CarolLynnRivera
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You hit on a seriously serious problem for a lot of biz people I know (me included)! My brain spins so fast sometimes that I'm surprised it doesn't short out. It's funny that you said keep an idea book and write it down... I'm a super duper mega write-it-down person but for some reason I don't do it with my ideas. It's probably the Doubt Demon telling me its a stupid idea ;)
You never know when something will inspire you or start to take shape (plus there is a limited amount of space in my brain) so keeping an idea book is an awesome idea and I'm going to do it right. now. Love it!
First of all, hooray for comments! Glad to see yours up and running :) Secondly, FOCUS! That's my fave. Maybe because it also tends to be my downfall?? I like the idea of being everything all the time and it takes some resistance to avoid that and stick to the plan. Staying true to your core is a win every time. Great points!
You had me at "big banana" and I just laughed my way through the rest. Good timing, too, as I've just engaged in (another) "but my last web company swindled me so now what"" conversation with a prospect. It's shocking how many companies think that marketing is some shell game. While we'll never erase the swindlers, what we CAN do is make sure that we reward and do business with the people who are honest.
And don't feel bad... I got swindled out of $40 for some tree-stump bookends while vacationing on a Caribbean island some years ago. (omg honey, they are soooo cute and authentic and like, local!) Still have them, to prove that... well, that sometimes you're just going get swindled out of 40 bucks :)
I'm attending the event and I thought Joe's opener was the best part of the first week. He really focused on the core of content marketing, not just about using this channel or that channel. His focus on the mission statement was one of the biggest takeaways for me. This was a really good summary of events so far. If I wasn't attending I would want to1
You asked "the big question" for sure. The thing about all these new Facebook features is that for many people, Facebook is what it is, and that's a place to share pictures and daily news and see what people ate for dinner. I can't think of a single scenario in which I would use Facebook search. I'd go to Google or if I really wanted to know my friend's opinion, I'd Skype or text or something. I don't need Facebook for that.
The other weird thing about Facebook is that it's a mixture of actual friends, acquaintances, business associates and complete strangers. We use the term "friend" loosely but I can't think of more than half a dozen people who I'm connected with on Facebook whose opinion on restaurants or anything else would matter to me. I'd get the same effect walking two doors down and asking my neighbor. It's about the same relationship!
Foursquare has tips and reviews and things that can give you an aggregated and **somewhat objective view. But simply knowing "where my 'friend' likes to eat dinner" is not so helpful.
And to your point, we're also creatures of habit. We're already getting that type of search value elsewhere. We'd need a pretty compelling reason to change our behavior. Facebook needs to give us a pretty strong "why".
Ok, done on the soapbox :)
I wonder where this is going? It doesn't really seem to have a practical application for marketers or businesses yet. Nobody is going to sit there and search for "people who like Bon Jovi" and have a useful bit of marketing info (just as an example). Unless it integrates with ads? Which it may. I also wonder how many people will use it. I see the curiosity value but I also see it wearing off pretty quickly. I don't care who's visiting what restaurant or watching what movie... I wouldn't say I have the same tastes as the vast majority of my Facebook "friends"... which brings up another interesting point, which is given how loosely we've defined the term "friend" (I have friends I have no idea who they are or why I'm even friends with them) how useful is it, really, to know what they like? How useful to us or to marketers? They may as well be strangers. This is a really interesting idea that I'm curious to see how it plays out. Have you noticed anything particularly useful about it outside of curiosity? PS: Good tutorial and rundown here, you explained it well and my comments are about the tool, not your analysis :)
Great point, and something I pay attention to. Yes, it does drive me nuts when a company offers new customers great deals but nothing ever for the long term customers. You hit the nail on the head: it's probably not loyalty as much as it is apathy that makes us stick with a majority of "big brands". I think we might have had a similar conversation before :) Big brands can get away with it, counting on our inertia and lack of options. Small businesses are much better at paying back loyalty! The best we can do is continuously re-evaluate our relationships with companies and even though it can be a pain (think: switching banks, ugh) we should really speak with our pocket books. Oh, and really nice stunt, Cupid.... THAT'S one that people should really pay back with a mass exodus.
@jeanniecw Because they don't have to. What's one more customer, more or less to a big company like that? Sad, but true.
Interesting question! I think there's a big distinction to be made between small business and "big brands". As a small biz, it would take a seriously problem problem customer for me to dump them. You know, the whole "need money" thing and all. I've "fired" customers but it's usually only after there is clearly a disconnect in values and business approach. If a customer is being a problem there is usually a reason and some of it probably has to do with me! If I engage someone one-on-one, we can work it out as, like you said, "people."
Now, when you're talking about big business - banks, insurance, telecom, even retail - I think there are a lot more problem customers and not just because there are a lot more customers. I think that dealing with big companies bring out anger and frustration that turn otherwise normal people into problems. I've been one of those problems. Sometimes I MAKE myself a problem. There's very little interaction or connection there, so to get attention we almost have to act like three year olds. Good luck getting those companies to change. There is so much inertia and so little consequence to them for losing a customer. For a company to send "dear john" letters out is unthinkable!
Anyway, enjoyed this post and it's a great conversation.
Great tips. Apparently Facebook is getting snarkier with how much text you can use so I wonder how strict they'll be? I also wonder how many people pay attention to your cover photos. For me personally, when I change my personal cover it does get noticed but not so much with the brand pages I manage. I wonder if that's a function of it being a brand page or less reach. Although if I saw a cover with a chocolate cupcake I'm pretty sure I'd notice that one :)
Ah the clever subject line! That's one place we can stop trying to be so cool and just be boringly real. "Be useful" isn't sexy but it works. Clever just makes me roll my eyes and hit delete.
I think one of my words for this year is going to be "Do", as in, "stop thinking about coming up with three words and just do it!" I've heard of this exercise before and never got past the "huh, that's cool" phase. I'm in the mood to actually do it! I like your words, especially build. For me I get hung up on both ends - starting and finishing. Once I'm in the middle, I get a lot of momentum but getting off zero and then buttoning it up is a special challenge. Maybe I need "start, do, finish" as my three words. Hm, food for thought!
Hm, interesting question. I've gone through phases of trying to thank people and it becomes a bit challenging, especially as I don't want my entire Twitter feed to look like a bunch of thank-yous. But retweeting is a great idea. And more meaningful, for sure. I'm on it!
Oh, thank you for the "enough with epic" point! Along with "create great content", "write an epic post" is all about overcooked hack advice. It's way better to be real than epic. Going to check out your blogging group recommendation. I belong to a few but you can never have too many friends :)
Comparisonitis... I think you've just coined the first new word that will be the hallmark of 2013. Love all your inspiration here. I want to sit down and write these all in beautiful calligraphy and then hang them all over my walls.
Aw, how cute... sounds like you're going to be buying yourself a new vacuum cleaner or two and calling it a day soon :) My cats like to go outside so they attempt to escape at every click of the door but I don't want them out there so of course that's where they want to be.
I like how you tied this into writing. It's funny how inspiration will hit at odd moments!
The ongoing debate! I admit to being a long-poster. Once I start writing on a topic I want to write EVERYTHING. Sometimes I have to split up posts into multiples in a series. I think long posts are best when they're compelling to read. A 4500 word post of "tips" is too much (and sort of defies the snappy nature of a "tip"). But a 4500 word post that's a well-written opinion piece or even a tutorial type of post can be a relatively quick read. The bookmark kiss of death... now that's something that's a blessing and curse. How nice that someone found your post worth bookmarking! But if my own behavior is anything to judge from, that post is going into the bookmark ether until such time as I stumble across it as I'm cleaning out my bookmarks. I guess at the end of the day there's only such a thing as too long for the topic. Long can work and short can work, when done well. Personally I'd rather read a longer post than a short one because I actually do feel kind of cheated. Clicking a link and getting focused on a blog takes longer than reading some posts. And that's no fun no matter what.
You make great points here and I admit to being guilty of not reading every blog I share. Sometimes I share by virtue of trusting the person who wrote it, sometimes the title looks compelling and I just go for it. Until I develop my speed reading skills, some of that will probably happen! I do make an effort to visit at least several of the blogs I share. As a member of Tribber I may share 20-30 or more blogs in a day. Boy would I love to have time to read all that! In the meantime I trust half, fake a quarter and read the other quarter :)
You're so right - there is no "one size fits all" and I love the fact that you said that working a "corporate" job is sometimes what people want. There is some romantic mythology about quitting your job and being your own boss but it's not all vacations and truffles, that's for sure. Some people are quite happy to work the 9-5, do it well and live the rest of their lives. I don't think that should be undervalued or undercut, and I think there is some of that going on (unless you're making a gadzillion dollars on Wall Street - then everyone is ok with you going corporate). I know someone who's in his mid-30s and quite happy waiting tables in a restaurant. Yet he's under that generational pressure to "get a real job" the same way I think sometimes people with a "real job" are pressured to get an independent job. Everyone is different. Love your approach!
I like it! I will be doing my first formal speaking engagement to a large group in January and my brain's been working a mile a minute on how to start it. I know what I want to say, but getting to the point where I'm actually saying it is something else entirely. Oh, and keeping the audience's interest instead of having them check their cell phones every five seconds would be nice. I love your question as an opener and a way to gauge direction.