Specializing in social marketing and business communications training

12 insights from Seth Godin on the emotional marketing revolution

godinWant to learn from one of the best social media marketers and business leaders?

Today, best-selling author Seth Godin shared his thoughts on social media marketing, creativity, and business relationships. Godin was the guest on a webinar organized by Vocus, a provider of cloud marketing software.

Godin says the Energy, Industrial, and Mass Media revolutions have given way to the “revolution of our time, the revolution of connection.”

Here are 12 takeaways on the human connection in digital marketing:

  1. “The only asset you can build on the Internet is the connection to people. Connection, the idea that someone knows you, trusts you, and works with you, is not new. It’s 1,000 years old, but it’s new because the people marketing Burger King and Procter and Gamble in 1980 didn’t have this ability to hear back from customers.”
  2. “Highlight and cater to small groups of people who care desperately.”
  3. “Marketing and advertising are not the same things. Marketing is making a product or service that’s worth talking about it. Marketing is about telling a story that spreads and resonates with people. We need to think deeply about feelings.”
  4. “The essence of marketing today is to tell a story to people who want to hear it, in a way that resonates with them so they are likely to either respond or connect to you, or tell their friends.”
  5. “Don’t yell to the masses; whisper to a few. People will choose to talk about it. Give away your ideas. When your ideas are widespread and you are trusted, you don’t have trouble making a living.”
  6. “If you’re not ranked first, second, or third on search pages, you’re invisible.”
  7. “What products are you going to make that are worth talking about?”
  8. “Permission marketing is real permission—the privilege, not the right but the privilege—of delivering personal, anticipated, and  relevant stories to people who want to get them. Not to everyone, not by spam or exploiting your company’s privacy policies. But instead by earning one person at a time; it’s the privilege of showing up. Here’s the measure: If the recipient thinks it’s spam, then it’s spam…Here’s how you know if you have the privilege: ‘Would we miss you if you were gone?’”
  9. “The Internet takes word-of-mouth and leverages it by a factor of 1,000…every single day.”
  10. “Remarkable means worth making a remark about.  Not you making a remark because you work for the company. It’s about people making a remark because they choose to, they want to, because they can.”
  11. “We can’t sell everything to everyone. The market has fractured. Instead of radically shifting the way the media has, most companies and charities have only shifted a little. The fast-growing public or private companies who have made a huge impact in the last five years (e-Bay, Instagram, Facebook, and Amazon), are built around connecting tribes. Connecting people who share a passion and interest. All human beings want to feel like we are a part of something.”
  12. “If we expect to build connections, we have to expect to be generous. There are no secrets or shortcuts. No one wants to connect to the selfish person.”

Nos. 5 and 8 are among my favorites.

Which points can you relate to? Which ones do you need to improve?

 

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10 communication things every entrepreneur must know

guitar in bar in CCIt’s been 4,745 days of being self-employed.  In April, 2001, I started my PR and communications company.   

A few years ago, my accountant, who is also self-employed, shared his definition of an entrepreneur:

“I am a self-employed individual working for a lunatic.”

As I mark this proud milestone, I have taken time to reflect on the entrepreneurial roller coaster I have ridden.

Here are 10 communication tactics every small business owner must know:

1. You must know how to sell. Too many people decide to hang their shingle out only to learn they don’t know bubkus about sales. Entrepreneurs must be diligent at developing the self-confidence, attitude,   discipline, and perseverance to ask people to hand over their hard-earned money.

 2. You must live the ‘publish or perish’ mentality. In my pre-blogging days, I wrote bylined articles for trade publications and membership newsletters. Early on, I landed a spot as a columnist for the Princeton (NJ) Business Journal. I generated content and built my credibility. My volunteer gig lasted more than two years, and ended when the paper merged with another publication.   

 3. You must be willing to speak in public. You were brave enough to launch a small business. There’s no time for being shy or nervous. Partner with a networking group to be the guest expert at a meeting, conference, or webinar. You’ll be front and center with dozens of potential prospects interested in your topic. Beats cold-calling.  

 4. You must be able to validate others.  Validation is an acknowledgement that the other person (your prospect or client) is being heard. Validation is proof that you are listening. For example:  “I can imagine that the loss of your vendor has been difficult.”  

 5. You must know how to ask for what you need.  No one expects you to know everything. That’s why there are contact lists, databases, and rolodexes filled with names of people who can provide products and services to you. Get rid of this self-induced pressure and be willing to speak up. Asking for help is a sign of a true leader.

 6. You must be able to identify your ideal customers. This is accomplished by self-communication. Ask yourself: Who do I enjoy working with? What niche am I passionate about? Who needs my expertise? Do these people have the budget or resources to pay me?

 7. You must have thick skin. People can be awfully mean. They say crap that’s not helpful or positive. Entrepreneurs are so fully vested in their own businesses that it’s hard not to take things personally. Don’t take the BS to heart.

8. You must communicate patience when educating people. Clients do business with you because you offer a valuable product or service that they want or need.  You, on the other hand, are entrenched in your niche or business and will have to slow down to educate those who don’t know all the ins and outs like you do.

 9. You must develop charisma. Charisma is that special charm or personality trait that draws people to you. Self-confidence, along with a friendly and easy demeanor, will take you a long way in business.

 10. You must be willing to reinvent yourself. Chances are you are planning to be self-employed for a long time. Businesses and people change. It’s a given. How can you effectively communicate changes in your messages and direction, without alienating people?

Cheers to the brave small business owners around the world! What have you learned along the journey?

Communicators: You are in sales

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Don’t be shocked, but marketing, PR, and communications pros are in sales.

Think about it.

We are:    

  • Selling messages to clients
  • Selling ourselves to execs in the C-suite
  • Selling (pitching) stories to the media
  • Selling our time
  • Selling our intellectual capital
  • Selling our creativity
  • Selling access to our media and social contacts

 

To be a holistic business communicator, it’s time to stop selling and start building. Build your listening skills and relationships with prospects, the C-suite, colleagues, and reporters. We must move away from the “What can we get?” attitude to “What can we give?”

The holistic communicator

In a typical day, people are trying to get our e-mail addresses. They are trying to get us to sign-up for something. They are trying to get our hard-earned money. They are trying to get access to our personal information. They are often trying to get over on us. Get, get, get. This approach only brings short-lived success.  

The flip side of get, get, get is give, give, give. 

The most successful people in business are those who focus on what they can give to others, and not what they can get, get, get. High achievers are comfortable in deflecting attention away from themselves. These givers have absolute faith that by being tuned in to others, success will one day come to them. Individuals who live by this mindset aren’t in a hurry to get the deal. Instead, their priority is to build relationships and give value. The givers trust that they will be rewarded with abundance because that’s the way the universe works.

The proof of this is most evident in sales. When people in sales stop chasing money and shift their attention to genuinely helping a prospect, they won’t have to sell anything. Prospects will want to buy from them based on the generosity of the relationship. 

Say what?

Our attention is a hot commodity.

The concept of silent listening is the genesis of holistic business. Silent listening requires us to mentally slow down and quiet the unrelenting soundtrack that plays in our heads 24/7. Silent listening requires our undivided attention, free of distractions, judgments, and response planning. It calls for us to be fully present and in the moment.

How many times have you asked someone a question that you were genuinely interested in and as soon as they responded, your mind was jumping around aimlessly with random thoughts?

These mental interruptions occur in a flash. They pull us away from conversations and leave us at a disadvantage as we miss important information that is essential to connecting with people.

For example, you are meeting with a prospect about doing PR for their credit union. Someone mentions that they have ‘service centers,’ not branches. If you write up a proposal to promote their 18 branches, you lose. A split second distraction becomes a costly lesson. 

Silent listening is an essential business skill. It shows people that you are fully engaged, and care about the message.

Welcome to sales. 

PS: I invite you to take a peek at my new Kindle book, published today!

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5 signs that PR leaders are impacting business results

Public relations is coming into its own and the industry appears more than ready to embrace a new level of respect.

How do I know this?

Consider the following points:   

1. PR is more strategic than ever. There’s an increased understanding that a broader view of business is required in today’s marketplace. PR pros who fully grasp how their work directly impacts sales and marketing are sitting at the table with the C-suite. Messaging and money go hand-in-hand. 

2. PR pros are communicating like project managers. We are tracking the minutiae in our assignments. We are in constant communication with team members. Our work is completed on time and under budget. That’s because we can course correct in the midst of a project instead of running out of time and resources. We’re using online spreadsheets, graphics, and images to track progress, next steps, and metrics. Communicators are getting better at this thing called communication.

3. PR pros—the good ones, anyway—are buying into the vision. These are the passionate ones; the folks who are curious and courageous. Those who lack passion, including managers, are crap magnets that are blind to the company vision. Passionate PR pros understand the work that needs to get done every day to achieve more and compete in a fierce market. They surround themselves with like-minded people, leaving no room for the mediocre.   

4. PR pros are well-versed in more than just one language.  The smart ones are able to speak to their clients in their own industry language. Whether it’s Software-as-a-Service, designer jewelry, healthcare, or aerospace engineering, PR stars shine brightest when they can hold their own and engage with niche clients.  These PR leaders exude the confidence and knowledge to not only be invited to sit at the proverbial table, but to actually offer ideas and insights as a valued member of the team. Courtesy seats with the C-suite rarely exist.  

5. PR pros recognize what is required to service business-to-business clients. Delving into the needs of the customer’s customer helps solidify B2B relationships. Creativity and projects move to deeper levels and vertical markets, which has customers coming back, and offering referrals. It’s simple.  You get it.    

Business and motivational speaker Denis Waitley said: ”Your success depends on how well you think. You are not paid to collect, sort, store or retrieve information, although you do these things every day. You are paid to interpret that information and create and implement new ideas.”

As we head into the last quarter of 2012, it’s clear that PR means business. Would you agree?

 

5 secrets to relationship-based selling online

Communicating online isn’t about technology. It’s about tapping into technology to connect with human beings.

With all the typing and tablets — and the absence of seeing a human face — it’s easy to forget that your online credibility is directly linked to relationship-based selling.

Don’t think numbers, think people.

Relationship-based selling is about helping people and organizations solve their business problems without the hard sales push that all of us loathe. It’s about truly putting the needs of others before your own.

This is the secret to building credibility in your social media circles. The digital landscape is vast, yet there is no room for selfish.

Yes, you have a mortgage to pay. Yes, your car needs an unexpected repair. Yes, your kids need new sneakers.

But when you’re able to put these challenges aside and not be driven by your own drama, you will come from a place of service and gratitude.  Conversely, when you chase numbers, you almost always fall short.

Remember that desperation is very unappealing in business.

How do you let followers, friends, and connections know that you care deeply about their success?

Consider these five social media tips to build your credibility and relationships

1. Listen to the conversations. Don’t throw yourself into an online chat or dialogue until you have a sense of the players and personalities. The benefits of this are two-fold. First, you will determine if this particular forum is appropriate and hits your target audience. Second, you will gain insights about the players and their interests, areas of expertise, and work.  When you do your homework, your posts, tweets and content clearly show readers that you “get it.”

2. Stay up-to-date. Pay attention to industry twists, turns and trends. By keeping your finger on the pulse of the HR and recruiting industries, you will quickly discover the hot topics and issues your prospects are paying attention to. To save time, subscribe to e-newsletters, RSS feeds, and Google Alerts that filter important information from the Web.        

3. Focus on solutions. Write for the reader and forget the sales pitch. It’s easy to outline problems, but people are looking for answers. Be willing to offer your knowledge without the expectation of receiving anything back. Your day will come. That’s the way the universe works.

4. Share good information from other people.  Forget ulterior motives. The content you provide can — and should — come from other people and sources. Your generosity will be noticed — and appreciated. This also takes the pressure off of you to be the sole creator of content.  To ensure your credibility is being boosted, check the link and content for accuracy before sharing.   

5. Be a guest. Offer to be a guest blogger on a popular website. Offer to be the guest expert on a Twitter chat or webinar. Put yourself out there with the single goal of openly sharing your expertise and insights.

When you position yourself as a credible expert in your field, people will want to buy from you. You won’t have to sell anything.

 

New jobs as Chief Digital Officers emerging

What do Gannett, New York City and Columbia University have in common? 

Each has a Chief Digital Officer, or CDO, to bring together strategic business practices, technology, skilled leadership and internal and external communications. Most CDOs can be found inside of media companies, sitting just a seat or two away from the CEO.

Two years ago, there were lively conversations that CDOs were those who didn’t get the coveted title of President. Others maintained organizations that supported the CDO position were advocating for silos, the curse in marketing and communications. Today, demand for CDOs is outpacing supply.  

A complex blend of talent and leadership

Chief Digital Officers are not self-described social media gurus or community managers. CDOs have competencies in the convergence of technology, business, boards, and organizational development. 

“Business strategies now must be seamlessly interwoven with ever-expanding digital strategies that address not only the web but also mobile, social, local and whatever innovation there may be around the corner,” write Rhys Grossman and Jana Rich of Russell Reynolds Associates, a global executive search firm. In their article titled, The Rise of the Chief Digital Officer, Grossman and Rich state: ”To help meet these challenges, companies are increasingly looking for a Chief Digital Officer who can oversee the full range of digital strategies and drive change across the organization.”

To lead a business through a technological transformation is no easy task. CDOs are innovators despite internal skeptics who whisper and rant about the pitfalls of social media.  

CDOs must have the following five competencies: 

1. They must be comfortable as a possible successor to the CEO. CDOs must be able to lead a global culture and drive an online presence. He or she must be experienced in business operations, management and recruiting and retaining top talent. A CDO is a visionary, especially in our technology-based world.  

2. They must act as agents of change and grasp the underlying psychology of consensus-building and conflict resolution.   

3. They must have Board experience and solid communication skills. After all, they are the conduit between stakeholders and the C-suite.

4.  They must know how to set sound business strategies have seasoned project managers to implement them.

5. They must possess deep knowledge of technology, e-commerce, consumer behavior, and social media. This is especially important for media organizations, as CDOs are often charged with transforming analog to digital. 

Where is this person?

You may be wondering: Does such a person exist? Where do organizations find one individual who encompasses this blend of talent? 

And if you work in PR, marketing or communications, you may be curious if you have what it takes to be a Chief Digital Officer. 

Grossman and Rich maintain that people considering CDO positions “may be reluctant to join established organizations, viewing them as old fashioned.” The co-authors note that “many candidates come from cutting-edge, entrepreneurial organizations.”

Here’s another solid point that Grossman and Rich offer. ”Companies … have to move very quickly when they find and meet talent that has potential. The current state of supply and demand almost guarantees that other opportunities will be available to talented candidates.”

The bottom line about the evolving role of CDOs brings us to the real bottom line in business. Chief Digital Officers are leading new revenue streams through digital channels that can leave many people and employees feeling uneasy. 

If the CDO is unable to succeed in brand management, e-commerce, transactions, and customer engagement efforts, his or her organization can be faced with a financial disaster.

 

Not good with numbers? PR pros need to figure it out!

This is a guest post written by Gini Dietrich.

I was in a meeting a few weeks ago when a junior member of the client’s marketing team was asked to tell us the company’s goals, as they relate to the things we’re trying to accomplish.

Her response? 

I have to look at my notes. I’m not good with numbers.

This is something I hear a lot: I went into PR/marketing/communications because I don’t like numbers. 

And it’s no wonder. We’ve always gotten away with “measuring” our results in terms of media impressions, reach, and advertising equivalencies. After all, it’s hard to quantify brand awareness and credibility and reputation and thought leadership. You know whether or not you have it, but you can’t really put it in terms of numbers.

And those great big impression numbers? They feel good to a CEO who is looking for some way to show a return on your efforts.

But when the Web disrupted our industry we slowly began to see new and interesting ways to measure our efforts. Early on we looked at using unique URLs in our news releases and different 800 numbers at our events, but that wasn’t enough.

Running away from numbers

The Web has provided us a huge opportunity to measure our results directly to business goals, yet most of us still shy away.

Why? Because we don’t like numbers.

We’d like you to think about it differently. Call it data or information or goodies or, heck, call it chocolate. Just don’t call it numbers.

It’s fun to see results from your efforts…and now you have the opportunity to see them every day.

Start small. One of the things we discuss in Marketing in the Round is using a benchmark of zero as your first step. Find something — one campaign, one event, one project — and create the benchmarks, the dashboard, and the data points you’ll measure. Think beyond traffic and pageviews and bounce rate. Really think about what the goals are of the business and how you can affect change in those areas.

Three things to look for

For instance, in a for-profit business, you’ll want to look for ways to increase revenuesshorten the sales cycle, or improve margins. If you don’t know what all three of those things mean, go make friends with someone in the accounting department and learn it. Quickly.

Let’s use Pinterest as an example. It’s really easy to set up some boards and direct people back to your website or blog that way. Arment Dietrich has a client - Frank and Eileen - that makes high-end men’s and women’s shirts. The team created a Pinterest board for them, just to test and see what kinds of results could be achieved by pinning images of some of their shirts.

After only one month, Pinterest is the number eight referral source of traffic to the Frank and Eileen site. But remember we said to worry less about traffic and more on business results. So dig further. Pinterest sent three percent new visitors in April. Of that three percent, 83 percent bought a shirt. That represents $2,670 in new revenue for the business.

Other than the 83 percent who bought the shirt, all of the data for that particular test came from Google analytics (which are free!). The client also provides access to the e-commerce site, which shares the information needed to find out how many of the visitors from Pinterest bought a shirt.

This is a very simple way to look at measurement, but it gives you a starting point. Once you get this down, you can begin to advance and become more sophisticated in your measurement.

Companies that fully understand how they are being talked about and what levers work online can use this data to make informed future marketing decisions.  Also, strategic intelligence gleaned from measurement can help uncover new opportunities for products and services.

Your clients or executive team will be ecstatic to finally have a real ROI on your efforts.

Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a Chicago-based integrated marketing communication firm. She also is the founder of the professional development site for PR and marketing pros, Spin Sucks Pro, blogger at Spin Sucks, and co-author of Marketing in the Round.

 

 

 

The Real Secret to Business Growth and Making More Money

writingYesterday in Part One of my interview with Nametag Scott, he shared insights on creating a “reservoir full of ideas that never run dry.”  Today in Part Two, Scott says when trying to drum up new ideas, products and services, the “build it and they’ll come” model doesn’t work.

“It’s easy to get caught up in this idea of ‘if you build it they will come’.”  That’s a lie. I would substitute, ‘if you write it they will come.” Everything I’ve done in my business is because I have written something. Every dollar I have made is because I wrote something and someone read it, and they found me. So my philosophy is if you write it they will come. Now obviously you have to write it well and it has to be written in a way that evokes a response. There are certain things that increase probability. The secret is you can’t make people come to you, can’t make customers buy, and you can’t make people talk about you. If you want to spread the word, build remarkability into your product from the beginning.”

Scott and I also talked about how to attract new business. He says this is not about selling.

“Ultimately selling isn’t selling; it’s solving. It’s positioning yourself as the answer and solving pervasive, expensive, urgent, and relevant problems for your customer. The secret is to position yourself as the problem-solver. You look the customer in the eye and ask,  ’Is it of value to solve this problem for you?’ and they say ‘well yes of course I’d love to solve my problem’ …and you respond ‘well great, I’m the answer…sign here.’’

Thank you Scott for reminding us that being a problem-solver and not a salesman will pay longterm dividends.


(Photo Credit: churl)

15 Ways to Increase Your Social Media Influence: Highlights from The Influencer Project

Thought leaders“The Influencer Project” that just wrapped up was awesome! A great way to spend 60 minutes- with 60 nuggets from 60 inspiring thought leaders and Social Media pros. Each speaker had one minute to answer this question: How can you increase your influence online?

Here are 15 highlights:

  1. Create content that stands for something; that’s higher purpose. “Be cutting edge.” -Joe Pulizzi
  2. Focus on a specific niche. Use Google searches and determine who is in your industry and what their niche is. Then narrow yours even more. -Dan Schawbel
  3. Build your community of readers by producing thought-provoking topics. “Self-expression is the new form of entertainment.” -Gretchen Rubin
  4. “Content is king.  You must know what you’re talking about.” -Gary Vaynerchuk
  5. “Repeat Tweets”- Guy Kawasaki
  6. Use Facebook. There are 500 million people on Facebook. Set up a fan page. Add a tab with videos. -Michael Stelzner
  7. “Distill what you bring to the table.” What value do you offer, who else offers similar value (A-to-C list) and connect the dots. Build a community and become a thought leader. -Brian Solis
  8. “Give more than you get. Influence comes from a passive place, not pushing.” -Amber Naslund
  9. “What can you shake up in your world? Then the world will pay attention to you.” -Cathy Brooks
  10. “Find one niche and master it, own it. Then teach people in that niche how to be successful in it.”-Lewis Howes
  11. “Understand the needs of your audience, look at data and build things that help them.”-Vanessa Fox
  12. “Listen to conversations.”- Justin Levy
  13. “Put your business model before fame or influence. Your Social Media must add to your bottom line. You must have something to show for it.” -Wendy Piersall
  14. “Find the young, gifted ‘up and comers’ and give them a platform for success that can drive your message.” -Steve Woodruff
  15. “Don’t worry about climbing up the attention ladder. Be original, unique and awe-inspiring. Then people will follow you.” -Nathan Hangen

The gem that many immediately connected to is from Ann Handley: ”Give it (your content and blogs) wings and roots. Be grounded with who you are and what you stand for. And give it wings by sharing.”

There were two more marketing “sound bites” that I jotted down but don’t have the attribution—I apologize to the leaders who shared these for not providing proper credit. These are SO good, I have to pass them along anyway:

“Build multiple circles in multiple markets.”

“Don’t be shy in Social Media. You don’t have to be a genius. You can engage people by sharing information from other followers and friends.”

The Influencer Project was organized by Thoughtlead and sponsored by Hubspot. Thank you!

PS–Clearly if you are interested in The Influencer Project, you are committed to learning. I invite you to take advantage of my 21 day free video series “Speaking of Communication”. It covers everything from PR, Social Media, content development, sales, leadership, EQ, public speaking and more. Sign up now at  http://www.getinfrontcommunications.com.  —Please refer to #’s 8 and 11 above :)

(Photo Credit: juicedigitalpr)

The 3 P’s For Publicity and PR Success

I’ll share the 3 P’s you need to get publicity for your organization. Here’s the video segment. 

By the way, I hope you’ve taken advantage of my free 21-day video series “Speaking of Communication.” For instant access, click here http://www.getinfrontcommunications.com/