Posts Tagged ‘Social Media’
My Goals for Owen Greaves Consulting in 2010
I spent many years just winging it, just responding to what felt right and mostly what felt good, sound familiar? I have found that there are more business owners, check that, most people were doing the same thing. As I mentioned in my previous post, we spend more time planning a two week vacation than we do our careers and our lives. Why is that? I suspect due to a lack of knowledge, a poor understanding of what’s at stake here….it’s your life and you only get one chance to do it. Enough about that, I want to share with you what drives me and what my vision for Owen Greaves Consulting is for 2010.
I have met and worked for many, many business owners, CIO’s, COO’s, and they all struggle with the same things for the most part. They know what they want to do, but don’t really know how to build and implement a strong I.T. Plan. I.T. visionaries are way ahead of the rest of the organization, think of a funnel, you have a narrowing in the middle, a wide open area at one end and small opening at the other end. The visionary is out in the wide open section and instructs back to the small opening at the other end to do this or that. A short period of time goes by and he / she is frustrated because what they saw and instructed is not done. Why?
The workers back at the small opening can’t see the big picture through the narrow opening in the middle, they don’t see what the visionary see’s way out there, they can’t even see where he is. The problem is at the narrow opening in the middle right? There has to be someone there that can clearly articulate what the visionary wants done back to the people (workers) in the small opening at the back. You might say things get lost in translation, it can happen if the person in the middle does not clearly understand what the visionary wants!
So what does this have to do with my vision for 2010. It’s obvious to me that there is a bigger problem than the funnel, it’s the man in the middle. Having someone who can build the plan so the workers can get done what the visionary wants completed. My vision, to help that person or organizations with a simple way to build that Strategic Technology Plan and to ensure that all businesses indeed do have a plan. Most don’t, they rely on internal staff, staff that don’t know how to build a plan because they are frankly too close to the problem(s). Most business owners think they know how, but they all too often are using the wrong filters to truly understand what the I.T. Plan should look like and be. Some of the smartest business people in the world don’t fully understand what needs to be in the I.T. Strategic Plan, hence they should hire the right people and or consultants to help build that strategy. No matter how big or small your business is, you should have a good plan on how technology will drive your business.
Most organizations have not documented what thier business processes are! How could they possibly know which software application, payroll, HR, CRM software and what have you to implement if they don’t know each and every process it takes to get the job done in a day. My goal is to ensure as many businesses / owners as possible have a good I.T. Plan. This has very little to do with Social Media but it has much to do with Technology overall. Social Media happens to be a large part of my work at the moment and it’s the hot topic of discussion everywhere I go.
My Plans for 2010:
- Increase Public Speaking Engagements – on The New Technology, I.T. Strategies / Planning
- To educate and teach 100 businesses develop an I.T. Strategic Plan. (roughly 8 new businesses per month)
- Develop a video series on developing I.T. Strategic Plans. ( The I.T. Strategic Planning Series)
- Continue working on my next eBook, The New Technology Pt 2. (hope to complete by end of 2010)
- Write more often on my Blog. (daily if possible)
- Get more subscribers on my Blog.
- And of course, increase revenues ( I have to put that on here)
If you don’t have a list of items or targets, stop right now and make one…make two! What are you aiming for in 2010 and how do you plan to hit your targets? Better yet, what’s your I.T. Strategy for 2010?
I can see a problem with my list already, if I want to be successful, I have to find a few things to not consider doing. I may have to hire or partner up if I want to achieve all my goals.
What’s On Your List?
Advertising on Social Media Networks Like Twitter
It was and is only a matter of time before advertising hits Social Media Networks as a way of life, building a following or a Social Media Community means eyeballs to big business. Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace and so on have built huge communities, within these communities individuals have built large followings. Large followings is taking on new definition every day as more and more people join all these Social Media Networks, the larger the following the higher the return for advertisers.
I decided to experiment with a new service called Ad.ly, you’ll see the banner ad to the right, they are holding a promotion right now to encourage you to try them out. I’m referring you!
The promotion is:
Make Money and Win a Macbook for Referring Friends…
If you want more information just click on the 1st Banner ad to the right and decide for yourself if it’s something for you. They assign an advertiser to your account and then you will be promoting that advertisers products or service. Most Bloggers are always looking for ways to make money online, if they say they aren’t, I would suggest if they suddenly got 1,000 bux a month because of it they wouldn’t turn it down.
Now the jury is still out on this advertising program on Twitter but at some point there will a saturation point because literally thousands will start companies to do the same thing. It’s SPAM at a nother level really, we all will be deluged with millions of Tweets and Updates pushing a product or service. It’s just a matter of time.
As I mentioned, I’m not sure how I feel about it but in order for me to speak intelligently about it I have say I actually tried it. So, stay tuned as I go down this trail, I will continue to write about the experience. Personally, I think you should find out for yourself rather than take someone else’s word for it.
Let me know what you think, is this a good thing, are you ok with these types of programs?
Why Corporation's Don't Get Social Media
This has been on mind for some time now, why corporations don’t get social media. I may be way off base here but there are primarily two or three reasons why they don’t or can’t wrap their brians around what’s happening in the new way marketing.
1.) They haven’t tried, touched, or even asked what the meaning of Social Media is or is not.
2.) Don’t have a clear understanding of Outbound & Inbound Marketing concepts.
3.) Only know how to Broadcast – push, sell products & services.
4.) View a relationship as a sale only.
I’m sure this list could be longer but it’s clear to me that unless there is a simple way of helping the highly educated (constipated) executives, this isn’t going to change anytime soon. Why do a very small few get it and the majority don’t? Fear of Change, Fear of Loss, Fear of not seeing the big picture due to a poor understanding of what they are being asked to participate in.
I know a particular business owner who has been picking my brain, wants to understand the details first, make sure he experiences somekind of ROI before commiting to this new marketing environment. This would lead me to item #5 – CONTROL – there is a fear of losing control like never before, look at the music industry, a prime example of the fear of losing money. Eventually, music will be free, or at least some kind of Collective License that allows for a mutual interest rather than a monopoly.
It’s not all the business owners & executives fault. The fault lies with those who consider themselves experts in this Social Media environment, provide poor information and relate the message that only confuses them more.
This has been written about before, I’m not saying anything new here. The truth is it will never change, just as there are criminals, Internet Marketers and Social Media Experts…there will always be people looking to find a short cut to success. Most people don’t want to wait, have patience and or do the work, they just want to cash grab and do as little as possible. Knowing that, I’m not shocked or surprised at how business owners respond when the topic of Social Media comes up.
So what’s the answer? Do your homework, get a good understanding of what your prospect or client is asking, learn what Social Media is, learn Social Media’s place in the marketing mix, and above all….if you don’t know, shut your mouth or say I don’t know but I’ll find out. Don’t spew crap so you don’t look bad, tell the truth and go on the journey with your prospective client, better yet, invite someone who does understand to the meeting. This problem #6 – poor representation which means the wrong information is being shared.
I’ve ranted enough on the topic, there’s a Social Media Mess out there and it’s up to us to clean it up. If Social Media is putting the power back into the hands of we the people, then let’s make sure we are using that power correctly and for good.
Why Corporation’s Don’t Get Social Media? You tell me, I’m just one voice, one person listening to business owners in my area, what are you coming up against and how are you being part of the solution?
Two Key Factors To Your Social Media Success
Technology is growing at an exponential rate; we truly have no way of keeping up via traditional means when it comes to tracking. Organizations struggle to stay focused, struggle to maintain, and struggle to provide systems and services that meet their business objectives. The shift in how business gets done is making it more and more difficult to maintain profit margins and business lifestyles that most are accustom to.
Today’s I.T. Strategic Planning is shedding its skin and taking on a new look and meaning. Ramping up I.T. staff is no longer the norm; reducing I.T. Teams and virtualization is; it allows organizations to be more financially responsible. CIO’s have a tougher time justifying their existence, the role is becoming more and more extinct, and is easily handled without the large investment in overhead. As much as it pains me to say that, I have to accept the new landscape of how Information Technology is implemented and managed. There’s still a need for CIO’s in large organizations but new companies are building streamlined teams, technology allows for startups to have fewer management roles. This new model allows for higher profits and less management of people.
Customer service is making a huge shift in what it means, Customer Service or Support is NOT fixing or adding a new feature, it is about Communication and Solving problems. This gap is hurting far too many businesses, they need to pay attention and listen to what their customers are saying about them, what they want from them.
Small businesses are literally taking a fetal position when it comes to understanding the change taking place, that the Internet is empowering the individual rather than the large organization. The power of the person has been lifted to a level no one saw coming, all because of the Internet. The Internet is the game changer; the Internet was and is clearly misunderstood by the smaller Mom & Pop businesses. The Internet solved the problem of digital distribution, this is an Access Based Economy where we click to get. The transition for small business can be easy to most difficult, undertsanding technology or how technology will help them is the key.
If there ever was a need in your local marketplace it’s helping those small business understand that they won’t be able to continue as they have and enjoy the life they hoped to build when they opened the doors. More importantly, those business owners need to learn about humility, be willing to say they don’t understand and do indeed need help with the Internet. Most small business owners had an Entrepreneurial Seizure, they thought because they knew how to do the work they knew how to run a business. I recommend reading Michael Gerber’s book, The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It
Today a couple of things scream for attention in my humble opinion:
1. Listening – Listen to what is being said about your brand and or business.
2. Filtering Content is more important than creating it.
Listening & Filtering Content are two key factors to your Social Media success, small & big businesses at large still haven’t grasped these two concepts with any kind of clarity.
We are in an Extreme Reputation Economy, popularity is becoming a Social Capital, and it will be as valuable as real money in the coming months if it hasn’t happened already. How you present yourself, your product, and your business will generate a reputation, take the time to craft your reputation.
What do you think?
RTs & Tags – Will They Help You Rise To The Top?
The conversation of Ubiquity makes the early adopters and experts cringe, it means quantity over quality. By that I mean, Social Media allows everyone to participate, be all things to everyone, build a niche, create a following and then brand. Part of the problem is Social Media attracts poor quality and mediocrity, not too mention the Spammers and unethical Internet Marketers. It will water down everything and make it harder to be found or heard because of all the noise.
Frankly, mediocrity is what we’ve had under the control model, big business, traditional marketing and so on. Social Media’s mass ubiquity model changes the control model, the control model deals with people formerly known as consumers. Today we all do things to get traction, to get attention and be heard. That traction is the result of engagement, exposure and attention. Whatever is good comes to the top. The key is to find the point of attention, being different and unique, that is not going to change.
It’s true the biggest challenge is the noise and staying on top of trends. Finding the point of attention helps solve that problem, there’s more to it of course but it’s a start. Filtering content these days is becoming more important than creating it, there is much to be done here, tools that make it easier and faster to filter content will help the best of the best rise to the top. One of the useful tools to rising to the top is being tagged & RT’d to be heard. RTs & Tags will play a huge role in identifying quality content and quality people.
So what does Mass Ubiquity mean? How does the cream rise to the top? It’s simple really, it’s based on Merit. I’m generalizing here but the masses will put you on Lists, RT your work, Tag you and Like you for the work you’ve done. These features will help you rise to the top. Measuring these indicators will be another interesting equation, but we have great people out there like Olivier Blanchard to make sure we focus on the right metrics.
RTs & Tags, these WOM (Word Of Mouth) tools and terms are becoming the secret sauce of Social Media Rock Star’s & Trust Agent’s we know today. But in the end, quality is good and crap is not. The RTs, Tags, Likes and Lists will work towards that end, manage your brand, do the right things and you will live long and prosper here on the Internet. Social Capital will be as important as real money. Why? Because we are in an extreme reputation economy, word of mouth matters more today than it ever has.
RTs & Tags – Will They Help You Rise To The Top?
What do you think?