Just how important is social media anyway?

If you were in any doubt as to whether you could ignore social media networks and blogging in an effort to promote your products and services, then this video will make you think again.

It doesn’t have to be a daunting prospect. Just put together your social media strategy and start to take steps to developing your presence online. Taking small steps is better than taking none at all.

Business and the community

I’ve been invited to the 3rd Edelman Goodpurpose Global Study and a discussion on why brands and companies that engage in social purpose have an opportunity to solidify relationships with their key consumers / stakeholders.

This seminar is a Marketing Institute of Ireland/ Edelman/ Business in the Community Ireland joint initiative which aims to highlight the importance of aligning your Corporate and Social Responsibility values to your brand.

In a recent Business in the Community Ireland/Ipsos MORI ‘Survey of Corporate Image and Corporate Responsibility 2009’, more than 80% of those surveyed said that a company’s commitment to social responsibility is important when buying a product or service. Just under a quarter of respondents were able to name a company they considered an ‘all-rounder’ i.e. providing excellent customer service, good employer and mindful of impact on environment, showing that consumers in Ireland are largely unaware of good corporate behavior.

Speakers include; Tomas Sercovich, Senior Corporate Responsibility Consultant, Business in the Community Ireland; Mitch Markson, President of Edelman Consumer & Global Creative Director and Joe Collum, Marketing Director, Glanbia Consumer Foods.

goodpurpose is Edelman’s brand of social purpose marketing. It is dedicated to helping brands develop and activate concepts and campaigns that trigger what we call “mutual social responsibility”—brands and consumers working together to effect positive social change, and “Return on Involvement”—a new metric that looks at participation and involvement as true brand loyalty builders.

Sounds interesting doesn’t it? See details below. It is by invitation only but if you ask, you might get one.

 

Dublin – Morning Seminar, Edelman Goodpurpose Global Study Launch

Mitch Markson, Joe Collum, Tomas Sercovich

Monday 9-Nov-09 7:45 AM to Monday 9-Nov-09 9:15 AM

How to think big for better results

It’s approaching that time of year when you need to start thinking about your plans for 2010. Nobody will be sorry to see the back of 2009 when all there seemed to be reported in the media was negativity and fearful thinking. It could be thought of as the year of hypnosis of the masses. Talk about latching onto the lowest common denominator thought patterns and running with it until everyone is paralysed by indecision and going nowhere fast.

It is awful that so many people have lost their jobs and the banking system is in the state it’s in, but reinforcing people’s fear and despair is not going to help anyone, least of all those who need help the most. Some leadership is needed in all areas: business, politics, and the media. It cannot be left up to the few brave mavericks who have never been afraid to question the status quo.

We are all leaders of ourselves so that is the best place to start. Once you make a start to improve your outlook, and take responsibility for yourself, others will follow as nobody wants to remain in misery for the next few years. The ‘pity party’ is over.

Now moving on to your strategic plan for next year, and the next three to five years, is a much better way for you to keep your eye on the bigger picture.

I’ve recently started to paint, admittedly very ‘naive art’. I have never really painted, well not since childhood when my mother took me to art classes at the local Presbyterian hall. The classes were given by a very kindly lady but all the other pupils seemed much older than I, and I was terrified. It must have been the autumn term because all I remember is being told to paint a witch for Hallowe’en. I started my picture, dead sure that it was going to be great. After a time, the teacher came over to inspect what I’d done. Well, I really learned a lesson that day which has stuck with me to this day.

She said, ‘Oh no my dear, don’t draw small things on the big page, use all the space.’ She was referring to my little people on broomsticks in the middle of a vast sheet of paper! I had been attempting to draw a scene but it was so small it was almost insignificant.

So it should be with your strategic plan for next year or the next few years, be it in your business, career or personal life. Detail has its place but, if you get too bogged down in it, you miss the bigger picture and all the potential opportunities around it.

As for my art, well I only went to the classes for a term or two and never tried it again, until now. I may be making a fool of myself but at least I am having fun, and it sure beats watching the news!

How to build a brand like U2

About a month ago or so now I went along to one of the U2 concerts, part of The U2 360° Tour. I am not a die-hard fan, like many who were there, but a friend had spare tickets so I went along. The support band, The Script, were very good and gave a good performance, however they were the aperitif and not the main attraction. When U2 came on stage, Bono praised them and their musical talent, stage presence etc. Then he said, ‘…unlike us, we set up the band first and then learned to play.’

It occurred to me that this could apply to anything you want to do in marketing, business or life. You too could live the dream. Try it, practice it, change it, experiment.

The main thing I recognised about U2 is that they had a clear vision; everything else was just a road/path that led them to the vision.

I once read of an interview with Bono where he’s been asked by a journalist about what U2’s mission was. Having pondered for a few moments, Bono replied ‘Not to be crap.’

An FT journalist, whose name escapes me now, wrote an article on mission statements and what they mean having had a very poor experience with a car rental company, who shall remain nameless. In the article he compared the lofty mission statement of the car rental company with the statement Bono had made about U2’s. Which one was more authentic, believable, and credible?

Back at the concert Bono thanked everyone: the event company, management, the fans for, as he put it, ‘Building their dream’. What struck me most about the above was not only the vision and drive of U2 as a band, but that without loyal fans it would never have come about.

U2 spent years building up a loyal fan base and gave them what they wanted, which it seems to me is not just the music, but an emotional connection, an identity of sorts. Some of the fans travel to all, or as many of the concerts as they can, on the same tour. I am amazed. Some fans drove from Slovenia to Berlin, on to Amsterdam and then to Dublin to go to all the concerts. I have met several fans of Bruce Springsteen who do the same, but I wondered about what inspires such loyalty, such persistence?

So it struck me that I could attempt to chart how you can go about building a brand like U2 yourself.

To my mind it is the following:
1. Have a strong vision/dream/destination
2. Come up with a strategy to get you there (to position yourself on the path)
3. Build a team of like-minded people who support your vision. Don’t go it alone. (these can be colleagues, mentors, customers AKA fans)
4. Have a set of tactics to implement (which is the journey itself) – these can change, keep trying to see what works

Bonus Tips to Get You There
1. Entertain no doubts
2. It is going to happen
3. It is happening
4. Practice, practice, practice

Now go do it…

Improving your sales technique

SavvySaleswoman

Julie Roman, AKA SavvySaleswoman, has just published her new book entitled, Selling With Heart in Just 5 Days. It is a book about selling the feminine way. I have had the privilege of reading an advanced review copy and can testify to its practicality and usefulness. It will help you to win new business and develop great relationships with your customers. What more could you want?

How to raise your profile by setting up a blog

We Magazine's 100 Women Bloggers to Watch for 2009

I have just found out that I have been listed in We Magazine’s list of 100 More Women Bloggers to Watch for 2009. I am naturally thrilled by this news as I have spent a lot of time and effort developing engaging, stimulating and most of all useful content for my readers.

It takes time to develop a blog and you need to put a lot of effort into it, especially at the beginning, when you often feel as though you are talking to yourself. However, I have attracted new clients as a direct result of it and I can track my traffic so I know how many people read my blog each day, week or month.

So I would just like to say a big thank you to all of you who read it, leave comments and continue to keep coming back to find out what’s new.

What factors make an entrepreneur?

Everyone wonders what makes one person an entrepreneur and another run a mile from such a challenge.

A new report, just published, called Anatomy of an Entrepreneur: Family Background and Motivation gives us some statistical evidence as to why that might be so.

Are they all young, rich and workaholics or are they something else entirely?

In fact the report abstract says that, “This research answers some of these questions. This is based on a survey of 549 company founders in 12 high-growth industries. It finds that most founders came from middle-class or upper-lower-class backgrounds, are well-educated and married with children. The strongest motivation for starting a company was to “build wealth”. Other popular motivators included capitalizing on a business idea; the appeal of a startup culture; a desire to own a company; and a lack of interest in working for someone else.”

You’ll have to download the report to get all the salient facts but the following article gives an interesting summary, The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur by Nick Leiber in Business Week.

How do you know when the markets have bottomed out?

I thought it might be interesting to see what you think about the economic crisis and how it is effecting your marketing your business. The results will be available as percentages. So get voting.

How to gain critical mass for your marketing campaign

I thought this post by Seth Godin was quirky and worth sharing. It could apply to a company or a movement. It takes a leader, and then three people, to get a crowd to do something they would never have considered before.

Identify what you want to do, get two more people to buy into it and then you’re away.

How to be successful on Twitter

Following on from yesterday’s post, one of my fellow tweeps, as people who Twitter are known, has sent a link to an article entitled, 9 Tips to build your reputation on Twitter like Guy Kawasaki.

It is well worth a read, particularly as it was picked up by none other than Guy Kawasaki himself and later RTed (which means ReTweeted, tweeps way of saying Forwarded) by others.

Like Facebook and LinkedIn, Twitter users have created their own rules and etiquette independently of the founders of the site itself.

If you do not have a Twitter account it is easy to get started. All you have to do is go to Twitter.com, sign up with a username and password, write a few updates and start to follow people you know or think might have something to say that is of interest to you. Once you start you will be surprised at how quickly you gain a following.

Like most things in life, simply getting started is the most difficult part.