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No-Way Jose!


Thoughts on design, marketing, pr, and new media.

Filed under: Trust

The Power of Trust Agents

The marketing landscape is an arena where individuals and brands must realize that consumers lack confidence in advertising. Audiences have a knack for recognizing pitches and sales tactics aimed at bottom line growth. Markets are bombarded with messaging from all sides aimed at their wallets and attention leading to reluctance over purchase intent and a lack of authenticity. Chris Brogan and Julien Smith call this a trust deficit.

The most successful companies are those who engage in relevant conversations and create experiences that resonate with changing consumer tastes. Trust is a glue that helps capture attention, build advocacy, and establish repeat business. People are the core of business.

The Web has changed to be more humanized, and the people who will succeed in understanding this and using the Web to build businesses are called Trust Agents.

The United States is getting younger thanks in large part to the growth of minorities who not only overindex in technology adoption but serve as pioneers and mainstays in social media activity. The rising influx of digital natives and social media butterflies has created an atmosphere of marketing and communications where technological aptitude and digital savvy separate the haves from the have nots.

Likewise, there are people out there right now working to understand these new technologies and learning everything about how to use them--from etiquette to audience building and beyond.

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing many marketers and small business owners is the reluctance to grasp the potential and legitimate value found in social media strategy. Time and significant effort are valid reasons for apprehension but this does not slow down the movers and shakers in new media from capturing attention, maximizing opportunities, and establishing a lasting presence.

Like your kids, they know more about technology, and maybe even more about people, than you do; and that makes them very powerful.

 

How To Connect with Anybody

Connections-matter

We are an audience of many. Our connections open the doors to new relationships in business and life in general. Technology has shifted when and how we communicate. Shifts in communication and new technology brings us to a point where we must be nimble and adapt without losing site of the people factor. Some of the most agile and successful individuals are those who master the art of relating to others.

What does it take to build long lasting authentic relationships?

Trust.

Our society places a great deal of importance on gaining trust. If being polite is a building block of human relations then gaining the trust of your audience is the glue that makes everything stick. Regardless of industry or expertise, winning the hearts and minds of your connections can help elevate you to a position of trust agent, confidant, and maybe even the go-to expert*.

Here are a few fundamental dynamics of building trust:

1. Authenticity

2. Reverberation

3. Empathy

4. Sincerity

5. Credibility

*Nobody's an expert. We are all students on a unique journey to leave our own mark.

Six Ways to Make People Like You

Winning friends and influencing people is the heart and soul of social media. Individuals and brands are on a mission to capture audience attention, build trust, and turn fans into advocates. In "How to Win Friends and Influence People", American writer and lecturer Dale Carnegie offers readers several tips, tools, and strategies for making new friends comprising a relevant study for today's students of new media.

Six Ways to Make People Like You

  1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
  2. Smile.
  3. Remember that a person's name is, to him or her, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
  4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
  5. Talk in the terms of the other person's interest.
  6. Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely.

Clearly, success is built on the art of personalization.

 

10 Second Tweet

My influence for this post comes from the film One Hour Photo starring Robin Williams.

It is truly fascinating how we as a society engage in such public demonstration and expression of our daily activities through online networks such as Facebook, FriendFeed, Twitter, and so forth. This form of expression is similar to the photographs that we take to the local supermarket or one-stop retail shop for development. We unknowingly or willingly pass a piece of our lives into the hands of complete strangers.

The same rapid transfer of information or open invitation occurs when we tweet about our pets, cravings, individual ideas, and our whereabouts.

Concerns about privacy are merited as are our continued efforts to be prudent in regards to participation in the online arena.

Just some food for thought.

The Essence of Being a Mensch

As we travel the long winding roads of the information highway seeking new methods of influence and audience engagement, it becomes important for us to master the craft of being a 'mensch'. Trust is an important dynamic of creating rewarding relationships and building our network of mentors, partners, customers, and raving fans. Exploring the true definition of what it means to be a mensch makes good business sense (and cents).

First of all, what is a mensch?

A mensch is a person of character, purpose, and admirable fortitude.

Someone who will take the time and courtesy to retweet your tweets, return your calls, introduce you to others, and follow through on commitments.

Being a mensch takes time, dedication, and a positive attitude.

Many factors contribute to the ability to become a mensch but in actuality it's easy and is built on the foundation of simply being a good person.

A mensch combined with the power of social media can become one of the greatest influencers.

Who do you consider to be a mensch?

Unstoppable: Lessons in Engagement

What do Kobe Bryant, Jay Baer, and Coca-Cola have in common?

They dominate their industries with style, grace, and precision that simply outshines their competition. On one hand we have an athlete who shoots the rock with such deadly accuracy that time and time again leaves the competition asking themselves "what just happened?" and on the other a similarly talented artist who takes his athletic prowess to the world of new media striking up informational slam dunks of social media strategy.

Both these individuals are at the top of their game on a consistent basis much like Coca-Cola which always seems to capture audience attention and generate renewed interest.

However, these three have much more in common than industry leading ability. Kobe, Jay, and Coca-Cola are storytellers. 

They understand the importance of offering audience value and ensure that their every step, post, and branding measures up to the expectations of their fan base.

They are storytellers who make it easy for others to share their story.

They're not selling shoes, books, or beverages...no...they have moved past that arena and are telling stories that capture audience attention and generate a groundswell of conversation.

 

Why The Social Media Bubble Will Not Burst

Some might say that social media will decline in popularity and become an object of the past and that social media is nothing more than a current marketing + sales fad. What these individuals fail to realize is that social media is nothing in itself. It is not an object that we can contain within certain online communities.

Rather, social media is about people, trust, influence, engagement, and digital democracy. Social media is about giving people an opportunity to connect and allow their voice to be heard across multiple outlets.

The popularity of being able to communicate with others and the ability to share and create content is something that will be around for a while regardless of the medium.

The medium might be the message but the message is still in control and more popular than ever.

Having a voice and an outlet to engage, share, connect, and create is not flash-in-a-pan type object.

So, don't worry...social media is about people and the value of relationships.

Wallflower Paradox and True Engagement

What is a wallflower?  
 
wall-flow-er  [wawl-flou-er]:
 
1. a person who, because of shyness, unpopularity, or lack of a partner, remains at the side at a party or dance.
2. any person, organization, etc., that remains on or has been forced to the sidelines of any activity
 
Let's add a third definition blending in the unique arena of social media.
 
3. a person or brand reluctant to engage in meaningful conversations online.
 
Individuals and brands seeking to make an online impact need to consider the unique dynamics of what it means to be a wallflower and identify areas to extend beyond this stage of engagement.
 
Here are a few rules or tips for growing past the wallflower stage:
 
1. Recognize the value of DMs, Re-tweets, and messages and respond accordingly.
 
2. Be responsive yet authentic.
 
3. Add value to the conversations taking place.
 
The reason social media is so successful is in large part due to the fact that we can actually communicate with another party leading to productive and rewarding connections.
 
Brands and individuals who fail to respond and participate are not very social at all.

The V.I.P. Treatment

A customer walks into your establishment interested in making a purchasing decision. How do you respond? Do you evaluate this person's attire? Do you take a peak outside to see if they're driving a Mercedes? Is an attempt made to measure this new visitor against the scales of an A and B customer?
 
The essence of customer service and the arena of social media place an enormous responsibility on today's brands to rethink their strategy. Gone are the days where one could simply ignore or look past a potential buyer. The social media and customer relationship landscape places a significant importance on recognizing the value of each and every customer that visits your website or walks through the door.
 
The potential for a public relations crisis and customer service dilemma is magnified because of the massive audience and armies of influence made possible through word of mouth and social media.
 
How you treat your customers has always been important but today's environment is a whole new playing field making it vital that marketers appreciate the value and potential of their customer base. Each transaction is an opportunity to perform and over deliver.
 
Why not give that new customer the V.I.P. treatment and turn them into another raving fan, brand advocate, and satisfied customer?
 

The People Factor

Okay...so we all know that the buzz around social media is in full swing causing heads left and right to stop and take a second glance at this thing we call engagement. Conversations are taking place and we all want to join in. Well...of course, because it's fun to interact and share information, build relationships, and enhance our connections.
 
Social media is all about engagement and creating conversations that actually mean something and offer value to the participants. We have B2C and B2B activities that are all trying to garner the attention of the masses. However, let's slow down for a minute and remind ourselves that this thing we call social media is about people.
 
People make this thing work. The social factor is the key that will dictate whether or not this new form of media can sustain its popularity and dynamic momentum. Let us not forget that it's still about the people and focusing on them.
 
As we transition into a more measurable and returns based system that actually offers a return on investment, we will find that the key still remains on focusing on relationship building and the practice of offering relational value.