We follow people. We choose a mentor. We mentor others. We first listen. We learn. We give. We share. Something that I am seeing happen more and more is people losing sight of their own brand and identity. Regardless of if you are a solo-entrepreneur or an employee at a Fortune 500 company, you shouldn't lose site of YOU!
Whenever there is a new type of technology, media or fad of any kind everyone hops on the new wagon. The foolish think just because it's new, the seat on the new wagon must be better. They think it will cost less, be easier, bring more customers. The reality is that social media will probably highlight current issues even further. It may even shine like a strobe light on the one or two very broken areas of your business. It may put departments, people and even individuals under pressure. Why? Because you will be forced to talk about these things.
We have entered the inspiration age. The age where connecting with our audiences is not an option but a requirement. Coming out of the information age it was easy to put everything in a box. With bits and bytes and widgets and boxes. Super size advertising budgets could be easily justified because of course it was a box or a widget you were buying.
Seems the new "thang" to blog about these days is how terrible one social media platform is over another, or why one type of follower is better, or why you should spend less time on Facebook and more on Twitter or the million other options.
Friend, authenticity, transparency and relationships. They are all words we use frequently when we talk about the online and social world. We discuss the importance of being real, authentic and building relationships built on giving and sharing.
This is a perfect case study in why businesses can not ignore social media any longer. Your customers want to communicate with you. They want to tweet with you in 140 characters. When your phones are down send one simple tweet and you can save 100 loyal customers within minutes. Wouldn’t one tweet of 140 characters be worth 100 lost customers and the negative brand equity of yet another night time outage?
When you first jump on the social media train you hear the stories. You hear the comments of people complaining that all people do is promote themselves, talk about lunch. Yet isn't Facebook Places really all about what you had for lunch today? Or if you had the will to make it to your 6:00 am spin class or spend another hour recovering from your late night of Tweeting?
Social Media as a whole is like one big party. It's where we can talk, have fun, sing songs, talk over lunch or dinner, tweet about anything your heart desires. It's basically up to you how you engage, communicate and join the party.
No wonder Facebook is beginning to feel like surfing. It's because we can get whatever we want via a Fanpage, quick search, query of top trends and "likes". We can seek filtered information. We can filter information to our most favorite. On one page we can share a photo of our dog and kid, a blog post and invitation to a research conversation on LinkedIn. To me that is power of communication, content and community all in one place. Yes, we can accomplish some of the same sharing on Google. However, it's not as intimate. It's not as controlled. And most importantly it is not FREE!
What is a weekend anymore? We look forward to them, but why? Are we enjoying them? When we are lucky, weekends are a time for us all to enjoy some down time with family and friends. Regardless of your role; business leader in corporate, an entrepreneur, small business owner, intern or worker bee... it is easy for us to lose track of why we are doing what we do.
Remember when you were a kid and you would sing your heart out? What is the song for your business? Are you singing your heart out? Or are you hiding in the back row because you forgot the words?
As a small biz owner and entrepreneur there is always too much too do and not enough time to do it. With BIG dreams, BIG ideas, BIG hopes and little budget, resource and stretched time... the BIG and LITTLE sides don't always line up. Take time to enjoy the ride, the bumps, the big and little wins, the curves and the friends who drive up beside of you.
Are you struggling with social media engagement? Struggling with building your audience? You have thousands of Twitter followers, maybe even 50 or 100 people who have clicked "like" on your Facebook page. However, even with this early success you've seen in social media, people just simply aren't engaging with your brand? You are not feeling the social media love that others talk about.
Are you sitting on the sidelines of life? Do you ...
Where do you sit in the social spin class? Do you sit in the front row, back row or middle? Do you cruise along and join the community? Or do you join the community as a leader ready to help others. Or are you a clueless wonder riding to your own song and your own format as you are afraid to admit you are better as a team with other people.
Today I experienced a troublesome situation involving a missing teen ...
Missing girl in Tampa Florida. Last seen in Riverview area near Summerfield getting in a blue Toyota Camry. Leads that owner may live in Thonotassa area. Please call 813.468.3000 or the police if you have any information. You can also connect with the mother at facebook.com/yoemyw
Website got ya' down? You are zoomin' along on other websites, wondering why yours doesn't have the same cool look and feel. Remember the grass isn't always greener on the other side. There are probably also folks looking at your blog or website thinking yours is cool too. Don't let the need for a refresh get ya' down! It may just be in need of a little tender loving care (TLC). Check out these 27 tips to freshen up and zoom your website this week!
Imagine yourself relaxing on a nice warm, sandy beach. Toes ...
How many times have you said "I really wish I had someone to help me with that!" Or how about "if only I had two more hands and three more hours it would all get done on time"? Many times small businesses do what everybody else does. If they are in the maid business they sell themselves as, well "maids". If they are in the restaurant business they sell themselves as a, well "restaurant". Why don't they sell me on the fact that I can do what I do better if they help me with that they do best!?
