cyberspace and a unique reflection of your online persona. It’s a way for people remember you in an infinite galaxy.
I’ve been known to express my views on avatar choices so I decided to share a few tips on how to maximize the power of your avatar:
Personality: Your avatar is your first impression to many in the online world. Add a little personality to it! If you’re fun and outgoing lets have fun looking at your avatar. If you’re athletic or active, inspire us to work out. If you’re intellectual, how about an insightful image? If you’re a hard worker and proud of your career, let us know!
Consistent: Being consistent helps people recognize you across various social networks, blogs and forums. This builds brand recognition for your online persona. Your avatar will immediately evoke an impression and provide a better understanding of your online purpose and goals. If you use a completely different avatar for every single profile then it becomes difficult for people to piece together your thoughts from different areas of the web. This makes it difficult to build a strong reputation and following.
Memorable: A memorable avatar can be created in many different ways. Use bright and bold colors, a distinct smile or even a strategically incorporated item or logo. Memorable avatars stand out. They’re usually not composed of dull colors and if they are then the image is bold. A great way people remember my avatar is the flower I wear in my avatar that shows up on many of my social networking profiles. If you have a memorable avatar people will see your image and immediately know it’s you without thinking twice.
Recognizable: My test of a recognizable avatar is meeting someone in person. If I meet you for the first time offline and I immediately feel like I already know you from our online interactions then you’ve done a great job at creating a recognizable avatar. I’ve been to many networking events where someone will come up to me and start talking to me as though they know me but I have to ask to make sure if we’re met before because I don’t recognize the person from their avatar. Of course after a few words are exchanged my memory is triggered but the initial recognition was not there. Examples of avatars that aren’t recognizable include a blurry image, a photo where something is covering your face, a photo that’s too light or too dark or even a corporate logo.
I personally always recommend avatars that are a photo of your true self. Unless I already know you, an avatar that’s a logo or image other than your face does not feel as personal. I don’t feel as connected or engaged when interacting with you.
We all remember the night before senior picture day in school. Trying on countless outfits, making sure the colors were right, making sure our outfit doesn’t clash with the background and doing our hair up to perfection. This photo goes into our senior yearbook, something our classmates will hold on to for years. This photo gets sent to our friends and family with graduations invitations. This photo is the reputation we’ve built throughout our primary years of school and this photo is a glimpse into the next chapter of our lives. If you apply these same principals of importance to your avatar choice you’ll enhance your opportunities for building a strong internet presence.
- Here are some San Diego Avatars that incorporate many elements of my recommendations. They all definitely have personality and are recognizable. I wanted to include some female avatars but for some reason only guys responded when I asked permission to use avatars!
Melodie’s 2009 Goals
Between personal and job related stress I’ll be completely honest and admit that 2008 was a rough year. To restore my sanity I decided to dedicate the month of January to refocus my energy, refresh my spirit and mentally prepare to positively embrace opportunities that come my way. This leads me to share one of my favorite quotes:
“Luck is when preparation Meets Opportunity” -Seneca (Roman Philosopher)
The quote by Seneca is a line I truly believe in for all areas of my life. I take action and am assertive toward things I want to achieve. I won’t just sit back and let things happen because I know they won’t. I’m prepared to embrace opportunities in order to maximize the success of my potential outcome. People often set goals and lose track of how to achieve them due to lack of clear milestones to track progress and lack of goal success indicators. I started off 2009 with an ambiguously big picture. I soon realized I had no road map to achieve an undefined goal so I decided to create this post as a personal reference for staying on task but also to help my readers gain a better understanding of the premise behind my blogs, social networks, client pitches, partnerships etc.
I must preface this list by saying that I’m not a numbers person but I know that numbers are a tangible way to measure a goal. I’m using them for the sake of this list but am also using active words and keeping in mind that my priorities may change so I might completely overachieve one goal but not completely reach another.
1. Write 120 Blog Posts
I have so much information that runs through my mind all time. If only I could be more consistent about documenting and sharing it. In 2009, I will be. I want feedback on ideas, provide resourceful information, share exciting events and news and leverage the power of the blogosphere to get my content out there. 120 seems like a lot but if you break it down, it’s 10 blog posts a month, 2-3 per week which I feel is very reasonable as long as I schedule time every day to blog.
2. Host 3 San Diego Speed Networking Events.
My previous post explains the event. After the last event I hosted I received great feed back and lots of emails from people asking “When’s the next event?” Before I can host any more events I have a long list of goals I need to accomplish. I need to redesign my website to make it more user friendly, seo friendly and interactive, the list goes on. I want it to be a resource for San Diego Networking. My ultimate goal to host 3 events will motivate me stay on top of all the prep work that I’ll need to do before I can even start planning the events.
3. Earn the business of 10 New Internet Marketing Clients
The more businesses I’m able to work with the more opportunity I have to execute and demonstrate the power of online marketing. I’ll be able to share my passion through educating and helping others grow their business.
4. Leverage my own Social Media Campaign
I want to update and be active in all my Social networks but I know it’s not an effective strategy if I just sign up for every social network on this list. It also won’t make sense to put minimal effort in each community. I’m choosing primary networks and secondary networks to invest my time and will remain remotely active in all the rest. I made a brief list of some things I’d like to achieve within each social network. This list is subject to change.
Primary Social networks
- Twitter- Build a strong following of people who know me as a resourceful digital marketer, connect people, provide useful information, entertain people as a socialite
- Facebook- Bridge the gap between social and work life, post photos
- LinkedIn- Become an authority by answering questions, connect people for career and consulting opportunities
- Tumblr- Anything goes! There seems to be a lot of opportunity for fun on here. Share recipes, green tips
Secondary Social networks
- Digg- Share interesting articles, videos,
- Yelp- Demonstrate and share my civic pride my letting people know about my experiences with local businesses, restaurants, events, etc.
- Myspace- I may eliminate this as a main social network but I’ve had this the longest and want to see if I can reestablish a strong brand on here as a marketer
- You Tube- Create my own video resume, share cool videos
5. Present 5 Presentations In order to give presentations they require prep work, research, collaboration with other experts etc. The work that goes into putting together presentations is a great learning experience in itself. I like the idea of vocally and visually sharing my knowledge. I get instantaneous feedback from the audience, have the opportunity to address questions, overcome objections and speak face to face with leaders who are eager to learn. In 2008 I gave the following presentations. I look forward to expanding upon this list in 2009. I know that I’ll need to update my speaker page with past presentations, photos, video, etc.
- 1. Women’s Global Network: Communicating with the Media
2. Art Institute of San Diego: Meet the Industry
3. San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce: Clear Channel Marketing
4. BarCampSD: Origami with Melodie
I have a plethora of other goals, but I feel that listing five will allow me to stay more focused. Many of my other goals are actually milestones that will help acheive the ultimate goals on this list. And of course I have non-career related goals that aren’t listed but are just as/if not more important, one of them trumps the importanace of every other goal on this list so I’ve definitely got my work cut out of me in 2009.
