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The megaphone effect in the decision funnel - web video

In my last post I included a web video to illustrate some points from my videoBook (vbook) about the decision funnel--or sales funnel--and how each of its stages still very much apply in the world of social media.  And while some might make claims about marketing "as we know it" as being dead, it isn't really so much that the underlying framework is dead or obsolete, but rather the the nuances of communicating with prospects and contacts "in the pipe," so to speak, are different.  I go into a little more detail in the short web video above.

Highlights:  The Megaphone Effect In the Decision Funnel

• After the point of sale, the customer lifecycle doesn't stop.  It continues with customers experiencing our services, forming opinions and then broadcasting those opinions out to others

• It used to be that the barriers for expressing those opinions were high.  But, with the advent of social media, those barriers have been greatly reduced.

• There's now a megaphone effect that affects those upstream in the decision funnel.

• We're accountable for the quality and delivery of our services long before many people even decide to buy into our offerings. 

• Interesting sidebar:  Listening activities play a big role in this cycle.  If you're not clued-in to what people say, when they say it and where they choose to say it, then your ability to respond is limited.  Worse, it can appear to your customers and observers that you don't pay attention to what your customers have to say.

Thoughts?  Have you experienced any situations where people seemed to know more about you before you even met them? 

Traditional Marketing, Dead? Really? - web video

A couple of days ago I had the pleasure of keynoting a meeting in Anaheim Hills, CA with a great group of real estate professionals from the Orange County and Riverside areas.  

My presentation was based on the "Hubs and Spokes" discussion from Chapter 3 of the vBook on MindBridj.  As I was tee-ing up the discussion I touched on an objection I usually have when it comes to claims about "the death of" traditional marketing due to social media.  I posted a video presentation of that section above.  (The first in a series.)  

Highlights: Traditional Marketing is Dead... Right?

• Claims that are occasionally made by some social media advocates about "traditional marketing" being dead are a bit grandiose.  In fact, much of it still applies--even in the social media generation.

• While the Decision Funnel (Sales Pipeline) still applies, perhaps the "flavor" of it has changed.

• As new technologies, new demographics and even cultural diversity evolve, the method for engaging others and generating awareness has (appropriately) evolved, but....

• ...the underlying framework hasn't really changed.  

• More in the next video. 

What's the Hub About in a "Hub and Spokes" Social Media Engagement Strategy

In yesterday's post I previewed the discussion I'm keynoting with a group of real estate professionals this week; tomorrow, as a matter of fact.  The idea being the need to be deliberate about structuring an approach to social media engagement that isn't the proverbial "shotgun" marketing strategy.  Or, what we used to call in my old Navy-air (P3 / ASW) days as the "Sherwin Williams tactic."  (Y'know, "cover the earth"?)

It all begins, of course, with a definition of purpose.  We discuss this in Chapter 2 of our book and, of course, also in the vBook.  Call it a personal mission statement, vision statement, purpose statement or what have you.  Folks who are new to the idea of engaging social media channels for business should take some time first to understand what it is they hope to accomplish.  And, no fair saying, "to make money."  Because if it were me, I'd be asking:  Well what kind of money?  From what demographic?  Offering what services?  For whom?  Is it really just for dollars or is there a trust factor you're striving for? 

You get the picture.  Keep asking "why", "for whom" and "how" at each level and eventually you get to a point of granular reasoning that hits closest to your purpose for your social media activities.  And, no matter what other things you end up discovering about your purpose, bundled in there somewhere will be the need to earn an element of trust and credibility with the folks you come in contact with.

So it is that the "hub" in the "Hub and Spokes" framework is a key part of your engagement strategy.  I extracted a video element from Chapter 3 of my vBook on the MindBridj site that touches a little more on the concept of the hub.  Now, keep in mind, this one suggests a blog being at the core of that "hub".  But, it doesn't have to be.  (Though in most cases, it probably will be.) 

The summary below should especially be helpful to those of you I get to meet at tomorrow's workshop.  I know many of you will find me here on this blog afterwards, as well as on MindBridj.  It is for you that I'm mostly making this blog entry.  Hopefully the video below will be a good recap for you.  If you have more questions, feel free to leave a comment or send me a note.  You can also check out, too, the chapters I'll have promised you that I would open up for you on the MindBridj site, as well.

Keynoting Hub-and-Spokes at a Workshop This Wednesday

I'm really looking forward to a keynote I'll be presenting this Wednesday to a really great group of real estate professionals in the north Orange County (California) area.  I was asked to come and help kick off FirstTeam Real Estate's (Anaheim Hills office) workshop with a discussion from key segments of our book.  I've chosen "Hub and Spokes," from Chapter 3.  

In the last several weeks I've had the pleasure of participating in various meetups and discussions on the topic of social media and have found the "Hub and Spokes" discussion to be a great launching point for subsequently drilling-down into many other facets of online discussions, online marketing, social network protocol and group culture.  

Below is the overview to Hub and Spokes from our book's vBook version on MindBridj.com.  Tomorrow, I'll post a follow up video that dedicates a section to the concept of "The Hub."

If you're reading this AND are attending FirstTeam Real Estate's (Anaheim Hills) workshop on Wednesday, stay tuned.  At the workshop, I'll be offering all attendees a bonus that'll get you access to the vBook and accompanying Success Modules on MindBridj.  

Also, if you're an attendee, please say hi and introduce yourself.  I really look forward to meeting you.  

For Some Friends Who Asked: How to Modify Your Twitter Profile

Below is one of the tutorials I posted in the Success Modules topic series on MindBridj.  This one helps some of our members --and at least three of my friends who specifically asked for it--to modify their profile on Twitter. 

Included also in the Success Modules -- but not in the video above -- is another video that shows MindBridj members how to customize the background of Twitter in a way that specifically brands their business. 

I'm also currently working on an "Orchestration" series that addresses Chapter 5 in our book about orchestrating your social media activities.  Though I can't release them all, I'll periodically post a few of them here as they get finalized.

By the way, I had a great local meetup today with a group of folks in a local social media group called the Social Media Mastermind group, Orange County (SMMOC).  If you're in the Orange County, CA area, I'd definitely say it's worth looking into.  (No cost.)  And, if you're not, it might be worth checking out anyway to see the kinds of topics, discussions and activities that you might consider for a group you start in your area.

Are there any similar meetups in your area that you'd recommend?

January's vBook open registration window has now closed.

Shyooh... What a week.  Launching a new site always kicks my butt.  ;)

Was it Dorothy Parker who said, "I hate writing, but love having written." (?)  Well, to paraphrase:  "I hate launching a new site, but love having launched it."  (Not as eloquent--nor original--as Ms. Parker, perhaps.  But you get the gist.)

When I first opened registration for the vBook via MindBridj.com I wanted to keep it in a beta (pilot) format initially.  So I stuck to a 5-day launch window.  (January 27th through 31st.)  That proved to be a good idea because, having essentially offered for free the digital version of the "carbon-based" product (which our publisher otherwise retails for upwards of $70), the interest was pretty healthy.  Now, I'll be asking for feedback -- and I expect to get a fair bit.  I'm already bracing for the work ahead of me as I intend to incorporate that feedback before making the product available again in a few weeks.

Anyway, thanks for indulging my absence these past few days.  Though I seemingly took a break from my blogging activities during that time, I can assure you I didn't stop writing.

I'll keep you posted.

I'm counting down to releasing the vBook. Finished rendering the last chapter yesterday.

Yesterday, I finally finished shooting, editing and rendering the last chapter of the Social Media vBook.  (Based on the text we published last Fall.)

Later this morning, I'll be going out with a message to the folks who signed up previously to be notifed about the date and time of the open registration window.  Like I said in my post yesterday, there will be an open date and a close date.  After the close date, we won't be letting any others in for a while so I can have time to get feedback and incorporate the feedback before opening it up again later on downstream.

I'll be posting information here after I let the folks on my priority notification list know about the registration first.

Anyway, I wanted to share the Chapter 6 video because it's the one that sums up the vBook and transitions to the Success Modules.  As it turns out, it also gives a good flavor for the theme and tone of the 20 some-odd videos that precede it and which comprise the sum total of the book.

I hope you'll join me in the first round of registrations.  Check back again to get an update.  Or, if you want, simply sign up on my site at MindBridj.com and I'll include you in the notification list.  If you know someone who you think would benefit from a free social media field guide, feel free to forward this post along.  Chat soon. :)

How To Get Access To the Online Social Media Field Guide -- Free

A couple of months ago I announced a videoBook (vBook) project I was working on.  It's the online video version of the social media field guide I had written with Stefan last summer, The Swanepoel Social Media Report: A Field Guide For Real Estate Professionals. 

I'm getting ready to release it --the online videoBook version -- in beta mode this week.  Access will be free for initial registrants. 

But, here's the thing:  I'm going to keep registrations open only for a few days before closing the doors again for a while.  I want to keep only a few registrants for the time being.  That's so I can get feedback, while also checking for any bugs and make sure my video servers handle the load okay.  I've placed a sign-up form on my web site at MindBridj.com for those interested in getting on the priority notification list.

In the meantime, in response to suggestions about giving some kind of preview about the site layout and navigation, I responeded by creating the video below that shows some of the content behind the registration wall.  Check it out. 

In the meantime, you can also help me out.  Please do me a favor and give me a couple of your ideas about what you believe should absolutely be included in a really good social media training program.  Even after rollout, I intend to continue adding to the content; your feedback will be instrumental.  Here's the link to give that feedback.  Thanks in advance.

Related posts:

• About our next videoBook project;
• The Long Tail in 4 Minutes;
• MindMapping: A Keen Alternative To Online Video Tutorials.

Tweet this! )

The Power of Twitter Is In the Retweet

It is for you, my friend, who is still trying to wrap her head around Twitter (and social media?) that I put this video together. 

This one's specific to Twitter, but is part of a series of other supporting topics I've placed in the vBook (videoBook to our Social Media text-based book) I'll be opening up this month.

And, if you're willing, can you help with your feedback to one question?  "What are two most important things you believe absolutely needs to be included in an effective social media training program?"

It's a question about which I want to make sure I keep myself grounded so I don't lose the trends and needs of folks.  As I get new feedback that isn't currently in the online vBook, I want to make sure I address it.  Thanks in advance.  Here's that link again.

300 Of The Most Frequent Words I Used In 2009 - what do the words we use say about us?

 

What do the words we use say about us?  

As part of the reflective process many of us do this time of year (do you do that, too?) I wanted to see what my blog posts could reveal about the kinds of things I seemed passionate about in 2009.  In fact, I started this process right after the Thanksgiving holiday and even wrote a couple of posts early in December about what YOU (collectively) thought were most interesting from my posts and what some of the "aha" moments were that I learned in 2009.

Extending that exercise a bit, I decided it would also be helpful to take all the blog posts -- ALL of them -- I had written in 2009 and analyze them for the most prolific words.  (Too much time on my hands over the holiday?  LOL. Not really.  Let's just call it a survival technique.  I got antsy in between video productions for the social media vBook project.  I also found it was otherwise all too easy to slide on my training and eat chocolates, cake and drink eggnog all day while hanging out with family.)

Anyway, the result of that analysis is the word cloud above.  It shows the top 300 words in this blog during 2009.  Words appearing in bigger text were used more frequently relative to other words in the data set.  If that visualization is any indication, then clearly I had social on the brain. 

I then applied a filter to more easily focus on the top 50 words.  The result of that filter is shown below.  It seems to suggest I was more specifically focused on topics related to Twitter, Facebook, video, as well as people, networking and sharing (content).

All in all, I was pleased.  I was pleased because that's all about in line with the things I set out to accomplish at the beginning of 2009. 

Social media was/is huge.  In fact I wrote a book about it and am now producing an online vBook to complement it.  But more than that, I also started the year with a concerted effort to expand my social and professional networks more during 2009.  While social networks like Twitter and Facebook (and LinkedIn and even blogging networks) helped me to that end, I think it was also my participation in live meetups (tweetups, lunch meetings, professional association meetings, and so on) that helped solidify many of those virtual handshakes into more tangible relationships.

Now, as I turn a new chapter (and discover a few more gray hairs to boot!) my hope for 2010's word cloud is to see more emphasis on words related to "sharing", "learning" and, yes, "networking".  I'll still expect "social" to have a significant share of screen real estate.  But, with some of the cool new relationships I had the benefit of solidifying last year, I'd hope that next year's word cloud will also suggest the "partnerships" and "friendships" those relationships were able to generate.

What kinds of words are you hoping will be your buzz words for 2010?

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