Last month I talked about social media and how AAPO intends to use it. This month I thought I’d talk a little about how you can use it in your business, starting with Twitter*.

Twitter only allows you to post 140 characters at a time, so it’s a great tool to use to point people to your blog or website. For example, you might have a Christmas Special listed on your website and want people to know about it. You’d go to Twitter and post “SPECIAL OFFER: 10% off organising packages until Christmas – click here for more details” and add a link to your website. Or you may have written a blog post on techniques for organising teens. In this case you could tweet “DO YOU HAVE DISORGANISED TEENS? Some tips on how to train them” and post the link. Think of it as a sign posting service. If you were on the street and wanted sign posts to guide people to your business, what would the signs say?

You need to be careful not to spam ie. sending constant sales messages, hassling people to buy your products or generally being selfish. The golden rule of Twitter is that you get back what you give, so make sure you send plenty of non-sales tweets too. Sharing relevant information or articles you come across, ‘talking’ with other people, answering their questions and responding to them. The more you do that, the more respect you’ll build and the more benefits you’ll reap. A good rule of thumb is for every 10 tweets, make sure seven or eight are “giving” tweets and the other two or three are directly about you.

The best way to figure out how to use it is to see it in action by watching what other people do. AAPO will be ‘live tweeting’ from the conference - sending brief updates to let everyone know what’s being discussed. Follow the hash tag** #AAPOConf2010 and you’ll be able to see everything that happens at the conference. If you’re going to the conference, why not send some tweets yourself – let your followers and potential clients know what you’re up to. Remember to use the #AAPOConf2010 hash tag.

Next month: How you can use Facebook for your business.

- Claire Lane, AAPO Social Media Coordinator

* If you’re still unsure about the whole Twitter thing, click here for further explanations.

** If you’re unsure about hash tags, click here.

Come September 13th, Christchurch will be abuzz with Professional Organisers flying in from all around the world.  Of course there will be dedicated New Zealand AAPO members, Australians flying from all corners of the country, but also a return visit from a Japanese colleague and top-of-their-field POs from the US.

In particular I want to mention that in addition to our 2 outstanding keynote speakers, Angela Wallace, President Elect of NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) will be visiting.  Angela has agreed to be on the panel for the Ask an Organiser session.

If you haven't made your booking to be a part of this wonderful opportunity yet, don't wait any longer.  Click here to book or find out more.

I've been off visiting again.  This time it was to speak with the Mid North Coast Forum members.  I love that technology allows me to drop in on our Forum meetings all over, and I get to sit in my office.

Those Mid North Coast members are an enterprising lot, gearing up for their National Organising Week projects.  The local residents are lucky to have such pro-active people in their midst, with the chance to win not 1 but 5! makeovers.

Good luck to both our members and the lucky winners.

Social media is a new and sometimes scary concept for many of people, so I thought I'd give you a summary of what social media is and why AAPO has decided to embrace it. In future articles I'll talk about how and why you should be using it for your business and give you some tips and tricks to make it easier.

What is social media? 

I like to think of social media as just another medium in which to communicate with people. Traditionally, we communicate face-to-face, on the phone, or using radio, print or TV. Now we can share the same content, but in a new way; instantly and online. Business has embraced social media as a new way of communicating with existing and potential clients – to promote products, get feedback, share information and provide customer service. Read more about the top brands using social media here: http://mashable.com/2009/01/21/best-twitter-brands/

Why is AAPO going to use it? 

AAPO's overall vision is “To be internationally recognised as Australasia’s premier industry association for leading and developing Professional Organisers”. Social media is just one of many tools AAPO will use to achieve this objective. By regularly 'appearing' in social media sites, the profile of AAPO will be raised and more people will become aware of AAPO's existence. There are three benefits to this:

• aspiring Professional Organisers will be encouraged to join AAPO;
• existing members will be provided with information on the industry and on AAPO’s activities; and
• thousands of disorganised people out there will learn how Professional Organisers can help them. 

What will AAPO talk about? 

AAPO will "talk" about a variety of things related to the world of Professional Organising. Sometimes we'll send out tweets with links to new organising products that might be useful to you in your business. Other times we may send out organising tips aimed at the general public. Often we'll link to articles or research on decluttering, organising or hoarding. We'll send out information about upcoming meetings, seminars and conferences, or a link to minutes from AAPO meetings or the AGM. Basically, we'll "talk" about whatever we would talk about in real life. 

There are a few things we won't "talk" about - we'll avoid sending out messages with any political, religious or otherwise controversial content. We will strive not to promote one of our members more than others. And we won't talk about anything to do with our industry that paints it in a negative light.  

What will AAPO members get out of AAPO using social media? 

There will be two main benefits for AAPO members: 

• As you know, anything that raises the profile of the industry as a whole will have a positive effect on all members, including you. But to be more specific, we hope that you might even get some business from it. Here's an example of how this might happen: 

Disorganised Dennis is an active user of Twitter, and has seen a few tweets from AAPO - mostly sending out useful articles, hints and tips on how to get organised. One day, after having a particularly disorganised day, Dennis decides to find out more about this organisation that keeps giving him these free tips. He navigates to the AAPO website through Twitter. On the front page of the AAPO website, Dennis sees yet more tips on how to get organised, some of them written by Organised Annie. "Annie sounds like she knows what she's talking about," thinks Dennis, and clicks through to Annie's site. Before you know it, Dennis has called Annie and is her newest client. 

The best bit about this is that this kind of marketing is FREE! It just took Annie a few moments to come up with some tips, and send them to AAPO to be added to the site. The key here is that you need to be active on AAPO's new website (you have your profile up there and if possible you regularly add to the content of the site). That way, whenever prospective customers find themselves on the AAPO website, you'll be top of mind. 

• Secondly, AAPO will send out specific information aimed at our members. Some of this information will also be included in the monthly newsletter (although not all of it), but if you're following AAPO’s social media content, you’ll get this information instantly. 

How is AAPO going to use it? 

Twitter and Facebook are the two most popular social media tools in use at the moment, and AAPO has an account with both. AAPO's Twitter handle (that's Twitter name to the rest of us!) is @AAPO_inc. If you're on Twitter and you're not already following AAPO, do it now. And you can find AAPO on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/aapoinc. If you're using Facebook, go and "Like" us now. If you follow us on Twitter and Facebook you'll soon see first hand exactly how AAPO will be use social media to achieve its objective of being internationally recognised as Australasia’s premier industry association for leading and developing Professional Organisers. 

Twitter will be used to update followers with short, concise messages, often with links to other sites of interest, on a daily (or almost-daily) basis. Facebook will be used to interact with followers and to post entries that need a little more space. 

Hopefully that answers some of your questions about AAPO and social media. Watch this space, as I'll be back to talk more about how social media could enhance your business offering. 

Claire Lane, AAPO Social Media Coordinator

Thanks Claire!

Professor Michael Kyrios, the keynote speaker at AAPO's very first conference in 2006, has called for a taskforce on compulsive hoarding.  What do you think?  And if you agree, who should be on that taskforce?

Read the Age article here.

Please put your hands together and stand to welcome our Social Media Co-ordinator, Claire Lane from Urban Assistant.  Claire was one of 4 applicants for the position and her strong application won her the job.

Look out for activity on AAPO's Twitter and Facebook accounts, spreading the word about organising and how it can make a difference.

It was great to drop in to the Brisbane Forum this morning to chat with 10 Queensland-based AAPO members.  And I did it from the comfort (although it is bitterly cold here in Melbourne) of my own home office.  It was a great opportunity to speak to our members and find out how AAPO can help them more.  Here are a few of the things we talked about -

• business and client triumphs and trials
• the upcoming AAPO AGM and elections
• AAPO's social media advancements
• National Organising Week
• an upcoming article in Cleo magazine
• new member benefits to be announced soon
• AAPO's potential sponsors
• the benefits of volunteering in AAPO

This evening, all going well with technology, I'll be visiting the Northern Beaches (Sydney) Forum.  I wonder what we'll be talking about?  If you'd like to have me visit your Forum, just drop me a line at president@aapo.org.au

:) Angela Esnouf, AAPO President

You know the saying, what happens at conference, stays at conference? Well, not in this case. I can tell you I had a fabulous time, came home utterly exhausted from all the networking, learning, sharing. Remember I told you the conference theme was Innovate, Connect, Inspire? Keep that in mind as you read this update on the NAPO conference in Columbus, Ohio. (And yes, it was noted that OHIO stands for Only Handle It Once)

As I mentioned in last month's newsletter, the very first session of the conference was Ask an Organizer. Just some of the many questions asked were – What do you think about discounting? What are your favourite books or systems? Name some budget tools for the beginner organiser. How do stay motivated when you’ve been in business a while? What about service bartering? So, have I got you think? What will you be asking at AAPO’s conference Ask an Organiser session?

Tim Sanders, the opening keynote, spoke about innovating the way you connect with people to create a great customer service experience. His take-away message was – Most people try to turn their friends into customers. Do the opposite, turn your customers into friends. If we took this message literally in our industry we may well face boundary issues with some of our clients. But the point he makes is a good one. When we come from the place of “What’s in it for them?” instead of “What’s in it for me?” we create loyal customers – raving fans – who will be happy to refer business and sing our praises.

Gina Schrek spoke about Connecting with Today’s Technology. She welcomed us to the future and motivated us to get a bigger share of the future. She calls herself a “Digital Immigration Officer” and pointed out that under 35-year-olds are digital natives, while over 35-year-olds are digital immigrants. Customers have changed, and so should we change the way we communicate with them. It was fascinating stuff and I encourage you to learn more about social media as a means to communicating and connecting with current and potential clients.

Another point of connection was during the NAPO International meeting, where I got to speak with Organisers from Colombia, Canada, Hong Kong, Portugal and the UK. While many of the issues we face as organisers are the same, there were some cultural differences, which highlighted the fact that no matter where you are in the world, or in your business development, it’s important to know who your market is, and therefore you’re wanting to connect with. You may also remember Mayumi, the Japanese PO who attended the last AAPO conference. She sends her best regards to everyone and wants you to know she’s been very busy establishing the PO industry and association in Japan. They’ve already held their first conference.

Monica Wolford delivered the closing keynote to Inspire us with Contagious Confidence. It was a great way to close the conference, to send us out to make a difference in our businesses and in our client’s lives. A couple of key points Monica made were 1. Self-esteem is the belief that you are worth the effort, and 2. We are the average of the 5 people we hang out with most.

Apart from these sessions, there were others which I'll report on in more depth soon. They will be found in the members’ area of the AAPO website.

The IFPOA (International Federation of Professional Organizing Associations) met again in Columbus as well. We learned a great deal, as always, and built on our strong relationships. I also spoke with many of the exhibitors about attending and exhibiting at our conference this year, and had the opportunity to speak to the 700 conference attendees and invite them to visit us in Christchurch.

What a week it's been for AAPO!  First off, let me say a big thank you to the committee for their dedication and commitment.  Our latest meeting was a marathon, a record length.  We achieved lots of worthwhile forward planning and revision.

Here are just some of the topics covered - the upcoming election, the future of our newsletter/s, the 2010 survey, an exciting new member benefit, next year's conference location and AAPO's Facebook presence.  As well, we covered some nitty gritty behind the scenes but necessary topics, like accounting software, membership numbers and an update on our Forums.

Besides the committee meeting, there were many other AAPO happenings.  We've had good registrations, taking advantage of the Early Bird rate.  The Forum leaders met for their usual planning and development session.  The PR subcommittee is working hard on media releases and planning for National Organising Week.  The website subcommittee worked on AAPO's social media presence and tweaks to the website.  And of course, Debra is always busy with many enquiries, accounting, administrative responsibilities and welcoming our new members.

Again, a big thank you to all who contribute to making AAPO the peak body for Professional Organisers in Australasia.

AAPO launched its Facebook presence today and we'd love for you to come connect with us there.

Visit us here and hopefully you will "like" what you see.