This is just a quick reminder for you in relation to the Biz Growth Live Teleseminar Masterclass where we will be in conversation with Peggy Murrah and Chris Muccio  and we will be discussing how social media strategies are applicable for solopreneurs growing their business.

Yes, I know I bring you lots of tips, articles and podcasts about social media marketing and communications, but I thought it would be interesting to have Peggy and Chris share their experiences with you.

This is an ideal seminar if you are a solopreneur and want to discover how to best use social media in your business to build your brand online and attract more clients

DATE OF SALES MASTERCLASS: Monday 12 May 2008

TIME OF SALES MASTERCLASS: 6pm Dublin and London/ 1pm ET/10am PT

INVESTMENT: FREE

REGISTER: Register at Biz Growth Live if you don’t already receive a copy of our newsletter which as all the details for the programme in it

If you have questions for Peggy or Chris, you can post your question here on the blog or over at our live questions page.

Some of the areas we will be covering are:

• What Web 2.0 really means
• Why social media is a relevant business development strategy for you as a solopreneur
• Key areas of social media for solopreneurs and what the key platforms are
• The biggest mistake people make when looking to include social media in solopreneur marketing plan
• Tips for making sure we’re effective with our time in implementing social media
• Social media optimisation – What it is and why is it important

And if you are interested in learning more about social media and Web 2.0 you can access your own copy of Peggy and Chris’s report ‘29 Tips to Get Started With Web 2.0′ here.

So I hope you will join me if you’ve questions about social media for solopreneurs and how it can help you cost effectively attract more clients to your business.

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As you know I write a lot about the power of social media to help you build your reputation online.

One of the case studies I share in my speaking about social media, personal branding and career success is of my good friend and mastermind buddy  Jessica Bowman who is an SEO expert.

After relocating across the US, taking up a role at Yahoo, Jessica lost her role in the recent massive shakedown to everyone’s surprise in just 90 days after taking up her appointment.

Jessica has a blog that is well regarded in her field of expertise and as she has been providing excellent advice and tips there, she is well known by key influencers in the world of SEO.

This has led to her story and how she has successfully managed career transition since leaving Yahoo to be picked up by a major US glossy where she will be featured in their July edition (sorry can’t tell you who until she makes it public) and she is attracting great opportunities from consulting to speaking, all through her network both online an offline.

So Jessica is using the power of her social network through blogging to manage her career transition.

But here’s the thing - you actually don’t need to be blogging yourself to make sure of the power of blogging and social networking when in career transition or when searching for another job.

I can not recall the thousands upon thousands of speculative CV’s I have received through the post or email over the years. And unfortunately it is rare that those speculative CV’s ever amount to someone landing a new role in the businesses I have been recruiting for- the reasons for that warrant an article or two on their own so I won’t go into it here.

I must declare that I get really frustrated when someone connects with me by email with their CV looking for a new role and they have not gone to the time to research who I am or how to correctly spell my name.

Take a situation that happened just this week when someone addressed their email to me ‘Dear Sir’. You see I am not a man. 

So take note of the following - this is something I can guarantee most career coaches, recruiters, HR professionals and executive recruiters will not even think to tell you…

A little time researching online would have told the job hunter that I have a business blog where they can find out a lot about what I am interested in, what services I provide and what kinds of clients my company serves. They can research me online before even applying fingers to their keyboard to send me their speculative CV or resume.

They could also have found me on Facebook or LinkedIn, noted who is in my network and who are mutual contacts so they could have had someone introduce them to me in a more personal way.

They might even have followed me on Twitter where they could get a feel for other things that are going on in my life, not just work and business.

Even better would have been if they invested a little time in building and nurturing a relationship with me online before they email me about looking for a job move.

For example they could have added insightful comments or experiences about the issues I cover in my articles or podcasts.

You can be sure I would have taken more notice of them when I received an email about them looking for a new role. 

I would probably even have connected them to my network to assist them in their job search.

So before you hit the send button on that next email, whether it be a job opportunity you are looking for or a new assignment, why not use the power of the Internet and the accessibility of social media to research and nurture  relationships with the people you are connecting to.

That will ensure that you are more specific and relevant in who you connect to and what you say in your letter or email.

The result is that your personal brand will stand out from the crowd of people interested in that same next job or assignment you are interested in.

So why not access the power of social media and social networks in your career research - I’m sure the results will surprise you.

And if you are not looking for your next big gig, why not pass this guidance on to someone you know who is.

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Are you looking for a current understanding of the scale of social media across the globe? Well look no further than the extensive study undertaken in March 2008 by Universal McCann - Power To The People - Wave3.

The research covers input from 17,000 internet users across 29 countries and was undertaken to understand the rise in consumer generated content and how people are using social media.

It is certainly the most extensive global report I have seen on the subject of social media adoption.

Key notes from the Power To The People - Wave 3 report include the following statistics:

• 83% of people are watching online video, an increase from 62% at the time of the last study in June 2007
• 78% of people are reading blogs, an increase from 66% in the previous study
• 57% of internet users are members of social networks
• RSS consumption has increased to 39% from 15%
• 48% of the people surveyed listen to podcasts.

There are also some interesting differences about social media adoption across geographies:

• Blogging - China leads the way with 70% of internet users writing a blog (that’s 42 million bloggers versus 26 million people in the US), followed closely by the Philippines at 66% and Mexico at 60%
• Social networking - the Philippines leads the way with 83% of the people surveyed being a member of a social network, followed by 76% in Hungary and Poland alike.

Unfortunately there is no specific data for Ireland - I guess we are such a tiny dot on the social media landscape and as we have discussed here previously we are still behind the curve in the adoption of social media of business blogging an podcasting, though increasingly more people are a member of social networks from Linkedin to Facebook, from Bebo to MySpace.

You can access the Universal McCann Power To The People - Wave3 social media report online.

A word of warning - the file is over 25MB.

Thanks to Theresa Houlihan of Universal McCann for sharing the report with me.

I do recommend that you check out the Universal McCann where you can access other reports including their Anytime Anyplace report that covers mobile phones and portable technology.

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Do you have to present at meetings at work?

Or perhaps you are building your personal brand and platform as a professional speaker?

Maybe you have a desire to get in front of the media on TV or radio?

One of the great ways that I’ve developed my skills in presenting and in speaking to the media is not through attending courses but by two other approaches:

• watching other presenters
• speaking and presenting often - not always to groups of 200 or more people, but often to small groups of less than 40 people.

Yes I have attended programmes in presentation skills and media skills and they have been invaluable, but in relation to continued professional development as a speaker and presenter, then I can not recommend too highly watching others and speaking and presenting yourself.

And even though I speak at events 3-4 times a month for live in person events, and speak at virtual events, training programmes and recording podcasts no less than 20 times a month, I still practice my presentation skills.

Social media is a great tool to help you practice your effectiveness as an engaging presenter. Here are five ways you can put social media to work to enhance your presentation skills:

1. Be a guest on a podcast - by being an invited guest or even hosting your own podcast such as with platforms like Utterz, where you can create a podcast with just your phone, and then being disciplined in listening to yourself, you will find out all the words and phrases that you use too frequently. You can also hear how effective you are in answering the questions you are asked in an engaging and succinct way
2. Deliver a webinar - webinar services are very inexpensive in fact there are some platforms such as Powownow that allow you to screen share your presentation, deliver the presentation by phone. You could then record and distribute the presentation through some of the video and presentation sharing sites such as YouTube or Slideshare. By preparing to deliver a webinar, you’ll be able to hone your ability in creating presentation materials that are simple but connect your verbal presentation to your slides
3. Host a webcast - social media platforms such as Oovoo allow you to present using your webcam to up to 5 other attendees and you can record the presentation. By presenting in front of camera you can watch out for any speacifc mannerisms that you are using that get in the way of your message
4. Listen to podcasts - I’ve found that listening to podcasts hosted by experts and leaders in their field have been a great way for me not only to become more informed and are a great source of research
5. Watch online video’s - with the accessibility of online video’s they are a great source of content and research - again you can watch others present and get ideas for your presentations - and from time to time you’ll also get ideas of what does not work!

Remember that social media platforms are inexpensive, usually free to access and often free to deploy - with the most intensive resource being your time. And they have the two further added benefits:

1. You can reach people outside of your local vicinity and expand your reach nationally and even globally
2. By hosting the presentations on a site which allow others to comment (be that on your own business blog or one of the sites I’ve mentioned), you’ve the opportunity to access  the invaluable feedback from others. I’ve found the feedback I’ve received after my presentations invaluable in both implacting what I say and how I present.

Social media offers us an opportunity to develop our communication skills that we use every day - speaking, writing, watching and listening. It’s not an end in itself - social media is a platform or tool we can use to enhance our effectiveness in communications.

And if you are looking for some expert guidance on presentation skills, then I’d encourage you to watch the following video which provides a great opportunity to see the master of presentations in action - Garr Reynolds, author of Presentation Zen. Get ready to take notes on how you can enhance your presentation skills.

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In case you missed the earlier articles about the forthcoming social media training programme taking place between the 20 n29 February 2008, here is a quick reminder and also here are details of my seminar.

TITLE OF THE WORKSHOP 

How to avoid the biggest blogging and podcasting blunders you can make when nurturing your personal brand online

TIME OF WORKSHOP

Thursday 28 February 2008, 1pm ET/6pm Ireland and the UK

OVERVIEW

With the advent of social media marketing, there has never been an easier time for us to express our personal brand online to attract the projects and career opportunities we desire.

The media, potential clients and prospective employers are all searching online. They key thing question is are you ready to be found?

And how do you avoid the biggest mistakes many people make when looking to build their personal brand online through blogging, podcasting and social media marketing?

LEARNING OUTCOMES

This content rich workshop will cover:

• The five elements of your business blogging and podcasting strategy that you must have in place so that you ensure that your personal brand stands out from the crowd
• Four actions you must take to promote your business blog and podcast so that your online personal brand gets noticed
• Three keys to harnessing the power of social media marketing and create raving fans and brand ambassadors who will help you achieve your personal and professional goals

SPECIAL OFFER FOR MEMBERS OF THE BIZ GROWTH COMMUNITY 

If you do decide to join me for the programme and  register here, be sure to let me know as I’m offering the first 10 people who register from the Biz Growth community one hour’s private mentoring to make sure that you take all that you learnt and put it into action to develop your personal social media marketing plan for 2008.

I do hope to see you there so we can make sure that 2008 is the year you bring your brand to life through social media marketing.

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