#1 Reason Why Small Biz Should Use Social Media

Catchy title huh?

There has been plenty of talk from social media and small business consultants about the importance of fusing traditional networking with online “social” networking. It is one of the more important things you can do as a business development head or owner of a small to mid-sized business.

Networking has always been at the core of sales for small business owners. Since starting my company two years ago… networking (both online and offline) have driven business to my firm…But do you know what released the flood gates?

Combining my offline networking with my online networking.

John Jantsch hit the nail on the head when he said in his recent post about becoming a social company:

“(social) firms are much easier to refer because they are more deeply connected and socially involved in every facet of their ecosystem”

We can talk for hours about selling online but the real value for business owners is becoming social company and working hard to network both in an online environment and offline environment.

The main thing to remember is that you have to BELIEVE in networking. You have the opportunity to becoming involved with hundreds of people in your immediate location.

So what are the steps to networking online and offline?

1. Join an offline networking group. (I personally use Rainmakers and Confluence here in Indianapolis)

2. Join a locally based online networking group (ie Smaller Indiana)

3. Join a national network and use search functions to locate users in your area. (Twitter and Twitter Search)

You will be pleasantly surprised and remember… it is a way of life and a tool for your business.

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5 Quick Tools for Listening in on Social Media

I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel last weekend for the Hoosier Chapter of the PRSA’s Social Media Bootcamp. There was quite a bit of talk around tracking your brand through conversations online. How do you you track your brand online? How do you keep up with the mass of people joinging into the conversation? And the most important thing of all… how do you do it cost effectively and easily. 

There is a specific company (Radian6) that we talked about on the panel because of their UNBELIEVABLY cool tools for tracking and monitoring brands online. There is of course a cost involved for the Radian6 product. If you have any questions be sure to contact Amber Naslund on Twitter (@ambercadabra). But knowing Radian6… she has already posted a comment on this blog…

and I haven’t even published it yet. 

If you are looking for some quick and dirty ways to start following and monitoring your (company or personal) brand online… here are 5 quick tips to get started. 

1. Google Alerts

Google Alerts allows you to track your name or any keyword through an email notification. Any time your search term is discovered online you will receive an email from Google.. ALERTING you of the new link. Google Alerts can be a little slow in the long run but if you are budget sensitive this is a great place to start.

Watch the video below from Mindy at YourWebCoaches and learn how to setup an alert.

2. Social Mention

Social Mention is quick and easy way to search for the conveted keyword throughout the web. Simple user interface (much like google). If you want a quick way to search for brand names and conversation surrounding certain names… Social Mention is a good way to go. 

3. Spy

Here we have a new guy in the race for total brand monitoring domination. I was tipped on Spy from KDPaine’s post about monitoring your brand online. It is a pretty simple tool to use and is contained to more of the conversation’s happening online.. instead of direct links. The easy to use interface keeps it simple… and we love simple. 

4. Use Twitter Search

If you are using Twitter… which many of us are now… you know how hard it is to follow all the conversations. It is important to utilize this tool to follow conversations on this growing social network. If you are using TweetDeck it is extremely to follow the conversation surrounding your name. I like to use Twitter Search to follow certain trends (social media marketing) or people (competition perhaps?).

5. Track Blog Comments on Backtype

Backtype is a service that “lets you find, follow and share comments from across the web. Whener you fill out the “Website” or “URL” field in a comment form when you publish a comment on a blog of other website, BackType attributes it to you.” 

It is a cool tool because you can track your comments over the expanse of the web. One of the best features of Backtype is the Connect feature. The Connect feature allows you to search for comments and conversations around a specific post or article. Check it out and test it… pretty cool stuff! 

Now get out there and start tracking! It is important to be in the game and be involved in the game. 

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Social Media Can Help Your Business Be Remarkable

There is a constant theme in social media that defines the use of the tool in terms of marketing and communication… being remarkable. This concept was first started when Seth Godin wrote about it in his book Free Prize Inside and Purple Cow.  The whole concept of being remarkable is focusing on the customer who is “willing to make a remark about” your product or service. I wanted to take a look at the word remark because there is a lesson buried within this word-of-mouth marketing concept. 

re⋅mark (from dictionary.com) 
   /rɪˈmɑrk/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ri-mahrk]
–verb (used with object)
1. to say casually, as in making a comment: Someone remarked that tomorrow would be a warm day.
2. to note; perceive; observe: I remarked a slight accent in her speech.
3. Obsolete. to mark distinctively.

Do you know what hit me? The third definition in the group above: to mark distinctively. Many people view the concept of a remark as a casual comment in passing. Unfortunately or fortunately… depending on your situation… it is important to remember that a remark is no longer casual. In a world where communication is doubling ever second (or so it seems) a casual remark can spread like wildfire. If you can build products and services that are remarkable…

… that people are talking about…

… that people love …

You can create a word-of-mouth campaign that will grow your business by leaps and bounds. The truth of the matter is this: if you are not being talked about in a positive light…You are doing something wrong. Seth has the tendency to ask, “Are you invisible? Or are you remarkable.” I am going to encourage all the business owners and marketing professionals of the world to do 5 things:

1. Love the product and service you sell and believe it can be Remarkable. 

2. Talk about what you do with excitement (drink caffeine if you have to).

3. Send surveys to make sure your product or service is staying remarkable.

4. Utilize a blog or forum to allow your customers to share the story (to remark on your story).

5. Believe in the concept of using social media as a HUGE communication tool. It is here to stay. 

Are you invisible or remarkable?

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90% of Your Business Will Be Digital or WOM

A fellow employee at Brandswag, Colin Clark, wrote  a blog post about the 5 Ways to Prepare for the year 2011. Now this is an interesting post title in itself. What is the deal with the year 2011? I finally had the chance to read Colin’s post which is centered around a comment by Seth Godin. Seth has predicted that the majority (90%) of your sales will come from either digital marketing or word-of-mouth.

Talk about a crazy prediction… or is it?

Is it so hard to believe that the majority of small-to-mid size business leads will be driven by customer referrals and communication online? We are experiencing a complete 180 in terms of communication. Brands are being controlled not by the owner of the product or service but by the users.

Customer experience has always had a small hold on brands but with the Internet and social communities… the definition of YOUR product and service is no longer… under your control.

Where do you go from here?

Learn. Read. Jump in.

And when I say read… I mean go read Colin’s blog about the 5 Ways to Prepare for the Year 2011. The year of communication.

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Social Media According to Zhang Yu

I am re-reading The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

Let me be clear. When I say I am re-reading it actually means I am reading it for the first time, a second time. It is amazing the kind of insight you take away from a book when you read it through different parts of life. It has been a couple of years since I picked up the book and a section about adapting caught my eye.

Zhang Yu : Adaptation means not clinging to fixed methods, but changing appropriately according to events as is suitable.

We are in a phase of adaptation in the world of marketing communications. With the advancement of the Internet (mainly the growth of commercial social media) a new phase of communication is quickly becoming a premiere way to connect with a demographic. But..

You have to adapt.

If you do not adapt to the changing business environment.. you will be lost in a world that is moving faster and faster with every moment. It is important to destroy the learning curve that is forcing multitudes of companies to rethink the way they communicate with their clients and potential clients.

Remember that adapting and changing is not an easy thing to do but it needs to be done. The key is to learn and soak in as much as you can when it comes to business communication. We are all in this changing environment and some are adapting faster than others.

The key is to adapt, strategize, and execute….

and repeat.

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Why Banks Should Listen to Social Media

I was in a recent conversation with an owner of a local advertising firm in Indianapolis and we were discussing the merits of social media with banks. In my mind, any business can benefit in some way from using social tools on the Internet. Even if the only strategy is to listen and respond… that is better than not listening at all… right?

Nielsen recently partnered with NeuroFocus, the global leader in neuro-marketing, and released a study focused on the banking industry. There were some startling facts. You can find the entire study (here).

I read the report and here is what I walked away with:

• Feelings of stability, solidity, partnership, empathy, and understanding scored highest.
• Clutter free, humanized web interaction that was different from everything seen earlier scored the highest – time to invest in web site redesign
• Empathy is most important: Consumers want to hear that banks understand their pain. Claims of “sacrifices” and applying “hard work” did not resonate as well.
• Blogs work: Blog postings – even those written by parties with a vested interest in the subject – were deemed to be the most effective form of written advocacy among consumers.

If you needed any more evidence that now is the time to step up in the banking industry and take advantage of social media… there it is.. easy to read and right in front of you.

Partnership and human interaction can be accomplished by using social media as a form of communication with your clients. We want to know you CARE about what we are experiencing.

Take that cold outward demeanor and turn it into a loving embrace… and it will be welcomed.

“The strongest message consumers want to hear from banks is how much their bank empathizes with their pain. These are neurological insights that banks cannot afford to ignore right now,” said A.K. Pradeep, CEO of NeuroFocus.  Nielsen, 3/31/09

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The Value of Ink and How It Grows My Business

We are in a tough economy. Now more than ever YOU need to stand out from the rest. 

Remember those sleepless nights trying to figure out how to better market your company? Your competition was awake with you… thinking the same things.

I wanted to give a quick idea for making a impact with current and potential clients: notecards. Every time you meet with someone. Every time you get a referral or a new client. 

Sit down and write a note to that person. Tell them it was nice to meet them. Tell them that you are excited to meet again. You will be amazed how far a handwritten note can go in this day and age.

In the Internet age.. Ink still has a place.

and in my opinion.

It always will.

What’s Behind ILearningGlobal.tv? Coal or Gold?

There has been a slow but steady push (at least here in Indianapolis) to join a website with the likes of T. Harv Ecker, Brian Tracy, and Dr. Tony Allesandra. It is called iLearningGlobal. The whole concept behind the site:

“As an iLearningGlobal member you have direct 24/7 access to the most valuable training and learning content available today. iLearningGlobal provides training videos, audio programs, and ebooks from the top speakers, trainers, and authors worldwide. Fresh new content is added to the site weekly so the information is always fresh and you never run out of resources for continuous learning.

iLearningGlobal offers you the most advanced user viewing experience today within the iLG Signature Video Theater where you can experience full screen, High Definition video free of loading and buffering. This is web learning 2,0!” -From the Features section on iLearningGlobal.tv

I guess the question now is… what is this post about? I want to know what everyone thinks about the concept of iLearning Global. There has been the negative and positive viewpoints shared about the site. The negative borders on the Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) aspect of the site. Another negative has been the monthly cost of a online video based site (around $80/month). There are just as many positives as negatives.

The content on iLearningGlobal is excellent. I have watched multiple videos and they are short, concise, and give you a good boost of either confidence, ideas, or business knowledge (pick your poison). The instructors are fabulous and the video player is actually quite good.

On the other hand there are plenty of great content sites that are free. What is the draw?

Does the MLM pose a problem to people when using the site? Are you disgusted with the multi-level hundred grand a month scheme? I haven’t made my decision yet but I thought I would ask the more important critics: the readers of this blog.

What do you think?

61 Million Blogs about Professional Experience

I was forwarded an e-newsletter from Harvard Business Publish by my business party in Brandswag.. Brandon Coon. They have a section of the newsletter called Daily Stat. In the Daily Stat it stated that Technorati has indexed an upwards of 133 Million blogs and that 46% (61 Million) of those blogs are about industry and profession. Wow!

Let me preface this by saying that we are not quite sure how active the 61 million blogs are in content but this is still a staggering number. The Daily Stat also stated that 79% blog about personal interests. What does this mean to the business community?

People are talking about you. Services and products are a part of our daily lives. There is bound to be a writer in the mass of the 79% that writes about YOUR product or service. Are you listening?

The stat went onto say that only 12% of those Technorati blogs catered to corporate blogging. This shows huge market potential for coporate blogging in the following months. The trend is growing and individuals are starting to listen… both in the small business market and the corporate market.

61 Million blogs about professions. Did anyone say B2B Marketing potential? I think so.

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What Roseta, PA Can Teach You About Social Media

I have been reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and just to be clear… the book is awesome.

At the beginning of the book Malcolm talks about a researcher named Stewart Wolf who was fascinated with the long lives of a group of Italians living in Roseto, Pennsylvania. Wolf did extensive research to try and figure out when the citizens of Roseta had virtually no heart disease or any sickness related deaths of any kind. It was not the diet, exercise or location… what Wolf found was that it was the city itself (pg 9). The conversations and relationships that “Rosetians” experienced on a daily basis helped keep them healthy and jovial.

This post is not about the City of Roseta.. it is about the data that was presented to medical communities across the world. Wolf was being met with resistance because of lack of “long rows of data arrayed in complex charts (pg 10).” They had to convince the medial establishment to look PAST the data and look at the findings in an entirely new light.

The same is true for using social media. There is still resistance from the “establishment”  because of the lack of data and charts to show growth rates and return-on-investment. Have we started to discuss the negative ramifications of not being involved in the new medium of social media?

Roseta citizens remained healthy and content because of conversations and relationship driven communication.. can’t that be applied to your marketing? Can’t that be applied to your communication strategy

What is stopping you?

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