Everyone has been wondering how Twitter will begin to monetize its traffic volume. Promoted Tweets, Promoted Trends and Promoted Accounts are already a part of the Twitter business model. A promoted Twitter account is featured in search results and within the Who To Follow section, Twitter’s account recommendation engine that identifies similar accounts and followers to guide users to discover new businesses, content, and people on Twitter.

Soon, Twitter’s Enhanced Profile Pages will permit brands to display their logos more prominently, let them “pin” tweets to the top of their timelines and have selected tweets automatically expand to display YouTube clips or other content. These are just a few of the new features announced along with 21 initial beta brand partners launching Twitter Business Pages. Brand pages for nonprofits and individuals are on the way.

As small businesses become more familiar with new techniques of engagement using social media marketing tools, they are allocating more time to engage their target audiences. That’s the findings revealed in the latest November, 2011 report from marketing specialist Constant Contact. A full 81 percent reported using social media to market their businesses, up from 73 percent in the spring of 2011. Click for the Key Findings of this report.

Twitter is quickly regaining ground as usage surged in the last six months, from 60 percent in spring 2011 to 76 percent in November. Effectiveness scores also improved across certain key social media marketing channels in just six months, with 60 percent of those using Twitter finding it effective for marketing their business, up from 47 percent in spring 2011.

Infographic by Constant Contact

The "LinkedIn Guru" Wayne Breitbarth

But, I was one of them and I came equipped to deal with the dilemma. With Wayne’s permission, I recorded the entire event on HD video and will share the highlights at our next Social Media Breakfast Door County event on Wednesday, October 19 in Ellison Bay at Brew Coffeehouse. Proprietor, Jennifer Lee is baking a coffee cake, which will be available at 9 am for a 1/2 hour of socializing. The presentation will begin at 9:30 am and will include large-screen projected videos and a discussion of Wayne’s 6 Power Tips for LinkedIn. The presentation was exceptional at Glas, and I look forward to sharing it with you.

A business leader himself, Wayne Breitbarth is an owner of M&M Office Interiors in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. Prior to his involvement in the office furniture business, he spent nearly twenty years in the automotive industry. Wayne is also the founder of Urban Promise, a youth mentoring program that brings together business professionals and high school students in Milwaukee Public Schools.

As a LinkedIn expert, he has inspired audiences at many of Milwaukee’s most prominent companies and organizations as well as nationally, at conventions, industry association events and corporate training sessions. Wayne’s diverse business experience, pragmatic teaching style, and infectious sense of humor have earned him the praise of the press, branding him as the “LinkedIn Guru.”

Wayne is continually asked to speak at Executive Agenda (EA), YPO and TEC meetings as well as CEO Roundtables, where his thirty years of experience as a business owner and manager enables him to help his peers understand how social media can benefit their companies.

“LinkedIn does many things really well, but based on my personal experiences, feedback from my audiences and my semiannual LinkedIn user surveys, the three things LinkedIn users find most beneficial are researching, networking and marketing,” says Breitbarth. “The moment we get our profile up, most of us old-school business folk want LinkedIn to produce lots of sales. Well, that’s probably not going to happen. On the other hand, those people who are spending time improving their researching, networking, and marketing techniques are certainly seeing an increase in their sales.”

Wayne has compiled his tactics in a new book, “The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success: Kick-Start Your Business, Brand, and Job Search” (March 2011, Greenleaf Book Group). His book is a simple, user-friendly guide aimed at the experienced business professional who is either skeptical about LinkedIn or looking for ways to more effectively use this cutting-edge tool.

“Have a well-defined, documented strategy so you can measure your results or forget it. Your time would be better spent enjoying your favorite hobby or leisure activity,” says Breitbarth. “It doesn’t bother me when someone comes to my class and says, ‘Great, I get it now, but I don’t see how it will work for me; so I am going to pass.’ Bravo to that person. At least he is on to the next new idea or thought about how he is going to grow his network and business.”

Check out his book for yourself by downloading a free chapter at: www.powerformula.net.

“The combination of Wayne Breitbarth’s passion for the power of social networking and his real-world business experience, deep knowledge, mastery of LinkedIn and his skill as a trainer make the ‘The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success’ a real standout.” – Frank Martinelli, President of the Center for Public Skills Training.

You can email SMBDC founder, stephen.kastner@smbdc.com or call 920.256.9449 with questions on SMBDC’s monthly meetups taking place at various, random locations all around Door County. More information is available online at SMBDC.com and at www.facebook.com/SMBDC.

Click to RSVP if you want to and invite your Facebook Friends…

The "LinkedIn Guru" Wayne Breitbarth

Wayne Breitbarth has instructed more than 10,000 business people on how to effectively use LinkedIn, the professional networking site, since he began moonlighting as a trainer in early 2009. A business leader himself, Wayne Breitbarth is an owner of M&M Office Interiors in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. Prior to his involvement in the office furniture business, he spent nearly twenty years in the automotive industry. Wayne is also the founder of Urban Promise, a youth mentoring program that brings together business professionals and high school students in Milwaukee Public Schools.

As a LinkedIn expert, he has inspired audiences at many of Milwaukee’s most prominent companies and organizations as well as nationally, at conventions, industry association events and corporate training sessions. Wayne’s diverse business experience, pragmatic teaching style, and infectious sense of humor have earned him the praise of the press, branding him as the “LinkedIn Guru.”

Wayne is continually asked to speak at Executive Agenda (EA), YPO and TEC meetings as well as CEO Roundtables, where his thirty years of experience as a business owner and manager enables him to help his peers understand how social media can benefit their companies. On Friday, September 30 from 9 – 10:30 am the Social Media Breakfast Door County (SMBDC) group will feature Breitbarth, revealing his Power Formula for LinkedIn success and a few of his advanced LinkedIn techniques and strategies in Sturgeon Bay at Glas, the Green Coffeehouse. His diverse business experience also allows him to share real-life stories and illustrations as he educates, motivates and entertains audiences across the country. There is no charge to attend.

“LinkedIn does many things really well, but based on my personal experiences, feedback from my audiences and my semiannual LinkedIn user surveys, the three things LinkedIn users find most beneficial are researching, networking and marketing,” says Breitbarth. “The moment we get our profile up, most of us old-school business folk want LinkedIn to produce lots of sales. Well, that’s probably not going to happen. On the other hand, those people who are spending time improving their researching, networking, and marketing techniques are certainly seeing an increase in their sales.”

Wayne has compiled his tactics in a new book, “The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success: Kick-Start Your Business, Brand, and Job Search” (March 2011, Greenleaf Book Group). His book is a simple, user-friendly guide aimed at the experienced business professional who is either skeptical about LinkedIn or looking for ways to more effectively use this cutting-edge tool.

“Have a well-defined, documented strategy so you can measure your results or forget it. Your time would be better spent enjoying your favorite hobby or leisure activity,” says Breitbarth. “It doesn’t bother me when someone comes to my class and says, ‘Great, I get it now, but I don’t see how it will work for me; so I am going to pass.’ Bravo to that person. At least he is on to the next new idea or thought about how he is going to grow his network and business.”

Check out his book for yourself by downloading a free chapter at: www.powerformula.net. He will have copies available at Glas for purchase and signing.

“The combination of Wayne Breitbarth’s passion for the power of social networking and his real-world business experience, deep knowledge, mastery of LinkedIn and his skill as a trainer make the ‘The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success’ a real standout.” – Frank Martinelli, President of the Center for Public Skills Training.

You can email SMBDC founder, stephen.kastner@smbdc.com or call 920.256.9449 with questions on SMBDC’s monthly meetups taking place at various, random locations all around Door County. More information is available online at SMBDC.com and at www.facebook.com/SMBDC.

DesignWise Studios of Door County Get a free copy of the new 70-page YouTube Creator Playbook helping you build your video audience online. They promise regular updates… very cool! 5 hours ago · Like · 2 comments

So, this post is serving a dual role: announcing the ebook and also testing this cool little tool called SocialDitto, that lets us embed Facebook posts and comments into the body of an article.

The era of interactive choice and the emergence of vast social networks marks the end of Tell-and-Sell advertising, replaced by authentic Word-of-Mouth sharing, comments, reviews and ratings.

Andy Sernovitz teaches word-of-mouth marketing to the biggest brands and to thousands of entrepreneurs and small businesses. He is a popular keynote speaker and CEO of GasPedal and Socialmedia.org. He is also the President Emeritus of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) and teaches word of mouth marketing at Northwestern University. An 18-year veteran of the interactive marketing business, Andy has spent years helping companies learn how to do fantastic marketing. He taught entrepreneurship at The Wharton School, ran a business incubator, and started half a dozen companies.

I get his regular tips via e-mail and today’s #242 covers, “How to get employees involved in word of mouth.” It deserves to be shared in full:

The people on your payroll can be a powerful word of mouth force if you equip them with the training, the tools, and the motivation to do it right. How to get started:

1. Give them guidelines
2. Give them tools
3. Give them status

1. Give them guidelines

Create simple rules and guidelines for your employees on how to engage with fans and customers. It’s not about creating restrictions, it’s about straightforward education on how they can participate in conversations about you honestly and ethically — and most employees are happy to be shown the boundaries. And when you do, start by teaching these 10 magic words: “I work for _____ and this is my personal opinion.”

2. Give them tools

To help your talkers tell friends about you, you need to put tools in their hands — and your employees are no different. Try giving them coupons, friends and family discount codes, leaked information, beta tests, or product samples. And when you find something that really gets your employees sharing, there’s a good chance it’ll work for your external fans too.

3. Give them status

Want your internal experts to get more involved in online forums or industry groups? Declare them your company’s subject matter experts on the topics they know best and help them get involved in blogging, online communities, events, or local groups. Or on a larger scale, try creating an ambassador program that gives employees the product expertise (and the VIP status) to go out and engage customers on behalf of your brand.

Free Social Commentary Triage Poster

The #1 step requires establishing a set of company-wide standards, providing employees with a set of guidelines on how to interact as a spokesperson for the organization on social media. We have created the DesignWise-Social-Commentary-Triage Poster that outlines a step-by-step set of guidelines to help staff evaluate and respond to “the good, the bad and the ugly” in social media posts and comments. Now, it’s up to you to create #2, the tools and #3, the rewards.

If you want more great tips from Andy Sernovitz on word-of-mouth marketing I suggest getting a hold of a copy of his book, Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking.

Seth Godin: Sliced bread and other marketing delights…

“The otaku, the passionate obsessive, the information age’s embodiment of the connoisseur, more concerned with the accumulation of data than of objects, seems a natural crossover figure in today’s interface of British and Japanese cultures. I see it in the eyes of the Portobello dealers, and in the eyes of the Japanese collectors: a perfectly calm train-spotter frenzy, murderous and sublime. Understanding otaku -hood, I think, is one of the keys to understanding the culture of the web. There is something profoundly post-national about it, extra-geographic. We are all curators, in the post-modern world, whether we want to be or not.” — William Gibson, Modern boys and mobile girls, The Observer, Sunday 1 April 2001

LINK:
NetProspex Social Business Report: A comprehensive report on the use of social media by business people across the US.

“The Web has moved from viewing to doing.” – Google

The DesignWise marketing theory has been in synch with this observation for more than a few years. My own role has shifted from being a design “guru” to being a collaborative coach, seeking to empower and release the creativity at rest in each of my clients. Content is still king…  Websites gain tremendously from generating fresh content. But now, all of our latest designs are about delivering the tools that enable our clients to create their own content, building a broad social footprint.

“Smart” design is no longer about erecting information silos that people must come to visit. Now, it’s vital to get your content out over the wall so it can spread virally and be seen, “liked” and shared in other social places: ported over to your Facebook Business Page, sent to LinkedIn, fed to widgets, automatically pulled into other Web pages or embedded into an infinite number of personally customized newsreaders. But, none of this is possible without a content management system (CMS) that generates a Really Simple Syndication feed, aka RSS. If a Website fails to generate an RSS feed, it’s like a radio station without a broadcast antenna. You might as well be talking to the Great Wall… instead of tossing a note to someone on the other side.

In the early days of XML, you could manually generate and upload an RSS feed each time you updated a Website with new pages of content. It would take 10-15 minutes every time, but why spend that time when it can be done automatically by applying the right tools? WordPress, Joomla and other CMS tools update and broadcast their RSS feeds automatically. This is just one of the many reasons I have been using WordPress as a development platform, linking the RSS site feed to Facebook pages, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Here’s a comparison example of a site I originally built for Door County’s Parkside Inn using standard HTML and a bit of Flash animation. In 2011 we redesigned all of it creating a new 2.0 version of Parkside Inn built using WordPress software as the CMS.

Search engines respond better to the new tags, and story content and they now get “pinged” whenever there is new content. This is because the new version generates multiple RSS feeds. The feed is also connected to the Parkside Inn’s  Facebook Fan Page. The new site includes WordPress plugins for social sharing, spam filtering and another which automatically re-formats the entire Website in a mobile-friendly format when called up by any handheld device. The WordPress CMS also encourages site visitor engagement with built-in comment and response capability. And… the client can login anytime with a username and password to add and update the Website content at will.

“Comparing Websites is a good way to learn about Website quality analysis – which is the final arbiter.”

In a short time, most of these business users soon come to realize the shortcomings of such a decision but by then, they might already have hundreds of “friends.” If they are really successful, they will be forced to face the fact that Personal Profiles are capped at 5,000 friends. Business Pages are simply “Liked” without fans having to ask and be granted access and there is no limit to the number of people who can Like your business.

Businesses that impersonate people by creating a presence in a Profile Page risk being deleted as a clear violation of Facebook policies. Under the terms of service, users are required to use real identities and not hide behind false or anonymous accounts, a violation that can lead to Facebook’s closing an account.

“Facebook has always been based on a real-name culture,” says Debbie Frost, a spokeswoman for Facebook. “This leads to greater accountability and a safer and more trusted environment for our users. It’s a violation of our policies to use a fake name or operate under a false identity.”

Up until a few weeks ago you had no choice but to bite the bullet and start over… but Facebook Now Allows Profile Pages to Become Business Pages.

At this time only your profile photo and friends will be moved to your new Page. No other content will be moved. You will still be able to log in from your original email address and password. Learn more about converting your profile into a Page.

Then, you can click this link when you are ready to begin your Profile To Business Page Migration.

The first thing you will be asked is to select which type of Page you are as depicted below:

Once you get on the right track, you can build a landing page, perhaps use Facebook advertising and add a number of other apps and enhancements.

With a WordPress CMS-driven Website it is only a matter of finding the right plugin – and there are a lot to choose from – to start up a paid content or membership site. I started searching and came across a great post by Kevin Eklund. He revues more than a dozen of the best premium or free WordPress membership plugins available and includes them in a sort-by-features table that makes it really easy to narrow down the field by selected criteria.

After a good deal of study and evaluation, I am now bench-testing what I feel to be the best one, Magic Members Plugin at a client site under development. The plugin developer’s Website has a great collection of instructional videos. The company also offers another plugin that will manage an affiliate sales campaign, one that provides a key missing-ingredient in the WP E-commerce Shopping cart.

I will continue to expand this post as I gain more hands-on experience, but I think this is a feature-rich application, backed by an impressive array of support resources.

This set of slides will get you started with a dozen of the most important free local listing services and a way to manage your online business reputation  – plus there’s 40 more down below if you decide to go after them all. These slides were presented live at Social Media Breakfast Door County in March 2011 by Stephen Kastner for DesignWise Studios.

1. Axciom
2. Best Deals on
3. BizJournals.com
4. Biznik
5. Brownbook
6. ChoiceVendor.com
7. CitySearch
8. CitySlick
9. CitySquares
10. CityVoter
11. Dex
12. Discover our Town
13. Genieknows
14. Infignos
15. InfoUSA
16. Judysbook
17. Justclicklocal
18. Kudzu
19. Local.com
20. LocalEze
21. Local Site submit
22. Magic Yellow
23. Manta
24. MatchPoint
25. Metrobot
26. MojoPages
27. MyCity
28. Myhuckleberry
29. Navteq GPS
30. Outside.in
31. Supermedia
32. TeleAtlas
33. ThinkLocal
34. twibs
35. UsCity.net
36. USYellowPages
37. Yellowassistance
38. Yellowbook
39. YellowPages
40. Zipweb

From AT&T's film on QR Codes

The movie above is quite informative, but one QR Coder (listed below) says, “Despite being one of the best looking (and one of the more popular) QR scanners out there, the AT&T code scanner passes everything you scan through their Website where they are undoubtedly collecting data on what is being scanned. We therefore place it in the Evil category – avoid this one unless you want old AT&T to see what you are scanning.” Furthermore their new service is limited to one-year, after which you will probably be expected to subscribe to retain access to your “free” account.

By 2012 more than half of people accessing the Internet will be doing so via smart phones or handheld devices. If their phones can take a picture, they can most likely scan QR Codes. Recognized as perhaps the most important recent development to revitalize print advertising, QR Codes have been around since 1997. With the rapid growth of smart phone technology, they are now becoming mainstream.

QR stands for quick response. Scan one and you immediately are taken directly to a Website or provided with a text that can contain telephone numbers and other cvontact information. And now they can do even more like… qrstuff.com and the following:

1. BeQRious – A robust QR Code campaign and tracking platform with email notification
2. Delivr – generates a QR Code for each mobile-friendly URL
3. Good Survey – Use QR Codes for market research in documents and decode existing QR Codes
4. Itsmyurls – All your social media links in one QR code
5. Jumpscan – provides a contact page with all your social data in one spot
6. Likify – Generate Facebook likes using QR Code
7. Myqr.co – URL shortener and QR code generator rolled into one (plus AT&T warning)
8. OK QR ME – Mirascape QR Code Generator provides real-time stats on who is scanning it and from where
9. SocialQRCode.com – works with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, URL’s, e-Mails, Contact Info, Business Card Information, Android Market and App Store.
10. SPARQcode – can deliver any type of content such as websites, phone numbers, addresses and invoke any app on your mobile phone
11. Wikkit – Create, sell, and scan tickets to any event with QR Codes