Creation, consumption and access to content and information has changed so much in the last decade that the landscape is not able to be recognized.



Paper has been replaced by software and media is now residing on computers disguised as phones.
Books are now ebooks, newspapers are websites and Twitter feeds and content are created by writers disguised as bloggers who publish without an editor to be seen.

We read and view on smart phones and tablets. These did not exist a few years ago.

Seldom do we deep dive and spend hours in a book but read a blog post and consume in bite size chunks. Our knowledge consumption is dominated by snack packaged content that we skim and scan.

Vast libraries of books that weighed tonnes are now loaded on our Kindles, Nooks and iPads that we carry in our hand and access anytime, anywhere.

Content creation needs to adapt

Our changing habits, new media preference and content consumption platforms demand a different way of thinking and practice if we want to maintain relevance in a digital world.

How you create content has to adapt to this new environment.

Long form needs to be made into short formats. Big blocks of text need to be broken up. Don’t like reading?…. well now you can watch a YouTube video.

More choices, more information that is fun to read and view.

7 tips for creating engaging content

So what are some tips and tactics to keep in mind when writing a blog post, creating a website or designing a video or other multimedia to achieve attention and engagement.

1. Simple

My cousin used to accuse me of using big words. He was right. It only confuses people. The curse of knowledge means that a subject we know can include acronyms and unintelligible words for the beginner. You need to be reminding yourself and on the lookout for not trying to be too clever or smart and hence leave our audience behind. One syllable words can be much more effective than three or four.

2. Headlines

You only have seconds on the web before people click away. Learn the art of attention seeking first to ensure the reader and viewer will want to read the rest. This also applies to the introductions to the article. When you do a Google search you see the headline and a description. Both of these are important in that order. Titles to videos, Slideshare content, images and tweets are also in this mix.

3. Structure

The title has made your reader turn up…. now the challenge is keeping them engaged. No walls of text please. Short paragraphs of 2-3 sentences and subtitles that draw them in like a magnet are vital. The other content tactics include keeping it snack size and use bullet points and lists. By lists, I mean doing what is in this post “7 Tips”

4. Conversational

Society is moving from formal to informal. We still wear suits but only for special occasions (unless you’re a banker or a lawyer). Writing is also part of this culture trend. Write how you speak and you will have a better chance of getting readers to come back. Conversational writing is seen as authentic and real.

Forget stuffy.

5. Stories

Want to make a point?… use a story. Your reader will remember the story as it will touch and stir their emotions. Using it in the introduction can be very effective.

6. Multi-media

Create content and make it into a variety of media. Nothing stopping you taking a written article and repurposing it into a video, slideshare presentation, podcast, a transcript or even an infographic. We all have different preferences for media consumption.

Be inclusive and you will reach a larger and wider audience.

7. Responsive

Our web viewing was dominated in the past by computer screens. Some were 13 inches and others were 15.  With reading often being spent with a mobile in your hand or even a 32 inch high definition widescreen at your desk, making websites and blogs that “respond” to different screen sizes so it is easy to read and view no matter what device you are using is becoming essential.

This is called “Responsive” design and templates for WordPress blogs and websites should be considered and are now readily available.

Time to update your website or blog?

Here is a place to learn how to create content

Learning to adapt to these changes requires education and you can teach yourself or you can be guided. One I have been checking out and reviewing is a free educational website called Open2Study, which offers a course called “Writing for the Web”

It includes 4 modules covering these topics:

1. Why writing for the web is different – This topic takes a closer look at what I touch on in my tip on structure
2. Characteristics for good content – This module takes a deeper dive in regards to my tip on multi-media
3. Writing effective content – Structure that I mentioned in tip #3 is an important part of this module
4. Looking after your content – This looks at things like the importance of search engines and maintaining your content which goes beyond my 7 tips mentioned in this post.

In total there are 38 videos that walk you through the basics. My experience taking this online course was the following

• It’s easy to use
• Guides and reinforces with simple quizzes
• Assessment at the end of each module allows you to gauge your understanding
• Very professional video production with great sound clarity

There are a couple of suggestions I would make that I think would make this online education series have broader appeal. Also repurpose the content into a podcast (so I could listen to it in the car or even in the Gym) and possibly provide a transcript in a PDF format for those that love to read rather than just view.

The next intake of students for Open2Study is on July 1. I would recommend it to anyone who is new to writing for the web and wants to learn how to create and write optimal content for the web whether that is a blog or a website. It’s also free!

Most progressive and “cool” companies and brands have embraced social media. They created a Facebook page, a Twitter account and even have a YouTube channel.



If they are real marketing pioneers then they may even have learned how to spell Instagram and know that “pinning” is not just something done by the grannies at the weekly sewing club.

The “geniuses” even know that “Vine” is not just something that grows in the fields of France that leads to much glass clinking, bad jokes and wild dancing.

So the power of social media has been identified to assist and even supercharge creating online brand awareness through the leverage of  ”crowd marketing” that is facilitated by customers and fans sharing your content.

The smart cookies even know that unique fresh content that is popular and resides on your website can provide better search results. Key terms that people use to find your product or service may even appear on page one of Google if your content and search strategy is integrated and honed.

That is gold for any brand.

The challenges

But despite the opportunities there are many challenges.

Creating great content takes time and resources and many organisations have started the journey with enthusiasm but have given up in desperation. They drew up the plan but realised it was a Mount Everest. Blogs were designed and launched but are now desolate and haven’t seen a published post for months. Twitter accounts were started but the tweets are missing and followers are few.

This is due to many factors such as lack of inspiration, the sustained effort needed and the persistence required.

I know what discipline, skill and passion is needed. For the last four years I have painstakingly built this blog on the back of content and technology that has taken me to the teetering edge of keyboard throwing, mouse hurling and laptop launching.

But there are some solutions emerging to help in the battle of content creation and being visible amongst the universe of half a billion websites and blogs.

A solution

For the last 18 months I have been involved in a journey to find a solution to those challenges with a company called Shuttlerock.

It provides a powerful easy to use platform that helps you easily create content that keeps your website and blog fresh, relevant and engaging. It enables your customers, supporters, staff and fans to interact with your website.

Here is a video overview of the concept of how the Shuttlerock software works.

Introduction to Shuttlerock from Shuttlerock on Vimeo.

It is a solution that builds great content for your domain and not just Facebook.  It drives views and engagement to the platform you own.

How does it work?

Shuttlerock is a white label photo and content sharing platform embedded on your website. It allows you to generate, curate and publish photos and stories. It means that your website is no longer one dimensional; it’s now multi-dimensional using customers, staff and partners and their social channels to bring your site to life.



What are the key benefits?

The platform was born out of the frustration of creating content, watching Facebook nabbing all the good photos and not being able to create engagement and content curation at scale.

Here are the key benefits that highlight how it it will assist you with the marketing of your business on a social web that craves fresh unique content.

• More high quality engagement leading to more sales. This is created by the generation of ‘real’ content from ‘real’ people. This “is” content marketing.
• Better interaction with customers AND their friends: a social platform on “your” website. And more control of the customer relationship, content and conversations.
• Creates an on-going source of fresh content which you can share to your company’s social channels.
• Higher search engine rankings. Search engines require fresh content and they rate the social conversations that Shuttlerock encourages.
• Helps you build a valuable email list of your customers and their friends

The key features

The ShuttleRock “software as a service” platform has some powerful features to help you tap into the power of your fans (if you are a sports brand) and followers or customers that love creating content, whether that is a tweet, a photo or other media.

Here are the key features.

1. Content board

It takes minutes to create a content board and you decide whether it’s open to the public or staff only, whether it’s open to voting or not and where it appears on your page.



2. Easily add photos to your site

It’s simple, two-step uploading from a range of sources. No more messing around with cumbersome content management systems or resizing images.



3. Search engine optimisation

Photos are renamed using pre-determined key words to help with SEO.

4. Automatic onsite content creation

Automatic content generation including the hash tags from Twitter, Instagram and Flickr and geotagging.

5. Mobile apps

Content collection doesn’t have to wait to be sent from your computer but content collection can be from a smart phone including Android and Apple.



6. Content publishing control via moderation

Moderation is provided which allows you to accept or reject photos, edit comments or change which board the image appears in before publishing.



7. Prompted sharing

Each time someone shares a photo your brand is centre stage and each share encourages people back to your website.



8. Update multiple social networks at once

You no longer need to chase several channels. Shuttlerock lets you update multiple social networks at once. Create a schedule of posts to your company Facebook pages so something is posted every day even when you have the day off.

9. Demographics and statistics measurement

Demographic information and statistics are presented in an easy to view graph for quick analysis.

10. Integration with 3rd party platforms

Integration with 3rd party platforms including Facebook, Mailchimp and Instagram.

11. Easily create and run a competition

The Shuttlerock content boards create a reason for your customers to send a message to their friends about your business – and drive them to your website.



Some results

The Shuttlerock platform has been added to the marketing toolkits of companies in a range of industries including sports teams, retailers, travel & tourism, real estate and many more.

Some results.

• Progear photography generated 770 shares in the first month getting their brand in front of 77,000 of their customers’ friends.
• Black Cat Cruises created 850 photos in 6 months and lifted their user sessions and online sales by 50% year on year.
• The Queensland Reds football team generated 233 images from 7 content boards in their first 30 days.
• Jucy car rentals increased their Google rankings for ‘Christchurch rental car’ from the second page of Google at #13 to page one at position 3.

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The goal of most Twitter contests is to increase the number of targeted followers. Targeted followers help spread the word about your products and services for free. When a third party spreads positive comments about your products or services, it gives your company credibility and helps sell your products.


You also want to collect contestants' contact information so you can nurture new leads and eventually turn them into customers. You collect their contact information by enticing them to fill out a web form on your website or blog.

There are several ways to attract targeted followers during your Twitter campaign:

1. Have a clear goal for your contest. 

What are you trying to achieve with your Twitter contest? Are you trying to generate new leads? Are you generating traffic for a new website or blog? Are you announcing a new product and want to generate a buzz? You need to have a clear goal and outcome for your Twitter contest or you'll be disappointed with your results. The clearer your goal is, the better your results will be.

2. Choose prizes carefully. 

This is where people make some of their biggest mistakes when they conduct a contest. Your prize should match the goal for your contest. If you're trying to generate more targeted followers, offering a large cash prize isn't the right prize. Offering a $1,000 prize will attract a lot of new followers, but they may not be targeted. In fact, many of your new followers will be participating in the contest just to win the $1,000, not to support your company.

If you're trying to attract landscape artists as followers, for instance, you could offer an autographed book of landscape pictures or artist accessories as your prize. This would be a more effective way to attract targeted followers than offering a large cash prize.

When you create a plan for your Twitter contest, it needs to do two things:

• Encourage people in your niche to participate 
• Discourage people who aren't in your niche from participating

The demand for fresh and high-quality articles on websites is at an all-time high.

Since Google’s Panda and Penguin algorithm updates in 2011 and 2012, content that uses spam SEO practices has been penalized and quality is ever more crucial. Although keeping a news site or a blog up to date with fresh daily content is important and an effective way to generate traffic, your website must also have a solid backbone of  ‘evergreen’ content – or stuff that will not go out of date so easily – to stay relevant.

Evergreen content is content that has endurance and longevity.


What is evergreen content?

You have perhaps heard about evergreen content from industry experts who seem to have fallen in love with the term. They will tell you that it is vital to your blog’s overall success. Evergreen content  covers topics that are always relevant whenever they have been posted. It is written with the goal of driving traffic to a website for a long period of time. Examples of these would be “Tips” and “How-to” posts that retain their value, unlike news content which relies timeliness.

Importance of evergreen content to business?

Most small businesses find it difficult to stick to a blogging schedule, as it takes time and money. As a result, people often write a selection of articles when they get the time and then post them over the coming weeks, without having to worry about tying into the day’s news. It thus sounds more practical as well as business-like to create articles that have no expiration date.

From a blog management standpoint, evergreen content is effective as these posts will continue to be relevant and receive visitors. Creating evergreen content is a powerful way of building your business’ online presence and audience.

Writing perpetually relevant content is not that difficult. It’s just a matter of searching for an interesting topic that fits your business.

To get you started, here are some guidelines to consider:

#1. Choose timeless topics

When choosing a topic for your evergreen post, remember the K.I.S.S rule (Keep It Simple and Sweet). Never choose topics that are too broad, as they must be thoroughly explained, which can make them far too long. Take note that a typical online reader will scan your website looking for keywords and sentences that match the information they are seeking.

In 2008, Nielsen reported that “79 percent of searchers scanned Web pages and they only read 20-28 percent of the words on the page.” Thus, if the readers found that your article is not relevant to them within the first few seconds, then expect them to be clicking the back button.

#2. Give the content depth

Research extensively about your chosen topic. Start by reading up on the subject on Wikipedia, then see what else the web can turn up. Although you’ve done your research, this does not mean that you can confuse your readers with jargon. Remember to write for your market. If your content is for beginners, avoid technical terms that could scare them off. Simplicity is the key to all effective writing. Consider reading 8 Essential Habits for Effective Writing on how to be an effective writer
for a more productive writing experience.

#3. Present your content with visuals

As the online marketing game becomes more competitive, business marketers are finding that interesting content isn’t just about what you say, but also how the information is presented. Content that includes appealing visuals such as photos, videos and graphs (to name a few) will help tell the story you are trying to convey.

In fact, in a study conducted by Florida’s Poynter Institute in May 2004, researchers found out that “images (photos and graphics) were viewed more than text. Photos attracted more attention than graphics. Sixty-four percent of the photos were viewed for about one-and-a-quarter second, on average. Graphics (other than banner ads) were viewed 22 percent of the time, and received about a second’s attention.” So if you’re planning to write tutorials or tips then consider searching for videos or photos to make your content more effective.

So what are you waiting for?

Maintaining a blog for your website often entails a lot of decision making, especially when it comes to deciding what topic to discuss. Remember that “creating content that is just as useful five years down the road as it was the day it was published is not easy, but it’s possible.”

So start investing in evergreen content now to build your brand’s online presence.





















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Social media marketing is the beckoning and shiny new toy.

It started as clever but simple to use online technology where you could share multi-media content with friends, family and school colleagues. It was fun, engaging and it has touched the social human global psyche.

It happened because the intersection of technologies such as cheap high speed internet, low cost hard disk storage and software that made using social network platforms as easy as writing a Microsoft “Word”  document became aligned at the same time.
Even the older generation found they could use Facebook!

CEO’s, business owners and management initially saw it as a distraction from serious business and traditional marketing. How could you take Facebook seriously when it it was the social network that the son or daughter used it to share their party photos from Saturday night.

What was the point of a a 140 character tweet?

Then the penny dropped.

Large brands realized that the marketing leverage and amplification that the “many to many” crowd sourced global conversations could bring to their marketing strategy was sizable and significant.

Coca Cola changed its marketing strategy from creative excellence to content excellence. They had realized that social media was able to spread their content and ideas with velocity and the crowd could create and share more stories on social networks than they could ever hope to buy.

Small to medium business were provided free marketing tools that they could use themselves to promote their business.

The democratization of marketing was now evident.

Along with this realization many myths abvout social media marketing have been spread that have caused confusion and disillusionment when the return on investment didn’t materialize or wasn’t apparent.

Myth #1. It’s Simple

There are many myths about social media marketing but the biggest one by far is that it is easy and can be done by an intern at lunch time.

For small, medium to large enterprises is it is far from simple because social media marketing does not scale very easily and it requires many resources, skills and processes that until recently were at an adolescent stage of development.

With social media marketing you need to:

• Write, film and snap the images and capture the content
• Edit the content into a creative format that entertains, educates and inspires
• Create it for the different types of media such as video, text (for blog posts), Twitter tweets, Facebook updates, Pinterest images and other major social media networks
• Establish processes that control the publishing and monitoring of the content that is spread globally by many individuals within one organisation that keeps the brand police happy
• Publish it on multiple networks,
• Optimise it for a variety of multimedia formats
• Develop and optimize it for many types of screens including laptops, iPad, iPhone, Android smart phones and tablets so that it renders properly and is easily viewed and consumed
• Optimise the content and platforms for search engines
• Monitor and measure the data you receive to see what works and what doesn’t

It is becoming a deluge of data on many social networks.

So far organisations in the main are using disparate and multiple tools such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck and Klout that add a layer of complexity and are silos of data and processes that do not lend themselves to the era of big social data.

Help is at hand.

Tools and processes are emerging to make it possible to do social at scale.

Vendors such as Sprinklr, Exact Target, Adobe, Brightcove and Viral Heat are amongst many companies that are developing enterprise class tools that are offering the promise of one stop social solutions platforms that will enable organisations to provide “social at scale”

The Altimeter Group and Jeremiah Owyang have surveyed over 3 dozen vendors that offer the promise of providing the holy grail of “social at scale”. These are revealed in this presentation on Slideshare.

To properly create , publish and manage this social data explosion we are seeing the emerging need in marketing agencies (and major brand marketing teams) for not just “creative” talents but people who understand technology intimately.

It could be that the “Geeks will inherit the earth” in a knowledge and technology driven economy and culture.

Maybe we are seeing the rise of the “Ninja Nerd” who understands technology and the creative process on an increasingly social web.

I look forward to seeing this emerging evolution of social media marketing as it moves from adolescent promise to mature and robust business class platforms and processes.

Myth #2.  It’s Free

Planning , creating content, optimizing for search, publishing to multiple platforms takes time. Time is money.
The professionals with the skills and experience to make social media marketing successful are increasingly in demand and they need to be paid. In a lot of cases the free tools to manage and monitor the data explosion are not adequate to provide the insights needed to manage, sift and sort the data.

Enterprise class tools are not free. Participating on Facebook may cost nothing and tweeting is free but the content and eco-sytem to support a sustained social media marketing effort requires budget and commitment. Professional videos still cost money to produce and edit.

Free tools doesn’t mean that social media marketing is free.

Myth #3. It’s Just Facebook

Many organisations think that because Facebook dominates the social media numbers game with nearly one billion users, that it is the only social media network to consider in a social media marketing strategy.

Facebook only allows less than 15% of your updates to appear in your Facebook followers timelines through its “Edge Rank” algorithms.

If you are a B2B organisation then LinkedIn could be a social network you want to embrace firmly. LinkedIn is also one of the fastest growing social networks.

Twitter can be used to create a targeted group of followers that is expensive and slow to build on Facebook.
The rise of an increasingly visual web has made social media such as Instagram and Pinterest networks increasingly attractive as part of your social media marketing strategy. Some case studies are revealing that Pinterest is more effective than Facebook in driving social commerce. The online boutique store Boticca’s data is evidence of that.

The basics of marketing must not be forgotten in the frenzy of social media mayhem.

Myth #4. Social Media is the “Silver Bullet”

Social media is not your marketing saviour.

You need to have contagious content on your websites and blog that people will want to share on social networks. You need to  relentlessly build followers, tribes and subscribers. This takes commitment and persistence. Don’t forget the role of traditional media such as email marketing.

Remember to continue to optimize  your online properties for search engines. Being found on Google is still a “must do”. If you aren’t doing this then you need to reconsider some of your marketing budget priorities.

Social media marketing advertising is still only $5 billion and search engine marketing spend is 10 times larger at $50 billion plus. Why?…because it works.

Facebook maybe sexy and funky but Google is still king of online and its Google+ network is close to reaching a tipping point in social media consciousness.

What About You?

What has been your experience with social media? Has it been effective? Are you struggling to perform “social at scale”.

What has been your return on investment? Have you been able to measure it?

What other marketing works for you? Has email marketing been important to your tactics?

Are you paying enough attention to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) so people looking for you online can find your in search engines results pages?

Look forward to hearing your stories and successes.



































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Want to get more creative with Pinterest? Now you can, thanks to Bazaart.

The startup has released a free iPad application that lets you collage your pins, as well as those of other users on the network. It’s easy to find, add, resize, rotate and otherwise assemble your collage. You can also add borders to images or select “crop” to remove white space.

The app isn’t perfect: If you have a board with more than 25 pins, you won’t be able to load them all. (Gili Golander, Bazaart’s fashion director, tells me this is a result of Pinterest’s RSS feed limitation, and there’s nothing they can do about it.) The crop button tends to completely erase light-colored images. An “undo” button would be a welcome addition as well. But it’s a nice start.

Beyond collaging, the Bazaart app is also a decent Pinterest client: You can explore other boards, repin items and pull up their source pages — meaning that all of the products pins are also shoppable within the app.

The app’s creators are apart of the DreamIt Ventures accelerator program for Israeli startups in New York. This is the second app they have built atop Pinterest. The first, Pinvolve, lets Facebook Page administrators quickly transfer their content to Pinterest.




































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Content is the foundation for blogs and websites. It is what makes your readers and viewers come back for more
.
The range and type of content that is available on a social web is extensive and includes multimedia such as videos, images and infographics and of course plain old simple text.

Content can achieve different objectives including
1. Educating (How To’s)
2. Informing (News)
3. Entertaining (eg. Funny Videos)
4. Inspiring (Provide motivation)

The challenge is to come up with the ideas and the content that people find valuable and want to share. This is something that all writers and bloggers struggle with. I have tried all sorts of content on this blog and sometimes I am surprised with what works and what doesn’t.

25 Content Creation Tips

Here are some ideas to help you create content that I have often applied myself. Don’t be afraid to try different ideas. The learning is in the action of “doing”.

1. Curation

Compile a list of 10 favourite blog posts from other blogs.

2. Brainstorming

Ask your friends and colleagues for ideas.

3. Ask your Readers

Don’t be afraid to ask your readers for ideas. You could even run a survey on Facebook.

4. Interview someone

I have often taken my video camera and interviewed someone that I believe my readers will find inspiring. One of those interviews was Greg Savage from Firebrand Talent.

5.  Ask for Guest Authors

I have been doing this over the last 12 months and it allows other experts and passionate bloggers to share their ideas which keeps your blog content fresh. eg Top 5 Mobile Apps for Online Marketers

6. Create Best Case Studies

One very successful article I did using this idea was an article I did on Coca Cola  5 Lessons from Coca Cola’s New Content Marketing Strategy

7. Worst Case Study Articles

I have often found that providing a great example of how not to do something drives more traffic than a positive story.

8. Review a Product or App

People love to hear about the latest products or apps. One of the most successful articles on this blog used this  approach. “10 Must Have WordPress Plugins Of 2012 Every Blogger Should Know About”

9. Share Success Stories

People like to hear what has worked for you. Example “How To Get 53,000 Twitter Followers: My Story”. It doesn’t have to be complex but a simple success that worked for you.

10. Share Failures

These can be stories about what hasn’t worked for you or someone else.

11. Revitalise Old Articles

This could be a compilation of  your 5 best articles on a particular topic.

12. Use Name Recognition from Movies

This involves mashing together two unrelated subjects into one post eg “What Batman can Teach you about Blogging”
Find more ideas in this Infographic from a favourite blog of mine that I read regularly – Copyblogger.
I have also included some other ideas below this infographic.

Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

23. Compile the latest Statistics about your Industry

People like to hear about the latest facts and figures. This can be done in a variety of ways including Infographics. Example: 48 Significant Social Media Facts, Figures and Statistics Plus 7 Infographics

24. Create a Blog post from a Powerpoint Presentation

This something that I do regularly and it achieves two objectives. Drives traffic to the presentation on slideshare and creates more blog content. eg “Winning with the Fantastic Four of Digital Marketing”

25. Turn your Article into a YouTube Video

Take a blog post that provides tips and make it into a short YouTube Video.

How About You?

How do you come up with ideas for creating content? Do you prefer video or text asa a blogger? What has worked for you?
Look forward to hearing your stories.



































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Ted Rubin is a leading social marketing strategist and the chief social marketing officer at Collective Bias. In 2009, Rubin started using the term ROR, Return on Relationship™, a concept he believes is the cornerstone for building an engaged multi-million member database. His book, Return on Relationship, is out in August. Follow him @TedRubin.


If you want to continue to reach your market in the social media age, the marketing focus needs to be on building relationships, and metrics need to expand beyond ROI. In fact, ROI is simple dollars and cents. But a return on relationship is the value — both perceived and real — that will accrue over time through connection, loyalty, recommendations, and sharing. That’s what any marketer actually wants, and here’s how to do it.

Don’t Just Act Authentic 

This might seem obvious, but authenticity is on the verge of becoming just another buzz word in social media marketing. True authenticity — not just using that word often in your tweets and posts — will set your brand (product or personal) apart in today’s highly competitive market. Followers and advocates can and will sniff out a fake in a heartbeat.

The only way to be authentic is to be authentic. For example, don’t filter out your brand’s negative feedback. No one believes 100% positive claims on a website or social pages anyway. Make all feedback public. Then honestly address any claims around the negative feedback, and give your followers the tools to tell their truth about you and your brand because that is what people trust, and what they trust they will buy.

Be Real to Create Trust

We are hearing so much now about social media creating a shift from ‘the wisdom of crowds’’ to ‘the wisdom of friends’’, but what does that really mean for brand advocacy? A lot. It’s this ‘wisdom of friends’ that brings a new social power to brand advocacy. The payoff is a long-term and personal relationship that creates brand advocates and an emotional connection that drives influence. Brand advocates are those people who are so delighted by your product/service/brand that they can’t wait to tell their friends and their whole social networks about the experience. To achieve such an enriching relationship, communication must be relevant and have a distinct and authentic personality.

Take Care of Your Advocates

Successful social media marketing is all about relationships, with the highest return coming from relationships with your brand advocates. Friends trust friends who are advocates. They will purchase a recommended product and, if that experience is everything they hoped for, a new advocate is born and the cycle continues. Advocates are an incredible asset now more than ever. Treat them as such.

Be an Actual Friend

The way you engage with people makes an impression no matter what tool you are using. Look at your own behaviors and ask yourself, “Would I want to be my friend?” Are you noticing and affirming the value of individuals and groups in your network? Are you genuinely interested and paying attention to the people behind the texts and words on a screen? Are you going out of your way to be of service to others in your network? That’s the kind of friend I would want to have and to be.

For example, it is unbelievable how many people never bother to connect after an event, or even fail to add who they met into their contacts file. What a complete and utter waste of time. So be the one who does. Add people to your contact file, and connect with them via LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Make a note with every entry where you met (name of event and date), and anything else you remember or had the presence of mind to write on the card. Then, when and if you have an email exchange, cut and paste that email in the notes section so you will always have a point of reference when connecting again in the future.

Forget the adage Win/Win and make a commitment to Learn/Learn. Win/Win is good, but implies an end. Once you win, then what? Learn/Learn creates a paradigm of ongoing value. This creates a Learn/Learn situation. I learn about you and you learn about me. And we learn from each other.






























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