Social media

I attended a Social Media Conference at Oxford Town Hall today. For me, the main aspect was going to be the group exercise work as surely you learn by doing - probably more so than listening. This is the approach we adopt in OSL Training - involvement, involvement and more involvement. Then...review.

Unfortunately it didn't quite go like that. A lot of time was spent telling us about social media and why it shouldn't be ignored. Facebook was growing...except actually in the UK and the US it is falling.

A lot of time was also spent where the audience questioned/discussed things with the representatives from Thames Valley Police though quite why someone wanted to make the point that a 4 year prison sentence was 'too long' for someone who posted on Facebook about having a riot, is beyond me.

1pm came and, having expected to have had about 75 minutes of groupwork by then, none had happened so I decided to leave, thus missing the afternoon session which would, at best, have been 1 3/4 hrs, probably 45 minutes (as per timetable) of actual groupwork.

In terms of using social media perhaps the best thing is to try it - but be careful. With that in mind I spent a few minutes googling and came up with the following resources:





5. Free ebook Twitter for Beginners

6. How To Use Twitter for Sales and Marketing (free but you have to give your email)

7. Four ebooks (free) on social media and marketing





And five more....


1. How to Enhance Your Internet Presence with Social Media

This 34-page eBook by the generous and talented folks at Hubspot will help you toimprove and increase your brand’s presence on different social media networks including Twitter and Facebook. To download the eBook, you will have to provide your details and be a part of their email list. A very small price to pay for all the goodness that Hubspot offers business owners.

2. How to Monitor Your Social Media Presence in 10 Minutes a Day

Again, by the Hubspot team, this 20-page eBook is all about time management and social media. Now that you’re online and networking, learn how to optimize your social media efforts without spending hours online.

Find answers to questions like “what should I monitor and how?” Learn about tools that help you organize your social networking efforts and track them effectively.

Oh and while you’re at Hubspot, do spend some time in their treasure trove of alibrary for some totally awesome marketing resources. All FREE!

3. Why Your Blog is Your Social Media Hub by Debbie Weil

Debbie Weil is the authority in the world of business blogging and in this eBook she draws upon the experience of 32 other experts, including Seth Godin, David Meerman Scott, Guy Kawasaki and others to understand how and why a blog is actually a social media hub. The eBook is basically a compilation of what these experts had to say on the topic.

Why I find this eBook useful is that it helps a small business to understand why you need both a blog and a social media presence and how to use both effectively.

4. From Stats to Strats: Using Social Media to Plan and Measure a Strategy Campaignby Bonsai Interactive Marketing

This 27-page eBook from Bonsai Interactive Marketing is a great read for anyone wanting to use social media stats to create a smart marketing strategy.

Part one of the eBook deals with the statistics of social media (some of which may be outdated since the eBook came out in 2010) but it is the second part that is strategy or using social media stats to create a workable, effective marketing plan.

For instance, the Twitter stat sheet shows over 60% of Twitter use is outside of the US. The action step they recommend is analysing where your customers are from and if it is outside of the U.S., using Twitter to connect with them.

5. David Meerman Scott’s Library of Free eBooks

I thought of just including one of my favourites – Real Time {2010} in this list but that wouldn’t have been fair.

While some of David’s ebooks have been written in 2006 and 2008, I recommend downloading them all and reading them, front-to-back. The information and strategy in all of them will help you grow as a small business owner for sure

And five Twitter resources:

  • Twitip.com - A website that is an amazing resource for Twitter Tips from Twitter experts.
  • Mashable.com – Their Twitter Guide is second to none.
  • Livelearnloveleave.com – I have a popular post on how to gain free Twitter followers and how to make money with Twitter (I am almost done with a free ebook on the topic as well. I will add it to this list when it is done.)
  • Retweet Button – How to add the retweet button to your Word Press blog and the benefits of the retweet.
  • Essence of Twitter – I wrote a post called “I Tweet Therefore I am connected to you” it explains the essence of Twitter.
  • Here's an affiliate marketing manual...

    • And finally, a plug for this company.....


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    Methods there are many, principles but few, methods often change, principles never do