We may be bringing troops home but there are still plenty of brave men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan in the US military. Let’s use the power of social media to do some good today.  Here is a list of items they could use. My friend Scott is over there in intelligence – he will share with the rest.

Fill a USPS Medium Flat Rate Box with some of the items listed and use the address below.  Yes, you will have to go to the post office, stand in line to get this done and pay for the postage (they do discount to APO addresses.) However, you are not in a tent in the heat and sand nor are you in a Humvee driving across land mines with people shooting at you. So, no whining allowed. Stand in line, pay the money and know that Scott and company are over there doing the dirty work for us over here.

Jerky
Trail mix
Energy bars/Protein bars
Hard candy
Tuna packs
Salmon packs
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Deodorant –Right Guard Gel
Shaving Cream-Edge
Razors- For Mach 3
Lotion
Shampoo
Body soap
Wash cloths/puffs
Lip Balm
Face wash-Neutrogena
Baby wipes
Q-tips
Sunscreen
Playing cards
Card games
Magazines- men’s health, Maxium, car magazines, hunting, fishing, etc
USA Today newspapers
Greeting cards to send home to loved ones

Remember it needs to be mailed Priority mail to:

Scott Nell
UNIT 931003/TFTPT
APO-AE 09391

thanks. Let’s show Scott what the power of Steeleworkers can actually accomplish!

As an author and a speaker, I am often called upon to talk about networking — like there’s a big secret to how it’s done.  It’s actually quite simple.  Networking is not about getting out and meeting people. Networking is about what you do after you meet people, the follow-through and keeping in touch.

Speaker, author and Help A Reporter creator Peter Shankman likes to tell the story of Paramount Pictures executive Barry Diller. Barry used to go through his Rolodex every day and call 10 different filmmakers and others, just to touch base and find out what they were working on and how they were doing. These filmmakers and others often thought of Barry first when they had a hot project. Many credit the huge success of Paramount Pictures during this time to Barry’s daily calls.

You may not be Barry Diller, but there is no reason you can’t do the same thing he did. Successful relationships, business or personal, take time and nurturing.

Here are just a few things that should be a part of your networking repertoire:

• Write a personal note after an in-person meeting – either to say thank you or a simple, “It was nice to meet you (or see you).” An email is fine, but a handwritten note stands out more.
• On Facebook? Check each morning to see who is having a birthday and leave a message on their wall or actually make a personal call.
• See an article or blog post that makes you think of someone? Copy the URL and send it to that person with a note: “This made me think of you.” We ALL like to know others are thinking about us.
• ALWAYS write a thank-you   note when anyone does something nice for you – an introduction, a client lead, free tickets to something, a meal, whatever.  If you are doing things right, you should be writing at least five thank-you notes a week — if not more.
• Did you talk about a specific thing or information the other person needed that you had?  Follow through with that promised information or item within 48 hours, even if it’s just to say you are still gathering the information.
• Go through your network – your address book, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter – and touch base with several people each day. This keeps you top of mind just like the aforementioned Mr. Diller.

Here’s a recent example of how I work.  Earlier this week, a local food critic invited me to join her at one of Houston’s newest restaurants.  Management wined and dined us thoroughly. (It’s always nice to go to a restaurant with a food critic).  I followed up with a thank-you note and a copy of my book to the restaurant manager. The food critic and I had talked about my husband’s new novel, so she got a thank-you note and a copy of the book, Specific Impulse.  I posted the pictures of the food and information on the new restaurant on Facebook, with links to the establishment and the chef.  Not to mention, I’ll be back – the food was amazing!

Networking is not for sissies. It takes work and it takes work on a regular, daily basis. Who have you networked with today?

*Originally posted on The Vollmer Voice from Vollmer Public Relations.

How do I get a record deal, how do I get into the music business, how do I get a radio station to play my songs? I am always surprised how often I am still asked those questions, even though I have been out of music radio and the music business since my 14 year old son was born. Yet, I still get the question almost weekly from friends, neighbors, on my Facebook page, etc.

Here’s the answer I gave an aspiring rapper (how do these people find me) yesterday:

• Take advantage of social media – Facebook and Twitter – and make it easy for fans sign on to follow you
• Post the song occasionally and other songs
• Create a website
• Do a hot or funny video for YouTube
• Create a t-shirt and sell it on Cafe Press
• Use every method you can to get your music and name out there
• If the stuff is good, it will start to spread and the record companies will take notice
• Always better if the record companies and radio stations come to you!
• Work it every day
• Network, 24/7, what can you do for them?

Tony Shelton, crisis communication expert and good friend, sums it up best with his three questions he always asks clients:

• What do you want?
• Who can give it to you?
• And most important of all, why should they?

Whether you want to be a rap star or a business star, it all works the same.

Gene Simmons of KISS was asked a few years ago what was the one thing he attributed his success to?  He said, without hesitation,  ”I read everything I can get my hands on.”

I loved that answer.  I am who I am and I do what I do because I read and I’ve never stopped learning.

Early on, I devoured the entire Nancy Drew series.  From that, I believe I learned to research and solve.

A friend of my grandmother’s, Mrs. DePhillipi, traveled the world and brought me several books.  From those books, I traveled the world without ever leaving 6738 Hendon in Houston, Texas.

In high school, because I actually read the curriculum requirements, I figured out I could graduate early and head off to college at 16.  In my teens, I had a college ID, an apartment and a boyfriend in a band.  Because I read, life was good.

In college, I discovered my passion for radio.  And, I’ve always said that I really didn’t play Stairway to Heaven or Freebird any different than anyone else and I gave the same weather forecast.  What I did do that was different was read and continue to learn.  And because I read, I always had something to talk about.  I also recognized opportunities to grow my name which was my “brand”.  I was successful in Houston radio for over 20 years. Because I read, I was paid (handsomely) to play music and hang out. I read the industry trade papers and learned how to network with the right people to succeed.

In the 90’s, I began to read and learn about this new thing they called email and the Internet eventually starting my own e-commerce operation.  I sold The Space Store for a half a million dollars in 2000, the same month Newsweek declared the dot.com boom dead.  I apparently ‘didn’t get the memo.’

To this day, I read and continue to learn.  I wrote a book to pass on what I had already read and learned.  That created a successful motivational speaking career.

I began to read and learn about Social Media a couple of years ago.   I now get paid to hang out on Facebook and Twitter and teach others how to use social media.  This is a good job.

Ahh but, the times, to quote an old rock star, they are a changin’.

I still read and learn.  But differently.

I said I could never give up my newspaper and cup of coffee in the mornings.  The cup of coffee remains but the newspapers were replaced long ago by apps on my phone for CNN, the Houston Chronicle, AP Newswire, local TV and more.

Then I said I could never trade the feel of a real book in for a Kindle.  We now have two Kindles in the house and I may have to buy a third if no one learns to share.

The future?  Apparently I’m getting an iPad for Mother’s Day to put on the coffee table with all our favorite magazines, newspapers, photos and books loaded onto it.

All along the way, from Nancy Drew to the latest Apple gadget, I have continued to read and learn.

Reading has rocked my world.  Daily.

How about your world?

Read and rock on!

As most of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota celebrates the Minnesota Vikings victory last night; I am in my hotel room preparing to speak on the second day of a travel conference to a group of travel agents at the St. Paul River Centre.

To so many, a conference means endless hours of travel, crammed airplanes, confusing rental cars and GPS directions, sessions on things we already know and, let’s not forget, chicken and rice and/or beef tips and asparagus.

However, a conference should mean learning new things, meeting new people and opening many more doors to success.  Here are a few things you can do to take advantage of the conference experience and continue to build a stage for success in anything you do:

• Utilize social media and all it has to offer.  Prior to leaving for your conference, join Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  Get familiar with all three.  And find out if the conference has a Twitter hashtag associated with this particular event.  Learn what that means and how it works.  You don’t want to miss any chance to network in business.  You’ll also appear forward thinking instead of totally out of touch.
• Take plenty of business cards.  This is not the time to leave them at home or back in your hotel room.  And remember, don’t force that card on people but have it available if a connection is made with someone and both of you would like to keep in touch to share information.  Have that card readily available so you’re not digging in the “goodie bag,” through your purse or in your pockets.  Nice, neat business cards – nothing bent and crammed into a pocket.  *If you can have something a little different as a business card, all the better.  I use a guitar pick – definitely gets attention.  Peter Shankman uses a poker chip.  Houston clothing designer Bob Stover uses a card with pop-out collar stays.
• Traveling to the conference?  Take that time to pick up a magazine or newspaper at the newsstand while waiting for your flight or train – but pick up a periodical on something you know nothing about or could care less about.  For me that would be NASCAR.  No offense guys, but I just don’t get the whole car sport thing.  However, NASCAR does brand better than any business, anywhere, hands down.  I picked up some great marketing ideas from a NASCAR publication.  Reading something you don’t know anything about opens up your mind in new ways and will make you more open to new ideas and ways of doing things.
• Sign up for at least one session that is totally out of your field, which has nothing to do with your expertise.  You just may find a new expertise to add to your resume.  Never stop learning.  Never stop trying new things.  This is the place to do it.  You are here, you have the time and the experts are here with the information.
• Sit with strangers at lunch.  Don’t gravitate to the people you already know.  This is not high school, this is an excellent opportunity to meet and network with others in your field of business and form new relationships.  And, by the way, relationships are EVERYTHING.
• This is not the time to be shy.  During sessions, in the hall, at lunch, at the cocktail party.  Again, relationships are everything.  You are here to learn AND to network.  As someone once told me, “you’ll never get a date sitting on the couch at home.”  Or in your hotel room watching Friends reruns.
• Do your homework and find out as much as you can about the conference before and during the event.  Look over the event website before you go and read everything in the conference giveaway bag when you get there.  Most of it you probably already know and really don’t need, but you won’t know that until you look at all of it.  Familiarize yourself with who is at the conference, the facilitators and speakers, and all the sessions.  Something just may catch your eye.  The worst thing you can do is wait to read it all when you get back on the plane and realize you missed a great opportunity to see a speaker or attend a session.
• Last but not least, don’t forget the follow-up.  Take those cards you have gathered and send a brief note saying “it was nice to meet you” and “hope we can work together in the future” or, even better, “let me know if there is anything I can do for you in the future.”  Emails, a Facebook post, a tweet on Twitter, a message on LinkedIn – all are good ways to follow-up.  The best way though?  A handwritten note.  That will make the biggest impression.

Despite the travel hassles and the same food across the country at the lunch and/or dinner, a conference is still one of the best ways to keep up with your industry, network with like-minded individuals and form relationships and, open your mind to new ideas and new ways of doing things.  You are away from home and loved ones.  Make it worth the sacrifice and make that stage for success even more secure!

Tweet?  Friend? Recommend?

Twitter? Facebook? LinkedIn?

As social media has become a regular part of my day, networking with business associates for more speeches and appearances as well as discovering what my friends’ latest antics are, I wonder if it is really worth the time sink it has become.  Or the ‘time vampire’ as Charlie the Wonder Husband refers to it.

The answer?  Yes!

As a news junkie, I am able to keep up with breaking news and interesting stories on Twitter as well as make professional connections with other speakers and meeting planners.

On Facebook, I can connect with friends and former KLOL fans and let them know I am now a professional motivational business speaker, traveling the country to help others “Find Your Inner Rock Star.”

And LinkedIn?  Well, that was the one I was ready to drop, just for the sake of time.  Before I hit the delete button, I thought I would ask my social network what they thought.  Last Thursday I tweeted “Reasons to stay on LinkedIn?”  Answers poured in on both Twitter and Facebook.  The consensus?  Split right down the middle:

• I’ve reconnected with some very important professional contacts over linked in. You never know who you will find! I don’t do anything social over there, but I do keep my resume up!
• None I can think of other than it is just one more way to connect but at some point the connections overwhelm and complicate more than they help
• It’s all about the groups. There is a great book publishing professionals group.
• I haven’t found any reason yet for LinkedIn. All the connections I have already know me and my business. I take my FB seriously as a business tool and use it for that; I’ve made many more connections and referrals both in and out from here.
• LinkedIn is too boring for me!
• Linkedin’s entire thing is professional networking vs. social networking, and although you can certainly do some of the former on FB, I don’t know too many people who post their resumes or have the ability to search by keywords in resumes or have professional recommends on FB. I’m in my current position because a recruiter saw my profile on Linkedin
• I use it to keep up with where my peeps are working since the economy tanked. There’s been lots of movement and this is the best way I know to stay on top of the career side. Other than that…nada.
• Too many to count! Many more contacts, easier search and even by job title. Events search in your area or others. Love Linkedin
• Not unless you’re a recruiter or involved in recruiting
• LinkedIn’s most valuable feature for me is the discussion groups. I do wish that they didn’t attract so many spammers, though.
• ‘cuz there is no cost…and ya never know.

Not two hours after I considered ending my relationship with LinkedIn, I got a call from a friend’s sister.  I had not talked to or communicated with this woman in a couple for years.  Seems her company was working a huge government project and they were looking for a PR firm with specific requirements and capabilities.  She looked me up on LinkedIn and saw my affiliations in my profile including the fact that I work as a consultant with a large PR firm in the Southwest.  She called, I could confirm this PR firm met the requirements they were looking for and made the connection.  All because I had my professional affiliations listed and spelled out on LinkedIn.

So, yes, I will stay on LinkedIn for now.  Social media is time consuming but so was email and American Idol at first.  I have just had to learn to balance it all and still get the job done.  And an important part of that job is maintaining relationships.

Relationships are everything and all three – Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn – give me the ability to keep up with those I know, meet new people and keep up with the world.  Nothing will ever beat good old-fashioned, face-to-face meetings and personal phone calls, but none of us have the time to meet and talk that much.  Social media keeps me, well, social.

So, follow me on Twitter and I’ll follow you.  Be my friend on Facebook and post interesting things.  (Remember, I don’t care if you eating yogurt or walking the dog.  That is not interesting or helpful.)  And, post your professional profile on LinkedIn “cuz ya never know.”

Oh and by the way, be sure to Digg this from the share bar below.  You don’t Digg?  Well, it is another thing to add to your list….

We’ve got a week of school under our belts and everyone seems to be reasonably happy with teachers, classes and the homework schedule.  It is interesting to me to see which schools/principals/teachers are utilizing email and social media and which ones still aren’t sure how to turn a computer on.  When you think about it, that’s really kind of scary that these are the people in charge of educating our kids.

It is hard to complain though when the thought of home schooling can send me running for cover in a closet.  So, “Dear School Administrators” don’t think of this as a complaint but rather as free consulting and advice that executives and corporations usually pay me large amounts of money for – here is a list of classes administrators should consider adding  to curriculums everywhere:

• Proper Writing This is so much more important than ‘teaching to the test” every year.  High school seniors and college students are quickly losing the ability to write, spell and use punctuation properly.  These skills effect how others, including employers, think of you.  LOL ain’t gonna cut it dude.
• Finance Only spend what you have and credit cards are evil.  Don’t go into debt and learn to save your money and pay cash for things.  I highly recommend Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness as the text book for this class.  We all need to learn that instant gratification (i.e. “no money down”) is not a right.
• Ethics You know right from wrong.  The stories of Bernie Madoff, Enron and Stanford Financial would make good case studies for this class.  That along with a field trip to a federal prison would be a lovely lesson.
• Social Media This class would also be required for school district administrators and all teachers.  There has been a fundamental shift in the way we communicate all over the world.  You must know how it works and learn to utilize it in many forms.  It is how your students communicate.  Watch the Socialnomics video.  Most school districts are blocking teachers and employees from sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  Wake up!  You can’t control the information anymore.  Resistance is futile.  I highly recommend you hire @skydiver on Twitter to create the curriculum for this class.  And you definitely can’t control him….
• Charity Call it what you will but karma is a very powerful force in life and in business.  One of the most important things you can do is to do something for another without expecting anything in return.  That’s when it all comes back to you. That’s karma.  As a part of this class, each high school student would be required to spend at least one summer in an Outward Bound or other charity program helping others.
• Cell Phone Etiquette I don’t care what you did last night and who you did it with.  Or where.  Or when you plan to do it again.  In addition, when you are driving, I’d just as soon you put that mobile phone in the trunk.  YouTube says this video is too graphic for anyone under 18.  I say make it required at least once a week in this class for anyone with a drivers license – student or teacher or parent.
• Discipline This would be a joint class between all age students and their parents.  Should either fail, both groups would be required to take the class together until an acceptable grade or level of discipline was achieved by all ages.
• Manners See Discipline.  Same applies.
• Networking Otherwise known as “Getting Along With Others 101.”  Students would learn to listen to what others were saying and actually pay attention to it.  They would also be taught not to send mass emails and pull out a business card everywhere they go.  The ultimate goal of this class would be to teach the importance of true relationships with other humans, whether personal or business.
• Current Events This class would be required prior to taking Networking.  You must know what is going on the world, in everything, in order to succeed.  And when you have a clue what is going on in the world around you, it makes you a much more interesting person to be around and people will have a tendency to ‘network’ with you.  No one wants to hang out with a tree stump.

Just the mere thought of going back to school is enough to make me do my best to adhere to these principles each and every day.  And as for you school administrators who need some help turning on your computer, I can be reached at dayna@daynasteele.com or on Twitter @daynasteele.

Tom Scavo, one of the husband characters on Desperate Housewives, lost out on a job last Sunday night because he didn’t know what Twitter was in the interview.  A fiction show I know but a scene that is playing out more and more often across the country in real life and in real companies.

Executives in industries across the board, of all sizes large and small, are trying to hold on to their companies, keep employees on the payroll and take care of the few customers who remain.  Yet they find themselves falling behind because they haven’t kept up with the new media.  And even sadder?  Those that see what is happening and refuse to learn more and find ways to utilize this new way of doing things.

Whether it is Twitter, a fan page on Facebook or SEO optimized press releases – if you are not using any or all of these in your industry, pack your bags now and continue to bury your head in the sand.

However, there is good news.  It’s not too late to change your Tom Scavo ways.  There are companies and individuals who can consult with you and your staff (www.shankman.com), there are websites with a multitude of articles and experts (www.mashable.com), there are PR firms that can optimize your releases for the search engines and news wires (www.vollmerpr.com) and there are even speakers and trainers (yes like me www.daynasteele.com) who will come to your office or your luncheon and impart all we know to you and yours.

Don’t be a star of the new show surely coming soon to a screen near you – Desperate Corporate Executives.  Come confess the errors of your ways on Twitter to me @daynasteele.  I, along with many others, will take you by the hand and guide you into our world.  Gently.  I promise.

Social media took a lot of people by surprise as late as a week ago when Oprah learned to Twitter on her show.  Everywhere I go, more and more individuals and companies are asking me to explain social media (specifically Twitter and Facebook), show them how to set up an account and then discuss ways to best utilize any or all of the platforms.

This is just some of the information I give out along with stories of companies and industries that are best utilizing social media: 

1. Facebook has over 200 million users (Wikipedia) and Twitter passed the 19 million mark (CNN) after Oprah featured it on her show in April 2009. MySpace is also in the top three though quickly being overcome by the other two.

2. Social media moves faster than any news organization. The first tweet about US Airways Flight 1549 ditching in the Hudson River in New York City came 1 minute before the plane hit the water.

3. Major news organizations, such as CNN, have taken note and are now reporting breaking news from posts they receive on Twitter. The first reports of a plane down short of the runway in Amsterdam came from Twitter reports and pictures filed by locals who saw it happen.

4. Consumer companies are bypassing or supplementing traditional advertising with social media. Ford is launching its newest vehicle Fiesta, due late 2010, by inviting 100 people to live with the car for six months and tell the world about it through blogs, Twitter and Facebook. And, Ford will not edit their comments or observations.

5. Law enforcement has discovered the power of Twitter by immediately releasing suspect and location information following a crime. It is substantially faster than a release to the news media or a poster. And those following the agencies on Twitter then “re-tweet” the information, spreading it immediately throughout the community. In turn, locals are able to tweet real time information back to the agencies which gives law enforcement yet another tool in solving and perhaps preventing crimes.

6. Electric, cable and other utility companies are finding social media is a quicker way to communicate with customers during an emergency: find out what the problem is, where it is and fix it. Customers can give exact locations of downed lines and even send pictures and movies. All from a mobile phone.

7. Social media is becoming a regular customer service tool even when there is not an outage or emergency. It is faster than a traditional phone call or email – and gives the consumer more power in the situation. A customer can tweet the company about a problem or, if that doesn’t get an immediate response, let everyone in their social media network know about the problem, possibly finding a solution from others or at least getting the satisfaction of venting and letting others know the company has a problem with a product. Dell Computer recently changed the configuration of a keyboard on one of their product updates after so many customers complained about the issue on social media networks. Companies that are not monitoring their customers’ comments on social media networks will be left out in the cold.

8. Newscasters, producers, reporters, journalists, writers, bloggers – all are using social media to obtain sources and information. Though the traditional press release is still here to stay (for awhile), it is becoming less and less a source for immediate information. If you want to get the word out quickly, or your side of the story, you had better be prepared to use social media. It will be old news or too late to make your point in traditional ways.

9. The average person is now a reporter. All you need is a mobile phone. That phone allows them to communicate, post information, pictures and video in a matter of seconds. Even in a major power outage, you can still charge the phone in a car. Companies can no longer control the flow of information. That power is now in the hands of the public.

10. Social media is not a fad.  It is not going away.  It is not just for teenagers.  It will evolve and change daily.  Social media is here to stay.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  The stories and information goes on and on.  Here are a few folks to follow and a few sites to help you get started on your social media journey:

• Twitter – it’s free, watch the tutorial and start an account
• Facebook – again free, start an account, feel your way around and ask others to help
• Mashable – great articles and information on social media
• Peter Shankman – follow him on http://www.twitter.com/skydiver, a wealth of info and funny stuff as well
• And follow me on http://www.twitter.com/daynasteele, I’ll do my best to help you along

I think it is all best summed up by Deborah Micek and Warren Whitlock, authors of Twitter Revolution:  ”You can read all the stuff (or look at it) about sex all you like, but if you’ve never had it, you simply have no idea what it’s like.  You have to actually do it.”

Just do it.