Posts Tagged ‘Social Media’
For The Love of The Game
For many business is a game, the game has rules that attempt to make it a level playing field. The Internet is changing this game, the rules are being broken and the players are blowing big business away. Don’t kid yourself though, big business is catching on and they are making in roads where early adopters roamed untouched.
The best part of this game, anyone can participate, but it’s not for the weak of heart and get rich quick schemers. If you come to play, be prepared to work hard, study hard, listen hard and search hard. You will need every ounce of passion & desire, all the smarts and energy you can muster up. Why? Because this game only tolerates those willing to pay the price, period. The game never ends, it’s 24/7 and it can last your entire life, do you have what it takes? Billy Chapel lasted 20 years and finished with his head held high, he paid the price, he had nothing left to leave on the field. Is that you? Are you willing to stay and carve out your place in the game?
One thing this game requires, a place you would call home base, a place where you go from and return to, the place where you build community and trust. I would highly recommend that you invest your time there, why, because everything on the Internet keeps changing and you could be left out in the cold. Your Blog or website only changes when you want it too, you don’t have control over the Internet and it’s content, so you best invest at home. If you want to survive and play at a high level you need to start at home, that’s rule #1 in the game.
If you don’t love the game you play hard, you won’t see it through, you won’t dig deep and work for your dreams. You have to do it for the love of the game.
My 100th Blog Post!
It seemed like it’s taken forever to reach the century mark on my Blog, maybe it’s because writing is labor to me. I love to write but I didn’t master the English language like so many others that have gone before me here on the Internet. I set a goal this month to write an article or post everyday, so how am I doing? Let’s see, it’s October 21st so that means I should have 21 posts this month right? This post would make #20 for the month of October so I should say something deep and important so that it matters. 🙂
I will say this, if you haven’t started a Blog or are thinking about it, talk to a few veteran Blogger’s who have been doing it for awhile before embarking. I don’t mean that in a negative way, I didn’t ask and just jumped in, so I’ve made a ton of mistakes. The good news is, I overcame the blunders for the most part and things seem to be moving in the right direction.
The #1 best thing I did was to adopt Social Media Networks, all my reader’s have come from Twitter, FriendFeed, FaceBook & Google. Now I haven’t paid for traffic in any way, it’s all organic in nature, so I’m not lighting it up.
The secret to Social Media is service, help people, provide good information and resources and you will build credibility and trust over time. I’m still in the infancy stages of my Blog, afterall, 100 Blog posts isn’t much in the grand scheme of things. In the end you must keep your word and care for each and every person you come into contact with, do whatever it takes to keep those relationships healthy. In the end, that’s all that matters…the relationship.
A couple great books on this topic belong to two people I would consider Mentor’s, Chris Brogan & Julien Smith’s TRUST AGENTS and Gary Vaynerchuk’s CRUSH IT! (Amazon links) They are as solid as you get on building relationship’s online and working insane hours on your passion.
So, THANK YOU all who have clicked the RSS button my Blog, those who keep coming back to see what I’m yakking about now and especially those who follow me on all the Social Media Networks on the Internet, without you I would have no reason to write and be here. Thank you and Many Blessings to you from every part of my heart!
Always ask yourself this question when you wake up everyday:
How Many People Are Better Off Because You Lived?
The 3 P's of Social Media
I was working on a project today and found myself being distracted, sometimes you have these epiphany’s that give you a perspective you never had before right smack in the middle of working hard. You know what I’m talking about, the subconscious never stops, we day dream, we scheme, we plan and sometimes we get deep. So here it is, I stopped working to write this because it wouldn’t leave me alone!
The 3 P’s of Social Media
- Presence
- Placement
- Participation
Presence
It’s not that complicated, we do these three without giving them a second thought or give them the credit they deserve. We all have presence at some level or another here on the Internet, some are very influential through their presence and become high profile, maybe you. Each organization, group or person has a different strategy to ensure that presence. Some may even be misleading, but I like to believe most are honest and true to their mission and vision. Doing the right thing right, being honest, having integrity, the very things required to be of value and trust worthy. Without those qualities your presence could be damaged without you knowing about it.
I wrote about the three parts of a social media marketer back in June:
- Marketing Knowledge
- They are Entertainer’s
- A dynamic personality.
Those three components add up to people that are, savvy, have trust and brand. Don’t take my word for it, follow them, watch, listen and learn.
The 3 P’s are really a platform those three parts leverage, we could go deep six on characteristics and personality profiling but that’s not what this is about.
The dictionary’s definition of Presence:
– the state or fact of being present, as with others or in a place.
In order to be successful in anything you must have presence, you must be present, you have to show up! Showing up is 90% of success in my humble opinion. What you do with that presence sets you apart from everyone, why? There is only one you!
Placement
In order to have presence you have be present somewhere, to be seen or heard, that’s where placement play’s it’s role. It’s part of your strategy in building a presence, in your marketing efforts, and is the playing field to which your brand can have success in the top of mind awareness game.
The definition of Placement:
– the act of placing
– the state of being placed
Where do place your presence? The Internet is the platform that allows all players a level playing field, but not all understand the power of how to leverage the Internet. The Internet is home to a new thing called Social Media, to be frank, Social Media is old news really, it’s always been around under different names and activities. There are literally hundreds of Social Media Networks, you probably know many of them, Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube, Tumblr, FriendFeed and so on. The principles of these networks are primarily the same, how you participate is the critical thing. Give considerable thought to how you present yourself, because it impacts your Social currency and only you can ensure that currency brings value.
Participation
The strategy is done and the presence component has been determined, also where that presence will be maximized, and now you have to heed the call to action…you have to participate. Without this action of participating you have a strategy going no where, it looks good on paper and that’s just where it will stay. Once you have determined placement, you will participate with consistency, persistence and deliver a message that is compelling and powerful.
The definition of Participation:
– the fact of taking part, as in some action or attempt: participation in a celebration
– an act or instance of participating.
Now I know you’re thinking these things are common sense and you are right. We do these things without thinking really, like breathing. The problem isn’t doing them, the problem is not giving these things the respect they deserve, they need their 15 minutes of fame. That’s what I’m doing here, oh sure you could probably explain this better than I but, this is my epiphany 🙂
Take inventory of your strategy and make sure you have given the 3 P’s it’s due attention.
If I Was In Real Estate Today
If I was in Real Estate Today, the very first thing I would do is identify my PURPOSE, the why I think I should be using Social Media Networks. This would appear obvious but it can be misleading, if you don’t believe Social Media will increase revenue, help build a stronger market share and develop community around your brand, your right, the strategy will be an exercise in futility. If you do, get to work and build a plan.
Get started by doing the following:
- List requirements needed to implement strategy
- Key Result Areas – What are they
- Discern objectives
- Identify Key Success Factors
- List Core Competencies
- Complete a S.W.O.T. Analysis, a plan needs to be well thought out.
Once you’ve completed the above get the following action items flushed out and then make it happen.
- Setup accounts on multiple Social Media Networks and get active, participate, get involved in the communities…then….listen to what is being said, what is happening and where it’s being said. Never stop listening, never stop having a presence in these communities. People come back to things and places that are useful to them. Especially if you can help them.
- Use all SM Networks like Twitter, FriendFeed, YouTube, Viddler, Tumblr, FaceBook, StumbleUpon, Digg, Del.icio.us, Technorati, MySpace, LinkedIn, Seesmic, UStream.tv, and BlogTalkRadio. There are many more.
- Blogging is a must, convert or add a Blog to an existing website, this is where you build community and give customers a place to go and something to do.
- Take advantage of video, do LIVE open house events streamed via UStream.tv or one of the other web broadcasting services. Record those events and archive them, build a library, make them available to anyone to view at their leisure. These video’s can also be training or teaching prospects on what questions to ask, how to and so on.
- Do a live web radio show, field questions on a live video show that has Twitter embedded so it’s real-time.
- Do video interviews, record testimonials…etc.
- Sponsor or Host a major Social Media Event, these events charge for attendance and should not only cover expenses but should realize a profit. Bring in people who are actually doing or using Social Media at a high level, not just lip service.
- Hire or contract a Community Management Officer or a Social Media Director.
- Get Educated on Social Media, attend major conferences and get around those who are high profile in Social Media, and read books for more insight.
I’m just scratching the surface of your plan, but make sure you actually have a plan before jumping into the Social Media mayhem.
This doesn’t have to be difficult, it doesn’t have to be hard, but one thing you do, is work if you wish to realize the results you want from your efforts. It will take time, money and above all else, EFFORT! Whether you are a Broker or an agent, it makes no difference, build a plan, work the plan. But hey, you already know that, but do you know the technology and how to implement it? Do you know how to prepare? Are you willing to pay the price?
In this business, success is not measured by fitting in, it’s by standing out. (Mad Men)
Social Media won't be called Social in the near Future
I was unable to attend BlogWorld EXPO 2009 in Las Vegas this week but it was streamed on a site called Mycontent.com, the service worked very well yesterday but day two was not smooth at all, but the audio was rock solid. So I watched from a far, the real stuff happens after and in between the sessions and of course all the after parties. The meetings after the meeting so to speak. I would love to have been a fly on the wall at many but technology hasn’t made it possible to be in two or three places at once just yet.
This event was chalked full of amazing people sharing and encouraging all of us, but also to help one another, to work together, and build each other up rather than put down and tear down. Chris Brogan as usual brings it with such authority and conviction, he works hard to relate all that he has learned, not from books, from his experiences. Chris doesn’t just preach, he has done or has walked through the experience of what he shares, either himself or a client he was helping. One of my favorite quotes from Chris’s Keynote was, ” Equip the people you want to do business with and they will want to do business with you “. Most people are always thinking about what they can get out of a given relationship or interaction, what I take from Chris is the opposite, help without getting first, then in time you will be rewarded at some level. This does not mean you will get money every time you get something back, it may be in the form of recognition, praise and or being referred to as a trust agent.
I struggle with these major events because there are so many of them and I can’t afford to attend all of them, not always because of cost but because of location and time. I also recognize that you don’t get as much out of the speakers and sessions unless you are actually attending, watching on the Internet doesn’t do any of these events justice in my humble opinion.
An announcement made today on the first panel of day two; State of the Blogosphere Address: Richard Jalichandra & Opening Keynote Address: The Death and Rebirth of Journalism, The announcement was this, Everytime you tweet #beatcancer in the next 24 hours a donation is made by BWE09 (Blogworld EXPO 2009), Tweet’s like this one are choking the Twitter fire-hose:
@scottmonty The organizers of #bwe09 are trying for a world record. RT #beatcancer to raise $ to beat cancer.
There is another shift taking place and it’s the new name of Social Media, it won’t be called Social in the near future or from this event forward, the new name will be….The New Media! This name will represent all types of media, not just the online world but traditional media as well. We’ll see how it takes. Until next time.