Making friends is one of the most valuable activities in life, whether measured by happiness, helpfulness, or financial benefits. Making friends usually begins with finding compatible people. In a previous post I wrote about How To Find Friends. Social networking websites have made it easy to find new friends online, but winning their loyal friendship is an art.
Leadership is about Leverage and Synergy. The leader has a vision and a mission, and he or she leverages the talents, the energy, and the resources of the followers to accomplish that mission. Leading from Behind Leadership involves synergy, i.e., the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. One of the fundamental roles of […]
It’s How People Feel About You (a Kind of Branding) Actually, I believe that what counts most is how people feel about you. Knowing is not enough. Being known is not enough. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. It is not just a matter of who you […]
One thing I have noticed and reflected upon over the past few decades is the tremendous impact relationships have had on my life in every way. There is no question about the fact that relationships have practical value beyond their intrinsic emotional satisfaction. At every turning point or tipping point in my life, it was a relationship that made the biggest difference.
“Everyone” says that video is “the future” on the internet. More and more websites and blogs use video. Video email is now a big thing. It seems that most tutorials are in video format. Video conferencing is “in.” Credit for the images above goes to the VideoConferencings blog, which states […]
Photo credit to toettoet’s photostream Social media marketing is a relatively new and often misunderstood concept. Adding “marketing” to social media need not horrify those of us who value relationships per se. In fact, idealists (like me) may actually welcome this new form of marketing once marketers get used to the idea that relationships come first […]
Social media relationships are impacting our lives in many significant ways. First and foremost, the quantity, diversity, and locations of people we’re enabled to connect with has expanded dramatically. Social media are changing our relationships and including many more “weak ties.” For networking purposes “weak ties” could be more helpful than strong ties, because they connect us to resources and information we would not otherwise know about or have access to.
“Relationship Marketing” “Relationship marketing” is a term often identified with network marketing or “attraction marketing.” However, it seems to me that relationships are at the heart of all kinds of successful marketing in the 21st century. Generation after generation of marketers have learned that Love endures and that good service breeds brand loyalty and referrals. […]
Multimedia Usage and Non-Verbal Communication Components of multimedia include a broad spectrum of channels and devices. Usage of multimedia spans an even more diverse explosion of applications. As a professional networker, I am most interested in the usage of multimedia for connecting with new friends and nurturing relationships with existing friends and followers. Especially on […]
Business Networking Whatever you need and don’t have, somebody else does have, whether it be knowledge, resources, ideas, skills, or contacts. Synergy is the main reason for networking. Of course, relationships, which are precious per se, are a very nice by-product of networking and collaboration. In an article on BrightHub.com entitled, “The Benefits and Challenges of Team Collaboration,” […]
Social Networking Social networking has been around for centuries. Synergy and empowering relationships are the essential ingredients of civilization. The internet is an efficient channel of communication for human beings who would like to interact for mutual benefit. I’ve been a fan of social networking for decades, and I was delighted when social media arrived […]
Interpersonal Attraction Attraction has been linked to similarity of attitudes, belief, and interests in university research since the 1960’s. Personally, I invested four years in post-graduate research into interpersonal attraction. The implications for social media are profound, because we open to the public intimate details about our attitudes and interests on our Facebook profiles. […]
Emotional Decisions Relationships are always between human beings, and humans have always been emotional creatures. We make decisions emotionally and then justify them rationally. Whatever the media or communication channels, we, the people, are attracted to those we know, like and trust. Online or offline, we don’t care how much you know — until we […]
One of the best things about true network marketing, online or offline, is the win-win relationships. To quote Zig Zigler, “Help enough other people get what they want, and you will get what you want.” Sales and internet marketing, as opposed to networking, have the potential to be win-lose games. The seller wins, whether or […]
Alliances, tribes, and virtual teams are popular among internet marketers today. SEO has incentivized reciprocal tribe syndication beyond the normal reasons to cooperate. Personally I have been wrestling with my entrepreneurial tendency to focus on my own creative projects, rather than to contributing a lot of time as a team player. I’m just being honest […]
Get traffic? The volume of “traffic” flowing through Facebook and Twitter feeds make the Los Angeles freeway system look like a rural country lane. But social media experts continue to advise marketers not to transfer the old freeway billboard advertising technique to social networks like Facebook. Unlike the freeway, the traffic on the new internet superhighway is becoming […]
The social network online is only part of the real global social network, which includes human society as a whole. The old email chat acronym, IRL (In Real Life), no longer makes sense, if it ever did. Most of what constitutes human life, such as emotions, reasoning, needs, wants, and commerce, exist online and offline, and often overlap both. […]
Social media allow us to get to know each other before we decide to do business together. This is one of the things I like about network marketing too. We can choose to work with whomever we want. I think that is better than taking a chance on “buying a pig in a poke” from […]
Sales and network marketing are related but different professions. Of course there are various hybrids and blends. But for this discussion let’s distinguish between these fields based on their fundamentals. Either profession can be practiced online or offline. I love the internet and the technological leverage. It reminds me of the leverage of networking, which […]
Leveraging Trust and Influence Business networking is about leveraging trust and influence and multiplying your sphere of influence by the influence of others. Attraction is a kind of influence. “Personal Branding,” perhaps synonymous with reputation, may help with attraction and personal direct sales. Sales and marketing have their place in free enterprise, but network marketing […]
Branding is usually associated with commercial brands for products or services. But personal branding, whether online or offline, is a matter of reputation. As you interact with others, they may come to know, like, and trust you. They are open to buying what you have to offer. They may even believe in the value you […]
To “brand,” or not to brand; that is the question. With internet branding comes extra burdens and risks which may be unnecessary to achieve your goals. In fact, making yourself “the issue” may even be counter-productive. I know, I know; branding is “in.” Internet marketers, in this decade, love the idea of becoming famous in […]
Social media has powerful potential for viral exposure. But studies have shown that more than two-thirds of Facebook users say that “Liking” a “Fan Page” does not mean permission to send me advertising messages. Marketers need to understand that the vast majority of “Fans” click that they “Like” a page as a message to their friends, […]
Trust is a key component in business (and personal) decisions. Greg Ferenstein wrote an interesting post on the Mashable blog about trust in social media, in which he quoted Professor Judith Olson, who has studied the essentials of building trust in digital communication. One of her most important findings is that “responsiveness is key” in building […]
Begin with the end in mind. As a leadership consultant I have always asked “WHY” before “WHAT.” Intention helps focus efforts in the direction of desired results. Craig Galati wrote about social media strategy in the Las Vegas Sun: Social media is important, but it must fit into a marketing strategy. Social media is a […]
