"Users who want to migrate from a traditional Facebook Profile to a Facebook Page might want to think twice, or even thrice, before making the leap. The new tool is intended to help brands, local business, organizations or public figures create a new Facebook page while still bringing their friends (ie, fans) along with them."
Are you overlooking some of the most powerful influencers on the social web?
Let’s find out.
Traditionally, there has been a 1-9-90 rule when it come to creating and consuming content:
There’s a new element in this equation, though: Content Curators — people who make a practice of finding content relevant to their friends and followers, and then sharing links to that content. I am making a distinction between a curator and an aggregator who pulls content from around the web, usually related to a specific topic, to display on websites generally to enhance search engine optimization.
Five Things People Don’t Do – That You Should
A continuation of the How To Be Taken Seriously Posts – This one focuses on doing simple things others seem to ignore.
Once upon a time, I helped Tony Bennett with some public relations work for a non-profit he was involved in. The one thing I remember more than anything else from my time with him was that he stood up when a woman got up from, or returned to the table. No matter what else happened, he was old school like that, and old school was remembered.
My longest relationship wasn’t even going to have a second date until I did two things – I asked about my date’s day, and I stood up when she went to to the bathroom.
Below, let’s discuss some of the little things you can do that make a big, big impression when they’re least expecting you to.
1) Pay attention. This is probably the simplest one to say, yet the hardest one to implement. Think about it – When was the last time you listened to someone talk and actually comprehended what they were saying, as opposed to waiting for a break so you could start to talk? The thing about a conversation is, it takes actual work. It’s so much easier to listen while nodding your head and checking your blackberry, or wondering what you’re going to do for dinner. But at the end of the day, that won’t help you. Listen to what someone says and make notes about key points. Asking about those key points later, or following up on them, separates you from the rest of the people we talk to on a daily basis.
2) Separate yourself from the pack. The pack is stupid. Accept that and be better than the pack. That means doing things like your mom (and Tony Bennett) taught you. Stand up when a woman approaches the table. (This obviously doesn’t go for women.) Someone older than you? Sir or ma’am never hurts. (Ma’am can be dangerous, lest a right hook for thinking she’s too old. Imagine doing it with a tip of a cowboy hat, if you wore a cowboy hat.) Be the person who makes the introductions. “Sam, have you met Michelle? Both of you are into gastrointestinal research.” You’ve become at least, the connector, at best, the person who get to take the bow when Sam and Michelle get married.
3) Be the Go-to Guy or Gal. You have a purse or pockets? (Or an SeV?) Here’s what should be in it, at all times. Gum or mints. Two dollars worth of quarters. A safety pin and a paper clip. If you have the space, a small multi-tool with a corkscrew. Obviously, a pen and a small notebook. (Navy SEALs are required to have paper and pencil at all times) a few business cards (preferably not creased or stained) and finally, an emergency credit card. and a folded up $50 bill. True story: I was once on a plane and sitting next to a lovely young woman I’d met in-flight. When we got to the taxi-line, she found she’d lost her purse. Gone. We tried to go back to the gate, but no luck. The airline told her they’d look for it. I gave her a business card, and my lucky $50 for her to get home. She called me that night – the airline had found her purse, and did I want to be her guest at a benefit dinner the next night at the Wynn hotel? As I hung out with this lovely young lady, met Seal and a host of other celebrities to whom she introduced me as “the wonderful man who saved her at the airport,” I had a lovely, lovely time. I also made some great new friends, and several future clients. Oh – and she paid back the $50.
4) Keep a mirror-image bag at your office or place where you spend the most amount of time after your home. A mirror-image bag is simply as it sounds: A bag with enough necessities to get you through 48 hours of extended away time. A suit if you wear them, a freshly pressed shirt and pair of jeans if you don’t. Toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, underwear, socks, and – important – after shave or perfume. Check out Three Fluid Ounces to buy tons of small-sized mirror-image stuff. One of my favorite scenes in “True Lies” is where Arnold Schwarzenegger gets out of his wetsuit, dons a tuxedo, and has a small little compartment for cologne. You always want to be the person most put together in a situation where no one expects to have to be put together. This gets you remembered, not simply recalled.
5) Finally, know when to shut up. You see these people all the time in meetings. They talk to hear themselves talk. They have no good ideas, and no one wants to be around them when they start talking. They’re never invited to parties, and they rarely get promoted. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your reputation is simply shut up and listen. Plus, listening and not talking on occasion, makes you seem mysterious. People love people shrouded in mystery. It makes their lives more interesting by default.
Have fun, and if I’m missing anything that people rarely do but should, leave them below in the comments.
Advertising, Branding, Business, How To Be Taken Seriously, Marketing, Personal, Pop Culture, Self Promotion
Joann Perahia
March 28th, 2011
Peter you are terrific!! Your underlying tone is “Kill them with Kindness”, a statement my grandmother always told me and who came to this country with nothing and created a multi-million dollar business that has been passed down to generations. I have used that theory all my life and climbed many corporate ladders because of it.
Here’s my suggestion to the M’am – say “Miss”, I am 55 look 45 and when I hear “Miss” I get so flattered…..M’am at this point I know I am one, but you are correct I hate it!!!!
I have identical twin sons who are 16, are actors, maybe in your travels you saw them as the Russian Twins in the film “2012″ and I am printing out this blog and leaving it for them to read.
thanks, love your blogs and HARO has gotten my words out and even my kids in People so thanks you are a good soul and I only wish nice things for you!!!
Sarah O'Keefe
March 28th, 2011
Lovely list, except ix-nay on the ologne-cay. Trust me on this…the people who like smelling cologne or perfume on others are VASTLY outnumbered by the people who hate it.
Alison
March 28th, 2011
Genuine compliments are great to give and receive. I happen to collect vintage jewelry and love all kinds of accessories. If I see a woman wearing something fabulous, I will always tell her so.
Julia
March 28th, 2011
I am old school and if time/situation allows, I send hand written thank yous. Sometimes the follow ups need to be much faster so email takes over, but anytime it’s appropriate, I send hand written.
Spiro Pappadopoulos
March 28th, 2011
Simple truths and simple advice, that we simply don’t follow often enough. Loved this concise explanation, I now have a few mini projects to start my week. Thanks.
Nancy Davis
March 28th, 2011
This really is such a great list. I would add writing a nice thank you note if someone has gone way above and beyond for you. It blows my mind to think how few thank you notes are sent and they really do not take that long to write. They really make a person truly stand out from the rest.
The other thing is to as you mentioned really listen when someone is talking. There is no faster way to piss me off than to be talking to me while you are on your phone. Which are you doing, talking to me or playing with your phone? Please pick one.
The world would really be a better place if more people did these very simple things. This post is certainly well needed.
Meghan
March 28th, 2011
Great post- as always. My addition? Writing thank you notes. Makes such a big difference- I’m so surprised more people don’t do it. Email just doesn’t cut it in some instances.
Coach Colette Ellis
March 28th, 2011
Great tips, Peter. Also enjoyed your commentary on Friday at the EEX Entrepreneurs Summit.
JCucurullo
March 28th, 2011
Peter…you forgot to mention the handwritten note…in an envelope…with a stamp…and placed in a mailbox!
Penny Miller
March 28th, 2011
Your points 1 and 5 and some of 2 can be summed up with, “be respectful.” But being respectful doesn’t mean letting people take advantage of you.
Your listen and shut up are priceless. One of my favorite sayings, “25 words or less.”
KSL
March 28th, 2011
I would add… make a conscious effort to make authentic compliments. Too many of us love to talk trash about everything from sports to politics, or clients to co-workers. It’s rare to hear a genuine (not smarmy) compliment. When someone summarizes well or clearly identifies a vital point in a meeting, tell them that’s what they did and thank them for that contribution. Find something good to say and be the one to say it. Moreover complimenting someone who isn’t even around to hear it still lifts the conversation, and will likely come back to the individual. How satisfying is it to hear third hand that your name was highlighted in a positive way?
Thanks for sharing, and please keep it coming. I love when you say what I think (usually with better grammar :) and when you make me re-think things.
@KSL
Sarah
March 28th, 2011
Loved this post – I have two things to add. Never underestimate the power of the words ‘thank you’, whether expressed in writing or in person. Always look behind you before you walk through a door, and if someone is behind you, hold it open for them and stand aside to let them enter first, regardless of their age or gender. This allows them to either enjoy the small courtesy, or to guesture to you to go first. Either way, the consideration is always appreciated.
Urkovia Andrews
March 28th, 2011
Great post. I have to agree with the previous comments in respect to handwritten thank you notes. That is always a nice touch. I would also add don’t just have a pen, but have at least two pens. As a female I am always asked if I have a pen, and rarely are they returned. I would also suggest one of those mini sewing kits. You know the ones that include–at minimum– a safety pen, one button, and a needle and thread. Those can be life-savers, if not for you, for someone else.
Paulette Beete
March 28th, 2011
Send handwritten thank you notes. Sure it’s easier to e-mail or Facebook, but the extra effort gets you remembered in a good way.
David Dylan
March 28th, 2011
A really simple one, but quite hard: in a second conversation, remember some key points from the first.
Lythande
March 28th, 2011
Please leave the fragrance out of the bag — and off your skin. Don’t be afraid to smell like your species, and more importantly, many of us are allergic to the stuff.
Michele C. Hollow
March 28th, 2011
Peter,
Your mom raised you right. It may sound corny, but using good manners always makes a good impression.
Sherry Eckert
March 28th, 2011
I see hand written thank you included. I do this anytime I interview with someone or someone helps me out & I include a hand written thank you card in every jewelry purchase I receive from orders online. It makes things so personal in a time when people would rather text, tweet or post. I do all of those too for certain things but a hand written note is personal & thoughtful.. Also I would add smiling & saying please & thank you especially to wait staff, grocery checkers, anyone who does a service job.. Too many people treat them with little attention & sone with disdain.. A smile & please & thank you is polite, respectful, & shows class & manners.
Brandi Young
March 28th, 2011
Great post Peter. Two more to add…
1.) Give up your seat to an elder or to anyone that could clearly benefit from having it more than you.
2.) Let the child doing the “potty dance” use the bathroom before you. Not only will this relieve the child but the stress level of the accompanying parent as well.
Daniel Riveong
March 28th, 2011
Great List! I already follow much of the same myself: 1) Always have a few spare bills in wallet just in case; 2) Always have both personal and business cards; 3) Spare essentials at the office: toothpaste to cologne and even a pressed shirt; 4) Always a pen and paper on hand; 5) Make introductions to people at parties, more impressive when you do this at a party where you introduce two people you just met.
I prefer address Miss instead of Madam, myself.
I also always try to have a certain signature element at events when appropriate: 1) Old fashioned Parker Pens; 2) Always wearing a tie or a jacket. There’s been many occasion where people introduce themselves to me with: “Hi, I’ve seen you in events before. You’re the guy who always wears a tie. So what do you do” – which has opened doors to partnerships and business.
Daniel
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“Customer Service: New Rules for a Social Media World” — by Peter Shankman
“Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work — And Why Your Company Needs Them” — by Peter Shankman
"I’m not talking numbers of fans, followers, re-tweets and mentions, although those soft metrics are very important. I’m talking numbers in conversions and sales. Im talking new leads. I’m talking ROI. In most cases, those are the numbers equaling the holy grail for marketing departments, CEO’s, CFO’s and owners of small and medium sized organizations. Community building, PR, engagement, they get it, but not as much as justifying expenditures that lead to revenue."
A fun look at the dangers of heat
Dangers of Laptop Use
It’s the TED time of year.. I’m all caught up on the latest serious talks and found one more to close out my day.
Yesterday, Facebook discreetly rolled out two Page updates that will affect your ability to grow your fan base and interact with your fans using the Facebook platform.
Merge/Unmerge Places and Pages:
Suggest to Friends:
Authors, marketer and bloggers get obsessed with spreading their message and fall into the trap of emulating old media (where the more you can blast a message the better).
To truly engage, a comment can be a far better use of your time. Not to blast your message, nor toot your own horn... Adding value to others conversations can be the most attractive power in marketing.
Tips for Writing Comments that Will Get Attention
The act of posting a comment isn’t as important as the actual content of your comment or the ways in which you format it. By posting thoughtful, ethical blog comments, you’ll attract the attention you’re seeking.
- Format your blog comment properly, just as you’d format an original article on your own blog.
- Strive to challenge the theory of a blog poster or commenter without attacking them. Kindness will show readers that you’re a mature, experienced authority regarding your niche.
- Ensure that your comment brings a new element to the discussion instead of reiterating something that was already posted. This will encourage further discussion directly related to your comment.
- Take your time. The best blog comments are carefully constructed, insightful and clearly, succinctly state your opinions.
Stop pretending to multi-task.
Focus Best Practices
There is no one way to find focus, but what works for me is to clear everything away and create a little space of tranquil focus. Some tips for doing that:
- Close the browser and your email program. If you need to work in the browser then make sure no tabs or windows are open other than the one you absolutely need.
- Turn off all notifications. Trying to focus while something is notifying you of an incoming email or tweet or Facebook update is impossible.
- Turn off the Internet. Shut off your connection, unplug your router, or best yet, go to a place where the is no Internet (yes, those still exist). This is the absolute best way to find focus.
- Have a very important task to do. Not just “check email” but “write chapter in my novel” or “write that kick-ass blog post I’ve been planning” or “write that new Android app”.
- Close all programs and windows other than what you need for this one task.
- Clear your desk. No need to spend all day on this — shove everything in a drawer or put it in a box to be sorted later. Don’t fiddle with this now. In fact, don’t fiddle with anything — don’t worry about the perfect setup or perfect notebook for writing or the perfect anything.
- Plug in the headphones. If you have people around who might distract you, wearing headphones and playing some good, peaceful music is perfect.
- Use a simple program. For writing, I like plain text editors (TextEdit, TextWrangler) or writing programs that block everything out (OmmWriter, WriteRoom). No distractions.
I may have posted this video before, but when I view it, I'm reminded how simple the problems of selling books can be solved.
What does your profile say about you?
1. Treat your LinkedIn profile like a website:
Make sure it is formatted, clean, and free of spelling and grammatical errors. I strongly suggest creating your LinkedIn profile first in a word document – not only so you can “catch” errors, but also so you can get a better idea of what your profile will look like on the LinkedIn website. In some sections of LinkedIn you can also pull in bullets and special characters. Alas – still no bolding or italics other than what LinkedIn itself formats. Another bonus, if you’ve already created your profile in a Word document, sections of it can easily be copied into other social media platforms to keep your branding unified.
Read more at linkedintobusiness.com
I need to update this photo, but I lost track of where I put that giant stack of books
LinkedIn just added "LinkedIn Today" where you get a news page based on your connections, your industry and what companies you care about.
Best of all, it's fully customizable.
Look at the automated page, then tweak it so you get exactly the news you need.
Have you tried it?
Angry birds works because of "near misses"
From WIRED:
"I have to admit that the demand was a little bit beyond our expectations," Laurs says. "It does literally appeal to everybody, no exception."
It was designed to. Mark Griffiths is a professor of psychology who also heads the International Gaming Research unit at Nottingham Trent University. "It's very similar to the research I do on gambling," he says. "When you can pinpoint where you went wrong, this is called a near miss. It's used all the time in terms of how scratch cards and slot machines are designed. When we fail to win, we create a reason in our mind why we didn't. The losses effectively become near-wins and feel 'cognitively frustrating'. And the only way you can get rid of that frustration is to go back to the start and play again." A 2008 study, conducted by Carmen Rusiello, director of the East Carolina University psychophysiology department, and funded by games developer Popcap, found that the "cognitive distraction" provided by casual mobile games such as Bejeweled significantly improved players' moods and stress levels among the 134 tested.
"It's also incredibly simple," says Griffiths. "If it were too complicated, people wouldn't persist. Addictions in the true sense are about constant rewards. I've never met anyone addicted to a bi-weekly national lottery, because there's only two chances a week. On a slot machine, when you can gamble 30 times a minute, that's very rewarding. On a game like Angry Birds, it's every few seconds."
Angry Birds is the first waste of 75 millions people's
time that can be accurately quantified. Every day, users spend 200
million minutes -- 16 years every hour -- playing the mobile game.
Three trillion pigs have been popped. It has filled billions of
those interstitial moments spent riding the bus, on a plane or in
important work meetings, and it is or has been the number-one paid
app on iTunes in 68 countries, as well as the best-selling paid app
of all time. It went straight to the top of
the new Mac App Store in January, selling 150,000 copies in its
first week. Sixty thousand Angry
Birds soft toys have been sold. In January, the trailer
for the new Angry Birds
Rio racked up 500,000 YouTube views in a weekend; on
official videos alone, Angry Birds has had 27 million
total views. In total, the "brand" has taken more than €50 million:
not bad for a game that cost €100,000 to make. On the first
anniversary of its release, 2,405 people in 756 cities worldwide
wasted even more of their time holding events in celebration of
"Angry Birds Day".
David Cameron and
Justin Bieber say they are fans. So do Paul Gascoigne and
Salman Rushdie.
I think I'm in big trouble...
I write with ellipsis (ore is that ellipsises?) and all sorts of odd punctuation.
And a lot of my posts are meant to be read, not for multi page engagements. (which likely would be a good thing for me to think about)
Will Google hate me?
The first thing that webmasters need to keep in mind is that low-quality pages will impact all the sites on a domain. While it’s difficult to say precisely what that means, here are a few things to avoid:
- Pages that duplicate content from another site.
- Content that has a lot of spelling or grammatical errors.
- Pages that have notably poor performance on analytics. You should check your bounce rate, time on page, etc., to determine which pages are poor performers.
- Content that has an ad-to-content ratio that’s heavy on advertisements.
I'm not a programmer. Tried some of that years back and realized that I could follow the logic, but can't get involved with anything that requires me to use proper punctuation (so I write instead)
But I do follow languages and such as much as I can. The news on NODE excites me. I LOVE rapid prototyping and NODE appears to rock more than RubyOnRails
The quote below inspires me
I've been working with "Bouncing Back From Loss" author Donna Marie Thompson on a book tour event.
What started out as a job, has now impact me personally. Donna's story and advice is first rate, but what I've found is a depth of understanding.
Solid advice: "Be Happy TODAY"
Does that particular definition surprise you? Wouldn’t you expect that having that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in your hands right now would make you happy? Well, disavow yourself of that notion. There is much evidence to the contrary.
Digging this quote from @chrishutchins
I think we're going to get past playing games and checking in an have some truly amazing things from location.
Chris Hutchins: The future of location is context, where apps will be better at giving you relevant information based on real-time information about where you are and what's around you. I'm really looking forward to a world where by knowing where I've been in the past, the things my friends like, the weather, and more, applications will be able to pinpoint where I might be interested in going and what I might be interested in doing, as well as getting me there.
Telco and Cable companies in the US are holding back on deploying fiber and 950 meg service. They don't want to make the investment.
Instead of fighting to steal each others customers and then lock us in to whatever bad customer service they have, imagine what would happen in 10 years to the company that doesn't get the next technology.
(for the record, I've whined about lousy service from telcos.. but am very happy with my 50meg service and the the people at @CoxCable right now)
According to The New York Times 1Gbps broadband speeds are not only possible here in North America, but all the major ISP’s know exactly what it would take to get us there. The problem? Motivation. Since most markets in North America are served by one cable, and one DSL provider, the telecom companies here have little incentive to build out much more expensive Fiber based networks. The cost of laying fiber could be easily monetized if multiple telecoms were willing to share the tab, but this type of partnership would require a massive intervention by the FCC, and they just don’t see that happening anytime soon.
This is an AWESOME post.. starting with this story:
Alrightie, let’s start with some role playing. And… scene!
I’m friends with Kim. I trust what she’s saying, I think she’s smart.
Suddenly a company approaches her and says “Hey! We have free product for you! We’d love it if you’d talk about it!” So she is excited. She’s her own media channel. She likes their stuff. Now every twentieth tweet is about their product. Great.
Then another company approaches her and says “Hey! We are giving away twenty prizes to our favourite retweeters today! You could be one of them! Bonus points if you get other people retweeting about us as well!” So every thirtieth tweet is about their contest. Great.
Kim is deemed an influencer by a few agencies, so now another company approaches her about their internet services.
Another organization approaches her about their school.
Another company sends her free coffee.
Another company gives her a car for a month.
She gets free rides, free lattes, free magazines, free makeup, free swag at free branded conferences to which she’s been sent on an all-expense paid trip… it’s pretty sweet being Kim these days.
But me? I’m her follower. And all I see is quality content that somehow turned into a horrible neverending ad. Now, I may not stop following her for any variety of reasons or social norms. We’re in a power play, and from a public standpoint, she’s certainly holding the cards.
But I do stop listening. So do lots of people like me.
READ THE REST.. IT'S GOT IDEAS YOU WILL WANT TO USE
"7 Steps in Creating and Implementing a Social Media Marketing Campaign"
Step 2: Engage Due Diligence
Step 3. Monitor Blogs and Provide Feedback
Step 6. Optimise the Social Media by
Step 7: Reporting
Read more at www.jeffbullas.com
I thought I was over exposed (no, not a reference to "Tweet Naked" from yesterday.. I mean online exposure)... but my mentors say there are a few nooks and crannies on the net where I've not tweeted enough.
We have this HUGE free cross promotion happening this month (free for partners with or without a giant pile of books).
If you want to get a message out, find some people who will buy your goods, or just have a lot of fun helping the world learn about a very good book.. read the press release on my new Squidoo Lens
Best Seller Book Expert Warren Whitlock News for Authors About Best-Selling Books
