Maximize Your Social With Neal Schaffer

I recently had a chat with fellow social media marketing professionals Debbie Miller and Albert Qian, both of whom want to get started podcasting. Listen to my advice, given while enjoying a bowl of ramen in the food court of a local Japanese supermarket!Key Highlights[00:29] Introduction of Podcast Guests[02:17] Podcast Guest #1: Albert Qian[03:16] Podcast Guest #2: Debbie Miller[04:02] Why Albert and Debbie Decide to Podcast Rather than Video Blog?[06:07] How to Get Started on Podcast: Equipment[07:39] Where Did I Start Doing Podcast[08:46] The Challenge I Had in Podcasting[09:03] Working on My Intro and Outro[11:34] How I Upload My Podcast[12:48] Promoting the Podcast[13:49] One of the Downsides of Sony IC RecorderNotable QuotesSo you know, I'm interested in podcasting, because I think it's another great avenue to reach my audience and you know, build more content. And a lot of people don't like to read these days, they'd rather listen. And so I want to give my future audiences here and

What social media trends should businesses pay attention to in the new year? I explain the major trends that will help your business continue your social media success into the new year.Key Highlights[01:35] Trends Emerged in 2013 that I Think Are Going to Get Stronger in 2014.[01:55] The Strategic Initiative of Employee Advocacy[04:33] The Year of Google Plus[05:27] Companies that Leverage Google Plus[06:19] Paid Social Will Be Fully Mainstream[07:51] More Emphasis on Content Creation[09:15] It's All About EvolutionNotable QuotesNow, companies are always looking outside corporate walls for brand advocates and social media. But many of your most passionate advocates are also those who have deep ties to your company. They're your employees. Each individual employee has influence in their own unique social network, their own professional and personal graph. The more employees that can help share your social media messages. The broader reach a company can yield and social media. I do see that creating

Have you ever shared a Circle on Google Plus or seen others sharing one? Learn about their hidden powers and how to leverage what most businesses have yet to figure out!Key Highlights[01:43] The Advantage of Google Plus[02:49] Looking at the Early Days of Twitter[02:58] The Challenge with Google Plus[04:18] My Suggestions For You with Google Plus[04:47] The Initial Step of Engagement You Should Be Doing[05:11] One of the Interesting Things You Can Do to Engage in Google Plus[05:24] The Power of Circle Sharing[06:55] Why Circle Sharing?[07:55] Circle Sharing As A Form of Engagement[10:11] The Most Underutilized Aspect of Social Media MarketingNotable QuotesI do believe it is starting to reach that tipping point where people are no longer asking, Well, I thought Google Plus was a ghost town, or why should my company be on it? And realizing that it is a natural extension of a communication channel that your social media program should make sure it encompasses, right.And it hurts me that also, no one is talking a

Many find their biggest social media challenge to be an internal one: How to convince your executive team of your social media investment. Here's some advice on how to explain your social media team internally, build consensus, and receive more recognition (and budget) for your activities. Key Highlights[00:59] Go Big or Go Home Approach[02:05] Everybody is Doing Social Media[02:31] The Two Different Types of Companies I See[03:59] The Challenge of Selling Social Media Internally[05:54] Reasons Why Executives Are Fearful of Social Media[06:30] My Advice on Convincing People Internally[07:44] Write Internal Reports Regularly[07:54] Paint Holistic Picture of Your Social Media ProgramNotable QuotesIf you're gonna make content, make account instead of just trying to churn out things on a regular basis.And I think at this point, now, it really depends on what level your social media program or your social media literacy is at. But my feeling as we end 2013 is, look, everybody is doing social media, right

While in Toronto speaking, Neal interviews @ValTorontoGal from Charming Media and @MegButton from Star Content Studios for advice that a Public Relations as well as Content Marketing Agency can offer your business.Key Highlights[01:15] Introduction of Podcast Guests[02:48] How Social Media Can Help Companies[04:25] Meg and Val's Worst Experiences[08:27] Tips that Help Meg and Val Achieve Greatness in Social Media[10:37] The Value of Working with Content and PR AgenciesNotable QuotesI generally like to say, well, for us, because you're doing such a big traditional media awareness campaign, it's very good to support it with any type of social media support, especially if you're working with, you know, online publications, bloggers, they're gonna be mentioning your brand online, they're going to be talking to online. It is a natural complement. And it's almost a shame to be focusing all your attention in one area and not on that area as well.And the biggest thing that I would t

A real-life analogy to help you understand how social selling is all about using social media to find information relevant to selling as well as choose the most effective communication channel to help engage with the prospective buyer.Key Highlights[01:12] What is Social Selling / Social Sales[02:27] What Happened to Me that Illustrates What Social Selling is About[04:37] An Example of an Aggressive, Awesome Salesperson[05:36] There's Data Everywhere on the Internet[06:10] Things You Can Do As Part of Social Selling[08:16] The Different Channels to CommunicateNotable QuotesAnd so this gentleman was very smart. He was reading the data reading the information that was right relevant, that he knew that every single person that's posting a do business as advertisement is one of his potential business banking clients.But the fact that this person used the data to contact me. In other words, this data appears in a lot of different forms.But there's lots of hints of people that may be looking to buy a

A look into how information technology and project managers can proactively use social media and add value in a social business world.Key Highlights[01:3] IT Professionals' Roles in Social Business Strategy[02:47] 4 Areas Where Information Technology Professionals Can Add Value In A Social Business World[02:58] Managing the Growing Volume and Complexity of Content[04:28] The Advantages of Having A Blog[05:36] Leading on Google Authorship and Google Plus[09:15] Role in Employee Advocacy[12:28] Managing Social Big DataNotable QuotesAlso, I made a point to tell everybody, because it obviously there's a lot of people who knew about the tools that you know, there's a traditional sort of definition of social business or the social enterprise that emphasizes the tools.So, you know, the other important thing is that people are contacting companies, after they've already made a decision whether or not that whether or not they want to do business with them based on information that they found on the

Neal provides a great resource to allow you to benchmark how well you are Maximizing Your Social, SEO and mobile aspects of your own website.Key Highlights[00:27] Benchmarking Your Website's SEO[02:36] Analyzing Some Data Set[03:00] Data You Should Be Considering[03:50] Hummingbird and What Company Should Do[06:40] SEO Mobile[06:50] Mobile SEO Statistics[08:21] Why LinkedIn Is Significant[10:27] Always Have A Link to Your Socials in Your WebsiteNotable QuotesAnd it's very interesting, the more and those of you that are involved in SEO, or even do website development and get access to web analytics, it's very interesting to see obviously, the differences between those companies that are very active in social and not as well as those companies that seem to do better at SEO than other companies. And I'm really looking for a barometer a benchmark, so that you can compare yourself and see where you may need to be improving things.But, you know, what I said was, you know, what Google giveth, Goo

Jay Baer, the author of Youtility, shares the background to his book as well as his perspectives on mobile, content marketing, social media, and business.Key Highlights[00:30] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Jay Baer[05:02] The Concept of Youtility[07:40] Why Marcus Sheridan?[10:27] Jay's Strategic Tips for Mobile[12:50] The Importance of Identifying Customer Needs[15:54] Final ThoughtsNotable QuotesI think a much more viable approach in today's marketing climate is to just be useful, that if you are truly and inherently useful if you create marketing that is so good, and so useful that people would pay for it, which is really the definition of utility, good things will happen.What I felt we were missing is a strategic framework for why to create content, there's lots of companies out there making lots of stuff, without a real good understanding of what role content really plays and how content really supports other organizational initiatives.Now that you know, it's not about what are you d

An interview with Jayson Duncan of Miller Farm Media talking about the convergence of the art of video and social media.Key Highlights [00:22] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Jayson Duncan[01:37] The FFFirst Thing Jayson Recommends to Clients Who Want to Record Video[02:40] The Adven of Social Media and Popularity of YouTube[03:07] How to Convey Emotion In A Video[04:28] The Core of Who Your Company Are and What You Do[05:12] How Jayson Helps His Clients Find Hidden Stories[06:08] Quality Forms of Video[08:03] The ROI of Video Marketing[11:19] Should A CEO Be Out In A Video?[12:40] Final ThoughtsNotable QuotesThey need to think about the story they want to tell, and they need to make sure that their that story is cohesive across all the social media channels, it really needs to take a lot of time to think how does this fit our brand overall, as this voice fit that brand.It goes back to terms overused, but content is king. So having content that fits your brand and hits all the metrics you're trying to hit

What are the three things that CEOs should be worried about concerning their social media programs?Key Highlights[01:26] There's No Cookie Cutter Approach in Social Media[01:44] 3 Things CEOs Should Be Concerned About As They Become More Active in Social Media[02:32] Voice as An Integral Part of Social Media Strategy[03:30] Have A Strategic Voice[04:17] You Need to Listen[04:34] What is Social Media Crisis?[06:05] Leverage Tools[07:17] Tools You Can Use[08:05] Engage!Notable QuotesAnd if you have read maximize your social, you know how I talk about voice being an integral part of your social media strategy, and that most companies have brand guidelines that don't cover voice. And this is critical.The voice of your brand, is the voice of that person. And that may not be the message that you want to send out to the public or your target audience. And this is a mistake that I think a lot of small and medium sized businesses have. So I think it's really point number one is really, what is the brand

The launch of the rebranded Maximize Your Social podcast (formerly Social Business Unplugged) goes into creating the importance of special moments with your social media followers as well as leveraging the ever-changing visual social networks and visual components within social media channels. Key Highlights[00:33] Rebranding My Online Presence[02:35] Giving Back to Your Network, Partner, and Customers in Social Media[03:28] "Enchantment"[05:06] Leveraging the Visual[06:24] Why You Should Be On Pinterest[07:12] Images Are Now Bigger and Wider[07:57] What You Need to Do to Optimize?[08:33] Remember the Recommended Facebook Dimension[11:06] Why Visuals Are ImportantNotable QuotesAs far as content curation, and engaging with influencers, but have we ever taken a step back and said, You know what, let's go out there and just thank those that have supported us that maybe we think before.It's creating just a very, very special moment that can deepen your relationship with someone by 10x. It&apos

An interview with Tammy Kahn Fennell, founder and CEO of MarketMeSuite, on the evolution of social media dashboards and social productivity.Key Highlights[00:45] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Tammy Kahn Fennell[02:01] The Evolution of Social Media Dashboards and How Businesses Should Be Using Them[05:24] The Challenge[06:30] Where MarketMeSuite Is Trying to Excel[09:19] Social Media Productivity and Efficiency[11:04] Tying Social Media Data for Business Efficiency[13:09] Three Ways Businesses Should Be Making More Use of Social Media DashboardNotable QuotesSo I think from a business perspective, businesses are being forced, by just the way social media is evolving to get a little more integrated, and really get organized so that once you organize, you can then prioritize them. Once you prioritize, you can actually gauge but missing those first two steps, could mean that you're just you know, you're approaching it from all different angles. And you could burn out on that and not actually get the tru

WordPress is free, but if you want to get the most out of your CMS for inbound marketing, here are 10 recommended paid services that you should look into.Key Highlights[00:55] Paid Services for WordPress[02:02] 10 Paid Services That I Think You Should Be Investing[03:38] Genesis[04:37] Web Hosting: WP Engine[08:42] wpsitecare.com[10:24] Security Plugin[11:07] Landing Page Plugin[13:33] Stock Images Site[14:35] Contact Form Plugin[15:38] Magic Action Box ProNotable QuotesSo a backup service is something you should also consider. But considering the WP Engine included as part of the web hosting, well, it just makes a lot of sense to go with them. And it's not just that I've had security issues like many other sites do.And that's the advantage of going with a company that is dedicated to WordPress, in fact, automatic, you know, the organization that is responsible for maintaining WordPress, outside of the open source they have invested in WP Engine.So really, really great and technology that you s

Are you overlooking the potential power of video to help promote your brand? Read on about why Neal Schaffer chose to create a book trailer for Maximize Your Social - and why you should invest in video, too.Key Highlights[01:17] Reminder: Video Is Important![03:06] What Video Is About[03:43] Other Types of Embeddable Content[04:19] Why Video Is Important[05:55] Content Should Be Entertaining, Resourceful, and Shareable[06:04] My Advice For You[07:00] An Example of A Successful Video[08:51] Contact An Expert[09:38] Go Big or Go HomeNotable QuotesYou know, it's funny, in social media, we always look at the shiny new thing, you know, Facebook, or Pinterest, or Instagram, these are all actually very old by now. But it's funny that we look at those platforms. And we always will, we tend to forget about blogs, but not that much. But we often forget about video. Video requires a lot of resource if you really want to do it right. And you should do it right. There is no other medium that allows you to connec

The background for and importance of auditing your social media, with a concrete example comparing the Facebook presence of two hotels.Key Highlights[01:16] Social Media Audits[01:45] Creating Baseline Numbers[02:29] Create a Role Model[02:52] The Notion of Audit[04:00] Is It A Good Ideal to Compare Yourself with the Competition?[04:32] Notion of Social Proof[04:46] Where the Role of Audit Comes In[06:01] Looking at the Organic Growth Rate[08:01] Number of Like Is Meaningless[08:30] Getting A Sense of the Engagement[10:56] 2 Easy Things You Can Do to AuditNotable QuotesSo part of this feeds into the fact that you have to have a plan, you have to have a social media strategy, you have to be measuring, you have to be optimizing, that's a no brainer. But part of that social media strategy is creating baseline numbers of how others in your industry are doing.But if there's a new platform that you're not familiar with, your company is just engaging and if you think it may be important for your socia

Engagement, relevance and relationships are as important in social media marketing as they are in email marketing.Key Highlights[00:41] My AHA Moments on Best Practices with Email Marketing[02:18] Email Providers Getting Better at Filtering Spam[02:48] What Gmail Has Done Recently[03:35] What Happens When You Send A Lot of Emails[04:06] More Engagement, Better Relationships[05:01] Make People Stay Longer in Your Site[05:30] Best Practice in Email Marketing[05:58] Create Engaging and Relevant Content[08:09] Broad Terms that People Overuse or OvergeneralizeNotable QuotesBut it was interesting, because what's happening in the world of email marketing, is that the old days of just blasting a message out and it getting into the inboxes of people are obviously gone.But really what happens is every list that is out there has a reputation that is attached to it, brands have reputations. We have social media reputations, right? Well, lists are the same. The providers are trying to deliver good service to their cu

The truth about Facebook's recent changes: Nothing changed. You still need a data-driven approach to Facebook - and social media - marketing.Key Highlights[01:00] Recent Changes with Facebook[02:38] How EdgeRank Works[03:42] The Notion of nTime Decay and Notion of Affinity[04:05] Reintroducing Posts Into Your Newsfeed[04:48] Every Facebook Post Counts[06:36] Have A Data-Driven Approach in Social MediaNotable QuotesAnd I mean, really, Facebook uses an algorithm, okay, they want you to come back to the site more, they want to expose content that they think that you will like, because you'll spend more time on the site, and therefore, they're going to sell you or they're going to be able to get more advertising revenue, because you're on the site longer or what have you.In fact, the more you engage with content, the better they know you and the more targeted ads, they can serve you, meaning that they're going to maximize their profit as well.But, you know, perhaps the weight of the

Neal Schaffer details how his social media accounts recently got hacked - and provides six points of advice to help you avoid the same fate.Key Highlights[01:03] What is LastPass[02:46] The Problem When I Didn't Change All of My Password[05:12] Digging Around[06:35] Twitter Being Ahead of Other Networks[07:29] Create Unique Password for Each Site[07:49] Change Your Password Regularly[08:03] Use Two-Step Verification[08:28] Audit Your Third-Party AppsNotable QuotesBut it's critical that we somehow figure out how to create a unique password for each social media site we have.Any dashboard that you have access to gives someone that gains access, the ability to post to several accounts, is a prime target for hackers.It's funny because even the email from Twitter said, make sure that you reset your password makes you look through all the third party apps, it didn't really talk about not just looking at the third party apps that have authorization, but those trusted social media dashboards and t

Learn about Neal Schaffer's Pinterest experiment - and the data which backs up why you shouldn't be ignoring Pinterest anymore.Key Highlights[00:49] Why Pinterest Is A Fascinating Network[02:41] What Fascinates Me About Pinterest[04:33] Pinterest Statistics[05:58] The Quality Traffic You Can Get From Pinterest[06:52] What I Ended Up Doing In Pinterest[07:29] Creating Pinterest Boards[08:18] Pinterest As A Social Bookmarking Site[08:59] How Can You Begin Using Pinterest[10:23] One Thing I Did After Creating Pinterest BoardNotable QuotesPinterest is a fascinating social network because it is a relatively small social network.But Pinterest is something that demands our attention. And it's not just the website traffic that a generates. It's also a demographic that we know has been documented is primarily female.And I sort of want to share that experiment with you all to get you thinking outside of the box about Pinterest, because we all know, and I've talked about this many times that soc