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The Happy Friday Series: Positively Peggy

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Peg-Fitzpatrick.jpgWhen I launched this series on Jan. 11, 2013 quite by happenstance, I had no idea where it would go, what it would become, or how I would write on happiness every Friday. I instinctively invited the very happiest person I know online and with whom I’ve never spoken or met, to kick off the first official guest post for the series.

She accepted my invitation with relish, and did me and us justice; The Happy Friday Series was official and rolling.

Every Friday since January, I’ve been jazzed with a cadre of #RockHot guest authors. People who have shared their most personal thoughts and feelings, and people who have shared their passions about what puts smiles in their hearts. The series hasn’t been off the hook giggles; it’s been about life and the pursuit of happiness. Sometimes we find that happy in odd ways, with one little bit of graciousness and generosity.

As the series has continued and my invitations to many to author here have become more sparse and peoples’ time has become less to commit, I’m turning the tables to you.

This series is taking a turn; it’s my turn to thank each and every one of you for your generosity of sharing and caring right here.

And, so, today, I thank Peg Fitzpatrick for her spirit and generosity for kicking off this series right here.

Peg, Positively Peggy, writes a blog that is always generous. She’s a teacher extraordinaire, she shares happiness for real with her community, and if you don’t follow her, you’re truly lacking.

Peggy is one of those sincerely genuine nurturers and givers. She puts herself last, she puts her community first.

She’s a managing partner at 12Most.com, she manages the Google+ community for APE, The Book by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch, she is on all social channels, and she’s writing her own book. If you link to that blog post of hers, you’ll get a positive sense of this woman’s creativity and how she teaches you with relentless giving.

May I say, she’s forever in smiles, too?

Please give Peggy a nod your way; she will imbue positivity and inspire creativity — promise.

Peg Fitzpatrick, thank your for your Happy Friday. You are #RockHot!

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7 Speaking Tips You Never Heard Before

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Jayme Soulati holds her new book prior to presenting at New South Digital Marketing Conference

When you build a solid brand via a book or writing a professional blog consistently for a long time, something really #RockHot™  happens.

You get invited to speak and present in front of really cool people. When you’re really accomplished you get to keynote, like Jay Baer who’s traveling the country talking about his new book, .

I have been speaking a lot in the last few years using a variety of mediums:

  • Podcasting with my dear friend and colleague Jon Buscall right , and about a variety of topics mainly small business marketing, my first book and social media leadership.
  • E-learning classes to the University of Tennessee Executive MBA Leadership class featuring a headset and microphone speaking to others on headsets in listen-only mode.
  • To tiny classrooms at local colleges to assist the adjunct professors who teach in their spare time for peanuts.
  • To groups of my peers in workshops and day conferences (where I recently presented on Savvier Social Media Across the Marketing Blend in Louisville right here).

7 Tips About Speaking to Consider

  • Find the Friendly. If you get an opportunity to meet folks in advance prior to your presentation and you can build a quick connection, invite them to sit toward the front of the room. You must zero in on a friendly face when you present. All speakers need a nod of encouragement or a grin at a lame joke to keep the pace and delivery going smoothly.
  • Embrace the Hecklers. Not only are hecklers fearsome for speakers, they are necessary and should sit right in the front row. The last two times I presented to larger crowds, a row of hecklers sat right in front and they laughed where they were supposed to, interjected a question or answer and listened intently. There were a few wise cracks, too; all in the name of support and positivity. (Want to know who the best hecklers are?and
  • Use One Liners to Advantage. Invariably, the audience will shoot something out in response to a speaker’s statement. If it’s someone who has been controlling every presentation, go ahead and shoot something snarky in return IF that’s the tone of your presentation. It can go both ways, so be confident you can pull it off as a presenter.
  • Go Off Script to Connect. Seasoned presenters know their decks by heart and often they talk on the same topic so the content has become second nature. Because many people travel to many conferences and they often get a chance to hear you present more than once, be sure to freshen your content with something new from the audience. That natural connectivity is so important to an audience; especially when you’re listening intently and reincorporating instant commentary into your presentation.
  • Listen to Others’ Presentations. Prior to your session, unless you’re on first, listen to what all the speakers are saying. Better yet, listen to the questions from the audience. You can insert these comments and subjects into your presentation at the last minute. It makes what you’re saying relevant and drills home a more personalized presentation.
  • Insert Tweets. Get the time of your presentation. Get the hashtag for the event. Write tweets and schedule them DURING your presentation so when the audience is ready to tweet something, they will be impressed that you already prepared tweets for them to retweet. (I did this for a recent presentation, and the tweets in response were complimentary.)
  • Put an Ad in the Deck. I invited Trackur to send me an advertisement for my presentation deck, and I built in a segue to that ad. There was a discount for this social media listening tool for attendees, and the ad remains in my deck posted on SlideShare. Smart, eh?

What say you?

The Happy Friday Series: Disasters And Blessings

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Amber-Lee-Dibble-Terry-Overly.jpg Happy Friday!

The Happy Friday series is the brainchild of one of the brainiest chick I know, the #RockHot Jayme Soulati. I have been here a time or two, as have many others and we all speak to you (and each other) through our writing about being happy. What it really means, why you can be, should be, how to do it, how to get it back and how to live everyday just plain happy.

Are you happy?

I am. Yes! Now, many people, those who know me best, might read this (yeah, like if I twisted their arms, shoved their faces in front of the screen and threatened to take away their birthdays….) and say, “Huh? Who? You?! Happy? Pshaw.”

But it is true. I am very happy. (Hey! It is the face I was born with, quit pickin’ on me!)

Let’s be very serious for a moment because I want to impress upon you how important this is to understand.

Burning-Plane.jpgThis is “Cubby”. It blew up sitting on the ground. Cubby has been an Icon in Alaska for almost 30 years. It is also thought to be the lifeblood of Pioneer Outfitters. It’s jobs and responsibilities were enormous. A hero, Cubby has saved lives, numerous times. It could (and did) land anywhere in the remote wilderness of Alaska. Many times, Cubby was called upon to find lost people, lost aircraft and even lost horses or dogs in Alaska’s mountains.

RIP, Cubby, September 16, 2013.

Back to happy.

You may wonder how all of this strengthens my thoughts on happiness. It is very simple, really. Cubby, as valued and treasured as it was, was still just an airplane. A very special, experimental aircraft, but an inanimate object, just the same. Master Guide Terry Overly, known as the youngest old-timer in Alaska, was Cubby’s heartbeat. Master Guide Terry Overly, one of the last old-timers and mountain men of a largely gone era. Terry Overly, the only Father I have ever known and my children’s beloved Papa, was not in Cubby when it exploded into the flames that devoured it.

That is and always will be enough to enforce and enhance my happy.

Some of you may know me as the Manager at Pioneer Outfitters. Some of you may know of me through Social Media and all the different channels that I have frequented over the last few years, dealing with my own identity crisis, through Alaska Chick’s Blog and my first book titled, ironically, My Identity Crisis (Which by the way, the #RockHot Jayme Soulati actually named and helped me cure!).DSC_6911

As Alaska Chick, of Pioneer Outfitters Blog, I have most recently been sharing the trials, tribulations, wonders, blessings and dramas of the 7-week long 2013 International Horseback Adventure. I have also begun sharing the effects of that Adventure has had on Pioneer Outfitters 2013 Fall Big Game Hunting Season, and as the weeks to follow will come to show ~ it aint all been rainbows and unicorns here in the wilderness of Alaska.

Through it all however, one thing remains constant and prevalent: the blessings that surround us all, if we care to see them. The kindness in people, everywhere, towards strangers and friends alike and their own willingness to help as they can, anyone at all, because that is what people do. The beautiful world we live in and the moments that leave us in awe to witness are a blessing that surrounds us all.

What Cubby reminded us all at Pioneer Outfitters of, on the morning of September 16th, was that no matter how valuable, how needed something is or was, was that it was just a thing, a tool and something that could be replaced. Master Guide Terry Overly, a son, a brother, a Father and a Grandfather was so much more to us than a thing, a tool and something that could never be replaced.

DSC_6950As so many people have lost loved ones, and so many times our hearts break for ourselves and others for their loss, I wanted to share my own joy and yes, happiness, with each of you here, for the reminder of how simple happiness is. When everything else is taken away we all, each other and each of us, are what matters.

I wanted to share my happy with you all and I hope you have happy in your life today too.

 

 

About The Author (by Jayme)Alaska-Chick-horse.jpg

Amber-Lee Dibble is one tough cookie and one of the most genuine wilderness women I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting. Reading her stories, listening to her free think in her blog posts, and her love of pink (my least fave color), make you want to squeeze her in a Midwest bear hug. Knowing that her excursions are more real than any of us can imagine makes me want to escape the continental U.S. and move to the outer reaches of Alaska where danger lies in frost bite and mosquito bites. Thanks, Amber-Lee for writing here a third time; you are welcome always. RIP Cubby and so sorry about your loss.

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Soulati Media On The Street With @GiniDietrich

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Inkybee-Screen-Shot-PR.jpgLook at whose blog is rated #1 among 60 in the world for PR from Inkybee? (And, ahem, this blog right here is ranked 29!)

Ms. Gini Dietrich of SpinSucks fame and CEO of ArmentDietrich claims that top spot and to no surprise of mine. Gini has been rockin’ PR and social marketing blogging for nigh on seven years; in fact, Spin Sucks just had a birthday!

I had the distinct pleazhure of seeing my twin, the Gin Blossom, in Louisville where that guy, Mr. Social Media Explorer himself Jason Falls, invited us both to present.

You can see  Gini’s presentation on SlideShare here, and  you can see Jayme Soulati’s presentation, Savvier Social Media Across the Marketing Blend, on SlideShare here.

I could not resist grabbing her for a few minutes for a Soulati Media On The Street, and it will be your pleasure to hear the giggles roll as we share in our ‘raderie.

Enjoy my BFF! Man, do I love being behind the cam…

 

Soulati Media On The Street With Gini Dietrich

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The Happy Friday Series: Be The Biggest Fan of Another

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Credit: Jayme Soulati

Happy Friday! This is an essay on how to weave business in to social communication.

  • What if rather than writing a blog entirely focused on you, and sharing links on your Facebook page directing fans to your blog.
  • What if rather than using Twitter as a platform to pontificate.
  • What if rather than using Instagram to share pictures of your product.
  • What if rather than spending the majority of your time on social media trying to figure out the best way to get people to pay attention to your business.
  • What if you turned everything around?

It is interesting to note that when you spend all your time talking about yourself and how wonderful you are, you are essentially telling people that you are your own biggest fan!

And, that is embarrassing.

No Cares About You

The truth is, no one cares about you or what you have to say about yourself in a business or marketing context.

If this sums up your social efforts to this point: Please stop. Just stop.

Unfortunately you are more likely to become one of those people who “gave social media a shot” but claims “it didn’t work for me” than to see any level of success.

Consider this:

  • What if you took every last minute you have been using to promote your business socially and instead you became another’s biggest fan? Just think about that for a minute… what would this look like for you?
  • What if you wrote a blog post that featured a local business professional who had a complimentary product to yours?
  • What if your Facebook wall, Twitter timeline and Instagram feeds were flooded with endorsements for quality local businesses?
  • What if at every opportunity you tried to make someone else look good instead of shamelessly promoting yourself?

from Soulati.com takes every Friday to feature a new blogger or contributor in something she calls “The Happy Friday Series.” The whole goal is to offer her platform to another in an attempt to broaden their social reach. What a great idea!

A Story From Personal Experience

I “joined the conversation” in 2010 and began my social media experience by listening to conversations on Twitter for months before engaging.

In that time, I identified 2 things:

  • The people I liked following the most were those who added value to my timeline. They engaged with other local people, they shared information and were generally just all around approachable people.
  • The people I really didn’t like were the people who spammed my timeline with self-promoting garbage.

My initial engagement strategy was to follow my city’s hashtag and engage with at least two new people each day.

Then it came, the tweet that would get me hooked on social media for business:

“Hey, I am new to #YQR, can anyone please recommend a place where I can buy Italian Syrups for my coffees #HELP!

As a man who is passionate about his coffee, I knew just the place.

“Absolutely, you have to go to Ambassador Coffee, the owner is a great guy, they will take good care of you”

I then sent along a Google map, followed her on twitter, she followed me and that was that. Two days later, she hits me with:

“Thanks so much for your help, I went to Ambassador, they were great, really appreciate it”

I replied with a “no problem” and out.

Now why is that exciting?

Well, as a mortgage broker, the DM I received 2 weeks later was social proof that being a nice guy actually makes for good business strategy.

“Hey, my husband and I aren’t ready to buy a house now, but when we are, can you help us arrange our mortgage”?

How do you like that? Never once did I mention mortgages or business or anything else sales-y. She obviously read my twitter bio or clicked through to my website from my profile.

Six months later, I closed their [substantial] mortgage simply because I answered a tweet and recommended a local business.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that there is no value in content marketing. Actually I believe wholeheartedly that content marketing is the future of business communication.

Further to that… if good business communication is all about “people should do business with people they know, like and trust”. Ask yourself:

How are people getting to know, like and trust me?

Before you start throwing your own content out there, what if you developed an audience that actually wanted to hear what you had to say?

What if your social business strategy was to become a trusted source of information on every local business EXCEPT your own?

About The Author

is the principal broker for in Saskatchewan, Canada and the executive editor of the Jackson has a passion for marketing and carries weight in the Canadian mortgage and real estate industry. Jackson is a serial entrepreneur who is always looking for better ways to do things. His twitter bio reads: @kiltedbroker – I am wearing a kilt right now. I have consumed coffee today. Family Man. Innovator.

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