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Thank You To All Of The Olympic Bloggers

59 min 33 sec ago

Recently, we at Abraham Harrison helped the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) reach out to bloggers and others online in order to bring more attention to the Winter Olympic Games. Nearly 300 movers, shakers and influencers responded to our call to action with the placement of banners, tweets, and with blog posts. Thank you to all of the authors of the following posts:

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You should know “lo-so”

Wed, 2010-03-17 16:55

Oh foursquare, we meet again. The first time was on the black-top at recess in the early 90’s. These days, you are Foursquare (capital “F”) and I can’t help but read about you every where I turn on the Internet. Foursquare, and other location-based social (lo-so) networks like it, are all the rage these days and all the experts are saying we should all start paying attention.

Foursquare, which was launched at last year’s SXSW, now has over 500,000 users who use the service to “check-in” at various locations in order to earn badges and bragging rights as the “mayor” of that particular place. The more a user checks-in, the more badges they acquire and the closer they become to the coveted mayor title. I use Foursquare every once in a while and currently hold the prestigious badge of Newbie that everyone gets when you check-in once (congrats to me). Chris Abraham, however, holds a number of badges including Superstar (for checking-in at over 50 places), Super Mayor (for being mayor of more than 10 places) and my personal favorite, Overshare (for 10+ check-ins in less than 12 hours).

But even as a lowly Newbie in the Foursquare realm I have to agree with the experts here, and say that Foursquare and other location-based social networks present some pretty cool marketing opportunities for businesses in the form of mobile coupons and real-time promotional offers. An article on Mashable says location-based social networking allows for a real world connection to social media that could mean more foot traffic and profits for business owners. Well that sounds pretty good. But my question is: are any businesses actually taking advantage of these opportunities and if so, who is doing it well?

As is the case with any new and shiny social media “toy,” all the experts and gurus seem to agree that lo-so (all the gurus call it that) networks are a hot topic right now, but which businesses are heeding all this advice and implementing strategies that are working? Granted I am a self-proclaimed Newbie, but all I’ve really heard is that Starbucks may use Foursquare to start giving out mobile coupons, for photo sharing and to build online reputation scores. But that’s just the “coming soon” phase.

Do you agree that location-based social networks present some interesting marketing opportunities? Which companies have you read about (or actually experienced) using Foursquare creatively?

(and yes this post is green on purpose. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!)

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Very Cool Mention from Entrepreneur’s Web Metrics Guru

Tue, 2010-03-16 18:08

We just discovered this lovely mention in Entrepreneur.com by Marshall Sponder, their Web Metrics Guru and writer:

PR firms such as Abraham Harrison have built lists of several thousand bloggers, by subject and tag, to use for clients’ campaigns, and anyone who has the time and inclination can employ the same approach, albeit on a smaller scale.

Check out the entire article and learn more about our favorite online metric forensics and monitoring tool, Alterian Techrigy SM2, Find Your Audience Now.

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Blogger Outreach for Haiti

Tue, 2010-03-16 00:24

Ellie Brown is one great asset here at Abraham Harrison. I hope you’ll go and check out the rest of her articles over on Writing practice makes perfect. Here’s one of her recent ones:

One of the things that Abraham Harrison does as a digital public relations agency is blogger outreach on behalf of clients. So what does that mean? Well, rather than reinventing the wheel, here is an abridged description taken from AH’s blog Marketing Conversation:

With each new client, and each new outreach, we identify a target demographic and identify bloggers who are leading and influencing that demographic. We call these groups of relevant bloggers the “universe”.

The universes are built using existing lists of bloggers AH maintains in combination with brand new lists (since each client has a different set of demographics they want to reach).

We then reach out to these bloggers in a 4-6 week campaign which includes an initial semi-personalized outreach email, followed up by 2-4 follow-up emails. The emails are terse and the majority of the messaging is “outsourced” to a social media news release (SMNR – a one-page simple HTML microsite) that is a “steal me” sheet for the bloggers to add pictures, content and widgets. Here is an example of a SMNR: http://freshairholiday.org/

Each one of these outreach cycles generally leads to 100-300 social media mentions in blogs and on Twitter (depending on how intriguing the client’s message and offering are), invariably reaching millions of people.

After last month’s earthquake in Haiti, I had the privilege of working on a pro-bono outreach AH developed on behalf of former client International Medical Corps. We emailed almost 10,000 bloggers and asked for their help to spread the word about donating via text message or online to support IMC’s efforts in Haiti. My job was to respond to bloggers who wrote back with questions, log any mentions on blogs or Twitter and thank bloggers for their help. We ended up with 171 blog and Twitter mentions that could be directly correlated with the outreach.

Granted this outreach was for a noble and timely cause, but pretty much all the feedback I received from the bloggers was overwhelmingly positive. Sometimes bloggers respond negatively and may think our efforts are “spammy,” but most of the time they are happy to oblige and impressed that there is a real person behind the emails they are getting.

It was a great learning experience for me, and I’m definitely looking forward to working on more campaigns.

You might be wondering why Abraham Harrison is so big on promoting it’s own staff and why the company isn’t afraid of “Brand Dilution” from letting our workers out of the box. Well, Chris Abraham, the Abraham of Abraham Harrison and COO has this to say in regards to all of those worries:

Too many “old school” businesses try to squelch the unique personal brand, thinking that it competes with or dilutes the parent brand. They feel like the employees need to be subsumed into the greater corporate brand; however, personal employee passion-based personal brand actually almost always enhances the parent brand. And, since it is so rare to find a passionate and excited employee, one should really try to encourage the personal brand growth. If you’re afraid of losing that employee via headhunting, you did something else wrong if you do lose her. Also, if you think she’ll get too big for her britches and she’ll be impossible to deal with? Well, look at your CEO — you deal with her, too! And, to be honest, the bigger her britches are the more influential she will be, so that’s generally a good thing. Besides, nice people generally don’t become jerks overnight. Well, I did, but most don’t. :)

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We Make Our Interns Write a Lot

Mon, 2010-03-15 15:21

Ellie Brown has ruined me for other interns, it is true. Please explore all of her posts here on Marketing Conversation and then please read her post recent post over at the American University Intern Blog, Writing practice makes perfect:

I’ve never written so often in my life. With this blog, my own blog and Abraham Harrison’s company blog, Marketing Conversation, my days are packed with writing. But what better way to prepare for a career in PR - a profession that is based on one’s ability to effectively communicate – than by honing my writing (read: communication) skills?

And I’ve not just been writing blogs during my internship. I’ve also written case studies, client success stories, and employee bios. Each assignment, while different, is about knowing who I’m writing for, what is the most important information to convey, and how to do it in a succinct, yet interesting way.

I recently finished writing up a case study on the blogger outreach I did for International Medical Corps. I had to write just one page summarizing the context of the activity, the goal of AH’s communication strategy, the tactics used to reach that goal and finally the results of the outreach. Then I had to boil all that down to one concrete results statement that not only communicated what our effort had accomplished, but also positioned AH as the best company for the job. Not easy. But a really good exercise in developing targeted and concise messages which I’m positive is a skill I’ll need for any job in PR.

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Social Media History

Sat, 2010-03-13 11:36

Social media started long long long. . . you get the idea. . . ago in the stone age. Back then sending messages consisted of drawing pictures on walls that were pretty much meant to reach the next generation. Those pictures looked something like this:

This translates pretty much as, “I had a successful hunt today, but sprained my ankle, I will probably be dead when my son reads this.”

Eventually people learned about fire and started using smoke signals, but those were cumbersome and the wind often mangled the sentences:

At some point someone decided to invent the alphabet and people started writing letters to each other. Those usually took months or years to reach their destination. They’d go something like this:

47 months later Adeliene would receive a reply:

As you can see the time it took letters to arrive usually resulted in a lot of problems. .. well that and people sending poison to each other on a regular basis.

People quickly decided that getting letters back and forth as quickly as possible was so important that it required running horses to death. Thus was born the Pony Express.

As people became interested in sending electric shocks through wires they eventually invented the telegram. A system of sending little bursts of noise along long long long pieces of wire. Of course those little bursts of noise could sometimes be misinterpreted.

Soon people moved on to telephones and party lines allowing many people to speak to each other at once and some to just spy and listen all day. Many middle aged recluses loved this pastime.

As we approached the 1980s and computers became more prevalent in the home, people decided to return to alphabet based communication. Dial up Bulletin Boards in the 80s were the peak of social media, but each system was closed off from the others so there wasn’t nearly enough space to spread crazy rumors.

Then Bob Dole invented the Internet (he said he did) so that people could send out great amounts of rumors, lies, facts, spam and everything else all day long to all over the world. This destroyed many of the little groups that had existed on the dial up bulletin boards and replaced them with giant web based bulletin boards that people could reach through a single phone number. Eventually, people did away with the slow dial up method and switched to “high speed” Internet.

People missed having their little cliques and groups though, so Friendster, Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter came along allowing people to feel like they had thousands of friends. This also allowed urban legends, crazy rumors, and conspiracy theories to spread even faster. Since everyone is more willing to trust a “friend” when they say something odd.

The future is bringing with it cell phone mesh geolocation, augmented reality, face recognition, always connected, social media insanity. You won’t be able to walk down the street without someone adding “tags” to your face that everyone else with a camera phone will be able to see when they meet you.

Eventually everyone will be plugged into a giant machine that will stir all of our thoughts together and I’m pretty sure the end result of that will be something like this:

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A Blogging Cycle Of Misunderstanding

Tue, 2010-03-09 18:11

And this. . . this happens to us all. We have all been the blogger and the reader in this cycle. Skim with care my friends, skim with care.

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Neema Cafe Is Crafting A Better Life For The Physically Handicapped

Sun, 2010-03-07 18:25

Abraham Harrison loves the Neema Crafts Cafe (http://www.neemacrafts.com/) and the amazing work they are doing for the physically handicapped and hearing impaired in Iring a, Tan zania, East Africa. Besides… they have hands down the best melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake between the Cape and Cairo!

And Neema Crafts is hoping to win British Airways “Expat Best of British” contest for the restaurant category. Please help them out by going to the Expat Best of British Restaurant page, and casting your vote for them (scroll down and click on Revie w & Vote for this venue below the images and above the comments.)

Neema Crafts is a cafe (yum!), weaving, and handcrafted paper workshop/store employing the deaf and physically handicapped in Iringa, where I used to live in Tanzania. Amazing panini, incredible cakes, and freshly roasted, freshly brewed local highland coffee… incredible. Neema saved more than one of my days there in the mountains of East Africa.

In addition to treating us customers to moments of culinary bliss, Neema has literally changed the lives of the physically handicapped and hearing impaired there in Iringa. People with handicaps in Tanzania suffer under strong discrimination and in the past have have few opportunities to earn good livings for themselves, regardless of their skills and talents otherwise. They are also subject to particular targeting for acts of crime and violence. Neema Crafts has changed all that in Iringa, providing training, employment, and as a result, status and futures for the handicapped of the city. It’s a truly amazing organization, making the world a better place for their co-workers and for anyone in Iringa craving a delicious bite!

Here’s the Neema Crafts entry on the British Airways Expat Best of British page:

Set up and run by a Yorkshire couple from Harrogate, Neema Crafts Restaurant is entirely staffed by deaf people and is part of the Neema Crafts Centre employing 103 deaf and disabled people in our craft workshops making everything from elephant dung paper to micro-solar panels. Also a physiotherapy Unit serving disabled children where you can also book an amazing massage. The restaurant, internet cafe and conference room (plus soon a guest house) serve fantastic food, cakes ice cream and some of the best teas and coffee in east africa. A favourite stop off for everyone from ambassadors to the guy with hardly a shirt on his back. A great place to relax and the place to go for the top tips to explore the area.

A tour of the workshops is the unexpected highlight of many an expat or tourists trip to Tanzania. The restaurant serves local dishes, but also a taste of home with cakes made to recipes from Susie’s (who runs the place with her husband Andy) great grandmother. The chocolate cake and carrot cake draw expats and all the VSO workers out of the bush to induldge. The ice creams and deserts like lemon meringue pies and rubarb crumbles are equaly fantastic and the chocolate toffee shortbread… The restaurant also features a childrens play corner with wendy house and books and toys so you can sip your coffee in peace while reading British and local newspapers or reading one of the second hand novels which we sell to raise money for the physiotherapy work with disabled children, playing a board game or browsing the development journals in the development library which is kept up to date with the best in development literature for the N.G.O. workers in town.

The Centre recently recieved rave reviews in the Rough Guide to Tanzania and the new Bradt guidebook and is soon to be featured in the National Geographic magazine for its micro-solar project. They run regular childrens clubs for the whole community in school holidays. Their deaf dance and drumming group are also amazing, having toured the UK in 2008 and danced for the EU embassy celebrations in Dar and zanzibar where they are currently performing in a major cultural event sponsored by the British Council. please also see these videos to hear more: http://www.vimeo.com/322277 & http://www.vimeo.com/322185 to hear from some of those who work at Neema Crafts.

Stori Nne/Four Stories from Usikike/Be Heard Film Project on Vimeo.

Safari Siyo Kifo from Usikike/Be Heard Film Project on Vimeo.

Every month a evening event is held which ranges from Scottish dancing to concerts from visiting musicians often top international cultural acts from across East Africa. These draw a huge crowd of Ex-pats and locals in from the bush to have a great time! A truly British establishment fully imersed in the local community and including everyone and serving the most disadvantaged.

Please go vote, and if you are ever in Iringa, Tanzania (perhaps on your way to a safari in one of Africa’s best, but still little known game parks, Ruaha), stop on by and tell Susie and everyone there at Neema that you voted for them!

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A Smart Phone Is A Social Phone

Sat, 2010-03-06 00:19

Looks like the smart phone revolution has really actually come this time, and is keeping pace with the social media revolution, or maybe they are completely building on each other.

Sarah Perez over at Read Write Web says in Social Networking Now More Popular on Mobile than Desktop.

A recent study from Ruder Finn revealed that Americans are spending nearly three hours per day on their mobile phones. And what are they doing there? Educating themselves, conducting business, managing finances, instant messaging, emailing? All of the above, as it turns out, and then some. But perhaps the most interesting finding from the new data is the fact that more people are using the mobile web to socialize (91%) compared to the 79% of desktop users who do the same. It appears that the mobile phone is actually a better platform for social networking than the PC.

What has given rise to this trend? What makes social networking such a popular mobile web activity? It’s easy to point to the proliferation of smartphones and their host of applications, 3G network speeds and more affordable data plans, built in web browsers and mobile-ready websites. Of course these are all important factors that have helped increase mobile social networks’ popularity. However, these measurements are the reason why mobile web use, in general, is growing, not specifically mobile social networking.

A less quantifiable statistic that may also have impacted the rise of mobile social networking to the point where it has surpassed desktop-based social networking is the fact that it’s an activity that taps into how people – normal, everyday people – go about their lives.

Perez has hit the mark with that one.

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Mobile Networking, Twitter

Wed, 2010-03-03 18:38

As twitter reaches 10 billion tweets this week (check the counter) and Facebook has over 400 million users and over 3.5 billion pieces of content, we find the data that definitely supports this huge success: the mobile data.

There’s no doubt that social networking sites depend on mobile technology, specially when the concept involves updating on the go. comScore released the data today about social networking from mobile phones. The change in Twitter and Facebook mobile users is remarkable as expected, and MySpace once again shows to be losing ground. Here is the table:

Basically, the future is looking very bright for social networking specially the ones that depend on mobile platforms to support and improve on-the-go interactions.

This is great news, but let’s not underestimate the magnitude of Twitter’s achievement of getting 10 billion total tweets and what’s more impressive, 5 billion of them came in the last 4 months. Even though the company has faced some scrutiny about security issues and traffic lately, Twitter is proving to be strong enough to overcome its troubles.

One more thing to know about Twitter is that it announced the decision to open its firehose to all developers in the beginning of 2010, giving ordinary developers the same access to real-time data as Google and Bing. This will open up many windows for new applications and revenue for Twitter, on top of the already great exposure provided by Google real-time searches which features live streams, including Twitter of course.

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ChatRoulette.com Not Anything Worth Any Time

Wed, 2010-03-03 00:51

Earlier this week, while looking through the Washington Post I stumbled on an article by Monica Hesse about a new fad online, ChatRoulette.com. Hesse says in ChatRoulette.com is the latest fad in social networking Web sites

Trollers of the Internet, you have been looking for the next big thing. Facebook bores you. Twitter is too frenetic. For months you have been wanting something different — a way to connect with people online that will both stir your heart and turn your stomach, that will launch a thousand privacy debates and discussions over just what our society is coming to.

The experience is either an unbridled realization of the Internet’s awesome randomness, or a compilation tape of its greatest hits: Omegle meets Hot or Not meets Match.com, plus a liberal dose of shame.

Personally, as far as I can tell, ChatRoulette.com is just plain garbage. It’s a useless waste of time that I can’t see building any kind of real relationships without some better social networking structure. I don’t just see it as burning out, I truly hope it does burn out quickly.

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The truth about Social Media in Latin America

Mon, 2010-03-01 20:37

We have been talking about the growth of social media in Latin America and now that some exciting numbers came in, let’s check out the quantitative truth behind all of our qualitative hype about these markets.

According to “Inside Facebook”, Latin American Facebook users grew by more than 10% from last November. The stats also point out that Argentina has the most FB users although Brazil is the country with the most potential due to the current growth rates and number of internet users. We have experienced this growth first hand through our two big clients operating heavily in Brazil. Mexico also shows great potential due to its current low penetration rate and large population.

Another very interesting research was made by Paris-based Semiocast, pointing out that only 50% of all tweets are in English. Although Twitter is still a young emergent in social media around the globe, different countries are showing great potential, specially…….. That’s right, Latin America. Coming in 3rd on the number of tweets the study shows the Portuguese language (majority coming from Brazil) and 5th is the Spanish. The two main languages of Latin America account for 13% of all tweets which means that on average, there are 4.5 million tweets in Portuguese and 2 million tweets in Spanish per day.

This all means that Abraham & Harrison is on the right track when it comes to anticipating for the latest international trends. We all know that the Asian market presents great opportunity for many different industries, but when it comes to the openness required by Social Media, Latin America presents the perfect setting. Latin America is quickly becoming a considerable piece of the Social Media pie and there’s already plenty of hungry companies out there.

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URL Tagging For Google Analytics Using The Google URL Builder Tool – Video Tutorial

Sat, 2010-02-27 15:18

Below is a basic video tutorial for using URL tagging in Google Analytics via the URL builder (which is really really really buried). I hope this helps out my fellow bloggers, coders, geeks, and gurus.

Things to keep in mind:

Only useful when linking to a page that has the analytics code on it.
Results in really ugly URLs in the address bar.
Not good for tracking views of a banner/link/etc

Keeping those things in mind, URL tagging still has its uses:

Good for tracking click throughs
Useful for figuring out which banner/link/flash produced the most click throughs

Let me know if it helps you out, any questions you might have, and anything you’d like to see further tutorials on.

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Old School Propaganda Films

Sat, 2010-02-27 00:09

I thought I’d wander through some old propaganda films with all of you. Public Relations is based on propaganda, and propaganda is not a four letter word. We can look at these films and use the techniques in them to promote worthy causes. We should not shy away from studying these very effective films.

Educational film to teach viewers about the dynamics of propaganda, made in the in the late 1940’s or early 1950’s.

A teacher dissects the processes in which propaganda works to an eager student. In it are moments of classic hokum, but curiously it all rings true today.

This film tries to dispell fear of nuclear radiation by such tactics as portraying the human body as a factory run by pixies, telling you you can always get a toupee if your hair falls out, and informing you that you’ll be dead before getting a high enough dose of radiation to make you sterile. The naration is alternately patronizing and clueless, making this a highly amusing example of 50s cold war propaganda.

1960s LSD Propaganda Film

American Propaganda Films Capitalism 1948

What do you think of these old films?

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Dive Into Social Media

Fri, 2010-02-26 00:25

More companies are starting social media based marketing campaigns every day, and not just tech companies.

Initially, it was marketers of technology and telecommunications products that tried out the social media, reflecting how their consumers were among the first into that realm. Now, as familiarity with the social media becomes more mainstream, companies like Clorox, Coca-Cola, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble are arriving there — not to mention purveyors of bologna, ham and turkey. -New York TImes

However many of the larger companies stepping into the social media arena are actually just putting down their proverbial pinky toes rather than getting fully entrenched and involved. Too bad for them, great news for their competitors.

The fact that the Fortune 100 do not leverage multiple tools is a sign of how consumer-based social media tools are not fully understood or leveraged for maximum benefit. It’s also evident of just how much of an opportunity big companies have in using the social Web if they use it to its full extent. Companies that extend to multiple media networks still have a chance to get ahead of competitors.-Read Write Web

I’m glad to see so many new company faces circling the social media realm, but they need to step in compeletly. Trying to test the waters will only leave them stranded on dry land in the long run.

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Leveraging Social Media: Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Thu, 2010-02-25 10:41

I missed American Idol last night because I decided last minute to go to a Social Media Club of DC event. I know, 1) how will I know how Todrick Hall did and 2) serious nerd alert. If only there was a way for me to set the DVR from my iphone…oh wait, DirecTV has that. I think that’s pretty newsworthy, especially if it means not missing a minute of AI. But according Charles Miller, Director Digital Care/Social Media Strategy at DirecTV, no one in the newsroom (or popular blogosphere) thought the launch of the DirecTV iphone DVR app was anything special and they said “no thanks” to covering it.

So instead of tearing up their press release and crying about it, Miller and the PR team at DirecTV decided to leverage their social media networks to spread the word about the launch of the app instead. The promotion was done by reaching out to well-connected individuals who had relationships with DirecTV and had shown they were active, responsive and available to re-tweet. Turns out, people did think the launch was special and 200,000 of them downloaded the app from itunes within the first week. After 100,000 downloads, traditional news media took notice and finally covered the story – driving the social media conversation even more and contributing to the next 100,000 downloads.

As more and more brands begin to create and cultivate their social media networks, I think this phenomenon will be happening more frequently. Brands will be turning to their consumer base directly through social media to get the word out in addition to traditional PR approaches. The purpose of getting press coverage is to increase awareness and understanding of your product among consumers – so why not cut out the middle man (the media) and get right to business? If the product catches consumers’ interest first, it will appear more newsworthy to the media and they will cover it and the conversation will continue to grow.

But will creating online buzz first become the only way to get reporters (and now A-list bloggers) to cover your brand? I don’t think so. The news media are just looking for a good story that will appeal to their readers. Your media pitch needs some element that makes it different from the rest. Another iphone app? Great, but not that easy to craft a catchy story around. Another iphone app that has reached 100,000 downloads in less than a week because of Twitter? Pretty newsworthy in this day and age.

Social media is a cost-effective, easy way to reach consumers, and as DirecTV’s example has shown us, a great avenue for attracting traditional media coverage. But as all the experts keep saying (I am not an expert or a “guru” by any means…yet) an integrated (social media and traditional media) marketing and communication strategy is your best bet. So keep the traditional PR channels open, but why not start out with some social media outreach to get the conversation started and generate interest in your product. Journalists and bloggers are on Twitter, they’ll find you.

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Answers

Tue, 2010-02-23 23:09

Lee Odden over at Online Marketing Blog shared 15 Social Media Answers From OMS10 with the blogosphere recently:

What’s your advice for individuals just get started using Twitter?

Have some idea of what you want out of Twitter. Connect with people of similar interests and goals and engage with them.

What’s the #1 myth preventing companies from embracing social media?

To start when you’re ready. You’ll never be ready. But you need to do it anyway because it’s the only way towards progress.

What’s the best way to integrate social media with other marketing efforts like email, direct mail, etc?

Strategically. Learn what customers want and leverage social technologies across channels to make it easier for them to get it.

What’s the one social media skill set that you wish more potential employees had?

Honesty about skills. Social media user & expert are very different. Passion, curiosity and ability to really listen, learn and create value using social technology.

He goes on with some great advice and you should check out the original article and let me know what you think.

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How Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) Builds Social Media Relationships

Mon, 2010-02-22 23:51

One of the most exciting discoveries in business communication and psychology in the past 30 years has been the development of a communication and rapport-building tool called Neurolinguistic Programming.

If you’re not familiar with NLP, here’s the quick thumbnail. NLP was developed by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the 1970s at the University of Santa Cruz in California. At the time, Bandler was studying for his master’s degree in information sciences and mathematics. Grinder was a professor of linguistics (language). The two discussed how some people are able to “get through to difficult people, and others can’t” and NLP was conceived. It examines the relationships between thought, communication, and behavior. One of the basic definitions of NLP that I like to use in my trainings is that it bridges communication gaps.

The core of NLP focuses on positive outcomes, body language and physiology, the words we use to communicate our experiences, and our mental programming. Top business leaders, politicians and athletes around the world use NLP to build trust and influence. They use it as an internal success tool to visualize positive results in advance. It’s fascinating.

OK, so where does Social Media play into this mix? Obviously you can’t read body language with written blog posts, texts, Tweets, LinkedIn group discussions or on Facebook walls. But the clues and cues to help you build relationships online, engage new people, and connect with your industry leaders and ideal clients are literally right in front of your face.

Here’s how it works. NLP focuses on our five senses, or learning modalities. The three main ones for communication are sight, sound, and feel. While we are dominant in one of these areas, there is always an overlap.

Visual – Most people are visual communicators. They learn by seeing and reading. They need to actually see how something is done in order to comprehend it. They use expressions like “Take a look at this” and “I get the picture.”
Auditory – Others learn by hearing. They can hear something explained once or twice and have full understanding. These are individuals who prefer audio books and are not couch potatoes who spend time with TV and movies. Auditory people tend to use phrases like “That’s music to my ears” and “That sounds good to me.”
Kinesthetic – These folks learn best through touch or feel. Artists and creative people are usually kinesthetic. They may say things like “I get the point” and “I feel comfortable with that plan.”

Think about what kind of communicator you are. If you are a visual communicator and have a face-to-face disagreement with a colleague who is auditory, you will clash. It’s as though you are speaking Spanish and he is speaking French. By listening closely, you can identify your colleague’s main modality and begin to use it in your conversation. You’ll soon be on the same page.

The goal of NLP is to bring people together by finding similarities instead of differences. It’s about positive outcomes and bridging communication gaps.

This holds true of the written/typed words in our Social Media activities. Consider these examples of phrases used online:

“I love this video”

“Google blurs the line…”

“Let’s touch base”

“Quick overview of”

“UN Chief sees corporate profit…”

“Best advice I’ve heard in a while”

“Looks exciting”

“The way it sounds to me…”

If your ideal client Tweets an article link and writes “Best advice I’ve heard in a while”, he has dropped a clue (the word heard) that he may be an auditory learner. Take a quick minute to read his Profile or a blog post to discover more about his communication. This is called doing your homework. You can then Retweet him and add “Sounds like a solution for marketing pro’s.” You can also try and engage him one-on-one with a similar auditory response. Another option is to send him a link to a podcast or Teleseminar (audio programs) on a related subject. Bringing the conversation off-line is the goal so you can continue to connect with him.

By being aware of other people’s modalities and shifting your communication to match theirs, you will build trust and a connection. People will feel comfortable with you because you are “like” them. In turn, they will “like” you. NLP calls this practice “modeling” or “mirroring.”

Even though Social Media and other technology often has us speaking in tongue or 140 characters, the basic clues of NLP and building rapport is present.

NLP is the subconscious tool of influence. Social Media is the vehicle to drive that influence.

Susan Young works with businesses who want to increase their publicity, credibility and revenues with public relations and social media. She’s a news and communication expert and President of Get in Front Communications, Inc. Susan also works with professionals and college students who want to improve their communication, leadership and self-confidence. She is a certified practitioner in NLP. Susan can be reached at www.getinfrontcommunications.com. Read her blog at www.getinfrontblogging.com.

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Levels of Communication

Sun, 2010-02-21 01:02

Soren Gordhamer over at Mashable walks us through the 5 Levels of Effective Communication in the Social Media Age.

In this era of social media when we are reaching out and engaging more and more people, the question is not just “Should I communicate with someone?” but “How should I communicate with someone? How can I build engagement one step at a time?” The more we allow for and understand the importance of all the various levels of communication, the more we can skillfully and effectively use each one.

Those levels of communitcation happen to be according to Gordhamer:

Level 1: The Public Reply
Level 2: The Direct Message
Level 3: E-mail
Level 4: Phone
Level 5: In-Person (or Video Chat)

I think he’s got it pretty much on the mark.

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Social Ning

Thu, 2010-02-18 11:17

Bridget Carey over at The Miami Herald thinks we should all Consider Ning to broaden social networking strategy.

Your business Facebooks. It Tweets. But does it Ning? There are about 300,000 active groups on Ning — many of them brands and interest groups — and about 40 million users actively participating in them. If your business has a social media strategy (and there had better be a strategy) you might want to consider setting up a Ning network.

It’s where you can take any topic and make a social network community for it in less than 10 minutes. I spoke to Ning’s chief operating officer, Jason Rosenthal, who says that every month, there’s a 14 percent increase of active Ning networks. There are about 2.1 million networks, not all active. That’s about 40,000 new and active networks created a month.

I’d have to agree with her, Ning is a great platform to create very focused communities.

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