Understanding, Harnessing and Leveraging the Power of Social Media for Business Leadership

If 80% of success is showing up, then how are you and your company showing up … online? Do you keep hearing about “leveraging social media for business” but see challenges in connecting the dots? And what’s your social media policy for the workplace: do you discourage it or embrace it? Does your website fall into the category of static … or is there some level of freshness and interaction?

Social Media is not the future of business leadership … it’s the now.

The Compelling Numbers

300,000 = the number of new Twitter users EACH DAY!
400,000,000+ = the number of Facebook users
60,000 = the number of people you are 2 degrees from, on Linkedin, with only 250 connections
70% = the number of Facebook users outside of the United States
2,000,000,000 = the number of YouTube Videos viewed EACH DAY
24 = Hours of Video uploaded to YouTube each MINUTE
35+ = Fastest Growing Age Group on Facebook and Twitter

On Friday, May 28th I shared with the Leadership Breakfast of Virginia how to position you and your company as the go-to, resource, expert, or even thought leader of your industry (Powerpoint shared below). Attendees discovered how to tap into an endless referral source, remain top-of-mind for existing clients and open the door (more fully) for client engagement.

. . . . .

By the way, don’t use Social Media to

be a “Me Monster” [Related Video] >>

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Tags: Blog, Cooley, facebook, Leadership, Leadership Breakfast, Linkedin, Ping, social media, twitter, Wordpress, YouTube

Do your clients want to do business with a person, place or thing?

4 Tips on Warming Up Your Brand

In last month’s article, I included the phrase “… referrals are where it’s at!” A loyal reader replied to me with an e-mail that read, “Not that I’m knit-picking, but it should be ‘referrals are where it is!’ … Unless you are writing colloquially, which it appears to be the case.” Maybe that guy was onto something …

There are two schools of thought on the topic of business etiquette. One school tells us to remain completely professional at all times, while the other says, “C’mon man, loosen up a little!” Is it possible to be friendly and warm while remaining professional? Absolutely! Why is this important? Because by and large, “loosening up” (a.k.a. “warming up”) is becoming a requirement if you want to attract and retain more business.

Why?

1. People do business with people they like AND people like people like themselves.

Who are your clients? Perhaps more important, what type of client do you want to attract? If your clientele is completely “buttoned up,” then the loosened up approach may not be the best. (This should only apply to a few of you.) The rest of us, however, are dealing with everyday people; people who want to deal with … everyday people. So how can you be perceived as more of a “real” person?

2. Be Accessible

In a recent video message, the wildly successful (and always-charismatic) wine expert and branding guru, Gary Vaynerchuk, shared his insights on “customer expectations” and advises that your clients want to know and feel that you are accessible.

Here’s an example we can all relate to: Just a few years ago, it was a big deal to have contact with your favorite author. Now, personal replies from famous writers are becoming the norm (I’m in touch with several). If your clients can reach out to their favorite author and receive a response, shouldn’t they be able to reach you? Gone are the days of burying your phone number and e-mail address in the basement of your (more…)

Tags: Approachability, Approachable, Business Etiquette, Direct Message, DM, facebook, Gary Vaynerchuk, meet our team, Optimal Networks, Scott Ginsberg, social media, southwest airlines, twitter, We Mean Business, Web 2.0, WMB

With all the “me,” where’s the “we” and the “you?”

How To Win Clients By Providing Value

“…but enough about me, lets talk about you…what do you think about me?”

The share of adult Internet users who have a profile on an online social network site has more than quadrupled in the past four years — from 8% in 2005 to 35% in 2008*

Have you noticed? Social media is blowing up these days and I believe one of the biggest reasons for that, is that (more…)

Tags: connect, connected, doostang, facebook, group, Kennedy, Linkedin, me-monster, media, myspace, naymz, plaxo, social, socialmountain, twitter, Ziglar

“Why do I need Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter? I’ve gotten along just fine without them!”

A Look at Social Media and How it Can Benefit You

If you’re just getting involved with social media, or only know what you’ve heard, I’m inviting you to let go of any preconceived notions you may have as you read on.

Facebook friends, Twitter tweets, Linked-In connections – no matter how computer-phobic you think you are, you’ve probably had, or overheard, at least one conversation today that involved one of these three terms. They’re part of a growing phenomenon called social media, which refers to technology designed for the express purpose of keeping people in touch via the Internet and/or their communication device (phone, Blackberry, computer) of choice.

Some people dismiss these technologies as entertainment for tweens or Hollywood starlets, when in fact they offer tremendous potential to promote your business or a favorite cause to literally thousands of people (Facebook alone has more than 200 million users). Imagine being able to spread the word to an audience of that size – for free. Over the next two months we’ll examine ways to harness these powerful tools and put them to work for you. For starters, here’s a demonstration of the power of Facebook I find particularly touching:

Kritika Singh - Facebook Group

“Help to send Kritika’s body home” … Given only a week, how do you reach your own circle – and across the globe – to raise thousands of dollars in support of a worthy cause? My girlfriend, Maggie, is the accounting director for a small university in Virginia. In November, one of its 380 students, Kritika Singh, was killed in an auto accident. Kritika’s parents could not afford to ship their daughter’s body home to Nepal and asked if the university could help with expenses – it would cost about $15,000. (more…)

Tags: connect, connected, doostang, facebook, facebook group, kritika, kritika singh, let's connect online, Linkedin, local news, making sense of social media, myspace, naymz, plaxo, social media, social media 2007, social media marketing, social media optimization, social media sites, social mountain, tipping point, TK Sports Camp, twitter, VARN