John Lusher Consulting

Ditch Your Resume – Web 2.0 Strategies to Launch Your Next Career

We are pleased to partner with Jobzcafe.com to bring you the necessary tools to Launch Your Next Career….Social Media!

You may as well Ditch Your Resume because what good is a killer resume if No One Can Find It?

For More Information About This Exciting Workshop, Watch This Quick Video:  Ditch Your Resume

You may as well Ditch Your Resume because what good is a killer resume if No One Can Find It?

• People are getting hired every day on Google and LinkedIn…Because they are being FOUND.
• Google is the king of Internet Search…What will recruiters see if they Google your name?
• With 100 contacts in your LinkedIn network only 2.5% of the LinkedIn community will find you…
• With a LinkedIn network of 500+ contacts you can be found by 90% of Recruiters using LinkedIn

• If your phone isn’t ringing… then you’re just another resume tossed in the trash.
• Getting interviews but not getting hired…then you’re not reinforcing your personal brand.
• Are your references providing value or harm…a written LinkedIn recommendation is black and white

• What’s in your blog, WHAT you don’t have one??? Why not write about your projects and awards so potential employers can find them.
• What can you write in a 140 characters??? Use the hottest social network, Twitter, to find your dream career!
• Are Friends & Fans more than names and faces??? Use Facebook to catapult relationships into career strategies.

• Be on Google’s top pages for Your Key Word
• Learn how to Blog about things Employers want to know
• Establish yourself as a front runner using LinkedIn
• Define your Unique ‘Personal Brand’
• Create SEO friendly Profiles
• Discover how Twitter can land your Dream job

Join us and learn how to use Social Media to find your next career!

Twitter (Social) Media Done the Wrong Way

This is a guest post from my friend Scot Duke, known to most as Mr. Business Golf. You can find him on Twitter here.

I am beginning to think the more you tell Twitterers not to do something the more they want to do it. So, let me turn it around and see if this will help all of us who know how to use Twitter and Social Media get rid of those who do not.

Send Only Links
That is right..just open up the Twitter update screen and place the URL to the most obnoxious and irrelevant site you can find..hopefully it is yours. If that most obnoxious and irrelevant URL on the internet just happens to be to your site of very valuable schemes and scams, then even better. This is what everyone on twitter wants, needs and is looking for, so bring it on. Send at least 10 to 20 at a time and make sure they are all nothing but a link to your site. OH, you can add some comment or a list of keywords that make no sense so the Search Engine spiders can pick it up, but it is not necessary since your existence on twitter is probably only about as long as a day. I would also recommend that you continue to listen closely to those internet gurus who have this wonderful advice. You posting nothing but a link will generate millions of people to hit the Block Button on Twitter putting you completely out of your misery.

Links After a Remark
Yes, the next best way to Twitter fame is to make a remark relevant to a conversation someone is having and then place the URL to your now famous site. To make this easier for you, let me tell you how you can find these conversations…yes, use the search on Twitter and key in the keyword that fits your product or service. This will bring up millions of targets for you to hammer home the need for them to check out your product. Make sure to do this several hundred times during a 24 hour period. If you can hit a Thousand, even better. The traffic to the twitter Block button to block your account will be overwhelming.

Never @reply
The kiss of death to your efforts on Twitter is to @reply to anyone. This action starts a relationship which is totally worthless and a waste of time. Your mission is to get traffic to your site so you can play the odds that someone is really going to purchase something from you or from whoever has put you up to hammering Twitter. To you that @ symbol is your self destruct button. To hit it would prove that your links have some value, so by no means every attempt to carry on a conversation with anyone who follows you. You will get sucked into building a relationship that may lead to that dreaded second and third tier business development network. Yuk!

Use Auto DM’s
On the other hand, you have to have your Auto Direct Message turned on so that same URL can be delightfully sent to anyone who follows you. You don’t want to seem impersonable by not responding to people who follow you even if you really are impersonable or even a BOT. The Auto DM feature is the best thing to every happen to Twitter. It has opened so many doors to giving Tweets the feeling they are responsive to every single person that follows them. And for you, it just opens up another avenue to get that URL to your worthwhile product to another person out to every single person who happens to want more followers. I suggest that you make sure that the Auto DM has nothing but your link, because, heck, that is all the person who is following you is wanting.

Sign Up for Follow Programs
The Twitter Auto DM program plays right into the hands of those Twitter Media experts who tell everyone that if they want to be ‘Someone’ on Twitter then they need to get as many followers as they can and need to follow as many as you can. Yes, wouldn’t that be great to have thousands and thousands of Tweets following you because they need 100k Followers. This just sets up you marketing campaign to lead off with an onslaught of worthwhile links with an Auto DM. Make sure to use your auto DM so more and more Tweets are given the opportunity to find where that Block Button is exactly located on their Twitter Homepage. Some of them need a few thousand Auto DM’s before they find the Block Button and realize the true value of not Automatically Following everyone.

Username with Numbers
Of course any professional Twitterer worth their spam has to have at least 15 or 20 usernames all with some sort of number associated to the username. How else can you keep track of the accounts that get blocked the most if you do not have a number in the username.

Cutesy Avatar
For maximum affect from your Twitter account by all means upload a piece of abstract art, photo of someone jumping through the air or a girl in a bikini, a logo or a cartoon character into your Twitter account avatar. Even better, do not upload one at all. The more obnoxious the avatar the better. Remember, the goal here is to reflect a professional image and to bring to the attention of the world of Twitter, and beyond, that you have absolutely no interest in providing any value what so ever to your existence on Twitter. Never-ever place your photo in the avatar..this leads to relationship building that will just bog you down with meaningful conversations about what you do for a living. Nobody is interested in that carp..it makes too much sense and you are not out here to make sense..you are out here to scam your way to making a buck.

Consume Twitter Media Expert Advice
Do not take my word for all this. Make sure to stop by the thousands of irrefutable internet marketing gurus out there who concur in this advice. To make sure they are reputable to his advice look for those who tell you things like..

’Of course the only value Twitter offers you is the uncontrolled ability to inundate Twitter with links to your site. At least 1% of those fools will click on the link and out of that 1% will buy something’

or

‘Your success on the internet is judged by how much money you make. Twitter makes your existence online worthwhile if you follow these simple guidelines’.

You know you have received the best advice of all if they tell you..

’Friends?, there is no value in making a Friend on Twitter. Money is your friend and you make it by following these procedures..’

So I suggest you follow all of this wonderful advice to the letter. I hope this has helped you as it has helped me to know that I have helped you get blocked completely off Twitter. I look forward to helping you out when I get your first post. Good luck and hope you make a trillion.

Father’s Day

A post about Father’s Day and honoring those special men in our lives.

The idea for an official Father’s Day celebration came to a married daughter, seated in a church in Spokane, Washington, attentive to a Sunday sermon on Mother’s Day in 1910-two years after the first Mother’s Day observance in West Virginia.

The daughter was Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd. During the sermon, which extolled maternal sacrifices made for children, Mrs. Dodd realized that in her own family it had been her father, William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran, who had sacrificed-raising herself and five sons alone, following the early death of his wife in childbirth. For Mrs. Dodd, the hardships her father had endured on their eastern Washington farm called to mind the unsung feats of fathers everywhere.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson and his family personally observed the day. And in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge recommended that states, if they wished, should hold their own Father’s Day observances.

So, as you can see, we have been observing Father’s Day for quite a while and I think its good that we honor both fathers and mothers with their own day.

Anyone that knows me knows that my father died when I was eight years old. So its with that in mind that I ask you to forgive me if I don’t get too excited about Father’s Day. Honestly, I get a little jealous, but I am glad to have had the influence of my father while he was alive.

Growing up without a father, was extremely difficult, but I learned to adapt and I matured more quickly. I am happy to say that I was raised by an incredible mother who did her best to fulfill the roll of both parents. I have often said that if I turn out to be half the person that she is, I will consider myself a success.

Putting my feelings aside, I want to encourage you to celebrate Father’s Day. If your father is alive and you can be with him; treasure the time and the moments that will be gone too soon. Hug his neck and thank him. If you haven’t spoken to him in a while for whatever reason, make the effort to talk to him before he is gone. If you father is not with you anymore, celebrate the memories that you have.

If I could speak to my father today, I would be much like Pvt. James Francis Ryan in the final scene from the movie Saving Private Ryan; I would say, “tell me I’ve lived a good life, tell me that I’ve been a good person.” Or I would ask if he was proud of how I have turned out, how I have lived my life. I hope so.

Which Twitter tool do you use the most?

In preparation for an upcoming workshop, I would like feedback on your favorite Twitter tools. Which tool do you use the most? Twitter.com, TweetDeck, or others?

Please take a moment to participate in my poll, just to the right of this post.

Thank you!

Twitter For Small Businesses – The Time Is Now!

To those that don’t know, here is the definition of Twitter:

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

In addition to promoting your business to new and existing clients, Twitter can be used for a multitude of other business related objectives:

1. Build Brands – You can use Twitter to build excitment before launching a a brand or product as well as to improve the image of an existing brand or business.
2. Do Research – Even before sending your first Tweet, you can use Twitter Search to find out about your competitors, clients and potential clients.
3. Send Information to Customers – Twitter can be a great tool to send information to your customers and to announce new products, specials or survey’s.
4. Conduct E-commerce – Twitter can help drive traffic to your website, your blog or your online store, but only if you are building relationships before you try to sell something.
5. Create Communities for Your Users – This is a overlooked tool within Twitter.  Create a community of users of your business or your brand.  This can provide valuable insight into what the users really think of your product and your business.

As a small business owner, how do you harness the power of this and other social media tools to promote your business?  Just like any other part of your operation, you partner with a professional. Do you sleep better at night knowing a CPA is handling your taxes, a qualified Agent is handling your insurance, or a Virtual Assistant is handling your administrative tasks?  If so, then why would you not partner with a social media professional to develop this valuable community tool for your business?

Most small business owners spend the majority of their time working in the business every day, not working on the plan for the business.  A social media plan could suffer from the same neglect unless you partner with a professional.

If you own a small business and you are interested in learning more about how to use Twitter or other social media tools, start asking question.  We would welcome the conversation.

Technorati Tags: small business, Social Media, twitter

#Follow Friday; Has It Gotten Out of Hand?

Having recently completed another feverishly paced Follow Friday, I was inspired to write this post.

FollowFriday on Twitter is a great way to get introduced to and to meet new people.  Unfortunately many people feel it has gotten out of hand and has become automated.  What do you think?

Follow Friday (#followfriday) was started by Micah Baldwin (@micah) in January 2009 as a way for Twitter users to recommend people who they enjoy following to their own followers. As is typical of any good idea in Social Media,  FollowFriday  went “viral” and became a global phenomenon.  Starting on the second FollowFriday, Twitter was exploding with recommendations from around the world.

I believe the idea of FollowFriday is incredible and I love participating. I typically receive well over one hundred new followers on FollowFriday and I do my best to engage with each one of them personally. Remember, Social Media is about engaging the people that follow you! FollowFriday gives Twitter users the opportunity to make a personal recommendation on people that they believe other users should follow.

Think about it; in January 2009, FollowFriday started out as an idea with a single tweet!

What is the Future of FollowFriday?

Along with fellow Twitter friends, I have seen a trend that could, and some say already has, lessened the effectiveness of FollowFriday.  I am talking about the automatic RT (Retweet) of FollowFriday recommendations.  We have all seen them and we have been included in these types of tweets.  People that just automatically RT a list of recommendations, even if they are not following or connected to anyone in the list!  Remember, Social Media is about engaging; how is this engaging?  How can blindly RT’ing a list of recommendations add any credibility to your Tweet or provide another Twitter user with any true recommendation for the persons listed in the original Tweet?

How Do You Process Your FollowFriday Tweets?

This past #FollowFriday a friend asked me how I responded to all of my recommendations and new followers and managed to keep it personal.  My answer?  It takes a lot of work! With around a hundred recommendations on a typical Friday, which is less than a lot of other Twitter all stars, I take the time to respond to each recommendation or shout out because I believe it is important.

How Do Make the Most Out of FollowFriday?

• DO NOT just list a bunch of names! Make personal recommendations for the people that you engage with and can easily recommend.
• Start your #followfriday tweets with the #followfriday hashtag so that everyone that follows the hastag will receive the tweet.
• Follow up – enough said.

Social Media, business relationships, personal relationships and life is about engaging, conversations and following up.

What do you see as the future of #FollowFriday?  How do you respond to all of your recommendations?

Technorati Tags: followfriday, Social Media, twitter

Have We Forgotten How To Be In The Moment?

What does being in the moment mean to you?  Do you spend time being in the moment with family, friends, love ones?  This is an update to a previous post with some additional thoughts.

If we think back several years ago, being in the moment meant you paid attention to your surroundings; you gave the surroundings, the person, the place, or the action you were involved with your full attention. Do we do that now? I think in a lot of instances, we do not. We cannot drink a cup of coffee, walk down the street or have a conversation without an electronic device in our hand, diluting the ambiance.

A good friend reminds me to be in the moment and I appreciate the advice because we are more connected now with more opportuniites to be distracted. With Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Email, Internet access on our phone and even YouTube videos in the palm of our hand, it is easy to forget about what else is around us.

When was the last time you hiked in the mountains with the cell phone turned off? When was the last time you stretched out on the beach with a book, and left the laptop in the hotel room? Don’t laugh, I have seen people on the beach with their laptops! When was the last time you just paused, took a break and looked at what was around you?  These moments pass by us, and we can never recapture them; once they are gone, they are gone forever.

How can you Be In The Moment? Here are some ideas:

1. Take notice of the world around you. No matter what you are doing, take notice of the beauty that is around you. It could be something minor, but take time to notice it.

2. Focus on whatever you are doing. Stop multi-tasking and focus on what you are working on right now. Enjoy it, focus on it, live in the moment.

3. When you eat, just eat. Enjoy a meal without Twittering, checking email or talking on your cell phone/working on your laptop. If you are enjoying a meal with someone, they should be the most important person on the planet at that point in time.

4. Be still and listen. Turn off the electronic devices, the music and other noise makers, you will amazed at what you will hear and how it can refocus you.

5. Practice. Like any life skill that you want to improve, it takes practice.

This weekend is Memorial Day in the United States; a time to pause and remember the men and women of the United States Armed Forces that have given their lives in defense of our country.  How many of us would gladly give up all of these interruptions to have just one more moment with a family member or loved one that is no longer here?

So are you practicing being in the moment? Like me, can you stand some improvement? Does Social & Digital Media make it harder for you to be in the moment? Let me know what you think!

Technorati Tags: face-to-face, Personal, relationships, Social Media, time

Meetup 2.0 – Roanoke

Meetup 2.0 – Roanoke: Join Us Thursday’s at 9:00 AM, at the Best Western Inn, Valley View Mall location.

Meetup 2.0 is a weekly opportunity to gather and discuss Digital and Social Media as well as how we use it. Participants at our Meetups include Digital & Social Media veterans as well as newbie’s; we all learn from each other and start developing lasting relationships, so you should join us!

I encourage you to join us Thursday @ 9:00 AM at Best Western Inn at Valley View Mall. If you cannot join us this week, there is always next week. Help us by spreading the word and bringing a guest!

Special thanks to Lori Womack the Manager at the Best Western Inn for hosting our Meetings!

Thank you!

Technorati Tags: meetup, social, Social Media

Respect in Business: How Do You Create It?

You must earn or create respect, it will not automatically be given to you. Don’t agree with that statement? Why not?

For us to have a productive and profitable working relationship, you must earn my respect. But how do you create respect in business? Is it any different when you start building relationships via social media than when you build relationships via face-to-face interaction?

Several years ago, I was new to a job and new to working for the owner of the company. What started out as a disagreement on a potential client progressed to a point where the owner stated, “you have to respect me and my decision or even my opinion because I own this company!” My response? My employment with that company was short lived. I could not work for that person; telling me I have to respect him just because he owned the business. Respect has to be earned or created, not given just due to a title.

So how do YOU define or create respect in your business dealings? Doing what you say you will do, or following through on and keeping your word; does that create respect? With most people, it does. Each time you make a commitment and then keep it, that helps to build or create respect. If you schedule an appointment with someone, you keep that appointment! If you must reschedule, it should be on their schedule, not yours.

Other ways you can create respect:

• Being on time or early for appointments.
• Following up on a meeting with a note, thank you card, phone call or email.
• Create a culture of respect and mutual trust in your organization as well as how you deal with clients, potential clients and even former clients.
• Over deliver on your promises.
• Take responsibility for your actions.

“Respect commands itself and it can neither be given nor withheld when it is due.”
Eldridge Cleaver

”Leaders who win the respect of others are the ones who deliver more than they promise, not the ones who promise more than they can deliver.”
Mark A. Clement

What say you?

Come back for more posts on this topic including personal respect, how to deal with disrespect and creating respect in social media.

Technorati Tags: business, Personal, professional, Respect

Twitter Etiquette – NO Automatic DM’s

This is an ongoing series of blog posts on Twitter Etiquette. My first post, Ten Things Not To Do On Twitter can be a a good starting point for new users and a good reminder for us veteran Twitter users.

Twitter and other forms of Social Media is about relationships. Learn it, live it, and love it; or suffer damage to your reputation when you attempt to shorten the time it takes to develop these relationships! One of the quickest ways to torpedo a new social media relationship, before it even has a chance to begin forming? The Automatic DM (Direct Message). Twitter DM’s can be a tool to communicate privately with one of your followers; but it is NOT a method to automatically send your followers information they have not requested!

When you receive a new follower, send them a personal tweet, engage them in conversations and ask to learn more about them or their business. Remember, it is about relationships, not initially trying to sell something!

Here are some personal favorites; actual DM’s received by me or some of my followers:

I just created a new group for you to join, please check out my blog!

It is great meeting you, keep smiling and spreading your good cheer!

Hey, help spread the word about this link, video, site

You know how to use Twitter, check out my site and give me your valued feedback

No one knows about this, but I have stock tip that you will want to act on now

For me, any of these types of DM’s will simply cause me to unfollow you!

If you want a good tool for reducing the number of Auto DM’s, check out SocialToo; it is a great service and worth checking out.

Let me know some of your “favorite” Auto DM’s and don’t be THAT person that abuses a new relationship.

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: relationships, social, twitter