This week, I will be in Seattle on Tuesday and Columbus, Ohio on Friday talking with business owners and recruiting professionals about social media. While the general themes will be the same, there will be some distinct differences in my presentations.

In Seattle, I will be talking with HVAC contractors. For this group, I am going to focus on Facebook as a means of driving traffic to their primary website. Strategies for them include short videos of technicians introducing themselves, and interviews with customers. For the contractors who focus on remodeling, I am going to also encourage them to consider creating Pinterest boards of dream kitchens and dream baths.

In contrast, my group on Friday will be comprised of staffing professionals. Like the contractors, Facebook will  be important to their marketing efforts. Their primary objective will be to encourage applicants to view their job listings.    For this audience, I am going to suggest alternating between information on specific jobs and short tips on  interviewing techniques. For their secondary platform, I am going to suggest this group build a strong presence on LinkedIn. At its core, that network is definitely about finding your next job or your next employee.

When I get an invitation to speak, it is almost always about social media. But social media has become a very broad topic, and what is relevant to one group is not to another. It is no longer a one size fits all topic, just as there isn’t a one size fits all approach to using the tools to build a business.

It comes down to: What’s In Your Social Media Stew?

Many companies talk about the benefits of social media, but few are making significant investments in social media programs. More than 60% of the companies in our survey indicated social media represents between 0 – 5% of their total marketing budget. This is fairly consistent regardless of company size.

Most of the companies we surveyed indicated they use social media to promote their business, but few seem to have a specific or consistent approach to the process. Just like any other marketing endeavor, without a clear strategy which is focused on achieving specific goals, the activities can keep you busy without producing any real results.

One important note, most business owners do not include the cost of manpower in their calculations of the cost of social media, so across the board, we believe their cost estimate are lower than actual expenditures.

Does the investment pay off? The data clearly indicates a positive correlation between investment and results. Companies which are putting their toe hesitantly in the water, carving out 5% or less of their total marketing budget, rarely indicate a significant portion of their sales come from social media.

Jabberwocky is described as a monthly rendezvous of Jabbers who willingly share their life stories.  Produced jointly by IndyFringe and Storytelling Arts of Indiana, Jabberwocky is a monthly event  held at the theater.

Unlike other Fringe events, the performers for Jabberwocky are amateurs , asked to tell stories about their life and experiences.  This month the theme is PR, and I am excited to be a part of the line up, along with Bruce Hetrick, and several other PR professionals

Program Description:

All of us spin stories to create positive public images about ourselves, our families, and our place of employment and some of us do it for a living.

Hear stories from the trenches as the professionals share their memorable experiences of creating images, difficult clients and the ups and downs of public relations.

When/Where/How Much:

5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

IndyFringe Theatre
719 E. St. Clair St. Indianapolis, IN 46202

Tickets: $10 at the door includes appetizers and cash bar

I am looking forward to it.  I think it will be fun.  Hope you can join me!

Last spring I particpated in a panel discussion as part of the All Things Marketing Conference. Here is an excerpt from the discussion. The question was about Personal vs Corporate branding in social media.  Opinions varied between the panelists as to whether you should brand as a company or an individual.

There are pros and cons of each to be considered.  Watch the video for our opinions

As many of you know I split my time between Roundpeg and TechPoint. An interesting benefit of splitting my time is getting a chance to listen to a number of speakers on a wide range of topics.

I’ve learned the hard way ( listening to speakers who should never be allowed in front of an audience) being an expert in your field does not make you an expert at public speaking.

I’m not an expert on public speaking, I will leave that to people like Ellen Dunnigan.  I have, however, come up with three tips for speakers, particularly technical ones, to use when speaking to small business owners .

• Use the KISS model. We’ve all heard the phrase: “Keep it simple, stupid.” Well use it in public speaking. Treat your audience as if they’ve never heard of your product before. Truth be told, most of them haven’t. If they have, there is a good chance they have only a superficial understanding of your product or process. Favor basic words and avoid technical jargon so your audience will be able to understand what you are talking about.
• Your slides are guidelines. One of my biggest pet peeves is a speaker who reads word for word from their powerpoint slides. If you are going to do that, you might as well post them online, let us review them, and then we can save a trip coming to hear you speak. Your slides are supposed to be guidelines. Use key points and expand on them during your presentation.
• Hold the microphone away from your mouth. Many speakers have a tendency to hold the microphone too close to their mouth to make their voice sound better or louder.  This will often cause the microphone to pick up every breath you take, and create a bit of distortion.  Hold the microphone at chest level and the audience will still hear you. If they can’t hear you, it’s not you, the microphone isn’t working.
• And finally, practice. I know I promised only three, but I have seen too many speakers walk up and wing it.   Small business owners are busy, and if they have given you an hour of their time, give them something of value in return; a professional, polished and practiced presentation.

If you follow these simple steps, you might even be invited back a second time.

I have always loved a good story. Whether I am telling it or listening to a great story teller, a story told well engages the audience.

In this article, Stew Friedman explains why now more then ever a 2 – minute story is an effective way to grab an audience’s attention and drive home important points.

He says: A good leadership story has the power to engage hearts and minds. It has these six crucial elements:

1. Draws on your real past and lessons you’ve learned from it.
2. Resonates emotionally with your audience because it’s relevant to them.
3. Inspires your audience because it’s fueled by your passion.
4. Shows the struggle between your goal and the obstacles you faced in pursuing it.
5. Illustrates with a vivid example.
6. Teaches an important lesson.

I love a good story, and rely on this technique often when trying to make a point. Here are links to some of my favorites.

• Cinderella, Magic Wands and Small Business
• Go For the Gold
• Marketing is a Numbers Game
• Harrison and the Diving Board – Or Past Failure is No Indicator of Future Success