Tag: thoughts

via thingstodoingreenbay.com

There are few people I know that have leveraged the internet more effectively to build their personal brand than ‘Green Bay Greg‘ Dallaire. The video is one that he shot for a client of mine, Tailwind Flight Center, and it demonstrates the quality of the work he’s doing at ‘365 Things to do in Green Bay’ along with Tony Rouse from MindSeed Labs. If you want to know how to use the internet and social media to build your brand you don’t need to look much farther than Greg Dallaire…

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Here’s a great presentation on ‘Socialgraphics’ I found online while researching for a speaking engagement tomorrow…

There’s a recording to accompany the preso here.

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You can either read the whole book…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG13AQBLTrk&feature=player_embedded

…or give me a call! We’ve read the book and contributed to a few of our own… ;-)

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Darren Rowse - Photography Blogger Extrodinaire
Image by kk+ via Flickr

Whenever I present on the topic of ‘practical, tactical social media’ organizational leaders usually like what they hear about social media and how to implement it to build their brands online until they hear that in order to achieve maximum results, they’ll have to post a thought every day for at least three months. The response is usually IMNOTAWRITER. If you’re one of those people, read on…

“Have you ever accidentally slammed your hand in a car door? OUCH!

I think that very unpleasant feeling can be compared to how some small business owners feel about blogging. Until very recently, I would never have published anything on the Internet because I have never considered myself a writer.

Well, that all changed when I purchased my small business and suddenly I was forced to start producing content so that I could try to rank in Google, educate customers, and develop my backstory.

However, even though I started producing content, I still suffered from the inferiority complex that can only be associated with IMNOTAWRITER syndrome.

This syndrome, I’ve found, can be deadly to your small business blogging and it can cause countless hours of wasted time and frustration.

Plus, telling yourself, IMNOTAWRITER, is a very easy and convenient excuse not to blog, isn’t it?” Source: How to Blog When You’re Not a Writer

You can go to the source if you want to read more, but what amazes me is the number of organization leaders that have time to write the same emails over and over, but don’t understand how much more efficient they could be and how many more people they could attract by posting the same email content on a blog and then sending the link to the post to their correspondents! Not only would it save them time, but also drive traffic to their sites. Fine, they say, but they don’t want to learn new technology to update their sites. For those people in particular, I allow all the sites I create to be updated via email — a skill which even the most technophobic organizational leader has mastered at this point. Now what’s your excuse? Please comment!

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Image representing Google Reader as depicted i...
Image via CrunchBase

Are you fascinating? I sure am and Google Reader is the reason why — well, one of them anyway!

“The primary goal of your social media activities—whether for your personal brand or your organization’s brand—is to establish yourself as a fascinating subject-matter expert. The only exception to this is if you are a household name celebrity like Lance Armstrong, Oprah or Barack Obama. If you are this level of celebrity, then tweeting or updating, “I’m at Starbucks on the way to fly VirginAmerica to Vegas” is cool.

For the rest of us, the challenge is to achieve a consistent level of fascinating information about your area of expertise. The answer is simple. First, it helps if you actually know what you’re talking about. If you don’t, it may be better to let people wonder if you’re clueless rather than participating in social media and removing all doubt. But let’s say you’ve crossed the Rubicon.

Then it’s all about finding good stories, videos and blog posts about your subject and providing links to these sources. For example, if you own a restaurant, then you could post a link to The Second Annual New York Foodie Photo Scavenger Hunt, Cilantro Haters, It’s Not Your Fault, and Check It Out: Get Your Groceries At The Library. Do this for a few months, and people will recognize you as a food expert. And guess what? They’ll come eat at your restaurant.

Then the next question is how you can find these stories, videos, and blog posts. I have four methods for you to use:” Source: How to Be Fascinating : The World :: American Express OPEN Forum

Guy goes on to offer these 4 tools:

  • StumbleUpon
  • SmartBrief
  • Interns
  • His own service, Alltop

As much as I love you Guy, I have to take issue here. Ummm, how could you NOT mention Google Reader? Yes, StumbleUpon and SmartBrief are two great sources but I can manage hundreds effectively in Google Reader. In fact, because of Reader I don’t need interns! True, Alltop is one of the places I tell every client to go but Google Reader is the killer app for news aggregation. I broke it down here a long time ago…

So to Guy, or whatever intern reads this, please add Google Reader to your list — nothing makes you fascinating faster than Reader!

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Social Media Landscape
Image by fredcavazza via Flickr

Business owners around the globe are asking themselves whether or not they need a social media manager. However, more and more of them are noticing the popularity of social media, but don’t know how, where, when, or why they should jump on the bandwagon themselves.  They notice their colleagues, peers, friends, children & family have jumped on board, on a more personal level. But, what so many of them fail to see, is that their present and future customers have jumped on for a ride too!

Right now, as you read this, your customers are flying down the road going mach 5 with no end in sight. They’re enjoying themselves too while reading/writing reviews, articles, comments & opinions on your business. They’re chatting amongst themselves (and to the rest of the internet world) about their latest visit, what their experience was, and even how it bugs them that Sally the cashier always seems “nice”, but never says thank you when they are leaving.

Wouldn’t you love the opportunity to be in that cart flying down the road too? Do you want to know what your customers are saying about you? Do you want to be able to effectively converse back with them? Wouldn’t you love to hear, first hand, about their experiences? Wouldn’t it be great to know how they felt about Sally so you could enforce stronger cashier policies?

Go to the source if you’d like to get the 5 reasons: socialmediatoday.com. h/t @tommytrc.
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Go to the source to read the article: socialmediatoday.com

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Image representing Gist as depicted in CrunchBase
Image via CrunchBase

Here at Gist, we have embraced the phrase “connected people change history” as core to our mission and vision.  We believe that technologies are more accessible than ever to the individual and that the more connected we become, the more we are able to do amazing things.  Over the past couple years, we have talked to many smart people, learned a great deal from user feedback, examined how we work as a team, and looked forward to where we believe things are headed in the future leading us to the notion of  the “new workstyle.”

So, what is the “New Workstyle?”

The New Workstyle blends the latest technologies and tools with our daily activities allowing us to accomplish more in both personal and professional endeavors, accelerate ideas of our own, and lead more productive lives.

Unlike workflow which is defined by scripted and static process for everyone to follow, workstyle is unique to the individual who calls upon information, technology, and connections as needed.

This definition along with our understanding of it will evolve as the pace of innovation accelerates and individual “style” is applied to work.  Jason Fried’s great presentation at a TEDx event about “why work doesn’t happen at work” is an exclamation point on our concept.

Go to the source to read the article: blog.gist.com. Oh, and btw, thanks for NOT using Gist — it gives me a competitive advantage over you and your firm! :-D
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If it’s true that the first hour is the ‘rudder of the day’ than the next few weeks are the ‘rudder of the year’. If you lead an organization like I do, here are 4.5 books that will give you all the insight you need to chart a course for the year…

http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fmakrai-20%2F8003%2F974832f3-cfc8-4f4e-a456-7f7a36b9a700&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate null

Here they are in their recommended order of reading:

  1. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. There’s a reason why this book is one of the most popular of all time. Read or reread it!
  2. Getting Things Done. Another book that has become so popular that people have forgotten why.
  3. Awesomely Simple. This one is new, but powerful enough to be a ‘must read’ recommendation for me. John Spence defines what a ‘book’ should be in the new millennium by hosting a website with bonus materials for readers. He’s also active in social media and eagerly engages readers…
  4. Your Best Year Yet! Enough said.
  5. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. What? Yes, read it. Franklin’s systematic approach to building new habits is outlined here.

Now for the how. Yes, I’m even going to tell you how to read them. Read them via Kindle. “What”, you say? “I’m not going to buy a Kindle just to read these books!” “Well”, I say, “you don’t have to”. Kindle software runs on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry and via web browser. It synchronizes wirelessly between devices creating a virtual library of all the books you download allowing you to access them anywhere at any time. So, if I’m reading a book on my Sprint Evo and highlight a section that I want to go back to later, when I get to my computer and synchronize my books, the same selection will be highlighted, along with any notes I’ve made, on my PC. Did I mention that most Kindle books are around $10 as well? The total in the title is the sum of all the Kindle books I recommended and you can click on any title in the slider to order it immediately…

This video will help you get the picture…

Now as much as I love all things Google, Kindle content is cheaper than the new Google Books by about 50% in my informal testing and although the Android reader for Google Books is more full featured, imho, Kindle software is a more compelling offering at the moment. btw, if you’d prefer to listen, there’s always Audible — another service from Amazon.com! Again, no special device is required because there’s Audible software available for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry and web browser. Instead of listening to talk radio, now you can get smart while you’re driving around!

According to Einstein, doing the same things and expecting different results is the very definition of insanity. These books, combined with new ways of consuming their wisdom, will help you get from where you’re at to where you want to be as a business leader in 2011. Really!

All the best to you in 2011!

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65% of internet users have paid for online content

If you’re a blogger looking to generate revenue, here’s something that might interest you…

“Nearly two-thirds of internet users – 65% – have paid to download or access some kind of online content from the internet, ranging from music to games to news articles to adult material. Music, software, and apps are the most popular content that internet users have paid to access or download, although the range of paid online content is quite varied and widespread.” Source: 65% of internet users have paid for online content | Pew Research Center’s Internet.

Pew always does a good job! If you’d like to read the entire study, you can go to the source. Comment, call or use the contact form to connect so we can talk about how this applies to your business…

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The social media network in your pocket

I wish I could hear the preso behind this deck, but the content is good enough to stand alone…
Social Network In Your Pocket

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The Future of Business is Social

You can read the original article here: Best of 2010: The Future of Business is Social.

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Correcting One Thing at a Time

Corporate athletes have recently (in the last decade) been schooled in the concept of working on strengths and exploiting them to gain leverage in their careers (via such books as Now Discover Your Strengths).  In our early careers, we were likely (at least I was) told to work on our weaknesses. It was a challenge to always be focusing on the negative, to say the least.   Thusly, a strengths-based approach made sense.We know that top athletes have almost always worked on their strengths to the level of exploiting them for extraordinary gains. To be fair, they also work on their weaknesses, but when you look at sports like cycling you see climbers become better climbers, sprinters getting faster and more explosive, time trialists becoming increasing dominant in their discipline and so on.  I think that you get the point. More specifically, great athletes focus on winning at one thing first, and work on weaknesses and secondary strengths after they’ve honed their strength.

via Social Media Breakfast New North | Blog | Winning at One Thing First Correcting One Thing at a Time.

When Dana VanDen Heuvel talks, I take notes. You can follow the ‘via’ link above to go to the source and read the rest of the article if you’re interested in learning more…

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Writing a killer blog

…without killing yourself in the process. Good thoughts from Louis Gray…

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What’s Your Killer “Technology”?

The word “technology” is in quotes because I want to expand your view of how it’s used. Businesses that get talked about do something different from other businesses. Being different is such an essential ingredient in marketing a small business.

You must also work, however, to bring that difference to the forefront of all marketing communications by developing tools that promote your point of view and your core difference.

It’s not enough to say that you’re different; you’ve also got to develop tools and materials that illustrate that difference. So in that vein, your technology could be a seven-step approach, a discovery audit, an actual technological product advancement, a coaching process, a set of tools, or proprietary software.

The key is to capture what it is that you do that’s unique and valuable and expand it into something that you can build a great deal of your educational content platform around. Think of this as your organization’s signature tool.

via openforum.com

My ‘signature tool’ is the ‘e1evation workflow’ — you can read about here…

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A Tale of Three Websites

Here’s a case study — unscientific as it may be — about 3 websites. One is 12 years old, one 7 years old, the other was launched a little over two months ago. The first belongs to radio station WORQ, the second belongs to WTAQ, the third also belongs to WORQ — both stations serve the Northeast Wisconsin market. All three sites serve a similar demographic, although the WORQ properties have an added ‘spiritual element’ that WTAQ does not have…

Here are the Alexa snapshots for each of the websites…

Here’s what I find interesting. WTAQ has the highest traffic rank as well they should — they are a large and successful part of Midwest Communications and they are the local outlet for Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and my good friend Jerry Bader, who regularly outperforms them both in the Arbitron ratings. I don’t know what the budget was for the recent overhaul of the website, but it has yielded them great results in the Alexa rankings — until the ‘total beauty makeover’, WTAQ’s site was ranked in the top 5 million or so. Today they rank at 173,161.

WORQ’s website has been up almost since the dawn of the internet — 5 years longer than WTAQ and their Alexa ranking is a respectable 410,018. Not bad considering they are a Christian radio station that runs on donations. Their developer, Virtualtech, is doing a nice job for them and the station leverages the website well. I do not know the budget for the site…

Now for the upstart ‘Standupforthetruth.com‘. The site was launched two months ago as a companion site to a program called ‘Stand up for the Truth’ which airs M-F, for one hour at 9 CDT [listen here, either online or via podcast]. The show was launched December 6 and the site had a hard launch just 5 days before that. Here’s what I find noteworthy: Standupforthetruth.com is closing in on WTAQ’s Alexa rankings at 175,558 and should pass them up this week on their current trajectory. Pretty impressive considering the total budget for technology and training was less than $1,250!

In the spirit of full disclosure, I developed the social media hub for Stand Up for the Truth. The technologies implemented are all what I refer to as “good, fast, and cheap” free, open source tools:

  • Gmail
  • Google Reader + Feedly
  • Chrome + Shareaholic
  • Posterous
  • Facebook Page
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • MailChimp

All these “good, fast, and cheap” technologies are rolled up in the ‘e1evation workflow‘ — a ‘thought leadership’ methodology that produces great results online. Program host and station General Manager Mike LeMay has been trained in the ‘art’ of ‘consume, create, communicate’ and has done quite well considering he is an admitted technology neophyte. He would be the first to admit that program co-host Amy Spreeman and Hopenet360 director Jeff Strommen have been tremendous assets on the project, but he has come a long way himself demonstrating that the ‘e1evation workflow’ is truly ‘Mike-proof’!

There’s a fine line between blowing your own horn and sharing a story and I hope I haven’t crossed it here. I do believe, however, that it’s a sad dog that can’t wag it’s own tail from time to time. I don’t take credit for Mike’s great thinking, but he has confirmed again that the ‘e1evation workflow’ may be the shortest path to thought leadership on the internet. Mike perspective? “This just shows how hungry some Christians are for Truth. Lord willing He will be glorified as we move forward.” Ouch. I’m humbled — so much for my dog’s tail. I’ll put it between my legs where it belongs…

Bottom line? You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get your point across on the online — a ‘little guy’ like Mike bringing in the same traffic as a ‘big guy’ like Jerry Bader in such a short period of time and with so little money spent is an internet marketing success story of ‘David and Goliath’ proportions. Comment, call or use the contact form to connect so we can talk about how this applies to your business…

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Consumers More Likely to Use Businesses Active on Social Media

Image representing Yelp as depicted in CrunchBase
Image via CrunchBase

Seven out of 10 consumers are more likely to use a local business if it has information available on a social media site, says a new study.

The annual study, called Local Search Usage Study: Bridging The Caps, From Search to Sales, is a joint effort of comScore and TMP Directional Marketing, a local search marketing firm. It includes an online survey of some 4,000 consumers, plus data gleaned from observing one million consumers who agreed to have their online searches monitored anonymously.

Having a page on Facebook is a start, but it’s not a one-time effort: 81 percent of consumers using social media say it’s important for businesses to respond to questions and complaints. And for the record, you do need to worry about reviews and ratings – 78 percent said they’re important when deciding what to buy.

What else do you need to be doing with social media? Nearly four out of five (78 percent) of users want special offers, promotions, and information about events, 74 percent want regular posts about products, and 72 percent want posts about the company itself. (Wondering about posting those photos of the company office—or picnic? Two-thirds of those surveyed want to see them.)

If this all seems too daunting, the survey also suggests a simple starting place: make sure there is correct information about your business in as many places online as you can (Google, Yelp, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Social networkers are 67 percent more likely to buy something than general searchers, but one in six searchers is frustrated by the lack of reliable information about small businesses on the Web – either it’s not there at all, it’s incorrect, or it’s confusing or disorderly. One third of searchers give up on a business when they can’t quickly find the information they’re looking for.

via inc.com

Wow. Just wow. You can follow the ‘via’ link if you’d like to read the rest of the article. Comment, call or use the contact form to connect and discuss how this applies to your business. Thanks to Dana VanDen Heuvel for tweeting this…

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7+ Tools for Turning the Tide

I had the honor yesterday of team teaching a social media ‘bootcamp’ with super smart social media guy Dana VanDen Heuvel [I know! Why was I team teaching with him?!]. Apparently Dana finds some value in my ‘practical, tactical’ approach to social media implementation so he asked me to share it with the class…

Me? I think people who believe that social media marketing could be valuable for their business are immediately faced with the question of ‘how do I add social media to my overflowing plate and still get home for supper?’. If that’s true then we need a simple toolbox to help us go from being overwhelmed by data to effectively managing and producing it. This is my current thinking about the ‘7+ Tools for Turning the Tide’ [the plus is for retail destinations that would also benefit from location-based social media]…

http://www.mindmeister.com/maps/public_map_shell/71029957/7-top-tools-for-turning-the-infotide?width=550&height=400&zoom=1&live_update=1

Before you tweet back that this is way oversimplified, remember where most aspiring thought leaders are at! That’s why I use three maxims to guide my choice of tools:

  • “Things must be made as simple as possible but no simpler.” Albert Einstein
  • “Never use two tools where one will do.” Paraphrase of Thomas Jefferson
  • “The tools must be ‘good, fast and cheap’, completely cross platform, and available anywhere/anytime [which means they are web and mobile based].” Todd Lohenry

This mindmap is a revision of my now ‘world famous’ series ‘The Top 10 Tools for Tightening your Tribe‘ — the missing technology toolkit for Seth Godin’s book ‘Tribes‘. You’ll see that some of the tools have changed [I’ve moved to Chrome from Firefox, for example] but the principles are enduring and many tools have stood the test of time over the past year — a lifetime in the social media space…

Questions? Feedback? Comment, call or use the contact form to connect so we can talk about how this applies to your business…

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Now Cheryl Cole Fans Can Check-In To Billboards

L'Oreal Elnett, now promoted by Cheryl Cole
Image by shahid1618 via Flickr

Brands have moved quickly to incorporate Facebook Places into their advertising strategy, with the latest campaign urging people to “check-in” to billboards across the UK for singer Cheryl Cole.

TechCrunch reports that the campaign, designed by media agency MediaCom and Polydor Records, gives fans a chance to win two free tickets (plus travel and hotel) to one of her X Factor shows.

There has long been an alliance between mobile and outdoor in the advertising world. For several years many advertising posters and billboards have been built with QR codes or Bluetooth receptors to enable consumers to download more information. Location check-in is a natural evolution, as smart phones becoming increasingly widespread. The Cheryl Cole billboards are among the first for Facebook Places, but a similar concept was used earlier in the summer when Gowalla users were invited to “check-in” to a giant billboard for the New Jersey Nets in New York City.

Other innovative uses of Facebook Places since its launch in August include a marketing campaign for the University of Kentucky, singer James Blunt using Places check-ins to reward concert goers with free music downloads, and a scavenger hunt in San Francisco for Giants baseball player Tim Lincecum.

via allfacebook.com
Hmmm. Billboards and social media. Interesting combo…
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OpenTable Seated 15.4 Million Diners in Q3 2010

Image representing OpenTable as depicted in Cr...
Image via CrunchBase

Online and mobile reservation service OpenTable released its third quarter financial results, which showed significant year-over-year gains in revenue, restaurant installations and total seated diners.

Most notably, the publicly traded company posted $24.5 million in total revenues for Q3 2010, a 44% increase over the same quarter last year.

OpenTable is also reporting a 52% increase in year-over-year diners with 15.4 seated diners for this past quarter. The company now says it has a client base of 13,025 restaurants in North America — a 26% increase since September 30, 2009.

via mashable.com

Yeah. Hmmm. 15 million people were seated using social media? Now tell me again why restaurants should care about social… :-D

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What companies need to ask when hiring a social-media consultant

Letting an outsider influence your brand’s social-media presence can be a scary thing. You’re giving a consultant or an agency an enormous amount of power over your brand — and probably paying them a pretty penny. You know you need help to make your social-media efforts bear fruit. But how can you be sure you’re bringing in the right person?

At the 2010 BlogWorld Expo, panelists shared their takes on the social-media hiring process. As the panelists — each of whom is no stranger to the process — talked, they returned again and again to three fundamental questions that companies need to have answers to before confidently bringing a consultant or an agency on board.

via smartblogs.com

You can follow the ‘via’ link above to go to the source and read the rest of the article…

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