Custom Twitter Background

Twitter is awesome for startup companies, but it does have some shortcomings! Twitter does not allow you to have an extensive bio, multiple contacts, or multiple websites listed on your profile. If you're willing to put in a little extra effort, I have a solution for you. You can create a custom profile page background (like the one on the right) that has all of your extra desired information. It also lets potential followers that you care about your presence on Twitter and you might be a good person to connect with.

To create a custom background, you can use free and easy to use tools like http://freetwitterdesigner.com/. 

When you find shortcomings in any social media platform, there is often a third-party developer that has created a way to overcome the problem. This is just one example.

Picture source: webdesignerwall.com

Improve your YouTube Videos

Video marketing is huge! YouTube just made it easier for you to improve the quality of your videos.

Sources: http://mashable.com/2012/03/21/youtube-edit-videos-one-click/

http://youtu.be/2b5uKF-7qDM

Book Review: The Zen of Social Media Marketing

I recently read the book The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Kabani. The book had great reviews, so I thought I'd check it out and see what applications it had to social media strategies for startups.

This book actually covered more than the title would have you think. It does a good job in touching on all important internet marketing tactics like blogging, SEO, and paid advertising and tying them all into an overall social media strategy. 

The social media topics covered were strategies not tailored for startups, however, they were things that all entrepreneurs should know in general about social media. The book highlighted four social networks: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+. 

Aside from the book, I found a great resource in the Kabani's website and blog. You can check it out here: http://www.shama.tv/. 

I would highly recommend this book. Even if you know a lot about social media, this book does a great job of putting the social media world as we know it today into perspective. You can purchase the book here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1936661632/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link. 

Crowdfunding on Kickstarter

Have you heard of Kickstarter yet? If you haven't, you need to go to their website and check it out! Kickstarter is one of the big players in the world of crowd funding websites. Crowd funding, as defined by Wikipedia, is "the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together." In other words, crowd funding gives anyone the ability to go to this website and fund a project. Kickstarter believes that a good idea can be communicated across the web and spread like wild fire reaching a huge amount of people. This huge amount of people is a great source of funding and support.

Kickstarter employs an "all or nothing" funding system. That means if a project does not reach its funding goals, the project gets no funding at all. They do this for three reasons. First, it eliminates risk for people giving funding. A funder's money is not going to go to waste on a project that is not fully funded. Second, it allows people to test a concept without risk. If it's a bad idea, you're not going to get funded, so you do not have to worry about having to follow through. Third, it encourages people to spread the word and get involved in promoting their Kickstarter project.

So that owners keep 100% ownership of their projects, Kickstarter does not allow an exchange of equity for funding given. Instead, project creators give away rewards in order to incentivize people to fund their project.

Do you have a project you want funded? This is how it works:

1. You submit your project to Kickstarter for approval. It must fit into one of their categories (art, comics, dance, design, fashion, film, food, games, music, photography, publishing, technology, or theater). It must also be a creative and novel idea according to Kickstarter.

2. Once your project is approved, you can create your Kickstarter profile, which includes a video, a description of your project, the amount of money you are asking for, the number of days your project is going to run, and a list of the rewards you will be giving away. Check out a successful Kickstarter project here.

3. Once your Kickstarter project has gone live, it's time to promote, promote, promote! You only have a certain amount of days to reach your funding goal! Tell everyone you know across any platform you have about your project.

4. If your Kickstarter project gets funded, AWESOME! It's time to start fulfilling the rewards to your funders and start your project! If your Kickstarter project wasn't funded, it probably wasn't that great of an idea. Time to move on.

Kickstarter can be used by entrepreneurs to get their concepts off the ground. It can be the seed funding that is needed to validate a business without giving away any equity and with very little risk.

Some very exciting news: my most recent venture MistoBox just got approved by Kickstarter! I'm now in the process of creating a Kickstarter strategy before I launch the project, so I can put myself in the best position possible to get full funding. I'll be sure to keep you updated on the projects process, and let you know what I find to be the best strategies to getting funded. Can you think of any strategies that would make a Kickstarter project successful?