THINKing

Please, Please Me

Gave a social media presentation last night to a group of about 45 small business owners as part of Bank of Commerce’s School of Commerce program. I was one of two presenters. While looking at the evaluation forms, I was struck again by how there are always one or two people who don’t get their expectations fulfilled from presentations.

For the sake of transparency, I’ll give you my numbers from the 23 evaluation forms that were completed:

Overall, the course was Excellent/Very Good - 17 attendees; Good - 5 attendees; Poor - 1 attendee

Harry Hoover was Excellent/Very Good - 20 attendees; Good/Fair - 2 attendees

As I read through the comments, it become clear to me who the two disgruntled attendees were and why they were disgruntled. This comment said it all to me,

As a small business, none of the info provided helped me in my marketing plans. The Q&A was better than the presentation.

I told the group that if they don’t remember anything else from my presentation that I want them to remember this: Focus. You must focus on your current customers and clearly understand them, know where they are going in social media and follow them there.

Based on the business owner comment above I think I know who wrote it. He was the guy that kept asking questions specifically applicable only to his business. The disgruntled owner was mad at me because I didn’t do the work for him. That’s asking a lot from a free one hour workshop.

It’s true that you are never going to please everyone when you give a presentation, particularly when you have such a diverse group with an understanding of the topic ranging from 0 to 100. But I do take all the comments - good and bad - to heart and try to improve my next presentation. Have you had similar experiences with your presentations?

Content Marketing Again

We talked recently about placing your content marketing on steroids. We need to finish the story. There are still other ways to move your content, as Jay Ehret and Rodger Johnson reminded me.

Jay says to prepare a video of the content and post it online. Rodger is turning a lot of his content into podcasts for use on his website. And, of course, you can register your podcasts at the Apple itunes store, where people can find you.

Let’s not forget writing articles from your content and posting them at EzineArticles. Additionally, you should offer your content as guest blog posts.

We already talked about developing seminars from your content, but you also could cut it up into more bite-sized pieces to take on the road as a speech to civic and professional groups. Have we forgotten anything else? Let me know.

New Business 2009

Are you out looking for new business? Who isn’t? I wrote a series on the topic some time back. You may want to check it out if you missed it the first time around.

New Business Primer - Part 1 - Introduction to the new business primer.

New Business Primer - Part 2 - An organization’s brand identity must be a reflection of three things: market perceptions, the organization’s acumen, as well as its aspirations. Positioning is where these three elements overlap.

New Business Primer - Part 3 - My marketing mentor, Bill Loeffler, once said the the best new business program is doing great work for current clients. He was right.

New Business Primer - Part 4 - Let’s get past this strategic stuff and to the tactics that got you in front of prospects. First on my list of ways to get in front of prospects was referrals.

New Business Primer - Part 5 - Here is the best piece of advice I’ll ever give you, although at first blush it may not seem that astounding: focus. Did Harry say “focus”? Yes, he did. Wow, that’s deep!

New Business Primer - Part 6 - Let’s talk about social networks. In order to be most effective, you must select three to four networks and focus your efforts there.

New Business Primer - Part 7 - Cold calling is a waste of time and there are better ways to spend your time.

New Business Primer - Part 8 - Network It. Now that you have your client defined and you have looked at your list to identify those folks who can help you, you need to contact them.

New Business Primer - Part 9 - PR professionals know about reputation. But so often they don’t spend any time building their own reputation and brand. Step back and take a look at yourself as if you were a client.

Leadership 101

Despite the financial mess we are in and the negative, woe is me media frenzy, America is going to be all right. In our relatively short national history, we have been through many trials and always have come out on top. It is the good people of this country - not the government, not elected officials - who are responsible for getting us through tough times. We will help family and friends and those less fortunate members of our communities. That’s what we do. It’s part of our character.

Americans don’t take orders very well, but we will take direction. From Bunker Hill to the beaches of Normandy, we have had leaders who have provided this function. George Washington, although not comfortable with public speaking, gave voice to the people by his actions. He suffered the same privations as his troops. And he acted audaciously - like his crossing of the frozen Delaware in the dead of night - when it was necessary.

During the financial panic of 1907, millionaire JP Morgan walked calmly onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and bought bank shares, restoring confidence in the markets.

There were the fireside chats of Franklin Roosevelt that reminded us of what we would have to do to defeat tyranny during World War II. Ronald Reagan, facing an economic malaise featuring mortgage rates as high as 17.5%, reminded us that we were Americans and we could do anything. He restored confidence and optimism in us and we worked our way out of the financial abyss.

What we don’t have right now is a leader who can give voice to the people, and remind us about our positive characteristics and abilities.

Today’s so-called leaders are too busy blamescaping. Now, there is plenty of blame to go around, but it goes back decades. So, as we discussed here recently - there is no need dredging it up right now. We need audacious leaders willing to direct our actions. Who will those leaders be? I’m guessing they won’t be elected officials. I’m also guessing that there will be a lot of local leaders ranging from the world of business to the church who mobilize us and remind us that we - as Americans - can do anything.

I’m sure some will criticize me for my positive outlook. It’s trendy to be negative and to complain about everything, not to trumpet American exceptionalism. But I believe what I’ve written and won’t apologize for it.

Marketers and communicators have the tools and the training, but do they have the audacity, do they have the fortitude to communicate from a positive position? Are you willing to lead? Let’s talk about how we can help our fellows weather this maelstrom.

Content Marketing Reading List

From videos and blogs to speeches and articles, it’s all about content today. Marketers need to look at ways to develop, distribute and market their content. So, to help you out I’ve put together this reading list:

Content Marketing Wikizine - This is a wikizine I’m editing at Zimbio, which by the way is a good place to market your content

Junta42 - another excellent place to learn about and market your content about content marketing. Read the ultimate guide to content marketing.

Content Marketing Today - Newt Barrett’s excellent site that teaches you how to connect to your customers: online, in print, and in person. Be sure to read the content marketing basics section.

Ty Boyd - Longtime friend and client, Ty Boyd, is one of America’s best presenters. His website and Zipline newsletter are two superb resources for learning how to improve your face-to-face communication skills. There is nothing better than delivering content the old, analog way.

Do you have any content marketing resources? Comments, please.