by Angie Albright
A Growing Season
@AngieAlbright @AGrowingSeason

Am I the only one who, when I find out that company is coming, rushes around my house to make things presentable? I try to keep things in order around my house (mostly unsuccessfully), but when I know I’m about to have visitors, I tend to see things a little differently. Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged is just days away, and for those of you attending, you’re about to get lots of visitors to your online house. Some of those visitors may even be representatives of the brands sponsoring AWBU or interacting with participants during the conference. Are you company-ready?

What follows are a few suggestions to help you polish up your online presence as well as help you prepare for all these new visitors.

Your Blog

•  What is the post any visitor will see first when she lands on your website? Is it a favorite? Is it a really solid one? You’ll have the opportunity to make lots of good first impressions in just a few days, so make sure your top post is one that shines and that you’re proud of (and if that means re-posting a favorite that really represents who you are, then do it!).
• This will sound a little nuts, but listen anyway. Look around your blog. Where is your name? I read lots of great blogs but often have to dig around to find whose words I am reading. Do us a favor and make sure your name is right up front on the home page. We want to connect with you!
• Are any of your ads or sidebar images outdated? Freshen up any information or images on your homepage. Consider adding a picture of you toward the top of the sidebar so any new visitor will immediately connect the blog to the person she’s just met.
• Make sure the link to your blog is on the ARWB website and that you are a registered member!

Social Media

• You will probably end up with a number of new Facebook friend requests. If your profile pic isn’t a picture of a clearly recognizable you, consider swapping it out for one that is, at least for the duration of the conference. If someone wants to engage with you but doesn’t see your face, she may not remember who is making the friend request! Also make sure that a link to your blog is included in the “About” section of your profile. Same goes for Twitter. Put a picture of yourself in your profile and make sure you have a link to your blog as well.
• If you have a Facebook fan page, does your cover photo make a good first impression or represent your professional identity and blog well? As with checking your blog posts, check to see what your last few status updates are. Is it your best stuff? Would a quick glance at your latest postings there tell a visitor who you are and what kind of work you do?
• Twitter is the social media channel that dominates conferences and professional events. I am at my limit of those I can follow (2,000) until I have closer to 2,000 followers myself. You will want to follow lots of folks you’re meeting, so clear out the junk so you have the capacity to do all the following you want! JustUnfollow.com is a great website and smart phone app for helping you manage your Twitter contacts. You can quickly identify who you can stop following based on any number of criteria.
• Hashtags: Most of the third-party social media tools like HootSuite or Tweetdeck allow you to add “streams” to your profile. Add a stream for #AWBU so you can watch the action from the get-go. For the Instagram lovers among us, the “Explore” tab also offers a search for hashtags. Facebook is using hashtags now, but as with Instagram, you have to put the hashtagged phrase into the search field to pull up the feed.
• Use the hashtag in your posts about the conference! It does a couple of important things: it shows our sponsors and others that we are indeed influencers and know how to generate a good buzz around an idea, product, or event. It will also help you find other attendees to follow. You’ll have fun scrolling through the #AWBU stream on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram after the conference is over.

Once you’ve done these things, forget about all that and just have fun connecting with new and old friends, learning from each other, and enjoying the weekend getaway!