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Douglas Ray
I am a social media marketer, blogger, and avid Supersonics fan currently living in Bright Light City, USA.
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Posts
- 7 Things You're Doing Wrong in Social Media (#6)
6. Being Inconsistent
Inconsistency is one of the worst things your brand can do in real life, so it’s especially important to be vigilant online. Simply: if you’re a lawyer, talk like a lawyer. If you’re an owner of a corner bakery, talk like a baker. If you’re a casual guy, talk casually. Your online profile should magnify your offline profile. If you’re a cupcake maker, maybe the photos and graphics on your social profiles are full of pinks and blues. If you’re a lawyer, maybe your palette is more dark red or green. I know that I wouldn’t want to go to an injury lawyer whose online presence was full of pinks and blues.
One of the most elementary things you can do to fix your Facebook page from inconsistency is making sure all your information is right. This seems so silly, but you’d be surprised how many FB pages I navigate to that don’t have a phone number or “about me” section. The most glaring problem with a lot of business facebook pages is that they’re wrong right from the get-go. So here it is: your Facebook page should be a page, not a person! It always confuses me when I get a friend request from a local business. Being a “fan” or “liking” King’s Auto Detailing makes sense to me. Being a “friend” with King’s Auto Detailing doesn’t. Nothing screams amateur like having the wrong kind of FB profile. If this is you, go here to create a page for your business. Tell your “friends” to migrate over to the business page and then delete the page, no matter how many friends that page has.
So you’ve got a Twitter profile. You’ve got a Facebook page. You’ve got a Youtube channel. You’ve got a Linkedin profile. The next question to ask yourself is “do they look the same?” An important concept to get your head around is that, no matter how many online profiles you have across multiple networks, you have one online presence. Your online presence is made up of all your websites, social profiles, and pages. They are not seperate entities. They make up your entire online presence. So you want to make sure there’s continuity. How do you do it?
Step one: Make your “about me” sections identical. Because Twitter’s only takes 160 characters, it needs to be under that maximum. My about me: “I am a keyboard player, graphic designer, and social media junkie currently living in Bright Light City, USA.” It’s on every one of my social profiles. Make it consistent, and you make it memorable.
Step two: Make your social profile pictures the same. The number one way people identify a person online is by their picture. It’s not their tagline, location, or even name. It’s their picture. While your pictures don’t have to be the exact same file across all networks (Twitter’s has to be square, others don’t), they should be the same photo. Again, uniformity is consistency. And consistency is recognition.
Step three: Links, links, links. Your Twitter should link to your Facebook should link to your Linkedin should link to your Youtube should like to your Foursquare should link to your Yelp should link to your blog. And they all should link to your website. If you +1 an article on Google+, retweet the person who last tweeted about the article. If you send a friend request on Facebook, invite them as a connection on LinkedIn and follow them on Twitter.
Step four: Don’t take step three too far. I am very opposed to linking your Facebook and Twitter to automatically publish all your tweets to their FB timeline. There are a couple reasons for this. Number 1: Twitter and FB are different entities. Twitter is a self-professed “micro-blogging” service, Facebook status updates are just that: status updates. Treat them differently. Number 2: You have different social circles on different services. The majority of the people I know on Facebook, I have (or have had) a relationship with in the past. I have never met most of the people I follow on Twitter. Don’t overpopulate. I know I get sick of it.
Consistency is the key to a streamlined, effective online profile. Make sure all the portions of your online presence look the same and are complimentary. And, above all, make sure that your online self looks like your offline self. Inconsistency can hurt you. Just ask this girl. - 7 Things You're Doing Wrong in Social Media
Disclaimer: This is for businesses who are doing social for a purpose. This list isn’t for grandmas who want to reconnect with their grandchildren or highschool students who just want to post pictures from wild parties.
(#7) Telling Your Customers about your brand
Let me explain what I mean by brand. Your brand is the entity you want people to trust, to follow, to “like” on Facebook and “follow” on Twitter. For a business owner, it’s the business itself. For a blogger or speaker, it’s the person himself. If you’re Alan Jones, the owner of “Al’s Garage,” your brand is “Al’s Garge.” If you’re Alan Jones the motivational speaker, your brand is “Alan Jones.”
But no matter your brand, your product, or your service, the strategy on social media is simple: get people talking about you. Just like you don’t get to constantly talk about what you’re doing (that’s not a conversation, it’s a lecture), you don’t get tell people about how great your product is. Only 14% of people claim that they trust advertisements. Know what the percentage is for peer recommendations? 98%. 98%! The point of social media marketing is to get people talking about your brand. Talking to each other. You simply guide the conversation. You pose the questions. You create the topics. You moderate the discussion. But you don’t get to talk. You don’t get to sell. If you want to sell, get a billboard.- Wrong way: Posting a Facebook status update that your new product is “the best thing ever!!!!!”
- Right way: Linking to an online review site that gives your new product a positive review.
The wrong way is one-sided. It’s not social. It’s advertising. And people hate advertising. The right way is connecting someone who is talking with you with people who are also talking about you.
Bottom line: you’re not talking.
Douglas Haines is a Social Media Marketer (ninja, guru, whatever) at Modern Rise Media in Las Vegas, Nevada. Modern Rise is a full-service online media company specializing in findability, social media, and design. You can find him online at DouglasRay.net
- The Fire Won't Kill the iPad (pssst.... it doesn't have to!)
The only thing any tech blogs are talking about today is the Kindle Fire. Amazon’s much-speculated tablet was revealed today with an impressive set of features at an unbelievable price. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos revealed things about the tablet that everyone thought would be there (apps, flash), added features no one saw coming (Silk brower), and did it for under $200.
Everyone’s calling this a potential iPad-killer. Here’s the deal: Amazon doesn’t need to kill the iPad. They don’t want to. And if they wanted to, they’re going about it the wrong way.
Amazon Doesn’t Need to kill the iPad
While tablets are all the rage among techie nerds and gadget blogs, only 5% of Americans own a tablet. In effect, no one owns a tablet. Personally, I only know 5 people that use a tablet. All 5 of those people use iPads, but it doesn’t matter. For Amazon to be successful in my circle of friends, only 6 people would have to get a Kindle Fire. To “kill” the iPad in the tablet market isn’t the goal. The goal is to be successful within Amazon’s own product line. And let’s face it. They own the e-reader market. They are to e-readers what iPods were to music players in the early 2000’s. If it’s facial tissue, it must be Kleenex. If it’s a cotton swab, it must be a Q-tip. If it’s a music player, it must be an iPod. If it’s an e-reader, it must be a Kindle.
Amazon Doesn’t Want to Kill the iPad
Amazon had a stroke of genius when they decided not to make an iPad copy. They stepped back and built upon the best-selling Amazon product: the Kindle. The Fire isn’t an iPad killer and Amazon doesn’t want it to be. That’s obvious to see by looking at the differences between the two. The Fire has a 7” display, 3” smaller than the iPad’s. The Fire has no camera. The Fire has a slower processor. The Fire doesn’t support as many (and definitely not as functional) apps. But it doesn’t matter. Because the Fire is $199. The only reference Bezos made to Apple in the Amazon presentation is the face that the Fire doesn’t need to be tethered to update like the iPad does (at least until iOS 5 comes out).
There’s a whole class of people that don’t want to spend $500 on a tablet. Most people would use it for a reader and to consume content, anyway. Amazon is understanding what RIM, Samsung, and HP couldn’t grasp: In the tablet war, going up against Apple is a losing battle. The successful post-iPad tablets are going to be totally different than the iPad. Just as Apple is reinventing the wheel with tablet computing, Amazon is reinventing tablet computing with the Fire. And that’s why it’s gonna be successful.
- Gaga's Gone Country!
I was driving home from the store late tonight (my wife’s hanging out with a pregnant chick and she was craving s’mores) and had the local Vegas top 40 station on. The announcer came on “And your number one song of the night: Lady Gaga and You and I.”
The track starts with what sounds like a synthetic didgeridoo followed by a kick hit and a detuned piano playing a straight quarter note timing. And Gaga starts singing:
It’s been a long time since I came around // It’s been a long time but I’m back in town // This time I’m not leaving without you // You taste like whiskey when you kiss me // I’d give anything again to be your baby doll // This time I’m not leaving without you
Now I’m not incredibly familiar with Lady Gaga, but I can tell a pop song when I hear one. Pokerface, Born this Way, they’re all full of dance beats that are meant to sell drinks at clubs. That’s how she makes her money. DJ’s keep playing them and people keep dancing. Straight 4-on-the-floor club songs that do exactly what you want them to. They cut when you want them to, they swell when you want them, they end just a second before you want them to, so you’ll call and request it on the radio again.
But this isn’t one of those songs. Go listen to it here. It’s a freaking country song! What the heck? It’s a full-fledged country song; it has all the elements of a country song: strat solo, detuned piano, a line about whiskey, gritty kick drum, lyrics about a midwest state, and huge vocal runs. I mean, the lyrics going back into the 3rd chorus are “There’s only 3 men that Imma serve my whole life: that’s my daddy, and Nebraska, and Jesus Christ.” Tell me that wasn’t written by Keith Urban…
Seriously, listen to the song — Carrie Underwood could have done it and no one would’ve thought anything of it. It just would’ve been a country radio hit, maybe someone would have done it on American Idol. Whatever. Brad Paisley could have done it. That thin-but-enormous single-coil minute-long solo in the middle of the song could have been him. But it wasn’t. It was Lady Gaga. The best thing to happen to pop music in my generation.
- Bright Light City
When I told people that I was moving to Las Vegas, lot’s of people asked me why. My response was always the same:
“Why are you moving to Vegas?”
“Have you ever been to Vegas?”
“Yeah” (Always followed by “I loved it” or “Vegas is awesome”)
“That’s why.”Who doesn’t love Vegas?
Who doesn’t love taking pictures of the strip?
Who doesn’t marvel at the neon?
Who doesn’t like being able to get sushi at 2am?Everyone has a good story about Vegas. Everyone had a good experience. Everyone saw a memorable show. Everyone ate at a great restaurant. Everyone had a good time.
(Except my mom, who got deathly sick that one time. Vegas still owes her a day.)What’s your awesome Vegas story?
A great article by one of my favorite artists, Michael Gungor.
Tumblr rocks. Super easy websites that look halfway professional. In minutes. Check it.
- Possibilities
I’m sitting here watching Herbie Hancock’s documentary called Possibilities. Herbie talks about getting pigeon-holed into a certain kind of music. He says that everyone wants you to make another record that sounds like the one that made you famous.
I hope I can make music into something different everytime I play it. I hope I don’t become the worship leader who says “We already know how to do this song, we don’t need to practice it.” That’s lazy. That’s not innovation.
That being said… What do you want your signature sound to sound like? Or do you even want a signature sound?
- Information Overload
Remember how it used to be? Remember that scene when in Hook when Peter is about to leave his office (he has that silly blue baseball cap on) and the guy who looks like Ryan Reynolds stops him and they have a “duel” by grabbing their cell phones out of their belt holsters? He had his huge cell phone on his belt! Giving him back problems, I’m sure. But he was on top of the technology. Remember in the beginning of the 90′s when people would have a home cell phone, a pager, a work cell phone, and a home number? (Ever heard of Google Voice, people?)
We think we’ve come so far. But we haven’t. At this very moment I have the following: 2 blogs on blogger, a blog on wordpress, a myspace, a facebook, a photobucket account, a digg account, two twitter accounts, an evernote account, and my list of blogs I’m following on Google reader keeps growing. But it doesn’t bother me. Know why? The internet is freaking amazing! And the people that utilize it to it’s fullest potential are the most informed and affluent people on the planet. Twitter is an amazing marketing tool. Google is an amazing business/advertisement engine. Facebook connects me with almost everyone I could ever want to know about.
It’s my personal goal to make the best use of the internet and the connectivity it lends me as I can. Because it’s a big, big world. And I like to think it’s shrinking small enough to fit in my palm. - Clive on What Makes Christianity Unique
During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what belief, if any, was unique to Christianity. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace”
- Encouragement in Times of Struggle
Francois de Fenelon, a priest who lived during the Huguenot conflicts of the seventeenth century, wrote the following words of encouragement to a struggling fellow-priest:
I am sorry to hear of your troubles, but I am sure you realize that you must carry the cross with Christ in this life. Soon enough there will come a time when you will no longer suffer. You will reign with God and He will wipe away your tears with His own hand. In His presence, pain and sighing will forever flee away.
So while you have the opportunity to experience difficult trials, do not lose the slightest opportunity to embrace the cross. Learn to suffer with simplicity and a heart full of love. If you do, you will not only be happy in spite of the cross, but because of it. Love is pleased to suffer for the Well-Beloved. (Fenelon 1992)
- You're Beautiful
There isn’t enough poetry in music anymore.
You’re Beautiful - Phil Wickham
I see your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say… You’re BeautifulI see your pow’r in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
Its all proclaiming who you are… You’re beautifulI see you there hanging on a tree
You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now you are setting on your heavenly throne
Soon you will be coming home… You’re BeautifulWhen we arrive at eternity’s shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we’ll sing… You’re Beautiful - The Great Reversal
Jesus completely flipped the script. Everything you thought you knew, when Jesus spoke, you threw it all out the window. Give an angry dictator what you owe. Love your enemies. Lust is adultery. What you do to beggars, you do to God. Do good things to people who hate you. Cancel debts. Forgive forever. Let them hurt you. And smile while you’re doing it.
This is once again the Great Reversal: many who are first will end up last, and the last first.
The needy get the Kingdom.
The mourning are comforted.
The lowly are given the earth.
The last come first.
The hungry get filled.
The merciful are pardoned.
The pure see God.
The peace workers have a family.
The hurt and mocked get heaven.
The last come first.
The Great Reversal.
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Tweets
- I checked in at Bistro Pizza (55 S Gibson Rd) on #Yelp http://t.co/UJGUfPAV
- Know what I think is so cool? Middle-aged men with novelty T-shirts like "haha! You're reading my shirt. I'm controlling your mind!"
- Photo: Bring basketball back to the #206 (Taken with instagram) http://t.co/NaXbhpvi
- Bring basketball back to the #206 http://t.co/peqNQpqO
- The 80's had THE BEST snare drums.
- @JessicaJanner Great. Let me know if you need anything.
- @Strawburry17 If you're still in Vegas, I'm a social media marketer who'd love to pick your brain about social/Jesus. I'll buy coffee!
- @startswithanx Just sent you an email to invite you to attend/cover an event brining luxury weddings to Vegas. Hope to hear from you soon!May 17, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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- @CarleyRitchie10 Yes, I do. http://t.co/zKWtjTyp
- It's always like springtime with you - making love, making stew.
- She's a jumper. And by jumper, I mean belly-flopper. http://t.co/sDsjfuvO
- Read also: I love being alone and eating a steady diet of government cheese, Tina from the can, and orange s http://t.co/gOwOTcoM
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Checkins
- Encounter Community Church133 S Water St
- Timberlake Apartments80 South Gibson Rd.
- Timberlake Apartments80 South Gibson Rd.
- Modern Rise Office117 S Water St
- Timberlake Apartments80 South Gibson Rd.
- Modern Rise Office117 S Water St
- Timberlake Apartments80 South Gibson Rd.
- Modern Rise Office117 S Water St
- Timberlake Apartments80 South Gibson Rd.
- Modern Rise Office117 S Water St
- Timberlake Apartments80 South Gibson Rd.
- Modern Rise Office117 S Water St
- Timberlake Apartments80 South Gibson Rd.
- Encounter Community Church133 S Water St
- Timberlake Apartments80 South Gibson Rd.
- Timberlake Apartments80 South Gibson Rd.
- Modern Rise Office117 S Water St
- Timberlake Apartments80 South Gibson Rd.
- Modern Rise Office117 S Water St
- Timberlake Apartments80 South Gibson Rd.
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Info
- SummarySocial media developer and graphic designer specializing in creating and maintaining a streamlined and professional online presence for startups, non-profits and businesses.
Effective and proven results to see more hits, more followers, more "likes," more retweets, and more customers.Specialties: Social media marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Branding and Identity, Copy writing, Graphic Design (print, web, digital), Social media integration, Basic SEO, Website analytics, Photoshop, Mac OS, Windows OS, ProTools, Audio and video recording and editingExperience- Aug 2011 - PresentSocial Marketing Director / Modern Rise MediaSocial Media Integration SEO Optimization Graphic Design (Logos, graphics, print) Blogging
- May 2010 - Jul 2011Worship & Media Arts / Christian Worship Center•Developed online presence for church entering online arena. •Updated and manage web and social networks for various departments/ministries. •Performedasic IT including email management and system trubleshooting (Mac). •Graphic and web design including printed materials. •Podcast development and audio editing. •Improved musicianship and team-building instruction for 10-20 volunteers in various capacities. •Led music in weekly service of approximately 1,500 congregants. •Required extensive audio and visual media familiarity including lighting/sound/visual systems. •Required proficiency in Mac, Windows, Microsoft Office, etc.
- Apr 2009 - Sept 2009Operations Assistant / Cedar Park Northshore•Developed church image: web development, social media marketing, graphic/web design, copy writing. •Create and sustained online presence for church through Facebook, Twitter, and website including media updates. •Performed general office duties (phone answering, scheduling, etc.) •Performed administration and basic accounting/accounts payable •Interacted professionally with guests and city officials to develop church image in the community.
- Nov 2007 - Jun 2009Product Specialist / Skip's Music•Customer service •Extensive product knowledge •Guitar repair •Electronics troubleshooting •Ability to communicate with diverse range of people •Commission-based sales arena
Education-
2001 - 2005Cedar Park Christian SchoolHonors Diploma
Activities: Associated Student Body President, Honor Choir, Advanced Drama, Honor Roll
Additional Information-
Websites:
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Honors:Who's Who Among American High School Students 2004-2005
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Interests:Social Media, Technology, Blogging, Music, Frisbee, Reading, Camping, Macaroni and Cheese
