This is the title of a talk I was asked to give next month to a local Career Transition group. Unlike my regular talks on marketing I don’t think anyone else can give this one. The talk is based on my personal experience which recently got published in a book to entitled, “The Power of Persistence” from Motivational Press. Read the story.

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(Right click to download)

Today I received yet another Facebook “Fan Request” from a woman I barely know for something I’ve never heard of. I’ve been getting a lot of these lately. Why I’d consider being a “Fan” of something I don’t know, sent by a person I barely know, is beyond me.

Beneath the “I’m just offering you something good” facade is an aggressive, self-promotional practice motivated by a desire to leverage social media for personal and professional gain. And, what these fan requesters fail to realize is that if they continue to bug people they barely know with these spammy requests their “friends” will not only not be fans, they won’t be friends.

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“G-Cred“, a term coined by John Follis in ‘05, and described in this ‘07 ADWEEK column, is now part of the Web 2.0 lingo. This encore presentation of an ‘08 Follis interview discusses what G-Cred is and why every product, service, and professional must have it. Right click to download interview.

It’s Not about having a Great Product or Service.

It’s about having a great product or service and repeatedly convincing many people that you do. How you do that depends on your particular product or service, your target, your specific marketing goal, and your budget. It also depends on how visible, likable, informative, engaging, creative, memorable, and smart your message is.

Examples
Results

The past decade saw a seismic shift in marketing communications as blogs, podcasts,  online video, and other forms of Social Media led the media evolution. It’s an exciting time. And yet, with this evolution, the focus on “message” has, too often, been lost. In many cases, the over-reliance on new media and technology, has sacrificed the focus on development of a compelling, creatively engaging, message.

The most successful companies and organizations (Apple, Google, Team Obama, etc) work with marketing experts to help them develop and maintain a strong brand message realizing that the media and technology is only a tool — a tool to help them get their important message out.

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You can’t be successful at marketing your business if you don’t take it seriously. It takes focus and preparation. What happens when you don’t?

If you’re really to take your business to the next level with strategic marketing help, visit FMT.

And best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2010.

Stay in Touch.

Half of successful marketing is getting in front of prospects. The other half is staying in front of them. How you do that depends on your budget and goals. But whether it’s a national TV campaign, or a newsletter, no business can afford not to do it. Other highly popular and cost-effective ways are via online Social Media, like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and having a blog.

If you’re a business owner you’ll eventually get to the point where your question changes from, “Do I really need marketing help?” to “How do I find marketing help? And how do I know who’s good?” So, here’s the 11 key criteria to base your decision on:

1) The Work. Many marketing experts are personable, persuasive people who don’t necessarily have the talent or range of work to back it up. So, you’ve gotta spend a few minutes on their site to see the work they show. And, if it doesn’t turn you on, rule them out.

2) Credentials and Experience. Your main guy/gal had better have there bio on the website, and it’d better be impressive.

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Home-Made Marketing: Just Don’t Do It.

By nature entrepreneurs are a resourceful bunch. If they see a need, they fill it. If they see a problem, they try to solve it. Generally, it’s a good thing. Where it becomes problematic is with marketing their business. With few exceptions it can be an ineffective use of time and money. In some cases, it can be fatal.

Case in point — a business-owner doctor once hired us to help and then sat me down for about an hour telling me how clever he was at marketing. It was like someone showing me ugly pictures of their baby and bragging how cute he is. The doctor is now out of business. I did what I could to help, but it was a  case of “too little, too late.” He had blown so much money on his own unprofessional efforts, we couldn’t recoup from the damage. So, if your business is more sophisticated than a lemonade stand, it would be wise to get help.

How do you find it? One thing I suggest when seeking any kind of help is to 1) listen to what their clients say and 2) see how well that marketing expert markets themselves. So, check out their website, read their client testimonies, and see what kind of G-Cred they have. That will give you a good perspective on whether they are worthy to be hired.