Kyle Lacy

This is not a new idea but I think it needs reinforcement in the world of personal branding. The idea is the concept of location based social networking and small being the new BIG.

Chris Brogan has a post that further enforces my idea that SMALL is the new BIG in Social Media. His post entitled Do You Have To Touch Every Conversation? talks about the importance of fishing where the FISH are located. As a fisherman you would not try to cover the ENTIRE ocean. What would you do? Try and find the right spot with the majority of the fish. It doesn’t make sound business sense to cover the entire expanse of ocean. This is also covered extensively in the book Blue Ocean Strategy. Check out the post and the book.

The same applies to using social media in the world of personal branding.  As a user you do not have the ability to cover every conversation online and you shouldn’t feel like you have to . You do not have to be on every social media platform. As a business owner or job seeker it is extremely important that you focus on a set amount of networks and use them to the best of your ability.

You do not need to be on LinkedIN, Plaxo, Facebook, Myspace, Pownce, Twitter, blah blah blah. Pick a niche geographic social network like Smaller Indiana (for the Hoosiers among us) and three global networks. Examples: LinkedIN, Plaxo, Twitter, and Facebook.

To quote Chris Brogan:

“…the goal should be to fish where your fish are, to do what you plan to do, and to do it well…”

Well said. I would much rather shoot fish in a barrel than cast a line in the entire ocean. This is the difference between career building and searching on universal sites like Career Builder and actually using your local networks.

Author:

Kyle writes a regular blog at KyleLacy.com and is founder and CEO of Brandswag, a social media strategy and training company. His blog has been featured on Wall Street Journal’s website and Read Write Web’s daily blog journal. Recently, Kyle was voted as one of the top 150 social media blogs in the world (on two websites), and produces regular keynote speeches across the Midwest. He also just finished writing Twitter Marketing for Dummies by Wiley Publishing.

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5 hours, 2 minutes ago onWordpress in www.personalbrandingblog.com

I came to a conclusion about lead generation and customer service while I was reading through “The State of Small Business Report” from Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. The report focuses on the development of small business and a section of the report talked about social media adoption. Social media adoption has actually doubled for small business over 2009 from 12% to 24%. However, that is not the interesting stat.

Based on the performance of Social Media image to the left it was rare when social media actually met the expectations of the business owner. This could be chalked up to higher expectations but there is an interesting dynamic that I recognized in the stats. The one stat that actually received higher than expected results was the collaborating more externally with vendors and customers.

This further supports thoughts I have had with Jason Baer and Brandon Prebynski... we talked about the concept of people laughing about social media being used for lead generation. The true value of social media is ingrained in communication through stories and customer service. We are talking about a communication medium where sharing, customer retention, and customer communication are absolutely… positively… king.

This also supports the concept of enterprise systems developing more social capabilities in the software helping corporate cultures market and communicate. Every facet of customer communication needs to be looking towards social as another way to speak values across a subset of people.

It is hard to imagine a world where every social media consultant is NOT talking about lead generation. However, we may be experiencing another shift in the way we look at social media.

By the way… small business is still increasing spending in social media. Let the games begin. ... See all content Hide content

1 week, 6 days ago onWordpress in kylelacy.com

Almost three years. THREE YEARS!

It has almost been three years since my company drove a stake into the ground in Indianapolis and Oklahoma City. It is funny to look back on the process and change the business has gone through. From working out of an apartment to moving into offices, hiring employees, speaking through the mid-west, and venturing into new markets… it has been a whirlwind ride. What have I learned?

Happy anniversary!

Good question. I have been asking myself this question for the past week. What have I learned over the course of three years? Here are 5 things I have learned as a generation y business owner.

1. A Great Business Partner is Invaluable.

Brandon Coon (my business partner) has been the foundation holding this company together since we started. To be completely honest, I am surprised he hasn’t quit on me. I can tend to be a little ADD and completely crazy. If you can find a person that has opposite strength qualities… it will help when planning marketing strategy, financial forecasting, and absolutely everything else you will deal with as a company.

2. Don’t Let Your Age Keep You Down.

When we first started the company and I needed to go out on the “networking circuit” to sell product and services… I let the issue of my age (being 22 at the time) destroy my confidence. I would tend to think that my alternative look and overloaded energy would push business owners away. After losing a couple of projects to “seasoned veterans”, I realized that my age could actually be a supporting model to business owners looking for a “refreshed” look to their image.

By owning to your age… you will find that people feed off of your energy. Don’t ever let someone tell you that you are too young to complete a project. Don’t ever let someone tell you that it will be impossible for you to succeed as a business owner right out of college.

We look and preach what we sell.. and it works.

3. Find a Mentor. Even a Couple.

I am blessed to count a couple of people as mentors in my network. Tony Scelzo, Lorraine Ball,  Ray Hilbert, Mike Lantz and my father (Dan Lacy) are people that have coached me and helped me through the past two years of running my company. Without a support system of business owners and mentors who have accomplishments far outweighing your own… you will not make it in the business world.

Make it a point to create mentor type relationship with your clients.

4. Work Your Butt Off.

There is a saying out there: Work smarter not harder. Forget that crap. Work your butt off in the first couple of years as a business owner. You are going to make mistakes and that is a given. I have forgotten clients, missed deadlines, and screwed up print jobs BUT I have learned from those mistakes and changed.

You are not expected to run a business free and clean. You are a young business owner! Work harder than the person next to you. Out hustle the competition. Get out there and rule the world. It is yours for the taking!

5. Your Team is the Most Important Thing You Will Ever Have.

If you want to grow your company… If you want to expand into new markets and destroy new competition… You need a powerful team standing with you on the front lines. Notice I said, “Standing with you.” Your team members need to be powerful and better than YOU at what they do. We have a great team.

Take care of your team members. Take care of the people helping to grow your company. They are the most valuable things you have behind that wonderful brand.

—————————————

It has been awesome running a company with one of my best friends. Hopefully, I will be writing another post by our 5th year milestone. Until then… rock out.

Author:

Kyle writes a regular blog at KyleLacy.com and is founder and CEO of Brandswag, a social media strategy and training company. His blog has been featured on Wall Street Journal’s website and Read Write Web’s daily blog journal. Recently, Kyle was voted as one of the top 150 social media blogs in the world (on two websites), and produces regular keynote speeches across the Midwest. He also just finished writing Twitter Marketing for Dummies by Wiley Publishing.

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2 weeks ago onWordpress in www.personalbrandingblog.com

Rob Stretch is a marketing major at the University of Missouri, graduating this May. On the side, works in VA Mortgage Center.com’s online marketing department part-time, working on SEO and social media related projects.

As a college student almost ready to graduate, I am extremely concerned with personal branding. Resumes are not just pieces of paper anymore. For better or worse, companies are becoming more and more concerned with candidates’ appearance on social networks as well as online reputation in general.

And it’s not just college students that should care. Potential clients and customers often track a company or professional’s online presence before doing business. Enter the world of personal branding and online reputation management. Below is a list of what you can do today to start maintaining a positive online presence.

1. If you don’t have one, start a blog or online portfolio

Go ahead and register yourname.com. If it’s not available, try your-name.com, stick a middle name or initial in there, or get creative. Use a .net if you need to. The point is, as more and more people are getting online, domain real estate is getting harder and harder to come by. Get ahead of the curve and register your property today.

2. Get active on Facebook

If you’re reading this blog, I’m sure that you’re one of the 160 million that have a Facebook profile. Congratulations, now put it to use. Make sure your pictures reflect you, if you don’t like how one portrays your image, un-tag it. If you don’t want potential employers/clients/associates to see unflattering pictures of you then delete them or change your privacy settings. Make sure you’re participating in the conversation – use status updates a little more sparingly than Twitter but make sure you’re staying active.

3. Join the conversation on Twitter

If you you’re one of those people who refuse to get on Twitter, get over it and try it out. Start following key players in your industry or concentration. Start mentioning them, you never know when they’ll reply back. Most importantly, spend a little time on your profile. Search for customizable Twitter templates and make a background for yourself. Check out TwitBacks to start. It is pretty easy to look professional on Twitter with a little elbow grease.

4. Get LinkedIn

LinkedIn can be a great way to connect to people as well as groups in your industry. Make sure you completely fill out your profile, upload your resume, and start connecting to people you know. More connections will follow. One great reason to have a LinkedIn profile is the recommendations feature. Start writing recommendations for your friends and they should return the favor. This can be a great way for potential employers/clients to notice you online.

5. Create your social footprint

Now you have a blog and three active social media profiles. Link them! Creating a social web is the best way to funnel people into your new brand. You should have icons near the top of your blog that link back to all three. Also, make sure you link all three back to your blog where they ask you to list personal websites. Finally, make sure as you are writing blog posts you are linking them on your Facebook and Twitter statuses.

6. Brand to tangibles

Include the URLs of your blog and profiles on your resume and business cards. Imagine you’re in the shoes of your potential employer. You are handed two resumes. One of the resumes has a link to your personal blog full of insightful posts which then leads them to the rest of your social web. The other resume is just a piece of paper with accomplishments. Think interactivity. Which one looks better?

7. Monitor your image

Check on your personal branding “campaign”. Run a Google search on your name in quotations and see what pops up. Another great tool for monitoring your web presence is Who’s Talking.

The information available online about you can be overwhelming, even scary at times. But this doesn’t have to be viewed as a negative of the information age. With proper personal branding and reputation management, spend a little time and you should come out on top of all of your competitors.

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1 month ago onWordpress in kylelacy.com

I’m going to be completely transparent with you right now… not because it is something all of us “preach” in the world of Internet communication… but because this is where real and meaningful content is created.

I’ve been dragging through my life the past couple of months and I’m trying to put my finger on it… put my finger on the pulse that has been slowly fading… trying (like many people) to figure it all out.

I’m not dragging because a lack of great business. I’m not dragging because a lack of business or professional recognition. Everything is good in the world of business and I am blessed.

Maybe I just need a reboot? Maybe I just need something to push me into the realm of satisfaction? Maybe the key is… I’ll never be satisfied… and maybe I am okay with the notion of never stopping.

Maybe it is just the stress of owning a small business… but maybe I am okay with that as well!

Through my life I have read countless business books. I have had the pleasure of reading everything from Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson to Made to Stick by the Heath brothers and there seems to be a central theme in every book:

Passionate individuals

Richard Branson LOVED music. The Heath brothers taught us the art of telling stories about the things we LOVE to do. The central theme creeps through every page… the theme of only the passionate surviving.  Seth Godin’s recent blog post talks about passion in the workplace:

“I don’t think there’s a relationship between what you do and how important you think the work is. I think there’s a relationship between who you are and how important you think the work is.”

It is truly only the passionate that survive through owning businesses, economic downturn, and competitive environments. It is only the passionate that are creative enough to push into new territories, use new technology, and create new products.

You have to be obsessed with what you do… up to the point of it becoming a true passion.

What does it mean to have true passion?

You have the ingenuity and drive to create new products and offerings for your clients.

You don’t hesitate at change and welcome diversity.

New technology and communication techniques are implemented… always.

Your employees love what they do… they are the direct reflection of yourself.

You are known as the go-to-person in your location and industry because people can sense the passion in your eyes.

You could create an endless list but I am set on the idea that creativity and innovation are a sign of true passion.

I am going to make a conscious effort to rediscover that true passion and push past the worthless space of “not-knowing.” Life is way to short not to know what you want to do.

And if you are not feeling the “passion.” Find another way.. find another route.. find that diamond in the rough. ... See all content Hide content

1 month ago onWordpress in kylelacy.com

We are experiencing a change in the world of customer communication. It is no longer the company that is controlling the brand management but the consumer. Forget the concept of social media… we have been witnessing this transition for the past decade… and it is increasing exponentially since the inception of the Internet.

Customers are now talking about you at a staggering pace using sites like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and LinkedIN… and the list goes on. I was watching TV today and taking note of the increasinly terrible advertising that is taking place on the cable networks. I began to realize that I (along with millions of others) are no longer making buying decisions based on traditional advertising. You can take the definition of traditional advertising any way you want but in my terms it means old ways of doing business.

A great book to read is Made to Stick (from the Heath Brothers) which talks about the concept of creating a story to push your company into the next decade of communication. I have read, reread, and read again the excellent points made throughout the book and began to realize one thing… if you do not create a story that your customers can retell and share.. you will lose market share steadily over the next couple of years.

We might not be seeing a steady decline because social media and the Internet is still bleeding edge when it comes to market penetration in a global sense. My question is simply this: What happens when we do reach the peak of market penetration for social media? What happens when your customers ARE using the tool and using it effectively? What do you do when you reach the point? Are you ready for the onslaught? Is your communications department familiarizing themselves with the tools?

All that matters is your story. You are going to be creating a story based on a marketing process but we might come to the point where it doesn’t matter what you want your story to be… your customers are going to create a story anyway. Experience is the key to the future of marketing and customer communication. They (your customer) are going to be talking NOT about your sales or PR release but how they personally experienced your product or service.

Are you preparing yourself for the new age of communication?

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4 weeks, 1 day ago onWordpress in kylelacy.com

Why do we tend to shorten experiences? Why… as a society… do we keep inventing new ways to make things faster, harder, stronger, and compiled. Information flying this way and that, overloading everyone from the iPOD Millennial to the AM Radio Baby Boomer (sorry stereotyping is a spiritual gift of mine). Technology has managed to help our society do more in less time. But (hat tip to Seth Godin on this one) the “do more in less time” philosophy has taken the personality out of the every day encounter. Seth makes a brilliant example in his post, Old Marketing with New Tools:

Cost and speed pressure means that when you get your car serviced, it’s unlikely you’ll be greeted by the mechanic himself, wiping his hands on a greasy rag, telling you exactly what he did to your car. Instead, you’ll get a difficult to decipher printout.

In some cases, new technology has taken out the face to face interaction with the business to the client. BUT we have seen an increase in social interaction (both online and off) in the realm of social media.

I overheard a gentleman talking about a social network (whether Facebook or LinkedIn it doesn’t matter). He was making reference to social networking on the Internet as impersonal and stupid. First off, I about flipped out of my chair and set him on fire. I understand that online social networking is not for everyone but the least someone can do is recognize the fact that it has VALUE. I turned around thinking I would be face-to-face with a twenty-something year old. Unfortunately he looked around 50 with his real age probably being closer to 35.

The simple fact that a gentleman/business owner was implying that social networking was impersonal is completely ridiculous. If you do it right.

The right way to make social networking work for you is two fold.

1. Join a social network (preferably a geographically local network). In order to know and be productive in the different social networks refer to my post: How To Be Productive in Social Media.

2. Use the social network to meet members of that specific network off-line.

Combine face-to-face networking with your online social networking experience. I use Smaller Indiana to meet new business owners/creative individuals in the Indianapolis community. This does not replace my off-line business networking with groups like Rainmakers but it does add value in meeting people who usually do not attend networking events.

The combination of off-line and online social networking is a powerful tool you can utilize for YOUR business. Try it out. Spend a few minutes on a local network and set up a meeting. If it doesn’t work. TRY AGAIN. If that doesn’t work. Third times s charm?

Also, if you ever hear anyone degrading social media, please call me. I’ll bring the blow torch. You bring the gasoline. ... See all content Hide content

3 weeks, 6 days ago onWordpress in kylelacy.com

Here is a quick thought for your Monday morning. I always try to get a point across in all of my seminars surrounding the concepts in social media and the Internet. it goes something like this..

“As a marketer in this age of online communication.. I don’t care about your clients… I care about their friends.”

This concept has been gaining importance according to the rules of viral marketing and online marketing. When we are focusing on lead generation through social media it is extremely important to understand what SELLS your product or service. What story do you tell the end-user that pulls people toward your brand? How do you get people involved passed the direct mail piece or the tweet you sent out yesterday?

You get your current customers to tell the story for you.

You train your happy clients to tell their version of your story!

It is a fact of nature right? We tend to have friends that are similar to us… your friends… your business contacts… your important professional network… the closest people tend to have the same type of values.

We want to our clients to sell our story. Referrals are the best way to gain business leads and social media has created a platform to make that sharing… so much easier.

Education and the ability to teach your customers the art of sharing is and will be… extremely important to growing your business in this new age of online communication.

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3 weeks, 3 days ago onWordpress in kylelacy.com

We had a packed house yesterday for the Staying Productive in Social Media seminar! It is always fun to communicate the importance of managing your time effectively. I wanted to send out the slide deck I used for the presentation… and… give you a few basic tips for staying productive.

Tips to Being Productive in Social Media

View more presentations from Kyle Lacy.

Tip 1: Use the 4-Points Model

When using social media you should keep in mind the 4-points model. There are 4 points social media applications should touch in regards to your daily life: Business, Local Business Networking, Social, and Information. Choose four main networks where you spend the most of your time.

I use LinkedIn for business applications, Smaller Indiana for local business networking, Facebook for social application, and Twitter for information. LinkedIn can be described as my connection Rolodex. Facebook is to keep me updated on my friends and acquaintances from college and high school. Twitter is a wonderful information aggregation tool where you can follow influential people and the information they share. Smaller Indiana is a great place to connect to local professionals and share ideas on how to make Indiana a better place.

Tip 2: Commit Yourself

You get what you put in. How many times have we heard that? When using social media commit to a set amount of time a week to using your applications. You will find yourself spending to much time on your applications if you fail to designate a certain amount during the week.

I try to designate an thirty minutes to an hour of each day to information sharing (writing blogs, commenting on blogs, perusing my Google Reader) and an hour a day to using my other networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, and Smaller Indiana).

Tip 3: Setup Time Blocks for Social Media Management (Facebook Meeting)

If you use Outlook or Google Calendar (well.. any calendar) it is important to setup time blocks for use of social media. Some people may disagree with me but I find it extremely valuable in helping in building a habit and setting aside time.  Setup up social media meetings!

Tip 4: Try Rescue Time

RescueTime is an AWESOME time management tool for Internet use.  RescueTime is a web-based time management and analytics tool for knowledge workers who want to be more efficient and productive. If you own a company and you are looking for a great tool to help manage your employees time online… this is for you. Check out the video below:

RescueTime Reports from Tony Wright on Vimeo.

Tip 5 : Do Not Get Sucked into the Social Media Black Hole

Everyone knows the problem of the social media black hole…. let me run the scenario. You get on Facebook at 10:00 am. What are you doing? You are probably checking your messages… updating your status… and looking at pictures.

All of a sudden your chat box ignites with a flurry of activity. Friends from long ago are tweeting you, texting you, Facebook chatting you, and frankly… destroying your ability to get anything done. This is the social media black hole. Easy fix > turn off chat functionality on everything.

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3 weeks ago onWordpress in kylelacy.com

I need to rant. I picked up REACH magazine while hanging out in my apartment yesterday… do we all know what is inside the Reach magazine? Coupons… a ton of coupons from local

businesses…spreading their message and product across the city.

I am all about coupons. I use coupons to buy food, clothing, and services. There was only one problem with the hundred (or so) ads/coupons in the magazine. There were no links associated with social media on any of the coupons. I could not find one logo from  Facebook, Twitter, or Myspace throughout the entire catalog.

This does not make any sense to me… not one bit of sense.

Why wouldn’t you integrate the different forms of media on your coupons? Why wouldn’t you show every type of touchpoint to a buyer? Even the website addresses of the companies failed to show the social media connections on the homepage.

This is absolutely idiotic and ridiculous.

Setting up a Facebook Fan Page, Twitter account, or Myspace page is FREE. The only thing that social media can cost you (initially) is your time. Why wouldn’t you setup different accounts to capture potential clients in multiple ways… multiple touchpoints… multiple places.

There are multiple levels of marketing to capture the interests of an individual. It is absolutely ridiculous that a social networking was not mentioned ONCE in the catalog.

In my mind… I would want to capture every single individual who was on social media and was ALSO picking out my coupons… why would I want this type of individual? THEY ARE THE BUYER. They are the influencer. They are the one that spends money with your brand. They are the one you need to communicate with on a daily basis. If they are on social media… why not connect with them on a completely different level then Reach Magazine or newspaper coupons.

And on a second note… their friends are with them on the social networks. Welcome to the best viral marketing you could ever possibly want, need, or desire.

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2 weeks, 3 days ago onWordpress in kylelacy.com