As part of #BeMyGuest (a month of guest blogging), today I bring you a guest post from Laura Click. Enjoy!

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Imagine you’re in a crowded bar. The music is pumping and the atmosphere is electric. You spot a guy (or girl) across the room that catches your eye. Your pulse quickens. You want to meet this person, but how do you strike up a conversation without feeling awkward?

Sound familiar?

If you’ve ever tried meeting new people in a bar, you know how difficult it can be. A bar is crowded. It’s noisy. How do you connect with people like you? And strangely, this analogy applies to social media as well. While many have deemed Twitter and Facebook to be a “virtual water cooler”, I tend to think of it as crowded bar.

While social media can be an incredibly useful way to develop relationships, it can take a bit of work to cut through the noise and find the right people to talk to. And, once you find those people, how do you get to know them without tossing out the cheesy pick-up lines?

Social media offers the incredible opportunity to connect with people we never thought possible, such as industry leaders, potential employers and even our favorite celebrities. However, the real value of social media occurs when online interaction translates to relationships “in real life”.

As with any solid relationship, it does not develop overnight. Whether you want to connect with business prospects, colleagues, mentors or simply other totally awesome people, it’s important to invest time in cultivating relationships.

So, how do you get started? Here are some tips to developing relationships online (sans pick-up lines):

1. Listen. If you’ve identified some people you’d like to get to know, follow them and listen to what they have to say. Their posts can give you a great insight into the person’s interests and ideas.
2. Introduce. If you want to connect with someone, introduce yourself and say hello. After reading about the person, you can mention something that you have in common or compliment them on something you saw on their blog. This is a great way to start up a conversation.
3. Retweet. Retweeting is one of the best ways to compliment someone on Twitter. Essentially, it’s like forwarding an e-mail message. It allows you to share someone’s tweet with your followers. So, if you like what someone had to say, retweeet it! Oftentimes, they’ll send you a thank you in response.
4. Reply. As you follow people, respond to posts that interest you. Using Facebook, you can “like” or comment on posts. Sending an @reply on Twitter is a simple way to show you’re listening to what the person has to say.  Over time, this may lead to a more in-depth discussion or even a conversation offline.
5. Comment. If the person has a blog, join the discussion and comment on their posts. This is a great way to provide value to the blogger, while also highlighting why you are someone the blogger should get to know. And, you might just learn something in the process.
6. Repeat. Because of the large scale of social media, it’s important to repeat the process. It can be hard to grab someone’s attention if the person has thousands of followers or fans. Continuing to participate will help the person recognize you when finally do make the ask.
7. Ask. After you’ve communicated with the person for a while, it will be much easier to suggest meeting the person for coffee or even having a phone conversation. Because you’ve taken the time to get to know the person a bit first, they will be much more likely to oblige.

This approach has worked well for me. After getting to know someone online, I’ve not had anyone turn down the chance to meet up for coffee. And, because of that, I’ve met some fantastic people in the process.  Yes, there’s a little risk. And, there’s always the fear of rejection. However, I think you’ll find that once you’ve done it, you’ll be glad you did.

How do you develop relationships online? What have you done to connect with people you’ve met online?

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About Laura
Laura Click is a marketing and public relations professional in Nashville, Tenn. She works in state government by day, and is a blogger and marketing consultant by night. You can find out more about Laura at www.lauraclick.com, or by following @lauraclick on Twitter.

Image Credit: opacity

This post originally appeared on the ReadPyxl blog. Because it was quite popular, I’m re-posting it here in hopes that it will help more people. But check out ReadPyxl for similar topics. Pyxl is a pretty awesome company (hint: I work there) ; )

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Last night, I (along with some colleagues) had the privilege of speaking about social media with a group of PR students at the University of Tennessee. In one part of our talk, we shared a list of helpful tools we use to manage social media, monitor brands, spread information, discover opportunities and track results.

Of course, there are tons of tools out there, and more popping up each day. But I’ve found a few good ones that I would call my favorites. So here’s my list of the 7 tools I can’t live without:

1. Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck is easily the social media tool I use most often. The leading browser for the real-time and social web, it allows users to connect with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace. I use it mostly to keep track of the multiple Twitter accounts I handle (including @ replies and DMs for each), to keep track of the Twitter lists I’m most interested in, and to monitor what others are saying about my search terms. I also use it to post to Facebook pages. It’s easy to use and columns are completely customizable. Simply put, it’s my social media dashboard, and I couldn’t live without it!

2. Hootsuite

The only thing missing from Tweetdeck (and my guess is that this might not be the case for long) is the ability to schedule tweets and posts. For this, I use Hootsuite. To be clear, however, some people use Hootsuite in place of Tweetdeck, but it all comes down to preferences. I just prefer Tweetdeck. Hootsuite is nice if you don’t want to download a client like Tweetdeck, as Hootsuite is web-based. But if you’re like me and use Tweetdeck as your #1 client, Hootsuite still comes in handy when it comes to scheduling tweets and Facebook posts!

3. Bit.ly

Bit.ly is (IMO) the best link shortener around. Not only does it make your links nice and small and tweetable, but it tracks how many people click each link! This is useful information to help you figure out what links are most popular and what your followers want to see more of. You can create an account to have a nice dashboard of all your links (and this account integrates nicely with Tweetdeck), OR you can add a “+” to the end of a bit.ly link to check out that particular link’s statistics. You can also see who else tweeted about the link and what time of day people went to it. It’s just really great information to have.

4. Social Mention

I really love this tool! Social Mention is a social media search and analysis platform that aggregates user generated content from across the universe into a single stream of information. It allows you to easily track and measure what people are saying about you, your company, a new product, or any topic across the web’s social media landscape in real-time. Social Mention monitors 100+ social media properties directly including Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, Digg, Google, etc. It also allows you to set up alerts — think Google Alerts only more social!

5. PitchEngine

With PitchEngine, users can easily create and share social media releases. You can incorporate embedded video, images, powerpoints and more into a hosted “microsite” that can easily be shared via the social web using apps like Facebook, Twitter and more. A dynamic blend of traditional PR and a more progressive, conversational method, PitchEngine opens doors and engages readers. Those readers include not just media, but investors and consumers (friends, fans and followers) alike. This is an awesome tool to supplement your press release initiatives.

6. Help a Reporter Out (HARO)

HARO is an email digest that comes out 2-3 times daily, and is an amazing tool for every PR pro! Every day, HARO brings nearly 30,000 reporters and bloggers, over 100,000 news sources and thousands of businesses together to tell their stories, promote their brands and sell their products and services. HARO is entirely free to both sources and reporters. Basically, a PR pro can take a quick look at each digest and if an opportunity seems like something a client might be interested in, you send information over to the reporter, and you might just chosen as a source! Last week, Pyxl was mentioned in Inc. Magazine. How did we find the opportunity? HARO of course!

7. Google Reader

It’s important to stay up to date on what’s going on in the industry and in the world, so I follow a lot of blogs and news outlets — A LOT! And it can be hard to keep track of them all. However, Google Reader is a great way to manage this and cut down on daily reading time. It’s a one stop shop where all of the outlets you follow are aggregated into one place.

So there you have it — the 7 tools I can’t live without. Which tools are on your list?

I always like to highlight a good idea when I see one, and #BeMyGuest is a great example.

Last week, Emily Cagle and I were chatting about a guest post that she’s going to write for PRettySocial. I love guest posts for a couple reasons:

1. I like giving other bloggers access to my community in hopes that you (my readers) will find another cool blogger to follow.
2. I like providing a fresh outlook on PRettySocial, and letting someone else share their opinion. Let’s face it, I’m pretty opinionated and I’m sure you get tired of listening to me ; )

So when Emily shared her #BeMyGuest idea with me yesterday, I immediately loved it! The concept is simple:

During March 2010, anyone taking part will aim to write at least one post for someone else’s blog, and feature at least one guest post on their own blog.

A Twitter hashtag is involved, so all you have to do is tweet out your blog details and the hashtag #BeMyGuest to let people know you’d like to take part.

Your tweet might look like this:

“I write a blog about #media called The M3dia Blog <link> and I’d like to take part in #BeMyGuest http://bit.ly/bemyguest”

“I blog about #food at The Yum! Blog <link> and I’d like to take part in #BeMyGuest http://bit.ly/bemyguest”

You can connect with as many bloggers as you want, for as many guest posts as you’d like to feature or write…it’s up to you!

For more details, head over to Emily’s blog.

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In the spirit of this, I’d like to dedicate March as a guest blogging month at PRettySocial! Of course, I’ll still be blogging as well. However, if you’re interested in guest blogging, just shoot me an email explaining who you are and what you want to blog about — nicole.vanscoten (at) gmail.com.

My usual topics include: public relations, social media, marketing, gen y, wedding planning, life, and more…but I could be swayed if you have an awesome idea that doesn’t really fall in the scope of this blog, so try me!

And if you’re interested in having yours truly guest blog over at your place, email me! I’m on the hunt for some places to guest blog as well.

Can’t wait to hear from you! And stay tuned for some fresh perspectives on PRettySocial this month : )

It definitely took Michael and I a while to find inspiration for our wedding. Our colors changed about 5 times, our ceremony location has been in limbo, and I was having trouble deciding on an overall theme to tie all the elements together. You may say we still have a lot of time — and we do. But it’s tough to get much of anything booked when you don’t have colors or even a general direction.

Lucky for us, in the past week, it’s finally all started to come together. And that’s thanks in part to some very inspiring websites that I’d like to pay tribute to in this week’s aPRettySocialBride! So if you’re having trouble finding inspiration for your wedding, check out these great sites.

1. Pretty Chicky

Pretty Chicky is an awesome wedding inspiration blog I found. While I love bigger bridal idea sites like The Knot, smaller blog sites like Pretty Chicky are nice because they’re a lot less overwhelming. Sometimes, it’s hard to sift through everything on The Knot to find the ideas that really work for you. Pretty Chicky makes it a little easier. Shari, the girl behind the blog, posts awesome inspiration boards a few times a week, and her taste is amazing! She’s really helped me settle on some ideas, and her blog is one I visit often. If you’re a girly bride looking for a girly wedding, check out Pretty Chicky!

2. Dessy

Dessy is a helpful site for two reasons. (1) They offer tools to help you build your own drag-and-drop inspiration boards, complete with color choices, their collection of Pantone bridesmaid dresses, and more. It’s easy and fun, and is a great way to put all of your ideas in one place. However, if you’re like me, Dessy is awesome because (2) They recently added inspiration styleboard galleries for other brides to post their boards! This is an awesome way to get ideas. You can click your colors and voila — a bunch of premade inspiration boards are right there on your screen. Helpful, huh?

3.  Polyvore

Polyvore is another really unique and helpful site. Like the others, it’s complete with enough styleboards to give you ideas for 20 weddings! The difference here is that Polyvore also tells you were you can buy all the products you see. While the site isn’t just for weddings, there are a ton of wedding ideas there, and it’s always nice to know you can actually find and buy the things you see. You can also add the “Clip to Polyvore” button to your bookmark toolbar, so when you see something online that you like, you can add it to your own styleboard later.

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So that’s where I found my inspiration. Where did you find yours?

In the business world, there are a lot of requirements — keeping up your appearance, networking, etc., etc. — which in my experience can often get a little expensive!

As someone who’s saving for a wedding, trying to get out of credit card debt, make a mortgage payment and student loan payments, I’ve found easy ways to keep a little more money in my bank account.

1. Eat in the office.

It’s easy to get caught up in going out to lunch everyday during business hours. However, this can often end up costing $50 a week or more! A good way to save money is to eat in the office, at a nearby park, or to run home if you’re close enough.

Where to get the food from? I generally opt for leftovers from the dinner before. OR I hit up the nearby Kroger to find something good to make. The best way to save money here is to check the circular online before you go and scope out what’s on sale. Then, I visit some online coupon sites (such as Coupons.com, CellFire, Shortcuts and SmartSource) to see which coupons are available. I generally base my lunch choice on what deals I can get. Yesterday, my lunch (delicious tortellini from Marie Calendars) cost me about $1.15 after a store discount and a coupon!

2. Dress with basics.

Keeping a professional wardrobe can also get expensive, and dressing presentably five days a week can often do a number on your wallet. However, I’ve found that keeping a closet full of solid-colored basics is the best way to go. The reason I love basics is that you can mix and match them to create numerous outfits with just a few items. Plus, they tend to be a little easier to care for. (Don’t you just hate when things are “dry clean only”?)

Some great stores for these items include Express and H&M. While Express generally has some larger  price tags compared to H&M, you can sign up to receive Express discounts, which can often cut half the price off! Plus, if you catch Express’ “Shop the Box” sale, you can get basics for mere dollars!

3. Find alternate modes of transportation.

This is the more obvious of the three I have on this list. And I must admit, this is one I actually don’t do. Living in Knoxville, our options are a little limited in terms of transportation — especially being that I live 30 minutes from the office. However, for those of you in bigger cities or who live/work in downtown areas, this is a definitely viable option that can save you money!

Carpool with a coworker or try public transportation. Gas is still expensive, and cutting down on how much you need will definitely keep a little extra money in your wallet.

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So there you have it — 3 ways to save money in the business world. How else do you save?

Thinking of starting a blog?

It’s no secret that keeping a blog is hard work. Blogging takes time, energy, brainpower, etc…but for me and many others, it’s truly worth it.

So if you’ve been thinking of starting a blog and just aren’t sure if you should, here are a few things that might help you decide. This is my list of the skills I believe you should have in order to be successful in the blogosphere:

1. Knowledge: In order to be successful in blogging, you of course need to be knowledgeable about the topic you are writing on. You can blog about the field you work in, about a hobby you enjoy, about being a parent, etc. — Just make sure you know your stuff. After all, you’re trying to prove you’re a thought-leader, right?
2. Love: There’s no point in starting a blog if you don’t love to write. It’s rare that you’re going to get rich by being a blogger, so don’t do it just because you think it could make you money. If you love to write and you’re passionate about the topic, I encourage you to start blogging, but don’t do it if you don’t love it.
3. Dedication: Blogging takes a lot of work. Each post needs to be thought out and written with care. Sometimes you even have to do a little research. In addition, to be successful in blogging, you need to post fairly often, so make sure you really love doing it (and can devote time to it) before you get in over your head.
4. Patience: Your blog is not going to blow up overnight, so don’t be discouraged if your visitor numbers are fairly low in the first few months you’re blogging. Just keep writing posts, promoting them on Twitter, Facebook, etc…and eventually the visitors will grow. It also helps to comment on other blogs and connect with like-minded people on Twitter.
5. Tough Skin: Not everyone is going to agree with you all the time. (Did you see my post on YellowBook?!) As bloggers, we’re putting our opinions on the line and sometimes people are going to disagree with us. When someone opposes you on your own blog, be thoughtful and craft a good response. You’ll actually find it’s nice to get a good debate going.

What do you think? Any questions?

What other qualities do you think a blogger needs in order to be successful?

Photo from Annie Mole – used under creative commons.

This week’s {aPRettySocialBride} is a guest post by fellow bride-to-be, Andrea Shifflet. Like me, Andrea is on a budget. Unlike me, Andrea is a lot more laid back when it comes to planning her big day, so I figured she would be perfect to provide some insight on how she’s been able to keep her sanity in the process. After all, I need it! Don’t you?

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I’m not your typical bride in that I haven’t been dreaming about my wedding day since birth (gasp!). My laid back attitude about the whole process has lead to some eye-rolling from my friends and family, but it has also kept me from overspending and stressing out.

Here are 10 ways I’ve kept my sanity during the process:

1. Keep the guest list low. We’re inviting only those who we really want to share this moment with. Our guest list is less than 100 which saved us money on food and drinks.
2. Choose a simple color scheme. I picked black and white for two reasons: (1) My bridesmaids ease of finding a dress they will ACTUALLY wear again, and (2) I can’t mess up decorating in black and white right?
3. Pick a multi-functional venue. We chose the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts to hold the ceremony and reception. This makes it easy for guests and easy for me to deal with problems that may arise that day. Plus, we got a great price since we did a combo deal.
4. Beg, borrow and steal. I’ve put the word out to friends and family about my black and white theme, and one of my co-workers graciously donated items I will be using as part of my centerpieces. Total cost: $0.
5. Do it yourself. I designed my own save-the-dates, invitations and programs and will be printing them at work for a minimal cost. Our save-the-dates printed for $8. I also made my own card box (because I can’t stand the weird traditional bird cage thing) for a cost of $15.
6. Opt for a small photography package. One of my bridesmaids does photography on the side, so we decided to hire a photographer for just a few hours. I had a hard time finding one who had my date open and was willing to only do a few hours, but I finally found someone. As a bonus, I get TWO photographers! Total cost: $500
7. Hire a day-of planner. It hit me that there are so many details that need to get done the day-of that I won’t be around for. I didn’t want the burden to fall on family or friends, so I decided to hire day-of wedding planners, and it’s the single best investment I have made to date. They’ve already been a life saver in getting logistics figured out and ensuring that they will take care of all the crazy things that will happen that day. For the ease of mind I will have, the price tag of $750 is worth it!
8. Ask questions. Other brides are very eager to share their knowledge, so visit wedding forums like those on weddingwire.com for good advice. I posted a question and received 10 responses within minutes, so use your online resources to your advantage.
9. Start early. I’ve been chipping away at things ever since I got engaged so that when it came down to the last month I didn’t have a ton of last minute decisions. Often, brides make a decision solely because there’s not enough time to look at other options, which will cost you money in the end. Plus, you won’t be draining your bank account all at once if you spread out the planning.
10. Stay level-headed. I’ve had one too many brides tell me to elope because the wedding planning process is so difficult, so make sure to relax and enjoy this portion of your engagement. A laid-back attitude can go a long way when dealing with mishaps. And I promise you’ll have them!

Are there other ways you’ve been able to keep your sanity in the wedding planning process? Share them here!

*Andrea (@CSCAndrea) is the communications specialist at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Ill. She is an Illinois State University alumna (go Redbirds!) and enjoys incorporating new PR strategies into the education sector.

If you found out today that you had only one day to live, what would you do?

I’ve recently become obsessed with MTV’s new show, The Buried Life, which has inspired me to write this post. (In case you haven’t seen it, tune in next Monday.)

The basic premise of the show is inspiring to say the least. Four guys make a list of 100 things they want to do before they die and set out to accomplish them. For everything they mark off their list, they help a stranger do the same. (When they started the project three years ago, they actually weren’t affiliated with MTV.)

So what do you want to do before you die?

I think many of us fall into a routine when it comes to life. Between school, work, and other commitments, it’s often easy to let your dreams fall to the wayside. We race through life, focusing on money and success, sometimes forgetting to actually live.

And what does that get you? Does money make you truly happy? Or is it the experiences that define your life? Isn’t it time we stop worrying so much about material things and place a little more emphasis on life experience?

No, I’m not suggesting everyone quits their jobs, buys a big bus and travels the country crossing items off their list. However, it doesn’t hurt to keep your dreams in mind while you’re living the day-to-day. Do you even have a list? Have you thought about the things you need to do before you die? Are they written down? Do you know how to accomplish them?

For the past year or so, I’ve been working on living my life a little more freely. While I’m still focused on accomplishing my career goals, I always save time for true life experiences. And I’m not saying your career goals can’t factor into your life experiences…I’m just saying that it’s important to break the routine a little bit sometimes to ensure you’re getting the most out of this short life.

I think it’s important to make sure that we all live the life we set out to lead and accomplish the goals we set for ourselves. When I’m laying on my death bed in my old age, I hope that I can look back on life with no regrets. Do you wish to do the same?

I decided to jot down the first few things that came to mind when I thought of my “bucket list”. I’ve had these things in mind for quite some time. However, I’ve never actually written them down. (In my experience with goals, it’s always best to write them down somewhere.)

So here are a few things I want to do before I die:

1. Go skydiving.
2. Travel across the country in an RV.
3. Start a pit bull rescue.
4. Go to Shambhala Music Festival.
5. Zipline in Costa Rica.
6. Enjoy my wedding day.
7. Travel through Europe.
8. Make someone’s day.
9. Raise two children.
10. Start my own business.

I know I have more to write down. However, this is a start. Why don’t you take a moment to write down some of the things you want most in life?

What are some things you want to do before you die?

Often, while checking out at a store I’m asked, “Would you like to donate a dollar to ______?”

For the longest time, I said “yes” to almost every one because I felt too bad to say “no” and I truly want to help everyone…until I realized I was donating a small fortune each year, so I stopped (for the most part).

However, while at Kroger last week, I said “yes”…because I found their strategy to be incredibly smart (and they really sold me). And for that reason, I’d like to highlight it in this post.

Instead of donating a dollar, I was asked if I wanted to round my change up to the nearest dollar and donate it. Amazingly simple concept yet so ingenious!

If you’ve ever worked in the restaurant business, you know people *LOVE* whole numbers. How many times have you gotten a tip of $5.32???

Plus, a dollar can sometimes seem like a lot, whereas $.57 might be a little easier to give up.

So while each person actually donates less than a dollar, I’m assuming that more people agree to donate…and thus, more money for the charity! Love it!

So visit your nearest Kroger and “round up”! Did I mention the money is going to help the victims in Haiti? Great cause, great strategy. Well done, Kroger!

Monday was our official first day of work in the new Pyxl office. It was a long time coming (and an 18-month wait), but ultimately now that we’re here, it was worth it. (Side note: stay tuned for a virtual tour and information on our open house.) It’s a pretty sweet office if I do say so myself.

But anyway, the whole scenario got me thinking about patience and how necessary it is in the business world – not just in waiting for the build out of a new office, but in almost everything — especially in social media.

I often hear of people and businesses getting discouraged because they expect to have a thriving social media presence, along with hundreds or thousands of Twitter followers and Facebook fans within days of starting to implement their social media strategy. When this doesn’t happen right away, they assume social media isn’t working for them.

“Viral” is a word often used to describe social media, and I think when many people think of the word “viral” they assume the results happen immediately. However, unless you created the JK Wedding Dance or David After Dentist, this is generally not the case. Unless you’re Bill Gates. But chances are, you’re not.

Social media success is not going to happen overnight!

Social media takes patience. It takes time, dedication and care to build credibility and trust with the public via social media. It takes time to establish yourself as a thought-leader and time to build a community.

And when you give it the time it needs and do it right, social media can greatly help your brand. You just need to be patient and make sure you have the right plan in place to make it happen.

Good things come to those who wait (of course that’s only as long as you’re working during the waiting period). Do you agree?