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How to Leave a Group on LinkedIn

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You’ve joined several groups on LinkedIn and you’re feeling a little overwhelmed with all the email you’re getting from LinkedIn Groups, in addition to your already overflowing inbox.

Have you ever wondered how to leave a group?  It’s not totally intuitive right off the bat, so here’s a quick step by step guide:

  1. When logged into LinkedIn, choose Groups and then Your Groups from the options under Groups.
  2. Select the group you wish to remove yourself from
  3. Look for the More… tab at the top of the Groups page
  4. Click on More… and choose My Settings
  5. At the bottom right hand side of this page is a “Leave Group” button
  6. Click on that button to unsubscribe from the group.  Note that this will immediately remove you from the group.  You may of course join back again right away, but remember that you also may need to be accepted by the group administrator again if there is moderation on the group.

Also note that on the My Settings page you may adjust all the settings for how much email you receive from the group and how often you receive a digest

What are your favorite groups?  Would you care to share what you’ve learned and/or experienced by being part of a LinkedIn Group?

LinkedIn, Social Media ,

Social Media Marketing Certificate Program

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I’m very honored to be on the faculty with several highly accomplished people in the new Social Media Marketing Certificate Program that is starting next week at SF State’s College of Extended Learning. I planted the seed for this program two years ago and worked with Linda Popky of Leverage 2 Market and Lauren Vanett of SF State to get it going, so I’m very excited about the launch.

I’m teaching the intro course which is Introduction to Social Media: The Power of Community,  followed by George Kao‘s tools class called: Masting Social Media: 3 Essential Tools for the Business Professional in which students will understand how to use these three tools for effective business networking online. This course will greatly benefit small business owners, life and business coaches, independent business and marketing consultants, authors and speakers.  George is an excellent business and marketing coach with a track record for empowering people on the best tools and strategies in social media.

Then in March, Avery Horzewski of Ave Consulting will be teaching Engaging Your Community: Creating an Effective Social Media Campaign in which students will learn learn the essential do’s and don’ts for planning and executing effective social media campaigns that keep your community engaged and committed. Avery is also the president of Women in Consulting and Program Advisor for the SF State Social Media Program. She regularly speaks on social media, its impact on business, and implementation best practices and has a very impressive client list.

Our Social Media in the Real World: Successful Applications of Social Media Strategies will be taught by Jennifer Neely Lindsay of The A-List fame on Blogtalkradio in between visits to the middle east for training sessions she has scheduled there. Jennifer’s course will provide a closer look at the strategies and planning used by effective social media practitioners within organizations. Case studies and hands-on projects will reveal which strategies are most effective and why. You’ll learn to think strategically and adjust your plan to changes in the community conversation.

In the summer, we’ll be adding a Mobile Social course about social media marketing on mobile devices taught by Mario Tapia of Mobile Mondays Silicon Valley, as well as a capstone course with Linda Popky of Leverage 2 Market Associates titled Integrating Social Media into the Overall Marketing Strategy.

Our goal is to provide participants with a foundation in the new evolving world of social media tools and strategies that they can immediately apply in the workplace. It is sure to be fun and I’m excited to learn a lot from the students too.

For more information please visit the Social Media Marketing course pages.

Marketing, Social Media , ,

Recharge

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Yesterday I replaced the batteries in my electronic tooth brush with new ones and when I turned the toothbrush on inside my mouth, I nearly swallowed the head of the brush out pure shock.  I had no idea how old the previous batteries were and how ineffective they had become since the brush still seemed to work albeit rather unenergeticly.

So what does all of this have to do with marketing, business, life or blogging?  Well, as I thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of the super charged brush cleaning my teeth, I had one of those Elizabeth Gilbert moments of inspiration where I suddenly realized the importance of recharging.  What does that mean you ask?  It means taking time off.  It means stopping, relaxing, taking time off to enjoy the real things in life.  Too often we get stuck on a treadmill of the daily grind, day in day out working, fighting the clock to get as much done as possible and still feeling like the list never gets any shorter.  I wonder if the batteries are just getting tired after working and pushing so hard for so long.  Perhaps if we just switch out the batteries in ourselves, we’ll have that boost of energy like new batteries in your favorite electronic device. (I’m sure there are only a few things which are as evident in a tactile form as an electronic toothbrush, but you know what I mean.)

Are you feeling fine, normal, same old – same old?  Is it time for you to take time to recharge your batteries?

What’s your favorite way to do it?

Fun, Life, Random

Fun: A Print Ad for Online Marketing Classes

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I teach three classes at San Francisco State’s Integrated Marketing Program in the College of Extended Learning. This semester my Maximizing Search Engines class was the subject of a photo shoot. The class was a lot of fun despite the photographer and the ad turned out quite well too. A client called me on Monday morning to say they saw me in the San Francisco Chronicle. A nice surprise. I would have missed it had they not called. The newspaper was very thin, but the ad is sharp and arrogantly I think I look quite good. The students in the inset are all rock stars too. Here’s a photo I took with my iPhone:

Integrated Marketing Program Ad

I do love teaching. I learn so much from my students and it’s so fun to teach about things that are en vogue today. Don’t get me wrong, I believe search engine marketing and social media are where every company should be putting the majority of their marketing budgets, I just think it’s a bit ironic that the ad is in the newspaper when my classes are all about online marketing. Then again we’re promoting the Integrated Marketing Program and integrated means integrating online and offline, so as they say, “All ink is good ink,” and especially when you’re in print.

Do join us at the information session on May 13th. I’ll be there in person, which is after all the absolute best way to connect socially.

What do you think? Please share your comments below.

Fun, Internet, Marketing, SEO, Social Media , ,

The Social Media Marathon

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One of the reasons why social media is different from traditional marketing methods is that is something you have to start and participate in for the long term. It’s not like an ad campaign, where you sprint to get the creative, messaging and production complete before placing the ad on television, radio or in a print publication. Instead it is a marathon where you continuously engage with customers and advocates both about your brand and also by adding value to the community.

When you start a blog it’s for the long haul, in other words, it’s a commitment that you have continue to post great content to your readers for the rest of the blog’s life. It may not be something you pay for with money, but you will certainly be paying for it with sweat equity and/or your staff’s time.

Just like in the marathon, you will hit the wall where you feel you have nothing more interesting to say. That’s when you need to push your hardest and go the extra distance and just get another post out. If you’re struggling to find something to say, talk about someone else. The social media industry mantra is to talk about other people twelve times more than you talk about yourself. Why? Because you’re adding value to your community. Sharing what you like about other people shows your fans and followers more about who you are and it also leaves them feeling like you care about them. And that, my friends is the ultimate goal. Care about your community, because it cares about you.

I recently read Gary Vaynerchuck’s Crush It Vook which I purchased through Vook.com. I highly recommend the new Vook platform (and thanks to the amazing Cariwyl of Salon97.org for turning me on to it). The guy (Gary Vaynerchuck) is dynamic to say the least. He puts the P in Passion and is just an inspiration to watch. The best part about him is that he started from nothing and is now a multi-millionaire with several businesses including WineLibrary.com, WineLibrary.tv and VaynerMedia and he is still humble to boot! You go Gary V, you’re my man and I’m a fan. Thanks for keeping it real, sharing your passion, drive and knowledge. And thanks for caring enough to help anyone who is willing, to simply try.

Marketing, Social Media

Susby Turns One

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Happy Birthday to Susby! We have been in business for one year now and it has been a wonderful experience. This post is to say thank you to everyone who has helped us this year. Big thank yous to all of our loyal clients, for choosing to work with us and also to our excellent partners for being people we can depend upon to make clients dreams happen. While the only constant especially on the Internet is change, we are honored to know and be able to work with such a special group of people. Each of you has been instrumental in keeping Susby in business and helping us learn, grow and succeed.

Thank you to Sue, Courtney, Kathy, Sarah, Mel and Jodi at PIER 39. You are a dynamic team and it is a real pleasure to work with you. I love our brainstorming sessions.

Thank you to Taylor, Katie and Dennis at Blue and Gold Fleet. There is never a dull moment on the bay with RocketBoat and the Blue and Gold Ferries to promote.

Thanks to Louise, Rich and Gary at the Japan Center Garage Corporation. You are all delightful people and I feel very fortunate to know you.

Thanks to Greg of Galliant Group. You have no idea how much I admire your courage, drive and passion for your business. It’s truly an honor to work with you and your team.

Thanks to Tim, Alf, Reinald, Matthew, Nazy, and Ernaz at Netfira. I am thoroughly enjoying the start-up vibe and learning so much from you.

Thanks to Paul and Mitchell of G-Tatts. I love working with musicians!

Thanks to Michelle at Dome Construction, Morgan at Oakland Chamber of Commerce, Jodie at Poster Compliance Center and Drew, Kathryn, Kat and Vicki at MacKenzie.

Thank you to Michelle at The Law Office of Michelle Brodie, the best workers’ compensation attorney in San Francisco. You have taught me more than you can imagine and I am so proud to be part of your successful practice.

Thank you to D’Layna at Vocal Downloads who kept me going when I was just starting out and continues to be a source of inspiration for your persistence, courage and for always believing in your dream.

Thanks to Amy of A2B Strategy for being a fan, supporter and patient client.

Thanks to Jennifer, my programmer and Chief Technology Expert, you are the best person I have ever worked with on development projects and I am very lucky to be able to continue working with you after more than 6 years.

Thanks to SF State for employing me to teach classes which help me stay current on industry trends. I learn so much from my students and have started many excellent relationships with you. Thank you for your interest in my classes and for continuing to stay in touch.

Thanks to my friends, especially MD at Quiet Action, you are a constant source of grounding, support and inspiration all at the same time. Michaela of Hayes Marketing and Communications, you are one of my favorite people and someone I respect and admire more than I can express. To Sandra and Orah who probably know more about me than anyone should, thanks so much for all your listening. Thanks to Nic for being a true friend always and for opening my eyes to new ways of thinking and being. Thanks to Anna, Steph and Brad at Click to Play Media, and Rob, Rob and Karoline at iConfident, for your friendship and collaboration on the video. Thanks to Jose at WikiKreate Expansion, for your smart ideas. Thanks to Renata of Being Daring for always being in my corner, and last but not least, I am grateful to Kate, Pablo and Isabel for your service on the Classes for Causes board of directors, for your constant support and encouragement and for being people I can trust and rely on always.

After one year in business, most of all I am grateful for the relationships I have started, friendships I hope I have earned and connections you have made with me. It is a pleasure working with you, talking with you and collaborating with you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

business, Life

How Can You Compete?

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I love teaching. It’s one of my favorite things to do on a list that includes playing the clarinet, oil painting, snorkeling in Maui, running marathons, hiking and snowboarding. And it’s up there in my top three.

I just taught the second in a three part class called Maximizing Search Engine Marketing at SF State for the Integrated Marketing Program. In the first class last Tuesday I had such a great time I almost lost my voice. Tonight’s was less intense, but just as fun and a few of the students even came up and told me how much they enjoyed the reader I created for the class. That reader is in addition to the recommended “Inbound Marketing” book, which is excellent and I am honored to recommend, so I feel really grateful for those kind remarks.

George Kao mentioned a something to me in one of his webinars which I really like and am shameless sharing in almost every presentation I make. He said: “There is no such thing as competitors, only teachers.” It is so true. It is very easy to learn from competitors on the web and indeed they are our very best teachers.

I learn from teaching, from competing and from listening to the people that participate in my industry. I hope I am conveying this way of learning to my students. And most of all, to my students, I hope you realize and appreciate how much I learn from you. Thank you.

Here’s a reminder link to that excellent resource for beginner SEOs, thanks to @NealShaeffer

SEO ,

Evidence of the Long Tail

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If you haven’t read The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson, read it.  The book is much more entertaining that the Wikipedia definition.

I was just referred to this blog titled “Social Media Will Change Your Business” from one of my favorite Facebook contacts.  She’s not really a friend and I don’t even remember how I am connected to her, but she posts really great quotes on Facebook and I am inspired daily.  Thank you @claudiaguzman who I just today discovered that you are on Twitter.  I’m really going to enjoy following you on Twitter too.

The blog (and introductory video) mentioned above, was last updated in February 2008.  Yes, that’s a long time ago, but the story was first published in 2005 and the post is still receiving comments.  That’s the power of the long tail.  Post something once and it may just live on forever.  If it’s on the web, people can find it, link to it, share it and help it spread.  This is a great example of that and also the power of crowd sourcing.

What’s your favorite Long Tail story?

Blogging, business, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter , ,

3 Reasons Why LinkedIn Polls are Useless

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I’m not usually one to complain publicly about issues, but I think LinkedIn is missing a huge opportunity to improve user experience here.

Why LinkedIn Polls are Useless:

  1. There is no way to share the poll to get feedback from your own network.
  2. There is no way to share the poll on other social networks to solicit feedback
  3. LinkedIn is not interested in fixing the issue.

Linked In Poll

So you have a business and you’re doing your due diligence and collecting feedback about your product or industry. LinkedIn seems like a good place to ask people for feedback because you’ve started building you network and there are people in it who may offer valuable opinions to your questions. You see a link to a poll that someone in your network has posted and because you’re like me and enjoy experimenting and learning by experience, you’re intrigued by the idea of creating your own poll on LinkedIn to see what kind of response you can get. So you set up the poll, which is really simple. Great job, LinkedIn, no problems there.

However, when you try to link to your handy dandy new poll to share it, you find you that the only share link that LinkedIn provides is one to the poll results. Well what good is that if no-one can find your poll and you can’t share it via Twitter, Facebook, your blog or other favorite social network? That’s right, a big fat zero! Thanks LinkedIn, you just lost my interest in this application.

So I wrote to LinkedIn customer support explaining that they are a little behind the times in this share economy that we live in today and suggested that they create a way for people to share the poll question screen with their network and provide a link to share this on other networks and here’s the response I received in return:
—-
Thread Response
(LinkedIn – Katie)
03/01/2010 02:04 PM
Dear Susan,

Thank you for contacting LinkedIn Customer Support.

The functionality described is not available.

Have a great day and thank you for being a valued member of our LinkedIn community!

Katie
LinkedIn Customer Support
—
Auto-Response
02/26/2010 02:11 PM
LinkedIn has received your question. A service professional will review and respond to your inquiry as quickly as possible. Thank you!

Check out our free Learning Center (http://learn.linkedin.com/training) offering learn at your own pace e-learning modules and free classes.
Search our online Customer Service Center (http://linkedin.custhelp.com) for LinkedIn FAQ topics.
—
Customer (Susan Barnes)
02/26/2010 02:11 PM
I would love to be able to share a poll that I create on LinkedIn with my other social networks so that I can get maximum reach and responses on the poll. Why don’t you make this easy?
I see the link to the results, but there is no link to share the actual poll.

Thanks,
Susan
—

In order to create a poll and share it with my LinkedIn network and other social communities, I am going to use something like Poll Daddy instead.

What do you think LinkedIn should do?

LinkedIn, Marketing, Social Media , ,

Social Media’s Power Shift

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Here’s a good commentary on Social Media from the CEO of Radian6. Radian6 is a social media market research platform which enables you to listen, measure and engage with your customers across the entire social web. Think comprehensive analytics for social media sites and tools for increasing engagement.

Radian6’s CEO Marcel Lebrun says that Social Media is bigger than TV. Why? Because it’s “the biggest change in business communication since the introduction of mass media.”

While some people are still asking “Is social media is a fad?”, companies like Radian6, Biz360, Trendrr, Infegy, ScoutLabs and many others are figuring out ways to help companies rethink the way they communicate.

What do you think?

Analytics, business, Marketing, Social Media , ,
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