So Where Did We Go? What the Hell Happened?

Yeah, so there we were, blogging away, twice, sometimes even three times a week, sharing what we know about social marketing, starting to build a following, and then – WHAM!

We got busy.

Like, really busy.

On the one hand, it was a blessing.

Who doesn’t love busy?

Especially these days.

On the other hand, for the past six months, we’ve been so busy, we couldn’t even think about blogging.

And that’s the point of this blog post.

Yallready know this but we’ll say it anyway.

Your blog needs a plan.

If you have a revelation, or some news happens, you can always go off and write/publish something ad hoc.

But you need to make and stick to a blogging plan.

More specifically and descriptively, your blog needs “The Three P’s”:

• A Point – Your blog needs a point. If someone were to ask your blog why it exists, it should have a good answer. Our blog is about hyper-efficient social marketing. In other words, how to use the clients/customers you have to get more clients/customers.
• A Persona – Your blog needs a persona. It can’t just be words on a digital page. A likeable (or at least interesting) personality needs to emanate from those words. Our blog is intended to come across as “highly intelligent, strikingly clearheaded, and deeply disrespectful (toward all marketing dogma).” If we could craft a voice for our blog, it would be Seth Godin mashed up with Bill Maher.
• A Plan – Your blog needs a plan, which breaks down into:
• What you’ll write about once (or twice) a week
• What you’ll write about once a month
• What you’ll write about once a quarter
• What you’ll write about once a year

And oh yeah, if it’s a really good plan, it will answer the question, “What happens if we get too busy to blog?”

Because with a little luck, that might just happen, and then what will you do? 

Working our connections to recruit candidates for open positions and internships. We need account people, designers, writers and developers. Know someone?

In our next blog posting, we’re going to write about social branding – how to create a social persona that stands out. We’d love to use one or two live examples. If you (or someone you know) would like some free help building out your social persona, please add a comment to this posting – explaining who you are, what you do, who your audience is, and, in one sentence, how you’d like to be seen and thought of in your professional space. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a massage therapist or an legal recruiter. We will we will brand you!

New Citibank Small Business Survey Yields a Statistic that is Nothing Short of Astonishing. Read this blog posting to see if you agree.

Two years after the recession tornadoed through the U.S. economy, small business is kind of a mixed bag.

According to a recent Citbank survey of 1,004 small business owners:

• Though a majority (68%) continues to rate current business conditions as fair or poor, many small business owners clearly believe the worst is over, with 53% describing 2011 conditions as “steady as a rock.”
• 69% say their business is better or about the same as a year ago, compared to 31 percent who say it is worse.
• Looking at the rest of 2011, 81% expect the year to be better or about the same as 2010, with 19% expecting it will be worse.

None of this is surprising or complex.

For most.

But not all.

Small business owners.

Things appear.

To be getting better.

But very.

Slowly.

In a sentence, the sun of small business optimism is visible through the clouds.

Got it.

What we found much more interesting about the Citibank Survey was that social media is a big part of how many small business owners intend to market and grow their businesses.

While this did not come as a major surprise, the numbers are kind of astonishing.

According to the survey, use of social media increased significantly over the last year, with 36% of small business owners saying they use social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn to market their business, compared to just 19% a year ago.

In other words, social media usage within small business grew, over the past 12 months or so, by just under 100%.

Do you know of anything else that grew by almost 100% over the past 12 months?

Small business’ social media usage is way way up.

And so our question is, what about results?

Using social media is one thing.

Any twit can tweet.

Getting measurable, meaningful and actionable social media results are yet another thing altogether.

So we’re prepping a survey of our own. A survey with just ten questions – all centered around social media results:

• Whether small businesses are getting social media results
• How small businesses measure, interpret and act on these results

In our view, measurable, meaningful and actionable results will ultimately determine whether social media is, in fact, the future of small business marketing.

Or just an interesting fad that has its day in the sun and then fades from view.

If there’s one thing we know about small business owners it’s that they’ll try just about any marketing tactic – especially if there’s no big upfront cost.

Whether it becomes a permanent part of how small business owners do business is yet to be seen.

For that to happen, small business owners need to see the money in social media.

Because that’s how they roll.

The 10 Commandments of Social Lead Generation

Do these ten things and thou wilt reapeth many new business leads and deals from the social web. Don’t doeth these things and thou wilt get nothing.

1. Thou Shalt Brand Thyself. If you ask us, the hardest thing you need to do in order to generate leads from the social web is the first thing you need to do – which is to create a personal brand for yourself. Some examples of personal branding: Billy Dec. Snooki. Richard Simmons. And my favorite personal brand: Nigella Lawson. Imagine your life as a movie in which you are incredibly successful. You’re the star. Who is your character? What is he/she all about? If this stumps you, hire us to help you figure it out
2. Thou Shalt Be an Expert in Something. Closely related to commandment #1 is that thou shalt haveth a professional focus and make a big deal about it. People like to buy things from experts they know. So be an expert. Showcase your expertise. Write a blog. Make a video. Do a seminar. And make it good.
3. Thou Shalt Unload the New Business Gun. The worst social lead generation mistake you can make is to waiteth until you needeth the business to go looking for it. Just as with dating, there’s something sexy about someone who’s clearly having fun to begin with and interested in you – but not desperate. That’s the right stance, but it’s hard to take that stance when you really need the business. The best time to get out and do lead generation is when you don’t need the business. Remember the Capitalist Rule of Need: Those who need get nothing. Those who need nothing get everything.
4. Thou Shalt Network. People like to buy things from experts they know. So get to knoweth people. Spend at least 15 minutes a day cultivating relationships. Make new friends and make friends with your new friends’ friends. Take every possible opportunity to putteth people together. (Sub-commandment: Thou Shalt Hook People Up). When you putteth two people together and they actually transact business, your credibility goes through the roof.
5. Thou Shalt Go Slow at First. When thou meeteth someone, either on the web or in the physical world, thou wilt wait at least two weeks before asking them to connect. Thou may exchangeth a few flirty messages in the meantime, but thou wilt allow the new connection to ripen somewhat before plucking it. And if the other person asketh thou to connect, thou will wait at least four days before clicking the accept button.
6. Thou Shalt Relentlessly Build Thy Own Credibility. If it cost fifty grand just to join Linkedin, everyone would assume everyone else was at least somewhat real, and you could pretty much approach anyone at any time and ask for business. This is not the case. Therefore, you need to buildeth social proof, including a lots of connections, lots of visible engagement (meaningful on-page activity like comments and likes) and something, like a blog, that enables you to show people that you actually know something. It also wouldn’t kill you to get involved with a charity.
7. Thou Shalt Flirt. We hate to sound like the Tom Cruise character from Magnolia, but “call me anytime because I’m always available to meet your needs” simply isn’t sexy. You need to flirt. We’ve broken business flirting into five easy-to-manage pieces (Wink, Flatter, Gaze, Hint, and Retreat) upon which we promise to elaborate in our next blog posting.
8. Thou Shalt Say No. This is a tough one. The best possible thing for your brand, period, is to politely decline an invitation to do business – because the request falls outside your field of expertise and/or because you’re simply too busy. Say no, in the most respectful way, but let the other person save face by asking them if it would be ok to re-connect with them when you can breathe or when there’s an opportunity that better fits with what you do best. Then, when you come back to them (we recommend a 60 day ripening period), the relationship is somewhat “broken in.” There’s some history there, and history is one of the Capitalist 7 Conditions of Trust.
9. Thou Shalt Track Details. Keeping tracketh of the other person’s details is the oldest trick in the book but it never fails to impress – both in terms of your interest in the other person and your overall with-it-ness. For example, let’s say you’re flirting with a lead. And he or she quotes Seth Godin. Make a note of it. (We use Highrise to track leads, deals and details). Better yet, read the Seth Godin book the lead quoted from, and find an opportunity to quote Godin back to him/her a few weeks later. Shared cultural and intellectual references accelerate lead cultivation. 
10. Thou Shalt Do Things Worth Writing and Reading About. Few things will maketh you sexier to a lead than if he or she reads about you in the news. Just make sure it’s for something good.

In truth, there are two more (closely related commandments): Be Realistic and Don’t Give Up. Social lead generation is like anything else worth doing: It takes time and effort. But if you follow these 10 Commandments, you’ll win.

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If you like this blog posting, please comment, subscribe (if you haven’t done so already) and share.

It was brought to you by Capitalist, the hyper-efficient, hyper-social marketing agency for small business.

Please visit us at:

http://www.capitalistagency.com

facebook.com/capitalistagency

http://www.youtube.com/capitalistagency

Wanted Digital Marketing Account Manager Referral Reward $1,000…

Wanted: Digital Marketing Account Manager. Referral Reward: $1,000

At most ad agencies, account managers get no respect.

After all, what do they really do?

They write briefs that no one reads.

They make timelines that ultimately bear no more than a glancing connection to when the work actually gets done.

They take orders from clients.

And when the creatives work late, they circulate menus and order food.

It’s no wonder most of the account managers I’ve worked with have moved on to other careers.

They go to Pepsi or Motorola and start the slow climb up to executive management.

They become real estate agents.

Or they simply drop out. They disappear.

I have always gotten along well with account people – better than creatives, most of whom are miserable to the core.

So it makes sense (to me, anyway) that at my new agency, Capitalist, account people (we call them “Digital Baristas”) run the show.

They’re hands-on business leaders, planning, managing and measuring integrated social marketing campaigns.

They get real training.

And they can make real money.

At a typical small agency, an account manager will make about $40K.

Capitalist Baristas don’t earn a salary per se.

Rather, they earn a percentage of every project they bill, with the chance to earn more if they receive exceptional client/feedback and/or they originate new business for Capitalist and/or our clients.

There’s no limit to what Baristas can earn.

Capitalist Baristas are entrepreneurs seeking to exploit their own digital marketing expertise and interpersonal skills for their own financial gain.

So if you know someone who works as an account manager at an agency and might be open to a new opportunity, please tell them about us.

If we hire someone you refer, you get $1,000 on their 90^th day of employment.

Oh, and by the way, if you refer a client to Capitalist, you get 5% of the fees we earn from that client for as long as we have that client.

Deep down, we’re all Capitalists.

That’s our take on things, anyway.

Thanks for reading.

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If you like this blog posting, please comment, subscribe (if you haven’t done so already) and share.

It was brought to you by Capitalist, the hyper-efficient, hyper-social marketing agency for small business.

Please visit us at:

http://www.capitalistagency.com

facebook.com/capitalistagency

http://www.youtube.com/capitalistagency

Five Really Easy Social Lead Generation Guidelines

If the beauty of social media marketing has not fully revealed itself to you yet, try this metaphor on for size:

Social media is like global virtual coffeehouse where each participant has their own brewing device.

So, to succeed with social media marketing, pretend you’re in a coffeehouse, looking to meet some people, join some networks and drum up some leads.

How would you do it?

Would you walk around announcing your products or services, or would you start and/or join some good conversations before hitting people up?

Would you just talk or would you also listen?

Would you only talk about work or would you try and mix up the topics a little to keep the conversation fresh?

What we’re saying is that if it wouldn’t work in a coffeehouse, it won’t work on the social web.

Make sense? Maybe?

Check out these five coffeehouse-inspired social lead generation guidelines:

1. Be a regular but don’t overdo it. Showing up at the same coffeehouse every day, or almost every day, is a good thing. Familiarity breeds trust. On the other hand, if you’re there too often, people may wonder if you have too much time on your hands.  We recommend showing up daily (or almost daily), but only for a few minutes. Let everyone wonder why you never seem to have much time to hang out. At the risk of sounding like one of those cheeseball seduction masters, try to build some social mystique around yourself. Don’t be too available.
2. Join conversations; don’t just broadcast. The single most common social media mistake is to use social media like “free advertising,” a way to “get your message out there – for free!” It sort of is that, and it sort of isn’t. Broadcasting commercial messages on the social web is a lot like walking into a coffeehouse and advertising your services out loud, to the whole room. You can practically see people nervously giving you space. The more fruitful approach is to enter the coffeehouse (log onto Facebook, or Linkedin, or whatever social platform you like), find some people you know, see what they’re talking about, join in and ADD VALUE. Plus the conversation up. Add something real to it.
3. Brand yourself. To help people remember you in the right way, craft a distinctive social persona for yourself. It could be a unique Twitter name or “handle.” It could be a cool social icon. It could be a repeatable soundbyte, like Paris Hilton’s “That’s hot!” which she used a lot back when she was hot. Ideally, your persona would incorporate and creatively align all three branding elements: Name, icon and soundbyte. If that seems daunting, feel free to contact us. We’d be happy to help.
4. Don’t just talk about work, even if you’re talking to other people who do what you do. Another common social media mistake is to limit your conversations to work. Even if you’re incredibly passionate about what you do for a living, now and then, talk about something else. Otherwise, you’ll get pegged as a bore and hidden in people’s feeds. Again, think of the coffeehouse analogy. You don’t want to be the guy who’s so one dimensional that he can’t manage to hold a conversation about anything other than what he does a living. This kind of social droning is unlikely to make you a lot of new friends and/or help you generate leads.
5. Keep track of who you met and what you discussed. Nothing flatters people as much as when you play them back to them. Except maybe when you explain how something they said a while back influenced you in your business dealings. So don’t just friend/follow/connect with people. Track your conversations with them, including what discussed, and critical personal and professional details, from what they like and don’t like about their current job to their kids’ names and birthdays. We use Highrise for stuff like this, but there are tons of other apps that will work for this purpose, including some that are free.

Now go get ‘em.

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If you like this blog posting, please comment, subscribe (if you haven’t done so already) and share.

It was brought to you by Capitalist, the hyper-efficient social marketing agency for small business.

Please visit us at:

http://www.capitalistagency.com

facebook.com/capitalistagency

http://www.youtube.com/capitalistagency

We’re hiring. Please share this link with anyone who may be interested. Thanks!

http://capitalistagency.com/jobs.html

The Single Most Important Thing We Learned From Watching Groupon Grow from 20 Employees to $20B in Market Capitalization – And It Has Nothing to Do with Technology.

I had the privilege of doing some creative work for Groupon way back in 2008, when they were 20 employees and had just offered their first deal in Chicago. (If I remember correctly, the deal was $5 for lunch at Bar Louie).

To make a long story short, we went on to live side-by-side with Groupon for the past two+ years.

Along the way, we got to know their founding investors.

We made friends with many Groupon team members.

We watched them become “the fastest growing company ever.”

We watched them make some really big mistakes.

Now we work and live in a world that has been profoundly and forever altered by the Groupon marketing model.

In the history of Capitalism, Groupon is a chapter.

Pretty cool for a three year old coupon company.

And yet the single most important thing we learned from Groupon has nothing to do with technology.

It’s not about tipping points or the zeitgeist.

It’s not even about social media.

The single most important thing we learned through our ‘Excellent Groupon Adventure’ is that no matter who you are, no matter what business you’re in, no matter how successful you are, there’s something every business needs to do – every day.

In all seasons.

Whether you’re up. Down. In transition. Or firing on all chambers.

You need to sell.

The more you sell, the bigger your pipeline.

The bigger your pipeline the less you need each deal.

And we all know about the Rule of Need.

By 2009, Groupon was famous. Thousands of small businesses were calling to ask to be featured on Groupon.

A smaller minded organization might have eased back on the sales throttle.

After all, why train and pay thousands of people to sell something that easily sells itself?

If Groupon had taken that attitude, it wouldn’t be gearing up for an IPO now.

I think it’d be gone.

Capitalist is a social marketing agency. But as much as we value conversation and content, what interests us most about social media – and the area in which we’re going to focus our business is social lead generation, which is the practice of social approaches and tools to build a big fat sales pipeline.

Look for an upcoming series of blog postings on social lead generation.

We thank Groupon, especially Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, for their graciousness and encouragement, but most importantly, for the way in which we are inspired by what they do and how they do it.

Our relationship with Groupon has amounted to a really good deal.

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If you like this post, please comment, subscribe (if you haven’t done so already) and share.

It was brought to you by Capitalist, the hyper-efficient social marketing agency for small businesses.

Please visit us at:

http://www.capitalistagency.com

facebook.com/capitalistagency

http://www.youtube.com/capitalistagency

Hyper Efficiency – How We Do It. 6 Affordable Cloud-Based Apps That Help Us Work Smarter.

People often marvel (someone once marveled, and it was my wife) at how a startup like Capitalist can service so many clients. How we manage to do so much with so little? And how are we’re able to keep our expenses so low? The answer is simple: Technology. We use cool, affordable cloud software apps to make 5 work like 10. Here are some of the cool apps out there in the cloud. (And by the way, for those of you who don’t read Mashable like porn, “cloud” software is software that you access in a web browser – typically through a pay-as-you-go rental model – with nothing to buy, install, maintain, upgrade or troubleshoot. You don’t own cloud software; you just use it.

Sprout Social – Backed by the power duo behind Groupon, Poggled, and about a dozen other cool technology startups, Sprout Social has emerged as the alpha social media dashboard for freelancers, small businesses and agencies. For as little as $9/mo, Sprout gives you easy-to-use tools for publishing, fanbase cultivation, social listening, social lead generation/CRM, analytics and more. Full disclosure: Our office is located inside the Groupon HQ/megaplex at 600 West Chicago Avenue in Chicago, so we’re admittedly a little biased. However, we dutifully researched options before choosing Sprout and found that no competing product gives you so much for so little. Sprout is the best social dashboard there is. sproutsocial.com

Toggl – Toggl is simple and affordable time-keeping software. For about $2 per team member per month you can track time, and review time investment (and therefore profitability) by client, by job, by team member and more. A line of copy on the Toggl site sums it up rather nicely: “You can’t measure what you don’t track.” We agree. toggl.com

Box.net – Box lets you easily store and share any type of file with anyone – inside or outside your company – who has an email address and a web browser. You can create as many boxes as you want, and there’s a free/intro version of the product that’s a pleasure to use. Say you’re working on a PowerPoint document that’s too big to email. Just put it in a box, and everyone you’ve assigned to that box will get an email letting them know it’s there for pickup. Box.net

YouSendIt – YouSendIt is what it sounds like. A service that lets you email files. The free/intro version lets you send individual files up to 100MB. The pay versions are crazy robust, smartly designed and reasonably priced. If you hate the way most email programs limit attachment file size, you need YouSendIt. yousendit.com

Highrise – Highrise is delightfully usable software that helps you track sales leads. It’s basically a lite version of salesforce.com, built by 37Signals, the cult-ish Chicago based software company known for its “less is more” ethos and for creating the software development platform du jour, “Ruby on Rails.” (Although if you’re at a cocktail party and want to sound hip, just call it “Ruby.”) Highrise is part of the 37 signals business productivity app suite, which also includes apps for project management and team chat. Check it out, as well as 37signals’ ridiculously cool office space (if you get turned on by that kind of thing) at 37signals.com

Proposable – We hate writing proposals. Proposable makes proposal writing less headachey and more efficient by providing templates, and by enabling us to store and re-use proposal components. It also lets us see when our proposals have been viewed and which sections of our proposals got the most attention. Useful stuff. Check it out at proposable.com.

Do you use any cool cloud apps we should know about? C’mon and share the love. And thanks for reading.

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If you like this post, please comment, subscribe (if you haven’t done so already) and share.

It was brought to you by Capitalist Agency, the hyper-efficient social marketing agency for small businesses.

Please visit us at:

http://www.capitalistagency.com

facebook.com/capitalistagency