Lewis Howes sharing LinkedIn SEO Tips
Junk Mail & Cold Calls
I have always had a policy of not answering incoming calls on my mobile phone from withheld & 08 numbers. However over the last few months there has been an increase in unsolicited SMS messaging. Adding to the increase in traditional junk mail, leaflets & unsolicited phone calls, there has also been an increase in the number of unsolicited pre-recorded cold calls I have been receiving on my home fixed line at ridicules hours of the morning & evening offering me payment protection insurance or “pre-approved credit”. Today was the cherry on the cake though, when my 15 year old son received a pre-approved credit application for a £5k loan through the post. So if like me you want to stop this unsolicited time wasting have a at the telephone preference service to stop unsolicited phone calls, or if its junk mail that gets your back up have a look at mail preference service to stop unwanted junk mail.
How Influential Are You.
“The richest people in the world look for and build networks. Everyone else looks for work.” A quote by Robert Kiyosaki. One of the conversations at a networking coffee morning in Cambridge recently ended up in a debate with no consensuses reached as to which was of most value, “the size of one’s network or the quality of the individuals within that network” i.e. Quantity VS Quality. The argument used by those in favour of having a “big network” was firmly cemented in the idea that “you never know who they know” a statement I do agree with however in saying that I do believe that there are more to consider when it comes to inviting people to connect with you.
Networking is just like dating, first you need to know who you looking for, second you need to know where you will meet them, and thirdly you have to mix within those environments as that is where you are likely to meet them. Not that dissimilar from networking as these fists three steps is also a prerequisite to building a relationship. Step four happens once you met and decide to invest time in getting to know each other and that is when the relationship building process starts, which over time and earning each other’s trust, commitment, cohabitation, marriage etc. happens. Not that dissimilar to a business transaction which also takes place once trust is established.
Therefore step one would be to decide why you want to network or what you want to get from your networking activities. Step two would be to decide where are the best places for you to be networking so that you meet the right kind of people (after all if your favourite food is a T-bone steak it’s pointless to be networking in the fruit and vegetable market).
One of the things that I always find interesting when listening to successful entrepreneurs is that they always suggest surrounding yourselves with people who are equally passionate and have the same goals, as well as people smarter than you. This for me constitutes people of value, which also mean that one should be a person of character and value. I do concede that when you starting out and have no contacts quantity is the way to go but that you should have a way of “separating the wheat from the chaff” and also focus on identifying the quality individuals within that network and then develop a plan of action to develop those quality relationships. After all any network of people has at least three key individuals within it; influencers, opinion leaders, decision makers who could be a facilitator, introducer or advocate. Developing these relationships is hard work because trust is something that one earns over time, however identifying and finding the right networks and people is becoming easier with the aid of technology and the power of the social web. Here are three tools that can be used very effectively to analyse your own network and find out who the people are that deserve your time investment.
The fist is a free tool called Klout we all have influence within the networks we are part of and Klout helps you compare your Klout with the connections you have on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
The second is PeerIndex is a relative measure of your online authority presented in a score which reflects the impact of your online activities, and the extent to which you have built up social and reputational capital on the web.
The third tool is PostRank allows you to tap into the intelligence of millions of online users active on the Social Web and delivers objective, real-time data and analysis on any topic, trend, or interest relevant to you or your business.
The forth tool is Radian6, possibly one of the most powerful tool out there that can help you and your organisation “socially engaged” it has the power to help you understand and gain insights about social media through metrics, measurement, sentiment and analytics reporting. It is a comprehensive social media listening, tracking, monitoring and engagement tools which allows you to successfully employ a social media strategy and understand the impact the Social Graph and Social CRM have on your business success.
Supply & Demand Drives A Business Life Cycle.
Supply and demand, two things that drive markets but when it comes to marketing it is more important to understand what the market demands and then supply that need.
Putting this in the contacts of a Business Life Cycle and starting at the Conceptual Stage (1) where the business idea is nothing more than a concept is probably where one should invest most effort in understanding the market you want to operate. It is also the stage where you would invest in proving the concept and possibly the area that takes most of the investment and leads to the Start-up Stage (2) where supply and demand potentially has an equal share as the demand in the market is proven and you are focusing on delivering to the needs of that market. Excluding business drivers and recourse for the moment from the marketing plan and keeping it in the business plan, with the marketing plan taking a more pragmatic approach that build towards Sustainable Growth (3) which would have a number of streams that focus on different vertical, horizontal and parallel markets each with its own “promotional plan” as a individual project or part of a program within that marketing plan. This is also the time when the Sales Plan starts dovetailing into the marketing plan and the business is on its way to become an Established Business (4) within its marketplace.
However there are three more stages in the Business Life Cycle to consider and the supply and demand for each of these are as uniquely different as the first fore as when your business moves into an Expansion Cycle (5) you have additional considerations that gets taken into account to grow market share like acquiring a competitor or complementary business to name but two. It is also important to remember that everything have a shelf life and preparing for a Decline (6) and Succession or Exit (7) as important. So remember understanding the business drivers that underpins the supply & demand for each of the stages within the Business Life Cycle your business is in are equally imported when you put your business marketing plan together.
Augmented Reality The New Way To Go With Mobile Advertising.
Mobile Advertising seems to be on the up, be it using a QR code to link trough to web pages to interactive videos and don’t forget augmented reality. Promoting your business, products and or services these days is becoming more and more interesting.
Entrepreneurial Summerschool
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had groups like Cambridge Judge Business School and Anglia Ruskin University working with local schools and six form collages in Cambridge and include entrepreneurial teenager during the summer holiday in an Entrepreneurial Summer School instead of solely relying on the work experience placements scheme and voluntary work placements to equip our youth for the future.
I like the Sagamores in Rotterdam, The Netherlands Young Entrepreneurial approach and philosophy set out in their twitter bio @YoungSagamores “Connecting and inspiring young bright minds to empower entrepreneurship. Peer-to-peer inspiration works”
When thinking of the resent riots around the UK, mentoring and peer-to-peer inspiration in my mind will give our youth a future worth living for don’t you think?
Can’t Complain About The Service ………… There Ain’t None
On Monday 15th August 2011 my son & I went to the O2 Shop in Grafton Centre Cambridge with the intent of purchasing an iPhone 4. After looking at some alternative phones and speaking with the sale assistant we decided that we definitely wanted to go with the iPhone 4.
The sales assistant then said that we can get “signed up” and we progressed to the sales desk as a credit check was needed and I also wanted to keep my existing number. There are three choices a 8, 16 or 32GB and as a customer I was looking forward to that choice. However the sales assistant was to interested in making the sale to bother asking what I want and disappeared in the back coming out with a 16GB iPhone 4 eager to get the going. When I asked which phone he has he said 16GB to which I replied that I wanted the 32CB only to be told that there was no 32GB phones in store & needleless to say …………………………….
W
hat I find ironic is that in today’s modern technological ages the O2 sales assistant in Cambridge was unable to pick up a phone and talk to a sales assistant in the Huntington store which had a 32GB phone put the details he needed into the computer system at the Cambridge store and send me the 32GB phone to either my house or the Cambridge store through O2 internal mail where I could collect the phone at the Cambridge store when it gets there. Nor could the sales assistant take my contact details to contact me and let me know when a 32GB phone is in store. Instead the sales assistant tell me that I can come back after Wednesday as that is when the delivery currier will be bring in the stores new stock. When I asked what time Thursday would be a good time to come back as I assumed that the store employees will need time to book the new stock into the store the sales assistant told me that he is of on Thursday and won’t be in, an interesting comment I thought leaving the store.
Upon my return to the O2 Shop in Grafton Centre Cambridge on late Friday afternoon 19th August 2011 to collect what I thought would be my new 32GB iPhone 4, the same sales insistent informed me that the have not got 32GB phones in yet. Not wanting to make a third wasted trip I gave the sales assistant my name and contact phone number asking him to phone me when the phone is in.
It is now Saturday 27th August and still no call and no phone, this makes me wonder if the sales assistant placed the order. But all jokes aside, this makes me think of whether it’s worth shopping in shops or on the web and where pride in ones work, the extra mile and customer service has gone?
Content Tailored For Today’s Consumer
Having the right content in different communication mediums is becoming more important than ever as the use mobile and Smartphone technology becomes more commonly used. It is no longer just about offline and online content but also about fixed, nomadic and mobile content with near real time and real time updates of interactive content and augmented reality that users can interact with.
Therefore we recommend that appropriate could be developed that the reader/user will be able to access in a format that they prefer and at the same time find the content not only relevant and interesting but also entertaining and at the same time insuring that the content is Search Engine Friendly and easily sharable via social sharing applications. The aim with fixed and static content development like traditional print, enzymes, article marketing, eMail’s, newsletters etc. should be geared towards nomadic web portholes, with nomadic and mobile content developed to enable key influencers, decision makes and opinion leaders to utilise the content within a augmented environment of their own which results into third party endorsements that lead qualifying prospects to transact with you via your web checkout and at the same time keep those not yet ready to transact wit you within a “content incubator” for which you regulate the creation through key distribution portholes.
