Opinion on Social Media ROI

As BusinessCard2 grows, I've been spending much more time speaking with the media and networking events around the country. This has provided me the opportunity to shed some light on how I perceive the tangibility of social media in moving the needle for your business, as well as feedback from audiences on just how confusing it can all be. One of the biggest questions I get is, "Should I do it at all?".

For anyone who is using social networking, the answer to this question is almost always "yes, you should be doing social networking." I think that people naturally answer with a YES! is because they want others to either join in their misery or bliss. The reality is, maintaining a social networking presence, for many, can be a time vampire that provides little or no tangible or intangible return on investment (ROI).

It is a mistaken belief that just because an audience migrates to one place, that means you need to have to be there too. Before embarking on a social media campaign, the three questions I recommend you ask are: 1) Why do I want to be there?, 2) What can it do for my business?, 3) How will I determine/calculate if it really matters?

I am and have been convinced for the better part of five years that social networking is only tapped for ROI by a select group of people and companies. Typically those who are successful have invested time in understanding how social media works and how they will successfully use it, as well as investment of financial resources to see successful implementation of that planning.

At the end of the day, the 1-2 hours spent maintaining a social presence is 1-2 hours taken away from another part of your life. It is time you will never get back. Social networking can be a novelty where not all experience windfall. It needs to be carefully thought out, attempted, and scaled back if it can't be measured. Note: Reality Digital is helping calculate social media ROI.

So let me be clear, so their is no uncertainty in my opinion: social media can be one part of overall marketing tactics and a vehicle for integrated marketing communications, but it is not always a worthwhile trade-off of your time in resources unless expectations can be realized.

BusinessCard2 as a Part of Good Netiquette

One of the challenges, and opportunities, in making new connections on the web is being approached by, and approaching new people. BusinessCard2 is different way to manage this challenge. At BusinessCard2 we don't see the web space much differently than the real world. You want to connect with new people to grow your business. You do not want to be limited by degrees of separation. You do not want to have to pay to freely make connections with new people, especially when you're doing the work to find them. You are willing to be transparent about who you are, and you carry the digital version of yourself with the same decorum as you do in the authentic world.

Still, how is the other person you are approaching supposed to qualify you? How are they to trust you? How are they to know that entering into a new relationship with you is a worthwhile exercise?

These questions are the same ones we've had in mind for the last several years while engineering BusinessCard2. The underlying premise and intention has been one of solving the problem of making online connections with those we don't already know, but would like to. The concept of the business card was a natural solution, since it has a 350 year track record of creating connections in the real world.

Historically speaking, the business card is really just the evolution of the calling card (also known as visiting card). Calling cards were used by nobles as an essential tool for formal introduction. A person would typically send the calling card ahead of a visit, thus introducing an impending arrival. The calling card helped qualify the experience of entering into a new relationship.

What is so difficult today on the web is that we don't know who we can trust. Each of us carries around a certain level of suspicion about those we come across as we navigate the web. Some of us choose anonymity in defense. However, it is increasingly commonplace for many of us that we'll give up anonymity (be identity transparent) if it means a greater likelihood for opportunity and success. Still, it can be uncomfortable to be approached online by someone we are not familiar with; the internet does not convey human qualities such as facial and hand gestures, and tone of voice.

BusinessCard2 is specifically designed as your calling card for the web. It is designed as a method of formal introduction. It is also a firewall to protect against jumping into a relationship before knowing more about the other party. It is a dignified and orderly way to expose you who you are, what you do, and why it matters. It is a polite ice breaker for possible conversation, supported by ample data for due diligence. It is your best foot forward to digital manners. It is something more friendly than the impersonality of bits and bytes.

Netiquette is the set of rules by which we govern our online conduct. Increasingly we are seeing BusinessCard2 used specifically as a convention of online conduct. So, we thought it appropriate to start a short list of best practices for BusinessCard2. Note: this list is not inclusive and only suggests ways in which BusinessCard2 may be more useful for both the card owner, and the intended recipient:

- Be honest and transparent in your card.
- Be professional in your card.
- Share your card where and when appropriate.
- Have a colleague edit your card, for thoroughness.
- If you want to be contacted, leave contact information in your card.
- Use information, pictures, files, and links in your card that tell your story.
- Share your expert knowledge in your card.

[If you have additional suggestions for best practices, I'd love to know. Lief Larson]

Vote for HyperHairyDingleberry2HyperDrive

!!!WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!

We're working behind the scenes at BusinessCard2 on a delivery technology. This internal effort basically started in 2008. It helps people who have a BusinessCard2 with a "set-it & forget-it" delivery mechanism. It's sorta marketing, sorta advertising, but really, really simple (like push one button simple). Basically we take your web business card and put it on other sites for you.

Anyway, back a number of months ago we needed a name. We started with the term "identity broadcasting", but didn't like that because it was too ambiguous. Then about seven weeks ago we decided on the term "PUSH". It was short and simple. Basically we'd be pushing the cards out to various places on the web.

Then two days ago the whole conversation came up again when a couple of team members who didn't have a vote on PUSH decided it needed to do a better job of saying what it is. I didn't want to use any terminology associated with the word advertising because I think it's more than advertising. However, I was outvoted by the team and we settled on the brand "adcast" yesterday (even though the two team members who didn't like the term "PUSH" but wanted to use something about "advertising" were not present to vote, but we assumed they would like it because it had the term "ad" in it, signifying that it constituted some type of advertising). Note: During that same meeting the term "CardCast" was suggested.

Well, we emailed the two other team members that we'd decided on using "AdCast". To our surprise, they didn't like it. Totally independently they emailed back with the suggestion of "CardCast". 'Great!' I thought. Something we can all agree on. So I send out an email saying it is official. Well, not so quick...

All of a sudden a fraction was created for and against CardCast. Emails were being slung to and fro with arguments for and against. Here are some quotes from the email, just to give you context:

"Team. After much dialogue & debate, I'm making the recommendation that "push" becomes"CardCast". Randy/Gordy independently arrived as this name (as did we). I'm personally convinced that there will be some level of explanation that will have to occur regardless of the name. I think CardCast is verby enough to differentiate this as something special/different/beyond merely having a card. I think there are legitimate concerns about being categorized purely as advertising. Lastly, the trademark activity around the term "AdCast" is questionable enough that we might have difficulties in securing protection. From my research we have complete freedom to operate with CardCast. Unless there are any major objections, I think we should commit to this trademark and move on...Lief"

Then....

"Hello all, here are my thoughts: The original argument against "Push" that really resonated with me was the education we would have to do for our users for them to understand exactly what this was, and was there a better name that would help a new user better grasp what "Push" was? I'm not sure that "CardCast" does this much better.....we've replaced "Push" (a synonym for "advertise") with "cast" (to throw off/out). In the context of our website, and in appearances outside of our website: 'BusinessCard2 CardCast', I still like AdCast better....not repeating 'card' twice would be nice there....'BusinessCard2 AdCast.' Also, after our conversation about it yesterday, I warmed up with using 'Ad' because we moved away from some of the negative connotations of 'advertise', but still kept some transparency on what was going on. I dont mean to be negative, if everyone else is unanimous on it, lets just move forward on it. We'll build such a kick ass service with this that we could call it HyperHairyDingleberry2HyperDrive, and it would still be awesome, but I still wanted to share my 2 cents and see if that opened up any further discussions.....Tanner"

Then...

"I vote for HyperHairyDingleberry2HyperDrive....Randy"

"See, here we go......I'd like to replace Dingleberry with Dinglehopper....Gordy"

Anyway, WHAT DO YOU THINK? We'd like to know your vote. What should we call it? AdCast? CardCast? HyperHairyDingleberry2HyperDrive?

And Just Who Exactly Makes Your Personal Brand?

(A hint: it isn’t just you.)

Your name is your name. Your name in funky lettering is your logo. But neither is your personal brand. Instead, your personal brand is what those who know you and work with you say it is. Managing your personal brand is an exercise in influencing how you exist in the mind of others.

Others form ideas about you. These ideas are based on attributes you exude. What do you look like in dress and physical appearance? What types of information do you convey verbally and with gesturing? What are people saying about you? Are you trustworthy? Are you charismatic? It is these questions – not an evaluation of the benefits you offer – that will lead people to construct your personal brand and ultimately want to do business with you.

You can always see the people with charismatic personal brands stand out in popular culture. Steve Jobs, the energetic pitchman and CEO of Apple Inc., has immediately recognizable personal brand qualities: black shirt, circular glasses, intellectually stimulating conversation, powerful speeches, and self-assuredness. In addition, hard to quantify things like success, style, innovation and creativity are what many observers associate with the name Steve Jobs.

Although Fortune noted Steve Jobs “is considered one of Silicon Valley's leading egomaniacs,” many tech fanboys and consumers have translated his larger-than-life persona into trust and dedication to the products his company creates. It is no wonder than that the company’s stock took a hit after his health problems were made public, or that there is tremendous buzz around his possible appearance at the Apple event tomorrow. Here is a recent comment from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster:

“We expect CEO, Steve Jobs, to announce a new iPod lineup featuring cameras in re-designed iPod nanos, iPod touches, and the iPod classic. We believe investors will view the new products as a non-event, as iPod growth slows and the segment becomes less of an investable theme. However, we also believe Steve Jobs will present at the event, a first since his health-related leave of absence, which would likely be a slight positive for shares of AAPL and the first public confirmation of Jobs’ health since his return to the company.”

Can your personal brand influence the stock market? Well, maybe some day.

There are no boring people, only dull personal brands. If you want to understand how to better influence people’s perception of you, these are the three questions to ask yourself: 1) Who are you?, 2) What do you do?, 3) Why does it matter? The exercise of answering these questions will lead you to the qualities that differentiate you.

Next, be distinctive. Consider going against the crowd. Be open to standing out; most "visionaries" started life as contrarians. This is an exercise in creativity over logic.

Then, be trustworthy. I’m not talking about credibility, but rather giving people something that they can come to expect from you with some level of consistency. Be human. Allow people to know you make mistakes and you’ll help your personal brand agents form bonds with your personality attributes, thus further enhancing your personal brand value.

Finally, solicit feedback. Ask people what they think about your persona and messaging. As your personal brand rises, pay careful attention to the conversation. In this dialogue you’ll discover just who makes your personal brand.

MarketWatch & Wall Street Journal Online

This last week leading up to the labor day break has been an exciting one for us. Emily Glazer, a writer for DowJones mentioned BusinessCard2 in her article "Digital business cards move networking off paper." The article was featured in the online edition of WallStreet Journal and was a cover story on the homepage of MarkeWatch.com.

We're really proud to have been worthy of the coverage, and the validation of our efforts. The traffic increase to BusinessCard2 due to the story has been absolutely wonderful and we're very happy to be able to put many of our great users of BusinessCard2 in the spotlight.