Mindshare Web Marketing Mentors

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I HATE spam just as much as you do I promise!  I already receive over 100 legitimate emails each day and if you were to add the amount of spam messages I get I’d say the number would be closer to 1,000.

 Thank God for spam filters!

If you couple this hatred with the fact that I wholeheartedly believe in working hard to attract highly targeted visitors to your website and not simply build traffic simply for the sake of building traffic, you may find it difficult to believe how I fell into the trap … that is unless you’ve fallen in the trap as well.

Here is how it all happened …

Way, way back in early 2008 I heard of this crazy website called Twitter.  I am sure you had the same type of thoughts I did when I first checked it out.

You thought …

“Boy that’s kinda dumb!

or

“Why would anyone care if I had to use the bathroom?”

Well I can tell you I had no intention of returning to the site since I just couldn’t get a grasp of why anyone would care what I was  doing at any given second of the day.  

I continued on living my life, and anytime I heard someone mention Twitter I kinda chuckled and thought to myself, “boy they need to get a life and maybe keep their bathroom habits to themselves.”

One day a few short months later I was getting my car serviced and was sitting in the waiting room at the dealership.  I looked up at the TV and saw CNN was on the screen.  After listening to a few seconds of thier literal blathering  I began to  lose interest and began looking around the room for an interesting magazine to read.

…And then it happened!

I heard the CNN commentator telling the audience how they could send in their “tweets” and he began to read some of them online.  Huh?  

I never in a million years would have thought media would embrace such a silly technology.  This event must have triggered my reticular activating system because once I left the dealership it was as if the flood gates were open and everyone was “twittering” this and “twittering” that and referring to each other as “tweeple” and how they are part of the “twitter-sphere.”  

How wierd!  But also very intriguing.  

I decided since I was part of the Internet Marketing world I should probably set up an account and begin to familiarize myself with Twitter.  The more it became popular, the more interested I became.  The more I read, the more excited I became.

Although I was becoming obsessed with Twitter and excited about the possibilities, I just couldn’t get my head around it.  I did however, realize I could use Twitter to create a substantial amount of entry points to my various web projects and this was extremely attractive.

The term “knowing enough to be dangerous” was exactly where I was.  I began sending out “tweets” with links to articles I had written and noticed whenever I did … I received visitors to my blog.  It was awesome.  

I quickly built up my followers and the people I was following to several hundred people.  I had a difficult time seeing through all the noise since I could “tweet” something and within a minute or two that tweet would disappear and many other tweets would come on top of them.  It was frustrating but I knew I could figure it out.

Then it came to me……

I could get my message in front of people over and over if I just kept saying it.  That MUST be the key.  I began with this obsessive posting and watched my blog views rise every single day.  I thought I must be on to something and I was amazed there weren’t more people following this incredible formula.  

This went on for a few weeks and I didn’t think much about my strategy until I received an email from a good friend of mine, Jacob Vanderzee.

Jacob and I had a couple previous conversations regarding “breaking through the noise of Twitter.”  

We discussed how the people we’d like to get our message in front of are already following thousands of other “tweeple” and if we had a tough time staying on top of the constant flow of new messages … how would they see our stuff.

His email started by answering the question many of us STILL have today … What the heck is Twitter?!?

Twitter is a combination of Instant Messaging, Email, and blogging.  Each of these technologies has certain rules of etiquette and reasons for thier existence.  

The strange thing about Twitter is it can be used the same way as IM, Email, and blogging.  The only rule is that it must be communicated in less than 140 characters.  

Each of these mediums have had to put mechanisms in place to make sure people didn’t take advantage of the ability to get a message in front of people.  That’s how spam filters came into existence for IM, Blog comments, and Email.

These same type of mechanisms have been put in place for website search engine optimization as well.  These filters were created to stop the incessent interruptions caused by these obsessive spammers who feel if they reach enough people with their non-sense messages that some of these people will have a low enough mental capacity that they’ll actually respond.  

Man, these spammers are a real piece of work.  That’s when Jacob asked me the question that made me wake up.  He said, “look at your Twitter profile page and ask yourself this question … Would you recommend a client have their website or blog look like YOUR Twitter profile looks?”  

OMG!  I had become one of those low life spammers that we all hate!  

Well, the first part of getting better is admitting you have a problem.  I have since eliminated all my duplicate posts and my profile page now contains what I hope my followers will consider valuable, worth wile content and not just a bunch of repeated, interruption based marketing messages.

All of you who have fallen victim to my repeated spammy messages … I apologize.  I promise from this point forward I’ll only “tweet” one time and make sure it is valuable information that will make you WANT to consume it. 

Since I am now a reformed spammer who will never enter that dark world again, I promise to spend time in the coming days discussing some great ways to use Twitter without violating any spam etiquette rules.  If you’ve fallen victim to spamming on Twitter or any other medium I’d love for you to share your story.  We promise to support you on your road to recovery.  :)

Don’t you love it when one of your “competitors” gives counsel to one of your clients or friends and tries to discredit you while only working with partial information?  

I do!  Especially when that “opinion” makes it back to me.  :)

I received an email this morning from one of my friends and he passed along a review of a recent article I wrote with the title “8 Key Elements to Get to the Top of Google.”  The email didn’t contain any company name or even the name of the individual providing the critique, but I wouldn’t publish that information anyway.  

I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion.  I also believe that smart people don’t pass along their opinions unless they are making their opinion based on fact and not on  partial information.  

We publish our opinions and provide a substantial amount of FREE web marketing education to companies and individuals around the world because we would like to help as many companies succeed online as possible.  Our team spends dozens of hours each week collectively, to ensure we are on top of this fast changing industry, and that we are providing accurate information to these companies and individuals.

The bottom line is … We put our thoughts and opinions out there and welcome open dialogue, even if those opinions are different than ours.  

There are many ways to skin a cat when it comes to web marketing.

The following italicized excerpts are taken directly from the email I received.  I have altered some pieces of information to keep the identify of the parties and any strategic information private.  I’d like to exercise full disclosure so I’ve marked the altered material with “XXXXXXXXX” instead of the words used.

These are comments directly related to my article “8 Key Elements to Get to the Top of Google”

Here we go!

This is a skillfully written article. In light of what you just read, AND knowing the algorithms used by Google to determine ranking how can they make any AUTHORITATIVE claim? It is well written, but no one can make any claim to be in the know because Google does not tell anyone. 

I’d first like to thank the “reviewer” for the kind words about the article.  I went back to my article to see where I made this claim that we somehow knew the exact algorithm that Google uses in determining where a website should show up in the search results.  

Guess what …

I didn’t.  The reason I didn’t make that claim is because the “reviewer” is correct.  Google doesn’t publish this algorithm and never would.  That would simply lead to search engine spammers “mucking up” the search results with irrelevant results.  

The comment that “no one can make a claim to be in the know because Google does not tell anyone” isn’t entirely true.  In fact here is a link to the Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide which is located on the Google Webmaster Tools Website.  If you take the time to review the information contained in this guide you’ll see that everything is directly inline with the information contained in my article.

On the question, “How can they make any AUTHORITATIVE claim?”

I believe we can make an authoritative claim due to our experience, knowledge, and results we’ve consistently produced for clients.  

Now I don’t simply expect you to believe me … I’ll share links to PROOF of this knoweldge and these results and let you be the judge on whether we can make an AUTHORITATIVE claim to know what it takes.  

..and more to the point, if you google “XXXXXXXXXXXXX”  how do you explain the first website in the search results does not follow many of the suggestions made? 

The keyword the “reviewer” used to prove his point was a keyword that is searched an average of 72 times each month.  It is absolutely true that every search conducted on Google won’t have optimized results.  

Heck, how much time and effort would you spend to rank highly for a keyword that is only searched on 72 times a month?  

If the average conversion rate is around 1% then you’ll  average less than one conversion a month!  In my opinion it wouldn’t be worth spending 10 minutes optimizing for this phrase unless you have a product that will produce thousands of dollars.  

This is less about legitimate than you use partial legitimate partial outright dishonesty. It is on the reader to twist the meaning back when you suggest someone should be “first” in anything as the suggestion is left with the reader there is some definitive method to get there.

Hmmmm…. I kept this segment in here so I could provide complete transparency, but I am having a difficult time interpreting what he is saying.  

I’m thinking he might be insinuating that we are using partial legitimate and partial dishonest information , but I just don’t know.  I do see where he is quoting that we implied we could get companies “first,” so I just did a search on this article and found we never said we could get a company’s website “first.”  

In fact an exact quote in this article is, “If you use these eight steps as a template to refer to when creating each page on your website, you will find yourself rapidly moving up through the ranks of the search results.”

The comment about us being dishonest  doesn’t even merit a response since it is completely unfounded and untrue.

However, lets look at one of their sites.

http://www.XXXXXXXXXXXX.com/

Read the source code, did they put in 200-250 keywords? Nope not there.
Did they use ALT text on any of the images on the home page? Nope not there. 
How about text on the links? Nope not there.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this blog post …

I love it when people try to discredit you while only working with partial information.  My article was written to give someone the basics of search engine optimization and wasn’t written to be a definitive all inclusive guide on SEO.  If it were easy enough to articulate in a 1,000 word article, it wouldn’t even be a subject worth writing on.  

I therefore believe the “reviewer” must not have completely understood the content of the article which leads me to believe I may not have written it very well afterall.  He points out that we didn’t “put in the 200-250 keywords.”  I looked back at the article and found where I mentioned that each page of your website should have a minimum of 200-250 words of content, but not keywords.  I understand how if you don’t do this stuff every day you could make that mistake though. 

Everything we do at Mindscape is about results.

An excellent example is this particular website he is talking about is currently ranking number one on Google for the keyword “honda motorcyle parts.”  This one keyword alone is searched for 246,000+ times on average each month.  This is only one of 64 keyword phrases this site shows up on the front page of Google’s search results.  

Are they using current best practices NOPE, not there. The missing ALT text alone ensures diabled people cannot read their site because the images are not properly captioned.

Using alternative text on images IS an excellent optimization tactic since image searches seem to be an increasingly popular search trend.  I also understand it is useful for people with disabilities to read the site. I don’t want to offend ANYONE here but, can you tell me how many people who are visually impaired will be a candidate for motorcycles?  The most important part of optimizing your site is to KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!

They are all show, and no stay. They showcase no client where they use their 8 Key Elements. So this little nearly 200 website guy is trying to figure out why I should even consider them as authoritative at all? 

“All show and no stay?”  Hmmmmm…again I am not sure what this means.

Let me ask you a question …

If you were a client of Mindscape’s and you were “killing it” in the search results, would you want us showcasing it so your competition would have a clear road map to your web strategy?  I don’t think so!

I would like to share some quick results of the EXACT client the “reviewer” is using or an example of our horrible practices…

We’ve placed that client in a position where they rank in the top ten on Google for literally hundreds of keywords.  I just conducted searches on six popular keywords less than two minutes ago and these were the results (without the actual phrases).

Keyword Phrase        Google Search Rank     Monthly Google Searches

Keyword One                         1                                      246,000

Keyword Two                         1                                        90,500

Keyword Three                       1                                      165,000  

Keyword Four                        1                                       301,000

Keyword Five                         7                                          9,900

Keyword Six                          8                                          9,900

I am sure you can quickly see we focused our attention on the phrases that would produce the best results for the client.  We didn’t waste their time or money trying to rank for a phrase that was only searched on 73 times a month to simply try to impress them.  We focused on the most competitive keyword phrases and WE HELPED THEM WIN!

What do you think?  Do you think Mindscape knows what they are talking about?  I’d love to hear some comments on this one!

Also, visit our site if you’d like more proof of Mindscape’s results!

I was talking with a business acquaintance yesterday about the power of Facebook and Twitter.

We were chatting about how the growing obsession with social media sites has the potential of stealing what little available time we have left.

The addiction to social media and the tremendous amount of information which is available for us to consume can be completely overwhelming if you let it!

If you’re planning on using social media for your business, you can go a long way in controlling this “time stealer” by setting up a clear strategy and process ahead of time.

Think about it …

If you spend a couple hours sitting down and clearly laying out your strategy and create a process of how you’ll spend your time with your social media site of choice, you can magically find an additional few hours you’re currently spending on these sites already.

If you aren’t spending a few hours on Facebook or Twitter or (insert social media site name here) each day, then CONGRATULATIONS!

That is unless you are just too embarrassed to admit it.

If you are serious about using social media to grow your business, AND YOU SHOULD BE, here are a few tools you can use to streamline your processes and gain back some of that precious time to reallocate  to other revenue producing activities.

Facebook and Twitter Users

Do you find yourself treating these two sites like you have two girlfriends and you’re afraid to spend too much time with one while neglecting the other?

Hold on a minute, I’m not saying I advocate anything but monogamous relationships … except with social media.  I believe if you’re only using one site you may be limiting your opportunities and no smart business person would want to do that.

If you’d like to tie these two sites together you can update you status on Facebook and “tweet” on Twitter from one central place.  You can sign up for an account on Ping.fm.  This site will also allow you to update many other social media sites and blogs, but I am only focusing on those of you who are struggling with balancing both Twitter and Facebook.  I just began using this service and can tell you I’ve heard nothing but positive things.

This one tactic could help you buy back at least several minutes each day.

If you’re finding it difficult to find time each day to update your “tweets” on Twitter, you can visit a site named Tweet Later.  This is an excellent site and, just like Ping.fm, you can sign up for a free account.  This site allows you to schedule “tweets” in advance and also schedule recurring “tweets” so your post doesn’t get lost in all the Twitter noise.

If you are having a difficult time sifting through all the Twitter noise you can download yet another free application called Tweet Deck.  This is a desktop application which organizes your “tweets” and allows you to update both Twitter and Facebook.  You can also conduct searches for “tweets” that contain keywords which are relevant to your interests.  This will help you identify fellow “tweeple” to follow, or look for possible opportunities.

For some of you this may seem like way too much to digest, but I can assure you it isn’t as complicated as it sounds.  With a little patience you can be a social media rock star in no time flat, but whatever you do, don’t let social media steal you time!  Use the incredible tools that are available to help you increase your efficiency and ultimately your revenue!

Have you ever found yourself questioning why some people use such poor judgment?

Whether it’s letting their four year old play, unsupervised,  by the road or  both parents smoking  in the car with their kids in tow.  It’s mind boggling how some people seem to lack the common sense necessary to take actions that can prevent potentially devastating results.

… at least it used to be mind boggling to me, until I figured out why it happens.

I was doing some searching on Google about 4-5 years ago and I happened upon a site that was discussing “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.”  Once I began to read the information on the site, and took the time to compare it to stages of my own life, I got goosebumps!

It was as though I finally found a missing piece to a puzzle that tied the rest of the puzzle together.

This one image helped me figure out something I had been pondering for years …

Hierarchy of Needs

In 1995 I built a marketing organization that numbered 2,500 people and stretched across the United States.  There were many times I wanted to pull my hair out because of  the things some of these marketers would do.

Some of them whined all the time, and others would happily do whatever I told them to do.  I just didn’t get why they wouldn’t follow the exact steps we were showing them since the results would be astonishing if they did.

I remember having a long discussion with one of my mentors and asked her, “Why the heck are they always complaining?  I just don’t understand why they would do that when we’re showing them how to make money.”

She gave me a little smirk and said, “Cat’s gotta be some color!

Frankly I was quite annoyed with this cute little response because I was seriously trying to figure out why they were doing that.  I took a deep breathe and fought the urge to snap back with a cute little response of my own.  Instead I asked, “What do you mean by the cat’s gotta be some color?”  She responded with the statement, “Just because you paint a black cat white, doesn’t make it a white cat.”

Now I was even more annoyed but decided to just drop it.

Now I finally knew what she meant!

Liars Lie.  Complainers complain. Cheaters cheat.

…and expecting anything different is INSANE!

You may be asking yourself, “What the heck does that have to do with Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs?  Well I won’t give you a cutesy little response, I’ll just give you an example that will hopefully lead you to the answer on your own.

The next time you are watching a news story about a child from a depressed neighborhood wandering into the street while the parents were inside…

Fight the urge to ask, “Why the heck weren’t the parents paying attention?” or “Why would parents allow their little child outside without supervision?”

If you refer back to the “Hierarchy of Needs” you’ll see the basic physiological needs contain food, water, and homeostasis.  It isn’t until you get to the second rung that we are concerned with safety needs.

Without getting all deep and philosophical…

Once you realize this is the way the world works, you can move on from getting all caught up in the “Why.”  The answer is pretty simple and logical once you understand how things work.

The bottom line is if someone isn’t getting all their basic physiological needs met, it is impossible for them to begin focusing on meeting their safety needs.

You may be wondering, “What does this have to do with web marketing or with business, for that matter?”

Well I believe if you’ve spent anytime at all studying what the difference is between successful and unsuccessful companies, you’ll find there is a very similar “hierarchy of business needs.”

You’ll find successful companies became successful by moving their way up through the satisfaction of their business needs along the way.  As the company matures, it continue to become more and more stable as needs are met, and they are allowed the luxury to focus on making their companies stronger.

We all know it is VERY EASY to get overwhelmed with the pitfalls we are presented with each and every day.  Whether it is paying rent, health benefits, payroll, or equipment necessary for your company to grow.  It is impossible for you to keep your company doors open, let alone grow your company if you are constantly focused on meeting even these basic needs.

So remember …

Liars lie.

Cheaters Cheat.

Complainers complain.

and most importantly…

Successful companies succeed.

Stop wasting your time, energy, and even your breath on asking “Why” when it comes to the position your company is in, and stay focused on continuously adding to the list of business needs that your company has mastered.

Can you remember a time when you were with your friends or family and you saw something on TV that was directly related to something you or your company produced?  Can you remember the feeling of pride that overtook you?

Well I can.

We created a website for one of our clients that had several lead generation  tools built in.  These tools provided a huge benefit to the site’s visitors and ended up generating so many leads the company decided to shift their marketing budget almost entirely to the web.  When we heard this news we were really happy to hear how our plans were delivering such excellent results.

Then it happened…..

I was watching a Detroit Tiger’s game with my wife and was heading to the kitchen during a commercial break when I stopped dead in my tracks.  I looked at the TV screen  on my way through and saw the website we had created on the screen.  The entire commercial was talking about how the viewers could visit the website address and use the tools to improve their situation.

WOW! I was so excited to see our  work being featured on TV… even if it was only a commercial.

I am sure you’ve had similar experiences where you  proudly stated, “my company did that for them” or “hey, that’s my company they’re talking about!”

How would you like to re-create that same experience over and over?

Well you can!

The following are seven steps you can follow to generate as much buzz as you’d like to.  The title of this article is a bit deceiving since it only addresses “Online Buzz.”  The beauty of the Internet is it has expanded far beyond simply online.  With web 2.0 and social media invading our personal lives, the buzz completely transcends the Internet.

Step One: Create a Compelling Story

I’ve heard the saying, “Words tell, but stories sell” at least a million times but, until recently, I didn’t realize how true it is.  If you simply look at the psychology of a sale, you’ll realize the most important part of making a sale is when you make a connection with your prospect.  When you do, they realize you  understand them and what they need.

Think about the last time a sales person was telling you a story and it sounded exactly like your situation.

I am sure you immediately let your guard down and felt a close connection with that person.

I am not telling you to make up stories.  People have pretty good BS meters and if you’re making something up, they’ll detect it in a heart beat, and you’ll ruin any chances of developing a relationship with them EVER!

Make sure you stay in touch with your customers after the sale to monitor the results they receive from your product offering.  This isn’t just good business practice, it will also give you success stories you can use to relate to each of your buyer personas.  That is as long as you are producing success stories!

If you’re launching a new product, or you’re working on spreading the word about an incredible success story you’ve produced, it’s important to keep your audience in the loop. If you create a compelling  story, you’ll have people anxiously waiting for the next chapter.

Step Two: Ask for Input

You should  value feedback from your buyers above everything else.  The only way to build a successful business is to understand what your buyers want, and then give it to them. There is no better way of getting to know what your buyers want, then asking them.

If you are thinking about a new product roll out, or want to know an area your buyers could use your help, ask them!

If you can weave these responses into your story, you’ll find you can make a much bigger connection with your prospective customers since they’ll see how hard you work  to ensure their wants and needs are met.

Once you’ve created your story it’s important to spread it throughout the Internet in different places.  It can be similar to an information scavenger hunt except, you’ll be leading them from place to place to get the next piece of the story.

Step Three: Blogging

Every company should have a blog for their company. I know, I know, you don’t have the time to blog and don’t think anyone cares about your day to day adventures anyhow.

Well, you are wrong on both counts.  It only takes a few minutes to jot down your thoughts in your blog each day, and you’d be amazed at how long your buyers or potential buyers will follow what you publish.  They may read your blog for months before initiating the first contact.

It’s even easier to have content for your blog entry if you’ve crafted your story ahead of time.  You can use these blog posts to tell pieces of the story along the way.

Step Four: You Tube

Everyone prefers to consume information differently.  There are some people who don’t have the time or patience to read through paragraphs of content.   Although it may only take them 3 minutes to read,  they’d rather spend 10-15 minutes watching a video on YouTube.com. I’m quite sure this includes many of your clients.

If you can create video testimonials with clients who are part of the story you have created, you’ll gain instant credibility.  Putting these videos on You Tube will create yet another opportunity for your potential buyers to find you.  You’d be amazed how many people include YouTube.com in their repertoire of searching for a potential solution.

Step Five: Online News Releases

The old days of having to wine and dine journalists to get them to write a story about you is over.  We now have the ability to craft our own news and have that story  reach millions of people  immediately, with online news release services.  The story doesn’t have to be some earth shattering news, but does need to be compelling if you want it to be well received.

There are several online news release services out there.  Some of these services are free and others have a nominal fee associated with them.  I personally recommend PR Web since we’ve received excellent results with their service.

Step Six: Article Writing

An excellent way to get your story out is through a series of topical articles.  When you are writing these articles make sure you write them as though you are communicating with one of your buyer persona’s directly and focus on the benefits they’d like to receive.

Every company should engage in writing articles to showcase your expertise and help differentiate yourself from the competition.  This will also help increase the content on your website and increase the likelihood your potential buyers will find you.

Step Seven: Social Media

Last but not least .  It doesn’t matter whether you choose Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, or another social media site as your primary means of expanding your contact base.

You just need to be doing something!

Facebook just reached the 200,000,000 subscriber mark, which means, if it were a country it would be the fifth largest on earth!  There are a number of ways to spread your story though social media sites.  You can start fan pages, join groups, share photos and videos, keep people updated on your status, or simply use it to keep a grasp on what’s most important to your potential buyers.

If you follow these steps and apply these tactics, you can create an incredible buzz online in less than 30 days.

Make sure you aren’t simply creating buzz for the sake of creating buzz.  Take the time to create a detailed plan so you can capitalize on the traffic this awareness creates.

NEWS FLASH: Your buyers don’t care about you, your company, or your products!  They only care about “What’s in it for them!”

I believe this is one of the most frequent statements we make on this blog, in our articles, in our seminars and workshops, and in coversation.  We say it because it is absolutely true and I recommend you take action which is consistent to the truthfullness of the statement.  That is if you’d like your company to remain viable.

Hey I know I am being harsh, but would you rather deal with the consequences related to not knowing this fact?  I don’t think so.

Alright the reason you chose to read this post was because you probably were wondering how the heck you could get to know your buyers intimately through Amazon.com.  I promise you I won’t simply send you there to buy some book on how to do it.  That would be funny but I’d be completely wasting your time.

I would NEVER waste your time, so here it goes….

We all know authors spend thousands of hours getting to know the people they are writing for.  They excel at writing books at a level their target can understand and is compelled to consume.  They also spend a tremendous amount of time researching the most compelling topics these people are interested in.  Most of the time these topics  are completely centered around a problem they are looking to solve.  More amazingly, some of these problems the authors write about are right in line with the product or service you offer to your buyers every single day!

You could potentially save yourself thousands of hours of your time by leveraging the time and effort the authors have invested in understanding what is most important to your buyers.  All you have to do is go to Amazon.com and search with a keyword that is directly related to one of your most profitable buyer personas. The search should provide you with a list of several books which have been written on that particular topic.  Once you’ve received this list, take a look at the summary and chapter titles if you can.

As you go through the list of books you will notice similarties. The more frequently you see the same topics popping up, the more likely it is a prominent problem your buyers are looking to solve.  You need to then identify the most prevalent problems that are related to solutions your product or services can provide, and utilize this information to develop strategies to reach your buyers and provide content which highlights how your company can solve this exact problem.

Amazon.com can also be used as a source to read the exact feelings of your buyers and determine what the most important piece of information they gleaned from the book.  You can access this information by reading user generated book reviews.  This information can also be used to figure out how your buyers refer to the products or services you offer.  You’ll quickly notice they don’t use the same industry jargon and gobbeldy gook you use when you’re talking to other people in your company.  Learning from this can help you speak the same language your buyers speak and help them come to the conclusion that you TRULY know them, and what they are looking for.

I’d love to hear if you’ve ever used this strategy before, and if you haven’t but have tried something similar that was “out of the box” I’d love to hear that as well.  Don’t be afraid that if other people know your secrets that your ideas will no longer be valid.  The best way to build a large online business is to approach it from an “Abundance ” mindset and not a mindset of “Scarcity.”

I’ve been in quite a few meetings lately where I listen to people  complain about their declining sales numbers and they all seem to be focused intensely on the next tactic to use to increase their sales.  Whether it is the new brochure, or the new addition to their website.  The problem is …

Simply adding a tactic will never be a long term solution!

I want to make sure I don’t come across the wrong way.  I am not saying I have all the solutions or that people who are experiencing declining sales are doing so because they don’t know what they are doing.  I know we are in the midst of the worst economic conditions of all time and we are unfortunately all a victim of these circumstances.  I personally look at difficult financial times as an excellent opportunity for the cream to rise to the top.

The best companies, and not necessarily the biggest, will  thrive in a challenging market.

It certainly doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that when companies and individuals are watching every dollar they spend, they’ll only choose to spend money with a company they trust can deliver on the promises they are making.  The days of a company hiding behind it’s size and people believing they are too big to go under are over.  Companies are no longer given instant credibility due to their size.  Heck, it appears as though the large companies are the ones that are run horribly and inefficiently and are teetering on the verge of ending.

Smaller companies who specialize in small niche areas and focus on delivering results are the companies that will not only survive, but will thrive in ANY economic condition.

You may be saying, “That all sounds great, but my company IS delivering results, and our sales numbers are steadily declining.  Why isn’t this specialization working for me?”

My response to that is, “Are you telling as many people as you can, and providing proof?”

The Internet is causing consumers to be more critical since they are exposed to so much information online.  They can get the entire scoop on a company and it’s products within a few minutes of “Googling” online.  When the Internet initially emerged I believe companies struggled with how to do business online, while still maintaining that “personal touch.”  Well that’s all changed now with the introduction of web 2.0 technologies.  Everywhere you look you see blogs, videos, online seminars and Social media like Facebook, Twitter, and myspace.

If a consumer is thinking about doing business with your company chances are they’ll begin their intelligence gathering mission online.  Can they find anything about your company?  If not, you have probably disqualified yourself from the running.  If they are finding information about you, is that information painting the picture of your organization that you’d like?  If not, you need to TAKE CONTROL NOW!

You need to earn a company’s trust and prove to them you are worthy of that trust. It isn’t about selling anymore, it is about proving you are worth doing business with.

What are you doing to prove your worth?  Do you have a Facebook Fan Page for your company where you share successes you’ve helped your clients achieve?  Do you “Twitter” and share new articles you’ve published that showcase your depth of knowledge and prove you are worthy of your prospective client’s trust?

Social media is no longer simply a tool your kids use to monopolize your family computer.

Companies are using social media sites and social media tools like blogs and video sharing  to build “social proof” that shows they can deliver on the promises they are making in the marketplace.  These companies are utilizing these mechanisms to provide  “value added service” through education to these prospective clients.  These strategies help develop friendships with these prospects before a transaction has been made.

Think about it.  If you were making the decision betweeen the following two finalists …

The first company is only five years old, very small and specialized,  but is highly visible on Facebook and Twitter.  Plus you’ve read blog entries  and seen videos online with companies JUST LIKE YOU who were looking to achieve the EXACT SAME RESULTS you are looking to achieve.   The CEO’s of these companies were in the videos giving their endorsement and applauding the level of work.

The second company is the largest company in the industry, has the most tenure, and has complete top of mind awareness when you think of the problem you are looking to solve.  The difference is when you went online to search, their website told you all about their history, their products, and what an excellent management team they had.  Sure, they had a few testimonials sprinkled throughout their site, but they only used first names and a letter representing their last name.  They also didn’t have any pictures representing this person, nor the industry or company they were affiliated with.

Which company would you choose?  You may be one of the “old schoolers” who still believe the largest company that’s been around for decades is still the top contender for your business.  I am thinking your stance on this issue is rapidly changing as you watch HUGE COMPANY after HUGE COMPANY close their doors.  Today being big isn’t always better.

Companies that use the Internet as a tool to better understand their buyers and to deliver more value than they are paying for, will WIN.  Companies that use social media to build trust and develop deep relationships with thier customers will be the giants of tomorrow.

I’ve always been an a fairly conservative guy.  Well that is once I entered the business world around 20 years ago.  I’ve recently begun to marvel at how some of todays younger people seem to make decisions that limit their future opportunities in a huge way. Just think about the last time you were eating at a restaurant and your server showed up with those huge “disc type” earings in that look so painful.  Have you ever seen what their ears look like when they take their ear rings out?  YIKES!  How about when you see a fairly attractive woman and once you get a closer look you see an odd tatoo on her neck just under her ear.  Not hidden under the neckline.  Right in clear view in an area where she could never hide it without a band aid.

I am sure when you see people that have made these decisions you don’t look at them and wonder if they are ever going to serve public office or become the CEO of the next fortune 50 company. In fact you can probably eliminate about 80% of the career paths they could have potentially chosen, had they not made those decisions. Please don’t take what I am saying the wrong way.  I believe all of us have the opportunity to make whatever choices we want and I am not some elitest snob that believes everyone should aspire to acheive some top corporate position.  I believe that if you are doing something that you love to do, you have the ability to make an incredibly positive impact on this world.  I simply believe that sometimes people are very short sighted in their decision making process and don’t think about the lifelong impact thier decisions can make.

Facebook, myspace, twitter, and quite frankly anything you put on the Internet can have the same impact!  I was recently reading a status update one of my “Facebook friends” made, and I was absolutely stunned at the insensitivity of the comment.  I was absolutely amazed he could have been so short sighted and put something like that out there … even if it was simply an ill attempt at humor.Now I have a pretty radical sense of humor, and can certainly engage in some very off color humor at times.  I can assure you those times are IN PRIVATE and certainly would never publish that online!

Every single time you publish something on your website or favorite social media site, those key strokes will live FOREVER!  If you happen to have children I am sure you have had this conversation with them and if you haven’t … STOP READING NOW AND RUN to where they are and have that talk immediately! Any smart employer will use Facebook, myspace, and any other social media site to check up on a potential new hire.  They will simply type your name in Google and be presented with a quick view of the digital footprint that you’ve created over the years.  The news headlines are filled with many examples of people who’s lives are completely uprooted because they’ve simply acted before thinking of the possible consequences they would incur.

I am a HUGE fan of Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, and a number of other social media sites.  I love the way I can stay connected to a large number of people without the need to pick up the phone, send a letter, or an email.  I get to peer in on their day to day life without reaching out.  I simply think every single of of us needs to be very conscious that every action we take online is very public, and something that will haunt you if you aren’t careful.  Make sure you take every precaution you can to protect your reputation.  Especially if you are going to be publishing something the entire world can see.