3 Months, 400 tweets, 100 Twitter Followers - What I've learned so far

What's Twitter Anyway? (taken from their site)

Twitter is an information network made up of 140-character messages called Tweets. It's a new and easy way to discover the latest news (“what’s happening”) related to subjects you care about.

What I've done (in social media)

• 3 months ago I started content marketing almost daily on multiple social media platforms (facebook, linkedin, twitter, youtube, blogspot, digg) 
• I've tried to link most of these platforms together 
• I get much of my twitter content from iPhone apps called Mashable, Ad-ology, Mprofs and tweet google articles
• have built a database of about 300 clients that I email with articles that I write every 3 weeks or so

Why I'm doing it (social media that is)

• SM is a new marketing platform that I need to know as a marketer
• i'm hoping to use social media to develop new prospects
• to be able to integrate social media strategies for my radio clients
• when someone googles "calgary marketing" I want to show up 1st in the results

What I've learned so far (in no particular order)

• Social media isn't a magic bullet
• it takes lots of work to maintain social media sites 
• i don't really like using facebook for business
• My blog is the best place to post my ideas
• getting recommendations on linkedin is important.  it's akin to an online consumer review
• it's been 3 months and I've just started to meet some people
• I'm having better conversations with my regular clients and feel like I'm being seen as a resource
• I've learned LOTS about marketing and communication
• "tweeting" hasn't replaced cold calling, I still have to do it
• More and more prospects say tell me that they appreciate my articles & ideas
• I've got more ideas & am building better marketing plans for clients
• ping.fm, seesmic, tweetdeck are useful programs to help access & contribute social media content 
• twellow is a cool site to find local twitter users in your area
• http://bit.ly/ is a site to shrink links for twitter

What I'm going to learn (in no particular order)

• use more #hashtags
• tag more people in twitter
• How to better leverage my existing SM platforms
• how to use twitter lists
• how to connect with more people

My Elevator Sales Pitch REVISED

As I was preparing for my first "elevator pitch" last night, I came across a brilliant guy named Simon Sinek on Youtube who spoke about how great companies/brands communicate.

Simon argues that most advertisers start from the outer circle and work inward.  Take for example a car dealer ...
WHAT - great deals right now on all remaining 2010 models
HOW - our cars are the most reliable and have the highest customer satisfaction rating
WHY - you should by a car from us because these prices can't be beat

Simon then goes on to say that the best companies have all the exact same resources as their competition, yet they seperate themselves by reversing the order of their message.  These innovative companies do this because they understand that the recipie for success is to sell to people who believe what you believe, not just buy what you have to sell.


So, with that in mind, I rewrote my 30 second elevator pitch and would love any feedback you have on this one.

Hi, my name is Marc Binkley.   I believe that marketing is about communication; that marketing is fun; that marketing can be measurable and most importantly I believe that the best ideas are the ones that are shared.  Typically, I like to meet with clients in person so that I can get a better understanding of their marketing goals, their business objectives and their customers.  Based on that information, I build a customized multiplatform marketing plan for my clients.   I happen to sell radio, but what my clients buy is a resource.  My name is Marc Binkley and you can find me on google, I'd love to meet with you.

Creating a Marketing Plan: advice for picking platforms

I love this image as it lists just about every media platform that I can think of and visually shows the type of communication (one or two way) capable by each.

Yellow arrows - 2 way

Red arrows - mostly 1 way

Blue arrows - 1 way

As marketing plans go, the simplest & most effective that I've ever seen was written by Gary Vanerchuck.  In Gary's book Crush It, Gary outlines his version of the best marketing strategy ever.   The entire chapter is 1 word...CARE.  

To me, CARE means a lot of things.  Care about my service, my product, my staff, pricing, competition etc. etc. etc.   It also means I should care about my marketing platforms and my message.   If I don't care, then I'll choose types of media that allow for only 1 way communication.    

These one way advertising platforms are not 'communication' platforms...they'd be better defined as monologue platforms.   While monologues are important for character development in theatre,  real life people/brands who never ask a question are just boring.  

So here's the goods.

1. Care
2. Goals - set them
3. Budget - stick to monthly budget based on your goals.  (2-10% of total sales)
4. Allocate - your budget per platform according to average daily media usage & target audience
5. Maximize - the impact on each paid platform before adding others
6. USP - Craft & Deliver your Unique Selling Proposition
7. Leap - Execute your plan & engage internal and external customers