The social media country club

The economy of social media is built on favors, creating a dysfunctional social media country club. Are we building a world of group think?
The case for social media marketing and "Extreme B2B"
At one point in my career, I had one of the largest (if not THE largest!) sales positions in the world. I had just one customer and they bought more than US$1.5 billion of goods and services from my company every year. That’s what I call Extreme B2B. Long sales cycle. High stakes. Extraordinary power […]
Social Media’s Economy of Giving
In the first article in this four-part series, I defined the three elements that contribute to business benefits through social media: Connections + Meaningful Content + Authentic Helpfulness = Business Benefits. In this final article, we’ll examine the difficult issue of Authentic Helpfulness. “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who […]
Building meaningful business connections through social media
This is the second in a series exploring the keys to achieving business benefits in social media: Connections + Meaningful Content + Authentic Helpfulness = Business Benefits. Now, we’re going to dive into each element to build a strategy for YOUR social media success! Today we start with CONNECTIONS. Think of the social media landscape […]
A formula for social media business success
Starbucks. Â Dell. Â Mark Schaefer. Yes, I am now up there with the mega-brand big dogs, at least momentarily, in an article in Forbes recently. Not only that, but I was acknowledged as a Twitter marketing authority in the same breath as Chris Brogan and Jeremiah Owyang, two national marketing luminaries. If you are a regular […]
Yes, it IS about the money
I know social media is about “relationships.” I get it … I really do. But if you are responsible for a social media initiative for your company, somebody is eventually going to ask you, “Where’s my money, honey?” In a business setting, social media relationships must eventually lead to making or saving money. Of course […]
The Biggest Lie in Social Media Marketing
This is what real ROI looks like. Except if you’re in Canada. Then it would be red, blue and purple. Canadian money rocks. Do NOT skip over this article — It might just save your reputation, your credibility and your career! ROI (Return on Investment) seems to be THE social media marketing topic right now […]
Lessons from a marketing strategy gone wrong (mine!)
The theme for the blog this week is “strategy” and the first thing I needed to do is turn the microscope on myself. It’s ugly. I have not been following my own rules … but let’s see what you might learn from my mistakes. Something I have preached relentlessly: When you start a social media […]
How do you handle a crowd of followers?
My article on “Why do I need 10,000 followers” seemed to tap into the frustration and anxiety of many people who are struggling with the meaning of our new Twitter relationships. One Twitter friend, who I have never met, called me and discussed the issue for an hour! If you haven’t read some of the […]
Why do I need 10,000 followers?
Does the number of Twitter followers matter?