For me, this year has been an amazing transformation into the world of Web 2.0, the new generation of cyber communication. The rules of communication, marketing, and promotion have drastically changed in the last two years. If you're not doing these things, and you own a business, then you'll get caught behind your competitors who do start to use it.
Take blogs for example. They are such a fantastic way to get news and information, aren't they? But how many of us were following blogs a year or two ago? Now they are ubiquitous, and growing every day!
http://reachyourpeak.wordpress.com (I've since stopped updating this one - but there's still some good info on there to read. I love the subject...but I gotta draw the line somewhere!!)
And then last April, I created this Funhogspins blog, which I sometimes have a hard time staying away from, I enjoy it so much! If there's a longer period without posts, it's because I'm overwhelmed with the other stuff I am doing and forcing myself to stay away. I am still hoping to transfer it soon to another domain name where I can self-host it. It's taking longer than expected (because I'm still in the learning stages...)
Then came Facebook.
Everything I was hearing about the new social media and entrepreneur necessities pointed towards Facebook. At first it was just a pain to maintain...but now it's a great place to promote my bike tours as well as my ebook, and potentially other things in the future. But more than anything it's been an amazing way to reconnect with old friends, and to connect with like-minded people. It's mind-boggling how you can find people, and how you come across people who knows someone who you know. It truly is six-degrees of separation. And just today I started adding my nieces and nephews as friends! Now I'll know more about what they're doing than their own parents...
Will you be my "friend"?! Join me on Facebook! Leave a little message that you saw me here...
I also joined LinkedIn, a more professional social networking site. (Join me there too - search for Jennifer Sage)
Then I got connected with the Indoor Cycle Instructor Podcast, and John has had me on numerous times as a guest host. If you haven't had a chance to listen to my podcast, check it out here. (The subject is the Cadence workshop that I created for the Spinning program and how to use resistance and cadence properly in your indoor cycling classes). John says it has been the most popular one of all his podcasts! I'm flattered and simply stunned at how this new technology is just taking over my life! Heck, a little over a year ago, I didn't know what a podcast was!
Then I was interviewed on a cycling podcast which was great fun and great promotion. (Note: it's a long podcast - my interview doesn't appear until about 43 minutes into it). I am hoping to get the Fredcast to interview me in the next week or two for my ebook, Keep it Real!
But it hasn't stopped there! This week it's been Twitter - I'm now learning how to "tweet". In fact, my "tweets" are now on my blog, down there on the left side! The potential for attracting customers on Twitter is mind-boggling, just mind-boggling. I have been building a collection of followers, most of whom are cyclists and indoor cyclists, each of whom have anywhere from 50 - 6,000 followers (or more, like Lance Armstrong), all of whom can potentially see my tweets. If it's something they're interested in, they'll click to get more info, then find my website or blog. Can you just envision the potential impact that can have?
I did a "tweet" yesterday saying that if you found training on a trainer indoors boring, then check out www.keepitirealebook.com... And within a few hours I had a bunch of new sales. Wow! This stuff works!
Please join me at www.twitter.com/vivavelo. Either search for Jennifer Sage or Vivavelo. If you "follow" me I'll "follow" you!
Just one word of warning: Twitter can get addicting, so watch out.
5 comments:
That's amazing. Simply amazing. I don't have the self-discipline to engage the most powerful new addictive procrastination mechanism, but I do enjoy your Twitter feed when I read your blog ;-)
Well Melissa, there's only so much time in the day. That means the time I spend tweeting or podcasting or blogging or facebooking is being taken from something else! So not sure I'd call it self-discipline or over-indulgence!
I keep rationalizing that it's "marketing and PR" for my businesses (well, it IS), but there's certainly some other stuff going on there as well (like, uh, procrastination...)
As for you my little med student friend, I'm amazed that you can write on your blogs the way you do (especially the non-Spinning one and how deep you get in your reflections) while studying medical school stuff AND teach your spin classes!
I guess we're a lot alike in may ways. I don't know what it's like to do.....nothing! It's a skill I need to hone in the next few years.
Oh, it's TOTALLY "marketing and PR" for you. My e-existence is just for my sanity, not for any kind of business. You're doin' all the right stuff!
Thanks for saying such kind things. But, to be honest, I have you to thank for all the writing I've been doing lately. I'm overall so much happier a person ever since that fateful pre-New Year's "dude! come back and write!"-type prompt of yours. My brain is de-cluttered enough to learn and teach and 'do' -- instead of just being distracted by my own thoughts. So, thank you ;-)
You're welcome Melissa! I look forward to your blogposts - written in advance and scheduled! Leaving you to study as needed! ;-)
Ah, Twitter! I was wondering when it would start to spread - it'll probably be a few years yet before it takes off in the UK but I got into it after finding out that Lance Armstrong was addicted to it... emulating your heroes and all that!
A quick tip, not sure if you do this already - have Twitter update your Facebook status, your blog (in effect, it becomes a blog within a blog), your profiles on other fora (WSSC, for example), all in one simple update. Also, any updates from blogs can be automatically made to appear in your Facebook page.
Oh, and it's great for sharing photos and links - just use the tinyurl.com site and the twitpics
Shame that they haven't sorted "proper" twittering yet over here - I still have to use mobile web and update online, rather than by SMS.
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