Post on 01-Nov-2014
description
Blog
Email Newsletter
Google Plus
Pimp Your Online Presence
YouTube
QWhat would you liketo get out of this workshop?
Do you feel positively or negativelyabout your online presence?
Are you ready to rhumble?
In the !rst years of the 21st century, a new meaning of the word pimp has emerged in the form of a transitive verb,
which means “to decorate” or “to gussy up” (compare primp, especially in Scottish usage).
This new de!nition was made popular by Pimp My Ride, an MTV television show.
Although this new de!nition paid homage to hip-hop culture and its connection to street culture, it has now entered
common, even mainstream commercial, use.
Wikipedia (that most reliable of sources).
This.
Not this.
Pimping your online presence is all about communicating as clearly and cleverly as possible who you are and what you’re
offering to the world, so that you stand out and are remembered.
“
”
We all have to do it.
“The internet wasn’t built to make it easy for you to watch Lady GaGa videos.
The Internet is a connection machine, and anyone with a laptop or a smartphone is now connected to just about everyone else.
And it turns out those connections are changing the world.”
Seth Godin, The Icarus Deception
Can You Afford to Ignore It?
Your Digital Identity
ProfessionalPersonal Online
What Story Are You
Telling?
Title and tagline of your website/blog
About Page
Each Blog Post
A Tweet
Photos
Videos
Can you describe what you do in 160 characters? (Twitter bio)
Tools for Telling Your Story
QAre you comfortable about sharing your real
identity online?
Are you willing to showa more personal side online?
Are you concerned about the trendtowards sharing more online?
Blog
Email Newsletter
Google Plus
The Building Blocks of Your Blogging Strategy
Your Home on the Web
Freedom
Flexibility
Ownership
Growth
Your website needs to be the central point of all your online communications.
Why is this so important?
Well by setting up your own space where people can visit, you have freedom to post whatever you want to post. You have the #exibility to change things and experiment to
see what works best.
This enables you to build a platform which can potentially grow in value over time.
And if you use a self-hosted option, will be the owner of your website/blog.
Ideally, you don’t want to be reliant on speci!c services and companies who may change the rules as they go along (as with Facebook EdgeRank) or rapidly nosedive
in popularity (like MySpace).
A website or part of a website (web log)
easily updated, preferably on a regular basis
consists of individual blog posts, which are usually presented in chronological order, with the most recent post at the top of the page.
Can be mainly written, or based around photos, videos or audio.
Can allow readers to comment/interact
What is a blog?
Very few people are ever going to come back to your website if it isn’t updated regularly, and if you’re not providing
valuable or entertaining content.
A blog which is updated reasonably regularly is a great way of keeping people interested in what you have to say and what
you’re doing.
It’s the difference between having a website which is like a ghost town, and one which has life and energy about it, and attracts
people and conversation.
Tagline - what blog is about
Links to social
networks
Latest post
Comments
email newsletter
social proof
Social sharing buttons
Comments
Self-hosted Wordpress (Wordpress.org)
Premium Theme (with SEO features)
Responsive Theme (for mobile devices)
Google Analytics (to measure visitors)
Akismet plug-in (to limit spam)
Back it up! (Backup Buddy)
Pro-Blogging Recommendations
Try it for free..
www.tumblr.com
wordpress.com
QDo you have a personal blog?
Do you blog as part of your work?
Do you read blogs?
Email is social too.
Advantages of an email newsletter
People are more likely to see your email than they are to see your Twitter update.
You can offer additional content or information that you don’t want to post publicly.
People’s inboxes are very personal. If they sign up to your newsletter they are probably very interested in what you have
to say.
You can remind people to visit your blog!
Permission Marketing
Don’t send unsolicited group emails. Most people consider them as spam.
Only send to people who have signed up or given you permission to contact them.
QDo you have an email newsletter?
Does it get sent out on a consistent schedule?
Do you subscribe to any email newsletters?
What do you like/dislike about them?
Avoid Social Media Meltdown
Concentrate on growing one social network at a time
Focus on building relationships and having conversations - not the numbers
Be generous. Share other people’s content.
Share related content to your topic, not just your own stuff.
Set time limits!
Use a social media client e.g. Hootsuite or Buffer, to monitor and schedule updates in advance.
Use lists and !lters to see the relevant information.
Don’t post the same updates to all of your social networks. Find out what works on each individual platform.
Remember, it’s about having conversations
Take some time to work out the basics (it’s very easy!)
Only follow people back you actually !nd interesting/relevant
Share interesting links
Keep it relevant/on-topic if possible
Organisations can set up a Page or a Group.
Groups can be Open, Closed or Secret.
Pages are subject to Facebook EdgeRank - your messages will not be seen by everyone who likes your page.
However Facebook provides insights (statistics) and allows you to promote posts and also advertise your page.
Other Social Networks
Instagram and Pinterest are very visual.
Instagram is great for telling an ongoing story through photos, and easy to update via a smartphone.
Pinterest is an online scrapbook most popular with women.
Google Plus has a small, but strong community. They now have community pages which could be useful for organisations.
StumbleUpon & Reddit are social bookmarking sites. They can drive traffic but you need to invest time in the community.
Other sites: KILTR, Blipfoto etc.
QDo you have a personal Facebook account?
Do you have a personal Twitter account?
Do you use Facebook or Twitter for work purposes?
What about other social networks?
Be Realistic
Be Focused
Be Consistent
Provide Value
Plan Ahead
External Social Media Policy
Internal Guidelines
Comment Policy
Moderate comments
Set a Posting Schedule
Refuse to engage with ‘Trolls’
Set Clear Expectations & Boundaries
So, Are You Ready....
...To Unlock the Digital Handcuffs?
QDo you think your staff should have more freedom
to use online tools?
How could this be made possible?
Are you prepared to set clear internal and external guidelines about your organisation’s
online presence?
Has this workshop made you feel any differently about your online
presence?
Photo credits (utilised under a Creative Commons license):
p.9 Keith Allison http://www.#ickr.com/photos/keithallison/
p.11 Tropical Pete http://www.#ickr.com/photos/12023825@N04/
p. 12: Olaf http://www.#ickr.com/photos/gradin/
p.16 TheMuuj http://www.#ickr.com/photos/themuuj/
p.20 Allie Caul!eld http://www.#ickr.com/photos/wm_archiv/
p.28 Esparta http://www.#ickr.com/photos/esparta/
p. 33 Hack NY http://www.#ickr.com/photos/hackny/
p.42 See-Ming Lee http://www.#ickr.com/photos/seeminglee/
p. 46 Keith Allison http://www.#ickr.com/photos/keithallison/
Published Work
The Guardian online, The Scotman online, Journalism.co.uk, The Edinburgh Evening News, The Skinny Magazine, The List.
Copywriting/Web Editing clients include:
The National Trust for Scotland, LEWIS Creative Consultants, The Johnston Press, The Touch Agency, TEDxGlasgow.
Blogger since 2005
My first blog was focused on music, technology and other topics.
The Clear-Minded Creative (founded in 2011) was voted one of Scotland’s best websites by The List in the same year.
Education and Previous Employment
I have an Honours degree in Communications Studies and over a decade of relevant experience working at the heart of The Scottish Government, including a number of years in the Media and Communications Department.
As Digital Co-ordinator for Environment & Climate Change I managed the Environment section of the main Scottish Government website, was on the editorial and communications group for Scotland’s Environment website and also contributed to the initial content strategy for the Greener Scotland website, aimed at encouraging more sustainable living. I also chaired the Climate Change Digital Communications short-life working group.
Speaking
Apple Store event on blogging, Washington College in Maryland, St. Andrew’s University, BBC Radio Scotland.
About Me
contact: milo@clearmindedcreative.comwww.clearmindedcreative.com