CoachStrategies

Links: Social Media Has Teeth, Effective Marketing Principles, How to Start a Blog

Author feels the sting of social media. [From: http://www.chrisg.com/author-experiences-the-internets-mass-effect-first-hand/] Here’s an example of how social media can be dangerous. I didn’t have anything like this in mind when I wrote about it a while back. Doubtless there are countless ways people can use social media to blast somebody.

What happens when an author goes on national television and criticizes a computer game she has never seen let alone played?

In the past what would have happened is, well, very little.

Today of course is the age of the internet mob. Rather than chants, torches and pitch forks, the modern mob member uses Digg as the tool of choice. In this case the target was the hapless authors Amazon reviews.

Everybody makes mistakes and I think this author will ultimately bounce back but who can tell.

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So what’s the most important part of marketing? [From: http://www.earlytorise.com/2008/01/29/the-most-important-part-of-marketing.html#main] Great presentation of what makes marketing effective by Bob Bly:

It’s the product.

By that, I don’t mean the physical product. I mean what the product can do for the customer. The benefits it delivers… the functions it performs… the problems it solves… the needs it fills.

Are you offering your customers something they truly want or need? And is it an urgently felt need, rather than one that isn’t very important or immediate?

Do the people in your market niche desire or require what you are selling?

Will buying it make a huge improvement in the quality of their lives?

If the answer is yes, your marketing will be fairly successful - even if the price, offer, list, copy, and graphics are not perfect.

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Spreading ideas. [From: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/01/the-hyping-poin.html] I’ve taken this a bit out of context so the thought isn’t complete. The quote contains a valuable bit of knowledge anyway. Worth reading the entire blog post:

One more reason not to obsess about the A list in any media category. Worry instead about people with passion and people with lots of friends. You need both for ideas to spread.

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What is your approach to marketing? How do you approach developing your offering? [From: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/01/tribal-manageme.html]

…the real asset most organizations can build isn’t an amorphous brand but is in fact the privilege of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who want to get them.

Instead of looking for customers for your products, you seek out products (and services) for the tribe. Jerry Garcia understood this. Do you?

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Complete, comprehensive tutorial on starting a blog. Free. [http://www.becomeablogger.com/] If you want to tackle starting your own blog, this free video series walks you through the process step by step. Impressive! I can’t imagine this being done any better.