Tag Archives: Branding

Create Awesome Content!!!

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Got your attention? Well this is a very quick, down and dirty blog. Lately I have been inundated with offers claiming to have that magic pill to help me with my Social Media Presence, Strategy, Posts, Content, Marketing and the list goes on. They entice you with headlines like the one for this blog, sorry about that.  Now I could be a real Jerk and name some of the companies and people I am getting offers from, but… I won’t. I learned a long time ago that the only way to win is to be better than the other guy or company who is telling everyone why your company is so bad and how they don’t really have the best of ______________ (fill in the blank).

So What Do You Do? With all these offers and guarantees?

How do you get through all the noise and find the right thing to do to get ahead in whatever business or endeavor you are doing without shelling out a lot of money to the wrong people, companies or offers? Yes I am talking to myself as well. I have paid for bad information, technology and other stuff along the way.

I heard a great line the other day in a movie. “If you want to make a lot of money; Work your Ass Off!” Friends with Benefits As in life so as is in business, there are no short cuts! A friend of mine posted this about someone trying to help businesses out with Social Media. “Liar” by Doug Grady. 

The point is simple; work hard, build trust, and be a real person in order to add value to your community. (This Goes For Businesses Too) And yes come back and continue reading these posts and I will help you with all of the above. For just the time it takes you to read this post and if along the way you find value please share this with others.

It is a new world and for all the good, bad and ugly the new currency is TRUST!

Yes folks I have been away but I am back. Hope you tag along on the second part of my continuous journey.

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn Join us on FB as well.

Day 18: Branding Yourself and Your Business

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So the American Marketing Association defines a brand as a “Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. A brand may identify one item, a family of items, or all items of that seller.

-Wikipedia

Livestock branding is a technique for marking livestock so as to identify the owner. -Answers.com

So what is Branding when it comes to yourself or business? There has been lot’s written about this. If you Google “Personal Branding” you will see over 2 million results. If you Google “Brand Your Business” you will receive over 620 million results.  There have been books written on it and entire careers built around helping others “build their brand”.

So Branding Yourself and Your Business is vital with today’s online influence. So the question becomes how? Well the good news is that it is a  lot easier to brand yourself in today’s digital environment than it was 10 to 15 years ago.  Here are some great ideas that I found from a blog titled :

Brand yourself: whether you work for a corporation, run your own business, or freelance, use your name to gain significant power and influence – Career Management by Ann Brown

Step 1: Find your niche.

“Do this by ‘looking at the patterns of your life’, Norma Thompson Hollis” There are certain themes that keep popping up in your life. This might be your brand.  In the last several years I have begun the process of branding my name and business as a leader in Social Strategy, Entrepreneur, Author, Trainer and Speaker. My favorite line that I say when people asked me how I go here is “I survived corporate America”.

Step 2: Is your Brand marketable?

Max D. Ellzey, Ed.D., owner of Culver City, California-based The Ellzey Group and president of the Los Angeles chapter of Professional Coaches and Mentors asks his clients “What need can you satisfy better than anyone else, and how much are they willing to pay you for satisfying that need”. I keep asking myself that question and it is a question that you need to keep asking yourself continuously as you define your identity.

Step 3: Seek professional help.

There are many sources to help you in your search for the right professional help. You can find a coach through (www.coachfederation.com) fee based , your local chamber of commerce or SCORE (www.score.org) free resources and tools.

Step 4: Promotion, Promotion, Promotion.

Speak or hold a seminar for free. “Test your skills and get feedback. It’s also an opportunity to sell your product or services.” Ellzey suggests. Brendon Burchard has a great series on how to become an Expert in Expert’s Academy, author “The Millionaire Messenger”. After you speak for free paid offers of speaking may follow. Also start posting online in groups that are where your audience is or where others are sharing information regarding your particular field of expertise. Join in on the conversation and discussions. Be active, be aware and be persistent.

Step 5: Branching your brand.

To take your brand in other areas partner with other organizations and companies. This is a great way to branch out your brand. But be very specific and picky when creating strategic alliances.  Make sure the alliance can help move your brand forward.

Step 6:  Going beyond the brand.

“Once your brand has become popular, look for ways for it to sell itself”, says Ann Brown. The “4 hour work week” by Timothy Ferriss discusses ways of “Outsourcing Life” and creating Automation. “Be careful, however, not to spread your brand too thin” says Dr. Barbara Walton of KTD Coaching Services, (www.knowthedifference.com), “especially if it isn’t in alignment with your vision”.

So go forth and brand yourself cowboy or cowgirl! Set yourself a part from the crowd.

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn

 

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Social Media Intern – Why can’t they do everything?

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Tracy Raiteri who I am connected to on Google + posted the below video and comments.

youtube.com – By Author of Socialnomics (Erik Qualman) a Social Media Intern’s take on Social Media ROI.

Originally posted by Vlad Gorenshteyn (Google +)

“If your boss is asking you the following questions:

- What’s the point of social media?
- What’s the ROI of social media?
- Why can’t we just hire an “intern” to handle all of this social media mumbo jumbo?

Then, you should ask your boss these questions:

- Would you like our brand to be around in a few years?
- What is the cost of not listening and properly responding to your customers on social channels?”

I personally  have spoken at several events and  sat on several panels discussing the above issue and get the same question- “Why can’t I just have an intern do everything?” (regarding social media)

I always stop and wonder how this person/company accomplishes their other work that is required for day to day business and the things that help that company be successful. So I usually ask them this question:

” How many interns do you have currently on staff?”

The answers I get range from 0 to 30 depending on the size of the company. I then ask:

“What do they currently do?”

This answer ranges greatly. Some do coding (technical), some do marketing, some work with promotion and writing and the list continues for mostly general work under the supervision of someone else.

Then I ask the pointed question:

“Would you let an intern run your entire organization?”

After the laughter settles I explain the following.

Social media is more than just creating a facebook page or twitter account or creating content to post. It is a way of communicating with your vendors, prospects, customers  and employees on a long term basis. It’s the new way of doing business.

In order to do this correctly and to maintain your brand you need a consistent message and this message needs to be part of your overall strategy. This strategy must come from the executive suite. It must include your objectives and have a defined audience. You also need to have a group (or the better option is to have all employees trained) to handle and listen to what your prospects, customers and employees are saying, and responding to those comments. It is a dialogue with your audience. This dialogue needs to be continuous and consistent. And you need to be honest about who is posting the information.

There are many companies that will help you in the implementation, and consultants that can help you with a strategy, but at the end of the day any social media needs to be generated from within by the overall organization.

How you handle social media will determine the health and longevity of your organization. There are lots of professionals out there who can help you navigate these new waters. Please don’t relegate your entire Social Media strategy and implementation to an intern.

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS Consulting and a Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn

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Last 5 Signs You Have Strong Social Media Consultant or Agency

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 Social Media is a strange and bizarre world for some. When reaching out for help from a Consultant or Agency how do you determine who is good and yes who is bad and everything in between?

Hopefully this week we have given you some insight into determining a Strong Social Media Consultant or Agency and check out all 25 signs from the original blog, without my comments and some outdated examples. But a complete list.

Today we are going to give you the final 5 signs.

Here we go:

Are you ready?

“21. Understands the difference between social media tools and communications strategy (example: Rohit Bhargarva)“

So Twitter, FB, LinkedIn, Tweet Deck, Hoot Suite, Vocus, Radian6 and other tools are just that tools. (some Great tools, though). A communications strategy relates to your audience and presents a cohesive message that causes action or discusses vital information open to dialogue among your employees, customers, prospects and vendors. So beware any organization coming in and saying you need to start posting on ….(name your tool) if they first don’t understand your company Objectives, who your Audience is and what you want that Audience to do.

“22. They won’t recommend blogging as a first step into social media (example: David Armano) and when you are ready to begin they consult you on how to be successful (example: Drew McLellan)

Blogging has had some bad press lately,  but it is not the first step in your social media strategy. Remember it is about your audience and your objectives and developing a strategy around those two factors. Your strategy is unique to you and your organization. Blogging should never be your only strategy for social media.

“23. Doesn’t allow clients to be affected by Shiny New Object syndrome (example Beth Kanter)

I once had a client who kept trying to get me to recommend the best monitoring tool out there for Social Media. I kept telling him that it is not about the tool but what you do with the information you get from the  monitoring tool/station/software.

Companies will always come out with a new shiny app, platform or other tool. Remember that whatever you use it needs to help you implement your strategy to your audience. Therefore your audience needs to be able to be reached by any new tool or shiny object you use.

“24. Understands that social media is more than just creating and delivering content or regurgitating existing promotional copy (example: Joseph Jaffe)

This is vital. If you are looking for someone to create content for you, you should go to an Ad Agency or marketing person that writes professionally (that is not social media). Remember it is about the conversation. Join the dialogue and join in your audiences dialogue. Even if they are discussing your competitor in a good way.

Remember social media is not about you, it is about your audience and their thoughts and opinions.

“25. Understands that social media isn’t the sole terrain of marketing or PR, and helps clients educate internally to other departments” (example Chris Brogan)

Social Media, beyond all the fun shiny new objects, is a way to build trust with your audience. This audience should include all employees, all customers, all prospects and all vendors- or at least be open to all. This goes well beyond PR and Marketing. SM consultants are currently facing a struggle in education and there are a lot of companies getting hosed by Marketing and PR firms claiming to do Social Media.

I tried to update the examples where I could and also add some additional insight to the original “25 Signs..”. My strong hope is that this helps you the next time you are looking for a ‘Strong Social Media Consultant”

Have a Great Weekend!

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS and a Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn

 

 

 

 

Do You Have a Strong Social Media Consultant?

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When it comes to Social Media do you have the right consultant? Seems like you can’t throw a rock without hitting someone who claims to do “Social Media”. Do you have someone who listens and more importantly will champion your social media strategy and not implement their own? We went over the first 5 signs you’ve got a strong SM (Social Media) Consultant or Agency on Monday. How to Pick a Strong Social Media Consultant.  

Today we will look at the next 10 since i deviated yesterday and discussed Failure isn’t so bad. (see original blog by Carmel Hagen on 9 Reasons Why Failure is Not Fatal)

Sorry in advance for the length of this blog it’s longggggg.

The next 10 Signs You’ve Got a Strong SM Consultant or Agency 

 ” 6. Understands that Radian6 and other monitoring tools are vastly superior tracking tools in comparison to Technorati (which really isn’t an indicator of much these days).”  Example techno+marketer

I do agree that in order to create a powerful Social Media Strategy you need to have a strong monitoring tool for Social Media, there is also Vocus and several others on the market now. It’s what you do with the information you receive and how you interact with those mentioning you by name or asking for help.

“7. Will tell you that there is no magic bullet for determining social media ROI and that you need to go further to accurately monitor, measure and determine the effectiveness of social media.” (example Katie Delahaye Paine’s Book “Measure what Matters”)

Nuff said!

“8. Understands that social media is an important part of the larger word of mouth marketing principles. ”(example: The Digital Influence Mapping Project)

After looking at the example I highly recommend taking some time to fully read it. Personally I believe that social media should be integrated into an organization from a holistic perspective meaning that it is used for all communication. Marketing and word of mouth marketing is just one component. Work with someone who has partners to integrate social media fully into an organizational strategy.

“9. Others cite this person/agency’s work” (example: Social Media Case Studies SUPERLIST)

Also look at their LinkedIn recommendations and ask around at your networking events for who people would recommend. This is a new enough industry that the “so-called” leaders are changing daily and new ones, that are good, are taking their place.

“10. Realizes that search engine optimization represents an absolutely crucial part of social media. (example: Top Rank’s Lee Odden)”

SEO is changing on a regular basis based on different algorithm’s being written. Companies like Vayu Media who understand SEO and keep updated on the latest changes plus a strong SM Consultant who can help incorporate that into an overall strategy is vital. Beware those who use the words SEO and Social Media as equal.

“11. Understands that social media expands beyond search engine optimization tactics that lead to Diggs, Stumbles (StumbleUpon) and link baiting (example: Key Relevance’s Li Evans)”

See above statement regarding SEO.

“12. Integrates brick and mortar events with social media activity” (example: Voce’s Josh Hallett)

Make sure that the SM consultant understands the value of brick and mortar events in association with social media. Face 2 Face is an important aspect of connecting through Social Media.

“13. Has and continues to work on notable social media projects (example: Andy Sernovitz)

Agree! There is a lot of new talent out there that is just starting so they may not have as much experience as some others but if they meet the majority of the above they are probably worth working with.

“14. Understands that conversations are the starting place and not the end game. And though ROI is critical, knows that without conversation you’re not going anywhere (example: Paul Chaney)”

They have to believe in the conversation, that is dialogue back and forth, both good and bad, and how to deal with and react to both.

“15. Understands that social networking and conversation is more than collecting followers and subscribers (example: Mack Collier)”

You’ll notice some of these examples go all the way back to 2008, but the information is still vital. Please read my recent blog “Size Matters!” that also discusses this topic.

Well sorry for the lengthy blog. I hope this is helping with your decision to hire an agency or consultant. See you tomorrow!

Les Adkins –  Orange SMS CEO Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant, author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn

How to Pick a Strong Social Media Consultant

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So there have been so many people I have met lately who claim to do “Social Media Consulting” that I thought it was a good time to refresh your memory about how to pick a strong Social Media Consultant. So whether you use “Orange SMS Consulting” or someone else you need to make sure you are picking the right one.


Beth Harte and Geoff Livingston wrote a blog  titled “25 Signs You’ve Got a Strong SM Consultant or Agency” So we will be going over these signs this week 5 at a time:

One of the things they say in this blog that is worth repeating on day one is “…Social media communications is still a really new industry, and there are no silver bullet experts or methodologies.” Even today it is still a relatively new industry even 2 years after this blog was written in 2009. These qualifiers are still relevant and if you are missing many of these with your potential partner then you should have a few red flags pop up.

OK, and on we go:

“1. Believes in the generous web and practices cross-linking in their blog.”  

This means that they share other practices such as marketing and other web campaigns in their blogs as part of an overall strategy regarding Social Media.

“2. Highlights others’ work in their blog.”  

A great example of this is Chris Brogan’s Blog who I quote quite often. I am a strong advocate of his book “Trust Agents”. I met Chris and he is a genuine person and SM advocate.  Another quick thought on this topic is that most true SM Consultants don’t look at others’ as competitors, if they are doing it right, but rather a team effort to make sure SM (Social Media) is being delivered in the right way and with the right value add to the audience.

“3. Integrates social media as part of larger marketing strategies”

This is becoming more important for larger and smaller organizations. It can’t be one or the other it needs to be part of an overall strategy. The original blog uses Razorfish as an example of this.  Most strong SM Consultants have partners that can create larger marketing strategies or help connect SM to an already dynamic marketing strategy that the organization currently has.

“4. Doesn’t pretend to be an expert in all things digital; instead focuses on what he/she/they do best.”

A good example of this is Barbara Giamanco as She incorporates social media for sales.

“5. Gives away best practices in an effort to educate, grow social media in general”

Anyone not providing best practices as part of their blog or conversation is probably not a Strong Social Media Consultant.

This is the first 5 of 25 so come  back tomorrow to see the next 5.

I am not against consultants making a living, and by the way I am one, but make sure you pick the best one for your organization. It is usually the Consultant that you have built a relationship with and Trust!

Les Adkins, CEO

Orange SMS Consulting

Social Media is ‘new’ media.

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OK so this one I have to tell you I somewhat disagree with and I’ll explain why in a minute.  But in keeping with the spirit of transparency “The Daily Dose” by Mikal E. Belicove stated the #4 Lie of Social Media Marketing is:

“Social Media is ‘new’ media. No, it isn’t. Media is media. At one point or another, newspapers, radio, television and the Internet were considered new forms of media and now their labeled ‘traditional’ media. So ‘new’ media doesn’t mean that only ‘experts’ or young hotshots can successfully operate your social-media team. That’s hogwash. Nothing replaces knowledge of the basics of marketing, combined with the knowledge of your business-related goals and the need for authenticity and transparency in your socially laden communications.” Belicove

OK so that is what Mikal Belicove has to say. I agree with parts and others I adamantly disagree with. First what I agree with.

I do agree that someone with “…knowledge of your business-related goals…” should run your social media efforts. This can be an Executive who knows how to manage those “young hotshots” Mikal is talking about.

I also agree about needing someone who understands”…the need for authenticity and transparency…”

Now for the things that I disagree with.

First let me tell you my background. I have worked in Television as a director and as an advertising sales executive. My undergrad is in Broadcast Production. I have also run multi-million dollar ad campaigns for organizations and last but not least have been in radio as an ad sales exec. Why do you need to know this? Because of what I’m getting ready to say next.

I believe that Social Media is different from other media. Why because of how it works. “…newspapers, radio, television and the Internet…” is a broadcast media that talks at their customers. Social media is a media that is only truly successful with dialogue. It’s about the conversation! Having one!

Also you can do a short marketing campaign in newspaper, radio, television and the Internet, but in social media, once you begin using it you need to continue using it to communicate to your vendors, prospects, customers and employees. And let them communicate with you. If you disappear from social media you lose trust and credibility.

Here is the hard one for most businesses; you need to build trust in the community by adding value to your community for “Free”. Internet marketers know the value of this and it is even more pure in social media as you need to give this value without expecting the community to buy from you. OUCH! Every marketing person is tearing their eyes out right now and trying to figure out how to find me.

Bottom line is that Social Media is a different media than has ever existed before and the rules are different from other media marketing. So no matter what you call it you need to know your business and build an overall strategy using social with other forms of marketing efforts. If you don’t believe me look at Coca Cola and how much they don’t spend on traditional marketing and how much they have invested in social media marketing. Also look at the differences between those two campaigns.

Sorry Mikal it is different and it is not the same as ‘traditional media’ and never will be! Les Adkins, CEO Orange SMS

The Medium is the Message

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So from the same Blog “The Daily Dose” by Mikal E. Belicove comes the next Lie of Social Media Marketing.

“Just because it’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace or some other newfangled online or mobile-powered platform, the message still carries more weight than the medium. It’s always been about the message. It’s not about the platform or the technology. The technology is just a tool, and just because younger people were the first to use Twitter and Facebook, don’t think for a moment that older employees can’t effectively use them just as well.”

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY!!!! Ok sorry to yell, but just wanted to make this point loud and clear.  As we discussed whether or not Size Matters yesterday we discovered that quality of followers and likes weigh out over size.  You want to convert these followers to become loyal to your brand or buy something but first you need to add value. The message is where you add value and begin the process of building trust. The message  is more important than the medium especially in Social Media.

The hard thing that is being felt by businesses and organizations is allowing others to comment on the message. This means they must take the good with the bad. The  adage is that one dissatisfied customer would lead to the loss of 100 customers and you would never know. Now you can satisfy a customer before the loss by responding directly to their comment. This does not mean you have to accept what they say but now you can have a dialogue and sometimes people just want to know that they are being heard.

I speak with companies about creating a message with “Whole Brain Advantage” this is a scientifically researched methodology created in the 60′s by Ned Herrmann to determine thinking preference. It remains relevant even more so today.  I could write pages on this topic alone but for this subject  it is a way to  help you create a message based on your entire audience’s thinking preferences. How cool would that be for you if you could reach and affect your whole audience? How would that help your bottom line?

All that to say that the message is much more important than the medium. So whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, your website, or any number of platforms,  what you say is more important than what technology you use or how it looks. And don’t forget that your audience must be able to respond to your message.

CEO, Orange SMS Consulting

Best Time to Post on Social Media

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So when is the best time to Post your thoughts and information on Social Media Sites?

I am going to provide you some General Information as well as some resources to help you with this. First off some general guidelines from the Socialnomics.net blog.

General Guidelines:

  • Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are your best days
  • Saturday is the worst day (so why not go out and spend the day with friends and family)
  • Holidays are slow traffic days (except commerce sites)
  • 10 am – 11:30 am and 1 – 3:30pm are best times to post
  • Stagger posts based on time zones

Vitrue did a recent study that shows Social Media may follow similar patterns to the rest of the traditional Web.

  • The three biggest usage spikes tend to occur on weekdays @ 11 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time US
  • The biggest spike occurs at 3:00 p.m. ET on weekdays.
  • Weekday usage is pretty steady, however Wednesday at 3:00 pm ET is consistently the busiest period.

When To Tweet?

The best single time of the day to tweet would be 9:00 am PST (Pacific Standard Time) according to The Social Media Guide. 

The reason is you are hitting three major break times.

  • People arriving at work on the West Coast of America and Canada, i.e. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver and others.
  • It coincides with lunchtime (12pm EST) on the East Coast of America
  • It coincides with the end of the business day in London (5:00pm GMT)

To get Retweeted according to Fast Company the best time is 4pm EST (Eastern Standard Time) on Friday.

So these are a few ideas for you to think about. Next time we will talk about LinkedIn.

NOTE: If you have a great post that you can’t wait to write use a tool like Hootsuite to schedule the post to go out during one of the key times described above.

*This is still a work in progress so you can also use your own testing by sending posts and tweets out and tracking them yourself  to see what works best for your audience.

Les Adkins CEO

Orange SMS Consulting

Seize the Day!

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Seize the Day! Carpe diem!

So what does this mean to you?

I’ve heard  a couple of statements in the last few weeks that make this  relevant  for those of you who happen to read my blog.

“Break the Cycle”      “Live Like You’re Dying”  “Carpe diem”

SEIZE  THE  DAY

I am guilty like most of you of hearing the statements above and not living them. What makes the difference between someone who lives their dream and someone who is always reaching out for their dream. I believe it is action! Depending on who you speak to motivational seminars and books and tapes can create change or are a waste of time.

I have seen in my own life how they have created change and I have also seen how they are a waste of time. What made the difference? Action!

When I have acted on the words I hear from the motivational and inspirational speakers, books and tapes I have listened to I have made major positive changes in my life but when I just hear the information and then leave and continue doing business as usual nothing happens.

Social Media is the same way. If you just read all the books and information but do not take action nothing will change regarding your online brand or your Trust factor with your audience. Only when you take action does change take place and you start seeing results from your Social Media Strategy.

I don’t do this often but I am recommending an all day event that you can attend for free.

I’m going to the Seize the Day motivational seminar in Atlanta at Philips Arena on Nov. 9. I’d like you to join me. I’ve already paid your enrollment fee, so it won’t cost you a dime!  You can register by going to http://www.SeizeTheDay.com and clicking on “Join Your Group” in the lower left corner of the screen. Be sure to use the group ID code when you register.

Group Code:  OR5GTS5VP7KA

Seize the Day is going to be an awesome day of motivation and inspiration. Speakers include Sarah Palin, Laura Bush, John Smoltz, Bill O’Reilly, Ben Stein, John Maxwell and Terry Bradshaw. They’ll be talking about topics like goal achievement, leadership, team building, wealth building, sales and negotiations and overcoming adversity – information you can put to use.

Let this be the day that you put into action a change in your life.Don’t forget: It’s free for you if you register with our group. I hope you’ll join us. It’s going to be a fun day.

You can also connect with several people on this day and one of them might be the person you were meant to speak to in order to change your life!

Only 4 days til I leave for Australia. I will be video blogging during my trip in hopes that you will enjoy Australia and maybe learn something to help you change your life as well.

Les Adkins, CEO Orange SMS (Social Media Solutions)

mysylbert.com