Red Humpy

Click the image for a printable PDF

At a recent social media consultation/lunch with two clients who both have existing websites, we discussed how social media can tie into their individual endeavors. 

Both of the clients I met with are artists with small businesses and have attended my social media educational workshop, ‘Remember to REACH‘. The lunch meeting was a follow-up to the workshop to offer some one-on-one consulting and help them hone in on the social media tools like a blog, Facebook and Twitter that they are just beginning to use.

One of the artists is a sculptor whose wind harp designs are as technical as they are beautiful. He had no problem understanding the concept of using social media to create ties to his website hub. His wife, however, is a painter and was having a difficult time with my explanation of having her blog hosted alongside of her website hub while using social media sites to connect the pieces. Having your blog hosted on the same domain as your existing website will ensure that search engines give you full credit for all of the pages at both locations.

I noted the look of frustration on the painter’s face and realized she still wasn’t getting how the social media pieces worked together. I took a deep breath and looked up to try and get a visual that I could explain to her, rather than the words that her left brain was hearing but her right brain wasn’t comprehending. It was a sunny day and we were under a canvas umbrella with a wooden post. I contemplated how I could have her visualize her website and pointed up to the pieces of the umbrella.

The umbrella, spokes and how they are connected created a visual that worked for both artists, as well as for the writer who I showed it to the next day. I  hope this Social Media Umbrella will help you see how your website is the main piece of your online presence, but your other social media tools are the pieces that help turn your website into a larger structure. And keep in mind that your blog and all of the articles it contains is an important part of the structure that will make a difference in whether you can be found online.

Click on the image in this post for a PDF that you can print and refer to. Here are the three main pieces to the umbrella structure as it pertains to social media:

1. Your website is not just a static brochure. It is the hub of your entire online presence, and the goal of using social media sites like Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. is  to direct people to your website hub where your call-to-action will occur.

2. A Blog is a powerful social media tool that has two main purposes. Each time someone links or refers to a post you create, it will act as an incoming link to your website, meaning a higher ranking in search results. But the same post is also another page in your website that is indexed by the search engines, which gives you more chances to be found online. For this reason, it is important to keep your Blog as a part of your own website, rather than hosted elsewhere.

3. Social Media sites are the edges of your online reach. These sites allow people to interact with you, to ask questions, to comment, and to really see who you are. Your goal with these sites is not to sell, but to allow people to know you, which will entice them to your website hub.

The beauty of the Social Media Umbrella is that each piece complements the other to create the overall structure, and each piece is linked together to create a cohesive online presence. Your Blog links to each of the social media sites, and they link back to your website, which links to your Blog.

I’d love to hear your feedback on the Social Media Umbrella!

“The people that come up with stuff that’s remarkable more often than not figure out how to put design to work for them.”
-Seth Godin, speaking at a 2003 TED conference)

Stefan Sagmeister’s 2001  book “Made You Look” offers numerous examples of ways the German designer uses interesting art and creative techniques to make his clients’ work stand out from the crowd. The book itself is a unique piece of art. Slide the book out of the red plastic sleeve and the pleasant German Shephard pictured on the cover shows a fierce set of teeth. Fan the edge of the pages opposite the spine in one direction and the solid silver turns into MADE YOU LOOK. Fan the pages the other way and dog bones appear. The book makes for an interesting conversation piece and I bring it along to each of my social media presentations for my audience to browse through and hopefully be inspired by.

In the 2003 Seth Godin video, his message is to stand out from the crowd if you want to get noticed because people are good at tuning out the ordinary. Even with a great idea, if you can’t find a way to market it, you may have a hard time finding success. A field of cows is no big deal, but make one of the cows purple and you suddenly have something that people want to look at.

“What we are living in,” says Godin “is a century of idea diffusion. People that can spread ideas, regardless of what those ideas are, win.” Godin explains how the idea of sliced bread was around for 15 years before a brand named Wonder marketed it in a unique way and figured out how to get the idea to spread.

Godin goes on to say, “In a world where we have too many choices and too little time, the obvious thing to do is to just ignore stuff.” Sagmeister’s goal of using unique design to make his clients stand out and get looked at is aligned with Godin’s recommendation to be different and find unique ways to get your ideas noticed. To do that, find the people or groups that care about what it is you have to say, have conversations with them and make it easy for them to tell their friends.

Godin’s words were spoken well before social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were mainstays on millions of computers, and Sagmeister’s intention to make people look was not formulated for an online audience. But their ideas are relevant to social media marketing today, and finding your audience using online tools can make a huge difference in whether your business will get noticed, or get lost with the rest. “The riskiest thing you can do now is be safe,” concludes Godin.

Marketing to people in a niche who care, rather than a blanket marketing campaign to the average public that is good at ignoring the ordinary, is a smart strategy. Taking the time to search message boards, group postings, and blog articles to see where your audience is can help you pinpoint the people who will listen to what you have to say about your product or service.  The social media tools that are available today make online communication and interaction with your target audience an easy possibility.

Don’t be a part of the ordinary crowd that gets tuned out. Be original and unique in your online relationships, find your niche, and get creative at spreading your brilliant ideas. I’d love to hear your comments or ways you’ve used social media to stand out!

crows in a winter willow tree

The trees in Pagosa Springs are much different in the winter than in summer.

This willow tree on South 8th Street hangs with long, graceful, green boughs in the summer. I took this shot in the winter with my moon roof open. The empty branches against the grey sky showed off the crow silouhettes.

I used color to highlight the unique content of this gumball machine, as well as the Picasso book on the shelf.

On spring break in early April, I was in Pahrump, Nevada, which is about an hour from Las Vegas. My sister invited the family to attend the First Friday art show that she had heard of. She and her husband, Martin Motnik, are musicians and were interested in seeing who was playing at the event.

The show we attended took place on April 2 and featured galleries that stayed open late, street vendors, live music on the street, in galleries and on rooftops, and a creative atmosphere that cost nothing to attend. The event was fitting for kids and adults, and offered a variety of different art and music that is worth going back for.