BrandTalk from Barcelona Creative Group

For those of you who may not know who Jeffrey Gitomer is, Gitomer is defined as a creative, on-the-edge, writer and speaker whose expertise on sales, customer loyalty, and personal development is world renowned (according to www.gitomer.com). I have read quite a few things by Jeffrey Gitomer. I was turned on to his writing by my Dad, who on a somewhat regular basis will send me, and my brother and sister, Jeffrey’s weekly e-zine - Sales Caffeine. Others may know him for his very popular “Little” books.

I was doing some reading today, getting into gear for 2010 after having a few days off from work, when I came across an article my Dad gave me by Jeffrey Gitomer from the Grand Rapids Business Journal. The article is entitled “Social media - the new cold call; do you want to play?” I was going to share it by just simply bookmarking it on our company’s Delicious page, but instead, I decided I needed to write about why I liked the article so much and share that with you.

To summarize, the article talks about how one by one, the non-believers of social media are being converted by the social media believers. I find this to be true in the work that I do everyday. Clients, who were once skeptical, are now becoming believers and beginning to see the great value and possibilities offered by social media tools. They are turning to us to help them incorporate social media into their overall marketing strategies - and seeing great success in doing so.

According to Gitomer, “the big six - Facebook, You-Tube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Ning and Flickr - pretty much dominate the market. If you’re going to play in the social media world, those five are the sandbox.”

He goes on to talk about how millions of businesses have social media logos on their websites and the numerous business opportunities that are afforded through these tools. I love that he makes this point because when I talk to business owners - individually and in the groups that I speak to - this is one of the biggest points I touch on. Businesses still fail to realize the doors that social media tools can open for them, and what an important investment their company website really should be. Facebook fan pages can be used by brands to engage with and attract friends and customers. Twitter can be used to share valuable tips and messages, while YouTube affords business the ability to create a company channel to post tips, commentary and customer testimonials, as well as build trust and loyalty in their brands.

Gitomer writes, “The key right now is to build a base of connections and consistently deliver value messages to attract more.”

This is such an important point, and social media allows individuals and businesses to spread word of mouth further and faster than ever - without breaking the bank.

This is a great article by Jeffrey Gitomer and I’d like to include my favorite part. In a few short paragraphs, I think Gitomer does a great job of “hitting the nail on the head.”

Gitomer writes, “The largest element in social media or social networking is you: what you do, what you post, what you tweet, what you shoot, what you record, and the work (dedication) to make your personal message and your personal brand attractive.

Like anything else in business there will always be a small percentage of idiots and zealots doing the wrong thing: Ignore them. Don’t let the actions of a few spoil your outlook to advance and grow.

There’s billions of dollars of new business being generated by social media. How much of it will you get?

Maybe you need to get a bit more serious about being a bit more social.”

As we begin 2010, it has never been more important to consider the marketing channels your business uses, the dollars your business invests in marketing, and the return you may or may not be seeing and take action to improve. Consider whether you are taking full advantage of the opportunities that social media can afford your business. And, if you are still a social media “non-believer”, maybe its time to really ask yourself WHY?

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