Jan

25

Microleading Your Tribe

Filed Under Books, Management, Social Media | Comments

I can sit here and quote Seth Godin’s book Tribes all day, but that would spoil it for people who haven’t read the book yet. If you are a Twitter user and you picked up Seth’s latest book, you might automatically think that there will be a whole chapter dedicated to building tribes through Twitter. But there isn’t. What you will find as you read through it is one short section (pg. 34 & 35) and a few other quick mentions of Twitter throughout the entire book.

In that short section, he briefly explains what Twitter is all about and then mentions one example of how Laura Fitton (@pistachio) built enough trust over time to grow her following to just over 16,000 people. Laura obviously saw huge potential in using Twitter as a tribe building tool early on. While building her own tribe, she also impacted the lives of many others who have now managed to build tribes of their own.

The essential lesson is that every day it gets easier to tighten the relationship you have with the people who chose to follow you.

There are hundreds of other examples of leaders increasing their reach though using different online mediums. The first two that come to mind are Guy Kawasaki, who started with his blog How to Change the World and Gary Vaynerchuck, through his Wine Library TV videos. Godin emphasizes in the book that although these online methods can be very successful, they are still not the only answer in building a tribe of followers.

But never forget: it’s about quality not quantity. You will hear this many times on Twitter and its been discussed over and over. I am sure there are some users (like Tad Chef) with 200 close followers that are getting the same amount of benefit from using Twitter than some who have 2,000 uninterested people following them. 2,000 close followers could take a few days or a few years for some people to attain, but the best thing you can do it just stay patient and continue to lay the foundation. A tribe leader must always focus on gaining the trust of people first no matter what method they are using, online or offline. Connect with me on Twitter @jsmakr.

Related Posts
  • No related posts

Nov

9

Thoughts on Ogilvy-isms

Filed Under Advertising, Books, Marketing | Comments

I just finished reading Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy. I bought the book earlier this year after having read Then We Set His Hair on Fire by Phil Dusenberry, another advertising executive from BBDO which I also wrote about.

Here are a few important Ogilvy-isms (concepts, tactics, or techniques) of his that caught my attention.

Never write an advertisement which you wouldn’t want your own family to read. (pg. 127)

Plain and simple, who likes to be lied to or mislead? Too many marketers and advertisers assume that their target market is not smart or internet savvy. The online resources available now for people to check the facts are massive. With large blogs like the Consumerist and millions of searchable, smaller personal blogs; nothing gets by anymore. False advertising attempts will be blogged and micro-blogged about while the more traditional word-of-mouth also takes effect at the same time. Then, the story will most likely be picked up by other major publications and media outlets.

If it doesn’t sell without sound, it is useless. (pg. 160)

Whoever decided it was a good idea to automatically increase the volume of commercials should know that it was a horrible idea. Because of this annoyance, I find myself muting the TV once a commercial break hits. I have already started to notice the same trend with online streaming shows. There may be no statistic for this, but I am pretty sure an ad viewer is probably 99% less likely to purchase whatever is being advertised if they find it annoying. Anyway, that’s not the point here when Ogilvy says sell without sound. What I think he means is keep the word count low, don’t sound too aggressive, and back up the sound with memorable images. That way if sound is taken out of the equation at least the images will stick.

Big ideas are usually simple ideas. (pg. 195)

I couldn’t agree more, especially when it comes to the mobile channel. In the rapidly growing world of mobile marketing, too many companies are trying to dive into it with elaborate, but often messy approaches. It’s very easy to start off with a simple idea then add on too many other factors which you might convince yourself are essential. They may be essential, but once you give anybody too many options, it starts to get too confusing and overwhelming which is a major turn-off.

Related Posts

Aug

4

5 favorite tips from the Little Red Book of Selling

Filed Under Books, Career | Comments

I was given The Little Red Book of Selling by the CEO of my company and was told that everyone who worked for us was asked to read this book by Jeffrey Gitomer. After a few chapters, I quickly realized that this book was not just about selling, but also about strengthening your career through improving other essential business skills. These five tips stuck out to me when I went back and reviewed the book after I was done:

1. The most powerful person on your sales team is your customer.

Any satisfied customer will hopefully lead to referrals and more sales but what Gitomer describes in the book is using your best customers from the beginning of your sales process and not just after. One way to go about this is to have one of your loyal customers do you a favor and contact a potential client (if you have a strong relationship, they will be happy to). Of course, there are many other ways to get your customer involved like getting testimonials from them, but try to think of new, creative ways to spread their message to potential clients.

2. Your voicemail is a key to getting new customers and creating word-of-mouth advertising.

I don’t think many people put much thought into their voicemail away message, which is why this is a great way to stand out from the crowd. By having a creative or humorous message, your clients and potential clients will hear it, leave you a message, then most likely talk about. This should lead to a much higher overall message rate which should lead to more sales and stronger future relationships.

3. Humor not only helps make the sale – it also helps build the relationship.

Most people like to separate fun from work and I never really understood why (I am sure you probably agree). There are times to be serious and times where humor is appropriate during business hours and client meetings and I definitely think the right mix of both will lead to an increase in sales. It is up to you use your best judgment in each specific case if humor is appropriate or not and, if so, what type of humor. Just remember, it never hurts to make your potential customer laugh.

4. Creativity is a science that you can learn.

Gitomer recommends several books on creativity that have helped many people become more creative. I also believe that exposing yourself constantly to creative environments and creative individuals, you will learn how to be more creative as long as you are motivated and take notes. My favorite combination is when I come across something or someone that is both creativity and funny. Some of my favorite TV shows and movies for example are both creative and made me laugh. Once again it’s simple – exposing yourself to creative material (such as books, movies, etc.) and environments will help you learn how to be more creative.

5. Networking builds rapport that leads to appointments and sales. Lots of sales.

Everyone knows just how important networking is to having a successful career but many people avoid networking because they are too shy or afraid to meet new people. The first step is to get over this fear because it will be a major hindrance on your career advancement. Start slowly by attending small networking events with like minded people who you can talk to about your interests and not just the weather. It’s essential to keep in mind that you have nothing to loose when it comes to approaching new people at these events.

So those are just 5 out of the hundreds of tips given in his book. I recommend it to anyone, not just people in sales. Because Gitomer practices what he preaches, he has been able to become more successful from coaching people and organizations in sales. Remember, just reading and studying his sales techniques and tips is not enough to accomplish anything. It’s about hard work first, then sales techniques second.

Related Posts

Jul

9

Insights from an advertising legend

Filed Under Advertising, Books, Marketing | Comments

In Chapter 4 of Phil Dusenberry’s book Then We Set His Hair on Fire, he lists twenty-four questions to help his readers think about how insightful they have been in the past and why those insights were successful. Answering all these questions should give you what he calls your “insight resume”. Three of the questions that stood out to me were numbers 9, 10, & 15. Here are the questions followed by his answers and some of my thoughts:

9. How would you characterize your ideas?

I’ve always been passionate about ideas that were simple and easy to understand because they were true. People could see the ideas and then see themselves.

This is always great advice in general when it comes to analyzing any business problem or idea. Entrepreneurs are commonly advised to think about whether they can see themselves using their product or service and also to reach out to family and friends during the initial research phase to see if they clearly understand their plans. Simple is almost always better.

10. What is your creative signature?

Advertising that speaks to the heart as well as the head. In a world of parity products and services, advertising that packs an emotional wallop definitely gives you a big edge.

His answer is specific to advertising and marketing. That emotional wallop, as he puts it, is very rarely missing from any great advertising or marketing campaign. If you are not in the advertising industry though, think about past achievements in your career and the general reasons behind why you were successful.

15. What criteria do you employ to judge the merits of an insight or idea?

I first look at it with my gut. How does it feel? Am I excited? Am I bored? Am I delighted? Once past that, I look at it on a business level. And determine whether it’s on strategy, whether it meets the essential objectives. And more important, whether it has the potential to lead to a great piece of advertising.

It’s important to note the order in which he first analyzes how he feels about the insight then moves on to the business details. Why waste time dwelling on an insight that your not excited about?

I would recommend this book to anyone in business or entrepreneurship, especially with a role involved in advertising or marketing. He goes over several examples of some of the most successful advertising campaigns he helped create and produce during his time leading the BBDO agency. Creativity and regular insights are essential in any profession and the advice above is only part of why he was so successful in advertising.

Related Posts

May

5

Ever have a career flash forward?

Filed Under Books, Career | Comments

Everyone should pick and read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Although it’s not a business book, I would highly recommend it to anybody because it’s one of those books with many valuable lessons from the life of a very generous and fearless man – two traits that when combined can be very powerful in doing a huge amount of humanitarian good or help you become very successful in business.

Here is a quote from the second to last page of the book when Mortenson finds out he has the support needed from a powerful leader to continue with his mission and build more schools in the Afghanistan region:

Mortenson had always doubted that the entire life a person led could flash before him in the moment before death. There didn’t seem to be enough time. But in the second it took to look into Sadhar Khan’s dark eyes, and then through them, as he contemplated the vow he was being asked to take, Mortenson saw the rest of the life he had yet to live unreel before him.

How often does one experience the same type of flash forward with their work career when a life changing opportunity is presented to them? I could imagine entrepreneurs experience this type of moment when they get the funding needed to get their business off the ground or even when an employee find out about a major promotion or an exciting new job offer. In this case, Mortenson felt a sigh of relief from all the obstacles and hardships he had just overcome. He also felt a surge of confidence and excitement for the new challenges that lay ahead, which were very clear in his mind because of his experiences so far on his mission.

We should all hope to one day come across an opportunity like this, but of course nothing this rewarding ever comes easy. It will, however, hopefully come with a lot of hard work and dedication. The first step is to figure out exactly what you want to accomplish during your career and then to keep working toward those goals while constantly making new goals as you achieve old ones.

For Greg Mortenson, all it took was one unfortunate mountain climbing accident for him to see the opportunity to make a difference by building a school for the children of a small village in Korphe, Afghanistan. Once that first school was complete, he just knew he had to continue building more. I won’t go into detail about all his accomplishments and how much of an impact he has made to that region because its a book worth reading on your own. While reading it, make note of the impact one person can make and hope to one day be able to get as excited about your career as he was about his mission.

Related Posts

Next Page →