Review of “Cultivating Visibility”

Posted by George K.

Feb 29

In “Cultivating VISIBILITY, How Content Marketing Saves Yours Seat at the Table” (February 2012 issue of Success Magazine), Chris Brogan details how you can leverage your company’s presence in social media or “the human digital channel”, as Mr. Brogan calls it.  The article is a step by step overview on how businesses can properly use social media.

Mr. Brogan brings up good points.  I have seen many companies use social media incompletely or incorrectly.  For some, it’s resisting new technology or a belief that learning social media is not worth the effort.  Mr. Brogan correctly points out that social media is a marketing tool, like phone calls or emails, but is much more interesting.

He says many companies use consultants to get started and I think that’s a good idea.  There are many social media platforms out there with more coming online every day.  It can by quite daunting and time consuming for a business, especially a small business, to figure out which ones to use and how to use them.

The article is short, but again, it is meant as a starting point for businesses, especially small businesses, to use social media more effectively.  For a more in depth treatment of social media, contact a social media consultant or visit Mr. Brogan’s website at http://www.humanbusinessworks.com/.

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Review of “Sales and Sex Appeal”

Posted by George K.

Jan 19

When I first saw the article “Sales and Sex Appeal” by Mike Zimmerman, which appears in the January 2012 issue of Success Magazine, I thought it would be another article about how sex sells.  It would suggest to us to hire attractive sales people to improve our sales…just like dozens, if not hundreds, of such articles before.

It used actress Scarlett Johansson as an example of a person that uses sexual presence to sell movie tickets.  Then the article took a turn into the bizarre.  In the sentence first mentioning Ms. Johansson, the author calls her a “Mistress”.  The following sentence talks about her taking her close off.  It goes on to talk about her nude cell phone pictures, which the author admits to seeing, being leaked onto the web.  The article then details allegations of elevator sex between Ms. Johansson and director Benicio DelToro.  The author even mentions that he went to the same elevator and imagined the possibility of the amorous feat.

It seems that the article has changed from a vapid retread of articles about the benefits of hiring attractive sales people to an open love letter to Scarlett Johansson.  Now, I understand magazines need “filler articles”, but those articles are supposed to be fluff or “content light”, not down right creepy.

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INC Social Media Article

Posted by Annie W.

Jan 18

I read a fascinating article in INC Magazine by Hollis Thomases, President and CEO of Web Advantage. She explained how poor social media up-dates can hurt customer loyalty and passion for your brand. Good outsourcing can help your business and brand grow!

It seems that every other person you meet at a business event claims to be the social media guru! How on earth do you decide if you need to outsource your social media or trust your minimum wage assistant to up-date your social media accounts. If the later, are you watching over her shoulder to make sure that she is not hurting your business and branding, and in fact helping it!?!

If you choose to outsource your social media, there are several things to look for in addition to brand appreciation, enthusiasm and true advocacy for your product or service. Make sure your potential partners:
• Are aware of all new social media innovations
• Understand FCC Disclosure laws
• Development and implement a social media editorial calendar and produce content in a variety of formats
• Be properly empowered by you, the client, with the authority to act, react on your brand’s behalf
• Demonstrate clear competency in all areas of social media
• Monitor, test and master ever-evolving social media tools

Additionally, find out who will be doing your up-dates and follow their social media accounts. Make sure they are not into bad mouthing your competitors!

Just remember that when it comes to social media, it’s safer to experiment with outsourcing. Just remember: You own the outcome!

Guest contributor: Annie Wintrerbottom, Co-founder Orion Social Marketing

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Greek Yogurt Is Not What It Purports To Be….A Straining Topic

Posted by Chad E.

Jan 18

Reading through Fortune magazine’s December issue I discovered something new.  Greek yogurt is not actually Greek yogurt.  In the rest of the world, what we call Greek yogurt is actually referred to as strained yogurt.

How did we end up with Greek yogurt here in America.  It is a simple case of first to market.  Strained market was introduced to Americans as Greek yogurt by a Greek company.

Another twist, this country’s most popular Greek yogurt company was founded by a Turkish entrepreneur.  Chobani is number 3 by market share.  Not bad for a company that did not exist before 2007.

As Chobani’s founder Hamdi Ulukaya is quoted in this Fortune article, “It doesn’t matter whether it’s Greek yogurt or Turkish yogurt, al long as it’s good yogurt.”

And this is what makes USA great – people seizing on opportunies and making good for themselves.  Learn more about Ulukaya and Chobani here.

Article source:http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/29/smallbusiness/chobani_yogurt_hamdi_ulukaya.fortune/index.htm

Chad Eaves is a professional speaker, author, and business coach.  More information can be found at chadeaves.com.

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Review of “The Future is Online”

Posted by George K.

Jan 2

Original Article: “The Future is Online” by Jim and John Motavalli

 

This article is a profile of Barry Diller, the current Chairman of InterActive Corporation, and begins by explaining the immensity of his fortune.  HIs fortune is big.  Very big.  After the authors thoroughly explain how much richer Mr. Diller is than the readers, they proceed to document his history as a media mogul.

 

While the article is heavy on detailing his accomplishments, there were only a few items I found interesting.  The first is his jump from traditional media to the internet in the mid 1990s.  This showed forethought and imagination that many technology and broadcast companies did not have at the time.  It took quite a bit of courage to leave the cash cow of the Fox Network and put his efforts into what became the internet goliath, InterActive Corporation.

 

The second items I found interesting were two quotes from Mr. Diller.  The first I will mention deals with emotions every entrepreneur feels, passion:

 ”The only thing anyone should pay attention to, entrepreneur or not, is what intrigues them, what they’re passionate about.  That will lead them to something interesting, at least to yourself, maybe not to anyone else.  But that’s the first stage of any kind of value-added development.” – Barry Diller – Success Magazine, Jan 2012, p 63.

This is the secret of Mr. Diller’s success.  He passionately wanted to work in the world of entertainment.  He quit college and started working in a mail room at William Morris Agency.  Even though he started small, he never lost sight of what he wanted most to do.  He took his passion for entertainment and media from the mailroom to one of the largest collection of internet companies in the world.

 

The second quote is really a continuation of the first quote.  When asked about retirement, Mr. Diller said:

“Retirement?  No.  I would only retire if I no longer felt engaged.  It’s about still being curious, and that hasn’t stopped for me.  I hope it won’t.” – Barry Diller – Success Magazine, Jan 2012, p 62.

Again his passion is the central cause of his success.  If he did not feel curious and want passionately to satisfy his curiosity, he would not bother to continue to build his internet empire.

 

When reading a profile piece in magazines like Success, the reader has to look past the information that can be easily found on Wikipedia and look for real substance.  So often there is none.  In this profile, however, Misters Jim and John Motavalli included a few nuggets of information that is actually useful to those of us interested in finding out what made Barry Diller successful.

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A Maverick’s Commitment to Detail and Excellence

Posted by Chad E.

Dec 20

Article: The Ultimate Maverick – November 2011

How far is a person willing to go in order to achieve success?  Achievement of success can be traced back to what is a person’s motivating passion.  For Mark Cuban, his passion is to win.

As owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, his passion to win has been the driving and motivating factor since 2000.

How has he pursued success for his team?  There are the stock answers of getting the best players and coaches. Include in that having a good arena to play in.  But isn’t that what most teams do?

So how does an NBA owner find additional ways to win in a league full of competitors?

Mark Cuban’s goal has been to deliver the best experience for his fans, who he refers to as his customers.  He does this from his love for sports.  In his assessment of the sporting world, it is essential for customers to have a fantastic experience.  In November’s cover article, Cuban describes how he pursues excellence on and off of the court.  Read the rest of this entry

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