Social Media is Not Done! It is just getting started

There is a lot of discussion that Social Media is done, what with Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and your Mom wanting to start a social media company. I don't think so, I think like everything else there are leaders and followers. Here is a Techcrunch article titled "Beyond Facebook: Rise of Interest-Based Social Networks" Where the main idea is that there are interest groups forming around specific areas that define the new depth in social networking. I see this possibility with many things. In my view, this is the play of the Long Tail on social media networks. There is going to be a long tail whether we like it or not, will these special interest social networks be as valuable? Not so much but they will derive value for the network that it is defined by and for new members to find them and become part of it. We have already seen this form in Photo Sharing (Instagram.com) Fitness (RunKeeper.com) Finance (StockTwists.com), Gaming (GameHub.com), etc It used to be called User Groups but then again the idea of sharing rich media has made each of these networks more value and the ability to bring the value propositions from the main stream into special interest has also made the margins more valuble. We are starting to understand how all these connection really drive value to traditional businesses as well as new businesses. We can actually measure and validate all our business hypothesis without having to spend tons of money in building things. I have written about this learning before as Validated Learning, Business as a Hypothesis, it is probably the most fascinating time to be an entrepreneur and start a new business because you have so much data to learn from. We never had that! thats why I believe we are not done yet! we are just getting started. Just think about how long it would have taken a new Media company like Techcruch to get started?

Related articles

• Navigating Social Networks for Your Business (infographic) (chuniq.com)
• 6 Social Media Networks to Watch in 2012 [Infographics] - Jeff Bullas (serve4impact.com)
• Avoid Overloading Social Media Networks with Useless Noise (blogs.constantcontact.com)
• Social media users need to wise up (afrosocialmedia.wordpress.com)

Connectors, Mavens and Sales(person)

The book Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell influenced my thinking a lot. I read the book as soon as it came off the press, I listen to it all the time when I am running and I had read most of Malcolm Gladwell's other books. An important point that Malcolm Gladwell makes in the book Tipping Point is the categorization of three groups of people and the role they play in making an idea into a social epidemic. The three groups are Connectors, Mavens and Sales(person). The definition of a Connector is very simple, these are the people who know everyone and can make the introduction and connection. The Mavens are the experts in a specific domain and Sales(person) are the people who really have the chemistry to convince people to buy or sell or change their mind about things. I was reading this article about Ron Conway, the Silicon Valley Super Angel investor. He is the quintessential Connector and a Sales(person) put together. What I find interesting while I have been studying the Venture Investor world is that most successful VCs and Angel Investors are prolific networkers and they build fantastic connections. I believe that is the root cause of successfully building an investment. I think the principle here is that our social graphs more or less influence how well connected we are. I also am a follower of Malcolm Gladwell's blog, where he asked the question "Are you a connector?" and had a hypothesis and experiment to test the hypothesis. Check out the link and see where you stand. After reading the article about Ron Conway, I am asking myself how can I build my network that connects to him? If you are an entrepreneur, you should be asking the question do I have someone like Ron Conway in my advisors list or in my board? if you don't think about how to get them on your board. It is probably the most important decision you make. If you cannot advisors to that role, look at your team and see if you can build the Connectors, Mavens and Sales(person) who can make your business idea spread like an epidemic this is one of the secrets to increasing your odds of success in your business.

Related articles

• Malcolm Gladwell Has No Idea Why "The Tipping Point" Was A Hit (fastcompany.com)
• Blink and Decide (jworqprojeqs.com)
• Book Review: Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell (litterachi.wordpress.com)

Marketing on a Shoe String

As Entrepreneurs we are always faced with constraints related to marketing and selling our products and services, that is natural and true for every company. Very few companies have a unlimited budget to spend on marketing. I have had my pet peeves with the Marketing departments while I was working for a bank. The problem I had was, I never knew whether the money we spent was worth it. This is no longer a problem, today technology exists to precisely build-measure-learn from your marketing efforts. I saw this post in The Next Web with the title "10 Marketing Hacks For Entrepreneurs", I think it is applicable to any businesses and I don't know why they have the title as a Hack? I wish established companies would run their businesses like a startup especially in the marketing and sales organizations because they never give you the metrics related to the spending they do. Here is the list if you have not gone to the article to read it:

1. Google Adwords
2. ReTargeting
3. Facebook Ads
4. Twitter mentions
5. Gist
6. Craigslist
7. Billboard space through ADstruc
8. Facebook Insights
9. WordStream
10. Social Media - Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Quora etc

I would add your company blog is a great way to market your product or service or what you do. Marketing is a promise you keep with your customers. If you don't tell them what you are doing they usually don't know. All the above tools does not replace simple truth about marketing, as Seth Godin's post on Marketing says: 

The simple first rule of branding and marketing anything (even yourself)

Not a secret, often overlooked:
"Keep your promises."
If you say you'll show up every day at 8 am, do so. Every day.
If you say your service is excellent, make it so.
If circumstances or priorities change, well then, invest to change them back. Or tell the truth, and mean it.
If traffic might be bad, plan for it.
Is there actually unusually heavy call volume? Really?
Want a bigger brand? Make bigger promises. And keep them

Related articles

• How journalists can make the most of LinkedIn (thenextweb.com)
• Connect to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and G+ (feld.com)
• Focus on the User: The real winners and losers of Don't Be Evil (arhg.net)
• Social Media Marketing: Facebook + Twitter Aren't Enough (seomoz.org)