Tim Bursch

In the new world of work, the focus is more on projects instead of production lines. It’s about trial and error. One of the cool things about my day job is the constant learning cycle. I am helping clients experiment with emerging media to market their products and services. Yes, we set strategic objectives and measure our performance. But what about bigger-picture learning? What is a good model for conducting trials? Lately I’ve been applying a learning model borrowed from some friends who are working on a mentoring revolution.

Next time you try a new form of media consider a model like this:

Experience- New platform or campaign. Let’s say you try Facebook ads to reach new customers and get amazing impressions, but only so-so click-throughs.

Reflect- Take one step back and pause. What happened? Review the experience.

Interpret- What worked? What didn’t work? How was the business impacted? What could be done different? Be honest, admit failures, but don’t over-report. Find the truth and make a decision on what to do because of it.

Change- Apply the learning. Try it again and make it better.

Sound simple? I think it can be. This model helps you take intentional steps to learn from each marketing program.

Take a look at your last email campaign. Apply to your Twitter content. Review your promotion.

What model works for you?

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I’ve been busy with this.

Be back soon.

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I have a few favorite restaurants right now. And I tell everyone about them. I’m an advocate for brands I love. My guess is you do the same with your faves. Are brands helping their talkers? What could they do to empower their biggest fans?

Let’s take a look at one of the places that I love: Anchor Fish and Chips

Great food, mostly local and sustainable, focused, and affordable. Easy to talk about.

My wife and I have told at least a dozen people each about this place. Face to face. However, I’ve never taken any advocacy actions online. That’s a big opportunity. Imagine if I had told my networks:
Twitter - 2,000+
Facebook - 180
Each of those people have an average of 125 friends. Do the math. Granted, not all of those people are in Minneapolis, but what could Anchor do to help share the digital love?

Here are some best practices for promoting advocacy from other thriving businesses:

1. Identify your talkers.

• Ask for my email. Get me on a list, and share what’s happening. I’d like to know what’s on tap, more about the story, insider scoop.
• Ask if I would be willing to recommend. [Use the simple and effective Net Promoter Score: read more here]

2. Activate

• Give me something to share. I’ll gladly email, tweet, post about your business.
• Do something exclusive for your advocates. Share the back story. History. Make me feel like I’m part of a club.
• Ask me to help and I’ll do it because I like your brand. For free.

3. Measure

• Take surveys occasionally. Put a postcard with the check asking customers a few questions.
  How did you hear about us? [main measurement] Would you recommend us to a friend? Sign up for our email newsletter.
• Social actions (shares, comments, likes, retweets, etc.)
• Look at the bottom line before and after.

What are you doing to promote advocacy for your business?

If you are in Minneapolis, make sure to visit The Anchor Fish and Chips! [Twitter//Facebook]

Image credit: Stig Nygaard

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One of my long-time heroes and digital mentors, Tim Sanders, just launched a new book: Today We Are Rich. He calls it the prequel to Love is the Killer App. I had the opportunity to ask Tim a few questions about the new book.

But first, a little history…

Back in 2002, I was hungry for knowledge about boosting my career. So, I picked up Love is the Killer App and devoured every word. His generous philosophy infected my work and thinking. Needless to say, Tim has made a big impact on my personal and business life.

Tim is an author, consultant, and speaker. He’s a modern day Dale Carnegie. Learn more about him here.

Read on:

1. So, what is Today We Are Rich about?

The book is about a set of confidence principles that my grandmother taught me a child. These hard to stick to principles turned my life around twice – the 2^nd time propelling me to a top executive role at Yahoo in 2002.

I consider it the prequel to Love Is The Killer App, my first book on knowledge, network and compassion sharing. In the new book, I divulge that the underlying secret to being an abundant and generous person is Total Confidence in one’s outlook. And that’s not just a matter of will, it’s the result of thoughtful and rigorous lifestyle design.

2. What made you decide to write this book?

I wrote the book in response to the fear I saw in people’s eyes in the Fall of 2008. Everywhere I went, it was like 1991 or 2001 all over again: Boom, crash, uncertainty, scarcity-think. I said to myself, “write your book on Abundance, tell Billye’s story!” Much like Napoleon Hill did in the 1930’s I felt compelled to write about how we must cultivate confidence from the inside so when things fall apart, we can be the Phoenix and not the fodder.

3. What is one thing you hope readers walk away with?

That you can own your outlook on life and success, instead of letting it own you. You can break through your Sideways years by redesigning what you feed your mind, the conversation you propel and the difference you are bold enough to make. It starts with principle one – Feed Your Mind Good Stuff. It’s free to read at http://twar.com

4. Why is this book relevant now?

People are still on tender hooks from the Great Recession of 2008. We are living one step forward and one step back, out of control when it comes to our mind diet. Because of smart phones, social media and our email addiction, we start each day out in a way that leads to depression and fear. Those that break free from this will ultimately be remembered as the Phoenix types that actually prospered in 2011 and beyond.

One other point: The book’s main star is my grandmother, a remarkably confident person who’s still alive and healthy at 96. In our BLEEP My Dad Says Culture of mean spirited humor and disrespect, I want to challenge all of us to learn from and appreciate the Great Depression winners before they are just a memory.

5. Favorite tip for connecting people?

Sure, network to give, not to prospect for future returns. You shouldn’t screen people first to see if they can be of use to you, you should screen yourself to see if you can be of use to them. Make it an obsession to always connect 3 people each week that should meet – and expect zero in return. It’s like open source, your network will grow exponentially through your investments.

Thanks Tim! Buy the book or download an excerpt here for free.

What are you feeding your mind?

Tags: books, interview, mentor, networks, Tim Sanders.

We were getting groceries recently, and to get what we want ended up at a few different stores. At the checkout one store was noticeably rough with the food and didn’t seem to care. The other was careful and helpful. Cracked eggs vs. rubber bands and extra bags. Yes, there are some price differences and yes, different levels of service.

But one store leaves me feeling kind of bruised and hurried, while the other makes me feel taken care of.

I know these are small details in the customer experience, but they matter. How you treat people’s food, car, kids, and money spent all matter.

So, think about your customer’s experience. What little things could you pay more attention to? Remember, everything you do is marketing.

Your thoughts?

Photo credit: John Steven Fernandez

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This post was originally published on Saturday, February 12, 2011 on the Gage Blog.

Yesterday Facebook launched a new version of Pages that “will enable brands, businesses and organizations to build stronger relationships with their fans.” You can upgrade today or wait until March 10th when all pages will be updated. Let’s walk through the big changes and how they will impact your marketing efforts:

Be the Page

Now you can login as a page or profile. This means that you can post, comment, or like other Pages in Facebook. You will also be able to experience the news feed from the Page’s perspective. At this point you cannot comment on a Profile (individuals) unless their privacy settings are absolutely open.

Takeaways

• More engagement with other brands – co-marketing
• Expand your reach and exposure to more potential fans
• But be careful of spamming other communities. Don’t create noise. Add value to other conversations.
• Watch out for Page-jacking from competitors or distributors
• Use the newsfeed view to nurture strategic relationships with other Pages relevant to your fans

Where did everything go?

Watch for changes to the top navigation. You will see a photostrip of the 5 most recent photos posted to the wall. Fans photos posted on your Page will not show up here. This new look will match the updated Profile user interface.

Tabs are no longer front and center. You will now see navigation to tab on the left under your Page picture. Again, similar experience to Profiles. Fans will see 6 navigation options above the fold. You can set your default landing page for fan if you have an app, promotion, or welcome page.

The top right corner will allow you to feature administrators, similar to putting faces in a Twitter background. This area will also highlight mutual friends and interests (suggested by Facebook) to fans.

Takeaways

• Make sure pictures are high quality and compelling to fans
• First impressions matter. If people are landing on your wall or default option, make sure that have a good experience. You get one shot!
• Continue to focus on great content and real engagement
• If it makes sense for your brand, feature an admin and give fans a human connection

Moderation matters

The wall now has an “Everyone” filter or Posts by the Page. The Everyone filter is based on relevance and content with the highest feedback. In other words, the old wall showed fans content in reverse chronological order and now the Everyone filter will show what Facebook thinks is relevant.

In addition, Facebook added keyword moderation and profanity blocklists to Pages.

Takeaways

• Because the timeline is gone, moderation is more important. Posts and comments may get buried by the new smart filter.
• Brands will need to be intentional about moderation and take advantage of keyword and profanity blocklists
• If you are not using a Social Media Management Platform, use the Email notifications for your Page.
• Based on the Everyone filter, you must create great content and interact with your fans

How do you think these changes will affect brand marketing on Facebook? Likes? Dislikes? Tell us in the comments.

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My wife and I have a budget and we try really hard to stick to it. We’ve tried a variety of systems over the years and some have worked, some have not. We were comparing notes with some friends recently about budget woes and they talked about Mint. While it appears to have some cool features, what stuck with me after the conversation was the potential solution for some of our current system challenges.

We signed up and we are trying it out. It might not be the best solution yet, we’ll see.

Here’s the deal. These kind of word-of-mouth interactions happen every day between friends. Online and Offline.

What problem are you solving?

Tweet from Tim Sanders

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You’ve heard of the 90-9-1 rule. 90% of your online community are generally sitting back in their seats watching. 9% are editors. And 1% are creators. General rule for most communities. So, how do you engage that 90%? How do you move people from being a lurker to an active participant?

Here are 7 ideas to try:

1. Ask questions calling out people that have never commented before. For example: We want your input! What do you think about product X? Tell us in the comments. If you’ve never commented before, we won’t bite. We need your voice!
2. Encourage advocates (creators) to get their quiet friends involved.
3. Use polls and surveys to get people’s hands raised.
4. Do some outreach, if your platform allows. Not Big Brother style, but send a private message thanking the lurker, ask a question, get them talking. Make sure they know they are noticed.
5. Make it really easy. Don’t have barriers (Captcha) to entry or comment.
6. Reward behavior. Every time someone comments or puts their voice out there, acknowledge at a minimum.
7. Give guidance. Help with instructions and calls to action.

How do you get the audience engaged?

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I set out with big goals in 2010 to post daily. With life and work changes, that didn’t pan out, but you showed up and paid attention to thoughts and ideas that I care about.

This year, I’m not going to make a public promise. I will tell you where I’m hoping to take this blog.

So, what’s next? What can you expect here in 2011?

I’m going to keep writing about things that I care about. Watch for:

• Community- part of my work is focused on community development and management. I’ll share what I’m learning and what I think is working
• Ideas- I’m going to keep giving away my knowledge and network
• Social- marketing, media, business - it’s all about connections

Bonus-  I’m going to launch some extra content in the next months sharing some of the best stuff I’m finding and my analysis. Stay tuned.

Photo by: eioua

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Happy New Year!

I’m taking a small time out here. Not to create another resolution or list, but to refine and simplify.

Last year, I said I would blog more. And I did.

I said I would do crazy things like beta testing. Yeah, not happening yet.

I’ve got ideas for 2011. But they might be about less.

I really appreciate your attention and hope you will stop back soon!

Photo credit: stevendepolo

Tags: goals.