Is social networking making you feel anti-social?

As a consultant to small businesses for 16 years, many of the questions I’ve gotten asked have started with “everyone’s talking about”. For a while it was newsletters, websites, full-color digital copying, etc. Now it’s social media. The biggies — Twitter, Linked In, Facebook, You Tube — as well as dozens of other sites and services.

“What do you want to know?” I ask.

They reply, “Do I have to?”

I try to avoid blanket statements like “everyone must be on Twitter.” As entrepreneurs, we always have a choice how we decide to market our companies. Still, it’s helpful to at least spend a little time lurking, watching a few tutorials and checking out the various social media options. That way you can make an educated decision whether they’re a good fit and whether you’re willing to make the time commitment.

Some things you may also want to consider…

6 Reasons to Use Social Media as a Marketing Tool

• Your client base is aging. If you want to attract new, younger clients you need to be talking where they’re listening.
• You want to build traffic to your Web site and improve your search rankings.
• You are positioning yourself as an expert and a resource by providing basic tips and links to goodinformation, including that which was published by others.
• You have a story to tell.
• You are working to build a community and understand that it is made up of individuals.
• You’re in it for the long haul.

6 Reasons Not to Use Social Media as a Marketing Tool

• If you believe you can control the conversation when you’re on the Web.
• If you plan to talk at your audience, rather than with it.
• If you cannot commit the time it takes to be consistently visible. Note that I did not say “constantly”visible.
• If you have no plan and no way to measure ROI but figure that everyone says you should “be there” so you better just start.
• If you think social media works the same way as traditional marketing.
• If everything you say needs to be vetted through partners, compliance, etc.

In my next post, I’ll focus on how to make the best use of your social media time and efforts.

Keep it Simple, But Not Stupid

A while back, I posed the following on LinkedIn…

“I’m an intelligent, computer-literate, web-savvy business owner… and SEO is making me crazy! For an existing website that is not going to be fundamentally redesigned — and in language the rest of us can understand — I know what SEO means. I need to know what to do about it.”

I think my specific request was easy to understand. I’m smart, but out of my element. Make it clear please.

I got 17 responses, and some really good information. But it also reminded me how very difficult it is for people who know things to explain them to people who don’t. Here are some of the answers I had to wade through (with no changes to spelling, punctuation, etc.):

• lets say the meta keywords shows word1,word2,word3, and this words comes at the bottom of the site and only once, then it will be less efficiant then this 3 words written at the top paragraph, in bold styling.
• Alt tags – these are part of an image tag and are a description of the image. If you must use images for your menu then do something like this; <a href=”about-us.html” title=”Find our about who we are”><img src=”/images/about-us.gif alt=”About Us” /></a>
• If you have something in flash, evaluate whether it needs to be flash or not. If not, replace it with text formatted with CSS, if it does have to be in flash, make sure there is good HTML content as the alternate for the <object> that contains the flash. If you have any external scripts or javascript generating content, fix or replace it.
• And a personal favorite which, while very clear, was wrong on so many levels — “Read this from Google, and I’d love to quote out your projects.”

When marketing your business, nonprofit or idea, you’re always going to be called upon to explain it to people. By definition, some of them will be people who don’t understand what you do. Find a way to do it briefly and clearly. A few tips:

• Practice, although you don’t want to sound like you’ve memorized a speech.
• Get rid of the industry-specific jargon.
• Ask a question or two, to gauge the other person’s knowledge level.
• Start small and work your way into more specifics if appropriate.
• At the same time, don’t be too simple or you won’t engage people. “I’m a family law attorney, focusing mostly on divorce and custody issues” is way better than “I’m a lawyer.”
• If you’re writing rather than speaking, have it proofread by someone who is unfamiliar with your work.

When we get close to something, especially when we’re passionate about it, we lose the ability to see it from someone else’s viewpoint. That’s fine until you need the “someone else” to understand. Then it’s vital that you speak the way they listen!

Now We’re Getting Somewhere

I can’t believe it took me so long to try walking barefoot on my treadmill. What a great feeling — not just more comfortable, but also a reminder that someone else’s rules are just that… someone else’s.

I used to belong to a gym (ok, more than one) that had a long list of rules on the wall. Invariably, one of these rules always involved “appropriate” footwear. So I made sure I had well-constructed, specifically-designed-for-walking tennies. Maybe those shoes were part of the reason I hated the gym so much!!

Now there’s a treadmill in the basement (what we in Wisconsin call the “rec” room). Much more convenient; still hate it. Hate feeling tired and fat even more, so it’s back to walking. But today I decided to try it barefoot. Wow! Invigorating and wonderfully sensory. I love the way my feet feel when they connect directly with the ground.

So what does this have to do with small business? How many times have we presumed that the rules that we brought from a corporate setting still apply? You started your own business, at least in part, because you didn’t like working under someone else’s system. It is possible that some aspect of your work still feels uncomfortable because you are still picturing that list of arbitrary rules and forgetting that you can tear it down? Post a new list of rules — symbolically or even literally. Make it shorter, write them in couplets, draw pictures, be flexible. There are no rules when you’re making the rules.

How did it take us this long to figure that out?

Hey You, Sit There

I’m helping to plan a dinner for about 300 people tonight. Some of the corporate tables are not going to be completely full, and they’ve asked us to seat others with them. So here’s a tip: The folks already at the table all know each other. The new people need to be a group who know each other too. Hopefully they’ll all interact. But if they don’t, at least they’ll have their respective grouplets and no one will be left out.

Ever been in that situation? Maybe at a wedding or corporate event? It’s such a great opportunity to meet people, yet most of us stay quietly within our comfort zone. I’ve often thought about just turning to the person next to me and saying “tell me something interesting about yourself.” Maybe I’ll try that tonight!

Fly Your Geek Flag

For many of us, being called a geek in high school was the ultimate insult. These days, though, geeks are not only ruling the world… geek culture has permeated just about everything. To be a geek is to be a passionate advocate for whatever interests you.

As a business owner, you’d better be geeky about what you do! And it would help if you were willing to express that passion in your marketing and everyday communication. Let your geek flag fly high, people. As long as you are not condescending to those of us who don’t share your enthusiasm, you’ll notice that people are actually attracted to you. In fact, actress Jennifer Love Hewitt recently told Maxim magazine that geeks tend to be funny and humble – two qualities she deeply admires.

How to show your geek colors? Here are a few ideas:

1. Write. Blog, Tweet, comment, answer questions on LinkedIn, publish a newsletter, send a letter to the editor. Your words will express your passion (which we’ve already agreed attracts clients and opportunities) and they will also highlight your expertise. Best of all, you can edit — selecting just the right words to make your point, and make it understandable.
2. Speak. Where are your potential clients hanging out? Go there and talk to them. If you’re more comfortable, speak one-on-one. Better yet, talk to a small group. Provide them with information (this is not a sales call) and resources. Be light, positive and accurate. Take lots of business cards.
3. Wear a shirt. Put your logo on your shirt or jacket, and wear it everywhere you go.
4. Drive. You’ve seen those car wraps that look like full color painting on cars. Don’t they just scream “I love what I do”?
5. Play. It’s not a coincidence that dot coms and IT departments are always portrayed full of toys. Geeks are playful people. Take your work seriously, but don’t take yourself so seriously that you can’t leave a little time to laugh and be lighthearted. For you lawyers and doctors and accountants and such, I know sometimes this is difficult. I’m not asking you to wear a clown suit. Just let go a bit. You do laugh at some point, right? Let your clients see that.
6. Love. Geekiness is really just about loving what you do. Operate your business from that love, rather than from a fear of failure.

Do you know a geek who’s not afraid to show it? Share the link with us so we can learn from the masters!