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Three ways to boost your social media presence and be more engaging
Posted on December 22, 2016 at 11:00 AM |
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Ha-ha, made you look! When my kids
were little they would sometimes taunt me with that phrase. It was intended as a playful insult because
they tricked me into looking at something that didn’t really exist. With my marketing teams, that phrase is not
said in jest. Its code for marketing content
and messaging that forms a favorable impression; it catches our target audiences’
attention and piques their interest.
Marketers want attention. They
want their audience to engage with their social profiles. In order to boost my social media presence
and fine-tune my engagement I focus on three key areas:
As you can see, many of the profiles I engaged not only followed me back, but they also “Listed” me. There are worse things in life than to be listed under “Inbound Stars” or “Inbound16 Rockstars!” This feedback had the added benefit of letting me know that my profile and content made a favorable impression.
Yes, this is marketing automation gone awry. This type of twitter stream is not engaging and
does not provide relevant content. It’s
pure noise.
This tweet not only calls out a few of those recognized but also has a customized video (also below) that makes the effort even more attention grabbing. Did the individuals recognized appreciate the video content and the mention? As they say, “a picture is worth a thousand
words.” |
How to Bridge the Gap between Sales and Marketing
Posted on November 15, 2016 at 12:47 PM |
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“On the Beach.” In the consulting world that expression means you
are not involved in activity that is billable.
In other words, you are not directly creating revenue for your company. And that is always a dangerous place to be if
you want to stay employed. An early
mentor of mine told me to “never get removed from the real revenue stream.” For several years I lived by that advice
through a career in sales, but I knew there were also important positions
within an organization that by design, were not directly revenue producing. Yes, we’re talking about the staff that
supports the revenue generators. The
accounting term often used is “overhead.”
Overhead expenses may apply
to a variety of operational categories, including marketing for some
organizations. Most marketers though,
including me now, hate the thought of being labeled overhead. You are simply not going to find us On the
Beach. That’s why marketing ROI metrics
are always top-of-mind. In fact, I
wouldn’t be surprised if we spend more time trying to figure out how to measure
the results of our activity than actually creating campaigns. The continuous struggle to cost justify every
marketing move is often a major reason for the gap that exists between sales
and marketing. I’ve spent a significant amount of time in both disciplines so I’m
going to offer five key points that have helped me “bridge the gap” with my
sales counterpart. Keep in mind that my
point-of-view is coming from the B2B world and may not apply to all of you. 1. Listen to and show some empathy for
the people who carry the quota. I’m
fortunate that my background makes this first point easy. I have both inside and field-based sales
experience as well as direct and indirect channel experience. I’ve covered a territory as both an
individual contributor as well as a sales manager and I know what it feels like
to be directly in front of the customer and responsible for the quota. That experience creates immediate credibility
that is priceless with my sales counterpart.
I listen to and am empathetic with the sales organization, and they know
my feelings are sincere. 2. I don’t tell sales how to do their job. A sales person who can cover their quota year
after year is worth their weight in gold.
The last thing you need to do is to suggest that you (marketing)
understand the customer or the sales environment they’re dealing with better
than they do. In other words, I don’t walk
around acting like the company know-it-all. 3. Keep your sales force informed. When I was covering a territory it used to irritate
me when HQ would send content (email blasts, direct mail, etc.) into my
territory without telling me. In fact,
on one occasion it created a problem because I had a proposal ready to close
and I didn’t want any more messaging to confuse the decision maker. 4. Lead generation and lead nurturing are
music to their ears. Yes, we joke about
leads being “qualified and ready-to-buy right now.” But in the B2B solution selling space where
sales cycles are long and deal values are high they are not realistically expecting
that type of lead. They want help
keeping the brand top-of-mind and an increase in “footprint influence” throughout
their accounts. 5. I lead from the front and teach by
example. Social networking for sales
results is important in today’s business environment because social media has the potential to influence the
customer experience when employees are able to initiate conversations on social
platforms and begin building trust-based relationships throughout the customer
lifecycle. For that reason I’m very
active on social media demonstrating by example how the right content distributed
consistently through the various social platforms builds credibility, trust and
conversations that start sales motions. How do you build your bridges? |
Don’t sell alone. Build your network early.
Posted on August 15, 2016 at 2:56 PM |
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To: Sales Manager Ref: No Network Connection I am writing in response to your request for additional information. In my sales pipeline report, I put “no
network connection,” as the cause for my sales pipeline miss. In your email to me, you said that I should
explain more fully. I was prospecting alone on a new account. During my visit, I discovered I had
competition, and lacked access to the decision maker. Rather than research potential networking
connections that might provide an introduction to the decision maker, I decided
to dazzle my contact with the feature functionality of our solution. I presented our company and product
information talking slowly to make sure my contact was clear concerning our value
proposition. Due to my surprise of their lack of interest, I lost my presence
of mind and recommended we move forward with a demonstration. Needless to say, the meeting came to a rapid
end and I was escorted out. On the way
out, I met our competition coming in. Not
taking this lightly, I broke into a rapid dialogue reiterating our product
functionality, not stopping until our competitor had passed. Fortunately, at this point I regained my presence of mind and was
able to suggest a special deal hoping to skip right to a proposal. At approximately the same time, however, we
reached the lobby. Without access to the
decision maker I was on my own and time was running out. As you might imagine, I began a rather rapid
dialogue concerning after-sales support fearing my opportunity was slipping
away. In the vicinity of the front door, I met a well-connected consultant
walking side-by-side with the decision maker.
This encounter with the consultant and decision maker slowed me enough
to realize I needed help. I’m happy to
report, as I walked across the parking lot, unable to continue my sales call,
watching the consultant walk off with the decision maker; I had the presence of
mind to make a networking request with the consultant. Once I develop a joint value proposition with
the consultant I should be back on track. I hope I have furnished the information you required as to how my
sales cycle stalled because, “I’ve been trying to sell alone.” |
The 1980's Are Calling, They Want Leadership Back
Posted on August 10, 2016 at 11:10 AM |
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I completed my MBA in the 1980’s. While searching for my first postgraduate
position I noticed that most interviewers at that time loved to hear that you
could work under pressure and that you welcomed the opportunity to step up and make
major decisions. Hell yes,
just put me in the game and I won’t be afraid to take the final shot at the
buzzer. Win or lose, I’m a leader who is
willing to take full responsibility for my decisions. Not anymore. Today most HR interviewers are horrified if
you don’t mention teamwork and collaboration as your trade-mark management
styles. In today’s business climate
collaboration is the gold standard.
Decisions ranging from who should be hired to new product lines cannot
go forward unless they have been thoroughly vetted by everyone who may be
remotely connected to the situation. I
recently spoke with an executive who was “brought in” by a company to “interview
with a few members of the staff.” It was
no less than 10 different people. And it
was obvious to my source that only a couple members of the staff had any
training whatsoever in the art of interviewing.
In other words, most were totally unprepared and probably offered little
useful insight to the actual hiring executive. Has “collaboration” gone too far? Is it really necessary to interrupt the
schedule of 10 different individuals for their input and advice? When you consider that several of the
top candidates were all “brought in,” you begin to see how much time was really
given up for this single scenario. In
addition, how many other projects is this team collaborating on? A recent HBR article presented researched
that suggests that many employees spend up to 80% of their time in meetings, on
the phone and responding to emails. That
doesn’t leave much time to get their individually assigned work done. Let me be clear. I’m not bashing teamwork and
collaboration. We all know that input
and insight from several knowledgeable sources can add value to the
organization. But are executives confusing
the concept of collaboration with consensus? Or worse, perhaps they are using this popular management style as a way to hedge
responsibility should something go wrong.
As in, “Hey, it’s not my problem!
We all signed-off thinking she would make a great hire.” Or, “Hey, it’s not my fault! Everyone agreed that the new product would
sell like hotcakes!”
At the risk of being labeled a
non-collaborator, I believe the pendulum needs to swing back to the middle. Yes, your team would like to think of you as
open, transparent and all inclusive. But
that doesn’t mean you should turn every decision into a general election
popularity vote. Even if your team
considers it a “major decision” that doesn’t mean you should start blocking off
time slots across the board. Leadership is often about making tough
calls and directing focus. In short,
your organization needs, and wants a leader who will step up and make a
decision. Knowing when and how you need
to involve others in a decision is the sign of a leader worth following. |
What causes you to remove a connection?
Posted on March 21, 2016 at 8:31 AM |
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Have you ever removed a connection on LinkedIn? Unfriended someone on
Facebook? Blocked a Twitter profile? It’s a rare event, but on occasion I do
severe relationships. I don’t do it
lightly because it’s hurtful. Yes, it’s
true that social rejection activates the same part of the brain that physical
pain does. It hurts most of us to be
rejected. In fact, I also feel bad when
the role is reversed making me the rejector.
That means I don’t like to do it if I don’t have to. But recently I received a direct message from
- what I’ll call - a “weak ties” LinkedIn connection that resulted in my
terminating the relationship. It read as follows: Alan, If you haven’t
already, please review my profile page and utilize my service as a resource.
Also, in an effort to improve my ranking I would ask for your endorsement in
several key areas of my services: 1. Endorsement
Area Request 2. Endorsement
Area Request 3. Endorsement
Area Request 4. Endorsement
Area Request 5. Endorsement
Area Request 6. Endorsement
Area Request 7. Endorsement
Area Request Thank you
again, Name of removed
connection As you can see, I removed the particulars to protect the identity of
the sender. I’d like to believe they
were only being temporarily self-centered at the time. But the message felt like they were giving me
a direct order for purposes of taking advantage of my social capital, and I
just didn’t feel compelled to give them a second chance. In fact, it makes me sad that I even accepted their original invitation. For me, it’s a lesson learned concerning
connection requests that come from total strangers who are also outside of your
field of interest. No matter how well
you try to vet these weak tie types of invitations it’s a situation that’s
going to present a degree of risk. For
those of you who are LION’s, your willingness to accept social networking risk
at these highest levels escapes me. I was in direct sales long before I became a marketer, so my tolerance
for risky, assertive and even aggressive type personalities is very high. But the nature of the request above is simply
no way to win friends or influence people on social media platforms. I know there is plenty of research out there that states “if you want
to be retweeted, just ask!” In short,
that research suggests that it is OK to impose a direct order for assistance
from your social audience. So, by all
means, ask for the demo meeting immediately, just make your demands known by
telling your social capital exactly what you want them to do. Join the conversation and “like our Facebook
page, follow us on Twitter, and read our blogs!” For our social media ROI sake
please heed our “call to action” so we can justify our jobs! I suppose five years ago, before anyone with one or two social media
profiles and a hundred followers could become a “social media expert” that
research seemed reasonable. Social
audiences were smaller then, and still trying to figure out how communication
and engagement should work on those platforms.
But I believe most people have figured out that if you wouldn’t make
that type of request directly to their face then you shouldn’t express it
through a social media message. Now, not
all bad behavior results in unfollowing or dropping the connection. Sometimes you just ignore the request, hit
the delete button and go on with your social engagement strategy. But I’ll admit there is a part of me that now
wants to stop rewarding bad behavior by totally disconnecting the relationship
without feeling guilty. OK, I’ll get off my high horse.
Perhaps I need to develop an even thicker skin. Or perhaps I’m not pushing my own social
networking strategy to the degree that I should? How would you have reacted to the request
above given the limited amount of background information I presented? |
The Marketing Leaders Seat at the Executive Table
Posted on February 22, 2016 at 3:45 PM |
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The
executive team gathered around the conference table and the webcam flashed
green as the First-Half 2016 sales forecast began. The CMO remembered a time when these meetings
were in person and required full business attire, there was no PowerPoint, and
there were no smart phones or facilitated hashtagged social conversations with
the audience. The business world had
changed though, and he loved it. He can tweet
and blog with the best of them. Social
media and mobile devices were changing the business landscape, and he was
determined to help his company meet the transformation challenge. The prior year had involved several
one-on-one meetings with his counterparts.
They were productive, but at times he could still feel a little tension
and some apprehension. Information Technology - The Chief Information
Officer The prior
year included several meetings with the Chief Information Officer. In late 2012 Gartner analyst Laura McLellan
had published a report that contained the statement “by 2017, the CMO will spend more
on IT than the CIO.” Of course a
sound bite like that raised some eyebrows in both marketing and IT. 2017 is now less than one year away and it
was time to check their facts and see if that prediction could be supported
with their own data. The CMO and CIO had
already been working closely together over the past couple of years as a result
of the organizations ongoing social media and mobile marketing
initiatives. And what did they discover? That technology
was indeed the second largest part of the marketing budget. But for their company, the associated dollar
value was not more than the IT budget or likely to overtake it. What was actually becoming of greater concern
was the number of applications, programs and platforms the small marketing team
was being tasked to learn and manage. In
fact, across all the marketing functions, the number currently stood at well over
two dozen. CMO/CIO Collaboration: Marketing departments
are often responsible for several technical applications. They can include
aspects of CRM, marketing automation, email marketing, website analytics, data
analytics, marketing research, creative applications, webinar-meeting, and
more. This doesn’t even begin to touch
on all the new social media and mobile marketing related platforms and
applications that are now part of the strategic marketing plan. The CMO and CIO need to focus more on
matching talent and headcount to the applications that are actually being used
and bringing value than worrying about who has the bigger budget. Sales – The Chief Sales Officer Like many
CMO’s he had started his career in sales.
He had carried a quota and covered a territory just like the CSO. That background brought great credibility and
helped them agree on many strategies; but they could still have their moments
when it came to lead generation. Of
course sales would like “qualified,
ready-to-buy right now” leads. But
they both know in complex solution selling environments that’s not a realistic
expectation. Marketing was providing
support through the entire sales cycle, but their main focus – including the
budget – was on the front end. Creating awareness,
generating interest and building greater industry credibility had been
important to helping them engage with prospects and customers. And the fact that over 60% of their marketing
budget was dedicated to lead generation activity supported that point-of-view. CMO/CSO Collaboration: There will always be some degree of tension
between sales and marketing when it comes to lead generation activity. And that’s OK, the key is not to let it
spiral out of control. One area the CMO
and CSO agreed needed more focus was on helping the sales teams understand and
make better use of social media, particularly LinkedIn. Many sales people still view social media as
child’s play. They are not leveraging
social platforms as business development tools.
Subject matter experts from the marketing team need to spend more time
training the sales teams, one-on-one if necessary, in order to make
improvements in this area. Legal – Chief Legal Counsel A few
years ago the CMO and Chief Legal Counsel had a difficult relationship. At one point the CMO had actually said “I’d rather go to the dentist than have a
meeting with our legal department.” The
reason is that Legal and HR had formed an alliance to band all corporate social
media activity. Employees were not allowed
to access LinkedIn during the early social media years and later on blogging, Facebook
and Twitter went through similar review processes. That was now in the past, the legal
department was onboard. CMO/Legal Collaboration: Legal understands the value of social media and
recognizes the fact that there will always be some degree of risk associated
with those media channels that cannot be totally mitigated. However, that doesn’t mean marketing gets a
free pass. The marketing department will
work to make sure all “Social Media
Policies and Procedures” documentation is always up-to-date and
communicated throughout the organization.
This will be very important because “Social Employee Advocacy” software applications are likely to
expand how marketing leverages social media throughout the company in order to
help employees feel comfortable in the role of brand advocates. Human Resources – Chief Human Resources Officer Like
legal, HR has been fully engaged with marketing as it related to the new social
media channels. Sure, in the beginning
they worried about employee productivity and whether or not social media was
even relevant to their functional area.
At times they still wonder about the productivity, but they definitely
see the recruitment value. CMO/HR Collaboration: There are two important areas the CMO would
like to see addressed as it relates to HR and how their current processes
impact the corporate brand. Both projects
will also involve IT. First, current
HR applications and processes offer prospective employees the ability to connect
their LinkedIn profiles and or upload their current resumes. Either way, the process still requires them
to enter the same employment and education history that can be found in those
sources. This duplication of effort is time
consuming, frustrating and leaves a bad first impression of the corporate
brand. Second, automated
boilerplate rejection letters are killing brand value. Take a close look at the message projected in
a typical automated HR letter: What type
of messages are we sending? Here are
just a few to consider: 1. Applicants don’t appear
to rate a human response. Sorry the “HR
Department” doesn’t count. By the way,
how do you feel when you get an email concerning a subject that you’d naturally
like to respond to, but can’t? 2. The subject line
“Thank You for Your Interest” feels like a Western Union Death Notice. 3. The applicant response
is not personalized. Sorry, just because
you used their first name in the opening doesn’t make it personal. Most standard rejection letters have the
exact same wording. It appears that all
HR departments are using the same group of lawyers for this task. Sorry, just kidding. But really, how original. 4. Your high-level
feedback, “credentials and experience are valuable” is too general in nature
and is not helpful to the applicant or the process they are going through. 5. The same form
letter is sent to nearly every applicant.
Sure, the three or four you interview and the one person who gets the
job doesn’t receive this particular letter.
But think of the hundreds of individuals, some who might be potential
customers and have a high degree of social influence, who are now very disappointed
and perhaps quite insulted by the rejection. 6. The response was sent
late. They applied for that position three
months ago. The fact that you were busy
is not an excuse. Simply terrible. In my opinion the hiring manager (even
if the position is reporting directly to the CEO) needs to send the
letter. A form rejection letter sent
from HR months after the application was submitted only confirms that they were
never seriously considered. We’ve
figured out how to do one-to-one marketing with our customers and prospects;
it’s time to bring that same care to our HR process or we’ll find ourselves
losing ground fast in the social economy. CMO / CEO Collaboration: The Chief
Executive Officer came up through finance and is pretty much a numbers
person. And, as you might suspect, the
CEO takes special interest in things that increase revenue, decrease costs, or
mitigates risk. In short, that means the
question “What’s the ROI?” is never
going to be far from the surface. The
CEO is speaking now so let’s listen… “What is currently
impossible to do that if it were possible would change everything.” That’s an
interesting question to open the meeting… “Well, use the hashtag
#ItsPossible for today’s meeting because we’ve got big news!” OK, the
CEO is more than just a numbers person!
The CEO understands the importance of leading by example and is not
afraid to leverage the new social platforms.
Perhaps I’ll take some time to enjoy my seat at the executive table this
year. |
Can One Percent Be Influential?
Posted on January 4, 2016 at 7:54 AM |
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I grew up in Iowa which is generally considered a pretty low
key state. However, this February Iowa will
be the keynote when the first step in the United States Presidential nomination
process for both the Democrats and the Republicans begin with the Iowa Caucuses. The Iowa caucus is generally defined as a
“gathering of neighbors,” as many Iowans will be meeting in local schools,
churches and public libraries to publicly stand up for their presidential
preference. Neighbors gathering to discuss who should be in, as well
as who should be out. Does that sound a
little like a social network in action? Believe
it, these caucuses will be followed closely by the rest of the nation, and can
be an important factor in determining who will remain in the race and who will
drop out. Iowa may represent only one percent of
the U.S. population; however, since 1972 when Iowa began to hold the country’s
first caucuses, the eventual nominee of each party has been among the top three
finishers in Iowa. Can one percent be that influential? It’s something to think about as you kick-off
your 2015 social networking strategy. Happy
New Year! |
You’re Always Both the Messenger and the Message
Posted on June 30, 2015 at 1:39 PM |
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For your entertainment; a short knock-off skit
based on the Drew Carey TV series “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” The Host:
Welcome to “Whose Content Is It Anyway?” Where the quota is made up and the
revenue doesn’t matter. Our first skit is called, “Your marketing content sucks.”
Mr. Sales VP, you’re very nervous; you’ve just examined your sales pipeline and
discovered your team will not meet its sales objectives. Ms. Marketing Rep, you are a super confident business development
person from a marketing technology company ready to save the day. Ready? … Action!! Sales VP:
Oh my! No wonder we don’t have a #salespipeline. We don’t have the support we need
to nurture our leads and move them through the #salesfunnel. Marketing
Rep: I know #whatkeepsyouupatnight. You
have a #contentmarketing problem! Our #robust #scalable #cloudbased #revolutionary
#unique #endtoend solution helps business #engage with their prospects so that
they can #buildprofitableloyalrelationships and #closedealsfaster! Sales VP: I’m glad you called! I’m so
lucky you just happen to come across my #LinkedIn profile and decided to reach
out! Our #marketingcontent is terrible. Is there any hope?? Marketing
Rep: Never
fear! Although your pipeline is practically nonexistent, we can help. We can
quickly implement our solution and you’ll be #fillingyourfunnel in no time! Sales VP: Oh thank you!! I’ll sign
the #orderrightnow! Content is the Totality Can you relate to the skit above? Of course not, your quota may feel
like it was just made up, but you know revenue always matters! OK, on a more
serious note; did you notice that marketing was thrown under the bus? The “what
keeps you up at night” situation was described as a “marketing content problem.”
But what if the social profiles of the sales force is the real content problem?
Content is the total picture. And that means you’re always both the messenger
and the message. Your message may contain great content concerning your product
and your company, but the receiver is still going to check your personal credentials.
Yes, they are going to look you up on LinkedIn and will probably Google your
name. The question is; are they going to find someone they believe is capable
of adding value to their day, and allow you the opportunity to develop their
trust? Making a Good First Impression There is no room for error here. Does your profile brand you as a
professional?
Social platforms, particularly LinkedIn, are ideal for business
development. If used properly they can be a map of all your business contacts,
and create a route to important prospects you don’t know yet. Just remember,
you are both the messenger and the message. |
How to Use Transparency for Power
Posted on May 27, 2015 at 11:57 AM |
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What
does “transparency” in business actually mean? A lot of material has been
written on that topic over the last few years in relation to social media
marketing. Most of articles deal with
transparency at the corporate branding level although some authors provide
commentary around personal branding. I’ll
admit that a few of my own blog posts touch on transparency; yes, in many cases
authenticity, relevance and trust are also mentioned. One business dictionary defines
transparency as a “lack of hidden agendas or conditions, accompanied by the availability
of full information required for collaboration, cooperation, and collective
decision making.” If we go with that
definition, what might a transparent exchange sound like? Of course transparency
doesn’t imply being rude or cutting people short. In the example above both individuals are showing
a type of transparency. The executive is
asking very direct “what and why” questions.
Yes, the example may feel a bit abrupt, but according to G. Richard
Shell’s bookBargaining
for Advantage “you often get
more by finding out what the other person wants than you do by clever arguments
supporting what you need.” On the other
hand, the sales rep is not making any attempt to find out what motivates or might
inspire the executive to move forward with a meeting. He is circling around what would be a good
outcome for him. Information about what people
want is power. Are you using
transparency to gather information? Or
does your transparency represent a threat to your prospects because it’s
obvious you are only considering your own needs and perceptions? |
How to Establish Business Rapport in 140 Characters or Less
Posted on April 16, 2015 at 10:42 AM |
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In
2002 Nicholas Boothman penned a book titled “How
to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds or Less.” Pinterest wasn’t around in 2002, so yes, I
mean he is the author. It was a spin-off
from a book he released in 2000 titled “How to
Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less.” In his books Boothman states that research
has shown that we have approximately 90 seconds to make a favorable impression
when we first meet someone. “If meeting is
the physical coming together of two or more people, then communicating is what
we do from the moment we are fully aware of another’s presence. And between these two events - meeting and
communicating - lies the 90-second land of rapport that links them together.” How
quickly can you build rapport with others?
Without rapport, you will not get what you want, but when you have it a
lot of opportunities appear. Obviously Boothman’s
works are focused on face-to-face situations because they were written before social
media came on the scene. But I believe
many of the suggestions he offered can be applied to the social media world. 1. Rule Number One: When you meet someone, look
them in the eye and smile. Online this
means make sure your profile picture is business class. When you follow someone, or are following back
a new connection the first thing they are looking at is your picture. I don’t want to see a picture of your company
logo pasted into the spot where your face belongs. Also, you might be a fun loving adventurist
mountain climber in great shape. But
your end goal is to try and schedule a business meeting with me. So, is that really the picture you want to
use to create my initial impression?
Remember, I’m making a decision in just a couple of seconds on whether
or not to take you seriously and at this point of our relationship I don’t care
about your personal life. I care about
people who can add value to my day. 2. Rule Number Two:
When you want them to feel like they already know you, be a chameleon. What does a chameleon do? They instinctively know how to fit in. Online this means you need to fit into your
target markets world and not force them to feel like they need to follow your
world. Here is a suggestion on how to quickly
connect with your audience and improve your social graces: Before: “I hope you
enjoy my tweets.” After: “I’m looking
forward to reading your tweets.” See
the difference? A chameleon makes it
about their environment and synchronizes appropriately. When you adapt to their world they will feel
more comfortable and be more inclined to like you. 3. Rule Number
Three: Capture the imagination, and you capture the heart. Online this means your content needs to
build trust and fire the imagination.
What does your content look like?
Do your blog posts tell a story?
Or are they guaranteed to
induce sleepiness? Is your
Twitter stream engaging, or nothing but “Thank You for Following” messages post
after post? Coercion
is about getting people to do what you want them to; persuasion is about
getting them to want to do what you want them to do. Persuasion takes more time. It requires understanding your target markets
needs and desires. You need to develop
trust by building rapport and credibility, and minimizing their risk. If you’re not getting what you want from your
online networking behavior it’s time to change your strategy. |
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