Tag: Cyberspace

Here’s my approach to blogging and social media in a nutshell…

“You’ve got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don’t mess with Mister In-Between

You’ve got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene”

Whether you’re a solopreneur or the ‘Director, Corporate Marketing and Brand Communications Worldwide’ for a large farm implement manufacturer you can use good, fast and cheap social media tools to implement the ‘Perry Como’ approach to publicizing your business. Did you find some great news about your company on the web? “Accentuate the positive” by posting it to your corporate blog. Is someone harassing you online? “Eliminate the negative” by posting positive content and feeding your fans. Get the picture? Old Perry had it right, even if social media didn’t exist in 1958 when he recorded that song…

So, you latch on to the Perry Como method when you think about promoting your own personal brand…

PS Originally posted 02/24/2010, updated 9/21/2012; still true over two years later…

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…does a great job of inventorying social media tactics and tools…

Questions? Feedback? Make a comment or use the contact page…

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Hmmm. Looks like everything you need to know about social media you may have learned in kindergarten. Not quite, but this confirms some of my preconceived notions…

“There are hundreds of ways to exploit social media to help your business or to build your personal brand but one that should stand head and shoulders above any other is the simplest of them all and has been around for as long as we have been on the planet….help other people. It sounds really really easy and you probably don’t even think it warrants you reading the rest of this post but if you stop and think about it for a second do you really help others? Do you consistently go out of your way to help others and put their needs above yours?

Let me let you in on a little social media secret: helping others is the key and any work you put in to help others will come back to help you in the long run 10 times over. The beauty in this day and age is that it is so easy to help others through social media now. You just have to want to.

It’s not going to happen in a week or even a month (although it can) but if you make it your mission to help people online in whatever way you possibly can it will always come back and make your day when you least expect it. I am not just talking about re-tweeting somebody or linking to them in your blog but actually going properly out of your way and helping somebody else to achieve their goals. Not your goals, their goals.” Source: Why you should help others to help yourself in social media

btw, few people do this better than my buddy Dana VanDen Heuvel of MarketingSavant. Go to the source and read the rest of the article, but check out Dana’s site too if you haven’t done so — it’s one of the best you’ll ever find on the topic of thought leadership and internet marketing…

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This list from author Matthew Shofoluwe is a good start…

“Business, like any organism, has to adapt to it’s environment. While the underlying principles for conducting businesses may remain unchanged, some areas are almost always in need of new and better ways of doing the same things. An example of such area is in communication. These includes presentations. Business has to promote itself. Passers by become visitors, who may become customers. A unique tool of these promotions is the internet, and the website in general.” Source: Business Website – 10 Reasons Why Your Business Should Have One

…but I think he didn’t hit the biggest issue hard enough, namely, the ability to publish whatever you want about yourself without having to worry about the cost of printing, etc. One of my favorite cartoons says ‘On the internet, no one knows you’re a dog…‘. I have always taken this to mean that any company can look as good as any other company on the internet regardless of their size…

If you’re looking for a low cost internet presence powered by social media, contact me using the form above or by calling (920) 486-4798. You can also find me lurking on the internet in these places…

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AGCO

AgWired, the social media voice of the agriculture industry reports that AGCO, one of the world’s largest agricultural equipment manufacturers, is effectively using social media to stimulate sales in a down economy…

AGCO is providing a great example of how to integrate social media and networking into their communications strategy and to learn more about what they’re doing I spoke with Sue Otten, Director, Corporate Communications & Brand Communications Worldwide. In our conversation we talk about why the company has invested in very active social communications channels. Sue says that it’s a great way to “learn” from their customers and target a new demographic too. Source: AgWired » Blog Archives » AGCO Shows How To Go Social

Want to know their secret?

One of the recommendations Sue makes is to not be afraid to get started with social media. She says that there are some great consultants out there who can help you too. I’ll use this opportunity to make a little plug for Todd Lohenry with e1evation, Inc. who has worked with AGCO. Source: AgWired » Blog Archives » AGCO Shows How To Go Social

Their social media effort is powered by e1evation and Envano — straight outta Wisconsin! Using the same free, open source tools that are available to every entrepreneur, AGCO is rocking the ag world using social media. Comment, call or use the contact form to talk about how you, too, can effectively leverage social media for your marketing efforts…

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How often should I post?

The icon used by Apple to represent Podcasting.
Image via Wikipedia

Let’s start here…

“Without question, blogging provides an effective way to market your business, be a valuable resource and build your personal brand online. And most folks know that, generally, the more frequently you blog, the higher your traffic. But does that mean you should follow the advice of many to create a new post every single day?

Focusing only on traffic numbers, instead of the concentrating on sharing content and building relationships will send you down the path to burnout. Here at WebWorkerDaily, we have multiple writers contributing to help keep the content fresh. But for one-person blogs, blogging daily works for some and not for others.” Source: Just How Often Should You Blog? – WebWorkerDaily

Go to the source for some good thoughts on ‘how often’ — it’s really good stuff! In the meantime, I’m heading in another direction…

I just closed out my best blogging month ever traffic-wise. What was significant to me was that I did it in a ‘short’ month with no speaking engagements. Usually, when I have a chance to speak, my traffic spikes because all the seminar attendees check out my site — it’s usually good for a couple hundred pageviews. In February, however, I did it all on my own, post by post by post. I’ve already laid out all my tactics and tools in the series “Top 10 Tactics and Tools for Tightening your Tribe” and yes, I used them all this past month. I did make two significant changes, however. #1 I redesigned my site using the ‘Thesis’ theme which promises some kind of magic SEO foo and really seems to have delivered for me. #2 I experimented with spreading my posts out throughout the day. Instead of posting 3-5 posts at 6:00 AM, I spread them out every two hours or so throughout the day. Whether it was one, or the other, or both, my traffic’s going nuts!

HubSpot gives me a grade of 96 on my site, Google tells me I have 6,076 pageviews over the past 30 days and Alexa tells me my site is ranked 484,123 in the US. Not much left to prove from my perspective and the thing that excites me most is that my success is the result of a systematic process I can teach to anyone. I usually benchmark myself against local radio station WTAQ because I like to see how I fare against ‘old’ media in my market. They have an Alexa ranking of 116,615 which is really awesome. It thrills me that I’m actually ranked higher than local social media wunderkind Dana VanDen Heuvel [a good friend to e1evation], although I’m sure that won’t last long. He’s at 520,219…

I’m certain my traffic will drop some during the upcoming month as I’ll be directing a great deal of my creative energy toward three projects I announced in February. They are the Social Media Academy — an online training class on the top tactics and tools for effective social media, The Damn Good Social Media Guide — the accompanying ebook, and last? A weekly podcast. I’m currently looking for beta testers for the Social Media course. If you’d like to save yourself the $499 fee and get all the content in a rough format for free, comment, call or contact me and let me know. As always, thanks for reading…

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Social media fairy tails

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 10: MC Hammer sp...
Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Great stuff from patgermelman’s blog…

“There are social media formulas that you can pick and choose from and adapt to fit your schedule, staff, and resources. There’s a virtual candy store of platforms and options. Here’s the secret…they all take work. There are no silver bullets. If someone claims to have all the answers they most assuredly don’t. If you get help from an expert and something doesn’t sound right, then it isn’t. You know your organization better than social media experts and any plan can be tweaked and adjusted to fit your organizational needs.” Source: patgermelman: Social Media Fairy Tales

The rest of the content is equally compelling! Go to the source for the rest of the article. btw, who’s the guy in the picture? Why did I use him?

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Lately I’ve been struggling…

…with the issue of what is the best way to graphically depict the relationship between the various social media tools that I use. I think I may just end up settling with a flow chart for now, however, I’m finding some interesting stuff along the way such as this…

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Social web involvement around the world…

Hmmm. Interesting…

http://viewer.docstoc.com/v2/

Global Map of Social Media – December 2009 –

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Think social media ROI = zero?

Think different!

“Why are we trying to measure social media like a traditional channel? Social media touches every facet of business and it should be viewed more as an extension of good business ethics. Which, if done properly, will harvest sales down the line. Co-Chairman Alex Bogusky of Crispin Porter & Bogusky puts it best when he states: “You can’t buy attention anymore. Having a huge budget doesn’t mean anything in social media…The old media paradigm was PAY to play. Now you get back what you authentically put in. You’ve got to be willing to PLAY to play.” – Alex Bogusky, Co-Chairman of Crispin Porter + Bogusky” Source: Socialnomics – Social Media Blog

This video from Socialnomics has been viewed over 1 million times…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8&feature=player_embedded

Now, think about this…

“A big question out there these days is: What is the ROI of Social Media? Or the ever popular how do I measure the ROI of social media? Often when I get this question it’s appropriate for me to retort: “What’s the ROI of your phone?” Other times it’s not appropriate to respond with this answer, which, if done in the wrong tone, or place, can win you a free punch in the face. Then there are the naysayers that adamantly proclaim, “We aren’t doing social media because there isn’t any ROI.”

To borrow from the Conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Benjamin Zander, there are those in life that sit in the back row with their arms folded, judging, and complaining. Then there are those that sit in the front row with a vision and they are spending their energy on making that vision a reality. This article and video have been put together with the hopes of it being a viable tool for those with a vision to get those seated in the back row to stand up and see the social media light.” Source: Socialnomics – Social Media Blog

Now, watch this…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypmfs3z8esI&feature=player_embedded

You can find the statistics from the Socialnomics video here. When you’re ready to engage, contact me — by virtue of my partnership with MarketingSavant and Envano, no one in the area has more experience in leveraging social media to produce measurable results…

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There is no ‘easy button’…

'THAT WAS EASY!'
Image by spackletoe via Flickr

…for social media, but there are some good, fast, and cheap tools that are simple to use and support the social media lifestyle. Unfortunately, most companies are taking a different approach. My good friend Dana VanDen Heuvel scratches his head here…

“I was in a meeting recently where I witnessed a demonstration of a very well developed internal social network for a fairly sizable, though not very well known company. This particular tool was (almost) completely custom coded by the developer and web design shop for their client. While I sat through the meeting, I wondered “why did they build this from the ground up? isn’t there an off the shelf package to do this?” Which, being one of outsiders, I asked “so, why did you build this from the ground up? isn’t there an off the shelf package to do this and didn’t the client ask for an evaluation of best-of-breed software before giving you the go ahead to do this?”” They chose us because we have passion…

Here’s what I have found. You don’t have to have a spectacular website to dominate as a thought leader, but having a good blog with good content and social media connections helps! Most important? It’s not expensive dollar-wise, but it does take a certain mindset. My formula for using a blog for thought leadership? Good system and process based on a couple of free tools! Questions? Feedback? Leave a comment or use the contact page to reach me…

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“What the *tweet* is social media…

…and what can it do for my business today!?” was the name of the presentation I delivered at the Kewaunee County Power Breakfast on September 29 while filling in for MarketingSavant Dana VanDen Heuvel. Bottom line? Those companies that actively engage their customer base through social media stand to reap a rich harvest in terms of lasting loyalty and increased profits. Dana’s presentation [with a couple of slides I added from an Envano presentation] is included below…

Questions? Feedback? Contact me or Dana VanDen Heuvel…

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I had a great time…

…at the Green Bay Net social media copnvention [thanks Elliot and Gina!] and thanks to my ‘board of advisors’, I revised the ‘tactics and tools’ mindmap and I had a great time with the folks who sat in on the preso. The content was well received so I’m planning on making an ongoing blog series out of the ‘Social Media Tactics and Tools [TNT? ;-)] mindmap. Stay tuned if you want to know all I do about effectively leveraging the same tactics and tools that I do each day…
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Are you still struggling…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc

…to understand social media? This video can help! Using social media techniques, I was able to increase the traffic to elevate my site by over 17 million in the Alexa rankings in just three months. If that sounds interesting but you don’t really understand why, give me a call — I’ll be happy to net it out for you…

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