Building an Army of Greatness

Who has or is this boss?

Social media is still a difficult concept for some, especially when the return on investment isn't as clear as others.  So imagine what the response would be if you were trying to convince your boss that you wanted to set up an internal social network?

Well if you weren't fired on the spot, laughed out of the room, or sued for injuries due to everyones jaws hitting the floor you'd be off to a good start.  Although I'm sure it wouldn't take long before you were shut down and told to come up with some real ideas.

Lets back this bandwagon up a bit, imagine trying to convince your boss that you wanted to turn the companies employees into an AMRY OF GREATNESS!!!!  

Now you've got their attention.

The unfortunate part is that some people can't see the two as the same.  Employees are some of the companies greatest resources (many would argue the best), the problem many companies face is the ability to communicate within the company (everyone is agreeing with me right now because everyone hates all the hoops people have to jump through instead of getting A to talk B).

I've talked a lot about the importance of social media outside the company (read all or any of my previous posts), but it is equally important to establish the communication social media provides within the company.

Think of how much information is on the internet.  How did there get to be soooo much available?  EVERYONE CONTRIBUTES.  I'm not going to argue the fact that there is a ton of useless cat stuff on the internet but there is an incredible amount of priceless information as well.  We continually go back to the sources that give us the information we're needing, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Wikis, you name it and people are on it looking for the right information to fulfil their needs.  How incredible would it be to have this type of resource at work?  (Yes I know everyone has the internet at work so drop that lame argument right now) I'm talking about a way to convey information internally that all employees would have access too and would remain among the employees (sorry but public access denied).

I've previously talked about:

LISTENING 
TALKING 
ENERGIZING 
SUPPORTING 

Each of these aspects, that should be typically applied to outside clientele, should be applied internally.  The function of the organization would depend on the implementation and system.  Just as people use different sources for different information, companies would need to figure out what works best for them.  Communities, Wikis, and idea exchanges are all excellent tools to use.  These tools can be set up on a secure server within the company and only accessed by employees, but what these tools do is ENABLE and STRENGTHEN the people within the business.  These systems allow employees to share ideas and information and rectify any outstanding issues among departments, they OPEN COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE COMPANY.

Has anyone watched +Undercover Boss?  The whole purpose of the show is for the C suite (executives) to learn about the company from the employees up.  They need to do this cause there is no INTERNAL COMMUNICATION and it's a necessity in business today.

The old saying, "Two heads are better than one" rings true but how much stronger would you be if you're dealing with a company full of employees, the possibilites would be endless.  Empower your employees and watch the ARMY OF GREATNESS evolve.

ANY comments, followers or shares are ALWAYS welcomed.

A Shot of Adrenaline? Yes Please.

I have WAY to much ENERGY!!! - said no one ever.  Energy has to be one of the most sought after aspects of life.  We look for it in the foods we eat, the amount of sleep we get, the morning coffee that can't seem to come fast enough, or in desperate times we'll even opt for a nice sugar rush.  People can't seem to get enough, just look at the energy drink industry, there's been an explosion in sales and products over the last 5-10 years.

How do we get that kind of energy into our businesses, services, products, or customers/users?  It's not like we can give them a protein bar and a +Red Bull or sick +terry crews on them.

What if we were able to get a little bit of energy from everyone?  What would that look like?  I think it would look something like .....

I guess what I'm trying to say is, TURN EVERYONES ENERGY INTO $$$$


Word of mouth is one of the strongest marketing tools anyone can use, but you have to get people talking about your products ***

***When I say products this covers whatever you hope to get across to people, it could be an actual product, or service or simply a message, it completely depends on what you're trying to promote.  These lessons can be applied to a one man operation running a blog or the CMO (chief marketing officer) of a large corporation. ***

When people hear reviews good or bad they have a much higher tendency to follow them.  Just think about it for a minute, when was the last time you made a big purchase like a car, computer, camera, or trip.  How many reviews did you read?  I'm going to go out on a limb (that is backed by research), and say you probably read a few investing roughly 4-6 hours total (not in one sitting).  Throughout all of your research how many of you valued the reviews?  That's what I thought, EVERYONE (I can feel everyones hands in the air).  The key is getting our customers/users to contribute to the word of mouth / review process.  By tapping into a little energy from everyone, a lot of energy will be put into your business or services.

This is considerably easier when you start with a good product (I have to say that even though I know everyone reading this has the highest quality products, posts, or content out there), because people want to tell there friends and family about the awesomeness you just provided.

Three ways you can capitalize on peoples willingness to share are:

1. Provide ways for customers to give ratings and reviews - If a customer just bought a jacket I was selling, and loved it, it would be a missed opportunity to not give him or her a chance to share their experience with others.  The more people read good reviews and see high ratings, the more they're likely to entertain the idea of your product.  From a social media perspective, the posts that catch your eye are the ones that people are sharing, liking, plussing, and retweeting.

2. Create a Community - There is a lot of information on the internet (SURPRISE), and people have very similar interests, Creating Communities are one of the best ways to bring people together that have common interests.  If you can get communities forming around your product*** think of the traction you can gain with spreading the WORD (word of mouth) about your products or services.

3. Participate - Regardless of your industry, or topics, participation is MANDATORY!!!  If you're not willing to contribute to YOUR cause no one else will do it for you.  If you're the glue holding the community together things can fall apart really quick if you're not willing to work at it.  Remember the AFOL's, if Lego had let that group go they would be passing up $50 million in sales.


Getting customers/users involved can give you the shot of adrenaline you're services need, just remember who you're targeting (we're aiming for the top of the ladder).  In case you missed this extremely important post, here's a snip it of who's on-line and who we want to target.

We want the CREATORS on our side (even if we are one).

Before you jump in, a few areas must be looked at.

1. Know what you want and what you have - Creating energy around your products or services isn't always a mandatory thing.  If you're selling commercial toothpicks it may be tough to generate a lot of buzz around the product, make sure you're putting your efforts in areas that will pay off.  You may not target the product but a community based around dental hygiene may show promising results.

2. Check the social technographics of your customers/users - The reality is that the younger your customers are the easier it'll be to target them as they are much more comfortable on-line.  This simply means that the creators that serve an older demographic become much more important to your process.

3. Determine what your customers/users need - The old adage, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" may ring true.  Don't overstep your bounds, it is important to do all that you can, but it is possible to cross lines causing more issues than were there to begin with.

4. Make sure your strategy serves its purpose - The POST process is what will keep you on track.  Having very clear goals and targets will keep efforts aligned.  Following a plan will keep you from chasing your tail and getting no where.

5. Don't start unless you can stay with it - Putting effort and energy into building communities, providing service, addressing concerns, and promoting your products*** will all be for nothing and could possibly leave an animosity towards you if you just drop it once you've gained peoples trust and support.


It's amazing how much power word of mouth provides for businesses and people.  Wether it's shown in the form of ratings, reviews, likes, shares, tweets, or plusses, people value what other people have to say.  Harness that power and make sure it's working for you.


ANY comments, followers or shares are ALWAYS welcomed.

Cause it's not as easy as just giving your brand a +Red Bull.

What Can 140 Characters Do For You?

One of the most viable lessons I'm learning about social media is that, IT IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT.  What do I mean?  I mean that, You only get out what you put in.

Do any of these look familiar?  Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 10 years you should recognize a few of them.  How do they effect us as users or businesses?

Looking at each of them I can comfortably say that I prefer some over others because of what I put into them.  It's not easy starting a presence on a new site, it can be down right discouraging at times.  Every time you log in to see the 20 people that are following you, have you in circles, or are linked to, it can cause frustration because we all have the most important information to share.  Right?

INSTANT GRATIFICATION does not happen on social media, it takes TIME.  When approaching a new platform one must figure out what the purpose of that platform is, the power it has, and how you will use it.

Perspective is everything.  I remember not too long ago when Google + arrived on the scene and everyone said that it was a "Ghost Town".  No one was on the site and it would soon die.  Could this be a result of people logging on and seeing 20 people in their circles with none of them posting anything?  I'm going to go with YESSSS.  The reality is that Google + happens to be one of the stronger platforms emerging today.

My "Ghost Town" is Twitter.

It is easy to sit back and simply ignore the platforms that your not involved in cause "Ignorance Is Bliss" and breaking into a new platform is DIFFICULT, but does that mean one of the largest platforms and strongest tools should be ignored?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!

How powerful is Twitter?  Well ask anyone who has lost their job cause of a stupid tweet.  Ask anyone that has been disqualified from Olympic competition for comments on the platform.  Ask anyone who has had to retract their tweets and issue public apologies.  These momentous feats can all be accomplished within 140 characters.  

One of the strongest aspects about Twitter is that it gives you/business/brand the ability to LISTEN to what people are saying about it (I have talked about the importance of listening and establishing strategy here).  But not only does it allow you to LISTEN, it gives you the ability to TALK TO them as well.

My first post ever talked about a few key areas to focus on with social media.  I strongly recommend those points as well as a couple others that you can specifically use for Twitter (these are relevant for other social platforms as well).

1. Lock up your handle - If someone gets ahold of your handle (user name) and uses it for porn, spam, or phishing your brand could be tarnished before you even knew what was going on.  This is relevant for companies that are already functioning as well as ones just getting started.

2. Listen first - This specifically applies to companies that are already in full swing.  It is important to know what people are already tweeting about you before you start posting.  You need to know what the temperature is before you jump in or you could get burned.

3. Be ready to support people - If there are any complaints or needs from customers/followers, you better be ready to help.  Services like Twitter empower people and give them the opportunity to voice their concerns, because Twitter can be such a direct link to the company people will often use this to try and address their concerns.

4. Follow others - It's FREE and a great way to spread your brand.  Quite often people will follow you back as long as you don't become annoying like some companies can.  Just remember how to post properly (in case you missed it).

5. Be ready for a crisis - People will be looking to Twitter and social first (even before the companies own website) to see a response as to why Lulu lemon pants are to thin or why the NHL is locked out.  Initial responses here can go a long way when disaster strikes.

6. Respond, retweet, and link - No one likes carrying on a one sided conversation.  And when you're trying to establish your brand on a platform you have to show people that you care.  If you're not willing to engage your followers, customers, or users then you will FAIL at ALL aspects of social media.

7. Staff it - This must become part of peoples job tasks.  Whether you're a one man show or a million dollar firm these responsibilities must be assigned to a few people to make sure it is not over looked.  The best results will come from people that care about the business.  Hiring the kid out of high school may not be your best bet as they will become the representation of the business to many.

8. Check with legal and regulatory staff - Clearly this is for businesses that have these resources, because Tweets are public speech it is important to make sure lines aren't being crossed as I mentioned earlier jobs can be lost, apologies may be needed, and sometimes severe consequences can result in poorly released statements.  USE YOUR FILTER!!!!!

9. Having gathered a following don't waste it - People and businesses will work hard on developing significant followings and it is a shame when they're not utilized.  People followed you because there was something that attracted them there.  Businesses spend billions of dollars trying to attract people and if you are able to obtain this and fail to use it all of your efforts are for nothing.  Being able to ride a wave of momentum in social media can be worth MILLIONS.  Think of each follower as a person happy to help you spread your message.


Like I said earlier Twitter is my "Ghost Town" and I'm hoping to change that.  My personal handle is @Vanhub and I would love to engage with people over there.  I will post similarly to my Google + account with business, sports, the outdoors, and posts that hopefully put a smile on your face.



ANY comments, followers or shares are ALWAYS welcomed.


How bad do you want it?