Another cool infographic. From SocialCast. The Hectic Schedule of a Social Media Manager.

Infographic from Socialcast

Here’s a cool infographic from Mashable and Postling showing how small businesses are using social media to engage:

As you may know, I love sharing great finds. I recently came upon a Twitter tutorial that’s cute, simple, easy to read, and beautifully designed by Jessica Hische. I plan to share it with my Twitter newbie students/clients.

For anybody who’s looking for a Twitter 101 tutorial, read it:

mom, this is how twitter works.

Here’s a well-done stand-alone slide presentation — perfect for Social Media newbies and as an overview/review for anybody who cares about social media and business.

[This presentation is at the top of Slideshare's list of most popular presentations. For more on that, see http://www.slideshare.net/rashmi/slideshare-zeitgeist-2010.]

As a web consultant and SBDC Technology Advisor, one of my services is to provide web audits for small business clients. A web audit consists of a thorough website review including review of first impression, design, navigation, usability, content, SEO, etc. I’m always on the lookout for articles to share with clients. [Updated January 21, 2011, February 8, 2011]

Here’s my recent collection of Best Resources to Review before You Design (or Redesign) Your Small Business Website:

1. I heartily recommend these two excellent books as an easy way to learn and/or review some of the basics of web design and web content:
2. • Don’t Make Me Think, A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (Steve Krug)
   • Letting Go of the Words – Writing Web Content that Works (Janice Ginny Reddish)
3. Here’s my collection of Best SEO Search Engine Optimization Resources: http://saraisenberg.com/2010/10/16/best-seo-resources/
4. Here’s my collection of Great Social Media Resources — LinkedIn, Facebook, Twtiter, Blogging: http://saraisenberg.com/2010/07/22/social-media-resources-linkedin-facebook-twitter-blogging/
5. 8 Best-Practices for Small Business Websites (DIYthemes):
   http://diythemes.com/thesis/best-practices-small-business-websites/
6. What Does Web Design Say About Your Small Business? (Mashable): http://mashable.com/2010/12/13/small-business-web-design/
7. 10 Questions You Should Ask Your Web Designer to Get Tangible Results (DIYthemes): http://diythemes.com/thesis/web-design-results/
8. The Anatomy of a Perfect Landing Page (Formstack):
   http://www.formstack.com/the-anatomy-of-a-perfect-landing-page
9. How to Choose – And Hire – a Web Designer (DIYthemes): http://diythemes.com/thesis/how-to-hire-a-web-designer/
10. Building an Online Marketing Plan: http://blog.hotdesign.com/2011/01/building-an-online-marketing-plan/
11. The Benefits of Wireframing a Design (SixRevisions):  http://sixrevisions.com/user-interface/wireframing-benefits/
12. (I’ll keep adding resources so check back later.)

As you may know, I’m a Technology Advisor at the Silicon Valley SBDC TAP program. TAP serves the SBDC offices for the Northern California Region. Over the last 2-3 years, I’ve completed 70+ web audits for SBDC clients. Business and Technology advising services are free to SBDC clients!

A Web Site Audit is a strategic review of your company’s Web Site to ensure that it supports your company’s marketing and/or e-commerce activities.

TAP has recently added a new package called a Social Networking Strategy Review.

The Social Networking Strategy Review is a strategic review of your company’s use of Social Media for these most popular Social Media platforms:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Blogging

The Social Networking Strategy Review will result in a written report that contains a review of your current LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and blogging online presence, and will include recommendations and tips for improvement. The report will also contain general information on Best Practices, and for those who don’t already have accounts, detailed instructions on how to set up your accounts so you can get started.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please contact your nearest SBDC office.

[Note: Scroll down to see the great list of resources/links. Originally posted June 15, 2010. Updated with more resources July 22, 2010. Updated again on December 22, 2010, January 5, 2011, January 14, 2011, February 7, 2011, February 22, 2011, May 17, 2011.]

One of the things I do as a consultant is technology advising with the Silicon Valley Technology Advisory Program (aka TAP). TAP is a program that is part of the Silicon Valley SBDC (Small Business Development Center).

From the Silicon Valley SBDC website:

We’re dedicated to the success of entrepreneurs in the Greater Silicon Valley Area, which includes Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

The Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center offers a wide variety of services for present and potential small business owners. Our services include no-charge expert consulting, low-cost training, information resources, events and seminars. All consulting services are confidential and free of charge.

I’ve been a Technology Advisor with the Silicon Valley SBDC TAP for two years. Most often what I do is review (“audit”) websites of TAP clients — they’re usually owners of small businesses — and create a written report with recommendations for improvement, and then we discuss the recommendations. I review a wide range of websites!

Recently I’ve been working on creating a Social Media Report with a collection of resources that will help Silicon Valley SBDC TAP clients learn more about Social Media. Note: It’s for Social Media newbies! One of the Appendices that I’ve recently created is chock full of great links for people getting started on Social Media, so I’ve decided to share it here. Here you go!

Social Media Resources (general)

• Mashable’s 150+ Business and Marketing Resources From 2010: http://mashable.com/2010/12/22/business-marketing-resources/

• Mashable’s 10 of the Best Social Media Tools for Entrepreneurs: http://mashable.com/2009/10/26/socia-media-entrepreneurs/

• Mashable’s Social Media News: http://mashable.com/social-media/

• Social Media in Plain English (video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE&feature=player_embedded

• Hotdesign’s Getting Started with Social Media: http://blog.hotdesign.com/2008/12/getting-started-with-social-media/

• Hotdesign’s 5 Reasons for Social Media Marketing: http://blog.hotdesign.com/2009/03/5-reasons-for-social-media-marketing/

• Social Media Tune-Up: Tips to Strengthen Your Social Media Marketing Campaign: http://socialmediawithkaren.blogspot.com/2011/01/social-media-tune-up-tips-to-strengthen.html

• New! Monitoring Your Online Presence for Free: http://blog.hotdesign.com/2010/07/monitoring-your-online-presence-for-free/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

• New! 11 Free Services for Scheduling Social Media Updates: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/technology/article/11-free-services-for-scheduling-social-media-updates-erica-swallow

LinkedIn Resources

• LinkedIn’s website: http://linkedin.com

• What is LinkedIn: http://learn.linkedin.com/what-is-linkedin/

• What is LinkedIn (video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVlUwwgOfKw&feature=player_embedded

• LinkedIn Learning Center: http://learn.linkedin.com/

• LinkedIn Webinars: http://learn.linkedin.com/training/

• LinkedIn Help: http://linkedin.custhelp.com/

• LinkedIn’s Timeless Guide to Small Business Success: http://blog.linkedin.com/category/linkedin-for-small-business/

• Mashable’s HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn: http://mashable.com/2009/07/27/linkedin-personal-brand/

• Hotdesign’s Getting Started with LinkedIn: http://blog.hotdesign.com/2008/12/getting-started-with-linkedin/

• LinkedIn for Dummies (video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV_7yAPnkFw

• HOW TO: Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile: http://mashable.com/2010/12/15/optimize-linkedin-profile/

Facebook Resources

• Facebook’s website: http://facebook.com

• Facebook Pages (with step by step instructions): http://www.facebook.com/advertising/?pages

• Facebook Pages Product Guide [PDF]: http://www.facebook.com/advertising/FacebookPagesProductGuide.pdf

• Facebook’s Help Center: http://www.facebook.com/help/

• Facebook Pages Help: http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=175

• Mashable’s Facebook Guide Book: http://mashable.com/guidebook/facebook/

• Mashable’s Facebook Privacy: 10 Settings Every User Needs to Know: http://mashable.com/2011/02/07/facebook-privacy-guide/

• Hotdesign’s Getting Started with Facebook: http://blog.hotdesign.com/2008/12/getting-started-with-facebook/

• 32 Ways to use Facebook for Business: http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/07/21/32-ways-to-use-facebook-for-business/

• Open Forum’s How to Set Up A Facebook Page: http://www.openforum.com/articles/how-to-set-up-a-facebook-page

Twitter Resources

• Mom, This is How Twitter Works (not just for moms): http://www.jhische.com/twitter/

• Twitter’s website: http://twitter.com

• Twitter 101 for Business – A special guide: http://business.twitter.com/twitter101/

• Twitter 101 (video): http://business.twitter.com/twitter101/starting

• Twitter Best Practices: http://business.twitter.com/twitter101/best_practices

• Twitter’s Help: http://twitter.com/help/start

• Twitter Search: http://search.twitter.com/

• Twitter for Business: https://business.twitter.com/

• Mashable’s Twitter Guide Book: http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/

• Mashable’s How to Make the Most of Your Twitter Profile Page: http://mashable.com/2010/05/10/organize-twitter-profile/

• What is Twitter?: http://webtrends.about.com/od/socialnetworking/a/what-is-twitter.htm

• TweetDeck: http://www.tweetdeck.com/

• Hootsuite: http://hootsuite.com/ (new to this list)

• Hotdesign’s Getting Started with Twitter: http://blog.hotdesign.com/2008/12/getting-started-with-twitter/

Blogging Resources

• WordPress: http://wordpress.org and http://wordpress.com.

• More on WordPress: http://learn.wordpress.com and http://wordpress.tv.

• Printer-friendly version of the entire Learn WordPress.com tutorial.

• Blogger: http://blogger.com

• Business Blogging Best Practices: http://socialmediab2b.com/2009/06/business-blogging-best-practices/

• Business Blogging Best Practices (video): http://everything.typepad.com/blog/2009/02/typepad-business-class.html

• Blogging Best Practices: http://www.echoditto.com/blogging

• New! 30 Tips On How To Make Your Company’s Blog Rock: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2010/02/21/30-tips-on-how-to-make-your-companys-blog-rock/

• New! 20 Blogs Every Business Owner Should Read:  http://www.businessinsider.com/20-blogs-every-business-owner-should-read-2010-7

• 9 Things to Do to Make Sure Your Next Blog Post is Read by More than Your Mom: http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/09/03/9-things-to-do-to-make-sure-your-next-blog-post-is-read-by-more-than-your-mom/

• New! The Yahoo! Style Guide: http://styleguide.yahoo.com/

I recently discovered a new tool that measures your Twitter influence. It’s called KLOUT.

From klout.com:

The Klout Classification is a holistic look at your influence and how you use it. There are 16 possible classifications determined by factors such as how often you tweet, who you follow, who follows you, and how your audience interacts with your messages. Your Klout Class  is like a personality test for your style of influence.

Your influence network shows who you influence and who influences you. Influence is determined by a variety of factors including retweets, @messages, follows, and lists.

On top of a Klout score – score of 0-100, plus numbers for true reach, amplification, network — classification results, based on 25 variables, are shown on a 4 x 4 matrix. The matrix is where the 16 classifications, from observer to celebrity, come from. And, among other things, you can see who you’re influenced by and who you influence.

You can check out your klout by going to:

http://klout.com/<your twitter id>

Of course, replace <your twitter id> with your twitter id or the twitter of id of anybody whose klout you want to know.

As a public service for social media and social networking novices, New York Times Personal Technology writer, David Pogue, demystifies Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Foursquare, and Yelp in his article For Those Facebook Left Behind.

If the novices didn’t get it before, I’m not sure this article will change things, but I love reading articles by Pogue, none-the-less.

In summary, Pogue writes:

THE BOTTOM LINE These sites all derive their power the same way: We, the people, provide the information — not the Web site owner. Some of these services establish lines of communication between people who might otherwise never meet, joining them by interest rather than geography. Others connect you with people you do know, or once knew, so that you can help each other out.

Read the full article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/08/technology/personaltech/08pogue.html?_r=1&ref=technology

Here are some past goodies from Pogue:

http://saraisenberg.com/2009/04/06/david-pogue-on-twitter/

I’m now offering two new services: Referrals to Experts and Training for Beginners

1. Find your Team — Referrals:

For more details, see: http://saraisenberg.com/training-and-sourcing/

Please contact me and let me know how I can help you!

Sara Isenberg
Sara Isenberg Web Consulting & Project Management
sara@saraisenberg.com
http://saraisenberg.com
831-334-0701