Aligned Marketing Blog

A number of people I've talked to recently don't understand all the fuss around social media. What is it? Why is it growing so fast? Do I/we need to be engaged?

Briefly, here's my take:

People use social media for three primary reasons:

1. To acquire knowledge, which is why content is so critical and key to both your personal and your professional brand. This is also the driver behind the proliferation of blogs.
2. To see what other people are doing and buying, which is the basis of sites such as Digg, which is really a recommendation service.
3. To connect with other people, which is a basic human need and the foundation of Facebook’s (and other's) success.

The proliferation and success of social media is driven by three factors:

1. Trust: Many surveys have documented that people trust “someone like me” more than any other source. Moms trust Moms and car nuts trust car nuts, it's how we humans are wired. For the first time our peer’s opinions are more accessible to us than the wisdom of experts and propaganda of sellers.
2. Online access: No matter how unusual or obscure the topic, we know we can find a lot of information - details, perspectives, and context - online. At any given time, there are probably thousands of people online discussing the merits of various screw drivers, for example.
3. Confidence: It’s all about how we enter the decision-making process. We are less willing to make decisions without a great deal of information. Since the information and recommendations are relatively free, it would be nonsensical for us to do otherwise.

You and your company should be a part of social media for many reasons but here are my top three:

1. We all know the power of the network, of networking. It is the best way to gain employment and, as mentioned, the primary way we now learn about products, services and what other people, people just like us, are doing. Social media allows you and your company to expand your network exponentially for little cost.
2. Your customers, peers, neighbors, superiors, and relatives (etc.) are already part of social networks so it's a good idea for you to join the conversation, express yourself and, frankly, monitor what's being said about you, your company, your products and services, as well as those of your competition. Why would you not want to listen to the most important people in your life, which on a personal level is family and on a professional level is your customers.
3. If growing your business, circle of friends and contacts, and expanding your influence are important to you then you need to be part of the social media revolution, because it's where all the people are.

Steve

The article below came from eMarketer. I'm re-posting it because I am pleasantly surprised at the number of Fortune 100 companies using Twitter, Facebook or blogging. There are literally hundreds of millions of people using social media so it's good to see large companies embracing the venue. After all, that's where the people are.

For smaller firms social media is a great way to drive traffic to your website and improve your search engine results.

Marketers Embrace Twitter over Facebook

 

AUGUST 14, 2009

 

“Follow me” replacing “friend me”?

 

Facebook may have recently passed MySpace as the most-visited social networking site in the US, but it’s facing stiff competition for the attention of social media marketers. By some metrics, Twitter is more popular in the marketing world.

 

Burson-Marsteller, in a July 2009 study of Fortune 100 companies, found that more companies had a presence on Twitter (54%) than on Facebook (29%).

 

 

 

According to the study, which looked at corporate blogs in addition to Twitter and Facebook profiles, about one-fifth of Fortune 100 firms only used one of the three channels. Those companies were overwhelmingly likely to choose Twitter (76%) over Facebook (14%) or blogging (10%).

 

Companies that used two of the three channels were most likely to have a blog plus a Twitter account (64%).

 

Burson-Marsteller found that these top companies were using Twitter for several purposes: company news, customer service, marketing promotions and employee recruitment.

 

Twitter is also beating out Facebook’s popularity among e-mail marketers. Email Data Source found that among the US e-mail campaigns it tracked, links to Twitter became more common than links to Facebook in March 2009.

 

 

Several people have commented on the number of people in my online social networks. I have over 400 people following me on Twitter, over 200 connections on LinkedIn and over 500 on Facebook, which my protégé, Zach Bigby, manages. (I have no idea who some of those people are…)

There are a lot of people with larger numbers but mine are larger than most of the people I know. So what?

That’s a great question because while we’ve all been trained to pay attention to “the numbers” in this instance the numbers are meaningless. It’s not about the number of people in your network, their titles, or anything of the sort. The purpose of a social network is productivity, just like any team.

When evaluating your social network team you need to ask yourself two basic questions. (1) What can your team accomplish and (2) what can I contribute?

My team is very good at helping people find employment and we are getting better at producing revenue for Aligned Marketing. I work very hard for my team and am always looking for ways to contribute and provide value. Feel free to contact me if you want proof.

My team is good at finding employment for others because we have thousands of people in the network if you count our respective organizations. On a day-to-day basis, we are responsible for producing billions of dollars in revenue, millions in earnings and we trust and respect one another. If someone on my team recommends “Joe” as a “solid guy” then my team believes Joe is a solid guy. That gives Joe an edge in the job market.

How did I create an effective team? It started by being honest, professional and helpful. Virtually anyone on my team knows they can contact anyone else on my team, for the most part, and receive an “honest, professional and helpful” response.

I’ve also noticed that while there are people on my team who are almost always helpful, there are some who offer help repeatedly but somehow can’t locate their round-to-it when it matters most. That’s unfortunate, but true.

My advice to you is pitch in, participate, and help others whenever possible. I know it takes time, everything of value takes time. In return, your team will help you when (not if) you need them. That’s how a productive team is built and how they operate. People tend to respond well to someone who they trust and can rely on when it matters most. This isn’t rocket science.

But let’s not be naïve. There are a lot of people who are takers. As the saying goes, they wouldn’t pee on you if you were on fire. Those people are transparent and easily identifiable. I help them just as much as I would help anyone else.

Why? Because I believe it is the right thing to do. It is ingrained in my values. Besides, and this is where I may be naïve, I still believe that leading by example is the best way to lead. My goal is to coach them so one-day they will mature beyond a teenager-like sense of self and the unending glorious celebration of "ME." It’s a big world Bubba, and it’s not all about you.

Online and off, the person who gets the most out of a team is the person who is actively participating. It’s the alignment of being a good person, a good neighbor and a smart businessperson.

You can’t always contribute to every group on LinkedIn, for example, but how often can you be absent from the team before it no longer remembers or cares about you? This is voluntary. These teams do not have the obligation of family cementing it together.

Every time you ask your team for something try to contribute something of value back. It makes the team better and brings everyone closer together. The more you can leverage the contributions of your team, the more productive the team becomes, which makes others want to be part of your team.

When I worked at Square D I actually had two people come into my office, shut the door, and ask if they could join my team. When I asked them why they wanted to join my team they said, “you guys get stuff done and that’s really hard to do around here,” as it is at any large company. That wasn’t about me. That was about my team – Darren Torr, my boss Scott Harris, Bruce Whitbrodt and the senior management support I received from Bill Snyder, Ken Fairleigh and others.

Has anyone ever shut your door and asked to join your team?

Steve

The goals for my blog are to educate and entertain. The topics are almost always business related. I have veered into politics a time or two. With the warmth of Father’s Day still upon me I will use today’s blog to unleash my inner self-help guru. Ready?

The third act of life starts when youth begins to surrender to aging, our career may be hitting a plateau, our children are grown and our parents are no longer around to lead our fan club, connect us to our youth, and provide a buffer against life’s harsher lessons. This is also a time of growth and contribution. It is a chance to listen to the melodies of life and not just the drumbeats.

My third act began after more than 25 years in corporate America. The work began to feel routine and the standard corporate decision making process too tedious to tolerate. Change meetings came and went but, from my angle, were ineffective, pointless. The energy to get after the next big it waned. It was time to refresh.

I have always been driven to continuously improving myself physically, mentally, and spiritually. Spiritual improvement is the most important and rewarding. It is also the most difficult. It requires constant work outside of my comfort zone and constant adaptation as major decisions take on life-long and life-fulfilling consequences. As I pondered the next challenge I realized I wanted something enduring.

For most of us enduring means making a difference in another person's life, our children for example. But how do we do that on a broader scale and in a more systematic way? I believe one way is to do what inspires us, what we love. Doing that is a gift to the world and that gift can have unintended and potentially enduring consequences. There are no guarantees because there are never any guarantees. It's a shot.

To release my best on a personal level I focus on my strengths and share my own unique views and talents through my relationships, work and writing, which is my passion. To further extend my reach I decided to think BIGGER. But how? As is often the case, in order to look forward I began by looking backward.

Three characteristics make our generation different from our parent’s and those past. First is the “bonus round” of time, perhaps an extra decade or more, of active life that will be available to millions of people who have treated their body well. Second are the stronger financial resources and the desire for lifelong learning that tends to flow from having earned a college degree. Third is our desire to give back. Some Psychiatrists call this Mattering. What does that mean?
    
I think that means a rethinking of roles. Traditional Japanese and Native American cultures are a good working model. They offer a society where the roles of older people expand: We mentor the young, care for the sick, deliver justice, and tell stories that reveal the meaning of life. In sum, elders in these cultures ensure the spiritual well being of the community, the tribe. That sounds like internal growth and contribution to me so I plan to do more of it. Look out friends and family!

Oprah Winfrey said, “You’ve got to be in touch with your mind, body, and the spirit to live the life you were meant to claim. When all three are completely engaged, you’re able to fulfill your potential on earth. To own the abundant life that’s waiting for you, you’ve got to be willing to do the real work. Not your job. Not your career profile. But heeding your spirit, which is whispering its greatest desires for you. You’ve got to get silent sometimes to hear it. And check in regularly. You must feed your mind with reading material, thoughts and ideas that open you to new possibilities. When you stop learning, you cease to grow, and subconsciously tell the universe you’ve done it all – nothing new for you. So why are you here?”

What does any of this have to do with business? Nothing. Everything.

Whether it’s the support of our family or the cooperation of our co-workers, most of us need other people to accomplish our goals. In fact, the more skilled we are at winning people to our cause, the more we can accomplish. Here’s a checklist of skills to hone to win with people.

• First and foremost, smile. It’s a simple and easy way to express your openness, desire to collaborate and reduce anxiety.
• Most people align their thinking and their feelings. Telling jokes, buying lunch, talking about sports or some other common interest, are activities designed to establish rapport and produce a relaxed emotional climate. Do whatever is appropriate for your setting to promote positive feelings and reduce stress.
• Reinforce the feeling elements with facts. Specifically, if facts are available and add to the conversation, present them and your sources early in the conversation. This reduces the likelihood that the conversation will turn into a battle of wills or personalities.
• Whenever possible, use practical examples or a clever phrase to drive home your most important points. "Bob is a talented person, but he shouldn't have yelled at his co-workers in yesterday's meeting. All he shared was his anger. What we needed was his thinking"
• Show your enthusiasm through your body language - lean forward, use your hands, or raise your eyebrows. Enthusiasm is
  contagious and it helps put other people in a positive mood. Besides, if you're not excited about what you're selling, how do expect to get your audience excited.
• Show respect for the other person through your words, tone of voice, and manner of listening. Let the other person know that their opinions, intelligence, and pressures are understood and important to you.
• Similarly, figure out how you can help them before asking them to help you.
• When the other person agrees with you, either move onto the next point or, if you’ve gotten the order, close the discussion and leave. Overstaying your welcome is impolite and overselling destroys confidence.
• Even if you do not get the answer you want, stay confident and make sure the other person knows you plan on going forward without their help. Sometimes people change their minds after they’ve had more time to consider your position or they may know someone else who can help you. If they think you abandoned your project, both those positive outcomes are eliminated as possibilities.
• Choose your words with care because they are the difference between success and failure.
• Always  speak and write in precise words, otherwise, your best words may not be available when you need them the most.
• Finally, make sure your words and deeds are aligned. People are watching...

Steve