Getting Around Flickr

This is the seventh in a series on Social Media.

Flickr is the the largest of the online photo sharing communities. It boasts 11 million regular members, 30 million monthly visitors, and over 1 billion photos. There are also Flickr groups for almost anything you can imagine.

When you set up your account, uploading images requires only three steps.

1. Choose the images you want to upload.
2. Click the upload button.
3. Give each image a title, a description, and popular tags.

Even easier than that is the "Flickr Uploader," which you can download to your desktop. To upload a photo, just drag and drop it into the icon. In addition to ease of uploading, Flickr gives you great exposure with search engines when you use keywords in your tags, file names, and image descriptions. If you click on an image you will see more information about it, such as tags and descriptions; when you click on a tag, you will see all of the other images on your site with the same tag. That's why it's a good idea to fill in this information as you upload each image. Just as you would develop a marketing strategy for LinkedIn or your Facebook page, you should establish one for Flickr.

Clients and viewers can find you through your images. You can share your photos with the public (who can post comments) or limit them to your friends; you can also keep them private. Fickr allows you to organize and link to your photos, separate them into galleries or sets (collections of related images), and export them into your blog and Website.

Flickr is a powerful tool and well worth the time it takes to explore its many tools.

Getting Around Twitter

This is the sixth in a series on Social Media.

Twitter—also called microblogging—allows you to send messages up to 140 characters in length. While that concept once sounded impossible, Twitter has become a worldwide phenomenon. For one thing, tweets are sent in real time making them a great way to broadcast news, events, products, services, and announcements. People tweet about conferences, uprisings around the w

All kind of apps have sprung up around Twitter, such as TweetDeck and HootSuite, which let you arrange tweets in columns by subject matter or favorites and import your blog posts as tweets.

Twitter has its own language, e.g., retweet is to copy and repost someone else’s tweet because you think it’s worth passing along. Follow means to keep track of another person’s tweets; a follower is someone who keeps track of yours. TweetChat is an application that permits multiple users to follow a Twitter conversation. A hashtag (#) in front of a word helps the Twitter search engine find a particular subject. DM is a direct message only the recipient can see.

Twitter isn't complicated. Across the top of the window is a black bar that contains these links:

• Search for people on Twitter. The second column contains current trends.
• Home has a place to write your message, as well see messages of those you are following.
• Profile shows the messages you have sent to others, plus a section with information about you.
• Messages contains recent messages to you and from you, plus a place to send a message to the last person who followed you on the "new Twitter."
• Who to follow provides a list of people you might wish to follow.
• A little pencil gives you another fast way to tweet.

Twitter is powerful, enlightening, and immediate. The site may have started out as a way to tell the world what you were having for breakfast or what movie you are going to see, but it didn’t take long for savvy social networkers to see its value. Using Twitter shorthand, you can squeeze a lot of information into those 140 characters.

Getting Around LinkedIn

This is the fifth in a series on Social Media.

LinkedIn is the social network for businesspeople and professionals. It works on the principle of six degrees of separation. The idea is that you can find and connect to your business contacts and then to their business contacts. You can post your resume, write recommendations for others, and keep your contacts informed of changes in your professional life by simply updating your profile.

When you log in to LinkedIn, you are taken to your Home Page. At the top is a bar with links to Home, Profile, Contacts, Groups, Jobs, Inbox, Companies, and More. Next to that is a search box to help you find People.

• Home is the main page. This link also gives you an opportunity to advertise.
  
• Profile is all about you. This is the most important page; so, it's a good idea to fill out your profile as completely as possible. You can also make your profile public and searchable. Under your profile is a new feature that allows you to describe your books if you are published or your patents if you have any. There is also a listing of all of your recent activities and blog posts, if you feed your blog(s) to LinkedIn.
  
• Contacts shows your connections in alphabetical order, a search box, and a way to add and organize connections.
  
• Groups has links to Groups you may like, a directory of Groups, a way to create a group, and Groups you have started. Groups are a great way to promote discussion and share information, as well as promote your business. The rest of the page is devoted to Groups you belong to.
  
• Jobs is all about finding, posting, and managing jobs, as well as solutions to hiring problems. You can search for jobs and see those you may be interested in based on your profile
  
• Inbox is for mail. You can accept invitations, view messages, compose messages to others, and keep track of messages you have sent or archived.
  
• Companies allows you to find companies you're interested in and follow them. There is also a list of companies you may wish to follow. You can see how you are connected to a company, who recently joined the company, and where they may have worked in the past. There is even an application on businessweek.com where you could click an icon to see how you are connected to the company featured in an article.
• More contains one of LinkedIn's most popular features—Answers— a discussion where people can ask and answer questions. If you are a contributor, you will be ranked by the quantity and quality of your Answers. This is a great way to gain visibility by demonstrating your knowledge and expertise. More also provides links to a Learning Center, a way to Upgrade Your LinkedIn Account, and your personal Applications.
  

Under the bar is your photo, a place to write what's on your mind, and a button to share what you have written. Under that are updates on what your connections are doing. In the smaller right-hand column are People You May Know, so that you can build your network. Under their pictures are paid Advertisements.

At the bottom of every page are Customer Service links. One of most interesting is Tools, where you can choose among LinkedIn's Productivity Tools. These include an Outlook and a Browser Toolbar, an E-mail Signature, a Mac Search Widget, and a Google Toolbar Assistant.

Take some time to get to know LinkedIn on your own. It is a powerful social networking site for professionals, authors, and people in the business world.

Getting Around Your Facebook (Business) Page

Facebook pages are the business side of Facebook. If you want to market your business, product, or book this way, the good news is it will be indexed by search engines. Here is how to create your page. Log in to Facebook under Account at the far right and click on Manage Pages. In the blue bar to the right of your picture are five links:

• Get Started First, choose a name for your page keeping in mind how well it will attract search engines. Under your photo is a link to edit your page. This takes you to another menu of options.
  • Basic Information is about your business or product. If you are publisher, write about your company; if you are an author, describe your book.
  • Profile Picture is for your business photo. You can use the same one as your profile or select another one.
  • Marketing provides a list of ways to promote your business or product.
  • Manage Admins allows you to add another administrator to your page.
  • Apps are applications by Facebook or other developers you can add to your Page.
  • Mobile give you ways to manage your Facebook page on your mobile device.
  • Insights permits others comment or "like" your page.
  • Help is filled with topics, FAQs, and a place to ask a specific question.
  
  
• Wall Just like the Wall on your Profile, here is your opportunity to talk about what's going on in your business or what is new with your book.
• Info shows the information you filled in on you basic information page form about your business or product.
• Photos are for new albums related to your business or product.
• Discussions are opportunities to launch new discussion and invite comments from others.

In the left-hand column of your Facebook Page is all of your important information plus pictures of your friends who have indicated they "like" (endorse, recommend) your page. At the bottom is a Share link—another way to broadcast news or opinions.

The middle column is a guide to promoting your page. The right-hand column lets you invite more people to "like" your page.

Getting Around Your Facebook Account Settings

This is the fourth in a series on Social Media.

The top blue bar at the top of your screen is always the same. At the far-right side is the word Account with a little arrow next to it. Here is where you control everything in your Facebook account, from whom to “friend” to how much people know about your life. When you click on the Account button, you will see a little box with your picture and name and a list of links. Each link takes you to another screen.

• Edit Friends - In the far-left column are Requests to join your network (you can Confirm or click on Not Now); your Phonebook (phone numbers for friends who have made those numbers public); Find Friends (a search box for names); and Invite Friends (a place to type in e-mail addresses, draft a note, import address books, and let invitees see your profile).

• Manage Pages is an understated heading for a very important aspect of Facebook. A Facebook Page differs from your Profile in that it is specifically intended to promote a business, product or personality. Here, you have an opportunity to describe your business or book and take advantage of all of the regular features of Facebook. There is no charge for this service.

• Tell your fans, let your current customers and subscribers know about your new Page, and Import Contacts
• Post status updates (what’s happening in your professional life) and Share your latest news.
• Promote this Page on your Website by adding a Facebook "Like" Box to your site and giving people an easy way to discover and follow your Page.

In the far right column are Top Questions regarding how to permanently delete your account, retrieve your password, remove a friend, understand Chat, delete apps and accounts, change your name, and conduct common searches.

In the middle column, you can Create a List, find a list of friends with whom you have recently interacted, and Edit Your Friends List.

In the right-hand column, as on previous pages, are places to Create an Ad and see who has Sponsored ads on the page.

Under the large box are these links: About · Advertising · Developers · Careers · Privacy · Terms · Help

You are completely in charge of your Privacy and Security Settings, what you choose to reveal and to whom. Whether you want to keep your involvement strictly social or market your book or business. The important thing is to go to your Account Page and click on all of the links to familiarize yourself with what is in each one and what they mean. If you don’t understand the terminology, click on Help.

Finally, at the bottom of the page you will find friends who are available to Chat online in real time.

Getting Around Your Facebook Profile Page

This is the third in a series on Social Media.

Your Profile Page is personal. Across the top is a search bar that lets you look for people you know. To help you tour your new profile are little arrows that say 1 Bio, 2 Photos, 3 Navigation, 4 Education and Work, and 5 Interests. When you click on an arrow, a small box appears telling you what to do.

Below the arrows are two columns. The left-hand column is topped with your photo, followed by these links:

• The Wall is where your all of your posts are stored. (Your friends' posts can be seen on their profiles.) When friends want to send you a message they write on your wall.
  
• Info is your background—education, work history, philosophy, political leanings—anything you are willing to share.
  
• Photos are links to all of your photo albums. When you post photos your friends can see them on your Profile Page.
  
• Notes (on my page) are my forwarded blogs.
  
• Friends are pictures of all of your Facebook "friends."
  
• At the bottom of the column is a link to Add a Badge to your site. There are several categories of badges to choose from. Just click on the one(s) you want.
  

In the second column, after the word Share, are the following links:

• Status is the place to bring friends up to date on your life.
  
• Photo allows you to share a photo, add a photo, or create an album.
  
• Link is a box in which you can direct viewers to another URL.
  
• Video tells you to record or upload a video.
  

On my Profile Page are forwards from my blogs, as well as the most recent photos I have posted. At the bottom of the page are comments from friends who have looked at my profile page.

Guide to Creating and Publishing Your New Website

Welcome to guest blogger Bobette Kyle. Bobette draws upon 20+ years of Marketing/Executive and planning positions, business ownership, online marketing experience, and a marketing MBA as inspiration for her writing. She co-owns Lifestyle Inspirations LLC (MY LIFE MATTERS Womens Personal Planner) as well as publishes WebsiteMarketingPlan.com and MyOnlineWeddingHelp.com.

For the uninitiated, the process of starting a Website can be filled with new terminology. Here is a quick vocabulary lesson of some of the used here.

• Domain Name ("register a domain name"): Sign up and pay for the URL to the homepage of your site.
• Host/Hosting ("sign up with a host"): This is the company that will have your files on its server and provide the means for people to be able to see your Website. Make sure you pick a good host because you don't want to have to move this later.
• Nameservers ("link them together using the nameservers"): This is information that tells the domain name services where to find your hosting service’s server.

Note that with some solutions you take care of all three of the above at once. Other solutions require you to handle each separately.

Steps To Getting Started – Overview

During the process of getting your Website started, there are many steps to complete. Many you will be completing simultaneously. Also, please note that if you do not have a Website developer, you would complete all steps on your own.

Initial Administrative Steps

• Register your domain names.
• Decide on a Website developer and choose designs or template.
• Choose a hosting provider, with input from your Website designer, and open account.
• Change the nameservers on your domain name to point to your host’s nameservers.

Initial Marketing Steps

• Decide on the purpose of your Website; the way(s) it will help you with your business, book, or service(s); and what kinds of people you want to visit the site (target audience).
• For better success with Website ranking, complete keyword research so – from the start – you can incorporate those words into the text on your Website.
• Create Website launch strategies and a marketing plan while site is in development.
• Begin marketing activities as soon as Website is functional.

Development Steps

• Settle on site layout and navigational structure.
• Create or choose images – Website header/logo, photo(s), book cover(s), etc. and send digitally to developer.
• Write text for each page (incorporating phrases from keyword research) and send to developer.
• If taking orders online, decide on e-commerce solution (Paypal recommended to start, then upgrade to merchant account after volume increases) and work with developer on details.
• With developer, decide upon and secure any third party services or software needed to implement marketing programs (For example: newsletter hosting/list management service, blogging software, online audio/mp3 technology, etc.)

Site Finalization and Publication

• Approve the final Website.
• Upload the site to your hosting account.
• Begin marketing activities.