For me, the year started off quietly, then picked up very quickly about midway through the month.

As planned, I’ve been devoting more time to finding great content and sharing it on Twitter. I’ve discovered the Buffer app which allows me to spread my posts throughout the day rather than flooding my followers with a bunch of updates in a row or tweeting in scattered pockets of time. I’m also posting at least five times a week on the Organized Assistant Facebook page, with a variety of discussion questions and links (others’ as well as my own).

I took two sites I’d already created in WordPress and gave them each a polished new design – check them out!

Before

After

Before

After

And to see some of my latest website projects for professional organizers, take a look at Three Kinds of WordPress Websites.

As a guest blogger for Promotion Career Solutions, I tapped into my former roles as an employment counsellor and a professional organizer, writing about Paper-based Tools for Organizing Your Job Search. I was also quoted in Cool Gadgets Every Business Should Have, thanks to an idea I got from GHVA member Jacquie Manore last year.

How are you making out in terms of the goals or resolutions you set for yourself at the beginning of the year?

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on January 2012 in Review.

Unfortunately, some businesses don’t understand the difference between social media marketing and traditional advertising.

Traditional advertising is a one-way street. You put up a website, distribute flyers, or pay to advertise somewhere to let people know what you have to offer and how they’ll benefit from buying your product or services.

What makes social media marketing different is the opportunity to network with the people in your target audience. Just like attending professional networking events, social networking is not about making a quick sale, but about making connections and building relationships which may lead to opportunities down the road.

It’s quick and easy to send out promotional messages to your friends, fans, or followers on a regular basis, at little or no cost, but if that’s the only way you’re using social media, you’re missing out on its full power. When you supplement your promotional messages with links to articles that you’ve read or written, comments on current trends and events, and other useful information, you not only position yourself as an expert in your field, you give others a chance to interact with you by commenting or asking questions about what you’ve said.

To be really proactive, don’t wait for others to come to you. Take time to read what the people in your target market are talking about and engage with them by sharing your own comments, tips, advice, or congratulations.

People need to know that you’re good at what you do, but ultimately they want to do business with someone they know, like and trust. Letting them see your interests, your values, and your personality can give them insight into who you are and help build a connection, even if you’ve never met.

Think about it. Are you more likely to do business with someone who pops in to quickly drop off some flyers at a networking event while they’re on their way to somewhere else, or someone who takes the time to get to know you and the other people there?

Actively participating on social media sites is a great way to keep your name in people’s minds in between live networking events, so when they’re ready to do business, you’ll be the first one they think of.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Building Relationships through Social Media.

As of November 3, 2011, more than 135 million professionals had signed up for LinkedIn, including 4 million Canadians. Those are impressive figures, but it seems to me that the majority of us don’t take full advantage of this powerful resource. Perhaps there are certain things you know you should be doing, but haven’t got around to, but I’ve found that a lot of people aren’t even aware of many of the things they could be doing to make the most of their LinkedIn account.

Here are a few resources to shed some light on this subject:

• 5 LinkedIn Tricks You May Not Know from Social Media Sonar
• LinkedIn: 3 New things you may have missed by Nicky Kriel
• 4 LinkedIn Marketing Tips You Can’t Afford to Miss from LI & Business
• LinkedIn Recommendation Tips by Chris Brogan

This post was inspired in part by Margarita Ibbot’s session at the POC Conference, Taking LinkedIn to the Next Level: finding clients and using the advanced features to grow your business. For assistance with your LinkedIn profile, check out her services!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Leveraging LinkedIn.

Of course, I know it’s not a real award, not like the Thomas Leonard International Virtual Assistant of Distinction Award I was nominated for in 2009. It’s really just a meme, but memes can be fun, so I’m happy to have an excuse to use one in my blog, and thank Erika for thinking of me.

There are four simple rules for The Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Post a link to the person who gave you the award.
2. Tell your readers seven random things about yourself.
3. Award 15 newly discovered blogs.
4. Send them a note letting them know you nominated them.

So, here are seven random facts about me:

1. I won second prize in the Discover Mississauga Photo Contest several years ago for this interior shot of Mississauga City Hall.
   
   (This is a photo of the photo, through the glass of the frame, so doesn’t really do it justice.)
2. I usually carry the same purse for months, and sometimes don’t even switch with the change in seasons, but I love shopping for purses. Shoes, not so much.
3. I love to play trivia games and am pretty good at them too.
4. I was a matched Big Sister for many years, and am still friends with my Little Sister, who is now all grown up and recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.
5. I have signed up for Google+, but haven’t yet figured out what, if anything, I will do there.
6. I was into Reduce-Reuse-Recycle before it was even a trend.
7. I make my own granola.

And here are the 15 blogs I’m nominating for the Versatile Blogger Award, in alphabetical order:

1. LinkedLearning by Margarita Ibbott: Help with using LinkedIn and other social media.
2. Daily Blogging Ideas by Michelle Shaeffer: Wonderful inspiration for both personal and business blogs.
3. Fabulous After 40 by Deborah Boland and JoJami Tyler: Fashion advice for those of us who aren’t as young as we used to be.
4. Garious Blog – Up to date information about social media.
5. Grow with Stacy: Tips for personal development, as well as blogging and social media.
6. The Lady Bloggers Society headed by Stepfanie Cuevas: Once a week they hold a Lady Blogger Social Tea Party to give readers a chance to share their blog posts – a great way to connect with other bloggers!
7. Marian Schembari: More goodies on social media and blogging.
8. MS Outlook for Business: Valuable tips for using email and discovering features of Outlook you never knew existed.
9. The Other Side of Organized by Linda Samuels: Explores the emotions connected with making changes in your life.
10. Site Sketch 101 by Nicholas Cardot: A wealth of information about blogging.
11. Solo-E.com by Terri Zwierzynski: Articles on all aspects of running a small business, including marketing, productivity and more.
12. Sunday Stealing hosted by Judd Corizan: A great place to find out about different blog memes of all types.
13. Teatime with Tina by Tina Chase: All about food and cooking.
14. Virtually Yours by Joanne Burgess: Fabulous tips about social media and small business topics.
15. WordPress Jedi: Information about WordPress themes, plugins, and security issues, as well as SEO and social media tips.

If you enjoyed this post, why not nominate yourself for a Versatile Blogger Award? If you do, please leave a link to your post in the Comments, so we can learn more about you and the blogs you read.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on The Versatile Blogger Award.

Well, guess what – more changes are on the way very soon!

To learn about the upcoming changes and for help navigating the “new” Facebook, check out the following recent posts.

• Five Facebook Changes and What You Need to Know from Social Media Examiner
• What The New Facebook Changes Mean For Businesses from Fast Company
• Facebook is scaring me by Dave Winer
• 5 Facebook Privacy Settings you NEED to know by Nicky Kriel

For a more light-hearted look, watch this video from HappySlip:

What I like about the new Facebook:

Smart lists make it easier to follow people from different parts of my life and to share updates with only specific lists.

Posted images are now larger in the newsfeed. Not only do I find this esthetically pleasing, in many cases it saves me having to click through to see the full size image.

Mouseover effect on news ticker means you can quickly see more details and decide whether to click through or not.

What I don’t like:

Based on what I see in my own news feed and the data available to me, I suspect that the people who like my Organized Assistant page are not seeing all of my updates. That’s unfortunate, but reinforces the importance for businesses to not rely on Facebook or any single social media site as their main form of marketing.

A lot more information is included in our news feed now, including comments friends make to people we aren’t friends with – and vice versa. This means once again reviewing our privacy settings, as described in Nicky Kriel’s article. Of course, it’s even better to avoid posting anything you don’t want made public!

What are your thoughts about the recent Facebook changes?

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Are You Struggling to Keep up with Facebook Changes?.

There are also a lot of people out there who have discovered they can automatically send their tweets to Facebook and/or LinkedIn. But does the fact that you can do this mean it’s a good idea? I don’t think it is, and I’m not the only one.

Several months ago, Alex Astell gave us Six good reasons not to feed your Tweets to Facebook and LinkedIn which sums things up very nicely.

I connected with British social media coach, trainer and speaker Nicky Kriel in a LinkedIn group when she raised a question on this very topic, and I was delighted to discover that our opinions are very similar in this area.

If you’ve been using automation to send all your posts from Twitter to LinkedIn and/or Facebook and are now seeing the light, Nicky provides some great tips for switching it off:

• How to disconnect Twitter from LinkedIn
• Sharing Twitter on Facebook?

If you’re not yet using Twitter, or you need a few pointers on using it as an effective networking tool, you need my Basic Guide to Networking on Twitter.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Avoiding Automation Overkill.

Here are five tips to help you do just that.

1. Identify the sites that offer the most value for your business

If you use Facebook mainly to play games and reconnect with old friends, limit your visits to non-work times. You can still share your blog posts, post your business events, and link to your website, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that the time you spend on Facebook is helping you grow your business.

2. Connect with people in your target market

It’s great to network with other people in your industry – you can probably learn a lot from each other – but keep in mind that this should not be your main focus. If your goal is to find new clients, you need to connect directly with people in your target market, or with people who can introduce you to potential clients.

3. Choose your contacts wisely

Remember that networking isn’t about numbers; it’s about relationships. Don’t feel you have to accept every connection request you receive, especially from people who don’t explain why they want to connect with you. If you’re afraid of closing the door on a potentially valuable relationship, initiate a conversation. If the person does not respond, they’re not really interested in getting to know you, and you don’t need them on your contact list.

4. Create a schedule for your social networking

Unlike live networking events which may conflict with your best working hours, online networking can be done at any time of the day or night. Schedule specific times to visit high value sites. For some people, it may be 15 to 30 minutes at the end of each day; others may prefer to block half a day every week. The important thing is that you don’t allow it to cut into your billable hours.

5. Hire a virtual assistant to help you stay on top of things

Although you can’t really outsource relationship building, there are many ways a VA can reduce the time you spend on social media, including setting up your profiles, locating appropriate people for you to connect with, and logging into your accounts on a regular basis to deal with routine items and let you know about those that require your attention.

If you’ve avoided social media because you think it will be too time-consuming, you may be missing out on a valuable marketing tool. When you strategically select your sites and contacts and use your time wisely, you will be pleasantly surprised to see what can happen!

Today’s Question: How do you keep yourself on track when using social media?

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Five Ways to Make the Most of Your Social Media Time.

Today I’d like to share a few more collaborative blog posts in which I’ve been a participant:

• 7 Expert Tips on Getting Blog Traffic
• 39 Tips on Generating Ideas for a Blog Post
• Blogging to Build Your Business
• 118 Ways To Use Social Media In Business
• Paper You Should Probably Get Rid of – But You Keep Anyway

I think we’ll be seeing more and more of these opportunities, so do keep your eyes open for queries related to your areas of interest and/or expertise.

I’m also thrilled that someone blogged about me (and I didn’t even ask them to)!

• International Virtual Assistants Day

If you’ve had any exposure online (other than your own website, blog, or social media profile), feel free to brag about it here!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Collaborative Blogging.

But that’s enough about me! In honour of Social Media Day, I’d like to do something for YOU, so I’m offering $5.00 off my Basic Guide for Networking on Twitter, which was launched earlier this year. To take advantage of this special, simply enter the coupon code smday when you place your order. I wouldn’t want you to miss out if you’re taking a tech break over the long weekend, so this offer will remain in effect until midnight on Friday, July 8^th.

I’ve also found a couple of up-to-date free downloads for you (no email address required):

• 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report: insight into how over 3300 marketers are using social media to grow their businesses
• The 2011 CMO’s Guide To The Social Landscape: a chart to help you determine which social media tools and channels are your best bet in terms of customer communication, brand exposure, traffic, and SEO

Have you ever met face-to-face with someone you met on social media? Tell us about it!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Free Resources and a Special Offer for Social Media Day.

Like many others, I take advantage of time-saving tools to manage my social media presence, but that can only take you so far. Automated systems cannot take the place of personal engagement, and personal engagement requires time and effort.

For example, based on a couple of blog posts I’d read, I recently concluded that thanking people who retweeted my posts by tweeting “Thanks for the RTs @person1 @person2 @person3″ was just adding more noise to the already-cluttered Twitter stream. I then decided to return the favour instead, giving more value both to the retweeter and my other followers (see my post What Do You Do When Someone Retweets You? for more details). However, it didn’t take me long to realize that browsing their Twitter stream in search of something interesting, clicking on a link for further exploration in most cases, and then retweeting if appropriate, increases the time spent from a few seconds to a few minutes – even more if the first tweet doesn’t prove to be compelling. Multiply that by the number of retweets I receive each week, and I could spend hours just acknowledging my retweets!

I also make a practice of checking out my new followers and personally responding to comments on my blog and social media posts, as well as commenting on other people’s posts. These activities have contributed greatly to the size and strength of my network and brought me lots of additional business, so I’m certain I’ve found the right strategy for my business.

The challenge is that the more people who are reading, sharing, and commenting on my posts, the more time these activities require, and the more business I have, the harder it is to continue giving my social network the same level of attention.

This situation is really nothing new. Even before the Internet became an important resource for entrepreneurs, successful small business owners have struggled to make time for marketing and networking. Yet we know that if we don’t continue to invest time in marketing our businesses, the day will come when we have no business left to run.

How about you? What is your biggest challenge when it comes to social media?

Whatever it is, you’ll probably find the answer, and a lot more besides, at Social Media Success Summit 2011.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on The Price of Popularity.