Scratch your niche: How to build your business and boost your brand through specialization ... and...

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Scratch your niche How to build your business and boost your brand through specialization ... and social media Bill Sheridan, CAE The Business Learning Institute
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    13-Sep-2014
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When it comes to getting noticed, social media is the great equalizer. Here are some ideas for how to stand out from the crowd by being more social.

Transcript of Scratch your niche: How to build your business and boost your brand through specialization ... and...

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Scratch your nicheHow to build your business and boostyour brand through specialization ... and social mediaBill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

THIS IS SETH GODIN ON SOCIAL NETWORKING

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0h0LlCu8Ks

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Todays agendaBill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

The move to social

Social media vs. social business

Job security vs. job adaptation

Thought leadership: Your edge

Personal Branding 101

ResourcesA quick look at our agenda:2

Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

ChangeSo lets talk about whats happening today that makes this conversation worth having.

It all boils down to one word Change.

Always had change, but rate of change is intense today.

-- legislative / regulatory changes. Makes SOX look like a walk in the park.-- demographic shifts. 4 generations in the workplace.-- that leads to all kinds of leadership shifts and succession issues.-- biggest of all, technology shifts. Moores Law processing speeds, or overall processing power, for computers doubles every 18 months or so.-- Aspen Intitute rate of change: As it relates to science and technology, the rate of change in the next decade is likely to be 4 to 7 times faster than in the previous decade. If it is 4 times faster, it would be like planning for today in 1890. If it is 7 times faster, it would be like planning for today in 1670.

4HierarchyCommand and controlExperience curveLecturerPushThe world is changingFrom:To:

NetworkConnect and collaborateCollaboration curveFacilitatorPullBill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

Its a different world, folks.

Social media is helping us do all of that.5What is social media?Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

Social filterBroadcasting toolListening agentNetworkerTeacher

Well, lets define what social media is.

And Im not talking about textbook definitions here. Im talking about what social media can do for you.

1. Social filter: Information overload. Google CEO Eric Schmidt:

Between the dawn of civilization through 2003, there were just five exabytes of information created. That much information is now created every two days, and the pace is increasing.

Clay Shirky filter failure.

2. Broadcasting tool: Cite, as examples:

-- revolutions-- disasters like tsunami in Japan-- blog stats.

3. Listening agent: Joining the conversation. Cite Typepad example.

4. Networker: Cite Tom bringing followers into a classroom conversation.

5. Teacher: Cite social learning, ability to learn from others anywhere, at any time.

6What do you stand for?Take control of your brand. Own it.

Stand out from the crowd.

What do you know? Why is it important? What makes you you?

Promote yourself. Build community.

Embrace opportunity.

Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

We heard from Brian Kush earlier in the conference. He has a lot of important messages for todays CPA.

Conforming to your company norm is not valued today like it was in the past. Today, you need to distinguish yourself. Be unique.

It used to be that being a CPA was distinction enough. Not anymore. Now you have to distinguish yourself from the other CPAs out there.

But heres the funny thing about personal brands: Theyre being cultivated by outsiders every day, whether we like it or now. People act on perceptions, jump to conclusions, form opinions based on what they see and hear. Theyre perfectly willing to create your brand for you.

Brians message is this: Dont let them.

Build your own brand. Figure out what makes you unique, what you know that others dont, what sets you apart from the crowd. Then promote the heck out of it. Get word out. Make connections. Build a community around what you know. Turn yourself into a thought leader.

If you do that, opportunities will come your way.7

Old schoolBill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

How have we traditionally done all of that?

Believe it or not, the answer is social networking. This is a social network.

Making those contacts and promoting ourselves traditionally has involved old-school social networks. Happy hours, Chamber of Commerce chicken dinners, trading business cards, glad-handing, pounding the pavement.

And it works, right? Theres nothing more valuable than meaningful face-to-face communication.

But its hard work. It takes time, and you can only talk to so many people at once.

But theres a new way to take control of your brand. Its still this 8

New schoolBill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

but with a heavy dose of this, too.

Social media has enhanced our ability to build our personal brands exponentially.9New schoolBill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

Do you know who this is?

If so, its probably because of social media.

This is Jody Padar. In just a couple of years, she went from inheriting a rather obscure legacy CPA firm in the Chicago area to being named one of the 100 most influential people in accounting by Accounting Today.

How did that happen?10

Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

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Social media has made new forms of leadership possible for scores of people who dont fit the Harvard Business School mold.

Susan Cain, author, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Cant Stop Talking

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Meet Seth.Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

So Im reading this book called Linchpin, by a genius named Seth Godin. How many of you have read it?

You all know Seth?

Seth, of course, invented the Internet and thought of everything before anybody else and basically is here to make us feel worthless, then kick our butts and turn us into better people. Thats just what he does, and hes good at it.

Anyway, in Linchpin, he talks about how to become indispensable. It basically comes down to this:

-- Ditch the rules and follow your heart. AND -- Do work that inspires you AND others. Pretty cool idea. And if you want to know more about it, read the book.13

Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

So anyway, Im reading this book. And on page 161, Seth starts talking about something called the circles of gift giving.

See, Seth believes in giving stuff away giving away our knowledge, giving away resources, adding value to other peoples lives and not expecting anything in return. Thats how we become indispensable.

Pretty radical idea. It flies in the face of everything that capitalism stands for. Right? Were here to make money. Produce something, sell it, repeat.

The classic business model that me and you and our parents and grandparents grew up with was all about product and profit. Right? Make something and sell it for more. People were merely cogs in the machine that produced the stuff we sold.

Heres the thing, though. That business model? Its obsolete. Its been obsolete for probably 5 years. The rules have changed.

Were now living in an era in which people are at the center of everything we do. Tom Hood likes to say weve moved away from an era of command-and-control to one of communicate-and-collaborate. Doing that means building communities and relationships, and that takes people, it takes trust, it takes a commitment to serving others, not just making money. People first.14

Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

OK, so back to Seths circles of gift giving. There are three of them:

The first is a circle of true gifts stuff we willingly share with others, most often friends, family and co-workers. Someone asks for advice for a good hotel in the area. You give that knowledge away. You invite a friend over and give her a meal. You dont charge her for it.

The second is a circle of commerce people in this circle are willing to pay you for what you produce your consulting services, your financial advice, the book you wrote, the widget you made.

Those two circles have been with us for ever.

Now, the Internet has given us a third circle, and its kind of a combination of the first two. It consists of people who might one day pay you for what you do but to get to that point they first need to know you and trust you and be comfortable interacting with you. These are our social networks, the folks we follow online.

Heres a quote:

Generosity generates income.15

Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

Thats an entirely new business model, and its one that almost NO ONE is following yet.

And how do I know that? It all goes back to social media.

One of the biggest complaints I hear about social media is, Wheres the ROI? How come were not making any money on this stuff? This is worthless Ive been on Twitter for a week and nobodys bought anything yet.

Social media is that third circle. Were not supposed to sell anything there.

Thats where we give away stuff. Share what we know. Add value to peoples lives. Build trust, and credibility, and relationships.

Then, maybe we start to move some folks over to the second circle.

But ROI? There is no ROI in social media. Not if you do it right.

If you do it right, you become less of a production machine and more human.16

MaddieJamie

Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

Theres another new book out now called Humanize. Its by a couple of association folks named Jamie Notter and Maddie Grant. They argue that the reason so many businesses are struggling with social media is that theyre trying to bolt it onto obsolete business models.

The problem isnt social media, they say. The problem is that our own organizations are outdated and need to become more human, more people-centric.17

Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

The point is this:

If we dont focus on serving people and solving problems if we dont put other peoples needs ahead of our own we are doomed to fail.

The irony is, the more we give away, the more well make in return.

Thats the business model for this brave new social world.

And thats more than our challenge. It should be our aspiration.

Or as Pablo Picasso once put it 18Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

The meaning of lifeis to find your gift.The purpose of lifeis to give it away. 19Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

1. Whats my why?So where do you start? What are some logical first steps in building your brand, becoming a thought leader and enhancing your career in the social space?

For openers, lets channel Simon Sinek, always start with why why are you doing this?20Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

People dont buy what you. They buy why you do it.

-- Simon SinekSo, What do you stand for?

-- Whats your niche?-- What are you passionate about?-- Whats the power of YOU?

Once you figure those things out, its time for some nuts and bolts.

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2. Who owns me?And that brings us to the second question: Who owns me?

Your answer had better be, I do.22Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

Facebook.com/BillSheridan

Twitter.com/BillSheridan

LinkedIn.com/in/BillDSheridan

Gplus.to/BillSheridan

YouTube.com/BillSheridan

SlideShare.net/BillSheridan

Flickr.com/photos/Sheridan

Do you own your name across all platforms? BillSheridan.com? Facebook.com/BillSheridan? Twitter.com/BillSheridan? If not, can you get them for a reasonable price?

And if you own BillSheridan.com, do you also own BillSheridanSucks.com? Whether you like it or not, chances are someone is going to go looking for it.

If you dont own your own name, then youre leaving your online reputation in the hands of someone who does. Sam Richter, Social Media Today

My problem is with the current linebackers coach of the Detroit Lions, whose name also happens to be Bill Sheridan. He has destroyed my Google rankings. But Im doing the best I can.

The point is, be consistent or as consistent as possible. Itll make it much easier for people to find you across platforms, and its much more search-engine friendly.23Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

3. Where do I start?Question No. 3 is, Where do I start? And that is usually, means, whom do I follow?

24Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

Social stars@TomHood@BillSheridan@CPA_Trendlines@JodyPadarCPA@JasonMBlumer@YourStateCPASociety@AICPA_JofA@AccountingToday / @AccountingWEB@CFOPub@GoingConcern@EveryNewsOutlet@DanielPink@SethsBlog@SandersSays@YourStateLegislatorsStep 2: Follow some folks. Here are just a few suggestions to get you started.

Then and this is the important part look at who THEYRE following. Chances are, if you like what they folks are doing socially, youre going to like what their followers are doing, too.

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4. What do I say?And that brings us to Question No. 4 What do I say?

The answer, at least initially, is Nothing.

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Think of social media as a big cocktail party. And what do you do when you first arrive at a cocktail party? You dont pull out a megaphone and start announcing to the world how great you are, do you?

No, you go to the bar, grab a drink, then sidle up to a group of folks and listen to what theyre saying. If you like what youre hearing, you join the conversation and share a few thoughts of your own. If you dont, you head over to the next group and listen to what THEYRE saying.

And remember: The keyword in the phrase social media is social. You will get nothing in return if you dont first GIVE something to your followers. Give value first content, advice, information, answers, feedback. Be social. Give more than you get. That builds trust, and THAT will convince folks that you know what youre talking about. That builds your personal brand.

People who do nothing but promote themselves never build that trust.

Another great way of building your brand is to leverage the wisdom of crowds through social Q&As.

-- LinkedIn Answers-- Quora-- Yahoo Answers

All of these sites reward knowledgeable users who promote their expertise by answers others questions.

27Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

5. What should I share?Now, to question 5: What should I share?

The answer, of course, is, Anything of value.

Filter, filter, filter

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And that brings us to Question No. 4 What do I say?

The answer, at least initially, is Nothing.

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And one more thing: Be yourself.

Dont cloak your posts in corporate-speak. Dont simply toe the company line. Put yourself out there from time to time and say want you THINK.

But do it nicely. Be nice. Dont flame people, dont burn bridges. Have civil conversations. If disagreements arise, disagree but without anger.

One of the Internets big flaws, in my opinion, is the way it allows people to anonymously post the most vile comments youve ever heard. That will bury you in social media.

My mom had a golden rule that I think she adopted from the old Disney film Bambi If you cant say anything nice, dont say anything at all. I think that applies in social media to a certain extent.

It doesnt mean you have to agree with everyone all the time. But you do have to do it nicely.30Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

Whats your whuffie?Are you attracting followers?

Are they sharing your stuff?

Are you sparking debate and discussion?

Are you reaching people? Are they telling others about you? Are they linking themselves to you?Now, how do you know if youre succeeding? How do you measure your social ROI?

Thats a question weve heard time and time again, and its a good one. Business leaders, in particular, often ask what the return on investment is for social media.

Thats really the wrong question, in my opinion. Social media isnt a project or a strategy. Its a tool. Our good friend, Michelle Golden, a consultant who works deeply in the social space, says thats like asking: Whats the ROI of your phone, or e-mail? Another friend, Don Meyer of the New Jersey Society of CPA, likes to say that theres no ROI in putting your pants on in the morning either, but we do it anyway.

Theres a lot of truth in that.

Still, there ARE ways that you can measure your social capital.

It starts with your whuffie.

Thats a term coined in a book called Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, by Cory Doctorow. The book describes a time when something called whuffie has replaced money as currency. The book describes whuffie as a measurement of your overall reputation. Its gained (or lost) according to a your actions. So the whuffie of someone who rudely pushes past others may be suffer, but a much-loved symphony would earn the composer whuffie as more people enjoy it.

Today, the term has been co-opted to describe your social capital, your social reputation. And there are ways to measure that.

Keep an eye on your key metrics to see if they are growing and what behavior is influencing them. According to Chris Garrett, those metrics include:

Followers, friends and subscriber counts How many people you have following you is not the best metric, but it does tell you if youre attracting versus annoying people. (Caveat in favor of fewer followers.)

Retweets, clicks and shares If people want to share your stuff, its a hint that what you are putting out is valuable. Comments, favorites, discussions Can you spark discussion and debate? Thats value right there.

Key contacts, referrals, recommendations and testimonials Are you reaching people and are they telling others about you? What do people say about you behind your back? Will people publicly connect their name, and reputation, to yours?31

Organizations that manage themselves as networks of multiple communities of practice will devote more discipline, resources and incentives to achieving superior performance than will the command-and-control hierarchies they supplant.

David Pearce SnyderFuturistBill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

And this stuff goes WAY beyond just your own personal sphere. Its all about your business, too.

This is from futurist David Pearce Snyder. Hes quoting here from an article by Dr. Jim Botkin titled Smart Business: How Knowledge Communities Can Revolutionize Your Business.

That article came out in 2002, by the way.32Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

33Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

Questions?

34Bill Sheridan, CAEThe Business Learning Institute

Scratch Your NicheHow to build your business and boostyour brand through specialization ... and social mediaFollow me:

Facebook.com/BillSheridan

LinkedIn.com/in/BillDSheridan

Twitter.com/BillSheridan

Gplus.to/BillSheridan

YouTube.com/BillSheridan

SlideShare.net/BillSheridan

Flickr.com/photos/Sheridan

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