What's God's Will for You?

"When uncertain about God’s will, it is very important that we tell ourselves: ‘Even if there are aspects of God’s will that escape me, there are always others that I know for sure and can invest in without any risk, knowing that this investment always pays dividends.’ These certainties include fulfilling the duties of our state in life and practicing the essential points of every Christian vocation. There is a defect here that needs to be recognized and avoided: finding ourselves in darkness about God’s will on an important question . . . we spend so much time searching and doubting or getting discouraged, that we neglect things that are God’s will for us every day, like being faithful to prayer, maintaining trust in God, loving the people around us here and now. Lacking answers about the future, we should prepare to receive them by living today to the full."

— Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 55

Social Media Management & Life Mapping Tools: Mindmeister Idea Mapping

Have you ever had that ‘overwhelming’ feeling caused by so many ideas forcing their way around your head that you don’t know where to start?

Have you ever experienced ‘writers’ block’ or an absolute emptiness, when it comes to a project?

Are you ever ‘intimidated’ by a skill, process or application that ‘you’ know should come more easily to you?

All three of these situations are clues that you are being sabotaged by your greatest ‘potential’ enemy--your mind.  The mind is a dangerous neighborhood; it is capable of so many more things than our bodies are capable of.  This power can be used both productively as well as destructively.

I used my ‘mindpower’ productively by attending Professional Networking on the Web, “Using Mindmaps for Project, Training & Collaborating.  After an opportunity to introduce ourselves & networking with very interesting entrepreneurs, such as “Dragonfly Thinking” author, Bruce Oberhardt, we proceeded to learn how to use Mindmeister.

According to Wikipedia, MindMeister is an online mind mapping software that allows its users to visualize their thinking.  "A mind map is a diagram used to visually outline information....it is often created around a single word or text, placed in the center, to which associated ideas, words & concepts are added.  Major categories radiate from a central node, & lesser categories are sub-branches of larger branches.  Categories can represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items related to a central key word or idea.”

Our ‘single word or text’ was “Thinking.”  Once we established this central theme, a flood of ideas began to be voiced.  As I mentioned, the room was filled with intelligent, creative & energetic minds.  We learned how to use MindMeister by, actually, using it.

I learned several things from this morning’s meeting:

**Next time, take a picture of our group!

**One of the most effective ways to learn is TO DO!

**Stay out of my head; dare to take the next step.

**Awareness is the first step towards progress (I was AWARE that I was intimidated to attempt MindMeister on my own).

**The next step to progress is to do something (I committed to Martin Brossman & Whitney Hill's meeting  as soon as I found out about it.

Professional Networking on the Web  is a business & training group for the business professional who wants to keep ahead of their competition by using both interpersonal & web based strategies.  Members of the group provide education on the latest techniques to both find & attract ideal clients, along with helping each other directly with networking.

I am thankful to have a forum to stay on the ‘cutting edge’ of technological tools as well as a fun way to connect with other ‘internet’ users on a personal level.

Call me at 919-604-0104 or email olgamaria3@aol.com for your own, customized Social Media and Online Marketing Evaluation.

by Olga Santo Tomás Monroe 919-604-0104 olgamaria3@aol.com 

Connect to me on Google+ and LinkedIn 

Connection Over Privacy

Understand that you don't have to like it.  The World has voted and the vote is, "I will give up some information, about myself, in order to be connected."
1/7 of the world is on Social Media.  It's either, learn how to surf or be eaten by the waves.


Purchasing decisions are made based on reviews verses marketing.

Social Media Tools: Class 4 of Core Competency in Social Media for Business Success

We wrapped up the fourth, & final, Core Competency in Social Media for Business Success delving into Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest.

"Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest stories, ideas, opinions & news about what you find interesting...Find the accounts you find most compelling & follow the conversations."

Highlights, for Twitter, include:

**Twitter's strength is with a cause (like overthrowing the government); If it’s big, it breaks on Twitter first & then the media follows.

**Twitter flows; it’s time-based (vs. edgerank);so the time of day for tweets, is important.

**Public & private "lists" are very useful for organizing & targeting your Twitter connections.

**Add hashtags &/or photos to your 'tweets'.

"Instagram is a fun & quirky way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures.  Snap a photo with your mobile phone, then choose a filter to transform the image into a memory..."

Instagram Highlights are as follows:

**"Smart-phone" based & younger audience.

**Pictures with few comments; so use Instagram if you have a business where pictures are important.

**Syncs with FaceBook so you can share something on Instagram & push it to FaceBook.

**Time driven feed.

**Proper use of hashtags makes your topic more visible.

The last, but not least, Social Media Platform---Pinterest--was taught to us by the ‘Pinterest Princess’, Karen Tiede.

What is Pinterest, anyway?

“Where Google provides the best answer to any question that has one right answer, Pinterest provides answers to questions that have no right answer....[it’s] a waterfall view of information, loosely aggregated by vague categories & keywords.”......with lots of colorful pictures!  According to Karen, Pinterest provides you with ‘things’ that you don’t know exist & variations of an item that you are searching for.

Following are the highlights for Pinterest:

**People are on Pinterest to shop.

**Pinterest is interested in spinning the ‘pinner’ out of Pinterest & into commercial websites so as to make a purchase; People from Pinterest spend approximately 25% more time on a website.

** We are visual creatures; we can sort visuals faster than we can read.

** The way to get followers on Pinterest is to follow other peoples' Pinterest ‘sites’.

**You can have as many pinterest accounts as you have emails.

**A board is a collection of images on a topic.

"When visitors find a picture on your landing page that they like, they may pin it to their Pinterest account, even if they don’t engage any further on that first visit. This is like brick-and-mortar people picking up a brochure or a business card from the front desk, only keeping it, and sharing it with all their followers, who can in turn repin in to their accounts, etc. etc. and so forth".

For more information on Pinterest & how to create an image representation of a brand or a business, contact Karen Tiede.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Material Covered throughout Core Competency in Social Media for Business Success

Treat Social Media like channels on a Television; ask yourself , "Who is  my audience?"  Martin Brossman

As Pat Howlett stated, recently, "Choose the right Social Media Platform for You, Your Business & Objectives."  Get to know each platform (or hire someone who does) & continuously offer fresh, relevant content.  Social Media gives us ways of being connected to the customer in ever-developing channels.  

The core of all this is to wake up; be a reporter & look at your situation with new perspective.

Understand your customer beyond what you are teaching them; move over, see things through your eyes & then move over & see what else is important to them.  If your customers love pets & sports; then include various sorts of media about these topics.  Align yourself  with your customers & offer them content worth their attention.  Once a day is usually enough.

In reviewing what we learned during these four, information-filled, classes; we summarized the following:

***G+- is technological & growing/ progressing/ developing faster than a speeding bullet.

***FaceBook is fun, personal & very active!

***Twitter--fastest moving; use hashtags, retweets & lists!

***LinkedIn is the slower moving social network; extremely powerful for job searches & global connections.

***Instagram is twitter w/ pictures for the younger crowd & is mobile app driven; use hashtags & pictures!

***Pinterest--it’s image driven & for people to find things they didn’t know they wanted until they saw it; window shopping!

***Get noticed, on these Social Media Sites, by commenting on other peoples’ items.

This series of classes provided a solid base of knowledge, in Social Media & how to use it.  The next level of enrollment is the 'official' Social Media Management Training Certificate Program  to learn the concepts, techniques & tools to develop & manage an effective social media program.

As a business owner, "Listen for when your customers are raving about your business & ask them for a review." 

Call me at 919-604-0104 or email olgamaria3@aol.com for your own, customized Social Media and Online Marketing Evaluation.

by Olga Santo Tomás Monroe 919-604-0104 olgamaria3@aol.com 

Connect to me on Google+ and LinkedIn 

                                                  

Social Media Tools: Class 3 of Core Competency in Social Media for Business Success

Facebook for Business kicked off the third class of Brossman's Core Competency in Social Media for Business Success.  We watched, intently, as Martin delved into the many different options for viewing Facebook posts:

1.  Pay attention to the 'highlights' option (at the top, middle, of your FB Business Page).

2.  Compare your 'posts by page' & 'posts by others'.

3.  Investigate your Fans' interests & get to know them better.

4.  Get curious about your FB fans.  Check out their FB page & find out what they like so you can address their interests!

After a short break, we delved into the LinkedIn Public Profile; this is what you first see when someone’s name is searched on Google.

Here are the useful tips that follow the LinkedIn basic set up:

**Treat your public profile as if you are going to see your best customer; ask yourself, “how do I look?”

**Write your summary in the first person & integrate keywords; these are the the words that your customer needs to hear; not the jargon of your field.

**Looking people up is different than FB because LI gives you "permission granted" to know about people; it shows you who they are linked with.

**Build a network, intentionally,  towards a certain connection &/ or purpose.

**Find groups & interact with them!

**Acknowledge others through endorsements & recommendations.

**The most effective way to get recommendations is to look for people (current &/or past) & give them a recommendation; do it naturally instead of saying “I’ll give you one & you give me one)."

**Learn from what your allies, strategic customers & things you want to be associated with are up to.

**If you’re going to meet someone; look them up on LinkedIn, to get to know them; then, when you meet with them, personally, connect on their personal life & present/ past experiences;   LinkedIn information is ‘permission granted data’.

**Search for specific people/ zip codes & specific professions that are relevant for you to connect with.

**Add video; customize your LinkedIn URL &  your websites.

For specific guidance on following through with these instructions, contact me or attend Martin's next Social Media For Business Class.

We wrapped up this evening's  class with suggestions on How to Use LinkedIn:

**Look up a company for an interview.

**Recommend people.

**Follow specific companies that relate to your profession.

**Invest in your connections through interactions with them--liking & commenting on their discussions.

**Ask yourself, "What makes me a ‘welcome interruption’?" & use this as the guideline to share relevant information with others.

As you can see, by the fact that I only share highlights from the class; the evening was intense & fact-filled.

BEWARE: Procedures don't, always, work out so smoothly as these instructions suggest. My answer to this is--"Do your best and move on." It may come up, later or choose to revisit it later.  In any case, many times the 'glitch' or problem might be solved. In another case, the glitch still exists.  Either way, there are plenty of other issues to attend to!

Call me at 919-604-0104 or email olgamaria3@aol.com for your own, customized Social Media and Online Marketing Evaluation.

by Olga Santo Tomás Monroe 919-604-0104 olgamaria3@aol.com 

Connect to me on Google+ and LinkedIn 

Gerente de redes sociales bilingüe

El censo de EE. UU. más reciente reveló la presencia de una enorme población de hispanoparlantes en el país: 53 millones. En vista de que esta cifra aumenta a razón de 2.2% cada año, hablar español ha pasado a ser una destreza obligatoria, más que una cualidad interesante. Al mismo tiempo que crece la población hispana en Estados Unidos, el idilio internacional con las redes sociales también se intensifica. Si bien ambos incrementos son independientes, no hay duda de que existe una gran interacción entre la comunidad virtual en general y los hispanohablantes. En este sentido, los servicios que presto como gerente de redes sociales bilingüe tienen un valor incalculable.

Hispanoplarlantes en America

Aceptación cultural

Como gerente de redes sociales bilingüe ofrezco más que el simple manejo de otro idioma. Mis traducciones van más allá del mero vocabulario: abarcan la comprensión cultural, su pertinencia, normas y expectativas. Cualquiera puede buscar palabras en un traductor en línea o en un diccionario; yo pongo a disposición de su empresa u organización las herramientas necesarias para promover una relación positiva con sus clientes. Esta relación, que reconoce e incorpora los elementos de la diversidad cultural, es un aspecto esencial para crear y mantener una conexión entre un negocio y sus clientes.

Destrezas esenciales

Además de proporcionar información culturalmente pertinente para los clientes, poseo las destrezas esenciales para hacer un buen trabajo. Gracias a mi fluidez en inglés y español, puedo concentrar mis esfuerzos en:

• crear textos llamativos y listos para compartir en las distintas plataformas sociales;
• integrar las estrategias sociales de las empresas en los medios de comunicación de su localidad;
• crear, monitorear, analizar y producir informes sobre las tendencias de la comunidad hispana en las redes sociales; y
• desempeñarme como vínculo entre los equipos de comunicación, personas o entidades influyentes y comunidades hispanoparlantes.

Además de estas destrezas culturales y lingüísticas, también poseo los conocimientos como gerente de redes sociales experta que soy. Reconozco perfectamente los beneficios de encauzar y ejecutar iniciativas estratégicas en las redes sociales, la creación y gestión de campañas de rápida propagación, el diseño y mantenimiento de cuentas de alto perfil en los canales, cómo impulsar la presencia social de una marca a través de métodos pagos y orgánicos, y cómo mantener un perfil influyente en todas las plataformas de redes sociales.

Resolución de conflictos y mejoramiento de la comunicación

Un gerente de redes sociales bilingüe es un recurso valioso en el sitio de trabajo: no solo puedo ayudarlo a crear una cultura empresarial que reconozca y valore la diversidad, sino que además puedo ser una herramienta eficaz para resolver conflictos y mejorar la comunicación.  Los problemas de comunicación y los malos entendidos ya no representan una contrariedad si se dispone de un gerente de redes sociales bilingüe. Los problemas en el trabajo se exacerban cuando existe una barrera idiomática. Yo puedo contribuir a resolver conflictos mediante el asesoramiento de clientes y empleados, así como también fomentar la comunicación directa.

Beneficios adicionales

El gerente de redes sociales representa la voz de la empresa o de la organización en las redes sociales, se encarga de cultivar nuevas comunidades y administra las comunidades en línea con una marca definida. Puedo dirigir la estrategia comunicacional de la marca en general mediante la preparación de informes y la conversión de las mediciones en información útil. Asimismo, tengo el compromiso de atraer seguidores y dirigir las comunidades conformadas por estos en todas las plataformas de redes sociales. En conclusión, hoy en día un gerente de redes sociales monolingüe ya no se considera la forma más efectiva para crear y mantener redes sociales que generen resultados importantes. En contraposición, un gerente de redes sociales bilingüe proporciona la pericia cultural y los conocimientos idiomáticos para desempeñar satisfactoriamente esta labor; yo pongo a su disposición ambos aspectos.

escrito por Olga Santo Tomás Monroe   919-604-0104   

olgamaria3@aol.com  Este articulo en íngles

Social Media and Online Marketing Management

Connecta conmigo Google+ and LinkedIn 

Bilingual Social Media Manager

The last US census conducted revealed an astonishing large number of Spanish speakers living within the United States: 53 million. With this number quickly growing by an average 2.2% per year, speaking Spanish has moved from an interesting trait to a mandatory skill. As the Hispanic population in the United States grows, the international love affair with social media simultaneously expands. While the growth of the two is independent of one another, there’s no doubt that there’s a large interaction between the online community and the Spanish-speaking one. As such, the services I can offer you as a bilingual social media manager are invaluable.

Cultural Acknowledgement

As a bilingual social media manager, I bring more than just language skills to the table. Rather, my translations extend beyond simple vocabulary to understanding cultural appropriateness, norms, and expectations. While anyone can look up words in an online translator or dictionary, I can provide your business or organization with the skills necessary to promote a positive relationship with clients and customers. This relationship, that recognizes and incorporates cultural diversity, is essential in creating and maintaining a connection between a business and its consumers.

Essential Skills

In addition to providing culturally relevant information to consumers, I possess the essential skills to getting the job done right. By having fluency in both English and Spanish, I am able to focus on:

• Creating enticing and shareable content for various social platforms;
• Integrating social, community-based media business strategies;
• Creating, monitoring, analyzing, and reporting on social media trends within the Hispanic community; and
• Acting as a liaison between communication teams, online influencers, and Spanish-speaking communities.

In addition to these cultural and lingual-specific skills, I also have all the know-how of an experienced social media manager. I fully recognize the benefits of guiding and executing strategic social media initiatives, developing and managing viral campaigns, creating and maintaining high-profile channel accounts, understanding how to grow a brand’s social presence through paid and organic means, and maintaining an influencer-level profile across key social media platforms.

Conflict Resolution and Improved Communication

A bilingual social media manager is beneficial within the workplace--not only can I help you to create a business culture that recognizes and appreciates diversity, but I’m also an effective tool in conflict resolution and communication improvement.  With a bilingual social media manager, miscommunication and misunderstandings are no longer a cause for concern. When there is a problem in the workplace, the problem can be exacerbated by a language barrier. I can help to coach clients and employees through conflict resolution, as well help promote direct communication.

Additional Benefits

A bilingual social media manger acts as the social media voice for the organization or business, and cultivates new communities and manages branded online communities. By running reports and translating metrics and data into useable information, I’ll help to guide the overall communication strategy of the brand. Additionally, I promise to engage in and lead a community of social media followers across all platforms. In conclusion, a monolingual social media manager can no longer be considered the most effective means of creating and maintain meaningful social media; rather, a bilingual social media manager provides the cultural expertise and language know-how to accomplish the task at hand; I will provide your organization with both.

by Olga Santo Tomás Monroe   919-604-0104   olgamaria3@aol.com

Social Media and Online Marketing  Management

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