Shane Gibson’s list of 20 social media tips under 140 charcters is a handy reminder for social media newbies as well as veterans. Reading the list, I thought of four common mistakes people are still making, based on the questions I’m receiving from people who read my newsletter and comment here. If you think of… Read More
Social Media
Facebook creates confusion with vanity URLs
If there’s a way to cause confusion for the masses, Facebook will discover it. That’s what’s happened within the last 24 hours. Facebook announced yesterday in its blog that users can start claiming their vanity URLs for both their Profile and Pages starting at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, June 13. An alert reader of my ezine emailed me… Read More
Social media tips for restaurants, bars and nightclubs
If you own a restaurant, bar or nightclub, don’t miss the fabulous tips from Restaurants & Institutions on how to participate in social media. Senior editor Alison Perlik offers sound advice on how to do more than just create a presence on Facebook and Twitter. Her tips are so valuable that they can be used by the owners of almost any… Read More
Why Facebook’s vanity URLs beat the current alternatives
Several readers responded to the item I posted in yesterday’s publicity tips newsletter about how Facebook is expected to announce this week that it’s offering vanity URLs. “What’s the big deal?” one reader asked in an email. “Anyone can already do a short URL—yours would be http://profile.to/joanstewart.” She’s right. Facebook already has an application lets users adopt a short URL for… Read More
Don’t let Facebook confuse or intimidate you, or you’ll miss out
When I created my profile on Facebook many months ago, I was reluctant to use the site because I found it incredibly confusing. Most days, I just ignored it. In the process, I missed numerous opportunities to start building a community of people who cared about what I had to say, promote my business, and give people… Read More
Hate social media? This may change your mind—and the boss’s
Do you hate Twitter and refuse to use it because “who cares what I had for lunch?” Do you abhor Facebook and predict it will be passe by next year, so why go through all the trouble of creating a profile? Does your boss prohibit people from using Facebook at work? And nix your budget… Read More
Job-hunter offers $6,000 finder’s fee on LinkedIn
If you’re unemployed and desperate, it’s time to muster a little creativity, stage a kick-butt publicity stunt, and call on your LinkedIn connections to help land the perfect job. Enter Beverly Shepard, who has been job-hunting for 16 months and jobless since January when The Virginia-Pilot newspaper eliminated her job as marketing manager and her entire department. Here’s her… Read More
Twitter app helps promote Tweetups and other live events
If you’re promoting a Tweetup, an event where people who Twitter come together to meet in person, or an event that’s open to anyone regardless of whether they tweet—like a class, a book-signing, a fund-raiser, or a fashion show at a department store—check out Twtvite. Just fill in the blanks on the screen (event name, where,… Read More
Oprah, here are 5 ways to improve your Twitter bio
Dear Oprah: Welcome to the Twittersphere. The 324,821 followers you’ve managed to amass in two days put to shame the measly 6,572 I’ve attracted in about a year. But I can’t help myself. Please, please, do something a little more creative with your bio! “Live your best life” is fine. Unlike the 140-character limit for tweets, however, Twitter gives you 160… Read More
Am I stingy by not answering a LinkedIn question? You decide
When I checked my email this morning, somebody who I know invited me to answer a question she had posted at LinkedIn. She was asking for suggestions on how to promote something. Just as I started to answer it, I noticed that she was asking for a private answer, not a public one. I stopped in mid-sentence, left… Read More