Key trends

1. How not if
2. TV on everything and social on everything
3. Location based marketing will continue to grow
4. Social cultures will evolve out of social use
5. Social CRM will move mainstream
6. India is rising
7. A return to engagement
8. Rewards versus contests
9. Filters will dampen the noise
10. Social networks will become more fluid and mobile
11. Corporate social intranets

Potential pitfalls

1. App overload
2. Lack of conversation management
3. No policy, training or identity management
4. Lack of true internal social culture
5. Domestic focus and culture
6. Competitors get better at local, mobile and intimacy
7. No follow-up after the contests (see engagement)
8. Hard push back for no engagement

Hiring a social media manager, social media coordinator, chief tweeter or whatever you might call it is a challenging endeavor. There are many brands which have experienced great success and many who have also shot the foot off of their brand on the internet. Social media is not a department or a cubicle, it represents the most powerful word of mouth (or word of mouse) channels that have ever existed. Too many organizations aren’t strategic about who they hire internally or how they intend on implementing social media and integrating it into their business processes. Today’s podcast covers four major areas you need to look at (there are many more) before hiring.

I decided instead of just replying in the comments section that I would take the time to respond in the form of a podcast. Why? It’s so vital to understand the role of psychology and community in Guerrilla Marketing.

I also think it’s important to establish that Guerrilla Marketing is well defined, and it’s body of wisdom and definition that is widely accepted and used by over 20 million readers of the Guerrilla Marketing Series of books. Some people will take pieces of the body of wisdom and use them to suit their outlook on marketing but the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. In addition to this just because you slap the term guerrilla on a book, blog post or marketing campaign it doesn’t make it guerrilla.

Here are the facts:

1. The term “guerrilla marketing” was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson and popularized by his best selling book that was released in 1983. Guerrilla Marketing uses unconventional means to achieve conventional goals,  it relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. (We added community on-top of time, energy and imagination for Guerrilla Social Media Marketing because of the vital role it plays in social media marketing).
2. Since then over 20,000,000 (that’s twenty million) books have been sold and read in Jay Levinson’s Guerrilla Marketing series of books making it the #1 best selling series of marketing books in history. Jay’s definition is the original and most widely accepted definition and grows by 1million readers and fans per year.
3. Guerrilla’s apply and use the 19 Guerrilla Marketing Secrets (Principles).

Instead of paraphrasing why true guerrillas must understand and depend on psychology, I have posted in Jay’s own (timeless) words the importance:

Guerrilla marketing does not rely on guesswork because wrong guesses are so darned expensive. Instead, it relies upon psychology as much as possible. Psychology used to be a body of theories. Today, many of those theories have been debunked while others have been transformed into laws, actual laws of human behavior. Guerrillas lean on these laws because they want certainty to be a hallmark of their marketing.

There are 15 things that all guerrillas know about psychology as marketing is slowly transforming from guesswork into science:

1. Purchase decisisons are made in the unconscious mind. People may say the words consciously, but they process the data in their unconscious.
2. We now know how to access the unconscious mind. The way to do it is with repetition. Put these two thoughts together — purchase decisions are made in the unconscious, and you can access the unconscious with repetition, and you begin to understand the entire process of marketing.
3. People are either left-brained or right-brained. Left-brained people respond to sequential, logical reasons and love marketing that gives ten reasons to buy. Right-brained people respond to emotional, aesthetic appeals and love marketing that looks stunning and tugs at heartstrings. Guerrillas are sure to hit both left and right-brained people.
4. Businesses that succeed are those that form two bonds with all customers: the human bond and the business bond. The stronger the human bond, the stronger the business bond. Connect up as two human beings before you connect up as buyer and seller.
5. All marketing has two messages — the stated message and the metamessage. The stated message is what you say. The metamessage, often stronger than the stated message, is what your marketing looks like, feels like, where it appears, what size it is, and how professional it appears.
6. If you’re interested in increasing your share of market, the way to do it is to first increase your share of mind. If you go only for the share of market, don’t expect much customer loyalty — or even many customers.
7. There are two schools of marketing hard at work in America these days — Freudian marketing, which is based on Sigmund Freud’s work and aims for a change of attitude — and Skinnerian marketing, based on B.F. Skinner’s proof of the power of behavior modification. Which does a guerrilla choose? Both. Guerrillas constantly implant attitudes while peppering their prospects with special offers that require instant action.
8. During a recession, the tactics that generate sales are: leaning on current customers, enlarging the size of each transaction, offering a guarantee, and showing that high prices are an assurance against making a purchase mistake — something nobody wants to do during a recession.
9. Realize that people hate taking the hard step of buying something, so guerrillas use soft steps to make the hard step a little easier. Soft steps include things like free consultations, free seminars, brochures, videos, demonstrations, and free samples.
10. Full color marketing materials increase retention by 57% and increase inclination to buy by 41%. And the cost of full-color drops dramatically if you tell the printer you have the patience to wait for a gang run.
11. Use as much non-verbal communication as you can. There are only about 250,000 commonly-used words in the English language, but there are 600,000 non-verbal gestures. They are more potent than the spoken words.
12. You can gain guerrilla marketing power if you blend customer insight with product insight. The more your insight, the better your marketing.
13. The way guerrillas view their marketing is as an opportunity to help their customers succeed. If you do the same, your profits will show it.
14. A key to successful marketing is making each of your customers feel a special way. The way they should feel is unique. Not easy, but necessary.
15. It is essential that you constantly feel a sense of dissatisfaction with your marketing and try to improve it without changing your identity. This personality trait will fare you well in the marketing wars.

So I have a challenge when someone (for their own self-interest) tries to redefine Guerrilla Marketing. Add to it? Great! Innovate? Great! But don’t negate, shrink, or dilute it. Back off. It is a timeless body of wisdom that has grown to be mainstream but it is more relevant than today than it was 20 years ago. It works, it’s simple, and it’s time tested.

Guerrilla Marketing is a body of wisdom and movement. It’s bigger and more important than campaigns, tricks, or tactics. To learn more about the book that started the movement (and continues to grow daily and globally). You can visit http://gmarketing.com.

Have a listen to the podcast and tell me what you think!

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We talked about how you can take one blog post and repurpose it in at least seven different ways.  Patrick shared with us a few simple tips, that can build a MASSIVE online identity while working less than most of our competitors competitors.

We also covered some important social media how-to’s:

1. Five places to get great content ideas.
2. Seven ways to repurpose your content online.
3. The reality behind blogs, content and getting found online.
4. The three-part “winning formula” for social media success.

For more information on Patrick’s book and a free gift visit http://www.80shortcuts.com/gifts

Here are the slides to go with the presentation:

Shane Gibson (@ShaneGibson) is a sales and social media speaker who has addressed over 100,000 people on stages on three continents over the past 15 years. He is also co-author of Guerrilla Social Media Marketing and Sociable! How Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside-down. When he’s not speaking or Tweeting he is in the social media trenches working with his clients as Chief Social Officer for Socialized! Ltd. a social media agency and training organization.

Today’s podcast is a little different than most. It outlines the upcoming Social Media Week in Vancouver that my team and I at Socialized! are putting together (with some massive help from our community, sponsors and our advisory board). I will posting a full text outline of this as well on the Social Media Week Vancouver blog shortly. In the meantime, have a listen and if you’re anywhere near Vancouver we would really like to have you attend, sponsor or even speak.

“When mission is clear abundance will appear.”

This is a vital statement and principle. I discuss it in greater depth in my podcast today.

1. Social Media Fact: @Banff_Squirrel has more Twitter followers than most marketing experts.
2. Social Media Tip: Content is not King [or Queen ] Connection rapport and trust are today’s currencies.
3. Social Media Tip: build the community, contribute to others success, be authentic and people will line up to help you as well.
4. Social Media Tip: treat likes, followers, and connections on any network like gold. Those are votes of trust and confidence.
5. Social Media Tip: Contrast keeps the conversation fresh. Vary your update and blog formats. Use multiple media to engage.
6. Any social media activity that involves deception, trademark or copyright infringement isn’t guerrilla marketing. It’s lazy marketing.
7. Social Media Tip: it’s not old versus new media — it’s about integrating the right media for the right market.
8. Social Media Tip: In the “Thank-you Economy” don’t outsource or automate your thank-you’s.
9. Social Media Tip: People will read your Tweets and blog posts in the context of their goals and needs. See through their eyes.
10. Social Media Tip: Social media marketing is not a fad. BUT social media consultants now need deeper business knowledge.
11. Social Media Tip: Blogging is not dead, but recycling content and cut-and-paste mentalities are getting old.
12. Social Media Tip: social media strategy needs to be in-line with your business culture and integrated with your business processes.
13. Social Media Tip: Having a Twitter account is like having a telephone. It’s just a tool. How are you going to use it to win?
14. Social Media Tip: Being an early adopter is not enough. You need to evolve with your market and the tools to stay relevant.
15. Social Media Tip: Your rules of engagement will be in context with your goals and your target market’s culture/etiquette.
16. Social Media Tip: Activity doesn’t equal profitability. Activity that builds relationships = mindshare = walletshare. Build relationships.
17. Want to increase the number of people that follow you back on Twitter? Try taking an interest in them. Marketing is a conversation.
18. Social Media Tip: All of the engagement and trust you have built evaporates when your community finds out you outsource your conversations.
19. Social Media Tip: You can go it alone, brave the storms and reach great heights by yourself. BUT half the joy is in bringing people with you
20. Social Media Tip: hiring the wrong social media help can be worse than not doing it. Be prepared. Assess them & where you are starting from
21. Leadership Tip: You don’t need to make someone else irrelevant to raise your profile. In fact you’re usually only hurting your brand.
22. Remember it’s not a about blogging, Twitter, Facebook or the next great thing. It’s how you use it. Wisdom comes from mistakes. Experiment.
23. Social Media Tip: You are never too popular to be humble. In fact no matter who you are eventually the web will humble you
24. Being on a path of integrity isn’t a one time choice. It’s a lifetime of commitment and daily decisions.
25. Social Media Tip: Use hootsuite to flag DM’s from other people in Twitter for future follow-up. They can often get buried.
26. Social Media Tip: Subscribe to your twitter searches as RSS feeds in your feed reader so that you only have to do the search once…ever.
27. Social Media Trend: Community building skills are becoming more important than pitching or selling.
28. Good things come to those wait — but they’re usually the things left behind by those who hustle. Giddy up!
29. Social media monitoring is vital. The opportunity is in engaging at the right time with the right person on the right topic.
30. Leadership Tip: You can never lose by investing in good people. Err on the side of generosity. It will pay in efficiency and loyalty.
31. Social Media Tip: Educate and equip all staff to be social… it provides less headache and greater ROI than policing them.
32. Social Media Tip: The longer you try to contain social media use to one department the further behind you will be from the marketplace.
33. Good publicity is about doing the right thing and getting the word out. Integrity is about doing the right thing when no one is looking.
34. Social Media Tip: If you are more aware of the community gossip than you are of the community needs then you’re going the wrong direction.
35. Social Media Tip: Stop seeking recognition from the cool kids… instead strive to be significant to the/your community
36. Social Media Tip: The more open we are with other people the more willing they are to share with us.

Shane Gibson (@ShaneGibson) is a sales and social media speaker who has addressed over 100,000 people on stages on three continents over the past 15 years.  He is also co-author of Guerrilla Social Media Marketing and Sociable! How Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside-down.  When he’s not speaking or Tweeting he is in the social media trenches working with his clients as Chief Social Officer for Socialized! Ltd. a social media agency and training organization.

Shane Gibson (@ShaneGibson) is a sales and social media speaker who has addressed over 100,000 people on stages on three continents over the past 15 years.  He is also co-author of Guerrilla Social Media Marketing and Sociable! How Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside-down.  When he’s not speaking or Tweeting he is in the social media trenches working with his clients as Chief Social Officer for Socialized! Ltd. a social media agency and training organization.

Today’s podcast was inspired by a couple of conversations I have had recently. The recurring issue is people and organizations revamping their websites (some spending thousands and thousands of dollars) and not having a social media strategy before doing so. Many sites are built by well meaning developers or agencies that haven’t considered what a truly social site and blog are.

I personally think organizations should have a plan, strategy and spec their sites to be social and easily adaptable to new social media tools and trends (and not cost huge amounts of money in the process). Have a listen to my podcast and let me know your thoughts on this.

Shane Gibson (@ShaneGibson) is a sales and social media speaker who has addressed over 100,000 people on stages on three continents over the past 15 years.  He is also co-author of Guerrilla Social Media Marketing and Sociable! How Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside-down.  When he’s not speaking or Tweeting he is in the social media trenches working with his clients as Chief Social Officer for Socialized! Ltd. a social media agency and training organization.

I asked Stephen to come on the show to discuss best practices in the area of outsourcing and the technology needed to lead virtual teams.

I have had a number of inquiries from my tech and social media brethren about how to present on stage. Some are gentle questions like “how many slides should I have for a one hour presentation?” to outright pleas for help such as “I’m terrified of audiences over 20 people, how do I present our new iPhone app at this conference?”

Geeks (science or tech savvy and knowledgeable folks who get turned on by pixels, pings, microchips, biology, chemistry, APIs etc.) tend to struggle with presentations, yet if they master the art they can have a massive impact on their business and career (think Steve Jobs or David Suzuki).

Too many people think content is king. Connection is king. Unless you can connect with your audience and engage them effectively your geek speak will mean very little to them. Today’s podcast covers a few insights on better stage presentations.

[This is day one of my 30 day podcasting challenge, I will be posting a new podcast everyday for the next month, drop by, make a comment or share a link to the podcast you posted today).

I then looked at my roster of podcasts and realized that I have much more to share. The podcasting seems to happen after the client work, proposals, research, books etc. BUT it has been a major driving force in my business and I have been less than generous with my listeners. I should be giving you way more in the form of interviews, strategy and just sharing the things I’m learning everyday.

I decided to publicy make myself accountable and also ask for your help. Starting today I will be doing 30 podcasts over 30 days.  I would also like to challenge you to contribute in a few ways:

1. If you’re a podcaster – take the challenge with me. Start sharing more of your knowledge more often today.
2. If you are an author, subject matter expert or are having success using social media for business, community building or charity — reach out to me and lets get you on the show TODAY.
3. If you’re a listener, Twitter connection, LinkedIn associate or Facebook friend take a moment to listen to the podcasts, submit your questions, share what you like and let me know what you think. Heckle me if you feel like it!

That’s it. Thanks for coming along this journey with me. I hope you enjoy the show. (I am posting two podcasts today just to get a head start — come back in an hour!)

Shane Gibson
Chief Social Officer
Socialized! Ltd.
http://socialized.me
Blog: http://www.closingbigger.net
Got iTunes? Click here to subscribe our Podcast!: http://tinyurl.com/itunes-sales-podcast
Follow Shane on Twitter: http://twitter.com/shanegibson

1. Social media tip: life is an experiment. Be willing to make mistakes, challenge your own assumptions and break the mold to win.
2. Social Media Tip: It’s not social if the result isn’t about building relationships, trust or community.
3. Social Media Steps: 1: Have a goal. 2: Know your market. 3: Monitor & Listen. 4: Identify Needs 5: Create Focused Content & Conversation.
4. Social Media Tip: You can’t buy trust and you can’t outsource authenticity.
5. Social Media Tip: the customer is operating in real-time. Socialize your whole team so you can too!
6. Social Media Tip: Always go back to the basics. If you’re no longer getting the results you want, look at what you stopped doing.
7. Social Media Tip: The numbers mean very little. A small group of passionate people is and always has been a majority.
8. Leadership Tip: The quest for knowledge for the sake of empowering those around us is one of the most powerful intents in leadership.
9. Leadership Tip: Don’t let your Ego separate you from other people. We are more alike than we are different.
10. Sales Tip: treat mid-month with as much urgency as month end and your year end will look a lot better.
11. Social Media Tip: it’s okay to make mistakes — but remedy them quickly — apologize and then move on
12. Social Media Tip: it’s never too late to say thank-you. Reach out a acknowledge those in your community who make a difference.
13. Social Media Tip: People don’t care about your marketing tweets until they know how much you care about them.

Monitoring conversations is great – but getting involved in the conversation and being a thought leader is where the true opportunity is. Having a Social CRM strategy is vital, we need to help our sales team understand how to socialize online. Today’s podcast talks about some of the pro-active components that should be included in that strategy.

In my opinion your end goal must be to fully socialize most of your departments from HR to sales, marketing and even the senior executives in the company. What are your thoughts?

There are also brilliant people and awesome brands that don’t realize that their persona is actually hiding the great things about them. Today’s podcast focuses on why we need to build the person, build the organization and forget the veneer.

Thought leaders create community, build other leaders, and create unique content that speaks to and helps specific markets. Today’s podcast (direct download here or via iTunes here) discusses thought leadership and it’s importance to marketing, leadership and even your career.

Here’s a SlideShare embed of the model:

As for those that don’t like the term “Thought Leadership” here’s my challenge to you: find me an easy to understand, non-geek or non-tech speak definition that has global appeal and I will gladly use it.

As for the rest of us. Thought leadership is a process of becoming, not an event or clever blog post.  Here are a few of my favorite modern day business thought leaders:

• Jeremiah Owyang
• Jay Conrad Levinson
• Arrianna Huffington
• Tim O’Reilly
• Charlene Li
• John C. Maxwell
• Rob Cottingham
• Bruce Philp

Let me know who your favorite thought leaders are.

Today I had the great opportunity to once again have Bruce Philp author of the Consumer Republic on my social media podcast. I was so inspired by our conversation I actually reworked my Socialized! Lunch presentation today to include some very important thoughts that Bruce shared about the future of brands and the true power consumers now hold in their hands.

The idea for this podcast discussion really came from a couple of tweets I posted about Groupon’s recent off-color marketing tactics and my disappointment that their response and handling of comments and complaints seemed to be more about sanitizing and denying versus engagement and authentic apologies. (Still not happy with Groupon’s Super Bowl Ads this was the icing on the cake) Bruce’s question to me at that point was; “what if consumers become discouraged and no longer engage?” (because of this type of corporate response online.) I invited Bruce back on the show to talk about the “Consumer Republic” and answer this important question.

During the podcast the conversation quickly turned toward so-called social media experts bloggers etc. who are often the first to criticize a brand, but personally don’t walk their talk in regards to engagement or even responding to blog comments and tweets.  (I’ve been personally guilty more than once of not returning an email or a phone call due to huge volumes of in-bound tweets and inquiries.)

Have a listen to the podcast and let me know what your thoughts are on the subject. A huge thanks to Bruce Philp for logging on and having the conversation as well.

This month’s event was focused on  “5 Steps to Maximize Your Organization’s ROI in Social Media”

Following are the presentation slides:

For those who attended that want further assistance in developing and managing your social media presence please email Anthony directly at anthony@socialized.me.

Following are links to sites that were mentioned in the presentation:

Forbes insights The Rise of the Digital C-Suite

Social Media ROI (Podcast)

Engagementdb.com

Hootsuite

Postrank Analytics

The Ford Story

Meetup

Vancouver Tweetup

Social Media Calendar

Kasufunding (Social Fund Raising System)

Make-a-Wish BC

CMA BC Blog

Here’s what the book site says about the book:

Consumer Republic
Using brands to get what you want, make corporations behave, and maybe even save the world.

Consumer Republic is premised on the uncomfortable truth that brands give consumers power over the marketplace that is essentially political. Brands make corporations accountable for their actions and, especially now, they give those corporations something valuable to lose if they fail us. Consumer Republic faces consumers with that power, explains how we got it, and then shows how the choices we make at the cash register can change our own lives, the way that corporations go to market and, ultimately, our entire way of life. Just as an engaged citizen is essential to an effective democracy, so an engaged consumer is the key to a sustainable free market, says Consumer Republic. My new book is a challenge to all of us who consume to vote with our money… and to marketers to be ready for a future in which they will face their customers eye to eye.

 

Here’s the info on events:

November 17th 2010 – Guerrilla Social Media Marketing – Toronto, ON Hosted by The Toronto Board of Trade – Media Sponsor Techvibes.com

Details:

Guerrilla Social Media Marketing;
TURN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING EFFORTS INTO PROFITABLE GUERRILLA CONQUESTS

In today’s dynamic market environment, it’s important to differentiate your business and capture the attention of your audience. Join Shane Gibson, co-author of Guerrilla Social Media Marketing and Sociable! to learn how to ensure your business stands out from the crowd.

This unique session will offer you insight into:

* The top ten attributes of a guerrilla social media marketer
* How to tap into large influential networks online and offline
* The power of nano-casting and nano-marketing
* How to develop and manage a social media marketing campaign
* Five strategies to help you maximize social media ROI

Click here to register for this event
Address:
Radisson Hotel Toronto East
55 Hallcrown Place
Toronto, ON
M2J 4R1
For more information, click here to download the event PDF.

November 22nd 2010 – Calgary Guerrilla Social Media Marketing Book Launch and Social Mixer. Media Sponsor Techvibes.com

Details:

If you want to know what happens when Guerrilla Marketing meets Social Media please join us in Calgary’s business and social media community for a unique book launch event and social mixer hosted by Shane Gibson, author of the new book Guerrilla Social Media Marketing.

Register on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170754506275099&index=1

Register on EventBrite: http://guerrillamarketingcalgary.eventbrite.com/

November 25th 2010 – Vancouver Guerrilla Social Media Marketing Book Launch and Social Mixer – Media Sponsor Techvibes.com

Details:

If you want to know what happens when Guerrilla Marketing meets Social Media please join us in Vancouver’s business and social media community for a unique book launch event and social mixer hosted by Shane Gibson, author of the new book Guerrilla Social Media Marketing.

Register on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=137198492998189

hRegister on EventBrite: http://guerrillamarketingvancouver.eventbrite.com

For sponsorship, media and volunteer details please contact:

Rina Chong
Facebook: Rinaisan Angel
Mobile: 604.561.8908

Email: rinakbi@gmail.com
Twitter: @rinachong/@shanegibson

Important note: We are looking for Meetup.com organizers and Tweetup hosts for more launch party events in Calgary, Vancouver, Regina, Montreal, Halifax and Toronto (GTA). Send us an email or a tweet if you’re interested in helping or hosting an event.

November 29th, Toronto, ON – Shane Gibson speaks on Guerrilla Social Media Marketing at the Real Estate Marketing Summit

This one-day educational conference has been designed by Realtors® and for Realtors® who want to grow their business online.

Realtors® are also eligible to earn 3 CE credits during the conference!

Mortgage brokers, lawyers, accountants, service providers and other real estate professionals and are also welcome to participate to better understand how online and social media marketing can be used to grow their business.

Register and read more by clicking here.

I posed this same question to Jeff Booth CEO of Builddirect.com and here was the answer he gave me:

“Social media is not really about B2C or B2B it’s about P2P or person-to-person communications and adding value.”  – Jeff Booth CEO Builddirect.com (the worlds largest online wholesaler of building supplies.)

The reality is that the majority of decision makers or their direct influencers use the web to find information on a vendor and the individual employees they are dealing with. I have compiled a short list of resources and blogs that you may find useful in deciding is social media marketing will work for your organization.

Here are some statistics and quotes regarding social media in the commercial space:

…69% of B2B buyers use social networks “primarily for business networking and development.” (About.com)

…Stereotypes may have C-level executives delegating research to others, but the study reveals that 53% prefer to search the Web and locate information themselves. – Google and Forbes Insights Study (2009)

Social media is not a separate silo or discipline, in fact, companies in the Business-to-Business space like Builddirect.com, Oracle, SAP, Intel, Accenture, GE, and Siemens have found that is most effective when integrated with existing sales and marketing processes. They also have found it has given them a significant advantage over their less socially engaged competitors. (An entire engagement study can be found at http://engagementdb.com )

B2B Social Media Reading and Resources:

1. Video: “Vital Statistics for B2B Marketers”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXQdy-22TXM“
2. 20 Support Cases for Using Social Media in B2B Marketing” http://www.savvyb2bmarketing.com/blog/entry/122161/20-support-cases-for-using-social-media-in-b2b-marketing
3. “A fascinating B2B Social Media Success Story” http://businessesgrow.com/2010/06/20/a-fascinating-hardcore-b2b-social-media-success
4. “5 B2B Social Media Success Stories” http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2010/05/b2b-social-media-success.html
5. “30 B2B Social Media Resources” http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/6379/30-Awesome-B2B-Social-Media-Resources.aspx
6. “The Definitive Case for B2B Social Media Marketing” – Fast Company http://www.fastcompany.com/1665075/the-definitive-case-for-b2b-social-media-marketing
7. “7 Reasons Why Social Media is for Sales” – http://bettercloser.com/7-reasons-social-media-sales/

Today’s podcast is about the importance of a social media calendar for individuals and organizations. I have also provides a social media calendar template that Jay Levinson and I developed for Guerrilla Social Media Marketing.

Have a listen, download the sample social media calendar and then let me know how it works for you.

Download the sample Social Media Calendar (WORD) and Social Media Calendar (PDF)

Social Media Calendar

Today’s podcast is not about some of these global examples but a very local one I had the privilege to be part of. In a 24 hour period Anthony Caridi of KasuFunding.com and I along with a very committed social media community here in Vancouver raised over $12,000 for the Make a Wish Foundation. Almost 100% of the donations came from Twitter or FaceBook connections.

Here are 10 things we discovered that worked (some of them we implemented and others we will implement next time):

1)   Organize your collateral material early for each stakeholder group

2)   Make your content easy to share, cut and paste

3)   Integrate the offline with the online and get influencer buy-in early

4)   Have multiple platforms for RSVP’ing for events

5)   Get donors with big lists and big reach to not just cut a check but use that influence and reach to promote your cause

6)   Contact people individually and ask them to do something easy

7)   Use a fundraising platform like KasuFunding.com that makes it easy for people to Tweet, share and forward information about the cause.

8)   Work close with the Charity

9)   If you are a charity leverage your stakeholder groups when social media marketing instead of using internal resources

10)  Keep your message really simple.

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Special Thanks to:

Social media is not just another tool. It can be, but it’s a lot more for those organizations that embrace it. The challenge is it’s also not just about learning a new technology, it’s about changing the way we communicate with customers, stakeholders and staff.

This is a corporate cultural change, it’s also about embracing one of the most powerful word of mouth tools ever invented. There are huge inherent risks and opportunities presented by this. For that reason social media or online engagement initiatives in general have to be driven by the C-suite, the people who can hold others accountable and sponsor change in their organization.

In today’s social media podcast I talk about the following:

1. Senior executives and their need for buy-in
2. What and who to invest in
3. The importance of a corporate social media policy
4. How soft steps lead to ROI
5. Why most social media marketing fails:

• Lack of a goal
• Poorly defined market
• No listening
• No real launch plan
• Quitting too soon

The bottom-line is that social media is too important to compartmentalize or see as a pet project.What do you think?

.tel: This is a new domain name extension but it’s more than just another domain. Yourname.tel, Yourproduct.tel and yourcompany.tel are vital guerrilla tools. A .tel domain is driven by a proprietary software that integrates a variety of SmartPhone and web based applications. Embedded in the .tel are your contact details and key information. With a click of a button your prospects can immediately download your contact information into their address book or cellular phone. George Moen CEO of Blenz Coffee has a business card with no phone numbers, addresses or e-mail on it. It simply says GeorgeMoen.tel.

What the .tel network is building is worlds biggest phone book that dynamically integrates into websites and applications. Anytime you update your contact details in your .tel dashboard it automatically updates all of the other sites and the Smartphone applications. How many times have you been somewhere and forgot your business cards? Now you can simply tell people to visit yourname.tel, yourproduct.tel or yourcompany.tel, and most people will find that easy to remember and easy to do.

Copyright 2010 Jay Conrad Levinson, Shane Gibson and Entrepreneur Press

Guerrillas need to constantly feed their community and connections with value added content. They also need to keep up to date with specific industries and niche markets to remain competitive. Alltop’s always current and up-to-date news and blog feeds are a great source of guerrilla intelligence and content.

Traditional Websites versus Social Sites

Copyright 2010 Jay Conrad Levinson Shane Gibson and Entrepreneur Press

So I have my People Friday booked up. I’m visiting with my co-author Stephen Jagger, then meeting with a long time client, and then I will be meeting with George Moen of Blenz Coffee. Most of these conversations and interactions could be handled online via a wiki / chat collaboration BUT there’s huge value to looking someone in the eye and taking the time to let them know how they have impacted you. If at all possible today… get offline in person with someone you have rapport with online and see if you can add depth to that relationship.

Have a great Friday,

Shane

Social media, particularly my blogging, Twitter and YouTube activity has brought me clients from three continents that include a number of Fortune 500 clients and major government organizations. So I’m a big believer, and this stuff works. Over the years here’s some things I have done that don’t work, things that many people can relate to:

• I have hit Twitter instead of writing a proposal, it was for procrastination and fun, not for business or community building.
• I have engaged in conversations that are off topic, not anywhere near my target market and spent hours on such conversations.
• I have written numerous blog entries with no real goal or over reaching theme.
• I have ripped, thumped and chastised newbies for their ignorance or blatant spam (which is also usually due to ignorance) and hurt my own credibility.
• I have started, stopped, started again and then quit on blogging and podcasting. This cost me readers momentum and business opportunities as well as trust.
• I have done another dozen things wrong at least (See Twitpics gone wrong part 1 and part 2)

Why do I share this? We’re all guilty of taking a good business tool and wasting time and resources. It can be cell phones calls for personal reasons, or business lunches that are really an excuse to cocktail it up etc. Executives and decisions makers are quick to blame the tools – the reality is we should blame the people, and blame management for not teaching and driving best practices.

Here are 10 hard questions you need to ask about your social media use:

1. Have you started your social media marketing with a solid goal, plan, and monthly calendar that keeps you on message?
2. Do you abuse your social media voice and constantly bash competitors or suppliers before you try less public options?
3. Do you hop on Facebook or Twitter when there are more business critical and urgent revenue opportunities pressing?
4. Do you have a well-defined target market that you listen to and talk with – or are you mass broadcasting and hoping someone will hear?
5. Have you researched or been trained in social media use or does your company train staff before letting them run rough-shot with your brand?
6. If you have several staff, have you assigned a junior in-experienced person to manage your brand online versus a tenured strategic thinker?
7. Are you using multiple social media or just the ones you are comfortable with?
8. Are you consistent with your activity and your messaging?
9. Is your personal social graph putting you at risk (are there pictures, information or behavior that could hurt your brand?)
10. Are you involving your whole team and opening up multiple channels for client communication or is your marketing department hoarding your social media voice?

These are just a few hard questions. There are many more. If you want to succeed and get an ROI out of social media you will need to ask these questions, and constantly check in to make sure you stay on the path.

What questions do you ask? How are you auditing your social media use?

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These are the wrong questions. Lets use a guerrilla analogy: What’s the best weapon for combat? The answer is: You need more than one weapon, you need multiple weapons, multiple approaches and a lot of redundancy and back-up.

Lets step back from “social media marketing” and talk about marketing. We know that the best marketing campaigns use a variety of media and messages. BMW doesn’t just use billboards, they use e-mail, micro-sites, online video, direct mail and also encourage user generated content on some of their more social sites. Starbucks is much the same.

The message here is this:

Stop falling in love with social media tools, start falling in love with your customer

Starbucks, BMW, Ford, Comcast and many other successful social media marketers are customer engagement focused. They surround their customers online with multiple opportunities from multiple media to learn, connect and engage. It takes time, frequency of contact and a lot value added interactions to become top of mind with your customer.

EngagementDB.com a project by Altimeter Group and WetPaint studied the web’s top brands and looked at the impact of using multiple media and channels versus being a one-weapon marketer. Without exception the brands that used multiple media and channels had greater and faster engagement levels. These brands also happened to be more profitable than the others. This is probably not due to social media use but the fact that they are progressive and strategic at all levels in their businesses.

Here’s your take-away:

1. Fall in love with your customer, interact with them in multiple channels and add value. Focus on them, not the tools.
2. Have an over reaching plan and goal that drives your content creation and interaction
3. Use all of your social media tools, search marketing and offline marketing in tandem and with the same focus.
4. Stay on message, stay consistent, and continually engage

What are your thoughts on this? Have you found that multiple media helps you engage faster and more effectively?

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]]> http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/04/facebook-twitter-blogging-seo-%e2%80%93-which-one-is-right-for-you/feed/ 24 http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/04/guerrilla-social-media-marketing-excerpt/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=guerrilla-social-media-marketing-excerpt http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/04/guerrilla-social-media-marketing-excerpt/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:24:16 +0000 Shane Gibson http://www.closingbigger.net/?p=676 This is another (unedited) excerpt from Guerrilla Social Media Marketing a new book by Jay Conrad Levinson and Shane Gibson set for release in September 2010.

Engagement pages are designed to capture hearts and minds, not just e-mail addresses.

Traditional internet marketers rely heavily on controlling the behavior of their visitors. This means reducing options and choices. What is commonly referred to as a squeeze page is a good example of this. Squeeze pages usually are completely void of navigation buttons or links to other pages or websites, and give the visitor one of two choices: to read the marketing copy and then make a choice to either fill in their personal information and give consent or to leave. Although this will capture a percentage of visitors who are ready, willing or able to buy or give consent right now, it also repels visitors who could have become good clients if they had only been engaged in a credible manner.

Engagement pages have some similarities to a squeeze page, in that their purpose is also to gain consent and generate subscribers. The difference is: the engagement page offers the visitor multiple options, mediums and pathways to learn more about how the guerrilla’s business can benefit and add value to the visitor’s life or business. It also provides multiple subscription options.

As a reader what are your thoughts on this? Do you use landing pages or engagement pages? What is your impression or sentiment toward organizations that funnel you into squeeze pages?

A guerrilla positioning story tells your specific niche the following:

1. What your corporate values are and what you represent
2. What you offer and specifically what business you are in
3. What makes you unique, and distinct
4. What you do better than anyone else
5. Who loves to do business with you (your target markets)

Guerrillas position through stories and conversations

The first step in positioning through social media is to get to know your audience intimately. Commonly referred to as social media monitoring tools, guerrilla intelligence tools allow you to sort through the millions of possible blog posts, Tweets, and videos honing in on relevant conversations by your target market. Once this target market has been identified, and their true needs, wants, communications style and culture has been determined then the conversation begins. It’s not a sales pitch, it’s a series of questions, value added content, and engaging conversations using multiple social media. Over time each of these little interactions forms and tells your positioning story. How you answer questions, share information and produce content must be consistent with your brand and the positioning story you want to tell.

Guerrilla Social Media Marketing – Copyright 2010 Jay Conrad Levinson – Shane Gibson & Entrepreneur Press

Truth:

Marketing is the truth made fascinating. Guerrilla social media marketing is about using all of the tools available to tell your fascinating brand story in a way that drives trust, consent and profits. With that said, guerrillas tell the truth and they tell the whole truth. With social media networks and platforms the millions of people that inhabit them quickly detect lies or half-truths. Misinformation or false pretenses can be profitable in the short-term but over the long term not telling the truth will destroy the customer’s trust, credibility and ultimately your fragile reputation.

Copyright 2010 -  Jay Conrad Levinson, Shane Gibson and Entrepreneur Press

#6) Free and Variable

It is important to use free digital give away’s that have real value and customer benefits. Then of course we need a variety of paid options to upgrade to. One size fits all doesn’t work anymore, people want very personalized options tailored to their particular taste and desires.

Lego.com effectively applies the concept of free and variable and is profiting greatly from it. Using soft steps to gradually build consent from the customer is a key guerrilla strategy. Starting with free and highly interactive games kids and adults alike quickly develop a loyalty and positive association to the Lego brand and the toys in the game. There’s not one, two or ten games; there are dozens with varying complexity and appeal.

Of course the real winner is the free Lego DesignByMe downloadable software. This digital design software allows the user to virtually build Lego models using thousands of Lego pieces that are stored in it’s database.  The user can rotate a 3D model in any direction adding pieces, color and functionality and also calculate the exact cost of building and purchasing the model they have built. Once they are happy with their unique design, which fits their personal budget they then can even design a custom box cover and packaging. Lego will put all the pieces in the customer-designed box, complete with instructions to help the customer put together their model in real life and then they ship it to them directly from the factory.

The software has a social aspect as well, allowing members to add friends, and also share and vote on designs. There’s also several ways users can share their designs with friends and family who may want to purchase the custom Lego for them as a gift.

Free digital give away’s build trust and allow the customer to experience our brand without risk. With trust we can garner consent to communicate and market to them. Variable customized options make it easier for customers to purchase and re-purchase. In the case of LEGO there’s always a new, exciting model to be purchased because the options are limitless.

Copyright 2010 Shane Gibson, Jay Conrad Levinson and Entrepreneur Press

Thanks You!

PHOTOS:

Have you seen the pictures from the launch party?

You can see them here – http://www.facebook.com/SociableBook

We will have a video from the event shortly, watch http://www.sociablebook.com for it!

Do you have photos you took at the party? We would love to see them, just upload them to our Facebook Fan Page
http://www.facebook.com/SociableBook

BUY SOCIABLE!

Didn’t Get A Chance To Buy Your Copy of Sociable! ??

You can buy Sociable! at:

Amazon.com – http://bit.ly/9OoplU

Hager Books – 2176 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver, BC – 604-263-9412

Bulk Purchases -  http://www.sociablebook.com/BuyTheBook.ubr

SPONSORS:
The Sociable! Launch Party could not of happened without our sponsors.  A big thanks to:

Event Sponsor:
Amuse Consulting  – http://www.amuseconsulting.ca

Media Sponsors:
TechVibes – http://www.techvibes.com (marketing support)
6SMarketing – http://www.6SMarketing.com (marketing support)
Jeremy Lim – http://www.jeremylim.ca (photographer)
FreyBurg Media – http://www.freyburgmedia.com (video)

Cruiser Tables:
HootSuite – http://www.HootSuite.com
SplitMango – http://www.SplitMango.com
Mobio – http://www.mobioid.com/
SiTek – http://www.sitek.com
Kaerus – http://www.kaerus.ca
JustTheBill – http://www.justthebill.com

SPEAKING:
To hire Stephen and/or Shane to speak at your next conference or event please contact us at http://www.sociablebook.com

Thanks again so much for your support!!

It was a really fantastic night and we could not have done it with out you all.

Sincerely,

Steve and Shane
http://www.sociablebook.com
http://twitter.com/sociablebook
http://www.twitter.com/sjagger
http://www.twitter.com/shanegibson

Amacus

Today’s podcast is with sales technology thought leader John Cousineau who is President of Innovative Information the creators of Amacus.  John and I have had a number of coffee chats and debates around why and how to use technology and social media to improve sales performance and customer experience. The nexus of sales and social media seems to be happening in the CRM and Social CRM space.  The question is it happening fast enough and making things more efficient or is it just giving sales people more buttons and buzzwords to worry about.

1. Improve the way you use 5 tools 10% each. Cumulatively it will have a big effect.
2. Easy access to tools like blogging raises the bar for those who want to lead, lots of competition.
3. Take massive action when you see a trend that may have large growth potential. You won’t win them all… but one will do.
4. The best medium is the one your customer likes, use multiple media.
5. There will be platforms you visit and platforms you call home. Make sure you own your home.
6. Be open to feedback, be open to being wrong. Defensiveness isn’t all that social.
7. Hone in on and focus on engaging people. Help multiply each other’s vision.
8. When teaching people talk in variable rules and principles not universal ones. Nothing is forever…things move fast.
9. Many people will quit, shun and criticize social media marketing when they realize it’s actually about leadership.
10. Dear Agency/Marketer/Sales Guy, if we wanted marketing and pitching we’d watch TV.
11. If you keep changing your message you will keep starting over. Experimenting with your strategic brand is not good.
12. Social media works better when it’s incorporated holistically with your entire set of marketing tools.
13. Before listening to someone’s social media tips or advice use social search to verify their credibility.
14. Leadership is influence (John Maxwell) and influence is measured based upon the change and action we create.
15. Use Twitter lists to let people know you’re listening.
16. Consistency, conviction, passion and focus are needed to see a social media plan succeed.
17. Best short-cut for results: focus on people, relationships, & psychology not gimmicks and clicks.
18. Not listening to your customer = Brandicide (Brand Homicide) do you have a social media listening strategy?
19. Once you find a conversation about your brand encourage it to spread by creating and hosting places for dialogue.
20. Social listening strategy comes before social media content strategy.
21. Most social media efforts are abandoned long before their results can be measured.
22. Integrate your tools in your marketing but also measure the effectiveness of each tool individually.
23. Social Media Trend: More people realizing that social media success is about leadership not technology.
24. Social Media Trend: Simultaneous translation in mirco-blogging and collaboration platforms.
25. Social Media Trend: Mobile social apps aggregating multiple social networks and media into one place.
26. Aggregate your client and prospect list and develop nano-casts for each nano-segment.
27. Social media can be used for retaining, developing and prospecting clients, all aspects of the sales cycle.
28. Get out of your industry vacuum when building strategy. Look for SMM concepts that can be adapted.
29. Want to make good connections? Make value added, thoughtful comments on their blog.
30. Teach your clients about social media, help them get online. It creates more dialogue opportunities.
31. Make it real at least twice a week. Meet offline in person with contacts.
32. Research and test the latest platforms but don’t go down the rabbit hole.
33. Teach people the principles of leadership before teaching them how to use Twitter or blogs.
34. Meetup.com is best used for community events. Using it just to promote your product or company will have minimal results.
35. Your great idea or blog post, is being written in 10 different languages by other people right now.
36. Any system or company bent on being exclusive versus inclusive will fail.
37. nstead of writing headlines write engagement lines.
38. As a leader, make the journey look fun & share your joy. People will want to follow the path.
39. “Nothing happens until someone tweets something.”
40. Being a thought leader is just as much about selfless contribution as it is about unique dialogue.
41. You don’t have to like or use every tool to be successful.
42. Social Media Trend: Brands now need to think global social etiquette when planning their social media strategy.
43. Unique, brief sound bytes produced consistently can yield great results.
44. Once in a while ask your FB and Twitter friends for help. See who steps up. This will tell you a lot.
45. Make a list of people who support you online. Develop a strategy to reciprocate.
46. Use your experience in social media to predict areas of growth in new regions and niches. Then pay it forward.
47. You may be awesome blogger but does the world know? SEO, social networks, offline promotions are needed.
48. Make your events that you promote about the community. Education and collaboration trump pitches.
49. “Think what’s in it for me?” from your target market’s perspective.
50. Using more than one channel / stream shortens your brand engagement curve.
51. Defining your target market and goals is easy, engaging them is the challenge.
52. The numbers are exciting but they’re just numbers until you make it real and build good relationships.
53. Engagement is not just about listening; it’s about empathy, rapport, and making people feel heard.
54. Engagement is the goal, social media are the tools.
55. Thank people who comment on your blog via e-mail or twitter. Let them know you’re listening.
56. Search engine optimization can help you rapidly grow your network and connections. Get good at it.
57. Develop a list of your top connections/influencers and make sure you’re connected on multiple networks.
58. There is a Trend: Condensed writing, short videos all getting shorter.
59. Blogging tip. Pick a theme or topic for the month. Plan 7-10 blog entries that build up to 1 core message, event, or action.
60. Have a series of steps planned and measured to track and develop relationships.
61. One of your final steps in the social media sales process is to connect offline, on the phone, or at least one on one virtually.
62. Use http://www.backtype.com/ to search blog comments about you, your blog or a topic.
63. Social media is too new for Gurus. We’re all amateurs! That’s what makes it fun and open.
64. Social Media Phases: Adoption, Population, Pollination, Aggregation, Splintering, Commercializing, and Globalizing.
65. Social media is here to stay and has more relevance and power everyday.
66. Embracing and understanding how to use social media is a core life skill, leadership skill and career building skill.
67. Social media is social. It’s about helping people connect to people using technology, it embodies truly what the internet was intended for.
68. Social media is not just about technology, it’s a new way of leading, thinking, and connecting with other people.
69. Social media belongs to all of us. An ordinary consumer, a front line employee, a political activist in Iran all have access and a voice.
70. You need different messaging for client retention than you do for attraction.
71. Statistics tend to be a history lesson. Growth and human behavior are rarely linear. Listen to customers and staff.
72. Use social listening tools: http://www.collecta.com/ http://www.twitority.com/ http://socialmention.com/ http://www.twazzup.com/
73. Develop a social media policy and set of guidelines to keep your team on track and on message.
74. You can force someone to be social, you can only give them the tools and training.
75. Worry less about selling and more about connecting and rapport.
76. Read Free the Future of a Radical Price before launching your next marketing campaign.
77. Read “Ignore Everybody” by Hugh Macleod if you want to tap into your social media creativity.
78. Spend time each day promoting and contributing to another blogger’s success.
79. What works for you now will only keep working until it is no longer unique. Keep innovating.
80. Polish your work too long and someone will move first with a less perfect work but they’ll get the credit. Publish first.
81. One day we will look back at “social media” as a buzz word. But the best practices will still be in use.
82. Seeing someone as a competitor is old economy, seeing them as a peer and a fusion partner is key.
83. Talk and listen to small nodes or groups of people in your larger niche network. Niche broadcasting is not enough.
84. Contribution, help and kindness are your social currencies which can get you access to great people and great networks.
85. Want to implement your social media plan fast? Think collaboration not committee
86. All the details, plans and tools don’t mean much unless you understand people.
87. A sense of curiosity and willingness to experiment can lead to some positive serendipitous discoveries.
88. Stop focusing on being a social media rock star, focus on building a community and a list.
89. Develop an understanding of the Long Tail http://longtail.com Think variable not universal when building strategy. Nano-casting and the “Long Tail” are key.”
90. Types of social media ROI include: improved staff engagement, quicker response to business challenges, increased frequency contact with clients.
91. Social Media results could also be: increased revenue, more customer data, increased store (real world) traffic, press, improved customer service.
92. Looking to hire a social media expert? Look for proof that they have done more than just build traffic and followers.
93. Words to use in a social media job posting: track record, business experience, well networked, project management experience.
94. There is a lot of hype. Look for truth, verify information and execute with dependable tools and strategies.
95. Use give away’s that have real value with a variety of paid options to upgrade to. Think customization and options.
96. Permission to connect has put the power in the consumers’ hands. Seek and then treat that permission like gold.
97. When I join your facebook page, give you my e-mail or follow you on twitter those are examples of “permission to connect”
98. Some people like lengthy whitepapers, others learn best through video, audio or text updates. Use variety.
99. Measure engagement levels, revenues, value added interactions. Big numbers in views and traffic can lie.
100. Bad customer feedback is a branding opportunity if you handle it right.
101. If you can’t be relevant, at least be entertaining!
102. Visit sites outside of your industry and interest areas for new ideas.
103. Constantly look for ways to contribute and you will never run out of marketing leverage.
104. Social Media should be integrated or synced with other marketing activities.
105. Social media is not rocket science. Forget the big words and focus on listening and connecting intimately.
106. It’s kind of like dating. Don’t ask someone to marry you on the first date.
107. Your goal is to become referable; to become credible, and to build a following through value added interactions.
108. It is not about getting referrals; it is about becoming referable.
109. There are many ways to get followers. A good question to ask is: “How do I create quality connections on Twitter?”
110. Ning.com is a great social networking tool. What it enables you to do is create your own private network for anything.
111. Pay it forward. Teach people about social media and they’ll tell other people about you.
112. Resist the temptation to fill your Facebook friends inboxes with daily marketing. They will tune you out.
113. Break long blog posts into a series of short-posts, it will increase your page views and be more engaging (except this one of course)
114. It’s personal reputation and brand building that makes us approachable, people want the real deal.
115. When you’re reaching out to thought leaders in the social space you need to tap into their motivations.
116. Pre-scheduled tweets and blog posts can help you reach audiences in different time zones.
117. Use http://www.tubemogul.com to distribute video to Youtube, Viddler, Vimeo etc. all at once.
118. Use http://hootsuite.com to manage multiple twitter accounts and schedule tweets into the future.
119. It feels great to know people are listening to us and that they care. Let your customers know you’re listening.
120. If done right social media will become a part of your business process not a separate addition.
121. Spend at least as much time listening as you do broadcasting.
122. It’s called “social media” for a reason. Be prepared to interact consistently.
123. You can’t win the game focusing on the scoreboard. Focus on the game of engagement and the traffic will come.
124. Losing followers is okay, measure the engagement level of who is still here to see how you are doing.
125. Have a goal, measure results, measurement provides feedback and improvement.
126. The internet has always been about helping people connect to people (@nickusborne)
127. Pay it forward. Help, teach. guide and be patient with people new to the scene. [Tweet This Tip]
128. Study people who are credible with the type of clients you want to attract. Model their strategy.
129. Marketers aren’t always synonymous with community builders, traffic and followers isn’t always equal to credibility.
130. If you’re an old school e-mail marketer or pitch artist, there’s some habits you will need to unlearn.
131. Before you start your campaign define your market and their pains.
132. Everyone and every company gets off message once in a while. Refocus and learn from it.
133. Leaders of large “Tribes” need to have thick skin and a tolerance for noise.
134. Continually tweak and update your Linkedin profile, your network will be notified.
135. Social media is changing so quickly that if you stop too long to smell the roses you’ll be out of touch.
136. Try a new platform each month, video blogging, FaceBook, tumblr etc. Curiosity can lead to great discoveries.
137. You can’t make a robot network for you at a party, why do you think they can do it for you on the web?
138. Some un-follows are strategic. People want to know if you’re really listening.
139. You can’t please everyone. But know who you are trying to connect with. Get in sync with your audience.
140. http://www.ping.fm updates FaceBook, Brightkite, Twitter, tumblr and Linkedin statuses all at once
141. Focus on a specific theme in your social media for extended periods of time
142. Your blog is your home base, all social media should feed your home base
143. Social media is 90 % contribution and connection 10 % marketing and sales
144. Social media belongs to the people, they get to make the rules not the marketer
145. Have a social media policy for your company. Help your people be effective and on message
146. Promote other people’s dreams. It builds community, loyalty and brand for you
147. “Marketing is a process not an event”- @jaylevinson Blog, tweet and talk about solutions to people’s pains and challenges
148. Social media tools like twitter are listening tools more than they are broadcasting tools.
149. Nano-cast to many small niches instead of broadcasting to everyone.
150. Learn to break up large blog entries into many smaller entries. It’s more user friendly
151. Take time each month to update your major social media profiles, use key words that your prospects would search for
152. Use social search like http://search.twitter.com and http://blogsearch.google.com to listen to your customers
153. Each social network has it’s own etiquette FaceBook type behavior doesn’t work on  LinkedIn
154. Answer people’s comments on your blog, or @ replies in Twitter. Social media leadership is about bi-directional communication.
155. Think twice, click once.
156. Take it off-line, book in person meetings or hold events for your online social media contacts
157. Use an assortment of tools, it geometrically multiplies efforts
158. Always be asking where are we going? What is the next Twitter or FaceBook going to be?
159. Use a mixture of content on your blogs, top 10 lists, photos, video, audio, guest bloggers, and polls…

I’m excited about what this year has to hold. While the big talk and focus is on Social Media ROI the real trend in my opinion is the realization that social media is a leadership tool. I’m looking forward to seeing many leaders amplify the good things they are doing in 2010 using social media. Happy New Year!

Download a free Chapter of Shane’s new book in PDF or MP3 Format.

10 Social Media Tips Under 140 Characters

1. When teaching people talk in variable rules and principles not universal ones. Nothing is forever…things move fast.
2. Many people will quit, shun and criticize social media marketing when they realize it’s actually about leadership.
3. Dear Agency/Marketer/Sales Guy, if we wanted marketing and pitching we’d watch TV.
4. If you keep changing your message you will keep starting over. Experimenting with your strategic brand is not good.
5. Social media works better when it’s incorporated holistically with your entire set of marketing tools.
6. Before listening to someone’s social media tips or advice use social search to verify their credibility.
7. Leadership is influence (John Maxwell) and influence is measured based upon the change and action we create.
8. Use Twitter lists to let people know you’re listening.
9. Consistency, conviction, passion and focus are needed to see a social media plan succeed.
10. Best short-cut for results: focus on people, relationships, & psychology not gimmicks and clicks.

10 Things That Will Not Change About Social Media in 2010

1. It’s about the conversation
2. It belongs to everyone
3. It can’t be controlled only lead
4. It works best integrated
5. It doesn’t fit in the marketing ROI box
6. It’s an investment
7. It’s never been about the tools but those who wield them
8. It’s not going away, it’s not a fad
9. Experimenting with your clients money is a bad idea
10. Success belongs to the storytellers

Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know I’m a big Hootsuite fan.  I interviewed Ryan Holmes CEO of Invoke Media (the company that made Hootsuite) a few months ago about the Twitter app and I’ve been a loyal user ever since.  It is a web based Twitter app, and actually if fully used to it’s capacity could be considered a Social CRM tool.   I use  Hootsuite to monitor 15 niches’ of clients, stakeholders, influencers and friends.  I also use the program to do A/B testing on headlines and research what time of day people respond best to my updates and links. The fact that I can now take this Twitter/Social CRM tool with me on my iPhone truly un-teathers me from the office and allows me to interact with my Twitter accounts, clients and core niche markets.  Expect more Tweets from me on the go now. The video is on the Hootsuite iPhone App:

I thought while we all wait I would give you a sneak peek into some of the personalities involved in the book.

Sociable! Media Leader #1: Kyle MacDonald (@oneredpaperclip):

Kyle wrote the foreword of the book. Here’s a great video on how Kyle traded one red paperclip for a house in one year:

Sociable Media Leader #2: Peter Aceto (@CEO_INGDirect):

Peter Aceto CEO of ING Direct Canada has brought a very transparent approach to leadership in banking.  We had the opportunity to interview Mr. Aceto for the book and have since cooperated with ING in a few progressive social media marketing activities such as their standing room only #tweetup at the ING Direct Café here in Vancouver. (You can check out the event photo’s here on flickr). Below is an example how Peter has used YouTube and FairFees.ca to directly connect with the marketplace. He’s also one of the top CEO Tweeters in Canada (Follow him here).

Sociable Media Leader #3: Scott Heiferman (@heif)

Scott Heiferman is the CEO of Meetup.com. Anyone who knows Stephen Jagger and I will know that we really love Meetup. With that said our interview with Scott really opened us up to Scott’s global vision for Meetup and the very local impacts it can have on community and individuals. Below is a recent slideshare (click play to hear the audio, the 18 minutes are worth a listen) from a presentation by Scott this week at the Personal Democracy Forum in Europe.

Book Update:

Listen to Chapter 1 as an mp3 (audio file) or…

Click below to download Chapter 1

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More information on the seminars here:

Seminar Details

“Leading and collaborating with stakeholders and employees in a hyper connected marketplace.”

With employees, customers and stakeholders equipped with technology that allows for mass collaboration and rapid communication we as leaders need to understand how to harness this technology and the crowds we are connected to.

Today’s workplace is not a homogeneous one. As leaders we have to lead teams that are made up of Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y.  This coupled with diverse cultures and values in the workplace make leading both exciting and challenging.

In this session Shane Gibson will cover core trends, leadership tools and opportunities that are associated with today’s digitally connected and diverse marketplace.

Key topics include:

• New rules for engagement in a digitally transparent era.
• Web 2.0 collaboration and learning tools.
• Creating an environment that is productive and engaging for the millennial / Gen Y.
• Tips and approaches for recruiting staff using tools like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.
• Using technology to break down silos and create collaboration within your organization.
• How to apply timeless leadership principles to this new work and business climate

CMA Testimonial

“I found the seminar (Partnering & Stakeholder Relationships, November 2009) very beneficial. Shane did a great job on the presentation and communicating the message. I would highly recommend his sessions to my fellow CMAs.”

Sanjeev Lal, CMA, Abbotsford

Register for Victoria, December 2nd 2009 Seminar

Register for Vancouver, December 3rd 2009 Seminar

1. Immune to hype:
   There is a lot of hype around social media. The Guerrilla searches for truth, verifies information and executes with dependable tools and strategies.
2. Curiosity:
   Penicillin was invented serendipitously.  Guerrillas aren’t afraid to experiment, make mistakes or try new things to gain a competitive advantage.
3. The ability to sprint:
   There will be small windows of opportunity and the Guerrilla is always ready to exploit them with all of their energy passion and resources.
4. The ability to run marathons:
   Many battles are battles of attrition. Guerrillas know how to wear their competition down and build a presence through consistency.
5. Transparent:
   A Guerrilla knows that truth, empathy and integrity are keys to social media marketing, and they build trust and loyalty through transparency.
6. Community focused
   A Guerrilla builds, connects and helps the community.  Within that community are other Guerrilla Allies that will be their assets.
7. Profit driven
   A Guerrilla measures success by profits, not clicks, visitors, or any “cool factor.”
8. 8. Tech hungry
   Technology is the Guerrilla’s Social Media Marketers core weapon and competency. They are always learning more about technology.
9. Self-developer
   A Guerrilla knows that technology and business moves fast. They are constantly learning more to stay ahead of the competition.
10. Leadership mentality
    A Guerrilla observes the community and gathers intelligence but they are always thinking about what is next. They create trends, unique solutions and are thought leaders.

Copyright 2008-2009 Jay Levinson and Shane Gibson
Guerrilla Marketing Official Page

Promote Your Page Too

1. Pensamiento de SM: El no escuchar a tus clientes es un Homicidio a tu marca, ¿tu ya  cuentas con una estratégia para escuchar en Social Media?
2. Tip de SM: Una vez que encuentres una conversación acerca de tu marca, incita a que continúe creando y facilitado espacios para el diálogo.
3. Tip de SM: Una estrategia social para escuchar, viene antes de una estrategia de contenidos de social.
4. Tip de SM: La mayoría de los esfuerzos de social media son abandonados antes de que los resultados puedan ser mesurados.
5. Moda de Social Media: Mas gente se esta dando cuenta que el exito en Social Media tiene que ver más con liderazgo y no con tecnología.
6. Moda de Social Media: Traducción simultánea en sitios de micro-blogging y colaboración en plataformas.
7. Moda de Social Media: Aplicaciones Sociales móviles agregando redes múltiples y AV en un mismo lugar.
8. Tip de SM: Agrega a tus listas de clientes y prospectos y desarrolla nano-conversaciones para cada nano-segmento.
9. Tip de SM: Social Media puede ser usada para retener, desarrollar y prospectar clientes en todos los aspectos de el ciclo de ventas.
10. Tip de SM: Sal de lo ordinario de tu industria cuando desarrolles una estrategia. Observa usus de Social Media que puedan ser adaptados.
11. Tip de SM: Instruye a tus clientes acerca de Social Media, ayúdalos a tener una presencia online. Esto crea mas diálogo y oportunidades.
12. Tip de SM: Traslada todo a la realidad al menos dos veces por semana. Conocete offline y en persona con tus contactos.
13. Tip de SM: Investiga y prueba las últimas plataformas, pero no caigas en situaciones complicadas o bizarras.
14. Tip de SM: Enseña a la gente, los principios de liderazgo antes de mostrarles como usar Twitter o Blogs.
15. Tip de SM: Meetup.com es mejor cuando es usado para organizar eventos comunitarios. Usarlo para promover tu comañía o producto tendrá resultados mínimos.
16. Tip de SM: Tu gran idea para un blog post ya esta siendo escrita en 10 idiomas diferentes ahora mismo por otras personas.
17. Tip de SM: Cualquier sistema o compañía inclinada a ser exclusiva mas que inclusiva, esta destinada a fallar.
18. Tip de SM: En lugar de escribir encabezados, escribe algo que te vincule con tus lectores.
19. Tip de SM: Como líder, haz que la jornada sea entretenida y comparte tu goce. Las otras personas, querrán seguir tu camino.
20. Se dice en Social Media: “Nada pasa hasta que alguien hace un tweet de ello”
21. Tip de SM: Ser un líder de pensamiento es contribución desinteresada y diálogo único.
22. Tip de SM: No tienes que usar o te tienen que gustar todas las herramientas para ser exitoso.

@shanegibsones traducción de @tyamdm.

1. Social Media Thought: Not listening to your customer = Brandicide (Brand Homicide) do you have a social media listening strategy?
2. Social Media Tip: Once you find a conversation about your brand encourage it to spread by creating and hosting places for dialogue.
3. Social Media Tip: Social listening strategy comes before social media content strategy.
4. Social Media Tip: Most social media efforts are abandoned long before their results can be measured.
5. Social Media Tip: Integrate your tools in your marketing but also measure the effectiveness of each tool individually.
6. Social Media Trend: More people realizing that social media success is about leadership not technology.
7. Social Media Trend: simultaneous translation in mirco-blogging and collaboration platforms.
8. Social Media Trend: Mobile social apps aggregating multiple social networks and media into one place.
9. Social Media Tip: Aggregate your client and prospect list and develop nano-casts for each nano-segment.
10. Social Media Tip: Social media can be used for retaining, developing and prospecting clients, all aspects of the sales cycle.
11. Social Media Tip: Get out of your industry vacuum when building strategy. Look for SMM concepts that can be adapted.
12. Social Media Tip: Want to make good connections? Make value added, thoughtful comments on their blog.
13. Social Media Tip: teach your clients about social media, help them get online. It creates more dialogue opportunities.
14. Social Media Tip: Make it real at least twice a week. Meet offline in person with contacts.
15. Social Media Tip: Research and test the latest platforms but don’t go down the rabbit hole.
16. Social Media Tip: Teach people the principles of leadership before teaching them how to use Twitter or blogs.
17. Social Media Tip: Meetup.com is best used for community events. Using it just to promote your product or company will have minimal results.
18. Social Media Tip: Your great idea or blog post, is being written in 10 different languages by other people right now.
19. Social Media Tip: Any system or company bent on being exclusive versus inclusive will fail.
20. Social Media Tip: Instead of writing headlines write engagement lines.
21. Social Media Tip: As a leader, make the journey look fun & share your joy. People will want to follow the path.
22. Social Media saying: “Nothing happens until someone tweets something.”
23. Social Media Tip: Being a thought leader is just as much about selfless contribution as it is about unique dialogue.
24. Social Media Tip: You don’t have to like or use every tool to be successful.
25. Social Media Trend: Brands now need to think global social etiquette when planning their social media strategy.

Photo Credit: Dr. X’s Vintage Photo Blog

Aquí les present mis 25 Tips Sobre Medios Sociales (PDF):

25 Tips sobre Medios Social

South America and Mobile Social Networks:

South America ( and other regions like Africa and South East Asia )has the potential in my opinion to leap frog North America’s lead in the social media space with mobile internet applications.  As more and cheaper smart phones hit the market here it will quickly ramp up the number of active users on social networks.  North Americans have adopted social media primarily through the web browser on their computer, it wasn’t really until recent introductions of the iPhone, and smarter Nokia’s and Blackberry’s that we really began to network and create social media in a mobile fashion.

North Americas still working on un-tethering tehmselves from phone and cable lines.  South American’s on the other hand have greater access to mobile networks than they do terrestrial internet connections.  In comparison to Canada for instance  mobile handsets in South America are more advanced and their data plans are more reasonable than those of companies like Canad’s Rogers Communications.  When millions of people come online via mobile devices I believe that Latin Americans will be an important force and community in the social media space.  Marketers, and application developers will begin to turn their focus on this massive market. (Thanks multi-cultural marketing maven Cindy King for this insight)

Social media adoption rate is growing fast:

South America has 132,385,340 Internet users as of Feb 07/09, with a 34.0 % Penetration Rate (World Internet Stats), and according to data from Comscore the use of social networking sites alone in South America has increased by 33% in the past 12 months bringing the total number of users to over 53,000,000 unique visitors to social networking sites. (There were just over 40,000,000 last year.)  From an anecdotal perspective, my search on Twellow for users in Colombia, and Chile in particular in March 2009 showed very few businesses or professionals in that region using the tool. My recent search turned about hundreds of business tweeters who are now actively using the tool. (Twellow for Chile, Twellow for Colombia). One prediction I will make is that FaceBook will overtake almost all of the other social networks used in South American within the next 24 months.  Even in Brazil where Orkut has a large portion of the population using it we have seen FaceBook go from almost zero market penetration to over 1,000,000 users in 13 months.

Marketing to and from South America with Social Media:

As South Americans continue to populate social networks and become adept at using social media tools they will have a very in-expensive and effective way to reach markets globally.  Through Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube channels and dozens of other social media tools (that are free) Latin American brands and companies can begin to build some really social connections with previously hard to reach markets.  If you want to establish connections and business in the region these tools provide the same opportunity.  One of the challenges with doing business internationally is local competitors, they get to talk to your clients and foster relationships in a very personal way.  With social media, it is now possible to be in contact and keep our brand and personal message top of mind anywhere in the world. From far away, you can have a very local feeling relationship.

When marketing to any international region using social media it’s not enough to just translate your blog, or twitter content. Think about regional cultures, business protocol and expected levels of formality as well.  Find a local partner in the region (or with previous experience) and get their feedback on how your social content may need to be adapted; and then TAKE THEIR ADVICE.

Disclaimer: I consider myself a very enthusiastic social media amateur,  I have only begun to understand social media and the opportunity it provides both for South American’s and those marketing in that region.  I’m hoping that this week in Bogota, Colombia will provide me with more in-depth first hand knowledge of how Colombian (and other South American) marketers, entrepreneurs, and sales people are using social media. As I learn more I will continue to update this post with more stats and trend information.  If you have data, anecdotes or information to share kindly post it in the comments section of this blog.

More Social Media in South America Links:

• Social Networking Growth Worldwide (Comscore)
• Social network statistics for Latin America 2009
• So Who Owns the LATAM Social Network Space?
• Stats on Global growth of mobile bandwidth
• Is Sonico The Top Socnet In Latin America? Not Even Close, Says Hi5

1. It’s a conversation – As marketers in the past we have been awarded based upon our ability to craft messages and broadcast to an audience, a niche or a market segment.  People no longer want to be talked at.  In fact their conversations with each other on Twitter, Facebook, or even the videos they post on YouTube impact and define major brands.  As social media marketers we need to get involved in those conversations if we want to effectively brand and market online.
2. It’s a listening tool – More than a conversation, social media marketing is about listening.  We need to be listening for opportunities to engage with people that are talking about our brand.  Social media gives us the opportunity to engage at the instant someone is talking about us (if we’re listening), and have relevant, personal and authentic conversations with our customers.  Use tools like Twitter search, Google Alerts, and SocialMention.com to monitor those conversations.
3. Social media belongs to everyone, which is good and bad, it forces you to be different to win – As a marketer you no longer have control or a monopoly on a medium.  Social media tools are in everyone’s hands.  This is great news for anyone who wants to create a brand and generate revenues online.  This is also a bad thing, because it creates a lot of noise. You must have a distinctive message, offering and leadership style if you want to get noticed online.  To win you must be more engaging, add more value, and be more creative than everyone else if you want to rise above the noise.

The End of Social Media

Yes I have consumed the social media Kool-Aid. In fact I have opened my own roadside stand.  Social media is an exciting disruptive technology.  But the ride is almost over, the hype will die down after everyone has found everyone on Facebook and when even our dog has a blog. Marketers and the community at large will ask “Now What?”

Social media will come to an end.  The ride is not over yet, we have a few good years ahead of us but the writing is one the wall.  My podcast today is about the end of social media and what it means to marketers, bloggers, business owners and the community as a whole.

Shane Gibson Speaker Video

Social Media Tips:

1. Unique, brief sound bytes produced consistently can yield great results.
2. Once in a while ask your FB and Twitter friends for help. See who steps up. This will tell you a lot.
3. Make a list of people who support you online. Develop a strategy to reciprocate.
4. Use your experience in social media to predict areas of growth in new regions and niches. Then pay it forward.
5. You may be awesome blogger but does the world know? SEO, social networks, offline promotions are needed.
6. Make your events that you promote about the community. Education and collaboration trump pitches.
7. “Think what’s in it for me?” from your target market’s perspective.
8. Using more than one channel / stream shortens your brand engagement curve.
9. Defining your target market and goals is easy, engaging them is the challenge.
10. The numbers are exciting but they’re just numbers until you make it real and build good relationships.
11. Engagement is not just about listening; it’s about empathy, rapport, and making people feel heard.
12. Engagement is the goal, social media are the tools.
13. Thank people who comment on your blog via e-mail or twitter. Let them know you’re listening.
14. Search engine optimization can help you rapidly grow your network and connections. Get good at it.
15. Develop a list of your top connections/influencers and make sure you’re connected on multiple networks.
16. There is a Trend: Condensed writing, short videos all getting shorter.
17. Blogging tip. Pick a theme or topic for the month. Plan 7-10 blog entries that build up to 1 core message, event, or action.
18. Have a series of steps planned and measured to track and develop relationships.
19. One of your final steps in the social media sales process is to connect offline, on the phone, or at least one on one virtually.

What is a Tweetup?

A Tweetup is:

• A gathering of people who use Twitter
• It can be a general geographic Tweetup like a Tweetup of people in Vancouver
• It can be a Tweetup for a cause where Twitter friends organize a get together to do something for the community
• It can be topical such as a Tweetup for martial artists, cyclists or people who are in the social media scene
• It’s about the fact that when we get offline and meet in person it cements relationships and builds community
• An Event that Usually lasts from 1 to 3 hours
• It is a great stewardship and community building tool (See Jeremiah Owyang’s Post on Tweetups and coverage of the Vancouver #TweetupHeatup by GillianShaw of The Vancouver Sun)

A Tweetup is not:

• An event where you pull people in from Twitter to pitch or sell them something
• A seminar event
• A tradeshow or multi-day event
• A general community event like a sports event, lecture etc.(it’s called a Tweetup because it’s people on Twitter connecting in real life)

Who Can Organize a Tweetup?

• Anyone with a Twitter account
• You don’t have to be a social media guru or expert, it’s about community.
• Usually one person will announce a Tweetup but many are involved in the organization and promotion, it’s a community focused event.

I have a big event happening already. Can I promote it as a Tweetup?

No. People who come to a Tweetup expect to connect with those who use Twitter as a networking and community tool. This would be misleading if a large portion of the people were not in fact on Twitter, people go to meet their online connections offline.

You can however create a special Tweetup within a larger event. For instance at a race, or something like Dragon Boat Festival you could have a “Tweetup Tent” for a 3 hour period during the main event where Twitter folk meet and mingle.  If you’re doing a fundraiser at a pub or lounge, have the Tweetup for a couple hours before the main event, then let people know they can hang around later if they want to network with the rest of the community.

Who made these rules anyway?

Twitter, social media and etiquette attached to it are evolving constantly, this however is accepted practice right now. These answers are a summary of how the concept of a Tweetup is being used within the social media community.  The majority of people attending or promoting Tweetups follow these loose guidelines. You can break these rules (or bend them) just realize that you may get a fair bit of negative push-back or even lose good Twitter connections.

If you’re in Vancouver join Vancouver Tweetup

Questionnaire for Colombia Newsletter

Shane Gibson Social Media Speaker

Q: How are Social Media turning traditional marketing habits around?

A: In the past we could dominate the marketplace with advertising, direct mail, and other forms of traditional media marketing. Today consumers are much more powerful marketers than companies are, with their ability to publish information to the web, they outnumber us. Their conversations about our brand, company, products and services are now “branding” us. They can blog about our company, they can share their opinion on our product on Orkut or Twitter, and they can post a Youtube video praising or condemning us.

Marketers now have to not just broadcast, they have to listen to what conversations are going on out there, and then they have to connect and interact with the marketplace in order to direct the conversations about their brand.

Today the customer owns our brand.

Update August 31 2009 (Watch a 7 minute speaker video addressing this question):

Q: Do you think these tools will replace well-known Marketing complex software such as CRM, for example? Why?

A: These tools are changing the way sales professionals and marketers interact with the marketplace. In the past we would build a database of customers in our CRM and proactively drive the sales process through constant contact. Social Listening tools that allow you to track conversations about your company or what your target market is doing are allowing marketers to pinpoint customers at the very moment they have a challenge or need for what we sell. There is also a new breed of CRM tools called Social CRM (SCRM) software that is just beginning to be available in the marketplace.

SCRM will allow you to pull in all the information about a contact, based upon permission from them (they tell you what data you will get), and your sales process will become driven by the daily activities and events in the lives of the customer. SCRM will make your database come alive with by the minute updates on what your best clients and prospects are posting on social networks and publishing in social media.

Q: What are the main benefits of including Social Media in Marketing and Sales strategies?

A: Social media success is built through a series of genuine interactions with the marketplace. The key is to create valuable content, resources, build community and connect in personalized ways with your market. Unlike traditional marketing and advertising most of the best social media tools are free. They need a time investment, and you have to train your staff to use them, but after that you can generate results with a significantly lower on-going investment financially. Also if used right, you can turn almost any staff member in your company into part of your marketing and customer service team, all they need is a Smartphone or a computer with web access. Social media expands your customer service and marketing capabilities.

Q: (Any real life examples as to how much money companies can save you can mention?)

A: My co-author Stephen Jagger (Sociable! Book Site) runs a company called Ubertor which has several thousand clients. His clients are real estate agents who use his real estate software to drive their websites. Steve was originally a client of mine. He had 10 sales people, and over a dozen other staff including computer programmers, management and support staff and a very large office. In order to service these clients he also needed a lot of telecommunications tools and phone lines.

Steve and his business partner Mike over a period of time began to replace telephone customer service with Web based Live Chat service and Twitter. He then decided to use Meetup.com to hold events with guest speakers on social media and technology use for his target market instead of sending sales people out top real-estate offices (he no longer needs salespeople). The next step was to close the office and have staff work virtually. They moved their phone system to Google Voice, which is free and use Gtalk and a tool called Yammer to communicate all day with each other. Steve’s blog and his Youtube videos are used to communicate to his clients, and post solutions to problems and information on the software updates and functionality.

The result? Significant business growth with a significant decrease in business costs. Steve is saving thousands of dollars per month in business costs, far fewer staff and has actually improved his customer experience.

Q: What are the main obstacles firms face when implementing Social Media in their Marketing and Sales strategies?

A: One of the obstacles is techno-phobia or as I call it Social Media Phobia. A lot of people don’t feel confident in experimenting or trying to use these new tools. They’re also worried about negative comments or someone using their blog or FaceBook to attack their brand. The reality is this technology is new, and we are all learning. Now is the best time to experiment and get good at social media, while your competitors are still watching on the sidelines. In addition to this, the only way we can insulate our company and brand from negative comments or competitor behavior online is to get involved in social media. Build a community of raving fans around your brand. You need to get social to win.
Related Posts:
Social Media Seminars

Developing a Social Media Policy and Guidelines

Social Media Speaker Shane Gibson on Social Media Etiquette

How Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside-down

It’s not who you know but who knows you in today’s hyper-connected marketplace. The consumer now owns your brand, and in order to profit from this new dynamic, we need a solid strategy and set of principles to engage the marketplace.

Understanding the role social media and social networking play in this new dynamic, is paramount to our future success as sales professionals, marketers, and corporations. In this fast paced webinar Shane Gibson and Stephen Jagger will share with you:

• The new rules of engagement in sales and marketing
• How anyone can become a global brand in their niche using social media
• How to effectively and profitably implement social media in your business
• The Role of Social Media in the Sales Process
• The top global social media and networking tools and trends for 2009 and beyond

About Shane Gibson

Shane Gibson is a professional speaker and author of “Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals.” He is also co-author of Sociable! A new book written with Stephen Jagger on profiting from, social media to be released in Summer 2009. As a sales performance and marketing specialist he has addressed several thousand people over the past 15 years on stages in Canada, USA, South Africa and South America.

His client’s include organizations such as Builddirect.com, Ford, The Certified Management Accountants, and numerous Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade across Canada.

Shane has been cited as a subject matter expert on the topic of sales, social media and marketing in the Globe and Mail, the National Post, BC Business Magazine, and the Canadian Professional Sales Association’s “Contact Magazine.”

About Stephen Jagger

Stephen Jagger is an entrepreneur that has been starting businesses since high school. He is currently involved in 2 companies. Combustion Labs Media Inc, which operates as Ubertor.com, is a real estate software company that provides websites and online marketing tools to thousands of real estate agents across North America. His other business, Reachd.com is a training company that focuses on marketing professionals and businesses that are interested in learning more about search engine optimization, blogging, online video, Google Adwords and social media.

Stephen has been covered in many major publications including The Vancouver Sun, The Wall Street Journal, The Ottawa Citizen, The Vancouver Courier, The Calgary Herald plus many more. He has spoken at many different events including British Columbia Institute of Technology, The Vancouver Board of Trade, The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, and Inman News Connect 2007 in San Francisco where he was on a panel of 4 with a representative from Google, Yahoo and the Yellow Pages and 2009 in New York on a panel discussing blogging. He is very active in the community as a member of the Vancouver Board of Trade Communication Committee, the Vancouver College Alumni Association, a volunteer with Kids Help Phone, the founding member of the largest real estate agent meetup in North America and a mentor for the Leaders of Tomorrow program.

Your session on Social Media was relevant, practical with ready to use concepts. At the end of the day it’s about the bottom line. I appreciated your real world proven approach to social media marketing
- Dr. Denis Cauvier, Best Selling author of “The ABC’s of Making Money”

Each webinar is just $59.50 FREE to VIP members (take theVIP Tour)

Reachd training founded by Stephen Jagger (co-author of Sociable!) is putting on several great courses on everything from online video, to social media, search engine marketing training. Use the discount code CLOSINGBIGGER when you register.

Training in Wichita Kansas

• August 13th – “Market Like a Sniper with Adwords”
  Learn to use Google Adwords to promote your business and test your marketing strategy
  More details about the
  Adwords Class in Wichita
• August 17th – “1 Hour Web Marketing Intro”
  If you are not marketing your business online but would like to start, this 1 hour fast paced session will give you a great overview of some of the resources available for online marketing
  More Details about the Web Marketing Intro in Wichita
• August 20th – “Build a Website Google Loves”
  3 hour introduction to the in’s and out’s of search engine optimization. Most web activity originates with some sort of search, you need to ensure that your website shows when your visitors are searching
  More Details about the SEO Class in Wichita
• August 27th – “Broadcast Your Message with Online Video”
  There is no better way to build relationships with your web visitors then through online video. In this 3 hour course each participant receives a FREE Flip Video Camera.
  More Details about the Online Video Training Class

Training in Vancouver BC

• August 6th – “Market Like a Sniper with Adwords”
  Learn to use Google Adwords to promote your business and test your marketing strategy
  More details about the Adwords Class in Vancouver
  
• August 11th – “Explode Your Growth with a Blog”
  Blogging is the cornerstone of Social Media and a great tool to use to help fill your website with relevant content
  More Details about the Vancouver Blogging Course
  
• August 18th – “Build a Website Google Loves”
  3 hour introduction to the in’s and out’s of search engine optimization. Most web activity originates with some sort of search, you need to ensure that your website shows when your visitors are searching
  More Details about the Vancouver SEO Course
  
• August 25th – “Broadcast Your Message with Online Video”
  There is no better way to build relationships with your web visitors then through online video. In this 3 hour course each participant receives a FREE Flip Video Camera.
  More Details about the Online Video Training Class
• August 27th – “Social Media Guided Tour”
  Learn to use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to build your brand and grow your business
  More Details about the Vancouver Social Media Training

Here’s how 28 Days to Better Selling Works:

1)    A daily task that you can easily implement to improve your sales and business
2)    A succinct daily lesson to help you make the improvement

By the end of the 28 days you will have looked at 28 ways to fine tune and improve your sales process and business.  The daily lessons will be in written, video or audio format and will take less than 10 minutes each to review.

Day1  The ABC’s of Targeting

Day 2 Targeting the Right Referral Sources

Day 3 Prospecting in Person

Day 4 Networking Strategy

Day 5 LinkedIn Prospecting

Day 6 Investigative Prospecting

Day 7 Lead Nurturing

Day 8 Don’t Be A Boring Salesperson

Day 9 Listening in Sales

Day 10 Needs Analysis in Sales Part 1

Day 11 Needs Analysis In Sales Part 2

Day 12 Twitter for Sales Part 1

Day 13 Twitter for Sales Part 2

Day 14 Keeping Commitments

Day 15 Selling Benefits and Results

Day 16 Preemptive Objection Handling

Day 17 Sell the Price Different Not The Total Cost

Day 18 Vital Signs

Day 19 Preparing For a Sales Call

Day 20 Team Selling

Day 21 Just Thinking About You

Day 22 Team Players Make Efficient Sellers

Day 23 Day of Rest, Chill Out and Reflect

Day 24 Influencing Top Level Decision Makers

Day 25 Key Skills and Strengths for Selling Intangibles

Day 26 Reducing Anxiety and Worry

Day 27 15 Ways to Close A Sale

Day 28 Operationalizing Your Sales Process

Want to Close Bigger Deals? Buy the Book:

Resources by Topic:

Why Blogging is An Important Part of Social Media Strategy [Video]

Integrating Social Media Into Your Sales and Marketing Process [Podcast/Blog]

Making Social Media Part of What You Do [Video]

Developing a Social Media Calendar and Implementation Plan [Podcast/Blog]

Sample Social Media Policy [Blog]

What is Social Media Etiquette [Video]

5 Ways to Build a Twitter Following Organically [Blog]

Twitter for Sales and Marketing [Video] Part 1 and Part 2

Social Media ROI [Podcast]

The Future of Sales and Marketing Social CRM [Podcast]

Slides from Today’s Presentation:

View more presentations from shanegibson.

Great conversations in the offline world are about listening, providing insight, empathy, and at times the right measure of humor. The same goes for online tools. In using a tool like Twitter here are some tips on being engaging:

• Fill out your profile completely with a current photo, link to your personal blog or site, and use the entire 140 characters provided for your bio. Hiding who you are or not providing your company information can create a barrier to trust or engagement.

• Update regularly, for most active Twitter users that’s 8 to 15 times per day. Key principle: don’t update unless it adds value, solves a problem, inspires or entertains your target market.

• Share useful links to sites other than yours. Also pass on and share (know as retweeting on Twitter) useful information from other Twitter users. This will strengthen your relationship with them and increase the chances of them sharing your messages.

• Use social search to monitor what people are saying about your company or your industry. http://search.twitter.com can give you by-the-minute opportunities to engage people who are talking about your brand. You can instantly solve a problem or correct a situation as it happens.

• Vary your message and the frequency so that you appear human and not robotic. Your updates should be a combination of personal messages, corporate updates, answering questions, commenting on other people’s great tweets, and links to valuable information.

• If you sound like everyone else you’re not a brand or a leader. Create engaging content and unique conversations. This is vital to building a brand and solidifying client relationships.

Great use of Twitter and other social mediums and networks is 90% listening and contribution and 10% marketing and messaging. While that seems like a bad marketing ratio we can go back to what John C. Maxwell said about leadership “It’s 90% connection and 10% content.”

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Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

Social Media Speaker Shane Gibson on Social Media Etiquette

#1) Treat every action as if it will be recorded for eternity.

Almost everything we say online is recorded, logged and backed up somewhere. In every restaurant, bar or conference room there’s dozens of people with mobile video, photo, and blogging apps that capture our behavior in an instant and broadcast it to the world instantly and permanently. You really can’t delete a bad blog post, a rude response. Be careful what you say, blog, tweet and do, because the impact can be permanent.

#2) Talk about what you know.

Being Sociable! is about being a thought leader, and contributor to community and being authentic and transparent. People rely on us for advice and guidance. Stating opinion as fact can hurt our reputation and it may even harm the person taking our advice. If we’re wrong, or inaccurate we can expect to be called out on it and even embarrassed in the social media space by other bloggers or community members. Always be learning, studying and fact checking in the area which you aspire to lead in, and don’t exaggerate or fabricate your knowledge or the facts.

#3) Get Engaged.

Don’t broadcast, connect. Being Sociable! is about listening, connecting, contributing. Engagement is how we make other people feel, it’s also about the lasting impact that we have on them and their success. To be Sociable! you must monitor, listen to and actively answer and communicate with the individuals in the community in a personable customized and relevant way.

#4) Give credit where credit is due

If you hear a great quote from someone, an interesting hypothesis or learn a new business process make sure you give him or her the credit. Just because something is not protected under copyright does not mean we can re-purpose it without giving credit. A quick link back to their site, a mention of them at your seminar or in your video only takes seconds. What it does though is build the trust of everyone watching, they know you’re in this for more than just personal gain and will be Sociable! with you as well.

#5) No Spam

Never send generic messages to people who have given you permission to connect. If they have added you as a connection in a social network, realize that this is not to be taken lightly. Only send information or communicate in a way that is adding value, every time. Avoid auto messages, auto blog links, or auto anything that makes people feel like a number and not a valued contact.

#6) Know when to Zip it

Be conscious of private or confidential information that has been trusted to you. This means don’t post it anywhere on the web. It also means don’t talk about it in public, someone else could hear or record you and post it online for the world to see. Know the difference between fact, opinion and slander and always err on the side of being legally diligent. In other words don’t post anything that could result in an unwanted court appearance.

#7) This is not a video game

Some people see social media as a video game. A game where you collect names and followers like a some sort of digital trophy case. This game is getting old fast. The real measure of someone who is legitimately Sociable! is impact and action. Focus on quality or relationships with people you are connected with. Focus on people doing something when they get to your blog, not how many people visit it. Think in the term of profits made, impact created or actions caused by your Sociable! activity.

#8) Be open to all feedback

The days of corporate white washing are over, so is having a dual life, everyone now knows what your up to in this digital world that lacks privacy. People are going to go after you online on your personal blog, our corporate blog or blast you with a video or a comment on a social network. When this happens, don’t hide and don’t delete their comments or the errors you have made. Engage instead. Customer complaints are branding opportunities and sometimes our critics are actually bold allies trying to set us straight. With criticism it’s important to respond strategically not emotionally and to set the record straight with a correction, the facts, or good old fashion customer service and apologies.

#9) Digital rights

We make our living from the great ideas, content and creative works we create, market and produce. Being Sociable! means our brand is one of integrity, authenticity and transparency. We need to respect others copyright and creative works just like we would want them to do for us. Always ask permission or give attribution to other people’s creations that you use, cite, or include in your work. Every photo, video, quote or audio clip we use must be posted by us and distributed in a way that respects others’ work and it’s digital integrity.

#10) Be Sociable!

Being Sociable! also means not taking our self or our brand too seriously. In order to be a true Sociable! thought leader you must have fun, be passionate and contribute to the success of your clients, peers, family and community as a whole. Most importantly we continually strive to “get real” by taking our online connections and meet them individually or as a community through events like Meetups, Tweetups, and community functions. We do this to deepen and expand relationships. Without strong Sociable! relationships we’re just another marketer or sales person pitching something.

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Register for book tour and early release information on the the book here:

Momentum is a progression of movements that are created just like an ocean wave. You can become part of the flow of momentum and be caught by the wave and ride it to create the momentum that you desire in any aspect of your life.

The key to creating momentum, in reality, is to recognize the extraordinary movement in your life or in your organization and to take small steps each and every day towards your desired outcome. Determine where you are at and where you are going and stay focused, using your time and talent, until you feel totally congruent with your desire.

My martial arts instructor, Sensei David Harris, would always share with me the importance of daily activities towards a desired goal.  If, for any reason, you feel that you are at a plateau you can continue your level of progression by reading a book on the subject that you are pursuing, or you can watch a video on the related subject, maybe you can attend a seminar or you could mentally rehearse your desired outcome for your success.

It is important is to do something, regardless of how small or how large. By taking action daily you create the motion towards your desired achievement.

Stay focused on the end result, be realistic in your approach, and take a step-by-step progression that leads you to your ultimate goal.

There is a Hawaiian saying: “When the surf is high, go surfing and when the water is calm, wax your board.”

Timing is of the essence when riding the wave of momentum. If you hop on too early, you might crash. If you hop on too late, you miss the wave. By timing the wave correctly, you enjoy the ride all the way to the beach.

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Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!

Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

The topic Ronald chose was: What It Takes and/or How to Become a Thought Leader?

This is a great question, have a listen to this podcast to hear about becoming and influencing thought leaders.

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Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

This podcast is about becoming a community building and marketing maven.  How long have you invested in yourself and your people?

#1) Raul in his happy place (He’s blogging for charity tonight too)

#2) This guy I met in Yaletown, his daughter neglected to brush the cat until it’s hair was in knots, the poodle groomer was cheaper. He should be arrested… and shaved.

#3) Doolins Irish Pub at Lunch time. You should see dinner.

#4) This was a joke gift but he chose to wear it in public.

#5) I can’t really top #4 so this post is done.

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Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

In our book Sociable! Stephen Jagger and I talk about some of the do’s and don’t's of social media. One thing we talk about is wherever you are, there’s a camera, and at 2:00 am that funny twitpic might not be so funny when your boss or your best client sees them.

Steve and I have not learned this by standing at the pulpit looking down at people making silly errors or posting things they shouldn’t have. We learned this by doing it ourselves (okay actually most of the dumb things that have been documented were done by me).

I also believe in not deleting, people will catch you and make things worse. So I leave these errors in judgment up, why you might ask? Mostly because they weren’t really errors, it was me, my real personality doing these things. Blame it on my Celtic East Coast sense of humor. So in the spirit of full transparency and for charity (please donate) here’s some pictures from the last few years that probably should not made it on the internet (better me than someone else posting these!):

#1) Kyle MacDonald (The guy who traded up “One Red Paper Clip” for a house) and I after we left a conference we were speaking at. This is is us at 3:00 am after we emptied a Keg. Kyle is really Superman because he did a fantastic radio interview 4 hours later. (Seriously itemized beer bill).

#2) Everyone who left the Mother of all Meetups at Christmas time left their tags with me (so to speak)

#3) I sorta crashed a womens’ only conference for social media after party/tweetup (invited by Colleen), this is what ended up on Twitpic. I look so sincere.

#4) This was just a bad mistake, I wanted a pic of the hat on me but the preview didn’t show the bloke in the background (nice personal branding).

#5) No man should ever walk a dog dressed like this. Yes that’s my dog.

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Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

Encouraging comments and discussion

Comments are what keep blogging going. The dialogue and feedback that helps you not only grow as a writer, but also ensures that you stay on track. Through comments you learn, interact, and gain inspiration. I’ve written entire follow-up posts based a comment from a post. I’ve also received cease-and-desist letters because of comments as well. Part of getting comments is writing to encourage comments. First step is to make sure comments are enabled (aka turned on) for all your posts. Nine times out of ten the default setting for blog engines is to have comments on, but sometimes they get turned off so just double check. Whether or not anyone can post a comment or if there is some kind of moderation in place is up to you, and I’ll get to that shortly.
With comments turned on, the next part is subtler: getting people to leave comments. There isn’t a “magic formula” for you to get lots of comments. Sometimes I pull it off, sometimes I don’t. In any case here are simple things you can do to help encourage comments:

• Leave examples out on purpose. People love to feel that they are contributing by adding to your post.
• Ask open-ended questions
• Ask for comments directly
• Take a contrary or controversial stance to the status quo

Even with these tips, including out-right asking for comments, sometimes a great post just doesn’t get any comments. Don’t worry, this happens with even the best posts. Sometimes it’s the posts that you don’t expect to receive any comments to be the one that gets the most. Sometimes you just never know.
Once you do get comments, to keep the flow going you have to respond to the comments you receive. Be open and willing to be proved wrong or challenged. Engaging in a healthy dialogue makes your blog a place where people will go for ideas and inspiration—which means that you will also gain inspiration as well. Every blog, no matter what the topic is, is made better with comments.

This is an excerpt from Tris Hussey’s upcoming book on blogging “6 Easy Blogging Projects” published by Pearson. Follow Tris on twitter.

#1) They need to master the art of Rapport Building

#2) They need to get good at Needs Analysis Selling

#3) They need to understand how to sell what people buy, and it’s not features, price or technology

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Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

Twitter For Sales Part 1

Twitter For Sales Part 2

What the Heck is a Tweetup?

Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside Down

How Hard is it to Video Blog?

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Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

I first met Chris Breikss and John Blown founders of 6s Marketing when I was working as a sales manager for an online advertising company during the first dotcom boom of the late 90′s early 2000′s.  They were running their business on a shoe string budget and had just launched 6s Marketing.  They were innovative, entrepreneurial and they really understood internet marketing.  Today they have grown into what is arguably Canada’s leading internet marketing company that even major agencies turn to for their expertise.

Here’s what their site has to say:

About 6s Marketing

6S Marketing Inc. is a leading Internet Marketing Company based in Vancouver, BC Canada that provides search engine marketing services including paid search marketing campaign management, organic optimization, analytics solutions, email marketing, social media marketing, and usability analysis.

Since 2000, 6S has successfully increased revenue for hundreds of clients of all sizes in a wide variety of industries across the United States, Canada and internationally. 6S is a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant, Authorized AdWords Company and a Yahoo Ambassador.

Chris Breikss of 6s Marketing, I took this photo of him at the Massive Tech Show in Toronto this year.

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Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

DOUG MORNEAU – Chief Rhino

As founder and chief executive of Rhino Marketing Inc Doug has been providing his clients innovative solution-oriented direct marketing, database marketing, loyalty marketing and consultative services since 1985.

Doug´s extensive client list includes such well-known names as Shell Oil, Uniglobe Travel, Guthy-Renker subsidiary ProActiv Solutions, and Rotary International. His broad background in marketing, advertising, and business development provide Doug the vision and know-how required to lead a highly effective client-focused marketing organization. In recent years Doug has acquired particular expertise in the emergent practice of e-Marketing providing clients enhanced levels of success using online media, pay per click advertising, assured email deliverability, search, web analytics, and other leading edge technologies.

“Our success is based on listening to our customers, advanced competence, innovation, and leadership.”

Doug enjoys finding opportunity where others see none – for example, at the DMA last year Sir Richard Branson concluded a presentation to several thousand marketers by asking if anyone had any questions… Doug wondered if he´d like to get his picture taken.

About Rhino Marketing Inc.

Founded by Doug Morneau in 1986, and with a current employee and contractor count of 28, Rhino Marketing Inc. operates at the intersection of the rapidly evolving digital world of e-marketing and the world of traditional strategy-based marketing.

RMI understands that business fundamentals have not changed despite profound changes in the tactics and mechanisms of market communication. Marketing is still about identifying, engaging, acquiring, retaining and growing high-value customers. We always remember that when new, exciting, highly effective digital tools and techniques come along; they are still just tactics, not strategy and never lose sight of the fact that whatever technique is used, the objective remains the same: driving profitable sales.

To operate effectively in any medium, businesses need to address fundamental questions about who they want to speak to, what they want to say, and what action they expect prospective customers to take as a result. More than in any other media, customers online choose whether to listen and to whom. In the online world, understanding your audience has never been more important. Relevance is everything!

RMI has developed the expertise to understand, conduct, and manage transactions with these e-enabled customers, and assembled a suite of tools that provide us unique insight into the dynamics of how these interactions take place. It’s how we know which half of your advertising spend is being wasted, and which half works.

The significant difference between RMI and other online practitioners is the real-world business and marketing management experience we bring to each client engagement. We ensure that desired offline results and online marketing efforts are clearly aligned and then, set to work implementing tactics. It’s an accountable, end-to-end service we call The Rhino Process.

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Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!

Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!

Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

Have a listen to this podcast to hear my thoughts on the subject.

To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!

Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

Linkedin Groups by Richard McLaughlin (@_McLaughlin )

There are many social media groups out there and I have come to the decision that LinkedIn has the best possibility for connecting with people of your niche. There are over 340,000 groups so everyone can be reasonably sure to find at least one group that find your niche. For example, there are over 1000 groups related to social media.

When you when you go to join LinkedIn groups make sure you choose a combination of small niche groups and larger groups. Don’t join a group on firefighting, with the intention of writing about knitting. That may seem like something that goes without saying but there are a lot of people that will join the groups with the most members and post garbage. MLM posts in a technical group. Maybe they are right to try, the numbers are more in their favor. The problem is that many group members ask to have people that make posts like this banned from groups, which can lead you to a site-wide ban.

On the front page of linked in there is a section where you can have questions posted for you to answer. Take advantage of this by answering the questions and remember to include a link back to your site. I have IT questions posted on my LI home page, I answer those there are really related to me. I avoid answering the open questions that do pop up (“what’s better black or white…”) because opinion questions in a forum can be too time consuming.

Once in a group, write a post specifically about the niche that the group covers. I mentioned MLM people posting in inappropriate groups and this example holds true for any group. Do ask questions. If you find a site that has not been listed in the group, then list it. Groups have job openings listed in one section and I have even found a way to get traffic by making useful posts for job hunters based by region.

With over 340,000 groups, the opportunities are close to limitless. By the time you have run through all the existing groups for your niche, you can be pretty sure that someone else will have made another group. And if no one has made a group, then you should consider making one yourself.

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Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

Jay Levinson has sold over 20 million books on Guerrilla Marketing making him the top selling marketing author in history.

Jay Levinson shared with audience the 19 secrets of Guerrilla Marketing. In essence a formula for effectively executing this brilliant grass-roots type marketing. Guerrilla marketers measure success based upon profit, not sales volume, web traffic or how well a name is recognized. With my experience in Social Media and sales I thought I would share with you how you can use this formula to effectively execute a Guerrilla Social Media Marketing Campaign. I have shared these tips three at a time on my blog as series. Today I’m putting them all in one place.

According to Jay if you memorize these secrets, you will exceed your most optimistic expectations in business. All of these secrets end in “ent”:

1. Commitment – Mediocre will win over brilliant. The key lesson here is stay the course. Your social media efforts, whether it is blogging, video podcasts, twitter or a combination of these tools must be executed with a one to two year commitment. Stick with it, it will pay big.
2. Investment – Guerrilla marketing is a recession proof investment. It will pay better than any traditional financial investment. The key thing is you will need to invest in Social Media. This will come not in dollars but time, energy, ability, money, reputation
3. Consistent – Don’t change your identity. Brands, relationships, trust, and technology all take time for adoption and acceptance. Be consistent with your message and on-line social media identity.
4. Confident – You must be confident and instill confidence in the customer. Use social media to listen to your customers. Jay says, “Service is anything the customer wants it to be.” Listen! He goes on to say, “Quality is what customers get out of your product. “ This is great information that can help you provide specific, on topic, brilliant solutions to your target market’s pains.
5. Patient – Be patient. Be patient with yourself, it will take you time to master the Guerrilla Marketing “Weapons of Social Media.” Be patient as you build a community online, build roots and a foundation that will be un-shakable. Be patient with your target market, they will rush in to use and engage in social media, but they will do it in their time-frame.
6. Assortment of Weapons – Use a diversity of tools. Start with a blog or highly socially enabled site. Then use and master all of the major tools. You will identify over time which ones you have a talent for using, and which ones your market responds to best. Today these tools may include:
   • Blogging
   • Video Podcasting (YouTube, Viddler etc.)
   • FaceBook
   • Linkedin
   • Flickr
   • Twitter
   • Forums
   • Ning.com
   • Digg
   • StumbleUpon
   • FriendFeed
   • Google Profiles
   • Tumblr
   • Ubertor (for Realtors)
   • Meetup.com
7. Convenient – “Time is money is a lie. Time is life, don’t waste their time.” – Jay Levinson. This is critical, don’t make people work hard to find your information or consume the great content you create. Also don’t waste their time with 10 minute videos when you could say it in 3 minutes or even better, 3 Twitter tweets. Brevity is key in Guerrilla Social Media Marketing
8. Subsequent – Always know what’s next, don’t write an e-book, write a series of e-books. Don’t just solve one customer pain, be in search of the next big thing that can help those who are connected with you.
9. Amazement – “Tell stories because stories are not boring.” – People love stories, that’s why they follow you on Twitter, they are following the story of your personal brand at 140 characters at a time. Stories spark passion, get good at using social media to tell stories.
10. Measurement – Measure your success, use tools like Google Analytics to track the traffic and behavior of those arrive at your site as a result of your social media activities. Don’t just measure profits either. Look at happiness, education, network growth, and positive community impact these are all other forms of profit.
11. Involvement – Listen and engage, or even better give them platforms to communicate and share. Then jump into the conversation and let them know that you hear them. This could be building a Ning.com social network for people who are in your industry. It may be starting a new LinkedIn or FaceBook group. You can also use a tool like Meetup.com to get your online community to meet offline and cement relationships.
12. Dependent – “The guerrilla’s job is not to compete but to cooperate with other businesses. Market them in return for them marketing you. Set up tie-ins with others. Become dependent to market more and invest less.” Begin to blog, do interviews and profile your cooperative competitors online and many will reciprocate and help you grow your following and client base.
13. Armament – Arm yourself with all of the social media tools that your customer consumes or uses. Also find new markets through arming yourself with new social networks and mediums.
14. Consent – Permission is number one if you are going to be a Guerrilla Social Media marketer. Take time to build trust and relationships and never overstate or overstep your relationships online with pitches and unsolicited messaging.
15. Content – “Substance wins over style” Give real value, unique content and do it often with multiple social media weapons. If you want to dominate your marketplace using social media give more, and give more often. Your community and Google’s robots will reward you!
16. Augment – Augment your attack; audit yourself and your strategy constantly. The world of social media is growing by the millions of members every month. You have to stay up on the tools and on the demographics of each medium. NHL Superstar Wayne Gretzky attributes his success on the ice to always knowing where the hockey puck was going to be versus where it was in the moment. He was always ahead of the game. You need to be the same way in the social media space. Ask: “What’s next?”
17. Congruent – Make sure that all of your tools and messages work together. You should be layering each blog entry, twitter update, or FaceBook post like bricks in a building. They all are valuable but contribute to a greater masterpiece, your brand and reputation.
18. Experiment – You will have little failures before you have one big success. Constantly test and be curious about the psychology behind what motivates and engages your customers, prospects and the online communities you participate. Remember that penicillin and gun powder were both invented by accident. Have fun, be engaging and bold and most importantly observe everything.
19. Implement – The world belongs to those who are willing to implement. Put a solid marketing calendar together that includes core social media disciplines. Blog at least 3 times per week, update your Twitter status five or more times per day, spend at least 30 minutes a day pro-actively listening to your audience. Constantly devour information on how to hone your skills as a Guerrilla Social Media Marketer.

Here it is:

Can You Use Social Media To Get International Sales For Your Business?

As a small business owner based in France targeting North American clients, social media makes good sense for me. And it works my business. Why? Because there are no significant barriers created by cultural differences between the social media I use and the people I connect with.

If you want use social media to develop your international business, there are two things you need to remember.

Sales Techniques

You will need to develop strong international sales negotiation techniques.

This comes with practice. But you must be willing to put in the personal effort needed to develop these skills.

Adapt Your Business

Have a look at the 5 different cultural scales outlined by Geert Hofstede:

· High versus Low Power Distance

· Individualism versus Collectivism

· Masculinity versus Femininity

· High versus Low Uncertainty Avoidance

· Long versus Short Term Orientation

What are these scales? They are an attempt to categorize and explain cultural differences.

I will not go into them here, but click through the link above. It is a very interesting table. You will see scores for a long list of countries for all 5 of these scales. And you can choose your country and another one to see how the two sets of cultural differences compare.

Although these 5 scales seem complex and they have their limitations, it is easy to understand why you need to approach people from different cultures differently.

And International Social Media?

Read the news and open your ears. Social media has hit the world everywhere. Here are a few points to remember:

· There are different social medial platforms in different countries

· What is popular in one country may not be popular in another one

· People use social media differently

It is not easy to get international social media statistics. And I am not sure I would even begin trying to get a comprehensive world vision of social media.

I suggest another approach…

Instead of taking on the whole planet, simply because social media is “free’:

· Keep your business in mind.

· Choose one country and jump into their social media environment.

Do not start with social media marketing. Instead:

· Start with social media networking

Get to know how people use social media in their country and then work on finding out how to adapt marketing your business in this new country.

There are some international social media networking scenarios where it is easy to create business relationships from a distance.

If you have any international social media stories to share, I would love to hear them. Please leave a comment below and tell me how you have used social media within part of your sales process.

Cindy King is a Cross-Cultural Marketer & International Sales Strategist based in France.  She uses her dual background in sales & marketing to help businesses improve their international sales conversion and develop country-specific international sales guides. Connect with her on Twitter @CindyKing

To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!

Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!

Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

1.     Use http://www.backtype.com/ to search blog comments about you, your blog or a topic.

2.     Social media is too new for Gurus. We’re all amateurs! That’s what makes it fun and open.

3.     Social Media Phases: Adoption, Population, Pollination, Aggregation, Splintering, Commercializing, and Globalizing.

4.     Social media is here to stay and has more relevance and power everyday.

5.     Embracing and understanding how to use social media is a core life skill, leadership skill and career building skill.

6.     Social media is social. It’s about helping people connect to people using technology, it embodies truly what the internet was intended for.

7.     Social media is not just about technology, it’s a new way of leading, thinking, and connecting with other people.

8.     Social media belongs to all of us. An ordinary consumer, a front line employee, a political activist in Iran all have access and a voice.

9.     You need different messaging for client retention than you do for attraction.

10. Statistics tend to be a history lesson. Growth and human behavior are rarely linear. Listen to customers and staff.

11. Use social listening tools: http://www.collecta.com/ http://www.twitority.com/ http://socialmention.com/ http://www.twazzup.com/

12. Develop a social media policy and set of guidelines to keep your team on track and on message.

13. You can force someone to be social, you can only give them the tools and training.

14. Worry less about selling and more about connecting and rapport.

15. Read Free the Future of a Radical Price before launching your next marketing campaign.

16. Read “Ignore Everybody” by Hugh Macleod if you want to tap into your social media creativity.

17. Spend time each day promoting and contributing to another blogger’s success.

18. What works for you now will only keep working until it is no longer unique. Keep innovating.

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Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

22 Types of Updates You Can Post on Twitter:

1. Where you are physically located at that moment.
2. A link to a picture of an event you are at (using Twitpic.com)
3. A question about a business challenge
4. A question about a popular topic in the news
5. Share a link to your most recent blog entry
6. Share a tip on your area of expertise
7. Share a link to a breaking news story
8. Retweet someone’s update that your followers would find useful
9. Answer someone’s question
10. A link to a picture of a social outing (using Twitpic)
11. A link to an image of a diagram that would explain a business process or ideas
12. A link to an event that you are promoting or that is happening in the community
13. A link to a community event of value
14. A link to a sale or business promotion that will save people money
15. Promote a person who just joined Twitter
16. Promote and thank some of your favorite people on twitter
17. Thank someone who has linked to your blog or retweeted your updates
18. Upload a photo of a sunset or your natural surroundings
19. Praise someone for great content they have created.
20. Review a restaurant, movie or business in 140 characters or less.
21. Share some of you favorite quotes from authors and famous people
22. Share a link to a whitepaper or press release

This is blogathon entry #4.

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Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank

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Now lets look at a screen cap of the following this Techcrunch Entry titled Our Reaction To Your Reactions To the Twitter Confidential Documents Post

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The irony for me is using an image called “Ethics 101″ but it’s an image of the book cover “Ethics 101″ cutting off the authors name and without attribution.  I know this is minor, but as a “blogging 101″ lesson for anyone; don’t take images that are not yours and give credit where credit is due.  I wonder if after ones blog gets huge and you have 1000′s of visitors per hour if you no longer have to obey common blogging and attribution etiquette? (I could be wrong, maybe they used the exact font etc. and layout and this is a total coincidence, but well I don’t think so.)

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this?