Eggblogg

Social media and the end of TV's supremacy, and why it's great for small business

This week I'm giving another workshop presentation for ProfitNet, this time for the Crawley group.The subject is 'An introduction to social media for business', and although it's not the first I've given I find myself doing yet more last minute research to try to ensure what I say is as up to date as possible.

Things change so quickly, and I love uncovering other people's thinking on this as it's all so new and we're all very much learning.

I was excited to come across this from David Armano - an insightful diagram to explain the social engagement spectrum. The comments on the blog post are just as interesting - more than one person suggesting a circular rather than a linear representation may be better. But generally I think it's a great way of setting out the key changes that we're seeing in the media.

When leading a session about social media marketing, my starting point is always how changes in the media, driven by changes in technology, regulation and indeed attitudes, means that our thinking about marketing needs to change too.

Although Armano maintains that the 'old ways' of marketing still hold, in that TV and mass broadcasting are still necessary to build awareness, I think for small business in particular the important thing to realise is that they no longer have the supremacy they once had. Thirty years ago a small business had no hope of marketing itself to a national audience, because TV advertising was the only way to do it and it was too expensive for the little guys.

In the old days, 'creatives' were the agency people who created adverts. These days everyone can be a creative - someone who thinks creatively about the full spectrum of the media and comes up with ideas about how to work with it in new, innovative ways. The move away from dependence upon the old mass media channels has to be good news for small business marketers.

Tips for giving great presentations - part 2: Body language

In this follow up to part 1 about finding your presentation voice, here are some quick tips about non-verbal communication when talking to a group. The non-verbal element makes up 55% of the message received - so it's worth thinking about!

1. Unless you really have to use a lectern, don't. If you stand behind anything it's a barrier between you and the audience. They will feel you are either hiding from them or distancing yourself from them, when really you want to gain their trust and make them feel comfortable.


2. Make eye contact. If it's a small group, say, fewer than 20, there is no excuse for not looking everyone in the eye regularly. Go from person to person in a sweep, left to right, right to left. Try not to keep any one person's gaze for too long though.
   
   When you see an encouraging face it's tempting just to look at them, but don't! For a larger audience, make systematic sweeps of the room, front, middle, back and sides, still looking for eye contact however brief. Avoid the common mistake of fixing your look just above people's heads - that doesn't fool anyone and can be highly irritating!


3. Be still, be relaxed, own your stage presence. Try not to perpetually shift your weight from one leg to the other, or pace a couple of steps this way, then that, for no reason - these are very common mistakes people make, perhaps thinking that perpetual movement will somehow make their presentations livelier or more animated.
   
   In fact, a presenter who won't stand still can make the audience feel tired, distracted and irritated. It can become a subconscious habit - and you may need to video yourself to see whether you do it (or ask for honest feedback).


4. Eliminate mannerisms or nervous habits - fiddling with your hair or hands, for example. Again, it's hard to do this without feedback and awareness of the problem, and even experienced presenters can lapse at a tricky moment (I know!)

Sadly, if the non-verbal cues say one thing and your words say another, people will believe the non-verbal! Think about what the audience sees and feels as soon as you take the stage. You can influence that.

A word about nerves: If you're nervous, they're nervous. They want to feel safe with you, they want to trust you. While they're happy and comfortable they're on your side. So more about eliminating nerves in another post.

As always, I welcome your comments or suggestions... do you agree? What has worked for you?

Photo: Flyoverstate, Flickr

Tips for giving great presentations - part 1: Voice

In a flurry of filing the other day, I came across some old training materials. They related to a course on presentation skills that I taught at the University of Sussex back in 2001 as part of its Staff Development programme.

I was reminded that standing up and speaking to a group is still one of the things that many people dread, and yet is as essential a skill as ever. So, here are my tips for giving great presentations, starting with your voice.

1. Can you hear me at the back?
Even if you're using a microphone, speak at an appropriate volume, articulate words clearly and speak more slowly than normal conversation pace. Adjust upwards according to the size of the room. As a general rule, the more people in the room, the harder job they will have hearing you, regardless of the size of the room.

2. It's not what you say ...
There are so many ways to adjust your voice, so consider them all: intonation, accent, resonance, pitch, pace, mood. Variation and contrast will keep people's attention. Your speaking voice needs to be 'larger than life'. Don't worry, you have to go a hell of long way before it's over the top.

3. Repeat after me
As long as they're not over-egged, rhetorical techniques such as pauses and repetition can be very effective in helping your audience remember key points. As a listener, a well-judged pause makes me prick up my ears and creates a certain tension. As a speaker, I love the sensation of carrying an audience with me through a pause.

4. Erm...
Excess clearing of the throat, regular 'erms' or 'OK?', even finishing each statement on a rising pitch - all are barriers to communication and can really distract or alienate an audience. The bad news is that vocal mannerisms are hard to identify as they are often unconscious. The good news is that they can be eliminated with practice. Get someone to video you and you'll see what the problems are.

5. Take a deep breath
The 'cotton wool mouth', shaky voice, running out of breath ... we've all been through it! If you're feeling nervous, literally taking a deep breath in and out will help settle you. Always have still water available - taking the odd sip will calm your nerves and energise you. Public speaking is a physical activity and you should take care of your voice by drinking water both before and during your talk. 

What would you add here? Any voice tips for budding speakers? Have you had to work hard to eliminate vocal mannerisms?

Coming next: Tips for giving great presentations, part 2: Non-verbal communication

Photo credit: Bazaarvoice

We all need inspirational people

On Tuesday I was at London Metropolitan University's Centre for Micro Enterprise, taking a group of women fledgling entrepreneurs through a session on 'The internet and your business.' I've been working with the CME for a few years now, and these day workshops are always stimulating, always different and with a wonderful mix of people.

This week there was a lady in the group called Placida who clearly already had a good knowledge of the subject, being a business coach herself and having set up an online business network, built a number of websites and attended any number of events to further her knowledge and make new contacts.

I was impressed by Placida's quiet determination to learn and to succeed, her generosity in sharing what she had learned with others and her gracious attitude. In a week when I've felt somewhat under pressure, meeting Placida was a real boost - I was reminded of everything I love about the internet and why I do what I do. We all need inspirational people.

Marketers need a different approach when it comes to the social web

This week I was in Eastbourne talking to a group of local businessfolks, members of the University of Brighton's excellent ProfitNet learning network. Originally I'd been asked to talk about 'viral marketing', to which my first question was 'what do they mean by that?'

'How do we get people to pass on our marketing messages?" they replied. 'How do we create a viral campaign? How do we use Facebook etc for business?'

I always squirm at the phrase 'viral marketing'. Apart from the fact that it sounds like something awful (who wants to catch a virus?) it also seems so very outdated. A typical combative marketing term from the old days.

Of course, what these good people needed to know about was social media - the social web. Big topic, and not much in the way of received wisdom yet, but a huge amount of expert opinion and enthusiastic discussion. I like to think I keep abreast of this, and yet researching for this presentation was enlightening - I learned a lot and actually came away with renewed excitement and energy.

With only 45 minutes I wasn't going to be able to talk in depth about the myriad social media tools, websites, and communities, although I did tell them of a few examples from this amazing list.

But I wanted to give the audience one thing to take away, if they forgot everything else, and that turned out to be this:

The social web is about sharing.

Sounds simple, perhaps too simple if you're trying to get your head round social media marketing. But it's just this: people don't pass on marketing messages, they pass on stuff that they think their friends and contacts will enjoy or find interesting.

Companies wanting to market themselves in this arena need stuff (content) that people actually want. That could be...

Stuff that helps people in their jobs or day to day lives.
Stuff that informs and educates.
Stuff that entertains.
Stuff that people will want to share with others.

But it also means...

Stuff that enables sharing of other stuff with others.
Stuff that enables people to create stuff for others to share.

I think the last two are what really get to the heart of the social web. People are creative. We want the tools to do it ourselves, the power to take control, the choice to do things our own way, to mix things up, to mess things up.

Surely marketers who embrace this turnaround in power, who welcome the audience as active collaborator (rather than a passive 'target' to be 'marketed at') will see the best results long term.