Guest post by Steve McKee, president of McKee Wallwork Cleveland.

We’ve all heard the expression you are what you eat. As a columnist and author, I’ve come to understand in many ways that you are what you write. But social media has given us an entirely new way of understanding our personal brand image: You are what your followers say you are.

Currently, more than 100 of my Twitter followers have put me on a list – not as many as @ginidietrich(!), but enough to give me a sense of how @WhenGrowthStall is positioned in the Twitterverse. Simply scanning the titles is an enlightening exercise. Continue Reading »

Guest post by Karen Altes, manager of outreach programs for the Institute of Real Estate Management.

A few years ago, as manager of the student outreach program for a trade association, I suggested that if we really wanted to reach college students we needed to be on Facebook. I now run the association’s Facebook fan page, Twitter feed, YouTube channel, and LinkedIn group, and I have learned the reality of the adage “be careful what you wish for.”

The Ascent

Getting the go-ahead on a new initiative is exciting! You start out with lots of energy and great ideas, and it will shine through to your colleagues and customers. I harness my enthusiasm to ensure I provide our members, clients, and industry with frequent and relevant updates via our social media outposts. I also get to teach our members how they can use social media tools for themselves and their businesses. Earning a reputation as the resident expert makes you the go-to person when your coworkers need training or advice. Continue Reading »

Guest post by Martin Waxman, co-founder and managing partner of energi PR, Communications, Digital in Toronto.

My name is Martin W., and I am…addicted to social media.

It started innocently enough with my first BlackBerry. I think I would call that my gateway connection.

Or maybe it happened earlier. With webmail and the email inbox I had to check at all hours of the day and night – and respond, of course. We’re talking ‘90s instantaneous here. Continue Reading »

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to use Twitter, not as an engagement tool, but as an SEO tool for some of our clients. And then, one of my favorite Canadians, Danny Brown, blogged about using social media in a way that’s right for you. And, just like he always does, he pulled the rug right out from under me! Okay, not really, but it is true that I think through something only in my head and he writes it before I have the chance to say it out loud. Now if I could just figure out how to switch that around! Continue Reading »

It’s a Twitter week! My friend Jennifer MacDonald asks, “I have been pondering and asking many people their opinion on Twitter handles. If you are a professional in the social media space, should your Twitter handle be your real name, or is it ok to use a nickname/hobby? If you use a nickname, do you still appear as a professional to those who do not know you?”

My answer is in the following video, with a special guest appearance from The Beast. Do you agree with me? What do you think?

On this week’s InsidePR, Martin Waxman, Joe Thornley, and I discuss the resistance people have to using social media. We thought we were solely going to talk about Ivor Tossell’s article about Twitter in The Globe and Mail, but we ended up discussing social media as a whole.

You can listen to it here.

Our conversation led me to thinking about a comment I made a few months ago on my friend Maureen Blandford’s blog. Her topic was about using Twitter for thought leadership, not for mindless thanks and RTs that don’t lead your followers to anything of substance. You can read her original post here.

I commented… Continue Reading »

Guest post by Dr. Jon Buscall, an online communications consultant based in Sweden.

Forget about thinking in terms of communications, marketing or PR for a moment. What’s your conversation strategy? How are you setting out to talk to the people that matter for your business – whether it’s prospects or even mainstream media? Continue Reading »

Guest blog written by Courtney Dial, the editor of the entertaining inspiration site Pizzazzerie.

According to a study by Pingdom, the average age of the Twitter user is 39 and more than 60 percent of all Twitter users are 35 or older. Why is Generation Y not into Twitter?

As a Gen Y’er myself, I have found Twitter useful both personally and professionally, but I’m in the minority. There are two main reasons I believe Gen Y’ers are not using Twitter: Continue Reading »

A year ago, I cautioned people that if we aren’t careful, Twitter was going to eventually be a bunch of PR people talking to a bunch of PR people. Then, last week, I boldly predicted that I think Twitter is going to die if they don’t quickly figure out how to make money. So I was anxious to hear the big advertising announcement by Twitter earlier this week…hoping they’ve figured out how to monetize, and balance the professions who participate in, my favorite social platform.

Um, not so much. Continue Reading »

I’ve had a ton of people ask me why I’m not at SxSW and, rather than repeating myself via direct message, I figure I talk about transparency all the time so I should tell you why I’m not there.

I run a business. Granted, it’s a small business, but I have employees, I have payroll to cut, I have checks to sign, I have clients to answer to, and I have goals to achieve. So, just like any other business expense, I have to weigh the pros and cons of the return on investment, not just on the out-of-pocket costs to attend, but also on the time lost that I could be working with clients (i.e. making money). Continue Reading »