interactiveAmy.com

There is No Such Thing as a Blind Date Anymore, And There is No Such Thing as a Blind Meeting!

Amy — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:09:24 +0000

Does this sound like something you’ve heard me say before? This time I said it, and was quoted in the paper!

Last week, I was interviewed by Katie Morell for the Business Ledger, a Chicago Suburban newspaper for an article entitled: “You’re on LinkedIn, but are you linked in? Social media experts give advice on the ultimate networking tool” I hope you enjoy the article and that you take away some tips!

I was honored to be featured, and the article even began with one of my favorite”interactiveAmy-isms,” something I share during all of my presentations and client meetings; “There is no such thing as a blind date anymore and there is no such thing as a blind meeting. Before anyone meets you, they research you online. LinkedIn is one of the first things that come up when they search for your name.” (Side note: Do I put quotes around my own soundbite?! What an exciting question to have, but really – does anyone know the answer?) Now that we know people are looking for you, let’s talk about how you can prepare your profile in a way that benefits you (for search) and others (so they can learn more about you.)

Digital Footprints – Step Yours Up!

Now more than ever it is important to put your best foot forward when you meet someone, and nowadays you need to put your best “digital footprint” forward. Your digital footprint is the mark you’ve left on the internet – what does yours say about you?

Have you ever done Google search for your own name? What comes up first is what others will see first.

Is that first impression you want to make?

For me, it used to be my 5k race time, and that is not what I wanted people to see first. Unless you run for a living or you are a competitive runner, my 5k race time from years ago is not overly interesting (or fast!) and it is not the first thing I want someone to know about me, I’d prefer they learned about my social media consulting business or my involvement in Social Media Club Chicago. They might accidentally stumble upon the London-based body builder with whom I share a name, and again – not what I want people to see!

So how did I change that?

I harnessed the power of LinkedIn, oh yeah, I drank their Kool-Aid, and then I shared what I know with others, since having more complete profiles really benefits everybody. Because LinkedIn such a powerful engine, the site naturally ranks highly in search, so use that to your advantage! LinkedIn is a living and breathing resume so make sure its the best possible reflection of your work experience to date, and where you want to go next – even if you are not actively job seeking.

If you were on a blind date, you’d probably comb your hair and put on a snazzy outfit before leaving the house,

why not do the same on LinkedIn as well!

The more content-rich information you are able to provide in your profile, the more appealing you’ll look to search engines and to future employers/clients/and business partners! How’s that for an incentive to fill out your profile more completely? Having a profile with complete and accurate information also allows someone to get to know more about you, and decide if you are a person they’d like to business with. Learning about someone in advance of a meeting is a first step in building rapport too, if you find that you’ve attended the same University or know people in common its a great ice-breaker!

I know what you are thinking: “Do I really need to include a picture in my profile?”

YES!

If you have ever had a blind business meeting, you’ll be extra appreciative the next time you see a complete profile with a picture in a future LinkedIn search! Earlier in my career I sold adverting in the Yellow Pages, and had many first-time meetings with business owners in public places, and I had no idea who I was looking for. It was much easier when I could say, “I’ll be the one carrying a phone book!” I can’t say that anymore (thankfully!) but I do come prepared, and I will look you up before we meet. So be nice to the person you are about to meet for the first time, and please post a picture on your profile! It really takes away a lot of the anxiety when meeting someone for the first time if you know what the person looks like in advance.

If you have any questions, or if your LinkedIn profile needs revamping, please contact me about how to amplify your online. (See why that’s my tag line?) Now that I’ve shared my LinkedIn tips with you, please share your LinkedIn success stories and tips with me! And of course, let’s link in!

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interactiveAmy is now Video Blogging!

Amy — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:24:33 +0000

Ok! I’m now video blogging! Welcome to interactiveAmy’s YouTube Channel!

Finally, I can share snippets of cool Chicago events, meet and greets with fun friends and interactiveAmy adventures with you in a way that’s as high energy as I am…videos of me!

Please subscribe to the interactiveAmy YouTube channel to be alerted to the latest installments and let me know if you’d like interactiveAmy to come and cover your next event!

And now… The First Official interactiveAmy Video Blog (aka Vlog) Post!

So, how’d I do on the first installment of my video blog? Do you have a request for a topic you’d like me to address? Please let me know, I love Q & A!

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InteractiveAmy is a Sponsor of North Coast Music Festival!

Amy — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:47:51 +0000

I love social media, I love live music, and I also love Chicago… so what happens when all three collide?

InteractiveAmy is an official sponsor of the North Coast Music Festival to be held in Chicago’s Union Park on September 3rd-5th! I know what I’ll be doing for Labor Day weekend, rocking out!

Not only am I a festival sponsor, but I will also be working on their social media and press outreach, and will play an instrumental role in the success of the inaugural North Coast Fest! I am so excited!! And you should be too, because there are so many ways for you to get involved, read on for more info and please become a fan on Facebook and follow @NorthCoastFest on twitter to stay up to date on all of the announcements leading up to the fest!

With three full days of live music on 4 stages, there is a lot of news to keep up with! We will be announcing more additions to the already awesome line up, plans for an official North Coast Festival Tweet Up and much more!

Are you in a band? Are you a DJ? Do you know someone who is looking for their big break on a main stage?

If so, tell your friends about “Toast of the Coast!” One Midwest based Band and DJ will win a spot on the lineup of the inaugural North Coast music Festival, and bragging rights to last a lifetime.

Contest Details:

Artist Submission – Between July 19th and July 23rd, artists can upload 2 tracks to the North Coast Festival Website.

Voting – Between July 24th and August 14th, each e-mail address will be allotted one vote per day, so encourage supporters to vote early and often!

The Decision – On August 15th, the votes will be tallied and North Coast Music Festival organizers will choose 10 Finalists out of the Top 20 Vote-Getters. These finalists will play a private show for organizers and their guests at a yet-to-be-disclosed location. Wow us, and you’ll be one of two winners.

We’ll pick 1 Band and 1 DJ to join the main stages for a 45-minute set. How awesome is that? Please help spread the word and get your favorite acts on the North Coast Festival Stage!

If your business would like to reach over 25,000 festival goers

I’d love to talk to you about festival sponsorship! There are many ways to get your name out there, so let’s think outside of the box! This is a perfect opportunity for Chicago based businesses to share the spot light with headline grabbing musicians! Food, merchant and artisan vendors, we have room for you too!

Music Lovers & Concert Go-ers

You can save by purchasing your tickets early! Right now, early birds can benefit by snagging a three day pass for only $75, and you can also purchase single day tickets ~ 3 Days, 35+ bands, for $35/day. As if that wasn’t enough, a portion of all ticket sales will go to support Urban Initiatives, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that runs a health and education soccer program in fourteen Chicago Public Schools and continues to grow.

Are you planning on going to North Coast Music Festival?

Tell me what bands you are most excited to see & why and what you love most about attending festivals in Chicago Park District and you can have a chance to win tickets!

See you at

And, stay tuned for more information about Summer’s Last Stand!

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Happy Social Media Day!

Amy — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:25:28 +0000

June 30th, 2010 marks the first annual Social Media Day, as declared by Mashable., it is a day to celebrate the revolution of media becoming a social dialogue.

I celebrate social media everyday!

I am passionate about connecting people, and I love how technology enables us to do so. Besides making great friends and forming new business relationships, I also met my husband online and have dedicated my career to teaching others about the benefits of social media. Needless to say, I will be celebrating Social Media Day, today and everyday here after!

Would you like to join in the party? There are over 10,000 people attending over 600 Social Media Day Meet-ups around the world, find the one closest to you and start socializing! Chicago will be celebrating Mashable’s Social Media Day at Da Coach’s place, Mike Ditka’s Restaurant tonight from 7-9pm. If you are coming, don’t forget to bring your business cards!

Social media brings people together, if you can’t get out of the office, you can tune into see how 90+ countries around the world are celebrating, festivities are already underway in Tokyo, check it out! Chained to the desk? You can also keep up with the celebration on Twitter by tracking by following @mashSMday or #smday.

How has participating in social media made a difference in your life?

Please share success stories, seemingly random connections that changed your life, and cool social media stories with us… that’s the whole point!

Happy Social Media Day, friends!

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What I Learned at WordCamp 2010

Amy — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:24:15 +0000

Last year’s WordCamp was my introduction to WordPress, and one year later I feel like I’ve come a long way but still have so much to learn. Two days, two conference tracks, and 15 pages of typed notes later - here is a high level overview of key takeaways I learned at WordCamp Chicago, held June 5-6, 2010 at the Holiday Inn Merchandise Mart.

I’d classify myself as a WordPress “advanced beginner,” and I am a user, not a developer, so I stuck to the User Track and attended sessions on: Using WordPress and Buddy Press for Education, Creating Custom Menus with WordPress 3.0, a WordPress User Experience, session, but for me the meat and potatoes came in the afternoon of Day One.

I was blown away by Amanda Blum’s session entitled “Sitemap to Success” and Scott Stawarz’s session on how to Maximize the All in One SEO Plugin. So let’s start there.

Every website is selling something. Is that clear on your site?

Many business cater to multiple audiences, and your website should have a clear call to action for each user group. After you’ve done the initial leg work of defining what you do and who you serve; address each one specifically and determine what constitutes a success point on your website? Make sure you create a path to buy!

Amanda suggests starting with the following four questions:

Why do I want crap?
Why do I want *your* crap?
What is your process to give me crap?
Give me crap.

Everything should be a call to action! On every page what are your options to buy and/or contact for more information. Remove the roadblocks, website design should be supporting content, not the other way around.

That said, Scott Stawarzs’ presented a great session on a popular WordPRess Plugin, called All In One SEO Pack (AIOSEO for short). Since the bread and butter of a website is its content, ask yourself: What key words do you want to rank for??

Creating great content is the best way to be Search Engine Optimized, so regardless of what tools you are using for SEO begin by identifying the keywords you audience will use to find your site. Then write fantastic content and tell a story! SEO is an important part of the process of improving the volume and quality of search results, and only after you’ve created compelling copy, will the All In One SEO Pack be your blog’s best friend!

Scott offered the following practical next actions steps, which I will use as a guide going forward:

Spend 80% of your time on creating new content
Spend 20% of your time on SEO
Spend 100% of your time helping others
Follow Google SEO Guidelines

So you’ve created a sitemap and a plan to get people to take action, you’ve optimized your site for the search engine, but have you backed your site up?

Data losses are very common, 66% of internet users have suffered from serious data loss. Are you prepared?

A perfect way to end this post is with another very important takeaway I had from WordCamp. Chris Jean offered a comprehensive session on Backing Up and Upgrading WordPress – and you guessed it… I can not stress enough how important it is for you to back up your site, both the files and the database. Make sure you have a strategy to back up your site, before you need it! After you’ve selected your back up tools, create a schedule, and stick to it, oh yeah…and test the back up too!

Chris suggests the following schedule of how how often you should back up your website:

do a full back up at least once a week
do a database backup if possible once a day
do a full back up before a WordPress core or major plugin upgrade

Did you also attend WordCamp, what takeaways did you leave with? Please share the learning!

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