Maximizing LinkedIn for You & Your Business

“Maximizing LinkedIn for You and Your Business”:  This 2 hr seminar on April 10^th is for users ready to leverage the power of LinkedIn Marketing with tools and applications to help you reach your personal and business objectives.  We will cover all of the latest profile changes introduced for 2013 and how they enhance your online brand. Learn how to optimize your profile for search engines so that you can appear in top search results. Bonus 30 minute session on marketing with LinkedIn Pages for your company follows.  4/10 from 2:00-4:00/4:30 at the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce.  For more info and to register click HERE.

C3 gifts one Free LinkedIn Profile Review each month. February winner: Chrissann Ruehle

Enter the monthly drawing  for a LinkedIn Profile Make-over and 30 minute phone consult HERE.

Visit our website for more information on strategic social media marketing services provided by C3:  HERE

Social Media Marketing Seminars Coming to the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce

C3 Social Media Marketing Seminars in Cincinnati

C3. Creating Connections Consulting, in partnership with the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce, is bringing two key social media for business seminars to the Anderson Center in March and April of 2013.

Join C3 and the AACC on Wednesday, March 13th for “Maximizing Social Media Marketing for your Business: An Introduction to Digital” from 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. at the Anderson Center in Anderson Township (7850 Five Mile Road, Cincinnati, OH  45230).

 “Maximizing LinkedIn” will be held at the same location on Wednesday, April 10th from 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. There will be a FREE 30 minute bonus seminar on Marketing with LinkedIn Company Pages from 4:00-4:30 p.m.

Join social media strategist and former P&G marketer, Michelle Beckham-Corbin as she takes the class from possibilities to execution steps.  Register early as space is limited. We will be in the large conference room of the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce located in the Anderson Center on Five Mile Road.

Register for the Social Media Marketing Seminar here: 

Register for the LinkedIn Seminar here:

 Or Call C3 at 513-445-2180 for more information.

www.CreatingConnectionsConsulting.com

Here’s what others are saying about Michelle’s seminars:

“Michelle is a high-energy person who is exudes a passion for business and personal development. Her enthusiasm for utilizing social media as a tool for strategic marketing is contagiously energizing.

Having graduated with an undergraduate and MBA degree from Xavier, Michelle is continually seeking opportunities to give back to the university. Recently she demonstrated her expertise in strategic marketing and social media by presenting her methodology to university students, alumni, faculty, and business partners during the 2nd Annual “Career Campaign” offered by the Professional Development Center in the Williams College of Business. As a strong and engaging presenter Michelle quickly connected with attendees as she walked them through a step by step plan for developing their on-line presence. Michelle’s outreach to attendees continues beyond the classroom when she offers her contact information and urges others to get LinkedIn with her.”

~Cheryl Wilson, Career Development Coordinator, Williams College of  Business- Xavier University.

Free Social Media Marketing Services in Cincinnati

C3 Gives Back Program:

Pro bono Social Media Services

C3.Creating Connections Consulting to offer pro bono social media marketing and speaking services for non-profits and community organizations in the Cincinnati region in 2013 via the C3 Gives Back Program. Founder Michelle Beckham is a former P&G customer business development and marketing manager who has worked in the digital space since 2005.

One resource that most non-profits and community organizations need, but might not have the budget for is strategic social media marketing consulting or speaker services.  C3 helps businesses and organizations create a strategic marketing plan that integrates the most effective social/digital tools for their call to action and target market and teaches them how to create content and engagement strategies for each platform to build customer relationships and business.

Michelle Beckham speaks all over the region on social media marketing topics, reputation management, online branding and internet safety for children. Follow this link for more information.

It is C3’s corporate philosophy to share knowledge and give back to the community whenever possible. Michelle has been a board member for several Cincinnati organizations including: Authentic Leadership-Cincinnati, New Media Cincinnati, IHM Job Search Group, St. Ursula Academy, the Institute for Social Media at Cincinnati State, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Communications Commission and the Procter & Gamble Global Alumni Network Speakers Bureau team.

C3 is instituting a formal request program to meet the needs of non-profits and community organizations in 2013.  Organizations can apply for an opportunity each quarter to receive free strategic social media marketing assistance or speaker services for their group.

Requirements:

• Must be a 501(c)(3) or community organization within the Cincinnati/Dayton/Northern Kentucky area

• Speaking segment limited to a maximum of two (2) hours

• Consulting services limited to a maximum of two (2) hours

• Deadline for first quarter 2013 requests is 12/31/12.

*See website for full information and to register (http://creatingconnectionsconsulting.com)

Share this information with a group that could use some pro bono services.  They will appreciate your gift of information!  Thank you.

 

Cincinnati Social Media Marketing Training w/ C3

Upcoming opportunities for social media marketing education:

All courses taught by Michelle Beckham-Corbin.

Michelle Beckham-Corbin, President & Chief Digital Marketing Strategist of C3: Creating Connections Consulting, LLC has over 20 years experience in the Corporate, Non-profit and Small Business sectors.  Michelle is a former Sales & Marketing Manager for Procter & Gamble and holds an MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Michelle specializes in Social Media Marketing Strategy and Brand Development.  She is a Board Trustee for the non-profit group Authentic Leadership Cincinnati and is the Social Media for Business Curriculum Creator and Instructor at the Warren County Career Center, a University System of Ohio Provider. She is a member of the Steering Committee for the digital networking group, New Media Cincinnati and is an active member of the Cincinnati Social Media (CincySM) Group. Michelle is a frequent speaker, lecturer and trainer.  Additionally, she is a published writer, co-author of Social Media book, Age of Conversation 3 (Channel V Books, New York, 2010), frequent commentator and Blogger. She brings great energy and passion as well as a keen ability to deeply connect with people in order to create business building social media opportunities for her clients.

April 16^th:  Surviving in an Online World: Reputation Management for Teens

Location: Forest Hills School District:  Anderson High School (closed to the public)

April 17^th:  Social Media Trends Rocking 2012

Noon-1:00 p.m.

Location:  Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce Marketing Roundtable

Register here: http://bit.ly/HC3B1e

April 18^th: LinkedIn Training

1:00-4:00 p.m.

Location:  Warren County Career Center

Register here:  http://www.mywccc.org/SocialMediaWorkshops.aspx

April 19^th:  Introduction to Social Media Marketing

9:00-11:00 a.m.

Location:  Deerfield Township Trustee Meeting Room, Mason

Register here: http://c3introsocialmedia.eventbrite.com/

April 23^rd:  LinkedIn 101 for Women

1:00-2:30 p.m.

Location:  C3 HQ, Anderson Township

Register here:  http://creatingconnectionsconsulting.com/social-media-training-classesmichelle-beckham/social-media-classes-linkedin-michellebeckham/

April 25^th:  Facebook Page Timeline Marketing

9:00-11:00 a.m.

Location:  Warren County Career Center

Register here:  http://www.mywccc.org/SocialMediaWorkshops.aspx

April 26^th:  TEDx- Xavier University

1:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

Location:  Cintas Center, Xavier University

Register here:  http://www.xavier.edu/williams/tedx/rsvp.cfm

Tony Robbins TED Talk: “Why We Do What We Do and How We Can Do It Better”

April 26^th: Living in an Online World: Internet Safety for Kids

7:00-8:30 p.m.

Callahan & Associates at Stir

Available to Callahan clients only

April 30^th:  Facebook Page Timeline Marketing

9:00-11:00 a.m.

Location:  Deerfield Township Trustee Meeting Room, Mason

Register here:  http://c3faceook4arts.eventbrite.com/

May 8^th:  Digital Branding & Job Search

12:30-2:00 p.m.

Location:  University of Cincinnati- Clermont

Open to UC students only

May 10th: Advanced LinkedIn Marketing Strategies

9:00 a.m.-noon

Location:  Warren County Career Center

Register here:  http://www.mywccc.org/SocialMediaWorkshops.aspx

May 16^th:  Google and Search Engine Optimization

9:00-11:00 a.m.

Location:  Warren County Career Center

Register here:  http://www.mywccc.org/SocialMediaWorkshops.aspx

May 16^th:  Marketing with Pinterest

1:30-3:30 p.m.

Location: Deerfield Township Trustee Meeting Room

Register here:  http://c3pinterest.eventbrite.com/

May 23rd: Advanced Facebook Page Marketing

9:00 a.m.-noon

Location:  Deerfield Township Trustee Meeting Room, Mason

Register here:  http://advfacebookmarketing.eventbrite.com/

Contact us with any questions:  info@CreatingConnectionsConsulting.com OR  513-445-2180

Social Networking: What is Your Privacy Worth? One Cincinnati Facebook Father Finds Out

Slide from C3 Online Safety Seminar Cincinnati

I am appalled at the recent attacks on our privacy rights. From the Cincinnati divorced dad who spoke out against his wife’s actions on Facebook in “Friends” mode with the ex blocked from seeing any of his Facebook actions and was later court-ordered to publicly apologize for a month on his Wall or go to jail to the recent reports of companies who are requiring recruits to hand over their social network logins and passwords.  As many know, I am a huge proponent for reputation management and teaching social networking users that anything they put out there may become fodder for the world despite iron clad privacy settings. Despite having squeaky clean content, I believe that NO ONE has the right to demand or seize access to my content without my permission.

A company doesn’t have the right to look at the portions of my Facebook profile that are not accessible via public view.  They should not have access to photos of my children, family relationships, statements on my Wall made by  friends or family members or my “private” thoughts.  I listened to Mark Byron, who will probably go down in history as  “The Facebook Dad”, being interviewed on WLW radio yesterday as he shared the full story of what transpired in his case.  You can read his story here.  Mark concludes the interview by stating that in his estimation, the issue is that the magistrate handling the case lacked an understanding of just how Facebook works.

My company, C3. Creating Connections Consulting, LLC  provides social media training for area businesses and organizations, and I intimately know the inner workings of social networking sites like Facebook.  It is because of this professional knowledge, that I have created reputation management and social networking safety programs for area colleges, high schools and parenting groups.  What I have found over the years, is that many people do not have a full understanding of how these platforms work, how to adjust privacy settings or even that some of the applications that they integrate into their social networking site (i.e Farmville, Zynga games, contests, etc.) retain access to their private information regardless of their privacy settings.

Slide from C3 Online Safety/Reputation Management Seminar Cincinnati

Facebook changes constantly and at times seemingly on a whim.  This makes it very difficult for the passive user or even the non-user who has responsibility for those who do (parents, teachers, etc.) to keep up with potential changes that might open up personal profile information to the public.  We are not living in a world where once something has been downloaded, installed, or added to our devices we can sit back and assume that it will remain the same.  We need to check for changes on a regular basis (I suggest monthly) and read the TOS (Terms of Service) agreement like we are studying for our driver’s exam.

Both of these cases/stories have huge implications for privacy protection and freedom of speech in the United States.

What do you think?

 

New!! Custom Tagging on Facebook

Here’s a little gem that I picked up over the weekend. While it can be entertaining and useful, I also see implications for initial spammers. You can now Tag a Page or Application by naming it something else.  For example, let’s say I post on my personal Facebook Profile or another Page the following statement:

Hanging out with the most progressive bunch of people on the planet.

 

I can substitute the hyper-linked phrase:  “progressive bunch of people” for my actual C3 Facebook Page, so that when someone clicks on the hopefully enticing statement, they will be taken directly to my C3 Facebook Page.

The code for the status update would look like this:

@@[0:[91368159145:0:progressive bunch of people]]

The numbers refer to my Page ID and the terms that I want to stand in for the ID follow the colon and precede the closing brackets.

I can just see the “questionable” sites using the new .xxx domain using this as a redirect to their Facebook Pages with innocent sounding links.  Makes me think that the capability won’t be around for a long time, so use judiously while you can and make your friends think that you are a social media rockstar!  Ok, I could have said GURU, but I detest that moniker!

Now go Market your Page!

p.s. if you are still reading- here’s a site that will crank out the html code for you:  C3 Tip of the Day.

~Michelle Beckham

Simplifying Social Media via C3

 

Update: as of 12/8/11 the capability to custom tag on Facebook seems to be disabled. Not sure at this point if it is a glitch or a permanent ban by Facebook.

Setting a Personalized URL For Your Facebook Page

One thing that is consistent about social media is that it is constantly changing! It’s practically a full-time job just to keep up with these changes and process them into workable ways for a business to capitalize on reaching their intended target audience more effectively.

Today, I am sharing a quick tip that will make your Facebook Page more effective and boost your ability to be found online in search.

Here’s the tip:

Setting a personalized URL (PURL) for your Facebook Page

What does this mean?

Right click on your Facebook Page name and take a look at the URL or web address. Does it list your name and a series of numbers like this:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Grandmas-Pizza/107667633562

If it does, you need to set it to a proper address. It will be helpful from an SEO (search engine optimization) stand point, as well as be a more concise web address for you to promote on your print marketing materials.

It should read:  http://www.facebook.com/GrandmasPizza

See this link to learn how to set your URL.  Be aware that Facebook has recently reinstated the 25 Likes Rule for PURLS.  This means that you MUST have 25 Likes (Fans) before the PURL can be set.

Additionally, your Page name does not have to match exactly with your PURL. Take a look at this Juvenile Diabetes example:

They opted for the smaller name for the PURL and in their profile banner (myJDRF), but chose the full name in the Page Title in order to take advantage of the key words: juvenile, foundation, research and diabetes as key search terms.

If you work for the biz or org of the Facebook Page, then make sure to add the link in the Info Tab of your Facebook Personal Profile.  So many people don’t realize that they have inadvertently connected a hyper-link to the community page for the business or organization and not the REAL Facebook Page.

If you need help with setting your Facebook PURL and Name, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 513-445-2180.  We are always happy to assist you!

~Michelle Beckham

President & Founder of C3.Creating Connections Consulting

Check out our FREE 90 minute 1-on-1 Consulting Session & 2011 Holiday Lunch Contest HERE.

Facebook Page Marketing w/ Google+ Bonus

Can Your Customer’s Find YOU on Facebook?

C3: Creating Connections Consulting, LLC Facebook Page -Mobile

Even if you have a Facebook Page, are you truly leveraging Facebook marketing capabilities to create a dynamic Fan base that drives customers/clients to action?

Announcing the Facebook Page Marketing for Businesses and Organizations Workshop, a hands-on computer lab class that will allow you to work with your own Facebook Page as we discuss strategies that are unique for your industry at the state-of-the-art computer lab at The METS Center for Corporate Learning in Northern Kentucky.

Facebook Marketing has exploded and is being used by corporate brands, small businesses and non-profits all over the world to connect with and engage their clients and customers. Gain the competitive edge by learning how to leverage this important social networking tool.  Don’t just have a Page in name, have a Page that builds community and becomes a destination point for your fans!  

The class will be held on Tuesday, August 30th from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. with a FREE Bonus Introductory Session on the latest social networking craze: Google+ from 11:00-11:30 a.m.

This class will be limited in size to maximize the hands-on learning and discussion among the group. We will cover the following topics:

• Page Settings Optimization
• Administrator Capabilities
• Custom Landing Pages/Tabs
• Building a Strategic Fan Base
• Creating Engagement Strategies
• Creating Winning Content Strategy
• Tagging for Cross-Marketing
• Messaging Fans
• Marketing the Page
• Page Analytics

Click here for more information and to register for this class. Previous C3 workshops on Facebook Marketing have sold out. Don’t wait, register now and save $20 with the early bird discount while seats are available.

Hope to see you in the Facebook Marketing Class. Where else can you go to actively learn how to leverage your company or brand Facebook Page?

Can’t make this class, see the C3 Website for a list of Social Media for Business classes for the remainder of 2011. I will also be speaking to local businesses at The Secrets to Small and Medium Business Growth Seminar hosted by The Berry Company, publisher of the Cincinnati Bell Yellow Pages. This is a wonderful free event for businesses to come and learn more about how digital media can help you connect with customers and grow your business.

Details:  8/18 from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the Cintas Center-Xavier University. Click here for more information.

Confession of a Newly Minted Google+ Addict

My name is Michelle Beckham and I’m a Google+ Addict…..Seriously, I feel like an explanation is in order. Since I cleared the Google+ Invite-only list less than two weeks ago, I have submerged myself on a journey of discovery of this new social media application.  I have been swimming in the beta test waters with other high end, social media savvy early adopters and I am loving every minute of it!

Google+ Welcome Screen

Google+ has now become the first thing I look at in the morning vs. Email followed by Facebook. Having the Android App on my Motorola Droid also helps to fuel my 24/7 ( ok, I do sleep occasionally…..) addiction. iPhone users just received the app this week, giving  Android users a bit of a leg up initially.

These are the reasons why I am waxing poetic about Plus:

• Gives me the ability to use Circles to group people for targeted content
• Allows me to connect with ANYONE similar to the Follow concept on Twitter
• Allows for in-depth discussion within the comments section similar to the wonderful dialogue that occurs in LinkedIn Groups like Authentic Leadership Cincinnati and Facebook Groups, like Cincinnati Social Media
• Allows for video conferencing with anyone online and willing to chat with you. These spaces are known as Hangouts.
• Allows me to control my photos/albums more closely
• Gives me the ability to keep those “back yard bbq conversations” that occur on Facebook with close friends and family separate from business colleagues, clients or others that just don’t need to be connected in a “Friends of Friends” way to your family or kids.

The downside is that since I am such an information junkie, I think I could swim in this sea all day long, just soaking up the content and the conversations. I want to reign myself in, but the competitive side in me wants to master as much as I can before the dyke is opened and the world gains entry.

I have applied to be a business beta tester for C3: Creating Connections Consulting and think that Google + will have huge implications for how companies/brands interact via this platform. While Google is asking that businesses hold off on creating a Google Profile, some have jumped into the ocean already: Huffington Post, Mashable, CBS News, to name a few.

Some folks looking for an internet buck to be made, have set up businesses selling lists of Google+ users for $10 bucks a pop. I guess it beats the lemonade stand at the end of the driveway…….

I have a few invitations left, so if you are curious and want to join ahead of the fray, just post your email addy in the comments section below and I will get you started on a whole new way of sharing.

Oh, and I would LOVE to connect with you on Plus.  Just follow the link to find my new hide-out!

Visual Social Media Policy

One of the most creative ways I have ever seen to share a corporate social media policy with employees. It captures your attention and is clear and to the point. The intended audience was for a government agency in Victoria, Australia. Thankfully,  fellow Xavier University Alum and social media colleague, Matthew Dooley was kind enough to share it on the Cincinnati Social Media Facebook Group Page.

Love to know your thoughts…..

Social Media Policy