All posts by Shari Weiss

I have been writing and teaching most of my life -- and have enjoyed both vocations. However, the advent of the Social Media Revolution has turned my life around in the most exciting fashion. Rather than think about retirement, I want to help change the world -- particularly the business world -- into a "kinder," more ethical, transparent, and authentic place to help solve people's problems.
Sharisax Is Out There

Marketing Should Be the LAST Department to Be in Social Media

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Social Media Marketing is the BUZZ these days, and that IS what this article is all about: However, according to Axel Schultze. Chairman of the Social Media Academy, and my instructor for the first Leadership Class of 2010:

“Marketing is only ONE component. We must shift in all departments. Social Media initiatives cannot work without a buy-in from all areas of an organization.”

That being said, the Marketing and PR people in an organization are those responsible for the communication functions, and as such need to be aware that what’s worked in the past just isn’t working anymore:

  • For one thing, Advertising isn’t working because there’s just too much of it.
  • People no longer believe the glitzy productions that advertisers are throwing in our faces. We may be entertained, but we don’t “buy it.”
  • Ads no longer stick with us. Marketers “assume” that consumers are listening.
  • The Push Era is over: Broadcasting one-way messages leaves us out. Marketers today must listen to us, bring us in, and then we will listen to them.

Here are more of my take-aways from our last class session on

“The Changing Face of a Marketing and PR department”

1. Brand “attitude” has changed. It is all about PEOPLE identifying and associating themselves with brands. We are drawn to the people we see in ads.

2. We need to forget distinguishing between B2B and B2C: we are all customers of someone else.

3. When we market today, it is an US to US.

4. Beware of simply adding social media as a new “tool”; you may find you are simply making noise.

5. Companies cannot outsource social media and expect the best results; an agency cannot discuss topics in a forum without involvement of the sales, procurement, and support teams.

6. Planning is critical and should begin with ASSESSMENT, i.e. who your customers are, where they hang out, what they talk about, and what they need.

7. Biggest mistake is jumping in without knowing what you are doing; you need to strategize before you go too far: Goal, Mission, Benefits, Action Programs, Reporting — all need to go into developing strategy.

8. Social media plans must include ongoing research: monitoring, lead generation, internal escalation [responsiveness to leads].

9. Traditional “roll-outs” no longer work. Customers need to be part of the planning and implementation process. Customer Advisory Boards have always been powerful, but today they are HUGE, i.e. your entire customer base can play this role.

10. The distinctions between PR and Marketing are dissolving; the social media marketing team must build relationships with bloggers, traditional press, industry associations, educators, users and key influencers wherever they are to be found.

In this New Era of New Media, if a company does not have a Vision and a Strategy, the tools do not matter. Working with and through the consumer community is the path to success in the New Future.

Anyone hear of any valuable social media planning tools that have worked for your organization?

LinkedIn

Marketing Profs Describe Their Ideal New Hires

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If you were in a position to hire a new employee for your company, what would be the most important quality (in your opinion) the candidates you interview should have?

Recently Al Bagocius, CEO of The A & I Consulting, posted the question above to the 6800+ member LinkedIn group MarketingProfs. Al explained: “I posted the discussion as a learning tool for those looking for & trying to keep a job. I wanted them to see responses & suggestions from the group that may help them become better employees and groom themselves in the search process.”

Here are nine responses:

Superb talent and creativity in his or her field. Then, reliability — Sara Thurston

Would I be willing to have them as guests for dinner at my home with my family — Bill Doerr

Honesty – Art Shapro

Personal Integrity: We can mentor and teach him/her everything else but that …. and without it we’d be attempting to fill a ‘cracked’ vessel — John Weber

First attitude and flexibility, second creativity and out of the box thinking — Dr. Cande Tschetter

Honest and integrity are critical, but without passion for what he/she does, you could easily end up with a reliable chair-warmer — Cindi Smith

Follow through – absolutely! If they have that, it lets me know that they have integrity, as well — Mary Kurek

I think what I would be looking for is self drive and passion. I try to surround myself with people who have the same motivation to achieve and succeed as I do. Sales and service skills can be taught, but candidates who have that inner drive to succeed will always be first on my list to work with. — Mia Porlaje

Finally: Chris’s Compatibility Test

I always looked for somebody with the skills we needed, and the personality to fit into the team well. I guess we must have done both well because most of the people I hired are still successful in their field, and many of us are still friends.

Believe it or not, this is the way we used to test for compatibility. We’d ask candidates if they could recite from any Monty Python movie or TV show, any Star Trek movie or TV show, or sing 60s rock and roll. We did accept one candidate who said she could only sing in German, and another who asked if we would substitute the X-files. Both worked out well.

The one who didn’t was a young man who clearly thought I was an escaped lunatic when I asked him this. It was his first “real” job out of college, and I assume this was the only tie he owned–because he was wearing a Winnie the Pooh necktie that I suppose his mother bought him for Sunday school or something–when he was 10. So I told him I’d accept it if he could tell me what was the most wonderful thing about tiggers. By this time he was nervously looking over his shoulder as if looking for an avenue of escape. But he did answer the question and we did hire him. He didn’t last very long.

It may have been goofy. But it seemed to work for us.
— Chris Finnie

Students: Do you have these traits? Can you demonstrate them during an interview?

Employers: Have you been lucky enough to find new people with these qualities?


Note re: video above – Fikre Tesfa, a student in a recent Business Communication class has stayed in touch with me to tell me that my predictions about him are paying off. He is now working with independent film producers.

One day we’ll see Fikre up on The Academy Award stage.

Blogging, Guest Post

Social Media Helps Students & Teachers Learn from One Another

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One of my greatest teachers these days is my newest student Gregory Stringer, a 56-year-old disabled retiree who has returned to school for retraining, and that includes a heavy dose of Social Media Networking — which is how we met not long ago.

In the LinkedIn group, FUTURE SOCIAL MEDIA, Endaf Kerfoot presented a Discussion Topic asking the 3,000 group members to introduce themselves:

“Introduce yourself to members of the group – who you are, what you do, where your social media strategy is at/going, what you want to know more about, where you see your own Future of Social Media…”

Gregory and I both introduced ourselves to the group, and then after reading Gregory’s “elevator speech,” I decided to ask him to connect on LinkedIn.  The rest, as they say is History.  🙂

We now email one another, read & comment on each other’s blogs, and share tips. When I was reading through Gregory’s blog Grannelle’s Social Media, I was particularly intrigued by this article:

Tips for educators starting out blogging with students

[. . .  so  Gregory kindly allowed me to re-publish it here as a Guest Post]

My name is Gregory Stringer, and my Internet handle is Grannelle. Six weeks ago I had no idea what SNS was, or even stood for. Today, I am very active on many Social Networking Sites. In addition to blogging, I also “tweet” (http://twitter.com/Grannelle), have a MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/grannelle), track my wellness odyssey on Limeade (https://limeade.com/SecureLogin.aspx), and list my professional information on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/stringergregory).

Many sites offer the ability to blog as well as network. What follows are a few of my “secrets” for successful blogging in particular and for joining in on associated SNS in general.

1. Develop a profile document – Almost every site asks for the same general information when registering for access. I have therefore found it helpful to create a document that includes information such as name, address, e-mail, and any other information that is requested on each site I am interested in joining. By keeping this information current, I can simply copy and paste whatever is needed in the required fields. This can be a great time saver, and it insures that my data is consistent.

2. Investigate which sites you want to join – Since I am very active in not only blogging, but also commenting on articles I’ve read, I find it helps to narrow the field somewhat by only registering with those sites I am most interested in visiting. These may be news sites, blogs, and so on. It is very easy to get lost when surfing the ‘Net, especially when clicking link after link. Ergo, I will bookmark a site that looks intriguing, and when I have time, return to examine what is there. If it looks like something I think I may be enticed by, I’ll take the time to register. If not, I delete the site from my bookmarks.

3. Use an auto form-fill program – I use RoboForm with IE8. This way, I don’t have to track passwords every time I log on, though I do keep a secure record of all passwords. Again, this is a time-saver, and as a student, I find my time is at a premium. With a simple click, my user name and password are entered at each site I visit.

4. Link sites to each other – I post my “headline” on Twitter, and add a link to my blog site here at Edublogs. I also will link other blog postings, i.e. MySpace, to my main blog. I find it handy to link comments I make on one site to pertinent blogs. This serves to increase my visibility across the Web.

5. Ask questions of more experienced bloggers – As a newbie, I find I must often seek advice from others, such as Ms. Sue Waters (Sue Waters Blog), who shares some terrific instruction at The Edublogger (http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/). Ms. Waters, a technophile and apparent chocolate lover, hosts a wealth of erudition for those of us just starting out.

6. A default picture to post – I currently don’t have one, but I plan to go to one of the larger discount stores that offer portrait shots at economical prices. This is handy, as it gives a face to the “voice”. People like to know a little about whom they are speaking with, and a recent picture is helpful. It also gives your postings a more professional, as well as personal, feel.

I hope the reader has found something helpful here. If you have questions, or if you’d care to add to what has been said, please feel free to leave a comment. For me, blogging is a large part of my educational experience, and in any scholastic endeavor, the participation of everyone only increases the adventure. Won’t you join me in the journey for wisdom?

NOTE: Gregory recently received his first internship as an SM marketer and has already been offered a full time position upon graduation. His future plans include earning a BS in either marketing or e-Business, and advanced degrees in Internet Marketing.

FURTHER READING FROM GREGORY:

What kind of Netizen are you

What are the keys to social media participation

Blogging

What’s the ROI on Blog Comments, Anyway?

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‘If a tree falls in the woods, and no one hears, is there a sound?”

How can I get more comments on my blog?

Wow, what a great question — especially for a couple of million people now writing blog articles!

It’s an even better question for all the bloggers who’ve been writing long enough to publish articles responding to that  “challenge” like Charlie Gilkie, who Guest Posted on Problogger.net:  “8 Reasons You Might Not Be Getting Blog Comments.”

However, after enjoying reading Charlie’s post, 77 comments, and inserting my own comment [Number 74].

I started to wonder:

What’s the ROI on Blog Comments, Anyway?

Why do we bloggers want comments?

How much do other people’s comments really matter?

Here are my thoughts — as well as some “crowd-sourced” [from asking the question on Twitter and my Facebook page]:

You’ve got to start with your objectives: Why are you writing a blog?

Like any strategy where measurement can be done, you must know what you are measuring.

From Twitter:

@frostoloa “The question is why you want to measure that – what’s the end goal?”

@A_Aviles “It would depend on what you’re measuring, wouldn’t it?”

from Steve Rubel’s FB Fan Page:

“Shari, think it depends on your goals – interaction, quality of content/ideas,
etc.”

So WHEN do comments matter?

When . . .

  • you are writing to see how many comments you can get 🙂
  • you really want to know what other people have to say — whether you are the blogger or the blog reader
  • your comment on someone’s blog leads to a real, mutually beneficial relationship.

When do comments — or number of comments — NOT matter?

When . . .

  • your blog is just about you — and putting your views out there
  • you understand that many readers don’t have anything of extra value to add
  • you have your readers RT your URL and/or send you emails to applaud your efforts
  • you are just starting out and haven’t built enough Google Juice and content to draw huge numbers of readers

Here’s Leora’s 2 cents:

Leora Wenger

Leora Wenger

Lessee – you get some SEO juice if it’s dofollow, a little less if it’s not no follow, and you get connection to another human being – priceless. And maybe the person will then comment on your blog or click your lick. How does one measure these things?

How about yours?

Sharisax Is Out There

Ad Agencies Can Survive . . . IF . . .

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. . . if they follow this advice from the Forrester Research group [independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology].

Noted marketing blogger Edward Boches wrote about THE FUTURE OF AD AGENCIES from the Forrester point of view in a recent blog article.

As a long-time teacher of advertising to college students, I threw out all my textbooks last year [for which I was applauded by Seth Godin], and I now depend on Twitter to send me links on Advertising’s Future.

Here’s what the agencies MUST DO:

1. Understand HOW and WHERE to engage Today’s Consumer . . . and coach their clients to get engaged.

2. Because consumers trust consumer more than brands, companies need to mobilize their fans and followers to be the organization’s cheerleaders.

NOTE: Consumers are now the “creators” and “sharers” and “distributors.”

3. LISTEN. LISTEN. LISTEN: 3.5 billion brand conversations happen every day.

4. Firms must be more honest and authentic: (a) only 5% of people say they believe ad claims and (b) half of consumers say brands don’t live up to promises.

5. Forget MASS anything; it’s all about customization.

6. Learn Digital or Die

7. Measure as much as you can: learn analytics and USE them.

8. Social media does not promise to do everything; there needs to be integration with traditional vehicles of communication, but “pushing” tactics don’t work. It’s now all about Inbound, i.e., the customers pulling in a company’s message.

9. Successful agencies will think more about community than campaigns, learning to crowdsource.

10. Clients need IDEAS, INTERACTION, and INTELLIGENCE.

Did we forget anything?

Sharisax Is Out There

Can Social Media Predict the Academy Award Winners?

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Chicken or Egg: Which came first?

If I write this blog article about how Jeff Bridges should win the Best Actor Oscar for his authentic portrayal of a washed up, alcoholic country singing legend in the semi-romantic film Crazy Heart –

(1) Will my article get lots of new readers after he wins?

OR

(2) Will he win because I wrote about him?


If you join LinkedIn and completely fill out your profile, enter regular updates, answer questions, and participate in LinkedIn groups –

(1)Will someone find you and offer you the Job of a Lifetime?
OR
(2)Will you connect to some really bright, supportive people who help you create the life you always wanted?

If you spend an hour a day on Facebook –

(1)Will you be found by your long-lost high school buddies [or significant other]?
OR
(2) Will you participate in ways to deepen your current relationships?


If you keep your Tweetdeck desktop application open throughout the day and check it periodically –

(1) Will you accrue 15,000 followers
OR
(2) Will you discover amazing information AND people you could never have found any other way?


Which comes first?

Knowing how to do something OR learning what needs to be done in order to do what you want done?

Sharisax Is Out There

Social Media Sites Surpass Porn, and J-students Take Note

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This summer I’ll be teaching a social media course for journalism students at Laney College in Oakland, and I got the opportunity to promote the class for the students in the Mass Media & Society course.

Here is the lovely story written by campus newspaper editor Tracey Tate:

Weiss spreads the word about social networking

By: Tracey Tate
Posted: 2/18/10 Laney Tower

“I unfriended you, posted it on my wall and tweeted it to all my followers.”

If that statement sounds like “Greek” to you, then you should have been present at “Making Sense of Social Media” presented by Shari Weiss, social media evangelist, on Feb. 9 in Journalism Department Chair Burt Dragin’s Mass Media and Society class.

An English teacher at Laney, Weiss is on a mission to spread the word about the benefits of social networking. She defines Social Media as “internet tools and platforms for sharing and discussing information.”

The top four social networking tools Weiss considers noteworthy are the following:

Facebook – the source of “unfriend,” which was 2009 “word of the year” in the New Oxford American Dictionary

Twitter – where one communicates via ‘tweets’ to their followers, a micro-blog

Blogging – a personal diary or web log

LinkedIn – a professional networking website

When asked how Facebook compared to MySpace, Weiss made this comparison

“MySpace is like being at a bar, Facebook is like being at a backyard barbecue and LinkedIn being at the office.”

With employers now checking out potential employees on the Internet prior to hiring, Weiss’ analogy about the world of online social networking was timely for a room packed with college students. “Once you put something on the Internet, you can’t get it back. It’s there forever,” Weiss said.

She told an anecdote about a woman who had her professional reputation slammed on Yelp and emphasized the need for everyone to be Internet savvy. Weiss then encouraged the audience to understand the importance of building a positive presence on the Web so that any negative information online will be “buried” by the good dominating the bad comments.

How “worthwhile” is social networking?

Conversation ensued about the worthiness of social networking. Student Naytasha Howard asked if social media would ever outrank porn on the Internet. Weiss and others in the class quickly responded, “It already has.” Others chimed in about the value of social media. Student, Christopher Fitz said, “Social Media is a tool to enrich our lives.”

Enrichment is exactly what Weiss promotes as a social media evangelist. In a time when self-promotion and viral marketing is becoming mainstream, using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for business purposes are tools that Weiss believes are indispensable for promoting one’s business or self. Keys to successful promotion include building a loyal community of followers on Twitter, building a fan base on Facebook and joining discussion groups on LinkedIn.

When asked by Weiss “Why do we care about social networking?’ several viable reasons were given by students. Kale Williams responded that every decent job has found has been through friends and that he just received an internship from his Facebook posting.

Marketing efforts for big companies turning to social media

Weiss emphasized the value social media for business purposes with the example Pepsi, who was a missing regular in this year’s Super Bowl commercials. When the decision makers at Pepsi did the research, they realized that they were not reaching their target audience by spending $2.5 million for 30 seconds of airtime. Their marketing dollars would be better spent using social media.

In a society where the virtual highway is getting wider and the traffic speeding up exponentially, social networking has become a necessity, not a pastime.

To connect with Weiss on her blog, go to sharisax.com. That’s sax as in saxophone, which Weiss plays in her spare time.

© Copyright 2010 Laney Tower

Blogging

Should You Set Up Your Own Blog?

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My most recent blogging workshop gathered together a dozen participants with a wide range of experience and understanding of social media — from some attendees who weren’t quite sure what a blog was to a few people with active, sophisticated websites.

What they all shared, however, was the question about whether or not they should set up their own blog. To help them determine that answer, we discussed five other questions:

1. Will a blog help me build my business?

2. How do I set up a blog?

3. How frequently do I need to post an article?

4. How do I get people to read my blog?

5. How do I monetize a blog?

Here are some “simple” answers:

Will a blog help me build my business: YES, it can. Further Reading is all over the Internet [social media marketing articles], but basically a blog can put a human face on a company, and people do business with people not organizations.

How do I set  up a blog? You can read my article with wordpress.com directions

How frequently do I need to post an article? NO . . . you do not “need” to publish every day. . . unless you want to. The main thing is to be consistent — and at least once a week when you begin. You may love blogging so much that you will want to write every day.

How do I get people to read my blog? The answer here is not difficult, but it is BIG, i.e., there are lots and lots of ways including the following:

  • Most important: Write interesting content relevant to your audience.
  • Comment on other people’s blogs and form relationships with them, so perhaps — they will visit yours; you can guest post on theirs; you can attract some of their readers.
  • Promote each blog post on social media sites including Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Stumbleupon and whatever is hot — and whatever you have a profile on.
  • Do not forget about LinkedIn where you have a host of ways to build connections, relationships, and readers. Here’s a recent article with 10 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog Using LinkedIn.
  • Most Important: Did I say write great content?

How do I monetize my blog? My suggestion here is easy: The Common Wisdom is that you do not even think about monetizing until you (a) know you are going to continue blogging, (b) build a sizable readership, and (c) have something valuable to sell — either your content or your own products offered on the blog.

However, if you really want to get into monetizing “early,’ then check out Darren Rowse’s hugely popular Problogger; this blog really does offer all the answers you could ever require — and don’t forget to read the reader comments after each post.

But if you are still looking for more to read, try some of my past articles:

Beginner Blogger Workshop: What do I blog about?

Avoid These 9 Blogging Blunders: Guest post by Suzanne Vara

Use Your Blog to Become the Go-To Source for Information

To Blog — or Not to Blog — That is a good first question

Grab a Cool, Fancy & Free Design for Your Blog

Now let’s get blogging.

And if you have Questions — or more Tips — please leave your comments below.



Blogging, Interview

Just Starting Your Blog? — Meet Lyndit, Who Just Didit

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Lyndi Thompson is an M&M peanut-aholic and treehugger-wannabe, but she has also taken her nerdy HTML and CSS skills into the Blogosphere with her new blog lyndit.com.

I met Lyndit in Twitterville after she happened upon my article on 10 Mistakes Made by Social Media Newbies. Apparently Lyndit didn’t want to make any of them, and she even mentioned the article in her first post Listening — First Pillar of Social Media:

Whenever I am working with a new small business or even a larger company, my first advice to them is to listen. Listen to how people are currently talking about your business, products and competitors.

Listening is one of the core foundational skills that all people working within the marketing field must master. To effectively reach customers, we have to listen to them.

“Not listening enough at first to understand the workings and sentiments of a community” – 10 Mistakes Made by Social Media Newbies

I liked her personality right off and thought my readers might benefit from —

Lyndi Thompson’s Getting Started Blogging Story:

Q1: Lyndit [as she likes to be called], how did you get started in social media?

Lyndi: The precise moment that I went from a nerdy caterpillar into a social butterfly must have been when MySpace appeared on the scene. My geeky online coding skills had even the high school cheerleaders green-eyed with jealousy.

Seriously . . . over a MySpace page?

Soon after, I started helping small businesses create their own presence on MySpace.

Q2: Let’s talk about MySpace. I didn’t get techie until MySpace was on the way down . . . but, honestly, I think it’s a shame. I like the idea of being able to DESIGN your own space and not [like Facebook] have the same platform as all my “Friends.”

How do you feel about that?

Lyndit: MySpace was originally created for up&coming musicians to showcase their work. The flexibility of MySpace was appealing because you could customize your page to brand it exactly how you wanted.

But just think about it. Can you imagine that every time, you went to someone’s home, there was a different way to get in the door. Finding the bathroom might be like trying to make your way through a rowdy party.

Personal pages were littered with animated graphics, hundreds of quotes, videos, and tons of content. It became almost impossible to interact with the profile.

Facebook took the idea of interacting Front and Center with the Wall. Facebook appealed to me as a place for a different profile of a person. Gone were the spam-y friend requests and glittering distractions – just a place for me to interact with my friends and family.

Q3 Hmmm . . . I’m going to play with MySpace, but I’m happy to have the “back story.”

So Lyndit, why did you start your blog?

Lyndit: Developing a strong personal brand is definitely an asset that I wanted to invest in for the future.

What I was looking for was a place to serve as a sort of campfire – to share ideas and pass on stories that I’ve heard from marketing professionals. So my objective is to provide a place for me to share, listen, learn, engage, and be a true and genuine marketing professional.

Q4: How did you learn to start your blog, and what obstacles have you had to overcome?

Lyndit: For the past year, I had had the pleasure of getting my feet wet working with MazdasNW.com, a WordPress site on which I wrote blog posts and created banners for events. I really fell in love with the seemingly endless options that the WordPress community had created.

Initially, Blogger kept me satisfied with its simplistic editor, and I still recommend it for those who want an enjoyable, easy-to-use platform.
However, WordPress raises the bar, allowing more versatility.

On an almost daily basis, WordPress’s library of plug-ins and themes are increasing exponentially. If you can’t find a particular functionality, you just haven’t looked hard enough. By a simple installation of a plug-in, you cannot do a host of ecommerce functions including very complex accounts.

Q5: What do you think is the Number One struggle for new bloggers?

Lyndit: Creating space in our often jam-packed busy lives for writing, interviewing, finding photos, design and editing is a huge challenge. Stealing attention, focus, and energy away from the normal hustle and bustle of my life was essential to work on Lyndit.com.

I applaud all writers, artists, entrepreneurs and visionaries for following their passions, and I look to experts to find inspiration and encouragement — as well as comical ways to relate to the common mud puddles that bloggers sometimes seem to step in. Comedy is found in every corner of the creative world. We laugh together because we know it’s true.

Lyndit lives out “in the sticks” in Washington State. She is the proud owner of two border collies, a cat, a guinea pig, a dwarf rabbit, a horse, and a donkey. And even though she’s never lived outside the state, you’ll find her globally on Twitter @lyndit and lyndit.com
Sharisax Is Out There

Everyone Is Someone’s Customer: Use Social Media to Reach Them, Listen to Them, and Learn from Them

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Too often companies forget the second part of this scenario:

Firms are in business (1) to make profits by offering products and services

(2) to satisfy the unmet needs of their customers.

Too often they are so immersed in organization-centric thinking, that they don’t even realize their products or services may no longer be in sync with the marketplace, i.e., no one really likes their offerings/brand/support anymore.

This is where Social Media fits into Modern Business:

We are all customers. Everyone is a customer of someone else.

“Social media is important for business because the discussions between so many people bring information to us. We want people to talk and we want them to listen to us.” — [all quotes from Axel Schultze]

In the second meeting of the Social Media Academy Leadership class, Axel discussed how various social media “tools” [ i.e., sites/ platforms] enable businesses to grow their networks.

“If you have products or services, you can have conversations with people who use them. People may not be looking at your advertising, but if you ask someone what they think of your product, you will probably get an answer.”

WHERE DO YOU HAVE THESE DISCUSSIONS

or

Which sites do you use?

The common wisdom is that you go where your customers are. These days, the most popular hangouts are Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Business people need profiles on each of these sites, and businesses can have them as well.

“The demarcation between personal selves and business selves doesn’t really make sense any more. We need to take down these walls.”

The key to online presence building is to be deliberate, thoughtful, and very careful about everything you post online – no matter what the site or platform.

Four Social Media Objectives:

1)    Extend reach with tools
2)    Intensify the depth of your relationships
3)    Broaden your knowledge
4)    Revitalize your influennce

“When you do a survey, you get certain types of people who choose to respond. When you make telephone calls, if you have 20 effective conversations in one day, that is a good day. But with social media, you could easily have 200 interactions in a day.”

LEARN FROM YOUR MARKET: Get your hands around the Concepts. The tools may change, but you will be able to navigate the waves of innovation and continue to build on your experience to get the most from each new communication opportunity.

Sharisax Is Out There

Social Media Enables Companies to Become Part of the Recommendation Chain

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Social Media is all about seeing what others are saying


“The snowstorm is over. Everything is white. So now what?”

How do we make social media relevant to company executives? Everyone hears the buzz, but many companies do not understand today’s marketing environment, and they don’t know where to start.

That’s where programs like Social Media Academy fill the void — teaching business leaders all over the world to look, listen, and learn how to implement successful social media strategies.

I’m enrolled in this year’s first 7-week Social Media Academy Leadership session and will be sharing regular reports on what I’m learning.

Social Media: not about its tools, but its implication for business

Company leaders must rise above the “local noise” and buzz about social media, so they can take a global view. Different types of companies have different needs. Whatever the company, though, it is important to understand that Social Media is not a campaign, but it is a State of Mind. It is about empowering employees, not just about having everyone Tweeting all day.

Customers have changed, but sales/marketing has not

Thirty-forty years ago, people had different levels of trust. They’d go to vendors and take their word for it — and their products. People no longer ask experts; they ask their friends.

“I want to see what others say: that is Social Media.”

Now 60-80% of purchases are made because of recommendations. Businesses need to be part of the Recommendation Chain. Social Media is where customers meet customers for experience, skill development, and failure prevention. When a company builds a product or service that people are asking for . . . How COOL is that!

Create a better customer experience

Lay the foundation for your social media strategy– plan by understanding the dynamics of the market before diving in. There is no rush: Look, Listen, and Think before acting.

Social media is personally empowering. It is not just for the elite; anyone can do this. Take care of your connections and leverage them.

If you don’t follow the road your customers are taking, you will lose them.

Sharisax Is Out There

Turning Your “Passive” Passion Into “Active” Income: Towards a More Collaborative Future

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Want to make money online sharing your passion?

Is this you?

“I absolutely love animals, children, cooking, gardening, investing, ______[fill-in your own]_________. But how can I make money doing it?”

George Kao recently conducted a Teleclass outlining the principles he follows to make a living by helping others do just that- put their passions to work for them.

Interestingly enough, George told us that one year ago he was an unknown in the field of Social Media thought leadership. Now, however, he has 692 fans on his Facebook Community Page — and many clients who are building successful online businesses.

@georgekao: I’m a Big Fan!

My Take-Aways from his February 2010 Teleclass:

“Making a Great Living Teaching Your Passion and Expertise”

1. “Work should be a passionate expression of ourselves”

I’m reminded of Margaret Mead’s famous discovery reported in Coming of Age in Samoa that for the indigenous people there “Work was Play and Play was Work.” Every islander was excited to get up in the morning to “get to it.”

2. “I want to make a living — not a killing”

Many internet marketing gurus train their clients using language like “getting that sale” and  “making a killing.” George wants his competition to thrive along with him. Money is important, but a distant second to Love. If you come from that place, you are bound to be more authentic — and more successful. We do deserve to be paid well for being helpful.

3. “There are three facets to business success online: Social Media, Teleclasses, and Partnerships”


Building profiles and communities on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter will help spread news about you and develop relationships. When people find you on these networks, make certain they know what to do next.

Teleclasses will demonstrate your expertise and gain you clients. Recorded telecasts can be turned into e-products for sale or gifts for new subscribers. Live teleclasses provide for more participation and less procrastination.

Partnerships will help you learn as you are growing your business.

4, “Position your business around personal or business drivers“

People want four basic things: (a) money, (b) relationships, (c) health, and (d) children. Each of those broad categories includes subsets, e.g. money:insurance, etc.; relationships: romance, etc.; health: fitness, nutrition, etc.; children: family, etc.

Organizations, on the other hand, want two things: more business and more efficiency.  A third driver — for more progressive firms — is to provide Joy in the working environment.

If you can position your expertise/passion around any of these areas, you can build a business.

5. “When planning, think about The Client Onion”

Building a client base can follow five steps that were described as layers of an onion.

  • First is the outer layer — the public, where you might offer free services to a broad base of people.
  • Second are your subscribers who have recognized your value to them.
  • Some of these fans will become customers who buy your standalone products, e.g. ebooks, whitepapers, programmed learning modules, etc.
  • Fourth are those who will decide to participate as group clients
  • Finally, your best clients will take advantage of 1-to-1 coaching services.

What’s your Passion? What’s keeping you from putting that passion to work for you?

Need a bit more coaching? Contact George and start by listening to one of his free teleclasses.

PREVIOUS STORY FEATURING GEORGE KAO: “Get Paid, Get Laid, and Don’t Die — What People Want”

DISCLAIMER: I’ve only known about and followed George for a few months, and I’m a great fan, but not yet a client. I say “not yet” because I just may take that step myself.