The Waldo Factor - part 1

Here’s the scene, and I think we’ve all been here: You are at a conference and the person on stage speaking to 1,000+ people is somewhere between adequate and pretty good, but you are thinking he/she is not as good as you. My usual thought is along the lines of “where did they dig up this clown, and why is he/she talking about last year’s hot ideas as if they were new?”

So why is that person on the stage and you are sitting, frustrated, in the audience? What got them up there and not you?

While there are no easy answers to that question, the biggest factor is they are better known for what they do than you are. It may be because they wrote a book or some articles, they had some other speaking engagements, they were recommended by someone advising the event, or maybe they “knew somebody” or probably some combination of these and other factors. Somehow they were able to get in front of the right people at the right time and get the speaking engagement.

Regardless of the factors that created the situation, the fact is they are on the stage and you are in the audience. People are looking at and listening to them, and you are one of those faceless people in the crowd. Again, we've all been there.

Think of the person on the stage as Point B, and you as Point A. How do you get from Point A to Point B?

In the book series Where's Waldo, a tall guy with glasses dressed in blue pants, a red and white striped shirt and matching hat is always somewhere in a scene so crowded with other things and other people that it is hard to find him. The reader’s (really, viewer, as there are no words) job is to find Waldo.

In the speaking scenario above, the only one easy to find is the person on the stage. Unless you are wearing a red and white striped shirt with a matching hat, you will be hard to pick out in that audience. That's not usually the way you want to stand out in a business crowd.

Your job is to intellectually stand out and stand apart in your business niche, and to be easily found by those who need to find you because of your expertise. Then the people you want to meet and know will have an interest in knowing you and having as part of their online and offline network.

Growth in any market niche is predicated on building relationships with key influencers in that niche, and then becoming an influencer in that niche. Those influencers can include prospects, partners, press, investors, C-level execs and others influential in your market.

To build the relationships and maximize your presence, you need to develop credibility in your market, then build your visibility. Visibility without credibility has no value or worse, negative value.

Credibility is developed by being good at what you do and working at getting better,  being among the best at what you do, and adding value to the community. Then you find ways to share some of your knowledge and opinions with others.

Once you start this process, you are already creating visibility, but it is necessary to continue to build your knowledge base as you expand your visibility. Markets evolve and you must evolve with them to retain your credibility.

Traditionally we have face-to-face events for networking, seminars and conferences where we share or receive knowledge, publications where we read, write or be quoted. These are still excellent venues.

But wait!!! There's more!

With the advent of web 2.0 tools, we have the ability to either bypass traditional methods or enhance them by incorporating them into our web-based activity.

For business professionals, LinkedIn has become an incredibly valuable tool for developing credibility and visibility. Your ability to stand out in a crowd is now predicated on your ability use both the traditional and web-based tools and coordinate the activity between them to make you among the most “findable" experts in your niche. Think of it as "findability".

So here is the initial equation:

credibility + visibility = findability.

There are several examples and one great example is Steve Ressler, founder of GovLoop.

Steve was a government IT analyst and program manager at the Department of Homeland Security. While working for the government, on his own time he co-founded Young Government Leaders, which has become a great networking venue for the next generation of public managers.

Then in 2008, Steve started the online community for Feds, GovLoop (by for and about Feds - the Facebook for government).

Steve's use of social media, which also led to being featured in traditional media, is a great example of what can happen if you develop an expertise and share your ideas. Along the way he won acclaim and awards from industry groups and trade publications, leading to even more visibility.

Steve stays active through GovLoop, Young Government Leaders and mainly by sharing ideas in as many forums as possible.

None of this happened overnight for Steve, and it all required hard work.

We don't all need industry-wide visbility, but most of us need visibility within a defined niche. And the tactics to gain that visibility are basically the same:

1- be good at what you do and work hard at staying good;

2- find the venues where those in your niche congregate, both online and offline venues, and get involved;

3- participation in these venues involves helping with events, working in special interest groups, developing and sharing ideas, commenting on other ideas, etc;

4- always be on the lookout for ways to share with others who would be interested.

Credibility, visibility and findability are truly keys to success.


IF you need assistance in developing and implementing a plan to raise your findability, send an email to markamtower@gmail.com . 

Facebook becoming more business friendly

A while back I posted that I may be leaving Facebook. That was somewhere in mid-2009.

The I posted that I was staying because several people asked me to stay. So I stayed.

Recently several people pointed out that FB was becoming more business friendly, and when I took a closer look- it was indeed. So I decided to play around.

So, what does this mean for me & B2G social networking?

Well, first things first. In my several interviews with web 2.0 guru David Meerman Scott (author or World Wide Rave, The New Rules of Marketing & PR) he always says to focus on one primary network.

Check. My primary social network is LinkedIn. On LinkedIn I have almost 2,800 direct connections, and a network of about 15,000,000 (within 3 degrees), am in 50 groups and 12 sub-groups (50 primary groups is the max), and I am quite active. I have also been mentioned in at least 3 books for my use of LinkedIn. I like it.

But, last Friday I sent invitations on Facebook to about 100 people (connections of friends), added about 60 contacts ("friends") and started a group, or fan club, for my company (see "Amtower & Company" on FB)- which 60 people joined in 3 days. I am over 500 connections now at FB, and that is growing.

Does this mean LinkedIn is in jeopardy of being displaced?

Certainly not in the near term, but web 2.0 does not stand still.

And Web 3.0 is on the horizon moving in fast.

Stay tuned!

Why LinkedIn, Why Now

Are you leveraging social media, or are you still on the sidelines?

If you listen to my radio show or have heard me speak in the last three years, you will know that a significant part of my message has been the growing use of social media and web 2.0 tools for B2G marketers. Among the tools I have been advocating are webinars, podcasts, video, and various social networking tools, especially LinkedIn.

Last year Market Connections (http://www.marketconnectionsinc.com/) released the 2009-2010 Federal Media and Marketing Study which touched on the use of 14 social media tools. According to the now year old study, the top five social media tools were Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, My Space and Twitter.

Fast forward to the just released Market Connections 2010 Social Media Study. This study (available for purchase at the above mentioned web site) indicates a rapidly growing acceptance and use of social media tools by both industry and government. Government is lagging behind, but they have more restrictions for everything. However the study indicates use of social media by 29% of Feds and 55% of contractors.

The main uses of social networking by contractors are marketing and sales (60%), event information (59%), press releases (51%), job postings (44%), white papers/case studies (38%), presentations/speeches (35%), videos/pictures (28%), and product demos (23%). There are more findings, but these are the major ones.

The finding in this study that shows the biggest change from the 2009 study is that LinkedIn has emerged as the most popular social networking site with 36% of the responders using it. Facebook was at 26%. It my interview with John Kagia of Market Connections (http://www.federalnewsradio.com/) he indicated that the use of these networks continues to grow.

So why is this important to you?

LinkedIn has over 70,000,000 users worldwide, with the majority are in the U.S. - and it continues to grow. My research indicates the Washington Technology Top 100 are all here, in significant numbers. Rarely do I find a significant government contractor that is not on LinkedIn.
If you put "government" in the search box and search on "groups" you will find (as of 6/20/10) 4,197 groups having something to do with government. In the top 100 of the government groups there are 20-25 that focus on some aspect of government contracting, including one of my groups, Government Market Master (with almost 1,400 members).

So again, why is this important to you?

According to the Market Connection study, only 19% of the companies using social media have a strategy or social media policy in place. With no strategy or policy, there will be little or no way to measure the effectiveness of what you are doing, what messages are going out, and what image of your company is being presented.

If you devise a proactive social media strategy (with an intelligent policy behind it), you will be able to use some measurement tools, set some goals, and start measuring the effectiveness of various platforms.

Nowhere in the Market Connections study did it mention one of the major uses for LinkedIn for small businesses: differentiation. All businesses need to differentiate themselves, but for small government contractors, it is closer to a 'life and death' situation- differentiate or die a slow death.

For any small business not currently using social media, or using it only in a limited way, you are missing the major low-cost marketing tool that can truly help you stand out in the crowd.

Here's what you can do right now:

Over the next six months I will be hosting a coaching group for companies seeking to grow their businesses by the intelligent, proactive use of social media, focusing largely on LinkedIn.

During the six months of the program, we will host 2-3 teleseminars each month (all will be recorded and be available for replay) and there will be monthly one-on-one coaching with each company. Each company will also get an initial tele-planning session with me to create an action plan that suits your needs.

By the end of the program, you will end up with an audio library of 15+ hours of training you can use again and again. And you will be light years ahead of where you are on LinkedIn now.

Each tele-session will focus on one topic:

- social media policies
- developing benchmarks
- differentiation
- building personal profiles that attract customers and partners
- finding and managing your company profile
- finding and joining groups that can help you grow
- how to reach out to potential partners and customers and build your network
- selecting LinkedIn applications that will work for your company
- publicizing your company and events
-using Q&A, recommendations, defining your area of expertise and much more.

After each session you can do Q&A with me via email, and use your monthly session to tie this into your custom program.

And all participants will get my 3-CD set, The Ultimate Jumpstart Program for Social Networking – Maximizing LinkedIn.

If you are interested in seeing the details, email me at mark (at) FederalDirect.net or call me at 301 924 0058.

Why me, why Mark Amtower?

I have been on LinkedIn since February 11, 2004. My "membership" number is around 225,000 - out of 70,000,000. Currently I have nearly 2,700 connections (primarily in the government market), belong to 50 groups (primarily B2G in focus), and have gained national recognition for my use in social media (one of the top 7 LinkedIn profiles in the 2009 Rock the World with Your Online presence contest) and being profiled for using LinkedIn as a thought leadership tool at MarketingProfs. I have also done about 25 media (radio and print) interviews on using LinkedIn. The FedTech Bisnow newsletter called me "the Lord of LinkedIn" (11/10/09, http://www.bisnow.com/washington_dc_tech_news_story.php?p=6007 ).

Everywhere I go in the arena of doing business with the government, people know me because of my use of LinkedIn. Take a look at my profile and see why.

Then call me and sign up so you can get the same results.

Small Biz, Web 2.0 & B2G

Citibank commissioned a study, reported by Reuters, that concludes that most small businesses are not yet using social media. "Few U.S. small businesses have adopted social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter for business uses, according to research released Thursday" according to the beginning of the Reuters article.

The article continues: "Three-quarters of small businesses say they have not found sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn helpful for generating business leads or expanding business in the past year, according to a survey conducted for Citibank Small Business of 500 U.S. businesses with fewer than 100 employees....Also, 86 percent said they have not used social networking sites for information or business advice. Ten percent said they have sought business advice and information on expert blogs."

This is not an indictment of social media. This is a lack of understanding of the value of social media for businesses of any size. part of the blame lies with the social media, and a part of the blame lies with the businesses themselves. Education has to be a component, largely self education. Businesses need to try the various social media to see what it can do for them, and the platforms themselves have to create outreach and education programs to attract more businesses.

In order to attract more businesses to each social media platform, the value proposition has to be explained in terms that make sense to the businesses. For a platform like LinkedIn this should be easier than a platform like Facebook or Twitter.

Was I surprised at the findings of the Citibank study? No. Even in the B2G market the vast majority of contractors have a long way to go to maximize the value that social media platforms can bring to the table.

On December 7, there will be a seminar on how both government and the contracting community are using social media. Find out more at
http://www.governmentmarketmaster.com/events.html

"Does your company have a social media strategy? Leveraging LinkedIn

In the Monday, Oct 19 Washington Post (pages C1 and C8), an article entitled "Worldwide ebb" reports on multiple discussions about the pending demise of the mega social networking site Facebook.

The issue is nothing new when it comes to the web: nothing is wrong with Facebook except that it too big and too successful, if not at making money, at least in attracting users. The issue is that it is trying to be all things to all people, and as a business plan that doesn't work.

Facebook was built for college students. Everything after that was kind of a retrofit, especially the ability to be a platform for B2B professionals.

Facebook is not a B2B platform.

Enter LinkedIn. Here is a social network that was designed for business professionals. (Thanks, Reid!)

I remember getting several invitations to join LinkedIn, probably like you. My invitations came in January of 2004 and I joined on February 11, 2004.

Then I did what most people did: waited for something to happen. I should be embarrassed to say I waited 3 years for something to happen. And nothing did. Well, not "nothing" but after three years I only had about 150 connections and was a member of maybe 2 groups.

In early 2007 several things came to my attention and I took a much closer look at LinkedIn and what it could do for me - if I used it. Then I got busy.

Today (as of 6:03 PM EDT 10/19/09) I have
- 1,910 connections (which links me to 12,145,200 professionals)
- belong to 50 groups and 10 sub-groups
- "own" 5 groups and several sub-groups
- manage 3 groups/sub-groups for others
- have over 200 peer and client "recommendations"
- and have 17 "Best Answers" in 11 different categories.

I have some visibility, and the visibility has a focus. And I get lots of comments about "being all over LinkedIn," in fact I get more comments about LinkedIn than I do about my weekly radio show.

Most of my efforts are focused on being highly visible in the government market, where my visibility is already good.

So, what does this have to do with a social media strategy?

This is what it has to do with it: every individual, every small, medium or large business on LinkedIn or using any social networking tool, needs to understand how the network (tool) can be used, how it is currently used, what it can do (good and bad) to your business, and how you can plan and manage a basic approach to using LinkedIn to your advantage.

My first webinar at http://www.governmentmarketmaster.com/ went over this briefly, along with other elements of getting started (building your profile, getting connected, selecting groups, engaging in Q&A and more). our second webinar is coing up on 10/26 (all webinars are archived for replay).

But a detailed, well-thought out strategy for leveraging LinkedIn is not something you can learn through a webinar. You need to match your business goals and needs with the capabilities of the social networking tools, see where that fits and works with your overall marketing and sales plans and make sure each element become mutually supportive.

Here's a short list of things LinkedIn can help you with:

- identifying government buyers and influencers (federal, state and local) - yes, many are on LinkedIn;
- identifying business partners (trying to get the attention of a company that owns a specific contract - see if any are in your network);
- looking for competitor information - look here first;
- looking for a good small business partner?
- looking for a subject matter expert?
- looking for good employees or references on someone who is applying?
- oh, and get clients (make money!)

And the list goes on.

Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn was built with one focus - to facilitate business. And it works.

I have seen a number of people offering advice, consulting and seminars on using social networks for business and when I look them up on LinkedIn, only a few look like they actually know what they are doing.

I know what I am doing on LinkedIn - take a look -http://www.linkedin.com/in/markamtower

And if you need some help, give me a call - 301 924 0058, or drop me a line - mark@FederalDirect.net

In the meantime, go to LinkedIn and have some fun learning.

Government Market Master on LinkedIn

I am very active on LinkedIn and much less so at Twitter, Plaxo, GovLoop, FederalContractor, Facebook, etc.

I have 1,503 connections and belong to fifty (5-zero) groups on LinkedIn. I was not satisfied with a few of the B2G groups I was in, so yesterday I started my own - Government Market Master, with the idea that I would make this one more active than those I was not satisfied with.

The group will provide information for all the "skill" areas of doing business with the government: BD, marketing, sales, program management, C-level, operations, GSA and more.

I have three discussion posts (with 10 comments) and 3 news posts in the first 24 hours - and 177 members in the first 24 hours. Tomorrow I will announce the first free teleseminar for the group, which will be held next week.

Come check out the group when you have a few minutes - Government Market Master -
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1979445

To (Social) Network, or Not to Network

This morning I attended a great event put on by Market Connections on winning government business. The panel was comprised of 4 market professionals and the Editor of Washington Technology (this is not to imply the editor is not a market pro, but he is a journalist, the others are front line folks). Lisa Dezzutti presented findings of the recent Market Connection studies on how contractors are marketing - great stuff and now my weekend reading! It was a great event for networking and the info was top notch.

I got to ask a couple questions near the end - so I asked how many people in the room were on LinkedIn. Of the 75 or so B2G market pros, and nearly all raised their hands. Then I asked how many heard about the event on LinkedIn. About half had their hands up.

Several times over the past month or so I have run across those who think LinkedIn is

- a joke
- a job site
- a time waster
- full of people living in the parental basement

And if they think this way about LinkedIn, what do they think of Facebook and Twitter?

And yes, despite my rant last month, I am still on Facebook, and using it a little. I am also now on Twitter and have about 260 followers. I also use www.FederalContractor.us, www.GovLoop.com, www.BeltwayNetworker.com and a few others.

But LinkedIn remains my social networking focus.

I am not here to convert those who remain convinced of the above myths about whether or no social networks are useful ("Maybe they are for some, Mark, but not in my area...." is the typical whiny remark.)

I do not care if you do not wish to migrate where the world is moving.

I do not care if you want your business to operate under marketing rules that were dying in the 1990s.

I do not care if you are brainstorming in a closet with a like-minded sycophant.

The market, and marketing, moves with or without us.

I prefer being on the bus before it leaves the station.

If you prefer otherwise, do not whine to me about it.

And if you are not on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twiter, GovLoop, FederalContracting or BeltwayNetworking, you may not be hearing about to many events in the future.

Not that I have an opinion.

Why People are leery of events, part 4, and FaceBook

Back in Feb I wrote about the Economic Recovery event being offered in DC. I wrote about this 3 times, as it appeared to be a non-event, with no speakers and no real information. When you went to the web site, there was vistually nothing there; no real agenda, no speakers, etc. And then the venue kept changing and getting (seemingly) smaller.

Well, they are back, and the subject line in the email was "Register Now - Billions in New Spending!" and the email was from "Recovery Summit ". This is now a 2 day event which desribes itself this way: "The American Economic Recovery Summit is designed to introduce the specifics of the federal government’s massive economic recovery programs to American business and to the American people. "

I have yet to find someone's name associated with ANY of the emails that have gone out on this. Nor have any speakers been identified.

Draw your own conclusion. I have drawn mine.

***

re: My Facebook rants, also from February., in regard to facebook's privacy snafu. Well, I did not pull out of Facebook. A number of rasons, not the leats of which is there are many people there, who, for some reason, are not on LinkedIn. So, I am still there (sort of under protest), but I still concentrate the bulk of my social networking efforts at LinkedIn. Ahead of Facebook, the Federal Contracting Network (http://www.federalcontractor.us/) is now my #2 network.

Not that I have an opinion.

Facebook: Media footnote and Mark's Random Connections

I know I was late getting the news about Facebook and the privacy issue. I also know I have made a few very minor waves about my pending FB departure. I was thinking about reducing the number of social networks I was in anyway, and this event expedite the decision process and highlighted which one I would vacate. I don't see FB making the B2B cut in the long run. I really don't want people "writing on my wall," or getting "poked." The site was built for the college crowd, not professionals, and the retrofit doesn't make the cut - at least for me.

That being said, earlier today I got my March Fortune magazine in the mail, and lo and behold, who is on the cover but FaceBookBoy - with nary a mention on the privacy snafu. The publication was probably at the printer when the privacy stuff hit the fan, so I certainly understand. And I assume when I go to the Fortune web site they will be all over this.

But I mention that because Sean Callahan of BtoB magazine (a great magazine with solid enewsletters), in today's BtoB Media enewsletter, wrote about BPA (Bureau of Publication Audit) losing about 15% of their customers due to publications folding and others cutting costs. Sean also writes:

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Publications - like Fortune (one of my personal favorites - always a great read) - are getting dissed because the headlines often do not reflect what has gone on the past week or so when they hit the newsstands and mailboxes (the mailboxes on the street). This leads some, especially younger professionals, to seek other information sources. Which in turn leads to the BPA CEO lamenting that he needs to get his resume together....

no this is not going anywhere in particular. Just some random connections.

And btw: the Facebook article in Fortune by Jessi Hempel is great!

Why I Am Leaving Facebook, part 2

Carolne McCarthy at CNET has a good article on this
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10166663-2.html?tag=nl.e433

Why I Am Leaving Facebook

On the front page of the Baltimore Sun today there is an article titled "Facebook Faceoff" - an article that details Facebook's change in its privacy policy.

From the 2/18/09 Baltimore Sun, page 1:

"The change allows Facebook to keep user content such as photos and phone numbers even if members delete their accounts. Under the old terms, the license expired when users left Facebook."

The changes occurred quietly on Feb 4 but there is now a huge outcry. Again, according to the Sun, Facebook's Chief Exec said:

"We wouldn't share your information in a way you wouldn't want."

And just, pray tell, how the hell do you know what I want???

Their objective, apparently, is "continuity" - so others can continue to contact you. Well, continuity boy, I am easy to find on the web, and Facebook is one place you will no longer find me. While I am fairly certain they will reverse this policy, they will do it without yours truly. Amtower is leaving the building.

Adios Facebook. Here's hoping you soon become a footnote on how not to do things in social networking.

IMMEDIATE UPDATE:
Facebook apparently did reverse it's policy
http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=54746167130
but if you read this carefully - they are far from done. I am maintaining my decision to vacate facebook altogether and concentrate on (in order of importance to my business) LinkedIn, The Federal Contracting Network, GovLoop, Plaxo and possibly PerfectNetworker. You can also find me at Twitter - http://twitter.com/amtower