Personal branding is so powerful these days, gaining media attention and influencing peoples purchasing decisions within a heart beat. The recent news of  David Beckham rupturing his achilles tendon and not playing in the world cup highlighted to me the power of the personal brand. Have a quick watch and hit me up with your thoughts below:

My heart is racing right about now as I have just blown a huge opportunity. I feel like a 15 year old again who has just got slammed into detention, and I don’t want my parents to find out.

Why am I feeling like this?? Because I took a short cut. It seemed an easy decision to make at the time yet looking back it was one of the silliest choices I have ever made.

The purpose of this post is to share with you something I messed up on, so you will not, AND to embed the fact that in social media you cannot take shortcuts. They can be bad for the brand and your personal brand. Sticking to your values is crucial. In a world where things are changing so quickly it can be tempting for us to move away from our values in order to get the result quicker. I can assure you that this is not good interanlly or externally.

The great thing about social media platforms though is that there are always portals to clean up the spilt milk – live, right now! If you address the action immediately, from the heart and explain why you/your employees  decided to take that action you immediately have an outlet to either appologise or justify your decision, and get feedback also from your viewers.

Hence this blog post, there is no need to go into the story behind it yet the message I want to share is:

Be authentic, stick to your values and don’t take short cuts within this space! AMEN!

If you spill the milk then there is always a way to clean it up.

A very hard lesson for me, which is now learnt!

Am I alone here, or has anyone else made a mistake and turned it around on this space?

Twitter can be a very lonely place when you first start out. I like to compare it to my first day at school. A very unfamiliar experience! I felt a bit lonely, a little unsure of what to say or who to be friends with. I also didn’t want to look stupid and ask questions I thought I should know.

If you are feeling like this then it’s completely normal, we all had to start at the beginning, and we are all human – phew!

This post is aimed at the freshies.  I trust I can clear a few things up for you straight away, saving you time and enabling you to dive straight into this powerful business tool!

Firstly let’s look at twitter talk:

1.      Tweet:  a tweet is a short message of 140 characters or less. In your tweet you can involve links to pictures (twitpic), music (blip.fm), your blog/site, other peoples, articles, pretty much anything you want to share. This builds up the whole connection process and enables people to really get a great understanding of who you are and what your business does. Once you start to build up quality relationships leading to trust, then you are well on your way to utilizing this space in its most powerful form! 

2.      You can also read tweets of the people you follow.

2. Follow: You can choose to follow people who take your interest. You can follow anyone. These are going to be your twitter buddies. You can learn from these people, connect with them and their follow base, plus they may want to follow you back (if they believe you will provide great content /will be beneficial to them in some way). Remember on twitter, people usually think “what’s in it for me” (well, that’s actually in life). I follow people who provide quality content, entertain me, engage in conversation with me, help me, who I can outsource work to, who I see as being potential clients, who make me laugh!

3. Un follow: You do this if you do not want to see these people’s tweets anymore. If people are not providing the quality of information I’m looking for, do not engage or just promote their product most of the time, I tend to hit the unfollow button.

4. @ : This symbol appears in front of the name of the person you want to alert, eg. @sammutimer (that’s me). If you want to talk about a person or get their attention then use the @ then their name. This comes up in their twitter stream (see explanation below). I would use this if I wanted the person to see my tweet about them, gaining their attention. It can also be used in an RT “re-tweet” (see explanation below). In a nutshell it highlights to the person you are tweeting about them!

5. RT :  This means “retweet”. It means that the person who read your tweet thinks it would be great to share this with their follow base. I RT great content and also RT links from followers who I have a close relationship with (supporting them). I RT great messages about me at times (because I can)   I also RT clients tweets!

6. Twitter stream : This is a flow of tweets from all the people you are following.

7. DM :  This means direct message and is used to personally send a message to the follower without the rest of the twitter world seeing it (it usually goes straight to your email account also, if you have set this up on twitter).  You cannot DM someone if they are not following you. This can be annoying at times yet there are subtle ways of getting around this if you really do want to connect with them. You can use the @ signal to notify them.  My usual line to grab attention here is eg.  “  @name, I went to DM you yet you were not following me, tissues please..sniff sniff!” or something like that! I have then been followed back 90% of the time by these awesome people and gained some great exposure from them. I use this strategy with people who I believe have a big influence over the traditional media and social media crowd – it’s a winner.

8. # -means hashtag  : You create a hashtag simply by prefixing a word with a hash symbol: #hashtag. The hash mark (#) before a word in a tweet allows you to tag that tweet. Why would you use a hashtag? Use a hash tag if you want to track a conversation. An example of a popular hash tag is  #followfriday. Every Friday people nominate quality tweeters – eg. #followfriday @beebow @steitiyeh @mr_billiam  @a_web_designer@alblack @trevoryoung @robhartnett    @ rebeccamezziono @kirsty_wilson etc . You can then check out the hashtag and see if you want to follow these people, adding them to your follow base. Many #followfriday people I have followed from the request of others have been fantastic people, so it’s totally worth spending the time to do. These people above are great people to link up to for first follows! Gold!

So, I trust this post has made you feel a little bit more comfortable in your first few weeks on twitter – stick at it. You need patience, authenticity and most of all, you need to be yourself to get the most out of this powerful space (well that’s my opinion, and it’s working a treat)!  ;-)

One last thing.

Once you have signed up for twitter, install either 1) www.tweetdeck.com or 2) www.twitzap.com  . These platforms make it easier to manage twitter in real time. 

Has this post helped you to get started on twitter? Do you feel ready to get stuck into this heart pumping tool? I would love to know in the comments section below - click comments. 

We all know, as successful business owners, that networking is crucial for business growth and life!

Why? It’s a way to form tight nit relationships, trustworthy referrals, expose your personal brand ,a strong support network, a feeling of belonging, being surrounded around like minded people….the list goes on!

I have spoken to a few people of late who are saying Twitter is for the anti-social – people that are too scared or too lazy to hook up face to face! What a load of bull crap! I have been on Twitter for quite some time now AND my social fixes on Twitter are like injecting myself with 20 cans of Redbull!

 The relationships I have built up on Twitter are strong, powerful and true. Twitter is another form of networking and it can be done from the comfort of your own home to hit a global audience, I believe the people that say it’s anti – social just totally don’t get this space…YET!

A few weeks back I had a brain surge-and I nearly had to go into hospital!

I found that I was engaging in conversations with many people from Melbourne (where I live) on Twitter.  I don’t know about you, but when I tweet with people,  I picture in my mind the type of person they are, what they look like and also what their office/house looks like too? Random I know!

As a social media enthusiast and people lover who has a zest for life, I just had to fizz with these extraordinary twitterers.  They all gave me something on twitter – whether it was support, exposure, a belly full of laughs, referrals, business ….. I JUST HAD TO MEET THEM, face to face!

It was an absolute no brainer to take powerful relationships that I had made on twitter to a whole new level! We all know the power of twitter in lead gen, personal branding and networking. Combine this with an offline networking meet up and shaaazam – add another power marketing strategy to the business model!

@tweetupmellers was born – and for the first meet up,  22 of twitters top talent showed up ! If you are curious to see the  strength of this space then click on this !

My point? Online networking is gold. Combine this with offline networking then you have just hit the jackpot my friends!

Were any of the people that showed up lazy or anti social? Quite the contrary! They get this space and got straight in! They showed up, put in the time and by the end of the night our twitter network was stronger than ever. They all know, as you do that you have to put in the time, care about your network, give great content and be real! When you do THAT then the opportunities are endless.

Twitter is a social networking tool and it’s strength has now lead to an offline networking group too! Both are crucial to any business and both generate powerful results.

Twitter for the anti-social –ppppphffffft – check out @tweetupmellers and the group, then get back to me, wouldn’t you agree?

I have been buzzing around the on and offline world networking my butt off this week – oowww yeahr..Just the way I like it!

Networking on and offline is a MUST for any successful business owner and these two puppies will keep you super connected with your target market , enabling you to listen to their needs, emotionally connect and then provide! SHAZAM!

Let’s Refresh’s target market right now are not utilising this power space called Social media to the max - hence our blog! They seem to be  either curious to find out what all the buzz is about, are pumped and ready to dive in, or are sceptical of what social media can provide for their business.

That in mind, over the next few posts I’m going to introduce you to some super switched on biz people who I totally respect, and who are utilising the online networking world to the max AND  are reaping the rewards too!

Meet Kirsty Wilson

 http://www.interimbusiness.com.au/

I first met Kirsty on Twitter and decided to follow her as she gave out some quality tips, seemed open, warm and cheery (which added to the flow of my day) and she really knew how to connect and listen to her followers. I wanted in!  From here our relationship grew pretty quickly (that tends to happen on twitter if you choose to put in the hours). We were fizzing together so much that the next step forwards was to meet  face to face. I hooked up an interview with her as I believed Kirtsy’s story would assist my clients and readers  to “get this space” even more.

This video is totally transparent. I decided not to edit it as I wanted you to see the real Kirsty and hear all she had to say. Lap it up guys!

 I’m guessing you will take something from Kirstys sharing’s, whether it’s inspiration, evidence, knowledge or a great big smile – I know I certainly did!

If you would like to hook up with Kirsty on twitter and connect real time then hit this button now! She’s GOLD and more GOLD!

Well groovers, I hope you enjoyed the post…GET READY for the next installation of talent – see part 2! Wooharrr for Social Media …wooharrr power to the people at last! Was this post of value to you…I wanna know!

I am always looking for quirky and powerful ways to market the business online, whilst exposing our clients too! WIN WIN!Being a Web strategist, I need to keep it fresh, original and catchy for my target market and reader base. I also need to think about how I can increase good quality traffic to my website via the platforms and keywords I choose to use – then capture the viewers interest so as they keep coming back for more.

Last week I had a MASSIVE brain energy surge (thanks to my broken leg).You know the ones I mean right? Those entrepreneurial light bulb moments, that wake you up like a bolt of lightening…usually around 3.30ish in the morning! Shazam!  

Here is what the early morning hours injected me with. Why don’t I utilize my supportive leg cast as a means of advertising space? Here I can softly promote the outstanding businesses I consult for (Rob Hartnett and Think Tank Media) ah, and of course Let’s Refresh too!  This strategy could be used to gain exposure via all the juicy web2.0 platforms in a unique, catchy and extremely powerful way. Now stick with me here!

Click here to see how we did this. It was such a fun and entertaining ‘cast paint branding session’ guys, with a few gin and tonics thrown in….because we can!

We used many platforms to expose the leg cast in a text based, picture and video format, this gained us an unexpectedly high amount of traffic and attention! We received a whole bunch of emails, tweets and we even saw people sharing this with their friends .Yet why? 

I put my inspector cluedo hat on (I do have one you know!)   and delved deeper.  I asked my trusty followers on twitter why they were sharing this. Here are some of the answers I received:

1.       Business owners saw it as a way to gain THEMSELVES attention-immediately (on twitter). Interesting hey!

2.        They wanted to help me out (sometimes people love to assist others, they find it easier to promote other people rather than        themselves-gotta love human behaviour for this-use it to your advantage guys!)

3.       Using our quirky pictures and videos got them more click throughs to their own websites.

4.        They believed their follow base on twitter increased due to “retweeting  this” (sharing my post on twitter via their tweets) .

5.       It got them thinking outside of the box, with new ways to promote their own business.

6.       They had a resource, some material and content that they could write about in their blog posts. Blush blush!

We even got asked how much would it cost to advertise on the cast! Hmmm… interesting!!!!So, they were using our pictures as a way to gain themselves attention yet at the same time, they were passing on our message (WIN bloody WIN)!

This is why social media and social networking works – I love it!  It’s all about word of mouth (and THAT my friends is one of the fastest ways to gain exposure, attention and build up a trust worthy fan base for you business – then drive traffic to your site).

What did I (as a small business owner) take from this, apart from a whole bunch of ideas and some quality feedback? Plain and simple – a new strategy to our business plan.  Let’s Refresh can now utilise Web2.0 even more. By using this strategy we can add value to our clients by gaining them some powerful and free exposure, yet at the same time we get a healthy promoting session too.

Each month we decided we would offer one of our lucky clients the opportunity to be promoted exclusively in an extremely quirky and catchy way- I’m excited already! When I say promoted, what I mean by this is giving them viral exposure, growing their presence through the wonderful web2.0 platforms (eg. on our blog, twitter, facebook, flickr, bookmarks, youtube plus many of the video platforms we use and drive traffic to their site too). It will be unique, catchy, and different! It also raises my heart rate above 100BPM, and I’m guessing you now me by now, I love that!

 Have a think about what you have just read!

How can you use web2.0 to shamelessly market your business?

How can you add value to your clients/target market through the Web2.0 platforms?

How can you make it fresh, different, catchy and at the same time make it a win win?

Click the comments section below-I’m really interested to hear what you come up with. If you need any quick ideas then feel free to comment too and I will get straight back to you!

I’m in England right now – God save the Queen…and all that Jazz!  (If you are curious to know why – then click here – Sam’s youtube video  ).

Any how, I have many friends in the UK that own their own businesses, from small business start ups to companies increasingly expanding. Now, I must say, if I’m passionate about something and know it works then you can’t shut me up….I’ve been told I can be a little full on at times! FULL ON…come on…..if you’re passionate about something and know it works then why not share, especially if you know it’s going to boost their business and gain them more exposure!

Right now,  one of the strategies I am utilising with my clients (to gain exposure and push them up the Google rankings) involves blogging. I luuurve da blog –   INNIT!  (said in a cockney London accent!).

Why???? Well, I’ll go into that on my next post, yet firstly I’m guessing some of you may not know what a blog is, so I will break it down.

What is a business blog?

A business blog is also known as a web blog. It’s basically a journal with software that is installed into your computer.  It has a content management system (a system where you can control the content) and uses a data base and a scripting language….blah blah. Yet, the main feature of a blog is that YOU can contribute messages (posts) into this and have full control over it. POWER TO THE PEOPLE – AKA – WEB 2.0!

A blog is like a website yet far more powerful (in my eyes) as it’s interactive and engaging (Web2.0), that’s if your website hasn’t been all web2.0ed up yet!

Your business blog is like a diary. It can contain tips about your products, success stories about your clients, quality information about what your target market would like to read, who is in your team (a personal version from the heart..with pictures or video) etc.  It’s you – you are your brand! Remember, you are helping people and engaging them in the conversation, you are giving them previews of what’s new and what’s coming up – there are so many exciting things a business blog can write about. I’m going to burst!

So why blog?

As mentioned above, a lot of my friends run businesses, and the usual questions they ask  me are :  “what shall I do to increase traffic to my business web site” and  “what shall I do to let people know my business exists” “how can I sell more  and position myself as an expert, whilst banding  myself”, to name just a few! My first answer..honestly…  START A BLOG!!!!

So, why am I so aweeeeeeeeeeeeeeee  about  blogging?

Ok, think about a normal website for a sec, (static website) that has not been web2.0ed up…by us  :-) ! It’s pretty much like a brochure, wouldn’t you agree? So many websites we upgrade are like printed brochures in an online form (web 1.0). BORING! There are usually a few pages that describe what the business does, how they do it and their vision/mission along with the services they provide. The language is usually in marketing speak; you know the ones, right? Can I be honest and straight to the point?  People get bored and distracted by this; they’re more interested in how you can help them (what’s in it for them), how can you relieve their pain! Or fulfil their pleasure!

Think about this..then read our “Why blog?” and “How to blog for business success” in the next coming blog posts – be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out!

If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave comments below (you can leave comments by clicking the comments link under the tweet this link) – I can assure you I will get back to you in the shake of a lambs tail …or something like that!  (Also share this on facebook and/or tweet it)  if you believe it’s a great post using the buttons below!) I will be tracking these!  :-) Whoop whoop!

 I’m so pleased you asked! The simple fact that you are here right now shows me that more and more businesses, like yourself, are looking to understand and utilise this powerful platform and the strategies available to make business simpler, easier and more productive online. 

This post has been specifically written for the Freshies out there – I love working with you guys because you get me to think right back to the basics! The fun stuff!

Ok, I believe to gain a better understanding of Web 2.0, Web 1.0 would be the first step to move you forwards.

What is Web 1.0?  When you search on the web and pull up a site, a web 1.0 site tends to be a read only site (1 way communication). You get shown some information and then…..you read it. There is very little in the way of interacting with you or how you can contribute with content. However, in its day, this is exactly what most business owners online wanted. Their goal for a website was to create an online presence then make their information available to anyone at any time.

Yet the world has moved on, thank goodness. Whoop whoop!  More and more people are using the web to interact and connect these days (business and pleasure) and it’s all thanks to Web2.0!

What is web 2.0? Web 2.0 creates a platform to interact, communicate, share information and build up strong relationships – and it’s all through a screen on your computer or mobile phone. Imagine the power that this has within business-your business!

Already, I am starting to form an opinion in your head! You may be starting to warm to me and like the way I communicate with you, leading you to subscribe to my blog…or not!

 I’m using this Web 2.0 platform (a blog) to share with you my knowledge, opinion and I trust inspire you, compelling you to act! The most successful way to use this platform for your business all boils down to TRUST! If you trust, like and respect someone then you are more than likely to talk about them, buy from them or work with them for a win win!

Hosted services like social-networking sites, video sharing sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies have led to the development and evolution of web culture communities – and I love them! Choose which ones best meet your business goals then start to work your strategy from there – and most importantly BE YOURSELF!

Here is another view on Web 2.0 by Tim O’Reilly

“Like many important concepts, Web 2.0 doesn’t have a hard boundary, but rather, a gravitational core. You can visualize Web 2.0 as a set of principles and practices that tie together a veritable solar system of sites that demonstrate some or all of those principles, at a varying distance from that core.  

Some eg’s of Web 2.O platforms you may know of.

Face book, Twitter, You-tube, Blogs, Linkedin etc

I trust I have shed some light on What is Web 2.0? Feel free to use this web 2.0 based platform right now to share or contribute your thoughts and feelings through the wonderful world of Web 2.0 space! I’m really looking forward to reading your comments! Whoopa!