Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 364

The Twitter Test

I've been thinking a lot about Twitter lately. It's success and how much attention it receives in the public domain.

Beyond Twitter's dramatic growth and the buzz that still surrounds it, it's becoming an increasingly important place to be because as people used to "Google" one another to find out what they're about, you may note that a Twitter profile ranks fairly close to the top of the organic search results. What does this mean? It's means that if you're active on Twitter and looking to build your profile (or personal brand), it would be wise to remember that Twitter (unlike Facebook) is an open platform and anything you tweet (or say) is now open and available for all to see.

Twitter is like a real-time resume.

It's not hard to mold and craft a LinkedIn profile, Blog or even your Facebook profile to look pristine at all times. It's harder to to do that in real-time and when you consider how Twitter is best played in terms of engagement. It's interesting to see how certain people are able to connect, get followed, be added to lists, retweeted and generally treated like Twitter royalty while others fumble and grumble through the process, shaking their heads in disbelief at what accounts for an interesting Twitter experience.

The Twitter Test...

When was the last time you took a look at how someone would you "see" you on Twitter if they connected to you for the first time right now? Do this:

Head over to www.twitter.com/[insert your Twitter username here].

Take a look at all of the tweets you've recently posted that appear on the entire first page.

Look, read and think about all of them.

Now add a thought from The Economist into the mix:

The Economist magazine used to run a print ad with the copy: "would you want to sit next to you at dinner?" It's a clever line of copy and an even cleverer thought. You have to smart, interesting, pithy and curious, don't you? How do your tweets stack up? You see, beyond the basics of a good Twitter profile (a simple username, photo, legible biography, a link to something more relevant about you, etc...), it's really what you're tweeting (and how you're doing it) that's going to keep someone who is finding you for the first time interested in hitting that "follow" button.

Do The Twitter Test often.

Every month (or so), I'll do The Twitter Test. It's not a question of how many @ replies or self-promotional tweets are being pumped into the stream. It's more about the context.

How interesting (overall) is the conversation and engagement taking place?

Is it all mostly inside jokes or personal innuendos between friends?

Am I using language that would make me embarrassed if my mother read it?

When my children get older, would I be proud that this real-time flow of my thoughts over a series of years is now available for them (and their friends) to see?

How interesting is the content I'm publishing and sharing?

If I were looking to change my position at work, will these tweet leave a good impression to my potential employer?

Don't put too much pressure on it.

It's not meant to overwhelm you or have you change your tone and manner on Twitter... it's just something to think about. More often than not when someone recommends that I connect to someone else, the first place I turn to is Twitter to see what they're "really" all about (you know those late night tweets or the tweets after a rough day at work). I suspect I'm not the only one doing this. As we sprinkle our personal brands in different places across the Internet and the mobile channels, we create a more holistic and widely distributed perspective of who we truly are. It's important to remember that a personal audit of that content - every now and again - is probably a wise move to make.

What's your take?

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open platform

organic search result

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tweet

twitter

twitter test

Social Commerce And The New Consumer

The consumer of today looks nothing like the consumer of yesterday.

It's not just Social Media. It's everything from smartphones and iPads to connectivity and connections. These evolutions of technology, media and the general digitization of information is forcing brands to rethink the most fundamental question they have ever asked themselves: "why do people buy from us?" Over the past few days, I was honored to attend (and give a closing keynote presentation on the opening day) Radian6's first-ever user conference in Boston, Social 2011. My presentation, Social Commerce and the New Consumer, is a work in progress. Many people are looking at how brands are changing because of Social Media and technology, I prefer to look at how consumers have changed their buying habits because of Social Media and new technology. It's no longer just about the long-standing e-commerce promise of one-click shopping. Consumers are interested in much more: content, community, conversation, bragging, mobility, sharing, connecting with their peers, etc... Radian6 live streamed the presentation and you can feel free to watch it below (it lasts about 45 minutes).

Social Commerce And The New Consumer...

Video streaming by Ustream

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social media

social media monitoring

technology

9 Ways To A Better Interview

Whether you're looking for a job, hiring people or interviewing people for your Blog or Podcast, the ability to drill down and get the best answers possible is an art form.

Having strong interviewing skills are critical to success. Why? As a Marketer you will have to create stories and you will have to dig deep with your clients and the agencies you work with to get that story out of people. I've had the pleasure of interviewing thousands (yes, thousands) of people over the years. I've also had the pleasure of being interviewed many times. Being on both sides of the recorder over the years has given me a unique perspective into what it takes to create the right atmosphere to get the right answers out of people.

Here are 9 ways to a better interview:

Record it. The price of a digital recorder is under thirty bucks. Record your conversations. Trying to write or type does two things. One, it distracts you from the conversation and the possible opportunity to expand on a thought. Two, it's a distraction to the person being interviewed if they have to slow down for your writing or if they hear the clicking of your keys. This will force their attention away from their own thoughts. One additional tip: try not to hold the recorder in their face. Let it sit on the table and make sure that no blinking lights are going off. Don't create a barrier between you and your subject.

Care about the topic. If you don't care about the topic that will be covered, don't do the interview. The only way to get a great interview is to have a passion for the subject... and not just the subject matter expert. If you don't care, you're audience won't care either.

Know the subject. If you don't know the details of the person you are interviewing (do your research!), then don't bother. If the person wrote a book and you have to ask, "why did you write a book?" it's a clear indication that you have not studied the subject.

Don't follow your questions. Most journalists have a set of questions and they ask them either in the order they came up them or in the way in which they envision writing the article. Don't do this. Know the areas you would like to cover by having bullet points about the topical areas, but know that getting the answer to every question you have is not half as important as really creating something special with your interview. Which leads me to... 

Create a conversation. Question and answers are not a conversation. Jumping from one question to another will not foster a conversation. Lead a conversation with the subject matter expert. If they're going off on a tangent, keep them focused but go down roads in the conversation that weren't on your list of topics to cover.

Go with the flow. Most people being interviewed have been interviewed a lot and they have standard answers or turns of a phrase that work for them. The best interviews are the ones that create a conversation, and this happens when the interviewer (that's you) is able to break away from their preconceived notions of what the conversation should be and run along - in the moment - and go where the conversation takes you. Trust me, the results will surprise and delight you.

Shut-up. The best lines come out of silence. When the interviewee is finished answering one of your questions, sit for a few seconds and don't say anything. This will usually force them to say more. It's a standard journalist trick, but it works wonders. People hate silence and feel the need to fill the void with words. When this happens, the more natural things come out... and that's usually the gold.

Remove yourself. Think about the audience. Too many people giving interviews think that they're important because they get to speak with this special individual. It's a big mistake. Think of yourself as a conduit. What information would your audience love to ask this individual? What would they love to ask this person if they could have dinner with them? Be the voice of the audience. This is how great stories come out... and get told.

Know when to cut it. If the subject is boring or seems uninterested and there's nothing you can do to snap them out of it, cut the interview short. If they're babbling on and on, find your place to break their pace. On top of that, understand your audience and their threshold for content. Doing a great interview is like attending a great party: you never want to be the first person to leave, but you never want to overstay your welcome either.

What would you add to this list? 

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interviewing skills

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The Other Side Of Comments And Community

What can someone new to the Social Media world do to find and attract readers while building their own community?

This was one question that was asked of Gini Dietrich during a recent Podcast. She answered today on her Spin Sucks Blog with a post titled, Building Your Online Community. Her answer was: "I always say social media, and building a community in general, is all about stroking other people's egos and scratching their backs. If you do that, they're much more willing to ask what they can do for you. And, in this case, visiting your blog and commenting is what they can do for you." Gini goes into detail about certain Bloggers who email a personal note of thanks to people who leave a comment on their Blog to others who send handwritten notes to those who leave comments.

I feel like a moron.

Part of me thinks that even a personalized email of thanks seems excessive... it's just a comment on a Blog post (it's like using a rocket launcher to get rid of a mosquito or sending a thank you note if someone calls you), but I understand the spirit of the act. It creates a much more human connection and probably lays the foundation for more real connections/relationships. What's even more amazing is what comes out in the comment section of Gini's Blog post. There's a lot of passion, discussion and thought around how to make people like you.

It's nice, but you need to ask yourself a bigger question first...

What are you trying to accomplish with your Blog and other Social Media efforts? It seems like everyone with an opinion assumes that the goal is to grow an audience that has a lot of engagement, maybe some conversation and a semblance of community. What if your goals are different? What if you Blog to establish yourself as a recognized authority? What if you Blog so that when potential clients come by, they can learn more about how you think? What if you Blog because the platform just makes it so easy to publish? Beyond that, what if you're not a social creature by nature, but just want to share how you think?

I struggle with Blog comments because I don't Blog for the back and forth. I Blog to make the content I think about as shareable and findable as possible.

I've Blogged about comments and their value over the years. I've changed my stance on Blog comments over the years, but none of that truly changes the reasons why I Blog: which is to publish my thoughts. It's an important distinction. Not everyone is looking to Blog to engage with people at such a micro-level... and we should not judge those people based on that one use/application. It's also important to note that many more people read this Blog, share it, etc... than those who comment on it. I can tell from our analytics that the most value for the majority of people here comes from reading it and not from the back and forth in the comments.

How does the person who is creating the content feel?

That is the true other side of comments and community. What does the person who owns the Blog and content want to have happen? Perhaps we need to take one step back and ask ourselves that very important question: how does the person creating the content feel and how important are the comments and communal aspects of the Blog to their growth? It seems to me that people admonish Seth Godin for not having comments because they feel there is no platform for conversation. The assumption is that Seth Godin created a Blog for conversation. Maybe he didn't. Maybe he created it as a way for people who like his books to get pithy bits from his brain every now and again in between the publishing of his books, speaking engagements and new product launches. Beyond that, comments and communities no longer live in silos. Share your thoughts wherever you play. You don't need a comment section on a Blog to create feedback or community. Anyone can now use platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and even a Blog of their own to comment and feedback and extend the community or conversation. If the only way to build community is by making others feel important and valued, and this is not the strategy for your content play, it's important to know this up front and set-up those expectations, so people can choose whether or not your content publishing adds value to their lives and meets their expectations.

Or am I missing something here?

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speaking engagement

spin sucks

twitter

web analytics

youtube

Free Content Is Killing Media (And Advertising)

If people (this includes you) don't start paying for content, we will see a lot of key media outlets go away... and this includes the digital ones.

That was the message yesterday delivered in the Newsweek article, Save The Media! The article was an interview with (the Chief Executive Officer of WPP). Whether we're talking about iPads, websites, Blogs or the future of newspapers and television, Sorrell knows and understands the landscape like few others. As the head of the largest advertising network in the world (over $72 billion per year), Sorrell and his team can quickly assess how the economy is rolling along and which media channels are performing best simply by looking at the production coming out of the many different types of advertising and communications agencies that they have within their portfolio.

By the sounds of this interview, things are going to have to change.

"The problem with the Internet is there's so much of it. It's highly fragmented, and most of it's for free... Consumers must pay for content if they value it...Advertising-only models don't work. There isn't enough advertising to go around. Period," says Sorrell in the Newsweek. What's his recommended solution for this? It's a three-pronged approach:

Charge for content.

Merge or close legacy media companies that can't adapt.

Give government subsidies to make up the rest.

The Huffington Post is not the future of media.

Ultimately, Sorrell feels like AOL overpaid for this property - especially considering that it's just "an aggregator of other people's content," and that if the general public has an appetite for quality journalism, it may well have to look towards the government to fund it. But, there's something bigger happening here. Everything that Sorrell talks about is true in the traditional advertising and media model. The challenge is that we have to be ready (as an industry) to move beyond it. We have to be ready to accept that the marketing platforms are changing at a rapid pace and that the old ways of clunking media and advertising along may well be reaching its end in terms of captivating the digital channels (Web, mobile and touch).

It's our traditional view of advertising that is holding us back... not the availability of free content.

What will truly move marketing, communications, advertising and media forward is rapid innovation (err... media hacking). We have to look for new revenue models that not only support the publishers but that add real value (and assets) to the brand advertisers. The truth is that we have not even begun to scratch the surface. Google AdWords has been a great start, but there has not been much in terms of new business models and innovation beyond that (AdWords launched in 2000 - eleven years ago). Most of the "cutting edge" online advertising we're still seeing online, mobile and on tablets are very traditional, interruption-driven mechanisms that advertisers call "cute" and "interesting" at advertising conferences, but the consumers are simply annoyed, confused and bothered by (and yes, there are always exceptions to that rule).

There is value in paying for content.

People will pay for content (more on that here: Content Pays - December 2010), but it has to be more than valuable to them. Content in a digital world has to be something much more than a cursory piece of information that is consumed and discarded. Beyond that, media must innovate a whole lot more. We need more start-ups experimenting with newer advertising and revenue models and we need some of the more traditional media companies to stand-up to their own investors and plead for the flexibility to figure out a new world where content is primarily a zeroes and ones game. Subscribing to the notion that digital simply means copying and pasting traditional forms of content online (or reformatting it for a smartphone) is a huge mistake. Publishing in the digital world looks nothing like publishing in the traditional world.

Free content isn't killing media. Traditional media mind--sets are killing media.

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media channel

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mobile

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wpp

Media Hacks Podcast Is Back

Episode #247 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to. This is also episode #37 of Media Hacks.

It took some time to get this together and the truth is that once we could not make a couple of episodes happen, I wound up dropping the ball and not pushing for more dates to record a show. I'm thrilled we were able to make this happen and hopefully you'll enjoy the output as well. This show was actually recorded on March 25th, 2011 but I needed to get  last week's episode published because both Ian Schafer and I were giving keynote addresses at this past week's Media Bistro Socialize conference in New York City.  This week, you get all of the usual Media Hackers with the exception of C.C. Chapman and Christopher S. Penn. Julien Smith is present so this episode is not safe for work (#earbudswarning). Enjoy the conversation...

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast #247.

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advertising

bite size edits

blog

blogging

blue sky factory

book oven

cast of dads

cc chapman

chris brogan

christopher s penn

digital dads

digital marketing

facebook

facebook group

hugh mcguire

in over your head

itunes

julien smith

librivox

managing the gray

marketing

marketing over coffee

media bistro

media hacks

new marketing labs

online social network

podcast

podcasting

pressbooks

six pixels of separation

social media 101

social media marketing

socialize

strategy

trust agents

twist image

When Is This Going To End?

Quick question: do you believe that advertising spend should match consumption patterns when it comes to media?

I sure hope you answered "yes!" Sadly, the Internet is still the red-headed stepchild of the media world. As consumption on both Internet and Mobile continues to rise (the other day, I tweeted about an eMarketer news item about how the Internet surpassed newspapers to become the second largest ad spend media platform after TV), the Web is still the Rodney Dangerfield of media (it gets no respect).

It needs more respect.

It turns out that eMarketer is at it again. Just a few days later another news item appeared titled, Ad Dollars Still Not Following Online and Mobile Usage (March 31st, 2011). Here's what the news item reported...

"Despite the projection that online advertising will increase its share of US major media ad spending by more than 10 percentage points between 2009 and 2015, spending on digital, including internet and mobile, has not yet risen to match consumption patterns, eMarketer estimates. Among the major media of television, internet, radio, mobile, newspapers and magazines, US adults still spend the most time each day with TV. eMarketer estimates adults watched television for 42.9% of the time they spent each day with those media in 2010, and ad dollars align closely, at 42.7%. The internet, by contrast, took up 25.2% of adults' daily media time in 2010, but received just 18.7% of US ad spending. 'Those of us focused on the internet channel have complained for years that it hasn't been getting its fair share of media dollars based on time spent,' said eMarketer CEO Geoff Ramsey . 'However, the precise extent of that imbalance has been shrouded in mystery and exaggeration. Now we know--it's a gap of 6.5 percentage points.'"

It's a big gap... it doesn't make any sense.

How is it that we have this new media channel move up through the ranks to become the number two most consumed media in the world and yet, still, marketers and brands are not pushing things further ahead? This could well be the first time in our history where the consumers and their patterns are moving at a pace that marketers can't seem to keep up with. On top of that, we're only looking at advertising spend. I'd be curious to see what the numbers look like in terms of coupling in the Digital Marketing budgets as well (the development of websites, apps, mobile platforms, e-crm initiatives, etc...). It would be interesting to see overall Digital Marketing spend and then how the advertising part of it makes out. Regardless, we need to get the advertising spend into the same realm as the media consumption.

If you ask me, I think it's tragic that the ad spend online does not (at least) equal consumption. What do you think?

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ad spend

advertising

brand

digital marketing

emarketer

geoff ramsey

internet

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mobile

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online advertising

online usage

rodney dangerfield

tv

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #41

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, the author of Complete Web Monitoring and Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks), Hugh McGuire (The Book Oven, LibriVox, iambik, PressBooks, Media Hacks) and I decided that every week or so the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".

Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:

iCorrect . "With the Web, everyone's a broadcaster. Which means anyone can slander anyone else with the click of a button. It's not sending the message that costs money -- it's squashing it. Twitter has 'verified accounts,' Reddit checks identities for its Ask Me Anything discussions (or not, depending on who you ask). Now iCorrect wants to become a clearinghouse for facts. It charges users a pretty penny to defend themselves, and presumably wants to save reporters the work of actually checking their facts. Needless to say, reading the teeth-gnashing and hand-wringing of its well-heeled defenders can be a lot of fun. Hat tip to @acase and friends for this one." (Alistair for Hugh).

Jaron Lanier: The Frontiers of Augmented Reality and Human Potential - Microsoft Advertising . "We owe much to Jaron Lanier : virtual realities, parallel computing, and a disdain for a too-connected, inorganic world. In this video, he discusses the impact of technologies like Microsoft 's Kinect and the future of computing. Always interesting to hear from someone who lives twenty years in the future." (Alistair for Mitch).

Physical Cosmologies: The Shining (excerpt) part one - MSTRMND . "I wasn't sure whether to link to this long piece - a dense and difficult, but fascinating, analysis of Stanley Kubrick 's ' The Shining ' - or the short blog-post that lead me to it (found here ) ... In the end, my link is for the long article, though I never would have read it without the context provided by the short blog post." (Hugh for Alistair).

507 - Darkness and Cherry Pie: David Lynch's Map of Twin Peaks - Big Think . "A description of the geography of Twin Peaks, the television show that first defined TV as a serious art-form, an art-form that has eclipsed both books and movies in artistic importance." (Hugh for Mitch).

Peer-to-Peer Space Morphs as Institutions Do More of the Lending - American Banker . "The digitization of industry affects every industry. The challenge is that we're not just talking about physical cheques becoming digital data. Once you digitize an industry, it also opens itself up to act more like digital entities and it can make use of the many new ways a hyper-connected group of people communicate. Did you ever think that financial institutions would leverage the peer-to-peer ethos in their business? Take a read and watch the world change right before your eyes." (Mitch for Alistair).

Long-Form Journalism Finds a Home - The New York Times . "There was a common held misconception that because of the Internet and our desire to have quick and snackable content (250 word Blog posts or 140 character tweets) that long-form journalism would die. What we're learning is that this is not true. In fact, whatever type of content you would like to create can now find a home. These 'homes' are changing and evolving right before our eyes. As more and more people buy iPads and get comfortable with paying for content on the fly, perhaps we're about to enter a new golden era in long-form journalism? Evan Ratcliff and Nicholas Thompson (both employees of Wired ) decided to do something about this opportunity and created The Atavist . The Atavist is a 'tiny curio of a business that looks for new ways to present long-form content for the digital age. All the richness of the Web -- links to more information, videos, casts of characters -- is right there in an app displaying an article, but with a swipe of the finger, the presentation reverts to clean text that can be scrolled by merely tilting the device.' It's a great time to be alive (I realize that's the second time I'm turning that phrase in this paragraph): we're able to watch the next generation of journalism blossom right before our eyes." (Mitch for Hugh).

Now it's your turn: in the comment section below pick one thing that you saw this week that inspired you and share it.

Tags:

alistair croll

american banker

augmented reality

bitcurrent

bite-sized edits

broadcasting

complete web monitoring

computing

david lynch

digital age

evan ratcliff

gigaom

great links

hugh mcguire

human 20

icorrect

ipad

jaron lanier

kinect

librivox

link

linkbait

long-form journalism

managing bandwidth

media hacks

microsoft

microsoft advertising

mstrmnd

nicholas thompson

parallel computing

peer-to-peer

pressbooks

publishing

reddit

rednod

snackable content

stanley kubrick

the atavist

the book oven

the new york times

the shining

twin peaks

twitter

virtual reality

wired

year one labs

A Work Of Cinematic Proportions

How often do you really (and truly) push yourself?

On my flight home from the Media Bistro Socialize event in New York City yesterday, I watched an in-flight documentary on the making of the album, The Joshua Tree, by U2. I'm a fan of U2, but I'll also readily admit that when The Joshua Tree came out in 1987, I was much more interested in Metallica's Master Of Puppets than I was in U2 (and, when you're younger, you pick sides... it was hard to be a true fan of both bands). Hindsight is another story. The Joshua Tree sounds as fresh today as it did when it came out. It is as close to a modern rock masterpiece as you can get. As each day passes, I gain more and more respect for U2 - not just as a rock band but as artists.

Have you created your own The Joshua Tree yet?

What struck me most about the documentary was the commentary by The Joshua Tree's producers, Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. While the band was tinkering away in the songwriting process and jamming on new song ideas, they were very clear about what the vision for the album should be: they wanted the music to be "cinematic." They wanted the music to put the listener in a specific place and then take them somewhere by creating a real story. The kind of story that emotes deep feelings and sets a strong mood.

Imagine trying to write songs that act/feel more like cinema than music.

And while you can blame a vision like that on the drugs or the booze (and I can't comment whether or not either of those played a factor in the creation of the vision for The Joshua Tree), it gave me immediate pause to stop and think about the work we put out into the world as marketers. In this documentary, there is a lot of behind-the-scenes footage of Lanois and Bono at a mixing board listening to the original tracks and reminiscing about where the ideas came from and how the songs came together as Lanois twists knobs to bring up specific instruments from individual tracks. There are scenes of The Edge in his own studio playing guitar riffs from the album that stood out in his memory. Other scenes have The Edge playing four-track cassette demos of the songs. You can hear Brian Eno explain the sonic approach to his work on the album.

All hands on deck. 

As inspiring and creative as all of these individuals are, nothing happens unless they roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. Be it playing a guitar riff, mixing a track on a mixing board, creating sounds on a computer or writing lyrics with a pencil. I soon realized that us Marketers use a keyboard to initiate our creativity, and the canvass of a blank screen prior to having words, creative or code on it is - in and of itself - a powerful blank canvass for the art we create. Just as Daniel Lanois has a mixing board and The Edge has a guitar, you, me and we have a keyboard to create and the tools to collaborate and share.

In the spirit of a moment... 

The next great idea can emerge from between your two ears, down into your fingertips and out into the world. It's an amazing thing to think about. We can all now share our art with the world. The trick is in making yourself comfortable enough to be vulnerable enough to let it happen. You also have to believe that what you do - every day - for a living is your art... that it matters and that it is important (if you're grappling with this, please read both Linchpin and Poke The Box by Seth Godin). While you may never create your own version of The Joshua Tree, be very cognizant of the fact that you have the tools to do it, but you have to expand your thinking beyond your own self-imposed limitations. Perhaps a new vision statement around the work you output is needed?

What if you thought of your marketing in terms of creating a cinematic experience?

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poke the box

seth godin

socialize

songwriting

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the joshua tree

u2

vision

Business Social Media

Social Media has some funny quirks.

On one hand, it's about connecting, building rapport, establishing yourself as a recognized authority, learning, growing and sharing... and most of the content you find from those trying to do those exact things are free (like this Blog, my Podcast, etc...). Fundamentally, all of those actions are also the same key components that are required to get people to buy from you and to be loyal to you. On the other hand, if you're there to blatantly push your wares and get people to buy from you, it's frowned upon. It can be the death knell. There is this strange social contract that individuals won't shill their wares... and if you do, you get called out as if you were insulting not only the person you are connected to, but their entire family and culture as well.

Social Media is about money (for some)... so don't kid yourself.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: There Is Nothing Wrong With Making Money. The problem isn't about the ethics in trying to make money (for most)... the problem is usually in the approach and ask. Those looking to make a quick buck (or a big buck) usually step into some Social Media bear traps not because they're trying to make money, but because of their approach. While every single individual (and brand) needs to figure out the relationships and dynamics of the Social Media spheres to figure out what works best for them, I lean on one, specific, individual at all times for how to get better at building relationships, loyalty and asking people to become my customer: Jeffrey Gitomer (you can hear my conversation with Gitomer here: SPOS #201 - Marketing And Sales With Jeffrey Gitomer).

Not that guy again!

When it comes to sales and marketing nobody does it better than Gitomer. Every one of his books is a gem. They are simple to read, they are fun to read and they are filled with ideas that are both actionable and immediate to execute. He's written over ten best-selling business books (you can see them all here: Jeffrey Gitomer's books) and he's one of the few people (with the addition of Tom Peters and Seth Godin) that I would recommend reading each and every one of them. Nothing has taught me more about the art of marketing and selling through connecting and building real relationships (and, don't kid yourself, sales and marketing is about building relationships) than the work of Jeffrey Gitomer.

Why?

Not everything he says is perfect for every person (in fact, some of the stuff may very well make you cringe while other bits may make you laugh)... and that's where the magic happens. Gitomer doles out information like a machine gun and the way he does it makes you think about creative ways that you can adapt his concepts to work best for your style. The trick is...

Can you apply this stuff to Social Media?

Last year, Gitomer approached me about contributing to a book he was authoring about Social Media and business. The result was published this week. His latest book, Social BOOM!: How to Master Business Social Media to Brand Yourself, Sell Yourself, Sell Your Product, Dominate Your Industry Market, Save Your Butt, ... and Grind Your Competition into the Dirt (FT Press), is a staple on the Top 10 best-selling books list at Amazon. It's brash, it's direct and it has lots of gold in it. My chapter is titled, Is Social Media Right For Every Business?

What's the big message?

Social Media is one of the biggest opportunities for businesses to grow and connect that has come along in a long, long time. Now, that may turn off many people who use these channels for personal social benefit, but the truth is (and it's core to Social BOOM!) that when business can figure out how to do this right, what they soon realize is that, "Social Media is the new cold call" (as Gitomer often tweets). Like anything else, Social Media is agnostic (it is neither good nor bad) and how effective and powerful it can be will be predicated on how well you understand your audience, community and the people that you are trying to connect to. Tomorrow, I'll be presenting at the Media Bistro event, Socialize - Monetizing Social Media (March 31st - April 1st, 2011 in New York City) talking about Social Media and the new consumer.

Notice a trend here?

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