Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen many articles written about both Social Media and SEO. It’s good to finally see that others are talking about the importance of these two topics.

If you are a sports fan in the NY area or anywhere else for that matter, you’ve probably heard that Carmelo Anthony and almost the entire Denver team got traded to the Knicks and vice versa. So, I thought it would be fun to compare my observations regarding Denver and New York’s trade process with how Social Media / SEO are somewhat similar.

Carmelo Anthony - New York Knicks (from Bleacher.com)

My Top 5 Thoughts:

1. Research all your options (competitors). Through social media, you may come up with more keywords, products, etc., then you thought of before.

2. Review what your opponents are doing around you. Using social media tools, as well as many that Google provides, analytics and more, you can learn more about your business and industry then you ever thought you could.

3. Building a good team around you requires knowing your strengths and weaknesses. Website evaluation, keyword research, market and much more.

4. Be willing to add or subtract from your plan. For example, maybe trying to use all social media pieces is too much or not enough, depending on how much time you have in the time devoted to social media and internet marketing, others on your team that can help and more.

5. Patience. It’s a virtue, but just like the trade process with Carmelo, some things take longer then planned. If you are re-designing your website, meeting with a social media and Internet Marketing expert may help you figure out ways to best optimize your website. Take the time in this process because it’s the most important time spent.

In your opinion, do professional sports teams understand how to use social media?

Over the past few weeks I have been doing some research on professional sports teams, primarily the NFL. Like this article stated, “Social Media in the NFL” , I fully agree that teams understand and use Facebook very well. On the other hand it seems as though they do not use or understand Twitter very well.

There are other pro teams that seem to understand and use Twitter, Facebook and other tools very well. I wonder why NFL teams do not understand how to use Twitter as well. What are your thoughts on this? I’d love to hear your opinions.

As some of you know, besides doing Internet Marketing, I am also an assistant coach for a local junior college here in upstate NY. This is actually my 5th season as a coach (seriously where’s the time go). You would think that there’re not any common things between the two, but you’d be surprised to find many similarities.

The one thing that we talk about as coaches is players that can play multiple positions. Another thing that we look for is players that can shoot and pass with both hands. This takes practice and time working each hand on a wall ball.

As a lacrosse coach, we try to help the kids understand “the bigger picture” and place the kids where they will succeed. The same goes for your social media strategy, figure out where your audience / clients are and then use those tools that fits them best. I have so many friends and/or clients that try to do them all and they get lost in what they’re trying to do. Focus on a plan first and then move forward. It’s so important, but missed by some many.

If you think about it, social media and internet marketing really go hand in hand. If you only know one thing, for example Facebook fan pages then you neglect other areas of your or your client’s business. I have talked to many clients over the past year about social media and many times I find out that they don’t have any type of website analytics to track their results. Other companies like to focus on Twitter or Facebook without thinking or looking into other websites as well (LinkedIN, company blog, etc etc). Continue working on your social media tools, just like the wall and your “weak” hand will only become much stronger and don’t forget to measure your performance (website analytics).

I asked this same question last year and I wanted to see if this has changed for you with the addition of the iPad and other devices. When you go on vacation, do you check your email and / or social media tools or do you take a break from these applications? For me, when I go on vacation, I like to get away from all my social media tools and email. I find I then feel more refreshed when I get back from vacation.

What are your thoughts? What do you do? Do you check your email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. or do you turn those off while you are away? I’d love to hear your opinion.

As I was sitting here watching the tape of one of our lacrosse competitors, it came to me that I love finding out what my client’s competitors are doing in the social media world. Are you doing the same thing?

I love comparing companies to see what they are doing via social media, like when I reviewed HomeDepot and Lowe’s last May. I think that is one of the best ways to learn what is working and what you can do differently. As we scout opponents in lacrosse, it is a way to learn what their doing well, what we can do to stop them and also find their weaknesses. You can do the same in social media by reviewing what your competitors are doing.

I just love the power of social media (if you weren’t able to tell before). While my wife and I were on vacation, I tweeted & posted updates on FB about what we were doing, where we were, etc. We received some helpful advice as to places to check out and much more. Instead of googling something I was able to post what we were doing or looking for and people within the area were able to tell us things to check out, go to and much more.

As social media matures, I see this being more and more important for companies to start using. Our good friends that we stay with are even becoming believers of the power of Twitter and the other apps. It’s great to see.

Have you had a similar experience? Let us hear about it here.

I hear it all the time and sometimes I even catch myself saying it… there are so many networking events going on that it is hard to get to all of them. I love using social media to grow relationships. You are able to find out more about the person online and then meet up with them for coffee or lunch. You are able to find some common interests before you meet, so you don’t have to start talking about the weather.

Yes, I know you remember those days. I know I do. I love using social media to meet new people, but for me the only way to really build the relationship is by meeting in person or talking on the phone (based on where they are located). Over the past year, I have met some really great people located here in Rochester and throughout the country. Most of the time I meet them through one of the many social media tools I use and then meet them face to face (or phone) after. It is great to build the relationship this way.

For me and others I talk to, I find better value in having a one-on-one relationship vs. going to a networking event. I do go to a few per quarter, but I do not spend too much of my time going to these events. I have had better success getting business and meeting others through social media and then meeting after to further build the relationship.

Have you had the same luck? How has social media help you network better? I would love to hear your feedback!

As I get ready for Fall and look at how the year has progressed so far, I begin to feel re-energized and ready for what the remainder of the year will bring. I love the fall – the colors, the smell in the air, football, fall lacrosse and so much more. When I was in school, I always loved this time of year, the chance to meet new people, learn new things, etc.

Fall is around the corner and I thought I would ask you, what do you love about this time of year? I live in Upstate NY and the one thing that stands out for us is the fall colors and of course, all of the wineries (and wine tours).

I am really excited about the growth of social media. Many companies, new clients, friends and family continue to ask me about social media and how they can use it for their business. I am not only excited what this means for my own business, but also the advancement of social media with companies here in NY and across the country. As the fall gets closer, I am excited by what it brings and all of the new projects I will be working on.

So, tell us what your favorite thing about the fall is – the colors, the smells, kids going back to school, maybe you’re going back to school to learn some new things, etc. Whatever it is, let us know.

As I reflect back on my vacation with my wife last week, the biggest thing that sticks out to me were the numerous service issues we had along with many others we met on the trip. It seems that not just during our vacation, but many times here in our home town we have had many “service related issues” or have heard about them from family and friends.

I remember my first part time job (I’d like to think it was only a few years ago, but realize it was much longer ). Service was a huge part of my job and not only did I try to help every customer that came through the door, I’d like to think I did a good job at it. During our vacation in Jamaica (Sandals – Negril), we had a few specular people that went well beyond their call of duty and they will stick out in our minds as truly awesome people. You could see they loved their jobs and meeting new people; always going beyond what they needed to do to help their guests. Truly awesome people.

It amazed me the stories of others that we met sitting in the airport waiting to come home on the horrible service they had at other resorts around Jamaica including Sandals Negril. One friend said, he simply asked for a towel so he could jump in the pool and was told that they had none and he should use his room towels. There were many differences from our first stay in Jamaica last year (Sandals – Dunn River) to our stay now at Sandals Negril. Service was a huge one. All the staff at Dunn’s River went beyond the call of duty, but only a few did that at Negril. At Dunn’s River, you could tell they all loved their jobs, maybe it came from upper management, maybe their just happy to have a job (unemployment is extremely high in Jamaica) or whatever the case may be, it just got me thinking.

I won’t go much more into our vacation, as it was not the best we have ever had, but it did get me thinking about other service issues that we have had here in our home town over the last few months. Not just us, but many of our other friends and family as well. Is it just me, or have you noticed that the quality of service has been going down over the past few years? Many times over it feels like people working at the service type jobs don’t even want to be at their jobs. It amazes me.

I hope as social media evolves that many more organizations will start using social media to help with their quality of service. I had some great discussions about social media while on vacation and over the past few months. Some people I met have never even heard about social media and don’t know how they could use it to improve their service for their own companies.

Do you think social media will help improve company’s service over time? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Many people spend a ton of their day on the big three social media applications. I was the same way when I first started using Twitter and Facebook.  I would let the day slip away without even knowing where it went. As I gained more experience in the social media world, I have learned to budget my time much better. I try to only spend a certain amount of time on each of the big three per day.

As I wrote about a few weeks ago, I spend a majority of my time on LinkedIn, then Twitter and finally Facebook. I have talked with a number of other people in the past few weeks and many have good solutions for limiting their time on social media websites.

Top 3 solutions for budgeting time on social media websites:

1. Have a plan:  What are your to do’s for the day? Fit in your social media tools as a break, only after you accomplish the major tasks for the day. This has always worked well for me. Complete a major task and reward yourself!

2. Set a certain time for each tool:  I like using LinkedIn first thing in the morning and then again later in the afternoon. I really feel energized by networking first thing in the morning and then later in the afternoon to keep me going. I mix in Twitter throughout the day, but I do not spend more then 15 to 20 minutes per session.  I usually save Facebook for the end of the day or later at night.

3. Use an application:  I like Cool Timer as suggested by my friend Laurie (@laurie_stewart). It will really help you to see how much time your spending on social media tools. I have had friends that thought they only spent a few minutes on the sites and come to find out they were spending more then half their day on them.  Many people say that after using the Cool Timer application they have become much more productive as they have a better sense on how much time then spend on each site.

Those are my top 3 suggestions for having a better, more productive time using social media tools. Do have any suggestions that work well for you? Have you found something that works well for you? Please post them on here. We’d love to hear your feedback.

As I get closer to my vacation, it will be interesting for me to find out how much I will miss the social media tools over the break. We are going to Jamaica and internet access is about $20 a day, so it will be good for me to take a break and stay away. I’m pretty sure after the first or second day I’ll be fine, but I may have the shakes for the first few hours away. I’ll let you know how I did when we get back.