Today is YOUR day Community Managers! Celebrate, dance…call in sick and treat yourself to a spa day! Whatever you do with yourself today, know that you are an appreciated and vital component of how business gets done in 2012. Your role is more inportant each year as you bravely carve out and define your place in the professional ecosystem.

Started in 2010 by Jerimiah Owyang, Community Manager Appreciation Day is a day where the world is called upon to acknowledge who you are and what you do. I personally want to applaud your bravery and your passion. Now, more than ever the world is aware of what it is that you bring to the table. Every year, because each of you push the boundaries and strive for clarity in your role…we all get to understand social media and your role in this space better than we did the year before.

The Infographic below from Social Fresh is very succint and quite telling. Social Fresh has also published The 2012 Community Manager Report white paper. Do have a look at that! Enjoy the Infographic and enjoy the day!

Click on the image to view larger version

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2. Social Media: The Fad. If We Just Hold Our Breath For Long Enough…
3. Brand Advocates Using Social Media: What Are They? More Importantly, How And Where Do You Find Them?

2011 has been yet another banner year for social media. As marketers, it is necessary for us to keep tabs on developing trends as well as the past. The metrics that got us here are our chronicle. This video-Infographic is an excellent visual representation of where we are and from whence we came.

I’m pretty much just parking this here as a year-end reference. Some of you may not have already seen the video. If this is the case, enjoy! I hope that all of you and yours are enjoying a pleasant Christmas Eve today!

+James Ball

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So yeah, this is the first day of my 45^th year on the planet…of course I’m reflecting! I really just wanted to jot down a few things to keep you in the loop and as an archive of sorts. Remember the “Social Media Case Study Starting Today” I wrote back in May of 2010? I am supposing that this post will serve as an official update about all of that, and then some.

If you’ve been following for any length of time, then you know that there has been a steep decline in the frequency of my posts here on this blog since that very same May of 2010. Only part of that is because I’ve been so busy. The larger reason is that I’ve been working hard on a startup, one that is wholly based on the fact that I’m onto something big…and I didn’t want to tip my hat and give the world a blow by blow. Not only this, but I’ve also completely changed my spots in the process. I can no longer call myself a social media purist – more on that later.

What’s in a name?

 I am still the digital marketing director and social strategist at AroundAbout Local Media, Inc. I still very much love it and I adore the people I work with. Back when I wrote the post that I just linked to above, we were AroundAbout Community Magazines, Inc.  With the introduction of yours truly, and with eyes wide open and forward facing, we thought a name change was a pretty good idea.

The magazines are hyper-local and all about the communities that they serve, so we’re not suffering in this new dawn of diversity in technology and communications as they relate to advertising and marketing as a business. The magazines are profitable and strong.

We needed our very own web presence, and a strong and exemplary one at that! I explained that we’d need to become a dual-medium product someday in order to stay viable into the future. This is why the name changed to “Local Media” from simply “Community Magazines”.

We’ve been through three iterations of our web presence and are settled on our own site being a portal for contact and sharing to and from our community. Our Facebook pages and Twitter feeds rock! We feel pretty darn social lately. As for a dual-medium product, like, put a banner ad on our website kind of deal? Not so much. This is by far a much too passive proposition. We want to truly help our clients (our advertisers) grow their businesses.

Social Media, SEO, Digital Marketing – Grabbing And Delivering The Lightning

 For years now I’ve walked out a social media purist’s path with an “educate and elevate understanding” mantra. I’ve coached and I’ve consulted, I’ve mentored and I’ve hand-held. I have led to the best of my ability and I have shown the way. For all of this, all of the time invested and monies spent…99.9% of all that I see in my rearview crash and burn. Of my peers who have been candid with me, a majority echo my findings. In lieu of a lengthy explanation that would be better saved for another day’s post, I’ll just say that small business as a whole just doesn’t seem to get it.

Small business have also been largely ignored by all those who would innovate and provide marketing solutions. I’m not talking about the types and sizes of business that can and should afford to have an internal solution. These will ultimately have a human being, or a staff of them to deal with this new media and communications revolution we find ourselves in the middle of. This says nothing of the enterprise. There’s no shortage of solutions, software, and agencies available there.

I’ve set out to change all of this with TrustWorkz, Inc. The company has been fully functioning for some time now, and we are working on the website to finalize a few things before we make a mass push to the world. We are anxious and prepared to scale our operations. You here are some of the first to hear about this. In short, we are a company that provides the Web Operatives who fulfill all of the tasks and duties necessary to keep a business’s web presence all that it needs to be in order to compete and win online. A human being is required for much of this; we are those empathetic and skilled humans. We are the original, unapologetic champions of internet marketing and social media for local, small business.

In a nutshell, I am saying that all of the purist social media speak that dictates how you must be authentic, transparent, etc. is bunk for small business when you get right down to it. No mom and pop or brick and mortar can effectively become enough of a professional marketer to gain any real benefit and leverage from this evolving online ecosystem; not and still do what it is that they need to do each day to deliver value and grow their business. I am saying that if the internet matters to you and has a direct impact on your bottom line as a business…we can be you better than you can be you online. How’s that sit? It sounds presumptuous but it’s true. I have all of the experience and data that I need to stand on this fact.

 What our Web Operatives do, how we function as a company, and many conversations about how we see this entire dynamic unfolding are topics for a later time. I merely wanted to introduce you today. Small business friends – please do give me a call and let me explain what it is that we can do for you.

I am still quite undecided about how this blog will change and adapt to my new role in this space. I am very sure that many opportunities to explain, defend and present will arise. You will notice the changes as I roll them out. I truly do welcome any and all constructive input as I move through all of this. Those of you who are my peers in this space and my friends from around the greater Atlanta area will no doubt be hearing quite enough from me in the weeks and months ahead.

My Blood Pressure and HDL Cholesterol Are Up

 I had a blood pressure scare a few weeks ago. I sat down in one of those drug store blood pressure chairs and it read 154/90. I completely freaked out and launched into a 12 hour full-blown panic attack! It turned out to be nothing much more than a great wakeup call. I went to see my doctor and came out of that interview fine for the most part. What I learned was that there is almost nothing about my lifestyle that could be called pro-active and healthy. I’m working on a few lifestyle changes now. I’ve enjoyed my first 45 years…I want very much to enjoy the next 45 as a healthy man.

If you are around my age and anything at all like me (type A, workaholic, eating on the run, high stress job, no time for exercise…), consider getting a check up and implementing some healthy living.  :O)

~ Thank you all for following along and taking the time to read my words. I invite you to keep doing so – it’s going to get pretty interesting around here!

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I love it when something turns out to be exactly “as advertised”, don’t you?  I love it even more when a product or a service makes something a little bit easier for struggling small businesses. Today I am super-pleased to introduce you to Onepager. Onepager is a service that allows you to create a dandy little one page website in minutes. Seriously, I built a website using Onepager in 30 minutes last night (I even cropped a pic for the background and made a little logo). Click the image below and check it out.

The videos below pretty much explain everything you’ll need to know about what Onepager can do for you. After you watch the videos I want to highlight a few things I found while building my Onepager example site.

I’m not saying that this is a great solution for everyone. I am saying that if you don’t have a website and need a quick, easy, and affordable solution…Onepager might be a great fit for you. The service is new and I feel like they will add versatility as they mature. Please do share this post around, Tweet it, Facebook it, or whatever and wherever you do your thing. I think Onepager might be some pretty good news for a lot of people out there.

Things I Really Liked:

• I was totally impressed with the user-friendly interface as I built the page. You certainly don’t have to be tech or website savvy to navigate through your build. The screen grabs below give you an idea about how easy it is to use their dashboard.

• When you “Launch” your site you are presented with payment options. $8 per month if you buy the year and $10 a month if you pay monthly.
• You get a spiffy onepagerapp.com/yournamehere URL as the default or you can register your very own custom one right there in the dash for $15! If you already have a domain and want to use it, they provide clear instructions on how to point it to your Onepager site.
• Search engine optimization? Sorta’. Check out the screengrab below and note that the code does pull title, description, and keyword info. It only took me 5 minutes to look at my one Onepager site and a few of their examples to figure out what pulled from where.

 I think that the blog post about why Onepager was built and this quote in particular helped to win me over as well:

“Small businesses are important to communities and you can’t argue about their impact on shaping the culture or our towns and cities. We’ll keep doing everything we can to help them get online and find other ways to grow their businesses!” – Matt Moore, Onepager blog

So what are your thoughts? Do you think Onepager is a good solution for the multitude of small businesses out there that have no website whatsoever? What would you add to the service to make it even better?

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It would appear that we are all to receive some earth shattering social media news today at 11a.m. PST (I’ll be sitting at my comp with an hour cleared at 2p.m. EST!). Robert Scoble stated late last night in his Google+ stream that “Google+ has been matched by a competitor”. Robert is apparently bound by a non disclosure agreement until today. Having already achieved 25+ Million users faster than any other social network in history, does Google+ really need to be concerned? You bet they do.

*Not on Google+ yet? Let me know in the comments with your @gmail address if you need an invite. You’ll need a gmail acct. to get in. The service is still in beta.

Us, the lowly end-user certainly have nothing to fear…our favorites will likely remain as such. When the big boys compete we all get better products and services as a result. Now if social media matters to you in a big way, if you work in the industry and represent clients, or if social media matters to your business and marketing efforts…be tuned in later today. I link to Robert Scoble’s Google+ stream because that’s probably the best place to watch this explode as it happens. You might want to keep an eye on TechCrunch’s page on startups too.

There has of course been a TON of interesting speculation about who this competitor will be, and most of this by some of the best minds in tech and sources close to the pulse. After reading through the comments in the thread linked above, I’m clueless. It looks as if a majority seems to think that it may be Unthink, others feel like Facebook will be rolling out major updates. Could it be Apple, Microsoft, or Myspace reborn?? Your guess is as good as mine at this point. Only a matter of hours left to wait.

**Update: Here’s the BIG announcement:  Facebook’s new privacy and sharing defenses

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The following infographics from Kissmetrics certainly do reveal much. They go a long way toward answering the second most common question that small businesses ask me on a regular basis - “What’s the best time to launch blog posts, tweets, & Facebook status updates?” (the first is a pretty fair tie between “Can you explain what kind of results I can expect?”(ROI) and “What if they say something bad about me?”)

The data in the following HUGE and informative infographics comes to us from Dan Zarrella. About Dan I could say much, suffice it to say that I respect his research. Check his bio if you want to read more accolades about Dan Zarrella.   

**Please Click On Each Infographic To View In Its Original Hugeness**

Facebook & Twitter Timing

Wondering which time zone contains the majority of the population in the U.S.A? How about the best times and days to launch those daring 140 character kites and Facebook status updates? This first infographic is for you:

Email Timing

Can’t get over it, can’t get around it, can’t tunnel under it…better not ignore it. Email – I read mine, how bout’ you? Yeah, that’s what I thought. This datagraphic is all you:

Best Time To Launch Blog Posts

I don’t think I’m alone in saying that the majority of my time spent creating content is dedicated to blogging. It’s where I put the lion’s share of my passion, research, and effort. This alone makes my blog posts very valuable to me. I certainly hope this translates through to my readership as well. In any event, I definitely don’t want to launch a blog post only to watch it fall to obscurity. Let’s compare our best practices to this data:

I hope you found something here today to help you better optimize your efforts. Whether the data supports what you’re already doing or you found some brand new insight today, I’m glad you came by. Share this around, it’s great insight for anyone! If you have anything to add about timing today, please do share it with us. The comment section is yours.

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I am fascinated this morning by a new report today from Pew Internet & American Life Project. The Facebook data alone that is contained in this report should prove to be infinitely valuable to marketers. The data was collected by Princeton Survey Research Associates International via phone from a sample of 2255 adults age 18 and older. The entire report is below. To view and flip through the report simply click on it.

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Is social media a fad? This is the question that Erik Qualman set out to answer almost two years ago with his groundbreaking first video, Social Media Revolution. Skillfully put together and jam-packed with statistics that boggle the mind, the first video still moves me every time that I watch it. Erik has tirelessly revised his video work to keep up to date with current social media trends and the numbers behind them.

The first video, Social Media Revolution has been viewed 2,820,537 times. The 2^nd version, Social Media Revolution 2 (Refresh) has been viewed 1,590,150 times.  Now Erik Qualman’s newest video, Social Media Revolution 2011 is here to be pondered. Already the video has been viewed 64,374 times…this in just 6 days.

Please do share this video around to any who may be late to the game or those who might still be riding the fence. The inspiration and excitement conveyed in the video truly is contagious. “Share worthy” and “must see” are terms that barely do the video justice. Leave me a comment today with your thoughts about the video, and enjoy!

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I want you to take a look today, if you will, at an initiative that was launched yesterday by the fine folks at Seth Godin’s Domino Project. I think that you’ll find some ideas and a chunk of real inspiration here, I know I did. Actually, I’m not even going to be coy about it, I was floored by the time I got to the bottom of the page.

I’m holding Amber Rae and Willie Jackson responsible for this awe that I’m feeling, though I know that The Domino Project is very much a team effort. Kudos to all involved! I do actually know Willie. He blame’s Amber, and so they’re both “it” today.

Both attribute the inspiration for this concept to a similar initiative from last year called #reverb10. I do think that this new initiative, titled “#trust30” goes a step or two beyond the prior in that there is an actual product for sale. Also, there is a company involved here that stands to benefit via a ton of traffic and an elevated awareness of their brand and mission. This crosses the line with me; #trust30 isn’t merely an inspiration challenge, we’re witnessing pure and brilliant marketing!

On the very first day the challenge prompted almost 650 tweets and 800+ Facebook “Likes”. As of 10pm yesterday, 3000+ had taken the challenge. In doing so, they agree that for the next 30 days they will receive a prompt and take action to generate something. Prompts are posted on the site or via email by the thought leaders associated with the challenge. Participants have all committed to generate something each day on the journey.

Yesterday’s prompt:

You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live.

1. Set a timer for fifteen minutes.
2. Write the story that has to be written.

(Author: Gwen Bell)

Blog posts and tweets are encouraged, but journaling is mentioned as well.  #trust30 itself is a hashtag and is to be used when tweeting about the project. There are also badges with code that can be taken and placed on participant’s blogs to encourage others to take the challenge as well. Looks like they have the social media space and the blogosphere pretty well saturated for the next 30 days and beyond, right? All of this generated content will likely mention and link back to the original website. Just check out the tweets so far. Yes, there WILL be traffic.

For story, it is announced that “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson is being republished. The entire challenge that is #trust30 is an exercise in inspiration to “reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future.”  I love that the two very separate things are so (seemingly) casually interwoven. I think that this wasn’t as easy to conceptualize as you might think.

What about the site itself? Could you ask for a more aesthetically pleasing and minimal site? From the choice of colors to the use and placement of the images, the site walks the old eyeballs swiftly along a guided path. I was signing up before I knew what hit me. Oh, and let’s do examine that opt-in form.  It’s a creatively crafted pledge to better myself, a commitment to grow! Of course they now have my email address…but you know what? I feel very confident that anything coming from this group will have value attached when it arrives.

So what do you think? Doesn’t all of this just come together and show off some of the fundamental principles of digital marketing? What makes it so special to me is that it comes across as unobtrusive and it has an effortless feel to it. This can only be pulled off by skilled individuals and teams with some real business and marketing background. That’s why I thought this would provide a great example to learn from for all of us here today! The comments are open. Please do let me know your thoughts!

I was truly inspired yesterday upon finding out about the challenge and then landing on the #trust30 page. This seriously prompted me to consider new possibilities for my own efforts and initiatives in the future. For this, and with much gratitude, I want to give away badges. Hey, it is what it is. So Amber, Willie, take these and put em’ on a shelf someplace as a memento from me. These are the very first, but I am considering making it a habit.  I just wanted to show my appreciation for the time, effort, and talent that went into the #trust30 initiative. Somehow I know the inspiration and fine example will take me places.

Related posts:

1. How To: Market To Smartiephone Users
2. Let’s Ignore Women, Social Media, And Blogging…And See What Happens