Time for Day #2 for WordCamp Chicago and I gotta admit today seems a little bit better – I’m more comfortable and able to relax a little bit ready to take on the day. As I spent the majority of yesterday in developers (DEV) side there was quite of sessions I wanted to check  out in the users side.

Starting off was SEO for Wordpress by Shannon Steffen (@SKSDesigns). One word: WOW! I like to think I know SEO but Shannon is NOT messing around. While her presentation was great a  lot of the audience took over with some basic questions. I wasn’t upset but found myself awaiting to check out the slides of of her session that she had to skip over due to the questions.

On to the next one: Niles Flores (@blondishet) on Rocking Out Your Website With WordPress. Some great examples were given on just how to use various niche’s. It was pretty good.

Next on deck was Jim Turner (@Genuine) talking about The Next Generation of WP Bloggers. Breaking down digital media – there was some great discussion around the audience.  However, it did get a little specific which got a little annoying but all in all – two thumbs up.

Last up for the user side of WordCamp Chicago 2010 was Cori Miller (@CoryMiller303) on Entrepreneurship. Honestly, this was the best speaker to me and found some great quotes:

light yourself on fire and people will come and watch you burn

love what you do – change it

team concept – fight for each other and your staff will fight for your customers

Then again don’t take my word for it be sure to check out what happened after he was done talking

In the end I am ready to take on next year however, I’m not sure what the size will be since last year it was 200 and there 500. Quite a big difference so let’s see what the future holds.

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

WordCamp Chicago 2010 Day 2 Review

As you might have already know I was fortunate enough to attend this years WordCamp Chicago. It was blast and I was able to learn quite a bit and it took me  a while to get back into the swing of things. I’m just now able to go over my notes from the 2 day event and all the new sites/blogs that people tweeted me. So, let me break it down for everyone.

Saturday started off good and they did something unique this year by splitting up the sessions into developers (DEV) or users. According to the schedule I found myself sitting in the DEV side for the majority of the day.

The first one up was Brad Williams (@williamsba) talking about WordPress Security. What a GREAT source of information – I couldn’t stop taking notes esp after doing some awesome fist pumping

There are something I haven’t implemented on some of my sites that I KNOW will definitely help down the road.

Next up was Josh Byers (@joshbyers) speaking on Wordpress for Client. A pretty good session on how to work with your clients and how to convert sites over to wordpress.

After lunch was Scott Robbin (@srobbin) on Making WordPress Faster Front-end Performance Tips. In recent Google news the quicker your site the better it’s ranked so why not optimize it to make it faster with some great tweeks. I was pretty impressed with the concepts he presented and plan on inputted them into my own client site plans.

Being the SEOer I am I headed over to the user side to hear Scott Stawarz (@scottstawarz) speak on Maximize the All In One SEO Plugin. A great plugin that has a TON of features and benefits to match. I watched more-or-less to see if there was anything I was missing regarding this particular plugin. I wasn’t – I’m not trying to come off cocky but…when you DO SEO then you should know the plugin. Nonetheless great presentation and back and forth with the audience.

Headed back over to the DEV side of the banquet hall to hear Dan Milward talk about Wordpress and E-Commerce. Dan is one of the developers for the widely used E-Commerce plugin and highly recommend it to anyone. Extremely user friendly and not to mention SEO. Sadly I wasn’t able to stay the whole time as I was extremely worn out and from what I could tell it was fairly basic. However, he mentioned the new integration with BuddyPress but I got the idea.

Now…onto Day #2

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

WordCamp Chicago 2010 Day 1 Review

Social media is an invaluable tool for small businesses. The medium allows them to connect with consumers on a personal and interactive level. One of the major benefits of social networking is that it reduces marketing expenses and amount of finance investments. A well managed social media campaign can be far more successful than traditional marketing and is completely free.

Social media sites function as a large scale “word of mouth” connection between consumers. Positive reviews and recommendations by consumers is the most powerful tool available to small businesses and is a huge aspect of social networking.

The following guide will assist small businesses in developing a social networking campaign that will pull in consumers and increase company profits.

Yelp

Yelp is an excellent social networking site for local businesses. It allows companies to post their contact information as well as descriptions of products and services. Local users can comment and rate the quality of the business.

The more information a business adds to Yelp, the more likely their business page will show up in searches. Good reviews on Yelp encourage business and can increase profits.

Twitter

Twitter is an ideal social networking tool because it places small businesses in constant contact with consumers. Followers on Twitter can receive updates via a number of tools, including desktop icons and mobile phones.

The most successful businesses on Twitter offer a personal touch to their postings. It is best to use a voice that will appeal to the business’ target demographic. It’s also important that the postings include more than simple promotional material. Postings that are informative and entertaining will result in the highest number of followers.

Facebook

Small businesses can draw in new customers via facebook fan pages. The fan pages are by far the most customizable of the social networking options. Company’s can attach directions to their locations, coupons, product information, and virtually anything they desire.

The most successful fan pages are ones which encourage involvement. Frequently updating the status of the fan page with interesting and relevant information is one way to encourage consumers to purchase from the business.

Blogs

Blogs located on the company’s website encourages visits by consumers. Utilizing external social networking sites tends to drive traffic away from the company’s site and towards sites that are readily accessible like Twitter and Facebook. Placing an interesting and engaging blog on a company’s site will pull consumers towards information about the business which makes them much more likely to purchase products or services.

Company blogs should focus on providing engaging and relevant postings. How-to articles, fun facts, production information, and humorous postings are all excellent ways to pull viewers to a company blog. Optimizing search engine results is another excellent way to obtain more page views. This can be achieved by placing frequently searched words in the title of the blog and throughout the postings.

How to Increase Views and Followers

In order for a social networking campaign to be successful, small businesses must pull in large numbers of views and followers. This can be achieved a variety of ways, the most important of which is providing valuable and engaging content.

Offering contests or sweepstakes is an excellent way to pull in views and followers. If consumers believe that checking the sites often will result in free or discounted products, they are far more likely to become followers or frequent viewers.

Another way to pull in views is to connect the social networks to the business’ main site as well as to each other. This will allow viewers of one site to be drawn to all the others.

Provided to you by Victoria of Ratelines.com, a place to find the best money market rates.

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

Benefits of Social Media for the Small Business

Show me your friends and I will show you your future. In the law of attraction the principle relates to this same statement:

1. Know exactly what you want.
2. Ask the universe for it.
3. Feel, behave and know as if the object of your desire is already yours (visualize).
4. Be open to receive it and let go of (the attachment to) the outcome.

While I’m not ‘huge fan’ of #2 (As I believe in God) but nonetheless the fact of the matter is going to a ‘higher power’. In marketing / sales / business / life – you gravitate to those with similar views / morals / ethics. You are attracted to them.

It’s the law of attraction. You can’t deny it but you can adapt and change.

I will give you an example. A few years back I went through depression – I was a pretty negative person which to this day I still do not understand and bet most depressed people couldn’t really give specifics – just generalized ‘cons’. I decided it was a time for a change. The help of family – friends – church I was able to get over this hurdle.

I haven’t looked back ONCE. I don’t plan on it and never want to be in that state of mind ever again. It’s dark. It’s lonely. It’s boring.

From that day of change I have stopped looking at the negative aspects of people and trying to bring out the good stuff. Yet, before I go any further I will say that I am not blind to the ‘bad stuff’ – what I would rather do is not dwell on it. I would insist on ways around that obstacle. There are always problems in life and business – how do you want to solve it? Wallow in self-pity and blame everyone else OR pull yourself up and get moving.

It’s not going to be easy – it’s going to be tough. It has been for me. Then again that’s the way I like it. Stay busy: active mind is the best thing. Keep focused on your objectives and goals and work towards them. When a wall comes into play look at it and come up with a plan to go over or around or even blow it up.

After awhile you can’t help but smile at each wall because you know of the rubble behind you. Keep going – Keep staying strong.

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

The Law of Attraction

While I’m not a ‘huge’ fan of Best Buy I am a die hard marketing fanatic (which my wife doesn’t like sometimes when I point out items online / tv / etc). In the last couple of weeks Best Buy released a marketing campaign geared towards the customer – on.their.network.

This is something I’ve been trying to tell people almost daily – you can’t force people to come to your site. You just can’t do it. Unless it offers something fantastic (in the eyes of the customers – NOT YOU) then they will not come. In turn Best Buy decides to go TO the customer and react quickly and be in tune to the consumers need.

The plan: twitter. It’s quite simple but difficult at the same time. Follow @Twelpforce and ask them a question on any product Best Buy might have and they will give you a contact (best buy contact) that will help you. The marketing campaign on television is pretty amusing and in honesty sucks you in.

Simple yet thought provoking. In a time when we supposedly “need” answers now (see KGB text your questions) now you can do so via twitter when it comes to electronics. Way to go Barry Judge – hopefully this will help in deciding a Sr. Media Manager.

In the end this is GREAT brand management – you are not only making sure your brand is taken care of you are funneling it FROM the consumer.

What are your thoughts on this?

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

Best Buy Goes Next Level Customer Support

Two things I really didn’t expect but eh, what the hay. I saw the tweet from @copyblogger and being a ‘trusted source’ checked it out. Turns out “Social Media Commando” is running an 8-week course on this clean theme. I actually digg the theme but for the love of God can’t figure out how to implement ‘hooks’.

Now, since I have too much on my plate ‘right now’ that doesn’t mean I can’t learn and do it in the future. I highly suggest you check this out and sign up. However when I DID sign up and got the confirmation link to ‘activate’ my participation I got the infamous 404 page.

Hopefully this will be fixed soon enough and we’ll be rocking and rolling!

UPDATE: Looks like the confirmation link did in fact go thru and this is what you have to look forward to:

Week 1 – The Beginner’s Guide to Using the Thesis Theme for WordPress

Week 2 - Market Research: Discovering your Secret Niche

Week 3 – Google’s Magic Triangle: How to Design a Killer Site

Week 4 – SEO: Optimizing your Site for the Search Engines

Week 5 – Pay Per Click: Making Money & Avoiding Tactical Errors

Week 6 – Social Media Marketing: How to Build a Huge Network of Followers

Week 7 – Test, Track, and Retool: Learning to Make Sense of the Data

Week 8 – Final Thoughts on Thesis: Welcome to the WordPress Elite!

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Thesis Theme and Search Marketing

When I talk with people who are trying to expand their business and I mention going “online” and utilizing “social media” it becomes a road block for some. Others it becomes something new and adventures. These usually capitalize on it and do very well.

Nonetheless not everyone is built the same way. So, when I try to break down just how to use social media in various avenues I see and hear “marketing” responses.

1. This is not a campaign – no.matter.what. You are not creating a fan page on facebook just so you can blast emails to those who joined. That is a quick way to lose fans (and brand reputation).
2. This is not advertising – You are not just advertising your business products / services. It is time to show others that you know about your niche. If you are selling “office chairs” let people be aware that you KNOW about…wait for it…”office chairs”. A quick way to be “unfollowed/blocked/etc” is give “tips” along with sales. Don’t be pushy – people haaaate that. I know I do. I work with salespeople all day so I know the type and the successful ones know about the product inside and out. They believe in it but they also know that you hold the checkbook.
3. Do not focus on one thing – Social networks are created almost daily. You need to be on top of it. Early adapters rule the waves and it shows that you are on top of new technology. Don’t just tweet. You need to have a blog – flickr account – facebook page – etc. Take the time in each avenue to make it right.

While I’ve mentioned the top 3 things NOT TO DO – I might as well do the top 3 TO DO!

1. Be yourself – or be someone that is interesting. Give a good mixture of ‘personal’ and ‘business’ updates. Remember you are in charge of your brand online.
2. Plan and execute. You know you’re going to have a sale on a product coming up – start planning immediately and look over your analytic’s to see which would be more effective. Remember to place your time and energy with the biggest ROI.
3. Have fun. Social media marketing is not just about marketing your products/services – it’s about connecting with people. Remember not everyone is going to like your product/services (or even you) – find out why and learn from it.

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

Social Media Is NOT A Campaign

It’s not hard to determine the ‘exact’ reasons why companies can’t grasp the ideals of what “social media” is truly all about. If you’re involved in twitter (@drivenmg) then you’ll notice a companies “brand” when you tweet about one of their products/services with an automatic response.

This.is.WRONG!

The key to taking over social media for businesses is this: BE REAL!

I don’t know how much more in-depth I can be. This is me being honest. I can’t tell you how many times I tweeted about poor customer service for a company and I get the @drivenmg “what can we do to help” response.

#1 - READ THE TWEET! Respond accordingly.

The purpose of Twitter and what social media is about overall is the “social” portion. Companies tend to grab the “media” part and think of marketing. That is the wrong mentality. I’m not insisting that these companies look at it as customer service related but in reality in these times people want to feel connected with brands.

The days of Fortune 500 companies distancing themselves from the common man are long gone. The 6 degree’s of separation don’t exist – the rules have changed and we all need to adapt if we want to grow both personally and professionally.

You want to see your growth change in a matter of minutes and you own a business? You search.twitter.com for your brand / name and respond accordingly. Don’t start promoting your products / services. If someone tweets you about a show/movie that you have discussed you liked – then respond to that.

Guess what – you just connected with that person and now you have moved up in their mind over other brands. This translates to increase in brand awareness and sales overall.

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

Why Most Companies Fail In Social Media

I love social media and love how major brands use their leverage to cross barriers in various mediums. One was Dell (@delloutlet) and how they are blowing away competition online by getting over 3 million dollars in sales just by utilizing twitter. How are they doing this? By giving their followers something unique and actually interacting with them.

Then there is Best Buy (@BestBuy) which I was fan of when I was teen but have since distanced myself due to their joint venture with Geek Squad. Nonetheless when a company goes online I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. However when I saw the image below at Soshable -  I literally LOL’d at Panera this morning:

What do you think – does Best Buy REALLY understand social media marketing?

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

Best Buy vs. Dell: Twitter

In the past I’ve broken down what exactly social media is and if you are reading this post from a link on facebook or twitter and you make a comment below you are enjoying web 2.0. Yet people fail to realize this over and over and over and over and over AGAIN.

You found a great website and you copied the link – opened your email (aol/hotmail/etc) – pasted the link and sent it off to your friends. Then you add the site to your bookmark (for the computer you are on).

Then let’s move forward a few years:

You found a great website and you 1) leave a comment 2) stumble it to bookmark it 3) from the site post it to your facebook profile 4) ReTweet it 5) Digg/Sphinn it 6) then from the site you send it all your contact’s using your Gmail all why IM’ing it to your those online.

So, which one is better? For those who aren’t able to adapt to changing times and overall new technology I would insist on #1 yet the latter of the two shows us that the possibilities to connect with our friends / family / coworkers are endless and need to be looked at more carefully.

What say you?

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

Social Media and Web 2.0