Guy Richards / Ordinary Life with a Brand Strategist

FOURSQUARE (emerging business strategy)

When a business can become the hub of culture, their brand value and cash register will show.

Imagine your retail store becoming a center attraction. Wouldn’t that be great? Well, a media company has figured it out. Foursquare has created a tool that runs off mobile devices that allow members to check in local places of business. The more they check in, the higher the points. And the person who checks in the most becomes the mayor of the group. Which stores like Starbucks may reward with product.

Keep an eye on these kinds of strategies becoming a hit with younger generations.

If you have a retail shop, now is the time to jump aboard.

Social Strategy and Return

I’m excited to report that for the last few months we (Abiah) have quietly piloted a range of social strategy initiatives that are now an extension of Abiah’s research and brand development services.

In the first week in January we started working with the CLA (Christian Leadership Alliance) as part of our social strategy initiative. At that time they were 20% behind last year’s numbers for their national conference registration. With the help of this initiative they are now currently 8% ahead.

We helped them analyze their current situation, build a strategy, setup their social media accounts and manage their campaign. We also added a training component to get the their staff up to speed to takeover the daily operations.

I’m very excited to see how leveraging social media can have a direct impact on the bottom line. I believe emerging media will play a huge part in the future of marketing.

Here are the social strategy services and pricing we now offer.

You borrow my stage, I borrow yours (social media…what now???)

The strategy of leveraging audiences hasn’t changed because of social media. But, how it’s done has. Or I should say, who has the audiences. When Larry King, Jay Leno or the trade industry you belong to needs a guest or a keynote, this is how they process the decision.

Choices
A. OK Speaker – Ok Content – Huge Audience
B. Great Speaker – Great Content – Tiny Audience

80% or more of the time they will choose A, because a huge audience means more people, higher ratings and increased revenue. About 20% of the time the gatekeepers will be kind and bring up a person that has a heart-wrenching story, you know, one of those bootstrap to glory tear jerkiers.

Yes, the times have changed, reality TV has taken over glossy flossy actors and Twitter is allowing the average person a tool to gain a following that will soon be compared to Oprah.

But, the one thing that hasn’t changed is this simple equation: Person + Huge Audience = Stage

The advent of social media is like watching the dice in Yahtzee, bouncing around not sure how they will fall. But one thing that will always stay they same is strategy. We are really just watching tactics change!

How to use social media? (your .com, blog and twitter account)

Think of your blog as your Sunday best face and your Twitter account like your weekday face. Ok, I hope you don’t have a church face and everything else face, but hopefully you get the picture.

Our culture craves authenticity, because it is so rare today. So we stand in the corners watching from a distance. Hoping to find proof that what you say on your blog, business site or stage is who you really are when your hair is let down.

Three things to remember:

1. Your business site is where you offer marketplace value and showcase your results.
2. Your blog is where you create innovative thought leadership.
3. Your Twitter and Facebook account is where you interact as a real human.

Not much room for error these days. Because the world has never had a better magnifying glass to search for authenticity.

PLAY BALL!

Dedicated to a new mentor @justinthesouth... and you can follow me at @branddelight

Seth Godin Vs. Donald Trump

Seth doesn’t have a TV presence, nor does he run a Fortune 500. But if he had the opportunity (which, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t agree too) to be on the Apprentice, he would win the fundraising competitions without leaving the hotel.

Regardless of the mass amount of mainstream celebrities selling cupcakes in Times Square.

Last week Seth raised $100,000 in 48 hours for a cause based organization through the leverage of his blog following.

Social media has changed the game forever. It’s no longer the few in Hollywood... everyone has an opportunity these days.