Imagine Your Reality

I needed to redo the last two episodes of social media coach because of poor sound quality. They’ve now been redone and you can hear them this time..

Social Influence and Customer Service

Social Media Policies

The latest episode of Social Media coach focuses on Social Media Policies. Next week’s show will focus on desktops and laptops vs mobile for social media.

Also this coming Wednesday I’ll be interviewing Jerry Fletcher, the Networking Ninja, for the Imagine Your Reality Radio show.

Finally Bret Berthoft, has recently started his own podcast called The Face of Media. Check it out and give it a listen!

The Latest Episode of Social Media Coach Radio is up! In this show I discuss social influence and who has it and who doesn’t as well as how it can be used.

Next week’s topic will be about the do’s and don’ts of developing social media policies.

Also be on the lookout for more interviews from Imagine Your Reality Radio. I’ve got a two shows scheduled, with two more in the wings!

Listen to my interview with Pippa Arend of Pear and learn more about Pear and how you can help.

Listen to my latest social media coach show, where I try to define authenticity and examine how genuine relationships are formed via social media

Book Review: Go for No: Yes is the Destination, No is how you get there by Richard Fenton & Andrea Waltz

Using a narrative story, the authors tell a story of how a salesman learns the value of going for no. I was very impressed by this book and it helped me rethink how I think about the word no, in relationship to my business. I’ve already started to appreciate no more and plan for it, realizing as I do that no can actually inspire me to become better at my business Go for no offers a simple well-written message, which speaks to the heart of sales and shows you how to take your sales to the next level and use NO to get to Success!

Upcoming classes

Social Media Webinar: Successful Social Media Behavior

Social Media isn’t just technology. Social Media is a medium of communication and conversation. But many people who us it don’t understand how to excel at social media. In this webinar I’ll discuss social media behavior and how to be successful, as well as what not to do.

• The value of following-up in social media
• How not to be a spammer, and how to recognize someone who is.
• What successful social media behavior is and how to start doing it consistently
• When: Feb 24, 2pm to 3pm PST, 5pm to 6pm EST, From the comfort of your office or home

Cost: $45. To register, click the paypal button

Social Media Webinar: Blogs and Social Bookmarking?

Have you started a blog, but not known what to do with it, or how often you should write a blog? Have you heard of social bookmarking and wanted to know what it is and how it relates to blogs and websites? Blogs don’t have to be complicated. You can learn how to use them to create a credible resource and also drive traffic to your website.

• Learn what blogging is, what good blogging platforms are, and how often to blog.
• Discover how social bookmarking can help you improve your search engine optimization for your website and blog
• Come away with an understanding of good blogging behaviors that will get you subscribers and visitors to your site.
• When: March 3rd, 2pm to 3pm PST, 5pm to 6pm EST, From the comfort of your office or home

Cost: $45. To register, click the paypal button

Something I don’t see often enough is businesses posting about the clients they serve. And I’m not advocating posting bad things or complaints, but rather posting about working with the client, or talking about something the client has done. In other words promoting your client on the social media web.

Why should we do this? It’s a way of showing the client appreciation for working with you, and it also shows that you get the client and agree with the mission the client is on. When it comes down to it, it’s a great opportunity to give back to the client and shows that business just how much you value it.

One of the things I like to do with new clients is interview them on my radio show. It gives me an opportunity to learn more about them, while also promoting them to my listeners, and best of all the client gets to be enthusiastic about what they love to, while getting interviewed by someone who is just as interested in their success as they are.

When we promote clients, we show them support. We also show that we don’t just seem them as numbers or money to be made, but as real people, and ones we have a relationship with. We get invested in their success and at the same time we stay more visible in a positive way to those clients. And let’s face it: Who doesn’t love being interviewed about something that’s important to them? So if you work with a client, post a status update about them on your social networks…tell people what they do and show your client you care about their success. The social capital you get will definitely be more valuable than the amount of income you get.

What do you think?

In the latest episode of Social Media Coach radio, I discuss what an online community is and how to support it. Next week’s show is about spammers and how they affect online communities.

Book Review: Who’s got your back by Keith Ferrazzi

Once again Keith Ferrazzi reveals the value and importance of cultivating genuine relationships in order to realize success at your business and life. I read this book during a difficult period of my life and the insights and wisdom that the author provided, especially on being vulnerable helped me reach out to my network during my time of need with a clarity and honesty that showed me just how much I am valued by that community, and made me want to give back even more. That’s the real gift of Mr. Ferrazzi’s work: He shows you the value of helping others and being generous. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to cultivate better relationships.

5 out of 5

Upcoming social media webinars are coming up on Twitter, Biznik, Internet radio and much more. To learn more, click on the link.

I run two radio shows (though I’ve taken a little break lately due to life circumstances). Both of these radio shows are online radio shows. Each show is somewhat different from the other show in terms of its focus and potential audience. Social Media Coach focuses on discussing on-going social media trends, social media behaviors, and other relevant topics. It could appeal to businesses, but will also appeal to people in the social media industry. Imagine Your Reality Radio is a show where I interview other businesses about what they do and how they reach out to their clientele. Its audience is primarily other businesses and/or clients of the people I interviewed.

With each radio show, I had to be very clear about who the ideal audience was as well as what I hope such an audience would get from either show. And I also need to be clear on what I hope I will get from doing such shows, since there’ a fair amount of time and effort that goes into putting the show together and then actually doing it.

Many businesses haven’t really adopted internet radio. I think its because they aren’t sure if its really useful, but I’d argue it actually is very useful in terms of raising awareness about the business and key people in the industry the business is in. In fact, done right, internet radio can be used by some businesses to really help their clients out and in the process ensure client loyalty. Afterall who doesn’t want to be interviewed? A business that interviews its clients can leverage that interview for social capital with the client as well as showing potential clients how the business looks out for the people who do business with it.

The reason Radio and other mediums aren’t focused on as much when it comes to audience boils down to the fact that many businesses aren’t fully utilizing the available technology for its optimum value. But if businesses can determine who might listen to a radio show (which with ipods and other tech is pretty much any and everyone) then they can create specific shows that allow them to provide information, interview, and otherwise develop themselves as resources and experts for the audience who listens to the show.

Why do businesses fail at social media? One of the reasons is because businesses aren’t using social media sites effectively. They under use the features that could allow them to network, market, and promote themselves more effectively.

To learn more about this subject, listen to my latest social media coach show.

Social media policy for business radio episode

Interview with Linda Cahan about visual merchandising

Book Reviews

Write the Perfect Book Proposal by Jeff Harman and Deborah Levine Herman

If you are writing a book and want to publish it you will need to write a book proposal at some point. This book explains how to write a book proposal that catches the interest of the agent or editor that you send the book proposal to. The authors methodically break down and explain each segment of the book proposal as well as what you need to do to write each section up successfully. They also provide 10 examples of successful book proposals and what made those proposals work. The authors provide commentary on each proposal. You will definitely find the book useful for understanding  how a book proposal should be written and what makes one successful.

5 out of 5

Growing your Business by Mark LeBlanc

This short book provides concise and clear advice on how to grow your business, with useful exercises that will help you find clarity on the business process. The Early morning and evening question especially is useful for helping a business owner get oriented on what needs to be done to make a day successful. I will note that the book, due to the shortness of its length, doesn’t touch on all aspects of a business or what a business owner might need to do with those aspects, but what makes this book so useful is it provides the necessary clarity combined with exercises that are easy to implement, making it a must read book for growing your business.

4.5 out of 5

My social media predictions for 2010. Listen to the radio show to learn more about my predictions for the upcoming year, when it comes to social media.