Introduction
Be Generous
Help This Person
Introduce Others
Serve, Don’t Sell
When It’s Hard, Do More
Give Away Good Ideas
Promote Others Online
Kindness First
Be Expert
Use Social Media in a Genuine Manner
Do What You Do Best
Start Small
The Basics Matter
Prove It
Specialize
Be Trustworthy
Don’t Always Trust Your Judgment
Tell the Whole Truth
Be Perfect
Be There in Tough Times
Use Levels of Substance
Respect the Authenticity Condition
Be Clear
Have ONE Point
Minimize the Trivial
Use a Lot More Pictures
Follow The Theory of Seven
Get Feedback, and Use It
Ask for 3 Criticisms
Be Open-Minded
Travel in New Circles
Attack Your Blind Spots
Make Bold Proposals
Point/Counterpoint
Admit It, You’re in Show Business
Be Adaptable
Change the Cover
Rewrite, Rewrite, Rewrite
Use Fear to Your Advantage
Partner
Think (a Bit) Like an Academic
Keep Learning
Be Persistent
Don’t Take No Answer as a No
Exceed Promises
Ask for Referrals
Take Credit
Exhibit Grit
Be Present
Really Listen
Talk Less
Change Your Perspective
Be Ultra-Quiet
Breathe
Get in Front of People
More information
Credits
About the Author
Social media ghostwriting
Get in Front of People
A good friend of mine gets a LOT of press. He’s been the subject of cover stories in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. CNN has done many interviews with him. Forbes and BusinessWeek have written about him.
A few weeks after a big article came out in The Wall Street Journal, I asked him about all the phone calls it must have generated. Our conversation went something like this...
“Oh, no, you don’t understand,” he said. “The purpose of press like this isn’t to generate an immediate result.”
I played dumb. “It isn’t?”
“Nope. Sure, we get a handful of calls and plenty of congratulations from people we already know. But the real value of big media is credibility.”
He went on to explain that when he and his team get in front of potential clients, investors, and partners, their thick book of press clippings often makes the difference between a big deal and no deal.
“If all I did was generate press and wait for the phone to ring, I’d have no business at all. To create opportunities, you actually have to get out of the office, and get in front of other people.”
This fits perfectly with my own experience. My social media activities give me a significant advantage when I meet people at conferences or when I start interacting with prospects; they already have a strong sense of what I do and what value I might be able to add. But 95% of my opportunities come from face-to-face interactions.
This also fits well with my overall business philosophy, which is that despite the flood of new technology and new business models, we are still human beings dealing with other human beings.
There is no substitute for spending time with other people.