I Don’t Care About Your Clients. I Care About Their Friends.

Here is a quick thought for your Monday morning. I always try to get a point across in all of my seminars surrounding the concepts in social media and the Internet. it goes something like this..

“As a marketer in this age of online communication.. I don’t care about your clients… I care about their friends.”

This concept has been gaining importance according to the rules of viral marketing and online marketing. When we are focusing on lead generation through social media it is extremely important to understand what SELLS your product or service. What story do you tell the end-user that pulls people toward your brand? How do you get people involved passed the direct mail piece or the tweet you sent out yesterday?

You get your current customers to tell the story for you.

You train your happy clients to tell their version of your story!

It is a fact of nature right? We tend to have friends that are similar to us… your friends… your business contacts… your important professional network… the closest people tend to have the same type of values.

We want to our clients to sell our story. Referrals are the best way to gain business leads and social media has created a platform to make that sharing… so much easier.

Education and the ability to teach your customers the art of sharing is and will be… extremely important to growing your business in this new age of online communication.

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Social Media Enhances Personal Experience in Business

Why do we tend to shorten experiences? Why… as a society… do we keep inventing new ways to make things faster, harder, stronger, and compiled. Information flying this way and that, overloading everyone from the iPOD Millennial to the AM Radio Baby Boomer (sorry stereotyping is a spiritual gift of mine). Technology has managed to help our society do more in less time. But (hat tip to Seth Godin on this one) the “do more in less time” philosophy has taken the personality out of the every day encounter. Seth makes a brilliant example in his post, Old Marketing with New Tools:

Cost and speed pressure means that when you get your car serviced, it’s unlikely you’ll be greeted by the mechanic himself, wiping his hands on a greasy rag, telling you exactly what he did to your car. Instead, you’ll get a difficult to decipher printout.

In some cases, new technology has taken out the face to face interaction with the business to the client. BUT we have seen an increase in social interaction (both online and off) in the realm of social media.

I overheard a gentleman talking about a social network (whether Facebook or LinkedIn it doesn’t matter). He was making reference to social networking on the Internet as impersonal and stupid. First off, I about flipped out of my chair and set him on fire. I understand that online social networking is not for everyone but the least someone can do is recognize the fact that it has VALUE. I turned around thinking I would be face-to-face with a twenty-something year old. Unfortunately he looked around 50 with his real age probably being closer to 35.

The simple fact that a gentleman/business owner was implying that social networking was impersonal is completely ridiculous. If you do it right.

The right way to make social networking work for you is two fold.

1. Join a social network (preferably a geographically local network). In order to know and be productive in the different social networks refer to my post: How To Be Productive in Social Media.

2. Use the social network to meet members of that specific network off-line.

Combine face-to-face networking with your online social networking experience. I use Smaller Indiana to meet new business owners/creative individuals in the Indianapolis community. This does not replace my off-line business networking with groups like Rainmakers but it does add value in meeting people who usually do not attend networking events.

The combination of off-line and online social networking is a powerful tool you can utilize for YOUR business. Try it out. Spend a few minutes on a local network and set up a meeting. If it doesn’t work. TRY AGAIN. If that doesn’t work. Third times s charm?

Also, if you ever hear anyone degrading social media, please call me. I’ll bring the blow torch. You bring the gasoline.

The Only Thing That Matters Is Your Story

We are experiencing a change in the world of customer communication. It is no longer the company that is controlling the brand management but the consumer. Forget the concept of social media… we have been witnessing this transition for the past decade… and it is increasing exponentially since the inception of the Internet.

Customers are now talking about you at a staggering pace using sites like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and LinkedIN… and the list goes on. I was watching TV today and taking note of the increasinly terrible advertising that is taking place on the cable networks. I began to realize that I (along with millions of others) are no longer making buying decisions based on traditional advertising. You can take the definition of traditional advertising any way you want but in my terms it means old ways of doing business.

A great book to read is Made to Stick (from the Heath Brothers) which talks about the concept of creating a story to push your company into the next decade of communication. I have read, reread, and read again the excellent points made throughout the book and began to realize one thing… if you do not create a story that your customers can retell and share.. you will lose market share steadily over the next couple of years.

We might not be seeing a steady decline because social media and the Internet is still bleeding edge when it comes to market penetration in a global sense. My question is simply this: What happens when we do reach the peak of market penetration for social media? What happens when your customers ARE using the tool and using it effectively? What do you do when you reach the point? Are you ready for the onslaught? Is your communications department familiarizing themselves with the tools?

All that matters is your story. You are going to be creating a story based on a marketing process but we might come to the point where it doesn’t matter what you want your story to be… your customers are going to create a story anyway. Experience is the key to the future of marketing and customer communication. They (your customer) are going to be talking NOT about your sales or PR release but how they personally experienced your product or service.

Are you preparing yourself for the new age of communication?

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Only the Passionate Survive

I’m going to be completely transparent with you right now… not because it is something all of us “preach” in the world of Internet communication… but because this is where real and meaningful content is created.

I’ve been dragging through my life the past couple of months and I’m trying to put my finger on it… put my finger on the pulse that has been slowly fading… trying (like many people) to figure it all out.

I’m not dragging because a lack of great business. I’m not dragging because a lack of business or professional recognition. Everything is good in the world of business and I am blessed.

Maybe I just need a reboot? Maybe I just need something to push me into the realm of satisfaction? Maybe the key is… I’ll never be satisfied… and maybe I am okay with the notion of never stopping.

Maybe it is just the stress of owning a small business… but maybe I am okay with that as well!

Through my life I have read countless business books. I have had the pleasure of reading everything from Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson to Made to Stick by the Heath brothers and there seems to be a central theme in every book:

Passionate individuals

Richard Branson LOVED music. The Heath brothers taught us the art of telling stories about the things we LOVE to do. The central theme creeps through every page… the theme of only the passionate surviving.  Seth Godin’s recent blog post talks about passion in the workplace:

“I don’t think there’s a relationship between what you do and how important you think the work is. I think there’s a relationship between who you are and how important you think the work is.”

It is truly only the passionate that survive through owning businesses, economic downturn, and competitive environments. It is only the passionate that are creative enough to push into new territories, use new technology, and create new products.

You have to be obsessed with what you do… up to the point of it becoming a true passion.

What does it mean to have true passion?

1. You have the ingenuity and drive to create new products and offerings for your clients.
2. You don’t hesitate at change and welcome diversity.
3. New technology and communication techniques are implemented… always.
4. Your employees love what they do… they are the direct reflection of yourself.
5. You are known as the go-to-person in your location and industry because people can sense the passion in your eyes.

You could create an endless list but I am set on the idea that creativity and innovation are a sign of true passion.

I am going to make a conscious effort to rediscover that true passion and push past the worthless space of “not-knowing.” Life is way to short not to know what you want to do.

And if you are not feeling the “passion.” Find another way.. find another route.. find that diamond in the rough.

7 Ways to Build a Personal Brand Out of College

Rob Stretch is a marketing major at the University of Missouri, graduating this May. On the side, works in VA Mortgage Center.com’s online marketing department part-time, working on SEO and social media related projects.

As a college student almost ready to graduate, I am extremely concerned with personal branding. Resumes are not just pieces of paper anymore. For better or worse, companies are becoming more and more concerned with candidates’ appearance on social networks as well as online reputation in general.

And it’s not just college students that should care. Potential clients and customers often track a company or professional’s online presence before doing business. Enter the world of personal branding and online reputation management. Below is a list of what you can do today to start maintaining a positive online presence.

1. If you don’t have one, start a blog or online portfolio

Go ahead and register yourname.com. If it’s not available, try your-name.com, stick a middle name or initial in there, or get creative. Use a .net if you need to. The point is, as more and more people are getting online, domain real estate is getting harder and harder to come by. Get ahead of the curve and register your property today.

2. Get active on Facebook

If you’re reading this blog, I’m sure that you’re one of the 160 million that have a Facebook profile. Congratulations, now put it to use. Make sure your pictures reflect you, if you don’t like how one portrays your image, un-tag it. If you don’t want potential employers/clients/associates to see unflattering pictures of you then delete them or change your privacy settings. Make sure you’re participating in the conversation – use status updates a little more sparingly than Twitter but make sure you’re staying active.

3. Join the conversation on Twitter

If you you’re one of those people who refuse to get on Twitter, get over it and try it out. Start following key players in your industry or concentration. Start mentioning them, you never know when they’ll reply back. Most importantly, spend a little time on your profile. Search for customizable Twitter templates and make a background for yourself. Check out TwitBacks to start. It is pretty easy to look professional on Twitter with a little elbow grease.

4. Get LinkedIn

LinkedIn can be a great way to connect to people as well as groups in your industry. Make sure you completely fill out your profile, upload your resume, and start connecting to people you know. More connections will follow. One great reason to have a LinkedIn profile is the recommendations feature. Start writing recommendations for your friends and they should return the favor. This can be a great way for potential employers/clients to notice you online.

5. Create your social footprint

Now you have a blog and three active social media profiles. Link them! Creating a social web is the best way to funnel people into your new brand. You should have icons near the top of your blog that link back to all three. Also, make sure you link all three back to your blog where they ask you to list personal websites. Finally, make sure as you are writing blog posts you are linking them on your Facebook and Twitter statuses.

6. Brand to tangibles

Include the URLs of your blog and profiles on your resume and business cards. Imagine you’re in the shoes of your potential employer. You are handed two resumes. One of the resumes has a link to your personal blog full of insightful posts which then leads them to the rest of your social web. The other resume is just a piece of paper with accomplishments. Think interactivity. Which one looks better?

7. Monitor your image

Check on your personal branding “campaign”. Run a Google search on your name in quotations and see what pops up. Another great tool for monitoring your web presence is Who’s Talking.

The information available online about you can be overwhelming, even scary at times. But this doesn’t have to be viewed as a negative of the information age. With proper personal branding and reputation management, spend a little time and you should come out on top of all of your competitors.

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Does Your Employee’s Personal Life Matter to Your Company?

There have been a few conversations circulating among my network pertaining to the personal life of employees being spread through the social sphere. Here is the overall question:

Does your employee’s personal life matter to your company? Does it affect your company brand?

Some say yes and some say no. The way an employee acts and talks outside of the work has never been more scrutinized than right now. We are living in a world where a mis-sent email, random tweet, or Facebook picture could damage a company and the guilty employee. Let’s run a scenario:

Employee A sends out a Facebook status update to their friends about a club they attended the night before (this could even be a tweet). The status update reads:

I had such a good time last night at Club XYZ. We were really boozing it up and I might have went home with a somebody, but I woke up at my apartment. So we are okay!

Now, I’m not saying that anyone would actually send this… it is only for this scenario. Let’s say that a follower took offense to the comment because the employee worked for a company that touted “ethical values” and shared the comment with their friends… which in turn was shared by a few other people.. and a few other people.. and a few hundred people.

Now the question is… does that affect or hurt the employer? Should employers be more conscious of their employees use of social media? I am torn on the issue and because of this… I decided to ask the opinions of Abbie Fink, Jay Baer, and Jason Falls.

Abbie Fink is Vice President and General Manager for HMA Public Relations :

It is important to remember that there is a very fine line between personal and professional when you are in the social media space.

At our office, I want my team to have some personality and encourage that, in fact.  But knowing that they are representing a variety of different clients, we periodically remind them that any statements on their personal pages must reflect well on us as a business and that of our clients. It is also what I advise when working with clients who are finding their way around Facebook, Twitter, etc.

My guess is that one such post from one employee on their personal page would not damage the employer’s brand. But again, it will be important for that employer to have guidelines in place and monitor what is being said.

Jason Falls is Founder and Tough Guy at Social Media Explorer

That’s why employers and employees need to have social media policies. It’s disappointing that an educated adult would say something offensive or potentially damaging to their career or their company in a public forum, but people mistakenly think that protected Tweets or certain privacy settings mean no one will see it. If you post it, people can see it, capture it, index it and even replicate it so it never goes away.

I tell people they should assume everything they post on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and so on can be seen by their spouse, boss, priest, rabbi, minister, children, grandmother, employees and competitors. If you know that and then post something foolish you get what you deserve.

Companies need social media policies for instances just like this. It can take me less than a minute to see the Tweet, find out who sent it and who they work for. Even if things are private the individual can be found on LinkedIn and Google is really smart and connects the dots. If the individual had been through social media training and been given a company policy it may have stopped the offending tweet.

Jay Baer is Founder and Consultant at Convince and Convert

The lines are continually blurring between personal and professional lives in the online environment. Does it affect you if your employee is a closet dominatrix and readily shares that information to world? Of course it does! It didn’t matter ten…twenty…thirty years ago but it matters now.

It is important to educate your employees on the use of social media and without a policy your dominatrix sales person could sink a client or your bottom line.

There you have it. Jay, Abbie, and Jason are thought leaders in the industry of digital communication and I highly value their opinions. It is important to have a social media policy in place when you encourage your employees to start using social media. The world is an open book and your employees could harm your brand or potential business.

For more information on social media policy development check out Jason’s blog : What Every Company Should Know About Social Media Policy

Change is Money

Today’s guest post is written by Nathan Frampton. Nathan is President of Fanimation, Inc., manufacturer of high quality and unique ceiling fans. Nathan lives in Zionsville, IN with his wife and daughter and is active in the local community.

To all those I currently write checks to, I figured out how you can make more money and I would love to write you bigger checks. It has been my privilege and good fortune to work for my father over the last 20 years. Tom Frampton is an entrepreneur who founded a ceiling fan manufacturing company, Fanimation, in his garage at age 28.

Over the last 26 years his unique ceiling fan business, which is as much about fashion as it is about function, has evolved and grown to new heights. Two critical survival skills my Dad and Fanimation have taught me, however, stand out to me as timeless: the abilities of effectively dealing with change and a variety of people from all walks of life. This world has not, and will not stop throwing us challenges we have little to no control over: recessions that come in different shapes and sizes, market booms that at times make no sense and can be as hard to manage as downturns; and a variety of people that range from flexible and saintly, to stubborn and evil.

No matter what your industry or type of job is, one thing that is guaranteed to change, is CHANGE itself – the considerable, life altering kind.

Do you enjoy and savor that warm and fuzzy feeling you have about your income level, boss, and job duties? Do you love that new great software package you just converted to? Can’t imagine your morning, without that cute assistant who brings your coffee?

Don’t get too comfy; this too shall pass. Conversely, are you sick and tired of your boss who “doesn’t get it”? Are you unhappy with a job that doesn’t fit your well-rounded, yet specific skill set? Are you perplexed by the new software that is full of bugs? Frustrated by the cranky receptionist, who loves to route your calls to your inside competition?

Don’t get discouraged, this too shall pass. No matter what change comes your way, how you deal with it will make all the difference in the world. The ability to effectively manage and interact with people in a 360-degree manner is MONEY! Cold, hard, green, cash. Money!

Want more cheese to buy that new MDX? Get proficient and leading those underneath, next to and ABOVE you. Realize and don’t forget that those above you can be influenced in YOUR favor. One of the best things that ever happened to me was working for a boss who was immature and seemed to hate my guts. Figuring out how to manage him (even though he was my boss) is a skill I use to this day. Keep in mind, that I don’t just report to Dad, I have hundreds of customers, vendors, wives…well, just one wife. No matter who comes your way, how you deal with them will make all the difference in the world.

Finally, something we all tend to forget, and sometimes ignore, is that WE change. That our 5-year future selves will disagree, and on some points dramatically disagree, with our current selves is a fact of life that cannot be overstated, and is often times not considered.Next time you are sure about something, consider the fact you may one day think you were being a total idiot (if not about that one thing, it will be for another). How is that for humbling?

Think about this subject, put it into practice, and look for me to write you BIGGER checks.

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5 Ways to Not Be a Complete SAP on Social Media

Maybe… I am just in a bad mood. Maybe… I am just upset because the Colt’s lost the Super Bowl last night. Maybe… I am just being honest and open with my opinions… whether right or wrong. Either way… I have a bone to pick with a certain group of people that use social media. I am going to preface this  by saying that I have also been guilty of this activity and have been trying to change my ways…

There are a certain group of tweets, status updates, and posts that are sent out every day that consist of what I call “The Tony Robbin’s Smile Tweet-Post-Update.” If you are familiar with Tony Robbins… you can understand where I am coming from here… Here are some examples:

“Let’s have an awesome week! Lot’s of great stuff planned and new clients rolling in. Good luck everyone!”

“Just believe in yourself and all your wishes will come true!”

“If you don’t climb the mountain, you can’t view the plain.”

“Just talked to @abdcd and it was the best conversation ever! So Awesome!

Now… the last one in that list is not necessarily bad because you might truly think that the person was awesome  (I’ve done it) but does it really have to be every person you have a phone conversation with… and do I  need to know… every… time? There should come a time when you strive, yearn, and want to create something more…There should come a time when you want to create content and updates that make people think and strive to be more both intellectually and emotionally…

Where do you draw the line as a person and as a brand? I think the issue I am having with so much irrelevant content is that… it is not new… it is not fun… if I wanted an ego boost I would turn on Joel Osteen or Tony Robbins. And most of all… it is not real. So let’s talk about how we stray away from terrible human development content and get down to creating content that will be extremely beneficial to your life, business, and social media tribe.

1. Share thoughts and emotions surrounding an experience.

“This weekend’s funeral left me pondering: Do you celebrate the life lived, or mourn for what is gone and what will never be?”

This is an important development in the world of social media. You can share business and info about your company but you can go to an entirely new level with an update like the one listed above. (This is more for the personal business account than a company account) It is a tasteful update that will get a response and bring the community closer together.

2. Do NOT re-tweet, re-share, or re-post every quote on God’s green EARTH.

I am okay with one or two quotes a day but when I keep getting “live your best life now” or “this is the first day of the rest of your life” quotes it gets fairly annoying. I do appreciate the individual trying to pump me up but I don’t need self-help gurus in my face every day.

3. Share quality content around your company, service, or life.

If you are a self-help coach… I understand the concept of sharing thoughts and ideas about self improvement… when you are not in the self-help world and everything is absolutely (over-the-top) positive that flies off the keyboard… it strikes me as a little fake. I want to know real. I want to know substance! I want to know how life is being led… treated… and dealt with… We can all grow if we are honest with our positions.

4. Don’t share about every success, new client, or project development in your company.

It is okay to celebrate with your community but there is a fine line between blatant self-promotion and excitement…. because the truth of the matter remains… If you were actually signing all the clients and success under the sun… you wouldn’t have the time to use social media 14 hours a day.

5. Be real. Be real. Be real.

It is important to share information and content that excites and drives you through life. If you want to share gobs of emotionally insignificant content… that is your prerogative… but remember that the best strive to be real, honest, and raw. I want to know about the little things in life… I want to know when a community member is upset because an individual flipped them off on the road.

I want to know when they are hurt, exhausted, and emotionally raw.

I think it comes down to the point of not going over the top… everything is okay in moderation… do not share every pain and do not share every success… just be who you are… period.

The Only Way to Business Success

I was in a meeting with a potential client… a company called Fanimation… and we were discussing the different parts of our proposal process. At Brandswag we have a 50/50 policy where half of the 12 month social media campaign is paid by the client and the other half is pay-by-performance. So.. long story short… if we do not hit the goals for the client in the last 6 months of the contract… we do not get paid.

(Side note: If you have a couple of minutes after reading this blog post… check out their website. The products Fanimation creates are absolutely unique and AWESOME… no joke… If you are a sucker for product design… check them out)

Nathan Frampton works for Fanimation and said something extremely peculiar to me… “I just want to write you bigger checks.”

I have owned a company for almost three years and have never had a potential client say that to me. I proceeded to ask Nathan what he meant by writing me bigger checks. I had a vague idea of the concept but wanted to hear it straight from him.

It is an easy concept to comprehend… do great work and you will be rewarded. There is always a base pay but if you create marketing vehicles, promotional campaigns, and tell the story of the company with enough gusto… you sell product… and when you sell product… you get paid. It reminds me of something that Barry Labov (owner of Labov and Beyond) told me recently… “You know you have done a good job for a client when they send YOU gifts.”

But let’s be honest with ourselves…is it really that easy of a concept? It hit me like a ton of bricks even though it makes complete sense after I thought it through..

Deliver and grow with a client… deliver what they need, want, and desire… THAT is the only way to business success.

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Blubbering Blogger

Today’s guest post is by Melissa Mattingly. Melissa is a graduate from Depauw University in 2007 and works for the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association in the membership department. She is a cheer coach at Speedway High School and lives within walking distance to the Indy 500 withhusband Eric, and crazy mutt, Knuckles.

It takes me approximately 4 minutes to decide what I want to order when I go to McDonalds even though the dollar menu is probably my favorite “cookbook.” Sit me down in a fancy restaurant; you can bump it up to 15. Put me in a department store fitting room and you’d think I might have been taken hostage. Holy cow, it can take me an hour to decide what I (@MelMatto if you’re interested) should tweet!  Ask me to write a post about social media and the blog might be extinct by the time I’m done. Alright, I’m not that bad – but when Kyle said my timeframe for completion was “as soon as possible…450 words or less” I almost fainted.

Within this past year I thought I really wanted to start a blog. The problem I ran into is that I didn’t know why. Was it just for myself? Was I hoping to throw insight to helpless followers? I didn’t know what I wanted out of it and I still feel like that should be rule #1 when starting a blog. If you can’t even fill out the “about” section how are you suppose to have a successful blog?  I know some people just wing it and as the blog ages, it grows into something with meaning – but I’m way too OCD for that. I’m more of a step-by-step kind of gal. Give me a recipe; I’ll bake you a cake. Give me instructions; I’ll build the best Lego castle you’ve ever seen. But simply throwing food and Lego’s at me will only result in one colorful, crunchy lump of dough.

I even went as far as creating a page (seen here) but never started because I knew when I started I would have to keep up with it and what if I ran out of ideas? What if – gasp! – no one cared what I had to say but my mom. Most importantly, does the web really need another blogger? Does the web really need another so called “professional” to give their opinion on a topic they may have minute experience with? I remember around 10 years ago when the only bloggers were tweens with an open heart diary. Now there are so many conflicting opinions to process it’s turning into a psychological disease. “Information Overload,” according to Wikipedia, states: “As the world moves into a new era of globalization, an increasing number of people are connecting to the Internet to conduct their own research and are given the ability to produce as well as consume the data accessed on an increasing number of websites. Users are now classified as active users because more people in society are participating in the Digital and Information Age. This flow has created a new life where we are now dependent on access to information. Therefore we see an information overload from the access to so much information, almost instantaneously, without knowing the validity of the content and the risk of misinformation. When the individual is plunged into a fast and irregularly changing situation or a novelty-loaded context … his predictive accuracy plummets. He can no longer make the reasonably correct assessments on which rational behavior is dependent.”

Now again, Wikipedia (in a sense) could be seen as another blogger so maybe this statement has no warrant to some of you but where does it stop? I’m proud to be an American and believe in free speech to its’ fullest but can blogging dumb people down? Does it cause people to rely too much on what others say instead of making their own decisions? I, for one, honestly don’t have any answers. But if I do – maybe that would be a good topic to start my blog.

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