Social Media School

Buzzle and the team for Local Man in a Van have come together to sponsor and organise an event to help people get the most out of social media!

Social Media School will  commence on Saturday the 10th October, and running from 9-11am every Saturday until October 31st, Social Media School will provide answers on;

• What is social media
• Why is social media important
• Case studies of social media success

Along with providing an overview of the key social media tools, all ’students’ will be shown how to register, and get the most out of social media tools such as;

• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• YouTube, and
• Posterous

The cost for the 4 week course is $395 – and this includes all course materials and instruction.

Register here and come along or tell your friends about our course they can come along and learn and have some fun!

Tags:Facebook, LinkedIn, posterous, Social Media, twitter, YouTube
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Is Twitter just a Fad?

We hear this a lot lately…that social media and Twitter are just a fad!

It was MySpace, LinkedIn, and then Facebook, and now Twitter is just the new thing on the block.

What do you think?

We have been using twitter for some time now, and have amassed quite a following.  We have used it to source new business, seek skills, and share news on events like JobCAMP and our workshops.

Something that needs to be understood is that there are over 2,000 different social networking tools, and new ones starting every day.  

But central to every one of these tools is the fact that ‘people like to connect!’  

People wanting to connect is NOT a FAD!

Our good friend Iggy Pintado recently published his book The Connection Generation which is an excellent overview of the importance and relevance of connection…and how tools like Twitter are making it easier to ‘connect’ and genuinely get to know other people!

So why is connection so important?  A lot of this has to do with the increasing complexity of our lives, and we also believe it has plenty to do with people’s need to be recognised, acknowledged and heard!  With an increase in social media, the internet and the media in general, we have all become a little more ‘anonymous’ 

This anonymity has driven our basic need to stand out and to be heard…and connecting with other people and being listened to is what is driving social media and tools like Twitter and Facebook.

If you think Twitter is a fad, then maybe being anonymous, not listening to other people and becoming insignificant in a fast paced world is also a fad?

If we want to see the demise of social media and tools that connect one another, then we need to start connectng in other ways and listening to one another and taking the time to take an interest in others?

Now that sounds like a fad worth starting!

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Tags:buzzle, Facebook, iggy pintado, LinkedIn, luke harvey-palmer, Social Media, Social network, twitter
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Facebook is for Children!

Sam Mutimer is crazy, and we love her!

She is doing some great stuff in Melbourne with business owners and Social Media.  Most recently, she founded Tweet up Mellers – a twitter networking group in Melbourne.

One of the things Sam does real well is ask business owners for their views on Social Media, and how they use it for business.

Kirsty Wilson from Interim Business Solutions was one of Sammy’s recent victims; and she spoke with Sam all about how she uses Social Media and specifically Facebook.

Some interesting facts about Facebook (thanks again Sam for this!);

• More than 200 million active users
• The average age of its users is 36
• Average user has 120 friends
• More then 850 million photos are uploaded each month
• 70% of Facebook users are outside the USA
• More than 1 billion peices of content shred each week!

As a business owner – how can you afford not to be on a platform with such amazing growth and effect?

The secret to business is connection, and tools like Facebook definitely help you connect with more prospects, potential clients and friends with budgets!

If you are on facebook, think about how you can use it more in your business.  if you are not on facebook, why not?

Facebook is no longer for kids! 

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Tags:Facebook, luke harvey-palmer, Social Media, twitter
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We love a Challenge – beat this Oprah and Ashton!

Sarah Prout had a lightbulb moment!

“Following the Twitter frenzy Ashton Kutcher created on his quest to get to 1 million followers, I had a light-bulb moment. I’ve decided to try a crazy social media experiment but I’m going to need your help…”

I want to be the first ‘real’ person (meaning non-celebrity) to get to 1 million followers on Twitter.

What a great idea…but surely she did not think she would be taking this challenge on without competition…I mean if she is Oprah, she needs an Ashton to challenge her all the way!

So why would you follow me instead of Sarah Prout, Ashton Kutcher or Oprah Winfrey?

• I’m a business owner and father of 3 that LIKES Twitter makes GREAT people POPULAR.
• I believe in the power that Twitter (and most social media tools)  has to connect people and develop real relationships
• I think it would be super-cool to get to 1 million followers….before Sarah!
• Like Sarah, “I could represent the infinite possibilities of having a crazy idea that succeeds. Don’t you just love those kind of success stories (think Susan Boyle or Slumdog Millionaire… LOL)?”

HOW YOU CAN HELP… one man/woman CAN make a difference!

1. RETWEET this blog post on Twitter
2. Follow me 
3. Follow Sarah too
4. Tell your friends to follow me. http://www.twitter.com/lukefrombuzzle
5. Use the HASHTAG #goluke

At the following milestones, Buzzle will donate a gift to a charity or a cause chosen by you Tweeters out there!

• 10,000 followers
• 25,ooo followers
• 100,000 followers
• 500,000 followers
• 1 million followers!

We need all the help and we can get with this experiment!…it is time we proved that real people can be interesting too!

Now I have some catching up to day..Sarah is already at 10,000+ followers!

…Latest news is Sam Mutimer is also up for the challenge – this could become HUGE

(I am sure there will be plenty written about this little game, so stay tuned for updates)

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Tags:Ashton Kutcher, luke harvey-palmer, Oprah Winfrey, Social Media, Social network, twitter
Posted in In the Press | 2 Comments »

You MUST work with…

Chris Cairns over at Smartlife is starting a series on Personal Branding Consultants, and over the next few weeks will be writing about this very subject- and sharing some experiences of clients of these people.

He started this series by recognising the “50 Personal Branding Consultants Worth Working With”

Chris was kind enough to write the following about Luke and our work at Buzzle.

Luke Harvey-Palmer (website, blog)
Luke goes a step beyond helping clients develop their personal brand. He helps them manage their brands with an eye to the long-term. He provides in-depth information about social media and its uses for personal branding.

We look forward to reading this series from Chris, and one of our clients will hopefully be included in Chris’ case studies..

Tags:Brand, Personal Brand, Social Media
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You 2.0

Dan Schawbel has recently finished his book “Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success”

Given the title of the book, I wanted to explain what this means for YOU 2.0.

We have all heard of Web 2.0, and we all know the 2.0 stands for the 2nd version of the web right?  WRONG.  This is part of the story, but the interesting thing to know is that the 2.0 also means there are now 2 people in the conversation.  Web 1.0 was all about direct advertising, and pushing messages at you with little engagement or consultation.  As consumers, we now demand more than this, we want to be engaged, involved, listened to, and asked of our opinion.  Web 2.0 is all about the online tools that allow for this interaction – like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter and blogging!  Media now needs to engage others, and involve them in the conversation…if you doubt this, just spend a moment to reflect on Barack Obama’s recent successful Presidential Campaign!

So what does this mean for YOU 2.0?

Not only does the media need to reflect the values of Web 2.0, but so too does your personal brand!  Like any successful web 2.0 and Social Media campaign, you should be considering how your personal brand delivers on the four essential stages of the 2.0 world!

1.  LISTENING – what are your target audience talking about, and what are they demanding from your personal brand.  Do they need you to be available or knowledgeable or to simply respond when they ask a question…either way, you need to be listening to you target audience (this is difficult if you do not know who you target audience is!)

2.  TALKING – do you encourage conversation about your skills, talents, products or services..what are you selling?  How do you encourage this conversation.  Do you take 2 or 3 customers to lunch on a monthly basis, do you introduce your network to one another?  You know your personal brand is powerful when others do the selling for you!

3.  INVOLVING - when was the last time you asked a customer or prospect for feedback on your services and your brand attributes?  When was the last time you asked friends or colleagues to explain you in 3 words or less.  If you ask for this feedback, be sure to thank them for it, and then demonstrate how you have taken this feedback on board.

4.  SUPPORTING – you know your personal brand is super effective when your prospects and customers are now solving one another’s problems, and speaking to one another about your services in a positive light!

5.  ENGAGING – the final stage in the YOU 2.0 process is the engagement of your target audience in the process of product and strategy development.  Who developed your last product or service..your customers or you?

So, how are you going to start listening to your target audience?  Think about these 5 steps and how you can integrate them into you business or life.  You can be assured that by following these 5 steps, you will find your personal brand will engage others, and draw them to you.

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Tags:Barack Obama, Dan Schawbel, Facebook, LinkedIn, Social Media, Web 2.0
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