Carol Stephen, Author at

For the Love of Chaos: How to Successfully Rebrand Your Startup

September 22, 2016 By Carol Stephen 6 Comments

For the Love of Chaos: How to Successfully Rebrand Your Startup

So you’re right in the middle of a rebranding effort. The startup where you handle all the social media has decided that the messaging must change. Or you’re still trying to get up to speed and having problems keeping your head above water. How to cope and survive? You might have already read Startups and Social Media: Six Issues, and are looking for ideas.

Photo by Chung Ho Leung

Write Everything Down

Before you start working every morning, write down all the things you have to do that day. That might sound silly, but crossing items off your to-do list can make you healthier and happier. 10 minutes dumping everything on paper and then prioritizing what needs to be done can be priceless.

Photo by mah_japan

Take it from Those Who’ve Gone Before

Here are three examples of successful rebrandings.

Be like Old Spice ©jeepersmedia

Be Like Old Spice

Consider that Old Spice didn’t change their logo when they rebranded. They changed the experience that users have. And they made the phrase “I’m on a horse” famous. Pretty hilarious for a brand that’s been around 70 years. If you don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, don’t.

Rev it Up Like Harley-Davidson

Take it from a brand that’s been around for 95 years, Harley-Davidson “has its feet planted in both the past and the present.” And you can be a fan without even owning a Harley, since fans dropped millions on fanware and meals at their restaurants. (The one in Las Vegas is especially fun, by the way.) And sales have been so great that it can take up to a year to get a Harley. In the meantime, you could get a Harley tattoo, like many of its fans do.

Rebuild Block by Block Like Lego

Those little blocks that everyone hates to step on went through a successful rebranding in the late 90s. They used their existing customers to help create content and thus reached out to a younger audience. There was even a Lego movie! So if your customers have an emotional connection to your brand, why not crowdsource some of your content? Rebranding doesn’t have to be as tough as navigating through a stormy sea, so be sure to break it down into manageable “Lego pieces.”

Been Through Rebranding?

How was it? Let me know in the comments, below.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: chaos, Harley Davidson, Lego, meditation, Old Spice, rebranding, sleep, Startup, survival, to do list

Need the Best Twitter Followers? Focus on Awesome Quality!

September 15, 2016 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

Need the Best Twitter Followers? Focus on Awesome Quality!

One of the top ten questions I hear from new users on Twitter: how will I attract influencers to my new account? If you want the best followers, then your focus must be on the best quality content, find the best accounts to follow or list, and have a highly focused strategy.

Here are a few basics.

Know Your Audience

Someone was talking to me the other day and said to me that the chocolate I was buying was a “chick magnet.” Putting the dumb sexist comment aside, why would I be interested in a “chick magnet”? Now, had he been talking to one of his guy friends over a beer, that comment might be more appropriate. Maybe. Same goes for what you write: make sure it’s something your audience would want to know.

Share Great Content

If you’re creating your own content, fantastic! As Clement Lim says, creating quality content keeps your audience coming back for more. If you show your audience something valuable or solve a problem for them, they’ll keep coming back. And the same is true with the tweets you choose.

My audience wants to know how to save time. So something like Social Media in 60 Minutes a Day could help my them, if I’ve been listening carefully. And my clients always say they want to spend less time doing their social media.

Use Search and Save Your Searches ©johnmoneypenny.com

Use Search and Save Your Searches

You can save your searches in Twitter, whether they’re for a hashtag, a keyword, or a combination. On desktop, search in the top search bar, then go to More Options–>>Save This Search.

Advanced Search

Did you know you can search for a topic, such as “Social Media” and then choose whether there’s an associated emotion with it? For the positive emotion, that would be a little smiley face “:)”. You can also search within a certain geographic area if you’re a brick and mortar. Use those saved searches to find people tweeting about what you’re interested in.

Create Lists!

If you get more than a couple of hundred followers, you will go insane if you don’t have lists! Find the best accounts and list them. For instance, you could create a list of locals, people who retweet you, or friends. Check in on them occasionally, especially when you’re looking for good content to retweet. You will save a ton of time, I promise!

Engage in Tweet Chats!

Engage in Tweet Chats

People who want to engage come to tweetchats. Find one that includes topics that interest you. You’ll find new followers, the time passes quickly, and as a by-product, you’ll also find new friends. At least that’s what happened to me. If you don’t know how, here’s how to participate in a tweet chat.

How Do You Find Good Accounts to Follow?

Tell me your secret ways. I promise I won’t tell anyone! Pinkie swear!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: advanced search, Followers, how to find followers on Twitter, Social Media, Twitter, Twitter followers

How to Become a Digital Influencer: 10 Best Ways

September 8, 2016 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

How to Become a Digital Influencer: 10 Best Ways

How do you go about becoming that person whose every word is listened to? How do you build trust so that you become an influencer? Digital influencers have not been around that long. However, there’s already a science behind influencer marketing. It’s not easy, but there is a path.

Photo by electrictuesday

Focus on Your Special Interest

Although it seems counter-intuitive, becoming more specialized makes you more likely to becoming an influencer. Pay attention to the small things.

“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.”

~ Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

There is already talk of a skills gap in social media, due to the fast proliferation of new platforms, and the breakneck speed of digital change. With so much going on, developing a special interest doesn’t have to be difficult.

Follow Other Influencers

Read their books, read their blogs, and study them. Follow them on social media, and check in with them. Comment on their blog posts. Start conversations. Show up at their events. In my arena, that might be Mari Smith, or Gary Vanderchuk.

Find Your Social Media Voice

Write and rewrite your statements until they ring true to you. If you’ve ever written a journal, writing posts can be somewhat similar. Reading a post or tweet out loud can also help make it sound natural, and more like your voice.

Create Content

If you’ve followed some influencers, make yourself distinct from them. How does your opinion differ from theirs? There may be some areas where you have a strong opinion. Images and original artwork or video are becoming more and more important, so take advantage of images as well. Here’s an article about Secrets to Great Content You Forgot You Knew. It includes some tips about how to avoid procrastination.

Photo by volantra

Engage, Engage, Engage

Share others’ posts, and most of all talk to people online and offline. Engagement is probably the most important of the ten steps here. Why should you care about engagement? Because for your brand, you can speak to one possible client or many, you can drive people to a website to buy products, all while you work on your branding. Building relationships takes time; constant and steady engagement is the path to those relationships.

Sprout Social has a wonderful article about social media engagement: What is Social Media Engagement and Why Should I Care?

Photo by UT Connewitz

Be Useful

Helping others is an excellent way to build influence. Being a resource is one of the fastest ways to being influential. Find what people need and then provide it. Whether that’s giving someone a helping hand or solving a problem, being useful is a shortcut to influence success.

Overcome Failure

Get up every time you fall down. Rinse and repeat every day. The Positivity Blog has a great little article about failure: How to Overcome Failure: 9 Powerful Habits. As Henrick Edberg says, try to learn something from the failure, even if it’s just one simple thing.

Think Long Term

Nothing is going to happen overnight, although you can speed up the process. Unless you’re a celebrity, nobody gets a free pass. But all the organic reach, the followers and added business are worth it. Social media is more of a tortoise than a hare.

Photo by o. denise

Work Hard and Be Creative

Get the work done, definitely. But also be creative in how you get it done. For instance, you can recycle content, especially on Twitter. Save yourself from redoing your work. Even Guy Kawasaki reuses content! Nobody is going to read every single one of your tweets, so repeating them can be part of your strategy.

Photo by Aidan Jones

Be Approachable

Be like a pair of old shoes: comfortable and a little worn around the edges. I think Dale Carnegie said something like that. My friend, Bridget Willard, wrote a great post about being friendly, which you can be even if you’re shy. It’s in her Keys to Being Social: Be Friendly.

Do You Want to Be More Influential?

What steps are you taking to be more influential? I’m sure there are many missing here. Leave me a comment, and thanks!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: digital influencer, influencer, marketing, Recycle content, social media voice, special interest

Social Media Question? “It Depends” is the Right Answer!

September 1, 2016 By Carol Stephen 10 Comments

Social Media Question? “It Depends” is the Right Answer!

Why do social media “experts” always say “it depends!” as an answer to every question?What the heck? Don’t they have the real answer? Well, yes, they do. But the answers usually have so many variables that you can’t get an answer without providing more details. So when they say “It Depends,” they’re not lying to you. They’re telling it from their viewpoint. Here are some examples.

Can My Post Go Viral?

Sure it can! That’s not to say that it will. But you can prepare the groundwork by doing your best writing, having a terrific image or five to go with that post, and posting at a good time. However, most posts don’t go viral! You can increase your odds with an aww-worthy cat sitting atop that widget you sell, or making it controversial, both of which might detract from your trustability. Will it go viral? It depends!

How Soon Will I See Results?

If you’re selling real estate in North Dakota, that might take longer than if you’re selling iPhone covers in Cupertino. There’s a huge range. Maybe you’ll see results after two weeks, maybe it’ll take two months. Or in some cases, two years. Again, it depends.

Where Should I Look for Content?

Who’s your audience? Do you know their age, their location, and their interests? The more you know about them, the easier it will be to answer this question. Without knowing who your audience is, there’s no way to know. And in the beginning, you may need to take an educated guess! Once you can pinpoint that audience, you’ll know more about what to post.

How Do I Make People More Involved?

It depends! If you’ve figured out who your ideal audience is, then you’ll know what’s important to them. That information, in turn, will make your chances of getting them involved higher. Perhaps your audience isn’t the type to comment on posts, though. So your first goal might be to get a few “likes.”

What Unanswered Questions Do You Have?

If you’ve been trying to get answers, the best you might get is more questions. Leave me a question and I’ll answer it with a question! And thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: audience, it depends, results, Social Media, viral post

Startups: The Five Cs of Success You Need to Know

August 25, 2016 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Startups: The Five Cs of Success

You’ve just joined a new startup. The world is an exciting place and you’re right in the middle of all that innovation and newness. Your friends are envious, and your mom has no idea what you do during the day. How do you know that your startup is heading in the right direction, though? After all, according to Forbes, 90% of all startups fail. Will you be among the 10%?

Here’s a playlist of social media articles for startups:

Customers

Real customers use your services. At first, it’s the warm leads, the friends and family, who sign up. Later, you reach out to the companies who need the services you provide. At first, the sales team is anyone who has free time to make a phone call. Later, there’s a concerted effort for everyone to pitch in. Next, there’s a real-live sales person. And eventually, an entire team, all coordinated. After all, you can’t legitimize your business without real customers.

Here’s a great article about landing your first customers on a shoe-string budget. Hint: Follow-up is key.

Photo by david__jones

Confidence

Confidence can be anything from a fearlessness about asking questions to the ability to tackle changes in direction. At first, being ambitious might feel uncomfortable. But after awhile, confidence has its own momentum. Getting an entire team into the habit of being involved and committed also creates its own momentum.

As Jacqueline Whitmore outlines in her article in Entrepreneur, there are Six Actions You Can Take to Build Your Self Confidence. I particularly like: “Positive energy leads to positive outcomes…”.

Commitment

When everyone who works at your startup is excited to get to work, that’s a sign that you’ve got a good thing. During the first couple of years, that pre-launch drive translates to overwork and insomnia. Sometimes, sending an email or text at midnight and getting an answer back within minutes, is thrilling. When you’re committed, and prepped for success, the orders come in. Having “skin in the game” is a common pathway to that commitment.

Paul Graham says in his article What Startups Are Really Like (still as true in 2016 as in 2009, when he wrote it):

“What people wished they’d paid more attention to when choosing cofounders was character and commitment, not ability. This was particularly true with startups that failed. The lesson: don’t pick cofounders who will flake.”

Coworkers who are working at more than one startup will often not have the energy to get a startup off the ground.

Photo by garryknight

Communication

If you have transparency from the founders and your team, you’ll be able to know what’s happening from top to bottom. Often what’s said out in the hallway or between meetings is the really important. But the critical thing is knowing that you can discover what’s happening quickly if you should need to know something.

You might want to consider a Communication Architecture, as Unreasonable did, which dictates the way your team talks. And the standing meeting ensures that meetings stay short.

It’s important to have a structure for your team’s communications. While more meetings are necessarily positive, regular meetings ensure that everyone’s aligned.

Celebrations

Nearly every day, something good happens that is worthy of celebrating. While there is still a lot of hard work to be done, there are also a lot of high-fives, impromptu bottles of wine and champagne being opened, and smiles. Being supportive of one another, although it might sound corny, goes a long way to making people want to stick with the crazy work hours. There are many ways to celebrate success, from a brag board to a morphing trophy, as recommended by American Express.

Photo by miamism

Is There a Sixth “C”?

Please leave me a comment and let me know what other signs of success I might have missed! And thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: celebration, commitment, communication, confidence, customers, finding first customers, Five Cs, signs, Startup, Startups, success

Donald Trump’s Prison in the Depths of Social Media Hell

August 18, 2016 By Carol Stephen 10 Comments

Donald Trump’s Prison in the Depths of Social Media Hell

Many news articles about Donald Trump describe remarks so horrendous that his PR team later tries to rewrite what he says, explaining how his remarks were “taken out of context” or that he was “joking.” When the news is horribly negative, (and it usually is), then it was “meant as a joke.” And then social media, controlled as it is by the “liberals,” takes the negative comment and makes it worse. If I were on Donald Trump’s social media team, I’d be worried about having to continually reframe The Donald’s words.

Has Social Media Helped or Hindered Trump’s Slide?

Like many others have postulated, it seems that The Donald may never have had any intention of being president. His comments are so envenomed that it’s unfathomable that he could ever really win. The Huffington Post has even suggested that Clinton take a break from campaigning, as doing nothing could help her win. And recently, Michael Moore, who just last week said that Donald Trump would probably win the presidency, now says that Trump “never actually wanted to win the presidency.” How has social media helped or hindered Trump’s rapid decline?

Mistakes Are Magnified on Social Media

At one time, maybe as recently as ten years ago, some of the things a candidate said could go unnoticed. The microphone wasn’t always on, as it were, and nothing would happen if a candidate made a faux pas. But now, with everyone having a cell phone, Facebook, and Twitter, any misstep is sure to spread faster than the Zika virus. So the magnification of any mistake can make the error look far worse than it actually is.

Google Trends: Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

Google Trends: Donald Trump and Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

Trump and Google Search

Although the number of Google searches might not indicate where the Donald ranks, it’s still interesting. As recently as March of 2016, the New York Times indicated that “Google Searches Point to a Strong Showing for Donald Trump.” Near the end of July, 2016, the Huffington Post reported that the search term “Donald Trump treason” showed a spike. And then there’s this interesting article about Trump responding to video claiming that Google skewed search results to be more pro-Hillary. And if any publicity is good publicity, then Trump is getting his fair share of Google searches. Although a search on “Donald Trump treason” which was recently trending doesn’t seem to bode well.

Twitter Fails

On the Twitter front, Forbes recently published an article about Trump’s Twitter account, “We all know that Mr. Trump’s use of Twitter rivals the Kardashians’. He has amassed over 10.7 million followers and sent over 32,000 tweets.” By any account, that’s a huge number of tweets. But is Trump’s presence on Twitter helping him when many of his tweets show such negativity?

Big Data and Tweets

To me the most interesting article about Trump and social media is this one that covers Trump’s tweets. Read the text analysis from the data scientist David Robinson, who does a comparison of the data from two different phones (Android vs. iPhone). And he claims that only some of the tweets, those from the Android, are from the Donald himself. And those tend to be the angrier ones.

Fascinating stuff.

David Robinson goes on to say: “Trump’s Android account uses about 40-80% more words related to disgust, sadness, fear, anger, and other “negative” sentiments than the iPhone account does.”

From the Horse’s Mouth

Trump complains on Twitter that newspapers can say whatever they want:

It is not "freedom of the press" when newspapers and others are allowed to say and write whatever they want even if it is completely false!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2016

Sadly for Trump, when he tries to outwit his detractors, he seems to always lose. He may have so many followers because people want to see him stick his foot in it. And then threaten to sue. See the excellent article Top Trumps: Seven of The Donald’s biggest Twitter fails, including a few tweets of Trump defending his hair. Seriously? Yes.

Meanwhile, on Instagram

Over on Instagram, Trump has been waging a campaign ad trying to target Bill Clinton’s Monica Lewinsky debacle. His campaign tries to insinuate that Hilary Clinton doesn’t protect women. Wired Magazine says that Trump is “winning” on Instagram by being himself, “But here and there you see the often unsavory linchpins of his campaign: the bullying, the bravado, and the bull crap. It’s unfiltered, every bit as sophomoric and occasionally vulgar as his rallies and tweets.” Of course, that was back in March. Now it’s August.

Maybe it’s true, as Liz Krokin says in the Observer that Tech Companies Apple, Twitter, Google and Instagram Collude to Defeat Trump. Still, could any of Trump’s detractors do any worse damage than Trump has to himself?

Your Turn

What do you think? Is the deck stacked against Donald Trump? Or is he spiraling out of control all on his own? Leave me a comment! And thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Apple, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Donald Trump search, Google, Hillary Clinton, Instagram, social media hell, Twitter

Revamp Your Social Media: 10 Quick and Easy Ways

August 11, 2016 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

Revamp your social media: 10 quick and easy steps

Whether you’re a startup or a business that’s been around for awhile, revamping your social media takes a lot of work. And you may worry that a remodel will take up all of your time. However, if you want a quick makeover, here are some places to start.

Audit

You don’t need a fancy 12-page document to do a quick makeover. However, you might want to plan what your makeover will look like. For instance, do you want to touch all the different platforms? Suggestion: choose the top three platforms and fix those. Save the rest for another time.

Change your passwords

Change Your Passwords

Lifehacker recommends that your passwords be 12 characters or longer in order to be secure. But how many of us do that? You could also run it through an online password checker to be extra sure. So no more “123456” passwords! In the same article, there is reference to a 12-WORD password. That would do the trick, for sure!

Update your profiles

Update Your Profiles

If you’ve been using the same profile on Twitter since 2008, maybe it’s time to change it! Because you’ve probably changed, your business has changed, and Twitter has changed. What’s new in your business right now? For instance, my Twitter profile now lists Startups, since I work with a number of them. By the way, here’s a fun Twitter Bio Generator, to get your creative juices flowing.

Take a quick look around. Here’s a quick and dirty list for you:

Delete or hide boards that you’re not using. Move the pins to another board if they’re performing well.
Delete pins that aren’t getting traction.
Repin pins, and change their descriptions for a better chance at being found.
Here’s a post that could help: How to Avoid Writing Bad Pinterest Headlines and Get Found.

Facebook

If your strategy hasn’t changed, it’s time to mix it up! For instance, if you’re not using video, you might want to try that. Back in the day, it was easy to get people to see your posts on Facebook. You might also want to change the number of times you post. If you post once a day, try twice a day and see how that affects your numbers.

Twitter

Try retweeting more of the tweets of your best followers. The old-school way was to simply post a lot of your own stuff. Also, try more conversations. Ask questions, join chats where your clients might be, or where you could meet collaborators.

Recycling Content

See what evergreen content you can reshare. It could be on “Throwback Thursday” or simply in a ICYMI (in case you missed it) post. Here’s a post on how to recycle content the 10 best ways, ICYMI. (Do you get that one?)

Did somebody say #SmoreFun ???? pic.twitter.com/FnzZ1wCHBi

— Beth! (@Adventure1Photo) August 10, 2016

Ride Trending Topic Waves

As I write this, it’s Happy National S’mores Day! Do you think that some of my friends are using that topic to post a cool pic? You betcha! And you might even get retweeted by Hershey’s if you do! Congrats, Beth of Adventure Photo Studios!

Try Some Humor

Now it doesn’t have to be a Memefest, but a joke now and then never killed anyone. That is, unless they died from laughing. If your brand is lighthearted, then your posts should show that as well.

Collaborate

Try guest blogging on another business’ blog, or try creating a campaign with a complementary business. Collaboration is a fun way to revamp your presence. There are lots of benefits to collaboration.

How Would You Revamp Your Social Media?

What did I miss and what resonates with you? Leave me a comment!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: change passwords, renovation, revamp, Social Media, update profiles

Should You Do Your Own Social Media? Absolutely Not!

August 4, 2016 By Carol Stephen 6 Comments

Should You Do Your Own Social Media? Absolutely Not!

Here’s something I hear all the darn time: “social media is easy! My [insert 12-year-old relative here] could do it for me! Yes, they could do it for you. Just as you could do it yourself! But do I fix my own plumbing? Nooooo! So should you do your own social media? Again: Noooo!

Analytics

In order to make the best decisions about when to post, what to post, and how often to post, you’ll need to look at your analytics. If you don’t know what that means, then you’ll need to study up on analytics. Here’s a post about Twitter analytics, for a start.

Choosing Your Platform

Do you know where your audience is? Do you know the average age of people on the different platforms? Do you know the best place for women to hang out online (hint: it starts with a “P” and ends with a “T!”

image centrism

Image-Centrism

I’m not sure that’s a real term, but you know what I’m saying. These days, you need a good image. Gone are the days when you could post an article without a good image to go along with it. There are some exceptions, of course. But not many.

Your Time

Recently, I started to use Noko, a great time management tool. How much is your time worth? Do you really want to use it to learn how to manage your time online, when there’s someone who’s already ironed out all the kinks of an online posting system?

frustration

Frustration

Will you know what to do when there’s an emergency online? Who will you talk to if something goes wrong? Wouldn’t you prefer to have someone else handle everything for you?

Do You Do Your Own Plumbing?

If I did my own plumbing, probably there’d be a lot of leaks. Also, a lot of extra pieces of pipe that went nowhere, spurting water. It would maybe look like the Winchester Mystery House, except I couldn’t charge money for people to come over and see it.

Research and content

Research and Content

How will you handle finding your own content for posting? Will you create original content every day? How much time will that take away from your other business? How will you know what to post?

Constant Changes

Today, Instagram introduced Instagram “stories.’ Recently, Facebook changed its newsfeed to focus more on friends and families. Will you be able to keep up with the rapidly changing social media scene? Will you want to?

Still Think You Want to Manage Your Own Social Media?

Many people think they don’t have the budget, or the means to hire someone. Possibly that’s true. And a few people do a good job themselves. But if you don’t do your own plumbing, why would you do your own social media? Tell me why in the comments! Thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: analytics, images, platforms, Social Media, time management

How Diversity Attracts Valuable People To Your Startup

July 28, 2016 By Carol Stephen 6 Comments

How Diversity Attracts Valuable People To Your Startup

Recently it was International Women’s Day, and I got to thinking about diversity. Mostly I thought, why isn’t International Women’s Day every day? This has been on my mind more lately because I’ve noticed from being in San Francisco how many of the guys in startups are, well, guys. That is, there are mostly guys, and there really isn’t that much diversity.

Lack of Women in High-Tech Startups

Much has been written about the lack of women in technology, startups, engineering and Silicon Valley. And San Francisco is no different. If you walk around during lunch on any given day, you’ll notice who isn’t there: women. Recently, I even heard about a dating service that is going to be flying in women from New York because there are so few women in San Francisco. So where are all the women? And why aren’t more of them being hired? As this San Francisco Chronicle article explains, women rarely reach the top in high tech, despite signs that diversity pays.

If you’re a woman in high-tech, you may find yourself having to speak differently, or more loudly, or more often to get your voice heard. Being in the minority can make you feel like an outlier. However, having diversity at a startup goes beyond having female faces.

Diversity in Language

One thing I loved about going to school at Berkeley was the variety in languages and faces that I saw every day. Sometimes conversations could be difficult because not everyone spoke English as their first language. But having so many different points of view was invigorating; knowing that not everyone would agreed with me made me more carefully weigh what I said and wrote. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful way to run a startup, too? That is, with the idea that not everyone has to agree?

Mature Voices Attract Others

Another wonderful thing, now that I’m no longer 20-something, is to work alongside people of all ages. Having experienced, mature people working alongside you can be invigorating, too. Having people who “remember back when” without obsessing on it could help maintain a focus on what’s critical. And if your audience consists of baby boomers, then you’d be wise to have a few of them on staff.

Introverts versus Extroverts

Here’s another group I’d love to see more of: introverts. They’re not all hiding in the back room avoiding people, either. They’re speaking (albeit quietly, at times), listening, and finishing big projects. By the way, you might like this post about introverts: Six Facts About Introverts and Social Media That Will Impress Your Friends. Giving voice to introverts, who often have more to say than they let on, gives your business a better chance at innovation. Here are three steps to attract—and retain—introverted employees, from Forbes.

Political Diversity

During an election year, it’s natural that people might feel more challenged to agree with the “other side.” This election seems especially rancorous. And how many times have you thought, “the next person who rants about Donald Trump is going to get unfollowed!” I know I’m guilty. But someone is going to win the election, and then what? We’re never going to speak to those Republicans ever again?

Benefits to Attract the Culturally Diverse

Allowing more flexibility so that your employees are happy is key to having an innovative workplace. “Offer benefits such as onsite daycare, childcare subsidies and flexible schedules, and let new hires know that you are willing to accommodate cultural and religious holidays and diversity-friendly (but office appropriate) apparel choices,” as is outlined in How to Increase WorkPlace Diversity.

How’s Your Workplace Diversity?

If your workplace isn’t culturally diverse, how does that feel? What groups of people would you like to add to the mix where you work? And if it is culturally diverse, how does it affect how you work? I’d like to know, so leave me a comment, s’il vous plait!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: benefits, diversity, Donald Trump, extroverts, introverts, maturity, men, race, Startup, Startups, women

Spotlight on WordCamp Orange County: Ten Reasons Not to Miss it!

July 21, 2016 By Carol Stephen 8 Comments

Spotlight on WordCamp Orange County: Ten Reasons Not to Miss it!

Are you considering going to a WordCamp? WordCamp is a conference with its main focus on WordPress, run by volunteers from the WordPress community. Here are some of my reasons to go to the one in Orange County! This is my fourth year. Here are reviews of previous years:

Free lunches really do exist!

It’s a HUGE Bargain

And by huge, I mean ginormous. For the entrance fee of about $40, you get classes from experts on blogging and plugins, two lunches, snacks, coffee and other beverages, networking, honest opinions, swag, and much more.

Photo by Orange County Archives

Meet Your Peers

Those people you’ve seen online, those friends of friends, and the people whom you didn’t know you needed to meet? They’re all at WordCamp! And Orange County WordCamp is my absolute favorite for friendliness!

Photo by Jason Hargrove

Support Others

There’s always someone you want to support because they’re speaking and they’re a friend of another friend. Nothing beats giving them an in-person shoutout.

Give Back to the Community

The WordPress community is wonderfully generous. And you can give to the others who’ve helped you along the way, as well as meet people who might need your expertise. And others may end up answering your questions as well.

Our very own @JenBlogs4U and @sageshilling entered Plugin-a-Pooloza!#WordPress #WCOC16 pic.twitter.com/HbiDWNGJ3J

— WomenWhoWP (@WomenWhoWP) July 10, 2016

Discover New Plugins

This year’s Plugin-Palooza showcased four new plugins. Hearing about how people developed those plugins in person, and getting to meet the developers was a wonderful thing.

Add plugins

Find Collaborators

You might need people to test something with you, to be co-conspirators on a new project, or collaborate on another WordCamp. Going to a WordCamp is how you meet those people.

Email or tweet this guy to join the "Blogger Support Group" and start #blogging better. #wcoc16 pic.twitter.com/6SjNK173mn

— Stephen Harvey – WP Evangelist🗣⛪ (@SC_WordPress) July 9, 2016

Take a Deeper Dive

Much of what I took away this year was the emphasis on soft skills during the business track. Also, that “Blogger Support Group,” where you can do 50 posts with Scott Buscemi (not Steve Buscemi) looks pretty sweet! We’ll see what happens with that.

Grow Your Little Gray Cells

Three out of four people agreed that attending WordCamp Orange County makes you smarter. You could also do some of the things in this article: If You Do These 20 Things, You’ll Become Smarter.

Photo by boris.baldinger

The Fun You’ll Have

You might go to WCOC to learn, and then suddenly you’ll be having fun. All WordCamps are like that, but especially this one.

Hey #WCOC16! A camp wouldn't be complete without an exclusive sticker. Make sure to snag yours! pic.twitter.com/P3dHUbIYPh

— WP Engine (@wpengine) July 9, 2016

The Swag, The Swag!

The t-shirts, the mugs, the stickers, while not the reason to attend, are nice bonuses! Do you have other reasons to attend? Please leave me a comment! Thank you.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: 2016, blogging, Plugin-Palooza, WordCamp, WordCamp Orange County, Wordpress

Write Everything Down

Take it from Those Who’ve Gone Before

Be Like Old Spice

Rev it Up Like Harley-Davidson

Rebuild Block by Block Like Lego

Been Through Rebranding?

Know Your Audience

Share Great Content

Use Search and Save Your Searches

Advanced Search

Create Lists!

Engage in Tweet Chats

How Do You Find Good Accounts to Follow?

Focus on Your Special Interest

“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.”

~ Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Follow Other Influencers

Find Your Social Media Voice

Create Content

Engage, Engage, Engage

Be Useful

Overcome Failure

Think Long Term

Work Hard and Be Creative

Be Approachable

Do You Want to Be More Influential?

Can My Post Go Viral?

How Soon Will I See Results?

Where Should I Look for Content?

How Do I Make People More Involved?

What Unanswered Questions Do You Have?

Customers

Confidence

Commitment

“What people wished they’d paid more attention to when choosing cofounders was character and commitment, not ability. This was particularly true with startups that failed. The lesson: don’t pick cofounders who will flake.”

Communication

Celebrations

Is There a Sixth “C”?

Has Social Media Helped or Hindered Trump’s Slide?

Mistakes Are Magnified on Social Media

Trump and Google Search

Twitter Fails

Big Data and Tweets

From the Horse’s Mouth

Meanwhile, on Instagram

Your Turn

Audit

Change Your Passwords

Update Your Profiles

Pinterest

Facebook

Twitter

Recycling Content

Ride Trending Topic Waves

Try Some Humor

Collaborate

How Would You Revamp Your Social Media?

Analytics

Choosing Your Platform

Image-Centrism

Your Time

Frustration

Do You Do Your Own Plumbing?

Research and Content

Constant Changes

Still Think You Want to Manage Your Own Social Media?

Lack of Women in High-Tech Startups

Diversity in Language

Mature Voices Attract Others

Introverts versus Extroverts

Political Diversity

Benefits to Attract the Culturally Diverse

How’s Your Workplace Diversity?

It’s a HUGE Bargain

Meet Your Peers

Support Others

Give Back to the Community

Discover New Plugins

Find Collaborators

Take a Deeper Dive