The Social Web has evolved into a integrated system based on RSS feeds, widgets, applications, and plugins. Learn how to take advantage of these technologies and maximize your time and resources spent in the Social Web.

This session will cover how to integrate your Social sites and tools by:

* Feeding your blog posts into other social sites
* Using applications to integrate social tools and sites
* Implementing widgets and badges
* Using plugins in WordPress and other CMSs
* Using integration tools like Ping.fm and HootSuite

Registration is limited, so sign up now!

Next Session: Tuesday, December 1, 11am to 12:30pm CST – $99

Level: Intermediate – This session assumes the user has a fair understanding of social media tools and how to use them.

Go to http://www.socialmediapower.com/webinars to register.

The following excerpts are from A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web by Deltina Hay

Copyright 2009 by Deltina Hay. All rights reserved.

###

Creating Facebook Pages

Once you have a Facebook account and have completed your profile, log in to Facebook, and go to the “Advertising” link at the bottom of your Facebook profile page, or go directly to the Facebook business link.

Choose the best category for your business, book, or product. The three main categories are: local business; brand or product; and artist, band, or public figure. You can choose a subcategory as well. If you offer a number of different services or products, you may want to create several pages. For instance, if you are a publisher, you may want to create a main page for your publishing company using the “brand or product” category and individual pages using the “Artist, Band, or Public Figure” category for each of your authors.

Choosing the name of your Facebook page is very important. You are limited to around 65 characters, so make them count. The name of your Facebook page determines how well your page performs in searches.

The next step is to input detailed information about your business or product. Click on “add information” on your new page to do this.

The category you chose in the previous step determines what type of information you can enter. For example, the “Artist, Band, and Public Figure” category highlights Personal Interests, whereas the “Brand or Product” category asks for a Company Overview and Mission Statement.

Regardless of the category you choose, prepare the information you enter here ahead of time. Use your preparation worksheet to populate your page with all of your best information and key terms. You may only have a few seconds to get a reader’s attention, so put your best key terms forward. At this stage, click on every tab and fill each box thoroughly, reusing your key terms often. Be certain to upload an image to the “Picture” tab as well.

Once you input your detailed information, you can customize or remove the built-in applications for your page. Clicking on “edit” beside any one of these gives you more information about what they are and how to use them. Click on “view page” to see these applications in action on your page.

As an example, click on “edit” beside the “Notes” application. You can add manual notes to your page, or you can import a blog that feeds your latest blog posts onto your Facebook page using this application. There are many more applications you can add to your page. Click on “More Applications” at the bottom of the edit page or go to the Facebook application directory. Add applications that help represent your company and/or your products in your own unique way.

Applications are not difficult to install and are usually very easy to set up. A general rule of thumb when choosing an application is that if you can’t figure out how to set it up after the second try, find another one. There is often more than one application out there that can accomplish the same task.

Browse or search the application directory for applications that make sense to implement for your business or product.

On their Facebook page, Dalton Publishing utilizes the following applications:

Book Share Books
This application lets readers share their favorite books with their friends, as well as rate them and comment on them. This is a perfect application for a publishing company wanting to showcase their books.

My Flickr
Display photos from your Flickr account using this application. These photos can include logos, book covers, photos from author events, etc. You are provided many options of how to display the photos, too.

YouTube Box
Allows visitors to play your YouTube videos right on your Facebook page. This is handy for book trailers or promotional videos.

RSS-Connect
This is a nice application that allows you to display RSS feeds on your Facebook page. It is a convenient way for Dalton Publishing to display the feeds from their main site, as well as to their authors’ newsroom feeds.

By implementing these applications, Dalton Publishing has created an interactive page that also gives their visitors a personable look into their business. You can find many applications that can do the same for your
business.

Once your page is ready, don’t forget to publish it. You will see a message in the upper right corner as you prepare your page that says “This Page has not been published…” Click on “Publish this Page” in that box so that your Facebook page can be seen by others.

The “wall” of Dalton’s Facebook page is similar to a regular Facebook profile in that Dalton can post items and others can comment on them. This is also where most of the built-in applications appear. Also from here, you can send updates to all the fans of your page, promote your page with an ad, and manage page settings.

A Social Networking Strategy

Follow these steps for each social or professional networking site you join:

• Read and follow the site’s Terms of Use.
• Complete your profile using prepared material, including your best key terms.
• Upload a profile image or logo when available.
• Search for applications to enhance or customize your presence.
• Integrate other social tools and sites into your presence (like Flickr images or YouTube videos).
• Invite friends and colleagues to join your network. Do not invite people just for the sake of inviting them; only invite people you think can benefit from a specific community.
• Choose your friends wisely; do not just add anyone who asks; check out their profile first.
• Join groups relevant to your area of expertise or interest.
• Promote your page or profile on your Website or blog.
• Get to know the network features: Explore all of the features of the networking platform and implement each of them that make sense for you or your business.
• Do not turn your back on your investment: Keep your social networking presence dynamic by contributing to it frequently.

This worksheet is also available on the resource CD.

###

This chapter also includes extensive information about other social networking sites, like MySpace and LinkedIn, micro-blogging sites like Twitter, niche social networking sites tailored to appeal to certain groups of people or businesses, and Ning.com, a free service where you can create and build your own social networking site. The resource CD offers further reading, linkable resources, and two fillable PDF forms called “Social Networking Strategy Worksheet” and “Social Networking Preparation Worksheet.”

A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web by Deltina Hay

416 Pages, Indexed, Resource CD with fillable forms.

Buy from Amazon or…

Exclusive offer for Social Media Power readers: $18.00 including US shipping:

Building a Strong and Integrated Social Web Presence presented by Deltina Hay

This class will show you how to set up and implement essential social media tools like blogs, social networking sites, media communities, and social calendars. Learn how to integrate them so that your workload is greatly reduced.

Discover how to blog once, upload a photo one time, enter an event in one place, and feed all of it into your social networking pages, your blog, and your Website.

Creating this type of dynamic presence is necessary for success on today’s Internet.

This process does not have to be difficult or ridiculously time-consuming. Careful planning can make it practically painless!

Join us for another information-packed edition of Publishing University Online:
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 – 11:00 am PST/ 2:00 pm EST

About the Seminar:
The seminar cost is $49 for IBPA members and includes the hour-long seminar with participation, three free playbacks and the Power Point presentation to keep and review.

To register and for more details, click the link below:
More information and to register for Webinar

This is one Webinar you don’t want to miss if you’re looking to create a strong presence and find success in the Social Web. Hay, a leader in social media and Web 2.0 topics will demonstrate:

- How to start and maintain an optimized blog without breaking the bank or your back
- Building an impressive and optimized social networking presence
- How to tweet on Twitter and why you should be doing so
- How to utilize low maintenance tools that will yield big results

Register today to attend the Webinar!

The following excerpts are from A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web by Deltina Hay

Copyright 2009 by Deltina Hay. All rights reserved.

###

Once your strategy is in place, use it to prepare the content you will need for implementation. Try to resist the urge to just “wing it.” Proper preparation of your descriptions, biographies, and other blurbs will greatly increase your exposure in the Social Web…

Important First Decisions Regarding Your Social Networking Profiles

Before proceeding, you need to decide two things:
1. What “entity” will you be representing in the Social Web? If you are an author, this will be your book; if you are a business owner, this will be your business. If you are a publisher or an author who intends on writing more than one book, you may want to think this through. For instance, if you are a publisher, you may decide to create a presence for your press as well as for each of your titles. Whereas if you are an author with several books, you may want to make your name/pseudonym or the name of your book series your entity as opposed to just the name of one of your books.

2. Which person within your organization will be representing you in the Social Web? You cannot always use your business or book name as the account holder of social sites. You will need to populate many of the profiles for an actual person. If you are an author, this is a given; but if you are a business, you will want to choose someone within your organization who has the time to contribute to these sites on occasion. This person should also feel comfortable disclosing a certain amount of personal information about themselves.

Once you have decided on your entity and your representative, gather the following information. Be sure to use one or more of your best tags in every description and biography.

Information for Entity:

• Name of entity
• Tag line
• Short description
  • 50 to 60 words
  • Use at least two of your best tags

• Long description
  • 175 to 200 words
  • Use at least three of your best tags

• Website URL
• Year entity was founded
• Mission statement
• Product list (if applicable)
• Gender and birth date (These fields are required to register in some social sites, and since the age of your book or business would not make sense, use something else that has meaning for you.)
• Logo or book cover art

Information for Representative:

• Name of representative
• Brief biography
  • 100 words
  • Use two of your best tags
• Gender
• Birth date (This does not need to be public.)
• The following information is optional in most sites, however, it will make your representative more likely to find contacts in social networking sites:
  • Hometown
  • Activities
  • Interests
    • Music
    • TV
    • Movies
    • Books
  • Favorite Quotes
  • Favorite people/heroes
  • Education
    • College/university
    • Class year
    • Concentration
  • Work
    • Employer
    • Position
    • Description
    • City/town
• Photo for social networking profiles

###

This chapter also features preparation tips for tags/keywords, social calendars, multimedia items, as well as optimizing file names and preparing content for blog posts. The resource CD offers linkable resources and a fillable PDF form called “Preparation Worksheet” that you can use to prepare your content.

A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web by Deltina Hay

416 Pages, Indexed, Resource CD with fillable forms.

Buy from Amazon or…

Exclusive offer for Social Media Power readers: $18.00 including shipping:

Throughout the day on Wednesday, May 27, Deltina Hay, owner of social media consulting and Web 2.0 development firm Social Media Power and the independent press Dalton Publishing, is heavily involved in panels and workshops as part of the conference.

Early on Wednesday morning, from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m., Deltina is a guest speaker for a panel discussion entitled “Octopus Marketing: The Multiple Tentacles Approach to Creating Book Buzz Online (Web 2.0).” She will share the stage with Bob Baker (Spotlight Publications) and Maggie Lichtenberg (Open Heart Publishing). The publishing pros will provide insight into Internet book marketing, specifically touching on the importance of a strong Web presence created using social media and Web 2.0 strategies.

That afternoon, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., the social media maven hosts “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Fundamentals of Web 2.0 and Social Media, but Were Afraid to Ask,” a panel covering all aspects of the Social Web. From social networks to blogging, multimedia sharing to RSS feeds, this panel provides the answers you’ve been searching for to enhance your Web presence. Steve Mettee of Quill Driver Press and Kathleen Gage, The Street Smarts Marketer, assist Deltina in this discussion.

And for those craving a hands-on, straight-forward approach to implementing social media tools, Deltina will hold a workshop, titled “How to Build a Strong Technical but Manageable Presence on the Social Web,” on Wednesday afternoon from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. This class will demonstrate how to build a strong Social Web presence without the confusion often brought on by technical jargon. Learn to set up the essential social media tools, including a blog, social networking profiles, media sharing communities, and social calendars, and integrate them to reduce your workload. Discover how you can blog once, upload a photo in once place, enter an event to one social calendar, and feed all of it into your blog, your social networking profiles, and your Website.

Look for Deltina Hay’s forthcoming book A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web due out from Wiggy Press in April 2009. And, if you’re looking for an affordable way to create a powerful presence in the Social Web but cannot attend IBPA’s Publishing University conference, check out Plumb Social, an innovative new Web 2.0 service offered by Social Media Power.

First, what is a Facebook application?

If you are familiar with Facebook, you probably have an application or two on your page or profile already. If not, read here about the various Facebook applications you can utilize. Yes, some of them are silly things that you will never use, but many of them can really help enhance your business Facebook presence. Thousands of people search this application directory every day, so having your own application on Facebook gives you much more exposure within the social community.

Now, creating your application:

To create your 30-minute Facebook application, you will first create a widget of your RSS feed, then turn that widget into an application on Facebook.

1. Gather the following information:

• The URL of your feed or blog
• A good list of key terms that describe your feed or Website (key terms are what people might enter in a Google search box if they want to find your site)
• A title and description of your feed or Website that uses several of your key terms

2. Create a Facebook profile, if you don’t already have one.

3. Get an account at Widgetbox and create a “blidget.” This blidget is a simple widget that contains the listings from your RSS feed that others can customize and place on their blog or Web site (you can see a link to our blidget in the sidebar to the right). Don’t get too hung up on definitions here, though. These tools really are easy to use; all you need is your feed URL, title, description, and key terms or “tags.” It will take 10 to 20 minutes to create your blidget. You can find more information on making a blidget on Widgetbox, here.

4. Now that you have created your blidget, you can turn it into an application on Facebook, Bebo, and a number of other social sites. Widgetbox provides a very easy-to-use interface that will even open your Facebook account in a frame so you won’t have to move back and forth. It is best to be signed into Facebook before you begin the process, though. Click to find out more information about building social applications using Widgetbox.

5. An application needs to have at least 5 subscriptions before it can be listed in the Facebook directory, so invite all of your Facebook friends and fans to subscribe.

And, that’s it! Really. Your very own Facebook application in 30 minutes, give or take…

The Social Media Power team

###

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Get our e-book: A Step-by-Step Guide to Social Media Marketing and Web 2.0 Optimization

Copyright 2008 by Deltina Hay. All rights reserved.
Deltina Hay is the principal of Dalton Publishing and Social Media Power

My Flickr (http://apps.facebook.com/myflickr/): Display photos from your Flickr account using this application. These photos can include logos, product photos, photos from events, etc.

Upcoming (http://apps.facebook.com/upcoming/): Add all of your events to upcoming.org, and you can easily display them on your Facebook page with Upcoming’s Facebook application.

YouTube Box (http://apps.facebook.com/videobox/): Allows visitors to play your YouTube videos right on your Facebook page.

Simply RSS (http://apps.facebook.com/simplyrss/): This allows you to display up to eight RSS feeds on your Facebook page and display the feeds from your business’s main site and newsrooms.

Book Share Books (http://apps.facebook.com/bookshare/): This application is good to share books key team member’s have written or to highlight books relevant to your industry.

Notes (http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2347471856): Facebook notes are like blog entries, where you can post entries and your fans can comment on them. You can also pipe your regular blog entries into this application.

Static FBML (http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=4949752878&ref=s): This application will allow you to create your own custom Facebook boxes using standard HTML or Facebook Markup Language. Do not be intimidated by this application, though, it is easy to implement, and can add to your page customization.

To see these applications in use, visit:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dalton-Publishing/9792568507

or

http://www.facebook.com/pages/USInsuranceOnlinecom/10125499057

Note: If you use a particular application regularly, consider donating to the application’s creator.

by Deltina Hay

Professional and social networking sites like LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, and Squidoo are effective outlets for finding new readers, but it is easy to find your message spread thin if you don’t choose the right strategy. Many businesses settle for sparse profiles on various sites, never discovering the other powerful marketing tools many of these social networking platforms have to offer-most of them for free.

To avoid the scattershot approach, choose one or two social networking sites that fit your business well and invest the time to maximize your presence in them. Let’s explore what that might look like if Facebook is one of your choices.

Prepare your best information before you start.

Avoid the “I will go back and fill that in later” trap. Have all your necessary information on hand, ready to copy and paste on the spot. Complete a worksheet containing:

1. Key Terms:
Make a list of your best key terms and weave them into the rest of your worksheet items. Key terms are one, two, or three word terms that someone might use if they were searching for your business in a search engine.

2. General Information:
Your Name
Business Name
Email Addresses
URLs
Instant Messaging screen names

3. Biographical and Descriptive Information:
Short bio (50 words)
Longer bio (100 words)
Short company description (50 words)
Longer company description (100 words)
Business mission statement

4 List of Products

I based these worksheet items on a typical Facebook profile and page. If you choose a different social networking site, examine some completed profiles and base your worksheet items on them.

Create an account and thoroughly complete your profile

If you haven’t already, get a Facebook account. Completely fill out your profile using your worksheet. Under the relationships tab, choose “networking.” You can skip the personal and education tabs for business profiles, but there is no harm in filling them out. If you have an existing account, upgrade your profile information using your key terms.

But don’t stop there!

Facebook, like most good social networking platforms, offers many marketing opportunities for businesses-some for free. You can find these by clicking the “Advertising” link in the footer of the Facebook site, or by following this link: http://www.facebook.com/business/.

Since I can’t cover all of the marketing tools in one article, let’s focus on my favorite: The Facebook Page. It’s my favorite not only because it is free, but because it makes use of the many diverse Facebook applications.

Facebook pages are specifically for marketing a business or a product. They offer a way for a business to represent itself to the Facebook community in an authentic way. Facebook users can search pages the same way they search for people within the network community.

Create your page by going to “Page Manager” in the left sidebar of your Facebook profile, or by following this link: http://www.facebook.com/business/ and choosing Facebook Pages. Choose the best category for your business.

Use key terms in the name of your Facebook page!

It seems that the actual page name is the only text on a Facebook page that is used in a search. With that in mind, use at least two of your best key terms in your page name.

Populate your page with all of your best worksheet information. You may have only a few seconds to catch a reader’s attention, so put your best key terms forward.

Once your page is in place, add applications to help represent your company in your own unique way. To find applications for your page, click on “Applications” in the upper left corner of your page, or search for them here: http://www.facebook.com/apps/.

Applications are not difficult to install and are usually very easy to set up. Use this general rule of thumb when choosing an application: If you can’t figure out how to set it up after the second try, find another one. There is often more than one application available to accomplish the same task.

Applications Top Picks:

My Flickr (http://apps.facebook.com/myflickr/): Display photos from your Flickr account using this application. These photos can include logos, product photos, photos from events, etc.

Upcoming (http://apps.facebook.com/upcoming/): Add all of your events to upcoming.org, and you can easily display them on your Facebook page with Upcoming’s Facebook application.

YouTube Box (http://apps.facebook.com/videobox/): Allows visitors to play your YouTube videos right on your Facebook page.

Simply RSS (http://apps.facebook.com/simplyrss/): This allows you to display up to eight RSS feeds on your Facebook page and display the feeds from your business’s main site and newsrooms.

Implementing these applications creates an interactive page that also gives visitors a personable look into your business. To see all of these applications in use on one page, visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dalton-Publishing/9792568507.

Note: If you use a particular application regularly, consider donating to the application’s creator-they do not get paid to develop these applications.

Promoting your social networking presence

Now that you have invested the time in creating an impressive presence on Facebook (or whichever social networks you chose), go the extra mile and research how you can promote your new presence both inside and outside of the network. Here is a link to Facebook’s promotional guidelines: http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/promo_guidelines.php.

Of course, invite everyone on your mailing lists to join your network and visit your sharp new page!

Don’t turn your back on your investment

Remember: The social Web is a fickle place! You need to keep your content dynamic and interesting in order to encourage people to return to your page, or to recommend it to their friends. Do this, and you will see better results than those who just move on to building their next profile. Once you have a good, healthy presence in one community, use your experience to move on to your next successful presence.

Copyright 2008 by Deltina Hay. All rights reserved.

Facebook Pages

If you are a business, you should have a Facebook page in addition to a profile. Using a page tells Facebook users that you are serious about representing your business in an authentic way, as opposed to falsely personifying your business in a profile as many do.

Once your page is in place you can start adding applications to help represent your product or service in your own unique way. To find applications to add to your page, click on the word “Applications” in the upper left corner of your page, or search for them here.

Applications are not difficult to install and are usually very easy to set up. A general rule of thumb when choosing an application, is if you can’t figure out how to set them up after the second try, find another one. There is often more than one application out there that will accomplish the same task.

Let’s look at a case study:

Here are two screen shots from Dalton Publishing’s Facebook page.

On this Facebook page, Dalton Publishing utilizes the following applications:

Book Share Books: This application lets readers share their favorite books with their friends, as well as rate them and comment on them. This is a perfect application for a publishing company wanting to showcase their books.

My Flickr: Display photos from your Flickr account using this application. These photos can include logos, book covers, photos from author events, etc. You are provided many options of how to display the photos, too.

Upcoming: Add all of your events to upcoming.org, and you can easily display them on your Facebook page with Upcoming’s Facebook application.

YouTube Box: Allows visitors to play your YouTube videos right on your Facebook page. This is handy for book trailers or promotional videos.

Simply RSS: This is a nice application that allows you to display up to 8 RSS feeds on your Facebook page. It is a convenient way for Dalton Publishing to display the feeds from their main site, as well as to their authors’ newsrooms.

By implementing these applications, Dalton Publishing has created a page that gives their visitors a personable look into their business. You will likely find many applications that can do the same for your business. And, when you find you are using a particular application regularly, consider donating to the author – they do not get paid to develop them.

Remember that the social Web is about connecting, so be real and have fun!

Copyright 2008 by Deltina Hay. All rights reserved.