Personal Branding Advice from Dan Schawbel

Personal Branding Advice from Dan Schawbel

I recently interviewed Dan Schawbel on my podcast show. Dan is the best selling author of Me 2.0 and widely recognized as an expert in personal branding. Dan is also Managing Partner of Millennial Branding.

Me 2.0

In his book, Me 2.0, Dan offers a four step personal branding process: Discover, Create, Communicate, Maintain. Whether developing a brand for a company or individual, it’s all about figuring out who you are and what you represent before you can create your online presence. Dan stresses the importance of setting goals and developing a personal brand plan where you communicate through online media, network and constantly work at maintaining your reputation. You must be involved in relevant conversations. As you grow, your brand must grow along with you.

Social Media Position

Dan worked at EMC for about a year. He met fifteen people over eight months to get his job at EMC. Dan had created a blog on personal branding. Fast Company wrote about him. Google invited Dan to speak at their headquarters. Once he built his personal brand, and EMC created the social media position, Dan was the obvious choice for the position.  Dan’s success from his book and media engagements snowballed his career as a personal branding expert.

Twitter as a Communication Channel

Dan used to use to his Twitter profile as a marketing platform. People would often retweet his content. He noticed that as his followers increased, engagement decreased. He likens Twitter to a public forum where everyone has a level playing field.  But, Twitter allows you to move people to other forms of online relationships such as email, or a phonecall or in person.  Now, Dan uses Twitter it as a communication channel. But, he’s now investing more of his time in Facebook. Dan also has a popular LinkedIn group on personal branding.

Native Strengths of Online Channels

Dan recommends the use of each online channel in relevant ways, and to bring people back to your blog. Depending on your goals, Dan suggests you figure out your marketing funnel. Take people through the online touch points where they can get exposed to your products or services in ways that meet your goals. To emphasize this point, I borrow from Wayne Gretzky; “skate to the where the puck is going.”

Digital Immigrants

Those of us born before 1985 are digital immigrants. The public Internet as we know it was created during our lifetime. On the other hand, digital natives grew up using the Internet. For digital immigrants, we must figure out which tools work best to build our personal brand. We must be willing to experiment over the span of months. It’s a huge process. There is no simple answer. There must be a mindset shift to leverage both the technology and cultural evolution of the Internet for personal branding value.

Personal Brand Example

I asked Dan for a good example of personal branding. He told me the story of Joel Backaler, who is an American fluent in Chinese. He developed a blog called TheChinaObserver.com. His focus on China has earned him recognition from The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, BusinessWeek and other prominent media outlets. His career has taken off as a result of his focus and content on China.  Dan makes the point that small opportunities often lead to larger opportunities. But, the hardest thing to do is to get the first hit.

Millennial Branding

Dan’s Millennial Branding consultancy is his attempt to create a personal branding world with four integrated business divisions.  The Media division includes blogs, a magazine, online television and a newsletter. The Consulting division helps individuals and companies build their personal brand.  The Community division is all about building his community by connecting with people online on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. And, the Education division produces books, conferences, webinars, etc. Despite the name of his company, Dan acknowledges that most of his clients are not millennial, but rather people and brands beyond the millennial phase in search of a personal branding strategy.

How do you mix personal and company branding?

My good friend Chuck Palm asked me to ask Dan this question. Dan’s advice is to build your name before your company name if possible. If you already have a company, then build both at the same time by connecting the two together. When people think of you, they can think of your company.  For example, ChuckPalm.com is synonymous with IPN.

Me 2.0 Second Edition

In October Dan is releasing the second edition of Me 2.0. It will contain another chapter called: Social Networking for Job Seekers. It will provide a step by step plan for job seekers to build their personal brand using social networking.  This is a topic which is very near and dear to me, as I am speaking and delivering education on this topic.

My podcast interview with Dan has more on personal branding. Just click the play button above, or listen to it in iTunes.

You can connect to Dan Shawbel and visit him at his various online properties including:  DanShawbel.com and MillenialBranding.com.

What are you doing to build your personal brand? Share your story in the comments below.

Book Bernie Borges for Your Next Event

Book Bernie Borges for Your Next Event

Thanks for considering me as a marketing speaker at your event. I’m truly humbled. I thoroughly enjoy speaking to a business audience that wants to hear from someone like me.

My presentation style is very down to earth. I always prepare my marketing presentations for my audience. You and your audience will know that I’ve done my homework to make my marketing presentation relevant and interesting for your group.

Choose Your Event Style

I can speak to a private group in an auditorium or workshop manner. We can work together on a format that will meet the needs of your group.

Whether you’re looking for education, strategy, vision or a workshop on Internet marketing and social media topics we can put our heads together to develop a content plan that will leave your audience satisfied. This partial list of testimonials will offer some insight into my speaking credentials.

The best way to get together on this is to provide me insight into your event so I can give you an intelligent response to your inquiry in a timely manner.

Please answer a few short questions, to get the ball rolling. But, don’t worry, there is no obligation until we both agree we have a match between your event and my speaking qualifications.

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Bernie is also available for Live Webinars, Podcasts, Video Tutorials
as well as Training Session Material.

Sarasota Memorial Healthier with Social Media Marketing

Podcast Interview with Peter Taylor, Director of Marketing, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

Sarasota Memorial is a health care system (hospital) located in Sarasota, FL. I saw Peter Taylor give a presentation at a recent AMA event in Tampa. I remember that Peter pointed out that their name sounds like a funeral home.  He said they are a brand people prefer not to use. Most people don’t even want to talk about health care. But, Sarasota Memorial is recognized as one of the best hospitals in Florida. So, how does a marketer get people to engage with a brand they don’t want to engage with?

Be Likable

Peter and the rest of the management team decided they needed to give the community a reason to like them. So, about 18 months ago they embarked on a new social media strategy. They set out to attract people to their brand before the need for health care arises. After all, a medical visit to a hospital is usually not a pleasant experience. You’re usually surrounded by strange people, intimidating technology and you’re forced to dress in a gown that only covers about half your body. Social media presents the opportunity to connect with people in a pleasant, friendly setting. The consumer is in control of the situation and in a much better mood to have a conversation with Sarasota Memorial Hospital (SMH).

Strategic Objective – The Antithesis of a Medical Visit

The strategic objective set was to create a consumer engagement platform. The hospital does an excellent job of taking care of sick people. It’s recognized as one of America’s Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World. They set out to transfer that persona to outside of the care environment. They realized that traditional media campaigns were not within budget reach. Social media allowed SMH to have conversations with people outside the hospital as well as on the inside. The idea is to connect with people before they need health care from SMH.  Their social media strategy is designed to be the complete opposite of a hospital visit. Rather than connecting with people when they are in a state of duress, their social media strategy engages people in their own comfortable setting.

The Social Media Strategy Launch Plan

As a public community hospital with very limited budget SMH was not in a position to hire a social media agency to help them.  But, SMH was not willing to ignore social media. So they decided to figure it out on their own. A team of 8 committed individuals aligned along their interests with social media. For example, Shawn Halls was well aligned with Twitter due to his communication style. All the social media sites were synchronized with people’s interest. Each became the “CEO ” of each social media platform at SMH.

Opening the Conversations with Twitter

Twitter was turned on first at SMH. They focused on the Sarasota Community.  From the beginning, SMH always engaged with people in the community through Twitter. They quickly realized that social media is a 24/7 communication channel. That was an adjustment for the team.  Twitter became a good way to get the word out on activities and events. It was eye opening for them to see people responding on Twitter. They quickly had to figure out how to respond to people’s Tweets. They were amazed when some patients even started Tweeting from their hospital beds. That proved to management that social media is a real communication channel. The first evidence of ROI was in “service recovery.” When patients complained about their food (imagine patients complaining about hospital food – gasp!) they reacted quickly to address patient’s complaints heard on Twitter. This level of “customer service” really made a good impression.

Facebook

SMH found Facebook to be more conversational and visual than Twitter. The SMH business page took some time to get published due to health care privacy compliance requirements. The Facebook page is mostly comprised of the public engaging with SMH. Recently, it became available internally for hospital staff to engage. They needed to establish credibility with their CEO to open it up to staff.

Delicious

Rather than have people sending out a bunch of emails with links to articles and social media connections, SMH set up a Delicious account and used it as a place to bookmark stories online. It has grown into a repository of content for media and for physicians, as well as the public to get relevant content. No email sends are necessary.

Flickr

SMH uses Flickr to store photos of the facility and special events. No patient photos! They focus mostly on showing off 13 outpatient centers and special events shared with the public. One side benefit has been a reduction in media calls by 20% simply by hosting photos on Flickr.

YouTube

Originally, they started out trying to create Hollywood style production videos. But, they took too long to produce and were too costly. They decided to scale it down and now SMH is shooting all video on a Flip camera. They realized that consumers just want authentic conversation.

Blogs

SMH has an internal blog written by the CEO. Each blog post gets over 2000 visitor sessions with many comments. The Campus Improvement blog is public and gets updated daily with photos and video keeping track of the progress on a new construction project. It’s read well both internally and externally.

Peter’s Advice to Marketing Managers

Peter quickly points out when I asked him his advice to marketers that the most fundamental aspect of a social media strategy is to position your brand in the most authentic way possible. Forget the sizzle. Be real. People want something they can believe in. No hype. It’s that simple. In other words (my words) “humanize your brand.”

I thank Peter Taylor for sharing the SMH story. It’s inspiring to me to witness a health care provider start from scratch in social media and experiment. Their progress in a short amount of time is impressive. I hope you’ll listen to the entire podcast interview with Peter. Just click the play button above.

To learn how to jump start a social media strategy, or take yours to the next level take our free Inbound Marketing Assessment.

Florida Aquarium Dives into Social Media Waters

Podcast Interview with Tom Wagner, Public Relations Manager at The Florida Aquarium

When Tom Wagner joined The Florida Aquarium in 2006 there was no social media in place, just a website. They used traditional media channels for marketing including print advertising, billboards, local radio and television. In 2008, Tom attended a one day workshop on social media where he got inspired to get started.  Tom decided to get started with a focus on three social media channels: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. They concentrate all their social media communication efforts in these three channels.

Expanded Target Audience

The Florida Aquarium is located in downtown Tampa, FL. They are a destination for families by offering a diverse offering of education, conservation and good old fashion fun all centered around marine life and marine eco-systems. The traditional target audience has been families. They wanted to expand into younger demographics and attract them to the aquarium. Tom speculated that perhaps by using social media they could expand their reach to a younger demographic audience.

Convincing senior management to experiment with social media wasn’t too difficult. The biggest question Tom had to answer was how much of a commitment it would take and at what cost. The only cost was Tom’s time. But, of course it was on top of his current workload.

The first thing Tom did was to start up their Twitter account. At first he sent out fun and interesting information about the marine environment. His goal using Twitter was to help people become better stewards of the environment. People responded well. Their Twitter follower count started to grow rapidly. Tom also created a Facebook business page.

Social Media Experiments

Tom convinced his boss to sponsor a Tweetup at the Florida Aquarium. Normally, free attendance events were limited to media. The Tweetup allowed anyone in the local Twitter community to attend and experience the Aquarium for free. Tom’s goal was to create buzz about the Florida Aquarium and have people talk about it on Twitter.  Over 200 people came out to the Tweetup. The top 10 attenders had a combined following of over 125,000 people. Attendance at the Florida Aquarium over the next 10 days increased by double digits over their forecast.

Early Mistakes

While the Tweetup was successful, they learned a valuable lesson. Since they didn’t create coupon codes, they couldn’t track ticket sales results directly from the Tweetup.  But, the quick increase in attendance after the Tweetup was still good evidence that it helped create buzz resulting in higher ticket sales.

It’s valuable to learn from your mistakes when experimenting with social media. Going forward all social media related activities use a coupon code. For example, they now create coupon codes for Twitter and for Facebook to track which channel drive more ticket sales. Recently, they used Facebook and Twitter exclusively to promote a show of the infamous Wiki Wachee mermaids. This event was a unique, one time event. They created unique codes for Facebook and Twitter. They didn’t use any traditional media. The local traditional media picked up on the event. They attended and took pictures which drove photo and television coverage. Many people talked about it on Twitter and Facebook.

What’s Next?

More of the same. Tom is continuing to tweak their social media plan but will continue to create buzz around Tampa Bay about upcoming events. The buzz around Tom’s office is their plan to hire another staff person to help him create more buzz on social media. Apparently, their social media plan is going swimmingly enough to increase headcount. Looks like the Florida Aquarium is keeping its head above water quite well as their social media plan continues to evolve and drive ticket sales.

Tom’s Advice to Local Businesses

Tom advises local businesses to start a social media plan by providing useful information to your target audience. Deliver on the three E’s (as I call it). Ask what information do we have that people would want from us so that when they need what we offer, they’ll think of us….That’s good advice.

If you’re in or near Tampa, you will enjoy visiting the Florida Aquarium. For the rest of you, check them out online. You’ll want to listen to my podcast interview with Tom Wagner to hear of other experiments and successes.

If you are a marketer in need of a social media strategy, check out my book, Marketing 2.0 or contact us to explore our social media strategy services.

GM Drives with Social Media

A podcast interview with Christopher Barger, Dir, Global Social Media Communications, GM.

GM’s social media strategy began with the Fastlane Blog in January 2005. It was followed by the FYI blog in July 2006, which launched as a rebuttal to a N.Y. Times article. The N.Y. Times didn’t permit enough space, so GM went straight to the consumer with their rebuttal. Chris joined GM in March 2007 to head up global social media focused exclusively on using emerging social media and community based tools including blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, etc.

Content Strategy

GM’s content strategy is not about messaging. Their content strategy puts community first. Chris’ team asks what is the audience interested in? He asks his team “would you watch this video if you didn’t work at GM?” As an example, they recently launched a new video series called Department 180 which tells the quality story at GM. Rather than shooting a conventional video about quality control in GM products, the social media team took a fun approach by showing some of the tests with a twist of humor. When showing wind tunnel and climate tests they show the impact on a crash test dummy. When reviewing steps to cut down on road noise they put dry ice smoke into the car and shut all the doors to show how the car is air tight because no smoke gets out. All the cubic feet of smoke raised a question.  How many ping pong balls can they fit into the car? So, they ran a contest among engineers to guess. By talking about vehicle quality from these humorous angles it is far more interesting and enjoyable. While most GM videos averaged 1500 views over months, the Dept 180 video got over 11,000 views in the first week!

Relationship Building

In the summer of 2009 GM faced a huge branding challenge. People had not been talking about GM products because of all the attention to their bankruptcy. They decided to invite 100 journalists to show them what’s coming in the product pipe over the next three years. But, wait….Why not give consumers first crack at this tour? So, they reached out to people who have interacted with GM on Facebook, Twitter and blogs including people that had provided constructive criticism. Several were brought in and were shown product plans over the next 3 years. There was one product in particular they didn’t like. This product was going to combine small SUV technology with a Buick. Everyone hated it. They said it didn’t look anything like a Buick. The old GM probably wouldn’t have listened to that feedback. But, the leadership team watched the reaction from consumers on the web as they tweeted and blogged about it.  Three days later GM announced on the Fastlane blog their plans to kill this product. The consumer reaction to GM’s decision was very positive because they listened.

Transparent Chapter 11 Communication

GM management discussed internally how to handle the communication of the bankruptcy details in 2009. They were advised by consultants against discussing chapter 11 bankruptcy on social media. But, they realized they were about to have 330 million new shareholders. As Chris says, “we owe them a conversation.” Chris got the approval to move ahead with a transparent social media communication strategy during the breaking news of the bankruptcy. They conducted live Twitter chats each time the CEO or any executive was interviewed by traditional media so those not watching television could follow along on Facebook and Twitter. The GM social media team expected to get beat up by the public. But, everyone was pleasantly shocked by the public’s reaction. GM wasn’t bashed. People appreciated GM’s effort to communicate and be transparent through social media. People truly admired GM’s sincerity.

2010 Social Media Strategy

Very little has changed in GM’s social media strategy in 2010 except increased budget over 2009. While the current CEO doesn’t participate himself on social media like his predecessor did, he is very supportive of GM’s social media strategy. GM’s social media focus is mostly centered around having a physical presence at social events where communities gather. They focus on providing people an experience with cars and allowing them to talk about their experience online. Chris and his team go wherever people are already gathering so people can talk about their products in their own words. If people write about their experience, they are only asked to disclose that GM loaned them a car to drive. That’s the only requirement. All commentary is authentic.

Advice to Brands

When I asked Chris for his closing words of advice to brands on social media, he offered this. “Keep your consumers first!” If you’re going through a difficult period demonstrate change. Show your consumer that you’ve changed and how you’ve changed, and talk with them, not at them. Don’t message them. Have conversations. Don’t use talking points. Be human.

…Good advice from a brand that is providing a terrific example.

I think I can safely say that we all want GM to survive and thrive. The company is an American icon. I’m thrilled to see how GM has changed. I’m thrilled to know that Chris Barger is leading the charge in their social media strategy and that the consumer is responding.

I encourage you to listen to the full podcast interview to hear more about GM’s social media strategy which is not captured in this blog post. Click the play button above, or subscribe to my podcasts in iTunes.

Top Reasons I Follow Back on Twitter

Let’s face it, the Twitterverse is made up of individuals and brands. While the branded Twitter accounts are staffed by people, the persona of each Twitter account is either an individual or a company or a brand. For example, General Motors has a branded Twitter account, and they also have product branded Twitter accounts.

Like you I receive new Twitter followers every day. When I plow through them, I usually make my decision to follow back (or not) in under 5 seconds. Here are the criteria I use to make my quick decision. I should point out that these are my criteria. I don’t suggest for a minute that these criteria should be yours. To each his or her own on follow back decision criteria.

I should also point out that my Twitter persona is mostly about marketing. I do very little personal tweeting. When I do it’s usually on the weekend when I may be watching a ballgame or something otherwise leisure related or an occasional random thought.

Why I Follow Back an Individual

Your Twitter account is visually appealing to me. You have more than one photo or you have a creative custom design that is unique. And, you look like an interesting or fun person I would want to meet in person. Age, gender or ethnicity do not affect my impression.

Your most recent tweet was recent (in the last 24 hours). People who don’t tweet daily are not of interest to me. Remember, these are my criteria. You may not share my follow back criteria.

Your tweets are relevant, interesting and they contain links to interesting content. Your tweets will somehow add value to me.

Your profile has a link to your blog or website. If you get my attention and I want to know more about you, you make it easy.

Your profile bio is descriptive. It paints a picture for me about who you are what you care about. It’s uniquely about you.

I get the impression (quickly) that if I met you at a dinner party, I would want to have a conversation with you.

You RT others and reply to others. The absence of either RTs or @ replies immediately tells me you’re using Twitter for one way communication.

You may use hashtags, though sparingly. This tells me you participate in Twitter conversations. This isn’t a huge factor, but I notice it.

Your follower to following ratio is greater than 1. For newer accounts (less than 1000 followers) I’m flexible on this if all other factors are compelling.

A scan of your Twitter home page generally communicates that you use Twitter conversationally, not as a promotional megaphone.

A sample individual Twitter account I like from @AmyMengel:

Why I Follow Back a Brand

The Twitter account design clearly communicates a message about the brand. Whether it’s a logo or other graphics, I get a quick understanding of the brand’s main message and persona.

The profile description clearly communicates the brand’s message and purpose. It contains a link to the website or blog where I can learn more about the brand.

When skimming the Twitter home page I see interesting content with links to more content. The tweets and links inform me, educate me or entertain me in some way.

If the brand offers promotional tweets, they are done tastefully, professionally and in a way that adds value.

The Twitter account is very transparent. You don’t B.S. me. You demonstrate interest in your followers.

You tweet with a human voice. If you’re a brand and you sound like a non-human, I’m not interested.

You engage your followers with @ replies and RTs.

If you get criticism you respond to it openly and swiftly.

You tweet daily.

A sample brand Twitter account I like: @Teddy’s Pride

Do you have other criteria you use when deciding to follow back individuals and brands? Share them below…

@berniebay

Media Heaven on Earth Meets Internet Marketing

Garry Jones, President, Full Sail University.

Media Heaven on Earth
The Full Sail campus is located in Winter Park, FL and is comprised of 190 acres. There is almost one million square feet of sound stages, recording studios, computer animation labs, green screen rooms, motion capture suites and just about any type of environment to create a video, a movie, sound track, animated feature, a game, etc. There are 9,000 full time students studying in 30 degree programs. Some students are campus based and some are online. The students are all passionate, driven story tellers interested in learning the tools of their trade. They are matched with teachers similarly passionate about these tools and story telling. The result is a hip learning environment where people are super charged and where sparks fly in the creative process.  Full Sail attracts students from around the globe. Though, the main campus is in Winter Park, FL (near Orlando) there are sister schools in the Los Angeles Film School and the Los Angeles Recording school as well as outside Denver, at The Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.

The Harvard of the Media and Entertainment Education
Garry recently attended the Grammy’s in L.A. along with 18 staff members. Over 100 Full Sail graduates participated in Grammy nominated projects. The Full Sail staff toured graduate’s studios, Warner Bros Pictures and visited with many Full Sail graduates catching up on their lives and careers. Full Sail has captured the attention of much media. Rolling Stone Magazine has named it one of the five best music programs in the U.S. Electronic Gaming Monthly, named its Gaming Degree one of the top 5 in the world. Shift Magazine named it the #3 new media school. Unleashed Magazine named it one of the top 5 film schools in the U.S. Rolling Stone magazine, also dubbed Full Sail one of the Schools That Rock, naming it one of the best music business departments in U.S. Full Sail’s recognition is growing because their graduates are performing great results in the entertainment and media industries.

Internet Marketing Curriculum
Full Sail launched an online Bachelors and Masters degree program in Internet Marketing in October 2008. The Masters program is a one year long program and the Bachelors degree is a two year program. Under the leadership of Carol Cox, the students get a well rounded education in Internet Marketing including, SEO, PPC, analytics, consumer behavior, branding, mobile advertising, social media and consumer behavior. Each course is four weeks long.  All the instructors are located on campus. They work very closely together to share information to keep the content current. They keep up to date through web news, webinars, podcasts, conferences, blogs and other online sources of updated content that can be added to the curriculum as needed.  Course content is sometimes up to the minute fresh….They don’t use any textbooks. They use trade publications and other relevant industry articles. The Internet Marketing curriculum continues to grow as they attract students from varying backgrounds including entrepreneurs, corporate marketing departments and stay at home moms starting a new business or working in a family business.

Full Sail Marketing Strategy
The university market is a very competitive market with over 4500 colleges plus 3000 proprietary colleges in the U.S. Full Sail does a fine job of articulating their core message and value proposition in all their marketing communications. Under the leadership of Andrew Solberg, Full Sail’s marketing strategy includes many of the Internet marketing techniques they teach including SEO, PPC, display ads and email marketing. Additionally they use traditional marketing including outdoor, television and print. All their traditional media includes links to their website or a landing page for tracking purposes. When someone visits the Full Sail website they quickly get exposed to the student experience and the breadth of their educational credentials. Not surprisingly, their website provides a very rich media experience that is noticeably different than most college websites. A visit to their website allows you to experience a tour of their campus.

A Launch Box Moment
On the first day of classes at Full Sail each new student experiences The Launch Box. Full Sail accelerates their learning curve by putting a mobile, digital studio in their hands on day one. The Launch Box includes a MacBook Pro with all applicable software for each student’s degree program. From day one the student has tutorials to get set up and running. The famous moment on the first day of class is when the instructor says to the class “Welcome to the the next chapter of the rest of your life. Turn on your launch boxes!” At the same moment everyone powers up their customized MacBook Pro and they end up in wild applause.

I thoroughly enjoyed this podcast interview with Garry Jones, Carol Cox and Andrew Solberg of Full Sail University and encourage you to listen to it (above or from iTunes). The next time you watch the Grammy’s or the Oscars, know that Full Sail graduates had a hand in some of those works of art as well as many others in private industry that may not appear in awards but nonetheless have a powerful impact in their respective market segment.

The education provided by Full Sail University allows students to earn a living in current economic conditions whether as an entrepreneur or as an employee in media, entertainment, gaming and Internet marketing fields.

As a Floridian, I’m proud to know Full Sail University is based in my home state. As a digital citizen and marketer I’m thrilled to see the economic impact of this fine institution of specialized learning and their commitment to students through tools, technology and devoted instructors.

John Jantsch Duct Tape Marketing a Lesson in Branding

John Jantsch, calls himself a 25 year overnight success. After spending some time with him, I understand his point. John started his own marketing agency about 22 years ago which he started after spending some time working for one. The first few years his agency did typical marketing campaigns for companies. John really enjoys working with small businesses. He realizes their needs are very similar to larger companies but they don’t have the same resources.  He struggled with this challenge early in his agency’s life.  Eventually, John set out to create a turnkey, curriculum based approach to marketing for small businesses that could be delivered by other marketing professionals. As John says, it’s a marketing plan that explains to a small business “here’s what you need to do, here are the results you can expect and here’s how much it costs.” Most of his clients are services businesses, resellers and construction/home services. They all need marketing but struggle finding it from a traditional marketing agency largely because the traditional agency’s fees are often not palatable to a small business.  John has found a niche by turning marketing services into a product.

The Power of Duct Tape

In the early days of John’s marketing agency it was called Jantsch Communications. As he began to develop his turnkey marketing system, he realized it was time to rename it and develop a brand for it. He was looking for a name that would represent the value of his turnkey marketing program. His daughter gave him the inspiration he was looking for.  One night she had a few friends over and as teenagers sometimes do, a minor incident occurred to the family car. She tried to cover it up by using duct tape to repair a damaged bumper on the car.  It almost worked. But, she left the roll of duct tape out which is how John discovered the cover up. But, the light bulb went on for John that duct tape is very strong, so he re-branded his company to Duct Tape Marketing. When, I suggested to John that the meaning of Duct Tape Marketing is marketing that sticks, he said I am not the first to say that. Bummer…John has created a memorable brand thanks to his daughter’s cover up attempt. And, who said teenagers aren’t helpful!

Marketing That Scales

John was an early adopter of online marketing. His Duct Tape Marketing blog has received press coverage and even led to his Duct Tape Marketing book. His Duct Tape Marketing podcasts are also very popular. John’s passion for helping small businesses inspired him to duplicate his model so it would scale. His long term goal became the creation of a network of coaches that can install the Duct Tape Marketing system in small businesses, and giving other consultants the ability to have a brand they can embrace. At the time of this interview John has about 60 certified Duct Tape Marketing coaches in the U.S. and about a dozen coaches outside the U.S. John is optimistically expecting to triple the number of coaches in 2010.

Evolution of Duct Tape Marketing

While many fundamentals in marketing haven’t changed much, the platforms have evolved quite a bit and continue to. John provides an online component that is modular and allows coaches to deliver training/consulting efficiently. His coaches use the Duct Tape Marketing planning software with a client, plus a series of programs which a coach can use with an online component. The modular program approach gives a coach many ways to keep clients engaged in an ongoing relationship.

Earning the Right

Duct Tape Marketing teaches small business marketers to share great content which can build awareness of their expertise. When a marketer builds awareness, trust and credibility it’s perfectly acceptable to occasionally make an offer pertaining to their products or services. A recent study by Razorfish shows that many consumers are looking for deals from the brands they follow online in platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. The key is for marketers to build a good relationship with their followers in order to be well received with online offers. The old adage applies here: people buy from brands they know, like and trust.

2010 Small Business Marketing Trends

More small businesses are embracing a blog as their approach to a website. A blog is a terrific SEO tool. It can create a hub of content, create awareness and build authority for any business. Smart small business marketers are starting to look at their online marketing as a way to enhance their offline marketing. It will not replace their face to face (offline) marketing, which is very important to a small business. Online tools allow small business marketers to complement their offline marketing. John predicts small marketers will continue to embrace Facebook as a platform to build their online presence. I like the fact that Facebook is both social and business. It’s a hybrid social media model that allows small businesses to be more human. John points out that even search optimization will be affected by the growth of social platforms like Facebook. I agree and I’ve blogged about this before. It won’t be long before Google will provide search results that include recommendations from people in your network. We both agree that Google Wave has a lot of potential but, at the time of this interview it’s too early to predict its adoption. But, it sure has a lot of potential.

Duct Tape Marketing is both a lesson in branding and a fine example of how small businesses can build very successful marketing plans with offline and online components using a proven approach that has become an overnight success in 25 years.

Psychotherapist a Self Taught Inbound Marketer

Ken Donaldson has a very unique vocation.  He is a licensed mental health counselor, aka a psychotherapist. Ken also calls himself a life coach and a relationship coach. Ken has been in private practice for sixteen years. While Ken is a psychotherapist by vocation has had to become a marketer. Here’s his story. The podcast interview has the whole story…

When Ken first got started in his profession, he expected it to be much easier to develop his practice. He created about 1000 business cards and waited for the phone to ring.  But the phone didn’t ring. He quickly realized developing his practice would require marketing.  So, he started speaking. That was a good start because when Ken spoke to a roomful of people he created more exposure for himself. His speaking gigs usually produced some client referrals and more speaking gigs. Ken eventually realized he had a business. So, he set out to learn how to grow and run a business.

Ken started educating himself on how to run a business by attending workshops, reading books, blogs and websites on marketing. While Ken doesn’t consider himself an aggressive marketer, he realizes that compared to most of his colleagues in his profession, he is like a Chris Brogan.

Marry Yourself First

Ken is the author of a best selling book: Marry Yourself First. His book is a compilation of “the best of his best advice” for people to live extraordinary lives.  His book offers 24 key life principles that give people success. Ken’s strategy is to market his book as a way of marketing Ken Donaldson. And vice versa. He has two websites. His primary website is Ken Donaldson.  And, his Marry Yourself First website promotes his book.

Video Marketing

When Ken first developed his website he was advised that it needed audio. So he added audio. Then he was told he needed video. So he added video. He learned that it wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be. He also created a small website called Ask Ken Donaldson. Ken creates short video responses to the questions he receives. Then, he posts them on YouTube and on his website. He currently has nearly 90 videos. Ken’s content marketing strategy is to produce free advice and give it away through his websites, his blog, Facebook and Twitter with video as a primary form of content delivery.

Location, Location, Location.

As the old saying goes in real estate, Ken has learned that in marketing it’s content, content, content. Ken’s strategy is to give his best in 3 to 5 minutes. He produces content that delivers on the 3 E’s reaching people who are interested in his content. Ken’s videos are very authentic and human. For example, during a vacation in Utah he created some video with beautiful scenery. It was totally unscripted, raw video because it was so casual with some good advice from Ken.

Trading Dollars for Hours No More

Ken’s practice is doing well. His content marketing strategy effectively drives clients to his practice. In 2009 he got more clients from the internet than ever before in his sixteen years. He attributes his success to being more visible, more available and more downloadable.  He eventually plans to “trade dollars for hours.” He’s already started producing premium content through his 5 CD program and has more plans for more premium content.

Ken’s brand is growing and his business is thriving. I feel strongly that these content marketing, inbound marketing strategies apply equally to all business of all sizes across all industries.

In addition to the website links for Ken above, you can connect with him on Facebook and Twitter. He’s a good example of a niche marketer having fun while enjoying success.

If you want to learn more about content marketing strategies, check out my book Marketing 2.0.

@berniebay

Linking In to Pay it Forward by Chuck Hester

Paying it Forward with Chuck Hester.

In this podcast interview, we get to meet Chuck Hester. Chuck is Communications Director with iContact, an email marketing software service. Chuck considers himself a LinkedIn maven because he so willingly imparts his knowledge with others. Chuck has been active on social media for about six years now. Obviously, Chuck was an early adopter of social media, in particular of LinkedIn. He got very involved in social media when he joined iContact and became communications director and he started to use social media for PR and relationship building. Chuck’s social media strategy is all about engagement.  He is an listener through iContact user groups in LinkedIn and through Twitter which Chuck started using about two years ago. Chuck actively listens to the iContact community and responds to their needs.

Linking In to Pay it Forward

Chuck was implored to write this book by many who experienced his outreach. Has his own humbling story when he and his wife went through an economic disaster during the dot com bubble burst. Chuck lost his house and really needed. And, he got it. People reached out to him and his wife Stephanie and helped them get back on their feet. He realized that social media is a platform that allows anyone to help others, not a place to broadcast your message.

NOT Your Daddy’s Business Book

Chuck’s book is an easy read. It’s inspiring, it’s humbling and it’s full of valuable tips. If you read between the lines of Chuck’s book you find that it’s a book about living life the way it should be lived. The book typifies humility. It’s filled with treasure bits of information and lessons learned. It’s conversational and simple, yet powerful and to some, maybe even life changing. The greatest compliment you can give Chuck is that you applied some of his wisdom and got blessed for it either personally or professionally.

Building Your Brand

Chuck is all about personal and professional branding. He shares my sentiment that you should be able to find someone by searching their name on the web. We all want to deal with people, not with a logo. Chuck implores everyone to be transparent, be straight forward. When I first met Chuck, he handed me two cards. He handed me his  iContact card and his Chuck Hester card. Chuck believes in the halo effect. iContact has benefited from Chuck and Chuck has benefited by iContact. That’s the power of personal branding. Of course, if you’ve read my Marketing 2.0 book, you know I’ve devoted an entire chapter to personal branding. It’s that important.

Treat Them Like They’re Right in Front of You: Online Social Media Etiquette

In this chapter Chuck emphasizes that there is a real person behind their computer or device. Just because you’re interacting with someone on LinkedIn or another social media application is no reason to act differently. We should always be authentic in our interactions with people. In other words, we should treat people online like they’re standing right in front of you. I agree!

LinkedIn Live Raleigh

People in Chuck’s network started expressing interest in meetups about three years ago. Chuck set up the first LinkedIn Live Raleigh event in July 2007. About 50 people came together for the first event which was three hours of solid networking. He met with many people he was connected to in LinkedIn. Today, most events draw about  250 people. Each event has sponsors and door prizes. At one recent event, they raised $1900 for Soles for Souls, a local charity. Chuck has heard many great ROI stories about these events. He know there about 40 people that gotten employment or contracts from these events. One person won a $50 food card door prize. He approached Chuck to let him know that he was unemployed and that door prize allowed him to by flowers and a dinner from the grocery store for his wedding anniversary. Wow!

Take the Meeting

Chuck’s advice to doubters is to get out and meet people because people are so interconnected. The chances of something good happening are so in your favor. Social Media is one of the most amazing pay it forward platforms in history. It’s easy to find someone who needs help, or needs to buy my widget. The marketplace has no geographic or time constraint boundaries.

How to Pay it Forward

Chuck’s advice for anyone who doesn’t know how to pay it forward is this. It’s easy to return a favor. So, just go out and help someone out without any expectation that they will help you out. The blessings are plentiful. You will be repaid somehow. Just don’t expect it. Helping someone can be as simple as re-tweeting or introducing someone online. Do it often and it will become habit and you’ll want to do it over and over. Remember that no matter how small it may seem to you it could be big for someone else…

I hope you’ve been inspired by Chuck as I have been. Check out Chuck’s book, Linking in to Pay it Forward, as well as his blog or LinkedIn or on Twitter.