Isn’t Social Media Just Shameless Self-Promotion – YES IT IS – That’s Why You Need to Be Using It to Shamelessly Self-Promote Your Business

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We live in a very anti-social, social media world.

No, that’s not a typo – social media is anything BUT social.

Think about it – how many “friends” do you have on Twitter that you actually know? And by know, I’m not talking about sharing tweets.

Let’s put it this way, how many “friends” do you have on Twitter that you’d invite into your home for dinner? Not a coffee shop, not some sleazy bar, or worse – street corner – your own private residence.

Asking myself that same question, I currently have 4,376 followers on Twitter. Of those amazingly awesome folks following me, I’d guess I probably really only know a couple hundred, when you consider friends, family and business associates.

Of those 200 people, I really only know about 50 that I know well enough to invite into my own, personal, private, living space.

So, out of over 4,000 “friends” on Twitter, I really know about 50 of them. Do the math – I only really know 1.25 percent of my Twitter followers.

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According to statistics, that’s about right. Studies show the average Twitter user only really knows between one to two percent of those who follow them.

One to two percent – that means, on average, 98 to 99 percent of those happy smiling faces that follow you on Twitter are complete strangers.

Doesn’t sound all that social at all.

Twitter is just like walking down a busy street, yelling: “look at me.”

BINGO!

Social media is just shameless self-promotion, that’s why you need to be using it to shamelessly self-promote your business.

If everyone is using Twitter, facebook, YouTube, Google Plus, Vimeo, Pinterest, Instagram, even Linkedin to shamelessly promote themselves – then you need to be doing that too.

I know – that’s not very social. Walking down a busy street, yelling: “look at me” is hardly the behavior that’ll win you long lasting friends you can count on when you really need them.

But that’s the new world order, thanks to smart phones, tablets, free WiFi, and coffee shops filled with people, none of whom talk to each other -- even at the same table!

Talking?

That’s old school.

Besides, no one cares about you.

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They are too busy taking selfies to show off their new hat, tweeting about what they had for lunch, or posting a really nasty review about the waiter that kept putting his finger in everything he brought to the table.

No one cares about you.

They are busy shamelessly self-promoting their own self interest.

However, the smart social media entrepreneur knows that social media isn’t about making friends, fans and followers.

No.

It’s about doing something that gets you noticed by the most self-absorbed generation since – well okay – there never has been another generation so interested in themselves, that they will walk into on-coming traffic, because they were eyes-down, self-absorbed into their mobile device.

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You have to use social media as a business person to get into the eyeballs of your customers, so in their own self-interest, they share your posts with their friends. And their friends share it with their friends, and so on, and . . .

That’s the real power of social media in business.

Despite it being wrongly named “social” – it really should be called “self interested media” or “anti social media” or anything but social.

Social media is just shameless self-promotion, but that’s why you need to be using it to shamelessly self-promote your business.

Just Because You Run a Small Business Doesn’t Mean You Should Answer the Phone Like Your Kid

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Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes, much as their businesses do.

Sometimes you’ll never know they run a small business unless you actually meet them.

Then, there are others, that have the telltale signs of being a small business:

• Their email address is a Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail or some other free one.
• Their email address is firstname@companyname.com
• Their web address is some free-hosted site.
• When you call them, they answer the phone as your kid does when you’re calling him downstairs for dinner.

Seriously, I’ve been talking to a handful of small business owners recently, and more than just a few answered the phone in such an unprofessional manner, I had to double check to see if I dialed the wrong number.

“Yo,” is not an acceptable way to answer your phone if you want to be taken seriously as a professional.

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Neither is: “Hey, how ya doin’?”

Nor does: “What?” inspire great things when calling someone you might be looking to hire.

How you answer the phone makes a big difference, even if you’re running a small business.

You’d think this would be common sense, however, as with most things in life, common sense doesn’t seem to be all that common.

When you answer your work line as above, you instantly put your potential customers on edge.

“Does this bozo really think I’m going to pay him for his services?”

How can you trust someone with your money, if they can’t answer the phone like an adult?

Unless I’m calling a stand-up comic, or someone that works in a business where light-hearted fun is the business, anything as the above tells me I’ll be looking elsewhere to spend my cash.

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So, how should you be answering your work phone?

A good rule of thumb is to simply say your first and last name as the introduction: “John Smith.”

That works in the mega-huge faceless corporate world, so it also works in a small business.

Though adding some personality and customer service isn’t a bad idea: “Hi, this is John Smith, how can I help you?”

Want to sound like a big company? Use the company name in your greeting: “Thanks for calling XYZ Inc., this is John, how can I help you?”

We’ve all heard the saying, you never have a second chance to make a first impression – that is very true on the phone, especially if this is the person’s first time calling you and your business.

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If you don’t sound like a reputable, professional person, you won’t get that person’s business.

Competition in all fields is immense these days, so you really don’t have a second chance to make that all important first impression.

So, unless you’re a Sylvester Stallone impersonator, answering your business phone: “Yo” just doesn’t cut it.

Once you’ve established a rapport with someone, and know the number, then perhaps you could answer slightly less formal.

However, that’ll never happen, if you scare off potential customers by answering your phone like your kid.

So, until that time, always answer the phone like a business person – unless of course, you don’t want to be in business.

Never Toss Anyone Under The Bus

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Years ago, when I worked in the corporate world, I remember sitting in on a project meeting that still to this day sends a cold chill down my spine.

My team was designing a new learning platform for one of the big automakers, and this was just one of our regular project meetings to update the client on our progress.

As we showed off our latest developments, one of the team leads for the client scoffed at one of the images used in the application.

Immediately – and probably without thinking – one of my team’s project leads said: “Oh, that’s what happens when designers use clip art, sometimes they just toss any ol’ thing in there – we’ll change that right away!”

The problem, that wasn’t clip art, it was a painstakingly hand-drawn graphic, by one of our top designers – who happened to be sitting in on this meeting -- and it was specifically requested and approved by the client months ago.

I saw the poor designer turn ghostly pale and sink into her chair.

She didn’t want to be in that room.

And after her silent tears turned into audible sobbing, neither did anyone else.

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I suggested we take a five-minute break, and you could almost see the vapour trails as most raced out of that room, leaving just me and the sobbing designer.

Luckily, I was able to turn things around, and I even managed to get her laughing and joking with me about the silliness of the situation.

However, my discussion later with the person who threw her under the bus was not so jovial.

He didn’t have anything personally against the graphic designer, he just did what unfortunately a lot of people still do in business – kiss the client’s butt.

My problem with people that think butt-kissing is the best way to build and foster client relations, is that they won’t hesitate for a second to blame themselves, or a member of the team to satisfy a client’s complaint – no matter how ridiculous – as in this situation, where the offending art was actually requested and already approved by the client.

Never throw anyone on your team under the bus.

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Blame doesn’t get you any further in business – or anything else in life.

All blame does is create unnecessary frustration and anger with those the blame is directed at. Hardly an efficient or effective way to solve a problem.

That’s what the team lead should have done – suggest a solution to the problem.

As a team lead, he should have known that the artwork in question was already signed-off by the client.

He should have NEVER blamed anyone on any team.

I’m just glad he didn’t blame our client for approving artwork they didn’t like – that would have been a bigger fire to put out.

Never throw anyone on your team, or anyone’s team, under the bus.

I have never seen a personal or professional problem resolved by blame.

Blame is just a way to pass the buck. It shifts the attention away from working towards a solution, by pointing a finger at someone, and saying: “this is your fault!”

Blame is a huge problem in offices around the world. It creates hostile workplaces, where no one wants to be, because you never know if one day, you’ll be the one taking the blame.

Don’t blame people on your team, in your office, or in your company for anything ever.

Blame is bad for those you blame.

Blame is bad for those who blame you.

Blame is bad for the entire corporate culture, as it creates an environment of fear and angst.

Blame is bad – period.

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Next time you feel the urge to blame someone, go punch a pillow, to relieve the stress, and then work out a solution that does not assign blame.

Because any solution that blames someone else isn’t a solution, it’s just another way of saying: “not my problem.”

As part of the team, every problem is yours – that’s the whole point of being on a team.

But that’s another rant, for another day.

Is Authenticity in Business Best?

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Thanks to podcasting, social media and the very public world we’ve created for ourselves through similar technologies, there is a growing trend towards authenticity.

Want to succeed in romance, your career, business or anything in life? Just be yourself.

Tell it like it is.

I’m a big fan of some of the most popular blogs and podcasts in the entrepreneurial space which tell you to just be you, as the hosts demonstrate by just being themselves.

From the always informative and interesting Smart Passive Income blogs and podcasts, where host Pat Flynn shares his story of personal success – leaving the world of architecture, to start and run several successful online businesses.

To Entrepreneur on Fire, where host John Lee Dumas interviews successful entrepreneurs, sharing their stories of failure, success and tips for starting their own businesses.

I love these guys, for their bravery in being honest, true, and authentic.

There’s that word again.

Authentic.

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It’s the new buzzword of the business world. Just be authentic while providing any product or service, and watch your customers line-up ‘round the corner.

If being authentic is the best thing to be, how come the biggest money makers online still dabble in the totally unauthentic worlds of sex and drugs?

Porn still makes up over 70 percent of the commerce traded online, according to several studies. The next biggest money maker online? Discount prescription drug sales, most notably, for erectile dysfunction – you know – that purple pill called Viagra.

Neither of these businesses uses authenticity to sell – quite the opposite! The whole porn industry is based on creating entertainment based on our fantasies.

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And it is not just the realm of the online business world.

Yes, I’m a proud '100 percenter' – someone who’s listened to the Humble and Fred podcast since it first hit iTunes, and has listened to every episode then and since.

Humble and Fred two well-known Toronto radio personalities, have been together for a quarter of century, making listeners laugh with their silly – some may say offensive – fart and dick jokes.

Since embarking on their own entrepreneurial ventures, they boast about being authentic too. They talk about their lives, the lives of their guests, and share their blunt opinions about the world around them.

Their unique format has done them well -- although they began their podcast because they claim no radio station would hire them – since launching their authentic talk radio show, it has been picked up by several terrestrial radio stations, and has become the morning show on SiriusXM’s Canada Laughs channel.

Humble and Fred talk about being authentic as the key to their success – people don’t like being sold personality – they want the real deal.

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Humble and Fred, Entrepreneur on Fire and the Smart Passive Income podcasts and blogs are among my favorite guilty pleasures when I have a moment to spare.

They are all exceptionally entertaining, and informative.

Yet, they always talk about being authentic.

Tell it like it is.

Yet we still live in world where the biggest businesses don’t.

Like the joy ride automakers take us on when they show off their latest cars, speeding down a narrow mountain road -- with lots of fine print about it being a closed course, and do not ever attempt what we're seeing.

To beer commercials still selling us good times over cold brews – with more fine print reminding us to please drink responsibly.

Even burger joints like McDonald’s are trying to sell us on their “healthy choices menu” even though the number one product McDonald’s sells are their French fries.

If the truth will set you free, and being authentic in business is the new norm, why are the biggest and most recognized brands on the planet still peddling products and services the old fashioned way?

Truth is, sometimes the truth hurts.

So being authentic just isn’t in the cards for most of our guilty pleasures.

Think about it – would you buy beer if the ads showed overweight men with beer bellies, getting into bar room brawls?

Probably not.

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Clearly, authenticity isn’t always best.

Being authentic really depends on what it is you are selling.

If you’re selling entrepreneurship, being your own boss, and making it on your own – authenticity works. Authenticity works here, because it’s all in the self-improvement space.

However, if you’re selling things that are more status symbols – like high end sports cars – or ways to escape reality – like porn and beer – than being authentic could actually hurt your business.

So, does the truth set you free in business? Depends on the business.