Pragmatic Social Media: An example of how to integrate social media into your off-line, brick-and-mortar business

Put your social media presence everywhere.
It’s so simple, it never occurs to many.
Look how long it took many businesses to get their website addresses on vehicles, business cards and ads.
And some still have yet to get with the program (very few).
In fact, I haven’t seen a sign like this yet… except at this business outside DC (a business very close to my heart!)

Of course, it’s bigger than this and there is other information on the door, but I know many clients both current and potential who’ve expressed delight at being able to contact this business in so many ways… especially since it’s closed on Sundays unlike many traditional retailers.

But, hey, who wants to be traditional?!

In fact, this business encourages people to friend them, fan them, tweet them, check in on foursquare, and anything else they can think of.
And they offer rewards like Starbucks gift cards, drawings and merchandise.

Give me your thoughts on this one because I humbly think it’s genius
If you’d like to learn more about social media and real business, even if it’s just to check on your brand, check out the book The Social Media Equation. One tip from it could save you embarrassment or make you thousands!
Click the image to order and you will be able to download it immediately.

All the best,

Chris

Using YouTube and my iPod Touch to facilitate product knowledge and sales excellence

These things are second-nature to me, but I often wonder how many managers, trainers and reps don’t realize just how much more effective they could be by using social media (YouTube in this case) to duplicate their message.
Just today I had a lunch meeting scheduled with a rep from a large distributor and one from a manufacturer.
The information was key and we were swamped, so I was the only one (that’s what bosses do) who could make it.
Why?

See for yourself and let me know what you think.

I want to support my team. They had to keep selling and working with clients, but I didn’t want them to miss this training opportunity.
YouTube to the rescue!
… and my iPod Touch with its fantastic video quality and ease-of-use.
I asked the questions my team would have asked. Of course, they’re a smart bunch, so I’m sure I missed some, but it’s still good.
Then, I published the video to our YouTube presence (yes, we’re all there, even though my main field is off-line).
Now, all of them are getting an email with a link to the video so they can get the answers they need for a product and system we rely on routinely.
This, my friends, is a fantastic use of social media for business and represents one of my favorite aspects – duplication of effort.
The rep, although good, won’t need to come back in right away because we have his PK recorded.
The comment section on YouTube will serve as an interactive focal point.

I hope this helps in your business.

All the best,

Chris

 

The Social Media “Lone Wolf” – Thankfully, A Dying Breed In Concept Only

Maybe you’ve been there… the outside-of-the-box thinker who actually “got it” when it comes to social media -
aka the Social Media Lone Wolf.
Yep, you know what it’s like to look at a business’ Twitter posts and say, “Stop selling, idiots! It’s about relationships and branding first, business second… good, solid business.”
Or, maybe you’re less tactful -
“Cold selling on social media is like sex without foreplay, jackass!”
Guilty here on both counts.
Or maybe, heaven forbid, you share information with people in your field or those who may not know as much as you or be able or willing to pay you for that knowledge!
Mercy me.
Heck, maybe you’ve even brought your smartphone into the bathroom just to connect with your kind (yep, it’s more common than you think).
Hopefully, you’ve transitioned to a new industry and are welcomed among the understood of the pack, appreciated at last.
If not, you’re probably a masochist or you just don’t know how valuable you are.
Well, my friend, if you “get it” when it comes to social media, you’re valuable.
Just go to LinkedIn, Mashable, Monster, and any other employment site and enter “social media” into the search box.
Then hold onto your geeky hat and prepare to smile. 
Here’s a hint, do whatever you can to get “social media” added to your business card…
And when “they” finally come around and see how blasted wrong they were to:
- force brick and mortar metrics on you;
- bring up ROI within the first month of a “campaign”;
- sift tweets through a committee of ignorant suits;
just try to hold your fingers down and not smile too broadly… but smile!
You deserve it
Now, watch this video and enjoy, my fellow “new dork”:

All the best,

Chris

Yes, I’m smiling…

How to spot a social media beginner… stupid Twitter mistakes you can easily correct.

I’m going to be a critic for a quick second here and steer away from my usual “come on, you can do it” tone.
I’ve even used “stupid” in the title, which would have gotten me kicked out journalism school at the University of Maryland.
Why the switch?
Well, because this is a fantastic way to show you how easy it is to weaken your brand online… especially if you’re a consultant as in the following example.
And, friends, this Twitter-er I’m about to critique is a very good business consultant who knows more about MBA-type business than I… but he made the mistake of telling me that working the web “is so easy” he could do it himself.
I applaud the DIY mentality… when it works.
But if you have been doing what I’ve been doing for nearly 15 years in the metro Washington DC/Northern Virginia area… that’d jab your jiblets, too… “easy.”
Nothing personal here, as this is just a fantastic example of what not to do if you want to be taken seriously.
Though this post is Twitter-specific, much of it can be taken into other presences such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
So, let’s dig right in. If you have trouble viewing the text I’ve added to this screenshot, just click on it and you’ll get a bigger, better view.

Social Media Credibility Killers

1 – Announcing to a teeny, tiny audience (probably 1 or 2 followers) that you’re launching your “social media” campaign… and then dropping the ball… is worse than not starting at all.
Here, the first tweet says “xyz.com has just launched its social media campaign.”
I’m waiting… and social media is not an ad “campaign”, it’s a presence.
This presence, in turn, is about relationships, hopefully with others who have more than 1 tweet that reads “Hello Twitterers” or something to that effect.
2 – Leading us on.
Telling all 8 of your followers (me included… just for fun) to check back often for special offers and freebies, and then not having any, is a double credibility killer.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not feeling very special right about now (sniff, sniff).
3 – 3 tweets in 5 months?
Come on, guys, this tells me you don’t have much to say… or (boo hoo) you don’t care about me… 12% of your audience!
4 – Following too few.
This says you’re selfish (in a “social media” sense).
5 – Followed by fewer.
This says you’re boring.
6 – Listed by none.
This says you’re boring as hell.
7 – “No Favorites”
This says you’re boring as hell AND afraid of commitment.
8 – Laying an egg.

Too many “egg” icons on your profile? Wondering why your icon changed to an egg?
These are the default Twitter icon for beginners.
This should be the first thing to go when you set up your profile.
Now, don’t get me wrong, if you’re waiting for the eggs to hatch and monitoring their progress, that’s fantastic!
But I don’t see any hatching going on here.
Omellettes anyone?

9 – Stepping on a geek’s toes.
Telling me, or any other established web professional, that setting yourself up online is “easy.”
Want an analogy outside of tech?
My wife is an accomplished physical therapist in private practice.
Try telling her your post-op shoulder rehab treatment protocol can be explained over a cocktail at a party and you’ll see what I mean.
Love ya, honey

Got Anything Good To Say? What’s right with it?
Of course, there are positives to this profile too.
1 – It exists.
Come on, let’s give the guys a break.
According to the latest studyby the Pew Internet and American Life Project, there are millions of active Twitter users with a median age of 31.
They are “mobile, urban and engaged online.”
This, my friends, sounds like fertile ground for building relationships with affluent, or soon-to-be affluent people.
And since 59% of Twitter users are females (my offline industry’s primary customers), it only makes sense to meet them where they are.
2 – It shows that it’s linked to the Facebook presence.
One of the three tweets came from Facebook.
This implies at least a basic understanding of which button to click.
But I can’t stay positive the whole time here because this may also say the Facebook presence may be ignored as well… oops.
3 –  The “Bio” is filled out and uses up the valuable 140-character real estate.
This is good.
Use it up and fill it with appropriate words relative to you and your style.
Search.Twitter.com is being used with greater frequency, and this bio can be found.
Think of it as another store front in a different section of town.
4 – The web url is in the bio.
You’d be amazed how many forget this simple step.
Check out my Twitter list of “guru’s, experts and professionals” and see which ones don’t have a url… you’ll get the irony.
5 - The owner’s icon has been changed from the egg.
Of course, it’s a boring Sears portraity-faux-painted background, but it’s better than an egg!
See, I’m not all that bad!

NEX T STEPS
“But what do I do now?”
Let me offer up a few words of friendly advice if you have a profile that needs serious “pimping.”
1 – Start
Do like the above example and start.
But for goodness sake, don’t drop the ball.
2 – Link
Link it to your other online real estate.
It’s got to be connected to your website, Facebook presence, YouTube profile, Foursquare, etc… through a link in the bio and links woven into the tweets.
Interested parties can go through your tweet history and click on links from your past.
I see it all the time, and I do it when I come across someone interesting.
3 – Be 140 smart
Set up your profile and use all 140 characters with keywords relevant to your goal… but don’t be boring.
Include hobbies, anything that will make you interesting.
You can even include geo-specific keywords and, if appropriate, zip codes.
If you come across as a sales person in your bio, you will lose.
But slipping a little selling language in is ok, especially if it’s product- or service-specific.
4 – Change
Occasionally change your profile wording to reflect your varied interests and attract new followers.
5 – FOLLOW
Follow interesting people and retweet their good stuff.
Ask them for advice, too, and they may follow you back.
Remember, this is social media.
And, you may be the one to introduce your followers to someone interesting like @Loic (Seesmic maven), @Alltop (Guy Kawasaki of Apple-now-Alltop fame), @Scobleizer (Robert Scoble, a well-connected smart guy)or @Lockergnome (Chris Pirillo of CNN and etc web note)… all of whom you follow, right?
I’ve gotten to know these web superstars over the years and their online worlds are full of valuable information.
6 – FOLLOW BACK
Follow those who follow you, and do not over-think this.
You can always unfollow and block them if they’re trolls or porn star wannabe’s, but that’s another story.
7 – Hyperlink your tweets
Include links in your tweets often.
I said it in #2, but it’s worth repeating
8 – A picture is worth a thousand words
Include pics intermittently in your tweets.
If you don’t know how, email me.
9 – Say something
TWEET, damnit!
Seriously, though, offer some value.
In my opinion, you should also occasionaly serve up some humor.
10 – List and be listed
Build lists and list people you admire and want to follow you.
This shows you are savvy.
Don’t give up.
Here is an example of someone who seems as though they gave up (in my geeky opinion):

This one is tragic, but one day, good old Bob may give me a call (although I prefer email, Skype video, FaceTime, Meebo…) and I’ll lend a hand.
You can always ask me for advice… hopefully before I give it “unsolicited.ly” as in the above examples.

If you’d like to learn more about social media and real business, even if it’s just to check on your brand, check out the book The Social Media Equation. One tip from it could save you embarrassment or make you thousands!
Click the image to order and you will be able to download it immediately.

All the best,

Chris

@WebMindSet @ 14,000 ft

PS – this post got Alltop-ed 11 hours after I posted it.
If you don’t know, that’s a good sign.
Thanks Guy Kawasaki!

Interns – a wonderful “secret” weapon for driving traffic.

Ok, so “Crakalicious” is not a user name I would have chosen for a popular blog comment post, but who am I to judge?!
There is a point to this and it’s a good one.
I’ve used interns for years to delegate tasks and provide opportunity.
As a former intern myself, I was given a fantastic opportunity that I ran with… no, I sprinted with, to translate it into an editor-ship with a startup that is still in business after over 15 years.
I’m pretty proud of that.
Oh, right, let me get back to the point.
This post is about interns and one simple way I’ve employed them to get important, but time-consuming tasks, done.
Specifically, commenting on popular blog posts (definitely after reading them!) and linking back to my various web presences.
It’s a great way to build traffic, but it’s a low-dollar/hr task that I just can’t do any more.
Why is it ok?
Because my interns actually read the blog posts they comment on.
That’s pretty important, speaking as a blogger that has to sift through loads of spam comments that have nothing to do with my erudite (humbly spoken) writings, and link back to ridiculous sites, some of which make me sick.
And where did the name “Crakalicious” appear?
Well, I’m still laughing about it because it was on a CNN blog post about drug use.
Of course, junior and I had a talk and that name disappeared.
Then he replaced it with “John Smith” and we had another talk.
Now he uses his real name and we’re both happy

All the best,

Chris

Social Media for business owners – Don’t let your team forget how interesting they are online.

Image by fredcavazza via Flickr

I was holding a sales meeting today.
Nothing unusual about that.
But then I went into the social media segment of the meeting and we began discussing personal social media accounts and ideas for driving leads.
It’s never been policy to suggest to any employee that they put business information of any kind on their profiles or status updates, but there was interest so we dug in.
When someone mentioned that she’s not that unusual, I really worked with her and this is what we came up with:

- She’s one of very few city residents actually born and raised in this highly-transient community just outside DC.
- Her father owned and operated an ice cream store that was the hub of activity since the late 1940′s.
- Her father was also the head of the American Legion chapter in our city for years.
- She has a picture of herself on a parade float.
- A very famous local tavern hundreds of years old figured prominently into her family history.
- She has two beautiful grand babies.
- and we kept going…

What’s the point?

Someone out there may be looking for a connection with someone before they enter into a business transaction.
I helped her understand just how valuable some of this information can be from a “friendliness” standpoint and she (a very gregarious person) was all ears.
Then I really laid it out…
“Wonderful you,” I said. “I’m going to compose an online profile for you, complete with pictures of your grandbabies, and put a link to that profile in your email signature so anyone receiving a quote from you will know a little more about you.”
Then, her online profile was born.
We take a lot for granted and it can be extremely helpful to step outside the office and look at your team with new eyes.
I’ve got a lot of team members, so it’s time to get busy because I truly enjoy learning more about them!
All the best,

Chris

@WebMindSet @ 14,000 ft

Speed kills? Online, speed pays!

It’s a common message in my inbox – “Wow, thanks for the quick response!”
It’s not too difficult – just reply within 5 minutes and you are ahead of the game. In fact, your reply does not have to be perfect or well though out. Most times it just takes a simple “Thanks for the email, [one of my staff] will touch base with you soon to talk about your project.”
This brief reply usually serves as glue and stops the online shopper in their seat.

Whenever a fellow business owner tells me they don’t “waste” money online, I bite my tongue.
Why?
Because it’s not rocket science unless your mind is closed to learning a new way to deal with inquiries and online clients – their way. I’ve actually gone to several websites owned by people who’ve told me their online efforts are not paying off.

How long do you think it took them to respond to my inquiry?

Wayyyy longer than 5 minutes. In fact, in some cases, the response came over a week later. I would liken this to saying “My new Porsche is a piece of junk” when you’re putting diesel fuel in the engine and starting out in 3rd gear. Not smart.

As we used to say in the transportation industry -

It’s not the truck… it’s the nut behind the wheel!

According to a study by MIT’s Sloan School of Management, responding to web-generated leads in under 5 minutes increases close rates by 800 percent! Is there anything else in sales that can have such significant impact on close rates?

Click here to learn more http://alexandriacarpetone.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/using-the-web-to-increase-sales-a-sense-of-urgency-is-your-most-valuable-asset/

Give it a shot!
All the best,

Chris

Christopher Moline, LEED AP

Move quickly online and you'll win

Email to an open-minded business owner who asked for website help

I recently received an email from a flooring business owner who realized he needed help. He, unlike many others, saw the need and asked me to be brutally honest. Although I held back, here is some of the information I gave him.

“3 things really quick
1 – Make sure each page title is descriptive of where you are and what you do.
The index page should be “tile remodeling contractor [your region]” – [your region] for me is “dc metro northern virginia area”.
Keep it to under 15 words or so.
-This helps with search engines more than most people realize.
 Then, go to your homepage and look up at the blue bar.
-It says “Home –” This tells Google it should be bored… and Google doesn’t like to be bored.
For your “About Us” page, you may want to try a different title like “kitchen, bath, shower and tile remodeling in [your area] (I’d prefer a county or region so you don’t limit yourself).
You would be amazed at how well this pays off.

2 – Sign up for Sitemeter at http://www.sitemeter.com/ and get their counter on your page.
Pay for the option that lets you hide the counter.
It also will tell you exactly which search strings people used to get to you under “Referrals”.
You can then identify the crap ones or the golden ones.
I, for instance, hope never to be found on any of my over 20 sites and 3 blogs for a search for “cheap [product X] dc”.
You will, I guarantee, over time see the above-mentioned page titles start showing up as search strings for how people got to you.
Then, you tweak them even more.
3 – Give each page a starting line of text and try not to have text be an image.
Google is looking for text and it can’t read a picture.
For instance – “Welcome to the page of …” won’t help unless someone is looking specifically for you. However, it won’t get it because “Owners – …” is the first line of text. Shoot for something above that which says something to the effect of “Locally-owned tile, kitchen, bath remodelers in …” or something. You’ll get the hang of it. Try some searches with your customer’s mindset and see what you find out. I’ll be they’ve got page titles and text… or they’re lucky! Remember, online, folks don’t care about us…
4 – Man, I’ve got so much more because my team sells hundreds of thousands to online leads each quarter and I’ve been doing this for years.
Once you’ve got these first three, let me know and I’ll hook you up further.  Once you get the hang of some of this, I’ll set you up w/ Google analytics and webmaster tools. But, first things first. The business I sold made me boat loads of sales and it gets more and more fun.”

Jim is going to do well in part because he doesn’t think he knows everything and is not overly-sensitive to constructive criticism.
That’s my kind of client!

All the best,

Chris
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