Winter finally arrived in Central New York last week.
 Snow Steps With no snow or typically cold weather until January 15th, I wondered if the Mayans got it wrong and the world was ending now. Wierd weather patterns have a way of bringing out apocalyptic thinking.
Now that the cold, white stuff is here, anticipation of winter’s arrival is over. Which is what got me thinking about anticipation in its many forms.
Most people around here were happy every day that winter didn‘t arrive. Theirs was a kind of fear-based anticipation, knowing that the mild weather was bound to end but not knowing when. Nobody really wants 20 degrees and three feet of snow to come.
On the other hand, the winter-lovers among us were waiting with frustration as the season didn’t change and didn’t change and annoyingly didn’t change! Believe it or not, there really are lots of people who enjoy all four seasons equally.
As a business owner, anticipation means being ready for the next new thing, and for ever-present change. Companies with an attitude of anticipation don’t get caught off guard. They may not be able to predict exactly what will happen, but they are ready for change when it does happen.
Anticipation is a hopeful expectation that makes it easier to adapt when change stares you down. Whether you are expectantly waiting with hope, or fearfully dreading the next thing down the pike, anticipating change is a skill to embrace and develop.
Anticipate, then adapt to the circumstances of the moment. How are you doing with a strategy of anticipation?
 Martin Luther: Social Media Guru Staying on top of changing practices in marketing and technology is a given for business owners today. As a small business marketer, I spend lots of time monitoring blogs and websites, reading posts and articles, then sharing and reposting information on various social media channels.
Meanwhile, I’ve written about the challenges of staying focused on your core competencies, trying not to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of change confronting us each day. Sometimes, it feels like every minute brings something new down the pike.
I tell my clients – and myself – to stay engaged enough to learn what’s new so you don’t get left behind. It’s a time-consuming job with no opt-out options.
So, I was pleasantly surprised to read “How Luther Went Viral”, (Dec.17, 2011) in the Economist , which makes a compelling, historical case for linking the current macro-burst in social media activity to a centuries old phenomenon: human nature kicks in when an important message wants to be told; people find the easiest way to share a message by looking to new forms of media to share it.
In 1517, almost 500 years before the Internet Revolution, Martin Luther used the relatively ‘new’ media of printed pamphlets to spread a message of discontent with practices of the Catholic Church around the globe of Christendom. These pamphlets, quickly translated from Latin to German to various dialects and languages, led to the Reformation, a bona fide historic time-period marking a change in the course of history.
Sounding eerily similar to recent events in the Middle East leading up to the Arab Spring, the thread of continuity in Luther’s story is that “participants took care of distribution, deciding collectively which messages to amplify through sharing and recommendations.” Can you say Facebook? Twitter? Social media, anyone? And we thought social media was something new and cool, just birthed in the 21st century.
Each new generation tends to think of itself and its inventions as unique; in many ways, superior to the past. In the current paradigm, this generation translates that tendency to technology = value. Luther’s story, as recounted in How Luther Went Viral, is a convincing reminder that social media is, at its core, an innately human form of communicating that takes advantage of the technology most available at the time a message meets its most felt need.
Hitting pain points is what gets people sharing outside of mainstream media. People use methods most available to spread the word of most interest. The take-away for business owners is to work on the message part. Find the felt need of your customers and then tell your story. Tell it well. Tell it often. Create a reason for people to want to share your message.
In the meantime, keep reading blogs and industry sites to stay abreast of changing practices for your business. Read this blog for marketing news from time to time.
Relax if you can, knowing there really is nothing new under the sun. People will always find new ways to stay connected while continuing to be influenced by the past. It’s just the methods for distribution that change.
 Atttibution: Joe McAlpine Writing end-of-year charitable giving checks the other day got me thinking about generosity. In particular, I was reminded of some people who have been generous in the years since I started my business.
By generosity, I mean generosity experienced as encouragement or giving of time. As any small business owner knows, there are days that never seem to end, when nothing gets done and where everything that can go wrong does. People who offer a well-timed ‘atta boy’ or send an out-of-the-blue referral to your inbox can make an entrepreneurs’ day.
My friend and early mentor Sean Branagan, Director of the Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Syracuse University, is a generous type through and through. Not only is Sean a talented serial entrepreneur, but he was generous taking me under his virtual wing in the early days of my marketing career.
Though our paths don’t cross often these days, Sean is the kind of person who always has a good lead or connection to share. Once, he sent me a complimentary membership to the Red House, a nonprofit theater center in the trendy Armory Square district of Syracuse where we live. Sean has introduced me to countless individuals who have more often than not been helpful as I grew my business.
Susan Beebe, of Lighthouse Marketing, is another example of someone who gives naturally of her time and gifts. Susan, technically a competitor, gave valuable advice during a time when I desperately needed direction to keep my company growing. She didn’t have to engage with me.Yet, her innate sense of generosity gave her the freedom to help when the need was there, not because it necessarily benefited her.
Susan operates by the principal of “to get you have to first give”. That type of generosity is truly servant leadership.
Finally, I have been privileged to work with a few talented strategic partners who exude generosity of the selfless kind, while growing their businesses at the same time as I grow mine. Becky Bayne, of Becky’s Graphic Design, Larry Wilcox, of CNY Web Design, and Chris Belna, of A La Carte Business Services, have shared volumes of website, design and systems knowledge, have successfully bailed me out of sticky situations, and have shown the patience of saints more times than I can count. These three partners are among my greatest assets as a business owner.
There are others in my sphere who “live to give”, if you will. Gwen Webber-McLeod and Tracy Higginbotham immediately come to mind. They stand out as shining examples of business owners who operate with a philosophy of generosity that influences the world for good. I am happy to acknowledge them all, and to use this post to encourage generosity.
You just can’t overstate the good that genuinely generous people do in the world each day. Personal generosity is a valuable trait for entrepreneurs to develop and exercise. How about you? Are you as generous as possible? I’m working on my GQ (Generosity Quotient) this year, that’s for sure. By the end of 2012, I hope to have a few stories of my own to share. Maybe you’ll have a few too.
 Blueyes Staying abreast of change with social media marketing can feel like a time-sucking sink hole to the average small business person.
A week doesn’t go by it seems some bright, new, shiny, social media object comes barreling at you with the siren call of more sales, followers and subscribers if only you’ll download, set up your profile, link to followers and post valuable content on a regular basis. Sigh……
If you’ve heard about Google +, you may be feeling that way.
But wait. This is something different.
Google +, officially launched on June 29, 2011, is rapidly gaining broad-based support in the online marketing world and beyond. Social Media Examiner recently posted 34 Google+ Resources for your business: Advice from the Pros. Thirty four articles for a social media platform that was launched less than 3 months ago!
Big name marketing types like Mari Smith, Guy Kawasaki, and John Janstch to name a few, are participating and writing about it.
Chris Brogan has all but abandoned Facebook and is posting primarily on Google+. In Start Now on Google+, Chris says, “The reasons to love Google+ are that it’s clean, it’s fast, it’s useful, people are very engaged, and it’s got a strong boost to your search-ability.”
In my view, Google + has one serious advantage over other popular SM tools: communicating is specific to groups of people rather than universal. You get to say what you want to who you want. Not to everyone.
Google+ conversations are just like real world conversations. Groups of like-minded people talking about topics they’re all interested in. It just makes sense.
Here’s a few additional reasons why Google + is different.
Google + is a copy. Not exactly, but Google+ is a refinement of the most popular SM tools today. Google played the waiting game to watch where and how people were benefiting and also where they were struggling with Facebook, Twitter and the like. Then they built a better mousetrap – Google+. With all the bells and whistles and few of the annoyances that characterize the early players.
Google+ is rapidly growing, for all the right reasons. While the pace of Google+ growth outstrips anything we’ve seen before, that’s not the real news. The real news is that social media participants who get on Google+ adapt and adopt more quickly to find what works best for them. Google+ users are by and large more focused than the bazillions on Facebook and Twitter users, and are segmenting conversations to enhance the value.
Google + is more functional than fun for the average business owner. Savvy social media users, especially busy small business people, participate on the basis of need rather than want. Google+ helps them answer these online queries: Where are my customers? What can I expect to gain by investing time here? What are the best platforms for my needs?
Google + users are focused, especially in circles of colleagues, business acquaintances, clients and others. Because they are more intentional in their postings, you waste less time reading ‘what I”m eating today’ posts. You’re talking to a group of people who share your interest, so the conversation is bound to be more focused.
My participation on Google + has been limited so far. The platform is still in beta form and only open by invitation. Still, I’m keeping an eye out for where Google + goes in the near future, and getting in the wagon to figure it out. I predict other platforms will adapt to the separate conversations standard sooner rather than later. I hope you’ll join in- you can right here.
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