And, imagine how it would make the person feel — pretty crummy. And maybe a little angry, too.

So why do so many brands and people ignore their fans and followers on Twitter, Facebook and other social channels? You take the time to RT or share or do a shout out and what do you get? Crickets. Ouch.

In my post, Why Social Media Hasn’t Replaced the Traditional Marketing Funnel, I talk about the importance of rewarding your “influencers” — the people who retweet, thumbs up, comment, share on social media.

The people, in other words, who introduce you to their networks (or as Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact, says in her book Engagement Marketing: How Small Business Wins in a Socially Connected World, the people who give you implied endorsements).

Jay Frost, partner at the firm Jerold Panas, Linzy & Partners, gave a HubSpot Webinar last year to nonprofits where he said, “How do you think it makes the person feel when you don’t respond to them on social media? It makes them feel neglected!”

So here’s my Quick Tip: Reward people by responding when they connect with you on social media. As Jay Frost says in his webinar, people will remember that you did. He goes on to say that when nonprofits don’t respond, they lose donors. Those organizations that do respond retain donors — and raise more funds.

I’m guessing it works the same for B2B as well.

What do you think? Please share your comments.

The post Respond to People When They Connect With You appeared first on Dianna Huff.

LL Bean’s Moon Beam “Opportunity Clock”

Working solo is what you make of it. Herewith, my view of the BENEFITS of working as a solo consultant.

It’s as glamorous as you make it

Yes, it’s true, that when you work out of your home, you’re not working out of some fancy corporate office (read: cube) surrounded by rolling grass, mirrored windows, a cafeteria, vending machines and all that stuff.

But, that doesn’t mean your workplace has to be . . . well, tacky. If you’re just starting out, or even if you’ve been solo awhile, create the office of your dreams. I’ve been in business 15 years and last month completely redid my office from the ground up. I love coming to work each day!

Two, get dressed each day. Staying in your pajamas is just plain lazy. Make a habit to get up, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, meditate and THEN start your day. I used to check email as soon as the alarm went off — which is how the pajama habit gets started — but I broke myself of that habit. How? I stopped using my iPhone as an alarm clock and bought the beautiful clock pictured for my nightstand instead. My phone charges overnight in the living room.

I also advise taking a page from the late Zig Ziglar. As soon as the “opportunity clock” goes off, jump out of bed, clap your hands and say, “Today is going to be a wonderful day because of all the opportunity headed my way.” You simply can’t stay in your pajamas after that — and you head off to the shower smiling and upbeat.

Build your own credibility

Sure, DH Communications, Inc. isn’t up there with Apple and Nabisco, but I have made a name for myself. You build credibility by speaking, writing articles for other publications, such as the Content Marketing Institute, posting case studies to your website and specializing in a niche (such as business-to-business marketing).

The hours, my friends, are FABULOUS

I read somewhere that you should create your ideal day that revolves around how you’d like to work. I did that — and then after reading, Be Excellent at Anything by Tony Schwartz, I created my ideal week. My energy level is pretty high Mondays and Tuesdays. By Wednesday, I’m tired. So I work until about 2:30 and then I go do a double workout at the gym, make a leisurely dinner, etc. Doing this allows me to recharge and roar through Thursday and Friday. By Friday afternoon I’m beat again. My ideal week includes eight hours of sleep each night and four gym workouts. I have lots of downtime.

Vacations are pretty good too

I’m not sure where this whole idea comes from that once you go out on your own, you can’t take vacations. You need vacations to recharge. Each time I take a vacation (and I generally take off two+ weeks each year plus long weekends), I usually come back to new gigs waiting for me. Plus I feel better. And, I’m brimming with ideas.

My visit to Niagara Falls. Another item crossed off the bucket list.

You can create your own virtual team

Working solo doesn’t mean working alone. I’m quite fortunate in that I’ve built a wonderful virtual team in the last few years.

Arik didn’t cover this point in his post, but the other meme I hear constantly is that when you work solo, you go for days without seeing another living soul except your cat or dog. Again, this is simply not true — if you create opportunities to get out and meet people. The things I’ve done over the years, and still do, to ensure I have a social life include:

• Asking business colleagues and friends out to lunch or dinner.
• Going to the gym (exercise will make you think better anyway).
• Calling another solo consultant friend spur of the moment and meeting for cocktails.
• Inviting people over for dinner.
• Saying “yes” anytime anyone invites me out.
• Attending chamber of commerce networking functions.
• Getting involved with industry associations (helps build credibility too).

Being a solo consultant and working out of your house is what you make of it. If you see yourself as a pj-wearing non-entity with zero credibility, that’s what you’ll become. Or, you can see yourself as the CEO of your one person company and conduct yourself accordingly.

What other benefits do you see in working solo? Post your responses below.

The post For Freelancers: The Benefits of Working as a Solo Consultant appeared first on Dianna Huff.

Then social media hit and everything changed again.

I could see the effects of social media on my business. What I’ve found somewhat amazing is that I’ve received inquiries and referrals from people who say they learned about me “online” — usually from someone I have never met or even heard of. At some point last year, for example, I began getting newsletter subscribers who said they had heard about me from Marie Forleo. Marie Forleo? Quick search . . . oh wow! That MARIE FORLEO, the way cool, one-woman owner of a multi-million dollar business coaching empire.

Having come from a traditional marketing background, and having been well-steeped in traditional lead generation, I kept wondering if social media had changed the marketing funnel, and if so how? I knew things had changed, but I couldn’t articulate this change — that is, until I read “The Permanent Disruption of Social Media” by Julie Dixon and Denise Keyes in the Stanford Social Review.

Although geared toward nonprofits, the authors posted a graphic depicting today’s new marketing realities. As soon as I saw it, I said, “That’s it! That’s what’s changed!”

Why I now eat organic food

I’ve become good friends with Ilene Ross, the co-founder of {513 Eats}, on Facebook. I met her through a mutual friend. Last year Ilene built a chicken coop because she wanted to source her own eggs. She’d post these great photos of her chickens at feeding time. Due to Ilene and our mutual friend, who also eats locally grown food, I began thinking about my own food choices.

One day, I found myself buying cage-free eggs. I liked reading about how the company lets their chickens roam around (plus they’re not stuffed full of antibiotics and other junk.) Then I moved to grass-fed beef and cage-free chickens. Organic produce and dairy products soon followed.

Here’s the deal: I made these changes because I was positively influenced by Ilene and our mutual friend via social media. This positive influence is what’s known as “social proof.” (I highly recommend you read TechCrunch’s article, “Social Proof is the New Marketing” to learn why social proof is so important.)

Basically, the theory of social proof states we do what other people do. It works in our day-to-day lives and it works for B2B, too. The reason I use Infusionsoft’s marketing automation software is due to social proof.

Social media drives awareness

All of us have our own networks — and we influence / impact those networks no matter how large or small they are. I’m a small fish in a very big marketing ocean and I get emails all the time from people who tell me how much I’ve inspired or helped them.

So yes, social media, with its ability to allow us to communicate easily with our networks, has disrupted marketing. No question.

But, has it replaced the traditional marketing funnel? No. And here’s why.

In the “old days” before the Internet was so huge, marketers used all kinds of tactics to drive awareness (many of which are still in play today):

• PR
• Tradeshows
• Articles in trade publications
• Direct marketing (email, direct mail)
• Advertising
• Newsletters

Today, marketers use social media to drive that same awareness. As you can see in the screenshot below, people on Twitter are letting their networks know about content I created. In the old days, I used to have to do this “manually” through email or direct mail. I can still remember sending out a direct mail letter to get people to subscribe to my e-newsletter (got a 10% response rate, too!).

Awareness is what gets people into the top of the marketing funnel. Once you attract people to it, whether through social media or other means, you still need to qualify your inquiries (an inquiry is not a lead, by the way), score your leads, move people along the sales cycle and nurture those who aren’t ready to buy.

What has changed is that B2B marketers must now be much more aware of who their “influencers” are. “Influencers” refers to internal people who influence a complex sale. But it also refers to those people who refer your company to others as well as those who aren’t customers but are your fans.

Two weeks ago, for example, Jill Whalen interviewed me for her newsletter. She’s not my customer. I’m not her customer. We’re just good friends and mutual admirers of one another. Due to Jill’s interview, I received a bunch of downloads of my B2B Web Marketing Toolkit and two inquiries, one of which turned into a sale. (I took Jill out for dinner to thank her. )

As a B2B small business owner, you simply cannot write off social media any longer.

• One, it’s here to stay.
• Two, it drives social proof and awareness — both of which fill the top of your funnel.
• And three, it allows you to see, with certainty, who are your fans and influencers, and reward them.

What do you think? Agree or disagree?

The post Why Social Media Hasn’t Replaced the Traditional Marketing Funnel appeared first on Dianna Huff.

Hey! It sounded legit to me, so I retweeted it. Opps. April Fool! D’oh!

This morning I got around to reading stuff in my inbox and came across the newsletter from Community Boating in Boston. The first article talked about how the organization needed volunteers to help paint the boat hulls pink. Well, they had already installed pink flotation devices on the masts, so why not pink hulls? I groaned a bit — did I really want to sail on pink boats? — and moved on to the next article.

To deter Canadian Geese, CBI would begin showing them photos of their arch nemesis, the Dodo Bird. And that’s when I looked at the newsletter date — ok, got it, April Fool!

But here’s the thing. I was totally digging the CBI newsletter — and the wonderful copy — because it was so different. No, let me rephrase that. I was totally digging the copy because it was delightful and fun. I made me laugh out loud.

For several years now Canada geese have found our two islands to be a relaxing home away from home, a pleasing respite from the stresses and strains of urban living. Unfortunately Canada geese also like to party. Under the cloak of darkness they wander over to our docks, and engage in bacchanalian reveries, leaving their calling cards everywhere for CBI to clean-up in the morning.

Love this.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful, I thought, if B2B companies could inject this kind of light-hearted levity into their marketing content on a regular basis?

I’m not saying you need to do this every day or that all of your content should be informal or filled with slapstick humor. But, you could, on a regular basis, have some fun, or at the very minimum, be a little less formal. Some examples:

ClearView Consulting — In addition to traditional head shots, ClearView Consulting Company posted a relaxed shot of its team (taken after they had all met for dinner). I like how the men aren’t wearing ties and that they’re all touching. Most important, they look natural and relaxed. Contrast this photo with a canned stock photo (boring!).

Ragan’s PR Daily — My new favorite Facebook page, PR Daily posts the standard content you’d find on a PR-related site (re: lots of copywriting tips) coupled with some really great images that make me laugh out loud. The site could stick with being formal and “corporate-y.” Instead, they show the lighter side of working in PR and marketing. Love it.

Infusionsoft — The company recently moved into new world headquarters and posted photos of its new building on its Facebook page. One of those photos was of one of the gleaming new bathrooms. When someone commented on it, an employee wrote something about the fact that everyone at Infusionsoft had to share two bathrooms in the old building (instant thought — ewwwwww) and how excited they were at having multiple bathrooms.

TMI? Maybe. But it also made you relate to the company a little more. (I used to work at a company where 20 people all had to share one bathroom — not pleasant!)

What I’m really saying is this: People do business with people they trust. Help people get to know you a little more by showing the human side of your company. Whether you’re a “mom and pop” or a mid-sized business, don’t be afraid to show your fun side — and not just on April Fools Day. (You can see more of my personal side at my Facebook page.)

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree?

The post Inject April Fools Levity Into Your Marketing All Year Round appeared first on Dianna Huff.

2. Google Authorship increases clickthroughs by up to 150%.

Yes, your smiling face next to a search result listing can make a HUGE difference in how many people click the listing.

3. Google may have HAS the means to measure “People Rank.” This new PR score incorporates:

• Engagement with Google+
• Relative authority on other social platforms
• Posting regularity
• Comments per post
• And lots of other things

Updated — 4/17/2013
You can see how Google is measuring your social media efforts (in order to determine how your content should rank) by taking a look at your Google Analytics.

Under the “Traffic Sources” menu, click “Social” and then “Visitors Flow.” You can see pretty quickly which social platforms are driving traffic — and what happens once that traffic hits your site. I was astounded to see that once people get to my blog, they then click around on my site. Before Google included this information, I thought they were simply bouncing back out.

The key takeaway is that People Rank is really measuring engagement. It’s not enough to simply write content. It’s very important that people share your content and comment on it, too — and not just on G+.

Tips for increasing engagement with your network:

1. Use your e-newsletter to drive people back to your blog — Do what I do: Write a blog post and use it in your e-newsletter. Include a link to the post and ask people to comment on it. This one tactic has significantly increased my engagement and social media shares. (Face it — people don’t exactly seek out blogs but they do read e-newsletters.)

2. Post fun stuff — Mix in some fun stuff with helpful content. A few weeks ago, for example, I posted a picture of Lindt chocolate bunnies on my Facebook page. Why? Because the supermarket tag read, “Lint bunnies.” Too funny. A few of my followers thought so too.

3. Ask people to comment — When possible, I ask for people’s feedback, whether it’s a status update or a blog post. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don’t. What’s more important is consistency rather than “big” engagement.

What’s your opinion? Leave your comments below.

The post Move Over Klout — Google “People Rank” Now Key appeared first on Dianna Huff.

When I moved my office out of the house five years ago, I had been working at home for ten long years. I viewed myself as a “work-at-home / stay-at-home mom.” I wore mom clothes and did the mom thing and in between all that, I worked in my business.

I was slowly going nuts.

Moving out brought with it many changes, but the biggest change was internal. I changed how I viewed myself. No longer was I the stay-at-home-mom who did “freelance” work. Over the last five years, I grew into the role of CEO of DH Communications, Inc. I was a real company with a real team (albeit virtual) and even an employee — my son! I even had a sign that was visible from the street. Yep, real company.

All of that felt really good. Even better was when clients would visit me at my office. Loved that!

But things change. My son is growing up pretty fast and isn’t around as much, nor does he require the intense hands-on time like he used to. I kept looking at the empty room in my house — the one that housed the ironing board — and thinking, “You know, that would make a great office.”

Which is why I moved back to my home this weekend. As my son and I packed boxes last week, I felt a little sad — and yes, a little depressed. A couple of times I wondered if moving back to my home was a step backward.

I did have dreams of starting an agency and having employees and moving out of my one room commercial space into glamorous digs at some point.

But I’ve also had this other dream — the one that’s been on the back burner since my 20s. My dream is to see the world — England, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Alaska. As I packed up my boxes, I realized I was taking the first step to making it come true. By “rightsizing” my business (a term my good friend used to describe my move), I’m freeing myself up to work anywhere. Have MacBook, can travel.

And that’s my dream: to travel and to sit at a cafe somewhere drinking coffee and writing for my clients.

As the movers took away my old heavy furniture this morning, I knew I had closed a chapter. I turned in my keys to the landlord and with a quick step danced to my car and drove to my home. A new chapter is starting. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

What’s your experience with moving — and what unexpected or good things came of the change? Feel free to share your story.

The post I Rightsized My World Headquarters appeared first on Dianna Huff.

I get A LOT of questions from people about websites; pretty much everything I write is in answer to these questions or in response to the mistakes I see companies making in the course of working with them.

To help owners of small and mid-sized companies understand Web marketing — and all of the changes that have taken place recently — I’ve created a new B2B Web Marketing Toolkit. It’s chock full of practical, proven strategies — everything from reports and a presentation to a Webinar and a case study — to help you get more leads from your website.

To learn more and to download, see the Toolkit landing page.

Be sure to check it out — and if you find that I haven’t answered one of your questions, let me know. I’m always looking for new topics to write about.

The post Now Available: Free B2B Web Marketing Toolkit appeared first on Dianna Huff.

It’s better with the audio as I used lots of stories. I’ll add the audio hopefully sometime next week — I have deadlines and Passover to attend to first.

Happy perusing.

The post Marketing Your Content Via Mobile appeared first on Dianna Huff.

Daniel C. Stanley, Forghany Law, P.C.

For example, a couple of weeks ago I referred a colleague to a nonprofit association seeking help with social media and marketing. The president of the association set an interview with my colleague based on the fact that I had highly recommended her. He did this because he trusted me. (She got the gig, by the way).

Daniel Stanley, of Forghany Law, P.C. , in Lawrence, MA, knew that much of the firm’s business came from referrals, but he also knew they could take referring business to other companies to a much higher level.

The Forghany Law firm practices in areas of helping individuals and businesses with bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, civil law and criminal law and has contact with lots of small business owners due to networking at local chamber events.

“We started networking to build relationships with people,” Daniel says. “One benefit of having relationships with other businesses is so you can refer business to each other. Referring business is the missing piece of an effective network and referral marketing strategy. So, we took it to the next level.”

The firm first put up a card rack in the lobby of their office and told clients, who were business owners, that if they provided their cards, the firm would add them to the rack. “When people wait in our lobby,” he says, “they naturally migrate to that rack. But, that is pretty passive. I wanted to do more.”

Daniel then asked his colleagues in the firm to give him all the cards they had collected from various functions. He entered names, contact information and what each business offers into a spreadsheet.

“My goal,” he explains, “was to start giving out referrals during the course of every day conversation. If a small business owner calls, for example, and says he needs a new website, then I can refer him to a Web designer I have on my list.”

But Daniel didn’t stop there. He then got his entire firm involved. Daniel and his colleagues meet weekly and at these meetings they discuss if each person has done at least one referral that week.

“That’s our goal,” says Daniel. “One referral per person each week. With ten people in the firm, that’s 10 referrals a week, 40 referrals a month, or about 500 a year.

“By referring business to our colleagues, we build a positive reputation. Even if nothing comes of it, it’s still something that sends out positive vibes.”

I really like Daniel’s approach to referrals. As prosperity guru Randy Gage says, you can’t out-give the universe. The more you give, the more you’ll receive in return — in some way, shape or form.

Imagine what your business would be like if you were consistently referring business every week – and watching it come back to you.

Daniel, thanks for sharing your business tip. It was very nice meeting you at the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting.

The post Referral Marketing Tip — Give Referrals Consistently appeared first on Dianna Huff.

While pondering the book over my morning toast and coffee, I realized that we all have opportunities, experiences and gifts — and it’s what we make of them that counts.

Last summer, while speaking at the AWAI’s B2B Copywriting Intensive, I had a number of women ask me how I got started in B2B. The easy answer is, “My second job out of college was managing a small manufacturing company for seven years.”

But after reading Lean In, I realized it was much, much more than that.

Like Sheryl Sandberg, I was incredibly fortunate. I come from what is now politely called a “disadvantaged home.” I won’t go into details, but suffice to say, in my childhood home, education was not a priority — in fact, it was a luxury that was so out of reach I wasn’t even encouraged to go to school.

Due to various events, I became an emancipated minor while a Junior in high school — and because of that, I got on the radar of a high school guidance counselor.

At the beginning of my senior year she asked if I were applying to college and I replied no — of course not, I didn’t have the money. She told me about special programs for people like me. One in particular was called the EOP — Educational Opportunity Program. With her guidance, I applied to California State University, Hayward (now East Bay) under this program — and was accepted with a full financial aid package!

(Two years ago I read Condoleezza Rice’s autobiography, A Memior: My Extraordinary, Ordinary Family and learned her father had developed that program for African American youths. I wrote her a tear-filled note telling her how much that program benefited me.)

During my college years, I worked many manual labor jobs. I did boat maintenance (meaning, I’d get sailboats ready to go out on the weekends for local charter companies in the SF Bay Area). I made sails for sailboats. I cleaned houses. All of these jobs taught me many lessons, from how to fix things to how manufacturing production lines work. Because I worked for companies that sold sailboats, I got to prepare new boats for boat shows — experience I later used while working at Varian Associates where I helped get products ready for trade shows.

In fact, my first job out of college was at a non-profit marine association; its two biggest events were the local winter and summer boat shows. My trade show experience includes both the exhibitor side and the “management” side.

It was at this job that I learned all about direct mail. I used to have to send out the thousands of show applications to boating organizations across the U.S. For days I’d stick labels, sort the pieces by zip code, put them into bulk mail bags and drive them to the main post office in East Oakland (scary!).

Due to my production sewing experience, the sailing, and my English degree, I landed the job as office manager at Precision Technical Sewing. For seven years I did everything and anything from payroll and accounting to shipping/receiving, customer service and sales. I answered four phone lines. I made bank runs and coffee. I picked up a ton of knowledge about production processes, cloth, military specifications and how to treat customers.

From Sally Lindsay, the owner of PTS and a world-class sailor, I learned quite a bit. The one piece of advice that still sticks in my mind today is, “We’re not in business to lose money.”

From there, I went to Varian Associates, where I learned how to write Marketing Communications collateral. While interviewing, I had to meet with the President of NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), one of the business units. This president was one of two women who headed up the various units with Analytical Instruments. During the interview she said to me, “You’re going to be working with a bunch of arrogant, rude, egotistical men who have PhDs in Chemistry. You’re going to need a thick skin. Tell me how you’ll stand up to them and push back when they tell you they don’t like your marketing.”

I don’t remember my answer, but I do remember taking a deep breath and thinking, “A trite answer won’t work here.” Whatever I told her, it must have satisfied her, because I got the job. And she was right: working with a bunch of arrogant, rude, egotistical men was rough (and yes, I was reduced to tears more than once), but boy, did I learn a lot!

Funnily enough — or maybe not — my client base today is made up of 90% men — men who own or work at small businesses. Many of them are tops in their fields and are super smart. I learn a lot from them.

I’m also at ease around these men; I like working with them and talking and listening to them. They tell me their stories, which I use in my work, and over time, we get to know one another.

One client recently said to me, “You’re a really good listener, did you know that?” Dennis Woodruff, CEO of ClearView Consulting Company, said, “You know what’s in my head better than I do myself.”

Which brings me to today — and Sheryl Sandberg’s book. Her book, which she’s billing as a sort of “feminist manifesto,” is about how women sabotage themselves in the workplace. I think the book really is about looking at your opportunities and experiences, determining how you view them and then taking advantage of and using what you’ve been given.

Yes, Sheryl Sandberg has had some extraordinary opportunities. But so did Condoleezza Rice — who came out of Jim Crow. So do I. And so do you. In our current culture, there’s a lot of talk about the haves and the have nots. Many of us actually have much more than we think we do. It just depends on how you look at it.

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