There were four questions for discussion during this chat:

1)   To measure ROI, you must know what you want to achieve with your investment (of time or money or both.) Name some goals that social media can achieve.

2)   Let’s say you decide that your goal with social media is “brand awareness.” What can you measure to see if it’s working?

3)   Let’s say you decide on “community-building” as your social media investment goal. How do you measure success in that?

4)   Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) famously ranted about ROI – “What’s the ROI of your mother?!”  Is social media immeasurable but still worth it?

Additional resource links from the chat included lots of measurement information and an ebook…. and thanks, Katie D. Paine, measurement expert, for dropping into the chat!

**  On Chirpstory – the summary transcript for 16 Feb chat on s0cial media ROI.

The next #AWCChat is scheduled for 23 February 2012, on the topic of organizing your office space/work space.

**  Chat schedule and topics for February 2012

**  Chat schedule and topics for March 2012 coming soon!

Thanks for your support of the AWC (Association for Women in Communications) community.

There were four questions for discussion during this chat:

1)   Can a detailed LinkedIn profile substitute for a resume or CV? Why or why not?

2)   If we have to have a resume/CV, what tips can you share about keywords, terminology and resume scanners?

3)   What do you think about video resumes/CVs? Great idea, terrifying idea, or what?

4)   Since statistics show that referrals are the main way to get a job, how can your resume help with referrals?

Additional resource links from the chat included how to build a resume from a LinkedIn profile, and a sample video resume.

**  On Chirpstory – the summary transcript for 9 Feb chat on resumes and CVs.

The next #AWCChat is scheduled for 16 February 2012, on the topic of social media ROI.

**  Chat schedule and topics for February 2012

Thanks for your support of the AWC (Association for Women in Communications) community.

There were four questions for discussion during this chat:

1)   If you’re new to a field or are considering a career change, how can you find a mentor in the new field BEFORE you start working in it?

2)   If you are or have been a mentor, how would you like to be asked/approached to work with someone?

3)   Should women mentor each other more?

4)   Are social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook appropriate for approaching possible mentors? How about LikedIn?

Additional resource links were included in the chat.

**  On Chirpstory – the summary transcript for 2 Feb chat on mentoring.

The next #AWCChat is scheduled for 9 February 2012, on the topic of whether you still need a resume or CV in 2012.

**  Chat schedule and topics for February 2012

Thanks for your support of the AWC (Association for Women in Communications) community.

Nope, you do not have to be an AWC member or a woman to participate….

The chat is held weekly, for one hour, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CST (Central Standard Time) on Thursdays.

There will usually be a transcript on our Chirpstory channel if you can’t make it.

Here is a helpful post on how to participate in a Twitter chat, by Lisa Barone of Outspoken Media.

Here’s the plan:

Schedule/Topics February 2012

• Thursday, February 2  -  Mentoring: How to Get It, How to Be One
• Thursday, February 9  -  Does Anyone Really Still Need a Résumé or a CV in 2012?
• Thursday, February 16  -  Proving the Value of Social Media to Your Business, aka the ROI Question
• Thursday, February 23  -  Organizing Yourself and Your Office For Better Productivity

Please follow @AWCchat on Twitter, tweet us any other topic ideas you have and we look forward to seeing you at one or all of the chat sessions.

Thanks very much for your support of the AWC (Association for Women in Communications) community – where we “get” communications integration thanks to our diverse and talented membership!

There were four questions for discussion during this chat:

1)   What are the top concerns you have about becoming a freelance communicator, if you aren’t one already? Let’s add that if you are a freelancer now, what DID concern you (and were you right to worry?)

2)   No cube, but now what? Where is your “office” as a freelancer, and why do you like it that way?

3)   Let’s talk pricing. Per hour, per word don’t always work. How do you set your prices? (Great discussion on this topic.)

4)   Where and how can you find new clients? (we crowdsourced this question.)

Additional resource links during the chat include freelance job boards, decluttering a home office and how to think through pricing your services.

**  On Chirpstory – the summary transcript for 26 Jan chat on successful freelancing.

The next #AWCChat is scheduled for 2 February 2012, on the topic of mentoring – get one, be one.

**  Chat schedule and topics for February 2012

Thanks for your support of the AWC (Association for Women in Communications) community.

Our guest host was Glenda Watson Hyatt; she is a web accessibility expert and is also known as the Left Thumb Blogger. Glenda has cerebral palsy but never lets that stop her from anything.  We also enjoyed her blog post afterwards – Behind the Scenes of a Tweetchat.

There were four questions for discussion during this chat:

1)   How do you know if your website is accessible to those with disabilities?

2)   Who sets the rules for web accessibility and where are they found?

3)   What is the business case for paying more attention to accessibility? Why does it really matter?

4)   What is one thing that people can start doing TODAY to make their site more accessible?

We tweeted lots of additional resources during the chat, so don’t miss taking a look at the transcript, and connect with Glenda on Twitter at @GlendaWH.

**  On Chirpstory – the summary transcript for 19 Jan chat on web accessibility.

The next #AWCChat is scheduled for 26 January 2012, on making the jump to being a freelance communicator.

**  Chat schedule and topics for January 2012

Thanks for your support of the AWC (Association for Women in Communications) community.

There were four questions for discussion during this chat:

1)   How is text content presented differently on the web than in print, and why? (meaning, what is the reason for bullets, white space and headers/subheaders?  There’s science behind it.)

2)   Links are one of THE most important elements of writing online. How do you pick anchor text, who to link to, etc.?

3)   How can you write in a way that helps SEO (Search Engine Optimization) but doesn’t sound robotic?

4)   The web is multimedia, not just text. So, “writing for the web” is also “creating for the web” with video, images, etc. Agree or disagree?

We tweeted some additional resources during the chat, but if you do nothing else, read this definitive post about writing for the web, written by usability expert Jakob Nielsen in 1997 and still relevant today.

**  On Chirpstory – the summary transcript for 12 Jan chat on writing for the web.

The next #AWCChat is scheduled for 19 January 2012.   Our guest host is Patti DeNucci, author of The Intentional Networker, about how to take the anxiety out of networking for business.

**  Chat schedule and topics for January 2012

Thanks for your support of the AWC (Association for Women in Communications) community.

There were four questions for discussion during this chat:

1)   Let’s say you have an offer to speak for 1 hour at a conference, for pay. What do you charge?

2)   When is it good business to speak for free, or for pay that’s way below your usual rate?

3)   Event organizers will want a bio, head shot photo and title/description of your presentation. What tips do you have for each to shine?

4)   Does speaking really convert into actual sales of your products or services? Or does it just bring more speaking gigs?

**  On Chirpstory – the summary transcript for 5 Jan chat on becoming a pro speaker.  This edition is stuffed with extra resource links about speaking, too.

The next #AWCChat is scheduled for 12 January 2012.   Topic:   Writing for the Web: Why Bullets, Lists and Top 10s Aren’t Crummy “Communications Lite”

**  Chat schedule and topics for January 2012

Thanks for your support of the AWC (Association for Women in Communications) community.

There were four questions for discussion during this chat:

1)   Let’s share equipment and gadget ideas. What video camera, editing software, tripod, mic, etc. do you use & why?

2)   Video is visual storytelling; how can it help support business objectives?

3)   Share tips for organizing a video narrative. Storyboards, shot lists or just shoot a bunch & edit later?

4)   What is holding you back from shooting more video? How can we help fix that for you today? Go!

**  On Chirpstory – the summary transcript for 29 Dec chat on video and visual communications. Includes fun facts and additional resource links!

The next #AWCChat is scheduled for 5 January 2012.  Topic:  How to Kick-Start Your Career as a Professional Speaker

**  Chat schedule and topics for January 2012

Thanks for your support of the AWC (Association for Women in Communications) community.

Nope, you do not have to be an AWC member or a woman to participate….

The chat is held weekly, for one hour, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CST (Central Standard Time) on Thursdays.

There will usually be a transcript on our Chirpstory channel if you can’t make it.

Here is a helpful post on how to participate in a Twitter chat, by Lisa Barone of Outspoken Media.

Here’s the plan:

Schedule/Topics January 2012

• Thursday, January 5  -  How to Kick-Start Your Career as a Pro Speaker
• Thursday, January 12  -  Writing for the Web: Why Bullets, Lists and Top 10s Aren’t Crummy “Communications Lite”
• Thursday, January 19  -  UPDATE:  Patti DeNucci has to wait until February to guest host, but web accessibility expert Glenda Watson Hyatt kindly agreed to step in to show us how online content can (and should!) be accessible for the disabled.  Start here to learn about web accessibility and then go here to learn about the Left Thumb Blogger, our new host.

• (confirmed!) How to Take the Anxiety Out of Networking for Business with guest host Patti DeNucci – @PattiDeNucci – author of The Intentional Networker: Attracting Powerful Relationships, Referrals & Results in Business
• Thursday, January 26  -  The Good, the Bad, the Ugly in Making the Leap to Freelance Communicator (leading into our annual AWC Freelance February 2012 webinar series that launches on Feb 7 with Liz Carmack‘s “10 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs”)

Please follow @AWCchat on Twitter, tweet us any other topic ideas you have and we look forward to seeing you at one or all of the chat sessions.

Thanks very much for your support of the AWC (Association for Women in Communications) community – let’s kick off the new year with some fab professional development!