| design58 | social media consultancy | huddersfield, west yorkshire, uk

Sharing a little more conversation

We all want word of mouth referrals whether they come from online sources or offline, I personally ignore emails unless from known sources. It’s quite evident that many people have effective online networks [better than many businesses] and so these networks can share information a lot more effectively than previously.

As we move on less and less searching will happen specifically through Google [or other search engines at the front end]. Instead we will begin to have information fed on the keywords or alerts we request. How many people would even think of using the yellow pages to find a plumber but would ask friends, family, colleagues, contacts, followers? The list can be added to where relevant and with regard to whose opinion you trust and feel loyal to, trust and loyalty are very important factors in building the reputation of a business.

Whilst building reputations there is still the opportunity to link word of mouth to previous work and contacts, a recent client of mine found by being more active on Linked In he was back in contact with people he had known for 20 years. Conversations can start around familiarities, whether new or old businesses nobody should be selling products or services through any platform. Instead I would advise simply being informative about your knowledge, skills and experiences within your industry. By doing this contacts, followers or friends get to know you as a resource not a source of interruptions, discounts and deals.

There are many ways to search specifically for what we want, by building a connected community online we are able to spread the awareness of what we know and do globally. I have been doing this since 1982 simply promoting interaction, participation and viewing audience analysis based on engaging with people and developing long term relationships. By taking time to listen to those we want to connect to we are better placed to understand their needs, bringing this to conversation shows them that we respect their views too.

The important factor in everything linked to these thoughts is people not technology, by building the correct mind set to communicate effectively to the people important to your business those relationships will build whether online or offline. It is vital that it doesn’t become one or the other but working together strategically for the business to develop, always providing an approachable and personable opportunity for conversation.

Pecha Kucha – Huddersfield 13.01.11

This slideshow was first seen at a Pecha Kucha night in Huddersfield 13 January 2011, to find out more about Pecha Kucha visit www.pecha-kucha.org . The basic guidelines are for presentations with 20 slides each lasting 20 seconds, 6 minutes 40 seconds in total for each presenter.

This is about a Mail Art project which I curated between 1988 and 1991, not too much more to add to that other than I asked people to send me one blade or more, of grass.  Personally I believe interaction and participation is far more important than explanation.

01 Grass – more than just a collection but a connection

02 Started in Central Park NYC, but really Brighton England.  My request for ‘a present of a piece of NYC turf’ was forgotten.

03 Meanwhile, I was heavily involved in Mail Art and it was time to start a project of my own.

04 Grass from the ground one blade or more was my opening sentence to mail artists between 1988 and 1991.
Creative interpretation and participation was all that was necessary no rules.

05 Shozo Shimamoto was one of the first to reply.

06 Some people went a little further and provided evidence of origin.

07 This sample was exciting not for the ‘Riot Area’ grass but the contact with Ben Ponton a member of Soviet France makers of experimental industrial music and artwork who I had followed throughout the 1980’s.

08 Dried and bagged the grass wasn’t always green why should it be that would constitute a rule.

09 X marks the spot of the cell which this person wrote many, many letters to me from Sing Sing Prison.  The grass was secondary to this and many other relationships that grew through my request.

10 Le Peintre Nato a French artist who is totally true to himself.

11 Creative inspiration and involvement varied and was inspiring, from contact with The KGB to meeting, visiting and regularly exhibiting in a New York gallery to simply meeting real people across the world.

12 And still always good to know where the grass had specifically been picked.

13 Grass and Jack Kerouac – perfect.

14 D F Busky’s own pet in the post, just for me.

15 A friend travelled to Japan brought this sample back and was disappointed not to get a sample from Hiroshima.

16 This was one of the last submissions to the project at a time of much change and growth in Eastern Europe.

17 A never ending supply of creativity was shown over the three years, often making me smile as I opened my post sat on the beach in Brighton.

18 Dobrica was a very active mail artist who I collaborated with many times through his fanzine, not the best of time in his country either which was seen in the work he produced.

19 More than once the changes in Europe were echoed in the project here a postcard of a hole in the Berlin Wall with grass from another hole in the wall.

20 Three years 329 samples 46 countries, exhibited in my home, covered by radio, television and national newspapers. More importantly though relationships started then, continue today and I continue to connect show and share creatively online and offline with people through ‘platform58’.

Mark Longbottom

Promote or engage?

This post is in reply to the following question on Linked In:

How do you promote your business without trying to sell your business? A minefield

Simply provide information about yourself so anyone reading will be aware that you are knowledgeable with regard to your industry and area of work. With the objective of making you a source of information that the reader will return to.

People buy from people, relationships are key to any brand development. Building networks and communities and knowing who your connected community is will help define your strategy and objectives.

When you begin listening and see what is discussed, how and where you will better understand how to engage. Wherever you listen though make sure you hear all, don’t just take what you want to hear. This can be offline [face to face] as well as online. There are loads of free to use online solution for monitoring activity as well as pay to use software.

Here’s a good article about consumer connections and how brands need to to do more than market and promote http://www.briansolis.com/2010/11/the-rise-of-the-social-consumer/ understanding the value of connected communities, emotion and loyalty.
The trust and loyalty received from engaging and building relationships within connected communities will then deliver word of mouth. Virtually everyone [over 2 billion people online by the end of 2010] has an online network; from people buying from people, people also listen to those they trust. Understanding these ‘online referral networks’ add massive value to any business, they are simply people connecting with people.

I was invited recently to hear how to cold call, personally I hate doing it and have steered away from talking to people who within seconds hate you. No good saying ‘Every no gets you closer to a yes’ your time would be spent actually working on finding the the networks and communities that want to talk to you rather than anyone who has a telephone.

Best thing to be though is yourself with belief in your product and service.

Social media and customer after life

What happens to your customers or clients after they have bought your product or paid for your services, are they part of your network or community? The afterlife we are considering is seen as after sales when many businesses relinquish connections with the customer or client.

This after life is becoming more and more influential for businesses.  Effective use of the internet and social media chanels by customers means a happy customer is more likely to be talking about your product or service online, even if that is by simply liking your Facebook page .

Most businesses will tell you they get business through word of mouth, by keeping connected with your  customers and clients online with an active after service this creates trust and loyalty as well as developing an ongoing  relationship with the customer.  With most people active online, [ 60% of web users visit social network sites ,  Social Networking Watch has more posts in this field] all day everyday people are connecting with friends locally and globally sharing information, links, likes, fans, friends and followers.

As a business your product or service will be shared online, you can check this through Google Alerts and other services delivered through Google as well as at sites like www.socialmention.com .  This whole aspect of customer service and after life is excellently discussed and written about by Josh Bernoff in his latest book ‘Empowered’ .

It would seem only logical that a business not only delivers a service but also trys to sustain lasting relationships with its customers or clients. This could be seen as a premium customer service, not at all it should be the default customer service. In the long term this customer base will connect you with their network and then thier friends networks, people in these networks are not only active but experienced in the way they use technology to deliver information.

Sharing information in this way with people we trust has far more reliability, there is no need to do anything other than be you.  People want personal service and by providing this you can develop a long term relationship to benefit  your business rather than losing contact with your most valued asset a customer/client who is happy with your product or service.

If you have any thoughts on this subject, or if you know any examples businesses and relevant information that may help other readers please leave a comment below.

Thanks
Mark Longbottom

Pecha Kucha – Huddersfield 23.09.10