After a few client meetings over the last few days, I found myself going backwards. so I decided to throw this slide deck up. I’m thinking of just pointing any and all future clients here.
Tag Archives: Social Media marketing
Connect-The Project 100
What is the Project 100?
Simply put, it’s 100 Marketers. 400 words each. 1 Collaborative Book on “Project 100: Marketing in the Social Media Era”. The challenge for Jeff Caswell Get 100 marketers who are leaders in the Social Media/ Non-Trad Marketing. The Topic/ Theme: “Marketing in the Social Media Era. Building Dynamic Consumer Relationships.”
The skinny: a 400 words Limit per author. Each author can include diagrams, images etc.
The beneficiary: All profits go to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
The why: Jeff, “I am not doing this for the money. I am doing it because I think its cool, I am interested in what marketing leaders are thinking and I believe in Susan G. Komen”
Where can you get the book? Right here on Blurb
Little did I know that Jeff would turn a wild hair of an idea into something that is now complete reality. My hat is off to him and the 100 authors.
Don’t hide behind the brand
In part deux of my series on social media best practices for Ari Herzog’s blog Ariwriter, I had planned on talking about elaborating on the need to “experiment with effort” or “experiment with engagement”. By that I mean don’t just sign up or register on a lot of different social sites and expect the relationships to bubble up from there. Put forth some effort.
But in lieu of expounding on that I give you the second part in the series which covers hiding behind the brand. See what you think and let me know your thoughts.
As a follow up. I want to add that from the conversation that I did have with “the brand”, a dialogue did evolve, and a relationship with the person behind that brand was created. And you know what? That person turned out to be very engaging, enlightening, and earnest. And that would not have happened prior to our discussion about “People versus Brands”.
Where are you on the mountain?
This post is inspired my Mother who is in declining health. She told me she was asked by her doctor, Where are you on the mountain, if your life is the mountain? Was she going up? Was she at the top? Going down? My Mom answered that she was on the backside of the mountain, but she had her heels dug in. Good answer Mom.
But this led me to a broader question about what we all do and how we do it, and it is this.
If you’re career is a mountain, where are you? On the way up? In a holding pattern? Trying to find an alternate route? Or have you given up and turned back, satisfied by how far you’ve gotten. Satisfied that you at least tried. Or are you going to recharge the batteries, reinvent, re-plan, and give it another go?
If you are a marketer, where do you guage your level of experience on the mountain? You are a social media marketer, how well do you know the space if your map is the mountain? Do you forge on? Do you try and follow the path? The road less taken? Do you do what the Sherpa tells you? Are you a team player? Or are you in it for yourself?How much do you help people tethered to you? Are you pulling them? Are they pulling you? Or are you pulling your own weight?
It’s funny but when you get to the top, you really can’t stay there too long. But some like going to the top so much, they do it over and over, and they are successful a majority of the time. However, sometimes, there are things that are out of their control that prevent them from reaching the summit. But it doesn’t stop them from trying again. Why is that? How does this reflect on you, and what you are doing now? Where are you on the mountain?
Social Media best practices. Part 1.
Awhile back, Ari Herzog who writes a wonderful blog over at AriWriter.com asked me to do a guest post on his blog for a series he’s doing on social media best practices. Rather than give him the usual written 500 words on the 7 things, 5 tips, or 4 factors that you absolutely must do in social media, I decided to mail it in and do a 3 part V-log instead. I hope he doesn’t mind! I’d also be curious as to what you might think of my 2 assertions here as well.
Twitter Bios Cloud
This is a word cloud generated from the bios of my Twitter followers brought to you by Twittersheep
Check out the underlying themes of the word cloud. It’s pretty obvious what my followers and I focus on wouldn’t you say? What does yours say about you and your followers?
People are the engines in social media
Its not the technology that drives the train, its people. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and Linkedin are nothing without them and their participation. Don’t ever forget that.
Sometimes we become so enamored with technology that we overlook what makes technology “work”. What do you think?
I’m worried about the client
It pains you to read what’s going on. You hate watching the news. Prospecting and looking for new clients is becoming more difficult. The clients or prospects you are able to talk with are all giving you the same story.
- We’re pulling back on spending
- We’ve had to let people go
- We are not doing anything this year
- We plan on doing it in house
- We have your proposal, we’ll let you know
Sound familiar? So what can you do? Maybe you need to change your focus, change your tact, change the way you are thinking? Perhaps rather than thinking about you and your company, you should think about the company you’re going after and THEIR customer. Or that companies employees? What can make them more productive? How can they do what they do better? How can they talk to THEIR customers and prospects better? Don’t think of you business process, think of theirs! Think about the client. They need your help, they just might not admit it.
These are not normal times. Thinking in a conventional Web 1.0 manner is not going to get it done.
You get it and I get it, but do they?
In social media circles, we’re all guilty of back slapping and having a good ole’ time hanging with our peeps. But don’t we want to have clients? Of course we do! But if you get it, and I get it, and we both are always agreeing with each other, has anyone bothered to ask, “Do they get it?” If we are constantly talking to each other, then a few things are happening.
1) We don’t know if your prospective clients are there in the room listening
2) They might be too intimidated to ask a question, or scared to ask a dumb question
3) They might not even be there
4) You are talking to people who are of like mind. Peers not potential clients.
Go Find people who don’t understand and who don’t know, but want to. They are the one’s that will benefit the most.
Social Media is the Platform for Bad Relationships too…
There are people out there, that don’t like you. I know, shocking isn’t it? For some of you, it might be. In social media we talk about, and write even more about how social media creates these magical relationships of synergy, business alliances, and friendships. But what people rarely talk about, are the relationships that have originated from social networking-that have gone sour.
On the Today Show recently they did a segment about “friending” people on Facebook. And you don’t have to look too hard to find blog posts about people who have written about breaking up via Facebook.
As you should know by now, relationships that are played out through social media channels take on another dynamic. There are many layers. The most prominent layer now being that all aspects of it, are out there for all to see. Warts and all. Sometimes I wonder if part of us wants everyone else to see whats going on. Of course we can “choose” to make it or take it private, but a lot of us don’t. We want others, should things take a turn for the worse, to participate in the drama. We want people to choose sides.
What I’m talking about above are truly personal relationships. But what of.. the business relationships that have occurred from social networking? Or the blossoming relationship? What are the business rules for that? What if your paths cross with many of the same people and your relationship with one of them has just turned sour? What do you do?
How are you going to play it?
Better start thinking about it.
I know I am, because it’s happening to me.
Direct Marketing Observations 