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Why Should I Share Their Content? They Don’t Follow Me

By on December 19, 2011 in Blog Coach, Social Media with 6 Comments

Pouting About Social Media Sharing?There are sectors of Social Media and Social Networking that may have reason to place importance on such matters as:

  • Do they Follow Me?
  • Did they Unfriend Me?
  • Am I in their Circles?
  • But people in my Tribe don’t like her …

Stop it.

We’re in business now, so let’s graduate from that thought process, hmm?

There are plenty of people who write some brilliant content. Maybe their content helps my intended audience get smarter and grow stronger. And so I curate it and share the content in various places – even if they don’t follow me.

And why not. I recommend books, movies, and restaurants all the time even though those folks probably don’t know me either. How ‘about you?

As I noted in Why and How I Use Twitter:

I share items with three peoples in mind (in this order):

  1. Customers I Serve (and to a certain degree, the followers et al who are part of my “audience”)
  2. Those I link to – a distant second place. I don’t practice “linkbait”.  I may share on occasion as a way of saying “thanks” to the content creator.
  3. Me – Sure, findability and keywords and all that is in my thought process, but if there’s no value for my customer – there will be no value for me.

Keep in mind the 5 Things About Your Intended Audience and you’ll be equipped to quickly determine whether to share something or not.

Photo on Flickr by ale © colour

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Access and Action: Premium Content and Business Blogging

By on December 16, 2011 in Blog Coach with 1 Comment

Earlier this week, I read this post on Premium Content and thought about cost and value.

Stephen P. Smith is heading towards a more systematic approach to publishing his work. I have an eye and ear towards Stephen’s work on Twitter and via RSS, but some of his content on Google+ has caught my attention. It’s those longer, deeper thoughts that he speaks about in his post about Premium Content

In his post uses two key words: Access and Action.

And I believe these two words are the keys to creating premium content that will add an additional revenue stream to many small and independent business owners.

We use a blog (or other streams and content) to give a taste-on-a-toothpick, not wanting to give away the farm. But many small business owners wonder when the farm gets shown.

Premium Content with Access and Action for you might look like a workshop in a Google Plus Hangout; an in-depth video training on YouTube (but with a limited access URL); or a membership site like The Dialing 8 Project. In each of these scenarios, the intended audience has special access (to the content and creator) and actionable responses – the take-aways are tangible.

Back to Stephen – His premium content has two choices. The first, a weekly delivery, is less expensive than just about everything and slightly more than a freely published blog post. Another, a monthly subscription, is offered at $25 month.

Hmm, I thought. Less expensive than a full consult and if I glean one thing that adds $25 of revenue to my practice – it’s worth it. Ah, but I love this line: The thinking is free, I get paid to answer the email. Subscribers get to engage privately with Smith on things that they find a challenge – and Smith responds with an in-depth reply.

For less than small cup of coffee a day. But with more and longer-lasting benefits.

How might you create a greater, in-depth form of content that includes Access and Action for your audience?

 

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Are You Asking the “Why Should I” and Missing the “Why Are They”?

By on December 13, 2011 in Blog Coach with 0 Comments

Is Your Business Ready for Mobile?Wow, things change fast, hmm?

New things, changed things, different ways to use things. And have you seen the way those people are using those things?

And so we are faced with a question (or two). Many of us start with this one:

Why (on earth) would I want to do that?!

Unfortunately, as you may have determined by the tone (the exclamation after the question mark) this really isn’t a question – though it should be, just without the sarcasm.

And if it is a question to find understanding of what it might mean to you, follow up with this question:

Why are they doing  that?

By trying to find out what are they getting out of using that thing, or how it’s improving their lifestyle –  you’re priming your brain and your business to be prepared to serve your customer  - and the next wave – better.

I recently read a piece of data that shows 1 of 5 parents use a mobile device to communicate with their kids while they’re both at home (time for dinner or don’t forget the dishes). Whether you and I agree with that practice is secondary in the context of business.

It’s what’s being done now, and it’s what is coming around the bend. Adults and soon-to-be adults are using mobile. Have you see the people you drive next to and in front of. Everyone is on it (including you).

So next time you see something new or changed, maybe give a little focus to value they have found to help us find our own value.

Is your business ready for mobile?

  • Mobile Apps
  • Mobile Sites
  • Location-Based pages (Google Places, Foursquare, Merchant’s Circle, etc)
  • Other quick-to-implement and necessary to woo your customer ideas.

These are some of the things we’re discussing in our Dialing 8 CoLaboratory Hangout today (members only). If you want to join us tomorrow, let me know in a way convenient to you and I’ll make it happen (9am, 11:30am, or 7pm CST).

Is your business ready for mobile?

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Is it Okay for Social Media to be Automated or Scheduled?

By on December 10, 2011 in Blog Coach, Social Media with 7 Comments

I’m not a fan of “this or that” as a blanket statement. Too many variables and I believe there’s only one immutable law in social media.

I do see some valid arguments made for and against automated items in social media, and again – it depends on what kind of task is being automated.

Some confusion has crept in some of the conversation, though. I’d like us to make a distinction between two types of actions:

Automated Items and Scheduled Items

Automated is something that is often repeatable and put into a “set it and forget it” mode. Some of these (and my thumb-action) might include:

  • Follow-back on Twitter (thumbs-down)
  • Blog Posts directly to another platform (it depends)
  • Triberr Retweets (thumbs-up if settings are on manual, otherwise . . .)
  • Almost every ifttt recipe (it depends)
  • Payments sent to Dialing 8 members through Revenue Sharing (big thumbs up!)

Scheduled is something that almost always -or at least always should – have context or content added:

  • Bufferapp your tweets (big thumbs up)
  • Blog posts (big thumbs up)
  • Event reminders (in most cases, thumbs up)
  • Newsletter mailings (and in some cases even automated – thumbs up)

So, while we may have missed some items or tasks, we can see a difference between Automated and Scheduled in our publishing or sharing content. As you can probably see, I’d lean toward Scheduling as a practice and be shy towards Automating.

What’s your take on the topic?

Photo on Flickr by bigbirdz

Become Comfortable with Crap

By on December 7, 2011 in Blog Coach, Brain Stew with 4 Comments

This is for the crap writers . . .

The ones who believe they can’t
But do it anyway
Who recognize the only way to get better
Is to get going and get doing

Those who forge ahead knowing
that by sharing what we know
we know better and create capacity for more
more to share, and more people to share with

For the ones who care without concern
whether they have a face for radio
or a voice best whispered
and start drawing with an Ish frame of mind

Thank you for what you’re about to do
and for leading those who are about to read
for standing up to The Flinch in your brain
and getting through the crap that holds you back

Because the reality just may be
Once you get through today’s crap
different crap will greet you tomorrow
Different – but better. Because now . . .

You’re Comfortable with Crap 

4 Social Elements and the Talk-nology Empowering the Web

By on November 30, 2011 in Blog Coach, Conversations, Social Media with 0 Comments

The Social Web is not so much about technology, but rather talknology. And four of the basic elements of talknology have been around since . . . well, since chalk on a rock.

  1. Discover
  2. Consume
  3. Share
  4. Produce

These four elements (and the emotions that they evoke) are some of what powers what we do online and offline.

Listen and watch the conversations around you as you go holiday shopping this season. You’ll find people talking about where they found a great deal, or how this could be used for that.

Watch how links are passed around on Twitter (and the speed at which news spreads). Or how Quora and LinkedIn communities thrive because of the “expertise” offered.

Maybe this simultaneous process is so intertwined, a couple of them exchange places. Maybe “share” comes before “consume” now (not that it should).

A new tool comes out, the early discovery leads to sharing (a boost of “standing” within the community for sharing so early?), then we try out the tool and produce content or results the use. Or judgments are shared about something prior to using it.

Discover – Consume – Share – Produce

Are you enabling and empowering this to happen in your own production? Do you reward discovery or sharing of your product/service/content? Do you applaud those who use it and test it? Are you ready for all types of feedback (good and bad?)

Let your consumers discover, make things simple to share, reward these elements as you notice them.

Photo on Flickr by polandeze

 

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Special Small Business Saturday: Dialing 8 Membership Free Trial

By on November 25, 2011 in Blog Coach, Dialing 8 with 0 Comments

About this time a few years ago, on a drive to a client appointment in Centerville, IA (about 2 hours south of Des Moines) I was driving through the tiny town of Albia, IA. I noticed that most of the stores had already closed, and the drug store and furniture store were going out of business. It’s the holiday season, and they are closing up shop?

Since then, I’ve worked around the Midwest with Shingle Pages, building affordable web pages for the rural business, many of whom have zero to less web presences. Hard to believe, but 35% of small or independent business still don’t have a website. A website!

That’s one of the reasons for The Dialing 8 Project: helping small businesses grow with social media that counts.

And to celebrate those behind the counter and on the phone, beating the streets and working to make things meet, we’re offering to small, rural, or independent business owners. A 30-day free trial to Dialing 8. Offer is good through Small Business Saturday.

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3 Plans for Dialing 8 Membership

By on November 21, 2011 in Blog Coach, Marketing, Social Media with 0 Comments

Dialing 8 Monthly Dialing 8 Quarterly Dialing8 Annual
Budget-Minded Testing the Waters Committed to Success

 

The Dialing 8 Project is designed to be a professional learning community, focusing on the profitable and simplified use of social media and social networks as an augmentation to your core business.

We build our learning around the Dial of 8 social media model, so that business owners can integrate social media into their business plan (and not have social media take over their business).

Members get full access to:

  • Core Content
  • Screen Cast tutorials
  • Membership Forums and Directory
  • Video Conference Workshops (twice each week)
  • Live Co-Working using Google Hangouts
  • eBooks & eLearning Modules
  • Templates & Organizers

The site is intended for small businesses, rural business, independent contractors, and solopreneurs. Join Dialing 8 Today – stay strong, last long. And at $271 year, you can’t go wrong.

Simplify the process
Amplify your voice
Monetize your efforts

Become a member of Dialing 8 today 

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Do You Really Want Comments on Your Blog?

By on November 20, 2011 in Blog Coach, Conversations with 0 Comments

There are lots of platforms for conversation these days, so many endless streams of information, so many places to see and be seen.

Yet many still gauge their success on how many comments they get on their blog.

It seems there are three stages of of thought around comments on a business’ blog:

  1. Fear of negative comments
  2. Worry that no one will ever comment
  3. Replying to all the comments becomes a chore

Some never get to the third stage – heck, some never overcome the first stage and therefore don’t blog – but those are trails for another stroll.

Would you rather have comments on your blog or have others comment about your blog elsewhere?

I’ve long held to the practice and teaching that long comments should become blog posts. And while I’m a big believer in conversation, it’s as much about our behavior as the give-and-take.

While there is value to people commenting on your site,  isn’t that mostly an ego-massage more than a relationship builder and revenue generator?

And frankly, don’t you get a bit more excited when someone shares your link out to their audience than the excitement of a comment coming in? Outward vs Inward.

It is, after all, a world wide web we weave, hmm?

 

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5 Things About Your Intended Audience

By on November 18, 2011 in Blog Coach, Marketing with 1 Comment

5 Things to Know About Your Intended AudiencePop Quiz:

  • What does your Core Customer think about most?
  • What is your Target Market talking about?
  • What does your Readership share most?
  • How does your Audience feel about _____?
  • What are the pain points and complaints they have?

Knowing the answers to these questions will put you in a position to recognize your customer and allow them to recognize – and engage more readily – with you.

Understanding these five things about your “intended audience” will help you stay on track to writing, producing, serving, and attracting readers, followers, and most importantly – customers.

Remember there’s a difference between your intended audience and an attending audience. We all have two crowds.

Conversations around these types of things are often a topic within the Dialing 8 Project community. To become a part of this growing professional learning community, visit the site or, join in a ConverStations Google+ Hangout on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday afternoons.

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