Chat topics, dates and times for September 2013

We’re excited to be in our 2nd year of #AWCchat:  a one-hour, weekly online chat on Twitter where we discuss a variety of communications-related topics.

Nope, you do not have to be an AWC (Association for Women in Communications) 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. Here’s the plan:

Schedule/Topics September 2013

• Thursday, Sept 5  –  Building a more effective LinkedIn Company Page
• Thursday, Sept 12  –  Getting Things Done: How to Become a Productivity Machine
• Thursday, Sept 19  –  Health and Wellness for a Better Business, with guest host Aliah Davis-McHenry, the Get Fit Diva
• Thursday, Sept 27 at 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CST  –  A special date and time for #awcchat, with guest host AWC International Matrix Award winner Bonnie St. John, on Women and Leadership

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

Thanks very much for your support of the AWC – where we “get” communications integration thanks to our diverse and talented membership!

Summary transcript for 22 August 2013 #AWCchat: Sarah Petty on Small Business Marketing

Thanks to everyone who participated in our 65th #AWCChat on Twitter; the guest host was Sarah Petty who is our opening keynote speaker for the 2013 AWC National Conference in Springfield, IL October 18-19.

The chat focus was on charging what you’re worth and successfully marketing a small business.

Here is what we discussed:

1)  So many small businesses fail; how do you manage to keep your business booming?

2)  What is your greatest challenge with charging what you’re worth?

3)  If you’re a small business owner, you don’t have a huge marketing budget. What do you do to get the right clients in the door?

4)  What advice would you give to someone who wants to quit their day job & start their own business?

Sarah gave us two freebie resource links, too (thanks for that!)

a)  An email course – 10 days of free marketing strategies

b)  A free chapter of the New York Times best-selling book she co-authored, “Worth Every Penny“

**  On our AWC Chirpstory channel – the summary transcript for the 22 August chat.

**  Chat schedule and topics for August 2013 (no chat next week August 29.)

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

Summary transcript for 15 August 2013 #AWCchat: Is the Press Release Dead?

Thanks to everyone who participated in our 64th #AWCChat on Twitter, about the relevance of news releases both to garner media coverage and for SEO (Search Engine Optimization.)

Our own AWC press release went out this week highlighting our 2013 AWC National Conference, so it was top of mind as a topic and the lively discussion didn’t disappoint.

Here is what we discussed:

1)  Do journalists care about/use news releases, and do they get it via the [expensive] distribution system/”wire” or another way?

2)  Let’s say journalists don’t care about news releases and you’re wasting your time sending them purely for possible media coverage. What about SEO value, though?

3)  What do you say to a client who insists on a press release, and you know it’s a waste of time?

4)  How have social and online communications changed how you craft a news release?

We tweeted tons of helpful Resource links, too.

**  On our AWC Chirpstory channel – the summary transcript for the 15 August chat.

**  Chat schedule and topics for August 2013

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

Summary transcript for 8 August 2013 #AWCchat: business travel

Thanks to everyone who participated in our 63rd #AWCChat on Twitter, about how to survive and thrive during business travel.

Here is what we discussed:

1)  Is most of your business travel for client work/meetings, or conferences? (and do you mostly drive, or fly these days?)

2)  Do you have a system for getting out the door, or is it more of a mad rush?

3)  Let’s talk about packing & business travel clothes. What are your go-to clothes & bags?

4)  What are some tips for staying healthy when you’re on business travel?

Don’t miss the helpful Resource links we tweeted, either.

**  On our AWC Chirpstory channel – the summary transcript for the 8 August chat.

**  Chat schedule and topics for August 2013

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

Summary transcript for 1 August 2013 #AWCchat: B2B communications

Thanks to everyone who participated in our 62nd #AWCChat on Twitter, about B2B (business to business) communications and how they differ (or DO they?) from B2C (business to consumer.)

Here is what we discussed:

1)  Why is so much B2B content so boring….and what can we do about that?

2)  How can B2B communications strategies incorporate social media?

3)  What can you do starting today to liven up your B2B communications?

Don’t miss the helpful Resource links we tweeted, either (some say it’s their favorite part of the chats.) We featured DitchWitch and Dun & Bradstreet as B2B best practices examples.

**  On our AWC Chirpstory channel – the summary transcript for the 1 August chat.

**  Chat schedule and topics for August 2013

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

Chat topics, dates and times for August 2013

We’re excited to be in our 2nd year of #AWCchat:  a one-hour, weekly online chat on Twitter where we discuss a variety of communications-related topics.

Nope, you do not have to be an AWC (Association for Women in Communications) 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. Here’s the plan:

Schedule/Topics August 2013

• Thursday, August 1 – B2B (Business to Business) Communications: Is it Really So Different?
• Thursday, August 8 – Business travel & the fall conference season (how to not lose your mind)
• Thursday, August 15 – The press release: is it dead? Why or why not? (original wellness topic moved to Sept 19)
• Thursday, August 22 – Guest host is Sarah Petty, opening keynote for the October 2013 AWC National Conference, on being paid what you are worth (and you’re worth every penny, right?)
• Thursday, August 29 – no chat, go take a holiday!

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

Thanks very much for your support of the AWC – where we “get” communications integration thanks to our diverse and talented membership!

Summary transcripts for all July 2013 #AWCchat topics

Thanks to everyone who participated in our 59th through 61st  #AWCChats on Twitter.

We got a little behind with the summary blog posts, so here are the links to all of the transcripts for the July 2013 chats:

1)  July 11 – Instagram for Communicators

2)  July 18 – Successful Freelancing for Communicators

3)  July 25 – SlideShare for Communicators

The August 2013 #awcchat schedule is coming soon!

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

Chat topics, dates and times for July 2013

We’re excited to be in our 2nd year of #AWCchat:  a one-hour, weekly online chat on Twitter where we discuss a variety of communications-related topics.

Nope, you do not have to be an AWC (Association for Women in Communications) 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. Here’s the plan:

Schedule/Topics July 2013

• Thursday, July 4 – no chat (Fourth of July holiday)
• Thursday, July 11 – All about Instagram, including the new video option
• Thursday, July 18 –  What steps do you need to take to succeed as a freelance communicator?
• Thursday, July 25 – The social business network that you’re ignoring: SlideShare

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

Thanks very much for your support of the AWC – where we “get” communications integration thanks to our diverse and talented membership!

Summary transcript for 20 June 2013 #AWCchat: getting started as a pro speaker

Thanks to everyone who participated in our 58th #AWCChat on Twitter, about how to get started as a professional, paid speaker.

Here is what we discussed:

1)  How many on the chat currently have some standard speaking topics/presentations (paid or not?)

2)  Elements of a solid Speaker info page with topics, experience, testimonials, etc.

3)  We talked about pricing, from what people think is reasonable to charge for a one-hour presentation when you’re new, to higher-end amounts.

Don’t miss the helpful Resource links we tweeted, either.

**  On our AWC Chirpstory channel – the summary transcript for the 20 June chat.

**  Chat schedule and topics for June 2013

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

Summary transcript for 13 June 2013 #AWCchat: Website and Blog Stats That Matter

Thanks to everyone who participated in our 57th #AWCChat on Twitter, about which stats really matter in your website and blog analytics.

Here is what we discussed:

1)  What is some basic info you want to know about your website/blog visitors? Hint: you want to know how people found your site (through a link? Keyword search – which words? Social media?)

2)  How do you measure whether you’re getting more visitors (traffic) to your site?

The transcript includes specific sections to pay attention to in your analytics. Don’t miss all of the helpful how-to Resource links we tweeted, either.

**  On our AWC Chirpstory channel – the summary transcript for the 13 June chat.

**  Chat schedule and topics for June 2013

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