One of My Favorite People in Social Media

There comes a time when you start to get tired of reading the same things over and over and over again.

…2302 Steps to Twitter Amazement…
…Social Media at its Finest…
…Will Google Take over the world?…
…Wait? Where is Friendfeed?…

We have all reached that point and if you haven’t.. kudos. What is so interesting is that right when you start to drag through your rss reader you come across a post that changes everything.

I have been following Katie Paine for a couple of months now. Her insight into social media and public relations measurement could never be rivaled… anywhere. She is a genius when breaking down the concepts of social media and communication on the Internet.

But that aside…

She had a post recently entitled Back To My Origins. Simple put, she talks about her life and the memories she has had through Central Park and living in New York. 

Katie has exhibited what it means to become transparent in a world of technology. She may have hundreds and thousands of posts surrounding PR measurement but the simple posts about life… reasonate farther than anyone can imagine. 

If you want to take anything from the post today it is this.. 

We are all striving for something in life. Most of us work and play in the same realm and yet we have no idea where we come from… When you are writing content and pushing a message it is important to remember this simple rule..

Something that Katie does so well..

Be real. Be human. Be transparent. 

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Don’t Shoot Your Transparency All Over Me!

We talk alot about transparency in the blogging and social media world. In terms of being a business owner or a professional it is important to be transparent in everything you do in the online environment. Why? People want to know YOU not necessarily what you do.. that is secondary.

I haven’t really thought much about the concepts of transparency recently until reading a post by Louis Gray entitled Being Transparent is Fine but Please Use Smart Filtering. It talks about where you should/could draw the line when it comes to sharing personal information on the web. Louis talks about how he only shares personal information when it is relevant to the conversation or where it adds overall value to his online brand or persona.

“If you want to be transparent, and build a personal brand you are proud of, you must always be thinking about filtering what gets into your stream, and how it could benefit you and your audience.”

As I told some Purdue students a couple of weeks ago..

Everything is recorded online. Everything is searchable. Be careful what you post because it could come back to hurt your personal brand.

There is a fine line between being transparent and being ANNOYING. There is a reason why you have people following your blog or your profiles on multiple social networks. Don’t dissapoint and be proactive in what you share.

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The True Beauty of the Little Things in Life

There are times when we get so involved in the day to day working of business and life that we forget the little things. The things that change the way we live, breathe, and communicate. The beautiful things in life that creates the passion that drives us to the edge of reason. I was reminded of that beauty today.

Maura McGovern (follow her.. she is awesome) gave me a link today to one the best presentations of music and art that I have seen in a long time. With a track by Sigur Ros, the art of Sabrina Ward Harrison comes to life in a way that is hard to express… ever. Check out the video here.

We get so caught up in social media, marketing, business (small and large), profit margin, revenue growth, and the competitive landscape that we forget… the little things.

Watch the video and remember that life is much bigger than what we worry about on a daily basis. I am encourage to think about the little things in life… and enjoy every minute of it.

Have an excellent weekend.

Being a Results Driven Blog and Company

As some of you may know… actually the majority of you should know… I own a company called Brandswag in Indianapolis and Oklahoma City. Our company helps small and mid-size businesses with blogging, social media marketing, graphic design, and simple web design. Overall we are a viral-marketing consulting company.

The biggest problem we have had over the last six-months is taking social media marketing from a “smoke and mirrors” marketing tool to an actual results driven solution for clients. We have finally started to see results from our consulting engagements and we need to make it a point to share those results.

My blog is for theory, conversation, and ideas (as well as some rants) but I wanted to start giving a taste of what Brandswag is doing in the community. Enter: the Brandswag Business blog. We launched the blog a couple of weeks ago and have been adding thoughts and ideas to it ever since.

I wanted all my readers, as well as the community, to know that we are going to start posting case studies and marketing plan developments to the blog. This will be an in-depth look into our process as well as the success factors of clients.

From logo design to website design to social media… make sure you check it out and remember to Subscribe.

Eventually Social Media Will Dissapear. Remember What Matters Most.

Jason Falls has an awesome video over at Social Media Explorer. The post is entitled: When Social Media Doesn’t Matter. Check out the video and then check out my response.

My Video

Social Equity Is More Important than Financial Equity

I was surfing through some Gary Vaynerchuk videos and stumbled across this post from March 28, 2008: Legacy Is Greater Than Currency.

The video basically breaks down Gary’s thought on Financial decisions compared to legacy and social decisions. I have been debating internally about the concept of personal branding in the social media marketing realm and this video hits it right on the nose.

As an entrepreneur (and I think I speak for most) a legacy concept is much more important than the financial return a business may bring you. Let’s face it… the first five years of owning a company is pretty much scraping, unless you are a Mark Z, the creator of Facebook.

In the world of social media it is far more important to put emphasis on building your personal brand and personal equity than putting cash in your pocket. This has a lot to do with how you use social media. If you are a business owner and you are using social media as a marketing tool you CANNOT… let me repeat.

YOU CANNOT

Treat your friends and followers as financial equity. You will be eaten alive. I am saying this more towards the people who use Twitter Auto-Response or just write a blog for financial gain. Become a part of the community. Give back to the community. Join the race and enjoy the race.

In the end, you will find that will bring much more to your life than a new Infiniti or a Mercedes.

I am in business because I love what I do. I love everything about social media marketing and branding. If that means I need to make $20,000 a year for five years to truly build a company that helps people do what they love…

Sign me up.. over and over again.

Because in the end you will see far greater return in the long run both personally and professionally.

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What I Am Reading and Focusing On

We had a great event tonight at the Confluence Networking Corporate Blogging Panel. Thanks to everyone who made it out to the event. It was awesome!

I wanted to link some posts I have been concentrating on lately. I thought it would be a good digression from my daily rants!

1. 123SocialMedia: Social Media Politics – How Fast Things Change

I have been fascinated with the social media and marketing extravaganza known as the recent political campaigns. Barry Hurd talks about the transition from traditional media to new media by politicians.

2. Andy DeSoto: Social Media Basics Provide Necessary Spice

I love reading posts about combining social media with traditional marketing strategies. Andy is a genius at giving helpful hints on combining social media with the “real world.”

3. Chris Brogan: Communications in a Post Media World

Nobody can say it better than Chris.

Put up your first signal. Get your voice out there. What happens next? Do people respond? Because what comes next, I believe, is that you gather together the people who share your views. You reach out and connect with those who understand your goals, who share them, who breathe them in the same pulse.

4. Megan Glover: Blog Content is King

Megan at Compendium always has excellent posts around blogging, seo, and social media. This post is outlines the steps that Compendium Blogware has taken to measure the important of content and driving blog traffic. Excellent Post!

5. Lorraine Ball: If The Answer Is No, You Haven’t Asked the Right Question:

Lorraine is a mentor and a friend. I always enjoy reading her daily posts about small business marketing. The post is about Kenneth Cole refusing to let the answer of “NO” stop him from pursuing his dreams. What about you? What is the NO slowing you down right now?

An Example of Terrible Customer Service: IFCU

I had an experience today that I would rather never experience again. (and that is your pre-post prep)

I have a savings account at Independent Federal Credit Union. IFCU is a bank based in Anderson. (and that is your pre-pre-post)

I was driving to Anderson today to make a deposit at IFCU. I was around the first Anderson exit (the bank is located on the second exit). I realized that it was 3 mins until the bank was going to close (4:57). Now, let me repeat. I was one exit away.

I proceeded to call the bank and ask if they could stick around for 5 mins past 5 because I had been driving from Indianapolis and I was running a little late. The woman on the phone heistated and then said she had to talk to the teller. I was then told, “Sir, they wont stick around. Sorry.”

They wont stick around? Excuse me?

I got to the bank at 5:03 and the entire place was closed…

I have never been more furious in my entire life. No joke.

Oh I forgot to mention… I have been a member of this bank for 15 years. 15 YEARS! They couldn’t bother to stay around an extra 3 mins?

This should be lesson to many small businesses and corporate entities: customer service should be one of the top priorities. Especially a bank?! Last time I checked Mr. Bank you were being chastised left and right on the media. Maybe you shouldn’t allow me to pull my money and send it to CHASE!

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