Social Media Marketing No-Hype No BS Guide Tidbits

Today's bookinar, webinar, a virtual online interaction, presentation, meeting or what ever you want to call it, of No Bullsh*t Social Media by Jason Falls and Erik Deckers brought folks together online seeking solutions, best practices and insight into the realm of social media. The first 250 attendees who participated received a complimentary digital copy of the new book courtesy of Infusionsoft and Convince and Convert's Jay Baer.

The one-hour bookinar began with an introduction to Jason Falls who was sporting jeans and a red t-shirt in Las Vegas during the live presentation. These are the fun personal tidbits that make online engagement and social networking stick. And, this was just the beginning of the story. 

Meet @JasonFalls co-author of No Bullsh*t Social Media  and owner of Social Media Explorer. Jason's Twitter bio reads: 

 Jason Falls thinks a lot. And shares. Sometimes it's useful even. 

And, from the information delivered during today's presentation, there is no doubt that this fella thinks and shares a lot. And, all of it: very useful. 

Here are some of the top takeaways that Jason shared:

- 81% of people with an Internet connection use some form of social media & interact w/ companies. Including Jason's mom.

- From moms to real estate agents, there are 170 million Facebook users.  

- 78% of these social media users interact with companies via social networking sites and tools, like a company’s Facebook page or their Twitter account.

- Companies like Fiskars knew how to 'cut thru the BS' and met a six month goal within 24 hours using social media.

- Greenpeace's Mr. Flashy Pants helped grow their brand, reaching new audience via social media.

- Companies and organizations are reaching more people, growing R&D, protecting and managing their reputation, being the media, building community and engaging directly with their audience members from the users, buyers to the media influencers and more. 

As a leader of the social media pack, Jason understands the rigorous changes and overabundance of information on social media and marketing that is available. He advises on how to start. "Find your number one problem. Is it that you need sales? Then, set goals, strategies and tactics. Define your objective with this 1/2/3 formula: What is your target audience? What is the level of engagement I can expect? When is my deadline?" This is the Who's Who, What's Happenin, Get er Done approach, or the basic Marketing 101 best practices, now applied to the new world of social media.

Defining your market and potential for growth is not BS. It is just the facts, metrics, proven best practices and "stuff" your boss, CFO, CEO, C-whatever loves. The tidbits told in this no-hype guide show how social media can be actionable, measurable and profitable. Jason shares examples of how a business used Foursquare to grow sales and he tells it like it is, "Miss Shirley's educated their customers, motivated and incentivized them. In no time they had increased their check-ins by 430%. But, is this an increase in sales, or just educating customers on how to use Foursquare?" 

What is most appreciated about Jason's no BS delivery is that he speaks the social media language clearly and uses real time stories. Want to better understand why brands need to be using social? Jason showed a photo of his hometown, Pikeville, KY., a rural town in the midwest with a population less than 7K people. Growing up in this community, did the Falls family fall for big brands like Ford and Target? No, they bought from Jim and Sally, the real people they knew, liked and trusted. That's real. There's no BS in the message of engagement and trust found in stories of small towns and moms. Jason says no to B2B and yes too P2P, or People to People.   

Want to dig deeper and get a grasp on why and how your company can use social media? If these freebie takeaways only flirt with your need for a thirst for knowledge, facts and metrics of social media, then you can do any of the following: 

-  Time travel back to the virtual book tour where Jay Baer gave attendees free copies of the book.

-  Download the book's first chapter, Ignore the Hype. Beleive the Facts >> 

-  Get updates on book tour, news and info and bring #NoBSsocial message to your group >> 

-  Buy the book and more >>

And, the next time someone says: 

Social Media? It's just about gossip, younger kids playing, or a fad.

You say, Social Media. It's about market share, brand power, return on investment and revenue.  

Today's post was part of the professional Event Correspondent services, as contributed by Andrea Cook during live coverage of the online book tour of the new book titled No Bullsh*t Social Media by Jason Falls and Erik Deckers, hosted by Jay Baer  and sponsored by Infusion Soft. Live Event Correspondent services increases exposure of your brand by transforming your event into rich content via social media channels. For more information about what key industry leaders are saying about this service, request a white paper >

Today's Real Estate Value

Ask any real estate agent, what are the three most important attributes one should consider when purchasing a home. He or she may reply, (all together now...) Location, Location, Location...

Now, ask us what is the most important attribute one should consider when building an online presence? We will tell you: LINKS. LINKS. LINKS.

Outbound and inbound links, the more you have, the more valuable your online presence will be.

Just having a web site is your ticket of admission. How you grow your online presence to be found is the secret to success.

If you are interested in learning how The Midas Center can help build your online presence so that your touchpoints turn to gold, contact us today >

Move over secretary, hello igoogle!

If you have not gotten acquainted with the powers of igoogle, you might be in the pre-internet dark ages.

igoogle is a free online tool that provides online calendar management, online document storage and sharing, web sites, blogs, RSS feed management and well, so MUCH more! This online tool is helpful in going paperless and being successful in the online landscape. Anyone want to share how igoogle has impacted their business practice? Please share!

Social Media Tip: The Practice of Learning

Are you in the practice of learning more about the latest best practices?

Because technology is fervently changing and evolving, we encourage you to make business development part of your business practice.

Take the time to develop your skills and learn more about social media by attending a seminar or workshop in your area. If you are interested in attending a networking event hosted by Women Business Owners of Michiana (WBOM), you can join me next Tuesday. Or you may learn more about the event on their web site by visiting www.wbom.org. This particular event they are offering is a luncheon on the topic of social media. Notre Dame's AgencyND's Director Extraordinaire Don Schindler will be speaking about the latest trends in social media. Although he has much to say on the subject of social media by proof on the number of posts he shares on Twitter and his agency's blogs, social media continues to emerge, evolve and shift the way businesses and organizations communicate who they are and what they do. We're looking forward to learning more from Don and his approach to how he leads Notre Dame's social media endeavors in this new frontier.

Learn more about social media and its latest best practices, attend workshops when available. And don't forget to mingle with live people at live events. There is more to business relationships than just retweeting and emailing!

The Midas Center offers workshops and coaching sessions for individuals and groups in-person or virtually. Coaching sessions can be customized to your specific business goals and can include training, guidance, support, strategy or what ever helps you meet your goals.

Clients achieve an improved understanding of social media tools including how to better communicate and meet goals using facebook, twitter, LinkedIN, blogs, google documents and more!

Presentations now available:
• Social Media 101: The New Frontier of Marketing
• Facebook 101: Save Time and Money and More
• Twitter 101: To Tweep or Not to Tweep and More
• iHEARTplymouth 101: Small businesses get online for free
• Blogging 101: Passionate Social Activists Wanted
• Branding 101: It's not Just for Cows

Clients may also request customized presentations based on their specific needs and goals. To learn more about how The Midas Center can help you improve your social media activities and take your business to the next level, contact Andrea Cook today to schedule your first session by phone at (574) 936- 7058 or by email.

Social Media: Help Me Help You

The Midas Center is passionate about helping businesses and organizations succeed. We want to be your Jerry Macguire. Like Jerry, we promote our clients and we use proven, best practices and a variety of creative marketing tools to help clients succeed. We completely relate with Jerry's passion and entusiasm in this clip (see video below). We are just as passionate about helping you to succeed and we are excited about the technologies that are currently and readily and "freely" available to each of us. We talk a lot about social media because there are so many tools that are free to use and have a great impact to helping you reach your marketing goals. So, tell us, help us... how can we help you?

Currently, we are creating opportunities for individuals and businesses to learn-n-grow and lead-n-succeed. Through workshops or coaching sessions, we have a list of social media topics we can offer. We also provide customized workshops, presentations and training to individuals and groups to help clients reach their specific goals through marketing on-line.

We are developing a list of topics we think would be useful. However, if you have a suggestion on a topic you think would be beneficial, we'd love to hear from you. Feel free to comment or email Andrea Cook directly with your ideas.

Help us help you!