This is great as people are always building new and better solutions based on user experiences or to address some new need.

Should you always be pursuing the latest and greatest? There probably isn’t an definitive answer to that. On the one hand it is worth keeping an eye on what is emerging – take an interest and (here is perhaps the critical point) see if it is a great fit for your business and marketing plans. On the other hand there seems to be a danger equally worthy of consideration and it’s this: “Is this, as cool as it is, actually a distraction?”

Is the cool tactic your new best friend? There is a danger of completely switching direction. You know the sort of thing. You have been using the same tactic for a while and it’s been working, but, well….. it’s kind of familiar now and this great, cool new thing just emerged. Perhaps I should try that instead?

Here is the rub. Checking out the latest is usually a good idea. Unless you are certain it will negate everything that you were doing before, doesn’t it make sense to consider whether it is a replacement or simply complimentary or (horror) actually quite cool but not a good fit for you (however much fun it might be)?

Effective marketing requires a great understanding of your target market. Your marketing plans to address that market should be fluid enough to embrace new tools and tactics that can help, but the overall framework should always be there. Without it, cool stuff can easily become a “bright, shiny thing” that is tough to resist and quickly becomes a distraction, not adding to the overall marketing effectiveness.

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One of the many books currently addressing social media and its use in business is: Socialnomics by Eric Qualman. It is an interesting read for the authors take on the marketing and the subtleties of using online tools. More interesting was the direct message I received from the author (on Twitter) when I made a similar comment on that platform.

This is not unusual today but it shows that it is worth listening to your audience. Keeping in touch with your constituency is important and makes them feel heard. Surely you want your prospects to know that you are listening, and aware of their issues? This is so different from many marketing approaches where the emphasis is on “telling” your prospects all about yourself and your company.

Although this is an online example it applies to all marketing efforts. The issues and challenges your prospects and clients are dealing with is central to them. Your message will be much mire effective when it plugs into these areas. Listening to what those problems are is a great way to find out what sort of message will resonate with them.

Online tools can make this easier. However they also allow for simple broadcasting of a message. Keeping in touch and listening to what your target audience is dealing with is far more powerful and will give you great insight into what your message can best address. Simply sending a message that lists your services, or tells everyone how great you are is easy online – there is little or no immediate feedback. However online as well as offline, staying connected to, and addressing prospects concerns will be far more productive.

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Does marketing change online? Are different skills required?

Before addressing that let’s consider one of the key differences that relates to the medium itself. That is: You are sitting in front of a monitor/laptop/iphone/blackberry when you are marketing. That is a significant change from face to face. Why? Because you do not have the advantage of immediate feedback and body language to tell how your message is being received.

Of course, you don’t get that in traditional marketing activities such as advertising and direct mail, but on a computer you can generate and send out material quickly, without necessarily having to think too hard, and it’s free! You are likely to spend far more time composing your message etc. for a direct mail campaign.

Effective marketing hasn’t changed with the medium. In other words you are still trying to do the same things that are central to success in marketing your small business.

1. Grab attention from your best prospects
2. Build interest credibility and trust
3. Discuss whether working together is a good “fit”
4. Leading to the hiring decision

The first of these is critical, and a potentially great role for online activities.

However there is a potential issue here. The anonymity of internet sites can embolden you to behaviors you would NEVER demonstrate in person. Because you are denied the immediate feedback, there is less opportunity to decide whether an approach is working or actually upsetting people.

On line this can lead to overt selling before steps 1 and 2 mentioned above have ever been completed. In other words the equivalent of standing on a table at a networking event shouting: “Over here everyone, look at me! Have I got a great deal for you today!” It is equally off putting on line.

In addition, there is a limited opportunity for people to call you on extraordinary claims. Hence you see a lot of self-proclaimed “gurus”, “experts” and “mavens” out there. Perhaps it is best to leave those labels to others rather than affix them yourself?

So what is the solution? Basically the rules still apply. In fact they may be more important given the competition for attention online. The things that work off line can easily be adapted to online applications and the underlying principles still apply.

1. Give value – your expertise is attractive to prospects. Give some of that value away. This can be in the form of tips, ideas, links you found useful, articles for others etc. This takes some time to establish but is a far better way to grab attention
2. Contribute – find other blogs, reply when you see something interesting on twitter, answer Linked In Questions. There are many opportunities to get involved but remember rule 1 – give value. It is counter productive to reply to a post with: “I can help you with that, hire me” or similar.
3. Think about your clients and prospects – make your contributions about them, and the issues they are dealing with. Not about how great you are. This will have much more resonance.

These things (and more) apply to all marketing activities. The nature of the medium shouldn’t change that!

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Here are some writers and resources. Enjoy.

John Haydon – HUGE Twitter resource post.

These are John’s great tips on using twitter, twitter tools. He has put together tutorial videos, thoughtful “why to” posts, and always has an honest, up front approach.

Gary Vaynerchuk – What to do instead of a press release.

Gary is the person I turn to when I need a boost. His ideas and his energy is always so positive, encouraging, well-intentioned and useful. In this video, Gary takes a stab at companies that send out press releases instead of being more directed in their storytelling. If you create a compelling way to tell stories…and to have your fans tell stories…and do it again and again and again…then you will be well on your way to connecting with your customers.

Chris Brogan – Thoughts on Nowhere and Nowhen

Chris posts about the future of “stuff” on the web. This is a great blog to follow, and this post hit me when I read it. Take a minute and consider how places…virtual and physical relate to your business. Take a minute and think about how the perception of  your business online is important to you.

Mashable: “How to: Track Social Media Analytics”

From a writer named Ben Parr. Makes you realize how challenging, creative and essential this stuff is. Don’t get frustrated by the seeming complexity of what he describes. If you decide to use social media as a part of your overall marketing plan, take a few minutes to think about what metrics would be important to your business and your efforts. HOW will you measure your investment and your success? HINT: It shouldn’t be in terms of dollars in the door the first week!

Christopher Penn’s Pixelated Business Marketing Conference:

Chris Penn has pulled together a digital conference of speakers on business and marketing topics. Nice idea! You can follow his instructions and schedule a day to “attend” the sessions, or you can dip into them one at a time over the course of a week or so. Either way…this is good stuff.

Go Speed Raser – Using Twitter as a Twool

John Raser is an interesting guy. I found this post via another person I follow on Twitter. For those who want a good snap shot of how Twitter (and other social media tools) has only just begun to change the way we interact, connect, find people, make friends and YES – do business. This is a nicely put together post that illustrates just that. Good resources and good ideas!

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What was his point in asking? He said before a potential client meets with or hires a consultant or coach like us, they will often Google to search for your name. So his question was what comes back in the top organic Google search results. (In other words, ignore any of the pay-per-click or sponsored results – just focus on organic results.)

Go ahead and try it now to see what kind of results you get – Google

Do the results that you see present an online profile that you would want to present? Do the results read like a good advertisment or promotion for you and what you want people to know you do? Would the results you read compell anyone to want to know more?

Just this past weekend, I saw a bit on the local news about creating a Google Profile. It’s something that Google has been working on and made very public this past week. Mine is now up and running and you should get your up also.

If you haven’t been paying attention to your online profile, you should be.

• What happens when someone searches for you online?

• What kind of results do they get back?

• Can they even find you?

• If they do find you, do the results contain any text compelling enough to make them actually click through the results?

It all started when a friend I had worked with in Dallas many years ago called me out of the blue. It was great to hear from him, but because I had changed jobs a couple of times over the years I was curious how he tracked me down. Here is a paraphrasing of the response I got back from him…

“I Googled you man. I can’t believe how many results I found. You’re all over the Internet. I read some of your articles, went to your web site. And, that’s how I found your phone number. So you started a marketing consulting business – what made you decide to do that?”

I was amazed at how much he knew about what I had been up to. As soon as I could get myself back in front of a computer I Googled my name to see what he had found.

This all speaks to the growing importance of the online world. If someone becomes aware of you through whatever means, it’s very likely they’ll Google you to see what they can find out. Toby has spoken about the importance of this in one of his MAC TV episodes worth watching again: Marketing Internet Secrets.

So what does your online profile say about you? Are you happy with what you see when the search results come back? Go ahead and get your Google Profile set up for starters. And start taking control of your online profile.

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Everyone laughed when Kevin Dervin asked this question in the recent Marketing Action Club “Developing Your Attention Grabbing 30 second Message” workshop. But, it’s one of those questions that is at once light-hearted, and also very, very serious.

Everyone wants to attract more people to their business. But, not everyone is ready to admit that what they are doing right now is not working. That is why the first exercises you go through at MAC are all about YOUR mindset.

Are you ready to admit that Social Networking and Social Media can help your company, or help you professionally?

It is the same when we discuss Social Media / Social Networking tools. Everyone has “got one of those”, but not everyone is seeing clearly how to use the tools for business goals. Is your mindset where it needs to be in order to achieve Social Media / Online Marketing success?

Here are a few statements you might have heard (or said!)

Twitter may be useful for some companies, but I don’t really see how or why I should do that? I am already on LinkedIn and Facebook, and they have status updates.

Guess what! That is a limiting mindset, just the same as telling yourself that networking events aren’t useful because everyone is selling. That becomes not quite right if your GOAL is to go to a networking event to find just two people to make a referral to.

Social Networking can become more valuable and more useful to you IF you are willing to adjust your mindset. This is still networking, it is just digital networking, which if done correctly can amplify what you are already doing.

“Facebook is too complicated and is not very well designed. Plus, I use Facebook just to reconnect with my old college friends.”

Both of these statements MAY be true. However, if you recognize yourself in them, are they limiting your use of an incredibly powerful tool?

A) If your business is focused regionally or locally, then why not create a page or group that is locally focused? Facebook gets more powerful the more you participate…but you HAVE to participate in order to see that value.

B) If your goal is to connect a LOT of people to your company or cause…guess what! There are a LOT of people on Facebook. There are a LOT of people on Facebook who know you, but might not know about what you are doing. Tell them. Connect them. Ask for help from your network and it will deliver.

“Blogging is nothing but a waste of time. I don’t want to know what you had for breakfast!”

You may have guessed that we love blogging here at the Marketing Action Club! We have committed to a content-driven marketing approach. What is the approach to marketing, and online marketing, that makes the most sense for you and your business? Have you ever really sat down and thought about that?

Have you ever taken out a piece of paper and dug in to just exactly WHO is your ideal customer? And can you answer with absolute certainty just WHAT that customer’s problem, issue, or challenge is?

Have you ever taken the time to find three or four blogs to follow and comment on those posts? Do you have a list of titles by your desk, ready for you to write the next time you sit down to blog?

Have you ever considered that blogging a) forces you to re-defend your expertise and your business every time you post, and b) it gives you the opportunity to serve your customers, bring value to your interaction, and illustrate your expertise WITHOUT saying, “I am an expert in this.”?

The Marketing Action Club program is all about putting aside limiting mindset issues and spending time actually performing activities which will, if executed regularly and in a focused way, produce results. For us, Social Media efforts are a part of the total picture.

One final question:

Are you really open to the value and power of Social Media?

Please write a comment regarding this post and others. We would love to have you participating in this conversation.

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We might then ask you, Do you ever worry about the ROI of shaking hands and passing out cards at a networking event?

As long as you realize that it is time for you to learn something new, then you will be fine. If you are looking for justification or looking for a reason NOT to use Twitter, then you may be in the wrong conversation. Social Networking will give back what you put into it.

If  you believe that you are in a person-to-person business…Great!

If you are in a company or industry that is driven by word of mouth…Great!

If you are looking for ways to be more productive or more efficient…Great!

If you are looking at how to use online tools to find new people…Great!

The biggest, most important part of developing a thriving social network is to Bring Yourself. A thriving network, whether online or in person, requires effort from you, not auto-responders, not tricky SEO tweaks, not 2,000 followers on Twitter and 2 posts, and not tweet after tweet after tweet of the same collection of keywords re-arranged in different patterns.

If you are a person and you walk into a networking event, do you introduce yourself and start talking about what you do no matter who you are talking to? Or do you first try to find someone to talk to in a relaxed, and personal way? That is the “Social” part of Social Networking – and it is really important!

If you are a company and  you try to sell me stuff without first establishing some kind of connection…it won’t work. Social Networking gives you and I the chance to really connect. If we do, then I will probably send people your way. And I think you will do the same for me. This is how you develop a team of widespread sales people – only by making an authentic connection first.

Just because we call it “social” networking doesn’t mean that these tools aren’t business related. Just remember that LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and many others are about a PERSONAL connection.

So, FIRST Bring Yourself to your Social Networking efforts. Don’t start with your marketing slogan…not your features and benefits…and not your business card. Those things can come later…after I know, like and trust you.

After we connect, THEN you can ask me the sales-related, leading, or “closing” questions IF I am a fit for your service or product…maybe.

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You are in business of finding people who will buy your product or service. THIS is how you find people. You find people when and where they are looking for the thing you do or sell. Stop trying to interrupt your potential customers and spend some time getting to know what they want, where they are, and how to engage them.

These social networking tools: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogging, and many, many others ARE important. You may be choosing to ignore their power, but you do so at your own peril.

Here’s a concept that could help. Follow and observe first before you DO. By this I mean you should “follow” key, successful people or companies or organizations first in order to see what they are doing that makes them successful. You should follow groups of people who are key to your success. Try to digest their conversations / feedback before you jump in with your solution or sales pitch. Follow people, organizations, concepts FIRST before you worry about DOing much of anything.

1) Blog Follow and Comment

Before you spend any time setting up a blog, go find five blogs that are related to your product, service, industry. (Use Google blog search, Technorati search, ask your friends). Just find a few and then schedule time to read them for at least two weeks. Where you feel like it,  join in. The best thing to do is to make really well written comments on posts. Take the time to contribute to the conversation and add value. Always remember to include a link to your site.

Do this for two weeks at least before you set up your own blog. Now you will have followers of your own, you will know what your audience wants to know, and you will have practiced having a schedule for your blogging.

Once you are following bloggers and interacting with them, NOW you are beginning to develop a) people who you can tell about your new blog, and b) several sources for blog titles / subjects.

2) Twitter Follow

Following people is what you do on Twitter once you get going with the tweeting. However, for this blog post, what I mean is following a term/word in order to find your audience.

a. Set up your Twitter profile. Trust me…even if you don’t get Twitter,  you need to go ahead and do this. THIS is really important to your business.

b. Now go download either tweetdeck or alertthingy. (there may be other tools to use, but these are key to the following I am suggesting.)

c. Follow a Term. Tweetdeck is the best option for this, but others can operate in similar ways. Click on the search.twitter.com icon on Tweetdeck and enter a term that is essential to your company or industry. Keep it to one or two words.

d. Follow the Results. Now you should have a column in your tweetdeck interface that displays the results. Suddenly, you have a snapshot of the last several days of tweets from people who used your term.

e. Follow Key Influencers. Now you have a snapshot of the traffic, the buzz, the reaction to your term. 1) You should keep that column open and watch the tweets for several days. 2) You should identify Key people who are driving the conversation, or an influencer who keeps getting “Re-Tweeted.” Follow those people, send them an @reply, or Direct msg them if there is something to talk about.

3) LinkedIn Follow

Many people I meet have been invited to LinkedIn, but they are still asking, “Now What?” The answer is to FOLLOW. Two examples:

a) Join a Group

First, take the time to set up your profile ALL the way and begin connecting, networking and growing your broader network.

Second, ask your network what groups they are a part of. Join a group that relates to your product, service or industry.

Third, search other groups and join those groups.

Fourth, now that you have joined some groups…FOLLOW. Follow the discussions, questions. Once you are following, you will find more people to a) connect with, and b) interact with. This isn’t just about growing the number of people in your network. Following is about making sure you are in front of and interacting with the RIGHT people.

b) Questions and Answers

There are always opportunities to interact with folks in this section of LinkedIn. Using a keyword search, find people who are asking questions that relate to your expertise. Answer the questions. Become an expert who people turn to when they have a question. This happens! And if you take the time to grow your network, and your visibility a little each day…then more people will find you.

There are many, many, many other tools and networks to tap into. Try to keep the concept of Follow First in your head. Social Media success is based on the idea that when you participate, you make more connections, and more people will find out who you are.

You can’t hit a 6-run homer, and you can’t get success in the social media world overnight. Follow First.

Good Luck!

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The more you use them, the more effective they can be. And, if  you just use these tools sporadically, then you are right, they won’t be effective.

Two quick concepts about social networking tools to digest:

1) The more people use a particular tool, the more effective it becomes.

This is one of those challenging things about social networking tools: they are only as good as the people using them. So keep this in mind: As of December 2008, Facebook had grown to 175 million users. That is a huge and wonderful number, but what does it mean for you? It means that I PROMISE YOU there are people on Facebook you know and who know you. I Promise you there are groups and pages on Facebook that relate to your business. Go check it out!

Here is another number: 1382%

Twitter is quickly becoming an incredibly effective and valuable business tool because of this number. That is the percent growth in the number of unique visitors to Twitter year over year this February 2009. That number is now at 7 million plus (and growing). (Here is the article from Nielsen Wire that these numbers and others come from.) You may ask, “So What?”

This is important to you because of another set of numbers referenced in this article: More than 64% of those unique visitors are 35 to 65+. These are professionals that are using Twitter in creative ways for their business.

2) Here’s the second concept about social networking. It is a quote to consider:

“One of the currencies of social media is that when  you participate, people find out who you are.”

This is from David Meerman Scott, who writes a great blog called www.webinknow.com

Clear, authentic, regular participation in selected social media WILL produce results, you just need to keep your attenna up. This is no different than if you go to a face-to-face networking event and forget to network. (Read, “Don’t Let Your Marketing Guard Down.”)

If you participate, people will find out who you are. And remember, participation does NOT mean walking into a room and shouting your sales pitch at the first person who says hello. Participation online is the same as “participation” in a networking event. Calm down and be yourself.

A few ideas:

1) On Facebook: Go become a fan of key pages and groups that relate to your srvice or product. When you become a fan…become a participator in the conversations that are ongoing. Or, start your own!

2) LinkedIn: Go answer some questions. Don’t pose bogus questions. Try to find three people to have an honest, open interaction with.

3) Twitter: download and use either tweetdeck or alertthingy, then enter a search term or two you want to follow…a term that relates to your business. You will find people to follow and conversations to be a part of almost immediately.

Give yourself time at the beginning and ending of each day…just a little time…to participate. If you want to, you can turn “time wasting” into a genius business move in no time.

And, by the way, I hope you participate in THIS conversation. Post about what you are doing right now.

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I am fortunate to be the rotating president of a great networking group called People First Network and I was chatting to the past president after the meeting about how marketing  changed with the advent of radio, then TV and now the internet. Scott talks about how old school marketing was “interruption” based. In other words the messages were interrupting something you were doing (watching TV for example) and so had to gain your attention in that context.

Today, with the web, things are different. You need to reach your prospects with a different message to avoid being tuned out, ignored or not even seen. I thought this was a great distinction but it set me wondering – have the rules really changed?

I think the emphasis has, but it still seems to me that the core of the marketing message is as important as ever. The marketing message needs to connect with the issues and challenges your prospects are facing and let them know you are competent and enthusiastic about helping them find a resolution.

That always seemed to me to be the key to a great marketing message, maybe that simply became more important in an internet savvy world. We will see!

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