Shawna Coronado spoke next. Good talk! Here’s my snippets from it:
Business or personal? It’s all personal with social media.
Telling her story of how she started. She was sick – had to take lots of pills, see lots of doctors, etc.
Through lots of hard work, she’s healthy again – because of nature partly.
She loved gardening so much, she started writing about gardening – even had a column in a newspaper …. Started lots of gardening! So much so that she quit her job – and the gardening thing she attributes to her health – she went from 18 prescriptions to 2 … Because of a lifestyle change.
If you don’t be personal in social media, you’re not going to connect with people…
She wrote a book, and to sell it, she built a brand.
Define target market and key brand, message and values, and define what your product is
The product wasn’t her book – it is her. Shes selling herself and her brand.
Mistake – choosing look and feel over building quality content. The result is no traffic.
Solution – unify brand with the content and message, placing non-broadcast and sharing communications as the #1 goal.
She uses her main website to connect people to her. Communities – her blog, her twitter account, her Facebook page, her YouTube site,  etc.
She built her brand first, and now she goes out and gives people a business proposal – and gets to do stuff.
In social media, you are the brand.
Every message you post or send will say who you are as a brand – so be positive and nice! Answer every inquiry kindly
Help others without expecting anything in return
Follow those who Follow you so you will be available to help them and grow their biz (and yours)
Provide consistency with content and posting times
Everything you say and do is a part of your brand.
2nd mistake: expecting to write a book and make money
How you can find financial success, sponsors, and world travel:
Sell your product, sell your expertise, sell your speaking ability, sell your social media presence
Get over yourself and start doing video.
She provided sponsors with social media coverage and videos, both homemade and professional of an Eco Adventure she went on, at no cost. She had contacts and called them up to get the gig.
She’s working 15 hour days , writing, connecting, etc…. But its the funnest job she’s ever had, which is why she does it.
Her front lawn … A vegetable garden … it’s part of her brand, so she keeps it looking sharp.
Have your company become passionate about what you’re doing.
David – this was wonderful! Thank you so very much for writing about my talk. I really appreciate it.
Shawna
No prob – good stuff! Thanks for sharing.
Shawna: Being immensly rude to people; then deleting the message and the person is no way of “shaping” your online community. It is, however, a great way to demonstrate your true inner character….insecure, irrelevant, and insincere. In a word Shawna…after following you for over 2 years, you are a PHONY. FAKE, PHONY, SHALLOW!
Wow – after about 7 years of blogging, I've had to delete my first comment for a personal attack. FYI commenters – you have to play nice on my blog. Disagree, discuss away, argue, criticize, etc – but no bullying, no meanness, no personal attacks. I'll delete those very fast. DLK
it won't change the fact that she is a phony. Don't you think a self-proclaimed expert should be able to address a question regarding said expertise?
No, actually I don't. “Experts” can and should ignore questions if they want to – after all, they're just people. Especially those from anonymous commenters. That's called trolling – good social media practice is to ignore those.
So you have poor social media practice? I have been an engaged-in-coversation follower of hers for years, so I am clearly not anonymous in the context of what I'm saying Dave. It's encouraged practice in Social Media to run from tough questions? That doesn't make you human, that makes you a scared human that is way in over your head…yours, or anyone who takes that philosophy. Life is not all about fakey pats on the back because you belong to the same homogenous “community”. It's about looking at life in more ways than just our own narrow point of view and allowing for that differing side of the story to teach; not as if you will be a new purveyor of that opinion, but that you will know where others come from and perhaps MIGHT learn something; OR, and worst…you confirm your own beliefs through the juxtaposition of the opposing view. Allowing for that will enable “just a person” to become part of humanity, not just out for one's own selfish “branding” techniques to be seen as “successful”. Making any sense or what?