Social media marketing miracle!

Balderdash. If social media marketing works for you, great. Show me the money! Thus far, nobody has. That’s why I chuckled a bit this morning when the Industry Standard Weekly Edition newsletter arrived.

Lately it seems I can’t go anywhere without running into a gaggle of social media consultants bloviating about the wonders of social network marketing. Sure, you’ve seen ‘em, too. Slick shake-and-bake “experts” promising to help you leverage the power of Twitter and Facebook to raise your profile and, inexplicably, boost your profits. But scratch the surface on most of these claims and they instantly crumble. Meanwhile, it seems the only people making any money in social media are the consultants themselves.

Beware of anti-marketing!

I was facilitating a discussion with a group of small business owners this morning when a new word popped into my head — “anti-marketing”. Sounds dangerous, but what is it?

I had encouraged everyone to think about marketing as a conversation, in fact, every conversation they have with customers, prospects, employees, colleagues… even friends and family. They were all familiar with the concept of the “30 second elevator pitch” and the USP (unique selling proposition), so I asked them to think about the value of personal storytelling as a marketing tool.

If marketing is every positive conversation we have and storytelling is a great way to connect with customers and generate positive word-of-mouth, anti-marketing would be every negative conversation we have or story we tell. Let’s face it. Who wants to do business with someone who is negative? Do you?

To combat anti-marketing, just be aware of the conversations you have and the stories you tell. If you’re tempted to go negative, bite your lip! Let the other person do the talking for awhile, or find a way to change the subject.

Keep your personal brand positive and you can expect a lot more referrals and a lot better word-of-mouth.

The Conversation Prism

The Conversation Prism

Originally uploaded by b_d_solis

And here’s what Web 2.0 looks like if you’re not one of the world’s largest, most recognized names in corporate consultancy.

See what Brian Solis has to say about his conversation prism.

What’s your story?

Personal stories can be a powerful way to communicate intangible value.

Back in high school, my sister used to tease me for having “study parties” to prepare for AP physics exams. She called me a nerd, and maybe I was, but I also knew that without those “study parties” I would be lost. I knew that I could handle the concepts of physics, but that I was awful at the math. By meeting with my classmates, I could explain the theory, and they could explain the calculations. It was all about give and take. I’ve understood the value of peer groups for a long time, so I am really passionate about building the community at ExpertCEO, an online network for senior executives and the community that inspired this blog.
– Nathalee Ghafouri, Marketing Manager, ExpertCEO

When I was involved with Vistage as a CEO group chair, I talked to potential candidates about the benefits of joining a peer group. I could have used a similar story about my days in engineering school, but didn’t think of it. Shame on me, because it clearly demonstrates the value of a peer group without sounding like a sales pitch.

Take a minute and think about the stories in your life that could help someone understand the value of what you do. They can be very powerful, and they are free.

Who has time for social media?

I was scanning LinkedIN Answers the other day and noticed one too many gratuitous questions (like, “What’s your favorite color?”) and answers (like, “aquamarine”). Often, the answers were coming from the people who are listed as This Week’s Top Experts.

LinkedIN is a networking site for “professionals.” You’d think that professionals would want to put their best foot forward, make a good impression, start new relationships, enhance old ones.

I could understand making the effort to build one’s personal brand by helping some people out, making a good impression. I couldn’t understand what positive ROI would come from being silly in a networking context. And where do professionals get the time? So I asked a question: What do you think about people who have nothing to do but answer LinkedIN questions?

Some of the answers were interesting, especially one…