I'm always fascinated with the tools and techniques that are available to take advantage of social media and the Internet's vast resources. Here's one that I had missed up until now: embedding a Tweet (from Twitter) into your blog post.
The inspiration for this trick was the following Tweet from John Richardson, someone I follow on Twitter.
If you click on the link within his Tweet, you'll get step by step instructions for how to embed a Tweet, just like I did his. I must note, however, that my Twitter page and options look a bit different from what he describes. For example, on my Twitter page, it says "Expand" rather than "Open." But otherwise, it works just fine.
Why would you want to embed a Tweet rather than simply re-Tweet it?
One of the biggest excuses for not blogging more often is lack of time. Wouldn't it be great if we could create a blog post in minutes? How about seconds?
It can be done, if you know what you're trying to accomplish and you have a template or a formula to follow. Here's an example of what I have often done to create a post in five minutes or less.
One of your New Year's resolutions must be to get more mileage out of your efforts. Don't just give a speech, make parts of it available as a podcast or several blog posts. Don't just do a media interview, have it recorded and post the audio on your website.
The point is that so many of the things we do on a routine basis can be the basis for additional marketing efforts. Marketing results in more influence and influence leads to more income.
What are some ways your material can be used and re-used?
Very few of us would want to play a sport where the rules changed in the middle of the game or where the rules were eliminated altogether. We like to know where the goals are, where the out-of-bounds lines are drawn and what's permissable and not permissable.
And yet, in the world of media today, that's pretty much the world in which we live. Journalists, writers, bloggers, authors and multi-media producers are all in a unique position to share or sell their ideas to virtually anyone at any time.
Today's social media, social networks and online communities make sharing content easier than it's ever been. We can write a blog post like this one, create a podcast or a video, write an e-zine article or create a digital product at little cost.
So, the question is why aren't you doing it? As an executive, business leader or creative professional you have tremendous knowledge and expertise that would benefit others, expand your influence, raise your own profile and set you apart from others within your field.
Sure, it takes a little know-how and time. But after that, you really have no excuse. Here's how to begin:
If you're in business, you need to be blogging. There may be a few exceptions, but I can't think of any.
Blogging allows you to engage with your customers, express your point of view and, above all, it positions you as a thought leader within your industry or niche.
But if you really want to go the extra mile, consider a spoken blog post. In other words, a podcast. Record your blog and bring it to life.
Let's face it, people learn in different ways. Some like to read, some like to watch videos, others like to listen. So, why not provide both words and audio? In fact, consider video, too.
Think of your posts as falling into one of three categories:
RSS Feed