As you may or may not be aware, Vimeo just recently launched a redesign to their home page, with some new emphases on Vimeo up-sells like Vimeo Plus. This new look and site strategy makes great business-sense for Vimeo; but it begs the question (and always has): Does Vimeo make sense for your business? Default Answer: No. [...]]]>

As you may or may not be aware, Vimeo just recently launched a redesign to their home page, with some new emphases on Vimeo up-sells like Vimeo Plus. This new look and site strategy makes great business-sense for Vimeo; but it begs the question (and always has): Does Vimeo make sense for your business?

Default Answer: No.

One thing to understand about Vimeo is that it’s not made for you, business person(s). Vimeo is different from YouTube in that it’s focus is on video quality, both in terms of content and in cinematography. Vimeo is not for commercial use. It’s purpose is to show causes, education and art.

Vimeo started out as an HD alternative to YouTube. It introduced online HD streaming before YouTube was able to handle it. That got a whole crowd of people on board. Also — its player, when embedded on someone’s site, looked a lot cleaner and better. YouTube’s caught up now on both counts, but Vimeo established a culture of: “Our videos are better.”

Because of this, Vimeo’s videos tend to focus more as a “Flickr for video-lovers.” When people want to watch music videos or laugh at kittens, they go to YouTube. With Vimeo, people come to learn or be inspired.

But, I Thought Vimeo Could Help My Business!

Ahhhh! Well, there is good news. Vimeo could be an invaluable resource for your business. The trick is to put out video content that isn’t among the status quo. Here are few things you can do to make Vimeo a valuable marketing arm for your business:

1. Make the topics of the videos something educational.
• GOOD IDEA: A summary video of a session from one of your webinars or conferences.
• BAD IDEA: An advertisement for one of your upcoming webinars or conferences.
2. The Vimeo community likes more refined video experiences, so it helps to have multi-camera videos when possible, with some work in the editing room.
• For most small-mid-sized businesses, simple video editing tools are fine (like iMovie). Though it’s important to gain some footwork in the field. Low-cost editors, like Final Cut Express, are preferred if you have the chops to put in the time to learn how to use them well.
• Create some bumper music and a banner for the beginning and end of your videos. Here’s an example of a video  of me at a Pecha Kucha night in Greenville a while back: http://vimeo.com/13921846
3. Make sure you tag all videos carefully so that they’ll be considered related too each other, and people who view your videos can more easily find other videos that you have.
4. Most Vimeo videos are made available for download (since they’re for non-commercial use). This is a great way to get your Vimeo channel some exposure to those who otherwise might not visit. You can give url’s to the video directly where they can download it on that page. This is especially valuable for any educational/seminar-type content you release onto it.

Remember, Vimeo’s got a fantastic player and phenomenal and dedicated community. You’re welcome to engage them; but you must do so on their terms. Vimeo’s community doesn’t want commercials. They want inspiration and education. Deliver that, and you’ll become a valuable resource in a thriving niche community.

I’m not one to interact much with advertising on social media. Social media marketing is difficult to pull off–most people are annoyed or simply uninterested in being pitched a product or service on Facebook or Twitter. But the other day I came across an example of a company that seemed to get it right in [...]]]>

I’m not one to interact much with advertising on social media. Social media marketing is difficult to pull off–most people are annoyed or simply uninterested in being pitched a product or service on Facebook or Twitter. But the other day I came across an example of a company that seemed to get it right in a way that I haven’t seen before.

Enter FAGE.

I had no idea what FAGE was, but I clicked on a link that a friend had posted titled “Greek Getaway”. I thought they were going there on vacation and was interested to learn more because Greece is on my list of desired destinations. Interestingly enough, what I found when I arrived at their website was a chance to enter to win a trip to Greece, all expenses paid. Still not knowing what FAGE was, I clicked to enter.

This is where it got good.

A video of a stunning walk through a marble-white village on the island of Santorini overlooking a sky-blue sea with mountains billowing in the background immediately began playing. I was intrigued and wanted to view the other scenes, but here was the catch — I couldn’t proceed to the next scene without answering a question posted about their product. Eager to get to the next scene and find out more, I selected an answer, and the process repeated itself until I had watched 5 scenes and answered 5 questions. At this point I was entered to win the getaway.

So, what’s so special about a giveaway, you might be asking? Hasn’t that been done before a million times? Yes, but execution is everything. There are a few reasons why FAGE provides a particularly great example of social media marketing strategy:

1. Compelling — I wanted to click the link from Facebook because the picture and destination were beautiful, creating an enticing getaway that I actually wanted to win.
2. Pleasant — I voluntarily chose to continue entering the drawing and knew exactly what I was doing in the process. (It helped that the questions portrayed an enjoyable sense of humor)
3. No Tricks — The questions were straightforward and honest; they weren’t trying to trick me into anything.
4. Educational — By the end of the process I felt like FAGE was a quality product that I wanted to go buy. I learned a bit about Santorini too!
5. Viral — Friends were encouraged to share with friends.
6. Flawless Execution — If it had been a tacky video that didn’t load quickly, or if the navigation didn’t flow intuitively, I would have left and never come back

Last I looked, FAGE had almost 300,000 likes on Facebook alone. Not bad exposure for a yogurt company, huh? You can see it here yourself: http://www.fageusa.com/community/fage-greek-getaway/.

Oh, and the friend who’s link I clicked just bought me my first FAGE yogurt. It was delicious.

My Story: It’s hard for me to imagine life without technology. After all, I am a part of Generation Y, the age commonly referred to as the Net Generation. I was born around the same time as the World Wide Web, so I guess you could say we grew up together. I remember the days [...]]]>

My Story: It’s hard for me to imagine life without technology. After all, I am a part of Generation Y, the age commonly referred to as the Net Generation. I was born around the same time as the World Wide Web, so I guess you could say we grew up together.

I remember the days of boxy computer monitors and when the slow, grey machine that my dad had in his office gradually made its way into my school and home. I began studying basic computer functions during “Library Time” at school and playing “Oregon Trail” for fun (awesome game, by the way). Computers were still pretty strange to me, though. They were just for playing solitaire or typing school papers. Everything changed when computers moved into the social world.

The Explosion: By late elementary school, all of my friends had become obsessed with AIM. Then everyone migrated to MySpace, and then Facebook, and now there is somewhat of an epic battle going on between Facebook and Twitter. Off of each of these networking explosions, there sprouted more connections to the music industry, advertising, business relations, etc. It seems social networking now affects everyone in some way.

Of course different businesses try to target different age groups, but my guess is that most companies are constantly focusing on how to market to the up-and-coming working class. In the current case, that class is Generation Y. Since this generation has social media bonds that go way back, it is to be expected that marketers will have a presence on social networking websites. Indeed, more and more businesses have been getting on board the Facebook and Twitter bandwagons. But it’s not that simple. There are lots of questions to be answered:

• Which networking site is the best? Facebook or Twitter?
• Which features on each of these sites are worth most of our time and focus?
• Should we make efforts to connect with other businesses via social networking?
• What is the best way to update/post on our account?

I’m not here to answer all of these questions because the answers are different for each business, but each of these areas are worth considering as opposed to blindly posting for the sake of having some sort of internet presence. However, if you’re looking to market to the next working generation, I do have some recommendations.

The Facts: A 2011 report from PewInternet examines percentages of Twitter users within various age groups: 18% of people are 18–24, 19% of people are 25–34, and 14% of people are 35–44. The most striking observation is the 10% increase of tweeters ages 25–34 since last year, the largest growth among all the age groups. On the other hand, several reports in the past few years have concluded that users older than 35 are quickly on the rise in the world of Facebook. It seems that Twitter is getting younger, and Facebook is getting older.

What’s going on here? From a personal standpoint, and I think I speak for many friends my age as well, Facebook has become too fake. The basic concept is: you sign up for a profile, you choose pictures of yourself to display to others, you fill out information about yourself (a great opportunity to make yourself look pretty smart), and you “like” or comment on other posts or pages. All of these activities are performed on the giant stage known as “News Feed.” True, it’s genius. But it’s also a big show.

The Solution: Generation Y is looking for up-to-date and honest businesses. To us, Facebook has become a social scene. Twitter, on the other hand, is like a database with endless information. People can share ideas and interact with one other; you can ask a question and get relevant answers. Because Twitter is made up of users’ ability to thoughtfully contribute, businesses that tweet seem more authentic and relevant.

I think I speak for my generation again when I say that campaigns are not the best way to get us to buy. Sure, Facebook pages are good for some businesses, but all of those little ads on the sides of News Feed pages are pretty annoying. Instead, we tend to buy products based on our peers. So this means that businesses should build up foundations of trusted and credible content and use these as platforms to connect with people and grow their communities. Because of reasons I listed in the previous paragraph, Twitter seems to be the way to accomplish this strategy.

Don’t get me wrong, Facebook can be a great outlet for businesses. Facebook is wonderful for popular products that don’t tend to cause a lot of internal debate when buyers are trying to decide whether or not they should support it. For example, the Oreo Facebook page is catchy and has done really well. But for businesses in the process of building trust to create a dedicated client base, Twitter is the way to go.

So what are you doing to attract Generation Y? Which social networks are best for your business? With which generation is your current style of marketing most successful?

First off, can we clear the air and admit that Facebook isn’t for every business? Use tools for their intended purpose A business development officer asked me this week how he could use Facebook for his business. After asking him some questions to help him analyze his situation and opportunity, I surmised that many people [...]]]>

First off, can we clear the air and admit that Facebook isn’t for every business?

Use tools for their intended purpose

A business development officer asked me this week how he could use Facebook for his business. After asking him some questions to help him analyze his situation and opportunity, I surmised that many people are using Facebook in ways it wasn’t intended to be used.

Facebook wasn’t intended to generate business leads. It’s a community tool.

A different strategy

What does Facebook do well? It connects people in an environment conducive to conversation.

How is that relevant for business?

Well, we want our biggest fans and happiest customers to be talking to our best prospects.

A strategy for your consideration:

• Incentivize your best clients to leave feedback/testimonials on your Facebook page.
• On your website, encourage users/prospects to read real client reviews on your Facebook page.
• This offers an opportunity for your prospects to see, read, and interact with your best customers. Voila!

You could always cut+paste the testimonials from Facebook to your website, but why do that? The advantage of using Facebook instead of your website for testimonials is that Facebook is an environment users trust more than your website. It’s a lot harder to manipulate information that is user-submitted on a Facebook page.

Use Facebook in the way it was intended — Connecting real people with other real people.

Feedback

Have you done this for your business? Leave feedback.

Have any objections or better ideas? Have at it.

Not everyone likes Twitter or Facebook. Some use social media sparingly and some use it excessively. I use social media somewhere in between the two and take it for granted. I forget that it’s free. Until the other day. When Twitter lost all of my @ messages. I was not happy. Maybe they’ll eventually show [...]]]>

Not everyone likes Twitter or Facebook. Some use social media sparingly and some use it excessively. I use social media somewhere in between the two and take it for granted. I forget that it’s free.

Until the other day. When Twitter lost all of my @ messages.

I was not happy. Maybe they’ll eventually show up again, but I’m guessing they disappeared during some database cleanup–never to be recovered.

Oh man… how ticked would people be if Facebook disappeared tomorrow? Well, I can think of some people who might not be upset, but a good majority of people rely on it for a lot of things. If all of your messages from someone disappeared, you’d probably be a little peeved. But do we have a right to be? It’s not like we’re paying for the service (I know, we put up with ads).

So is my dissatisfaction justified? Should I be upset that Twitter lost all of my @ messages? Or was I just taking their free service for granted?

Better not to to speak than to speak and live contradictorily. If I’ve heard one common theme in the last 6 months, it has been this — “Content is the most important part of your website; it drives every other part.” But it’s easy to say this or to admit that it’s true. It is [...]]]>

Better not to to speak than to speak and live contradictorily.

If I’ve heard one common theme in the last 6 months, it has been this — “Content is the most important part of your website; it drives every other part.”

But it’s easy to say this or to admit that it’s true. It is another matter to practice this doctrine of the Web.

Last week at the Internet Summit I was privileged to hear John Kosner, the guy who runs ESPN.com. He said their team of 300 staff is divided so 1/3 of them are dedicated to content and the remaining 2/3 are designated for design, development, etc. Granted, they are a news-oriented company. However, virtually every speaker, moderator and panel participant during the Summit echoed the same message.

So, if Content is King, who are its subjects?

• Design: Content strategy and development should precede design discussion and execution. Design is also subservient to the Content. Whatever the Content says, goes. Design doesn’t have the right to say, “Look at me.” It has to say, “Look at what I have to say.” Design is a subject of the King.
• Menu Structure: Shakespeare plays always have 5 acts. Web sites don’t always have the same number of main menu items. Furthermore, if every website you develop, design, or consider good has “Home, About Us, Connect, and Contact,” you flat out don’t get it. King Content rules over the menu structure. Stop launching coups against the Content by squeezing it in to your template menu structure. You won’t overthrow the King. You’ll just have a crappy website.
• Social Media: If Content is King (and it is!), then Social Media is his Royal Steed. The goal of social media isn’t to allow you to say “We’re on Facebook” or “Follow us on Twitter” with overused colorful icons. The goal is to feature content, whether that be written, visual, or audio. Over and over again at the Internet Summit, we were exhorted to use these social media tools to stimulate and perpetuate conversation among our audience.

Much more could be said. Suffice it to say, if Content isn’t King of your website, your website has been overthrown. Regain the scepter again today!

All you Twitter fanatics crack me up. Not you Twitter fans — you’re cool. I dig you. But for all you people who engage in verbal make-out sessions with Twitter at every networking event, I have a message for you: Life called. It misses you. Where are the innovators on Twitter? The ones who don’t [...]]]>

All you Twitter fanatics crack me up. Not you Twitter fans — you’re cool. I dig you. But for all you people who engage in verbal make-out sessions with Twitter at every networking event, I have a message for you: Life called. It misses you.

Where are the innovators on Twitter? The ones who don’t “Join the Conversation” … but take the “Conversation” and turn it on its head? Twitter is, and always has been, a tool. And while some are keeping it at the tool-for-chatting level, it’s time for others to step it up. It’s time for Twitter to be used in new and innovative ways.

Defining the Next Level
Please understand what’s being discussed here. We’re not talking about more tools for using Twitter to simply “talk” and “manage.” Blah-Blah-Blah. Not Tweetie or Co-Tweet or TweetDeck. Nor am I talking about a Twitter app that’s fun to mess around with like TwitPic, GroupTweet or Twitterpool (<– see what I did there?).

I’m talking about using Twitter to create something revolutionary. Something game changing. Perhaps it’s so simple that somebody says, “Dude! Why didn’t I think of that?” Perhaps it’s so out there that nobody sees, at least at first, what the value of the tool is. The point is this: there are tons of tools and apps that are niche and that help people do “something.” But …

… what if you created a tool that was a game changer — something that changed an entire industry?

Now That’s What I’m Talking About
I found such an example just yesterday. I met Gary Zukowski, “Founder & Chief Bottle Washer” of TweetMyJobs.com. The idea is brilliantly simple: You’re a company looking to post a job opening online. You go to TweetMyJobs.com. They tweet your job. Simple enough, right? But here’s the deets:

• TweetMyJobs.com has more than 6,100 twitter accounts at its disposal. (You can’t create that many now; but TweetMyJobs started early enough and has gone through the ropes to obtain permission from Twitter. So, no competition)
• TweetMyJobs.com has more than 100,000 followers over its 6,100 accounts
• At the time that I’m writing this, there have been over 300,000 jobs tweeted over TweetMyJobs’ accounts. (Yes, you read that right … makes the word ‘recession’ sound irrelevant, doesn’t it?)
• Netflix, Kelly Services, Home Shopping Network, and FedEx are among hundreds of regional and national companies that use TweetMyJobs.com

So how has TweetMyJobs.com been a game changer? Well, for starters: It costs a small fraction of the cash it takes to post a job on Monster.com or Career Builder. And these days — those savings are gold to companies.

Second: It goes after a far different market. According to Gary, their tracking has shown that most of the people following and using TweetMyJobs.com’s twitter accounts are people passively searching for a new job. Many of them still have work and are just looking, often casually, for a different direction or better situation. Companies are relishing this crowd, and the fact that they can get to them cheaply.

So what’s the catch for TweetMyJobs? Well, none. They run off of a simple WordPress site and they use Twitter and its gloriously open API to do the rest. So that’s your overhead. And exposure? Well — PC Magazine rated them one of the Top 20 Job Boards online. They’ve been mentioned across multiple national news sources. So yeah, they’re doing just fine.

So Just to Recap
Twitter can be so much more than just a “conversational tool.” It’s too often boxed in as such. Who is next to be like Gary and think outside the box? Who’s next to come up with a game changing way of using Twitter?

I asked Gary if people often responded to him with, “Well, that’s so simple. Anybody can do that!” (Which isn’t true, because of the restraints on Twitter accounts now, but I digress.) He said, “All the time.” I was quick to reply, “Pay no attention to them. You’re a genius.” Because while everyone else in the world is reacting to his idea, that’s all they can ever do. Because he thought of it.

So what’s your idea?

It’s confession time. I’m coming out of the closet with some of my iPhone apps. They’re cheesy. They’re lame. They’re downright fun — just don’t tell anyone you have them. Unlike other lists like this on the Web, this list is actually real: I do have these apps on my phone. And yes, in some [...]]]>

It’s confession time. I’m coming out of the closet with some of my iPhone apps. They’re cheesy. They’re lame. They’re downright fun — just don’t tell anyone you have them. Unlike other lists like this on the Web, this list is actually real: I do have these apps on my phone. And yes, in some cases I did pay money for these. Here we go:    

Yo Mama: Free
Cost: $0.00

Of all the guilty pleasures, this one likely takes the cake. The app is exactly what you think it might be: A joke generator for the granddaddy of all joke-types: The Yo Mama joke. With an super easy interface, Yo Mama allows you to quickly generate a joke on the fly in a number of categories:

Yo Mama so fat …

Yo Mama so stupid …

Yo Mama so poor …

Yo Mama so old …

Yo Mama so ugly …

Yo Mama so ? …

That last one is a random “other.” For the purposes of this post, I just generated one to give you an example, and it came up with: “Yo Mama’s so greasy, her freckles slipped off.”

I’m almost embarrassed to think about how much time I’ve killed going through these jokes. And you know you’re hooked when someone rips you a fresh insult and the first thing that pops into your mind is not a snappy comeback, but the idea, lemme-get-my-iPhone-out.-That’ll-show-‘em. Plus, being free, there’s really no reason not to get it. Just be forewarned that your mind will melt with unedifying “Yo Mama” cracks.

I Am T-Pain

Cost: $2.99

Oh, would to the stars that I had never bought this. But I did in a huge moment of weakness. The I Am T-Pain app is pretty straight forward. Wanna sing like you’re a robot with an effeminate voice? Then this is for you. Simply start it up and record away. After you’re done, you can save your sound clip online, and even post it automatically to Facebook or Twitter. Let the embarrassing moments ensue.

Now, I will confess my cultural irrelevancy: I’m not really familiar with T-Pain’s music. I KNOW. How lame am I, right? I guess I’m just too white. But I know enough to know T-Pain’s voice when I hear it in the mall, and this app is good for so many gags, it’s just too good to keep to myself. This app’s highlight came when it had myself, Brandon Godwin, and David Ruse all in a room whipping out a parody for Dan Rundle in honor of the birth of his new daughter, Claire. Was it good times? Absolutely. Will I post the link online so you can hear it? Absolutely not.

Aardvark

Cost: $0.00

Ever want to just throw a question out to the masses? Something like, “What’s the meaning of life?” Or maybe you’re traveling in Atlanta and you’re lost: “I’m at 2235 Peachtree St. How do I get to the Coca-Cola Museum?” Aardvark is there to help. It’s a full social network application that allows people to openly ask questions on a given subject, and let people the world over answer.

Think of it like Facebook meets PHPBB forums. Your questions can be much more focused, and only people who are “experts” or “fans” of a particular question can see it and answer.

So where does the guilty pleasure come in? Well, what makes Aardvark unique to me is that, when I’m stuck in the car with the kids while my wife runs into the grocery store, many times it’s not Twitter or Facebook I go to first, nor Lemonade Tycoon or Pandora. It’s Aardvark, and somehow that just doesn’t seem natural.

But it doesn’t make it any less true.

Doing Social Media for your .com or .org without a purpose statement is like sitting down to write a paper without a thesis statement. It’s back to Eighth Grade My high school English teacher harped on the necessity of a thesis statement as the foundation for a good paper, whether that was a one page [...]]]>

Doing Social Media for your .com or .org without a purpose statement is like sitting down to write a paper without a thesis statement.

It’s back to Eighth Grade

My high school English teacher harped on the necessity of a thesis statement as the foundation for a good paper, whether that was a one page book report or a ten page research paper. He would say over and over again that every paragraph and topic sentence of the paper must be connected logically to the thesis statement of that paper.

Purpose > Action > Success

Success never precedes action. Action should never precede purpose. Sustained and measurable success (is there any other kind?!) never occur without initial purpose and corresponding action steps.

It’s a little rejuvenating to hear of the pioneer that dropped out of college to start a business with his best friend and they became millionaires. That’s Bill Gates, by the way. Reality check: You’re not Bill Gates. While it’s inspiring to hear a story like that, those stories aren’t meant to be normative examples of how business success occurs.

Laying the Proper Foundation

Why do you want to incorporate Social Media into your .com or .org? You say you want to connect with your audience? Bravo! Bravo! <cue applause> That’s like saying you want to get an “A” on that paper you just sat down to write. Bravo!

You want to connect with your audience. That’s a GOAL. Not a purpose statement. Have you considered how “connecting” happens? Have you observed how others have had success “connecting” with you? It doesn’t just happen. The more buzz words we use, the more foggy the whole thing becomes. You can talk about campaigns, movements, community, going green, and connecting till your blue (or green) in the face, but you won’t have success without following the PURPOSE > ACTION > SUCCESS paradigm.

Next Steps?

Don’t know where to go from here? Here are some steps:

1. Re-establish communication with your users. Love them. Find out what they’re passionate about. What gets them excited and makes them talk?
2. Discover how you can contribute to user-driven feedback/communication internally. You could hire or promote an existing worker to be a Community Builder for your .com or .org. People can’t “connect” with a website. You “connect” to a person or group of people. A group of “vitally-connected” people is a community. This may be the biggest misunderstanding of Social Media.
3. Don’t create Social Media accounts before you establish a PURPOSE statement for the Social Media avenues and ACTION steps to fulfill that purpose statement. Don’t expect SUCCESS without following that paradigm. It won’t happen.

Are you struggling to make sense of social media and its effectiveness for your business? Never fear, you’re not alone. In fact, even while Worthwhile has seen great success from social media — from brand awareness to attaining new clients — we still can’t confidently say it’s been worth the investment we’ve put into it [...]]]>

Are you struggling to make sense of social media and its effectiveness for your business? Never fear, you’re not alone. In fact, even while Worthwhile has seen great success from social media — from brand awareness to attaining new clients — we still can’t confidently say it’s been worth the investment we’ve put into it thus far.

We keep convincing ourselves that there’s a missing element to all of this. Something we’re not seeing. I think a lot of businesses feel this way — like they’re on the precipice of figuring out how to effectively connect online, but just not quite there. Well, I think I’ve found that element, and I want to share it with you.

I had the privilege of attending Social Fresh on August 24th. It was a full-day extravaganza of people verbally making out with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogging. Gotta admit: It was a lot of fun.

While there, I remember one speaker (can’t remember who it was — I’ve searched through all my notes and still can’t find them) made the following point:

Too many businesses are getting on social media and trying to reach the masses, when really they should be focusing on one relationship at a time.

That hit me like a ton of bricks. I was able to put two and two together on that one because someone had just engaged me, personally on behalf of their company.

Charter — yes, folks: that Charter — recently won me over. Using Twitter, no less! AT&T had completely ripped me off on the DSL front. I had ordered a 6mb connection, and it turns out I only received 1.5mb. When I called to complain, customer service just said the sales person never should have led me to believe that I was getting 6mb, that it wasn’t available in my area. Are you serious?!

I also was supposed to get a Visa Check card loaded with some cash for switching to AT&T. But there AT&T was three months later saying I didn’t qualify for the reward back in April. When I said that I double and triple-checked with the sales person to confirm, they again told me that the sales person was “misinformed.”

I was furious that there is no accountability with the sales staff of AT&T. I had been lied to.

So I let my fury out on Twitter (here, here, here, here, here and here), and Charter took notice. Specifically Josh (@UMatter2Chtr2) took notice. Josh immediately began talking to me over Twitter directly about my problem and a solution Charter could offer to counter it.

I put up a fight with him, right over Twitter. I had left Charter for AT&T because I was frustrated with Charter’s customer service and their high rise in prices. Josh, though, would not be dissuaded. He kept talking with me, even DMing me his direct line so we could talk over the phone. 30 minutes later, I was a Charter customer again.

Now, I’m a Charter evangelist. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one out there; because there are quite a few haters here in Greenville. But I know how Charter treated me, and that means a lot.

__________________________________

So it got me thinking, who am I engaging directly? Who is the one person I want to build a relationship with?  The lesson is: Love them, and bend over backwards for them until they’re completely won over. They’ll sing your praises — and then you can move on to the next one. Having 20 followers on Twitter, and those twenty being strong evangelists for your company is far better than 2,000 followers who really could care less about what you bring to the conversation online.

So it’s not a question of how many relationships will you build this week …

… it’s a question of which one.