Social Media Podcast for Social Business by Shane Gibson Speaker and Author

(http://www.closingbigger.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/noise-1024x681.jpg)Today's social media podcast (http://CLOSINGBIGGER.NET/wp-content/uploads/sales-training-podcast/getabovethenoise.mp3) is on "How to get above the noise." With over a billion people Tweeting, posting to Facebook and blogging about everything imaginable you have a lot of competition for mind share within your target market. Today I will talk about three things that will help you rise above the crowd: * Consistency * Niche and Nano-marketing * Connecting (Connection is King. Content is secondary) This is day 5 of my 30 day podcasting challenge. I will be posting a new podcast everyday for the next 30 days. If you would like to contribute as a guest on the show e-mail me shane@socialized.me. Otherwise a comment, tweet or Facebook share would be greatly appreciated.

(http://www.closingbigger.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/social-media-podcasts-300x121.jpg)Today's podcast is more of a rant. We cover everything from customers service, the dangers of believing what you see on Infographics, and my response to Peter Shankmans comments on "Why All Social Media Experts Need To Die in a Fire (http://www.businessinsider.com/why-i-will-never-ever-hire-a-social-media-expert-2011-5)." I cover it briefly in the podcast but here's my thoughts on Shankman's statements. It's been a full week since the post but people keep emailing me asking my opinion on his blog post. (On a side note: nice work on Peter's part for all the traffic generated). Here's my response to a client: Instead of becoming a best seller like Guy Kawasaki (http://facebook.com/enchantment) he feels he needs to put down the entire industry to prove his superiority. There are good and bad accountants, lawyers, authors, sales trainers, digital agencies and Apple "experts" out there. Shankman points out the obvious: be a good marketer, be customer service orientated, don't misspell stuff, don't let an intern do your social media. But you do need to help your team effectively socialize... and many of the social media disaster stories we read about every week come from companies that went it alone and didn't get mentorship or study bast practices that already exist. Social media is just a tool, you do need a strategy, an understanding of your customer and yes it should be integrated into multiple departments and with the rest of your business, marketing and customer service strategy. (Integration was one of the parts of your assessment). I do not have a lot of love or time for people giving bad, ill-informed advice and misleading people or as Guy calls it "Enchanting Gullible People." There are a lot of clueless experts out there selling useless crap. On the other hand people like Shankman who want to group everyone and everything into on pile and suggest they should be burned to death really helps no one. The bottom line: marketing and sales success principles will prevail... but the platforms for engagement have changed and customer tolerance for pitching or in-authentic engagement has decreased. We are in a new era with new opportunities (and new risks). Have a listen to today's podcast rant and let me know what you think!

Today's podcast is an interview (http://CLOSINGBIGGER.NET/wp-content/uploads/sales-training-podcast/JessicaNorthey.mp3)with @JessicaNorthey (http://twitter.com/JessicaNorthey), a very sociable social media strategist with a background in broadcast media specializing in helping radio stations and music artists use social media efficiently. Update: She also happens to be ranked as the #1 Most Influential Woman on Twitter by Twitter Grader. (http://twittergrader.com/top/women)We recently exchanged a few tweets on authenticity in social media and after looking at the great work Jessica is doing I asked her to do an interview. Here's an excerpt from her bio: Jessica Northey, SocialMediologist (Social=Friendly, Media=Form of Communication, Ology=Study Of) (http://fingercandymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/new-photo-11.jpg)Tucson Native Jessica Northey is taking over Country Music and Radio one Tweet at a time. Specializing in, using Social Media when you ARE the brand, breaking new artists and strategic use of Social Media for Broadcasting; her optimization techniques are being implemented at top stations across the nation, and her writings/methods instructional material for various programs from Real Estate to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. She is a Social Media, Broadcasting, Country and Music Blogger/Writer, Nationally Recognized Speaker, On-Air Personality, Daily Columnist for AllAccess.com, the web’s largest radio and music industry community, who owns Social Media boutique firm Finger Candy Media, LLC. Having a personal network of over 140,000 followers and a second order influence of over 4 million she is consistently ranked in the top 100 most influential people on Twitter (in the world) according to TwitterGrader.com and in the October Issue of Fast Company Magazine was shown as one of the most influential people on Social Media ranking at 109. This is day 3 of my 30 day podcasting challenge. I will be posting a new podcast everyday for the next 30 days. If you would like to contribute as a guest on the show e-mail me shane@socialized.me. Otherwise a comment, tweet or Facebook share would be greatly appreciated.

Today's podcast is on Outsourcing Automation and Building Virtual Teams (http://CLOSINGBIGGER.NET/wp-content/uploads/sales-training-podcast/outsourcingthingsdone.mp3). My guest today is Stephen Jagger (who is also my co-author for Sociable!) co-founder of Ubertor (http://ubertor.com) and Outsourcingthingsdone.com (http://outsourcingthingsdone.com). They have a 150 seat office in Manila where they supply North American tech firms, Realtors and a variety of other industries with virtual team members. I asked Stephen to come on the show to discuss best practices in the area of outsourcing and the technology needed to lead virtual teams. (http://storage.ubertor.com/outsourcingthingsdone.myubertor.com/content/image/142.jpg)

Today's podcast is titled "Professional Speaking for Geeks (http://CLOSINGBIGGER.NET/wp-content/uploads/sales-training-podcast/professionalspeakingforgeeks.mp3)." Yes they call it death by PowerPoint and many other things. It's the art of the bomb, crash and burn -- or worse. We get a polite applause and the audience attendees forget about us half-way through the conference wrap-up party. I have had a number of inquiries from my tech and social media brethren about how to present on stage. Some are gentle questions like "how many slides should I have for a one hour presentation?" to outright pleas for help such as "I'm terrified of audiences over 20 people, how do I present our new iPhone app at this conference?" Geeks (science or tech savvy and knowledgeable folks who get turned on by pixels, pings, microchips, biology, chemistry, APIs etc.) tend to struggle with presentations, yet if they master the art they can have a massive impact on their business and career (think Steve Jobs or David Suzuki). Too many people think content is king. Connection is king. Unless you can connect with your audience and engage them effectively your geek speak will mean very little to them. Today's podcast covers a few insights on better stage presentations. [This is day one of my 30 day podcasting challenge, I will be posting a new podcast everyday for the next month, drop by, make a comment or share a link to the podcast you posted today).

Today's social media podcast (direct download here (http://CLOSINGBIGGER.NET/wp-content/uploads/sales-training-podcast/52twittertips.mp3)) and blog post is on how to increase your Twitter following. These strategies aren't just about the numbers but are proven strategies to attract the right followers. Here are 52 (non-automated) Ways to Increase Your Twitter Followers: * Have a custom background that tells what you do and who you are * Have a complete bio with keywords that people search for * When you follow people, find something to comment on or ask a relevant question to let them know you’re there and are conversational and community focused * Make sure your Twitter profile is recognizable and real. Photos of celebrities, cartoons or logos tend to get less follow-backs than a profile with a real smiling human face. * Follow people who recently followed your competitors * Follow people who are complaining about your competitors * Follow-back those that follow you. Many will un-follow after a period of time if you do not follow-back. Avoid following spammers, pornbots or anything that doesn’t resonate with your values or personal brand of course. * Look at your competitors public lists and follow those that are relevant * If you’re a local business use Twitter local search to find people talking about your business, industry or community and follow them (remember to interact) * Search for relevant industry #hash tags ( ie #scrm #rechat #bieber or whatever your target market talks about) follow those people, then as per #3 – reach out and communicate. * Use relevant #hash tags on topics, conferences, and issues and attract more followers * Search Twellow.com for regional influencers and follow them * Search Twellow.com for industry specific or topic specific people and follow them * Register for Twellow.com and fill in the expanded profile and bio section, you will show up in more searches. * Change your Twitter bio from time to time to attract new markets through search * Put your Twitter address on your business card, brochures and any other printed material you give out * Have a decal designed and put your Twitter address on the back of your laptop (I have had a number of new and interesting followers and it’s a good ice-breaker at coffee shops and airports) * Finish all of your blog posts with a short bio that suggests people follow you in Twitter * When making comments on blogs, many ask for a web address – give your Twitter address instead * Have a prominent Twitter badge displayed on every page of your site and/or blog that links to your profile * Let your Facebook and Linkedin connections know you’re on Twitter and ask them to connect. * In Linkedin Groups (relevant ones) ask members as a topic discussion to share Twitter profiles with each other and suggest you also connect on Twitter. * In a tasteful non-spam format let anyone on email lists, meetup groups YOU operate and other online groups that you’re on Twitter and would love to connect. This is often done best as a side-note or footnote in a regular Meetup update or email newsletter blast. Emails and updates titled “Follow me on Twitter” are generally considered bad form. * Target regional (all regions your market to) influencers (not necessarily Twitter superstars) on Twitter and put them on a private list. Monitor their discussions and updates and pro-actively have relevant discussions, RT (Re-Tweet or Share) their updates and promote things they are promoting. After a period of time they will take notice, often following you and even sharing your content with their network. * Follow anyone who retweets your content and thank them (except of course spambots) * Use backtweets.com to find out who is linking to sites of interest or competitor sites. Follow those people and apply #3 again. * Host a #Tweetup in your community or at a conference. * Attend #Tweetups in your community (What is a Tweetup?

Today's social media podcast (direct download here (http://CLOSINGBIGGER.NET/wp-content/uploads/sales-training-podcast/Social-CRM-Strategy.mp3)) is focused on social customer relationship management. Social SCRM (#SCRM on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23scrm)) is really where sales and social media form a nexus point with customer service, leadership and community. This of course is assuming we use the Social CRM for its intended purpose. Too many organizations fall in love with the tools but they should really be showing their customers and prospects that love. Here's a great blog post that defines social crm well: "What is Social CRM? (http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/directors-cut/what-is-social-crm-45317)" Monitoring conversations is great - but getting involved in the conversation and being a thought leader (http://www.closingbigger.net/2011/03/thought-leadership-in-social-media/) is where the true opportunity is. Having a Social CRM strategy is vital, we need to help our sales team understand how to socialize online (http://www.closingbigger.net/2011/03/social-media-department-company/). Today's podcast talks about some of the pro-active components that should be included in that strategy. (http://www.closingbigger.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-05-at-9.22.37-AM-1024x766.png)

As organizations push into the social media space many will start with a social media position, others will have a social media department within their company. This is a great initial step but there are pitfalls and down-sides to seeing social as separate from other business activities. Today's podcast (direct download here (http://CLOSINGBIGGER.NET/wp-content/uploads/sales-training-podcast/socializedversussocialmediadepartment.mp3)) talks about the whether or not we should have dedicated social media silos or fully social companies. In my opinion your end goal must be to fully socialize most of your departments from HR to sales, marketing and even the senior executives in the company. What are your thoughts?

Today's podcast (direct download here (http://CLOSINGBIGGER.NET/wp-content/uploads/sales-training-podcast/personaversusperson.mp3)) focuses on the difference between building an online persona or brand versus building you the person/organization. Too many people have a veneer they present to the world. Once we scratch the surface when we interact with that brand or that person we can be disappointed. There are also brilliant people and awesome brands that don't realize that their persona is actually hiding the great things about them. Today's podcast focuses on why we need to build the person, build the organization and forget the veneer.

I talk a lot about thought leadership in social media. In fact in our Social Media Matrix Stephen Jagger (http://twitter.com/sjagger) and I label our 5th and highest level engagement "Thought Leadership." When I talk about social media and thought leadership on my blog, Twitter or live at an event/seminar there's always a couple of people that moan or whine. They say the word is overused in social media. Funny thing is the term has been around a lot longer than the term "blog" or social media (1994 According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_leadership)) -- it is an integral part of any marketing, community building, or leadership endeavor. Thought leaders create community, build other leaders, and create unique content that speaks to and helps specific markets. Today's podcast (direct download here (http://CLOSINGBIGGER.NET/wp-content/uploads/sales-training-podcast/thought-leadership.mp3) or via iTunes here (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=120765352)) discusses thought leadership and it's importance to marketing, leadership and even your career. Here's a SlideShare embed of the model: Banff Western Connection Conference Stephen Jagger and Shane Gibson Sociable! (http://www.slideshare.net/shanegibson/banff-western-connection-conference-stephen-jagger-and-shane-gibson-sociable) View more presentations (http://www.slideshare.net/) from Shane Gibson (http://www.slideshare.net/shanegibson) As for those that don't like the term "Thought Leadership" here's my challenge to you: find me an easy to understand, non-geek or non-tech speak definition that has global appeal and I will gladly use it. As for the rest of us. Thought leadership is a process of becoming, not an event or clever blog post.  Here are a few of my favorite modern day business thought leaders: * Jeremiah Owyang (http://web-strategist.com) * Jay Conrad Levinson (http://gmarketing.com) * Arrianna Huffington (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington) * Tim O'Reilly (http://oreilly.com/oreilly/tim_bio.html) * Charlene Li (http://www.charleneli.com/) * John C. Maxwell (http://www.johnmaxwell.com/) * Rob Cottingham (http://robcottingham.ca/) * Bruce Philp (http://www.brucephilp.com/) Let me know who your favorite thought leaders are.

(Download today's social media podcast directly here (http://CLOSINGBIGGER.NET/wp-content/uploads/sales-training-podcast/brucephilp.mp3)) Today I had the great opportunity to once again have Bruce Philp author of the Consumer Republic (http://www.brucephilp.com) on my social media podcast. I was so inspired by our conversation I actually reworked my Socialized! Lunch presentation today (http://www.socialized.me/how-social-media-has-redefined-business-intelligence/) to include some very important thoughts that Bruce shared about the future of brands and the true power consumers now hold in their hands. The idea for this podcast discussion really came from a couple of tweets I posted about Groupon's recent off-color marketing tactics (http://femmepostale.com/2011/03/groupons-mockery-of-depression-wheres-the-uproar/) and my disappointment that their response and handling of comments and complaints seemed to be more about sanitizing and denying versus engagement and authentic apologies. (Still not happy with Groupon's Super Bowl Ads (http://www.thenanfang.com/blog/groupon-superbowl-ad-irks-chinese/) this was the icing on the cake) Bruce's question to me at that point was; "what if consumers become discouraged and no longer engage?" (because of this type of corporate response online.) I invited Bruce back on the show to talk about the "Consumer Republic" and answer this important question. During the podcast the conversation quickly turned toward so-called social media experts bloggers etc. who are often the first to criticize a brand, but personally don't walk their talk in regards to engagement or even responding to blog comments and tweets.  (I've been personally guilty more than once of not returning an email or a phone call due to huge volumes of in-bound tweets and inquiries.) Have a listen to the podcast and let me know what your thoughts are on the subject. A huge thanks to Bruce Philp for logging on and having the conversation as well.

To directly download the Enchantment Podcast Click Here. (http://CLOSINGBIGGER.NET/wp-content/uploads/sales-training-podcast/guy-kawasaki-enchantment.mp3)I first met Guy Kawasaki at an Olympic Tweetup (http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/02/guy-kawasaki/) here in Vancouver a little over a year. My co-author Jay Conrad Levinson had already filled me in on guy, and Jay may have even used the work "enchanting" when he described Guy. He seems to arrive and light up a room and make everyone around him feel at ease, when guy speaks about marketing and leadership business leaders listen. When Guerrilla Social Media Marketing (http://guerrillasocialmediahq.com/) was being written Guy was #1 on our list as the person to write the foreword (http://www.closingbigger.net/2010/08/guerrilla-social-media-marketing-guy-kawasaki/), and we were absolutely honored to have him do so. He is a true guerrilla marketer and his use of Twitter (http://twitter.com/guykawasaki) and the creation of his site Alltop.com (http://alltop.com) make him a social media thought leader and innovator. He also is an Apple Fellow and the driving force behind the creation of the Apple Fanboy many decades ago (a movement which is still in full force). With Guy's new book Enchantment (http://www.guykawasaki.com/enchantment/) being released today I responded to Guy's announcement and asked him to do a podcast interview. In the interview we discuss: * Enchanting brands * Social media marketing * Enchanting today's worker * How to resist enchantment * and the difference between enchanting brands like Apple and Zappos and mainstream run-of-the-mill brands Below is an "Enchantment Info Graphic" to accompany the podcast:   (http://files.guykawasaki.com/enchantment/infographic/enchantment-infographic.jpg)

Last week we posted part 1 of our seven part social media assessment (http://www.closingbigger.net/2011/02/social-media-assessment/). In this week's podcast (http://CLOSINGBIGGER.NET/wp-content/uploads/sales-training-podcast/socialmediaassessment2.mp3) I will talk briefly about how you can assess social media effectiveness on various networks including Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and sites like YouTube and Flickr. Each social network could be a full one hour podcast on their own - but today I have given you the 20,000 foot view. The major focus of the assessment is to determine how prepared you are technically and culturally to engage in two-way conversations with your stakeholders. It also looks at your ability to provide content that is filled with contrast and relevant information for your market.

Today's social media podcast (http://CLOSINGBIGGER.NET/wp-content/uploads/sales-training-podcast/social-media-assessment.mp3) is part 1 of a 7 part series on assessment. Before any major endeavor we need to take inventory of our assets, attitudes, and liabilities. Working with everyone from one person businesses right up to fortune 500 companies I have developed a social media assessment process that helps take that inventory. It's a work in progress and in it's present form has already helped me develop strong direction and focus with my clients. I'm sharing this process to help my readers and listeners, and also of course to get feedback -- what do you like? What am I missing? This is a process we developed working with our clients at Socialized! (http://socialized.me) and it takes an inventory of the following: * Your existing website: Is it socialized with a blog, integrated with the major social networks and well optimized for search engines? * Your social profiles: Are you maximizing the use of the major social sites that are relevant to your audience. This entails not just creating content but having relevant conversations and engaging? * Social Media Policy: Do you have a personal or corporate social media policy that fosters a social culture and creates accountability? * Social Media Plan: Do you have a strategic plan for launching and sustaining focused social media communications. * Trained staff: Is your team trained in the rules of engagement and in the technical aspects of the tools they will use? * Integration: Silo? Online/Offline? Bi-directional?: What best describes your social media use. If only one person or one department is using it then you will be faced with bottlenecks and a one dimensional communications strategy. * Metrics, Monitoring and Measurement?: Are you using social media monitoring tools like Twitter Search, Post Rank, Google Alerts etc. to find business intelligence, identify stakeholders and get involved in the conversation. Today's Podcast is focused on part 1 of the assessment: Your Socialized Site or Blog and asks 12 major questions (covered in the podcast) Area of Focus Score /10 1) Website/blog platform: Is it based upon a platform that is social ready? Notes:   2) Is it easy to upgrade and keep pace with social media advancements? Notes:   3) Does it offer multiple channels/media for two-way communications? Notes:   4) Does it aggregate online conversations about your brand and industry? Notes:   5) Does it provide a launch point to your social media outposts? Notes:   6) Does it provide industry standard blogging capabilities and plugins? Notes:   7) Is it search engine friendly? Notes:   8 ) Does it allow community contribution of content, ideas or questions? Notes:   9) Does it include multiple methods and media to learn about how you can help? Notes:   10) Is it easy for visitors to share all of your content on the web? Notes:   11) Are you proactively participating in communications and conversations on your site? Notes:   12) Is the content consistently updated and current? Notes:   The most important thing to realize here is that most of the questions are focused on how you are using your blog and site. Some of it focuses on basic functionality but most is about the application. I will be posting Part 2 "Your Social Profiles Assessment" in the next few days. (http://www.socialized.me/wp-content/themes/agency/images/logo.png)

(http://www.brucephilp.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Screen-shot-2010-09-16-at-3.50.41-PM.png)Today I had the opportunity to interview Bruce Philp (http://www.brucephilp.com/) author of The Orange Code and the soon to be released book Consumer Republic (http://www.brucephilp.com/books). We had a great discussion about the power of the consumer and our ability to vote with our pocketbooks. Here's what the book site says about the book: Consumer Republic Using brands to get what you want, make corporations behave, and maybe even save the world. Consumer Republic is premised on the uncomfortable truth that brands give consumers power over the marketplace that is essentially political. Brands make corporations accountable for their actions and, especially now, they give those corporations something valuable to lose if they fail us. Consumer Republic faces consumers with that power, explains how we got it, and then shows how the choices we make at the cash register can change our own lives, the way that corporations go to market and, ultimately, our entire way of life. Just as an engaged citizen is essential to an effective democracy, so an engaged consumer is the key to a sustainable free market, says Consumer Republic. My new book is a challenge to all of us who consume to vote with our money… and to marketers to be ready for a future in which they will face their customers eye to eye.