Friday 2.0 is hosting the first ‘Blog-Off’ Competition for blog owners in Central Virginia and Roanoke. 

77% of active internet users read blogs. 900,000 is the average number of blog posts in a 24 hour period, according to Business Week.

LYNCHBURG, Virginia. – May 5, 2009 – A ‘Blog-Off” competition will be held on May 22nd at The Muse Coffee in Wyndhurst at 9:00 in the morning. Local business networking group, Friday 2.0, has put together a panel of four judges to evaluate the main criteria that makes an effective blog. Submission deadline is May 15th.

Lynchburg Blog-Off

The purpose of the event is to evaluate the effectiveness of local bloggers, while educating local business owners that those who fail to embrace social media technologies for business will be left behind. Through the month of May each judge will get a chance to share their criteria for blog sexiness, usability, search engine optimization and community engagement.

In a Coleman-Parkes Research study, companies currently using Social Media reported the following:

• Improved Feedback 78%
• Improved Customer Satisfaction 66%
• Improved Customer support 71%
• Increased Sales 40%
• Improved public perception of company 75%

The panel of judges include ShoutOut LLC’s director of marketing, Andrew Potter, Marketing-Helper.com’s Jennifer Bailey, BrowseLynchburg.com’s Phil Tucker, and Nannette Saunders from RE/Max. 

“More and more companies are using social media and blogging to position themselves as industry leaders in their fields,” said Marketing-Helper.com owner Jennifer Bailey. “A lot of companies are afraid of this thing called social media, but the truth is that if we can learn how to adapt in an effective way then we can not only cut our marketing costs but increase sales leads.”

Those interested in learning more about the competition can visit The Blog-Off Fact Sheet >

About Friday 2.0
Friday 2.0 is a local Virginia networking group who meets on Friday mornings at 9:00 a.m. at The Muse coffee shop in Wyndhurst. Friday 2.0’s goal is to get educated about social media tools and opportunities. The most passionate and curious professionals attend this un-meeting as a way to connect with like-minded individuals and discuss the topics and trends relevant to technology, social media and the future of social media. Everyone from the freshly-minted twitter-er, to the tech-advanced executive managing 500 people are encouraged to attend and participate. All voices are equal and welcome at Friday 2.0! Join our Facebook Friday 2.0 Group.

Other Resources:
Coleman-Parkes Research Findings
Definitions of Social Media

If you aren’t a web designer, know nothing about HTML, or just haven’t been using WordPress very long… then it may not be a good idea for you to use a custom WordPress theme. Unless you follow some simple rules:

1. Hire an expert. Ok… I am not trying to promote myself here. But seriously, if you are going to use custom themes, plugins, bells & whistles… but don’t know how to maneuver WordPress CMS… then don’t touch it. Ask an expert to do it. Many experts will let you hire them on retainer so they can this “stuff” for you when you need it.

I get calls all the time… “Help! I broke my site!” 

A lot of you don’t have time to learn to fix it. So hire someone who can do it in a flash. 

2. Learn to use WordPress CMS. CMS means content management system. And really, its easy. You can never be prepared for every emergency that might happen – but if you know the basics, you can save a lot of money on retaining that expert. This means knowing some simple HTML, too. And knowing how to maneuver an FTP program like Dreamweaver or just SmartFTP. 

3. Check your site after every edit. EVERY. EDIT. If you make some changes to the image on your post… save it, then check it before doing any other edits. If you make some edits to a sidebar widget, check it every time you update. If you mess with the plugins, check it after each plugin update.

Some things to watch out for:

• Some plugins don’t work together and can break your site. 
• Some custom themes require a lot of FTP file editing.
• If you change from one theme to another – check all of your pages, some of the code might change. 
• Some themes have special “featured” articles on the homepage that use TimThumb and you will need to learn to use custom fields.

It is no wonder that women are at the forefront of social media. Women are social beings – made for relationships! And social media is just another way for us to expand those relationships.

Traditionally men are the early adopters of new technologies, but studies show that women far outpace the men in social media. (Business Week Article)

Why Women? 

Social media is less of a “technology” and more of a “social gateway” … while women don’t necessarily run the behind the scenes of social media applications like twitter, digg and linkedin – they certainly know how to use them to put on a good show. 

Social Media Phenomenon + Women = Influence that we cannot ignore!

Whether is for your job, your cause, your church or your family… social media can give us influence.

What Women?

Who is using social media? My mom is… to keep up with her kids! My sister is… to communicate with her friends across her college campus.

Me and my old babysitter. One day I got a facebook invite from a couple who used to babysit me when I had curly blonde hair. I remembered them because they used to do ‘Wheres Waldo‘ puzzles with my brothers and I.

But more importantly…

Lynchburg Bridal Expo is getting people signed up for their event through Facebook.

Dayna Palmer created a group for lynchburg women business owners on Facebook.

Linda Settles, author, blogs and uses facebook to build interest for her new book.

Amy Clark established Momadvice.com – well researched and in-depth articles on frugal living, saving money, work at home opportunities, recipes and tips.

Allison Worthington – uses facebook and blogging titled “mrsfussypants.com: we cant both look good, its me or the house.”

There was a high school girl named Sarah Sowerwine who started a Breast Cancer awareness cause page on facebook that now has over 30 thousand members.

A woman named Christa Laukevicz started a cause on facebook called ‘Prevent Child Abuse America’ and has over 2 million members and 30 thousand dollars donated!
…

Now that we know social media can help us increase our influence, then we know it is powerful enough to also help us find solutions for immediate problems.

How much time is needed to be effective at marketing yourself through social media? Where should I invest my time online? What social media tools should I be using and how often should I use them?

Your time is valuable. I am a master multitasker, and even I have a hard time deciding where to invest the time I do have. 

1. How much time is needed to be effective at social media? Think of social media as a marketing project. It’s not a hobby (thanks @awpotter I like that line). The first step in any advertising or public relations campaign is research, then planning, then implementation. The research and planning phases – which are the foundation of your campaign – are going to take more time to build than the actual implementation. So in the beginning – you could spend 10-50 hours launching your campaign. 

2. How much time do I need to spend on a weekly basis promoting my cause through social media? Once your campaign is launched, it is a process of learning. The first time you do something it always takes longer than the second, then third time, and eventually you have it down and you don’t have to think about it anymore. But that doesn’t answer the question, does it?

The answer varies depending on:

     A. Your purpose and goal

     B. How fast your typing is, how fast you are at writing, your internet connection speed… are you getting the point? 

Scenario: You are promoting your wedding cake business online. You already have a blog setup with a linkedin account, facebook as well as twitter. You are experienced in your field and excited about weddings. So, you write one blog a week with good information for brides, then you use that blog to promote what you do by searching for brides on facebook and sending twitters out daily. You also find some unique wedding website communities to contribute to, like offbeat bride and weddingwire. So, you spend an hour a week on your blog, a half hour a day on facebook and another 15 minutes a day on twitter. Then you spend an average of 2 + hours a week on other sites. Minimum Time per week = 7 hours (an hour every morning with a cup of coffee!)

3. What social media tools should I be using and how often should I use them? There are four basic tools every professional should be using: Blogging, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Each has a different purpose in gaining new leads, check out my training on becoming a trust agent. Your field is going to have additional tools available (like weddingwire for cake makers or photographers). But how much time you spend on each depends on your field and your purpose! Check out the scenario above. 

And to respond to Chris Brogan’s thoughts on being realistic about time, Chris points out that ever since the web happened our expectations about response time has changed. Chris says, “We can reinstate boundaries and manage expectations. Business has to move fast, but do we really want the future where we’re all tethered to Twitter?”

It’s true. Boundaries are important. Nobody can expect people to be as good as me at multitasking (hah!). But – it is also true that the internet and social media has changed our ability to response quickly. We can get emails, twitters and facebook responses on our mobile phones. We can hire virtual assistants to manage our LinkedIn accounts! 

As I have said before, Social Media has turned 6 degrees of separation into new and instant connections across the globe! So, set your boundaries, don’t overexpect people to revolve their valuable time around you – but also know that there are tools out there so we can capitalize on our God-given abilities and human beings to be the ultimate task-masters! 

Check out our social media 101 program that will help you get a hold on your marketing >

“…They’re simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they’re going to shake up just about every business — including yours.”

Business Week said this in 2005. Now just think… with the evolution of blogging, twitter and other social media in the past 3 years – what has changed? 

Business week addresses that here:  http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_18/b3931001_mz001.htm

“…It doesn’t matter whether you’re shipping paper clips, pork bellies, or videos of Britney in a bikini, blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They’re a prerequisite. (And yes, that goes for us, too.)”

Yesterday I showed Val from Absolute Bridal & Formal this website, Marketing Helper… which is actually my blog. This was his response:

“Remember DOS?” He asked me. “Imagine that I am DOS and you are Windows… that is how beginner I am on this computer stuff. So forgive me for saying this… but your blog looks just like a website.” 

I responded to Val by affirming his correctness. A blog IS a website. 

“Well, then… why do I need a website? If I can just have a blog?”

Good question, Val! Very good question. 

What is the difference between a website and a blog? 

I think it goes back to the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.

The ‘Essential Keystrokes’ blog defined “getting social on the web” as defining the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0: “In the first generation of the web, it was all about providing information to your readers – the web was a one-way street. Web 2.0 is all about the user and giving the user a voice – thus making it a two-way street.”

While a blog is a “species” of website… hehe… it is still very different.

We can say that websites are online brochures that offer information and make people aware of products and services but also create opportunities for customer convergence (signup for a newsletter, buy something, download something, etc), and SHOULD interact with search engines for new customers to get information. The more intractable a website is, the more it is Web 2.0.

Blogs not only have a very specific trend/style to them, but the key to blogs is that every page allows for comments and interaction. It is a journal – not necessarily a personal journal – but a place for information and interaction. 

The ‘Intuitive.com’ blog said it well: “The real value of blogging isn’t the capability of the tool, but the ability for each and every page on the site, each and every article, to invite and display feedback from readers–comments, as they’re called in the blogging world. This is a dramatic difference because it changes a monologue, a “brochure,” into a dialogue with readers or customers.” 

So… there you have it. 

Thoughts?

Here are some stats from Technorati on the state of the bloggosphere. See the full report here.

My uncle passed this weekend, leaving behind 5 amazing children and a cloud of people who loved him. Sitting here at the hospital in Reno, NV, most of my reflection time has been spent on blogs:

From his brother, my father

A poem about love and suffering

A blog article from the community news

Pattie from Clarke Marketing and Nannette Saunders asked me yesterday (in so many words) if Wordpress was a good system to use for non-blog websites. It really got me thinking. 

The Wordpress Content Management System isn’t just for blogs anymore. The number of designers using Wordpress as for non-blog websites is increasing – and for good reason. 

A couple big reasons I can think of are: 1) Wordpress is free, and 2) Wordpress is easy if you use pre-made templates.

Wordpress is not a high-end CMS but can very easily be used for professional websites. 

ifacethoughts pointed out that the difference between blogs and non-blogs is that in a blog the posts take up the entire website, but in a non-blog the pages are what dominate. The blog also gives some other great reasons to use Wordpress for your non-blog sites. 

The performancing blog, also, linked to some reasons why you should NOT use wordpress, and others why you should. He also listed some great examples of non-blog sites that use WP, including Camacho Cigars.

So – when choosing a content management system for your website, consider cutting your cost with Wordpress. 

I am about to help out Linda Settles with her new blog, and I was looking for some quick pointers to help her out. I came across Seth Godin’s “riffs on marketing, respect, and the ways ideas spread” – this is a really good article: How to get traffic for your blog. Pay attention to #18, 19 and 40. 

Some trends in well-read blogs that I came across…