Social media is a term we like to use today to talk about the revolution in the way we run our businesses and our lives. I can’t say when the fad of calling it social media will end, but I can tell you that the principles and profitable strategies we talk about in Profitable Social Media are not going to change.
I know this, because they were around before anything called social media or the Internet.
Lately I’ve been researching the game called EmpireAvenue wherein a stock market simulation allows you to buy and sell the stock of people and web sites. (I’ll have more on this soon). While there, I met Erich Shanholtzer and we became friends on Facebook.
Rather than just collect friends to send notices to, I’ve learned that a profitable relationship begins with getting to know people. So I quickly scrolled down his wall. There I noticed this video:
Serendipity comes from as little as a note of music
I realized I had not heard any Billy Preston for quite some time and while I was anxious to move on to my next chore, I figured I could spare a minute to hear some music
So glad I did.
As soon as I heard a few bars from the song, I remembered the feeling of listening to the keyboard work of Billy Preston and was inspired to LIKE the video, add share it with my Facebook friends. While I was at it, I clicked to share the video link with Twitter followers where I started three conversation with people I hadn’t talked to in a while.
Moved by the words:
“Nothing from nothing leaves nothing. You gotta have something, if you want to be with me”
I started thinking how “something” can be as little as sharing a song.
I went further to listen to some other Billy Preston songs on YouTube, and contemplated how I could use them in this blog post…
But That’s Not The Real Story
I’ve been putting off several creative projects for a variety of reasons (excuses) and one of the items that fell through the cracks was blog posts. Well, since I got to jumping with the beat of Billy Preston, I’ve finished three of those projects and created two other blog posts.
I knew I would get “something” from listening to Billy Preston within a few seconds. I can thank Eric for taking the few seconds needed to share this video and will remember him for the gift he gave me.
I don’t know if I’ll ever do business with Eric. I can’t tell you how well I’ll do for the projects I’ve moved forward because of this change or if I’ll touch anyone with this blog post.
And that’s OK.
Every great idea, new business revenue, sale, relationship or adventure starts with the inception of an idea. Today, it’s easier than ever to touch others and be the inspiration they are looking for. If one moment in 100 like this brings results, you’ll have a very good ROI (return on investment).
You can focus on the areas where you feel the best chance for profit and likely will find things that work better than Billy Preston. You may never know where the inception of serendipity comes from but I can promise you it won’t happen unless you are willing to try things that aren’t guaranteed to work right away.
How You Can Profit Today
Think about the people you work with. Your prospects, suppliers, co-workers and clients. What can you do today that will help them?
It can be as simple as an uplifting phrase shared, a smile as you pass by or a thank you… or it can be anything that will help them get what they want.
You know people want more than whatever you are selling. So here’s the trick. The less you think about helping them buy your product, the more likely they’ll be to feel favorable when it comes time to do something for you. Cialdini called it the Law of Reciprocity. I say it’s just the golden rule.
Do unto other as you would have them do unto you
Sure, you have to make a living and close the deal. Just remember that other people have needs that aren’t fulfilled from buying from you. Help them in little ways to get whatever they want, and you’ll always get more of what you want.
What started out as a game that didn’t interest me much has morphed into a useful networking tool for business. It’s like Declan Dunn says about pivots (watch his video) the key to success is not what you thought you should do, but what works.
The pivot for Empire Avenue came when they listened to there users and adapted. Watch the Scobleizer video to see where they have been, where they are going, and how you can profit.
Robert Scoble at Empire Avenue
Bonus points for seeing pivot points for your own business.. share your thoughts below
Linkedin announces LinkedInToday, a system for automatically creating a page of news from the companies, industries and people you follow
Peer based news generated automatically
I have been experimenting with curating tools like LinkedIn Today and like how this one allows you to tweak the setting after it’s created.. meaning you you get better content as time goes on.
Marketers will find ways to place positive stories in the feed, but the real power will come as some develop a reputation for finding and sharing news and information with peers. That’s power networking!
What have you been using to curate and share information online?
I was walked up to a group of friends at an event last week and saw several gathered on a group of chairs and sofa in the hotel lobby… each with their smart phone out texting.
Disconnected?
Not really. The group had been together for hours, out to dinner and very good friends.. but each of them were taking a moment to check in the friends and family at home.
An Internet connection doesn’t replace face to face time.. but it can enhance it. Rather than the knee jerk reaction that we are losing intimacy, watch this video from TED speaker Stefana Broadbent: How the Internet enables intimacy
Social Media strengthens relationships
Social Media Intimacy (from TED)
We worry that IM, texting, Facebook are spoiling human intimacy, but Stefana Broadbent’s research shows how communication tech is capable of cultivating deeper relationships, bringing love across barriers like distance and workplace rules.
Stefana Broadbent watches us while we talk (and IM, and text). She is one of a new class of ethnographers who study the way our social habits and relationships function and mutate in the digital age.
There are some limits to what is good for certain jobs and situations. A doctor performing surgery would know better than to chat with friends during the procedure… but might want to check on a patient or phone home before or after.
Can You Improve Your Relationships With Social Media?
Technology allows me to stay in touch in a few moments here and there while doing whatever I want to be doing. I certainly don’t want to take client calls during a family dinner, but I love that I get to make that choice.
Let’s not discuss all the ways we limit our use of social media.. I’d like to hear more stories like Stefana shared how you improve relationships with prospects, clients and friends.
Add a comment below, and be sure to include a link where we can let you know how we use this in our book.
My friend Lewis Howes (the guy with the best linkedin profile tips) and I have an ongoing conversation about the businesses wasting time on social media.
He holds that there is one sight that is pure business.. LinkedIn
I agree with that.
In this video, Lewis explains how he build a huge network of business professionals using, and taught others to do the same.
When I first met Lewis, he was networking but not known well. I was immediately impressed with his talent to find ways to help in every situation and provide what people in his network needed.
Lewis had just written his first short book with linkedin profile tips and I expected it to be the usual basics of linkedin networking and social media ideas shared by so many so called social media experts. I was immediately impressed though.. Lewis gets social networking and even in that first book went well beyond the usual yada yada.
Now Lewis speaks around the world about Linkedin. I’ve seen Lewis speaks, and watch many of his online video presentations. Unlike so many of the linkedin profile tips presentations, Lewis gets to the meat of using Linkedin for profitable business.
If you want profitable social media, and are ready to get down to business and avoid the games, I suggest you start following Lewis Howes.
Free video presentation
There are so many profitable ways to build your business with social media… market research, customer service and prospecting. We share many of those ideas here.
But like Lewis says.. the pure business network is LinkedIn.
Go beyond the simple resume page and linkedin profile tips. You can use Linkedin.com smater and watch your business network explode.
Or maybe you just want to spread your message to the widest audience?
Here’s how: Give people what THEY want.
So many authors, blogger, entrepreneurs come to me asking “How do I get noticed?”
I tell them to do what I do… STOP trying to get and start giving.
This is not a sermon… it’s just good marketing. You will succeed when you find out what your audience wants and give it to them.
Want more followers. Be follow worthy. Be seen as someone who GIVES help, support and attention to others.
One great example of GIVING is my friend Azim Jamal. He and his co-author Harvey McKinnonwrote a book called The Power of Giving. They get attention from it, but gave all the royalties to charity.
When it came time to promote The Power of Giving paperback, they asked how they could reach more people with the message. The answer GIVE MORE. Azim went to a blogger convention and talked to bloggers about how they give. 50 interviews with bloggers that they could use freely.
I know this, because they were around before anything called social media or the Internet.
