And This One Time…at WordCamp…

Posted on by Sara Barton Posted in General Geekery, PodCamp, seo, Social Media, WordCampTagged , , , , , , , , ,


Bright and early this past Saturday, geeks of all kinds converged upon the OSU campus for what my husband likes to refer to as a “lovefest for dorks.” WordCamp Columbus 2/PodCamp Ohio 3 served up its usual offerings of sessions for bloggers, podcasters, and social media afficianados. Of course, I had a hard time picking what sessions to attend, but here is a recap of some of my favorites:

The Business of Being Social – Michael Loban

While the term “social media revolution” is being bandied about with alarming frequency, we need to ask ourselves if it really is, in fact, a revolution. I mean, aren’t we social by nature already? While the tools have changed, the purpose has not, especially when you consider that 96% of Gen Y’s are using social networks and 80% of companies are using LinkedIn to find new employees.
Perhaps a better name for this session would have been “How Not to be a Social Media Douchebag,” since we talked a lot about the rules of engagement:
  • Be remarkable
  • Make it easy to share
  • Happy people talk
  • Respect the results
And if you want examples of how NOT to use social media for marketing, head over to the Marketing Douchebags blog.




Finding Customer and Clients on LinkedIn – Crystal Thies

You’d be surprised how many people “set it and forget it” when it comes to their LinkedIn accounts, let alone actually using it for lead generation. LinkedIn is a beautiful thing, especially when you take as good look at the connectivity of your netowrk. A couple of words of warning:

  • The quality of your contacts far outweighs how many you have. You can have up to 30,000 connections, but can only send 3,000 invitations, so be judicious when using those precious invitations.
  • Timing and action are everything. If you want to be top of mind, you need to be active within your network. Answer questions and rack up expert points. Also, find out when your group posts their daily digests and plan group activity accordingly.




Location-Based Services – Carolyn Maul

If you have a smartphone, chances are pretty decent that you’re using Bright Kite, Gowalla, Foursquare, or Yelp. Why?

  • Real-time updates are the norm
  • Smart phones are ubiquitious
  • Consumers get a personalized experience
  • LBS easily integrate with existing social networks
  • Check-ins all for “push” updates

Sadly, in my hometown, only five establishments are actively using LBS for marketing, which I find shocking, especially since that type of technology is incredibly viable for companies who:

  • Own a brick and mortar retail facility
  • Are comfortable being a first or second mover in their industries
  • Are niche businesses
  • Want to support targeted efforts
  • Need surefire methods to engage or re-engage their client base
  • Have a customer base that is social in nature

This is all well and good, you say, but how do I use it? Social media rockstar Cheryl Harrison has a terrific list of ways you can use LBS.



Branding and Marketing Using WordPress – Chris Brown

One of my favorite things about WordPress is its versatility – when utilized correctly, it can have the functionality of a blog, podcast, and website, plus it’s one-stop shopping for branding and marketing your business. See see what you’ve been missing out on, check out Chris’s blog for her suggestions on what you should be doing.

2 thoughts on “And This One Time…at WordCamp…”

  2. Reply
    Chris Brown says:

    Sara:
    Thanks so much for posting the photo and link to my workshop. I also appreciate the notes from the other PodCamp WordCamp sessions. You’re right, it’s tough to figure out which session to go to when there are 4 or 5 good ones going on at the same time!
    Chris

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