SOCIAL MEDIA FOR B2B IS POWERFUL

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The number one question I get asked is, “Does social media work for businesses selling to other businesses?

I have been a business owner for 40 years.  I with my brother, Martin, have operated a retail clothing store, a furniture store, a rent-to-own business, an outsourcing company, & a collection agency.  The one thing they all have in common is we spent a fortune on sales & marketing…TV, radio, newspaper, trade shows…big budgets. 

A few months ago, Phyllis Neill & I started WeMentor Social Media Marketing to help companies develop social media strategies.   Our business has taken off & we have spent virtually nothing promoting ourselves.

We’ve done it with social media, which shouldn’t be a surprise…since that is what we do. 

I’m going to share some numbers with you.  I have mixed emotions, since it might appear I’m bragging.  However, I don’t know how else to prove my point.

I personally have 900 direct connections & 150,000 second line connections on LinkedIn; 600 Facebook friends; & 300 Twitter followers; Phyllis has 500 direct connections & 50,000 second line connections on LinkedIn;  almost 500 Facebook friends, & close to 600 Twitter followers.

WeMentor has over 300 Facebook friends & we have close to 500 subscribers to our e-mail newsletter.  My whOOyouknow.com weekly podcast has attracted over 1,500 unique visitors, & our WeMentor Web Site, which includes Phyllis’ Birmingham Social Media Blog, attracts about 5,000 visitors a month.

Before social media, we never could have gotten a business off the ground so fast & with such a small budget.

Have you ever wished you could be the first to the market with an opportunity to overwhelm your competitors?  Well, social media gives you that chance.  Now you can “own your space” on the Internet.

This is David Sher, your WeMentor Guy saying it’s not what you know, but whOO you know.

TREAT EVERYONE AS IF IT’S THE LAST TIME YOU’ll SEE THEM

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My Aunt Laney Royal taught me something that changed my life.  Okay, so she wasn’t my aunt–she was my Mom’s first cousin & her best friend.  Here was her advice, “Treat everyone as if this will be the last time you will see them.  I think about her words often and try to live by them. 

A number of years ago I went to a conference that was highly attended by care givers.  I had an opportunity to talk with a hospice nurse.  I told her I thought she had the most challenging job in the world since she had to deal with people who were dying.  She said her job, in deed, was difficult, but not because of the relationship with her patients, but because of the patient’s family.  She said much of the time, the family members were plagued by guilt for how they treated their late husband, wife, child, or parent.  It was her job to make them feel better.

On the date of my grandmother’s funeral, I asked my Mom if it would be okay for me to go for my daily jog.  She gave permission by saying, “It’s not important how you treat someone when they are dead…its important how you treat them when they are alive.”  Obviously, Aunt Laney’s wisdom rubbed off on her.

I know this seems like a strange topic for a podcast on how to build your social and business network.  But it really isn’t.  We sometimes think of our life as achieving goals, meeting the right people, getting where we want to go…forgetting people we touch are real people with real problems. 

If we are truly interested in others & try to help them, these relationships will send us in the right direction.

Maya Angelou summed it up best when she said, ”I’ve learned that people forget what you said; people forget what you do; but people always remember how you treat them.” 

This is David Sher your WeMentor Guy saying it’s not what you know, but whOO you know.

OH NO! THEY’RE NOT FOLLOWING ME ON TWITTER OR FACEBOOK

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I always make a point to thank friends when they do a favor for me.  It takes a few extra seconds, but my mother taught me the importance of a heartfelt “thank you” & I feel guilty if I don’t.

So when a friend of mine tweeted a link to one of my podcasts, I sent her a direct message to thank her.  Wow, I was surprised to discover she wasn’t following me so the direct message bounced back.  For a moment I got my feelings hurt.  But then after a moment of reflection, I determined that wasn’t fair to her or to me.  Did this mean she didn’t like me?  That doesn’t make sense.  She was kind & supportive enough to recommend others listen to my podcast.

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HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND NOT INFLUENCE PEOPLE

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It happened to me yesterday.  It happened to me last week.  In fact, it happens all the time.

I get an e-mail from someone that says, “Call me.”  Now what is that all about?  Basically what they are saying is my time is more important than your time, so I’ll make you go through the effort of trying to reach me rather than me go through the effort of trying to reach you.

My father had a good friend, Harold Shevin.  He owned Standard Furniture & he was probably the best business person I ever me.  Up until his death a number of years ago, if I had a business question or problem he was the man I would call on.

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IF YOU WANT TO BE FOUND–TRY LINKEDIN

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I received the e-mail while I was attending the National Speakers Association meeting in Phoenix & I had to rub my eyes to believe it.  I have a very dear friend who is a retired doctor.  One day she told me she wanted to go back to work part time, but wasn’t about ready to go out & look for a job.  She said, “I’m a highly qualified professional.  I’ve never prepared a resume in my life and I’m not going to go out & beg for employment.” I convinced her to set up a profile on LinkedIn and add some connections, but told her she needed to make some kind of effort. (more…)

LINKEDIN–HIDE YOUR CONNECTIONS OR NOT?

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I received a call on my voice mail from the marketing director of a large professional firm where I had trained their managers on LinkedIn.

She said the firm is making serious progress on developing their LinkedIn program, but one of the partners was recommending everyone in the firm be required to hide their connections.  She wanted to know what I thought before they made their decision. (more…)

DON’T BE SHY

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I have to admit my first instinct was to go hide in a corner where no one could see me. The social media club meeting had just ended and I was looking for some help with a computer problem.

I looked around the room to see if there was anyone who could answer my question. I spotted a friend who knows about technology and so I asked him what to do.

Unfortunately he had no idea how to fix my problem.  So what did he do? He turned around and shouted out a description of my problem to everyone in the room. The room went quiet for a second, and then someone came over and made some very good suggestions. (more…)

SOCIAL MEDIA MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD

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The How of Happiness, a book written by Sonja Lyubomirsky, has changed my life.

Sonja is a scientist and she’s studied & measured all the things that make people happy.   She says most people mistakenly think that wealth, beauty, & fame are the keys to happiness.  But she says it’s actually the little things we do every day that make the difference.

She’s identified twelve techniques that increase happiness & asks her readers to select two or three they think might work for them.

One of the techniques I chose is to practice acts of kindness—doing good things for others whether friends or strangers– & social media gives me those opportunities.

My friends know I have lots of connections and I receive requests regularly to help people find jobs, connect with potential clients, or to network with others to help them in their career or social life. 

I get a great deal of satisfaction & happiness from these little acts of kindness.

Here’s a hand written note I recently received. 

“Thank you so much for your help in my efforts to obtain a position at blank company.  It is so incredible to have friends like you at this difficult time in my life.  This type of friendship is what will help me make it to better days.  Thank you so much.”

People often jump on social media with a selfish plan to help themselves, but to be successful; your plan should be to help others.  You will feel better about yourself, gain pleasure, and your success will come.  This is David Sher, your WeMentor guy, saying it’s not what you know, but whOO you know.

FACEBOOK–SAVE BIG BUCKS

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My business partner, Phyllis Neill, at WeMentor Social Media Marketing & I were off to visit with John Montgomery at Big Communications.  John & I have become good friends through his community volunteerism.

John is a great advertising guy & I wanted Phyllis to meet him.  I had never been to John’s office, so I was startled but not surprised to see a big mannequin of the old Shoney’s Restaurant Big Boy at the front entrance.  Big Boy…Big Communications…I got it.

We sat down with John & he told us about his varied clientele ranging from Ringling Brothers & Disney on Ice to our Convention & Visitors Bureau & the Birmingham Airport. 

But as might be expected, the conversation quickly transitioned to social media.  John said he was an early adopter of Facebook, but then he made a comment I never expected.

He said he has saved Big Communications a fortune since he’s gotten active on Facebook.  He said, “Us advertising people, we feel it’s important to be out & about…to see & be seen.  I was always attending receptions & dinners; taking people to lunch; entertaining; going a mile a minute.

Then my life circumstances changed.  I became a new dad & my home responsibilities increased.  I couldn’t be out of the house every night.  So I started spending my time on Facebook.

I found I could sit on my couch & keep up with my friends, see what was going on, and expand my Rolodex.  Then I noticed an interesting thing.  I found I was being more effective at work & saving thousands of dollars.”

John opened my eyes to some Facebook strengths I’d never thought about.  But who am I to argue with a better home life, stronger business connections, & saving money?

This is David Sher your WeMentor Guy saying it’s not what you know, but whOO you know.

AVOID SOCIAL MEDIA AT YOUR OWN RISK

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My wife & I recently went to see Buddy—The Buddy Holly Story & had the best time.  Buddy is in his early twenties & has the good fortune to sign a recording contract with Decca Records.  However, Decca wanted him to sing gospel & Buddy wanted to sing rock & roll.  The issue was adults were afraid of rock & roll.  They didn’t understand it & thought it would ruin their children.

So Buddy quit Decca & shortly thereafter signed with a record company that would allow him sing rock & roll.  Between August ‘57 & August ‘58, Holly charted seven Top Forty Singles & became a rock & roll legend.

This is exactly what is going on with social media.  I got a call from the head administrator of an economic development agency in North Alabama.  She said the Mayor received a complaint that an employee was caught on Facebook when she should have been working.  So the Mayor banned all social media from the work place.

Actually, I understand the Mayor’s concerns.  But the same thing could & probably was said about the telephone.  We all see people waste time on phone calls at work every day.  Would any of you think it would be a good idea yank out all the phones?  It’s pretty clear no business could operate without them.

My niece, Amanda, who is a senior at the University of Georgia, asked me for help with social media.  She is in the final few months of school & is looking for a job in a bad economy.  On several interviews, she was asked about her knowledge of social media. Amanda is bright, smart, & aggressive.  She will do fine, but Georgia has put her at a terrible disadvantage not offering social media in their marketing program.

Facebook is growing at 5 million members a week; LinkedIn at 1 million new members every twelve days.  You can think social media is going away, but you do so at your own risk.  This is David Sher your WeMentor Guy saying it’s not what you know, but whoo you know.