Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics, has updated the stats in this now famous video. Yes, it’s funny that a recently published book needs its stats refreshed – but that’s how fast this stuff is moving! I like the new version even better.
I have found it an invaluable tool in firing up an audience before a social media meeting, getting the troops excited within our own interactive practice, or just generally communicating the importance of this revolution. Make it part of your repertoire.
This is an excellent example of fighting a PR conflict using social media. Who looks like the cool victim here and who looks like the big, cold corporation? Method will even let YOU DECIDE! Check out the microsite they stood up which includes the video above.
Talk about making lemonade from lemons – AND they simultaneously take on a giant competitor and reinforce their brand story! Smart!
Nice post in Mashable last week. Main idea is that you can benefit from discord and negativity around your social media efforts out there as well as the positive. Idea is from Tim Ferriss, autor of “The Four Hour Work Week.” So, what do you do with haters? Here are some gems from Tim:
“…you only need to pick your first 1,000 fans — and carefully. “As long as you’re accomplishing your objectives, that 1,000 will lead to a cascading effect,” Ferriss explains. “The 10 million that don’t get it don’t matter.,,”
“10% of people will find a way to take anything personally. Expect it…”
“The bigger your impact, explains Ferriss (whose book is a New York Times, WSJ and BusinessWeek bestseller), and the larger the ambition and scale of your project, the more negativity you’ll encounter…”
The slogan “Keep Calm and Carry On” was originally produced by the British government during the Second World War as a propaganda message to comfort people in the face of Nazi invasion. Ferriss takes the message and applies it to today’s world. “Focus on impact, not approval…
Caught this from @EyeTraffic on Twitter…
Dallas Lawrence of BulletProofBlog reports in Forbes.com that President Obama and his team are leveraging social media to make their case for financial industry reforms – and they’re using social media (namely PPC advertising, Facebook and Twitter) to bring it to the people. Check out his article in Forbes.com.
Here’s a quote: “…The strategy of going after Wall Street may seem obvious in a midterm election year dominated by economic concerns, but the tactics being deployed at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. are anything but–especially for issue advocates and corporate reputation managers, who have yet to fully embrace what our president and his aides learned some time ago, that the Internet is now the strategic high ground of the political battlefield, and that therefore whoever controls it controls the debate…”
Are you more like the POTUS and team or like the “slower-on-the-uptake corporate reputation managers,” who “…have yet to fully embrace [the internet and social media]?”
Wake up!
Logged in to LinkedIn today to share a post and found a great new feature that we can all use to connect more deeply with our networks. You can now embed links inside of your status updates to more directly communicate web content to your contacts. Here’s a YouTube link that explains.
Big news. I just got this from a friend at 7Summits. According to Fast Company Magazine (a must subscribe if you don’t already), Hitwise analysis says that as of this month, “…Google lost its crown as the most-visited Web site in the U.S. last week. The new king of Web site traffic is, of course, Facebook…” That is how important social media has become. Just a year or two ago this would not have seemed possible. Fast Company predicts an Ad War. Be looking for more ads in your Facebook pages as companies start to divide their spend amongst these two giant aggregators. How seriously are you focusing your marketing plan on either of them?
While a great number of companies make and sell products, the past 20 years have seen a revolution in the professional services industry. So there is a good chance that you are responsible for selling services vs. products. However, many of the sales techniques used today still echo a product sell. A great book on the subject of the difference here is called “Selling the Invisible” by Harry Beckwith. He’s written some other great books too, but this in my opinion is his best. Here are a couple of my favorites from this book…
“The first step in service marketing is your service.” – In other words, do your craft with excellence before thinking up a wiz bang marketing plan.
“One Thing Experts Don’t Know…” – In most professions, you ARE NOT selling your competence. Your client can’t evaluate you fully. They are not the professional – you are. That’s why they are seeking your help in the first place. Your competence is assumed. What you ARE selling is a relationship. Do you pick up the phone and respond quickly? Are you a good listener? Am I important to you? Do you deliver to me with excellence? etc.
But only the things left by those who HUSTLE!
This quote sits in my office as a reminder of a person who failed many times over his life, but always worked harder than everyone else and ended up as one of our most famous Americans – Abe Lincoln.
Imagine if you got up each morning with this at the top of your mind. How many more calls would you make? How many more meetings would you have? How many extra value would you deliver to your clients?
…AND…
How much more success would you see?
LinkedIn has reached 60,000,000 members! RT @techcrunch: LinkedIn Now 60 Million Strong – http://j.mp/9vkPWB
Think about that. 60 MILLION members. It is even more incredible when you think that these are people connecting regarding their public/professional lives vs. the private/casual users of other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
This service is one of the most fundamentally game-changing new tools for professionals. What did we do without it?
When I imagine what the first half of my career might have been like if I started out with this tool for helping and leveraging my network of relationships as I began in sales, it makes me want to cry.
But we have it now!
Great blog post from the folks at Fast Company: http://bit.ly/97qnIl. This magazine is very good. One of my top resources for business insight. This post deals with that age-old question, “What are we getting for our marketing spend?” My firm is doing a better job tacking lead source per deal – in a direct answer to one of the questions posed in the post “From ‘closed business’ where did the initial leads come from?” It’s making a difference in how we invest dollars in marketing. Have you connected the dots at your company?
So, you survived the big year-end push and spent some time unhooked from the business world to spend with the family over the holidays. Recharging the batteries is critical as you suit up to kick off another year. But now it’s mid-January. How do you feel about your pipeline? If your answer was anything but “rock solid,” you should read this brief article from Ilise Benun contributing to RainToday…
via Pipeline Making You Queasy? 8 Tactics for Creating a Focused Marketing Plan – RainToday.
Very useful video compilation of Erik Qualman explaining his theory of Socialnomics(TM) along side relevant social media statistics. Beware: upon watching it, you will feel behind the curve! Thanks to my friends at 7Summits for the suggestion.
Customer Experience Mashup 