LaKesha Womack

Archive for the tag “LinkedIn”

07 Jun 2013
4 Comments

Twitter Chat Etiquette and #FF (Follow Friday) My Favorite TweetChats

Twitter Chats are a great way to engage with like-minded individuals and brands on social media.  

You may wonder why I am so excited about this… As much as I love being on Twitter, it can be difficult for me to really get to know the people in my network because there are thousands of them all speaking at once.  I also don’t have a lot of time to sit down and tweet up a conversation on a regular basis.  

Hosting and participating in Twitter chats is an opportunity for me to set aside time to have a chat/convo about a specific topic with other people who are also interested in that topic.  Much like how I used the Answers feature on LinkedIn, it is also a great way to show your expertise in an area.  Rather than telling people about what you know, you can demonstrate your knowledge in a relevant way.

Like most social conversations, there is a code of etiquette:

  1. Stick with the topic. It is annoying to the participants as well as the hosts when you get off topic using the chat hashtag. If you want to have a side conversation with someone in the chat, remove the hashtag.
  2. Follow the flow of the chat. If you arrive twenty or thirty minutes late, don’t start answering Q1. Jump into the conversation and start conversating in the flow. Not doing so is the equivalent of going to a cocktail party, walking up to a group of people and beginning your conversation with something they were talking about at the beginning of the hour. People are more likely to ignore what you are saying because they are trying to follow the real time conversation.  If you want to go back after the chat and respond to previous questions, feel free.  People often network after chats have ended and use it as an opportunity to further develop relationships.
  3. You don’t have to comment on every question. Only comment on the questions that you feel you can make a valuable contribution toward. You will gain more followers and credibility by offering insight versus general commentary.

Image

Side note: you will probably lose followers by participating in twitter chats because you may congest some people’s twitter stream with information that they may deem unnecessary. However, you will gain followers from the chat who are more likely to engage with you because you have established a common interest and credibility. Don’t get caught up playing the numbers game and worrying about your follower count.

Now for the fun part… My favorite twitter chats!

I participate in these chats on a regular basis because the moderators do a great job sharing the content of the participants, they chose interesting topics and the tweople participating in the chats have demonstrated knowledge of a variety of subjects so I look forward to their insight.

  • #L21Success – hosted by @TheLoop21 on Tuesdays at noon (CST), a variety of topics for entrepreneurs as well as conversations about current events and socially relevant issues 
  • #BrandChat – hosted by @BrandChat for #Brandidos on Wednesdays at 10am  (CST), questions are posted prior to each chat with a target on high level branding for corporations and organizations, great for those starting out and wanting to connect with experienced marketers as well as for those with experience to network and demonstrate their knowledge
  • #SoloPR – hosted by @SolorPR on Wednesday at noon (CST), an excellent forum and resource for those interested and involved in Public Relations, if you have PR questions, the groups continues to chat with the hashtag throughout the week
  • #SBCchat – hosted by @SixBrownChicks on Wednesdays at noon (CST), connect with women from everywhere to talk about everything! I am constantly amazed at how out of the box some of the chats are while not becoming overtly sexual or vulgar yet allowing women a forum to express real thoughts about real issues

What’s your favorite TweetChat?  Leave in the comments along with the host and time/date…

Posted in Inside My Success and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
10 Mar 2011

This business rocks… @MochaWriter

One of the criteria for me to consider a business “rocking” is their desire to use their business not only to make a profit but to share their network with others and to make the business world a better place to work.  I know that may sound weird but what’s the point of building a powerful network just to use it for yourself or to try to pimp out your connections (you know, charging people for access to your connections)?

My friend, Jamie Fleming is the Owner of a copywriting service, Mocha Writer.  I feel comfortable referring her to clients because I trust the quality of her work.  Her process is so effortless.  We have completed several projects solely through email communication and I was 100% pleased with the quality of the finished project.

Writing copy for a website, newsletter or press release can be extremely time-consuming and often creatively challenging. To attain success, we have to learn how to work smarter, not harder.  Hiring a professional copywriter to join your team is solid investment.

Check Jamie out…

Get fabulous copywriting that works.

Related Articles
Posted in This Business Rocks! and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
18 Aug 2010
2 Comments

5 Ways to Use Hootsuite to Build Your Online Presence

When I first started social networking (using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), I didn’t think that it was for me.  It seemed like too much work and trust me, I already have A LOT of work to do.  I considered the value it would add to my business but needed a system to make it all manageable.  One day a friend told me about Hootsuite.  I checked it out and fell in love.  I would not have the connections or social media presence without this online application.

Check out 5 ways I use it to build my online presence.

  1. It allows me to integrate my Twitter, WordPress, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.  From one master screen I can toggle between all of these accounts and read updates as well as post status updates.
  2. I have ten columns per tab.  I take full advantage of those tabs.  On my main Twitter tab, I have a list of timeline updates from all the people I follow, mentions so that I can see when someone posts something directly to me, a list of sent tweets (because I sometimes forget what I tweeted or retweeted), a list of pending tweets (more about that in a second) and timelines of several of my Twitter lists and keyword searches.
  3. I can schedule posts.  When I tell people this, they are surprised.  First surprised that I admit it and second surprised to know that I am not really online as much as it seems.  There are a million things that I want to say and retweet but it feels rude to bombard someone’s timeline with my thoughts.  So… I play nice and schedule tweets to post about every 15 to 30 minutes.  It is amazing how many followers I have attained since using this system.  It also allows me time to respond to someone before the next scheduled tweet.  I also like the fact that I can schedule posts to my Facebook personal and business pages.  Sometimes I will schedule a full day of tweets and only respond to mentions when I receive them on my phone.  *Remember, the object of the game is to work smarter, not harder.
  4. It is easier to view profiles.  From the Twitter site, you have to go to a person’s page to read their profile and get a general idea of whether you want to follow them.  My #FF (Follow Friday) can get crazy and I don’t have time to visit a hundred profiles.  Hootsuite allows you to click on their name and get a profile synopsis then you can follow or unfollow from that screen shot.
  5. You can shorten urls and track their statistics.  Many applications provide the ability to shorten an url but I like being able to see whether people are actually clicking through.  I’m a statistics junkie (which is part of my love affair with WordPress).

I hope this nugget of information helps you build your online presence, after all, social networking is not only fun but it is also FREE.  What better way to establish and build your brand?

Posted in Business Dollars and Sense, I Got Five On It, It's all about... and tagged , , , , , , ,
01 Jun 2010
1 Comment

Revealing the Secrets of Social Media Success

It saddens me to think that there are still people who have not grasped the concept of what online networking is all about.  Of course it seems that everyone is on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and/or LinkedIn but there are legions of individuals who may be participating in one or more of these sites but have absolutely no idea what they are doing.  It’s kind of like fishing in murky water.  You know that you have cast a line but you have no idea whether anyone or anything is biting.

These are my three secrets to social media success…

  1. Have a strategy.  Why are you on LinkedIn?  Are you looking for a new job opportunity or wanting to build your professional network?  The same is true for Twitter.  Twitter is a very useful networking tool but you have to tweet with a purpose, if you want to be successful.  I tweet to promote this blog and to establish relationships with people throughout the country so that when I travel I have “friends” to hang out with and network.  My FaceBook, on the other hand, is for my friends and family to connect with me and get glimpses into my life just as I do into theirs.  My LinkedIn is used as a professional resume for potential consulting projects.  As you see, each of these have very different missions therefore most of the information is different except my blog feed because I know everyone wants to read that :)
  2. You have to be a part of the conversation.  Of the hundreds of followers in my networks, I probably communicate with less than 10% of them.  This isn’t by choice, but conversations are two-way streets.  If I post or tweet something that you find interesting, either retweet it or comment on it.  If you don’t then, how am I supposed to know that you are there?  Once you catch someone’s attention, make sure you have enough information in your bio for them to decide whether they want to respond.  Just because someone is following you or sends you a friend request does not mean that you have to connect with them or that they will connect with you.  You should seek quality over quantity and associate yourself with like-minded individuals or companies that you support.  It’s better to connect with a smaller group that you can interact with than to people in your network and no way to do business with or for them.
  3. Finally, you have to establish a relationship.  Just because you start a conversation does not mean that you have a relationship.  It’s almost like going out on a date and then assuming that you are in a relationship with the other person.  Yes, you had a great conversation but what’s next?  Is there a basis for continued conversation? Is there any way that you two can help each other?  Always remember: people do business with their friends.

Managing your network is a lot like maintaining relationships with friends and family members except you communicate on a different level.  See this week’s Networking Beyond the Business Card… Tip 2: Be personable, not personal.

Posted in Business Dollars and Sense and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
18 May 2010
5 Comments

How to really work the web

If you and/or your business has a website, you need to have strategy.  Black Enterprise presents “How to Really Work the Web” with an expert panel providing some great tips to build a successful online presence.

Adrienne Graham, Founder & CEO, Empower Me! Corporation

Chris Curtis, Director, Web Business Ownership, LLC

Moderator: Sonya Donaldson, Editor-at-Large, Black Enterprise

  • In today’s business environment, most businesses need to have some type of online presence.  It doesn’t mean that everyone will be your client, it provides a larger demographic for your target market.
  • Your website should have a purpose.  The purpose should not be what you want but what your customers want to see from you.  You need to think about what you want them to do and use tools like Google Analytics to figure out if you are accomplishing your mission.
  • Know the difference:
    • Web Designers take your information, make it pretty and put it online. They are not concerned about driving traffic to your site or it’s functionality.
    • Web Programmers don’t care about the looks of your site.  Their job is to make the site more functional for your visitors to use.  At this point, it is imperative that you know what you want your visitors to do and see once they arrive at your web address.
    • Internet Marketers help to drive traffic to your site.  They don’t care how it looks or how it functions.  Their responsibility is finding ways to improve your viewer statistics.
  • Make sure that you avoid typos and poor/generic web design.  Having a site that is overloaded with Flash component is also a drawback.  Not only does it take a longer time to load the webpage but Flash is not viewable on many touch screen mobile and computer devices.  Although Flash is beneficial in some industries, businesses that provide information should avoid using it.  If you are unsure about your site’s functionality, try loading the webpage from a mobile device and different types of computers to ensure the information your customers are viewing is what you expected.
  • A question was asked via Twitter whether social media management should be outsourced.  The panelist agreed that doing so has the potential damage your brand because it can cause you to appear inauthentic to your audience.  It is better to use applications like HootSuite.com which allows you to manage several social profiles (Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn and WordPress) from one site.  The program also allows you to schedule posts so that you can consistently promote your product/service without having to dedicate excessive hours to the project.
  • Both of the panelist agreed that WordPress.org was a great site for those wanting to create their own website.  There are many templates available within WordPress that can give your site the look of a blog or the look of an information site.  You can also visit other sites to purchase templates.
  • Email marketing tips:  create a permission based list by having a sign up box on your websites and/or ask for permission when collecting business cards; send out coupons, discounts and special offers that recipients can share with others
    Posted in Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference 2010 and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    Post Navigation

    ← Older Entries
    Follow

    Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

    Join 4,086 other followers