We (Mike O’Neil & Lori Ruff) are The LinkedIn Rockstars and we are visiting the Pacific Northwest to deliver a 2-day LinkedIn Retreat in Langley, WA (April 21-22). It is a highly intimate affair aimed at marketing and sales professionals, those tasked with bringing business in the door. The program is hosted by the Langley Center for New Media and Russell Sparkman, Director.

Customers vs. Employers

It is interesting how these very skills map to the job search – finding customers and finding jobs, customers finding you and employers finding you.

While we primarily train corporate sales teams at technology firms to use LinkedIn, many of the skills are highly transferable – to small business AND for career-related activities.

Giving Back

Upon meeting Paul Anderson on LinkedIn (a LinkedIn success story), Mike got the idea to help the local job seeker community and the global job seeker community. Paul liked the idea and this is what we came up with. Hope you like it too!

Regular registration for the 2-day retreat is $548. For most job seekers, this is simply not an option. But there are costs to cover and we maintain a small class size to maximize learning. What is one to do with so many people to help?

The Idea

Have a contest to gather up the best job seeker LinkedIn tips and award a scholarship, worth $548, to the winner. It can’t be just any contest though.

See the Seattle Times Article for the “full story” and extra LinkedIn tips from Mike O’Neil.

In an age of widely circulated Tip Sheets, we are seeking new, original ideas. The most creative LINKEDIN-related solutions will be weighted the highest.

So, if you are in the greater Seattle area and would like a chance to win the Job Seeker scholarship to the 2-day Retreat, listen up! This individual MUST report back to the rest of the job seeker community by posting comments on this blog.

We (Mike O’Neil & Lori Ruff) will judge and we like ORIGINAL IDEAS and, as rockstars who love shiny objects, award STYLE POINTS. We will highlight other great ideas as well. To be considered, include the term #RockTheWorld in the post somewhere – hint, good tip on Style Points!

Help out your fellow job seekers by contributing YOUR ideas, comment on each other’s comments, and may the best ideas win (for all)!

Part II

If you have an event that does not charge admission, you need to decide if you just want people to show up and collect business cards, or if you want to gather the registrations to list build. This post however is not an exercise in list building.

In our example case study, the 2010 8th Annual Integrated Alliances’ Denver Holiday Party, we not only had an admission fee, we had three:

1. Early online registration (up to a week prior) $29
2. Final week online registration $39
3. Walk-in registration $49

We elected to use a 3rd party online registration system to manage this aspect of the event; this is where money changes hands. We promoted it on all of the major social platforms and pointed our vanity URL back to the primary site.

Fortunately, the major online registration systems can handle customization of the event page as well as all the registrations, check-ins, name badges and other important details. We selected www.EZRegister.com as the primary registration and EventBrite as the backup site. (Although having two registration sites can be troublesome at the actual event, you can’t afford to have your site down. We STRONGLY recommend that you only promote your primary registration site unless they have serious technical problems.)

In Part 1 of this series, we learned to use a Pretty URL for the event that actually redirects users to the selected registration site; it can also be quickly redirected to the backup site should serious issues crop up.

Super Tip #3 - Make the registration site gorgeous! Use pictures, links, formatting, bullets… make it shine. Preparatory tasks such as to crop and resize images should be done outside of online systems to get the best results.

Super Tip #4 - Use Social Media Platform features wisely. When you select Share or Promote or Tweet, you may get results that are not what you expected. If you’re not sure where it will post or how it will look, test during late night hours and be sure to delete any unwanted posts immediately! As you post, always customize default text. Always! Especially as you post on different platforms. Try to customize the text for your audience and target market. It is better to get more of the right people to an event rather than just lots of people.

Super Tip #5 - Include a phone number for people to call; choosing one that reaches a live individual able to answer the most common questions about the event. Have a cheat sheet handy for anyone who might answer the phone with quick answers.

Be sure to check back for Part III coming soon! Get more tips and insider real-world strategies for using Social Media to promote and support your events and improve your business outlook.

It seems events are a central part of Social Media, which has its roots in Social Networking. We are talking about the PHYSICAL, in-person interaction between individuals, particularly at live events.

As such, the major Social Media platforms either have direct support for events or they are used to support the promotion of events and even activities AT events.

In this multi-part series, we examine some techniques for maximizing exposure for your event on Social Media. We highlight our just-completed 2010 8th Annual Integrated Alliances’ Denver Holiday Party (Nov 30, 2010) as the real world example; because real world is better than theory.

The series will cover some strategies, techniques and explore some simple, yet amazingly powerful extras along the ways – Super Tips.

We will explore all of the major platforms (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Meetup.com, YouTube and Blogs) and what they offer to help you promote and manage events and to manage invaluable follow-up after events.

PART I

First, you must use care and consider scope. What actions happen first is VERY important as you spread the word and try to avoid making mistakes, some of which cannot be corrected.

On the scope side, this series is not designed to teach event planning, although these cutting edge practices from the front lines will be of a lot of interest to event planners and even to event attendees.

We start with this information given – date, time, location, cost, descriptive text, pictures, links. See the event information for the real world case study – the 2010 8th Annual Integrated Alliances’ Denver Holiday Party.

Super Tip #1 - Promote the event using an easy to remember, nice looking Domain Name (URL). There are many reasons for this. You will want to forward but NOT mask the domain if your target is using a payment button such as Paypal.

1. The vanity URL looks good in text and in print. You can’t click on a flier (i.e., www.DenverHolidayParty.com).
2. The vanity URL replaces ugly URL strings with something attractive that reinforces your brand and makes it easy for people to remember (i.e., www.DenverHolidayParty.com).
3. It gives you the flexibility to redirect it to any place you like (e.g. Landing Page, Primary Registration Site, Backup Registration Site, Event Closed Screen, Post-event site).

In our case, we used 2 such domains – DenverHolidayParty.com and SocialNetParty.com. In fact, after the event, each is now redirected to the pictures on Metromix, taken by photographer Howie Grapek. Metromix is a division of Colorado’s #1 TV channel 9News.

Super Tip #2 - If you want others to promote your event, make it easy for them. Create a simple 1 page flier and host it on the web, like on your web site or blog site. You can update it as the events shapes up and interested parties can always get the latest version to download. It works with tip #1 as well. We still have our promotional flier for the event up at SocialNetEvents.com; check it out.

And then check back for Part II and Part III coming soon! Get more tips and insider real-world strategies for using Social Media to promote and support your events and improve your business outlook.

Related Story

The LinkedIn Rockstars, Mike O’Neil & Lori Ruff, recently recorded a 60-minute Webinar entitled Event Networking with Social Media. Learn to find events, work events properly and follow up after events using Social Media like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Blogs.  The recording is available for free playback.

I always knew that music brought together a team of individuals in a way that is truly magical. I remember the concerts that my employer in the 1990′s, Random Access, knew so well. Management bought big blocks of tickets to shows like The Rolling Stones, Phil Collins, etc. The people we took with us became our best customers if they were not already.

We strategically invite business partners to join us in our Rock Band called “School of Rock”. Playing music together on stage using SIMPLE instruments is amazing business bonding. We’ve been doing Rock Band at restaurants and bars for over a year we really like how SIMPLE it is to participate.

I am at Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp in San Francisco learning to create, play, record and perform classic rock music with other “campers”. The “counselors” at the event are real rock stars and I see that they each have business acumen. You will see why.

There is this whole other level beyond Rock Band that I am being exposed to and it is rampant with business overtones. These musicians are small business owners and the company sells a service (their playing, instructing, appearance at events, etc.). Their marketing is based on their brand and the brand of their “past employers”. This is the life of a Rock Star, at least one that is no longer out touring and playing “with the band”.

It was Rudy Sarzo of Whitesnake, Ozzy and ??? that brought these ideas out. Picture the scene – 5 musicians of all kinds of ability thrown together in a room to find a way to jam together – the herding cats principle. He’s the boss and everyone treats him like he’s E.F. Hutton, a very cool E.F.

It made me think of the similarities between the Band and the Business. After all, this is why I am here – to find new influences that we can share with our clients.  It’s a real eye opener.

Band                       Business/Company
Brand                      Brand
Players                   Employees
Lead Singer             Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Lead Guitar             Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
Hit single                 Hot Product
Booking Agent         Sales Rep.
In the studio             Product Development
On Tour                   Product Deployment
Downloads               Sample product
Radio Interviews        Marketing
Free Records            Schwag
New CD                    Version 2.0, 3.0…

Follow me as I explore new territory in this mix of LinkedIn, Social Media, Social Networking and Live Rock Music. See all my links.

I am spending 3 days this weekend at Rock ‘n’ Roll, Fantasy Camp, learning how to create, play and perform classic rock music. This is part 2 of my journey. See Part 1

Where’s the parallel?  (There will be many so stay tuned to The Journey.)  You only get to join 50 LinkedIn Groups so you have to be careful how you invest your limited resources. You only get to wear a few concert T’s at Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp so it too is a careful choice as well. Who are the rockstars working as counselors for the event?  Who did they play for? Who where they on tour with? Where did I see them play?

As a Social Media specialist who rocks, I am often in a Rock T Shirt. It is a daily routine to pick out the “T of the Day”. No problem usually. I have 50 or 60 concert T’s (down from over 200 at one time) and some other cool options like Tie-Dyes, Mountain Dew, Cars, etc.

But, what do you wear when you are spending 3 days with members of Grand Funk Railroad, Aerosmith, Foo Fighters, The Wallflowers, Ozzy Osbourne, Winger, Pat Travers Band, Joan Jett and KISS?

This is what I am planning. What do you think?

Kid Rock (2007), Lynyrd Skynyrd (1994), The British Rock Symphony with Roger Daltry (1997), Jimi Hendrix Tribute (2010).

The LinkedIn Rockstar is on a trek to San Francisco for Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp with Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers Band and past and present members of Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, The Wallflowers and even KISS.

I am there to learn to create, play and record classic rock music from real rock stars. These are the individuals that write the biggest songs, lay them down and then hit the road to play in front of huge sold out crowds.

The Rock Stars are called “Counselors”.  I am a “Camper” and I am in for one heck of a weekend.

More on that as it gets closer but the festivities peak with a performance from the Rock Stars and the likes of me on stage on Sunday night, Nov 7.  Tickets are available.

Here is the line-up of real Rockstars that will be teaching The LinkedIn Rockstar the art of crafting, recording and playing live classic rock  music, all in a weekend!

I am looking for inspiration and ideas to be a better LinkedIn Rockstar when I speak or train on LinkedIn and Social Media on our Rock The World tours.

My first homework assignment is to get to know the songs we will be learning and playing at the Camp. I had to hunt them all down.  Have one only on vinyl (The Ocean from Led Zeppelin)

Beginner:
Surrender – Cheap Trick
Mississippi Queen – Mountain
I love Rock and Roll – Joan Jett
Pretty Woman – Van Halen
Rock and Roll All Night – KISS
Who Do You Love – Bo Diddley
Brown Sugar – Rolling Stones
Livin After Midnight – Judas Priest
You Really Got me – The Kinks

Intermediate:
Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC)
White Room – Cream
My Hero – Foo Fighters
Schools out – Alice Cooper
Day Tripper – Beatles
Bad To The Bone – George Thorogood
Vertigo – U2
Call Me – Blondie
Here I Go Again – Whitesnake
Sweet Child – Guns N Roses

Advanced:
The Ocean – Led Zeppelin
Livin on the Edge – Aerosmith
Foot Stompin Music – Grand Funk Railroad
More Than a Feelin  – Boston
Headed For A Heartbreak – Winger
Highway Star – Deep Purple

It’s different listening to a song when you know you are going to be learning how to play it.  There will be lots of great business and social Media parallels to be learned.  Stay Tuned!

We’d Love to see you at SXSW 2011. Below, please vote Yes! for each of our programs at the Interactive and Music Sessions. Then stop by and let us know you voted. We’ll have a special gift for you!

SXSW Interactive 2011 – How LinkedIn Can Make You a Business Rockstar

SXSW Music 2011 – Rock the World with Social Media

SXSW Interactive 2011 – A Windows 95 Solution to Social Media Woes

Lori Ruff and I have been a part of CouchSurfing.org now for almost a year. In the last 6 months we have ramped up to the point where we had three individual Couchsurfing visitors at ONE time this week.

Couchsurfing.org has a process to certify individuals in the program and it costs a nominal amount to get setup in the system. Check it out!

If you’ve seen the movies “The Big Chill” or “The Breakfast Club”, you know how strangers are not strangers for very long when couped-up with one another. Such is the case here.

You never know who you might have request to “crash at your pad” or where you might stay. Here’s who we’ve met: a Guatemalan diplomat, a German filmmaker, a family from Poland, a National Geographic scale photographer, global travelers, an IT manager, those in town for the Widespread Panic concert, those considering a move to Colorado (a good idea).

It is a bit like a Grateful Dead concert where you don’t actually go in to the show – you just explore “The Village” outside for hours and hours, meeting people every few yards. Lori Ruff and I did just that in 2009. It is a highlight of the concert year for both of us. You meet the darndest people and some you would just NEVER expect (i.e., a high school football coach).

I felt this was such an interesting and powerful series of experiences that I actually put it on my LinkedIn Profile as a current position – Couchsurfing Host & Guest at IA Social Media. A quick LinkedIn search on the Boolean search term “Couchsurfer OR Couchsurfing” yielded over 800 hits just now!

See Mike O’Neil’s LinkedIn Profile with Couchsurfing listed: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoneil

Want to see the AMAZING work of our German Filmmaker friend Chris Dahm ( @crisdahm ) before he completes his documentary-style footage of Lori and I?

.

At Integrated Alliances HQ                                With Lori                                        With Mike

See Cris’ Video Diary as he travels the world – WOW!

www.youtube.com/user/crisdahm or  www.crisdahm.com

One last thing before I leave you today…

We just finished up our second Rock The World Social Media book, Rock The World with Social Media. It’s “The Ultimate Social Media Guide for LinkedIn Users”.

Find out more and pre-order at www.RockTheWorld2.com. $21.95 gets you a Signed First Edition copy.

We are trialing 2 designs for our Rock The World North American Tour 2010 T-Shirt design.  Can you help us with your comments?  Tell us what you like, what you don’t like, which you prefer, things we might not be thinking of, etc. Estimate price point is $20.

                  Option #1                                             Option #2

These shirts will be available along with our book, Rock The World with your Online Presence, as we inspire, educate, and entertain professionals on LinkedIn and Social Media across North America. They will also be available for online ordering in May.

The current published dates for our IA LinkedIn Roskstar Profile Clinics^© thus far (dozens more to come):

Denver, CO April 21 – Info and Registration

Chicago, IL May 5 – Info and Registration

Charlotte, NC May 15 – Info and Registration

Atlanta, GA May 21 – Info and Registration

Interested in bringing the tour through your town or for a private speaking/training opportunity?  Call us at 303-683-9600.  We are planning the remainder of 2010 NOW, before we take this  tour International in 2011.

Want a Who shirt like Mike’s?  The Hard Rock Cafe has them available as a charity fundraiser.  Sorry, Lori’s Def Leppard was at the concert only!

INFO/ORDER

Our Old Chicago Rock Band night location in Denver is done for a while and we are seeking a new location in or near downtown. Perhaps The Blake St. Tavern. Looking for ideas, open to all nights.

See some of our rock band action on video at Rock the World Facebook Fan Page

For TiE-Rockies’ Members, this is a FREE event. If you’re not a member, it is just $25 and you can pay at the door.

DATE: Tuesday, April 6, 2010, 2-4 pm.

Become a Rock Star on LinkedIn!
Repeat Event—Back by Popular Demand

Mike O’Neil and Lori Ruff, nationally renowned LinkedIn Rock Stars, will share inside guidance on how to extract the very most out of LinkedIn and avoid making costly mistakes along the way. LinkedIn is increasinging recognized as THE tool for business professionals and this event will help you get a real handle on it. This is a FREE event for TiE-Rockies members. $25 for non-members. Pay at the door. Register early – Space is very limited.

Get ready for an afternoon of high energy that, at times, resembles a classic rock concert.

Location:

Sales Productivity Consultants
2727 Bryant Street, Suite 230*
Denver, CO  80211
Phone 303-568-1500

Just West of I-25 near Speer Boulevard–this new facility for our trainings is larger with a more central location.
Parking is available in the main lot and on the street.

Please RSVP to me at RH@RaymondHutchins.com.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Seating for 25 people.

Best regards,

Raymond Hutchins
Chair, TiE-Rockies Mentoring Committee

Twitter post:

“Assignment for The LinkedIn Diva @loriruff – Attend Experience Hendrix in Denver and report back to us all, my turn Wed.”

So, that’s it. We talked on the phone about 5:15, but now that he’d put it out to the world… I got my marching orders so I got to going!

Mike has long talked and blogged about the way to score tickets and has shared all the tricks and tips for Denver CO venues.  So I started to work with what I had seen him do. I checked in by phone with The LinkedIn Rock Star himself and and confirm how much cash I might need, where I should go, who I should talk to, and what I should say.  Something told me to grab a couple of Mike’s cards – I’m glad I did.  (More about that coming up.)

I started online to find a map of the venue and face value of the tickets. I found everything I needed at Denverpost.com. I printed a map of the venue (The Historic Paramount Theater)–which is one of Mike’s tips–changed into jeans and our Jimi Hendrix Face T, and dumped my purse so I could carry what I needed in my jeans pockets. It had snowed and rained all day and got quite chilly after a week of springlike weather, so I bundled up and headed out to the 16th street mall.

After stopping at the ATM, I started walking.  I tried to hop on the Mall Shuttle and head toward the corner of 16th and Glenarm but there wasn’t one to be had… so I walked! But here’s my reward:

Twitter post:

“http://twitpic.com/18nisa – The joy of walking to the show… Now let’s see if @mikeoneildenver taught me anything about buying tix on the street!”

I found Rickus without any trouble. He has an unmistakable goatie.  One of his partners usually has his son with him and Neil was there as well, all of them trying to help people get into the show with the best possible tickets at a price they can afford.

I explained that I was a friend of Mike O’Neil… Their eyes glazed a bit so I pulled out Mike’s card, of course with the photograph, they knew right away who I was referring to! I explained that he was in Minnesota with his son so I was by myself and just needed one ticket. They asked what was the max I could spend.  I answered and added that  if they could do better for me so I can enjoy a beer inside, that would be great. But times are tough and this concert is too important to miss to quibble over $5.

I arrived at the corner about 6:12… the show was sold out, but the guys had a variety of tickets and were getting more. about 20 after the box office called out that they released tickets that had been held for once reason or another.  A few people went to the box office to get what they could but I waited a bit more to see what the guys could do for me.  Rickus offered me a Mezzanine seat for $100. That’s in the balcony and not bad but above value. I had just heard him offer the same seat in a set of 2 to someone at $130 each so I knew he was offering me a good deal but I didn’t have that much so I asked if he could do better.

With the sold out show, I had to be careful tickets were going to be scalped (sold above value) as they became harder to get. I knew there were some other guys walking with tickets here and around the corner, but I bet on the guys I knew.  By 6:30, Neil came through… He had had a set of three tickets on the floor, Orchestra C (Center) Row L (that’s 12 rows back) seat 14 (on the right aisle). OMGosh! And the good news, I had $ left for a beer!

I grabbed Rickus and let him know I had what I needed. He thanked me sincerely for letting him know. I had scored a great ticket in under 20 minutes! Now it was time to go on walk-about.  I went back to the buses to get more pictures. I just couldn’t pass that up!

Here’s my next tweet:

LoriRuff
6:38pm, Mar 14 from TwitPic

“Unbelievable designs on the #JimiHendrix buses… Imagine how great the show will be! Wish @mikeoneildenver could be here; but he’ll get to go Wed in MN w/ son! ”

I still had almost an hour to kill before the show started, so I popped into Paramount Cafe… the place was packed!  I walked around the bar, checked in on foursquare (a social media platform that allows you to locate friends and find great tips), and then walked out.  I tried our favorite haunt Earl’s.  There was plenty of room but the energy just wasn’t right. This crowd was NOT a Hendrix crowd!  I headed across the street to the Hard Rock Cafe.  How hard can it be for a girl to find a corner to have a beer? Evidently pretty tough on a Sunday night in Downtown Denver when the Hendrix Tribute Tour is in town! I even trotted across the street to Marlow’s but no dice.  (On a happy note, I was getting lots of check-in points on foursquare!)

I finally gave up and started to make my way back to Arby’s.  I came upon Appaloosa and peeked in the window just in case. Success!  There were a couple seats at the bar and they were having a special on draft… a girl can get lucky in Denver after all! I had a cool Wheat and checked in on Twitter, answering people who had responded to my posts.

Tweavesdropping can be fun…

ToyotaEquipment
6:39pm, Mar 14 from TwitPic

“@LoriRuff http://twitpic.com/18nnfi – Imagine where he would be with his talent today, so many talents lost.”

.

ToyotaEquipment
7:23pm, Mar 14 from Seesmic

“@LoriRuff No ma’am, down here SOTR, some of us are just uneasy with going to “the cities”.”

Of course, by the time the last tweet was sent, I had to run to get to the show on time. Only a block, but I didn’t want to miss a thing! I got to the door and had thankfully missed most of the crowd. We weren’t checked for cameras, which was great because I certainly had one in addition to my iPhone. The attendant scanned my ticket and directed me to Door 2. I had to stop and look at the beer line. The cool thing was the conversation that started because I had on the Hendrix shirt… it ended in “can I buy you a beer?”  Um, Yes please!

So we chatted in line about our favorite songs and concerts we’d been to and then when the lights flashed headed inside. Next tweet:

LoriRuff
7:37pm, Mar 14 from TwitPic

“http://twitpic.com/18nzm1 – #JimiHendrix Experience orchestra center L14 aisle! OMG! Thx Neil and Rickus! @mikeoneildenver was right about his tix advice! Above par tix way under list!!!”

So here’s the view from my seat.  I’m at 1200+ words here so I’ll cut the story for the night and finish the report tomorrow. Be sure to check back!  Mike O’Neil and son will be attending in Minneapolis and will post as well.  This is such a great opportunity to put his training into practice and to see how he does in a different city.  Rock On!

…

P.S., I will say that it looked and smelled like a concert from the 60′s… http://twitter.com/ParamountCO