Social Media Marketing Maverick

I admit it, I’m a die-hard trend watcher. It’s a bit frustrating at times being a woman who naturally does this (for any of you StrengthsFinder 2.0 fans, one of my themes is Futurist ;-)) because I haven’t yet tapped into a network of women who get as excited as I do about what’s next.

Out of love, most of the women in my network get pulled along until they start to jog with me (just ask my best friend Michelle Anton about this - 4 years ago she could barely turn her new Mac on - last week she figured out how to map her new domain to her own social network that she set up after I told her about it!)

I’m a systems-thinker. Which means I look at things holistically first. Like “what is it?” - “it” being the role of whatever it is in whatever I’m trying to figure out. Once I figure THAT out, then it’s all smooth sailing. I have this burning curiosity about “things” and their role in the world.

So when I started to move from blogs to social networks to social media in my mind, I began that “systems-thinking” thing that I do to make it make sense, so I could help my women entrepreneur friends make sense so they could benefit from learning EARLY about it.

Blogs play a HUGE role in social media - and the real “killer app” of blogging (uh-oh, am I dating myself from before the “dot-bomb” of 2000 with that word ? ;-)) is the RSS feed that is already BUILT IN.

In fact, in my book blogs are the “new little black dress” for women entrepreneurs, if they can get past their “technophobia” to realize it. I often wonder if they think they can “break” something and that’s why they are afraid to experiment. Some old psychology at work I guess.

But I digress.

I was tickled pink to see Business Week’s new issue “Beyond Blogs - What Business Needs to Know” because it validated the trend I saw coming over year ago with the rise of all of the social networking sites, and a new industry that is emerging called Social Media.

See, in a systems-thinking world, blogs are a piece of the overall social media picture.

Along with

• social networks (Facebook, Linkedin, Biznik)
• social news-sharing (digg, de.li.ci.ous, etc.)
• social surfing (my words, but think StumbleUpon, Sphere-it)
• social video (YouTube, Google Video, Veoh, Blip.tv, etc) and I recently discovered
• …social radio! (Pandora.com, and also internet talk radio re-framed as “social radio)
• And whatever else comes along to try to ride the trend

The reason I say blogs are the foundation for social media marketing, is due to another emerging trend called Social Media Optimization (SMO) (SEO, move over, SMO is in the house!)

With the strategic use of your blog’s RSS feeds, you can be everywhere your customers and prospective customers are and never leave home base. (your blog)

Without further adieu, I present you the video where BusinessWeek’s Stephen Baker discusses the Cover Story he co-wrote in May, 2008, on online social networks, an update of the May, 2005, Cover Story, “Blogs Will Change Your Business.”

In it, he talks about how IBM is using social media (Twitter) for market intelligence, and to connecting with consumers. And retracts his statement that blogging didn’t have a bubble that would burst, because there wasn’t any money in it (hey, tell that to Darren Rowse over at www.ProBlogger.com)

(I embedded below, so you don’t have to link over if you don’t feel like it.)
Take it away Stephen!

I think I have a slight case of Facebook Fatigue… If I get one more group message inviting me to an event 4,000 miles away I don’t really want to say what I will do, it’s not polite for ladies to say such things (as my mother would say).

Please (she ducks) don’t throw rotten tomatoes at me just yet…I think Facebook is still the most “fun” social network for business I’ve ever seen.

It just also has the ability to quickly fritter away MEGA time (a nice way of saying “time-suck) if you don’t have what my friend Kevin Nations calls a “Profit Strategy”. In other words, a real business model, with a sales system that can turn all that socializing into bottom line dollars and cents - eventually, after you’ve established your social hierarchy, trust and likeability.

Because at the end of the day, we all know that people buy from people they know and people they like - and how can you not like someone who has the audacity to throw Paris Hilton at you? (umm, yep, I’m talking to you Rodney Rumford, FaceReviews Guru ;-))

It’s been my observation over the past 4 years of working with mega-entrepreneurs (John Assaraf, Les Brown, Scott Martineau, most recently, Jerry Conti, my Purpose Posse over at HUB - Humanity Unites Brilliance) that the truly successful 7 & 8 figure + business owners create the sandbox and invite others to play with them, not the other way around.

In other words, they throw the party (or seminar) and collect 50% from the people they put on the platform in front of their audience.

Or better yet, they are the ONLY ones speaking on their platform, it’s their platform, and they aren’t afraid to use it. When you think of it, when have you ever seen Tony Robbins share his stage with someone else? VERY seldom. And if he does, they’re usually delivering his programs, not theirs.

There’s something to be said for continuity and a gated community.

I’ve been quietly playing over at Ning.com, where you can create your own social network with ease.

Now I’m “easing” several of my clients into developing their own private online communities where it’ll be all them, all the time. And, as Lady Fortune (or Law of Attraction would have it, my “Diamond Rolodex” delivered the ideal connection once again - a client introduced me to my new best friend, who is a “Ning Ninja”, and very good friends with Ning.com co-founders…if that isn’t attraction in action, I don’t know what is!

What’s really cool about Ning is the fact that you can private label it for your business - use your own domain name, display your own ads, and even remove their branding. The main consideration in setting it up is what your strategy will be to:

• Get people to come (for what will they come?)
• Get them to engage (why will they stay?)
• Get them to come back
• Get them to tell their friends

Another way to use the private label function is to use it as your own membership site - I know of at least one very well known spiritual teacher who is doing this with great success. She charges a monthly subscription that includes weekly audio, a monthly teleseminar and ongoing access and conversations.

And she gets their full attention, because they’re paying her for what she has that they want. Can we say “social network profit model”?

Works for me. What say you?

Technorati Tags create a social network, create your own social network, facebook, michelle price, ning, roi social media, social media profit model, social network

Google’s been hot to really get in on the social media game and you know they don’t play around. They’ve been acquiring Web 2.0 social media sites (like YouTube for $1.6BILLION) for a while now.

This just in, and almost ready for prime time - Google Friend Connect.

According to Google, Google Friend Connect lets you grow traffic by easily adding social features to your website. I just watched the WHOLE video below…and it blew me away.

(and for those of you who know me, you know that’s NO mean feat - most folks can’t talk fast enough or get to the point fast enough for me to watch very long

I also think it might be a woman thing - any women out there who prefer to watch a looooong video online?

Anyway. Essentially, it would appear that Google Friend Connect provides you with a variety of tools that  turn your static, boring, flat website into a full-blown social scene that lets your users interact with each other with ease.

Visitors will be able (should they be compelled by your content) to log-in and “be sociable” using accounts they already have with Google (of course!), AOL Screen Names, Yahoo! and OpenID (see mine at http://www.ClaimID.com/michelleprice )

Once they do, all their friends in their other networks will be able to see what they’ve found, and can follow them to a new resource (you!).

And this is just the tip of the iceberg, dear friends.  We are on our way to a truly connected web - Global Mind - the question is, what are you going to do to make sure you are in the loop?  Check it out:

Technorati Tags global mind, google friend connect, killer app, open social, social media trends, social network

That’s a question I’ve asked for a while now and none of the pretty enlightened leaders I know seem to have a clue either. So, I thought it would be fun to plan to find them and when I do, they’ll appear in this category.

In 2006, I was a partner in a thought leadership publishing venture called 9th Element Press and we published our first award-winning business book, The Art of Original Thinking: The Making of a Thought Leader. It was written in record time by one of the most talented women thought leaders I know, Jan Phillips.

To become a thought leader, you have to be an original thinker because thought leaders don’t become that way by thinking someone else’s thoughts. (makes sense).

The Art of Original Thinking engages you in a 3 part process:

• Release the Past,
• Embrace the Present
• Create the Future

It’s truly a ground breaking business book that introduces you to some of today’s most original thinking companies (and I guarantee they aren’t ones you’re used to reading about) and how they are increasing global consciousness and doing well while doing good.If you know a woman who you consider a thought leader, send me a note and tell me why and I’ll consider adding her to this section…