“One thing I learned from my father is to try to think as the people around you think…and on that basis, anything is possible.” – Michael Corleone, The Godfather

As a small business owner (and by default a marketer) have you considered living this quote? Do you truly understand what your customers want, need and desire ? Are you hanging out where you customers are hanging out online, in life and in your community? Do you believe you truly know who your customer is? Have you positioned your marketing messages in a way that shows how you can help?

All things are possible when you slow down enough to start observing your customers and working to better understand their needs. It also beneficial to try and understand what my be irritating them……like SPAM!

Are you over-communicating or not communicating enough? How do you know unless you’ve analyzed and how can you analyze if you don’t have criteria to base you data against?

Bottom line…start listening to your customers and attempting to understand. You will never know them as well as they know themselves (obviously!!) but you can get close.

Happy Hustling!

There are a lot of companies claiming the term “Green”. Some are authentically driving environmentally focused initiatives and others are…..well…Green-Washing. Green Foam is the real deal! As someone who is seriously connected to the Ocean I was stoked to find this company and learn more about what they do.

Green Foam is a business a that creates and recycles surfboard cores. The dirty not-so-secret of the surfing industry for years was that in order to create the cores for surfboards required the use of noxious/pollutant materials. Green Foam is now working to create an environmentally friendly surfboard.

They were recently featured on Anderson Cooper and you can learn more in this video below.

I’d like to take a minute though and point out what an awesome piece of marketing they have created as well. Video is driving engagement in the online world and they have created something easily shareable by partnering with a promotions company. They have told their story and managed to connect with their community on an emotional level by taking you behind the scenes.

Can you do that with your business?

This video blew my mind! Yes, it’s 18 minutes long…….but well worth the time!

To begin with, the two artists (and yes they are true artists!) are incredibly talented in a very unconventional way. Unique content is a must when attempting to create something viral. They are incredibly adept at capturing and sharing culture. Those moments we feel emotional connections to and generally have strong memories.

I was also struck by a simple marketing message that many would probably never notice and most would dismiss.

Throughout the video, the Google logo is placed directly behind the artists.

Simple and incredibly powerful.

What happens is that the artists subconsciously become a representation of the Google brand through the video. The same opinions and impressions you form about the artists themselves are placed on the logo, the brand and the business.

There is no doubt that Google paid for these performers to entertain their employees. But they also took it a step furthere and captured that moment so they could share it with the world. Ultimately showing not only that they treasure their people, but also giving us an inside look at a very personal moment in their business.

4 Lessons that can be learned here:

1. Content must be informative or entertaining. There is no hard and fast rule stating what that content must be. Sometimes the best content has nothing directly to do with you, your business and your services.

2. Choose content that reflects what you represent. Don’t be afraid to get creative with that content. As I watched the video I was struck by the how fun, creative, engaging and entertaining the performance was. I also started to apply those same adjectives to the Google brand.

3. Make sure you are represented in everything you share. Look for creative ways to subtly represent yourself. In a world overcome with marketing messages, you must work to help your audience understand what you represent without telling them directly.

4. Have fun. The video itself is not HD by any means and you can see that the same person who edited the video took the time to play with the performance. Mixing up shots and adding basic effects helps the audience stay engaged and again is a subtle way to show your own personality.

Content is far easier to capture than we think. The key is to stop restricting yourself and defining rules that define what content is. Open your mind and look for ideas that interests you. Spend time playfully looking at your industry and work to create something informative, entertaining and unique.

Your next prospect is searching the internet right now for your services. They’re scouring websites that all look alike and trying to determine just who’s service they should use. How do they know who to trust?

The quotes, pictures, videos and verbiage you use are all working to create your reputation and build your engagement before the prospect even picks up the phone or opens their email. That future customer is working to make base levels decisions before they can even begin and you have the ability to influence that decision.

Here are 5 things you can do today!

Build out your Blog: A blog is your opportunity to showcase your unique abilities and offerings. It is a place where your new prospects can gain trust and begin building a relationship before they even meet you. It is also a core component to building your search relevance through the major engines.

Start creating video: Video is a compelling medium that helps your prospects to emotionally connect with your business. It is easily shareable and consumable, two very important traits when building viral content. Buy a flip cam and start shooting 30 sec clips that tell your story.

Build Out-posts: Social Networks are the most visited destination on the web after search engines. Many are turning to these for recommendations and research. Find the sites that are relevant to your business and build out a profile. Spend a few minutes each day keeping it up to date with relevant information and introduce clients to these out-posts.

Develop a Content Outline: Most get stuck within a few weeks because they run out of ideas. Start be developing 5 specific concepts you will consistently share information on. These 5 will become the core information you are known for.

Set a schedule: Set a daily and weekly schedule for sharing content. By adding it to your calendar as an appointment, you are more likely to actually follow through. Each week you should be touching all of your outposts with a frequency that matches that community.

Content is the currency of the online world. It is a crucial element for building trust and converting prospects to clients. Your content should be a reflection of you and help those in search understand how exactly you can help them. With the proper planning and execution, it can become a major contributor to bottom line.

Press,Pause Play is a new film that details the dramatic changes in production, distribution and consumption of creative works.

A new generation of global creators and artists are emerging, equipped with other points of reference and other tools. The teachers arenʼt certified schools anymore – itʼs web sites, discussion forums and a “learn by doing” – mentality. We see the children of a digital age, unspoiled or uneducated depending on who you ask. Collaboration over hierarchy, digital over analog – a change in the way we produce, distribute and consume creative works.

Have a look at the following clip and think about how it relates to your business? How are you dealing with the changing landscape and defining your niche?

Things have changed.

There I said…things have changed in business and we may never see them the way they used to be. I know many a sales person, and business owner, who yearn (quite vocally) for the good old days of a few years back. Times when they had more business than they could handle and customers paid prices without a question.

A time when customers found you…you didn’t need to find them. The business flowed through their doors and cash registers with ease. We could afford to let a few small things, like service (note hint of sarcasm) slip through the cracks because….well, there was enough new business to not care.

Yes folks…times have changed.

Building your business in this new economy is about both a return to solid foundational business values and new ideas. A re-connection with your customer and commitment to providing more value than they are paying for. It’s an opportunity for you as a business owner to re-build quality so that once again customers will praise your product and service evangelically and you may reap the benefits of the highest form of marketing. Word of Mouth referrals.

How do you do that? By paying attention to what you have.

The idea of 1000 true fans

The theory of 1000 true fans is rooted in the music industry and essentially states that any band can be supported financially on 1000 true fans. These are the fans that will buy every product a band offered, attend as many shows as humanly possible, tell everyone they know about he band and ultimately be there in defense of every decision the band makes creatively.

What if your business had 1000 true fans? Customers who believed in your values and product so wholeheartedly that they would always support you. It takes a lot of work and time to build those fans, but once they are nurtured…they never leave.

What makes a true fan? Recognition and reward. You need to know who these people are and design marketing programs that reach out and engage them. You may only have one in the beginning, but if you engage that one, they will tell others. If you take it a step further and identify the customers who could be True Fans, then you are pro-actively working to build your business. Which leads into the next portion…

Segmenting your database

Not all customers are created equals. They all have varying levels of needs, wants and desires. If you try to hard to converting everyone at the same time, you may find yourself waste time, money and other resources.  Instead develop standards that hep you to create layers in your database. Each layer should be focused on a certain level of product use. Your goal becomes converting existing customers up through your layers with an ultimate goal of making them a true fan.

Each layer of customers should also have it’s own marketing strategies that gently  educate them and steer them toward the next level of engagement. You have to take the time to think through this process of education and transition. You have to ensure that you are able to clearly recognize when a customer has moved form one layer to the next and then reward them for doing so….consistently.

In this process you’ll likely find you’ll need new technologies or processes which means you’ll have to change and try something new.

Managing risk and trying new things

A major component of a successful business in the new economy is going to be the combination of new technology with old strategies. Using Twitter to enhance customer service, using Evernote to capture and execute ideas, using Groupons to offer discounts and FourSquare to promote your location. Those are just a few examples of the new tech that may have an impact.

Adopting them is risky. You have to learn something new and potentially lose an old strategy….and there is no guarantee it will work. You have to believe again and get excited about growth and challenge. You need to re-learn how to weigh out risk and reward so that you can effectively move forward. I’d say that this section is especially important because it is about character…not a simple how to strategy. The ability to risk is a character trait, that not everyone has. Do you?

So the question becomes…are you ready for change?

I originally wrote this post for the Elite Meetings blog and have adapted it for the CORE community…enjoy!

Traditional marketing is crazy aggressive when you think about it. Rather than focusing on information that enriches the lives of others, marketers generally choose methods that interrupt your flow of thought and aim to imprint their message on your psyche. Doesn’t sound like fun to me.

In contrast, you have the idea of content marketing.

Let’ start with the basics….what exactly is Content marketing. I consider it a term that widely describes all marketing genre’s, formats and modalities that involve sharing content as a means of engaging current and potential consumer bases. Or, any form of marketing in which you decide to use valuable information as a means of gaining fans and attendee’s.

As you embrace content marketing as a means of growing interest in your business, you need to realize that you are essentially shifting your focus to delivering high-quality, relevant and valuable information to definite and prospective customers. It’s important to understand this point because it can radically change how you approach your communication with your current database and new prospects.

Think about it for a minute……go ahead……take a full minute. I’ll wait.

If you are focused on sharing information, content that is valuable to your customers, exciting, engaging and different…..where will you get it from? What does it look like? How will you determine what information is valuable?

These questions are only the beginning. From there you begin to question every piece of promotional material with a question of value. You begin to ask what the customer is getting from that piece. How is it making their experience better?

And those are great questions that radically change how you and your customers interact.

The benefit with content marketing is rooted in the benefits of retaining reader attention, improving loyalty and building excitement. All through the act of engagement.

The idea of sharing your content as a means of persuading decision-making is what drives a business owner to look for information that was deemed “too valuable” to share for free and……well……share it for free. It’s the act of sharing that builds trust.

So let’s discuss the nuts and bolts.

What does Content Marketing look like for the business owner.

There are a multitude of mediums and within each medium you are likely to be sharing the same content. Remember though that your audience interacts with each in a different way and expects a different style of communication from each medium.

For example:

• Social Media: Brilliant tools from Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn all allow you to broadcast your message quickly and easily. The tone is often more casual and information is shared in short bursts. Your content should be short or focused on links to websites or blogs.
• E-newsletters: These have developed a reputation for being a gateway resource to deeper information that often lives on a website. Use your newsletters to share links and teaser info that provides enough knowledge to make them want more.
• PDF Downloads and White papers: Good for explaining benefits and in depth concepts that may be of added value. The content within these should be very thorough and focused on solving problems.
• Video: Wonderful for building engagement. Record short videos around your product and service that will work to drive engagement before…and after, the sale.
• Webinars: Like video, a webinar is a great way to engage with your audience. A webinar provides an emotional connection to the information we might normally deliver in the written word with a greater ability to share images and tutorials. You can add music, movement and the sound of a human voice. Be sure that you stay focused on concise presentation so that your viewers don’t drift.

The purpose of the information shared is not to push the features and benefits of your  own products or services, but to inform your customers and prospects about key industry issues, trends and exciting announcements. It’s a way to engage them with education and points of reference that strengthen the need for what you offer.  And yes………sometimes these bursts of information do involve your products.

The major motivation of a content marketer is the belief that educating your customer results in recognition as a thought leader and industry expert.

Information builds Trust.

What do you think?

Over the past few months I’ve found myself working with more upcoming artists, music managers and record labels. Helping them to better engage their current fans, grow that existing fan base and develop strategies that drive revenue from their fan communities. Sound familiar?

From Facebook to email databases, each has a different level of value and interaction that requires very different strategies…..just like your business.

It’s been incredibly interesting how many traditional entrepreneurial strategies quickly and easily have an impact on this industry. It’s been even more interesting to find the learning’s that have had a positive impact on my other businesses.

Here’s a quick re-cap of my insights so far.

Everyone is out to cover their ass….and it’s ok: When you work on commission only, you tend to work harder for your dollar. You also work harder to justify your position to your customer. You become a master at reporting and clarifying the value that you provide. Not only does this help the customer to better understand what you are doing, it helps you to better understand your value proposition. Yes, it takes more time….but the more you work at it, the easier it becomes.

Let things roll off your back: Deadlines will be missed, meetings will be late, people will be hungover. Don’t get hung up in the details. Not all of them matter. If you make every component a big deal, then you come across as an ass to work with. When you let certain things go, you also have more power to speak up when something is truly important. If you yell all the time, then yelling is just what you do and has no impact. If you rarely yell, then when you do….everyone listens. Make sense?

Ideas are a dime a dozen: Everyone in the music industry has an opinion and a creative idea for doing something new. However, it’s execution that matters and the people who can take an idea and make it happen are cherished. If you can come up with a new idea and execute it….your golden. Make sure you fully understand the strategy behind what you do and that you can easily communicate the steps necessary. Simple language, metaphors and pictures are always good! Then work your plan to make things happen. Results matter!

Truly creative talent should be cherished: This is true of the artist themselves and those that can execute a plan. Build systems around the talent that allows them to grow organically and make sure you can let those talented folks do what they do best. If you are the talent, look to build a team that supports your strengths and fills in your weaknesses. Be honest…success has no pride.

Follow the money: …. and you’ll find the ones most likely to make the wrong decision. Once a team member, manager, promoter, VC or whomever is solely focused on the dollars….they generally have lost their passion. They take less risks and are not as focused on what is good for the artist and more importantly…the fans. Long term strategies, have long term payoffs. Short term rarely yields more than a one hit wonder.

Study the interns: Their habits today are the buying decision of the future. Mobile is an incredibly huge platform for youth. Social Networks are still playing an important role and the internet is the back bone of everything. They love to share what they think is cool and want to be involved more than anything else.

Have FUN! What we do should be fun. I have never met a group of harder working people…when they work! Those in the music industry truly understand the meaning of work hard…play hard. The good ones are not tied to their computer and iPhones. They understand when to shut down and when to power up. Be sure to enjoy what you are doing and keep your passion alive.

What about you? What do you think?

Leadership is the courage to admit mistakes, the vision to welcome change, the enthusiasm to motivate others, and the confidence to stay out of step when everyone else is marching to the wrong tune. – Anonymous

As an entrepreneur, I have often found myself in doubt. Sometimes I doubt my abilities, sometimes I doubt my vision, other times I doubt my direction, mostly I find myself doubting my product. When you are driving the ship, and you are the only one driving the ship, you will doubt yourself.

No matter how confident or capable, there are times when you will face doubt……and when you do you will test your true belief in whatever it is you are pursuing.

I have read too many books touting the virtues of radical optimism and have debated this very point with many an experienced entrepreneur. What I’ve found most valuable about doubting yourself and your product is that it often leads you to the unique factor that ensures you stand out. It is the unique factor that makes you successful. It is the unique factor that builds your confidence. It is the unique factor that allows you to practice and develop your own leadership style with confidence.

Having doubt is not a bad experience. It is an instinctual reaction to a situation and you should treat it as a valuable moment. When you feel a sense of doubt, take the time to analyze all that is happening at that moment. Only through the analysis can you understand what is fueling the doubt.Once you know what x factor is fueling your doubt you can course correct.

It may be that a technology has surfaced and you need to adapt. It may be that trust has been broken by a partner, it may be that your priorities have changed and it may be that you are simply afraid of the next step. If you do not examine your doubt you may be taking the biggest risk of all, leaping blindly and ignorant.

Do not be afraid of doubt, instead embrace it for the education, insight and direction it provides. True leadership, of self and others, only comes when you are aware of what is happening, what is brewing and what resources you have. Have the courage to be self aware.

What do you think?