Nearly every day, I get calls or email from people who want to learn more about Social Media and how to integrate it with public relations, marketing or advertising programs. In addition to hearing from companies, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations, I often receive inquiries from other professionals in marketing, PR, advertising and business development, who are faced with limited budgets and have come to realize, for many reasons, that they need to add social media and social networking expertise to their tool kits.

Many business owners and company executives have begun to understand the significant potential of social media and social networking, and how direct, authentic conversations and interaction with your customers—and building a loyal community around your brand—is a much more effective way to influence your customers or clients and reach out to the media. My company offers training, mentoring and consulting in integrating social media community building with other forms of customer, marketing and media outreach, which you can learn more about by contacting us.

Additionally, I am always glad to share the training opportunities and best practices offered by my respected colleagues and friends. So, I paid attention when I saw that Network Solutions has teamed up with a number of my colleagues to offer a FREE video Webinar series on Wednesday, October 29th. For this level of training, with these pros, you would normally have to pay a significant fee—so, I enthusiastically encourage you to check this series out on the Network Solutions Solutions Stars page.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: This excellent video Webinar series will be archived online for two years, so if you missed it today, you can catch up here.

To find out more, I interviewed my colleague, Geoff Livingston, CEO of Livingston Communications, with whom I worked during this past year on a blogger tour for his client, StackSafe. He is one of the participants, and a co-creator of this Webinar series. I asked Geoff specific questions to determine who should attend this Webinar series, and to learn more about how it was developed. After reading his comments, I would highly recommend the series to you, if you have beginning-to-intermediate level knowledge about social media, or if you are curious about whether it’s right for you or your organization:

CH (Cathryn Hrudicka): How did the idea for this Webinar series come about, and will it be ongoing? Can we expect more presenters and topics in the future?

GL (Geoff Livingston): It actually came out of Network Solutions‘ larger social media strategy that was finalized last July. We knew they had to listen and respond to their customers, then go further. Even though listening and responding has been the most notable form of corporate social media to date, the entire internal and external social media team felt that Network Solutions had to go further and give something valuable and meaningful to its community.

CH: Who created the series, and what are its goals?

GL: Ultimately, Network Solutions did, but Social Media Swami Shashi Bellamkonda and I are the real generators of the series. We saw what Chris Brogan, Jim Long and David Alston did with Radian6 and the Twebinar series, and thought we could do something with video that would be meaningful. At the same time we wanted it to be different, and you will see the videos are done in a different format. Further we will be releasing the videos on YouTube and Viddler for widespread use — if the community should desire them.

This gift of content is not requiring of people to sign up, it does not mean folks will get spammed later, or that we are trying to develop leads. It is simply Network Solutions trying to help its small business customers better thrive on the Internet. At the time, we had no idea about the economy, but now more than ever, giving away a free video conference like this will mean something. Small business owners and entrepreneurs are reeling, and giving them something to help them develop new ideas without having to go to an actual conference.

CH: Who’s the audience? Is it targeted for specific markets, niches or levels of social media knowledge/use?

GL: I would say it’s for beginners, those who are just trying to figure out what do online, or realize they know little and are struggling with what to do online. We see that community primarily being the entrepreneur or small business person who wears many hats, is probably a natural marketer, but just hasn’t dedicated the time to this form like the pros have.

CH: It’s a free series now. Are you anticipating charging a fee for a more in-depth or advanced series later on?

GL: Nope. This is a conversation starter, something for the community to take and do what they will with it.

CH: Do you think the audience for a social media Webinar series like this is evolving? If so, how?

GL: To be determined. So far the reaction has been great, and I think the economy is going to force more people to online events as opposed to live conferences. That means more events like these that have value. And some will cost money, some will be free. My feeling on content is that it should be free, not requiring sign-ups, etc. otherwise the brand is cutting itself off from larger communities of potential interest.

We also need to see how the market responds to Solutions Stars and how we can evolve this.

CH: Are there any other important points you want to make about this series and why people should participate?

GL: Just that this is a basic series of primers for the new and perhaps intermediate user of social media for business purposes. People who are expecting rocket science or new major revelations may find it to be somewhat obvious. But again our stakeholder is the entrepreneur, the small business owner who is trying to figure this out.

CH: What technology or apps do you need to participate? Anything people need to download before it starts?

GL: No, they should be able to use a standard web browser and come on board. I have to thank ooVoo for making that possible.

So, if this FREE, no obligation video Webinar series sounds like something that might be helpful for you or your organization, here’s the basic information—it sounds like you shouldn’t miss it:

The Network Solutions sponsored Solutions Stars Video Conference

To be presented on Wednesday, Oct. 29th, beginning at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, featuring the following content themes (the links below lead to Geoff’s blog posts on these topics):

Here’s a sneak preview of a sample video. This clip is oriented more toward small businesses, but the basic principles apply to larger companies, nonprofits and trade associations:

Solutions Stars: The Social Opportunity

After you watch and listen, if you still have questions, or if you want to discuss your own business situation in more detail, please feel free to contact me—an initial conversation is always FREE, and I endeavor to make it well worth your time.

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