My Morning WalkNew day, uninterrupted thoughts

How would you classify your blog, if you have one? Experts say that the blog should be the central hub of your online effort. They also say that a majority of people either don’t treat it seriously or give up after the first few posts because they don’t see a “return on investment”. Is that really what a blog should be about…ROI???

For the last two years I admit that my blog has been a sideshow. Although I believe it’s a necessary part of my overall personal branding strategy, I’ve never really seen it as the main event of my online efforts until now. Maybe I’m just a bit slow because it’s taken 2 years to comprehend that every blog is a direct reflection of the author’s character. That each blog has its own DNA, just like its author. That each blog post delivers its own message based on the author’s interpretation of the world as they see it. And that each blog post allows and encourages other like-minded thinkers to connect with its author regardless of geography.

With that said, I’m not going to make my blog (nor do I believe anyone else should make theirs) the central focus of their online SALES effort. Although many people do this, I refuse to ask for business inside a blog post. Does it seem right to invite people into your brain, then throw them a buying proposition? I don’t think so. Instead, the blog should be seen as a personal branding tool with clear, concise messages relative to the character of the author that are delivered consistently and with content that deserves the attention of like-minded thinkers in the virtual world, no matter where they are.

Many people have tried blogging and gave up because they weren’t immediately gratified. They wrote five posts and no one commented, so they quit. They tried to ride the “one-trick pony” and jumped off before it even reached a gallop. Others, like myself, have been treating their blogs as a sideshow with the same thinking as the pony-riders except with a bit more persistence. Still no results, but hey, it feels like the right thing to do. Then there are the “main events” in the world. The people behind these blogs don’t necessarily put their entire days into them, but they have realized faster than most the personal branding power of this medium…and they are reaping the rewards.

Where do you fit in this virtual circus?

Take a look around at all of the big brands out there and what they are doing these days. They are diligently encouraging their clients to interact with them on social media. They are using social media to respond to their clients’ concerns, fears, service requests, and questions about their brand’s quality, distribution, image, and product offerings. But what about the individual representatives of those brands…those people out on mainstreet in Smallville, USA? How are THEY, in many cases small business/franchise owners, maximizing big brands’ strategies to their own benefit? How are they piggy-backing on these strategies to enhance and change the way their business is getting done on a daily basis? And how are they differentiating themselves from other competitors in Smallville and other market areas? I’m not so sure the answers are positive for any independent brand representatives at this point for two reasons: 1. THEY don’t know or sometimes care about how to differentiate, and 2. The CLIENTS don’t know or care enough about the products the representatives are offering to change their own paradigms of interaction…YET.

At some point, the straw is going to break the camel’s back for a lot of customers and prospects. E-mails, faxes, and phone calls requesting to be removed from lists and opting-out of corporate e-mail newsletters are pouring in at alarming rates in many representatives’ offices daily. It’s getting to the point where it would be just as advantageous to throw money out the car window while driving down the freeway than to spend it on traditional campaigns. Many representatives choose to pour money into non-profits or school sponsorships instead of direct mail campaigns, but is that of true benefit?

Argument: NO, it is not. Why? How does giving money to non-profits BRAND you as a business owner? I’m NOT saying it’s a bad thing to give money to good causes that you believe in. I’m saying that you are branding yourself as a philanthropist, not as a business owner, by doing this. Sure, the charities or organizations you give to likely demonstrate values and beliefs consistent with your own, but branding yourself is a very small part of this equation. Basically, there’s a lot more effort involved with branding yourself than writing a check and having your business’ name featured on a charity’s website or in a phone book. This is about distinguishing yourself as a human being.
Why is this important when you are connected to a big brand?

Because people connect with brands in one way, but with people in a completely different manner. We’re all humans with wants and needs and we want to be heard. We still have a desire to interact on a personal level, and no matter what, big brands can never replace people in anything but transactional relationships. (Until CEO’s start blogging.) Now more than ever before, independent representatives have the ability to leverage the positive image of the brand they are associated with in building their own personal and business identities online PROVIDED they are loyal to that brand. But the second they act in a manner inconsistent with that brand’s public identity, credibility for their sub-brand is lost. Still, to achieve success in this very volatile period of transparency, sub-branding oneself is the only long-term solution.

How many people look at their smartphone screens and sigh when they open their inboxes? All of the stores that have asked for your e-mail address so they can opt you “in” for their newsletters and all of the online purchases you’ve made and had your receipts sent to your inbox are now catching up to you. You’re in “online interruption overload status”. Do you really need to get a newsletter to tell you that Kohl’s is having a sale this weekend or that the energy company says you need to insulate your attic to save heating costs? I don’t know about you, but when I want to buy something, I seek it out and when I have the money, I’ll work on home improvements. I really don’t need someone else telling me to do it. I’m motivated, but thanks anyway.

It seems like just last year everyone was jumping on the social media bandwagon. Signing up for this site and that site, this tool and that tool. They opted in to so many things because they couldn’t say “No”. Then came 2011 and the year started over. Not only was it time to drop body weight, it also became time to drop the excess baggage called “crap in my inbox that NOBODY reads”. I took it upon myself to jettison every bit of unnecessary luggage out of my inbox yesterday. What about you?

Getting everyone to connect to your e-newsletter was a cool idea in the beginning, but I’ve gotta tell you it gets old pretty fast if you don’t generate content that makes me wake up at 5 AM to read what you’ve got to say. Look for 2011 to be the year of “Content is King”, or “Content is Currency”. Company marketers: Learn to write in an entertaining, informative, or thought-provoking way or we’re out of here.

Thank you, Mark Zuckerberg, for Facebook. What a concept. Finally now we can get through the multiple personalities dilemma—you know the one—being one person at work, then someone totally different at home, and even someone else in social settings and networking events. The idea that started out as a way for college students to connect without leaving their dorm rooms has quickly become the glass door on closets previously filled with skeletons. Wow.

Progress can be a scary thing, but after listening to Eddie Money’s “I Wanna Go Back”: “I can’t go back…I know.” Springsteen’s “Glory Days” are in the past and today we face, or “Facebook” the future. The industrial age changed the world with the introduction of mass production, economies of scale, assembly-lines and factory workers. The primary goal was to increase profits by cutting costs and improving operational efficiencies. All well and good. Until the information age.

At that point consumers began researching what actually went into the products they were purchasing AND what the margins were on those products. Never again would an automobile dealer get a significant margin over invoice for a new car…the buyer KNEW what invoice was. KBB.com told them! Edmunds.com coached them about how to negotiate. Consumer Reports provided feedback from actual buyer experiences about the product and J.D. Power and Associates validated the dealership they were purchasing from. Only one thing was missing: The personal characteristics of the salesperson completing the transaction were relatively insignificant to the decision to purchase. Admittedly customers did relate to some reps better than others, but historically, the salespeople were not researched prior to the purchase decisions themselves. There was really no way to do that without building a long-term relationship over many years of repeat purchases…UNTIL NOW.

Welcome to the Transparency Age. Like it or not, it’s here to stay. And if you want to thrive in this environment, you’re going to have to participate in order to be trusted. Opening yourself up to the rest of the world will become the norm. Privacy is a factor, and issues with privacy have been well-documented relative to Facebook, but overall we will be influenced by others to provide information we are EXPECTED to share. Even though this is is not the final phase of this revolution (a future post will outline at least one more), it is certainly time to clean out the closets.

It seems like it’s going to take forever, doesn’t it? For the world to adopt the strategies that so many companies and people push aside as a “fad” is going to take an eternity. Not necessarily. There really is a better life in this for everyone. We just haven’t figured it out yet. And the climb is getting tougher. We’re climbing through snowstorms, clouds, avalanches, and the blustery winds of resistance. Why don’t we just abandon the climb right now and stay comfortable in front of our nice, warm fire?

This is why:

A life of freedom with no interruptions is on the other side of this mountain. Imagine a life, as Chris Brogan says, that can be lived “at the kitchen table”. “Work” can be done anywhere. You’ll never miss another meal with your family. You’ll never miss another one of your kids’ plays, piano lessons, or baseball games. You’ll enjoy the freedom of setting your own schedule because YOU are in control of it, and whether you work for a company or for yourself, everyone respects this freedom.

What was YOUR resolution this New Year’s? Are things going SO WELL for you that you don’t want anything to change, or are there a few things you could work on, learn about, or incorporate into your daily lives that would allow you to enjoy the green, green grass on the other side of the mountain?