One of the first steps we take when working with new clients ( after ensuring the fundamentals are spot on) is to evaluate their presence on the web. Far to often companies have a fragmented web presence. They may have a website, a Facebook page, and maybe even a LinkedIn or a Twitter account, but there may be no coordinated effort to integrate those online tools and they may not even integrate their online presence with their offline marketing activities.

With strong fundamentals, a strong business plan, mission statement and customer profile a company’s online presence can be coordinated with its core values and integration can be planned with offline activities to create synergies. When this happens, the brand is strengthened, and strategies can be developed and implemented that will foster communications across channels and possibilities for real growth can have the most fertile atmosphere.

Think Web Presence instead of just Website.

Think Web Presence Instead of Website is a post from: A Passion for Connection

There is a little plug-in you can install called Picasa Image Express.  After installing that plug in you will notice a Picasa Icon added to the area where you create and edit wordpress pages and posts.

1. Position your cursor near where you would like the image inserted.
2. Click the Picasa Icon (In the media insert area)
3. In the upper left corner there is a button ( prefilled with a Picasa account name). Click that button, enter the Picasa account name you would like to use, and click “change user”
4. Select the album and image you would like to insert. With the image selected, a button called “Insert Image” will appear. Click that button.
5. The image will be inserted where you can then edit it and position it just like any other image you insert into pages or posts.

Here is a little video if you need more help.

Insert Images Directly From Picasa to WordPress Post is a post from: A Passion for Connection

I have noticed personally and read studies indicating that between 50 and 90 percent of the people who are in communities don’t participate by commenting. There are many reasons for this ranging from feeling like they have nothing to add, not being interested in the topic, to fear. If it is fear that is holding you back this post is for you.

Start by listening first – You probably already do this naturally. I usually recommend when you are new to a community to kick back and read posts and comments for some time so that you get a good feeling of the tone and topics of the community and learn a little about the personalities that make it up. Some fear of voicing opinions is justified and normal. If you don’t feel safe or feel that the people in the community are judgmental then by all means trust your instinct.

Start easy- If you feel like it is a nurturing and supportive community but you are still uncomfortable commenting publicly, you can start by asking questions or stating opinions in private. It will give you a chance to add value to the community in a safe way. There are some very real positive reasons to participate in communities by commenting and joining the conversation. Studies have shown that people who participate in communities feel more like they belong than others who don’t actively participate. By your participation the others involved in the community get to know you and start to build trust in you, and you in them. You start to build relationships. Relationship building is one of the most powerful aspects of social media and communities online. That is why it is called social media and not some other name. You begin to take some ownership in the community and feel more connected when you participate.

The Upside of participating for website owners.-A positive reason for participating in a community is to build inbound links back to your own site. Inbound links are a sort of social proof to search engines and other visitors to the popularity of your site. There are no real effective short cuts to building inbound links. Yes there are services that submit your site to many directories. But those directories don’t carry as much weight in search engine ranking as do links from sites that are relevant to the topics on your site. It is a quandary that new site/blog owners need to get over.. The more popular your site is to others, the more followers you will attract and the more weight your site will carry with search engines .You can create links back to your site through your comments in communities, blogs, and websites.

Participation is valuable to the community-Often times we feel like the answers we will provide to the community will not be accepted by the group. The reality is if you raise a possible answer or question, others in the group probably have the same question. Social media is a place for two way communication. It is the reason it is more powerful than old push media. Your voice in that two way communication is critically important to the group. If all the views are not represented, then any solutions created will be less than optimal..Your participation will stimulate new ideas and new opportunities for further discussion.

Finally, I can guarantee that the facilitator of the community very much wants you to participate. Like the quandary of inbound links, the more that people participate and comment, the more people will comment. Your input adds the possibility that new topics will be sparked and will invite even further participation. It is important to the community and needed so comment away. If you are ever unsure, you can always ask questions or add comments in private via direct message or email to others in the group.

Overcoming Fear of Commenting Online is a post from: A Passion for Connection

If you have not yet heard of Sarah, let me introduce you to this amazing woman. Sarah is a “small business strategy coach” but don’t let that title fool you. The businesses she works with may be small but there is nothing small in any of Sarah’s ambitions for herself and her clients. Sarah passionately and enthusiastically inspires her clients to achieve success in all areas of their lives in a balanced way.. She accomplishes this with very honed skills of community building and engagement in social media. Sarah also masterfully engages amazing people who she invites into the “Tribe” she has nurtured. ( Notice I said the tribe and not her tribe. ) All of this is executed in an environment of excitement.

Community Building- Right from the start you notice something different on Sarah’s blog “Escaping mediocrity. “The community that thrives there participates heavily, commenting and sharing stories not just with Sarah, and this is the point, with each other. The community that thrives around Escaping Mediocrity is not Sarah centric. She works to make sure that it is about the community. It is not about Sarah. It takes a pretty fair amount of self confidence and trust to let go of the control necessary for this. She trusts in the community and they trust back.

Social Media is about relationships. Sarah skillfully inspires and nurtures relationship building within the community. You immediately sense it when you are in the presence of the people who gather around her blog. Sarah and her community take inbound marketing to the place it should be. Nurturing mutually beneficial relationships.

So far this year she has presented the community with three ambitious opportunities of deep value, “30 Days to Changing your Game”, “Get your Rear in Gear”, and her latest effort, “Creating Irresistible Presence.” With these efforts, Sarah engages amazing people to write blog posts around the topic of the month. By sharing other authors with a plethora of views, the people who gather around Escaping Mediocrity get to know the authors and they get to know and interact with each other. Her magic is keeping a very fertile field where relationships can flourish.

Am I biased? You bet. . It is for a good reason. Sarah is able to accomplish these amazing things while maintaining a healthy home life. She does not live and breath her work. She lives and breaths beauty. That inner centered beauty that allows her light to shine bright to many. She has Irresistible Presence and has shared that to inspire others to shine theirs bright too ( and never in her shadow.)

Resources to learn more about Sarah.

Resources to learn more about Sarah.

My Recorded Interview with Sarah.

If you want a very clear “ IT “ That Irresistible Presence” and a very clear business model built around “IT” Sign up for her upcoming event. It is 3 days of hands on work that you will walk away from it running! – Her upcoming event: Creating Irresistible Presence your you and developing a business model around it is scheduled for September 23,24, and 25 in Atlanta ,GA

Sarah Robinson-Irresistible Presence is a post from: A Passion for Connection

Do you have multiple email accounts and find that you bounce between them during the day? Do you ever struggle trying to find an email and can’t remember which account it was sent to? Gmail is a great tool on its own. But with a few minuets of set up, it can be an excellent email management tool.

Consider this: You can have all of your email from other accounts forwarded to your Gmail or Google Apps email account, sort them by account as they come in, and have them displayed in their own inbox using the multiple inbox feature in Gmail. Even better you can set up filters to have the emails tagged as they come in.

The benefit to this is when we are searching for an email, it can be found in one place using Gmail’s search. Another benefit is that ALL our email is available from any access point, any computer, any phone, or any other device that can connect to the web.

How to do this:

1. Visit each of your email accounts and have the email forwarded to your Gmail or Google Apps Email address.
2. In your Gmail account, Click “Settings” in the upper right hand corner and click the “Multiple Inbox” link.
3. In the Search query box ( I leave “Is:Starred” in the first box for quick access to email that I tag with a star.) enter “To:YourEmailAddress@Domain.com” in the panes in the order you would like the inboxes displayed.

Your done. If you like you can go ahead and create some filters while you are there. I suggest doing it on the fly as emails come in. There is a little checkbox at the last page of creating the filter that will allow you to apply the filter to emails in the past.

Google allows you also to change the “Send from” mail address so it appears that you sent the email from the original email account.  This “From” email address does not even have to be a Gmail address. Under Settings, Click “accounts, then click the link “add another email address you own” You will be asked to enter your email address. Follow the instructions carefully to confirm you own that email address. You will be sent a confirmation code to the added email address that you need enter to complete the setup.

If you are using Gmail and want access to the past email stored in your other accounts you can import them. You contacts can also be exported and imported into Gmail Contacts. If you are using Google Apps, ask your Google Apps administrator.

3 Steps To Taming Multiple Email Addresses Using Gmail is a post from: A Passion for Connection

Taking control of our search queries

Advanced Google Search – The first area we can take control with is the “Advance Search” link. It is usually located to the right or bottom right of a Google search box. Here you can fine tune your query with options.
( For a complete set of instructions, click here. ) By using the advance settings you can take tighter control and narrow your search query to specifically the information you are looking for. It will help stop us from scrolling through pages of irrelevant responses.

Going beyond the simple search box or the advanced settings, Google offers ways to refine or expand our searches while presenting different ways to view the results.
( While returning searches in the standard view, Google includes the “sponsored” links is a very lightly shaded area at the top of the screen. Below that are the more organic results of our search query.)

Settings for controlling search results are found on the left hand side of the search window.The first option we notice is the “More” drop down.

Topics -In this area we will find ways to limit our search to certain topics like News, Books, Images, Blogs, Videos, Maps, Shopping, Status Updates, Discussions etc.

Time- Below that area on the left of the screen are the options for “Time.” Here we can pick standard time frames or customize our query to the exact time frame we want to focus on.

People – Below the time area we find an area where we can limit our search query to “Social” which would  limit the results to people within our social network.

We can also choose by location. – “Nearby”  offers options of selecting results from areas close to us geographically or limited to any area of the world.

Views – A feature that I enjoy is “Views”. Google can display search results in ways that can help us refine our search or expand it, so that we are sure to get what we are looking for.

Again in the left column you will see “Standard View.” That is the view we normally see. Added to the views section is the new ‘Wonder Wheel” The Wonder Wheel is a presentation of our query results along with other related topics in a Mind Map like format with click able links. It helps expand out thinking to new possibilities. As I was searching for information about Google Chrome. I chose this options and it lead me to the Google Chrome Blog. ( I didn’t know they had one.)

By Taking advantage of the tools provided, we can get more value out of the time we spend searching the internet getting results faster and with laser focus.

NOTE: I am a fan of Google and its myriad of tools to make life easier. With Crome, Google’s web browser similar to Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari, you can simply start typing your search query in the address box and Google will search for it. Google Chrome

Laser Focus for Google Search is a post from: A Passion for Connection

I have been playing with Foursquare( http://foursquare.com/ ) for a few months now, mostly as a curious user. Occasionally I would dream up ways that local businesses might use it to interact in new ways with patrons, clients or customers.

Foursquare is a social service, almost game like that has users go out and explore their neighborhoods by “Checking In” to new venues with the cell phones or computers. A city guide created by the people of the city. Users win points for check-ins along with additional rewards for multiple visits. Users set up a profile on Foursquare and connect with friends all over the world who are also sharing cool things in their own neighborhoods through social media networks and email.

I have to admit is it fun to see people checking in and sharing tips about different establishments. ( and yes, I have stopped by the occasional Starbucks to check in.)

Beyond the game like aspect though there are some pretty cool things benefits for the local businesses. (The company itself published ideas of how businesses can use it to reward people who check in http://foursquare.com/help/#b1 ) The business benefits when members check in at their establishment in a couple of ways.

• The user may not have stopped their otherwise. The game like aspect encourage people to explore new venues.
• Upon Check-in the member can post where they are on other social media sites ( Facebook and Twitter ) as well as alerting their friends to their location. This encourages others to stop by ( or not depending on the comments )
• Users can post tips and recommendations to others who may visit the city or be looking for that type of business.
• It facilitates sharing of good things/deals etc. (free word of mouth advertising)
• The Company provides metrics for businesses on the check ins.

This is all without the business doing anything.

Of course, the business can further encourage engagement by offering specials to Foursquare users who check in, or check in often. The way to do that is to stop by Foursquare.com and search for your business. If it is there, you can claim it. If not, you can add it. Foursquare is growing rapidly so it may take a bit before your business is verified.

Once claimed you can offer special deals to Foursquare users for checking in, or checking in a certain number of times in a so many days etc. You can make your own rewards up. It is up to you to verify and fulfill the offer. The only limitation that Foursquare imposes is that you must “instantly fulfil the offer.” You can’t message the members or advertise.

With a little creativity, I am sure you can figure out cool new ways to use this fun service to encourage business. The more you encourage people to check into your business, the more free word of mouth advertising you get on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Is your Business Leveraging Foursquare? is a post from: A Passion for Connection

The Solution

YouGottaCall is a connection engine (Connect-gine ™) that creates a space for businesses with a local clientele to become networked members of local trusted experts, that share word of mouth referrals while helping local charities. I guess you can say it is Win/Win/Win.

The idea was conceived by Tim Tracey ( @YouGottacall ) as a way to connect businesses with friends, other businesses and charities in communities all over the United States ( and maybe the world!)

Solution Explained

The Idea is simple and brilliant. YouGottaCall.com is free to join as a member, a trusted service provider, or as a charity. When you are set up, you can connect with other members and businesses, share recommendations, and connect with local charities.

You can designate your preferred charity ( if your charity of choice for your community isn’t yet listed, why not let them know so they can sign up? )
You can decide whether you would like to pay a referral fee or not, how much it will be and if it is paid by the referral or by the sale. When a referral or sale is made, the major portion of the fee you decide on is donated to your charity of choice!

Why should I join one more social site?
We all know that our most profitable sales are made via word of mouth referrals. Founder Tim Tracey explains it eloquently in his blog post titled “Fueling You Connection Engine: The Golden Fuel Rule™”

Applying the Pareto Principle, if 80% of revenue comes from 20% of clients, then each referring client is worth 16 times more in lifetime value than the clients who do not refer.

Let that sink in – your referring customers are worth sixteen times more to you than your one-hit clients. And this does not even consider that your paid advertising had no effect on bringing you these clients who account for 80% of your sales.

( Tim Tracey )

To read more:

http://yougottacall.blogspot.com/2009/06/fueling-your-connection-engine.html

There is no doubt in my mind that referrals are the best source of leads for my business ( Michele and I don’t use traditional advertising.) There is also no doubt that YouGottaCall.com is a great way to connect with other local businesses, share those that we know and trust, while at the same time helping some very cool charities that are right here in our community.

How can I grow my business through referrals? is a post from: A Passion for Connection

PANIC

I have to admit that I am not always diligent about backing up my files, usually to the point of losing stuff when a hard drive crashes. My carefree mindset says, “oh well, you can make more’” BUT, the thought that I would lose the posts and pages in my blog unnerved me greatly.

Even more, I have a growing number of friends with new blogs and I want to avoid that 911 phone call, ” Help!”

It is fairly easy to set up a routine backup system for your WordPress blog. There are a bunch of WordPress plugins that you can set up that will make this process painless.

The Plugin I use is WPBackup. You can read more about how it works here.

How to install WordPress Backup.

You will need to set up an account at WordPressBackup.com

You then can install the plugin from within your admin panel by going to plugins, search for the WordPress Backup Plugin and hit install. Then Activate it. You will need to do a little configuring to set it up with your WordPressBackup.com account.

Your files are yours and you can go to the site and download a copy of your backup at the Backup – Restore page

You can also restore your files from WordPressBackup.com. You will need to log into your Admin panel and change the settings to allow it to be restored. From your admin panel, go to the WordPressBackup plugin, Options page, and select ‘yes’ for “Allow restore of data from WordPressBackup?”.

WordperssBackup.com stores your files for a year from your last activity.

WordPress Plugins

http://www.wordpressbackup.com/

“OMG My Blog is Gone” -Prevent the Panic is a post from: A Passion for Connection

You may have heard of BuzzVoice’s consumer service that launched a while back. Their first service lets you listen to the web’s top news and blogs on-the-go on iPhones [iTunes link: http://bit.ly/BuzzVoice ], regular iPods/MP3 players and other devices. Some have likened the service to “Pandora for news and blogs.”

The BuzzVoice team recently contacted us to tell us they were extending their real-time audio platform to publishers and asked us to join the private beta for their new Real-Time Radio Widget.

Since we’re always looking for new ways to make it easier for people to consume our content and share it with their friends, we jumped at the chance to be one of the first publishers to try out the new product.

With the new BuzzVoice widget in our sidebar, you can now listen to our stories on our site, on your favorite social site, or on iPhones, iPods and other mobile devices. The main benefit of the service is that it allows you to listen and multitask online, or on the go (in the car, at the gym, on the train etc). It also provides benefits for the visually impaired, and helps people with dyslexia and other learning difficulties improve their reading comprehension.

>Be sure to check out the widget and tell us what you think in the comments below.

To share the Passion for Connection talking widget on Facebook, Twitter & other social sites, just click the “Grab This” button.

We Have 5 Private Beta Invites: If you have an active blog or news site and would like to join the BuzzVoice Private Beta Program, please email your RSS feed to Publishers@BuzzVoice.com for consideration (You could win a free iPad!)

BuzzVoice will be publicly launching the Real-time Radio widget for all publishers to use in the next few weeks. To be notified when it’s available for your site, please email Publishers@BuzzVoice.com

*Listen* To A Passion for Connection With The New BuzzVoice’s Real-time Radio Widget [Private Beta Invites] is a post from: A Passion for Connection