Joel-Mark-Witt.com

I’m doing a very special training next
month in Baltimore called…

“Social Media 101″

If you are starting out with social media and you want
to learn the most advanced map for creating
success in your life and business, then read THIS:

Social Media 101 Training

We’re only going to sell 35 tickets to this program, so
check it out and register ASAP if you want to join me
for it.

This is ONLY for people who are serious about learning
a profound map and system for getting to the NEXT
LEVEL in their business using social media…

Talk soon,

Joel

Watch how to use Twitter as a platform for leadership

In the beginning Twitter was a toy to play with. Next came using Twitter as a tool for marketing and PR. The next wave is Twitter as a platform for your ideas that will help you build leadership in your market or industry.

For more ideas on how to use Twitter for leadership download a free sample chapter of my book 21 Days To Twitter Leadership. It is full of step-by-step instructions on how you can use the platform of Twitter to stand out in your market.

Resource mentioned: The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People

This site, Joel-Mark-Witt.com, is where I ask questions while standing at the intersection of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, social media, podcasting, marketing, PR, storytelling, life and leadership…. and what the heck this all means for my business and yours. If you like what you see – please subscribe for free. To join the discussion or to comment in real time follow me on Twitter.

Joel Mark Witt

Hey Andy.

You were right. I was wrong.

There I said it.

We were at Podcamp DC last year and I was leading the session on finding a place for new media. Andy began to talk about Twitter and the room broke into a huge tweetup discussion.

Twitter this and Twitter that.
Twitter was going to rule the world.
If you weren’t on Twitter you are invisible.

blah blah blah blah….

I remember thinking about the masses of people who had no idea what a tweet was and saying  that Twitter was great if you were in geek circles, but it had little practical use in the real world for marketing and public relations. I was somewhat right at the time.

Not anymore.

Andy disagreed with me then and pointed out how Twitter could be used for businesses, non-profits, and professionals. He explained how Twitter would become the next killer app for marketing, PR, and communications. I wasn’t buying it. He just seemed too entrenched in the application itself. I felt he didn’t see the forest from the trees.

Well Andy my friend – time has proven you right and me wrong.

Twitter is now on a course to rival email in its adoption, usefulness and marketing potential. Andy – you may have been ahead of the curve a year ago – but you were definitely on the right curve.

And I should have known. You’ve been using Twitter to get the word out about the place you work for a while now. And it’s a pretty big operation. I think it’s called NPR perhaps?

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This site, Joel-Mark-Witt.com, is where I ask the questions while standing at the intersection of social media, podcasting, online video, marketing, PR, storytelling, life and leadership…. and what the heck this all means for my business and yours. If you like what you see – please subscribe to it for free. To join the discussion or to comment in real time follow me on Twitter.

Joel Mark Witt

* Photo by andycarvin

The incest in online video, blogging, podcasting, and social media is rampant.
I’m not talking about running off to West Virginia with your sister kind of incest – I mean the subject matter of most social media is incestuous.

All we seem to talk about in our podcasts, videos, and blog posts is podcasts, videos, and blog posts.
That’s equivalent to a newspaper only covering stories about the newspaper industry. Who would read such a paper? Other newspaper people… maybe. Aspiring writers and publishers? Okay. But what about the rest of the world?

This very blog post proves my point.

It is now time to stop wasting our time and focus outward to help real life businesses drive sales, marketing, and PR through social media.
It’s been beaten into our brains that social media should live with PR and is awkward and weird in the world of advertising.

Bull crap!

That’s the consultants talking who don’t know how to show a ROI for this stuff.

That’s the traditional advertisers talking who aren’t used to the laser focus direct marketing campaigns that drive quantifiable sales and results.

I think social media should live with marketing as a live or die – pass or fail tool. Either it works to increase your bottom line or it doesn’t.

As a business owner – I don’t want some social media consultant telling me how great social media is and how it’s going to change the world but fail to tell me how it will change my business.
If it can’t be measured and quantified it doesn’t exist. Period.

Think I sound harsh? Try talking with any marketing executive at any serious company and you’ll see how easy I sound.

Bottom line – if social media (and more importantly you if you are a consultant/practitioner) are going to survive in the real business world, you better find real ways to drive real business and show it to real people. Or the people paying you now will catch on and fire you .
And the people you hope consult for will laugh in your face when you come calling.

You say: “Okay okay Joel – get off your high horse you self-righteous little twerp.”

Here are two great examples of driving sales using Social Media. If you are an old school social media type these won’t be news to you – but for those newbies out there…

Wine Library TV
Gary Vaynerchuk does a daily video podcast that has skyrocketed his companies wine sales. Not to mention sent him into the stratosphere as a mini celebrity.

Will It Blend
BlendTec began using videos to illustrate the blending power of their $400 blenders. The CEO would blend iPods, blocks of wood, and other items to show the force and power of the blender. Sales of $400 blenders are up.

Questions:

If you are a social media professional – how do you measure return on investment for yourself and clients?

If you are a business owner – would social media appeal to you if you could measure the results?

Follow me on twitter to discuss.

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This site, Joel-Mark-Witt.com, is where I ask the questions while standing at the intersection of social media, marketing, PR, storytelling, life and leadership…. and what the heck this all means for my business and yours. If you like what you see please subscribe to it for free. To join the discussion or to comment follow me on Twitter.

Joel Mark Witt

* Photo by Will Lion

I’ve made a name for myself online using video. I’ll continue to work in video for clients and my own website properties and projects. The sheer power of online video is amazing and will only grow with time. But what’s ironic is my background is actually in radio and audio production. I always dabbled in video as a youngster – but I cut my teeth doing sound, audio, and radio. So here are five reasons I think you should be using audio for your business.

Audio is very personal
When you listen to the radio and someone is speaking, it is as if they are speaking directly to you. Radio is a personal media and so is podcasting online. Your voice and the inflections that you use are powerful. Combine this with the recurring nature of a podcast and your voice will become familiar and friendly to your listeners. You will build a name for yourself and listeners will begin to trust and listen to what you have to say. Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern, and others have made fortunes from using the personal aspects of audio.

Audio can be consumed away from a computer
Unlike video, where you have to be tethered to a computer or iPod to watch, audio is portable. Audio can also be listened to in the background while working, cleaning, driving, mowing, etc. Audio podcasting is a passive medium that is easily consumed doing other things. And this is powerful because you can enter the subconscious mind of your audience with your message.

Audio can be longer format and still be effective
Online video clips have a lifespan of about 4 minutes. If you go much beyond that you are losing viewers. In my opinion 3 minutes is the sweet spot for online video. It is hard to really dig into a subject and be comprehensive. Contrast that to online audio podcasting and you will see longer programs that can communicate much more information to listeners with much more depth.

Audio is imaginative
To be imaginative in video takes incredible resources. To show someone blowing up a car for example would require a special effects budget in the tens of thousands. With audio all that is needed is the listener’s mind. A well placed sound effect or suggestion can bring to life an imaginary experience in the listeners mind that would be nearly impossible using video.

Audio is cheaper and easier to produce
Borrowing a little from the point above – online audio is way cheaper and easier to produce than video. If you would like to get a testimonial or interview from a client or customer on video you need to have a crew that can travel to their business location to film the segment. With audio, all you need is a phone connection and you can conduct an interview with anyone in the world from the comfort of your office.

So there you have it. My five reasons to use audio for your website and business. To sum up here is what I’ll advise: use online video to attract an audience then use online audio and blogging to build that audience into a raving and loyal fan base. It actually takes a multi-front approach. But we’ll save that for future posts.

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This site, Joel-Mark-Witt.com, is about marketing, technology, blogging, social media, video, podcasting, and how you can use all these tools as a leader to grow your business or professional career, even if you know nothing about computers and the Internet. It has a two part focus. 1) Social Media Leadership. 2) Social Media For Business. If you like what you see please subscribe to it for free by RSS or eMail. To join the discussion or to comment find me on Twitter.

Joel Mark Witt

*photo by bitmapr

Social media is important to business not because it is the new marketing gimmick or ploy. It is not an end in itself. It is a toolset plain and simple. There is no magic here. Just several opportunities for you to use social media to grow your business.

1) LISTENING
We all know listening to customers and clients is important. By asking our customers what they want we can better craft products and services to fill those needs.

But what if they don’t tell you directly?

Then you’ll have to do the listening work on your own.

A great example of this is Comcast.

How did they do this?

One example is Frank Eliason. I met Frank in Las Vegas last month when I was speaking at Blog World Expo. Frank has signed up for a Twitter account under the name @ComcastCares and is activly involved in the Twitter community. He uses search tools to find what people are saying about the company in Twitter and helps them with the issues they have.

2) ENGAGE YOUR CUSTOMERS
Enter the world of blogging. By now your company has a blog and you understand the need to create current content for the web (or at least you should). By doing this you are providing search engines the food that drives traffic to your site.

But are you using your blog platform to engage your customers?

The goal is to create a feedback loop that customers and clients can use to carry on a discussion with you about the The comments section is a great first step to doing this. Other ideas include running contests on the blog, profiling key customers and how they use your products, and asking for testimonials to post.

3) SPREAD INFORMATION
The web is the great down economy buster. There are very little costs to start a company blog and the upside can be huge. By posting information on the web you can cut down on the costs of printing and mailing. In working with the Maryland Z00 we have begun placing all the materials online in PDF format while cutting down how much we mail out as printed hard copy.

4) MARKETING
I’ve harped on the power of hosting your own content on your site/blog/channel. But you should also be looking for ways to build outposts. Chris Brogan has a great post on why this is important and what it can mean for the marketing in your business.

5) TO BUILD REPUTATION
The tools online allow you to build a case for your work and character. Be careful. They can also build a case against your work and character.

One of my favorite tools for business people is LinkedIn. It allows you to build an online resume along with a photograph and collegue/customer/parter testimonials. It is searchable and provides a nice home base for your professional online reputation. Many of my business clients and fellow online comrads use this tool.

Personal/professional blogs also allow you to build a case for your character, knowledge, skills, and potential.

6) TO BRAND
Gary Vaynerchuk has taken an average family wine business and has turned it into an international $12 million per year powerhouse.

How?

He produces a daily 20 minute online video on wine tasting. He tastes wines and talks about them. He has a daily viewership over half a million people. He’s now signed with a Hollywood talent agency, has appeared on numurous TV shows, and did I mention he’s rich?

But the biggest secret about Gary’s success is his community building skills. He answers every email sent to him. He works his tail off to get out and meet people and build his network and fan base. This is classic social media augmenting real world business. And it is working great.

7) TO CONNECT THE DOTS
There are elements of your business that are intangeble. They escape you and your staff. Little bits and pieces. Those photos of you hosting a charity event last year for example. Until recently there wasn’t a place for this type of content unless it went out to your customers in an official mailing or publication.

But with Flickr and other network sites you can post these photos, videos, and information for the public to “discover” about you and your business. The web in general, and social media in particular, have made it possible for your customers, clients, and prospects to get a glimps of you beyond the official business publication.

One tool that will allow people this kind of access is Twitter. Twitter is a micro-blogging platform. By posting relevant, insightful, and helpful Twitter posts throughout your day – you will show your human side. You can allow people to see that you are down to earth and genuine. Of course this means you actually have to be down to earth and genuine.

Go Get Started

So there are 7 ways to start using social media in your business. The key is to get started. Don’t worry aout screwing up – the costs are so low that it won’t be a big deal. Just get out there and experiment.

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Joel-Mark-Witt.com is a blog about technology, blogging, social media, video, podcasting, and how you can use all these tools to grow your business, even if you know nothing about computers and the Internet. If you like this blog please subscribe to it for free by RSS or eMail.

Joel Mark Witt

You may have noticed it already. The media landscape is fragmented.
Our traditional news and entertainment channels are being disrupted.

It used to be easy to advertise and get the word out about your business. You or your ad agency would take out an ad in the newspaper, on TV, and the radio. Then the world would know about your product or service. Everyone was tuned into the same channels collectively.

But now…

It’s not that easy.

Channels are being disrupted. It impossible to reach the masses of people in the same way.
I read a story a few months ago about the popular 1950s television show “I Love Lucy.” During commercial breaks, New York City apartment complexes would ask patrons to go easy on bathroom use. Entire buildings were watching the same television show. So when Lucy went to commercial, everyone stood up and did their business. It taxed the water systems of the apartment buildings.

In the past there were only a few options for entertainment. Everyone watched the same programs, and advertisers could reach huge numbers with a few well placed ads.

Now the game has changed.

“What if your company was given a cable channel to program for free? What would you do with that opportunity?”
My friend Michael Hoffman asks this question when talking with business and organizational leaders. This is exactly the type of opportunity your business or organization has been given.

Are you prepared to program this powerful channel you now have at your disposal?

Where should you start?

You probably have “Digital Natives” at your company – get them training and resources. And do it now.
Digital Natives are the people who grew up with the internet, cell phones, and technology. To these young people technology is woven into the language and culture of life. They don’t know a world independent of text messaging, cell phones, and email.

Your first step to using social media is to begin looking around your company and see who is already using online social media tools. The people who are already engaged with an online community creating content for the web will give your business a head start.

In my next article I’ll give you 7 ways to start using social media in your business. Stay tuned.

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Joel-Mark-Witt.com is a blog about technology, blogging, social media, video, podcasting, and how you can use all these tools to grow your business, even if you know nothing about computers and the Internet. If you like this blog please subscribe to it for free by RSS or eMail.

Joel Mark Witt

*Image By Merrick Brown via Flickr

Most kids have no clue how to talk on camera.
I’ve spent a lot of time on Zoo grounds with the news media when they are interviewing kids. I’ve even interviewed a lot of kids myself for MarylandZoo.TV. I’ve noticed that kids don’t really know what to do when a camera is pointed at them.

I was working with Channel 2 this morning in developing a story for the station and they interviewed a few children by the elephants. One little girl (about seven) was chatting up a storm with her mother and sister. Once the camera started rolling she froze up.

She began to stammer and stutter. Her mind went blank. All the expression left her face.

It was painful to watch.

We need to prepare kids to grow up in a media rich world.
Talking on camera should be something that kids learn from parents, teachers, and society at an early age. We teach children proper phone etiquette and how not to sound like a buffoon on the phone. We teach speech class in High School and College. Why not prepare students for talking on camera or behind a microphone?

At the Zoo, the animal staff gets formal media training. They learn how to talk on camera – what to do when given tough questions – and how to present themselves in a professional manner. This training works and has helped the animal staff and the Zoo look good to the community and television audience.

I am also working on preparing some of the Zoo staff to blog and communicate using social media tools. This is the next wave of media training and all companies and organizations should be focused on it.

Forget speech class – we should offer media training in school.
As modern day communicators, our kids will need to learn how to answer questions on the fly when the cameras roll. Why do High School speech classes still focus on giving a speech from a stage? Why don’t they focus on the little camera in the MacBook instead? Why a stage or the front of the class? Is this real world training?

Journalists, Hollywood, and the industrial media have created an aura around people who stand behind microphones and speak on camera.
Because media has traditionally been a one-way medium, no one felt like they had the skills to communicate like the “professionals.”

What happens when media is no longer a one-way medium? What if media became social and a two-way conversation? How would that change the way we present and speak on camera?

Welcome to the new millennium. The game has changed. Media is now a conversation.
Today’s currency is information. But with all the information in the world, the ones who know how to present themselves will be successful.

I am planning on preparing my sons to be fully functional in a digital media world.
I want my two sons to be well prepared to speak behind a microphone and on camera. I think it is important that they understand how to present themselves when presented with the opportunity. Just like we show them the proper phone etiquette or the way they should speak with a friend or someone they disagree with, we should also help them speak well using new media tools.

Leave the kids out of it for a minute. Are you and your organization prepared to communicate in a 24/7 media environment?
I’ve written this article about children. But children aren’t the only ones who need preparation for social media. Business leaders also need to be prepared to communicate using these new tools like Twitter, podcasts, online video, Facebook, MySpace, Linked-In, and blogs.

Don’t worry if you’ve never heard about these tools before. That’s what this blog is for.

Are you ready?

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Joel-Mark-Witt.com is a blog about technology, blogging, social media, video, podcasting, and how you can use all these tools to grow your business, even if you know nothing about computers and the Internet. If you like this blog please subscribe to it for free by RSS or eMail.

Joel Mark Witt

I see a lot of people in the new media space referring to themselves and others as new media experts. Or social media experts. I have done the same.

I used to call myself an expert in new media.

But then I thought about it and realized I really wasn’t an expert. Before you think I am shooting myself in the foot by denying my expert status, hear me out.

Experts have all the answers.

I don’t have all the answers. New media is so new that no one has all the answers. I would even say only about 1% of the people involved in this space are even on the right track. Most are fumbling in the dark.

I like to use the analogy of hiking a trail.

An expert of the trail has a map. They have hiked the trail enough times that they know the steep slopes and the trouble areas. Experts know exactly where to cross the streams as to not get wet.

Experts have done it before.

We need experts in every field of life. Experts help us save time and money. Experts are brain surgeons, lawyers, bankers, and pilots.

But I am not an expert.

I have never hiked this trail called new media before. I don’t have a Google map laying out the route. I know where I want to go – but I don’t know exactly how to get there. So instead of a new media expert – I prefer to say that I am a new media leader.

Leaders blaze new trails.

Leaders are risk takers. They stand out in front of a group with a machete and begin cutting into the brush. They see a mountain in the distance that they want to reach but they don’t know the exact path through the jungle to get there. Leaders ask the right questions.

Sometimes leaders get a little lost and have to climb a tree to see the mountain again.

I find that when I get bogged down in my life with the daily “brush cutting” I have to stop, take a good look at the mountain I am trying to reach, and then start again going in the right direction.

This happened with my blogging and use of Twitter over the past few months.

I didn’t know why I was using new media tools. I was just fumbling in the dark. I had to stop – reevaluate and then start again after focusing on my goals. I was getting off on a side trail and needed to refocus on the mountain again.

Leaders are the ones who become experts.

Well – let me rephrase that. Some leaders become experts. True leaders – once they reach the big mountain and climb it – will look out over the horizon and see entire mountain ranges to reach. Expert leaders will walk back the path they charted and then bring more people to the first mountain with them.

Thought: An expert has been – a leader will be.

Warning!

Most businesses don’t want to hire or work with true leaders. Too much risk. No guaranteed answers. No measurable ROI. If you are a consultant, or professional craftsman – please consider the ramifications before calling yourself a leader. Businesses want to hire experts. They want predictable results. They want to follow.

Do you consider yourself an expert or leader?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. After all, I am asking the questions – I don’t have all the answers.

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If you like this blog please subscribe to it for free

Joel Mark Witt

Photo by: The Wandering Angel

I had the privilege of sitting on the Podcasting Business panel at Podcamp Philadelphia two weeks ago. There were a lot of smart and talented podcasters with me. You can watch the whole session here: