A Mind Blowing Day of Social Media

I know Thursdays are for dating here on More Cowbell but the closest I got to dating was a really great drive-by lip lock with Handsome Hubby while I carted the baby down the hall for a diaper change. Such is life here at Chez Jenny these days.

Let me catch you up on my VERY out of the ordinary Thursday:

• Morning play with baby girl
• A bit of email catch up
• Some WordPress magic with the effervescent Tiffany A. White
• Then, at 11:30 am, I took a class from Accounting Today (for work) called Social Media Marketing for CPA Practice Growth which absolutely ROCKED.
  Be sure to click the link above for the details. I recommend you take any class Eric Majchrzak offers
• Finishing off with the normal Thursday program where I’m Ms. Mom and Martha Stewart all rolled into one – creative, organized….okay, I’m clearly getting delusional. I must still be reeling from the crushing information overload of the day.

My favorite tips that Eric shared with the class:

• Since accounting firm services are often intangible, social media works best if you provide value/offers that are very specific and tangible. This will maximize your dollars, give value to your clients and help you stand you out. (Can we say books anyone??)
• He believes it’s best to market issues, rather than services, because the client might not even know that they need the services.
• He agreed with me (and the spectacular Kristen Lamb) that Facebook is more geared to the people you know NOW, while LinkedIn and Twitter are potentially better for the people you’d like to know.
• He spends and hour a day on social media – 15 mins, 4 times: in the morning over coffee, at lunch, before he leaves work and before bed. This is the system that works for him. (And we’re back to echoing Kristen Lamb…)
• In terms of marketing, he believes it’s nearly impossible to “spin” the message these days because people are having conversations about you whether you know it or not. It is good to keep an eye on this so that you know these issues are being discussed. A great place to check this is http://socialmention.com.

As you might have guessed, I was delighted to note that the accounting social media expert agreed right down the line with the writing social media expert (that would be Kristen Lamb and her awesome book, We Are Not Alone).

This is reassuring for two reasons. First, since I’m dead on my @$$ today, it means my time was doubly valuable – the information I’m learning for work will apply quite nicely in my writing career. Second, it means I’m on the right road. Since I’ve put a lot of work into walking this road, I can only say, “RIGHT ON!”

Some resources Eric recommended for more information about social media:

1. Social Media News and Web Tips – Mashable – The Social Media Guide
2. Michelle Golden’s book: Social Media Strategies for Professionals and their Firms: The Guide to Establishing Credibility and Accelerating Relationships (if you think about it, that’s written for us, Writers!)
3. The ever-awesome Chris Brogan, fellow Third Tribe member and Social Media guru.
4. Slideshare – As a trainer it is nice to know that there is a YouTube equivalent for presentations.

Additionally, he showed us several methods for searching and ferreting out data in LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and I promise you I’ll be doing future blogs on all of it.

Tomorrow, I’m going to the Palos Verdes Land Conservancy for a nature walk (without the baby). I’m counting on the breathtaking views to shampoo my mind and flood my spirit with all the energy that the holiday rush zapped. I’ll let you know how it goes…

In the meantime, I’d love to know what you’re up to with Social Media – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn…who do you feel provides you with the most value and why?

Note:  Comments are always welcome and encouraged but between now and May 17th they automatically enter you in the Let’s Meet Up (for Training) Contest!! Be sure to let me know which app/technology you want your training on.