Web Worker Daily

We’ve all heard the horror stories of difficult clients. Anyone offering client services has been there.

No company can function effectively when confronted with clients who operate from a place of fear — which is often at the root of most difficult clients you encounter. You can’t do your job well or be recognized for a job well done when your client contact is inadvertently — or deliberately — standing in your way. Read the rest of this entry »

If you don’t have a professional blog or web site, you may think that you don’t need to worry about content strategy. Think again. Celine gave some great advice in her article “How to Develop a Content Strategy for Your Professional Blog,” but these days our blogs and web sites aren’t the only windows to our professional souls. If you use social media platforms for professional purposes, you should consider having a content strategy for the material you publish on them as well. Read the rest of this entry »

A good bio shares your experience, builds your credibility, makes a first impression and displays your personality. Having a great Twitter bio is important as it can make or break a person’s decision whether to follow you or not.

Not only do you need to pay attention to what your bio says about you, but also the other fields in your profile including “Web” and “Location.” The Twitter bio may be small, but it’s powerful. Here is a checklist to ensure you your bio passes muster.

Does your bio include relevant keywords? Do you want people to find you by your career, company, industry, location? Why are you using Twitter? Who are the people you want to connect with? Use these to figure out what keywords to use. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, I watched my Twitter stream transform into a spirited conversation, complete with hurt feelings, wounded pride, and genuine attempts to put forward logical and eloquent arguments. Online friendships were torn asunder, and strong new allegiances formed. The culprit was a deceptively simple question: What makes someone a social media expert?

The question seems to have arisen because a certain print and online publication hired someone to fill that particular role, and another party felt the chosen person’s follower count was insufficient for the task. Implying, you see, that someone’s Twitter follower count is an important (if not the sole) indicator of social media success, and therefore a strong contributor to achieving “expert” status in that particular field. Read the rest of this entry »

When I heard that the folks at Pressitt in the UK had launched the beta of their social media news release tool, I decided to check it out.

Pressitt says the site’s focus is on providing journalists and bloggers with a primary research tool for stories. PR types can upload releases into the system that should then be available to these journalists and bloggers. Read the rest of this entry »

Although many businesses know how to use social media to connect with others and build relationships, plenty still struggle to see how social media will benefit them, especially business-to-business companies. In this “Tips from the Trenches” post, some experts reveal how they incorporate social media in their businesses.

@briansolis — Brian Solis

“We tend to dive in to social networks based on either an ‘aha’ or ‘uh oh’ moment without really thinking through ‘why’ we’re supposed to be on social networks in the first place. It’s usually the same template. Get a Facebook fan page. Set up an account on Twitter. Listen to the conversations. Engage! Read the rest of this entry »

Social media is becoming a must-use tool for marketing businesses of all types and sizes. Next month, well-known social media marketing consultants Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo will be publishing their comprehensive guide to social media marketing, “Friends with Benefits.” The title, while sounding gimmicky, is actually a very apt one that summarizes neatly the world that awaits in social media for companies who use the medium properly.

The guidance offered in “Friends with Benefits” is clearly tailored towards large businesses. There are repeated references to structures such as your company’s legal department, “marketing VP”, company intranet, IT department, and communications department. Bootstrapping small business owners (who are most likely to need a “self-help” book like this) may feel a little left out of the practical aspects of the advice offered here, although most of the general concepts apply to all companies, no matter what the business size. Read the rest of this entry »

Watching Chris Brogan of New Marketing Labs on stage for the first time at Izeafest 2009 made me pause.

“Is this a conference about blogging, or have I been transported to a comedy club on ‘Best of Improv Night’?” I thought to myself.

Even when “trying not to be funny,” Brogan was hilarious, provocative and a little bit profane. Trying to distill his advice in between bon mots can be a challenge, until you realize that the best advice he gives — the meatiest points he makes — are the one-liners and quips. Read the rest of this entry »