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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

30 Awesome Takaways from #TimeSci Webinar @Hubspot @DanZarrella

1.       If ur promoting an event, how soon should u start promoting? About 2.5 weeks prior via Blog posts & twitter by sharing useful info.

2.       How to use timing to make money? Lead Nurturing. Send the highest value offers to subscribers within the first few days.

3.       Takeaway: BLOG MORE FREQUENTLY

4.       Links per Day: Monday & Thursday early morning (6-7am) are best days (why? due to "Linkerati"- They're looking for content)

5.       Takeaway: Blog on the weekends for Comments or early in the morning

6.       If you're going for more comments on your blog- Post Saturday & Sunday. Why? Contra-Competitive

7.       If your audience is a mix of males & female, you should experiment with both morning and night.

8.       Most people read blogs in the Morning

9.       Men are more likely to read at night than women.

10.   Best time to talk to someone via e-mail marketing- within days of subscribing

11.   SEND MORE e-mail. Subscribers will unsubscribe early. Weed out uninterested.

12.   E-mails get the most attention on the weekends and early morning

13.   E-mail marketing: Open rates tend to be higher on Saturday & Sunday. Why? They get the most attention.

14.   Early in the morning works best for Facebook sharing

15.   More Facebook Shares happen on the weekends. Why? Many companies block FB at work. Contra-competitive timing.

16.   Facebook pages that post every OTHER day have more followers

17.   Myth: Tweeting too much is annoying/bad. Truth: TWEET MORE! Get on @GuyKawasaki’s level

18.   People with the most followers post 22 tweets per day!

19.   11am & 5pm are the spikes in Click through rates for twitter.

20.   Don't be afraid to post on the weekends or later in the day.

21.   Saturday & Sundays are among the highest days for CTR. Definitely better than Mon/Thurs.

22.   Put a biy.ly link in your twitter and put + sign after any link to measure CTR

23.   Between 2-5pm are the most Retweeted times. Late in the day & week best for gaining RTs

24.   Contra-Competitive: Talking when the competition isn’t. You may be heard more when others aren’t talking. But if we all are listening to #timesci advice, won’t we be talking at the same time? Lol
25.   Myth: Don’t list yourself as a Social Media guru on twitter. Fact: Add credibility and authority to your profile by adding “founder” or other professional connotation.
26.   Dj David Gallant is amazing at mix tapes. http://t.co/oZseVGu
27.   http://tweetwhen.com to find your Twitter account's most retweetable time!!!
28.   #timesci  is an awesome trending topic to visualize http://bit.ly/eJYH1d

29.   There are at least 24,000 people who care about #socialmedia
30.   @DanZarrella is an awesome #socialmedia scientist


Friday, March 25, 2011

10 Ways to be Uncommonly Productive

Brought to you by Kent Healy of "The Uncommon Life" Blog
 http://www.theuncommonlife.com/blog/10-ways-uncommonly-productive/


10 uncommon methods to boosting productivity:

1. Say “no”: Many people don’t fully understand what prioritizing means. It’s not merely a matter of listing to-do’s in a specific order of importance, it’s deciding not to do certain things – at all. In other words, we must limit the number of tasks and projects we take on. Saying “no” to certain things is the only way we can give full attention to what is most important. I declined several meetings and speaking opportunities, multiple requests for coaching, various extra-credit opportunities at school, etc. As much as I’d like to do everything, I know it’s ultimately the path to mediocre work. Ask yourself, “If I didn’t do this at all, would it matter in a month’s time?” We often convince ourselves that things are more important than they really are.

2. Recognize and use your own energy patterns: I work best early morning and late afternoon so I schedule my most important creative work during those periods. Don’t force yourself to do really important tasks when you’re not at your best. It just takes more time and the result is often poor. Figure out how your brain/body works at different segments of the day so you can assign the right tasks to the right times.

3. Manage your time fanatically: Everyone has 24 hours in a day – no more, no less. When asked, however, most people cannot accurately identify where their time goes – especially segments of 5 to 10 minutes.  To put things into perspective, 10 minutes each day adds up to 7.6 days in one year. Mismanagement of minutes makes a BIG difference.  When you use your computer, for example, do you know how much of your time is spent in Word, Excel, Internet Browsers, or specific websites? It is eye-opening to find out. I use RescueTime.com for detailed reports that track this data and disable certain programs to avoid distractions.

4. Cultivate your energy: It takes energy to create more of it. In other words, exercising, cooking healthy meals, and shopping for the right food takes energy and time, but it often pays in disproportionate ways. Why? Because while time is fixed, energy is expandable. You can experience more alertness, passion, and creativity by taking care of yourself.  Think about it: If you’re low on energy, it takes longer to produce even a mediocre result. High levels of energy, alternatively, allow us to do an exceptional number of things in a much shorter time period while producing better quality work – a triple win.

5. Work in intense bursts with breaks in between: Although enjoyable, hi-energy periods are misleading. We tend to believe we can continue at the same pace indefinitely. Not true. There are many times I work 18 – 20 hour days, but this marathon schedule is not sustainable and if done too often I pay the price (exhaustion, sleepiness, grumpiness, sickness). The difficult part is planning ahead, because once we experience one of the previous states, it’s too late – we’re already riding a downturn followed by a negative rebound.  Balance is about prevention, not damage control. It’s the only long-term plan. Pay attention to signs your body is giving you. You need to be able to read when it’s time to push hard and when to pull back.

6. Always seek automation. The more things we juggle in our mind, the more we disrupt our focus. Think about a computer running numerous programs at the same time. It may still run, but at a much slower pace. Others times, it freezes or crashes. Our mind is much the same. We cannot juggle as much as we think. Always seek programs and systems that free “mental RAM” so you can give full attention to the task at hand. Some programs that help with automation: iCal & Google Calendar (pop-up reminders & phone syncing), tungle.me (scheduling), teuxdeux.com (to-do list management with auto flow-over for non-completed tasks), and followupthen.com (auto-email follow up reminders). Whether you are a business owner or not, make a habit of asking: “How can I do this once and only once?” Repetition of certain tasks is not compulsory, it’s stupid. Never miss an opportunity to automate or eliminate a task.

7. Schedule end times for all meetings and phone calls. Meetings give the illusion of productivity. In many cases they are not as valuable as the time we allot for them.  If an email can replace a meeting, send the email. If you must have a meeting, set an agenda, an end time, and do not allow flow-over. Nominate a time-keeper immediately so no one is judged for cutting people off or forcing a conclusion.

8. Time tasks. Parkinson’s law states, “Work expands to fill the time allotted.” If we set aside 1 hour, 2 hours, or 10 hours we often use every minute – and sometimes more. The more time we set for something the more time-abuse ensues. I know this is true from personal experience. This is why there must be a balance between being proactive/starting early and waiting until we don’t have the option of using more time. To combat this dilemma, I keep a timer on my desk with a loud, obnoxious alarm that I use to reverse-time my tasks. Looking at a countdown increases focus and eliminates distractions.

9. Keep email responses brief. We all have to deal with email and it can easily become a major time suck. But we have more control over the time spent on email than we may initially think. Most people feel a social obligation to elongate a message, but it’s a waste of everyone’s time. The use of brief, incomplete sentences is often okay for most occasions. Concerned about offending others? Use this URL in your email signature: http://three.sentenc.es/ (visit the site to learn more).

10. Schedule non-negotiable time for tasks and reviews. Another implication of Parkinson’s Law is that negotiable tasks always get replaced or rescheduled because “there just isn’t enough time available.” Some tasks, especially longer-term projects and creative work (such as writing), need to be scheduled because the mind tends to favor certain activities. I block out specific times for certain tasks and treat them like a meeting with the President. This is not a new concept but few people do it.

It’s incredible how many opportunities there are to increase our productivity once we demand it of ourselves. And with the right strategies, doing more does not always need to be a compromise between work and fun.

Your thoughts?

Have you used any of these strategies in your own life? How did they work for you? What strategies do you use for productive living?


Thanks Kent!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

8 Social Media Tools & Tips You Can’t Live Without

1.       Follow the Leaders
“There’s no such thing as the ultimate Social Media Strategist
because someone will always be better.” 
There are industry experts in every field. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, why not relay quality content from those that came before you? All while being transparent and yourself. There are many leaders in the Social Media Industry, but here are the top 25 most influential.

2.   Google Reader
Those social media influencers that I mentioned… have blogs where they share articles and relevant information on social media. Below is a list of the top 20 social media blogs that you should be following. You may be thinking “That’s WAY too many pages to check daily!”, but don’t fret. GOOGLE READER (or any other RSS reader) is your answer. Simply add these top 20 blogs into your reader and you’ll be one informed social media manager!


      1.      Mashable
      2.      Social Times
      3.      Chris Brogan
      4.      Socialmedia.biz
      5.      ProBlogger
      6.      Social Media Examiner
      7.      Brian Solis
      8.      Kikolani
      9.      Scott Monty
     10.     Michael Brito
     11.     Twitip
     12.     Social Media Explorer
     13.     Convince & Convert
14.    
Altitude
15.     CopyBlogger
16.     Brand Builder
17.     Diva Marketing
18.     Future Buzz
19.     Mari Smith
20.    HubSpot

3.   Twitter Management
Once you gain somewhat of a following, Twitter can become overwhelming. There are numerous software programs to help relieve the pain. Twitter management apps such as sprout social, tweet deck, twhirl, cotweet, tweetie, twibble, twitterscan, qwitter, mr. tweet, friend or follow, twinfluence, twitpic, twitalks, tweet cloud, tweet later, twitterfeed, twitter grader, tweetstats, tweetgraph… YOU GET THE POINT!??
Personally I’ve tried TweetDeck, Tweet Adder 3.0, TweetBig, and HootSuite. Of those, Hootsuite is probably my favorite. But it’s completely up to the user and their industry or target audience. It also depends if you’re looking for a free management system or are willing to pay. Me, not willing to pay, not yet anyways.
Check out these lists of top Twitter tools:


4.       Facebook Landing Page
You’ve all seen it- Companies with fancy facebook “welcome” pages that urge you to “Like” their page to see certain freebies or important info. Facebook has enabled <FBML> <HTML> pages.
To me, it’s a foreign language. If you’re fluent, more power to you- but for those of you that are with me… There’s an app for that! Pagemodo, mashlab, faceit, and lujure are great apps that allow you to create landing pages without learning the language.
I used Lujure for my page & it was very user friendly & they’re very engaged in customer service & helping lost users like myself. They even complemented me on my page!
5.       Slideshare
Slideshare is a great way to display presentations that you’ve given that demonstrate your area of expertise. It is also a great way to display more detailed information about your company or personal attributes. Personally, I have a Slideshare app on my LinkedIn profile that is about Social Media. That alone has driven more traffic to my account than anything else.
6.       Webinars
To be a social media manager- or involved in social media for that matter, you must share value with others. One of the best ways to share value is to teach your users to utilize and optimize social media. Share your expertise. One of the best ways of doing that is by hosting a webinar. There are many providers out there including slideshare’s zipcast, go to meeting, megameeting, and fuze meeting. I’ve polled many social media managers, and Go To Meeting seems to be the favorite.
For a FREE trial & $10 off discount on GoToMeeting

7.       Engagement
 “No matter how busy you are, you must follow up. If you don’t follow up, you don’t know what you’re missing out on. “
To be involved in social media. You must be just that- INVOLVED. When someone on twitter @mentions you or RT’s you- acknowledge that. When someone sends you a DM- reply! If someone shares or mentions your information, why not RT them directly to your wall? Share quality content and engage your users.
8.       GoToLunch
Finally, you must take social media to the next level. GoToLunch.com is an online community connecting professionals that don’t know each other over lunch. In a world where it’s not always about what you know, but who you know, Go Grab Lunch helps professionals to broaden their network and create meaningful business connections.
View an exclusive interview with GoGrabLunch founder Jonathan Patrick at http://bit.ly/eN7EDe

There you have it- 8 Social media tools I can't live without. What tools do you use to help manage social media? Which ones are your favorite?


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

How to Get More Retweet Action on Twitter

How to Get More Retweet Action on Twitter

Connecting Twitter with Facebook: Social Media Integration & Optimization

So you're on twitter AND facebook... But its so hard keeping up with them both?!?
It's easy to get lost in one and not the other, but you've got fans on both platforms that expect relevant information from you an a frequent basis. What better way to give them what they want than to integrate these platforms together so you're sharing the same information on both?

1. If you're more active on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/twitter/
Link your facebook page to twitter so that any status updates you post on your facebook page also post to your twitter account.

2. If you're more active on twitter... http://apps.facebook.com/selectivetwitter/pages

Adding the selective tweets app on facebook allows you to connect with your twitter account by placing the hashtag #fb at the end of your tweets. This allows you to post only "selective tweets" to facebook rather than every single tweet.

REMEMBER: Don't do both. chose one or the other (I found this out the hard way) or you will have repetitive posts on twitter. Just choose one. Or consider using a 3rd party like Sprout Social or Hootsuite to manage your social media platforms.

HootSuite allows you to connect with and post to multiple platforms and choose which ones to post to! Below you will see my Hootsuite toolbar where I can send a post to twitter, facebook or linkedin. visit http://hootsuite.com/ to get started!


(& feel free to comment any other social media integration tips or software you're using too!)