Social Media Marketing – How Good Is Your On-Line Profile Picture?
A picture is worth a thousand words. And one picture can convey, or not convey, an enormous amount of info about your brand.
These days you are the brand. It doesn’t matter too much if you are working for a company or working for yourself, part of the recognition of your brand, is well, you. With so much to think about, updating your website, current business cards, social media updating, it’s all too easy to forget to include a good picture of yourself in all of these things. As a photographer it’s a pet peeve of mine, when people don’t promote with a good headshot. They will grab a quick webcam shot or use a pic that was taken at a function and crop everyone else out. Or worse they use a headshot from a decade ago, never bothering to update it.
Ideally the image should be of you smiling, looking relaxed and approachable. And you should update it often. Subconsciously when people first discover you, especially online, they are sizing you up. If you are advancing your career and building your business, you want a shot that is friendly, but still professional. It can be casual, but professionally shot as casual is a good idea.
Take a look at the shots you have now that you use. The one on your business card (always great branding to put your mug on your card), the one on your website, the one on your social networks. Is it old? Is it just a snapshot that looks good? Did you grab it this AM with your webcam?
Is it time to crank it up a notch or two into something that means business?
Speaking Events In September
Just a quick note to mention a couple of events I will be speaking at this month in Portland Maine:
Social Media FTW Fall Conference – September 23 PODCASTING
Rich Brooks, Chrystie Corns and Jaica Kinsman have created a Fall conference centered on social media education for small business owners, professional marketers and enterprise level executives. Sure to be a regional who’s who of social media (and that’s just the attendees!) come and join us for a fun and educational day with a terrific lineup of speakers. I will be speaking about Podcasting with my fellow pod-bud Fred Abaroa. We’ll show you how to get into the podcast market, promoting and producing your own shows. It will be a fun time, click on the link above for info about registering.
Web Profit: Using the Internet to Market Your Business – September 22 – Topic: SOCIAL MEDIA
Time Warner Cable is hosting a seminar focused on developing your businesss using the latest web technologies. You’ll learn about Twitter, Facebook and other tools, as well as have a chance to mingle and network with many local business people. I’ll be speaking on Social Media, what is currently the best on-line roads to take and what is coming up next. Admission is free, click the link above for more info on reserving your space.
Hope you can attend at least one of these events…looking forward to seeing everyone! 
(I currently speak on social media, creative career development, new media production, podcasting, photography, on-line video production, web technologies and on-line marketing. If you have an event coming up and would like me to cover these or related topics, drop me an email at frank@fmstudio.com)
http://www.franklinmcmahon.com
http://www.fmstudio.com
http://www.twitter.com/franklinmcmahon
http://www.facebook.com/franklinmcmahon
Facebook Vs. Twitter: Facebook Adds Facebook Lite And Facebook Tagging
UPDATE: Facebook @mentions tagging is now live for all Facebook users (details below)
Facebook continues to add more features that make usability better and better. Clearly influenced from Twitter the two latest features this week are Facebook Lite and Facebook Tagging.
Facebook Lite
Facebook Lite is a stripped down version of the website that runs fast and eliminates a lot of the current clutter. The first thing you will notice missing are apps, you won’t see any applications or games/quizzes clogging up your timeline. I use the “Hide” feature seemingly daily on my timeline to filter this stuff out, but now in the new Lite version there are gone. Also noticications now appear in the Lite version on the bottom of your screen, keep an eye out for them because at first you may miss them as they pop up. Highlights are gone in the Lite verion, these were all the photos, videos and notes that were most viewed in your network.
The new Lite version was originally built for foreign countries where high speed broadband was less likely to be found. But the interface was so fast and furious that it was introduced this week on a wider scale, including here in the States, as an alternative option.
Below you can see several screen shots. The first is the “old” Facebook timeline, followed by the new Lite timeline. The third shot is the new Lite profile screen, which features bigger buttons and a much cleaner interface:
Facebook Tagging
Another very cool feature rolled out this week is Facebook Tagging. Very similar to Twitter, you can now tag people as you post a status update. You can see this in the screenshot above. It is done by using the “@” symbol before their name. You can also tag groups and pages. What is cool is that when you start to type in a name or group, Facebook automatically pops up suggestions to make it easier. The person you tagged will be notified (same as Photo Tagging works now) and also if someone is reading your status update they can click on the person’s name to go direct to their profile.
Facebook Tagging is available now for some and will roll out for everyone in the coming week or two, so keep an eye out for this powerful new feature.
If you would like to try out Facebook Lite, just go to http://lite.facebook.com
Facebook has been focused and agressive on improvng their service and these two great options are very welcome. I already love the new Lite version after using it for only a day or so and will be putting it through the paces in the coming week. Give it a try!
Is Your Social Media Content For Your Fans A Dead Zone?
Everyone wants a following on the web, everyone wants fans, people who are checking in to see what you are up to. Producing content helps to promote you, it helps to promote your business. But think about what you are providing, what amount of original content do you produce on a weekly basis?
Let’s take Twitter for example. What do you send out to share when you are on Twitter? A new article on Mashable? A link to a post on 12 favorite designer tips by someone else? Are you spending a lot of time promoting other people’s work and websites? Or are you sending out your own content, a new blog post, new video, audio clip, photo work, an interview that was done with you, a new project you are working on? Your thoughts, your art, your work? What original content was created this week that could not have happened without you?
As your following grows, you begin to peak people’s interest in you more and more, they will start to search on content that involves you. They will go to your website, check out your social networks, start investigating. They start to like you, they want more, so what can you provide them? Take a look at anyone who has been successful in branding themselves on the web. They almost always have a large selection of archived and weekly new content that they are dishing out. It keeps people coming back. It ensures that people are sending around their links.
Conversations happen all the time on the web and when you become vocal people will become intrigued with you and look for more about you. Ideally it is good to have a body of work that is constantly being added to so people can get to know you better.
When you build your following people will start to like you. As you grow bigger, people will start to like you and a lot will start to dislike you. Once you start getting anti-fans, you know you are making it. If everyone pretty much universally likes you online, work to become bigger and/or more vocal.
Now I know, creating content is time consuming. But it should be done if you want to grow your presence online. And it does not have to be perfect, it just needs to be developed and released on an ongoing basis. You only need to look at the people you admire and respect online to see how they are building a following. They will often have a lot of clients, business and connections online, because their volume of content has drawn people in. Instead of working at trying to make contacts and potential clients on social networks, searching for connections, they build their own network of content and info, then people come to them.
Conversations are nice to have online. But conversations about you and your work are even better.
What have you sent out to the web this week that brings people into your brand?
Media Artist Secrets TV #5 – No More Starting Monday
No More Starting Monday – This episode we discuss goal creation and then immediate action, don’t delay the start until Monday, build the momentum when the idea first starts to take shape – hosted by Franklin McMahon
This video is partially based on this blog post – No More Starting Monday – Don’t Delay Success
Watch the show in HD on YouTube or on Facebook
NEW! – Subscribe to “Media Artist Secrets TV” in iTunes
This show is all about the business of being creative, advancing your creative career and ramping up your empire. Each episode will feature creative career development advice and inspiration, cool guests, new thoughts and ideas. Join the conversation by leaving a comment, let me know what you think.
Thanks for checking it out.
http://www.FranklinMcMahon.com
http://www.fmstudio.com
http://www.Facebook.com/FranklinMcMahon
http://www.Twitter.com/FranklinMcMahon
Maine Magazine Launch Party Video
I shot/edited a couple of video pieces on last week’s Maine Magazine Launch Party. Maine Magazine has a bright future ahead of it and the launch party was a good indication! Check out the clips below:
Watch HD version of Maine Magazine Launch Party on Facebook
Watch HD version of Interviews from Maine Magazine Launch Party on Facebook
How to Build a High-Traffic Blog Without Killing Yourself – Tim Ferriss
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know I genuflect to the church of Tim Ferriss, the author of “The 4-Hour Work Week”. His book and methods have been a constant inspiration. This talk in particular, given in 2009 at the San Francisco WordCamp, has a lot of great takeaways.
The talk centers around developing and maintaining a blog (which was helpful to me with this blog relaunch) but he also covers many topics such as efficient ways to use Twitter, researching topics to share, having fun is not wasting time and even out-sourcing his love life(!). In addition he discusses covering blog topics that are “evergreen” and timeless, and not to chase the news and current trends, which is a stance I continue to agree with and try to maintain. Check out his blog if you get a chance, a really rich community of smart people striving for improved lifestyle design.
Lots of great info in this video and a perfect primer if you are starting a blog, want to reignite your current site or just develop a community to share ideas and info with your followers.
Social Media Tango – 4 Ways To Dance With Facebook And Twitter
It’s kind of like a dance isn’t it? Your involvement with social networks often involves some skill, some finesse, some fancy footwork and perfecting of the craft. It’s not enough to be on the networks, it is important to work the networks. How can you get your movements smoother and more productive? Here are 4 quick tips to get the most out of social media:
1. State Your Real Location
Where do you live? On Twitter it’s fun to put something like “Everywhere” as your location or a foreign country. Unfortunately you are excluding yourself from local clients who may be searching. I myself often search for talent by using Twitter apps for the iPhone, some have a “nearby” search which shows people in my area. But some never add their actual real location so I never see them. There are numerous online tools for search and if your location is not indicated on either Facebook or Twitter, you may not be noticed. Having the same real location listed on Twitter and Facebook lets local people find you easier.
2. Beef Up Your Profile
This can take only about 15 minutes, but really spend some time adding all your web links, email, business info on Facebook. Often I get a friend request and after looking at their sidebar and their info tab I quite literally have no idea what they do. Both the Facebook sidebar as well as the info tab allow links, so add in all your websites, portfolios, contact info and what you do for a living. Fill out your About Me section with your bio. Make it as extensive as you can. Facebook recently updated their search engine to make it more expansive, so having keywords and relevant info in your profile is a good idea. Twitter currently has less room for a detailed profile, but use that limited space to get right to the point about what you do. Ensure that both networks tell the same story via your info and bio.
3. Intermingle Your Networks
Post your Facebook profile on Twitter, add your Twitter address to your Facebook contact info. Tango back and forth between the networks and share your info, it’s always handy to have your Twitter fans follow you to your Facebook page and your Facebook fans hook up with you on Twitter. Once you realize the serendipity between the two you can work towards moving fans and connections from one to the other. Instead of posting a link to images or videos on external sites, post your content on your Facebook page and then link to them via Twitter. Draw people in. Facebook has various controls to maintain security, so make sure if you start linking to your Facebook page you check your settings to open the privacy a bit so people can check in.
4. Promote In Unison
I am seeing more and more Twitter addresses on business cards but less Facebook URLs. Promote them both equally. Facebook has advanced resources for telling stories through images, video and text notes, so use your page as a showcase to involve people. Try to make sure that your Twitter friends are also your Facebook friends and vice versa. If your personal Facebook profile starts to ramp up to be more geared to your business, break out and develop a Facebook Page to host your content. The great thing about social networks is you can be discovered fairly easily. If you promote them both and develop content, those who do discover you can quickly get a taste for what you do. Try to have your Twitter and Facebook link in everything, from your email signature to your website.
Give these tips a try, expand your story, write up a beefier profile, intermingle between networks and then get the word out, make sure if people know you, they know how to find you on social networks.
http://facebook.franklinmcmahon.com
http://twitter.franklinmcmahon.com
(If you have a web domain, set up subdomains like the above that forward to your social network pages, there is often no extra cost to do this)
http://www.FranklinMcMahon.com
Media Artist Secrets Blog / TV Show
How To Use Google’s Wonder Wheel
I’ve been having a lot of fun searching for topics and keywords using the new Google Wonder Wheel. It is a new feature that Google slipped in to it’s search engine recently without too much fanfare, but it’s a fairly powerful option to find topics that interest you, keywords that might be useful for web marketing and tracking online trends.
First do a normal Google search, any topic will do. Then click the “Show options…” in the upper left.
So I have typed a topic near and dear to my heart “media artist” and up pops some links and once again my headshot that I am sure you need to see a few more times.
So when I click the show options I can go down the left side (image above) and choose “Wonder wheel” which pops up a graphic very similair to a mind map. In fact I can click on any of the links and another circle of links will show up.
It’s very easy to use but it really taps into related keywords that up until now have been tougher to figure out for non-SEO experts. Now with a click or two you can drill down to topics directly related, according to Google, to the topic you put in. If you do any kind of online marketing, branding or social media work, this is a pretty compelling way to track trends and topics that are related.
Give the Google Wonder Wheel a try, you may find you’ll discover some new markets and niche areas you did not even know existed.
Your Career: If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It
If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It.
This is one of my favorite quotes (from Tony Robbins) and one that can apply to just about anything, from career goals, to daily tasks, to projects, to new missions, to everything you want to make progress on. Athletes often write down reps at the gym, they take out a pad and note the amount of repetitive exercises they perform. For some it’s the only way to track the progress, because as you get better you can perform more reps.
Measuring can be seen as tracking the progress of your goals. It’s one thing to create projects and daily to-do’s, but often it’s not until you start measuring that you can really see the progress you are making. The element often left out of the career of many creative artists is to step back and chart the progress, look at the bigger picture to see what directions you go and how far you’ve come.
For example, let’s say you wanted to gain some new clients. You network, make some connections, send out some inquiries, pass out cards, the usual. You may get some or you may not. But what if you wrote down that you wanted to connect with 5 new potential clients this week? And as you connected, you marked it down. Or perhaps to give out 5 business cards a week. Suddenly it not only becomes a goal, but there is some added pressure to achieve it. In addition, you can now track the progress, 5 this week, 5 next. Soon you will be seeing 10 targets accomplished, then 20, then 50. You won’t be looking back over a month and fishing around pondering how you did, you’ll have it all written down.
Give the measuring / tracking process a try. Again this is much different than writing down goals, doing tasks and checking them off. Most of us do that now. Try measuring and charting your actions, steering them towards specific outcomes. Create some targets. You may find that weekly hectic work cycles suddenly become more clear when you can see your progress and more importantly feel like you are making progress.
Can you measure it? Can you manage it?
Media Artist Secrets TV #4 – Daily Creative Career Inspiration
On this episode of Media Artist Secrets TV we discuss Daily Creative Career Inspiration. Getting a daily mental workout is key to building up your career. Here are some tips on how to make time to incorporate development into your work week, as well as some author suggestions including Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey, Timothy Ferriss and David Allen.
This video is partially based on this blog post – 4 Expert Tips From 4 Career Development Gurus
Watch the show in HD on YouTube or on Facebook
NEW! – Subscribe to “Media Artist Secrets TV” in iTunes
This show is all about the business of being creative, advancing your creative career and ramping up your empire. Each episode will feature creative career development advice and inspiration, cool guests, new thoughts and ideas. Join the conversation by leaving a comment, let me know what you think.
Thanks for checking it out.
http://www.FranklinMcMahon.com
http://www.fmstudio.com
http://www.Facebook.com/FranklinMcMahon
http://www.Twitter.com/FranklinMcMahon
4 Steps To Avoid Having A Generic Career
First let me say that someone has to be generic. Lots of things need to get done and not everyone can be a superstar. But what if you want more? What if you want to rise to a higher level in your career? I am sure you have seen lots of perfectly fine people, producing content, shooting video, writing on blogs, doing tutorials, entertaining with their craft such as audio, video, graphics, design, film, web or other types of media art.
They are good. They are not bad enough to be discounted and yet not entirely compelling enough to be followed. They are just kind of there.
Here are some ideas I have to take your career higher. To avoid being generic:
1. Convey the passion
It really does not matter what you do, it only matters that you get others excited about what you do. If you are doing something you really are passionate about it’s important to get that feeling out on a weekly basis to everyone you can. We’ve all been pitched by people who are completely competent and spell things out logically, but there is no juice to it. And we’ve also heard people who are immersed in what they are doing and can’t wait to tell the world about it. The more you get your feelings and passion out there, the more people will sit up and take notice. Opportunities come not usually from being skilled in your industry, they come from first impressions and the fact that you can engage and entrance people. Confidence about your craft, passion about your industry, mix in some ego and shake vigorously.
2. Market the difference
You could be a web designer, photographer, graphic designer, marketing person, video producer or anyone creative. When you enter an industry you are entering a very large mass of people doing the same. But what is your twist? What is the hook? How are you different than your peers and competition? Try to find out what that difference is and market it. You need to figure out what separates you from the pack. Once you can nail that down, start getting it out there. Because potential clients and people becoming aware of you may be looking at a lot of people offering the same. Help them choose.
3. Get the word out
This could be a blog, a podcast, press releases, interviews, networking, email newsletter, whatever you need to do, get the word out on a regular basis about what you are doing. Don’t worry about the style, don’t try to craft everything you introduce to perfection, just get stuff out there. Show you are busy, show you are active, show you are everywhere. Keep people thinking of you. Keep them coming back. Often the most successful people are not the most talented, they are the people hustling. They seem to be everywhere, their projects and work flow out on a regular basic for the world to see. Keep the tides moving.
4. Find your voice
Look at anyone you admire. This could be an international person, star, business person. It could be a local mentor, associate, friend. What is it about them? What do they have that others do not? Perhaps they have a large following, they have been very successful in their business. What is their secret? Often it just boils down to the fact that they searched and found something they love to do or something they were good at. The first 3 steps here all are some part of it, but the core is finding your voice. It is sometimes what we would rather be doing. Start to shift to that. Move towards what you really want to do. You don’t have to be amazingly skilled in it, chances are you may not be (yet), but start to shift to your true calling. If you try enough things and take chances, you’ll eventually hit on some things you really are passionate about. Once you enter that realm, you can do the above steps, it will be easy to convey the passion, you will love telling the world about it and you’ll have a thing or two that should set you apart from the rest doing something similar. Keep in mind your voice changes over time, the career you have now is fine, but it may be time to move on. You may be on the tail end and it may be time for a new calling. Always continue to explore. Also once you find your voice, speak your mind. Let your opinions and thoughts come through. It sets you apart and people will feel more connected if they find you have something original or unique to say.
What about you? Are any of these steps now in your current career? Are they worth incorporating?
Media Artist Secrets TV Now In iTunes
It’s official, Media Artist Secrets TV is now available in iTunes. Each episode features a topic devoted to developing your creative career. The show started as an audio podcast and won the Best Business Podcast award at the Podcast Expo a few years back in California. In fact the audio podcast is still in iTunes, you can get that right here. The new video version will be shorter ciips running about 5 minutes and although it is geared toward creative professionals, such as graphic designers, musicians, artists, actors, web developers, social media experts and other artists working with all forms of media, the show’s concepts can be applied by anyone who is running a business. The topics are designed to really get you thinking about where you are headed, as well as expand your reach, audience, skills and success.
The show will also be available on Facebook, YouTube and many other video sites, but if you want to get the latest episodes and download them, then click the link below. And if you enjoy the show, please leave a review on iTunes.
Since this is a group project, I want your input on topic ideas, guest suggestions and anything I can do to make the show better as we progress.
Thanks for watching and thanks for the support. Lots of great stuff planned for the show including special guests..it’s gonna be a fun ride!
Creative Career Surfing – Are You Catching The Big Waves?
I like to surf. I like to look for big waves. Career big waves.
To be successful you always have to keep an eye out for the next big wave. Plus be able to ride it. There are basically two ways to run your creative career.
There are those that ride the waves. When the waves tend to be not as big, they look to other beaches. They move there.
Often they find that this new beach, or rather this new market, is just starting to get popular. Waves are getting bigger and bigger each day. This is a good place to be.
Then there are those who never leave the same beach, who stay with their same services, their same marketplace. When the waves die down, they stand there. Up to their knees in still waters. They look backward and think about the big waves from the past. They worry and stress about the future, they anticipate waves will be smaller from now on. They think, well that is just how it goes.
They don’t even notice the others who have moved to new beaches, enjoying new emerging markets, who are fluid and mobile with their skills, career and talents. Still they continue to stay at the same beach.
Your career has to shift and move, you have to move to new markets, keep an eye on what is next and work to anticipate it. If your current scenario is not working, move to a new beach. It may be similar to your old beach, just bigger waves. Keep looking off into the distance, keep looking for upcoming options.
I like to surf. I like to look for big waves. Career big waves.
I have practically done this my whole career. But my focus is on bigger waves on other beaches I have yet to explore. And I usually can catch them.
Am I the best surfer? Not really. So what’s my secret?
Always be looking.
And have great binoculars.
