Cat's Eye Marketing Blog

What Connects Us in Social Media: On Puppets, Davenports and Other Stuff

I had a strange memory return today.

On twitter (you know that micro-blogging thing where everyone talks at once?), a writer friend I follow, @copylicious, was having a bad day.

You see, the Bay Bridge from San Francisco to Oakland was closed. So she couldn't get home.

And the only word was that they would be sending "updates on when people might get the next update."

And, on top of it, it was her birthday!

And she had not one, but four writing deadlines staring her in the face.

So you see, she really was having a bad day, when she blurted (tweeted):

"Why don't they allow puppets in high-level meetings?"

Well, that started people talking.

"Yeah, why don't they allow puppets, anyway?" said @wildheartqueen.

"Did somebody say a meeting with puppets?" said @starshyne, "Sign me up!"

And so it started. Our puppet stories. Now, with twitter names like @copylicious, @wildheartqueen, @starshyne, and @CatsEyeWriter (that's me), you'd kind of expect it, right?

 

But wait. Why don't they allow puppets in high-level meetings?

My puppet story was begging to be told. So I told it. On twitter. The condensed story, that is.

Here's the slightly longer version:

Several years ago I was manager of writing resources for an international nonprofit that had 5,000+ life-saving relief and development projects in 126 countries around the world. Projects to bring clean water to villages. Health care. Agricultural tools. Schools and classrooms.

I worked from the headquarters in L.A.

It was a high-stress job. Tense deadlines. 14-hour days. I traveled to West Africa to film a documentary and got malaria. Survived 130-degree days and a sandstorm in a village chief's hut in the Sahara Desert.

When I returned, I was a changed person. And exhausted. And really needing a "normal" job again.

Of course, I was afraid to tell my boss, especially after having just returned from this month-long trip, which was my class in International Development 101.

Then I remembered. Bob and I had just been to a silly small-town carnival, where he won an adorable purple furry hand puppet for tossing a ring that landed on milk bottle lid. You know that carnival game. The one it's almost impossible to win? Oh, wait. Every game at a carnival is impossible to win.

We named him Pépe.

I didn't have the nerve to quit my job just like that. But I had a feeling I could get Pépe to do it for me.

We went to a restaurant by the Santa Anita racetrack called The Brown Derby. Just the three of us. Me, my boss Dori and Pépe, who I kept in my purse through lunch. After the meal, when the coffee had arrived, I pulled him out and he managed to say, in a high-pitched, squeaky voice, "I'm so sorry but I think it's time to leave this job."

Moment of silence. Okay, huge moment of silence.

Then Dori burst out laughing.

Pépe had broken the tension so we could have a conversation. I talked about how honored I was to have been selected from more than 200 applicants for the job. How much I had learned about myself and the world. How I would love to stay involved as a consultant (which ended up happening).

We connected, even though I had just quit my job.

 

How social media connects us

Yesterday on twitter, I found a way to connect. Over puppets. Again.

I found like-minded people who also loved puppets and weren't afraid to use them. Other weird people. Like me.

Plus, I recently connected with another twitter friend. The uber-talented and very cool @sparkyfirepants. He's a designer and illustrator who lives in the mountains of Oregon and raises alpacas.

I wrote an article for Biznik called FAQ Page Lessons from the Encyclopedia Man. It was all about overcoming objections in the Q & As on your website's FAQ page, so you can move prospects farther along the path to purchase.

@sparkyfirepants read the article and sent this message (publicly) to me on twitter:

@CatsEyeWriter: Enjoying your article. One of my favorite words is "davenport."

I had started my article with a scene from my childhood, where the door-to-door salesman was trying his best to sell my mom a new set of Encyclopedia Britannicas. I used the word "davenport" because that's what we called our couch.

I explained that to @sparkyfirepants (Don't you just love his name?).

He tweeted back:

@CatsEyeWriter: No, really, I love it. I have a story to tell you when we meet sometime. A funny davenport story.

 Another connection.

Now, mind you, I've known Sparky Firepants (real name, David Billings) for almost two years, but we've never met in person.

But I feel like I know him. We can talk about business, family and weird words like "davenport." How cool is that?

So much is written today about being authentic. Don't hide your uniqueness. Don't be afraid to show the real you.

But if the real you is someone who likes to make puppets talk, is that okay?

If you like to form bonds and connections with people by making them laugh, is that okay?

Once we started talking about puppets on Twitter, there was a separation. The people who definitely believe in puppets and story and magic. And the people who think it's a little weird.

We puppet people actually attracted each other.

What do you think? Do you attract people like you—on your blog, on Twitter, on LinkedIn? And if so, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

How has social media connected you with others? Do you sometimes connect over things that have nothing to do with business. 

Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

 

 

Who Are You, Anyway?: Showing Up Online

It's been a strange week. I'm in day 10 of the crappy upper respiratory stuff.

Type. Cough. Sniffle. Repeat.

I'm keeping my water glass to myself and trying not to breathe on Bob. In fact, it would be better if I just didn't breathe at all, his eyes are saying.

And why is everyone talking about website bios all of a sudden?

This week had a weird synchronicity to it. People have been talking about website bios and social media profiles. In phone calls. On Twitter. On forums. In emails.

Everywhere. 

For a minute, I thought they'd all gone crazy. Then I put it together.

It's what I've been working on all week for clients. Fun, memorable bios. About Us pages. Social media profiles.

Bios are on my brain. So of course I'm paying attention more.

You know, like when you buy a new car and all of a sudden you see all the other ones on the road just like it? They were always there, but you just noticed them.

Showing up online: part II

This past week, I had lots of smart questions from people struggling to create their bios, to boil down the essence of who they are in a short paragraph or two—in a way that is consistent and that attracts the people they want to work with.

Here are some starter tips:

1. Align your profile and website bio with your brand.

Your website gives people a good idea of who you are (or it should). But if the bio on your website, the one on your blog and the one on Facebook sound like you are talking about three different people, I'd say you have a problem. Unless you have multiple personality disorder. Then, of course, it would make perfect sense.

Connect your profile with your brand. If you are playful, and your website copy reflects that, so should your profile. Got a quirky sense of humor? Go with it. Someone tweeted a line from my website bio on Twitter yesterday: She said, "@CatsEyeWriter's website bio says she can juggle, has been to Timbuktu and can say, 'Four knives will be sufficient' in Swahili. I LOVE THIS!"

Everything I said was true. And, yes, a little quirky. Just like me.

Just be sure you show yourself in a real and consistent way—across all platforms.

2. Tell what you do best—and for whom.

When I am browsing through Twitter profiles and bios or visiting someone's About Us page on their website, I am attracted to the ones that deliver their messages with style and originality.

One of my Twitter friends, Havi Brooks, says it this way on her website's About Havi page: 

My duck and I (okay, the duck is a little weird and that could be a blog post all by itself) help bright, creative kooky people (who she does it for) destuckify their stuff so they can do their thing (what she does best).

She goes on to say:

So they can work through all the overwhelming, sometimes-terrifying goo that gets in the way of doing what they love and biggifying it like crazy.

When I read this, I know right away. Either I am her target market or I am not.

3. Leave the cardboard person at the doorstep.

I saw a small business networking site recently that warned its members to only enter "basic business information" into their profile. They said, "It's not about you personally. It's a business profile.

I couldn't disagree more, particularly if you are a small biz owner. People who are deciding whether to interact with you are looking for someone real.

Asking yourself a few of these questions will help you uncover—and show—the real, multi-dimensional you:

1. What three things do you believe most about people?

2. What is the one thing you've done in your life that you are most proud of?

3. What's the one thing you haven't done yet that you want to do before you die?

4. What three adjectives best describe you?

5. Which movie or TV character are you most like and why?

6. What's your favorite food or beverage?

7. Name the two things that bug you the most when they happen.

Use phrases from these answers to make a list. From that list, mix and match until you come up with the whole person that best describes you.

On Twitter, it's a challenge to do that in just 160 characters, but that's part of the fun. And it's the very process that gets you to the core of who you are.

My Twitter profile says:

Slightly neurotic copywriter. Loves strong verbs, creating unique online identities, oaky Merlot & John Cleese. Thinks the word cree-A-tive is overused.

4. Act online in ways that match your profile.

People are getting to know and, hopefully, trust you, so your online behavior and the copy in your bio should not clash. Who you are should not change. Whether you write an article for a social networking site like Biznik, create a new blog post or make a comment on Twitter, stay true to yourself.

5. Play with the content as you change and grow.

You aren't going to be the same person you are today. None of us are. Hey, next year you might climb Mt. Everest. Or write a book. Or become a goalie on a women's indoor soccer team (which one of my clients did) You might join the hole-in-one club. Or master conversational French.

Profiles are easy to edit. Be sure to do that regularly so when things change, your customers, prospects and colleagues can keep up with all the cool things you are doing.

What does your profile say about you?

You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll buy stuff.: 5 Strategies for 'emotion-based marketing'

There's a big fat war raging. We've always been told that people buy based on emotions, but need to justify their purchase with logic.

They satisfy the heart before the head kicks in to tell them they've made the right choice because…blah, blah blah (insert boring reasons here).

But, the thing is, two nights ago I was in a fun audience (how many educational events do you go to where you get to sit in the auditorium and sip on wine as the presenter goes through his PowerPoint show?).

Anyway, this semi-famous marketing expert from the cold white north (Canada) was talking about social media as a marketing tool for businesses when he turned around and said:

"Of course you would never use emotions in B2B (business-to-business) marketing."

Kind of caught me off guard.

 B2B, B2C, Aren't They All Just People?

We forget that business-to-business and business-to-consumer have something quite obvious in common.

Consumers are people who buy stuff.

Businesses are run by people who buy stuff.

So why treat B2B marketing any differently?

My 5 strategies for emotion-based marketing

Inside that business owner in the stuffy shirt is a real person. She laughs. She cries. She likes songs and movies because they make her feel. She has a heart and a head. And when her emotions are touched, she tends to remember the message more.

Here are some ways to reach her:

 1.    Tell her stories. 

You can do a lot with the right story, one that appeals to the senses, one that shows your personality and voice, and paints a picture.

 2.    Use analogies. 

People love an analogy because they "get it" right away. And because they are visual, analogies touch a deep, emotional part of the brain. We explained why we dumped our brand new business by comparing the needy "baby" to our jealous 16-year-old, Cat's Eye Marketing. Use this powerful tool when you can. 

3.    Make him laugh. 

John Cleese, one of my heroes, said it perfectly: "If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas." I'm not talking cruel or sarcastic humor here, or just telling jokes. I mean the kind of humor that makes us all see that we are a lot alike. The kind that brings us together.

4.    Scare her (in a nice way). 

Don't underestimate the fear factor. We all have fears of losing something or someone. Of not doing something right. Of losing our best clients. Of our business failing because we made the wrong decision, went with the wrong vendor, spent too much money on a solution that didn't work. Find a way to identify that fear, then walk your client to the solution which, of course, is your product or service.

5.    Satisfy other emotional 'cravings.' 

There are tons of these. It takes a little time and skill to hit on the one your customer may be feeling, but it's worth it. Put yourself in their shoes, find the right emotional craving, then satisfy it. 

What about you? Do you think emotions should be used in B2B marketing? Do you ever market to people's emotions? 

Get Off the Hamster Wheel: 5 Ways to Avoid Social Media Overload

We're maxed out—all of us. We were tired before social media came tripping into our lives.

And the worst part? The guilt. We are made to feel that we're not a serious business if we don't participate in the "community."

That we'll be missing the conversation if we don't hang out online.

Of course, you need to find time to actually run your business, too. Developing project bids, meeting with prospective clients, balancing the books, returning phone calls and emails.

Oh, and fit the family in there somewhere, would you? And sleep. Guess you'd better find time for that.

I subscribe to the blog of Chris Brogan, one of today's bright minds in social media. What completely blew me away last week was his post The Shape of My Game.

He walked his readers through a normal day, practically minute-by-minute. Now granted, this is not your typical small biz owner, but it struck me how much successful people have to do just to keep up the pace.

 5 Ways to Avoid Social Media Overload

 Whether you are just starting down the social media path or consider yourself a pro, it's easy to get sucked in and pretty soon you are letting the social web rule you instead of the other way around. Here are five tips for taming the SM beast:

1. Choose a couple of platforms and focus on them. You don't have to be everywhere. Besides, it's better to produce good stuff on two sites than scattered, unfocused messaging on six. It's ideal if one is your very own (your blog or your e-newsletter) and one is an external platform. I blog, write an e-letter and participate regularly on Twitter and Biznik. Two should work fine for you, though. Or even one.

2. Decide what your goal is and stay with it. This makes a huge difference. If you don't know where you want to go, you'll never get there. For my blog, my goal is to cross-promote my e-tips and increase the number of people who see me as an expert in my field. For Twitter, it's searching out opportunities to collaborate and cross-promote with other marketers.

3. Schedule your social media time like you do other things. If you are distracted by bright, shiny objects (like that "Mentions" column on Tweetdeck that tells you every time someone is talking about you!), turn off the noise. One of my friends turns Twitter on twice a day, for 10 minutes. That keeps her in touch, but not tied to it.

4. Save sacred time for the work your business needs you for. This is the tough one. Days can be fragmented with blogging, emails, and social networking sites. I've seen people have great success by blocking out two uninterrupted hours first thing each morning for the day's priority projects. It's especially important if you need to work up momentum and then have focused time to think through a project. The key here, of course, is to turn off the phones and those irritating email pings.

5. Give yourself some 'play time.' Reward yourself with short breaks, even a walk around the block. If you are a creative like me, play is essential to your self-nurturing—and your ability to produce new ideas. I keep my juggling balls handy. My watercolor set. My paddle ball (remember those board thingies with the rubber string and little red ball?). My kaleidoscope. 10 minutes with any of those and I'm good to go for another hour.

If you are feeling social media burnout (and we all do from time to time), try a couple of these ideas. And let me know if they help. 

Good Stuff You Might Have Missed: Friday Customer Relationship Gems

Sometimes, there is so much stuff out there that good things slip right by us.

I've been blogging once a week for almost two years now. I also write a weekly marketing e-tip. Content overlaps every once in a while, but not much.

What I believe

I believe in giving stuff away, lots of stuff. I believe that trust comes with generosity.

And I don't like hidden agendas.

They say:

"Subscribe to my cool, very helpful newsletter."

They mean: "I'm going to sell you as much stuff as I can in it."

They say: "Want short, useful tips you can read in 5 minutes or less?"

They mean: "If you are a speed reader, you can read my newsletter in 5 minutes. The tip is at the very end, after all the invitations to buy my e-books and attend my paid events."

Really, I don't like hidden agendas.

My Friday gift for you. Actually, 5 Friday gifts

Here . Some free stuff on customer relationship marketing. In case you can't afford those expensive CRM programs or that $200 dollar an hour-consultant.

Now these don't substitute for in-depth consulting, but they are things you can do—practical things—to improve your marketing and your relationship \with your prospect and customers, right now.

If you find this helpful, you can always sign up for my free (and "hype"-free) Marketing Hotspots, delivered to your in-box every Tuesday.

If you don't want to subscribe, that's cool, too. But accept these gifts anyway (if you'd like):

Multi-Sensory Marketing: A Tale of Three Little Customers- Did you know that your customers respond to your marketing and advertising messages based on how they best process information: visual, auditory or tactile? Find out how to use the right marketing strategy for each of these unique customer groups. 

5 Tips for Following Prospects and Customers without Being a Stalker- Ever been hit with the hard sell moments after exchanging business cards with someone? Eew! Learn how not to be that clueless person. How to keep in touch without being obnoxious.

Cookies, Milk and Scraped Knees: 6 Things Your Customers Wish You Knew- Find out what your customer is really feeling when they are reading your marketing copy. And how to recognize and address them.

Promises, Promises: 5 Ways to Build Customer Trust with E-Marketing- There's  a lot of slimy e-marketers out there. Here's how not to be one of them. How to build the customer trust that leads to sales.

5 Steps to Finding 'Warm' Prospects: Melting the Ice- Chipping ice off the windshield is hard. But of you take some time to warm the car up first…Well, you get the idea. How to warm up your cold prospects.

Okay, that's it. Hope these tips are useful. I write them with you in mind. Every week. Sign up here for a free subscription. But only if you want to. 

7 Warning Signs That Your Social Media 'Expert' Might Be A Fake

1.    Calls himself a social media expert.

Sometimes people who call themselves an expert are the very ones who turn out not to be one.

In the Internet Wild West, especially particularly in the new frontier of social media, "experts" are popping up like weeds in a vegetable garden, in places and situations where  they do more harm than good.

Now, if someone else calls him an expert, well, that’s' different. It means he is respected in his field and has a reputation for delivering results.

 

2.    Thinks social media is just about the tools.

If your '"expert" starts talking about blogs and Twitter and LinkedIn right away, without taking the time to understand what you need to happen in your business, what your goals are, and how social media might fit into the bigger picture, you just might have someone who doesn't know the difference between a tool and a strategy.

 

3.    Doesn't have a blog or a Twitter account or a Facebook presence.

The first thing you should do is ask for her blog address and her usernames for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media accounts. If she doesn't have any, or her last blog post was four months ago (and, yes, it happens), you should run as far away as possible.

 

4.    Does not talk about community conversations or relationship building.

If your "consultant" is focusing on broadcasting your message in a one-way fashion, or posting content with no way to engage readers in a discussion, or sending out sales pitches, if your question about community is met with a blank stare, then they don't really get social media.

Social media is not that much different from good, old-fashioned face-to-face marketing. It's about listening, responding, interacting. Having community conversations. And, yes, building relationships. These relationships can lead to huge successes, but they don't happen without the time and effort.

 

5.    Previous job was selling cars. Or insulation. Or shoes.

Social media can be learned, but the biggest way to do that is by jumping in and practicing, not by reading books or blog posts. If your expert was selling shoes last week, I'd say that's not a good sign.

Everyone has to start somewhere, but if they have not at least been playing in the social media sandbox themselves, how do they know what works and what doesn't?

 

6.    Will tell you how to get 10,000 followers+ on Twitter (because it's quantity, not quality, that's important). 

If your expert is obsessed with Twitter follower numbers and wants you to be, too, that's probably a red flag. Why do people think that they need a huge number of followers to be successful on Twitter? Is it power? Authority? Celebrity ego? Book sales?

A huge number of people following you is not a bad thing, as long as they are the right followers. And that is determined, I think, by your goal, your reason for being on Twitter in the first place.

It's about who you want to be talking with and why.

 

7.    Tells you it's the 'free' way to sell a lot of stuff.

(See Warning Sign #4.)

Calling social media "free" is like calling networking lunches or Rotary Club meetings free. If you understand that it's about building community and not bombarding people with hypey sales pitches, you know that it's an investment of time—sometimes considerable time. And we all know that time is money.

 

How do you define a social media expert?

How to Find Spectacular Free and Low-Cost Images for Your Blog Posts

I've had several questions about how I find my blog post images since my post last week, 5 Ways the Right Photo Can Get You More Blog Readers.

Okay, here it is. 

My Cliff Notes version of sources for intriguing, low-cost photos. Most I have tried at least once and some I go back to over and over again.

Keep in mind that there are tons of other ones out there. If you want to explore some more, just do a google search.

Two more things. When an image is offered royalty-free, that means you pay for the image once and can use it as many times as you like.

Also, some of these companies offer several different versions of the same image, based on lowest to highest resolution. For blog posts, you just need the lowest res one, which, happily, is always the lowest cost.

Visit these sites for lots of great blog photo choices

iStockphoto

This is my favorite. Most of the images in my blog posts come from IStockphoto.

The upside: Wide selection (more than 5 million images); outstanding quality. Royalty-free. iStockphotos is especially good if you are looking for animal images, which I use a lot. All you need to provide at signup is name and email address.

The downside: You do need to pay a nominal fee for usage, usually no more than one or two dollars 

How to get started: I usually buy a number of credits, which become my "bank." I buy my imaged with my credits and restock my credit bank when it runs low. Sign up here. 

Dreamstime

Also have used this one. Quality comparable to iStockphoto. Some free. Most for a fee.

The upside: More than 6 million images by 73,000 photographers. Royalty-free. A limited number of free images.

The downside: Can browse through free images, but it's time-consuming. Most of the better quality photos have a usage charge and, still, ae not quite the quality of iStock. They also requitre more personal information during account set-up.

How to get started: Register for an account here. 

FlickrCreativeCommons

Don't use this one quite as frequently, but occasionally find a photo that is perfect for a specific need.

The upside: Most images are free. Has a good selection of landscape/vegetation photos. Attribution licensing category gives you the royalty-free right to copy, distribute and display the copyrighted photos—as long as you give the photographer credit.

The downside: Consumes gobs of time because you have to wade through tons of images, some of dubious quality, to find what you need. Sometimes the credit and link back to the photographer can spoil the aesthetic beauty of a photo.

How to get started: Sign up here.

 

Stock.xchng

Haven't used this one, but a colleague, Christa Dunk, recommended it and said she loves it.

The upside: Large variety of no-cost, royalty-free images. 350,000 photos by more than 30,000 photographers.

The downside: Like FlickrCreativeCommons, it takes time to browse, sort and find. Need to provide lots of personal information to sign up. Be sure to read the fine print under Terms of Use.

How to get started: Register for an account.

Hope this helps. Do you have sources for good blog post images? If you do, would love if you add to the collective wisdom here.

Oh, yes. And I got the photo for this post from iStockphoto. 

How Not To Be A Jerk Online: The Mr. Rogers 5-Step Guide to Social Media Etiquette

I didn't grow up with Mr. Rogers, but my daughter did, and, man, did he did know about people and relationships and, well, etiquette.

"Etiquette? What's that?" you say.

I've been thinking about etiquette lately. You know, that word that describes treating someone with respect, integrity, sensitivity. With empathy?

Anita Campbell, the highly respected Editor-in-Chief of Small Business Trends, sent me a direct message through Twitter a couple of days ago. She said that my tip made it into her publication, 137 Twitter Tips: How Small Businessess Get the Most From Twitter. Click here to upload the tips. (Thanks, Anita!)

Twitter, of course, being the red hot micro-blogging platform that is seeing phenomenal growth right now. The publication organized tips from readers who shared their best advice for how we can use Twitter to grow our businesses. My tip was in the category of Observing Etiquette.

Why we need a social media etiquette book

Mr. Rogers taught us this stuff ages ago. We go to Chamber of Commerce mixers and business meetings and lunches and dinners all the time. It is clear that we haven't forgotten it.

Why do we throw the rule book out the window when we are online? Is there not still a real person behind that profile photo?

Some people become someone else when they are on the other side of the brick—I mean monitor—wall. It's way easier to say things. To interrupt other people. To be rude. We do things we wouldn't think of doing when we are sitting in a restaurant staring someone in the eye over a bowl of minestrone soup.

Mr. Rogers was right

I looked at the tips in Anita's Twitter tips book and thought, well, yeah, Mr. Rogers taught us these things, in what he said and how he acted:

1. Include others in your play circle. One reader's Twitter tip was about remembering that your tweets are seen by everyone. She suggested that it is not polite to answer someone else's tweet without letting your other followers know at least the topic. It's the equivalent of a kid leaning in another kid's ear and whispering a secret. We feel left out!

2. Don't just talk; listen, too. Mr. Rogers was a master at modeling this. One reader's tip: Remember that Twitter is used by people so real conversations should exist. That means not just talking, but pausing to listen to someone else. Great advice.

3. Be helpful. Mr. Rogers showed us how to do this, too. Holding the door, picking up something someone dropped, educating us. Another reader's Twitter tip: Sharing expertise, sharing tips, answering questions to help others is a great use for Twitter. Sounds like a day in the neighborhood.

4. Remember to say 'thank you.' Remember a meal with Mr. Rogers? Or a character who did him a favor? There was always a thank-you. Another Twitter tip: If you see something you think is valuable, RT it. The retweet, or the RT, is just another way to thank someone you are following for a tweet that was helpful. It's your way of saying "thank you" by giving their tweet more visibility.

5. Respect friends who may be different from you. We may be different from each other, but we are all special, right? And we all need respect. Learned it from our friend, Mr. Rogers. Last Twitter tip (actually this one was mine): Please, please, please stay away from controversial issues that will divide the community. Mr. Rogers knew that it's okay for us to feel the way we do and that we don't all have to be exactly like each other. For me, that means not sharing opinions on Twitter that others might have strong opposing feelings about, like political or religious views.

Okay, in the middle of this post, I realized that the Mr. Rogers Guide to Social Media Etiquette has way more rules than I could ever list in one post. So I'll just ask you. If you are on Twitter, have you encountered any these rules of etiquette? Do you have more Mr. Rogers-isms to add?