Seth Godin discus the benefit of the doubt:

The challenge, then, is to earn the benefit of the doubt. How many of your customers, prospects, vendors, regulators and colleagues give you the benefit of the doubt?

 

This reminds of the The Fisherman's Secret; a short story that I wrote, believing it will help you earn the benefit of the doubt:

Traditionally we went for the kill. We invested money to make a killing.

Today, however, we need to earn trust, a favourable judgement when things go wrong. And they do go wrong. The past has shown us, that going for the kill is risky and not effective. Because of social amplification (facebook, twiiter,etc), going-for-the-kill is risky, and more-and-more traditional businesses are being judged and exposed.

Even if they are not wrong, they have no good will, and in  most cases the judgement is not favourable.

As we e-evolve more and more businesses will adopt new cultivation pools where they can earn the benefit of the doubt... before unfair judgement surprise them.

Johan Horak
Online Marketing Tips Newsletter Using Social Media Like Twitter.

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It many not surprise you that Avinash Kaushik (Google) said:

watch this slide show on what is social media

Here's a few rules from WiseStamp on how to optimise your email signature:

• You should have no more than 7 lines. The best email signatures are short and to the point.
• Don’t throw in any images or anything that distracts from the message. There is also the fact that images and other “cutesy” things will cause your email to be tagged as spam and placed in the recipient’s spam folder.
• Don’t use hyperlinks to websites because the hyperlinks can become broken. You can spell out the web address. If it is click-able, that is great. If not, they can copy and paste it into their browser’s address bar. They can’t do that if you create a hyper-link that simply says, “My Website.” A professional email signature is a functional one. [use http://cultivation.posterous.com/ instead of My Website].
  
• Make sure the contact info you include is information that is needed by the email recipient. Don’t include contact information that is personal or you will never leave work. It will always find you.
• Throw something promotional in there. This means give something away for free to your recipients.
• You can use a border to separate your signature from your actual email. That way the recipient knows the difference.
• You can get more info on email signatures here.
  

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1. On Social Media: "The device is inherently of no value to us.” This was Western Unions response to the telephones invention. Ryan Opaz
2. The truth is that we are seeing the fading away of yesterdays’ tools of communication, giving way to a new way of looking....Ryan Opaz
3. Go ahead stick your head in the sand, pretend it’s a silly fad and that it is just a “phase”. Ryan Opaz
4. Your choice is either to adapt and take advantage of the opportunities it offers, or you can sit there and complain, and let it pass you by. Ryan Opaz
5. Today’s consumers have voices. The internet have given them voices, And these voices are not your competitors or enemies, but rather clients, readers, buyers, and sometimes new friends. Ryan Opaz
6. Today these conversations are online. They are searchable, they are contextual, they are everywhere. But most importantly they are offering you a chance to join in.Ryan Opaz
7. Today you can drive your own sales, rather than waiting for the critic to do it for you. But only if your honest, open and real. The internet is not a place to sell BS, it’s a place to have a dialog…join in and you will win. Ryan Opaz

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Many businesses can improve their internal employee communication strategy with a closed internal social network using existing social media tools. I would look at social media tools like Friendfeed.com or Posterous.com to create such a internal social communication medium. I suppose Friendfeed.com is your best bet.

For the internal social network to work, I suggest the following:

1. It must be easy to use. Employees must have access to computers and cell phones to publish content to the closed social network.
2. The CEO must support the idea and use it.
3. Initially the CEO and other senior managers must volunteer info, even if it's a little over the top.
4. The postings should include social info associated with the members; sport teams, places they went to, nice things they do, etc.
5. Then they need to share questions they have, answers to problems. Even the CEO must ask questions (with obvious answers) to get interaction.
6. All participants (employees) must subscribe to the social network that you created, because a social tool like Friendfeed.com, will email subscribers the previous day's conversation. 
7. All employees must be trained to use the social network.
8. You need to propose a communication strategy, the; why, how, when, what, where and, as indicated, get agreement from the CEO.
9. Get a team of people together who would be excited about the idea. Share your communication strategy with them and get them to panel beat it.
10. Take your exited panel beating team and let them be the seeds of your internal social network.
11. Ensure that this social network becomes the only source for important employee news.
12. Communication must be open with no risk to the publisher. If people are afraid to post info that the boss don't like then you are wasting your time with the social network.

Good Luck and have fun

Johan

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Are you a traditional guest house marketer? You pay for ads in travel publications, you pay to advertise with online accommodation sites... sites where you compete with every other average Joe-Guest-House-Owner for the top spot.  We all know how the big brands interrupt us........

In other words they pay to interrupt and never take time to create an opportunity where they can cultivate relationships.

According to HubSpot; in order to cultivate relationships we need to........

1. Listening -- Every guest house owner needs to listen. You need to listen to your competitors, your customers, your prospects -- your community. Social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook make this easier.
2. Reach -- Reach is important to any marketer. It's the number of people you can communicate with directly via email, telephone, or any other channel. Social media tools made it easier to build [networks].
3. Nurturing -- Nurturing is another critical marketing task for all guest houses. ....., you need to build trust with potential customers and educate them about your guest house. Social media facilitates the development of personal relationships at scale. This makes it an ideal tool for nurturing......[my edits .... swapping company for guest house] HubSpot

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The first 10 Social Media Guru Quotes can be found here.

 

1. Legacy is greater than currency. Gary Vaynerchuck
2. Social media doesn’t have to exist wholly online. Blending off-line marketing with online efforts can build a community around a brand. Mashable
3. Story telling is by far the most underrated skill in business. Gary Vaynerchuck
4. Social media isn’t all about ROI, but it is possible. Creating cross-platform strategies can lead to the most success, especially when your demographic is already Internet and technologically savvy. Mashable
5. Passion is everything. Gary Vaynerchuck
6. As creation (social media) tools get even easier to use, coupled with more people adding content to the Web, your fight for the hearts and minds of people will become even more difficult. Brent Leary
   
7. This is the beautiful thing about the Web -- people promoting the good works of others just because they feel the work is worthy of acknowledgement, and the creator deserving of a “shout-out”. Brent Leary
8. Social media and networks are powerful mediums, but only as good as the humans who use them. Brent Leary
9. Things only go forward. Technology has no feelings. Gary Vaynerchuck
10. Regardless of who your audience is, chances are at least some of them are on Facebook or Linkedin or on another social media site. Jennifer Snyder

Johan Horak
Online Marketing Tips Newsletter Using Social Media Like Twitter.
Holiday Home Management Tips Newsletter

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2010 Soccer tournament is closing in on us. What is all the hype about 450 000 soccer fans? Well, if we wait for FIFA they will take all the profits. I suggest you start taking serious action.

For example.... I get alerts (see 5) any online news where the phrases related to guest houses and  the soccer 2010 are included. What surprise me is that guest houses or self catering holiday home owners in South Africa are not the originators of the news. Never. Why not?

The consequences are that they must rely on other to bring them traffic.

FIFA just published a press release that any guest house owner could have written. This story is loaded with Cape Town related key word phrases, like; wine lands, guest houses, and hotels. FIFA is telling our story. Why wait for them. You know your story. Only you can tell it with passion. Here's a paragraph from the FIFA press release where they take the initiative. And I don't like that we give them all the clout....

The Wine Lands
From the manicured hills of Stellenbosch to the vineyards of Franschhoek and Paarl, the wine regions located nearby Cape Town have produced some world-renowned wines. Guest house and hotels abound in these areas, making the wine lands the perfect place to spend a few days. A typical day in the wine lands brings with it scenic views, superb cuisine and mouthfuls of captivating wine.

Gary Vaynerchuck said, "Story telling is by far the most underrated skill in business".

It's my hope to become a better story teller because I understand how story telling, using online tools and social connections, can amplify my reach way beyond my goals.

Here's my challenge:

I challenge you to publish your own online press release. I will also publish the first accommodation 2010 related press release that you publish. And I will help you to do that. Go for it...   

 Have story telling fun..... you don't know who is listening in on your frequency.

Johan Horak
Online Marketing Tips Newsletter Using Social Media Like Twitter.
Holiday Home Management Tips Newsletter

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