Attending the Harrisburg University Social Media Summit for the second year in a row, I chose to check out the “Social Media & Game Development” panel.

We have a few clients that use the gaming side of social media, such as foursquare, but I was interested to hear how I could learn more and better serve our clients.

I was expecting the panel to focus on using the gaming side of social media to attract more customers to … more of a “play this game and win a piece of our merchandise” type deal. However, it was more about playing games that certain social media platforms offer and games on the web in general.

As the panel was coming to an end I asked about foursquare and QR codes and where they see those types of things going in the future. They said, “QR codes are out, brand image recognition is the new reality.” So instead of scanning a QR code or checking in at a location, a consumer can simply scan an image of a brand using an app called Aurasma. There, a video, or whatever the company wanted their aura to be, would pop up for the consumer to see. The panel said that an image is more pleasing to the eye than a black and white box.

I thought this was interesting and immediately downloaded the app. I have yet to check it out to see what it is all about, but I am excited to see where this new media takes us.

A couple of other points I thought were interesting:

• Online gaming is more cooperative then competitive
• The largest gamer segment is women 40 and up
• Some companies are using games so that people can interact with and learn about the company as an alternative to power points or sales meetings.

How do you see online gaming improving in the future?

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This past week, I had an opportunity to speak at the Harrisburg University Social Media Summit on a panel called, “Social Networking and the Job Search.” The discussion was focused on how job seekers can use social networks to optimize their search.

Here are some of my answers to questions that were asked by the moderator. I hope you find the content useful, even if you’re not on the search for a job.

What is personal branding? What does it mean in your job search? How can individuals use social media to project an optimal online image? 

Many think of a ‘brand’ as something like Tide, Starbucks or Mercedes – they associate a brand with a logo or specific corporate image. The digital era has allowed branding to become personal.

As it relates to a professional, creating a positive personal brand helps position you to land a great job (or can prevent a potential employer from disqualifying you). Someone who dresses professionally, articulates clearly, and possesses certain knowledge can make themselves stand out and become attractive to potential employers.

For job-seekers, it’s important to present yourself in a positive light. Envision what you want yourself to be in five years and start building an online reputation that matches this vision. Connect and build a community on your networks.

Once an individual has an optimal online image, how can you use social media to network your way into a job? 

Establish a LinkedIn profile and connect with people from past jobs. If you are doing any volunteer or community service work, be sure to list that on your profile in the current position area and be sure to ask for references.

Join groups involving the industries you would like to be a part of. Maybe you can start a blog to showcase your knowledge and experience in an area of study. Follow industry experts on Twitter – this is a great way to monitor the pulse of your field.

Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social networks. Is this a social media tool that can be optimized for personal branding? If so, how?  

Pinterest is huge, which can be really good or really bad depending on how you’re being seen.  Be mindful of what you’re posting and re-pinning- ask yourself, “is it tasteful?” Create boards related to your industry and post images, infographics, and blogs in that area. This medium is dominated by women, which might be good to keep in mind depending on what you’re trying to do.

Recently there has been controversy over employers requesting social networking passwords from potential employers – what are your thoughts on this topic? Good, bad, will it happen anyway? 

This is a topic covered previously on our blog.  The privacy issues extend beyond just you. With access to the personal account, an employer could monitor not only your own personal postings, but also those of your friends and other contacts to whom your pages are linked.

Requiring social networking log-ins is technically in violation of the Stored Communications Act (1986), which protects Internet communications by limiting the government’s ability to force an ISP to hand over both content (actual communications) and non-content (such as logs and email ‘envelope’) information.

I advise anyone on the web to be conscious of the information they post – regardless of privacy settings. If it’s on the Internet, it’s likely accessible in some way. 

Can you share some tips for managing your online brand?

• Have a strong professional photo and be consistent about using it across the web so people can identify you (this reinforces your brand).
• Sign up for Google alerts to receive a notification when you are mentioned on the web.
• Decide what you want your Google search engine results to reveal. If you’re watching closely, there are certain things that rank at the top of the page. If you’re not pleased with the top-ranking content, it’s time to determine what you want your message to say and start formulating fresh content.
• Establish a strong, consistent presence on relevant media. Don’t try to do it all.  For job-search purposes, use LinkedIn to establish credibility and use Twitter to follow and connect with key players in your industry. Keep your personal Facebook page G-rated. Finally, if you’re a strong writer… blog.

For those individuals who may feel overwhelmed about managing their online brand – can you provide some tips or technology tools to simplify the process?

Just like with social media, technology is only a means to end. You don’t need any fancy monitoring software or special code and you don’t have to be everywhere and do everything.

For more information on personal branding, visit our LinkedIn Group: Personal Brand Management.

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For many, electronic communication has gone from being an occasional diversion to being a constant distraction. (Or, in my case, even an occupational hazard)!

Despite the ways we often search for work/life balance, it seems our obsession with being connected can dominate our lives.

As the queen of succumbing to online distractions, I thought I would share these tips for helping others manage those pesky ‘pings.’

Prioritize. As deadlines approach and you’re facing crunch time, prioritize your tasks. Write a list of what absolutely must be done today and start cranking away.

Silence Social Sites. Once you’ve established a priority list, turn off the email and social network notifications.  Side tip: For those of you who think, I can’t power off because I might ‘miss’ something important, treat the silence as if you were in meeting (that’s assuming you give undivided attention to the folks you’re meeting with).

Check-In Less Frequently.   If you’re like me, you want to check-in 50 times a day because you’re afraid that the communications are piling up. But, I find they are actually easier to manage if I check-in less frequently.  Side tip: If you struggle with this, start slowly by checking in 45 times a day, instead of 50.

Reward Yourself. Accomplishing what’s on your list will likely be reward enough, but to help stick with it, treat yourself to a reward for sticking to your time management goals for the week!

Filter. Take the time to filter emails to designated folders, set the frequency and type of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest messages, and select only your most preferred blog and ezine subscription options.   This will help minimize distractions that can keep you from the task at hand once you sign on!

What distractions to do you encounter? Have you found a way to manage them?

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Networking sometimes reminds me of dating. In both cases, a mutually beneficial relationship is the goal.  But, like dating, the ways some people look to achieve relationships through networking can be very-off putting.

Here are my networking turn-offs:

Handing me your business card before introducing yourself. This is like someone asking for your phone number before you’ve had a chance to get to know them. Both tactics come off as cheap. It’s hard to trust someone who comes off as if they’re looking for a touchdown.

Butting in a conversation and talking only about what’s important to you.  Have you ever had someone invade your table of friends and fail to go away, even when it’s obvious you don’t want him or her there? I’m all for making myself approachable and inviting others into a discussion, but not to be interrupted to hear all about your business with no change of back-and-forth discussion.

Relentlessly asking me to buy something.  Most of you will probably nod in agreement at the annoyance of ‘that guy’ – the person who can’t take “no” for an answer.  No means no. Continuing to probe me just makes it worse for you, because I won’t tell my friends good things either.

Here some of things that make me want to do business with someone:

• Introduce yourself and inquire about my business. It’s always encouraging when people appear sincere about building a relationship, starting with a simple inquiry “tell me about what you do.”
• Find common ground or a way we can work together. Before pushing a sale, find a way we relate to each other or help each other out. It’s likely we are connected to the same people and can find something relational to help break the ice.  Once we’ve had a chance to get to know each other, perhaps we have businesses that could complement each other through referrals? It’s important to find similarities to help build the like, know, trust phase that leads to the buy.
• Follow-up with a LinkedIn request.  I love it when people beat me to the punch on this follow-up task!  Send a message and say it was nice to meet me and suggest that we have coffee, if it seems appropriate.

I’m no networking expert, but I have found huge value in networking. If you use social media, you may find networking helps to bridge the gap between the online and real world experiences and puts the personal touch on a budding or existing relationship.

And, like social media, that hard sell may end up pushing away more people than it attracts. In my experience, a lasting relationship usually doesn’t start in the buy stage.

What are your networking turnoffs? Have you had positive experiences?

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Pinterest, an online pin board that allows users to organize and share images, is taking the social media scene storm and many businesses are jumping on the pinboard bandwagon to claim their piece of the action.  Perhaps you’re one of them. Or, maybe you’re hearing a lot about it and you’re trying to decide if it’s right for you.

We’ve been using Pinterest for Strella Social Media and several of our clients. It’s still too early to tell what the lasting results will be, but we can say our clients gain the most interaction when they ‘pin’ regularly, remain active and engaged, and pin their content. It also helps to follow others and re-pin their content.

Just like other social media channels, consistency is crucial. If you pin something, it can become old news within a day – or even a few hours.  Engaging with others on the site is important because you want others to see that you’re interested in what they are pinning, not just pushing your own pins.  Pinterest is a great way to drive traffic to your blog or website – simply include a compelling photo with the blog and ‘wa-la.’ We recommended following new people and following others back frequently – the more exposure you receive, the better.

If you’re just starting out on Pinterest, here are a few tips to maximize your presence:

• Create a strong profile
• Use boards to highlight products
• Use boards to highlight other interests related to your brand
• Use pins to drive traffic to website, Facebook, LinkedIn, blog, etc.
• Pin blog content with a keyword-laden message
• Follow, like, re-pin, and interact with others

It’s little preliminary to say what the future will hold for Pinterest, but it doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon.  Pinterest offers a convenient web-based shopping experience and allows consumers to share ideas.  As we pin things, we’re a making a virtual collection. It’s a great source of ideas for special occasions, and gifts. If you can make your business ‘pin-able,’ Pinterest could be the ultimate sharing and shopping site.

Are you using Pinterest for your business? What are your experiences?

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