RssA1: Up Market

joi, 1 martie 2012

Up Market

Up Market

Stop Tweeting and Start Making!

Posted: 01 Mar 2012 06:00 AM PST

Anyone who knows me well will vouch that I'm a huge advocate of Social Media as a tool for encouraging greater collaboration and sharing and have been using Twitter and Facebook in business for just over three years with great success. However, I'm also aware that they can both be a massive time suck which can actually make you LESS productive at work!

In particular, I'm concerned that start-ups (including new projects within existing organizations) are seeing Twitter and Facebook as a great panacea which will bring them more customers and riches, simply by being on them all day, every day and picking up as many new 'Followers' and 'Fans' as possible. I often hear people say things like, "If only we had more Facebook Fans or Twitter Followers we could sell more of XYZ" or "When we get more, we can then start spending more time improving our product/service".

However, the problem with constantly striving for MORE is that you can never have enough. You'll never be satisfied until your numbers are higher than everyone else and just because someone is a 'Fan' on Facebook or 'Follower' on Twitter doesn't mean they are an actual, paying customer. It just means they have the potential to become one now your Status Updates and Tweets appear on their News Feed and Timeline.

A much better and healthier attitude in business is to do everything in your power to make your product or service the best it can be (and then some). If you are offering something truly remarkable then your loyal Fans and Followers will appear and not necessarily online.

In my line of work, my Twitter Timeline is filled with people who Tweet a lot but say very little. Of course, the majority of people I Follow are interesting individuals doing interesting work but you wouldn't necessarily know this from some of the things that they share. Perhaps it's just the type of people I am Following but if you're a sole trader or small start-up of say one or two people, I would question how much 'real work' you are doing if you are on Twitter all day. You are either not doing the work, or are working ridiculous hours (very late nights and weekends) just trying to keep up with all the work that is going undone whilst you are on Twitter and Facebook.

Yes, I understand the attraction of Twitter and Facebook. It's free, but not really. There's always a cost to you or your business in terms of time and effort it takes to build up a Following or Fanbase and to respond to all the @mentions and DM's that come through. Also, it doesn't really feel like work does it? It's quite fun being on Twitter and Facebook and so very easy to kid yourself that you are doing extremely important work that will develop your online brand and business. This may be true of course, but you need to think long and hard about how much time you can realistically devote to 'doing Social Media properly' and what this will look like for you and your business.

In general, this is how I use Twitter and Facebook for work which you may find useful to know:

  • First thing in the morning - I travel to work by bus and metro and use some of this time to catch up on latest news via various blogs, Twitter and Facebook. If there's anything that I feel is of interest to our Followers on Twitter I will Retweet it along with posting my own Tweets about our latest news. Research including that by Dan Zarrella suggests that before 9am is a good time to share links to your own articles and blog posts as this is when professional bloggers, journalists and web editors are looking for stories they can feature on their own site. It's also when other 'general readers' are getting ready for and travelling to work so there's some dead time here during which they are actively consuming information. I've been doing this in recent months and it does seem to be paying off with an increased number of Retweets and shares of things I post in the morning, between 8am-9am. I'm also finding that evenings (after 5pm) and weekends are a good time to engage with Followers and Fans (or users/clients/customers). During the day (9-5) is the time when other professionals in the same sector as me are on Twitter and Facebook as part of their job. These people are interested in the work that we do and may share our content with their Fans and Followers but aren't necessarily clients of ours. It's important to know the difference.
  • Get into the habit of only posting things on Twitter and Facebook when you actually have something NEW and interesting to talk about! There are so many people just blabbering on about the same old stuff, day in day out. If people aren't clicking on the links to products and services you are talking about, perhaps there's a very good reason? Maybe your Followers and Fans simply don't want what you are offering? Either that or the things you are saying are coming across as too boring, salesy or spammy! However, unless you are actually measuring clickthroughs via free analytical tools like Bit.ly, Google Analytics or Facebook Page Insights then you really won't have a clue if the work you are doing is having any meaningful impact or if it's just a massive waste of your time. This goes back to my original point that if you're not actually creating anything new then you will quickly run out of things to say. It will just be empty marketing for marketing's sake.
  • Be consistent – Over time, I've developed my personal online brand @lordlancaster by being consistent about the topics and themes that I talk about and share with others. I'm very clear in my own head that I am using Social Media in a professional capacity and rarely share really personal information except perhaps on Facebook. Even then, my Facebook Profile is mostly business-related with the occasional Status Update about life outside of work. The exact same principles apply in a business context. Work out what you and your business want to be known for and build all your Social Media activity around that. For example, do you want to be known as a 'Thought Leader' publishing original ideas and commentary around a chosen subject you have expertise on? Or do you want to use Social Media to provide fantastic customer service to people who use your products or services or to send in enquiries? I've found Twitter to be a fantastic tool for this, as it can be quicker and easier than traditional Email. Your responses are public too which means that other people can see the (hopefully) great service you are providing, thus reinforcing your position as a great person to do business with.

So, my advice would be tread very carefully with Social Media and don't get sucked into believing that it's the solution to all your marketing and sales problems. If the products and services you are offering in the first place aren't very good (or not what your customers want), then no amount of blogging, Tweeting or Facebook updates is really going to help. It may bring them to your website once, but it won't necessarily get them to buy from you when they arrive, or to come back again. It sounds really obvious but you've got to remember that a 'Follow' on Twitter or a 'Like' on Facebook isn't the same as a paying customer. At the end of the day, it's only really actual sales and happy customers that truly matter in business!

Photo Credit: The Flirty Girl

Working Hard, Getting Fit

Posted: 01 Mar 2012 03:00 AM PST

There's a new exercise option for people who are glued to their computers: FitDesk.

This office-exercise-equipment hybrid may provide the ultimate way to work out while working digitally or to burn through some emails while burning a few calories. FitDesk touts itself as "a product that combines two seemingly polar opposite activities–exercise and computer work–into one productive and efficient activity."

The device is part stationary bicycle and part laptop stand.

"My invention came to me when I was preparing to ride my bicycle 100 miles as part of a leukemia fund-raiser," said FitDesk inventor Steve Ferrusi in a press release about the device. "With the event date coming closer every week I was not getting in many rides. However I was spending lots of time on my new computer planning business ideas, reading emails, etc. Then I had my invention AHA! moment and the FitDesk Pedal Desk was born.”

FitDesk is sold for $229.99 via the company's website, though biking enthusiasts with their own indoor training station can use the Pro version ($79.95) to attach a work surface to their home equipment.

But this isn't the only option for entrepreneurs and work-at-home techies that are looking for a workout fix. Treadmill desks are another option, and one that has gained attention from doctors and media outlets for potential health benefits.

Dr. James Levine, a Mayo Clinic obesity researcher, has encouraged the idea by creating treadmill workstations and a walking track in his office. He's been featured in USA Today for the idea: "It's great fun and it creates a whole positivity," he told the newspaper. "Partly because it’s so new, but partly because it’s nice to be moving."

Treadmill desk plans are widely available on the Internet for DIY enthusiasts. (One option uses $39 of particleboard, Styrofoam and spray paint, and the user's own pre-purchased treadmill.)

The TrekDesk is another option, which provides a wrap-around folding table that fits over treadmills. Retail price is $589.99 (treadmill not included), and it's now available on Amazon.

Photo Credit: FitDesk

How to Succeed in a Bad Economy

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST

There are many people who are making money, even thriving, in this economy.

The Little Big Things

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:00 PM PST

Book Recommendation: The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE by Tom Peters

Some books are meant to be read from start to finish, often in just a few sittings. The Little Big Things is meant to be browsed, pondered, and savored. The ideas come in little chunks so it is easy to read a section first thing in the morning or on your break, but the ideas are so big that you'll need time to absorb their meanings and apply them to your work life. This is my kind of book. No matter what page I turn to I end up with a light bulb going off in my head. Sometimes the ideas are uncomfortable; they test the status quo. Those are the pages I mark so I remember to come back to them. Those are the important ideas.

If you want a book that will talk to you in soft gentle words, maybe with stories that teach a lesson, don't read this book. This book is like a frying pan to the head. It will wake you up, make you take notice of what your business is doing (or more likely, not doing), and shout at you that things could be better. EXCELLENCE is in the title and that is what Tom Peters wants you to achieve. Nothing less will do. If excellence is what you want in your business you've found the right book. When you open it for the first time you'll notice that some words are repeated a lot. You'll be amazed at the number of different fonts and font sizes that are used in this book. You will not fall asleep reading this book. You will not feel relaxed reading this book. The ideas in this book and the way they are presented are like an electric shock to the brain. Just picking up this book causes me to see the world differently.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

– Mark Twain

If you are ready to get out of the harbor and see what you and your business can really achieve then let this book be your guide. The Little Big Things is a book you can learn from all your life. Get ready to excel.

If you want to learn more about Tom Peters and his ideas on excellence visit his website at www.tompeters.com.
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