How To Harness The Power Of Social Proof

November 25, 2013 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

The other day I chaperoned a field trip with my son and his fifth grade class. At one point inside the exhibit room, my group of four boys passed through a door into a space and discovered a line of their friends all waiting in line to look into a pair of binoculars. Without knowing why or what they’d see when they got their turn to peek, the boys pulled up and hurried to get their place in line.

It was social proof in action.

What makes people gather? Usually the answer is quite simple. Other people!

Most people have one eye on what they want and the other on that other people are doing. The survival of our species depends on this social awareness. Without acceptance by our peeps, it would have been difficult to survive the ice age. People are just connected that way. If it’s interesting to you, then it’s probably interesting to me. If it serves you, or you think it’s funny or delicious, then I want to benefit from that experience, too.

Wired magazine recently published an interesting article on swarms. The natural world is full of this behavior. It turns out the impulses in birds, fish and insects reveal dynamics that could lead to breakthroughs in cancer research and automatic cars, among other fascinating future inventions. How individuals work collectively might be more important than how they work alone. This theory is just beginning to be studied by the science world, and it goes way beyond social proof. A lot of creatures can’t help themselves, let alone choose a course of action.

Are people really that different?

The huddle of boys I was chaperoning entered a dimly lit room and found a collection of their friends (and some strangers) all waiting their turn to see something. Naturally, without even thinking about it, the guys queued up. “This must be the place.”

Social proof gathers momentum via connections, not in a vacuum. It takes that social huddling chemistry to start a movement. For example, no one creates a viral video. A fresh new video cannot become viral until a bunch of people start clicking on it and sharing it. To set out to create a viral video is putting the cart before the horse. If you’re browsing for You Tube videos on ways to tie a scarf, you’ll probably pick the one that has over a million views over the one that has 27. Why do people follow that rule and go where so many others have been instead of chart a new course?

You want people to swarm around your content? Become part of the swarm!

To get social proof going takes hustle and personal passion; consistency and wit, good timing and good placement. (Cat pics not required.) It also requires you being social, too. When you personally interact with people, share their content, respond to their tweets and pictures, you expand your network. An engaged network makes it more likely that your content is shared as well.

Want people to line up to see your stuff? Get in there yourself. Become part of the swarm. If you stand apart from all the action, you’ll become invisible. Your social activity online attracts movement and interest.

Warming Up A Prospect With A Cold Email

August 26, 2013 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

You know it would be better to have an engaged subscriber — someone who opted in to your list. You even know the benefits of using an email service for your email marketing.

But the fact remains that sometimes you truly need to contact a certain demographic or even a specific individual to get the ball rolling. You have no choice because it’s part of the prospecting required to open the door for new business. You’re sending it from your personal professional email address to theirs — and it must impress them.

Sometimes you just have to send a cold email.

First, accept that even when your recipient knows you and and expects regular emails from you, the delete key is easy to access. Bet you do it too; delete emails with barely a scan, especially when you’re busy or you’ve fallen behind cleaning out your inbox. According to the Radicadi Group, a technology research firm, business people get an average of 108 emails every day, and they tend to pile up. How do you make sure yours stands out?

The best way is to become that sender who consistently send useful and interesting emails.

The second best way to get your emails opened is to make sure the person receiving your emails is expecting them. Rule number one in deliverability and list building is a confirmed opt-in.

But there are times when you want to try reaching out to someone you’ve identified might be a good fit as a business client or a partner in a project…the only trouble is, they just don’t know it yet.

You need to send a cold email to start a relationship.

A couple of days ago I tried this — only I wasn’t asking for his business. I wanted to give the guy MY business. Here’s the story:

Last week Mr. MyTeamConnects and I bought our first rental property. As a writer to and for investors over the past decade, I am excited to finally start investing my own money in real estate. (Woo hoo! )

Now, you’d think I would know what to do with a property after all the research, webinars, seminars and phone calls about real estate investing that I’ve been exposed to. But though I know the marketing side of things, I have a steep learning curve to climb dealing with actual property. Now that I own a tangible investment, I’m searching for a property management firm to get some questions answered.

Funny how it works learning something new…in theory, it’s easy-peasy. In practice, you really feel the bumps in the road. 😯

The first firm I contacted told me they don’t manage houses like ours that have septic tanks and wells, due to liability issues. (Hmmm, first road block.) But he referred another management firm — even gave me the owner’s direct email address. Cool! I sent an email to him on his buddy’s recommendation.

To his direct email address, mind you…name spelled out and everything.

I’ll bet you can guess what happened. No response. After waiting a couple of days I went to the firm’s website and sent an inquiry through the website. It was sent to “propertymgr@…” not the man’s direct personal email that his colleague/competitor gave me.

See, the gentleman my first contact recommended was not expecting my email. So it’s probably sitting somewhere in a junk folder. The email filter did it’s job, even protecting him from someone who needs his services! I even dropped his colleague’s name in the subject line: “Your colleague Bart at Bella recommended you.” Crickets. No response. He probably never even saw it.

Now imagine how difficult it is to get a response from a cold email when its purpose is to engage a possible customer — it’s even more challenging!

Many business people, especially B2B sellers, contact prospects via a cold email. They get their list of names and address from various sources:

Business cards from a conference, trade show or Meet-up they attended.
LinkedIn contacts
Purchased email lists
Online data-gathering services like Jigsaw or ZoomInfo

Whether you have a long list of cold prospects, or you’ve selected just a few to contact, your next hurdle is creating an attention-getting email. How do you capture someone’s attention within the first few words?

Tip #1, and I can’t stress this enough: Never forget that you are not “selling” anything with a first touch. All you’re trying to do is get them to read and respond in some way.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking this first email is a one-time shot.

It’s a fantasy to believe that all you have to do is send a cold email, and someone picks up the phone and calls you. As I said before, you’re lucky if the email even lands in their inbox, let alone gets read. The type of response you’re aiming for with a cold email is more likely to be one of the following:

Reading it and simply digesting the message. It’s rare that a reader will remember and follow up at some point in the future, even if you’ have left a good impression. Plan to reach out at least a couple of times, spacing your emails a couple days apart. Remind them who you are and repeat your message.
Clicking on a link for more info: a white paper or web page. This is the ultimate response, because now you can ask if they would also like to receive updates, a newsletter, or a follow-up by phone or email.
Deciding to add you to his contacts on a social site — following you on Twitter, checking out your Facebook page or Linked In profile. Reinforce your message or campaign by repeating it on your social sites. That way, your recipient will see a common thread, something to hang onto and remember.

If you make an impression, that’s great, but guess what? The ball is still in your court. Oops, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go back to just getting that first cold email opened…

Now that you have the proper mindset, it’s time for the real work — writing a subject line that compels action when they don’t even know who you are.

Thursday’s blog post will give you five smooth moves you can use to get their eyes to lock onto your subject line and open your email. Stay tuned!

Seven Ingredients Of A Good Tweet (And Why It’s Not A Great Tweet)

February 4, 2013 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

A good tweet is a successful tweet. A successful tweet is one that is retweeted, clicked on, or favorited. Sometimes a really great tweet gets all three.

Here’s what I mean. I schedule tweets in Buffer and Hootesuite. I use Buffer to schedule and comment on things I find on the web that I think my Twitter followers might like. I use Hootesuite to schedule tweets that have more of a marketing strategy behind them. Hootesuite helps me tweet about posts and pages from MyTeamConnects’ website, manage my direct messages, watch hashtags and trends, and communicate with other people in the Twittershpere.

Buffer is quick, clean and easy to use; plus it displays analytics about your tweets after it posts them, which tells you what tweets your followers like (and ignore). Today I want to share a quickie lesson on copywriting I picked up on Buffer the other day. One tweet out of three was a clear winner. I set out to analyze why.

Take a look at three back-to-back tweets:

Tweets are really just little morsels of copy. Tweet this.

Seven copywriting lessons from the top tweet, which got 574 clicks. (Can that be right?)

Interjections are good. Words like “Wow,” “Holy Moly” and “Doh!” convey a universal emotion in a short amount of space. Copywriting basics.
Known audience. It speaks to my known Peeps/followers. It reiterates a subject about which I often tweet to my followers; business, goals, entrepreneurship, etc. I also refer to someone I follow on Twitter, making this tweet a friendly compliment among like minds, rather than just a random article I liked. If you see it, you immediately think, “What is she talking about?”
It invites readers in. Framing the tweet in such a social way brings others into the conversation. Although conversations like this happen all the time on Twitter, they don’t often have a link attached. It stimulates your curiosity, doesn’t it? (Truth be told, it was a one-way conversation. I found the article because I subscribe to the writer’s blog feed and I simply wanted to give him credit for the link I shared. I wasn’t necessarily looking for a reply, nor did I get one.)
“Celebrity” name dropping never hurts. It drops the name of popular writer in the blogosphere. The blogger James Altucher is a popular writer/blogger. Lots of people follow him and his Twitter name @jaltucher. If one of this many followers did not see this article, his name alone probably made people curious what they missed. Using a name people know lends credibility/excitement/intrigue to your copy. That’s why names like “Bieber,” “Kardashian,” and “Gaga” have had their trending moments. If the name is popular it gets clicks.
Intriguing title. The title appeals to the wild side of even the least risk-taking people out there. The article “10 Reasons Why 2013 Will Be The Year You’ll Quit Your Job” is provocative to just about anyone who holds a job. Let’s be honest; even if you love your job, you fantasize about quitting every now and then. In fact, why not this year? I can’t claim credit for that really great subject line. I only piggy-backed on it. But here are more copy lessons from the title…
It’s timely. People make resolutions in January. The year 2013 is only three weeks old at the time of the tweet. Everything is still up for possibility.
The subject line contains a number. It’s human nature to justify bold behavior with reason. Enumerating the reasons for doing something “crazy” satisfies the rational corner of our brains.

And I’ll leave it at that. By the way here’s another tip, which doesn’t really count as #8, okay? The number seven is a magic number in titles and prices. If you can do something in seven steps rather than six or eight, go for it. Seven is more memorable and appealing to your readers. Don’t ask me why, just try it.

Why no retweets, you ask? I’ve noticed that good tweets may also have scads of retweets, but that the tweets that get massive retweet action don’t necessarily contain links. I have no hard stats to back me up on this, but it seems like a good tweet is either/or…Either clicked on OR Retweeted; but not both. A really great tweet gets clicks and RTs. Something to shoot for.

Also, I think there were no retweets because the tweet looks like a personal conversation, a type of tweet that is a touch outside the retweet radar than a casual observation. That’s my guess anyway. I bet people tweeted the actual post on their own Twitter feeds, though.

Tweets are a great way to practice your writing chops.

Imagine a PPC ad or a Facebook post from the text of this tweet. I wouldn’t need to change much to get some great engagement. The words have already been tested on Twitter.

Play with words and subject lines on Twitter then check your clicks and retweets. It’s a crash course in copywriting. Tweet this!

Do you use any of the above writing techniques? What tweet techniques work for you?

Connect with me on Twitter! @jenmcgahan

Photo: Creative Commons, Zitona

Small Business Sailing The Seas Of Big Data

January 27, 2013 by jennifer mcgahan 1 Comment

Big Data is watching you.

Does the term Big Data make you slightly uncomfortable? A la “Big Government” and “Big Brother,” there’s something ominous about it.

The ubiquity of information requires just about everyone (unless you’re living under a rock) to contribute to big data to some extent. For example, my search for “aromatherapy for sinus headache” today tells Google/Big Data that someone in Austin needs relief during a rainy week in January — no surprise there, as this is the pinnacle of our merciless allergy season — as well as an almost-infinite number of other things that flesh out my identity. Like the fact that I recently searched for sparkly dance shoes on Zappos, bought the ebook “No Easy Day” on Amazon, and commented on an article on Media Post.

On top of that, think of the personal data you store in a cloud. If you keep your schedule on Google Calendar, or use any web mail service, you contribute even more information about yourself. Integration of your geolocation further pinpoints your behaviors and preferences. If you are online or use a smartphone, you are an open book.

We all are constantly feeding the beast of Big Data. As a small business owner, is there a way to dip into that data to effectively enhance your marketing efforts? Do you even have a chance to compete?

Large businesses have the ability to churn this information into predictive marketing, targeting ads to micro niches and very specific demographics, preferences, price points and locations. They use data to analyze and predict future behavior of consumers. Some use it to entertain and inform their audience.

As a small biz marketer, don’t you wish you could do this too? If you knew that someone who had traveled to Indonesia within the last year, had Liked HBO’s Facebook page, and ordered a free range turkey for Thanksgiving last year…and had also purchased a child’s bicycle from your local cycling shop; what would you do to bring them into your shop again? (I admit I’m stretching a bit. But not by much.)

Would you market your business and sell your products in the same way if you had access to that information? It’s theoretical question for most small businesses. You want to know your customers, but maybe not that well. 😮

Here’s the thing. Small business owners can actually walk out on the floor or pick up that phone and strike up a conversation with them. That’s the old fashioned way of retaining customers. However, you can’t always be there for every customer, every time. You suspect you are missing opportunities to connect with them on many levels.

How do you take the data you have right now (yes, you do) and turn that into a personal and engaging conversation that leads to more?

Any data actually used well is “Big Data” to small business. Tweet this.

Here’s the answer: Big Data WILL become accessible, affordable and manageable by small businesses. Until then, access the metrics you CAN, and spend 20 minutes each week looking at it and responding with a plan. Ta-daah!

So I’m telling you something you already know…here are some easy ways to break it down to short, actionable steps. “Fun-Sized Data” for small businesses…

5 things you can try this week to engage more customers:

Have you seen the back room of your email service account lately? (1) Check out your email metrics and responses and act on one detail. For example, do a search for the most-clicked-on link from an email in the last 6 months. Analyze the link: the linked-to content, the wording of the clickable text, was it a graphic button or plain text? Send an email reproducing one of those variables. Analyze those results next week.

(2) Test some things in your next email. For example, send an email at a time you’ve never sent an one, just to see what that does to your open rate. As you can see today, I’m sending and posting on a Sunday afternoon instead of a weekday morning, just going on a hunch that folks who own their businesses catch up on blogs and marketing stuff during the weekends. Some who usually don’t open email or read posts during the business week — may open and read on the weekend. Are they the same readers who engage regularly or a different group entirely? Act on your discovery.

Look at your Google analytics. (3) What’s your most popular blog post? Since it’s a topic with some traction already, you can assume that people want to know more. Update it or make a slide show about it and post again.

(4) Improve your highest ranked exit page. Examine the page from which most people leave your site and figure out a way to get them to stay. (Find it under Google Analytics > Content > Exit pages.) You could try adding enticing internal links or an opt in form.

I’ll share a case study here at MyTeamConnects: Ironically, the post from which most people exit the website is also currently the one most people land on. Those “bounces” from my website had me scratching my head. People were landing on the article, then simply leaving without further ado. That information convinced me to hire someone to help me improve my site’s navigation, the results of which you will see very soon. I will let you know if the exit metric changes in the next month or so.

If you spend time posting on Twitter, Facebook, and Linked In, you’re probably already aware of apps like Hootesuite and Buffer, which allow you to schedule updates and analyze which ones impacted your followers.

One way to make use of the simple data they provide is to (5) analyze why one tweet was popular and another bit the dust. I one case last week I discovered a few simple copywriting adjustments I could make to improve all my tweets. Here’s what I did right, and what I did wrong.

Amidst all the data and sales tactics, is there still a place for wonder and magic in the marketplace?

While Big Data potentially changes the game for all businesses, big or small, it can’t replace genuine relationship, innovation and surprising encounters in the marketplace. You stay competitive by using the data that is available to you now and striving to delight your customers every day.

Though you can’t measure intuition and drive, it’s one of your assets as a solopreneur or small business owner. Combined with even a little bit of data and a truly awesome product or service, you’re unstoppable.

Photo: Flickr Creative Commons, Visulogik

Sandy Inspires Good, Bad, and Ugly Internet Behavior

October 31, 2012 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Nature is humbling.

I’m up at 2:30 this morning because of the chirping of a bug.

This is the second time this sound has kept me up at night. Its trill sounds a lot like our septic pump alarm, both in frequency and in pitch — only quieter. Still, there’s something about it that gets inside the house, and into my ear, and wakes me.

I’ve narrowed it down to full moons. Last month, same thing.

I crept outside and around the side yard to check the septic control box; it was silent. The chirping was gone too, probably due to my footsteps falling too near the bug’s spot. The moonlight was so bright and pure, falling on each blade of blue grass. I realized my flashlight wasn’t needed. Struck by the sudden silence and unexpected beauty, I shut off my flashlight and took in the sight. (As long as I was up…)

The bug’s solo performance was for one night only; the following night the sound was gone.

Well, tonight’s a full moon again and my insect friend has again driven me out of bed. Grateful for the comforts of heat and electricity I started the coffee, read some of the Good Book on my Kindle, and now I’m here at my desk.

The news and images from the northeast take my breath away. I’m sure you saw them too. The explosive power of Hurricane Sandy herself, followed by the outrageous destruction of the intricate and complex structures and systems humans put in place to make our lives comfortable — to shield us ultimately from nature.

No wonder we call them “Acts of God.” Whether it’s the enthusiastic call of a cricket, or “the storm of the century”, we awake in awe to our tenuous lives and routines.

We are at nature’s mercy.

When lives are at stake, the first place people people go is online — for news, help, and comfort.

Among social networkers on sites like Twitter and Facebook, “Sandy” was the most trending hashtag and topic of the last two days.

The Good:

Social media kept people connected and safe during the worst of the “Super Storm.”

Mobile devices provided communication and relief to millions up and down the coast. FEMA, the Red Cross, and other disaster relief organizations were able to spread information quickly. Far-away family and friends’ fears were eased too, because they were able to hear the voices, and track the locations of their loved ones.

The real-time reporting from all those millions of people online (everything from “my lights are flickering now” to more extreme cases of distress and urgency) changes the way we make sense of modern disasters. Even though I’m sitting here under clear skies many states away, I can’t ignore what’s going on. The immediacy of social media inspires generosity in prayer and donations.

The Bad:

But there’s another side; the bad element.

Disasters bring out mischief (that’s the nicest way to put it) in some people.

One guy posted fake news on Twitter, alarming thousands who saw his tweets. Just like yelling “Fire” in a crowded theatre falls outside your free speech rights. Freaking people out with bogus “news” is not only wrong, it probably borders on illegal.

Abuse of the Internet invites the inevitable monitoring and regulation that saddens and disturbs me. I love the freedom the Internet allows; I’m disgusted by those who use it to mislead others or distribute flat-out false information. Too bad we can’t all just monitor our own behavior and do the right thing. (There’s my inner Polyanna showing.)

The Ugly:

Finally we have the tasteless side of Internet activity during stressful times.

Now I admit, I’m a shameless capitalist. I also note that some people will celebrate any occasion by pulling out their credit cards; that’s a fact. But to see a company dish up sales specifically to people in harm’s way makes you wonder. Instead of trying to think of a way to offer help or aid, American Apparel sent an email promoting discounts for soon-to-be battered hurricane state customers. Weird.

Just a thought: try a little tenderness. The best piece of advice I think I ever got about copywriting and marketing is to picture ONE face and speak to that person.

As someone who writes for the Internet daily, I’m reminded by this early morning’s news to never forget I’m talking to one person. When I post updates, write articles, tweet to my personal followers, and email my (or my clients’) lists, I see this; one person, one soul.

Yes, your reach may be in the thousands, even millions. But that realization only ups the ante.

We each have a personal responsibility to be decent and genuine, especially during a natural disaster. Maybe it’s the darkness, the desperate chirping song of my cricket, or the loneliness of being up in the middle of the night… anyway, I realize I’m preaching. (Sorry for that; I’ll reread this in the light of day and cringe at the earnestness.)

Companies and individuals will make mistakes, send obtuse email and post unreal updates. We’re human. But when people are panicking and bracing for havoc, your internet presence requires the same sensitivity you’d show a real live person. Please use the Internet for good.