Platform: Get Noticed In a Noisy World – Part 3

Categories: Business, Reading Together, Social Media

HomeBase The truth is, is that business cards are almost dead.  I said it (like it hasn’t been said before).  How many of you reading this called your vendor yesterday by opening up your binder of business cards or flipping through the Rolodex?  Chances are that many of you may not even know what a Rolodex is or how to even really organize business cards.  For me, business cards simple make great cell phone pictures.  Someone hands me a business card, I take a pic of it with my phone, save it to Evernote, and then 9 out of 10 times I simple discard it.  I don’t hand out business cards.  If I want to share a service or vendor that I like with others then I email them a link.  The link could be to a Facebook page, website, business directory, blog, or whatever.  The fact is, is that I send them to some electronic presence of that business on the web and I would wager that the majority of your clients and potential clients are doing the same.

Many will say that they still believe word of mouth marketing is the best way to market.  I would completely agree with that.  However word of mouth has changed in the last decade or two.  Now word of mouth is really word by email or word of Facebook status updates. People are sharing your services online and you need to control what they are sharing.  Do you have an online presence that is easy to share, that is inviting, and that is educating your client?  Or do you allow people to search for you on Manta, and share that link?

“You can’t just hand a website in cyberspace and expect its mere presence to create a following” – Hyatt, p72

To build a strong foundation you have to begin with the “social media framework”.  Michael Hyatt describes the framework as having 3 key components:

  • Your Home base – digital property that you own (Website, blog, etc)
  • Embassies – places you don’t own, but are registred on and allowed to post to (Facebook, Twitter)
  • Outposts – places that you don’t own or have a regular presence on.  You just use to listen to talk about your brand
Nail down those three components, and you will be well on your way to a solid platform. For Chiseled Images here is what my framework looks like:
  • Home base – www.chiseledimages.com , here I have my site, my blog, and the ability to order services
  • Embassies – Facebook Page, Google +, Twitter, I’m also on forums like PhotoTalkForum.
  • Outposts- Obviously I don’t control the outposts, but I use Hootsuite, NeedTrigger, and other services to listen for talk about my products and brand online.

Takeaways from Part 3

  • Establish your Social Media Framework
  • Blog or somehow keep fresh content going.  If you stop, start again., and again, and again.
  • Use the tips in Chapters 20-24 to keep your blog productive while not getting overwhelmed.
  • Write the content yourself.  I think it’s fine to have someone polish your content and posts.  But the initial ideas and outline need to come from your heart and mind.
  • Create special About and Landing pages for people coming from different sources
  • For now FORGET ABOUT METRICS.  Stop going to Google Analytics everyday, when your site has only been online for a week.

Resources

Launch a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog in 20 Minutes or Less

Homework

  • Read Chapters 33-41 (we’re splitting Part 4 in half, and it’s due on FRIDAY.. you’re welcome)
  • How can you educate your “tribe”?
  • START WRITING CONTENT! If you had a blog and stopped, start again.  No apologies to your readers, just start!

Tags: , , , , ,