Take Aways: ROI for SOBCon09

Successful Outstanding Bloggers Conference 2009

I’m going to mash three days of conversation, listening, meeting and greeting and instruction into just a few sentences. These are my takeaways. They should stand by themselves – and anyone can use them to further their objectives. 

I wanted to be able to look back at these mashed items, and be reminded of the entire conversation. I also wanted to give these items as a gift to those who were not there. The items are enough for you to say “ahhh, I get that.” And they should spur you to find a way to be at SOBCon10!

Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

Make your own game: stop playing by other people’s rules.

Its about standing out — everyone will think of you as the specialist. Stop trying to be someone else, that is already taken.

There is a system to everything. Discover it, and profit. You can be in the system, or you can understand the system. Find out what the rules of the game are – and then be yourself in them.

Don’t be that guy.

handing out biz cards without talking to people – is that guy.

I’m reaching out to shake your hand and you put your tongue in my mouth. That guy.

Good leverage: build karma bad leverage: pyramid scheme

Brian Clark from copyblogger:

Don’t be a digital sharecropper. Own your content, write your own content. Use the tools to refer people back to the blog. Don’t live on the blog.

Denise Wakeman and Chris Cree:

Are you a blogger with a blog or are you a business owner that uses his blog?

Try a joint venture partnership. Work with someone on a project, share in the outcomes – then on to the next project. No long term commitment there.

Brad Shorr and Stephen Smith

I need to learn about this stuff. Tags, categories, metatags, internal links, above the fold, F shaped pattern, SEO tools.

Jeff Willinger and Terry Starbucker – Back Office

You have to be disciplined. In life go for the lowest hanging fruit – do the same in business. What is the easiest thing for me to do with work in mind – I go for that. What is the easiest thing with the biggest return – go for that.

you need a business plan – because you’ll need it. What product, what you think that product is going to do, who your audience and why they are going to buy it, the expenses assessment, how you’re going run your business

do an exhaustive amount of research on your client and figure out how to prepare an ROI report for them to show them the value of your work

Terry Starbucker intro on Saturday

The better you are at the traditional stuff, the better you will be able to transfer it to the digital stuff

The value targets of social media:

(easiest to hardest)

• keep my faith in humanity

• make me laugh or sing

• inform me

• teach me

• inspire and challenge me

• SELL ME

Zena Weist, Lucretia Pruitt GeekMommy, Chris Garrett, Jason Falls : PANEL

Conversational marketing is what social media is. It doesn’t need to be complicated, or hard. Its just having a conversation. … Jason Falls

there’s certain etiquette on twitter. At least get to know me before you try to pitch me. …Geek mommy

It’s not a magic bullet….It’s a tool, a tactic. It doesn’t replace the good stuff you are already doing. .Chris Garrett

Twitter is a start, but sometimes it can be a finish. 85% of our conversations we have to take offline. …Zena

there is a solution for whatever you are trying to achieve in this space. It is a huge powerful tool that allows people to connect. It’s also a persistent connection – word of mouth that does not go away...Geek Mommy

Kali from the Image studios

– connection between presence and business.

Tips:

Get feedback on your handshake, business card etiquette, send personal notes

edit your smartphone signatures, love your outbound voicemail greetings

grammar articulates intelligence and exposure, maintain consistent pitch

10 second elevator speech

visual impact has greatest impact

current hair style that fits lifestyle, make up applied daily, look at your teeth

retain wardrobe support, alter 70-80% of your wardrobe

honor your space

disorder at home creates disorder at work

Geoff Livingston – A complete and integrated approach to an online – offline customer outreach strategy

How to make social content deliver:

Create a call to action

email newsletter is a great way to engage your customer

outbound:

• email

• webinars

• white papers

• events

• offers

• ads

• loyalist activities

inbound:

• more information

• participation invites

• feedback loops

• harness group intelligence

• user generated content

• fluid enterprise

ROI KD Paine

am I selling stuff – or doing stuff that leads to revenue?

Decide up front what you are doing: tracking sales or measuring relationships

Liz Strauss

if you have 18 fishing poles in the water, you run up and down the bank and if you catch a fish you throw it back in because you think you’ll get a bigger fish

• be clear on what you want to do

• be clear on who you want to reach

• find out where they are

• listen to what they say

• find out how to engage them (twitter, facebook, linked in, myspace, guya, – depending on who they are)

• sit back and try to imagine if I were those people, what would move me

• try to be irresistible (from heart and vision) – what would make it easier in my life

A few useful tools:

The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki

www.freshbooks.com for time tracking

Free by Chris Anderson