Checked your online identity lately?
Here’s mine…
While relieved, I’m not surprised. It’s taken nearly 15 years to solidify this type of position and know how to duplicate it.
For more info, check out the “Online Identity Calculator“.
All the best,
Chris
Know what people are saying about you online… even if you’re not saying anything?
Would you like to?
Or, have you heard so much about “social media” but are afraid to jump in because you may give a competitor valuable information?
This is where solid business meets Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs.
It’s also full of advice and each chapter comes with an Action Plan for each platform.
The Action Plans are packed with immediate-action tips to keep you from looking like a beginner, even if you are.
They’re also written from the perspective of an executive who has been successful in off-line businesses, but used the internet to augment lead generation.
One tip could save you or make you thousands… or help you combat cyber-squatting and other brand-damaging internet iniquities.
But the key to this book is that it gives you helpful advice to get your team involved and buying in to the concept.
Because if they don’t come along for the ride, you won’t enjoy it nearly as much as you could.
Click the image to order and you will be able to download it immediately. As updates hit, you will receive them automatically. You will also have access to my exclusive newsletter… and this is the only way to get access to it.
All the best,
Chris
Oh yeah, gettin’ my jump on:
I love tech and I love my parachutes!
@WebMindSet @ 14,000 ft
It’s embarassingly simple… you have my attention if you enhance my online presence.
Here is a live example I recorded with my Blackberry Curve in our Alexandria location. Hey, I’m a geek, so I’m not super-photogenic, but I have FUN working with my team.
Diana is a great rep who respects my time, asks if I’m free if we do not have an appointment.
Wayyy too many of the people who sell to me are not web-literate and they forget that it’s my primary language (although I speak fluent Spanish and German, as well as conversational Farsi), but she did her best… and it worked.
This video should be seen by everyone who wants to sell to me and my team.
Tell me I’ll get positioning on your main corporate site (and it better be a quality site) and you have my attention. Of course, if your product is crap or your support stinks, you’ll have a lot of work to do.
Believe me, I’ll check and give advice because I take this incredibly seriously.
Enjoy the vid and let me know what you think.
All the best,
Chris
The What – Blekko and slashtags to refine your search, eliminating the stuff you don’t want.
Here’s my beta test using the /green slashtag.
See for yourself.
Scoble makes a great point… Alta Vista must’ve said “who needs Google when we’ve got this wrapped up?!” Oh, the times.
You can even go see what slashtags others have made.
For instance – /cmoline/green is my green slash tag and I’ve included USGBC.org, Greenpeace.org, RRI.org, and TreeHugger.com in it.
And, really cool, I created the /scobleizer-tweets slashtag so I can search only tweets by Robert Scoble.
Can you see the value?
It’s going to be a long, fun, geeky night!
Drip Marketing professionals ask “why?!”
Because I told Amy Cosper… Entrepreneur Magazine‘s Editor, and @Aronado that I would.
And, my inner serial entrepreneur can’t resist a good business idea.
Just ask me about the time I beat a multi-billion dollar business to the web-url punch.
It’s just how I roll.
Besides, am I the only one who thinks “drip marketing” sounds like a way to sell venereal disease medication?
Of course, to get technical, here is Wikipedia on drip marketing:
“Drip Marketing is a communication strategy that sends, or “drips,” a pre-written set of messages to customers or prospects over time. These messages often take the form of E-mail marketing, although other media can also be used. Drip marketing is unique from other database marketing in two ways: (1) the timing of the messages follow a pre-determined course; (2) the messages are dripped in a series applicable to a specific behavior or status of the recipient.“
That said, I’ve been sorting through online material for some upcoming industry-specific presentations related to effecting social media plans for brick-and-mortar businesses. The name came up during an online “Ask The Editor” Ustream event with Amy and this is what happened.
Since I have years of experience as a business owner (and sold a successful business) I’ve found that being able to at once speak Web 2.0-ese AND sound business-speak has been very fruitful. Many who crave “startup crack” don’t have the real-world savvy to digest delivered sales reports and determine sales person effectiveness… much less look at PPC ROI to determine quarterly ad budgets.
And I believe the name will only be easier to convey and it sounds far better than “drip marketing”, although a little sexual inuendo never hurt anyone 
Here is a link to the video.
Cheers!
Chris
Chris Moline, LEED AP
@Webmindset
Move quickly online and you'll win
Note – follow this advice, then keep reading for the most valuable tools to put it all together and combine your social media efforts, saving you time.
Look around and you’ll see examples of social media being used, and mis-used, in business.
Sometimes it’s properly employed to work within a plan of action to achieve specific goals.
Other times, it’s part of a “slap it on the wall and see what sticks” approach (not that it’s entirely bad, just not ideal).
But what happens if you really do make some rain and get those coveted click-throughs?
Is your team ready to respond quickly with a coherent plan of action?
Here are 5 tips to put to use immediately.
Refer to my other post about speed if you think you are handling web leads properly (hint: if you take longer than 5 minutes to reply to an email, you’re moving too slow.)
1 – Use geographically-specific terms in your posts
If you have a local business in Milwaukee, include the following things in your posts and on your website – Milwaukee, your zip code, your suburb (West Allis, etc…), even street names. You can’t expect for a moment that vague terms will get you into Google’s top 10, which is where I live (Google’s Top 10, not Milwaukee) and where everyone who wants to do serious business online wants to be.
Here’s a basic example:
Flooring business in Alexandria, VA on S. Pickett Street, 22304.
You’d be amazed how often zip codes are used for searches.
2 – Employ a call to action
What is going to trigger someone to click?
Give them an answer, a compelling “why?”
It’s always fun to uncover information and explore.
3 – Include a hyperlink to more information
Once you get someone clicking, focus the clicks on where you want them to go.
You can lead, so you should, once you’ve gotten someone’s attention.
For example: Click HERE to see more.
In this case, clicking the above link simply opens this same post in another window so you can keep reading.
4 – Whenever possible, use video
Google ranks video high, and it’s just more interesting than text.
The web is a very silent place and you can use video to stand out.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth more.
And a little music never hurt anyone…
5 – Be interesting
This one goes without saying. Everyone who knows me or my business knows that I skydive, have a purebred German Shepherd, 3 fantastic kids, am a former Marine… Get the picture? People are looking for commonality… some way to connect with you. Give it to them and don’t be shy.
6 – Spell check… I had to put this one in. Although you can use purposeful misspelling as a traffic-generating tactic, it can also backfire.
Once you’ve got them down, start using Seesmic, HootSuite or TweetDeck to really bring it all together.
You’ll then be able to coordinate your different social media efforts from one place.
Go for it and send me some examples!
All the best,
Chris
It’s priceless, a goal worthy of the struggle… and it’s surely not easy.
Building a web culture and instilling the “web mindset” in the team is crucial to solid growth.
This is why “WebMindSet” is the blog title.
Each day I do something web-related and occasionally hold education sessions for our team.
Following is an example of an email I just sent to the group that keeps the web at the forefront. Keep reading for a breakdown of the key factors in this message, as well as the crucial “invitation to action” missed by so many.
Hold on… this is a primo example of a webmindset tool!
“Just this morning, the following search terms have directed traffic to us (each is the exact search term entered by the searcher):
boq raised floor (which led to a page referencing boq and FreeAxez raised flooring)
wicanders cork floor alexandria va
carpet remnants dc
amtico spacia leed
mr dustless wood floor virginia
patcraft style “opening lines”
These are just a few of hundreds/thousands each day that sometimes turn into business and as you can see, some are quite specific.
We can skew our web presence to encourage more or less of a certain type of “hit” as in the example of “carpet remnants dc” (dc was added to make it more geographically-specific) or “boq” being included online (BOQ is an acronym for Base Officers Quarters… thanks Peter).
Any product or market segment on your mind that could use a web traffic boost and potentially generate a call/email/visit? Reply with it and we’ll make it happen!”
Do you see the things that make this an effective “mindset transformer”?
1 - Frequency.
This gets done ALL THE TIME (a one-shot deal is never effective and only frustrates the author).
Ever hear someone say “I tried that once and it didn’t work”?
That really jabs my giblets.
2 – Get specific and bring it home.
It’s vital to reference products and services across the spectrum of what we do.
Why?
We have four divisions – Retail, Commercial, Government and Wholesale to the trade.
If the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) doesn’t come through, I won’t get the attention. And believe me, I want it (and, humbly, deserve it because we do very well online).
3 - Get specific-er. (My journalism school profs would kill me for that one.)
Show very specific examples of actual searches… this is important… that actually worked to bring traffic.
Soon to come is a complete “search to email, email to estimate, estimate to sale” trail that shows the win and I’ve got many examples of this.
4 - End with an invitation to action.
How can someone walk through a door if it’s not open?
And, if you don’t ask, you can bet you’re not going to get anything.
One of my favorite quotes is “timid sales people have skinny children” and it’s heard often around our place.
In this case, I’m selling to my own team and I want their web mindset to grow in maturity.
Try it out, then keep trying and email me your story!
You didn’t think I’d forget to end with an invitation of my own, did you?!
All the best,
Chris
Chris Moline, LEED AP
Webmindset@Gmail.com
8 years ago... about to go for a run and my little buddy, Jordan, wants in on the warm-up action!
I’ve been working online for nearly 15 years and occasionally I’ll stumble upon a resource that makes me wonder how I missed it beforehand. Usually, if it’s very good, I’ve missed it because it just launched.
Other times, I missed it because it just slipped by!
This is one of those.
Cheru Jackson, the brains behind AlphaInventions.com, has my vote as the blogger’s best friend. Sign up and give it a try for free…
Here is the link – http://www.alphainventions.com
All the best to you and Cheru!
Chris
I did something silly, got laughed at by some peers. Then I made money…
What did I do?
Keep reading and you’ll find out.
But first, a money-making tip.
Following are some of the top 10 most popular YouTube videos of all time.
Did you know YouTube will pay you once you start bringing them volumes of traffic?
Did you know that boring videos don’t get much traffic?
I’m sure you did, and these prove the point:
Silly videos?
Sure, but they are POPULAR!
So, what did I do to get laughed at and make money?
I ate a piece of flooring to show off its natural qualities, posted the video on YouTube and made some sales as a result.
It doesn’t always work that way, and the flooring tasted like cardboard, but it just might work for you.
So, take these tips to heart:
1 – Stand out from the crowd! If everyone is wearing a black coat and red tie, don’t… and say something that matters.
2 – Be memorable. You can be remembered for good or bad reasons… shoot for a healthy combination.
3 – Have a call to action. If no one knows who you are and what you do (as well as what’s in it for them) when your video is over, you’ve wasted your time.
Need more information?
Send me an email and we can talk.
Better yet, here’s my call to action… hire me to speak to your staff or at your next convention!
All the best,
Chris
Move quickly online and you'll win
