The First Graduates from the LSU Social Media Specialist Certificate Class Spring 2011

The Spring semester of the Social Media Specialist Certificate Program is set to kick off on February 28 this year with the Social Media Essentials for Business class. A lot has happened in Social since the first class graduated in the spring of 2011. We continue to update the course and are excited to mention a few of the updates for this semester…

1. Google+

Google’s new Social Network is growing fast having exceeded 90 million users early in 2012. Google+ brings new and interesting strategies for business including creative use of the Hangout feature and impacts to being found on YouTube and the Google search engine.

2. Pinterest

One of many newer players gaining popularity. Pinterest’s simplicity and visuals are attractive to many. Pinterest is more brand friendly than Flickr.

3. Major changes in the Google Search Algorithm

Some have been cursing Google’s Panda updates that started in 2011 and some are very pleased. The rules for getting found in Google Search and the functionality of Places, Analytics and Adwords have changed significantly.

4. More Practical Hands-On Experience

In the fall of 2011 the class worked with the instructor during class time to consult with a small startup on their Social Media effort. The experience was so positive that we will incorporate real projects for non-profits or small business this year to provide a richer hands-on experience.

This course series discusses strategies, legal liabilities, policy and all forms of Social Media communication from employee engagement to marketing. Feel free to post any questions you have about the course below.

Here are the links to the program and the first course:

LSU CE Social Media Specialist Certificate Program Description

Social Media Essentials for Business Course (First of 5 courses)

Is it the water…? the food…? the economy…? I’ll let much smarter people figure out the causes.

In Louisiana, the entrepreneur community, creative community and social media community overlap and have come together with the type of synergy that breeds success. In the last 30 years, there hasn’t been a better time to be in business in Louisiana.

Among the new opportunities to meet energetic entrepreneur minded people in Baton Rouge is Creative Louisiana. Links to this group and some others appear below. I’m looking forward to a fast paced and successful year for many.

Feel free to comment below with any other groups or organizations which are contributing to the creative and entrepreneurial energy in Louisiana.

Here are some links to get plugged in…

Creative Louisiana Monthly Meetup - a monthly morning meetup for creative types based on the popular lecture series Creative Mornings, founded by Tina Roth Eisenberg, a New York designer.

SeNSE -  a community of Louisiana Entrepreneurs connecting to build a better Baton Rouge. Join us to contribute & receive resources.

Startup Bus Baton Rouge 2012 - What happens when you put a bunch of entrepreneurs that have never met, on a bus – and tell them they have to launch a business by the time they arrive in Austin?

LSU CE Social Media Specialist Certificate Program - designed to provide practical insights and skills needed to utilize and administer digital tools in sharing personal or professional information.

Startup Weekend Baton Rouge -  recruits a highly motivated group of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more to a 54 hour event that builds communities, companies and projects.

BRSocMe -  is open to anyone who wishes to share ideas or advance their knowledge of social media and how it is used.

What does a good blog community member look like?

Someone who has or develops a genuine interest in your blog topic and is interested in getting to know the author through their work and engagement. A good blog community member is interested in contributing to the success of the blog.

What does a good blog community member do?

Regularly reads or views blog posts. Makes a point of adding comments which contribute to the conversation. You can tell a story or anecdote, clarify a concept, ask questions, explore an idea or simply relate your view or impression of the information.

Share the link to the article on your social sites and say something about the post, so your own audience knows what to expect when they read it.

Read comments on the post from other community members and reply or comment to them, as appropriate, to keep the conversation going.

Connect with the author via your favorite social network and engage the author and other community members from time to time.

How does this help you develop your own blog community?

Reading, self development, and building relationships will help you in so many ways but let’s focus on your community.

1. As people in the other blogger’s community get to know you, they will help you promote your blog to people they know, who will genuinely benefit from it.

2. Some of the other blogger’s community may choose to join yours also. It’s not stealing, it’s sharing. You should never encourage the other community members to join yours, but it will happen naturally as people get to know you and connect with you. Just because they start participating in your community it doesn’t mean they will stop participating in the other blogger’s community.

3. From a practical perspective, every time you comment in the other community, a link back to your blog is part of the comment system. This link, plus the commentary you make, will help your blog get found through organic search (Part of Search Engine Optimization or SEO).

For the #LSUSMCert Class

This week let’s participate in a blog post by Craig Juengling, The E2 Coach. In this week’s post he asked, “Should You be an Island at Work?”. Click on the link to the article and read it. Then add a comment using the link to your hub site that you shortened using Bit.Ly.  After you comment, copy the link to the article and past it in your favorite social networks or use the sharing buttons available on the page. In our Integrating Web Development and Graphic Design in Social Media class next week at LSU we’ll learn about how to install and configure these sharing buttons… among other things. Be sure to tweet the article and include the #LSUSMCert hashtag.

If you’re not familiar with the #LSUSMCert hashtag on Twitter, participants from the Louisiana State University (LSU) Social Media Specialist Certificate program are using this hashtag to stay in touch in between classes and for additional exercises from me to help them apply what they’ve learned in the class.

Photo credit and great presentation:

The photo comes from the starting slide of a presentation by Mack Collier who is my blogging mentor and one of the top blogging pros available.

The digital portion of masterful strategic marketing is made up of relationships, smart design, the right words, and fully integrated website, blog and social sites.

Relationships

Above all else, over time, the relationships you build through your online work will ultimately generate your best return on investment. Have a great strategy and think relationships for the win.

Smart Design

Design is critical to executing your digital strategy. Poor design or design which is mis-aligned with your strategy can defeat your best effort. Ask a graphic designer and your peers to take an objective look and make recommendations.

The Right Words

Take a moment to consider if your words are helping or hurting:

1. Are your words too salesy for your audience?

2. Are your words in context? Will your whole audience know what you’re talking about?

3. Are your words helping your Search Engine Optimization? Rich keywords will attract searchers to your conversation.

Fully Integrated Website, Blog, and Social Sites

Depending on your strategy, adding the right integration elements to your digital assets can get you the edge you need to succeed. There are many tools available today for integration.

Social Sharing - For many organizations, having a Facebook Like, LinkedIn or +1 button from Google is important. Give your audience ample choices to share your content on their social accounts. Shareaholic.com offers popular tools for sharing.

Shareaholic sharing toolbar example

Social Connectors – Use creative design elements to provide links for your audience to connect with your social sites.

Social Content - Include your social content as part of your website or blog content. This is a smart subtle way to expose your audience to your social community.

Strategic Linking - Make sure you have well defined links that connect your social sites to your website and blog. Your website and blog links are great opportunities to use search engine optimized keywords as link text. Images and graphic elements work best with keyword rich alternative text and links as appropriate.

LSU CE Course

Integrating Web Development & Graphic Design for Social Media is a 2 day course I teach at LSU which discusses all these concepts. Each student has a computer in the classroom so they can immediately apply techniques on their real sites or on example sites. This is the 3rd course in the Social Media Specialist Certificate program. It’s designed to stand alone but some basic Social Media experience is helpful.

The students from the LSU course are following #LSUSMCert on Twitter to discuss the classes and to participate in exercises in-between classes. You’re welcome to connect with us on Twitter or join us in the next class.

Register for the October 25 & 26, Integrating Web Development & Graphic Design for Social Media course at LSU.

View the LSU CE Social Media Specialist Certificate Program Site

For the Fall program we’ll invite back some of last semester’s certificate holders for their insights and have new ongoing class exercises which will serve to reinforce skills. There are many updates to the courses in the program since a lot has happened in the social media world since last semester.

New in this semester, we’ll spend time on Google+ strategies and learn about specific real-world implementation models. We’ll also study successful strategies for business to business (B2B), commercial, and industrial companies and also methods for employee engagement. Mobile devices are an important part of any social media professional’s work, so we’ll discuss and train on available apps. Blogging, video and quick response (QR) codes continue to be important trends so we’ll include those strategies as well.

Social Media continues to grow in importance at companies large and small. Having a Social Media Specialist Certificate is a great way to show that you’ve been exposed to and practiced in-depth Social Media skills.

Four courses, plus one elective: Here are the details and registration information.

Treme, Swamp People, Extreme Exterminators. Twilight, Green Lantern, Mardi Gras. So much about Louisiana tweaks the interest of the nation and the world.

Louisiana’s traditions, history, and people are unique and have been attracting attention for decades. What if I told you, Louisiana businesses, that you could sell more product or service through Social Media by talking about Louisiana with your community, instead of announcing your sales and inventory on your Social Networking sites?

Try this… think about an experience or fond memory you have from your life in Louisiana. Look for someone who has talked about a similar or related experience online, whether a blog, Twitter, or through a picture site like Flickr. Talk to your audience about your experience and engage in conversation with that person. You’ll likely enjoy it, your audience will relate to it, and you’ll connect with a new community. We bring the “social” to social media when we let our personality and culture show through.

During our “Louisiana Culture in Social Media” Conferences, Amber Osborne a.k.a. Miss Destructo, Jay Ducote, Craig Juengling, myself and other leaders will discuss the benefits and practical approaches for leveraging Louisiana Culture, your corporate culture, and your personality to reap greater rewards through your digital media. The diversity of Louisiana lifestyle and traditions will shine through as we make stops in Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans later this month. Bring your unique Louisiana-ness to share with us. It’s how we say… “Y’all come now.”

To register for the Louisiana Culture in Social Media Conferences:

Lafayette – June 28

Baton Rouge – June 29

Trademarks belong to whom they belong. Here are the credits for the images in the graphic…
Billy the Exterminator; Treme; Mardis Gras Indian; Swamp People; Mardis Gras; Dr. John; Mr. Bingle; Chef John Besh; Twilight