What’s in your head?

Whatever it is, wouldn’t it be better if it were shared? In talking with entrepreneurs looking to leverage the Internet more effectively I often recommend they start a blog, especially if their business is dependent on their expertise. Why?

Blogging is about building authority and fans

When someone is blogging, it’s usually with the intent of building their authority in a marketplace. As that authority begins to develop, or continues to grow, people seek out that person or company.

If you’re in business, you likely know a lot about what you do. You also know a lot about your industry and what others don’t know. Given this expertise, you do educate people, but only when you’re on the phone, or in a meeting. How much more productive would it be if you were educating your client base with one hit?

But I don’t like to write

That’s okay. Writing isn’t about sitting down and writing, like what you had to do in college. Most people, unless they were going to school for journalism or literature, don’t particularly like to write…unless they can rework their thought process about writing.

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Write to entertain

One of the activities I love fulfilling for clients is ghost writing.  On a monthly basis I write between 5-15+ newsletters and/or blog posts for clients.  The reason I love this activity is not only because I am good at it (hence why I’m paid for it), but really because it gets a response.

One client wrote to me, “You make me look really good!”  This was right after I wrote a newsletter for this client drawing correlations between the movie “Groundhog’s Day” and a job seeker.  This particular newsletter solicited a great response, and one recipient forwarded it to most of their company.

So what’s the trick?  True, I spent 3 years as an English major at the University of Michigan, so I have a natural tilt toward writing.  However, anyone who wants to take a little time can do this same thing.  Here’s my secret:  entertain your audience.

When you write any social marketing piece (meaning it is not direct marketing, but through a social platform such as a newsletter, blog, Facebook, etc), if you entertain your audience, they’ll respond.  However, a 300 word article that is just a stand-up script is worthless.  Rather, combine a critical message in a way that is fun to read, yet drives home your point.

Here’s an example.  Last week I wrote a newsletter article for a client where I looked at the number of movie remakes this year, and suggested job seekers (my client is a recruiter) do a “career remake”, and gave several steps on how to do it.

You don’t have to have to say a lot to have an impact.  Rather, saying a little, on a regular basis, will keep your audience engaged, and coming back for more.

Social Networking…Optimized

I have focused a lot on leveraging Social Networking and Social Media for pushing your business forward.  As I have, a lot of focus has been on the need for doing it, which is also getting a lot of attention.  But what I’ve only seen recently is the need to do it well, and to optimize your interactions in Social Networking.

The first thing to keep in mind is that things posted to a social networking site is still being posted to a webpage.  With that being said, it’s not the “build it and they will come” model.  Unfortunately a lot of people approach it that way.  Yes, you’ll get some people to come if you just build it.  However, they aren’t necessarily the people you want to have.  Rather, just like your website, you want to the right people to come to you.  How do you make that happen? (more…)