Social Media - It's Only Networking

Micro View
If I attend a professional association dinner, I’m going to introduce myself as Your Computer Lady but I’m going to talk sports, make a joke about the rubber chicken, ask about Ron’s daughters or listen to the horror story about the building project in Tucson that one of my architect friends is working on. If someone asks me a computer question, I’ll give them an answer. Hopefully the person sitting beside them will listen in and think, “Oh, that’s a good answer. Pamela’s knows a thing or two about computers.”  Down the road when either of those people have a computer project, they’ll think of me and give me a call.

Macro View
I set up a LinkedIn account. I introduce myself as Your Computer Lady but I’m going to talk about sports, make a joke about the rubber chicken, ask about Ron’s daughters, … …

Clear away the hype and fear of doing something new and social media is just plain old networking. You’re doing it on a grander scale (8 people at the dinner table vs 58 LinkedIn direct connections or 252,600+ with 3 levels of connection) but it is still networking.

Just like networking at an organization, networking online takes a little time. Joining a new organization means you’re seeing more new faces. You’re taking time to build the relationships. You’re gathering business cards and inputting them into your contact management system. But after those basics are done, maintaining the relationships is relatively easy and doesn’t require a lot of time. But you have to be consistent. If you only show up every six months, you’re always at square one. Once you’ve set up your online account and filled out your profile, started connecting with friends, you can switch to maintenance mode too. Show up once a week and respond to invitations, send some messages, add some info.

You want to use social media for the same reasons you network at a meeting. Get your name out there! Be viewed as an expert! We live in a big, high technology, information-explosion world. We want to – need to – connect with people. Social media gives your company the ability to do that. You can humanize your company. You can reach out person-to-person.

As Jennifer Maggiore of Maggiore Consulting pointed out, “There’s no penalty for being early to the game. But there is a big penalty for being late!”  eMarketer reports that there was an 11% increase in the use of social media in 2008. 41% of all Internet users visited a social media site at least monthly. They predict that 79 million people (40% of all Internet users) will put content at least once a month on a social media site in 2009.

Your firm can start small. Encourage your employees to participate. All of the Fortune 500 firms have social media activities. 499 of them have vice president level and above participants. But any employee can assist the cause. Whole Foods has tweeters from several stores in addition to their central page. Build your presence. There are firms like Maggiore’s that specialize in social media. If you need to get to more in depth, locate your target audience or increase your presence quickly – you want to contact a specialist. This is an emerging technology. A guide can get you to the destination faster.

If you’re early to the game though, you can take your time.
1. Choose one, maybe 2, networks to join and build.
2. Get that network to the maintenance stage before you take on another one.
3. Tie your networks together. A post on my blog shows up on my LinkedIn page. A Twitter message shows on my Facebook wall.
4. Measure your activity and success. There are tools like TwitterGrader that help you measure what you’re accomplishing.

My recommendation is to start with LinkedIn. It’s a pure business site that is simple to use. You can make good connections. Then add Twitter. Those little 140 character messages have potential. Check out twitter.com/JetBlue, /Whole Foods or /ScottsdalePD to see some business results. Yes, you can follow John McCain now too. Then expand into Facebook, Yelp or some of the other sites.

The Arizona Small Business Association is doing a series of social media classes in April and May. Check their web site for details.

Connect with me:
 www.LinkedIn.com/in/YourComputerLady
 @PamelaBir at Twitter
 Pamela Bir on Facebook

Why Use Portable Document Format (PDF)?

Often you want to save your files so they cannot be modified, but you want to be able to share and print them. Examples include resumes, legal documents, newsletters, and files intended to be read and printed. PDF formats can help. By using an add-in, which is an extra function you download, you can convert a file, from your Microsoft Office programs, into a PDF format

Portable Document Format (PDF) preserves document formatting and enables file sharing. When the PDF format file is viewed online or printed, it retains the format that you intended. Data in the file cannot be easily changed. The PDF format is also useful for documents that will be reproduced by using commercial printing methods.

There are a lot of PDF Writers that you can purchase or download for free from the Internet. Please research and choose the one you feel will work best for your Company’s needs.

PowerPoint 2007 Transition Effects Tip

Adding a transition to your presentation gives it a more polished look. However, it’s best not to use too many different types of transitions within a presentation. Pick one or two types of transaction and use them consistently through your whole presentation.

1.Click the animation tab.
2.Click the down arrow and the “More” option will appear. The Transition Gallery will appear.
3.Click a transition effect – a preview of the transition appears on the slide.
4.Pick a transition speed, fast, slow or medium, which you want the transition to appear.
5.Click Preview.
6.If you don’t like the transition or speed, just go back to the above steps to change to what you would like.

Automatically Sort Data - Microsoft Word 2007

When you're creating a list in Microsoft Word, you don't need to worry about putting it in alphabetical order. You can put it in alphabetical order after you complete the list, without any time-consuming cutting and pasting. All you need to do is use Word's Sort feature.

To use Word's Sort feature:

1.     Start by highlighting the data you would like to sort.

2.     Click the Sort button in the Paragraph section of the Home ribbon.

3.     Use the dropdown box to select the type of data you selected. You can choose from text, date, or number.

4.     Choose where you would like to put the data in ascending or descending order.

5.     Click OK.  Word automatically sorts your data.

What Happens When Your Press Enter in Excel 2007 & 2003?

Microsoft Excel 2007

When you press Enter after typing information into a cell, Excel will normally save your information and then moves to the next cell beneath the one where you pressed Enter. You can modify this behavior, however:

1.     Click the Office button and then click Excel Options. Excel displays the Excel Options dialog box.

2.     At the left of the dialog box click Advanced.

3.     Under Editing Options, make sure that the checkbox for "After pressing Enter, move selection" is checked; it should be by default.

4.     Using the direction drop-down list, change the direction as desired. Changing the direction affects how Excel behaves in all workbooks.

 

Microsoft Excel 2003

To change what happens when you press Enter in Excel 2003, follow these steps:

1.     On the Tools menu, click Options

2.     Click the Edit tab.

3.     Select the Move Selection after Enter Check Box.

4.     Select a direction in the Direction box.

5.     Click OK.

Ignoring URLs & Email Addresses in Spell Checker - Microsoft Word 2003 & 2007

The Internet has taken the world by storm. While this is a great for many people, it can be bothersome to writers. Many spell checkers and grammar checkers don't know what to do with Internet addresses, such as URLs and e-mail addresses.

You can instruct the spell check program to ignore anything that looks like an Internet address. To enable this option, follow these steps:

1. Click the Office button and then click Word Options. Word displays the Word Options dialog box.
2. Click Proofing at the left side of the dialog box.
3. Make sure the Ignore Internet and File Addresses box is checked.
4. Click OK.

Microsoft Word 2003

You can instruct Microsoft Word 2003 to ignore Internet addresses by following these steps:

1.     Click on Tools.

2.     Click on Options.

3.     Make sure the Ignore Internet & File Addresses box is checked.

4.     Click OK.

The Greying of Facebook

http://socialmediainfluence.com/2010/02/17/the-graying-of-facebook/
Interesting article about the changing demographics of Facebook. This will impact how small businesses use Facebook to reach their target market.

2009 Internet Statistics

Amazing numbers about the number of new web sites, the number of emails sent, etc.

http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/01/22/internet-2009-in-numbers/

Facebook Marketing: 7 Ways to Use Facebook to Grow Your Business

Well written article with practical advice on using Facebook in your social media marketing plan.

http://www.theoutsourcingcompany.com/blog/social-media-marketing/facebook-marketing/