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Fresh from the writer's workshop (Dana's computer...) this week! This 15 page missive talks about the 10 Keys to Social Media Strategy success and will help you to find the right "Social Media Sherpa" to guide your social media marketing planning.
There are also a couple of bonus items when you download the whitepaper!
Download "Social Media Sherpa" »
Be a Social Media Rockstar Workshop - 8/12 - De Pere
We're teaming up with the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce again to bring you a rockin' "hands-on, how-to" social media event on August 12th in De Pere, WI. It's a full day of sessions on all things social media!
Register for Be a Social Media Rockstar! »
Thought Leaders and Practitioning
Jump in on the discussion this week on whether one needs to be a first be a practitioner to be considered a thought leader.
Read the Scoop on Thought Action & Thought Leading »
August Marketing Links: Social Media, Thought Leadership (and left over Tour de France stuff)
Want to see the cream of the crop in marketing, thought leadership and social media articles? Just look at what we're linking to!
Hit the Links! »
This process got rave reviews at a recent social media conference. Think you can't blog, Tweet and be active in social media in 15 minutes a day? This map will show you how!
DOWNLOAD »
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Upcoming Speaking Engagements
8/4 - Social Media for Gen X & Gen Y - Pulse, Appleton, WI
8/5 - Green Bay Visitors & Convention Bureau - "Creating Your Social Media Toolkit"
8/12 - Be a Social Media Rockstar, De Pere, WI
9/29 - 9/30 - AMA TechnoMarketing - Chicago, IL
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Tuesday August 4, 2009
Blogging for Thought Leaders
This was one of the best received presentations that I've done in a while. It's not that all of the other's aren't that great, but this one really struck a nerve by giving attendees a balanced mix of they "why" and "what's in it for me" and the "how-to" details and behind-the-scenes view of how some of the best thought leading bloggers ply their trade.
If you've ever wondered how people "find the time to blog" and be on Twitter and every other platform, have a look at this presentation for some answers.
View the "Blogging to Become a Thought Leader" Presentation »
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Marketing Classics: Marketing Success Through Differentiation - of Anything!
Ted Levitt starts out this classic Harvard Business Review article from 1980 with a simple statement.
"There is no such thing as a commodity. All goods and services are differentiable."
Nearly 30 years ago he wrote those words and crystallized the formula for product and service differentiation that has served marketers for decades since, yet today I still hear business people say "my stuff is too commoditized, there's no way to differentiate", how wrong they are.
Let's look at some of the core components of differentiation:
>> Products are combinations of the tangible and the intangible.
>> To a buyer, a product is a complex cluster of value satisfactions
>> There are 4 types of products: The Generic Product, Expected Product, Augmented Product and Potential Product
>> Differentiation follows expectation to add value to the Generic Product forming the Expected Product, while the Augmented Product goes beyond what customers expect and the Potential Product is where entrepreneurial gold exists in going far beyond what customer expect and even redefining the product itself.
Differentiation is as much about how the marketer operates as it is about the product. Genuine differentiation is not a one-time exercise but a daily task looking for gaps and opportunities in the market where marketers can apply their craft.
Read the the entire article, "Marketing Success Through Differentiation - of Anything" »
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Social Media Swiss Army Knife: Share, Post, Link and Lead with Shareaholic
 If you're not yet familiar with Shareaholic, you're in for a real treat!
Shareaholic is a Firefox browser plugin that allows you to
share links, videos, blogs, images with over 60 supported destination services you already use like Facebook, Twitter, Digg, LinkedIn, Gmail, Yahoo, and more.
I use Shareaholic on a daily (OK, hourly...) basis to bookmark, share, post and send. Here's a quick example.
1. I'm reading an article that I like and want to put into Delicious for reading later.
2. I right-click anywhere on the page and the shareaholic menu pops up.
3. I select Delicious from the custom menu of services that I use frequently.
4. The link is save in Delicious, but also sent to FriendFeed and Twitter simultaneously and then gathered into a blog post each evening.
5. A simple 2-second sharing exercise puts content in several places while sharing and adding value at the same time!
Learn more about Shareaholic »
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TechnoMarketing MasterClass "Hit the Ground Running" Social Media & Thought Leadership Marketing Course
This is the most significant undertaking that I've ever put together for a course in social media and thought leadership marketing. Based on the success of the AMA TechnoMarketing Training Series, I've had numerous requests to "take it to the next level." Well, this is the next level.
Here’s how it works. Let's begin with the end. On the 25th of September, we'll do a day-long debrief and strategy session at the Aloft O'Hare hotel near Chicago, IL. Bring your laptop, bring your homework and you'll leave with a complete and action-ready social media strategy, policy and launch plan to position you as the trusted thought leader in your industry.
The TechnoMarketing MasterClass is a 30-day program consisting of 10 assignments that you complete before our Friday debriefing & strategy session at the aLoft near O'Hare. Led by Dana VanDen Heuvel, this session is limited to 15 marketers who are ready to take their social media and thought leadership programs to the next level. The accountability, intimacy and methodical approach that accompanies this small group setting produce profound marketing results. Guaranteed (if you're not happy, I refund the course fee)
This program is not for the faint of heart, but rather it is designed for those organizations who are ready to commit to a serious strategy for their social media and thought leadership marketing.
Learn more and sign up for TechnoMarketing Masterclass "Hit the Ground Running" »
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