I’m really excited about a new product we’re putting together called Be a Geek for an Hour-a-Week. It’s a 1-hour assignment that will be emailed to our clients each week. This idea came from two challenges that our clients face:

1. Time

2. And if they had time, they’re not sure where to spend it.

I wanted to give our blog readers a sneak peak into Week #1 – here it is:

Note: COPs stands for Customers or Prospects

Week #1: Getting Started
Assignment #1: Spend some time thinking and researching where your COPs are spending time online.
Time: 20 Minutes

Overview: You don’t have to be on every social media site. There should be a legitimate business reason for you to spend time on any one site. Doing some quick Google searches, you can start to see some key demographics for each of the major social networks. For example, this link will give you some great info on Facebook users: http://www.kenburbary.com/2011/03/facebook-demographics-revisited-2011-statistics-2/ – and there are similar stats for all the major sites. The goal is to get a sense of where your COPs are spending time online. Then all you have to do is meet them there.
Go to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and do some digging. See if some of your COPs are active on these sites.  Quickly, you’ll start to see a pattern and you’ll undoubtedly be more motivated one way or another.

Another informal test is to ask COPs if they are active on sites you’re considering using. Send an email to your list or contact a few them via the phone. Again, you’ll start to see a pattern and determine if it’s worth your time and effort.

Assignment #2: Scan and edit your LinkedIn Profile
Time: 15 Minutes
Overview: Do you have a nice, recent photo uploaded? If not, change it. Is your profile updated with your latest company info? Is your description up-to-date? You’ll have a chance to improve the quality later, but now just make sure the info is current and accurate.

Assignment #3: Review your Facebook Profile
Time: 10 Minutes
Overview: I’m a firm believer that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of allowing business contacts to be friends with you on Facebook. But I’m not trying to convince you of that now. I just want you to spend these minutes reviewing your Facebook profile and removing anything from your Timeline that you’re not particularly proud of. Even if you don’t let your business contacts in, you’ll feel better about having a profile that’s PG.

Assignment #4:  Update your social media profiles with something of value.
Time: 15 Minutes (5 minutes a day / 3 x a week)
Overview: This should be one of the following:
– An article that you wrote or found that offers value to your COPs
– An inspirational quote
– A provocative question that your audience is likely to want to answer
– A picture or video with a comment from you relating back to your audience.
– Ex: A roofer could add a picture of a cat with its hair standing straight out and say ‘Is getting a new roof stressing you out? Get a no hassle, free estimate by clicking here.’

Till next week,

Corey