Archive for the ‘Build-A-Fan-Base’ Category

I’m still kicking the tires on Google + but from what I’ve seen, it has the potential to be a real power building technology.

Power building for what you ask? How about for building brand awareness, building a voter base, changing the world, or shifting public perceptions.

Photo Credit: Pierofix on Flickr - License

Circles

I especially like the Circles concept. While advising clients on effective ways of using social media for their businesses, I often end up drawing concentric circle diagrams in response to the “who do I connect to” question.

I suggest clients start with the people they know and trust very well (such as employees, family, business partners) and put them in the center. Then in the next ring, they would put the people they trust and have done business with. The next ring would be people they have met locally during mixers, people in their same industry, potential customers, and possible referral sources. The last ring would be people they connect with online for the first time.

This last ring could end up with thousands of people. I wrote about how these networks can be activated in an earlier post.

Google + allows you to manage content per Circle without having to create separate accounts. On Twitter, the only way you can really separate content is by having different accounts. I have my main account (@jesseluna) then I have one that is blogging focused (@niceblog) and another that is focused on film (@cinemaluna). I could have used one account and tweet all the content from one place but I wanted to have more vertical presences with the latter two accounts. In other words, I wanted them to be super focused on the content areas.

The main idea with Circles is that we only want to share certain information with certain groups. We may want to do this for different reasons:

If you have a “Twitter followers” group and also a “Closest supporters” Circle, you probably have a lot more people in the former. Imagine how powerful your network would become if you moved over a lot of your Twitter Followers into your closer networks.

You don’t need thousands of people in your “Closest Supporters” group. Just as in the movie “300″, a strong army of 300 can change the world.

Power Building In Action

Chris Brogan is one of the top bloggers on the Web. He just put out a post entitled “The Google PLUS 50” with 50 things to think about in relation to Google +. Within a few hours of posting the article, it had already received 56 comments and 600 reactions.

Brogan could have written the standard “10 things” kind of post but 50 is a whopping number. With a post like this, he’s able to draw in his blog readers, Twitter followers, and his Facebook fans and get a strong foothold in the new social network.

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Adriel Hampton is active in the Gov2.0 world and is also known for live tweeting his run for Congress. Adriel was one of the first people in my Twitter stream that was actively hooking people up with Google + invites. He directed his Twitter and Facebook followers to “@” him their email addresses and also to request invites using his blog.

Would you be more likely to support a candidate who knew how to work the Social Web and took an early foothold in a new network? Um, Yes.

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As I was finishing up this post, I wanted it to be more gender balanced so I asked Twitter if there were any women out there taking an “early lead” on Google plus, especially community builders. One of my Twitter friends, Susie Wee (@susiewee) replied with a list of three people and one of the three provided a list of more women making an early impact on Google Plus.

Susie Wee – She didn’t list herself but she is a VP at Cisco. I met Susie a couple of years back at Shel Israel’s Twitterville book launch event in San Carlos.

Tatyana Kanzaveli – she is @glfceo on Twitter. She is an executive with Social CRM and an expert event planner. I also met her at the Twitterville event.

Susan Beebe – works in Global Social Media department at Dell. One look at her Google Plus posts and you know why Susie mentioned her. She engages and is helping to expand the platform. She is @susanbeebe on Twitter.

Trisha Liu – Trisha works for ArcSight, an HP company. The big brands are definitely finding their way to Google Plus!

Other women who were mentioned for expanding the platform with powerful and engaging content are Megan Murray, Robyn Miller, and Susan Scrupski.

Final thoughts on Google + power building
First of all, if you’re not on Google + yet and need an invite, feel free to tweet me (@jesseluna) your email address or post it below in the Comments.

Second, it’s not just about setting up the right circles, it’s about delivering content that engages your audience and resonates with them.

I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing about what you do with Google +.


Photo credit: Building – By DCMaster on Flickr – License

Invitation to the Tecnifícate conference on June 4th, 2011. (In Spanish) from Ariel Coro on Vimeo.

Three major conference within the next month will either be completely produced by a Latino organization or have a major Latino component – BlogWorld 2011 in New York, Tecníficate in Santa Clarita, CA, and the Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) Latino2 conference in Silicon Valley.

The word is out, Latinos are connecting online in high numbers, which is important for advertisers like Google. Mark Lopez from Google will be presenting at the #LATISM Latino 2 Conference.

Also, the myth of Latinos as pure consumers will be debunked at BlogWorld New York when #LATISM announces the results of its massive Latino bloggers survey.

En Español

The Tecnifícate conference in Santa Clarita on June 4th will be one of the largest tech conference in the US that is completely held in Spanish. I spoke at the last Tecnfícate event at LA Mission College in January and there were over 150 attendees. The Santa Clarita conference will be at College of the Canyons and 500 attendees are expected. I’ll be presenting at the June 4th Tecnifícate conference as well.

Technologist Ariel Coro, head of TuTecnologia, is the primary organizer and driving force. he is widely know for his morning appearances on Spanish language technology segments on Univision TV and on Despierta America. His Tu Tecnologia online network has 6900 members.

I was extremely impressed by the Tecníficate attendees and their commitment to technology. When was asked, more than a third of the attendees indicated that they were small business owners. The June 4th event will focus on technology, economic development, and job growth in technology. I look forward to meeting you!

Register

BlogWorld New York – Register May 24-26, 2011

Tecnifícate – Register – June 4th 2011, College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, CA

LATISM’s Latino2 in Silicon Valley – June 11th


The following video is a quick look at the last Latino2 conference held in Los Angeles.

The MyMic Facebook application lets you post audio updates to your Facebook profile or onto your friend’s Wall. You can post up to five seconds for free and there are paid options to post longer messages.

I ran into the application’s creator, LeaAnna Hernandez (@MyMicApp on Twitter), during a #LATISM Twitter chat. I had asked the Twittersphere if there were any Latino/Latina startup techies out there and LeaAnna “raised her hand.”

The application caught my eye because:

1. It is super easy to use. There’s a tutorial at the end of this post just in case you have questions.
   
2. Your friends don’t have to install anything to listen to your messages.
   
3. My Facebook friends started asking about it once I posted my first message. I love attention.
   

I also liked the recent press release where LeaAnna says,

“Sometimes we don’t want to be on camera. Maybe we’re having a bad hair day or the lighting isn’t the most flattering. With MyMic, none of that matters. Users, musicians, celebrities can easily record updates in their pajamas and no one would know the difference”.

I caught up with LeaAnna for an interview

JPL: Why did you select audio?

LH: I come from the radio industry…specializing in advertising. So i wanted to build an app that could marry radio with social. Businesses run commercials on radio stations. So I built the app for businesses to be able to run “social commercials” on Facebook.

JPL: I think I saw some stats that only one in a thousand YouTube users actually records and uploads a video. What do you think that ratio will look like for audio?

LH: I think that there are a lot of people that are camera shy and don’t want to be on camera. It literally is a production, having to get the right angle from the camera…nice lighting….good backdrop maybe.

With audio, it’s much easier and faster so I am inclined to think that it would be better but it’s still so new that only time will tell.

JPL: I tested the application and was able to post to my profile and to a friend’s Wall. Is there a way to post MyMic messages to the Facebook pages that I administer?

LH: In 2 weeks we are adding the feature to post recordings on Fan pages. I “like” your thinking.

JPL: Do you see businesses using MyMic the same way they use radio? Will they even start off using the same on air commercials?

LH: I think some brands will initially use their same radio ads. But others will get more creative.
For example, one advertiser I know is looking to create a promotion where they ask their friends to come up with a new slogan for the brand and record with MyMic. (This is another reason why the post on fan page functionality is important ). And they have an incentive attached to the promotion.

How does MyMic work?

MyMic is extremely easy to use. All you have to do is:

1) Go to the MyMic Application page on Facebook.

2) Click on the “Start Recording” button.

3) The little Adobe Flash Player Settings alert box will appear. Click on “Allow” to give the application permission to access your microphone.

4) Now you’re ready to record. To post a five second audio message for free, just click on the little red record button and leave your message.

5) Click on the “Publish” button and you’ll have the option to set a post Title and add a Message.

6) Decide if you want to post to your Facebook Profile by clicking on the “Save and Publish” button or post on a friend’s Wall by clicking on the “Send To A Friend” button.

Once you click on the “Save and Publish” button, you’ll get the “Post To Your Wall” dialog box.

From the “Post to Your Wall” dialog box you can decide who can see this post. You can choose to make it visible to Everyone, Friends and Networks, Friends of Friends, Friends Only, or Customize things.

Your Facebook friends can now listen to your recording without having to install any kind of application.

If you’d like to send the audio message to specific friend, you can select the “Send to a Friend” option when you publish. When you do this, you’ll be able to search and click to select the message recipient. This will post the message to their Wall. (The application does not allow you to post private messages at this time.)

I like the way the application allows you to filter then select friends. As you type in letters, the little picture list below filters your friends. This is especially useful for people who have a ton of friends.

At this time, you’re only allowed to post to the Wall of one friend and there’s no option for tagging other people.

Final Thoughts

I like the simplicity of the MyMic app and already have a lot of ideas on how to use it for Facebook promotions. I think this will be a nice utility for companies, Facebook page admins, and heavy duty content creators. It will be interesting to see if removing the “bad hair day” factor, as it exists with video, will encourage “regular” Facebook users to take on a new medium. As LeaAnna says, “only time will tell.”

Ok, it’s time to test out MyMic Application then report back here to leave your feedback. Will MyMic catch on? Was it easy to use? Did your Facebook friends like it and ask about it? Come on back and share with the other readers!

Due to a number of factors, a great number of people (friends, supporters, participants) cannot make it this weekend to San Luis Obispo. But we still expect a very good group, so we have decided to hold a big meetup in town and postpone the formal event for early 2011 when more people can make it.

Come join the Latino2 speakers and organizers and Central Coast leaders to discuss the formal launch of LATISM 2012 and help us plan the Spring event.

Lunch is on us at the Native Lounge in San Luis Obispo — a truly unique dining experience — and the conversation will be good. We’ll meet at 2PM and stay as late as we have a crowd.

I’d like to personally thank everyone who has been so supportive of the Latino2 conference and the LATISM 2012 Initiative. I look forward to meeting with you at the tweetup and discussing how we can build this into a bigger event.

Tweet-up information

Native Lounge – San Luis Obispo
1023 Chorro Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3222

Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010 – from 2pm to 4pm (or later, as long as we have a crowd)

Lunch is on us!

Sincerely,

Latino2 producers and LATISM,
Jose Huitron @josehuitron
Giovanni Rodriguez @giorodriguez
Jesse Luna @jesseluna

Photo Credit: rx_kamakshi on Flickr – License

Raul Porto is CEO of Porto’s Bakery, the largest retail bakery in the United States. Porto rarely does public speaking engagements so it was a treat to hear his presentation at the Latino Entrepreneur + Social Media Forum.

After listening to Porto, you definitely get the sense that he loves what he does. He talks about growing a business using instinct, observation, and some more “traditional” techniques.

Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) is proud to announce San Luis Obispo as the second stop on the Latino2 California Tour.

Come join us on December 4, 2010, at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo. California’s Central Coast is the birth place of “La Causa”, the Latino civil rights movement. The conference will focus on the theme “Community and Collaboration in Central California: Then and Now.”

• REGISTER for the Latino2 conference (FREE)
• Tune into Latino2 conference details on the official site

Getting Excited?

The video below is a compilation from the first Tour stop in Los Angeles. Many thanks to Gina Ruiz (@ginaruiz on Twitter) and Deldelp Medina (@deldelp) for sharing pictures and videos!

Picture credit: lastorset on Flickr