Back in November 2011 I had a very long visit to the Emergency Room (ER) due to some chest, back and underarm pain.  Immediately I was brought in with the assumption I was having a heart attack.  I thought, how is that possible at the age of 31.  I discovered that it is very possible since I am overweight but was cleared once the blood work and all other tests came back clean.  One would think that this would cause a complete change in eating habits, but sad to say no it did not.

My next wake up call was on Good Friday 2012, approximately 5 months later, when I had a shorter ER visit after eating a Philly Cheese Steak from Dave and Busters.  This time I had some additional tests done, minus any heart related ones, to discover I had gallstones.  After my tests the ER doctor informed me I would need surgery to fix my problem.  The same day I met with my surgeon who informed my wife and I that my eating habits must change.  Which I did, somewhat.  I could not eat dairy, fatty meats or anything that could cause digestive issues.  In addition to help with my pain and keep my stones from passing I was given narcotics, which caused their own issues.

About two months later I had my gallbladder removed with no complications.  However, a few months after that I discovered all meat bothered me, Iceberg Lettuce, dairy and a few other food items really messed up my digestive track.  This forced a dietary and lifestyle change that I knew I needed to make.  Funny how that happens, as if someone was looking out for me even when I was not looking out for myself.

Now, my wife and I are doing a Vegan 30 Day Challenge to see how we feel during and after the next 30 days.  My goal is to eat healthier, lose weight but most importantly be there for my family longer.  If all I have to do is sacrifice the things I already have to then so be it.  However, it is only fair that I share with you what it really means to be Vegan because  I am sure that most of you, much like me, thought it was a bit nuts.

What does it mean to be Vegan?

Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans (or strict vegetarians) eliminate them from their diet only. Another form, environmental veganism, rejects the use of animal products on the premise that the industrial practice is environmentally damaging and unsustainable (Wikipedia).

Some people with my condition, gallbladder-less, can eat whatever they want but others are just like me.  I am not doing this because I believe in animal rights, although I do, but I am doing this for health reasons.  Please share your thoughts with me here, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Lecrae “Background” featuring Andy Minceno (C-Lite)

The most interesting part to me is that my job, Social Media Producer, at K-LOVE is to “play the background.” My role is to be the voice of the brand on social media, help the DJs with blogs and social media. It’s definitely not about me, but that’s the same in my life.
I have a confession to make. The content I create, the abilities I have to understand social media, to read analytical data and help others, really is not my own. These abilities, gifts or talents are not mine to claim. The knowledge I have was developed from following my mentor and studying the content he placed in front of me. He lead me down this path. This might sound a little weird to you but it is the truth. My mentor is not a conventional mentor, He is not even well known these days as a mentor and He develops me through life. My mentor is God.
It’s time I took my place, in the background.
If you would like to learn more about God I will post some resources below.
Feel free to share your thoughts with me here, on Facebook or Twitter.

This is not something you can make up, it is data driven and easily found. It is much easier to track these things with just a few tools and a capability to read and translate the data. You must know your end game, which will be a conversion.

A conversion can be as simple as someone landing on your website, clicking a specific link, calling, donating or just listening to your station. Your conversion is unique to your business and industry. A conversion does not always result in the exchange of money for services, although we all want to make money from our social networks.

In order to make money you must know and poses three things.

1. Know your key points of interest.

2. Know what a conversion is for your company or business.

3. Have patience! Anything you rush to build will not sustain. Be patient and allow the process to be natural. The more natural it is the better the results.

If you need help with understanding social metrics keep checking back for more articles or contact All Things Social.

Learn about measuring Social Media traffic with Google Analytics from Social Media Examiner.

Learn about HubSpot‘s 5 Concrete Metrics to Measure Social Media ROI.

Learn about AllFacebook‘s 5 Most Essential Facebook Marketing Metrics (for Facebook).

• Biggest change is you get a Cover as a business which should be about 815 by 315 pixels and incorporate your profile pic which should be 180 by 180 pixels.
• Your cover is public so when someone lands on your page this is what they will see first.
• You can “Pin” a post to the top so it stays up for a week regardless of future posts.
• You can “Star” a post which makes it take up the full width of your timeline.
• People will be able to see their friends activities on your page easier and you will be able to see all your the activity easier.
• You will be able to change the date on a post.

There are some guidelines for the cover image that you have to know before you publishing it, such as:

• Covers cannot include:
• Price or purchase information or download at any website.
• Contact information such as web address, email address, mailing address, etc.
• Cannot ask people to like or share.
• No calls to action like get it now or tell your friends

This information only scratches the surface, but All Things Social will go more into detail at their workshop, Facebook Timeline for Pages, on March 17th.

All Things Social: PodCast on Facebook Timeline for Pages

My son gave me a painting he did that looks like a fish, seriously it was cute. My wife made some blueberry muffins, my favorite. I ate 4 of them total! Had homemade enchiladas at my in-laws house and cake.

But outside of the family time and gifts my favorite was a Tweet!

Hey, do me a favor? RT this to wish our @KLOVERadio social media genius @GaryWinchester happy birthday! Let’s bombard him! Thanks!

— Kelli Caldwell (@KLOVEKelli) February 26, 2012

There are 4 big things that took place in this Tweet.

1. Kelli wished me a happy birthday.

2. She asked people to RT (ReTweet).

3. She mentioned where we work together, @KLOVERadio.

4. She called me a social media genius.

This was huge in the world of Social Media, or at least in my world.

On that note I received over 74 Happy Birthday messages on my Facebook Timeline.

Thank you everyone for an incredible birthday!

Building a team is not that easy, especially when it comes to building a socially savvy team.  Most social media, digital or internet marketers are in business for themselves and building their own company.  I could not just go out and ask people to be on my team until I built solid relationships.  I did find it much easier to join someone else’s team, which worked out for a season but finding a permanent place was  what I needed.  Having a pregnant wife at the time was a challenge all in itself.  Needing a team was a priority for me that I overlooked at the time.  Once I build the team I would teach them my way of doing business.

Not that I want to change people by force but if it is my name and reputation on the line then I want things done a certain way.  I would not only tach my team the way I do business but I would focus more on teaching clients how to use social media as a marketing tool.  I would focus more on conference speaking to grow my business while my team produces content for clients.  I enjoy working with people but I would also make sure I set boundaries so I could balance my networking and production.

I enjoy content production as much as i enjoy networking.  I enjoy the social connections on and offline.  I eat, breathe and sleep All Things Social which is why it should have been a high priority for me to create boundaries.  I found myself working far too much into the time I should have been spending with my wife.  Robbing her of my time and help while being pregnant.  Not a great way to launch a business.  Finding stability and provision was my highest priority but making sure boundaries were set with networking and with time on client work would have been very beneficial for me.

My suggestion to all business men and women…Do not go this path alone, build a team of other business people you can trust…teach others how you are and how you do things if your neck is on the line but also be willing to learn from others…Find balance in all that you do, focusing on one thing over another just causes stress as well as chaos.  Share your business tips here, with me on my Facebook Page, Personal Profile, Twitter, Google+ or LinkedIn.

I had some great conversation with @JDobrowski, @JoshUnfried, @PageFace, @MrAndrewBradley, @RCYoung87, @SaundezJ, @Jen_MommyofMany and more.  I chatted with a few people just about blogs, life, work, social media and others about their business.  I have to say there was a great mix of business.  There was a lot of first time visitors to The Place (@WickedGoodPizza) who I am sure will be back for seconds.

Thanks @PlacerBiz for another successful #TweetUp!

When posting content on your Facebook Page there are a lot of things to keep in mind, but the answer to this questions is the FOUNDATION to Facebook posting. Posting too often or too little can be detrimental when it comes to using Facebook for marketing. The key to answering this question is understanding Facebook’s Algorithm called EdgeRank.
“EdgeRank, Facebook’s algorithm for determining what appears at the top of people’s News Feeds, might be the single most important online innovation of our time.” – Dave Kerpen, Likeable Media

EdgeRank consists of affinity, weight and time.
Affinity – Interactions a user has with a page, including how often they like items, click on links, view pictures, or post on a wall. This variable is one sided; if a user often interacts with your content, their affinity score towards you will go up and the likelihood of your content appearing in their feed will increase.
Weight – Different types of content (likes, comments, links and pictures) have a different weight scores and therefore are more likely to appear in a News Feed.
Time – Facebook wants to strike a balance between showing recent data without turning into a chronological list like Twitter. (Gaining an Edge with EdgeRank, Facebook Marketing, Awareness)
When it comes to Affinity, this variable depends on the user and not the page. One part of Affinity and Weight that I believe was missed is shares, which will become more valubale in the near future. Getting more likes, clicks, comments, shares and wall posts is the only way to drive up your affinity value. The more interaction you get the more your content is seen.  No one knows how much a like, comment, link, pictures, shares, wall posts or videos weigh but in my opinion they would rank in this order, based on stats I have seen over the last 6 months. (most important 1 to least important 7).

1. Pictures

2. Likes

3. Shares

4. Comments

5. Clicks

6. Video

7. Wall Posts

I make this assumption based on what I have seen the most interaction on and how it has effected the stats of the future posts.
Time is valuable, so posting too much can be costly in driving your affinity score up. When posting remember what it is like to be a fan or consumer on a Page and how many posts were too much for you. If you post too little you may be forgotten, if you are not visible to your fans, then you are not going to be visible to customers. I have read many articles and blog posts about this, allowing me to formulate my own opinion. I bleieve when you post less than 2 hours apart you do more damage than good, but if you post less than once per day you will be forgotten.
EdgeRankis universal for all Facebook Pages, does not matter what kind of content you are producing. Keeping these three variables in mind will help you when posting.
You can find many more resources through Awareness, Mashable, BuddyMedia and Hubspot.