Jill Foster
Live Your Talk
liveyourtalk.com
@jillfoster
I’m more and more fascinated with online engagement and how it impacts (or inhibits?) the development of offline engagement in public speech scenarios. It’s an ongoing observation on my part. And my friend Joanna Pineda recently blogged on an issue central to the online engagement piece:
Where should she participate online?
Which social networks and why?
(Image Chatters by Ingirojiro, Creative Commons)
In her post, Joanna dives into all of this and asks for my approach to some of her questions (thanks Joanna for the chance to share on this!).
Her cross-published post follows here:
I’ve been on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for some time now. I’m also on FoodBuzz, Plaxo, Delicious and StumbleUpon. Most recently, I signed up for FourSquare, Amplify and Buzz.
Some context
FourSquare is a location-based social network that allows subscribers to check-in from their current location using their mobile phones and provides tips and recommendations. Amplify asks “users to share news and information they find thought provoking and conversation-worthy,” not anything and everything about their lives, status and locations. Buzz is the latest offering from Google that lets you share updates, links, photos and videos.
Now that I’m signed up for all of these services, I’m asking myself these questions:
Image Walking and Talking by Litherland, Creative Commons
To try and get some perspective on these questions, I turned to my friend Jill Foster, social network guru, video blogger, and co-founder of DC Media Makers. Jill has over 5,000 followers on Twitter, nearly 600 Facebook friends and she’s prolific on what seems like every major social network. Here’s what she has to say about being active on at least a half dozen platforms.
Jill responded via email, per below:
There are online networks where my content may overlap but that’s intentional and less frequent.
Twitter:
It’s my central hub of online conversation plus a place to observe other users’ content – and share content I produce. Twitter frankly goes beyond a business platform for me. Twitter is a liberal arts engagement pool (with a water cooler chat mentality mixed in) that never stops.
Twitter Search:
If I want to virtually attend a conference – I follow that conference’s hashtag or the feeds for those able to attend in person. Also, to observe and engage on core topics of interest with people, I keep certain Twitter feeds active, e.g., women entrepreneurs, public figures, public speaking, social media.
Amplify:
It’s not a water cool chat mentality when I use Amplify. It’s an excellent platform and opportunity for sharing deeper perspective. I forward links to these conversations (which include entire clipped excerpts) to Twitter or, if content is more on the personal development front, to Facebook as well.
Posterous:
I enjoy Posterous for sharing mobile content – audio, video, and pics – which forwards to Twitter, where I can respond and engage.
Facebook:
I use Facebook for more personal engagement, although my professional drive/views may be shared there.
LinkedIn:
It has a fantastic array of subject-centric, professional groups. I am starting to use LinkedIn to join groups and be part of discussions. It’s less a place to share regularly or engage through content (vs. Amplify or Twitter).
So there you have it. A social media maven’s primer on the major social networking platforms and how to use them. As for me, I’m slowly getting hooked on FourSquare and I’m trying to find time to post on Amplify.
How about you? How many and which networks are you on? How do you distinguish between them? How much time do you spend updating each day? And which one is your favorite?
SXSW was incredible.
…with chances for public conversation online and off at every turn (…more blogging on that front soon!).
In the meantime, thanks again to Allyson Kapin, editor at Care2’s Frogloop blog, for the chance to guest post. I learned alot from the brainstorming session and video interview with Safe Place’s Narissa Johnson per below.
The Aunt Harriet ‘rule’ and the Flip cam dynamic:
There was ample background noise and conversation at the restaurant where this video chat took place.
To ensure her audio came through, I asked if she’d talk louder than normal – as if she was talking to her ‘older Aunt Harriet.’
She admitted at first that made her uneasy – understandable! But audio is king. And especially with the small Flip mics, I’m grateful Narissa was up for speaking in a more robust tone.
With that, here’s Frogloop’s guest post and 2 minute clip:
It was a sunny SxSW Saturday last week where people came together for Zoetica Media’s brunch and brainstorm session — with one nonprofit in mind: Safe Place.
Community and a Strategic Starting Point
The goal was to look at Safe Place’s community, internally and externally, and offer a strategic starting point for this nonprofit’s social media plan.
They are doing vital work in the Austin area. Their team provides shelter, a 24 hour hotline, and educational services to those impacted by sexual violence and domestic abuse.
I haven’t discussed this topic very much, especially in a brainstorm setting like this. Despite that discomfort, I was motivated by just how compelling a discussion group can be in the face of greater community impact.
Key Questions: A Social Media Plan Takes Shape
These questions were at the heart of discussion. And Narissa Johnson, Safe Place’s communications director, observed some interesting results from the conversations.
In this onsite video interview, we talk about what most stood out strategically for taking her social media plan to the next level.
What do you think about these ideas? What would you add for moving her social media plan forward?
Image, SXSW, by Kyle P. Johnson, Creative Commons
-Shared a great conversation with dynamo entrepreneur Barbara Corcoran recently at the MORE Reinvention Convention.
We talk here (…her humor shines through) on what she did with her first start-up funding i.e. $1,000. And she shares how Twitter helped reinvent her network and community.
A small business owner and I recently discussed the growing relationship economy. And a favorite topic of ours came up: social media and the progress her team was making on that front.
She was thrilled at how her staff engaged through their Facebook fan page and a Youtube video series to engage prospect relationships and drive sales.
She then admitted something that really caught my attention.
Her savvy team was so skilled at engaging through social media. So she felt comfortable with them presenting as panelists for a small industry event.
…which didn’t turn out as she first hoped.
To her surprise, the team lacked confidence and basic skill in this public speech scenario.
She realized she had assumed their comfort and savvy in communicating online would automatically translate to offline environments.
Some ideas to audit and shape your team’s public speaking skill:
1. Assess team skill before game time.
Create chances with your team to discuss, audit, and practice public speaking skill, like in assessment and goal setting situations.
Discuss which scenarios where they’ve publicly presented – like what type of audiences, with or without co-presenters, or in vs outside your industry. Learn what topics and stories related to your business most draw out their interest. Build off that subject matter and collaborate on a plan to finesse their speaking ability.
2. Make the marketing value of public speaking a team mindset.
Are there small business events/conferences (great calendar of entrepreneurial events at Small Biz Trends), podcamps, or local meetups (in case you’re in the DC region) that would be ideal places for your business to be seen? …and be conversational forums for your team to present?
Fast Company blogger and presentation guru Ruth Sherman recently made a great point: always be ready to speak. That’s not to say folks on your staff should be ready for a 60 minute keynote at the drop of a hat.
It means that for business to succeed, the mindset ‘always be marketing’ rules the day. And the team’s ability to represent well even at the most relaxed speaking environment makes an impact.
3. Develop quick key messages for a range of speaking opportunities.
To bolster team readiness, it’s worth it to craft a mini, ongoing archive of key messages that reflect your business values, service, and industry relevance. These can be on-hand for future fleshing out for speeches or even networking events.
It’s the relationship economy.
Is your team ready to help build those relationships through authentic and skilled public speech ability?
Image Ready to Fly by Marcel Germain, Creative Commons
Advisory Board Member 2012
