Dickie's Blog

Wednesday, 13 January 2010

The Social Media Train Journey - What to do Once You're On Board

OK, so the train has just left the station and you've met up with a few nice people on the way to your seat.

There's a real buzz going on down in the buffet car - you should definitely have a conversation with the following movers and shakers in there:

(Listed as I go in no particular order)

If you feel you should be on this list, then please comment and I'll be happy to add your details. Sorry in advance if I missed you out!

On you way back from the buffet car it's worth checking out the #likeminds Twitter carriage; you'll hear the buzz as you approach! :)

First Things First

On a usual train journey if you're like me you'll find a seat and sit there, keep yourself to yourself and read the paper, work on your laptop or read a book. You'll be able to hear snippets of the conversations going on around you but even if one of the convesations sounds of great interest to you; you would never dream of getting up and sitting down to join in with those people talking! Can you imagine their reactions!

On the Social Media Train you can listen to other people's conversations too but the real difference is when you find an interesting topic on which you have something to add; you CAN jump in and join the conversation. Using the search function on Twitter you can actually search for specific conversations around your industry or a subject matter close to your heart. That might be a conversation on a completely different Social Media carriage and it might even be on a train in another country!

Listen
So take time to find those people who are having conversations that interest you and begin by just listening. Yep, that's right - just listen. It is socially acceptable to eavesdrop on other people's conversations on social media platforms. They are using a public platform for their discussions and know that other people will be listening, so they won't be offended. In fact people welcome others to join in and contribute to the conversation.

Wouldn't your train journey whizz by if you could just jump in and out of conversations in every carriage of the train?!!

Contribute
Now you've found a few people who are talking about subjects which interest you, take the plunge. Have a think about how you can enter the conversation and make a contribution.
Don't just broadcast a sales type ad message:
"Hi there. I hear you like skiing. I run a ski holiday company called Ski With Us Now. Book your skiing holiday with us; we're great!"

Instead offer something of value such as your expertise:
"Hi, I see you're thinking of skiing in France. I really recommend Les Deux Alpes or Chamonix. I can recommend some great hotels too."

Perhaps you could also tweet a few links to some interesting websites - not yours. They can find yours via your profile details and they'll respect you more if they see that you are NOT plugging your own stuff.

Know - Like - Trust
As you start to contribute and have more and more conversations with people you will get to know them and begin to like and slowly, over time you'll start to trust them.
The same is true of the realtionships they'll be forming with you. They will be getting to know; like and trust you too.

This is when the Social Media Magic happens; the sparks begin to fly and before you even realise it, you'll be doing business together!!

But people won't do business with you if you just listen and they definitely won't do business with you if you just broadcast. You have to take part in the conversations. You have to contribute and over time people will get to know you, they'll like you and eventually they'll trust you.

And just remember - we're on all the train journey together - so let's have some fun too along the way.

I'm off to the buffett car. Look forward to meeting you there!

Tuesday, 15 December 2009

Christmas is a time for giving - But who is buying this BS?

It never ceases to amaze me how generous some people can be and especially at this time of year. Christmas is a time for giving but I had begun to think folks had forgetten this. You see all the ads on TV and the children and parents who all want, want, want.
"Daddy, please can I have that? Oh please Daddy."

"Oh darling, it's only 3 carats, Pretty please with a cherry on top!"

We are such an on demand society that I thought the era of giving was dying. But this week I've been amazed at what people will do for others. And not just any people. Complete strangers seem to be incredibly generous.

Today I got an email from a lady called Amanda Guld from West Africa. She emailed completely out of the blue and she told me that she had a cheque for me for $900,000! I nearly fell off my chair. She said she had been trying to get hold of me with no luck. I couldn't understand this as my name "Dickie Armour" is easily looked up on any of the search engines and all my email addresses work and I've had the same telephone numbers for years. But Mrs Amanda Guld was having trouble. I guess the Interent in West Africa might be a little slower.

Anyways, she told me she had deposited my cheque with a UPS Courier called Daniel Cole and I was to get in touch to get my cheque. I am so excited. I've pretty much got all of the $900,000 spent already. Aston Martin DB9 Volante will be arriving any day now.

Aren't people just so generous?!! The other thing I'm truly excited about is a complete stranger called Martha Smith emailed me this time last week and has promised me that she can help me pull in over $40,000 a month using her easy to follow system! Now this truly is great news because as soon as I spend the $900,000 that Amanda Guld's sending me I'll need some more bucks, so I'm quite excited about this new online marketing system. It sounds like a no brainer. Hey, Martha I will be in touch real soon.

So that's my good news about two incredibly generous strangers but as if this wasn't special enough, my mate called me yesterday to tell me he had won £2.6million in the Dutch Lottery. He got an email from them telling him he had won. Can you believe that?! And what was really staggering about my mate winning this? He hadn't even bought a ticket! He was so excited and is convinced a friend or member of his family must have bought the ticket for him. And like me he's got his Aston Martin DB9 arriving anyday too.

So Christmas 2009 has been incredible - so many nice strangers getting in touch with me to give me loads of money!

Merry Christmas you scumbags!

Please tell me you are not someone who buys this BS when you get an email from a complete stranger? Well if it's not you then who is being taken in? We all need to wake up and stop being so gullible! Surely as people who Blog; use Twitter; Facebook; LinkedIn; Ecadeny; Flickr; YouTube etc we should be educating all our friends and family NOT to get sucked into this crap?!

So which one of you hasn't told all your friends and family?

If we all stop being so gullible and we stop responding to these idiots surely this problem will eventually go away? Please promise to do your bit in 2010 and spread the word through your friends and family. If they haven't bought a lottery ticket then they have not won!
If they get an email from West Africa, Nigeria, Russia, China or any where from a stranger claiming they are holding some long lost family inheritance, please tell them not to respond.

And if they are promised some clever system will make them the next Internet gazzilonaire, then tell them not to bother. Or perhaps do like I do and get in touch and ask them to prove it by letting me use the system free for 6 months and if it's as good as they claim, they should be happy to put their money where their mouth is!

But best of all, tell your friends and family that the next time (and sadly there will be a next time) they get an incredible, too good to be true offer from a complete stranger, they should simply hit the delete button and carry on with their day.

You can read more about other these and other well known scams in this article I wrote in January 2009.

Thursday, 26 November 2009

My First Mobile Blog - Twitter Search Nearby Function

I'm actually sat at my desk trying this Blogger app on my iPhone. It amazes me how far Internet related technology has come in the last 5 years.
It didn't seem that long ago that everyone was talking about WAP enabled websites and how they were going to be the next big thing!
So as I said I'm just trying this new blog app out. I could be sat on a train; waiting for my flight at an airport or I could be sat by the pool on holiday writing my blog!
OK, so I can type but can I add photos? Ummm, let's see.

Yes, it seems I can! This is a photo of a book which arrived in the post this morning. Thanks Jim for sending it to me. It's by a guy called Brad Burton and the title speaks for itself! www.getoffyourarse.biz Brad's book site.
OK, so I got off my preverbial and am writing my blog using the new iPhone app I've been meaning to download and try. Thanks Brad!
I love the iPhone. I use Tweetie** for Twitter and I recently discovered the "search nearby" function. See screenshot below.

This was a search in Bristol and I used it to show a mate of mine. He's a car valeter and was asking how he could use Twitter to find new customers. His concern was that he wanted to connect with local people and not so many people from the US and other countries. He likes connecting with people but he would be unlikely to win much car Valeting business from someone in Texas!

So I showed him how the Search Nearby function works explaining that he can find people in his area in real time. He can them connect with them and perhaps offer a promotion or similar via Twitter!
He was blown away and has already won 2 customers as a direct result of using this Search Nearby function.

So if you're in the Bristol area watch out for @bristolvaleting. I'm sure he'll seek you out soon! Or if you need your car Valeting perhaps you could seek him out instead! He's offering a 10% discount on 19th Dec.
www.bristolvaleting.com

So there you have it. My new blog post from my iPhone.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

**Update - July 2010. Tweetie for Twitter became Twitter for iPhone a while back. If you want more info go to http://blog.twitter.com/2010/05/twitter-for-iphone.html

Wednesday, 4 November 2009

Social Media - Why you need to be on board

The video below demonstrates the power of Social Media and why you should be on board.

I was staggered when I read some of the stats in the video! "If Facebook was a country it would be the 4th largest"!
This is a really exciting time! Social Media has been around for a few years now but it is only in the last few months that a real buzz has started. More and more people are using Twitter, FaceBook, FriendFeed, and Blogs and people are engaging with each other in a way we hadn't imagined.

These aren't just loose and random connections, but genuine conversations which are leading to new friendships and business relationships with real meaning.

It's hard to explain precisely but there is something happening and no one truly knows where the current thirst for social media is taking us. It's a bit like being on a train which has just left the station. It's not too late for people to jump on board; it will be stopping at all stations. The atmosphere is electric and all those on board are really energised and full of enthusiasm and whilst there appear to be quite a few experts on board; it's also clear that none of them can say for sure what's going to happen on the journey and the really exciting part is this - no one knows where the train will end up!

If you're considering getting involved on Twitter or Facebook, LinkedIn or Ecademy or any of the other social networks, then do it! Jump on board the train - "right here - right now!" I also suggest setting up a profile on as many of them as possible. The reason for this is many people have a preference and only use one or two of the social network websites. So if you want to maximise your chance of being discovered, then you need a profile on as many of these sites as possible. If someone's preferred site is Ecademy and they are using Ecademy to search for someone with your area of expertise, if you're not on Ecademy then they won't find you.

Many experts are saying that social media profiles are beginning to be more effective than a company website. This doesn't mean there is no need for a corporate website; of course there is still a need! But what it tells you is you should have both. You need a company website so those people you are having conversations with via the social media websites can find your company website when they are ready.

The social network websites are getting good search engine rankings so somebody looking for you or your business stands more chance of finding your social media profile via one of the many websites than they will of finding your official company website.

The image above shows the result of a search on Google for me - "Dickie Armour". Whilst my personal website is 1st (not hard when you have a name like mine) you'll see that within the first 2 pages my profile comes up on at least 10 different social media websites including my blog. But neither of my company websites appear in the top 20 search results.

What about a great friend of mine, Jamie Forster? See the Google Search result for him below.

Again, his company website doesn't appear either, but he does appear 4 times in the first ten results. And from any of those 4 links you can find Jamie's company website.

So you need to have your profile on as many of the different social media websites as possible to increase your chance of being found and to be able to connect with a person on their preferred social media arena.

So all aboard! This train departs from the next station near you right now. Join us on the journey; I've not a clue where it's going, but it's going to be great fun, we're all going to learn bucket loads of stuff and I promise you'll make some wonderful new friends and you might just pick up some new business along the way.

Saturday, 17 October 2009

Social Networking - Are you just a card dealer?

There are more and more people attending networking events and there are a huge number of people networking on the many different social media websites.

But how are you contributing to these different mediums?

Networking Offline

When you attend an event, whether it's a business breakfast; a seminar; a training day with networking breaks, what are your expectations?

Many people attend these events with the definite intention of winning new customers by selling to as many of the people there as possible. We've all been to meetings where there's a guy working through the crowd handing out his business cards, rather like a bumble bee flitting from flower to flower. He stays with a person for no more than a few moments; long enough to impress them with his well honed "elevator pitch" before he's off to find his next victim. He doesn't spare more than a minute to listen to the other person. He doesn't really care what they do. He listens for long enough to discover if they are a potential victim; someone he can sell to.

This is serial networking at it's worst. In business and in life people buy people. So it is important that you learn the art of being a caring networker. People are NOT going to “buy you” if you’re just a card dealer. You have to truly care about the other person and it’s always a good start if you can make a great first impression.

The word SHINE was introduced to me at a recent marketing conference I attended and like any conference or seminar there was an element of networking throughout the event. A great guy called Mark Perl was the host and he explained the concept of SHINE.

   S - Smile
   H - Handshake
   I - Eye Contact
   N - Name
   E - Enthusiasm

Smile as you look at the person and shake their hand firmly but not weakly or with a limp wrist. Equally don’t crush the other person’s hand! Look them in the eye and keep looking at them as you give them your name and listen as they say their name. Be enthusiastic during this. Don’t speak in a boring, monotone voice but introduce yourself as if you’re excited.
Then once you’ve done the introductions ask questions. Ask the person what they do for a living. Ask them how they heard about the event, ask them where they live.

I always try to find out as much as I can about the other person and I always try to ask them the first question. This really puts the other person at ease because people naturally enjoy talking about themselves. Always try to show real interest in what they are telling you and find out if you have some things in common. The best way to do this is to make sure you really listen. Don’t get distracted by other people in the room or a loud conversation going on nearby. Stay focused on the other person while they’re speaking and try not to interrupt them.

I have a general rule that I never offer my business card until either I’ve discovered that the person I’m talking to is someone I want to connect with and stay in touch with; or they ask me for my business card. And if they are someone I want to connect with I always ask them for their card and in most cases they reciprocate by asking for mine.

Networking Online

Many of the same rules apply when you are participating via online social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Ecademy, Bebo, Xing, MySpace or on people’s blogs and your own blog. But the main mistake people make when using these sites is, without realising it they become the card dealer! They just broadcast messages about themselves and their business. They send tweets on Twitter promoting their company.

The art of communication through social media is having conversations. You have to take part in discussions with people and you have to go where the conversation is taking place. If your favourite social network is Facebook and you only “talk” to people on Facebook you are going to be missing out on a whole load of conversations which you might want to take part in.

Use some of the aggregator tools such as FriendFeed to see where the conversations are taking place and then go and join in. This is the beauty of using social media. Unlike a bar or a café where conversations are happening but you don’t feel you can “barge in” and just sit down at a table and join a conversation with strangers. On social media sites you can. You can see a conversation happening around a subject that interests you and you can jump right in by posting your opinion.

You can add your comments to a conversation and people can read them and reply and all in real time. It’s amazing to watch and take part in and it is so exciting when you then make a connection with someone in this way.

I follow some runners on Twitter and I was training to run a half marathon and we were having a conversation about training. I tweeted about why I was raising money for Cancer Research UK and a lady I had never met joined in the conversation. She wrote a lovely reply saying how moved she was by my story about my dad dying of cancer and she very generously sponsored me via my fundraising website! That just blew me away. About a month later on the marketing weekend I mentioned earlier there were over 200 people from all over the UK there and the hosts asked members of the audience to stand up and give feedback. I heard this lady introduce herself and I realised it was the same lady who had sponsored me via Twitter. During the break we met up and it was just amazing to meet this generous person in real life! We are now connected and we have met up since and become really good friends.

So try and take part more in the conversations going on and post comments on people’s blogs. There is nothing worse that writing a blog and getting no comments! It happens to us all, so I make sure if I read an interesting blog that I post a comment and add my opinion. It’s also nice to share things which you have found interesting from other people. Don’t just share your stuff. It’s more rewarding to let people know about other people’s stuff and one day, you never know, someone might just promote our stuff.

Take part in the conversations and start to contribute more, but please don’t be a card dealer.

Saturday, 10 October 2009

Part 3 - Fantastic & Rare Tony Robbins Audio from 1989.

As promised Tony Robbins, a world renowned expert on Leadership Psychology, has released an incredible audio this time from 20 years ago!

It's a rare recording Tony did back in 1989 and I'd like to give it to you.

You can download it here for free as a gift from Tony:

http://www.moneymastersseries.com/audiodownload.php

This has NEVER been released before ...but I think it's *critical* that you hear it because you'll discover what Tony calls the "5 Keys to Wealth & Happiness".

Please download this as soon as you can because Tony has said he doesn't think he'll be leaving it on the Internet for long.

Wednesday, 23 September 2009

Yes to Facebook in the Workplace!

At a recent Ecademy event in London on Social Media for Business with Louis Gray, the topic of Facebook in the workplace was raised and Louis gave his opinion. He, and most of the audience agreed, that employers should allow the use of Facebook in the workplace.

Interesting to note in this week's issue of Webuser magazine their News Editor, Ben Camm-Jones comments on the same issue and highlights the recent issue Dixons Store Group faced when some staff were insulting customers on Facebook.

See coverage on the story from the BBC earlier this month.

He sums the article up by saying: "So it's simple - let your employees use Facebook. The weakest links in your workforce will soon reveal themselves."

Click the image above to enlarge and read.

I agree. Business owners, directors and managers have to realise that Social Media is an exciting new way of communicating with their customers (not always positvely!) and they should be embracing the likes of Facebook, Ecademy, Twitter etc. When staff are using these mediums employers must ensure the content is monitored and any wrong doings are nipped in the bud.

But I know the power of using these social media sites as an amazing way of connecting with customers and potential new customers in a really positive way. Working for a company that knows and understands this helps boost the morale of it's staff and people feel they can make a difference.

So if you're an employer who doesn't allow access to these social media sites, think about how your staff feel and think of the positive ways you can harness these sites to help your customers. And sure, the odd idiot might abuse the new found trust you've given them, but as Ben Camm-Jones says "Facebook is an excellent way to suss out unsuitable employees".