Event Launch Strategies

Of all that I have learned from Simon over the past 4 months, this one is the heart and soul of it. Building trust and relationship.

"It is a false assumption that populated lists mean popularity. " I started out in Social Media in January, trying to master it and thinking that populating my list was the way to do that. Wrong! It is all about relationship.

I believe what you promote about taking responsibility and adding value to every conversation in which we participate, is something we practice and appreciate in our experiences off-line. But there too are those who are always promoting themselves and lacking sensitivity to the community/tribe as a whole.
Next time one jibes in I will strongly urge them to check out the link to TheRealTechGuy and get on board with today's social networking etiquette.

I believe what you promote about taking responsibility and adding value to every conversation in which we participate, is something we practice and appreciate in our experiences off-line. But there too are those who are always promoting themselves and lacking sensitivity to the community/tribe as a whole.
Next time one jibes in I will strongly urge them to check out the link to TheRealTechGuy and get on board with today's social networking etiquette.

Simon, in the art field, I know of collectors who won't "collect' a piece until they've gotten to know the artist. They want to understand more about the maker and how he thinks. All this flows right into your talk of "conversation" and building relationships on the internet.

I believe people contact you, not a business. If someone likes your personality and what you say you have held their interest. One that goes off and finds you tedious is better to of lost.
I now do not even promote, I just get to know others, it really is a relationship now and people like talking and sharing its human nature. I have never agreed with hype and bulshy approaches, this embraces my true spirit of how i am.

This comes down to the basic question of what constitutes networking? The answer you have been expousing is quality versus quantity.

One area that needs to be discussed is the time factor. Building a relationship does not happen overnight. Even with a good referral from a highly trusted source, the resulting relationship - while way ahead of a "blind" meeting, still needs to be built. This takes time. Both individuals need to see the continuing value each of them brings to the relationship.

Unfortunately, quantity is easier and quicker but much less rewarding, particularly in the long run.

Bruce, It comes down to process / strategy in filtering. It's impossible to benefit in our marketing efforts if we just focus on one or a handful of relationships across Social Media. It defeats the purpose of being able to transcend space and time in our networking.

Over the years my rough statistics determine that of all my followers across social networks, roughly 10% filter down into being creditable prospects. People who show genuine interest in paying money for the value I represent. Of these prospects a further 10% to 20% will actually become customers. Of my customers, 10% become committed evangelists who will champion everything I do. The more loyal evangelists I build into my network the greater conversions I enjoy from followers down to prospects / customers. This is because more followers do so through direct referrals (word of mouth) as apposed to following through enjoying a link to my content.

The objective is to get as many good customers to become evangelists of what you do as quickly as you can. How we do that without filtering the masses is the million dollar question?

Its so easy to get followers now day's. There's such low barriers to enter someones marketing funnel today and will be more so tomorrow. Our investment in self is so fickle it's almost like followers are not human. We have become profile picture numbers. I mean we don't even need to invest so much as our name and email address to learn all we need to know about strangers and their offerings. Filtering through this reality whilst getting our own message out above all the noise, in front of real prospects is our cost of sales in 2009 and beyond.

What I teach is how to understand what our objectives should and I introduce best practices that I know will lead my students towards planning social marketing strategies for maximize returns on their time investment. This is where buying the right knowledge and following the right guide is so important. If time is our only substantial cost in sales / marketing then efficiency in our social marketing process strategies will determine not only our success but our profits.

It's a massive advantage to get our heads into the right space before entering Social Media and let's face it,... most of the population will be doing so over the next decade. <-;

I agree, Simon, the ability " to transcend space and time in our networking" has always been the big draw to the web from day one. There was also anonymity when direct computer to computer connections first became available. It was soon followed by folks meeting in a more personal way... as you are describing.... in "tribes".

We have changed dramatically as online consumers over the last five years, right alongside the internet, and developed into a more thoughtful, considered animal.

For many marketers this news has not hit home yet and even when it has it is a hard fact to hear, but for the skilled marketer who is able to and willing to engage with his or her customers and provide value to them this has to be a step forward.

No longer can we view our lists as a numbers game and pitch any product we chose knowing that the larger the list the greater the profit we can expect. If we do not engage and if our product has no value we will not be successful. It's as simple as that.

You learn to filter the noise, listening to only your trusted circle. Simon, you have instigated the building of a tribe of people from around the globe that is built on mutual respect, trust and transparency. Your stories are enthralling and your book "Social traffic" is a true masterpiece, a fantastic introduction to your world class training.

For conversation in some cases a blog is enough and in many other cases, forum is still a must. I just would like to advice, from my own experience as a client at least, that if you're looking for state of the art forum platform for your business, try getsatisfaction.com. Their software lets you make all these great thoughts into reality. I mean knowing what to do, and doing it correctly, sometimes aretwo different things, even if you truly likes to do it right.
*It's far from what you may imagine a forum is. web 2+ kind of forum.

If you end the conversation "as soon as your event has launched", you probably never had a real conversation with your tribe in the first place. It must have been more of a sales pitch than a dialog. After all, if it is a dialog, the conversation will not be perceived as ended with the launch. The launch will merely be an event you both had a part in. This means you both are excited to discuss how things went. The communication naturally continues.

It’s all about quality not quantity. If people fill like they know you and trust you they will do business with you. I know that I enjoy working with someone that I feel has listened to my needs. And, the follow up is so important. Past happy clients enjoy referring business to you.

I agree that it's not a matter of quantity of followers or how big your list is. If you're in business, then you need to know your customers and their needs. Talk to people and you're bound to discover common threads. Then you can fill a true need, rather than the old way of producing something and convincing others they need it.

It's how I want to be treated as a consumer too. If I run into someone who's pushing their own agenda, then he hasn't made a connection with me. When I need a product, service, etc, the first people I turn to are the people I'm friends with. Not only are they foremost in my mind, but someone I can trust. I'd rather put my money with someone I trust.

I've expereinced so much more success now that I TALK to people. I don't know why marketers today are so obsessed with how many "friends" or "followers" they have. What's more valuable:

1,000,000 followers that don't act, or 10 followers when called upon to act do so?

Me, I'd rather have the 10.