2010 Schedule for Asheville Social Media School

Okay, so for a brief itinerary on the Free Asheville Social Media School; we are going to layout some plans for the next several months. It is more than just making a blog, or meeting new people. All of these things are somewhat important, but without connecting it all together and creating a balance; it will not prosper effectively. We are going to take Western North Carolina and AVL on a journey of what social media is all about.


Class #1 – February 25, 2010 from 5pm-7pm – Our first class in Asheville NC is going to be at the Downtown Market on 45 South French Broad Avenue 28801. We are expecting about 200 people to attend this first social media class. We are going to start with an introduction and some basic info. Some questions that will be answered will be… “What is Social Media?” – “Why is Social Media Important?” – “Who created Social Media?”

We are going to discuss the simple importance of creating and maintaining an email. Learn the difference between emails options and why one may be better than the other. We are going to talk about being sociable in Asheville North Carolina and beyond. How can you express your media if your social skills are limited? We are going to show you some easy integration to meet more people and learn more about them. This is not just necessary for business, but for your whole life in general. We are going to learn some of the “unspoken” rules of social media and how to learn them online and then improve your daily living using them also. We are going to learn about the many different social media platforms that are available, how they reach different crowds and how you can use them all to circulate your message to millions of people.

We are going to have 1 minute intros at the beginning of every class from several people. If you would like to say something about you and your business, please let us know. But only one minute to show you the importance of making your initial message short and sweet for this new media society. At this first class… PaleoSun will be joining us to talk about some basic information about websites, and the Asheville Citizen Times will discuss some of their moves into the social media world.

*Since we are doing this right after work, food and drinks will be available from the vendors at the Downtown Market for about $4 per plate. Simple and good!

Class #2 – March 23, 2010 from 5:00pm-7:30pm at the Garage At Biltmore 101 Fairview Rd Asheville NC 28803 – Learn Social Networking using Twitter and Facebook. Besides G Social Media, we are going to have some guest speakers including Trey Pennington from Greenville South Carolina and Social Village from Asheville discussing some very important social media information. We will also show you how to set up a Twitter and Facebook account and some great tips for you and your business. Drinks will be available during the meeting and a music and social time will follow our class at 7pm. RSVP on Facebook or by Email (Email is on my blog website)

Class #3 – April 23, 2010 from 5pm-7:30pm at Elaine's Piano at the Grove Park Inn 290 Macon Ave Asheville NC 28804 – Learn Social Media Marketing using Video platforms from G Social Media, Asheville Video Productions and Bourne Media. Video communications are very important in today’s society. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a short video is worth at least 10 thousand to the targeted viewer. We will also show you how to set up a YouTube account and some lessons when uploading videos.

Class #4 – May 10, 2010 from 5:30pm-7:30pm – Learn Blogging as a personal journal project, a community awareness platform and business blogging from AskAsheville, Ashvegas and BlogAsheville in Asheville North Carolina. You will learn how to set a blog up, a few tricks to get it presentable and optimized, and how to fill it with the proper content and wording for your specific niche. Creating a blog for your business (and doing it right) is a very important part of your social media circle.

***More classes are planned for the rest of the 2010 year, with shorter spans during the warmer months. We have a few outdoor activities and social media retreats planned as well. This is going to be too much fun!!

***If you have a venue or place that you would like us to consider for hosting a Free Asheville Social Media School event or if you have something that you would like to donate as a raffle item at our events; please contact us. If you think that you know someone or are someone that would fit in good with one of these school sessions; please let us know. Thank you.

A Quick Simple Overview of Twitter Tips & some How To

Sign In Page - Twitter.com: This is where you type your Username and Password to access your account.

Once you are logged in, you will see your home page. This is your “landing page”. There are 2 home buttons on your Twitter page. One on the top bar and one in the side bar. This is where you will see the updates of everyone you follow in real time. You can look and see the latest updates or “tweets” that the people you follow are posting. You may see some that say “less than 5 seconds ago”, “less than 10 seconds ago”, “half a minute ago”, etc. You will also see a top box where you can answer the question “What are you doing?” In this box, you can literally post exactly what you are doing, a new idea you have, a quote that inspired you, a new product your business is offering, some advice to others, your sales pitch, your self promotions, promote others, ask questions, make statements, and so so much more. You have 140 letters or characters to use including spaces so shorthand is commonly used. This is great because you technically learn what to say and how to say it in a really efficient way. Some call it “Green Communication”. You skip all of the bulk lettering and get right to the point. Awesome!

From this home page, you can see how many people you are following, how many people are following you, and how many updates you have posted by looking right below your photo or logo on the right of the page. Click on these links to see them. Underneath this line, you will see a promotion or clip of news that you may be interested in. Then you will see a link for @Replies or @YourTwitterName. This is where your Twitter account has been mentioned publicly or someone has sent you a public message. Pay big attention to these. When someone sends you an @Reply, they are publicly posting your Twitter name and link on their page. This is most of the time Good! You can send anyone an @Reply by simply putting the @ sign before their name, space and then message after it in the update box. Remember… this is public. Right below the @Reply link, you will see the link “Direct Messages”. Sometimes when you are following a bunch of people, this area gets crowded by Auto-Replies saying “Thank you”, “Check out my site”, etc. Once you stop following a lot of people, it becomes much easier to pay attention to Direct Messages.

You will also see a Twitter link on the right called “Favorites”. Next to anyone’s update, you can hover over to the right of the update and a star will appear for you to Favorite an update, and a Reply arrow will appear for you to publicly write back to them. Click on either one if needed. Click on “Favorites” at anytime to see some of the Updates you wanted to make sure you remembered to look at.

There is also a Twitter “Search Box” on the right where you can search for whatever you like. You can type in direct phrases, names, hashtags (#NameOfHashTag), etc. I just typed in “Friday” and it searches Twitter for people that mentioned Friday in their Tweets. Under this search box, you will see some “Trending Topics”. These are the most popular things that people are talking about on Twitter at the moment. Click on any of them to see what is going on with that topic.

There is a “Following” bar as well on the lower right where you can see the icons (logos or photo) of the people you are following. Lastly, on the bottom right is your personal RSS feed for your Twitter page. You can add this feed to your blog or anywhere else where you can insert an RSS feed.

Take a look at your top navigation bar. The second button on the top navigation bar is the “Profile” button. This is what visitors see when they come to your page. Make sure all of this info is correct. This is your “Storefront” if you may. The next button across the top is “Find People”. You can search for a specific name, Twitter name, business type, niche, geographic area, movement, or anything you would like to try. Results will appear and you can browse to find what you are looking for. The next button is “Settings”. Go through these settings to upload a picture, add your cell phone text service, add your company description, add your website url, change your password, edit or change your design, and more. The next button across the top is “Help” and that is exactly what it says. In this help section, you will find a video on how to use Twitter, resources, trouble shooting, known issues, announcements and features, and more. The last button on the top right corner is “Sign Out”. When you are done with using Twitter and wish to log out, click this button.

Other Quick Twitter Tips:

1. Follow People! Reach out and connect. This is your Social Networking and Social Media initiative.
2. Check your followers and follow them back by clicking “Follow” underneath their photo or logo. This opens you up to a bigger network of possibilities.
3. Fill in your complete “Bio” space. Say all you can about you, your business, and your mission.
4. Try to “Tweet” at least 3 times a day (or more) to train yourself how to update.
5. Mix your Tweets up. Not all business! Humor us, send us a Twitpic, tell us what you are having for lunch!
6. Be respectful to the businesses of others. Everyone has a niche. Some are into Social Media (like me), some are into Burning Fat, some are into Making Money, and some just simply want a friend connection. Live and Let Live, Connect and Let Others Connect, Sell and Let Others Sell.

By: G Social Media