A business newsletter can be an excellent tool to keep you connected to potential clients, increase brand recognition, and make people aware of your products and services.  When used effectively, a newsletter can generate new business opportunities.  When used poorly it can erode your brand and diminish your credibility.

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Part of my job is to try out applications, tools, networks and such so I can tell my clients if they’re worth the learning curve or a waste of their bandwidth. Frankly it’s a lot of fun and I find some really cool stuff. I also find a lot of stuff I wouldn’t suggest you waste your time on. When Chris Turititzin from Momentus Media told me about One True Fan I thought I’d give it a spin.

At first I thought it was yet another recommendations extension for my browser. You visit a site and you have the option to share it on Facebook and/or Twitter from the bottom of the page. Big deal right? I mean, who doesn’t have a share button on their web site or in their browser somewhere already?

Ah, but here’s the difference grasshopper. One True Fan lets you see who else has been on that page and what they’ve recently shared. Not only do you get a bigger picture of who is visiting a site or reading a particular blog post, you get to wander around and see where they’ve been recently and thought was important enough to share too. VERY cool way to find relevant content and see what people are thinking about.

In addition you can view a log of the pages you’ve shared, earn nifty keen patches (OK, I know nobody really cares) and add friends and see what they’re sharing and visiting too. There’s a gaming aspect to it, but I don’t use it for that, for me it’s purely exploratory and social.

Don’t worry, you can turn it off whenever you want to, so sites you don’t want to share don’t show up in your stream.

SO, how to make it useful?

First you have to install it. Here’s where you can get it and instructions to include it on your site or blog as well– One True Fan.

Add the widget or plugin to your site so even if people don’t have the browser plugin you can still share who’s been there with them.
Take a look at your own blog posts and see who’s been there. I’ve found quite a few times that people shared my posts and I never saw it in my Twitter stream. Now I can respond to those posts, find out what else that person is sharing and add them to my network, follow up with a direct comment or go read their blogs and learn more.
When you’re reading a blog post or a page you like you can share it with your networks right from the bottom of the page. Then take a moment to find out more about who else has been there and what they’ve shared. As you go down this path it’s quite likely you’ll find a thread of information related to the same topic.
Use One True Fan as a bookmarking tool. You can go back through your shares just like you used to do with Delicious. I think there’s some SEO potential here. Time will tell?
Share the love. If somebody is a regular reader on your blog what can you do for them? Share their posts, tell your friends about what they do or (gasp) call them up and ask ‘em out for a cup of tea. Now go forth and be social.

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It’s a given these days that before at least 50% of the first-time meetings you’re about to have you and the person you’re meeting will have Googled each other to learn a bit more about the person. It used to be this would return a list of scholarly papers, some nasty pictures of you at a bachelor party, a random smattering of form posts about cupcakes or software and possibly your connections on some social networks.

These days however, it can mean a whole lot more. Looking for a job in marketing? A potential employer can use a variety of tools to see how well you manage your personal brand online. After all, if you can’t make your own brand stand out how are you going to help them with theirs?

If any part of your job relates to social engagement you’d best have a good look at your numbers on some of the ranking sites and see how you’re doing before you stick your foot in your mouth and say you’re fantastic at creating an online presence.

I suggest you do it now–before you need it–so you can make amends and improve your results if necessary, and that may take some time and hard work.

Here’s a game plan.

Step 1
Run some of the evaluation tools below to determine what somebody sees when they look you up. Run it on more than one site so you get a good feel of what’s out there.

Momentus Media Community Health Score

This is a brand new tool to see how engaged your Facebook page is with your fans. I ran quite a few pages and it’s interesting to see how some of the big brands like Snickers and Red Bull stacked up against smaller brands like Thirsty Girl (yes they’re a client) and some un-expected successes like AARP (who says us over 50′s don’t use Facebook??)

What I like about this one is that it ranks not on how many users are on a page but how engaged they are, and it gives you, the page owner, real insight into how your page is doing. Does it give you more info than Facebook’s insights reports? Yep. Because it shows you the rankings of other pages too so you can see your page in perspective.

My WebCareer
Want to look at your performance across multiple platforms? My Web Career scores you based on your Facebook and/or Linkedin profiles. It supposedly also rates your search engine visibility but that’s a paid service that’s not available yet, so I haven’t evaluated it. My web Career also plans to share advice to improve your score, which could be very useful in getting your brand better visibility.

Postrank Analytics
Is one of the best blog metrics tools out there, and now they’re reaching deeper into your traffic incorporating Google Analytics and Feedburner. a look at your engagement on your blogs based on actions taken by your users.They call them “engagement points” and it’s basically a tally of page views, clicks, Tweets and shares on other networks, comments as well as how many are reading your RSS stream. Literally when someone actually engages with your content.

Peer Index
Looks at your blo, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter presences and rates you by your apparent influence, activity level and authority on topics you frequently discuss.. It also shows your most frequent sources and allows you to browse the same information on your social connections. Like Momentus Media’s application it can be quite revealing to see how it scores your friends and competitors and even compare them through a nifty drag-and-drop interface.

Klout
Klout is all about identifying influencers on particular topics through their social media presence.Want to know the most influential colleges on Twitter? or the top 10 food trucks? Klout has used their knowledge of influencers to leverage their Klout with programs like the much lauded Virgin America campaign. (disclosure: I’m listed as a Klout influencer and have received Klout perks.) Klout scores now show up in the Twitter streams of those who use Seesmic and some other apps.

Step 2
Think objectively about all of the date you just saw. Are you as much of an influence on your network as you think you are? What topics are you showing up about? Is that what you want to be known for? Who ranks higher than you do for the areas you’re interested in? What do they do differently and can you learn from their example? Do you need to share more, re-tweet or mention more? Is the overall impression you get of your brand what you want it to be?

If yes, congratulations! If no, start thinking about how you can improve.

Of course all of these services will differ because the algorithms they use differ. None of this is really the gold standard but people do use them to make business decisions, hiring decisions and even decisions on who they want to talk to more. Please don’t take increasing your influence score as the holy grail of community. Use it as a tool to gauge how effective you are at delivering the message you think you’re delivering.

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That’s a question not a statement. Here’s what I think, but I’d love to hear your perspective in the comments.

Any good sales or PR person will tell you, what they do all about the relationships. You build solid relationships and that equals respect and trust which leads to referrals. Whether those referrals are for sales or knowledge gathering depends on the situation. If they do cold call it’s only the first step in building the relationship.

When was the last time you asked a cold caller for their opinion or a reference? Never?

When was the last time you asked someone in your personal network (online or off) for advice? In the last hour? Day?

When you have a conversation with someone about something you are passionate about–whether it’s sports, business or your kids–it creates an affinity with that person. When you ask them about a subject they are passionate about, you tell them you actually care what they think and you respect their opinion. Even if you don’t agree with it. A few of these conversations adds up to a relationship. With social media networks you have a world of opportunities to reach out and create relationships with people who actually want to talk with you. They share their interests freely, allowing you entrée to that first conversation quite easily. Touch someone once and they might notice you. Touch them 10 times with real questions and information and you’re top of mind. At least for that moment.

When I coach a client about social media I build my relationship with them so I can understand where they are coming from, and this takes a lot more than “fill in this questionnaire, here’s your social media strategy”. Ask any of my clients and they’ll tell you that not only am I passionate about my business, I’m passionate about theirs too. That’s how my extended network of relationships works to bring me over 90% of my business. I rarely advertise, and only then for special programs, webinars or classes.

People develop relationships with me on Twitter, Facebook, Quora, LinkedIn, my blog and slew of other places before we talk on the phone or meet in person, and we develop trust. Then we do business.

So when somebody sends me a link to a class for “Cold Calling Success!” I don’t open it. Cold calling is the most painful process I can imagine and I just won’t do it. Do you? Tell me why it works for you.

Read more…

That’s a question not a statement. Here’s what I think, but I’d love to hear your perspective in the comments.

Any good sales or PR person will tell you, what they do all about the relationships. You build solid relationships and that equals respect and trust which leads to referrals. Whether those referrals are for sales or knowledge gathering depends on the situation. If they do cold call it’s only the first step in building the relationship.

When was the last time you asked a cold caller for their opinion or a reference? Never?

When was the last time you asked someone in your personal network (online or off) for advice? In the last hour? Day?

When you have a conversation with someone about something you are passionate about–whether it’s sports, business or your kids–it creates an affinity with that person. When you ask them about a subject they are passionate about, you tell them you actually care what they think and you respect their opinion. Even if you don’t agree with it. A few of these conversations adds up to a relationship. With social media networks you have a world of opportunities to reach out and create relationships with people who actually want to talk with you. They share their interests freely, allowing you entrée to that first conversation quite easily. Touch someone once and they might notice you. Touch them 10 times with real questions and information and you’re top of mind. At least for that moment.

When I coach a client about social media I build my relationship with them so I can understand where they are coming from, and this takes a lot more than “fill in this questionnaire, here’s your social media strategy”. Ask any of my clients and they’ll tell you that not only am I passionate about my business, I’m passionate about theirs too. That’s how my extended network of relationships works to bring me over 90% of my business. I rarely advertise, and only then for special programs, webinars or classes.

People develop relationships with me on Twitter, Facebook, Quora, LinkedIn, my blog and slew of other places before we talk on the phone or meet in person, and we develop trust. Then we do business.

So when somebody sends me a link to a class for “Cold Calling Success!” I don’t open it. Cold calling is the most painful process I can imagine and I just won’t do it. Do you? Tell me why it works for you.

Read more…

That’s a question not a statement. Here’s what I think, but I’d love to hear your perspective in the comments.

Any good sales or PR person will tell you, what they do all about the relationships. You build solid relationships and that equals respect and trust which leads to referrals. Whether those referrals are for sales or knowledge gathering depends on the situation. If they do cold call it’s only the first step in building the relationship.

When was the last time you asked a cold caller for their opinion or a reference? Never?

When was the last time you asked someone in your personal network (online or off) for advice? In the last hour? Day?

When you have a conversation with someone about something you are passionate about–whether it’s sports, business or your kids–it creates an affinity with that person. When you ask them about a subject they are passionate about, you tell them you actually care what they think and you respect their opinion. Even if you don’t agree with it. A few of these conversations adds up to a relationship. With social media networks you have a world of opportunities to reach out and create relationships with people who actually want to talk with you. They share their interests freely, allowing you entrée to that first conversation quite easily. Touch someone once and they might notice you. Touch them 10 times with real questions and information and you’re top of mind. At least for that moment.

When I coach a client about social media I build my relationship with them so I can understand where they are coming from, and this takes a lot more than “fill in this questionnaire, here’s your social media strategy”. Ask any of my clients and they’ll tell you that not only am I passionate about my business, I’m passionate about theirs too. That’s how my extended network of relationships works to bring me over 90% of my business. I rarely advertise, and only then for special programs, webinars or classes.

People develop relationships with me on Twitter, Facebook, Quora, LinkedIn, my blog and slew of other places before we talk on the phone or meet in person, and we develop trust. Then we do business.

So when somebody sends me a link to a class for “Cold Calling Success!” I don’t open it. Cold calling is the most painful process I can imagine and I just won’t do it. Do you? Tell me why it works for you.

Read more…

That’s a question not a statement. Here’s what I think, but I’d love to hear your perspective in the comments.

Any good sales or PR person will tell you, what they do all about the relationships. You build solid relationships and that equals respect and trust which leads to referrals. Whether those referrals are for sales or knowledge gathering depends on the situation. If they do cold call it’s only the first step in building the relationship.

When was the last time you asked a cold caller for their opinion or a reference? Never?

When was the last time you asked someone in your personal network (online or off) for advice? In the last hour? Day?

When you have a conversation with someone about something you are passionate about–whether it’s sports, business or your kids–it creates an affinity with that person. When you ask them about a subject they are passionate about, you tell them you actually care what they think and you respect their opinion. Even if you don’t agree with it. A few of these conversations adds up to a relationship. With social media networks you have a world of opportunities to reach out and create relationships with people who actually want to talk with you. They share their interests freely, allowing you entrée to that first conversation quite easily. Touch someone once and they might notice you. Touch them 10 times with real questions and information and you’re top of mind. At least for that moment.

When I coach a client about social media I build my relationship with them so I can understand where they are coming from, and this takes a lot more than “fill in this questionnaire, here’s your social media strategy”. Ask any of my clients and they’ll tell you that not only am I passionate about my business, I’m passionate about theirs too. That’s how my extended network of relationships works to bring me over 90% of my business. I rarely advertise, and only then for special programs, webinars or classes.

People develop relationships with me on Twitter, Facebook, Quora, LinkedIn, my blog and slew of other places before we talk on the phone or meet in person, and we develop trust. Then we do business.

So when somebody sends me a link to a class for “Cold Calling Success!” I don’t open it. Cold calling is the most painful process I can imagine and I just won’t do it. Do you? Tell me why it works for you.

Read more…

That’s a question not a statement. Here’s what I think, but I’d love to hear your perspective in the comments.

Any good sales or PR person will tell you, what they do all about the relationships. You build solid relationships and that equals respect and trust which leads to referrals. Whether those referrals are for sales or knowledge gathering depends on the situation. If they do cold call it’s only the first step in building the relationship.

When was the last time you asked a cold caller for their opinion or a reference? Never?

When was the last time you asked someone in your personal network (online or off) for advice? In the last hour? Day?

When you have a conversation with someone about something you are passionate about–whether it’s sports, business or your kids–it creates an affinity with that person. When you ask them about a subject they are passionate about, you tell them you actually care what they think and you respect their opinion. Even if you don’t agree with it. A few of these conversations adds up to a relationship. With social media networks you have a world of opportunities to reach out and create relationships with people who actually want to talk with you. They share their interests freely, allowing you entrée to that first conversation quite easily. Touch someone once and they might notice you. Touch them 10 times with real questions and information and you’re top of mind. At least for that moment.

When I coach a client about social media I build my relationship with them so I can understand where they are coming from, and this takes a lot more than “fill in this questionnaire, here’s your social media strategy”. Ask any of my clients and they’ll tell you that not only am I passionate about my business, I’m passionate about theirs too. That’s how my extended network of relationships works to bring me over 90% of my business. I rarely advertise, and only then for special programs, webinars or classes.

People develop relationships with me on Twitter, Facebook, Quora, LinkedIn, my blog and slew of other places before we talk on the phone or meet in person, and we develop trust. Then we do business.

So when somebody sends me a link to a class for “Cold Calling Success!” I don’t open it. Cold calling is the most painful process I can imagine and I just won’t do it. Do you? Tell me why it works for you.

Read more…

That’s a question not a statement. Here’s what I think, but I’d love to hear your perspective in the comments.

Any good sales or PR person will tell you, what they do all about the relationships. You build solid relationships and that equals respect and trust which leads to referrals. Whether those referrals are for sales or knowledge gathering depends on the situation. If they do cold call it’s only the first step in building the relationship.

When was the last time you asked a cold caller for their opinion or a reference? Never?

When was the last time you asked someone in your personal network (online or off) for advice? In the last hour? Day?

When you have a conversation with someone about something you are passionate about–whether it’s sports, business or your kids–it creates an affinity with that person. When you ask them about a subject they are passionate about, you tell them you actually care what they think and you respect their opinion. Even if you don’t agree with it. A few of these conversations adds up to a relationship. With social media networks you have a world of opportunities to reach out and create relationships with people who actually want to talk with you. They share their interests freely, allowing you entrée to that first conversation quite easily. Touch someone once and they might notice you. Touch them 10 times with real questions and information and you’re top of mind. At least for that moment.

When I coach a client about social media I build my relationship with them so I can understand where they are coming from, and this takes a lot more than “fill in this questionnaire, here’s your social media strategy”. Ask any of my clients and they’ll tell you that not only am I passionate about my business, I’m passionate about theirs too. That’s how my extended network of relationships works to bring me over 90% of my business. I rarely advertise, and only then for special programs, webinars or classes.

People develop relationships with me on Twitter, Facebook, Quora, LinkedIn, my blog and slew of other places before we talk on the phone or meet in person, and we develop trust. Then we do business.

So when somebody sends me a link to a class for “Cold Calling Success!” I don’t open it. Cold calling is the most painful process I can imagine and I just won’t do it. Do you? Tell me why it works for you.

Read more…

That’s a question not a statement. Here’s what I think, but I’d love to hear your perspective in the comments.

Any good sales or PR person will tell you, what they do all about the relationships. You build solid relationships and that equals respect and trust which leads to referrals. Whether those referrals are for sales or knowledge gathering depends on the situation. If they do cold call it’s only the first step in building the relationship.

When was the last time you asked a cold caller for their opinion or a reference? Never?

When was the last time you asked someone in your personal network (online or off) for advice? In the last hour? Day?

When you have a conversation with someone about something you are passionate about–whether it’s sports, business or your kids–it creates an affinity with that person. When you ask them about a subject they are passionate about, you tell them you actually care what they think and you respect their opinion. Even if you don’t agree with it. A few of these conversations adds up to a relationship. With social media networks you have a world of opportunities to reach out and create relationships with people who actually want to talk with you. They share their interests freely, allowing you entrée to that first conversation quite easily. Touch someone once and they might notice you. Touch them 10 times with real questions and information and you’re top of mind. At least for that moment.

When I coach a client about social media I build my relationship with them so I can understand where they are coming from, and this takes a lot more than “fill in this questionnaire, here’s your social media strategy”. Ask any of my clients and they’ll tell you that not only am I passionate about my business, I’m passionate about theirs too. That’s how my extended network of relationships works to bring me over 90% of my business. I rarely advertise, and only then for special programs, webinars or classes.

People develop relationships with me on Twitter, Facebook, Quora, LinkedIn, my blog and slew of other places before we talk on the phone or meet in person, and we develop trust. Then we do business.

So when somebody sends me a link to a class for “Cold Calling Success!” I don’t open it. Cold calling is the most painful process I can imagine and I just won’t do it. Do you? Tell me why it works for you.

Read more…